I’ve really been a slacker!  Ugh.  I’ve been working 48-52 hour payperiods, the last 4 weeks, along with Emily having to be at the county fair, all 5 days that it was running, have to go for 4H judging, of her knitting, shopping for wedding clothes, going to my nephew’s wedding, and trying to sleep in there somewhere!  The last 2 weeks of August were insanely busy.

For the good news, though, Emily entered her Wicked Sweater, her Foliage Hat, her Saucy Socks and her Cabled Mittens and got blue ribbons on all of them!!  Woohoo for Emily!!!!!! Plus, her Wicked Sweater got a special merit and if she wants to, it can be displayed at the Wisconsin State Fair next summer!!!!!!!  She’s only been knitting since March 2007, but she’s a most amazing knitter.  For her riding, she got two red ribbons, but she had a blast, and was so cute in her show clothes.

I’ve also been busy knitting away, with my Monthly Dishcloth KAL group. I love knitting dishcloths, that are a mystery.  I’m way behind on posting my work, though. In the gallery above, you can see the dishcloths that I knit, from the beginning of August. With the yellow one, I thought I might have enough yellow. I almost did, except for 1-1/2 rows, and the bind-off! LOL! Peppercorn was from one of the cones of Peaches and Creme that I got for Christmas from my SIL. The schoolhouse was a good September design. I just wish my purl stitches had been a little tighter.

Weather in Wisconsin has been uneventful and nice most of the time. The last 2 days have been damp and cool, though. Will love it when the extra moisture goes away. A few mornings this week, we had temps in the 40’s!!! The last two mornings haven’t been quite so cool. We haven’t needed the AC or the heat, which is good. I’ve needed long sleeves and quilts, though! LOL!

My thoughts and prayers are with those who live in TX. God Bless You tonight!

We went out to look and there were none to be seen. Not sure where they all went. We had so many. Unless they were killed by predatory bugs or something. We still have a few eggs, though. Maybe we’ll have to go to Maywood Park and see if we can find some caterpillars there, to photograph. We are all rather bummed.

We are also wondering how long it takes tomatoes to turn red! Can you tell we are impatient? There is one that is so big, too! Can’t you just see it in a bacon-lettuce-tomato sandwich?  Yummy.

I finally got a picture of my latest dishcloth! It’s called Summer Breeze, by Sue Schaefer. I knit it with Aqua Mist Ombre Peaches & Creme yarn and US 7 needles.  You had to be careful reading the pattern on this one.  Sometimes, there was a k2tog, that you wouldn’t expect and it kept messing up my stitch count, if I wasn’t paying attention! LOL!  This is the 14th of the 24 dishcloths I expect to knit this year!

This was fun to do, with lots of yo, k2tog,and p2tog! I’ve never done a pattern before, where the number of stitches changes from row to row, but it’s okay! It varied between 39 and 44 stitches. The yarn is 181 Faded Denim Peaches & Creme and knit with US 7 needles. It was designed by Jamie Monaghan.

I finished my second red scarf, too, last Thursday! Woohoo! I should be swatching my sock yarn, about now! LOL!

The weather has calmed down, although it could be warmer. I’m guess I’m not complaining, since it’s saving us a bundle in air conditioning costs.

This is the June 2008 KAL. It was worked with 54 Baby Green Peaches and Creme yarn, on US7 needles. It makes me want to take a tropical vacation! It was designed by Andi Worthy of the Monthly Dishcloth KAL yahoo group!

This is the mid-June KAL with 2 days finished. I’ve been too busy posting my pictures to knit, this morning! LOL! It’s just yo, k2tog, p2tog, etc, that is making the cable-y design. We aren’t using a cable needle. I love the lacy texture! I’m having fun knitting it. The yarn is 181 Faded Denim Peaches and Creme yarn, on US7 needles.

Oh yeah. It finally stopped raining. My computer corner is all back together, with a new rug on the floor. I love how the new feels to my feet. It’s a lot cushier than the 10-year-old rug was. The laptop was nice, but my regular computer, even at 7 years old, is a lot faster and has a much better monitor.

My heart goes out to the people still affected by the flooding. Ugh. Even when we had 18 inches of water in our basement, 10 years ago, it still wasn’t as bad as other people had it.

From the Sheboygan Press this morning:

Rainfall for the month of June now stands at 10.12 inches, already above the previous record of 8.68 inches set in 1969, according to the weather service reporting station at The Sheboygan Press.

