A Well Dressed Bear

If you were wondering what the well dressed Teddy Bear is sporting this Fall, you're in luck - welcome to the Teddy Bear Fashion Show - 2011!  Last year I crocheted this sweater on the right for my 6 year old granddaughter.  The now-3-year-old asked me to make a sweater for HER bear - so I brought them both home with me so I could make a sweater.  Then Jenna asked me to make a matching sweater for her LITTLE bear that matched her bigger bear.

I don't use a pattern for these, you have to make them to fit, so below is the result of the 2nd sweater making.

Both bears with their sweaters on.

We had a "Girls Lunch" yesterday, so I had the bears ready when the girls arrived.  They were happy to have them back.

My older sister, Roberta, had made the girls these really neat crystal and bead window hangers - they will hang them in their new home in Ohio.  

My sister's daughter-in-law, Tami, joined us.  Paige is schmoozing with her great aunt and Tami.

I then went home with my daughter and granddaughters and proceeded to crochet the sweater for the little bear.

Jenna is very pleased with her matching bears and their clothes.  :-)

When I got home our son Travis and his wife Kristi and the two boys were here - they brought out pizza for all of us for dinner.

Tomorrow I will be taking some items to the Veteran's Administration Hospital in Portland, Oregon - to put a museum display together about the US Constitution for our chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.  I'll take some photos to show you about it.

I hope you're having a wonderful week.. thanks for coming to visit!!
((hugs)), Teresa :-)

A Belated 3rd Birthday

We had to miss our granddaughter's birthday when we came home from our camping trip with a cold.  So, when we were better, we asked if we could take the girls out for a birthday lunch.  Here we are at Claim Jumper restaurant yesterday.  As anyone will know that has tried to photograph children, it's almost impossible to get them both looking at the camera and not a blur.  :-)  Jenna and Paige hamming it up with Grandpa!

We'd called 10 stores looking for just the right "LaLaLoopsy" doll for Paige and it was not to be found, so I ordered it on Amazon.  So, since it won't come for a while longer, we took the girls to Toys R Us to find a "sofa" for the doll.  Here is Paige with her free "crown".

And here she is with the birthday balloon, crown and her good big sister in the store.

I tried so many times to get a photo of Paige with her doll and sofa, fuzz is the best I could get, but the doll was sitting still, anyway! LOL

Then we felt bad that she got the sofa and no doll yet, so we got a set of "twins" - one for each granddaughter.  So, when her other doll comes, she'll have 2.  We also got each of them this cute little tin lunch pail type purse with a beaded handle and a new outfit for each girl and some "pencil toppers". Yes, we spoiled them.  It's what grandparents get to do.

Jenna had one already, so here are the 3 of the dolls and Paige.

I do think Paige wishes she could try that doll shoe on her own foot.  :-)

We had a great time with the girls.  They'll be flying to their new home in Ohio in a few weeks.  I want to spend as much time with them before they go as I can.  Today I will be crocheting 2 sweaters for 2 Teddy Bears for the girls' favorite bears.  Hopefully they'll remember my love for them when they see my crocheted things.  I envision lots of little girl projects in the future, to send to my girls 2,000 miles away.  :-\

Hugs, Teresa

Pay It Forward! :-)

I was chosen by a wonderful blog friend, Robin at My Nest of Yarn and Buttons as one of her "Pay it Forward" recipients.  I will show you what I received, as soon as I explain how this works!  Please check out her blog, it's great!

OK, here's how it works... I have 365 days to send you your special something.  When you receive my gift made especially for you, you need to then "Pay it Forward" and make something special for three other people, and on it goes...

I've received my gift from Robin and now it's my turn to pay it forward to three of you!

If you want to join the fun, leave me a comment.  Just tell me about your perfect craft and/or hobby weekend and you'll be in the drawing!  (or just say HI!)

I will post the 3 winners who will receive my Pay-it-Forward gifts on on Saturday September 3rd.

Here are the adorable and wonderful gifts that Robin sent me!  A lovely card with a very sweet note inside, a handmade fabric pouch out of wonderful printed cloth, a yarn needle for when I need one, and the amazing special handmade handle on a crochet hook - gorgeous pink with fun yellow polka dots made out of Fimo clay by Robin herself!  Woo hoo!!  *T*H*A*N*K* * *Y*O*U*!*!*!* Robin!!

