Cascade Colors

Thanks, everyone, for you kind words on my last post. We still don't know anything more yet. His mother will be home on Tuesday, and the service will be on Saturday. I just hope something shows in the toxicology so we'll know what happened, it's the not knowing that makes it even harder.

Anyhoo, I did get a pair of socks finished for Hubs. They are vanilla socks, 64sts on 2.75mm needles, eye of partridge heel, Kroy FX in cascade colors. They were started on September 8, finished on the 20th, Ravelry details here.

I started working on hats this week. I usually make Marsan Watchcaps, and I will make some of those, too, but I tried a different pattern, too. I liked NovaKnitter's Jacques Cousteau hat, so I started one of those for the Oldest One's teacher for Christmas. (First time either kid has had a man for homeroom teacher.) I am on the decreases now, and if I like how it turns out I'll probably make two or three more. I have six or so hats planned for Christmas gifts, plus I'd like to have a few on hand for emergency gift giving should the need arise.

Other things happening.... lets see, we got rid of the Caravan that Hubs had to run back and forth to the city in and got a 2005 Blazer. He wanted something with 4-wheel drive and something that was more reliable than the old van. We also are getting our 5th big rig this week. Petie Girl is going bye-bye, and for the first time ever Hubs will have a brand spanking new truck. Scary to think about the cost, but it sure will be nice to have something with warranty. I'll have to try and post some pictures next post, but if you click here you'll see what the new truck looks like. (She's white, of course, company policy.) We don't have her yet, but we should have her by the end of the week hopefully.

Happy knitting!

Brandon

A week ago today our family had a tremendous shock when my 23 year old nephew, and my oldest nephew, Brandon, passed away unexpectedly. He was living in BC with his mother, she got up and went to work early in the morning, he was asleep on the sofa. His stepfather got up a couple of hours later and went out, Brandon was still asleep. (They knew he was asleep because he was snoring a bit.) When A came home a couple of hours later he found Brandon wasn't breathing, but the paramedics couldn't do anything, and the doctors in the hospital couldn't help him, either. He's my brother's only child, his parents separated when he was around seven years old, and she never had any other kids, either. He lived with my aunt (my mother's sister) from the time he was nine til he was nineteen.

An autopsy was performed, the doctor thought he may have had a heart attack, an asthma attack, or an aneurysm, but nothing showed at all. Now we have to wait up to three months for toxicology reports. He had been mixing cement at work, and his back was bothering him. (He had called my mother the day before he died and mentioned that to her.) He took two or three puffers for his asthma and was only supposed to take tylenol, nothing else for pain. Now they're thinking he took something for his back that caused an allergic reaction/overdose with his puffers. Any way around it we're all totally heartbroken, and hopefully these other tests will give some answers that the autopsy did not. He had asthma, and when he was three he had most of his right kidney removed, but he never had any kidney trouble since then.

These pictures were taken in July 2010 when he was home for a visit. He's been out west with his mother for the past couple of years.

His mother, his friend, and Brandon.

I don't like to have my picture taken, but his mother made me get into the photo, too, and I'm so glad now she did. I've got lots of pictures with him when he was a baby (I was only 16 and didn't mind having my picture taken back then!), but I didn't have any with him in later years. This is my Oldest One, my Dad, my Littlest One, me (orange t-shirt), Brandon, my mother, and Brandon's friend.

Rest in peace, dear nephew. June 23, 1988 - September 7, 2011.

Merry Corn Fields

I keep finding posts that I start but forget to publish...

I made myself a pair of sparkley Christmas socks. I got this yarn last fall, it's called Wisdom Yarns Marathon Sock North Pole in the merry merry colorway. Just plain old 60st vanilla socks on 2.25mm needles with an eye of partridge heel, started August 24 and finished September 6. Ravelry details here.

The long weekend before school we went to the valley to a corn maze. I've wanted to go the last couple of years, but we never got there. It was fun. This was a maze you had to complete by only making left turns. A lot harder than it looks.

The rope maze's goal was to reach the little wooden platform in the middle. Also harder than it looked.

Then it was on to the corn maze. There's a little maze and a big maze, we went to the big maze.

The theme this year was Robin Hood, and there were various stations throughout the maze to complete on your map. Some were word clues, some were pictures that you rubbed with a pencil to get the imprint.

We didn't get all of the clues, it was hot that day, the boys were complaining, "I'm hungry. I'm thirsty. My feet are tired." etc. There was a field with other various play stations, so they checked those out before we left as well.

Happy knitting!

The Ovens

Found a post I started and never finished, lol. When BFF was home we took one afternoon and went to the Ovens. I hadn't been there since I was 17. Here's most of the gang checking out the big grinding stones from the gold rush. (Lots and lots of gold was found at the Ovens in the 1800s.)

My two on the left, two of her three on the right. The oldest girl stayed in Alberta with her uncle this year.

Going down into one of the mining tunnels. You can't really go very far, just get to the bottom of the staircase basically and look around.

Looking out of Cannon Cave. It's named so because the water comes in and makes a huge boom like a cannon. When you're standing up above this cave it sounds like thunder.

Looking up into Cannon Cave.

The troops checking out Cannon Cave.

View from the outside.

Another cool cave.

Taking each other's picture.

There's a small rocky beach where you can go to pan for gold. There were quite a few people there panning. I think we mostly just found fool's gold, but it was fun.

Happy knitting!