JessaLu’s morning glories bloomed on her wedding day. We’re both pretty certain it was a sign of love and approval from her beloved and sorely missed grandmother. And yeah, we cried about that, too.

Have an awesome weekend!

I finished a pair of socks last weekend and they are my ninth pair for 2010.  That’s about half of my intended goal for the year and I’m not really sure why. I’m still knitting socks constantly, it seems. And yet, production is way down.

It could be that my sock drawer is overflowing and it’s hard to get motivated when there isn’t enough room to add another pair of socks.

Or it could be that I’ve knit more sweaters and mittens and shawls this year.

Or, if I’m being completely honest,  it could be Bejeweled.

Either way, I’ve finally got a pair of lovely new socks (the pattern is mine and the yarn is Emily’s) and they are mine all mine.

On Saturday I had the honor of attending and photographing the wedding of my dear friends JessaLu and Roger. Dale and I got to JessaLu’s house nice and early and I set up my camera and took photos of Jess and her attendants getting ready. It was fun to hang out and eat chocolate, to meet Tina and get to know the other attendants, and to help Jess get ready – even if I did cry when I saw her in her dress.

Before I knew it we were ready to go to the wedding site and Dale and I drove the bride – how special is that? We arrived at Baldwin Hill Farm right on time and it was a glorious afternoon.

There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, the colors on the mountains were beautiful, and the elm tree was ready to bear witness to this momentous occasion.

Our JessaLu looked gorgeous in her dress and the veil made by our Cookie was stunning. Jess arranged all the flowers for the wedding herself – some 600 roses – and they were wonderful, but none more so than her beautiful white rose bouquet.

I tried to be all professional and not get emotional when Roger laid eyes on Jess for the first time but it wasn’t easy, I will tell you that. The love these two have and the joy at this particular moment was palpable.

And the scenery was perfect. The mountains made a gorgeous backdrop for the photos. I took 615 all together but I managed to narrow them down to just these few that I’m posting – with Jess and Roger’s permission, of course.

It was great to see the bridesmaids all wearing the shawls in Tina’s signature Sin colorway. Becky is there next to Jess and she’s wearing the Cascata shawl that I knit for her. And that’s Amanda, JessaLu’s sister, on the other side of Tina. They made a beautiful group of women.

After the ceremony Dale and I (again feeling honored) drove Jess and Roger back to their home for a quick change of JessaLu’s hairdo and a moment to catch our breath before heading to the fire station for the reception.

And can I just tell you, this was a fire station transformed. I had no doubt that Jess would do a fabulous job but until you have seen 1100 pom poms made from dyed coffee filters, well, you just don’t know how gorgeous that can be.

There were twinkle lights strung everywhere and red roses by the hundreds. Each table was named for one of Jess and Roger’s favorite movies and on the tables were cards printed with their favorite quotes from those movies. There were hand made envelopes filled with chocolates and there were glowing tea lights and it was just beautiful.

There were also cupcakes. They were wrapped in paper wrappers handmade by Jess and they were delicious, as was the dinner which included perhaps the best scalloped potatoes I have ever eaten. There was salad and chicken and roast beef and green beans, too, but oooooh, those potatoes were heavenly.

It was truly a fabulous day full of love and special moments and best wishes. I never dreamed, when I started this blog nearly 6 years ago, that I would make a friend like JessaLu. And I never dreamed that our friendship would lead to me being so blessed as to be a part of her wedding, as her friend and chauffeur, as her photographer and helper and confidante.

I know that there were thousands of weddings on 10-10-10 but I’m pretty sure Dale and I were at the best one of all.

We’ve been doing a lot of riding in the car lately. On Friday we drove 2 hours to pick up Hannah at school and then (naturally) 2 hours back home. On Sunday we drove 3 hours to go to JessaLu’s wedding (fabulous, of course) and then on Monday we drove back home. This coming weekend we will be driving out to Rhinebeck and that’s even more time in the car. All of this inspired this week’s Ten on Tuesday topic : 10 Ways to Have Fun on Long  Car Rides.

1. Have a reliable car. Nothing ruins a road trip like having car troubles!
2. Knit. I usually knit something simple like socks so that I can still keep an eye on the scenery.
3. Listen to music. Playlists are great for long car rides.
4. Or listen to an audiobook. This only works if you can refrain from talking to the other people in the car.
5. Play the license plate game.
6. Chat with your car mates. Politics and religion always keep things lively!
7. Snack on something delicious. Pretzel Combos are sort of disgusting but I love them on a road trip – the only time I let myself eat them.
8. Play handheld games. I have several on my iPhone and I can mostly do this without getting carsick.
9. Quote favorite movie lines. This one can go on for a long time if you’re a movie buff.
10. Stare out the window. This one may not be as fun as the others but I have to admit it’s probably the one I do the most.

