Single line drawn from one ocular corner to the other.
White clouds firmly tethered to shadows.
What is close at hand must first appear on the horizon.
What is cast upon us always has a source.
Deng Ming~Dao

Whew…I posted every day this week and I think I am finding my groove again.  Next week Ken and I are taking a mini vacation in Newburyport Sunday and Monday, (thanks Ashley!) so there may not be a Monday post….but you never know.
Have a great weekend!!
xoxo
Kim

August was such a whirlwind of busy that I forgot to post about the August Yarn club mailing.  The designer for this mailing is the very talented Bristol Ivy

The theme this year is The Roaring 20's and Bristol designed these mitts to capture the strong, clear lines of the Art Deco period and I think she did a fabulous job. Thank you Bristol!

The yarn for this mailing was Lucent in soft shades of brown with coppery highlights.  Bristol requested soft Sepia shades….I named this color "Speakeasy" to keep with the club's theme.

My short freckly fingers are not quite as elegant as Bristol's, long thin hands, but I do love the nail polish color for fall! 
I had a lot of fun with this mailing. 🙂

Before I start this post, I want to thank each and every one of you who wished me a Happy Birthday yesterday.  I feel very blessed to have so many wonderful and caring friends!  A special thank you to Carole and Margene for sending many of you here for a visit.

~

A few years ago I discovered this little Hansen Spinner.  Any of you who know me, know that it was the beautiful woods that captured my eye at first.  I will admit however that I was completely sceptical about the spinning
quality, that is until I sat down and spent some time with it.  This little machine can spin for sure!

Sadly however it quickly became neglected and spent it's time looking pretty in a corner of my sewing studio.  I would play with it now and then, but if I went to a spinning meeting it was always a bigger wheel that came with me. 

Recently when I took a class with a friend this summer, she had her Hansen Spinner with her and this great little carrying case…a Zuca bag.  She told me that she couldn't understand why I brought my heavy wheel when I had the lightweight electric spinner at home.  Bingo!  She was so right…slap on the forehead! 

I haven't had much time for spinning this year, but when we were getting ready to go on vacation, I thought that it would be nice to sit on the porch and spin if we had a rainy day.  With that in mind I spent some time researching the Zuca bags and picked out this pretty bag.  What is so nice about it is that you can place the spinner on the top for spinning, which is actually a seat as well, so it's pretty strong too.

Fortunately we had amazingly perfect weather on our vacation so the little spinner stayed neatly packed in it's pretty bag.  When we got home however, I set her up in my work studio.  As you can imagine, my work studio gets very steamy and humid which is why I never have a spinning wheel set up in there for fear of warping the wood in the wheel, but I'm thinking this girl will be fine living here where she will get used a lot more.
I spent some time this week playing with her and cranked out this pretty skein.
~
I will be demonstrating her at The Fryeburg Fair next month.
(yikes….it's almost that time already…how did that happen?)

Today's Ten on Tuesdays topic is Ten Favorite Sunday Dinners.  When the weather has turned from summer to fall the menu tends to change as well.  A little less grilling and a little more cooking.  Back when I was a child and even when my own older children were little we always had a large Sunday dinner after church.  I kind of miss how much less hurried life seemed during those days, don't you?

Here is my list of Favorite Sunday Dinners…brings back happy memories. 🙂

1.  Pot Roast with roasted vegetables….so delicious.
2.  Lasagna
3.  Spagetti and Meatballs (My mom's sauce has been passed down from her, to me, to my daughters….it's very yummy and not chunky)
4.  Roast Chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy.
5. New England Boiled Dinner…..although I hated the cabbage.
6.  Meatloaf….the way I make it
7.  Homemade Baked Macaroni and Cheese
9.  Baked Ham with raisin sauce….mmmmm.
10. Chicken and Dumplings

There you have it.  Of course these days of watching my weight a lot of these are things I can only have once in a while, but as the days get cooler, we will indulge now and then.  Did you eat the big Sunday Dinners when you were younger?

It's coming……….but we are going to enjoy one last beach day tomorrow.
To the girls running this weekend….and you know who you are….good luck and have fun!!

Yesterday there was a lovely surprise waiting for me at the Post Office.  This little package was wrapped so beautifully and smelled heavenly.

Back from my days in the dog world I frequently worked with a woman when I was the Registration Supervisor for CKCSC,USA.  We quickly became good friends over the years.  This friend, Gerri, never forgets my birthday…her thoughtfullness has always made me smile, even when it was hard to smile on such a difficult day.  Over the years I have come to terms with that day and have learned to embrace and celebrate again.

