Old Man Of The Mountain

The rain had been pretty heavy for awhile, but it cleared up for just long enough that I was able to go on a hike with my parents the other day.

We went to a place that was once an old orchard. It has long since been abandoned.

I didn't even know the trees still produced fruit until this hike. Mum picked up a couple apples and brought them home.

Mum and Dad were quite patient while I was taking pictures. (Dad is wearing one of my bear hats)

The hike has lots of downhill near the beginning, which means there is lots of uphill later on. I hardly noticed it. I just kept running from mushroom to mushroom all the way up.

Mum said it was the easiest hike she had done in awhile because there were so many stops on the way up.

The rain made several beautiful waterfalls.

And the old man of the mountain appeared.

First Blogiversary

Happy first blogiversary to me! I have been blogging for a year today. For fun I had a look at my very first post and was tickled to find that I had gone to a yarn shop that day. Guess what I did today.

I did indeed visit a yarn shop, although this time it was Purlescence. I hadn't been there before, but I was quite pleased with the selection and prices. I came away with six skeins of cascade 220, which I've never knit with before, and a back issue of Spin Off I'd wanted for awhile.

I shall be celebrating by adding extra girth to my hips. Much thanks to Joy, who helps my grandfather quite a bit. She sent us a lovely gift from New Zealand.

Bokeh

Have I mentioned how much fun I'm having with my fancy-pants camera?

I've been wanting to try taking shaped Bokeh picture for awhile now but, my camera just wasn't able to do it. Things are a bit different now.

I cut out a couple shapes into card stock and away I went.

Actually, it didn't start off so good. I read a bunch of tutorials that said I didn't have the right lens. (I'm using a 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 lens. They said that I would need a lens that would do f2.8 at least.) So my first picture came out like this.

After reading a bit more about Bokeh, I found that I had to have my lens at 135mm, it was alright if it was at f5.6. Just make sure the lights are out of focus.

And tada, fun for the whole family. Me and Bokeh are going to become great friends.

Christmas Time Is Here

Merry Christmas to everyone. Our family had a lovely day. Although, we have our Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. Everyone but me cooks. My brother has been in charge of the turkey around six years.

After carving the turkey he channeled his inner caveman.

We don't do too much in the way of gifts. Just a stocking each.

Here is my loot for this year. A chocolate orange, a chocolate santa, a dollar bill and a five dollar bill folded into pants. An envelope with some money from my grandfather, a peets card, and two candy canes. The sheep represents a donation to Heifer International towards, you guessed it, a sheep. In the background is the Latvian Mitten book that my brother got me. I guess he got the hint. An excellent haul if I do say so myself.

Scooter got a rawhide chew, a Heifer International donation towards a goose, and his favorite, a big chunk of dog treat.

Un-Grinchy

Most people can't wait to get gifts at Christmas. I'm the opposite. I can't wait to give them. As soon as I got to my parent's house on Wednesday, I asked everyone if they would like their gift now or would they like to wait until Christmas. It didn't really matter what they said because I couldn't wait.

Christopher got a pair of Grinch Slippers. The pattern is adapted from Flint Knits Elf Shoes.

I gave my Mum a scarf I had finished earlier in the year.

I gave my Dad an oil painting I had done in the fields near the mill.

I forgot about poor Scooter this year. I suppose I shall have to sneak him some extra people food at Christmas Eve dinner.

I did get myself a gift. As my Mum would say, I've agonized over this decision. The camera I finally went with was a Canon 60D with an 18-135mm kit lens.

I'm very pleased with my purchase.

Christmas Light Favorites

Every year I walk around the neighborhood with my family to look at the Christmas lights. We each have certain houses we look forward to every year.

My Dad loves any house that has train lights. The ones with moving lights around the wheels get more points.

I love houses with blue lights. I find them calming.

My Mum loves houses with lights that look like candy. Unless they blink. No points for blinking lights.

But everyone's most favorite lights are the ones that make Scooter react. He often gets mad at the lights at this house. He seems to think that the animal figures are challenging him by making eye contact. It's quite funny to watch him get mad at the lights.

