Crochet Blanket Progress

 Hi all -

Spring is here! I hope everyone is well and enjoying some warmer weather! I've been enjoying the last vestiges of college basketball -- March Madness. Sadly, Kansas was eliminated in the second round. It was an incredible game, well-played on both sides, and Kansas just couldn't eek it out. But there's still more incredible basketball ahead and there are a couple other Big 12 teams that have made it to the next round, so I have some teams to root for!

I've made good progress on my crochet blanket -- the Juni Throw designed by Kati Petersen. This is the Jimmy Beans Wool 2023 Blanket Club project. Each month, for a small fee, we get a skein of yarn and another section of the pattern. I was able to fix my mistake in the January section and then finish the blanket through the March section:

Juni Throw

Juni Throw -- January section

Juni Throw -- February section

Juni Throw -- March section

This has been a wonderful project! I'm getting much better at figuring out the pattern and figuring out where each stitch goes. I look forward to next month's installment and hope to work on some smaller projects while I wait.

I've also continued to work on my Mo' Better Cowl designed by Aunt Ninny:

Mo' Better Cowl

This yarn is so soft and I know I'll really love the final product!!

Finally, I finished my Aquifer designed by Laura Nelkin:

Aquifer

This is a really long scarf:

Aquifer -- length

Because of the length, it took a lot longer than I expected to finish the edging around the perimeter. But I really love how it turned out!

Aquifer -- detail

This is another lovely light and soft yarn! I really love this scarf!!

That's all of my projects for this time. I've also watched several of my Craftsy classes and there are just so many more things that I want to work on! Even in retirement, there are never enough hours in the day!!

Nancy

Crochet Blanket Started

 Hi all -

For some reason, last week really flew by! Part of it was probably the Big 12 tournament. Without work, I was able to watch every game! And every game was exciting!! Kansas made it into the final, but was beat by Texas in the last game. But it didn't affect their bid for March Madness -- they are still one of the number 1 seeds for that tournament. That fun starts this week! I did get my new back-up disks set up and my first set of backups made so I'm ready to use my new computer operationally. The next big task is to do my taxes. Yuck! This will be the most complicated return I've had to fill out since Google has several compensation methods, but it should be my last complicated return so I just have to get this one over with.

On the project front, I started my crochet blanket project. One of my goals during retirement is to learn to crochet. I've done a little crochet in the past, making a couple of projects from a Craftsy class, but that was several years ago and something like three small, simple patterns so nothing stuck. Jimmy Beans Wool has a blanket club each year where you can make a knit or crochet blanket through the year. For about $25 per month, you get a skein of yarn and another piece of the pattern and by the end of the year you have a blanket made. I liked the crochet blanket (it's not a mystery club so you can see the blanket before you buy it) and I figured that doing all of the stitches each month required for a blanket would be a good way to become semi-proficient with crochet. The crochet pattern is the Juni Throw designed by Katy Petersen. It's one of those classic wave patterns, using different stitches each month. I watched a couple of beginning crochet classes from Craftsy to remind myself of how to do things and then got started on the first month. I started by making a gauge swatch:

Juni Throw gauge swatch

A gauge swatch is a little thing that you stitch up to make sure that your stitches are the same size as the ones the designer made when writing the pattern. You want to try to make your stitches match the stitches of the designer so that your final project is what you expect. If your stitches are too small then you could end up with a blanket that doesn't cover your lap. If your stitches are too big, you will get a bigger blanket, but you could run out of yarn before you can finish it. When you make the gauge swatch, you compare your stitches to the designer's and can then use a bigger or smaller hook to adjust your stitch size. I used a slightly smaller hook than the one suggested in the pattern. I don't normally check gauge for smaller projects and for things that aren't worn, but thought it would be a good idea to check it for my first big crochet project. Once I had gauge I was ready to start on January's skein and pattern. Here's what I have so far:

Juni Throw progress

I was moving along really well (I thought), but when I got to the end of my latest row I was one stitch short of what I should have so I will need to pull out stitches until I figure out where I made my mistake and then start over from there. But I'm learning a lot and it's getting easier, so it's all good! Here's a close up of what the stitches for this month look like:

Juni Throw close-up

I think the stitches are looking good so far and I'm excited to make progress on this. I have the February skein and pattern ready to go when I get January finished and the March installment should arrive today. I'm hoping to catch up on these and then work on this each month when the new installment arrives.

