Attack Cat

I don't remember who gave me this plaque, but it seems to apply now more than ever!

WARNING: This house is protected by an attack cat.

My New Favorite Scarf -- So Far!

I wish my camera could show you the intensity of the colors in this scarf. I am so pleased with it! The yarn comes from Skaska Designs out of Ft. Collins, Colorado (Skaska.com) and the colors range from an intense orange to a vibrant fuchsia. This is an incredibly simple lace pattern so it doesn't overwhelmed the colors. The yarn is soft, and it feels feather-light. I brought it to work last week, and the first thing everyone had to do it touch it. I also had a couple people threaten to steal it.

The pattern is from Susanne Lewis' book, Knitting Lace, a must-have for anyone who knits lace. I just added a garter stitch edge of three rows at the top and bottom and three stitches along both sides. Unfortunately, the orange and yellow colors do not look good on me, so when I wear it, I need to have the fuchsia and pink next to my face. I can make it work.

I am now ready to start knitting some more scarves and shawls from this delicate lace yarn.

What I Did on Summer Vacation

These are my adorable sweet sons, Lorne and Dane.
They reluctantly allowed me to take pictures
of them with their hats.

One last note about our trip to Canada. When I not driving or sleeping during the car trip, I was knitting. I finished the watch hats for my sons and hubby, all three made out of an ulta-soft alpaca yarn that is very warm.

I also made two shawls  although I didn't finish the blue one until I got home. They are made from three skeins of Mini Mochi, and I only had two skeins of the blue.  When I got home, I went to my local yarn store to see if they had another skein, only to find out that these colors have been discontinued. I searched the web and finally found some. Whew! I really love the blue and purple colors, so I would have been disappointed if I couldn't finish it.  I will probably offer the rainbow one at my church auction this fall.

The pattern is Wingspan, and can be found on Ravelry. It is very, very addictive, especially if you like doing short rows. There is an array of yarns making this pattern so the variations are endless. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/wingspan-2

Neko Attempts The Balance Beam

Just as Neko attempts the balance beam in the Cat Olympics, ...

... it did not go as planned.  After all, ...

... it interferes with naptime.

Breakfast with Neko and Ken

What are you eating? Did you start without me?

Can I have some? At least let me smell it.

Well, part of it smells good. Is that milk? But what is that weird smell?
And why is it pink? Milk isn't supposed to be pink!

Wait!  Don't eat it! It may not be safe. It's pink, don't you understand?

Oh, that's just wrong.

Canada - The trip home

Yes, I know we have been home for over a week and I hadn't finalized my trip story. It took a while to find my cord to transfer pictures. But I still wanted to finish up my story.

On Sunday, we said good-bye to all our family from near and far with promises to keep in touch, which we actually do. With email, Facebook, and Photo Bucket, it is easier and easier to do. The Gackle family have a  reunion every three years and it looks like that will continue in the future. We've been to Portland, Billings, Colorado, and North Dakota, with the one in 2015 in California and in 2018 in Germany!

The trip home was going to take two days, with some fun along the way. We spent half of a day at the cliffs of Head-Smashed-in Buffalo Jump near Macleod, Alberta. For over 5,500 years, the Blackfoot Indians hunted  buffalo by causing a herd of buffalo to stampede over the cliff. I love museums and have a special fondness for Native American museums. (I am using "American" here to mean "North American" because this was in Canada.)

The Blackfoot then use every part of the 30 or so buffalo to live on for the next year, such as dried meat, clothing and bedding, which with Alberta winters, that could be important.

We took a hike along the drive lanes used for herding the buffalo. It is amazing that you don't see the cliff until you are right up to it. No wonder the buffalo didn't see it coming. It's called a buffalo "jump' instead of a buffalo 'fall," because it is believed that the buffalo are willing to sacrifice themselves to give the Blackfoot people warmth and food to the people. Gotta love that kind of dedication, right?

We spent the rest of the day driving on to Yellowstone. We stayed the night somewhere in southern Montana, and drove into the park the next day.

I have a long and beautiful history with Yellowstone. I worked at Old Faithful Lodge during the summers when I was in college, and I have dragged my family there many times since. So we decided we were only doing to two a couple of things there before continuing home. We had to visit my old stomping grounds at Old Faithful and wanted to see the caldera exhibit at the Canyon area.

As we drove through Hayden Valley, we came upon the buffalo herd. This little guy was shading himself in the ditch. All I had to do is stick my camera out the window to take his picture.  I then warned him not to go north to Head Smashed In in Alberta.

So we made it home. We dropped Dane off in Fort Collins and Lorne off in Denver, and we got home to Littleton and collapsed into sleep. I already missed being with my boys, but it was wonderful to spend time with them.