Jordan is 5 Today!

Happy Birthday to You,

Happy Birthday to You,

Happy Birthday Dear Jordan,

Happy Birthday to You.

Jordan's 5th birthday is today.  I hope he has a great day!

Camera Struggles

I really like the pictures I took here when my daughter and her family came for a visit. The kids were outside enjoying a morning rain here in Apache Junction. The picture of Joslyn and her Dad I think is charming. It wasn't posed and they aren't looking at the camera. They are watching Hunter catch raindrops. They are very comfortable together and you can sure tell they are related.

Hunter was having a great time catching raindrops. I am glad the camera caught the splash so you know what he is doing.

I think a lot the process is - first be there with camera and second take a lot of pictures. That way you will be sure to catch some great ones.

I am still struggling with photography so I am not sure I have much in the way of useful tips to share for this carnival. Some days I take pictures and am proud and on other days the shots I have taken all get deleted. I think people are easier than products. After all, for me how many ways can a scarf or headband pose? I want good shots that will sell and I know the best way to get there is to practice, practice, and then practice some more. I guess I should be glad that my practicing doesn't include film developing costs.

I have a lot to learn about photography and will keep trying.I am leaving you with the Etsy Minis of 2 of the photographers I admire the most on Etsy. Clicking on a picture or their name will take you to their shops to experience more of their work.

New Books on the Way

Knit Picks is one of my favorite online stores. I read the blog, listen to podcasts and get the emailed newsletter and snail mail catalog.

They are having a sale on books until tomorrow. All books are 40% off. I have had some stitch libraries on my wish list for some time now so I went ahead and ordered three of them. I am sure with my crafting ADD I will be driving myself crazy when they get here. I can see myself looking through and making up a million projects that I don't have enough lifetime left to do. Part of that is the point though, to have the pattern library as a reference to make my own designs and projects. I like making things that are useful but that doesn't mean they can't have style and beauty.

I am so looking forward to getting these books. There are 2 more that I really want that are not available until the 29th of August so even more dreaming and planning will be going an all fall.

Pleasant Distractions

We are done with a fun visit from a granddaughter that lives in Utah. You can see her here having fun at the hospital grandpa works at. We went and had lunch with him one day and got a tour before his afternoon meetings started.

We also got to the Pinetop-Lakeside area for a bluegrass festival last weekend. It was a small event but the music was enjoyable. Kaycee made a kaleidoscope at a childrens craft workshop. Between that and some snacks she enjoyed it even if she didn't really like the music like grandma and grandpa did.



I had hoped to have many more pictures of the time spent with her but we had some camera battery issues. Replacements have been found and those things will be fixed. Jim always does a great job of tracking things down and getting things working again.

My plan is to get back into blogging regularly now that summer visits are done. I also plan to get a lot of things up for sale online. I would like to have quite a bit ready to go as the fall sellling season starts. So it is time to get off here for now and get to work.

Until later.

Grandkids

I have no idea who said it first but "If I had known being a grandparent was so much fun I would have done it first". So true.

These guys brought their parents for a visit a couple weeks ago and got to stay for about a week. The picture shows them enjoying a morning rain. I don't know how anyone could make it through a Phoenix summer without the monsoon rains. I sure enjoyed having them here. We just did simple things spending time together. We took a dinner cruise on Canyon Lake, went to an old mining town and took a drive up to Roosevelt Dam, down to Miami and the back to Apache Junction.

Today another grandchild is arriving for a one week visit. She will be here this evening and I don't know who is more excited her, Grandpa, me or the dog. I am looking forward to lots of card games, book sharing and shopping. I'll try to keep up with adding pictures as the week goes by.

Only Pencil

I saw this etsy artist featured a while back on another blog and really enjoyed looking through the shop. It is so inspiring to see something come from such humble tools be so glorious. If I had money to burn I would start shopping here today. You can learn more about this artist from his own words found in the profile section of his shop.

"My medium of choice as you can see is pencil. I have always been fascinated with black and white images and pencil has that look that i love. I'm also a big fan of lighting and textures which pencil provides. Pencil is not a medium that gets the respect that it deserves, but i want to show people that it can be up there with more classical mediums such as oils and acrylics. If used correctly, it can produce incredible images that not only look beautiful but are so full of life. Well i hope you enjoy my artwork and hopefully one of my prints or originals can become part of your home or office."

If you would like to go shopping at the Only Pencil shop on Etsy.com clicking on the etsy mini for the shop will take you there. Enjoy!

It's Been A Week

It has been a week since I posted Tristan's Birthday. I have no silly excuses for why I haven't posted I just didn't. I would walk by the computer and think, "I am not going near that thing." It (the computer) has a habit of sucking up hours of my day and then I feel guilty for not getting anything more constructive done.

I did quite a bit of knitting this week. I was trying out ideas that had been floating around in my head. These were just little product and pattern ideas that you need to try to see if they work. Some of the ideas did and some didn't. In the end I came up with pattern stitches and sizes that I am happy with.

In an effort to get away from so much mass produced stuff in our lives I was thinking you need to start with the basics. What is more basic than being clean and shiny? So thinking along this line, I have come up with some pattern ideas for cotton wash cloths and dish cloths. I know these aren't new ideas but if we are going to get away from mass produced it will take a LOT of knitters and crocheters to make these things.

Enough for today.