Before starting to work on my crochet blanket, I was doing some organization and ran across a fairly large leftover ball of colorful yarn and decided I should make something from it. I picked the Lemme Hat designed by Laura Nelkin:

Lemme Hat

I was a bit afraid that the colors would hide the texture of the knitting, but I think it looks pretty good. There still is a good amount of this yarn left, but not enough for another hat so I'll be saving it for either a scrap blanket or maybe some colorwork. Color changing yarn like this is fun in colorwork because you get an interesting shift in the colors without having to keep changing yarns (which also means more ends to weave in).

Finally, I also started a simple knitting pattern that I think will be a good thing to work on while watching basketball games. It's the Mo' Better Cowl designed by Aunt Ninny:

Mo' Better Cowl

This is a really simple pattern where you just knit around in a circle and then graft the ends together so you end up with a cowl that is a complete circle. The yarn was another skein that was languishing in my stash. It's really light and fluffy and has a green sparkle twisted with the yarn. I don't know if you can see the sparkle in the picture, but it's subtle and fun. This yarn is a bit more difficult to knit with because it splits easily and has an uneven thickness, but it really is beautiful when it is knit up!

That's everything I've been working on. I'm still getting used to retirement, but I think I really like it! I just have to get used to not having that regular paycheck and I have to figure out what I can afford to spend and what I have to give up. But I'll get that figured out with time. Until then, I'll enjoy March Madness and the glimpses of nice spring weather we're starting to see!

Nancy

New Computer

 Hi all -

Sorry for the delay in posting. I spent a bunch of time moving files from my very, very old Windows laptop to my new Mac. There's a utility that is supposed to copy the files from the Windows computer to the Mac for you, but it didn't work for me, probably because my Windows box is so old that the OS is no longer supported. So I got out my external disks and copied the files by hand. I also ordered some new backup disks for the Mac since I can't write to my Windows disks from the Mac and I don't want to reformat the disks and lose the Windows backups, just in case I need something after I get rid of the Windows box. Then, just to add to the fun, my internet went out for 2 days so I couldn't continue with the computer work. I still need to format the new external drives and do the initial Mac backups, but I'm saving that fun for later. Now I'm still figuring out where to put everything and I'm writing my first blog post using the Mac. It'll take a while to figure out what works best for me on the Mac, but I'm getting there.

One of the fun things that I ran across while transferring files was my downloads of all of my Craftsy classes. I copied a bunch of those to my Mac and tested watching one and everything seems good so one of the things that I'm going to do during my retirement is watch my Craftsy classes and do some of the projects. I also have over a year of shows from The Quilt Show that I haven't watched yet, so I'm looking forward to a lot of inspiration in the coming years!!

But on to my crafting... I did actually get some things done!

First, with the other projects that I've finished recently and the leftover yarn that I've come across while cleaning things up, I had more than enough scripts to finish my Habitation Throw designed by Helen Stewart:

Habitation Throw

I really love how this blanket turned out! It's ugly with all of the different colors, but I love the spongy feel of the yarn and it's the perfect warmth for me. And I love seeing all of these scraps finding a good use!!

Just for fun, I also started (and finished) a new project. I wanted to make something simple and quick so I found some beautiful yarn in my stash and found a pattern. What I chose was the Willow Cowl designed by Amelia Lyon:

Willow Cowl flat

This is a simple knit using only knit, knit 2 together and yarn over stitches, but the result is lovely! There's more variation in the colors that what the pictures show. When worn, the lace sections are wider than the stockinette sections, so they puff out and the cowl lies really nicely:

Willow Cowl as worn

The yarn is a light fingering weight so the cowl is really light, and it is so soft! I think it will be perfect on those spring days when it's not quite long-sleeve T-shirt weather, but is close.

That's about all I have for now. I hope everyone is doing well!!

Nancy

Figuring Things Out

 Hi all -

I've finished my second week of retirement and I'm still figuring things out. I'm going to try to post regularly, once a week, but I haven't figured out which day is the best day for posting so I might be a bit erratic until I figure that out. Before I get started on my projects, I have to say: Congratulations, Chiefs! What a great Super Bowl game!! Now I can concentrate on cheering on my Kansas Jayhawks basketball team. March Madness is getting closer and closer!!