((hugs)), Teresa :-) 

Baby Rose, Bamboo & Begonias

I walked the dog and saw this on our deck... so I put the dog in the house and grabbed my iPhone for some artsy shots.  I have the Hipstamatic App on my phone which produces really artistic photos.  I've had my husband and my younger sister inform me that they don't like these photos.. and have read a fellow bloggers rant that for gosh sakes, people, don't take photos for your blogs with a PHONE!  But you know what?  I am an "artiste".  :-)  I like the painterly quality of these photos... so if you don't like these photos.. don't read further.  So there.  

When my daughter, granddaughter and sister visited "Heirloom Roses" I got four "baby" roses in tiny pots.  This one is named "Playboy".  It's yellow center and bright orange petals and light scent are lovely.  This tiny baby rose produced this bud.. which opened this morning.  Isn't it cute?

See the water droplets?  Well...........  last night we had a thunder and lightning storm and some rain.  Hubby heard the rain at around 5 am and dashed out onto the deck in all his glory to pull my rattan chair with feather cushions under cover and gather up the other cushions, too.  He came back in quite damp.  :-)  (No worries, our back deck is private so his modesty is safe.)

See the pink duct tape frame on this one?  I don't know about you but I love this!

A shot of my fluffiest and fullest bamboo plant.

Here is another shot of the lush Begonia.  Don't you love how water filled and "juicy" a begonia petal is?

Pretty pretty flowers.

I almost hit the delete button button on this but then went... hmmmmm... what a pretty pattern these make, even though they're fuzzy..

Last.. a smiling face of a Pansy.

An update... my daughter's house has sold and they (and my 2 beloved granddaughters) will be leaving to move 2000 miles away in about 2 weeks or so.   :-(  I'm in for a bumpy ride.

Garden Safari, Boys, Pattern & Recipe :-)

I am so pleased at how many of you enjoyed the epic photos in my last post about our camping trip to a high mountain wilderness camping spot in the Cascade Mountain range!  Thank you for all the wonderful comments - I enjoyed them immensely!!  We've been recuperating from the trip, and unfortunately we contracted a cold/flu virus and came down with it the evening of our return.  So, we've been puttering around, emptying the trailer and tidying up home and just relaxing and trying to get over this illness.  Today I went out to walk the dog and took my camera as I'd seen a Begonia in bloom that hubby has nursed through 2 winters, along with many geraniums.  This is what I found...

And some of the pots of geraniums.. notice the Autumn-ish leaves beginning to collect on the deck?

Below is a flower of a new variety of Geranium we picked up this year.  It's brilliant in the middle and fades to a pretty pink near the outside of the petal.

Below is a really pretty but really TINY and delicate-colored hardy Fuchsia we got this year.

Below is a more common color of fuchsia.

Here is a small Japanese glass fishing float from my collection - this has a "signed" stamp on the glass seal.  It's about the size of a grapefruit and rests in the moss of my husband's little Bonsai tree he's growing.

Another of my fuchsias... I love this one, the pretty dark pink and the lovely purple to dark red inner petals... like little ballerinas.  It also has interesting variegated leaves.

 How's this for lovely color?  Lavender and raspberry and white....

We also have several pots of Asian lilies.. here is a big white one.

And my favorite.. the Stargazer Lily.  Our sailboat is named Stargazer and we had these at our wedding in my bouquet and on the cake. :-)

And a lovely yellow and orange rose in bloom that our son, Travis, planted for us.

Hubby put some rose fertilizer stakes near the roots of our roses this summer and it seems to be paying off!!  This is my dear "Scentimental" rose.

And here is my son, Travis, with our two precious grandsons.  They were playing around the farm and got good and dirty, but they had a ball.  They're enjoying our swing on the front porch.  I want to thank my son and his wife for taking care of our chickens, watering our plants inside and out and coming in to pet our cat, Lucy, while we were away.  

I meant to take photos of my 3 give-away gifts, but forgot before I packaged them up today and sent them in the mail.  One went to Sarah in Arkansas, one to Bobbi in Louisiana and one to Trang in Vietnam!!  Ladies, please let me know when your gift arrives and if you're pleased. :-)

Pattern for the washcloth in my last post:

Gentle Ridges Dishcloth

Finished size approx 8"x8"

With size H crochet hook and any kitchen cotton yarn, ch 30

Row 1: dc in 3^rd ch from hook, sk 1, * sc and dc in next ch, sk 1 * - repeat from * to * to end of row, ending with sc in last stitch. Ch 2, turn.

Rows 2-21 are worked in back loop only except for first and last stitch.

