I took a lot of photos during our weekend in NH but this one is a favorite. It looks so peaceful. I’d like to be back there right now!

Have a great weekend!

As I said yesterday, we spent Sunday with our friends Jo-Ann and Shawn at their house on Lake Winnipesaukee. We stopped on our way down the mountain first, though, and took this picture.

See that little spot in the lake, just to the left of the tall tree in the foreground? That’s Little Mark Island and Jo-Ann and Shawn’s house is in the cove to the left of it. Sweet!

As you can imagine, they have a fantastic view of the lake. They also have their own private beach and a boat. It’s nice to have friends with great toys, let me tell you.

While hanging out on their beach we ate lunch, drank beer, and swam. We also go to see the Mount Washington go by and that was very cool.

After a bit we went out in the boat and checked out the sights. I love this sandbar where people park their boats and hang out in the lake.

Dale decided hanging out in the lake would be fun so he gave tubing a try.

Shawn drives the boat very carefully for newbies and Dale never fell off.

He just relaxed and went with the flow . . . errrr . . . wake.

What a fun way to spend the afternoon!

We left after dinner and finally got home around 11pm. We were tired but it was worth it. What an awesome weekend we had!

Last weekend Dale and I found ourselves with no commitments. No band jobs for him, no work commitments, no social engagements – - – a completely unscheduled weekend in July. This is sort of unheard of for us so we decided to take advantage of it and go away. We went back and forth about where to go and decided to try someplace Dale had been as a kid but we had never been together so we headed north, to Alton Bay, NH.

I found us an adorable little cottage online. It was reasonably priced and available. It was close to a medium size pond and also close to our friends Jo-Ann and Shawn on Lake Winnipesaukee. It sounded perfect.

And it was. We settled in on Thursday night and went out for a quick bite to eat down in Alton Bay. I had delicious fried shrimp and Dale had the biggest piece of fried haddock I have ever seen. It was wicked hot so we also had some ice cream!

On Friday we decided it was too hot for the beach so we headed to Center Harbor and Keepsake Quilting. I got inspired by all the fabric and am now committed to make 3 new quilts. I fell down so hard in the fabric store that I never even went into Patternworks next door. I know, I know, but I have a lot more yarn than fabric so I feel I made the right choice.

We ended the afternoon on the beach and then had an awesome dinner with Jo-Ann and Shawn at the Lyon’s Den. Dale said his swordfish was the best he’d ever had and the setting was beautiful. It was still hot so after dinner we took a boat ride with Shawn & Jo-Ann and their family to the ice cream place. It was the perfect way to end a wonderful day.

The weather was much more moderate on Saturday so we spent the afternoon at our pond. We met some very nice people on the beach and felt very welcomed by the whole area. The pond is very pretty and surrounded by mountains. We swam and drank beer and ate crackers and cheese and it was a great afternoon.

We cooked steaks on the grill for dinner and took a walk back to the beach to see the sunset. We missed the sunset but Dale got to play horseshoes with his new friends so it was not a total loss!

On Sunday we cleaned up the cottage and headed over to Lake Winnipesaukee to spend the day with our friends. You’re going to have to wait until tomorrow to hear about that, though.

I spend a fair amount of time in the car, driving back and forth to work, going on vacations, taking Sunday drives. While out and about I think it’s fun to read the various bumper stickers people put on their vehicles and that leads me to today’s Ten on Tuesday topic: The 10 Best Bumper Stickers I’ve Ever Seen.

1. Hang Up and Drive. I first saw this one in Maine when Dale and I were on our honeymoon back in 1997. It will always be my favorite.
2. Motorcycles are Everywhere. My brother died in a motorcycle accident and so did one of my dearest friends. This bumper sticker has a very personal meaning for me.
3. My Other Vehicle is a Spinning Wheel. Of course I love that one. I have mine on my bulletin board in my office, though, and not on my car.
4. Coexist. You know the one, right? It spells out the letters “coexist” with religious symbols. I’m all about religious freedom, tolerance and understanding so I proudly have this one on my car.
5. Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History. I’m a feminist and proud of it so to this I say: amen.
6. Jesus Was a Bleeding Heart Liberal. I try to avoid politics on this here blog but I can’t possibly avoid them when it comes to bumper stickers. I figure this one is pretty benign but still makes my point.
7. Red Sox Nation. I’m a believer, you know, because I was raised that way.
8. Read. It’s simple and to the point and very important.
9. Jesus is Coming – Look Busy. I love it!
10. If You Think Education is Expensive, Try Ignorance. I honestly believe ignorance is the root of all of the world’s problems.

I decided to get back to Project Spectrum for July so I chose a ball of Zauberball Crazy in shades of blue for my monthly sock project.

I’ve been anxious to try this yarn since I first got it so I was quite excited about starting these socks. I have to say, while there’s nothing truly wrong with the yarn, that it did not live up to the hype.

The way it’s wound made it tangle quite frequently and, while the tweedy shades are pretty, I feel it’s rather soft to hold up well as socks.

