Tag Archives: vacation

The Answer to all sorts of UPSET.

Posted on November 23, 2008 by Dawn

Well, it took me so long to get a WordPress issue worked out by my Technical Guru that you completely missed my depression post. Good thing, probably.

You also missed me getting a black eye from the Gnomemobile. Yep, the back hatch smashed down right on my eye-bone. Looks like I have really nice red-violet eyeshadow on my right eye only. As Erin say’s ” It makes my green eye POP!” No pictures for you, my bloggarazzi. Just imagine it.

Pop, pop, pop.

It was American Education week at the poppets’ school. Good times and happiness with teachers. That’s a good feeling. Everybodys’ happy this year…. really good.

Getting ready to head to the Outer Banks of NC for Thanksgiving with the family. I am packing up my knitting. Working on–

1. Grey alpaca handspun neckwarmer in a cool herringbone stitch.

2. My Reader’s Wrap in Green-Gawgeous Soho Tweed. A color which combines the most complicated palette of greens with flecks of purple thrown in and comes out this fabulous yarn numbered 333. For some really dumb reason Tahki discontinued the color. Really dumb.

3. Knitted babes. These cute knitted dolls. They have been partially made for a year or so now in my basket. Time for them to get born. and Wardrobes made.

4. A few other neckwarmers.

I don’t think I really have room for too much in the Fit smallest car ever. But I will stuff it around me. I have gotten so addicted to spinning that I am having trouble imagining leaving that home…. hmmmn, there’s that thing called a spindle right? :)

Ok. So HERE IT IS. Yesterday my Marigold introduced me to the answer to ALL PROBLEMS. She told me it would make me feel better. She tried to show me it for 2 days, but I kept getting mad and turning it off. There’s this marvelous song. It’s in this movie. Watch it. Sing it. Change your life. I believe it is taking a seat beside the beloved CAKE SONG in the Family Soundtrack Collection. Enjoy.
Sparkle– SPARKLE!!

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Vacation– Part Two: The Beach

Posted on August 11, 2008 by Dawn

We left WV and traveled to Ocean City, MD.

Again, watery wonderment. This time plus WAVES! My mom’s house is on the Bayside. The view is stunning. Watching the grassland is awesome. So much wildlife to admire.

She gets sunsets like this all the time.

We had a visiting jelly-fish and watched it gracefully dancing around the dock. What strange and beautiful creatures they are… when they are not stinging you.

We always visit Assateague Island. It was super crowded this time. I didn’t realize it, but it was around the time of the pony-swim. We didn’t witness that, but did see a bunch of fine ponies.

Even a baby!

Plus met a lot of nasty green headed flies.

Then we spent some beach time closer to home. Gorgeous beach days.

The kids played so happily in the waves, and did their important sand-work. It was so fun to see the youngest of the kids go from ocean-terror to flirting with the waves by the end of our beach-time. Next year she’ll be straight in there! Both of my girls got to be more confident and skilled in the water during our travels. It is nice to see them growing and learning in nature with the added elements of sand & waves and lake flora & fauna. It makes it somehow a more holistic experience– more of a “being” in and with the water, if that makes any sense. More mermaidy :) .

I was amazed. Sometimes a little nervous, but happy for them to be letting loose and having so much fun.


After a few days stay at the beach we started back for home. We were on the bay bridge at sunset– which felt like a perfect end to our vacation.

We missed Papa, and Hedwig, and had a few new friends to bring as well.

Yep, Matryoshka and I fell for the Hermie campaign. Sounded great until I started reading up on them the night before we were to get them. Which, by the way, is too late to start a “no” campaign! :)

We came home and made them a smashing crabitat. They don’t seem to be so impressed with it or even very inspired to move. In fact, I keep checking to see if they are still alive. We are trying our best, and hope they will make it. Hey– the VERY BEST news is that I read that a hermit crab CAN live 80 years!!! I am sure that is not OUR kind of Hermit crab, but I DO hope they stick around for a bit.

3 weeks until school starts…. I need to put more dirges on my playlist.


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Vacation– Part one: Ladies and children of the lake

Posted on August 10, 2008 by Dawn

Ok! Time to catch you up on the vacation– which already feels like a month ago, instead of a week!!

We started out at the lovely lake again–at my friends glorious cabin in the woods.