I didn't accomplish as much as I had hoped this week, but it was still a good week. I've been getting some discomfort in my right collar bone and elbow from helping Lance get around so I'm trying to be careful not to aggravate that. Helping Lance is my number 1 priority! And, in case you were worried about it, I did get my chest freezer defrosted and cleaned out. Great to get that done! ;)

I did a little sewing this week, but nothing worth taking a picture of. Lance wears a diaper every night so that I can sleep. Before I started putting a diaper on him, I would wake up any time I heard any movement downstairs in case he needed help getting outside so I wouldn't have a mess to clean up in the morning. The diapers work well, but the stitching was coming out so I reinforced the stitching on all of the diapers so they won't fall apart. Not an exciting project, but it was actually kind of fun to do.

I also continued to work on my After the Storm Cardigan designed by Kelly Fowler:

After the Storm Cardigan front

After the Storm Cardigan back

I've finished the main body and am about half way done with the ribbing. As before, the color is a darker brown that appears in the picture. My pictures of this sweater keep getting washed out.

In my normal "squirrel" fashion, I also started a couple of new projects. Some time ago (last year? the year before?), I purchased a couple of kits for the Simply Soft Hat designed by Amanda Kaffka. I purchased the "Sew Good" version of the hat. This is the version of the pattern with the embroidery. I finished one of the hats:

Simply Soft Hat - Sew Good version 1

I did the knitting for the other hat and still have to do the embroidery:

Simply Soft Hat - Sew Good version 2

The second hat came with black yarn for the embroidery. I'm trying to decide if I want to use the general embroidery design from the pattern for the second hat or if I want to try changing it up a bit. I'm also thinking about looking through my beads to see if I have some bigger beads that I might be able to use in place of the french knots. I think that would be kind of fun!

Finally, I wanted to share a piece of embroidery I've been working on. The design is Bountiful Bouquet designed by Alex Anderson:

Bountiful Bouquet

I've been plugging away at this since last fall, but didn't get a picture of it until now. I'm hoping to make faster progress on this now. I bought this as a kit from The Quilt Show. It came with the printed panel, a collection of embroidery floss, needles and thread conditioner. I've added in embroidery floss from my own collection. I like the colors of the embroidery floss that came with the kit -- the colors are rich and there are beautiful variations in the color along the length of the thread. But the thread is a bit weak and, while I don't have any problems with the thread breaking, pulling the thread through the fabric causes the thread to get a bit hairy so the lines created with this thread aren't as crisp as the lines that I get from my other threads. You can see this best in the little purple flowers. The darker flowers that are closer to the center are using the kit thread while the lighter purple flowers that are further away from the center are using some other threads. I think that the other threads look cleaner. But in the end, it'll all look good and you won't see those little nit-picky things!

That's everything for this week. We had a couple of very windy days which ended up taking out the power yesterday, but today is nice and calm. That wind was bringing in a storm that should get here tonight and bring us some good snow tomorrow. At least, I hope it brings some good snow! We can always use the moisture!

Hope everyone is doing well!

Nancy

Super Bowl Sunday

 Hi all -

Happy Super Bowl Sunday! I loaded up on snacks and am ready to cheer the Kansas City Chiefs to victory!! I'm still getting used to the idea of retirement and working on my schedule. I spent a lot of time in the car and at the vet this week since Buttercup (one of the cats) had dental work on Monday and Lance had his bi-weekly acupuncture on Tuesday. I was a bit worried about Lance before the acupuncture because he seemed to be having a harder time getting around and was turning in circles a lot when he walked, but he seems to be back to normal after the acupuncture. It's amazing how healthy the rest of him can remain while his back legs deteriorate! And he remains the sweetest dog around!!

I don't have a lot of projects to share this week. I did continue to work on my Aquifer scarf designed by Laura Nelkin:

Aquifer

Aquifer close-up

I've finished the body of the scarf and now just need to add the ends. The ends use some kind of crochet stitch so I'll have to watch the video to figure out how to do this. I'll try to get a better close-up picture when I finish the scarf. It's hard to see the beaded section in this picture.

The other project I've been working on is my After the Storm Cardigan designed by Kelly Fowler:

After the Storm Cardigan front

After the Storm Cardigan back

I've made some good progress on this cardigan. The colors in the picture of the front are closest to true. This is a lot of knitting since it's sport weight yarn and an oversized cardigan, but it's pretty simple knitting so I'll probably spend some time on this project during the Super Bowl. I'd really like to get this one finished!

