Someone I'd Like You to Meet......

Only that was taken early last November.

He's much much bigger now.....

Our sweet,cuddly little Bear.

Sunshine From Saturday

This past Saturday was so beautiful!

The little girls had a tea party in the living room with Jemima and Mrs. Tiggywinkle.

Mim loves her "Tiggy."

We all have been adjusting to life without Miss Posy, who left on Thursday to attend a wedding in New York with her grandparents. They got to pay a visit to the St. Lawrence Seaway on Sunday, and stopped at Niagara Falls today on their way home. We'll see her late tonight. When I spoke to her last she told me how she has been taking lots of pictures (we sent her with an old camera) and writing in her journal.

 Her first real adventure, away from Mom and Dad. 

So exciting. :)

I bought these two gorgeous orchids at aldi for just 7.99 a piece.

I wasn't going to, at first, but Miss Posy talked me into it, and I am so glad I did.

They look so beautiful up on the mantel.

I moved my other one by my kitchen sink, so he could get some extra tlc, and he really seems to like it there, as evidenced by those two tiny new leaves! I've had him about four years now and was afraid I might be losing him!

I brought in a few plants from my pots outside, to winter-over indoors....

~we had our first frost last week!

We got a new rug to put in front of the piano, and put some hooks on the wall for the boys' brass.

I think I forgot to tell you, that Big Brother has a bugle now, as well as his cornet. The priest who ran the boy's camp that he attended, awarded it to him during the closing ceremonies for having played taps on his cornet every evening. Father said he had bought it at Gettysburg years ago ( I'm thinking possibly even before he was a priest) and always wanted to learn to play it. Said he'd been waiting for the right boy to pass it on to. Of course this meant the world to Big Brother, especially since he happens to idolize this particular priest. The plan is to play taps on the bugle each night at camp next year.

Well, there you have it. Just little bits of this and that.

Til next time, then.

Catching Up a Bit.....

Once again, I am asking myself where the summer went!

 This week the weather took a distinctly autumn turn; sunny, and a bit blustery, with a nip in the air, and nights as well as mornings that are downright chilly.

My favorite weather really. :)

Seeing as how it has been so long since I posted, let's back up a month or so, shall we?

And yes, you see it right, Boots is now the proud owner of a trombone (~he had been telling us how he would love to learn to play one since last year) and this is how it happened:

Back in July, before Big Brother left for summer camp, the mouth piece of his trumpet had become jammed in the instrument. (Some little person who we will allow to remain nameless had dropped it on the floor.) Since he really wanted it in proper working order before he left, as he was planning to play taps for the camp each night, my Knight took it to work to show to a guy who used to play the trumpet, and see if he had any tips for the best method of extraction. A fellow in the next cubicle or so over, heard them talking about trumpets, and asked if either of them would like a trombone! Apparently he had one in his trunk that he was planning to take to the Goodwill. So, yes, he gave it to My Knight right then and there.....for free! And the other guy who was the former trumpet player insisted on taking it home and gave it a thorough cleaning in his bathtub, bringing it back to work the next morning. All we had to do was order a new mouthpiece.

(I know!!!!!! So awesome, right??!!!!!!)

So now we have battles of the brass.

And while there are times that it can be a bit spine stiffening...

....I do love it.

On to other things....

I did manage to make some pie this summer.

Blueberry pie.

Mmmmmm.

My Knight and I left two days early to go pick Big Brother up from his summer camp, so that we could explore a bit of Wisconsin's beautiful Door County.

It had been a while since just the two of us had gone off anywhere, and we has such a wonderful time. Our first night, we spent in Sturgeon Bay, at a charming Bed and Breakfast called The Sawyer House.

For dinner, we walked down the street to a pub called Kitty O' Reilly's.

The food was so good! 

I was a bit sad to leave The Sawyer House the next morning, 

(See, I  brought my knitting basket along?)

but we really did have to get back on the road. Especially since we wanted to make it all the way up one side of the peninsula to its tip, and then back down the other before making our way back down to a hotel in Waupaca.

We stopped at Sister Bay for an early dinner, at a Swedish restaurant called Al Johnson's.

~They actually put goats out to graze on their sod roof!!!!

The food was very good ~I loved the pewter dishes!!!

It was the first time either of us had ever tasted (let alone heard of ) lingonberries.

We tried lingonberry jam, lemonade (for him) , tea (for me), and vinaigrette. 

Mmmm, were they tasty! 

We also had Wisconsin cheese curds and I ordered Swedish meatballs.

My Knight had to help me finish off my plate! 

Too much good food!

The lake was absolutely gorgeous,

looking as soft and smooth as velvet.

And while this isn't really as pretty, I had to take this shot of the big city (trying desperately to remember if it was Milwaukee or Chicago) on our way home. Doesn't the sky look ominous?

It was a bit surreal to be driving through with it looking like that.... 

Well, that has to be all for now, as my little girls are up, and demanding attention.

But I will try to be back soon. 

:)

Ham and Blueberry Jam......

This kind of ham. Ham radio. We hosted Field Day for the second year in a row at our house a few weekends ago. Lots of fun as always. Especially once we had the big antenna up (whew, they were really making me nervous ~just two guys to that big unwieldy thing!! Of course I didn't let them know til after it was safely in place;)

We even had some people camp out over the weekend! And an old member of the club flew by in the neatest old-fashioned looking plane (It's obvious I am not a plane buff, right?;), circled round us several times and then came over really low right above our heads. The kids were absolutely ecstatic!

Last weekend we picked about thirty-three pounds of blueberries!

So this is what I have been up to most of the week.

In between getting the oldest ready to leave for summer camp this weekend.

And going through old clothes. 

The boys are all done, but not the girls.

And then there is my end of the master bedroom closet.....

One thing at a time, Kate, one thing at a time.

Back Again.......

The past few days have been rainy and dreary, but haven't dimmed our memories of the days that came before ~full of sunshine and flowers, crab apple and lilac-perfumed air, 

soft green grass under our bare feet,

dinners out at the picnic table and birdsong echoing all around.

Perfect days, in every way. So we can make allowances for a few rainy days, right? After all, they help to make the flowers grow.

Our old computer finally died, and thus my long silence. It's not that I haven't had plenty to keep me busy in the interim  though;) Just trying to keep up with the big kid's schooling, managing the little people, doing the best I can to keep up around the house.......(whew!)....that leaves me pretty near exhausted most days. 

So why did I decide that now is the time to learn to knit a pair of socks?

 I must have finally snapped.

Oh well.

I wish you all could smell the blossoms on my little magnolia.

It is just gorgeous this year.

(~I got my feet all soaked with dew to run out one morning and get these pictures. I couldn't resist....it was looking so pretty!)

Well, Mim is awake, so I must go. But don't worry, I promise not to be such a stranger.

Until next time, then!

Keeping Quiet.....

I know things have been extra quiet around here.

Don't worry, all is well.

I hope you all had a happy and blessed Christmas!

Happy New Year!

:)

September.....

.......It came sneaking up on me, and now it is almost over!

Our return from a family vacation out west! 

Homeschooling!

Soccer games and practices!

Our old barn taken down!

And everything else!

One of these days I may catch up with my life.......

........or not!;)