Row 2 - 20: dc in first st, sk 1, * working in back loop only, sc and dc in next space, sk 1 *, repeat from * to * to end of row, ending with sc in last st. Ch 2, turn.

Finishing: After completing last st in row 20, sc/ch 1/sc in that corner space, continue to sc around all sides of piece, with sc/ch 1/sc in corners. Join with sl st to first sc in first corner worked. Bind off and work in ends.

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For Pammy Sue.. and anyone who thought our noodle dinner looked good. :-)

Teresa & Dayle's Chicken Yakisoba 

Yakisoba Noodles (the ones we buy are pre-cooked)

Your favorite Teriyaki Cooking Sauce

skinless, boneless chicken thighs

lots of fresh veggies such as:

pea pods, cabbage, onions, carrots, fresh mushrooms, broccoli, celery, cauliflower or any favorite veggie. 

Simmer chicken thighs in frying pan in teriyaki sauce until cooked through-15 minutes or so.

After chicken  is half cooked, start stir frying veggies in oil on high heat.  When veggies are about done, pull apart the yakisoba noodles and put in with the veggies and sprinkle the teriyaki sauce over the noodles and stir fry them with the veggies.

When chicken is done, remove from the pan and slice in 1/2 inch slices, toss into the veggie/noodle mix.  Drizzle the sauce in the chicken pan over the veggie/noodle/chicken mix and VOILA.

((hugs)), Teresa :-) 

Alpine Lake Camping Trip

We arrived home from our 9 day camping trip last evening - I missed you all!  I will warn you, there are a lot of photos below, I hope you'll enjoy them.  This camping trip is also our family reunion and there were almost 30 of us there!!  When we arrived I walked down to our beloved bay and snapped this photo.  This lake is the 2nd largest natural lake in Oregon with a visibility depth of 115 feet, one of the purest lakes on the planet.  Every single day was this perfect!  Warm days and cold nights.  

Below is our first evening with the sun over the lake peeking through the woods... 

The Bear Grass was in full bloom this year.. many years the bloom is over, so I got some photos of it.  It's beautiful!

A close up of the Bear Grass bloom.

When we got set up, I shot some photos of the interior of our trailer, this is the dining table.

Buddy loves to sit on the back of the sofa to keep an eye on chipmunks and my brother's West Highland White Terrier, Tux.  He's sitting on my granny stripe blanket I made.

I crocheted 2 dish cloths the first few days with this lovely lime green cotton.  I'll try to share the pattern soon as I loved how it came out.

Here are our recliners.. now this is camping, I say! LOL

Our kitchen, with a watermelon in the sink!  Dayle cut it up and put it in the fridge, it was sweet!

Our comfy bedroom.. with Buddy scampering across the bed.

I love my Canon PowerShot SX200 IS with 12x zoom.. this Chipmunk photo was taken from the kitchen window!

Our first dinner, Dayle is the chef and made baked potatoes in the trailer oven, sauteed frozen green beans with bacon and onions and BBQ'ed filet mignon on the grill outside.

Our first night.. sunset on the point.  Not real colorful as there were no clouds, but pretty.  I got some pretty bad mosquito bites on the tops of my feet that night and had to put cool washcloths on my feet to settle down the itching.. but never had any more bites react much after that night.  The lake is known for it's mosquitos!

The full moon was up as we turned to leave the point that night.

The next day we launched our Sunfish sailboats and sailed to "Amy's Blue Lagoon" - my sister named this spot after our daughter and at least in our family, we call it that.  It's where we go to sit in the sun and swim - as it's protected from the wind by a pretty little island.. many people don't know this spot is there.

I took a photo of my foot hanging off the side of my boat to show you how clear the water is.

My sister and her husband kayaked over to the lagoon to meet us as we sailed in, that is Dayle and Buddy behind them.

I spotted this meadow full of my favorite wildflower, Shooting Star, in the spit of land where we make landfall at the lagoon.

Here is Dayle and Buddy the Cairn Terrier in his life-jacket.

Here's my Sunfish at rest while I was taking photos.

My favorite sailing photo this year.. Dayle at left and my older sister on the right.

D and older sis "posing" and my younger sis and her husband in kayaks.

Hubby took this photo of the protecting island and the lake beyond.

We arrived on Wednesday early afternoon and our daughter-in-law, Kristi, arrived with our 2 and 3 year old grandsons on Friday - here they are the next morning having breakfast that grandpa made of sauteed ham, diced potatoes, eggs with cheese melted over it all - great camp breakfast.

