Canning, Karen and Yes! more knitting...

Life goes on.

Kristina has her new vehicle to roam around in. She's gone shopping for her prom dress and found a lovely one with the shoes and clutch bag. I'll post a picture when prom arrives...
A few more flowers (Viola's) found their way into a couple of pots on the deck along with a nice Basil plant for the herb collection I've started.
David had a birthday! Instead of his usual chicken fried steak with biscuits and gravy request he surprised me with wanting Chicken Piccata, Linguine, tossed salad and the coup de gras - Chocolate-Bourbon Pecan Pie without the Bourbon if you please! Mom, please note the cast iron pan the chicken is in. Look familiar?

The weather is definitely changing for the better. For the last couple of nights we've stayed out on the deck, quite comfortably I might add, with a nice fire in the fire pit to keep us company and ward off any slight chill. Looking for satellites, making smores/roasting marshmellows and enjoying playing 20 questions with the kids. We've had quite a few interesting moments with this game. This picture is of the area stripped for the dust storm we're expecting today. I'm hoping that its over rather quickly so that we can get it all set back up for another night on the deck.
My friend, Karen, who moved from here in '07 and last visited in the fall of '08 finally made it in for a visit this week. She has so many folks to visit with and see that we were flattered that she wanted to stay with us for a night. So we prepped and lucky for us David's birthday fell this last week so we delayed the celebration until Sunday and Karen was able to celebrate with us. We sure have missed having her here to see and visit with more often. But she is moving from N. Carolina to Texas this fall so maybe we'll get to see her more often.

Canning!? Yep! I'm getting into canning and the first thing I'm starting with is Blackberries. Going to hopefully make jam and freeze some. Sunflower Market, our poor man's Whole Foods, is having a sale to beat all sales. Bell Peppers (all colors are 10 for $10), cucumbers are 10 for

$10, Eggplant are 10 for $10, Pint size containers of Blackberry's are 10 for $10. The list goes on and on! All of the produce is just beautiful. This is not like Walmart, Safeway, etc. that puts their stuff on sale just before going bad. Sunflower is now our "Go To" place for all our produce wants and needs. This is a flat of 12 pints for $12. They also have beautiful herb plants.

Knitting. Yes, knitting. I finally finished one of my shawls. Now, taking into account my lack of ability where taking pictures are concerned..... please know that this shawl in person is quite lovely. It measures almost 40" square. Nice size for a cuddle.