In My Work Basket

My take-along project this summer has been a custom order I received through my Etsy shop for 100 crocheted washcloths. I love making them, and they are small enough to carry along with me to work on at odd moments in the car or whatever.

"Why in the world would anyone need 100 washcloths?" you might ask. Good question! My customer is a bride-to-be and she plans to use them for favors at her wedding, tied up with a hand-made bar of soap that she will make herself. Isn't that a charming gift? She needs them by the first part of September, and I am on target to have them finished well ahead of schedule.

As soon as I finish this order, I am eager to get some new sets made up in the lovely colors I've added to my yarn stash lately. My mother says having that much yarn on hand would overwhelm her. But then I reminded her that she has more fabric on hand than that. So I guess she could could relate.

If I get my washcloth inventory worked up far enough ahead, I have plans to branch out into crocheted bridal and baby accessories eventually. So many pretty patterns and ideas on Pinterest keep me motivated. But that may be more than I end up having time for. We'll just have to see.

I opened my Etsy shop last August, and it's been even more fun than I expected! Good thing, because I sure don't make much money for my time. It's more of a hobby. But that's okay. At least I feel productive "after hours" this way.

Up the Mountain

On Saturday Lyle and I decided we would take my parents (and our kids) to ride the "world's longest gondola." At breakfast we told them we had a surprise outing planned for the day. They should bring a jacket, a hat, and a camera. (Turns out the jackets were unnecessary, but in north Idaho you just never know. Even in the middle of July. Especially in the mountains.) When we arrived in Kellogg I went into the ski shop to buy the tickets. A friend had given me 4 passes to ride the gondola but they were very old. As in maybe 10 or 15 years old. She had hung on to them for a long time before passing them along to me about two years ago, as they no longer live in the area. But the passes didn't have an expiration date printed on them, so I thought it wouldn't hurt to see if the Mountain would honor them. The lady at the ticket counter didn't hesitate to accept them but she did comment on how old they were. She told me they don't even make them that way any more. (Turns out they had been printed all those years ago at the print shop where my husband works!) Now they print them on site with a bar code and an expiration date. Anyway, I was more than happy to save the $43!

So up the mountain we went. It was pretty warm inside the gondola cars, but we were able to open the windows, so it wasn't too bad.

When we got to the top of the gondola we had hoped to ride the chair lift on up to the fire tower, which we have done other years when we've gone up in the summer. My parents opted to wait for us at the Mountain Haus. However, we learned that the Mountain no longer runs that chair lift in the summer. It's still possible to hike to the fire tower, but we didn't want to take the time to do that. So we went for a short hike on a nature trail.

Then we headed back to the Mountain Haus for cold drinks and a light lunch on the deck. Cookie had come along with us, so we were glad to find a cool, shady spot to sit outside where she could be with us. Besides, the scenery was too gorgeous to go inside.

We especially enjoyed sharing an order of Idaho Style Nachos, made with crispy fried potatoes instead of tortilla chips. Such a healthy lunch, don't you think? It was yummy, though.


As we prepared to board the gondola for the ride down the mountain I happened to run into my dentist's assistant. We visited for a minute or two. She told me she was coordinating a wedding and was waiting for the bride and groom to arrive. I had noticed a sign at the ski shop at the bottom directing members of the wedding party to proceed directly to the gondola, and on our hike we saw where the chairs for the ceremony were set up. Such a gorgeous setting for a wedding.

While we were riding back down we saw the silver VIP car coming up. When it got close enough to see in through the windows we saw that it was the bride and some of her attendants. Other attendants were in cars following. (Each car seats 6-8 people and they only use the silver VIP car for, well, Very Important People, I guess. Other cars are green and blue.)

Then it occurred to me. We could have stayed at the top long enough to see the bridal party arrive. I mean, I should have known they would be up shortly since the wedding coordinator was standing there with the flowers waiting on them. It would have been fun to lurk in a corner and discreetly gawk. Too bad I didn't think of it sooner! We "girls" would have enjoyed it, anyway. I expect the men were just as happy that we had gone on about our business.

It was a fun summer adventure that I'm sure we'll all remember for a long time. I'm glad we got to go.