Authorities said the downpour flooded more than 50 intersections in the City of Sheboygan on Thursday night, but all roadways in Sheboygan County were passable by Friday morning. Alliant Energy reported only 15 county homes lost power, and all electricity was restored by early morning.

Yes, it definitely doesn’t need to rain, for a long time, around here.  My side door won’t close all the way, because the sill is swollen.   We haven’t had to water our flowers, in the past week, because there’s been so much rain.  We got a little water in the basement, so we need to buy one small rug and a little basement paint.  It’s nothing to serious.   Also, the lawn needs to dry out, so it can be mowed.  The end of the yard is getting so long, but I’m sure it’s still too wet, since the sump pump drains there.

Today is nice and sunny, with a chance of thunderstorms, at some point, but I don’t think the storms will be like they were, earlier in the week.  We came through the storms, pretty unscathed compared to some people.  We were very lucky.

Over the weekend, we had 3.42 inches of rain!  For the whole month of June, we’ve had 6.68 inches of rain!  The Sheboygan River rose to 11.3 feet, which is three feet above flood stage.  It was spilling over the banks in a few spots, but not endangering any houses.   It was also flowing scary fast, and in Sheboygan Falls, where there really is a falls, AND a dam, it was going even faster.  We went to Settler’s Park last night and it was like being by the Whitewater Walk, in Niagara Falls!  I still need to upload my videos to YouTube.  I did take pictures, though, too.   

At the lower falls, the water was going by so fast, it almost made you dizzy!  Fortunately, there’s a nice strong fence between you and the water.   It was hard to focus on the water, with the camera, since it was going SOOOOOO fast.  At Settler’s Park, I noticed that parents of young children were keeping a tight grip on their children and being very aware of where the children were.

The rain ruined our trip to Madison on Saturday, since we just had gotten to the Henry Vilas Zoo, when we found out there was a tornado warning.  So, during the warning, we drove from the Henry Vilas Zoo, to the east side of Madison, to Applebee’s, so Emily could watch the Belmont Race.  Unfortunately, we were there for 2 hours, since we got there an hour earlier than we really needed to, because of the weather.  After we got to Applebee’s, the skies really let loose and it POURED!

On Monday, Lake Delton, north of Madison cut a channel through land, where there was no water, washed out Highway A, in Columbia County, and drained Lake Delton, sweeping a few houses off their foundations, in the process. In the newspapers, they show that the lake is empty.  I saw a pier, with just muddy ground underneath, with a boat, sitting on the ground.  So, the Tommy Bartlett water-skiing show, in the Dells, won’t have skiing this year.  Yikes.   In Mukwonago, WI, there is a dam they are worried about.  The ground around the dam is very saturated and they wonder if it will hold.  It’s scary, but nowhere near my house.

My basement got a little bit of water in it and forced us to clean up stuff that we’d been neglecting.  Also, DH is repainting the wall in my computer corner, so I have a laptop on a desk, with a separate mouse and keyboard, until he is done and it’s worth the time to set my desktop computer all up again.  We are still going to be moving things around, to finish painting and to put a new rug under my desk, so the desktop computer will stay in the other room.  So, now I have my charter mail coming into my gmail, since I’m without my Outlook for a little bit.

I’ll have to resize some of my pictures, for posting in here. and get those videos uploaded.  Two days without rain, has been a WONDERFUL thing. 

We drove down to the lake today, and could see where the muddy river water, joins the lake!  The whole harbor had muddy water, too, since that water has been flowing out there, in such a hurry.

Rapids, just below the dam, next to Settler’s Park, in Sheboygan Falls:

Lower Falls, in Sheboygan Falls

We got up to about 82 today! It felt heavenly! We were wearing sandals and leaving the jackets in the house! Unfortunately, we only get one day of this glorious weather! Tonight it’s supposed to cool down into the 40’s and only be in the 50’s tomorrow, so we will have jump right back into the long pants and sweatshirts.

We went to visit my SIL and BIL today, since Roger needed some help on his computer. The kids had fun dipping their feet in the backyard pool. We hadn’t thought to bring swimsuits, but the water was still pretty cold, so they thought they really wouldn’t have wanted to swim, anyway.

We ate lunch at Noodles, where somehow my Pad Thai turned into Pesto Cavatappi. We checked the receipt and he’d never even put the correct order in, in the first place! Was he even listening? Or are the buttons close together, on his register? I didn’t make a fuss, because the Cavatappi looked good and I didn’t want to waste perfectly good food. I guess I’ll have to try the Pad Thai some other time. The cavatappi was good, though! On our next visit, I’ll be waiting while my husband pays, so we can double-check the receipt right away, before they’ve made me something else.

