Wow! Life got busy on me! I really meant to post more often, but....time just got away from me. The kids have both started school. AJ is going to the same school as the last two years (and should for the rest this and the next four years). Alli switched schools this year - not by choice but because the school districts "repositioned" themselves about their special ed kids.

I haven't been to Alli's class yet. I spoke with the teacher before school started, and she has a fairly small classroom, with 12 kids - grades K-8! What a range! Alli is right in the middle in grade 4, but will probably match even any of the 8th grade kid for size. Eight of the kids have their own one-on-one aide, so the class will be full of people!

AJ is getting back into the swing of things at his school. Soccer try-outs are next week, and he will probably make the team. They rarely have to cut kids because the school is so small, but he is a good player anyway, and enjoys playing. Boy Scouts will start ramping up too. They are dark during August, but he is off on a "Fall Fellowship" for Order of the Arrow this week-end, which means a drive down and past Chico for me! I hope to stop by Paradise on Sunday after picking him up and visit a friend there, so it should be fun.

Spending my vacation in Susanville means picking potatoes for my Dad. This year, he got more help than just my kids. My girlfriend Cindy and her little girl came to visit, and got put to work too! Good thing they weren't picking tomatoes! We came home with a big bag of red potatoes fresh from the garden.

Here is my first DAL (Doily-a-long) that I have ever finished. I got instructions a few rounds at a time, and a surprise at the end! (No picture up front) This turned out quite nice, but I have no idea where I can use a square doily. I guess I need to find a new home for this one!

More finished projects! I did get more done on vacation than I thought I would. I (finally!) finished my "Rose Delight" doily. I made some major mistakes in it and thought I would never get it to look right. Thanks to Mom for her suggestions! It is quite large - 18" X 22". Now I just have to figure out what to do with it. It needs to find a new home - and to someone who doesn't mind a few errors in a doily!

So much for resting on my vacation! I "hurried" out of work on Friday and went on the Family camp-out - a lot of fun, but Alli is a very bad camper. No rest and relaxation for me! The camping site was beautiful, and the kids all seemed to be having a great time! It was nice to get all of the "grandkids" together for once. It has been a while, and as they are all growing up (Kody will be a senior next year, and is working) it may not happen very often again!

AJ's dog had a blast at the lake. She loved the water, and spent as much time as we would let her in the water or playing fetch. Then, of course, she came back to camp wet and lay down in the dirt. What a mess!

One more project done (and it wasn't even on my list until Saturday!) This patterns was the Free Pattern of the Day from Annie's Attic on Saturday, and since I am going to see my girlfriend and her little girl in a couple of weeks, I thought I would make up a little doll for her little girl. She came out quite cute! Back to my doily now. I like doing doilies, but there is a time in the life of each doily that I would rather not work on it, and I have hit that point now. Repetitive shells! Not too much longer, and I will be working the points out, so it won't be so repetitive, and I may actually get it finished (but there are 20 points to work out, so I still have a long way to go!)! I also have the next Thread project to do, but I haven't started it yet - it is pretty large for a thread project - a Christmas Wreath. That will be very nice when it is done, but it may take me a while to do that one too! I need to work on my snowflakes so I have a quick project to complete.

A couple of project "off my hook" this weekend! I finished (finally) the Blue Heaven doily for Gathering Threads. I don't think I would do another one by choice, but it is a beautiful pattern. I also didn't have the patience to wait until I had good light to take a picture, so it is a little fuzzy. I also finished the Jar Topper from my Flakey Group, and I know I wouldn't do this one again! I do like the "embellishments" and may make those to go on presents or something, but not the jar topper. Too much work for me! Maybe for a display or something, but not as part of a present. The pattern has several different "toppers" to make, so we will see. First on my Christmas list is about 100 snowflakes!

AJ is in Michigan now - he flew out on Thursday (night at 8:00 pm) They landed in Detroit at 6:00 am and hit the ground running. They went to the Henry Ford Museum and to part of the Ford plant I think and took in a ball game as well. (AAA game I think between two teams I never heard of!) Saturday was one big meeting, according to AJ, talking about what they will be doing this week. The humidity is already getting to him - he is sweating all the time and everything itches! Poor boy! Hopefully he survives this week. (Part of this is his fault - instructions said to bring Gold Bond Powder and I asked him several times if he had everything on the list, and he said he did! Hopefully the NOAC "store" will stock something for him.)

Alli is becoming a pest with the refrigerator. She has started to "graze" out of it when I am not watching her. The other day it was a carton of chocolate yogurt (which looks like something else entirely when spread all over her and her chair, let me tell you!) Yesterday it was a carton of sour cream - not that she likes sour cream even! We will have to come up with a "Allison proof" solution pretty quick or else take everything out of the frig that she can open (and spill!).

I think I can just repeat the "We are going to be hot today" again and again. It is supposed to be 109 today, but that is what is was supposed to be yesterday, and and it was 113. We've got a fire up in Shasta Lake City area that started yesterday afternoon too. Summer is here!

