Eye Camel Friday(or Oliver takes in the local sites)

Hi, everyone!
I've guess I've been silent this week. I suppose it is because I've been busy trying to exercise for about an hour or more everyday and all that and trying to get myself into some kind of schedule. I didn't do any kind of knitting or making of anything this week-sorry,

BUT, I did plant my garden (along with my mom), and planted most of the flowers that I had hoped to plant around my house. I still have a couple of containers to fill and I would like to rework a section of a perennial garden area that we have, but that means lots of hoeing and planting and buying more seeds and plants and that will have to wait until I have some money in my bank account. (my, my I do enjoy run-on sentences. My old high school English teacher would be shocked. (totally unrelated tidbit-I see her on occasion and she can still make me think about the fact that I don't use proper grammar-I mean I did very well in her class and everything, but I know how to be a good little student when I have to be and then I promptly forget everything anyone taught me))

Yesterday, Oliver the Camel and I walked to the little bandstand park we have across the street from the gallery for a little break.

Here is Oliver enjoying the park swing as the scent of the lilacs behind him waft through the breeze.

And a close-up of Oliver enjoying himself.

We enjoyed the view for a while and took a couple of pictures!


The Railroad tracks behind the bandstand (whenever we have events at the bandstand, we have a couple interruptions from the trains)

Pillars

Bandstand Railing

Hmmm . . . looking at these pictures makes me excited for Summer. We have a bunch of fun activities at this little park. There is always Dairy/Berry Day when we have root beer floats and strawberry sundaes served (fresh strawberries from local growers-my favorite!) and music from the Mid-Minnesota Concert Band. Then we have a brat feed or two with proceeds going toward fireworks for our town festival on Labor Day Weekend. We also have a street dance (where very few people actually dance- mostly just mill around chatting with friends listening to the live music) on Labor Day Weekend.
Some people may find my little town a bit hokey, but I really enjoyed growing up here and living here, still.

Well, I hope you all enjoy your weekend- I hope to be spending mine outside! (probably not knitting, though-bad, bad knit blogger)

Eye Camel Friday

Well, I forgot to bring home the nice digital camera from work yesterday, so I quick came in this morning and picked up the camera to take pictures of Oliver.

I went on a bike ride along the bike trail kind of near my house (I have to drive to it because my dog, Dakota, likes to follow me). Then, when I got home, Oliver, Dakota and I went for a quick walk up the road to the lake by our house. Along the way, we saw some flowers.

Here is Oliver smelling a May Flower as it is opens. These flowers are along the ditch right before we get to the lake.


We also saw some of these. I looked at the wild flower book that my parents have and I believe this is either a Large-Flowered Bellwort or a Perfoliate Bellwort. Of course, Oliver was no help in figuring out what kind of flowers they are and Dakota just wanted to walk on them.


We then came to the edge of the lake and saw the cattails all fuzzed out.


When we arrived home Bombero, our almost 14 year old Dalmatian, welcomed us. And . . . .


Dakota was warm from our walk.

Have a good weekend!

Aaack! It's Friday, again-(plus, Eye Camel Friday and a new FO!)

Golly, I sure have a tendency to forget that its Friday. The same thing happened to me as last week. I know full well that today is Friday. Golly geewhilikers, I sure know that it is Friday today (for reasons that I will tell in a bit, and let me tell you I am getting NERVOUS).

Alrighty, now for the show (by the way, at this very moment there is a song from Pirates of Penzance playing on the radio. I love that show. I played a policeman (and, yes, I do mean man) in it and had the most fun dancing and goofing off.)

This week Oliver the Camel pretended to be Tiny Tim and went on a little "Tiptoe Through the Tulips"

You wouldn't think that Camels could sing, but I can tell you he was singing in that clear, freakishly high Tiny Tim voice "won't you tiptoe through the tulips with meeeee?"

Now, down to business. I know that you guys probably don't believe that I ever really knit or do much of anything with yarn because I never really finish a whole lot, but I now have something to show you.

This little hat was made for by best friend from college's baby that is due in June. It is made with handspun yarn from this post and lion brand handspun for the lining. (I love the color and the look of the wool, but it is way to scratchy for a little baby head and the lion brand handspun acrylic is really soft) The basic pattern came from a free lion brand pattern for use with velvetspun, but I modified the pattern for the yarn I used (a lot less bulky) and made up the green lining stuff.
Mmmm, I think it is really cute!
Here's the lining. I pretty much made another little hat inside because I wanted to make sure that the little one's head wouldn't get itched anywhere, plus I really like how the green yarn shows through the natural wool. (By the by, I just made that all yesterday and sewed in the two little ends this morning--see, I can get things finished if I have to. (The baby shower is tomorrow))Here are Rebekah (made of plaster, twine, and wax) and the hat having a little fun.