The next day they found a frog and 2 tadpoles and brought them back to show grandpa and grandma.

Frog!

A close-up of Shooting Star wildflowers on the rocky side of the beach where we keep the boats when not in use.

Caleb was sooooooooo tired after playing in the water and riding bikes all day that he fell asleep next to me on the chair before he even could eat his turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and corn dinner.  :-)

The annual family photo on the log on the side of the bay.

Dayle is simmering chicken thighs in teriyaki sauce over the fire for our Chicken Teriyaki Yakisoba Noodle dinner with lots of veggies.  YUM!

With Dayle enjoying being chef, I could work on my crochet flower shawl in front of the fire, although I did put it down to go in the trailer and chop the veggies for the stir fry - onion, cabbage, mushrooms, pea pods, broccoli, carrots and celery.

Dinner turned out SUPERB!

The boys were up early riding bikes around the circle near our campsite.

Our campsite.. I drive my car with the boat trailer and Dayle and Buddy pull the trailer behind his 1 ton Dodge dually.

Our son arrived on Sunday and on Monday he paddled me in our canoe out to the little island in the mouth of the bay - Kristi kayaked out with Caleb and Hayden and the dog were in the canoe.  This turned out to be a highlight of my week as the boys had so much fun and our dog got to run free which he never gets to do ordinarily.

The island.

The clear water.

I'm not sure if you can see it, but at the end of the island is a cool little fort made out of stacked rock - Travis, Kristi, the boys and the dog went to explore while I took photos.

My sister Roberta took this photo of our family on the island and Rob, his daughter Jessica and his wife D'Ann in kayaks.  :-)

The fort closer up.

Picturesque photo from the island across the lake.

Kristi and the boys exploring the island.

Travis then went to get "Papa" - the dog is sooOOoo happy to see "dad".

Travis and the boys exploring the other end of the island.

That afternoon Travis and Kristi borrowed my camera and took some photos of the boys making new friends on the beach.. this is Hayden and "Bella".

Caleb is captured running along the beach with pure joy on his face. :-)

Both boys running and having fun.

That afternoon we started a fire and made "S'mores" - this is my monster one with some toasted marshmallows, a whole Hershey's chocolate bar and 2 whole graham crackers.  I broke it in half and shared it with Travis.

Kristi posed Buddy on top of this stump.. doesn't he look like a bear?  Roarrrrrrrrr!

Our son Travis drove up in his 1966 Mustang GT fastback and Kristi drove her VW camper bus.

I took these photos of the island with the warm evening sun slanting across the lake.

Another shot... love these.

Grandpa took this shot of the boys looking up at the sky.

Kristi and Travis heard that at night the toads cover the beach and excitedly brought this one to show us that night.  :-P

Our campsite.. notice my crocheted bunting/pennants/banner?  Dayle used my nice wooden kayak paddle to hold up the tarp.. sheesh!

On Wednesday, Dayle, my sister, brother and I sailed to the lagoon and swam, then sailed up the lake, then we sailed to the boat launch and loaded our boats for our departure on Thursday.  This is me on my boat heading to the lagoon.  How pretty is this??

My sail.  Story time:  Ten years ago my sister called and told me about this ad in the paper of a new Sunfish for sale.  So, I called the guy and he'd won this at a convention. The sail was custom designed to advertise the movie "Tequila Sunrise" starring Mel Gibson, Kurt Russell and Michele Pfeiffer in 1988.  I talked him down from $950 to $750 on the phone.. then went to pick it up.. did I ever SCORE!  This was brand new, in the box with a custom sail!!  These boats new are now over $4k and that is not with a custom sail.  I **LOVE** this sailboat.  

I took this photo of a wildflower in that meadow that I'd never seen before.. do you know what it is?  Sorry, the photo is not very clear.  (Edited to add - The flower is a "Elephant Head" or "Pink Elephant" - thanks for the info from Kathy at Running with Rocket)  See the little elephant heads and trunks?  :-)

Last photo of the lake before we head home....

There was still snow there on the ground!!  It's 5400 feet in altitude, as high as Denver, Colorado which is nicknamed the "Mile High City".

Wildflowers on the edge of the beach.. Bunchberry.

Heading down from the lake.. this is Dayle and our trailer with Mt. Zoran in the distance.

And so.. hope I haven't worn you out reading this post.  I missed my blog and blog friends and all those who take the time to read my writings.

((hugs)), Teresa :-)