Roses & Rhododendrons

It's been such a cold spring this year we haven't been outside long enough to enjoy the garden. Oh I've weeded and tidied up and planted some flowers and vegetables and Mr. Truck has been cutting the grass, but not really walking around admiring things every day, not noticing the little changes because we're inside trying to stay warm. But when we got back this weekend this is what greeted us out the back door.





I guess the roses bloom even when we don't pay much attention to them.





And the rhododendron by the back door doesn't seem to mind the cold either.



And they're even better today.

Lots to say

It's been a long weekend for us and one without much internet connection. I can usually find a wifi spot near our condo, but it wasn't working very well this time. Four days with almost no internet is a very long time. Anyway, Cherry Pie and I did a little retail therapy. The sales were pretty good. I got new sneakers, ones that show off the socks.




And of course some yarn. I really like this color. We had to run in and out of the store because all we could find was the 30 minute parking spot. I only went for size 7 circular needles but I couldn't resist more sock yarn.



We went to the beach and the bay but it was a bit chilly. And the water was very cold. But Reese liked it anyway. Even when her teeth were chattering.




Afterwards, Reese and I wrapped up in the clapotis and watched the birds flying over the pier and saw the ferry pull in. Can you see the sandbars in the distance? This is the very end of the Delaware Bay where it meets the ocean and at low tide, the water just disappears. People come here to clam at low tide and they walk out hundreds of yards just to get to the water. And the kids all run around and chase little crabs. You can see tiny crabs and hermit crabs and even starfish up close. Oh and those really ugly horseshoe crabs. There's a barbecue spot just off the beach where everyone cooks their clams and have feasts. We went to Outback.



Oh and I forgot to show you the Mother's Day card BDE got me. She gets the gold star for this one.




I hope all of you had a nice Memorial Day weekend and I hope you took a minute to remember those who died in the service of our country. And if you're not in the U.S., I hope you just had a good weekend.

How do you take a picture of a clapotis?

I showed you the beautiful handspun from my swap and I so wanted to take an equally beautiful picture of my clapotis, but it's big and it won't fit into the little camera. I tried all over and I even had Mr. Truck take one of those shots of the back of me but it came out blurry. Anyway, it's finished and I love it and I've been wearing in because it's cold here. I've gotten many compliments and I wish you could see the whole thing.





But this is the best I can do. You'll have to take my word.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms!

April Socks

For my April socks, I thought I'd make a real pair of socks from the Christmas Stocking Pattern. I had to alter it a bit, fewer stitches and no bobbles or eyelet row and a bigger heel, to make it fit a real foot but I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out. I wrote it all down and made a chart but I'm still searching for the lady who wrote the original pattern. I never want to be accused of copyright violation. I think I might have found her but now I find I'm too shy to contact her. How would you feel about that, would it be really weird to have someone contact you? Should I do it? I don't know, I have to think about it.