I haven't said too much recently about my 'yarn a month' that I've been getting.  I haven't been making anything with it - I've been busy!  But here is October's yarn - a silk/wool blend.  I really like it - a nubby, twisted yarn.  There's only about 60 yards, so not a lot can be made out of it, but it came with a pattern for a headband/ear-warmer that I'm going to try.....

I had a request for more scrubbies....

And Ralph got caught playing with my sock-monkey hat that's too big.....

It's been a long week, and I just didn't take the time to post.  I was running low on sleep - as usual.  I planned on catching up last night, and was getting ready for bed when I got a message from AJ - want to Skype?  Of course I did, and we talked for almost 2 hours.  So much for going to bed early!  

It was really nice to see and hear him though.  He's running pretty ragged at the moment - he has school 6 days a week, taught in Japanese, and then homework for 11 classes for those 6 days of school, he's taking Judo 3 nights a week, he's working with his host Mom as much as he can speaking Japanese - she helps him with his homework! - and he's started working out again.  Added to all of that, he walks close to 6 miles a day to go to school - 3 miles each way.  He is literally black and blue from his judo classes, and he is mentally exhausted by the language barrier as well.  But....he is having fun, learning lots, and is having a great time!

Ralph and I went for a walk last weekend down in the field.  Autumn is here - some of the trees have lost their leaves, and the birds look so cool in them!

These trees are in the neighborhood - I love fall!

Book Club was last Wednesday - and I didn't read the book.  I didn't even open the book to see if it was good or bad (I hear it was really good....The Host by Stephanie Meyer)  Bookmarks this time were ghosts, and I didn't have time to photo them all.  I made them really late, blocked them Tuesday night, left for a business trip to Sac on Wednesday.  I got back in to town from Sac at 5:45, ran home, changed clothes, grabbed them off the board, and went to Rose's house.  These two were the left-overs, and one of them had lost an eye.....not my best work, but the others were pretty cute.

Ralph and I went out to the gun range to shoot after work on Thursday, and these guys were hanging out near the gate.

Last weekend, I got a request for a couple of hats - sock monkey hats - they turned out pretty cute!  The pattern is here.  They worked up pretty quickly, especially since I made the first one too big and had to re-do it.  I may have found a home for the too-large one.  If not, it can stay as a sample in my hat box, or it can be donated too - they are really cute!  

I even added to my collection of tools.  The hats need pop poms on top, and I picked up some pom pom makers.  If I had known how much easier they were to make with the proper tools, I would have gotten them earlier!  I picked up four sizes of Clover Pom Pom Makers - I'm set for a while!!

And so it begins - the Christmas season / handmade presents season has started.  I ran into a former co-worker at the grocery store after work Friday, and she commissioned a small afghan (though I was tempted to turn her down just because she asked me to make her a 'blanket' rather than an afghan - heathen!)  One more project on my to-do list......

Something got into my winter garden......I planted a 6-pack of lettuce, a 6-pack of kale, a couple of strips of lettuce seeds, and one bok choy.  Here's what the bok choy looks like now:

There is no lettuce left from the 6-pack, and even the kale was nibbled on.  

I don't know if the lettuce seeds didn't come up, or were eaten as soon as they popped up, but my winter garden is pretty sad.......

And here's one more doily done!

Girl's trip!!!  I went up to McCloud's third annual Apple Festival yesterday with Leona and Meredith.  We went to the festival (which needs to be renamed - we found ONE table that had apples on it, and they were for display.  They did have one booth selling caramel apples and one booth selling dutch oven apple crumble - which was delicious! - but that was the only evidence of apples we found for sale.  They did have an apple pie baking contest too, but I didn't see a lot of apple pies for sale.)  

We ran into a few other people from the bank there - evidence of Leona selling the trip to everyone she talked to!

And we went out to Leona's family ranch - the Lazy E.  Margene and I spent a weekend there last spring, but Meredith hadn't been there before.  Here is the view of Shasta from the road in.