It was my mom, my 2 sisters and our 8 kids! It was HOT good weather for swimming, plus it seemed to cloud up a bit and sometimes rain in the afternoon to give us a cool-down. As you’d expect, with Moms solo vacationing with kids, there were definitely moments of insanity on all of our parts! I didn’t capture those moments though. :) They are best left up to your imagination and our fading memory machines! We managed to get in crafting and fiber time. Watched a really good movie called The Real Dirt on Farmer John

I dug it! ( ha!)

Let’s see– THIS is what you pull in the driveway to. Can’t you feel your blood pressure dropping?

That lake was FULL of our kids every day… their bodies, their games, their noodles and their NOISE! This is usually a very quiet and serene place… I am sure they could hear us all the way in Harpers Ferry!

It was really nice. One of my favorite memories was floating around with sister Matryoshka one day and having a brilliant blue dragon ( or damsel??) fly sit on us and visit for a while. It was so beautiful, and it just kept buzzing back to rest on our hands or shoulders as we lazed along. Here is what I like to think about when I remember our week–

splashy abandon!

My sis escaping to the woods and looking magical

The amazing mushroom we found

–I have lots of great moss and lichens and stumps too. You can visit them on Flickr. :)

One of the days we spent a long time building fairy houses. We did this on our visit here last year as well. I think my friend likes to wander around and discover our work. Here are a few of them.

Here’s one we all worked on together. It has a mossy canopy bed and great decor. See that hole????

The VERY BEST SURPRISE was that one of the kids noticed THIS inside of it–

Hope Toady likes the new swank home!

Lastly– we had a water-craft build and launch. Each of the kids built their own out of natural materials– plus a little florist wire here and there. Then we launched them. Each was soooo different, and each floated marvelously!!

Here’s one with a passenger (George the rock) and an ingenious seat/food supply.

This one reminds me of the Flintstones’ car.

The LAUNCH party. They were so happy.

There’s a bunch of glimpses into our week for you.

Next we traveled back across Maryland to the beach…..

That is for another post.

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Fiber update- Bountiful vacation

Posted on August 9, 2008 by Dawn

I had a very fruitful vacation- fiberliciously speaking.

I finished my 2 gnomes for the gnomeswap on ravelry.  They were so much fun.  Since I was away with sister matryoshka, we got to work on them together– DOUBLE fun.

I will show you pics as soon as they have arrived at their destinations.

I also did a lot of spinning.  I am still totally high on artyarn spinning.  Here’s what came off the wheel at the lake.

merino-tencel blend.–leftovers from other projects.  Super coils.  This one was for my sister. :)

Next, Loop batt.  Corespun.

Loop batt number 2– seemed so RED as a batt.  Corespun and then plied with sequins on purple lace weight wool- tencel.

And lastly– I finished one of those jays.  The never ending socks.

So much more than I’d ever get done in a normal week!

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Mosaical Me, vacational me!

Posted on July 25, 2008 by Dawn

I am off on a whirlwind vacation tomorrow with my mom and sisters and all 8 kids! Awesome!! We are off to the beach and the lake as well ( as posted previously). I am so excited. We’ll be with nature and our crafts and each other. I am so looking forward to it– and the kids are levitating, they are so excited!!

I have a gnome headed off to the Netherlands today. I can’t wait to show you… gotta wait until it arrives though. Don’t want to spoil the surprise!! I was up late birthing him, and I left him in front of the coffee maker so that my jim would get to see him this morning. Poor guy, he stumbled in there this morning to get a cup and said it scared him silly. ( he said something much more colorful in fact) Never know what you’ll find around the gnomegarden!

I’ll be back in a week or so, with lots of pictures and adventures to share. I think by then I’ll have some classes to announce as well. Have a great week!! Please remember to send me your favorite blog links! It is so much fun to share them!

Here’s mosaical me– if you decide to play along– please show me yours! The titles aren’t always the literal answer. You’ll have to interpret them. Also, there’s a clue in there to my next big garden-art post. :)

xo Dawn

1. dawn and dandy, 2. Handmade chocolate cupcakes filled with blueberry cream and topped with dark chocolate ganache and some more of these absolutely delicious wild blueberries, 3. Lansdowne storefronts, 4. Flying purple, 5. johnny depp, 6. Chai tea latte mix, 7. Maho Bay in the Morning, 8. Chocolate Torture Tart & Coffee Ice Cream, 9. Sweet Wendy of the Leeks, 10. I Am My Father’s Daughter – Crop, 11. Two of each, 12. Stitch Markers from Ravelry Swap

Here are the rules:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page of results, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

The Questions:

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.

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