Over the summer Gerri has been dabbling with making soap and has been having great fun with it…..and she is doing a great job too.  These soaps smell wonderful and give a nice bubbly lather.  Mmmmmm!

What you can't really see is the label on the soap.  The Honeybadger Soap Co…haha! This gave me a good chuckle the minute I saw it, because as you know…that Honeybadger is one bad boy. 😉

In true Gerri fashion, the card was the best part.  Gerri has always made me laugh.  As difficult as our jobs within the dog company could be at time, she always helped me keep my sense of humor.  Thanks Gerri!!!
(PS…you need to get a website…just sayin')

So now that I have eased my way back into blogging, I am going to try to keep up with it.  Carole's Ten on Tuesday question is Ten Things You Love About September.  This one is easy peasy for me as September is my favorite month of the year.

1.  My birthday 🙂
2.  Warm days and cool nights with much less humidity. (Still a summer feel, but you can definitely feel and smell fall in the air)
3.  Weekend drives with Ken (next weekend will be a beach weekend)
4.  Tourists go home (I live in a tourist community)
5.  School and schedules.  I love the freedom of summer, but I welcome the structure fall brings.
6.  The colors of autumn start showing up at the end of the month.
7.  Football (thank GOD because baseball this year has been dismal!)
8.  Crisp fall apples and soup
9.  Whale Watching (although we did this in August this year so that the kids could join along with us.)
10.  Fryeburg Fair

There you have it….my second favorite month is October….what is your favorite month?

 

of my vacation was spending time with the people that I love most. (I wish that the others could have been with us)

We went on a whale watch….you know how much I LOVE being with my whale friends.

….and we visited Provincetown….that is a story all in itself.  I really enjoyed watching people celebrate who they are in an environment that embraces them.

Ken and I had the opportunity to let loose and have fun…. to pretend. 
I loved pretending when I was young….as we age we lose some of our imagination, but if we wish it……..will it happen?  I think it will…I know it will!

…and we welcomed Courtney into adulthood….well….she is legally allowed to enjoy a cocktail just sayin'.  I was so happy to share this with her, but I am sure she was secretly wishing she was with her college friends. I know I would have felt the same.

At the end of the day this vacation meant so much to me on so many levels.  Time to remember the past, time to embrace the present, time to envision the future, but most importantly it was time to enjoy the moment with the family and friends that I love so much!

I am excited for next year!

…..here comes one now…..

So…..I know a lot of people do not like seagulls.  They are scavengers, opportunists and all of those other negative words you can conjure up, but they are my favorite bird.  They belong to the natural environment that I love most….the beach, the ocean….and they always make me smile.

This particular gull was a very sneaky guy
(insert Pink Panther music here)

…he flew in and landed in between our set up and our close neighbors.  He seemed to be a younger bird with his fluffy feathers, but he was a patient soul.  He looked at us, and them….at us and them…and then….they got up for a swim. Eureka! It was his lucky day!  He strolled right over to their bag and scooped out a bag of goldfish.  Such a bold little scoundrel!

Here he is running away with his prize.  I SO wish I could have captured a picture of Ken chasing after him…LOL. 

I am going to share a little secret with you, now that you know that these little scoundrels are my favorite birds.  Years ago when my days included daily trips to the beach, I had 3 kids who HATED the crust on their sandwiches.  I bet some of you had those very same kids (I think I was one of them too…shhh)….well….I used to let them toss their crust to the gulls.  Now, I know that there are some who would severely reprimand me, but why toss that crust in the trash when these birds would happily enjoy it…right? 

Of course the seagulls were not the only birds that we enjoyed.  There were these absolutely adorable Sandpipers.  Having grown up very close to Plum Island, I know just how special these little birds are.  Parts of South Cape Beach are protected in the same way that Plum Island is so that these little birds can raise their babies safely.  I loved watching them run back and forth in between the waves…so.darn.cute!

…and the Osprey….
Almost every day, Ken and I went on a 2-3 mile walk discovering the neighborhood around us.  On one of those walks we saw this huge nest.

Such a magnificent bird the Osprey is!  We were fortunate enough to see both parents in the nest feeding their young…and their call is the sound we heard as the sun went down each night….amazing experience!

Of all the birds we saw over the week these 2 were my favorite.  I wish I could have videotaped their interaction…it was hilarious.  The smaller one kept trying to interact with the larger gull….kind of like a fruit fly diving for your wine (yep….an example I am relating to).  The larger gull would fly off a little bit and the smaller one would follow and yap at him…over and over. 
Whether I am in my yard at home or at the ocean, my little bird friends always offer me endless, free entertainment. 
I just love our little friends. 🙂