And we went to visit Leona's aunt and uncle - they own Friday's Retreat RV and Fly Fishing Resort (at least I think that's the name - it could be "RC" instead of "RV" - they have an airstrip for radio controlled aircraft there too.....)  This is the pond that her uncle put in fairly recently for fishing - and it's the view from the kitchen window - awesome if you're the one washing dishes.

This is another pond - out by the Pond House - which is a rental on the property.  I'm tempted to rent it for a weekend - it is just beautiful there!  A cute little one-bedroom house with a deck looking over this:

We also took Meredith to the McCloud River Lower Falls - we were seriously running out of daylight by this time.  The leaves are just beginning to turn in the canyon.  It would be nice to hike up (walk up, really) to Middle Falls - maybe next weekend? - but we didn't have time this trip.

I also got to babysit Nicholas Friday night.  It went much better this time, especially after I figured out that "may dash", properly interpreted, is "my juice".  That took a while......

This is the last weekend for Malorie's play "Two on the aisle, three in a van", and she had a surprise audience guest.  Her husband had texted me to ask if I could watch Nicholas because "Malorie's Mom" was bringing a special guest to the show, and he would like to go with them.  No problem, but he didn't tell me it was a secret from Malorie!  Luckily, I hadn't gotten around to confirming with Mal what time she needed me....And she was completely surprised by her brother being in the audience!  She said she did have a panic attach when she saw her husband there too.  Evidently, she had asked if he could come to one of the final performances, and he told her he tried, but I was busy.  She admitted that she spied on me at the first opportunity with the baby cam - who had Nicholas if it wasn't me????

Nicholas has learned "Selfie!" and wanted one at any opportunity.  (If only the rest of his words were as easy for me to understand!  Two-year-olds have a language that only parents can understand...)

He also got a new truck - a fire truck complete with flashing lights and a siren (sorry Mal!)

We lost Rufus on Monday - he developed FIP, and was gone within a month after being diagnosed.  RIP Rufus.......you'll be missed.

As mentioned before - Luna has a hurt paw.  Here's her paw with a boot on it after I put some medicine on it.  It doesn't slow her down at all!  I think that if I put a boot on Koori, she would think she was being killed slowly and refuse to move.  Luna just bounces along like normal.

I finished my quilt top!  

I like this one enough that I may have it professionally quilted instead of trying to do it myself.  My issue is that I have no idea what I will do with it once I have it quilted though......

After I finished my quilt top yesterday, I 1) cleaned AJ's room out, and 2) made a flannel scarf.  (The scarf took less time than cleaning AJ's room!)  I took the photo below to send to Alex, showing him I moved stuff around in his room, so it isn't the finished project.  

Here is the scarf.....I really like the plaid flannel.  I also picked up some black flannel with multi-colored paw prints on it.  Too cute!!!

Alex's Host Mom sent me a picture of him in his Judo outfit.  He looks pretty happy so far....

The full moon was setting the other day on my way in to work.

I took Jasper and Koori out for a walk the other day to the field.  I haven't been walking out there since Margene and I have been walking the neighborhood, so I thought they might like it.  Jasper is wearing out quickly on our walks, so she isn't going on the walk with Margene and I, and I've been alternating taking Koori and Luna.  Luna's little escapade with Brody earned her a sore paw, so for now, just Koo and I are walking.  

Luna went on walk-about yesterday, and came home with a friend.  Ralph got a call from Kent's yesterday morning that his dogs were there.  Ralph did a quick count, and....what dogs? We were only missing one dog......  Luna had escaped and teamed up with Brody from down the street for an adventure.  Luckily, Brody's Dad came and got him. so we aren't up to a four-dog family, five when we're babysitting Chewie.  Brody is a typical Lab - before Ralph got a picture of him, he had gone swimming in our pond......

I'm getting closer on my  Christmas quilt.  I got the inner quilt put together yesterday, and half of the border (left side and top).  

I had company while sewing too....

I stopped on my in to work last week to take a picture of the sunrise.  It was so cool!  Since I was on my way to work, I just had my phone camera, and it doesn't show the magnificence of the sunrise (maybe it's the operator???) 

One more doily done!  This one was even finished on Saturday!  (One doily a week, and the selection is released on Mondays....)