Crusin' with The Barb

Barb and I took a harbor cruise in St. Augustine yesterday. The weather was perfect! We asked this gal to take our picture and being the Godzilla that I am, I had the camera set on video instead of photo. Oops.

Enjoy anyway...

We also went shopping and had lunch at O.C. Whites. They're deep fryer was broken...can you believe that? Probably a good thing for us to eat a little healthier since we were planning on going to Clark's Fish Camp for dinner. They have the best hush puppies in town!

Our next stop was the Anastasia Light House. This is just the coolest thing...if you live here and haven't been...get thee to the lighthouse! We climbed all 219 steps to the top and stayed for a while chatting and enjoying the breeze and view.

Gimme a Break

No Mike isn't an Understudy for Justine's part as "ensemble" in the school play "Aladdin" she's in this week. The darn costume is WAY TOO BIG! I mean, come on!

We're hoping to swap it out for an, um...smaller size.

Fun with Barb

Brennee and Barb....um, and Justine's noggin. My little monkey.

My big monkey.

Aunt Barb and Justine.

We stopped at the Treaty Oak on our round about way to Fernandina Beach. Had a great time in Fernandina! We lunched at Brett's right on the water...even sat outside the weather was so nice. Then some window shopping and ice cream, 'cuz according to Aunt Barb, window shopping goes with eating ice cream! My kinda girl! We took the Mayport Ferry on the way home, too.

It was a great day.

17 Years

Mike and I were married 17 years on Saturday, April 25th.

His parents....50 years, same day.

I would love to celebrate that anniversary someday.

Congrats Al & MaryLou!

Mike got me a nice bouquet of flowers and next weekend we'll be going out to dinner, probably at Stonewood. Yeah!

Knitting For Others

Booties, booties...all in a row.
Hat and bootie set ready for mailing.

I've got two full sets done and I'm working on another two. This is for Scripps Hospital in La Jolla, California. I've been knitting hat/bootie sets for them since before Joey was born. Three of my friends in San Diego help Scripps out as well. Two of us knit sets, one crochets or knits mini-blankets and one sews quilted envelopes.

Knitting for others...it's good for the soul.

Socks

Beachcomber Socks by the talented Picnic Knits
Another Diagonal Rib...I. Can't. Stop. Knitting. This. Pattern.

Switch-a-roo

The Jitterbug yarn that has yet to become socks for myself has gone off via the US mail to Indiana.

Let me explain.

I got this beautiful Jitterbug yarn one day. Colors beyond colors...bright and beautiful...perfect for socks. I decided to make Spring Forward with them. Well, the first sock turned out a little short for my foot. Don't ask how this happened, something to do with the pattern ending at the right point to something. After much thought I decided to rip them out and start over. I would have loved to gift them to a friend with smaller feet, but the friends with smaller feet wouldn't like the bright colors, so...ripped. Now, I think...hey! Toe up socks! That didn't turn out too well either. (See prior post.) I'm thinking The Third Time will not be a Charm. So I got an idea. I knew a friend of a friend that commented how she loved the colors in the yarn. I contacted her through Ravelry to see if she'd be willing to "swap" sock yarns. She said yes! Now my yarn is on it's way to her and her yarn is on it's way to me. Not exactly sure what she's sending me, Tofutsies Sock Yarn of a surprise color, I believe. Yippee skippy!

I'm thinking maybe it'll become No Purl Monkey Socks. Hummmmm....

Ok, yeah, I could have knit up another pair of socks with that yarn, but this is WAY more fun!

Toes Up are Belly Up

Well, Godzilla strikes again. I was doing great on my first toe-up sock, working my way towards the heel with great enthusiasm. Until I realized that I was working the pattern over the entire sock...no stockinette on the bottom of the foot. I totally forgot that I only needed to work the pattern on the instep. Duh.

I was working on these almost the whole time at knit group on Wednesday and nobody said a thing! Maybe nobody noticed. More likely, they think I don't make those kind of mistakes. Think again. I make more mistakes than they realize...experience doesn't always keep you from screwing up, you know! Donna...I did just like you did on your first pair, but from the other direction!

Toes Up

I'm attempting my first toe up sock. I did a short row toe and am going up the foot with the Twin Rib pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks. I'm going to try a short row heel, too. I just love learning new stuff in knitting land!

Having fun with the folks!

Showgirl Chicken at the Clay County Fair...ooh la la! Looks to me like someone knit her an angora sweater.
Alan in the butterfly tent at the Fair.

MaryLou and Justine play checkers on the porch of the old Commissary in Old Florida.

Deer on the walking path in Juniper Springs.

The kids in Juniper Springs.

Mike's folks are here for a visit and we're having a great time! He took them to Juniper Springs and then we all went to the Clay County Fair. Yesterday we went to the new Riverside Arts Market for some shopping and today, Easter, we're partying with friends and neighbors!

Hope your Easter is just as fun!

Easter Goodies!

New shirt for Brennee!
See's candy egg...full of goodies!

Showing off her new t-shirt and egg!

Dude...cool trunks!

There are a few things the kids look forward to in life....Birthdays, Christmas and last day of school for instance, BUT nothing puts them in to a happy tail-spin like getting a package from Aunt Barb and Uncle Mark! First off, there is always candy inside...ALWAYS! The candy is almost always from See's which we discovered after moving here that they're don't have any stores here in town. Lucky for us, Barb & Mark keep us in good supply. Yesterdays box had t-shirts for me and the kids, candy for everyone (Mike's favorites among them!) and a lovely card.

Not everyone is fortunate enough to have an Aunt Barb and Uncle Mark...believe me, we're counting our blessings...box by box.

(If you're reading this guys...THANKS! AND WE LOVE YOU!)

Cold Snap!

Woke up this morning to frost on the rooftops! I thought summer was on the way and now another cold snap. Veronica helped Mike put a blanket on our new babies to keep them warm.

MaryLou and Al got here yesterday! We're planning all kinds of fun activities to do during their visit...I'll be sure to post about them!

Garden. Grows.

Flowers, still and live and well!
Grow Tomato Grow!

Sunshine in bloom.

Justine-y Wienie's green beanies!

The garden didn't seem to mind all the rain from last week (what was it...8 inches or more?) and sprouts are popping up all over!

Bad. Birthday.

Donna's pretty good at this balancing act!

Party Girls!
BadJen had a Bad Birthday...if ya know what I mean.

In celebration of Jen's, um that's BadJen to those of you on Ravelry, we when out for Mexican food and them back to Casa de Pirie for b-day cake. We had Donna along with us, husband and even all the kids, too. Ok, that's not the entire story...there were margaritas and shots of tequila involved, too.
It was a very, very fun night!