Busy Fall times--and Knitting!

We've had a week at our house.  Last weekend we went apple picking at Spranger's Orchard.  The apples were not quite ripe, although some of the Gala's were really sweet. The kids had a good time eating picking the apples.

 Last Sunday we also went to the Botanical Gardens in Green Bay.  It was a Packer game day, so the gardens were dead...and there was still plenty of pretty to see!

Nicholas and Anna went to Uno's and made their own pizza, (and had lots of fun doing it!)

This weekend we went to Octoberfest--we went early before the crowds got huge, had a hot beef sandwich and tiger paws, bought some honey and had a nice walk home.  As we were coming back up Newberry Trail, we saw this fun site...everyone going through the locks. It was a canoeing/kayak club working to get the locks back open again...it was neat to see everyone paddling through!

I made 2 dishcloths for a swap on Swap-bot.com.  An apple and an oak leaf  (although the leaf is hard to see).  I hope my partner liked them!

And my yarn came from Evergreen Sleeves, and I did my swatch.  Once blocked, it will be 4x4" on size 15's.  I have 29" circular needles, so I am hoping that will be long enough (I really don't want to buy 32" ones I may never use again).  This yarn is SO soft--I am really looking forward to (hopefully) finishing this sweater for ME!!!!!!!

Been Knitting

I figured you might want to know I HAVE been doing something, especially now that the cooler weather has settled in!  :)

I am nearly done with mittens for Emily.  They are done in some pastel wool from Joslyn's Fiber Farm that Thora sent to me.  My only problem?  I can't find the first one!  Hoping it is in my car.  Or my couch.  Or somewhere.













I went to IRIS Fine Yarns today and got some gorgeous Cascade 220.  I'm thinking mittens for Nicholas, although I would love some for myself (or a sweater out of this!)

I am waiting for yarn to come from WEBS to make the Evergreen Sleeves sweater.  Hoping to get it done before I go to Rhinebeck (SQUEE!!!!!!!!) next month!


I also am doing 2 dishcloth swaps on Swap-bot.com  One is the color yellow, and I am making the Oak Leaf cloth.  The other is a fruit dishcloth swap, so I'm doing apples.  Nice and Fall like.

And now I am going to try to get some knitting done before picking up the kids while the chili warms in the crock pot.  Love.

Been Quiet...

It's been a short but somewhat difficult summer.  I haven't knit much, (although I've picked up now that Fall and Winter are just around the corner).

Today is September 11, 2011.  I still can't watch the shows, or go to the memorial services.  I just can't.  9/11/01 was probably one of the most horrific days of my life, and I wasn't even in NYC or DC.  But my friends were.  I remember the terror of not knowing where several of them were until that night.  I remember Anna wondering why I was crying, the internet hardly loading as I kept Dora on for her.  The number of times I watched the planes crash into the towers that day was enough for me.

I'll never forget.  But reliving...that's another thing.

A Busy June

It has been a busy June...wow!  Time sure flies when you're kids are home for the summer, and you are trying to find stuff to do!

First of all--I finished the blue blob.  I can't show it to you, because it hasn't reached its intended recipient yet.  I've now started a lavender blob of the scarf variety.

So what did we do this month?  We went strawberry picking at Prellwitz Produce in Ripon. I think the kids ate more strawberries than they picked.




Anna lost her sandal coming back from the fields. She got a quick ride in a golf cart to get it--and the congratulations from the guy who took her, saying she was the first one this year.

While we waited for Anna, we decided to pick sugar snap peas.  It's a lot harder than it looks, but it's worth it when you find what Nicholas calls "The Jackpot".  It was worth the time.  They are so yummy!

We have gone to two Timber Rattlers games.  The first was Star Wars night.  We sat in our usual great seats, and had a great time.  Emily went to this one, and she was so good!  Pics are on my camera, so I'll post those soon.

This past Saturday we took Emily to Princess Night.  She wore her Snow White dress from Halloween, and got her picture taken with the princesses. 

 
When she got her picture taken, she got a raffle ticket--and won a "Princess for a Day" gift certificate to Snips and Giggles (Now Club Sassafras) in Appleton.

So we used our gift certificate today--what a fun place!   Emily has decided she wants a mini-pedi every day. 

She looked so beautiful. 

And her stylist Angie was so kind and fun!  We definitely recommend it to anyone.  Their prices are reasonable too--a kids haircut with braids and glitter is $14.  I pay $10 to get their hair cut at Super Cuts, and that's without braids or glitter.

A bigger blob!

So I've been knitting and knitting and knitting!  I've been knitting so much, I've neglected my reading, and I'm currently 17 books behind on my Good Reads goal of 100 books this year.  But I now have a bigger blue blob:

 I'm to the last lace pattern, so that's pretty exciting.  Then I can move on to socks!

