Adventures in Knitting Pt. 2

I'm still happily knitting along. Well, sort of. I decided to tackle making a scarf using all knit stitches. Fairly simple, right? It should be.

I started off with a ball of Lion Brand Scarfie Yarn. This is supposed to knit a whole scarf in one ball. Perfect for me, I thought. I don't know how to add more yarn so it would be great.

It isn't too costly. I paid about $8 a ball. No problem. I started knitting. I didn't realise that the ball of yarn was loosely wound together...until it was too late and the whole thing was knotted. No hope of getting it untangled. I cut it, sorted it out and sought out Youtube for a video to tell me how to add more yarn.

Who knew there were so many different 'perfect' methods? I tried one, then another, stitched along a couple of inches (that took a while - remember I'm a beginner!), hated how it looked and undid it beyond where I put it together. I undid it past that too. Then I put all the stitches on the needle the wrong way. Arrgggg!!!!

I ended up using this method to put the two ends together Joining Yarn . It's great! The video is really easy to follow and the resulting join looks great. 

  
The colour of the yarn I chose is a purpley-grey color. I really like it. Barring any more complications maybe I'll be done by Christmas!

Sunday...actually Saturday Walk

Usually we go for a walk on Sundays but this week we went on Saturday instead. Good job too as it rained overnight and early this morning so everywhere is wet and muddy. Daughter, who lives about an hour-and-a-half away had yesterday off work so we met her at a State Park we hadn't been to before and went for a hike. Daughter brought her dog, Shasta who wore her new backpack.

Apparently Huskies like having a job and they love exercise so, in an attempt to wear her out, daughter wanted to try out the walk with the backpack. I would have thought perhaps it would have bothered her but she loved it! It certainly didn't slow her down. She loves being the leader of the pack.

It was a beautiful walk. The trail was around the lake and we got to see some really pretty views.

 We got to see some really cool stone cairns that people had left as they walked. It was quite a surprise to see them in the middle of the woods.

We even added our own stone.

As we walked the trail we came to a couple of 'modern' cabins that can be rented out in the summer.

They had this plaque on them. I thought it was quite interesting.

The walk was about three and a half miles. It wasn't too bad. There were some hills but nothing too strenuous, certainly not like the sand dunes last weekend! Really pretty.

Daughter said the walk wore her out more than the dog! I think hubby agreed. He barely moved all night.

Five on Friday

Friday has rolled around again. I'm linking up with Amy over at Love Made My Home for Five on Friday.

I must admit to struggling this week to come up with a Five. My life really isn't that interesting and this week has been a little less interesting than usual. There has really been a touch of Autumn, even Winter, in the air this week and it's getting me down a little. It doesn't help that it's the time of the month where I always feel a little depressed. I don't like the cold. I know that snow will be coming - there were reports of snowflakes this week (I covered my ears at that!) - and I hate the snow. I decided to go with a random Five. Five things that make me smile. I've got photos galore, so no struggle finding those!

I loved watching these Punch and Judy shows as a child. When I was a child they were regularly seen on the beach at the seaside. If we were really lucky we would be able to go and watch. A trip to the seaside wasn't complete without being able to see Punch, the alligator and the sausages.

We saw these wonderful houses on our recent trip. They are known as Mushroom houses, Gnome homes or Hobbit houses. They are in Charlevoix, Michigan and were designed by Earl Young. From 1919 continuing up into the 1970s he designed over two dozen buildings mostly from stone found in Northern Michigan. The second one really does look like a Hobbit house as it was quite small compared to its neighbour (the one above).

This is another recent picture. It is called the Cut River Bridge and is on Route 2 in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It was built in 1947. It is 147 feet above the ground. My Father-in-Law told us we might want to visit this bridge as apparently my husband had been there on a previous trip when he was a child. As FIL tells it my husband SWUNG FROM THE BRIDGE ON A ROPE! Child Endangerment! I'm pretty sure he meant that they walked down into the valley below and he swung from a lower part of the bridge? Hubby cannot remember. When we got to the bridge, we both looked at it and laughed at the ridiculous thought of anybody swinging from it!

You can just see the bridge through the trees. The bottom picture is when you lean over the bridge and look down. I don't recommend it if you're scared of heights! My tummy rolled.

This picture always makes me smile. This was taken at Woodbridge. At low tide this poor swan waddled all the way up through the mud in hopes of getting some food from us. Unfortunately we had none.

My daughter sent me a new photo of her and Shasta! So cute. They both always make me smile. We'll be seeing them on Saturday as we're meeting at a state park to take a hike together.

Thanks for sharing my Five with me.

Mid-week - What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday?

It's time to join with Julia and the gang over at Stamping Ground for What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday. It's that time of the week when we get to have a peek at what's on other workdesks. People are up to all sorts of interesting things.

It's been really chilly here in the mornings. Brrrr. It was really nice on Sunday and we went for one of our Sunday walks - I am certainly enjoying doing this since I no longer work Sundays.

Anyway onto my desk.