I told you there were pumpkins everywhere! This one is on the steps of my deck and it was all shiny and wet from the rain – so pretty!

It’s a long weekend. Hip hip hooray, I will see you on Tuesday.

It seems like pumpkins are everywhere I turn these days. There are pumpkins to be carved and pumpkins to be baked and pumpkins to be turned into delicious treats. I wanted a fun and easy dessert to go with our turkey dinner last Sunday so I made Pumpkin Whoopie Pies.

They were awesome. I used a recipe I found on Home: Made Simple and the only thing I changed was to double it. I think I wound up with about 24 whoopie pies.

The cream cheese frosting is delicious and the cake is light and flavorful and everyone really loved them.

While I believe that traditional Whoopie Pies made with chocolate cake and buttercream frosting are still the best thing going, I will definitely be making these pumpkin ones again!

My dear friends JessaLu and Roger are getting married this weekend. I am so happy for them and I volunteered throughout the last year to help out in any way that I can. Last spring I took their engagement photos but that didn’t seem like enough. Cookie had already knit a stunning shawl for JessaLu’s veil so I didn’t need to knit anything for the bride. I asked Jess about shawls for the bridesmaids and she said that 2 of the bridesmaids were knitting their own and she would be knitting the third. I immediately offered to do that for her and I’m so glad I did.

Tina dyed the yarn and the color is awesome. Jess and I perused several patterns together but finally settled on Cascata from Twist Collective.

This is not your typical shawl pattern, if anything it’s more of a cross between a shawl and a stole. There is no triangular shape and center paired increases, rather, the shawl is knit as one long piece. You start by casting on 383 stitches (aaaaaah) and then work the lace pattern and finally use short rows in stockinette stitch to create a sort of “U” shape to the whole piece.

The pattern is very well written and easy to follow and the yarn was a joy to work with. I had a hard time blocking it to the dimensions referred to in the pattern but I managed to get it into submission and I think it turned out nicely.

I mailed it to JessaLu last week and she says she loves it. Now I just can’t wait to see how it looks when the wh0le wedding party assembles on Sunday. I consider myself so fortunate to have my knitting be a part of two weddings this year. I can’t think of a greater compliment to my skills or a better way to show my friends how much I love them.

It’s no secret that I love summer and I’m always sad to see it fade away. However, I try to have a positive attitude about the world around me even when it’s not my favorite season. And so, today’s topic is 10 Things To Love About Fall. Since I do actually enjoy fall a lot,  I think this will be fun.

1. Outside decorations. Pumpkins and hay bales and mums in a variety of colors decorating porch steps and decks make me happy.
2. Inside decorations. I’ve got garlands of silk leaves and ceramic pumpkins and gourds. My house looks appropriately decorated for autumn.
3. The first fire in the wood stove. We haven’t had to do this yet and I’m sure in no hurry but there is something very special about the first fire of the season.
4. Candles. I love scented candles all the time but in the fall, when the days gets shorter, I find it very comforting to light a candle and enjoy the smell of spiced pears or cinnamon and pumpkin.
5. Apples! The time is right for pies and crisps and all things apple-y.
6. Comfort food. Sunday I roasted a turkey and had friends and family over to enjoy a delicious turkey dinner with all the fixings. I love to gather around the dinner table this time of year.
7. Colorful foliage. We’ve got lots of it here in New England and the drive out to get Hannah for the Columbus Day weekend should be beautiful.
8. The weather. Our humidity is (mostly) gone and the days are often warmish while the nights are chilly. A rainy day is welcome this time of year, too, particularly if I’m home and curled up with knitting by the woodstove.
9. Flannel shirts. Blue jeans. Boots. After several months of trying to wear as little as possible it’s nice to pull on soft warm clothes and really enjoy the comfort that brings.
10. Knitting. It’s so much better in the fall! There are mittens and hats and sweaters to be knit for the upcoming (boo!) winter.

We had a great time at Family Day with Hannah on Saturday. We took Jess and Patrick with us and they got to visit the campus for the first time.

Hannah is doing really well and we all enjoyed spending time with her.

The school did a fine job of making it a fun day. There were carnival rides and a balloon artist.

There was a juggler and a delicious (although it would have been more delicious had the food actually been hot) luncheon.

There was football.

Complete with a mascot.

And my dear daughter in her first college performance. She did a terrific job. Her comedic timing is awesome and her stage presence is so good and we were all very very proud of her.

Imagine that.

The other day I took about 50 photos of the ornamental grasses in front of my library. Some had blue sky in the background, some had pine trees in the background, and some had the library in the background. I had such a hard time deciding which one to show you today but the library won out.

Have a great weekend!