Frankly, the whole thing reminds me of Trekking, which is cheaper and wears like iron, so I’m thinking it might be better to just stick with that in the future.

That said, they are lovely and the color changes are subtle and attractive. And the more pictures I took, the more I fell in love with these socks.

Despite my disappointment in the yarn, a new pair of socks in such stunning colors is something to be glad about.

I am also glad that I am on track with my goal of one pair of socks/month, making this the 7th pair of socks for 2011. And they haven’t even all been for me.

How’s that for a change?

I bought these delicious raspberries for $4 at the Farmer’s Market last Sunday. They were sweet and juicy and warm from the sun and I gobbled them right up.

I hope you find a way to gobble up something wonderful this weekend!

The Thursday Challenge for this week is Yellow. I just so happen to have some yellow summer squash.

We’ve been getting lots of awesome vegetables in our CSA share each week. We’ve had sweet corn and lettuce, beets and peas, green beans and zucchini, potatoes, blueberries, summer squash and much much more. Picking up these vegetables each week makes meal planning fast and easy – I just add some sort of meat or fish cooked on the grill and we are good to go.

Fresh vegetables from our CSA is just another reason why I love summer.

A week or so ago I was contacted by Mary Beth Klatt about writing a review for her new iPhone and iPad app, Yarn U. She offered to allow me to download the app for free if I would talk about here on my blog and I readily agreed. I will admit I was a bit flattered to be asked as I don’t generally think of my blog as popular enough for this sort of thing and I’m happy to admit that I can tell you that this is a great app for yarn lovers.

Basically, it acts as an encyclopedia of yarn for your device. You can search by yarn name, weight, or type, you can sort by name or fiber, and you can read lots of information about the yarns included. I would say that most of the big name yarns are listed and there is good, practical information on each one. There are also lots and lots of photos, both of the yarns and of projects knit with particular yarns. There is a spot where you can add comments and make corrections as well suggest more information or places that should be included.

I think this app would be very handy when visiting a yarn shop as you can access it easily and see what projects have been knit with a particular yarn. I know a lot of us are still hoping for a Ravelry app but in the meantime I think this one would be quite useful. The price, $2.99, is very reasonable for the information you get and I would recommend the purchase.

Also, Hannah has a friend from school who is competing for a role in a movie. He needs lots of views and likes on his YouTube audition video to improve his chances. Won’t you help him out?

Just follow the link and like it. Thanks!

It’s the middle of July and I can’t believe it. Summer is my favorite season and it always goes way too fast. Let’s slow it down a bit and talk about our 10 Favorite Beach Songs!

1. Beach Baby by First Class. Cheesy, oh yes, but it reminds me of my childhood in the 70s.
2. One Particular Harbour. My all time favorite Jimmy Buffett song. It’s the reason I want to go lay on the beach in Tahiti, too.
3. The Summer Wind by Johnny Mercer. Or Frank Sinatra, I love them both. This song makes me long for summer nights at the beach house, drinking martinis and dancing in the kitchen with my husband.
4. Twisting by the Pool by Dire Straits. Mmm mmm, you’re gonna look so cute, sun glasses, bathing suit . . .
5. Montego Bay. I have a strong memory of the first year we rented the house in Mashpee, sitting on the beach with Hannah, listening to this on my iPod. The sun, the surf, the people on the beach, everything was in time to the music and it was a perfect moment.
6. Beyond the Sea by Bobby Darin. Another one I associate with our summer vacation, I always listen to this as I drive over the Bourne Bridge. Often the traffic is so backed up that I have to listen to it several times before I get over that damn bridge but I’m on my way to vacation so I don’t really mind.
7. Knee Deep by the Zac Brown Band with Jimmy Buffett. My new favorite beach song with the perfect line -  my only worry in the world is the tide gonna reach my chair – is the way I want to spend my summer.
8. Vacation by the Go Gos. This is the one I traditionally listen to as I pull out of the driveway on our way to the Cape.
9. Six-Pack Summer by Phil Vassar. Sometimes all you need is a six-pack and the beach. Maybe some t-bones for the grill, too.
10. Anything else by Jimmy Buffett. Margaritaville, Coconut Telegraph, Boat Drinks, Fins, A Pirate Looks at Forty, Nautical Wheelers, Son of a Son of a Sailor, Trying to Reason with Hurricane Season – - – they are all perfect beach music.

I’m ready to hit the beach!

A week ago we had the privilege of being invited to celebrate with Blogless Sharon and her family as her grandson turned one. Sharon’s daughter, Heather, put together a fabulous birthday party at the beach by their home, and you know a party on the beach is my kind of party.

The party decorations were in shades of sky blue, ocean blue and orange. Heather made a festive garland from fabric strips that she hung between the two canopies they set up on the beach.

She had orange lollipops in little buckets.

And she made friendship bracelets for everyone to take home.

She also painted this mural for photo ops. I got a photo of Sharon and Al.

And Sharon got a photo of Dale and I.

We had burgers and dogs, lots of snacks, and yummy cake.

The day was perfect and I’m so glad we got to spend it in this gorgeous place with this little family!