I finished my thread angel that was project #3 in my Yahoo Group - Gathering Threads (GT). I ended up putting her on the pool fence to take a picture, so you all can see how brown our grass is right now! I also have a doily on the hook for GT, and am on round 11 of 14. It always sounds so good to say you are on the last few rows, it sounds like you are almost done. NOT! The last 4 rows will take three times as long to make as the rest of the doily. It will be very nice when it is done - I like the pattern. I don't think I will do it again though! I think I will make a few more angels - this one was very quick to make up, and I have a few other patterns I just haven't tried yet.

Another project finished! It took most of yesterday to finish this doily - but mainly because I had to frog (rip it!) each row at least once! After I finished this doily, I started a "challenge" project - a flying angel ornament. It went a lot faster than I thought it would. I got all of the "parts" done last night, and now need to stiffen it and put it together. It was so much easier than I thought it would be, I might make some that I bought patterns for last year, but never even tried! (They may not be so easy though!)

Another hot day here! It was 114 yesterday, and expected to be that high again today. AJ went sailing on Whiskeytown Lake yesterday (part of Boy Scouts) and had to be in town at 7:00, so Alli and I did our shopping early, came home and stayed there! I watched movies and crocheted. I am almost done with the doily I am working on (challenge from Yahoo Group - Gathering Threads) and have a crocheted flying angel to complete next (challenge from Yahoo Group - A Little Flakey) Each of the "Challenges" have been fun to do, and I have d(I hope!) Christmas presents for people done already! I don't know that I will give the doilies away for Christmas, but the other projects are all Christmas ornaments, and will be perfect!

It's Friday! This has been a very long week - and I don't know why! Maybe just because I have been busy! AJ had his regular Boy Scout's meeting on Tuesday, and they are working on their Sailing Merit Badge. On Wednesday, I had to go pick him up from his Day Camp and take him to the Sailing Counselor's house for more instruction, and then go back before I got off work and go pick him up. Tomorrow, he has to be in town by 7:15 to actually go up to Whiskeytown Lake and go sailing. That should be fun! Tonight is a Jet Boat excursion / BBQ with the bank. I may regret it, but I am taking Alli and AJ (and Ralph) to the BBQ! The Jet Boat Excursion company is a new customer of the bank's, and we get to take some rides down the river! I am hoping Alli enjoys it, and I know AJ and Ralph will. I worry about the noise factor for Alli.

I completed another project for my Yahoo Group. It turned out very cute, and I learned some new techniques to do it too! It might be overstating it to say I "learned" new techniques, but more correct to say I had to use techniques I don't usually do! It is a potpourri/sachet Christmas ornament, with almost a stained glass effect. Very nice! If I keep this up, I can make a different ornament for everyone at the office (in my "group") for Christmas! I think the next project up is an angel. I also has started a "critter" along, of which I have the body and head done, and a doily named Texas Star. I have the first 9 (of 25) rows done. Someone else has finished it and posted a picture, and it is very nice, so I will try to get it finished soon!


AJ took this picture last night - the clouds were gorgeous! Not bad for a digital picture!

We have AJ back! He was gone for a week, but it seemed longer, probably because he was gone for a week, home for a day & a half, and gone again for a week. We have him home for a week and a few days again, and then he is off to Michigan for a week! That should be the end of his summer travels. This last week was spent up by Crater Lake in Oregon, and the temps were a lot cooler than he expected - not over 70 degrees. He also forgot to pack his long pants, so only had shorts with him. He had the pants out, they just didn't make it into his backpack. (I found them on the floor of his room when I cleaned it!) He said he could deal with shorts and the weather, but they went spelunking, and all he had was shorts on. Poor baby (not!) Maybe one of these days......

Alli was being a pill yesterday! She was acting up for me like she usually does for her dad! I was trying to finish a project, so wasn't paying too much attention to her (she was watching TV). The next think I know, she is outside, playing in the dogs water (standing in the bucket to be more precise) with a carton of yogurt all over her, her shirt, shorts, hair, face, etc., and the refrigerator door wide open. I got yogurt all over me trying to get her out of her clothes and dry enough to come inside and wash her up. I just threw her into the tub - which was no punishment at all for her - maybe even a reward! She was very pleased with herself - fun, food and a bath too! I need to either pay more attention to her or tie a bell on her to I can hear when she is getting into trouble. Added to this little adventure, after I put her in bed last night, she got up and played in the bathroom (I was watching TV and didn't hear her.) I finally heard water running and ran in to check on her, and the bathroom is almost flooded. She had stopped up the sink and was running water into it and then splashing in the water (which was all over the floor, counter top, etc.) No telling how long she had been in there. It took AJ and I three or four towels to clean it up, so she had been having fun for a while! Bless this child! Thank goodness she went to sleep without too many more problems!

Finished! I finished the peppermint man! I don't know that he is even that cute, but I did have to look at a couple of new (to me) techniques to do it. I am glad I did it, but...now what do I do with it? I will probably save it for Christmas, and find a home for it then!.