the poor peasants

Here we see some poor peasant maidens (Leah and Maisie), huddling near the fire in their log cabin (computer room), wearing their winter woolens (nightgowns from Grandma's cedar chest) to fend off the bitter cold (of mid-August). They just finished stitching handmade lace (cheesy sewing trim from neighbor's basement stash) to their daughters' (dolls) dresses and will sustain themselves with cornmeal and potatoes (chocolate chip cookies) for the remainder of this long, hard winter.


One of the young maidens emerged from her bedstead the next morning to show off the doll quilt she's making. The village elders were not invited to share their knowledge of such matters, as this peasant girl prefers to create her own map as she explores the quilting wilderness. A true pioneer, she is.


Here we have a different day, different pal, probably entirely different scenario. Princesses in a castle, maybe? Ballerinas preparing for a big show? Ice dancers ready to twirl?


Meanwhile, the men of the village foraged for the evening's meal. Here they proudly display the giant fish they caught...er, no, it's the lure they managed to retrieve from a tree. Ah, but there is an abundance of water and muck and rocks and small critters, and the Nerf guns are never far away, in case of a bear sighting, so the village's men are quite confident and satisfied.

a GRAND finale

Yesterday afternoon, we walked across the lava field in front of our house, out toward the shore, and snorkeled in Champagne Cove for hours. All kinds of aquatic life, of every color in the rainbow, to keep us entertained, but we stuck around for the possibility of something special, as we had heard is likely to happen there. Sure enough, at nearly high tide, the sea turtles swam over the rock wall to rest in the quiet cove. We snorkeled around and over them as they rested on rocks on the bottom, then swam alongside as they came up for air. Unforgettable.

p.s. Yup, Rani, lots of knitting going on, mostly poolside or on the lanai while watching sunrise/sunset. :-) Joanne, you'll be pleased to know that the green lace is halfway finished and I can confidently say there's a skein coming your way. Lorraine (Lori) and Pat, I'm thinking of you both with every kaleidoscopic Hawaiian quilt that catches my eye. TTY all soon. I can't wait to see how the pics look on a larger than 1" camera screen.

split personality

A couple of people have asked what projects Leah's working on lately. Mostly she's been sewing, some by hand and some by machine. She's been dabbling in a bunch of little things that have given her good practice and plenty of room to explore, but hasn't really focused on anything in particular. Last week, though, she scored her first stitch-for-pay ($2!) job and she is oh so proud. Here she is with the pair of shorts she hemmed for our neighbor. Coincidentally, she's wearing the dress that was made as a gift for her by the owner of this darling, tiny coffee and ice cream shop, who we met in Alaska last summer. This dress is actually what spurred on the Goob's interest in sewing.

The title of this blog entry refers to the weekend's split personality, partially spent in VT and partially in CT. We did this shucking and jiving to minimize exposure to water from the sky and maximize exposure to water in natural pools. There was knitting (and fishing) on the shore of Lake Champlain while Jesse was diving...
and more knitting on (and fishing from) the boulders at Cotton Hollow while the kids sat in waterfalls, climbed rocks with friends, and explored our favorite natural playground. Fresh trout for campfire dinner...mmm. I'm about 15" up the back of Bella and Leah is now nuts about knitting mittens. She's more than halfway done with her first mitten and can't wait to make more. Jesse is researching Bushnell's Turtle because he remains fascinated with methods of staying underwater. And no, he tells me, scuba lessons are not nearly as enticing as coming up with his own ways. 

Gram rocks the 'burgh

When you think of somebody's 89th birthday party, there may be a rocking chair in the imaginary scene, but for my Gram's 89th birthday party, the entire city of Pittsburgh was rocking! Family and friends came in from three states for a surprise celebration that included a baseball game overlooking the fantastic city of my childhood...

followed by a concert and fireworks (with full moon!)...

and gifts of homemade peach chutney from Jesse and a cross stitched and beaded pin made by Leah.

Next day, food and festivities and a visit to the zoo, complete with a live band and baby elephants and, as always, lots of love for my supercool Gram!