This is how I left it on Tuesday.  You'll be amazed to see that I have actually pulled out some holiday stamps and papers in hopes on starting some cards. Nothing seemed to go the way I wanted it to though - I kept messing up stamping my images, got ink on the paper from my hands, ran out of cleaner and generally got really frustrated until I decided I needed a break! Out of range (on the floor) are the Christmas stamps I sorted out ready to stamp with.

I did get the photos into my gargoyle album. I haven't added embellishments yet, still pondering what I actually want to put on them - have to find the 'right' thing. Here are a few pages:-

I think I've taken up all my time today but I have started knitting - think I'm getting the hang of it. I'm going to post more about it tomorrow. Today I'm going to visit lots of places around the world and see what other people are up to!

Thanks for all the comments and help last week with ideas for decorations. I appreciated them!

 

Autumn in in the air!

It's Tuesday and there is definitely a chill in the air this morning. We haven't put on the central heating yet but we have given in and used a small heater in living room to take the chill off the air in the morning.

I finally picked the pumpkins I have from my 'patch'. They are the last things growing in my garden. I love how they grow.

They grew up along once fence and then took off down onto the ground and along.

There is one on the ground but it was a late starter and is still completely green. As I got these in later than I should have (procrastinator, that's me!) I am quite pleased.

As it was quite chilly today I thought I'd try my hand at some Broccoli-Cheese soup. A lot of soup over here has chicken stock in it and I don't eat it so thought I'd make my own. I used this Recipe from The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond. I like her recipes. They are down home and things everyday people would eat.

I had to try some for lunch and it turned out delicious!

Sunday Walk - Glorious Day!

The morning started off quite chilly. I managed to drag myself out of the warmth of bed and get bundled up and ready by about half past nine. I know it's not early, but after years of getting up at 2.30am I can honestly say that I am no longer an early riser. Once we'd done the weekly shop we took off on a drive to a county park. It is called Scotts Mill County Park and is a pretty little place to visit with a nice trail to walk.

This area was first settled in 1836. The original mill was built not far from this one. The mill you see was built in 1870. It was in operation up until 1971 when the owner died and milling ceased. It was purchased in 1973 by Kalamazoo County Parks.

It has a really pretty view.

The nature trail isn't too far.

Can't hardly see the sign!

Through the trees we saw a cabin but we're not sure if someone lives there or not. It is in the park so probably not. We couldn't get close enough to see. 

After walking through the woods and back to the car we headed out to our second destination - Van Buren State Park. We wanted to check out the camping sites and the dog beach. We had a map of the park so marked down the sites we wouldn't mind reserving. Some looked close together and others were larger with natural tree borders marking off the site. 

There were quite a few hills up to the beach. Yikes. Sand dunes. Puff. 

 

Once up one side and down the other the view was fantastic!

There were several people on the beach. They seemed to be looking for something along the lakeshore. Of course, that made me have to google it to see what exactly they were looking for. Apparently because the lake has been so high lots of stones have been left at the lake edge and people are looking for stones and fossils. 

I had to dig in!

This is the most interesting thing I found.

Definitely Uneventful Saturday

Arrggg I have done nothing all day! Can't seem to muster the energy to get up and about! Did go to the shops to pick up some items in two day sale and a ball of yarn that I will use to try (yup, TRY) to knit a scarf. I did Skype Mum for an hour-and-a-half but other than that - nothing! I have crafts to do, books to read, magazines to sort through, some limited cleaning to do and yet here I sit.

...there's always tomorrow.

At least I should be up and about for a walk tomorrow.

Michigan Beauty - Five on Friday

It's time to join Five on Friday again with Amy over at Love Made My Home. I missed last week as we were off on a mini-break up to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to see some of the colour changes of Autumn.

We live in Kalamazoo down at the bottom of the map. Our trip was up to the top of the map. We stayed in Mackinaw City but the furthest we traveled up to was the point that you can see between Sault Ste Marie and Munising, pretty close to Canada - Whitefish Point. We haven't been up there before but it was a fun place to visit.

Whitefish Point Lighthouse was first lit in 1849. It shares the honours of the first lighthouse being lit on Lake Superior with Copper Beach Lighthouse. This light still works though there is no lighthouse keeper. It is automated.

Whitefish Point is known as the Graveyard of Ships as more vessels have been lost here than in any other part of the lake.

 It is rather desolate looking. The wind on this side of the point was blowing quite steadily.

The light has shined for 150 without fail...except on the night that the Edmund Fitzgerald went down. On November 10th 1975 the light suddenly went out. The Edmund Fitzgerald, whose navigational system had been crippled by a raging storm, went down. Twenty nine men were lost.

There is a fitting memorial on the beach.

 

Every year on November 10th a memorial service is held. The ship's bell is rung thirty times - once for each member of the crew and once more for all the mariners who have been lost at sea. 

Most of Whitefish Point is a wildlife sanctuary and includes a bird observatory.

 Lots of debris washed up on the beach.

Since the first known commercial wreck of the Invincible in 1816 to the loss of the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975 approximately 325 lives have been lost in 300 wrecks and accidents in the Graveyard of the Great Lakes.