Saturday was predicted to be 75, followed by snow on Sunday. So we decided to take the new camera on an outing that turned out to be a trip up to Evergreen with a hike 
around the lake. We saw quite a bit of wildlife, including ducks enjoying the thaw, a family of deer, and a bison herd. We had a nice hike around the lake and enjoyed watching the ice fishing --I am looking forward to s
pring
.
Warning Picture Heavy Post ! I can not believe it is December! We were fortunate to take some extra time off over the holiday and visit both of my 
grandmothers and my Mom. We flew into Rockford, IL very close to my mom's place late Thursday evening (the 15th) and stayed a quick night with my Grandma K (mom's mom). 
Mom was extremely generous and lent us her car to make the 6+ hour drive up to visit Grandma E (dad's mom). Grandma E lives in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on Lake Superior, beautiful country but not the easiest place to get too especially this time of year. Keith and I had a nice drive up on Friday and arrived to the wonderful aroma of homemade stew...sorry no pictures it was gone too quickly. We had a wonderful visit, very low key with lots of knitting and visiting. We woke Sat
urday to a dusting of snow and headed out to three lovely yarn stores and warmed up with some coffee at Babycakes. I picked up some Frog Tree Alpaca Chunky in Ecru and cast on for a The Single Cable Scarf from One Skein ( I did use 4 skeins to make it longer). Sunday Grandma E and I w
ent out to breakfast and took a drive through Presque Isle and spotted this red-headed woodpecker. 
Whether I travel for business or pleasure, I always enjoy local c
ulinary treats and I have to say no one makes these better than Grandma E, we indulged in one of my all time favorites, pasties. These are truly a labor of love, making them is a two day process and the effort is much appreciated. Keith had forgotten his hat and asked if I would make him one. After I finished up the scarf we picked up a few more balls of that wonderful alpaca yarn and a set of circular needles. This was a quick knit after dinner Sunday evening, of course I had to check my decreases and then the finished product
. It was most enjoyable to sit with Grandma E crocheting, me knitting and Keith reading in the evenings. Grandma knit wonderful hats, scarves and mittens each year when I was younger.
We headed back 
down to Illinois bright and early Tuesday morning to visit with my Mom, step Dad, step Brother and stay with my Grandma K and her new furry friends. Sampson and Delilah are the t
wo newest additions to the family. They are approximately 8 weeks old and bundles of energy and curiosity. They provided endless entertainment during our stay. I spent a good deal of Wednesday baking while Keith helped out with a few l
ingering chores around the house. Wednesday evening I was lucky enough to join Madame Purl and her regular knitting group for a bit. And then she was able to come over Thanksgiving morning for some more chatting, knitting, and playtime with the youngsters( they were intrigued by the clear knitting bag).
After the pies finished up we headed over to Mom's house for a lovely Thanksgiving dinner.
Friday was my step brother's birthday and seeing as how h
e recently moved to IL from GA, I thought a scarf was in order. And Grandma K also recently moved from TN to IL and that lovely Frog Tree scarf found a new home. 
I awoke early this morning and enjoyed several hours of reading, 
something I haven't done in quite a while. I am probably the only person on the planet that has 
not finished the latest of the Harry Potter books. I am pacing myself. Keith and I headed out to our usual spot for a late breakfast and then took a lovely drive up into the mountains. On our way back home we pulled up to a red light and this pulled up next to us. 
I think it is an iguana but I'm not positive. I tried snapping some pictures as we were driving off. I have to say this was something neither of us had ever seen. 
The iguana seemed pretty comfortable with the arrangement though. I have to say one of my first thoughts was of a knitterly friend back East ( you know who you are) and her lack of enthusiasm for such creatures.
On the knitting front, I have not yet blocked Cozy, but I have cast on the Hedera socks and am 
throughly enjoying the pattern. Keith took this the other night, Panda can't help but be in the middle of everything and honestly I wouldn't have it any other way!
I have been working from home this week and have found that I forget to get up and stretch during the day. So today I thought I would take a snapshot of the kitty each hour in a photo diary sort of way. She started out with breakfast at 8:18 am.....then a bit groggy at 9:10 am. 
This is the power napping at 10:04 am and 11:01 am. I missed the high noon photo---the roof guy was here and she had disappeared.
Upon her reappearance, she tried to con me into a snack. No luck so back to the chair and more napping.
This was one sacked out girl at 3:14 pm. I'm not sure what I did with the camera but I liked this shot.
Come on Mom, can't you see I'm trying to sleep?
I did see a bit of action at the 5:09 pm. This is what we call the big kitty stretch....
She helped me out with the post around 6:00 pm. 
Being new to the area we have been exploring (as time permits). Last Saturday Keith and I went down to
the Boulder Farmer's Market. Being that we both had trips last week we only picked up some mushrooms. They were j
ust too pretty to pass up. I decided to use them in a slightly modified Chicken Marsala recipe. I think we were both pleasantly surprised with the result.
This week I met a friend (also a recent transplant) and checked out the Longmont Farmer's Market and came home with a sample of Red Onion Pasta from Pappardelle. I'll have to let you know how that one turns out.
I was fortunate to get to go back to Boston this past week and knit at my old haunt with terrific friends. I had finished up the first of the Twisted Flower socks and am just over a repeat through the second one. 
Panda doesn't quite know what to make of posing for a picture.
And in the spirit of summer last weekend Keith made a classic favorite. Root Beer Floats.
Thank you all so much for the anniversary wishes, I can't believe its been a year! We were home together this week and you can see how much Panda is taking advantage of that. 
We enjoyed a leisurely dinner at the Melting Pot on Wednesday and are headed 
out this weekend for a few nights at the Crescent Lily Inn to celebrate.
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
I am on the road again this week and I waited until the last minute to pack. I had quite the help with my suitcase this morning. Could she make me feel any more guilty about leaving?
Saturday Sky...
and someone was watching the rain start.
Keith and I headed to our local spot for breakfast this morning and then stopped by The Patch Works . We have an ongoing struggle with the length of the duvet on our bed, so naturally the solution is to make our own with new specs. We headed over to the quilt shop to check out some pattens and color 
schemes. Beautiful shop and extremely helpful staff. 
We are leaning towards a Maple Leaf pattern in earth tones. I was definitely inspired to break out the rotary cutter and sewing machine.
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