Winter is still here, but it's more tolerable now that the days are getting noticeably longer. It was still light at my house at 6pm last night. Crazy! It also got up to 50 degrees F yesterday, but it's supposed to get back down in the teens next week. That'll give me a chance to defrost the chest freezer since I'll be able to put the food outside while it melts and I clean it up.

Nancy

Retirement!!

 Hi All -

Sorry for the long silence again! I should be able to post more regularly again because, believe it or not, I'm now retired!! Friday was my last day of work, so it's still sinking in. But now my time is all my own! I've been offered some contract work from my old employer, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, which sounds interesting to me so I'll probably do that if it works out for everyone, but I'm definitely taking a couple of months for myself first so I can get used to the new norm and so that I can enjoy March Madness without anything else vying for my attention. Rock Chalk Jayhawk!!

But, anyway, let's see what I've been doing since my last post! I've been working on finishing some of my old projects. It's nice to finish these up and reclaim my needles. I generally leave my knitting needles in the bag with my unfinished projects so I know which needles I was using and I can start back up again easily. This isn't too big a deal since I generally use ChiaGoo interchangeable needles and I can get a new set for a project, if I don't have the right size available, for only about $8 per pair so I don't mind collecting a few extras. But it's still nice to finish!

My first finish is my Witchful Thinking cowl designed by Amy Gunderson:

Witchful Thinking

This was a Halloween "Advent Calendar" project from Jimmy Beans Wool from a couple of years ago. I had originally stopped working on it when I realized that I didn't repeat the rows like I was supposed to. I decided to finish it up so that I could add the rest of the yarn to my left-over yarn blanket and decided that it was okay that I didn't repeat things like I was supposed to. This pattern was done using a lot of slip stitches. I think if I were to make it again, I would use larger needles for the main section, keeping the smaller needles on the ribbing, so that my slip stitches would be looser. I think it would look a little better that way.

Another project I finished up was my Otayski headband designed by Laura Nelkin:

Otayski

 This was one of the projects from Laura's "Lola's Choice" knit club, which sends me a new little project every other month. I had some trouble getting the tension right for the colorwork on this headband because it was knit in a small circle around the width of the headband and I couldn't decide how long the floats needed to be. But the floats are inside the tube of the headband and the yarn is rough enough that I think it will be held in place. I love the headband, but it turned out a little bit big for my head. I think I can make it better by reblocking it.

I've also made some progress on my Aquifer scarf designed by Laura Nelkin:

Aquifer

This was one of the projects from Laura's "M Club" which was a mystery knit club where you didn't know what you would be making, but got the yarn and then were given a part of the pattern periodically until you had the whole thing. I've come back to this project several times, but kept getting side-tracked. I think I'll be able to get this finished up this time!

Laura Nelkin also had a Cowltober event, where we knit any of her cowl patterns and were eligible for prizes. I decided to make one of  my Shalola kits that I had purchased from her. Shalola is a knitted lace cowl with beads:

Shalola

Shalola close-up

The cowl is knit flat, then you block it and seam up the back. Sorry I don't have any pictures of Lance modeling this! He's getting too old to make him sit for pictures in my knitwear. But I think it turned out beautiful and I will be making more of these!

I won a skein of yarn from knitCompanion, who has a thread on Ravelry where you can post pictures of the projects you are working on using the knitCompanion application (which I use for all of my knitting). Periodically, they randomly select some of the projects and and let the makers pick some yarn or another prize from their prize coffers. I picked a beautiful yarn and decided to knit an Undulating Waves Scarf designed by Laura Nelkin:

Undulating Waves Scarf

I really love how this turned out! It's a little heavy with all of the beads, but I really think it's gorgeous!

I've also made progress on my Habitation Throw designed by Helen Stewart:

Habitation Throw

This is the blanket I'm making to use up my leftover yarns. It's so close to being finished! But, unfortunately, I ran out of leftover yarn. So, I'm working on finishing up other projects so I'll have more yarn to add to this blanket. I'm also going to spend some of my retirement time cleaning up and reorganizing my crafting supplies, so I'm sure I'll come across some more of my leftovers in that process since I didn't have a place where I was keeping the leftovers before. So, hopefully I'll be able to snuggle up in this blanket soon!