My favorite thing about Noodles is the fresh lemon wedges that they have by the soda fountain, for the people who drink iced tea. Those lemon wedges taste really good in my Diet Coke, too! Yummmy! The heck with all the chemically-flavored Coke and Pepsi products. Nothing tests better than actual lime juice or lemon juice squeezed into a glass of soda!

Here is the mid-May KAL. It’s called Every Day Any Day, by Sue Schaefer of Harvest Moon Designs. It took me a while to knit, because I was trying to do all the purls, with the yarn over the top and that’s new to me, so it takes me a while. I can purl a lot faster, with the yarn going underneath the needle. I was watching some women knit, at my knit-night the other night and they were so fast, and so efficient with the yarn over the top of the needle. I guess I just need more practice with that. I like my continental knitting with knitting in the back loops and the purls underneath the needle! I’m pretty fast, with plain stockinette.

My daughter Sarah, just sent me an email, that says the cold front is working it’s way down the Lake Michigan coastline and that it should be going through Sheboygan, right about now!  I guess that’s the end of our warm day, huh?  Well, it was nice, while it lasted!  (7:05 pm, CDT.)

I finally finished Elisa’s Nest Tote this past Sunday night. After sitting for 2 months, I found out that the handles were easier than I thought. It was knit with Patagonia Nature Cotton by Araucania, which has a thick and thin texture. It’s 100% cotton. I’ve already used my bag, twice, too. It easily held my detergent bottle and my latest Debbie Macomber book, for a trip to the laundromat with a big quilt. Emily and I also took it to the grocery store! The pattern for the nest tote is from Purlbee.

Dots within Stripes is the name of the Mid-April 2008 KAL for the monthly dishcloth group. It’s a pattern from Knitting on the Net. I’m thinking this one would look pretty in lots of different color combinations!

Oh yeah. It’s still cold out and supposed to get down into the 30’s tonight. Oh joy.

Jasmine’s delicates looked less red and swollen today. She also isn’t scooting and licking down there anymore, too, so I’m guessing it all feels better. I’m glad we took her in yesterday.

Windy, plus temps only in the low 40’s for a high. It just wasn’t pleasant and didn’t feel like spring. It seemed more like a late February to late March sort of day! Ugh.

Jasmine had to go to the vet today. Her sensitive female parts were red and swollen. He said she had a dermatitis and gave us some powder to put on. I think she already feels better. The vet said it was a good thing that we brought her in, when we did, because once the skin gets too irritated, the dog won’t let you do anything to it, because it hurts! We had to pay extra, for them to squeeze her in today, but I don’t think it could have waited for the Wednesday appointment we’d already made.

I finished my market bag yesterday and actually used it twice today! I need to catch up on taking pictures of my finished objects tomorrow. We’ve just been so busy! I also need to get pictures of my last 2 finished dishcloths, so they can be posted on the Monthly Dishcloth Challenge blog! With 2 weddings and 2 confirmations, in a 3-week period, it hasn’t left much time for play.

I went to the laundromat today, to wash the comforter that goes on my bed, because it’s too much quilt to throw in the washing machine and the filling got all messed up, even more than before. Today, I really look at the quilt and realize it has NO STITCHING to keep the batting in place, so everytime I wash it, from now on, it’s going to get EVEN WORSE.  Actually, I seem to remember that it had little ties, here and there, but I think they are giving way, under use and going through the wash, etc.  It still isn’t like a seam that goes from the top to the bottom of the quilt, or the horizontal length of the quilt.

I was shopping tonight and I think I like this one, because I’m a lighthouse nut!!

Harbour Comforter Set

I like printed comforters, since we live in our bedroom sometimes, since there is a TV in there, and we share the bed with the dog.  It just doesn’t show each individual sin, like a solid color would!  LOL!

I found a knitting contest today, at Modest Purls.  You just have to mention what colors you like!

My April KAL cloth, will be finished soon!  I’m about to go up and knit, now! It’s a pretty spring scene!

Sarah and I are glad we aren’t up in Duluth, MN today.  It’s blustery and cold, with a winter storm warning!  Brrrr.  We had a great weekend, with temps in the 50’s and 60’s, down here!

Duluth Webcam - We found this webcam, after we got home from Duluth, last summer.  It’s fun always getting to see what the weater looks like, or how many people are watching the boats go through, or even seeing one of the big ships going through the canal, if you are lucky!