Etsy Treasuries

Currently, my Etsy shop is stocked with sets of cotton washcloths in a variety of colors. I hope to branch out again later in the fall, but right now I'm working to fulfill a large custom order... and then I want to get some new colors worked up and listed. I'm still enjoying the community at Etsy, and I love it when other Etsians feature my products in their treasuries. Here are some treasuries that have featured my washcloths recently.

The Color of Snow

 Into the Woods

 Summer Getaway

 Olive Dream

 Old Friends are Best - My Dad's Favorite Blue

 Go Green with Bioteam!

 Are you goin' to Scarborough Fair?

 Simply Sage

 Green After the Rain

 Peachy Keen, Jelly Bean

 Simple Joys

Independence Day Festivities

We enjoyed a full day of family, friends, and fun. It was a very traditional, all-American 4th of July.

The kids were in the Coeur d'Alene parade, marching with the Spirit of '45 organization which honors local World War II veterans.

 It's been years since we had been to a parade on Independence Day. I love watching a parade, but don't usually enjoy fighting the crowd.

My parents are visiting this week from Arkansas, so that added to the fun. Dad has a nice camera. He took lots of pictures so the kids could see some of the other entries in the parade (since they were in it).

 Afterwards, the kids were invited to hang out at a friend's house for the afternoon. They enjoyed horse-back riding (a rare treat for them) in addition to other activities.

 They came home worn out and sun-burned, but ready for a barbecue supper...

 ...and fireworks!

I was ready to head for bed long before they were.

God bless America!

(My friend, Farrah, posted more pictures of our day on her blog, Light in the Sphere.)

Falling Water

Happy Independence Day!

It's 7:00a.m.-ish and the temperature is currently 44 degrees. My parents arrived for a visit yesterday. They live in Arkansas where it has been oh-so-much hotter and drier. This morning when we got up my dad told me that our air conditioner works good. Ha. The only air conditioner we have is a small window unit that's not even currently hooked up. I love living where we can have the windows open all summer long. I do feel for those of you who live in other parts of the country where the weather is at the opposite extreme. We have had so much more than our share of rain this year. I would gladly send some your way if I could.

On Sunday we took a day trip to visit some more water falls in the area. (We had visited Copper Falls the week before while we were camping.) Some of the rivers are at flood stage, so the falls are pretty dramatic this year. 

Our main destination was Kootenai Falls which we have visited several times before. The river was so high that the falls were almost hidden. That's an awful lot of water.

The other one we visited was a new one for us. Lyle had referred to hisWaterfall Lover's Guide for directions to Snow Creek Falls.

We found Snow Creek but couldn't figure out where the trail was, according to the book. Finally, we had given up and were headed back to the main highway when I had the idea we should check to see if there were any geocaches in the area. Turns out there was a micro-cache on the trail to the falls, so by following the directions on Geocaching.com we finally did find the trail-head. The directions in the book were simply out-dated.

It was quite a hike to get to the viewing points for the Lower and Upper Falls. Not only that, but it was a damp day and kept trying to rain. The tree coverage was pretty heavy so we didn't get soaked, but it was definitely an adventure. We never did find the cache. I'm not sure why anyone would bother with a micro-cache that deep in the forest. There are a gazillion places it could have been, and the satellite signal wasn't much help with so many trees.

My camera battery had died so Laura was the one taking pictures. She snapped one of Lyle and me standing in front of the falls.

After she took it, she realized that her dad's face was too shadowed by his cap, so she asked him to adjust it so she could take more. And she did, but I still liked this one best. 

I usually don't like pictures of myself. (Do any of us?) I thought the picture I had been using for my Facebook profile was just a little too posed. This one was much more natural. I decided to crop my face out to use for my profile. I used Photoshop to lighten it up a little. I was surprised at how many comments I got after I posted it. One friend even said she liked my hair. Which made me laugh because I had done absolutely nothing to it that day. I had washed it that morning, ran a comb through it, and let it air dry. By the time the picture was taken it had been scrunched and wind-blown, and I had just shoved my sunglasses up on my head. I guess I'm just a natural kinda girl.

Now we're off to celebrate our independence with lots of festivities. Talk to you later.