Before and After

Before:

After:

This is my favorite time of the year, and Thanksgiving is my very favorite holiday of them all. We had a wonderful holiday as usual in Florida with my extended family. The turkey dinner was a success...so much good food. There were three types of turkey (smoked, fried, and traditional), fried quail (!), all the best sides, and I even threw in a few Chris Peterson classics to make my husband feel more at home.

The festivities were held at my my Aunt Cathy's and Uncle Ray's beautiful home.

This is their property, looking out towards the lake. Actually, this is right where Casey and T.C. will be getting married in April!

Look at Cathy's new greenhouse, which is built in my grandparent's memory.

It's full of orchids!

Florida is beautiful this time of year; warm during the day and nice and cool at night. We were so happy to stay at my cousin Casey's brand new house which she and her fiance T.C. bought a few months ago.

The trip was bittersweet; there was definitely something missing. This tradition was started and continued by my grandparents, who we've lost since last Thanksgiving. We visited the cemetary to see the new headstone at my grandparents' graves. It was very nice to be there together; we all read or talked. It was important to include them in the weekend, because it just didn't feel right without them.

We made the most of our time together.

We sat on the dock and read a book....we canoed with the doggies...

We watched some football, we had a great BBQ at the Schers' beautiful home, we visited our condo on the Gulf of Mexico (here's the view from the porch!), we ate fresh seafood at Crabby Bill's, and we played lots of Catch Phrase!

The crowning glory of the weekend was on Sunday. We started off the day with a nice brunch with all of my grandparents' friends, and then we (the kids) headed off to the Tampa Bay Bucaneers football game!

Casey works for the Bucs as their graphic designer (she designed this huge billboard!)

She got us all tickets to Sunday's game. We had great seats in the employee section, and we got to see her down on the field! I was so impressed! (she's down in the lower left corner of this picture..)

Here are Haley and her no-longer-phantom boyfriend Evan... Evan, Ali, and Adam pre-game...
T.C. and Brian... Note that Brian is the only one not wearing Bucs gear...ever the loyal Bronco fan.

Adam and Ali...

There was one more surprise...after the 3rd quarter, our names were on the Jumbotron!

One last night together, and then we were off to the airport. A five-hour delayed flight just gave me more time to knit!

Why, They Are Quite Fetching....

This is my most recently finished knitted item...and I'm in love!

The pattern, "Fetching" can be found here http://knitty.com/ISSUEsummer06/PATTfetching.html.

They're fingerless gloves, perfect for knitting, reading, typing, or (as my husband pointed out) playing banjo in the cold. I used Debbie Bliss' Cashmerino Aran yarn, which is just so luxurious feeling. And the best part....I knit an entire pair in one afternoon and evening!

Everyone I know will probably be receiving their very own pair, so consider yourself forewarned!

How Cute Are They??

photo from crowmedicine.com

Ah, Old Crow Medicine Show....such fun. The show was great, they played a lot of new songs. We drank, we danced, I knit during the set break. The Bluebird Theater has never smelled worse (it's got decades of cigarette smoke to air out...I think it smelled better when you could still smoke inside).

Insomniac Blues

Last night was by far the worst night of sleep on record! Here are the lyrics to a song by one of my new favorite bluegrass bands, Cadillac Sky http://www.cadillacsky.net/.
This song EXACTLY describes how my night went last night.

Insomniac Blues for Matthew, by Cadillac Sky

Toothpicks in my eyelids, lyin' wide awake in bed

Tossin' and turnin' like the sea

Moonlight shine in like headlights in my room

Hypnotized by the stripes on my TV

Oh, I'd give anything

For just one good night's sleep

...one good night's sleep

Counting a hundred different herds of sheep

Poured a bottle of Nyquil in my veins

That alarm clock like a time bomb

Keeps tickin the night away

And morning's weighin' heavy on my brain

Oh, I'd give anything
For just one good night's sleep
...One good night's sleep

I'd give anything.....

And here's a youtube link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTVc-HxdxUc to the video they made for it. It's pretty funny.

A Dream Come True

(Picture from the Denver Post)

Last Monday night we hopped on the light rail headed for downtown Denver. We met up with our friends Lindsay and Doug for dinner at Misi, and had some amazing pizza a couple glasses of wine. We made our way towards the Denver Convention Center and the Wells Fargo Theatre to see Neil Young! I've never seen Neil, and was interested. But I was mostly there for my husband. Brian is a gigantic Neil Young fan and I could feel the excitement oozing out of him.



We were so lucky to have eighth row seats (thanks to Lindsay) right on the floor. Neil's wife Peg started off the show, and I wasn't too impressed with her. I think she's better as a back-up singer.



Neil started off the show with an acoustic set that was amazing. The crowd for the night averaged about 50 years old, so they were very well-behaved! You could have heard a pin drop in that theatre during the acoustic set.



After a short set break, Neil returned in a different, paint-splattered suit and proceeded to RAWK! For as old as he is, he is such a rock star! The crowd was on its feet for most of the set, and Neil had a couple killer ~20 minute guitar solos.



Overall a great show. You know me, any chance to get weepy, I do...and that moment came towards the end of the first set when Neil pulled out a banjo. I couldn't help but cry with joy because Brian got to see his favorite rocker playing the banjo.....the best of both worlds.

Commitment Issues

I've been trying very hard to finish some knitting projects before moving on to new ones. I know this is the struggle of many knitters, but things had gotten a bit out of hand. I don't think I've finished anything in about 6 months! So, I've been very diligent. Here are the fruits of my labor...

The crocheted sun hat....(my first crocheting project ever!)






The diamond and lace socks....






One Monkey sock...(I've started the second)






Entrelac scarf...




And I have started one new project, out of necessity. Baby shower next weekend....must deliver a hand-knit item. I'm working on the "Babies Who Lunch" cardigan from The little Sublime hand knit book. Sublime yarn is perfectly wonderful to work with...cashmere merino silk!Mine is being knit in a beautiful cream color.

On another note, today was a beautiful day in colorful Colorado! Susie and I took advantage of the beautiful weather to hike the ridge near our house. Look at this view! We could see all the way from Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs to Longs Peak and the Flatirons in Boulder!