I Am Now A Pattern Designer

Today I have taken a large step ahead in my life. I have published a pattern on Ravelry. It is a free download and a rather simple pattern. But I"m still quite proud of myself. Note: You'll need to have a ravelry account to access the following links.

My store: Audry Nicklin

My first ever published pattern: Mr. Tumnus

I'd also like to make note that within 20 minutes of me posting the pattern, someone added it to their queue. I'm just buzzing with excitement.

Holiday Wish List

The holidays are upon us and I've been doing plenty of gift knitting. Unfortunately, I can't share what I've knit just yet. But I thought I'd post up a little holiday wish list. Just for fun.

I would very much enjoy some more Knitting Needle Cables from Knit Picks. I seem to have misplaced a number of them, or they are holding bits of different projects. Size 24 inch, 32 inch, and especially 40 inch would be lovely.

While we are on the subject of Knit Picks, I have recently started a cable pattern with a chart. I didn't realize how hard it is to keep track of each row. For the time being, I'm using refrigerator magnets and a metal Candy Land game board cover. But I would love to replace it with a Knitting Chart Keeper from Knit Picks.

I've wanted Latvian Mittens by Lizbeth Upitis for awhile now. It was on a previous wish list. I may have previously sent a facebook message to a particular brother of mine when he asked what I might like. He still hasn't gotten the hint. Here it is dude. Here is the link. Link. Link. Link. Moving on...

Now to the bigger ticket items.

I still need to replace my camera. I still have no idea what to replace it with. I'm leaning towards a Canon D60. I just want a versatile camera that can grow with me as I develop my photography skills. And I'm a sucker for the little flippy screen. It is one of my favorite features on my G6.

[edit] I actually meant a 60D, so this image is incorrect.

And this. It doesn't actually have to be a vw camper bus. It could be a truck with a camper shell. I'd just enjoy having a vehicle that I could travel in and see a bit of the country.

Restoring A Bit Of History

My grandparents gave a big, old, wooden suitcase to me. It sat in my parent's garage for several years, just waiting for me to use it. At one time the suitcase's interior had been recovered in vinyl contact paper.

Turns out several summers worth of heat in the garage warped the contact paper, rendering the case unusable. I rediscovered the case after coming back from New Zealand. (Which might have something to do with buying my weight's worth of fiber and lacking good moth-proof storage) So I decided I would rip out the contact paper and restore the old trunk. I found a site called Shenandoah Antique Restoration, which gave some direction in restoring the trunk.

After stripping the interior to the best of my ability, I taped up the edges of the trunk.

And painted the inside edges white. Three coats later, I was ready for the next step.

I bought white mat board and cut it all to size to line the trunk. Each piece of mat board had to be specially cut for its position. To keep track of each piece, I drew a little guide and labeled each bit of board. I wanted the trunk to still retain the antique feel, so I also glued white muslin to the mat board before gluing each piece in.

It took me a month and a half, but I'm quite pleased with my old trunk. It now is protecting my roving from moths.

Catching A Black Lamb At Night

Last night at 10pm I heard a lamb while I was sitting in my room. It isn't unusual to hear lambs, but usually they don't baa incessantly at 10 at night. This could mean only one thing. The lamb ran down one side of the fence into the pasture and its mum was on the other side. So I did what any person about to go to bed would do. I ran out in the field to catch the lamb. There was a snag in this plan though. All the lambs that have been born in the last month have been black. I was now looking for quick, black lamb in complete darkness. Here is what catching a black lamb at night looks like.

Stupid thing was quicker than me. And skinnier. I managed to find a weak spot in the fence. I am not lamb-sized, so I got to walk the long way around. Eventually I was able to reunite the lamb and mum. Below is the little cutey I saved.

This is Odette and Copernicus. To the left is Diana, who is twenty days older than the twins

I also learned an important lesson. Sheep get stupider as they get older. The lambs are pretty smart. They are curious and they appear to like to learn. They seem to learn stupidity from their parents.

Bonus Picture. Here are Diana (front), and Eleanor.