A new project that I made is this 81-Yard Cowl designed by Gretchen Tracy:

81-Yard Cowl

81-Yard Cowl close-up

I saw this yarn on sale from Jimmy Beans Wool and I thought it would look beautiful on my niece, who has long blonde hair and blue eyes, so I ordered some. Then I looked through the patterns on Ravelry and found this one for a simple cowl that I thought would showcase the yarn well. I really like how it turned out.

Another new project is this Star Stitch Knit Cowl designed by Amy Gunderson:

Star Stitch Knit Cowl

This was the October 2022 knit project for the Jimmy Beans Wool Accessory Club. The JBW Accessory Club is a monthly club where they send you yarn for a project, along with a knitting pattern and a crochet pattern for an accessory. This is a fun, fairly inexpensive way to try new yarns and make fun projects. I've always been using the knit pattern, but one of my goals in retirement is to also do some crochet so I'll probably be trying some of those patterns in the future. This month they gave us so much yarn that I was also able to make a Sundial Beanie designed by Carli Miller with the leftover yarn and a pom-pom that I had in my stash:

Sundial Beanie

I was really excited to find this pattern that uses a slightly different stitch, but matches the cowl so well! And I love the pom-pom!

Another project I was able to start and finish is the Lolancha Shawl designed by Laura Nelkin:

Lolancha Shawl

Lolancha Shawl close-up

Lolancha Shawl close-up

This was the Lola's Choice project for November 2022. It was a really fun knit! It's made with WoolDreamers Manchelopis yarn, This yarn is actually something called "sliver" which is the yarn plies before they are twisted together. You knit with two of the plies and have to be very careful while knitting because the plies pull apart very easily. But once you knit them, you have added the twist that makes the yarn strong so you end up with a really soft and plush shawl. It's scrumptious! I picked up a couple of extra cakes of this yarn to play with in the future....

A bigger project that I also completed since my last post is my Da Light shawl designed by Laura Nelkin:

Da Light

This was an advent calendar project. We got the pattern, yarn and daily goodies as a package. Each day, we opened a new mini-skein of yarn and a little surprise. The surprises were things like knitting notions, patterns, recipes and treats. Each was individually wrapped so each day (Dec 1-25) we had two little packages to open -- the yarn and the surprise. It was a lot of fun! The shawl is over-sized and is perfect for keeping by the couch to wrap in when it's a bit cold in the house. I love it and use it all of the time!

Another couple of Christmas projects I did were the Quantum Cowl designed by Vincent Williams:

Quantum Cowl

 and the Zaniah Hat also designed by Vincent Williams:

Zaniah Hat

These were the 2022 MadelineTosh 12 Days advent calendar knitting projects. The 12 Days advent calendar was an advent calendar that had 12 boxes of surprises. Each day you either got yarn or a knitting notion or a treat. It came with two knitting patterns and two crochet patterns. As usual, I made the knitting projects but I could try the crochet projects in the future. MadelineTosh is a yarn company that makes really beautiful yarns.

I've also made some progress on my After the Storm Cardigan designed by Kelly Fowler:

After the Storm Cardigan back

After the Storm Cardigan front

I haven't spent much time on this project since I've been working on so many other projects, but I hope to start making more progress again now that I'll have more time to work on this. I'd really like to be able to wear this sweater and another that I also need to finish up!

Well, I think that's everything! I took my sewing machine in to be serviced so that it would be all ready for my retirement, so hopefully I'll have some sewing to share soon. I'm working on cleaning up my sewing area, so it might be a little while, but I have a bunch of projects calling my name!

For those of you who know Lance, he is still getting along. He just passed his 16th arbitrary birthday (no telling when he was actually born), which is amazing for a dog his size! His back legs continue to get worse (he has Degenerative Myelopathy), but he can still get around at bit. Otherwise, he seems quite happy and healthy! He gets acupuncture every other Tuesday to keep his legs working as long as possible, and his vet takes care of any problems that might crop up during that two week period, so he's getting incredible care. And, of course, he's as sweet as ever!

I hope everyone is doing well and is keeping warm

Nancy

 

Lots of Knitting!

 Hi all -

I've been knitting up a storm lately, so I have a lot to share! We actually got down to freezing at my home last night, so I might get to enjoy more of my knitted items soon. Fall is in the air, but I'm sure the dog days of summer will be back soon!

