How quickly Thanksgiving crept up!  No big dinner for us today.  We celebrated with Becca and family so I have looked forward to these 4 glorious days off to sew, knit, and decorate for Christmas.  I have been listening to Christmas tunes on Pabdora for weeks now.  I just love the season and it really is just too short!  But I am ready, my shopping is completed all I need to do is get it wrapped and shipped.  

Let me share what kept me so busy the past weeks!   After too long a time Jimmy finally got a weeks vacation and we used that time to head out to visit various children and grands.  First stop was Walla Walla and lots of loving with this motley crew:

Just look at those faces!!  Jayse is such a clown.  

It was so wonderful to see them all and spend time just hanging out at Erica’s.  See she is living in my sweet cottage in Walla Walla!  I love that home and neighborhood and am delighted that the Erica is able to make it her home.  

While in Walla Walla I stopped by a few of my favorite wineries.  Imagine my delight when I dropped by Faces and there were Deb and Rick!  One of my favorite couples for sure!  I love the new tasting room, but the old has a special place in my heart forever as that is where Jimmy and I were married!  

After too short of time we headed for Nevada.  The weather was beautiful and clear until we got close to Elko, there we were greeted with lots of snow.  Beautiful, but so cold!

Northern Nevada is so barren and inhospitable!  I didn’t get a picture of all the trailers and ramshackle houses.  Such a sad and desolate place.  Casinos and brothels are a large part of the city, I find it strange as the landscape itself.  But there is a small mall area that offers the basics and some extras; Joanne’s, Ross, Marshalls, KMart, Petco, and Walmart.  Yet Becca makes a lovely home in spite of the challenges.  Mining is what defines the area.  And it is one place where you literally don’t drink the water.  

It was so wonderful to see the grands!  We celebrated Thanksgiving early, and while the guys did their thing Becca and I knitted up a storm and watched podcasts.  I had never watched any of the knitting podcasts and quickly fell in love with a Little Bobbin Knits and Stitched in Sweden.  So much inspiration and information!! We also explored Elko and the surrounding area.  Becca is moving into a new house and I had the chance to do a walk through.  It is beautiful and will be just the thing for them!!

On one of my visits to my LYS, Tangled Purls, I spotted the kit for this adorable hat.  It’s from DMC and they have a myriad of animals. I also have a monkey and giraffe waiting for the needles.  I need to get busy as Maddox loved this hat!  It knitted up on size 9s in a matter of hours!  Isn’t it just the sweetest?   

At my LYS I recently found Cascade Sunseeker on sale.  I thought the red sparkly would make a beautiful Christmas cowl.  It seemed the perfect project for the trip and I cast it on during my visit the minute I finished my Rivulet.  I’m making Zuzu’s Petals.  It is a super quick knit that can be made in a variety of yarn weights by adjusting needle size.

When it was time to head home I didn’t want to hassle with a project that required counting stitches as Zuzu’s Petals.  Becca came to my rescue and handed me a skein of this gorgeous colorway by Knitted Wit.  You may remember a month back when I want to Stash and met the talented Lorajean Kelly.  Her yarn is amazing and knits up beautifully!  This colorway is Monets Garden.  Check out her etsy shop here  https://www.etsy.com/shop/KnittedWit  

I added some yummy rosy pink for the heel.  This is the left over Madeline Tosh from my Pebble Beach.  

I finished another Rivulet while on vacay too.  It was my project for the car on the way there.  I am blessed to have a hubby who does all the driving so I can knit!!  It just needs the fringe and it’s done.  Have I said how much I love that pattern?!  This was knit in Maxima colorway Chrysanthemum.  It’s a super soft merino wool and super squishy.  

With Becca going into a brand new home she needed a temporary home for good ole Charlee.  Since Charlee has stayed at my house before and fits right into our pack it just made sense to bring her home.  Here is the beautiful Charlee modeling my Dangling Conversations.  She really is a lovely girl and now Misha has a playmate as ole Bruno is the laziest dog alive!  So now we are 2 boxers and a golden family.  Doesn’t my scarf look just perfect on her?  It is Dangling Conversations knit in Dream In Color yarn and part of their Dream Club.  This was the September colorway.  

Becca is a knitting machine and my inspiration.  I do knit more and faster than ever before since we have been doing KALs.  Here are two amazing and beautiful gifts she sent me home with!!  The shawl uses the applied boarder technique.  I’ve been hesitant to try it, but am ready to dive in.  This will be my next project!

All too soon we were back home and back to work.  But the memories we made will be stored and treasured!  

Wanted to share a bit of my Thanksgiving decor.  It will be coming down this week end as I transform the house into a Christmas wonderland!

When I returned to work I had several surprises.  Jan who comes from Australia to visit her mom several times a year brought me this:

Isn’t it lovely?!  I can’t wait to knit something with it!

And a family member left this for me:

I let Becca take mine off to Nevada when I left Walla Walla and boy have I missed it!  This one is just the best!!  It has an extra side that lifts and it folds flat for storage…..as if I’m going to store it away!!!  I am one lucky ducky indeed.  

Just had to share pictures of all our fur babies.  Misha and Charlee play together so well and my lazy Bruno keeps an eye on them in case they get out of control. 

And that is what I have been up to of late.  It was just so lovely to get away!!  Next up is a trip to Condon and some more grand time!  

Always Grateful for all my Blessings!!

Patricia