We've had a busy few days here at Casa Kopetsky.  Anna graduated from 6th grade--yay!  Considering the past few years, it's pretty exciting.

 We went to the Milwaukee Zoo on Sunday.  The weather was absolutely perfect, so everyone else went to the Milwaukee Zoo on Sunday too.  And now...it's HOT!  I'm wondering where Spring went...it seems we went from Winter to Summer.  I hosted Gnomeo and Juliet (which I HIGHLY recommend BTW) last night at Neenah Public Library, and I told them it seems like just a few weeks ago I was telling everyone thank you for coming out during the snow storm...last night I thanked everyone for coming out in the 100 degree heat!

 And...(drum roll please) Brian and I went to see Carlos Mencia.  I laughed so much my stomach hurt.  Our seats were PRIMO!  I highly recommend Comedy Quarter as a venue...we've sat in the front and sat in the back, and there is not a bad seat in the place.  The staff is excellent!

A Busy Few Days

Still knitting my shawl.  It's a bigger blob.  I'm not sure how anyone can knit this shawl in a weekend, unless they don't sleep, or eat, or go to the bathroom.

I thought I'd share the pictures of the last few days that are on my phone with you.  We saw a very rare "rainbow sky".  I posted the pics and tagged Doug Higgins from Fox 11, and he posted back that it was a Circumhorizon arc, which is cool on both accounts---that I know what it is, and that Doug Higgins commented on my Facebook picture.  My friends were impressed too!

We went to the People's Bratfest in Madison.  Johnsonville was sponsoring the regular bratfest, and after all the money they gave to Scott Walker--and after the way he's screwed us--we weren't going to give any money to them.

But we had fun!  Finally went to Ian's Pizza.  Had some yucky beer (when you see "coriander" as an ingredient, I recommend skipping it).

And how cool is this bike rental program?  I miss Madison!  My kids were excited "Look!  We can ride PeeWee's bike!!!"

We also got to show the kids the UW-Madison campus where I went to school, point out my beloved humanities building, and let them walk up Bascom Hill.  I told all 3 of them that the hill is much worse when it's snowing and -20 degrees, but they can experience it themselves when they go to school there.  :D

My columbines are coming in nicely, which is good.  They even come in around the weeds!  I also have some giant irises about to open, so I can't wait to see what they look like (I transplanted them from my mom's garden last year, so I don't know which ones they are).  A little upset our sage, oregano and thyme seem to have mostly run their course this year.  We are looking at maybe buying a house, but I will plant some more either for us or the next people here.  I really love my herb garden (well, besides the lemon balm that just won't quit!)


 
 
Emily had her very first T-Ball practice, and did a really great job.  She had problems hitting off the tee, and her coach told her they'd work on it.  Nicholas, always the overprotective brother, said, "I don't like the way he said that to her.  It sounded kind of mean."  Now it wasn't mean at all, but it's still sweet he wanted to make sure his little sister didn't feel bad.



By the way--my kid loves me:

 The kids are out of school as of 9:50 on Friday.  We are heading over to my friend's house for a picnic after school, and to toast the ending of a somewhat trying school year!  It should be fun!!  :)

Dave's Falls

Yesterday, before the storms came and ripped apart my 2 tulips (I am tulip deficient.  The bunnies usually eat them, so I boycotted tulips for a long time.  I just bought some on clearance at Lowe's for .99 a piece...and now they are both done for this year) we took a drive up to Crivitz and Amberg, and stopped at Dave's Falls County Park.  It really is a beautiful place, and the kids had a great time climbing around.  We would have walked more, but Emily was in flipflops (as was my Mother-in-Law...) and the mosquitoes up there are quite large and quite bitey.

Looks like the woodpeckers are bigger in the North Woods too.

 On the way there and the way back (and at home.  And every free moment) I worked on the Weekend Shawl.  One of the lines on the pattern is: "Isn't it nice to know you can finish a shawl in 2 days if you have to?".  Let's just say, it would be good information--if it was possible for me to finish it in 2 days.

Emily asked me to knit her a pair of socks today.  Obviously she doesn't have a clue how long it takes me to knit anything.  How about I START a pair of socks for you today.

In other news:  We went to look at a rental house near Pierce Park.  Small yard, small garage, small bedrooms, small bathrooms, lots of money, so it's a no go.  It is also very hard for me to think about going from our landlord, who says, "Sure!  Go ahead paint/change the floor/plant flowers/etc" to "Well, if you want to put in a garden, I will need to see sketches of what you plan to do and approve it."  Huh?

I miss being a homeowner.  :(