For my birthday month, I really concentrated on finishing my Birthday Bliss shawl designed by Amy Gunderson. I was excited to get it finished before the end of August! Here is the finished shawl:

Birthday Bliss

I should block it, but I can still use it as a large scarf if I never get around to that. I hate blocking, especially large items like this! But blocking really does make the lace shine and will get rid of some of the rolling that I'm getting on one end.

Finishing my birthday shawl inspired me to start a new project. (I don't need to start any new projects, but have to follow the mojo....) A lot of the projects that I get as kits, like this shawl, come with lots of small balls of yarn and end up with lots of small leftovers:

Project Leftovers

All of these leftovers were starting to bother me, so I decided to start knitting a Habitation Throw designed by Helen Stewart. This is an easy-to-knit pattern that allows you to throw in whatever spare pieces of yarn you have. Here is where I am so far:

Habitation Throw

I'm really enjoying seeing some of the scraps disappear, although the pile doesn't seem to get any smaller. The pattern has you connect the pieces of yarn using a technique called the "magic knot." I found that some of the yarn I had couldn't handle the magic loop, so I've switched to just holding the old and new yarn together for 10-20 stitches when I am transitioning between yarns. This will save me from having to weave in a million ends when I'm finished with the throw and isn't noticeable in the stitching. The yarns that I had the trouble with were what are called "singles". These are single-ply yarns without any twist. Although they are strong when pulling on the yarn, I found that yarn would easily break when I put a tight knot in it. If I were using all plied yarns, I would probably stick with the magic loop technique since it allows you to get all but a couple of inches of each yarn into the blanket.

 Another project I worked on is the Laxo Worsted hat designed by Laura Nelkin:

Laxo Worsted

This hat knits up quickly and is very warm with the fold-over brim. The faux cables look fancy, but they are very easy to do and don't require a cable needle.

I also picked up and made some progress on my Hring Scarf, also designed by Laura Nelkin:

Hring Scarf

I have a love/hate relationship with this scarf. I think the pattern is beautiful and the yarn is soft and feels wonderful once it's knit up. However, I find the yarn a bear to work with. The yarn has an uneven consistency (that is, it's thicker in some places and thinner in others) and it has what I would call slugs throughout. It also kind of sticks to itself when knit together. When you add my tight knitting style to the inconsistencies and the stickiness, you get knitting that is very hard to read (when looking at the stitches I've made, it's hard to tell which stitch is of which type) and very hard to unknit. So mistakes are hard to fix. So, I'm actually thinking of punting this project. I just can't decide if the final product is worth the trouble. I'll put it aside for a while again before making the final decision.

In place of working on the Hring Scarf, I started working on the Otayski headband designed by Laura Nelkin:

Otayski

I'm enjoying working on this much more! The yarn feels so good in my hands and you can read every stitch you make! This month is Laura's K(n)it-along where you can win prizes for working on her kits, of which I have plenty! So I wanted to join in and make some progress.

I've also made some good progress on my After the Storm Cardigan designed by Kelly Fowler. You can actually tell that it's a sweater now:

After the Storm Cardigan

I've connect the fronts to the back under the arms, so am now just knitting back and forth for the body. This is a lot of knitting because I'm a larger person and this sweater is designed to be worn with 12" of positive ease. That means that you make the size of sweater that is 12" larger around than your measurements. That's a lot of knitting with fingering weight yarn! But this yarn is really soft and beautiful and I'm loving it! It's from Crafty That Way and is dyed to order. I'm finding that the color matches perfectly between skeins so I don't have to alternate skeins or do anything to hide transitions between skeins. And the brown is a beautiful, rich milk chocolate color that I'm loving! It may take me a while to finish this sweater, but I know already that I'm going to love it when it's done!

Finally, my Habitation Throw inspired me to do some more work on my Witchful Thinking cowl designed by Amy Gunderson.

Witchful Thinking

 This is another one of those advent calendar type projects that gives you a little ball of yarn or a prize each day. This was from Halloween last year and I got busy and put it aside. I decided that I wanted to finish this up and throw the leftover yarn in the pile for my throw (or for another throw down the road).

So, you can see I've got plenty keeping me busy! I hope everyone is enjoying the end of summer and the start of fall!

Nancy