And the thing you have all been waiting to hear since I told you I was NERVOUS as the beginning of the post. I'm going to be playing guitar and singing at our local coffee shop tonight. Eeep! I'm a little nervous. Soooo, tonight I am supposed to play music for about an hour and a half. I don't think I have enough music for all that, so hopefully I can take a break part way through. Now, don't get me wrong, I could play for hours if I had a piano in front of me, but this isn't that kind of coffee shop that has a stage and piano and everything. This is just our little coffee shop in our 1200 person town, so I will be bringing my guitar (that I have played for under 2 years) and my voice (that I've had for 20 something years) and that's it. I am hoping that people won't get scared off by me singin' some acappella because I don't know no 1.5 hours of music on my geeetar. Wish me luck!

Another Eye Camel Friday!!!!! Yippee!!!

All of a sudden I realized that it actually is Friday. I mean I knew it was Friday, sort of or something, because I knew that tomorrow was Saturday, but I kind of forgot that Friday comes before Saturday. Or should I say I forgot of the concept of what a Friday is? It is the end of the work week (for some people-I still work tomorrow morning)
Enough with my little spiel (that's how it is spelled-I looked it up in the dictionary, but I always thought it was spelled more like shpeel (even though that looked wrong to me, too)) you guys want to see Oliver on an adventure. Well, he had a lot of fun with this one!

Here's Oliver the Camel riding a wire trike (made by Patrik Mattson). Ya'know pack animals just aren't the same these days. They're wanting to use all the new technology out there to get around, too! Next thing you know you'll be seeing them driving truck through the desert! (Hmmm, I wonder if I could set up a photo shoot of that.)

Hey! and Shingelles and Eye Camel Friday/Monday

Well, I was so going to post again on Friday because I still have all sorts of cool pictures to show you. (Taken by a Canon Digital Rebel with a Tamron Zoom Lens, Isela) I didn't because I woke up on Friday morning with the left side of my face all swollen and had to go to the doctor. I have Shingelles :( Sad, sad, sad. My face remained swollen through the weekend and I have a rash on my left eyelid. It really looked like Dan had done a number on me. Now, I look much better (although my eye is still a bit swollen). Anyway, since I can only post from work (no internet at home) I had to wait until now to post anything.

So I have an eye camel Monday post for you

Here is Oliver in a bowl made by Zac Spates

Close-ups of kitties

Haystack

Cleopatra

Now for knitting content (because I got to stay home alllllll weekend, for once. Yippee!)-

1. I wound the hanks of cherry blossom sock yarn (I don't have a ball winder or swift or anything, so it takes a lot of time) while watching part of the first season of Bewitched (while we were watching this Dan told me that if I was a witch, he would be perfectly happy for me to use my powers to do things-snap-the house is clean-snap-we're on vacation in the mountains-snap-he doesn't have to go to work anymore---okay that didn't happen and I am not a witch. I guess it is for the best)

2. I also finished the thumb on the blue whale and started the second one. (I was really tempted to start making a pair of knee highs, but was able to restrain myself)

Well, that's the knitting content. I also read two books this weekend. One called Blackbird an autobiography Jennifer Lauck (heartbreaking and warming) and the other The Postcard by Beverly Lewis (about an Amish woman). I'm a sucker for those kind of books. I like to cry and all that with books.

I Finished Some Stuff and Eye Camel Friday

Rebekah is modeling the scarf I have been working on for a month or more. I finished it last night-yippee, yippee, yay! It is nice and soft and now I have started on a pair of mittens to match. (See below next to the scarf!!!)

I also have a wonderfully great picture of mini sweaters and stockings

The black/red/white/gray sweater on the left is the extent of knitting that I finished on the trip to Israel. Although I did seam the peach sweater as well. Considering the giant amounts of time I had on the plane to knit I should probably be reprimanded, but I wasn't feeling so good sometimes. I ended up reading and watching movies instead.

Now, The-Moment-You-Have-All-Been-Waiting -For!!!!!!!
Eye Camel Friday!!!!!!!!! Wooopee Wooohooo
Here's Oliver the Camel!

Oliver is modeling a giant (for him) stocking made from Lion Brand Magic Stripes Sock Yarn. It is all the rage in pack animal circles in Europe and the Middle East, but has just recently come into fashion in the US. You'll soon be seeing them at petting zoos, the circus, and your local county fair this summer!

See you on Monday-or whenever

Eye Camel Friday

Okay-so I don't yet belong to Eye Candy Friday, but I do have a little camel keychain made of Olive Wood that I got in Israel-So here it is -------EYE CAMEL FRIDAY!!!!!!

I'll name him Oliver the Camel

He enjoys geraniums
And finally, in B&W