Monday, November 30, 2009

Pictures from Light Up Night in Franklin

Pictures courtesy of Elise Frey, Thanks Elise!




This one is my favorite as you can see the historic Venango Courthouse in the background.


This is the Noah ark float. It's hard to see but along the sides, little children were dressed up like the animals two by two and were waving out the windows! Too cute!
And this year my camera shy son came along to enjoy the music, fireworks and camradarie!

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our Family and Friends, with Love, Kerry, Tina, Honey Dew and Sampson too!

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Wine Tasting in Franklin

Franklin had it's first annual wine tasting event in downtown Franklin last night. A friend of mine called and asked if I would go with her as she had two free tickets from one of the presenters. Of course you know she didn't have to ask twice!

There were six local wineries in attendance from the surrounding area set up in the various businesses. I have friends and relatives that tell me they never know what wine to try and ask for advice. Of course it is a matter of taste and I suggest they go to a wine tasting to see what their preference is. Unfortunately when put on the spot, my memory of the names of wines and which winery they are at, is like a seive so I thought I would blog about it while it was fresh in my mind and they could take it from there! I did not taste all the wines that were available (knowing already what types are my preference), but here is a list of my favorites for those who want to know:
  • Angeli Winery of Titusville-Bella White, Queen City Red
  • Dancing Rabbit of Polk-Sandy Creek (red)
  • Deer Creek Winery-Deer Creek Raspberry, Fawn Catawba
  • Foxburg Wine Cellars-Plum Crazy(by far my favorite of the evening and I am not usually into the very sweet wines, but this was fantastic! I have been to this winery before and have never been disappointed by what I have purchased.)
  • Wilhelm Winery-Sunrise Blush, (this winery is located closest to me and I have been to a couple of wine tastings there, and have enjoyed the following on previous occasions: Deer Creek White, Pink Catawba, Fredonia)
  • Presque Isle Wine Cellars-Freeport Red, Blushing Heron
I have been wanting to send some to my mom some but was afraid to ship it myself being concerned the bottle(s) would break. So I asked the vendors tonight and found that some of these places will ship their wines should you decide to gift someone (or try them yourself if you are not a local), which might come in handy since Christmas is right around the corner!

On another note, we have a building that is called the Galleria that has just opened for various vendors. This was one of the stops on the Wine Tasting Walk. Let me tell you they had stuff for every interest! I found a lady that had alpaca yarn spun from her own alpacas (loved, loved, loved that!), as well as hand knitted goods for sale. We had quite the conversation on the best methods to decrease stitches on a sweater that I am currently knitting, she even showed me one she was working on as well! So nice to meet a new friend!

They also had a pet boutique, that had doggie wear, treats, food, shampoo, etc, which was quite reasonably priced. There was a candle place, wood carving section, antiques, a chocolatier (you would be quite proud of me as I limited myself to only one truffle sample and made with Belgium chocolate at that!), handcrafted jewelry also as well as others. This is a growing business so I am excited to see what else sets up shop in there.

I am writing this at three in the morning, waiting yet again on my youngest to arrive home from college for the Thanksgiving break. It is a twelve hour drive and he left school after his last class and was dropping off a college mate at their home which probably added time to the trip. So let me apologize for such a long post but thanks for keeping me company!

Thursday, November 19, 2009

A walk to remember...

The last of the leaves have fallen and the weather had turned warmer for what was probably our Indian Summer. The pups were enjoying the scents and the crackle of the leaves...


Deer hunting was over, so hubby can relax too...well until the Monday after Thanksgiving when rifle season starts...


The pups and I take a moment to enjoy the serenity of the moment and the view...


May all your steps be a walk to remember!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Wooly Wonders Fiber Guild-Tuesday Night Knit Group...

Although part of our Tuesday Night Knit Group was down and out with the flu (we did miss you and hope you are feeling better soon) still we had SO MUCH FUN!!!


There was much "oohing", "awing", and "isn't that darling" going on!

It was also nice to get a sneak preview of the other trees on display before the crowds on "Light up Night".

There was laughter and teasing that went on even after the decorating was finished when we all went for coffee, tea and dessert at a local restaurant.

Putting additional sets under the tree when we ran out of branches. What a great problem to have!

We really appreciate the time and effort of all the handknitted scarfs, hats and mittens as well as the purchased and donated items everyone contributed. Thank you all so much, you made this a great success!

More FO's...

A few weeks ago I mentioned that our local Fiber Guild was decorating a tree at the Barrow Civic Center with hand knitted hats, mittens and scarfs to be given to Community Services for children in the area. Here is my finished set to give. This was my first attempt at knitting mittens and I did not have a real good pattern or know what size the child's hands or head would be. The pattern called for a tracing of the child's hands as a guide. So this was my best guestimation. I think they turned out well and I did have fun doing them!


The one thing I would change when I do another pair of mittens is the decreasing at the end of the hand. I think I would do a kitchener stitch to make them more rounded instead of so pointy.


I was out and about with a friend and we stopped at a little shop that had the most beautiful Christmas decorations that really made you want to go home, tidy your house and decorate for Christmas right then! Lots of wonderful ideas and nostalgic decorations, however I did restrain myself...right up until I saw this little guy who I swear called my name and told me he would like to sit on my mantle all winter long! Isn't he cute?!

If I remember to take my camera tonight to the tree decorating, I will post additional pictures of our Tuesday night knitting group and lots of FO's!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Rainy Thursday-DOT Post and a FO!

Hmmmm, what is a hound to do on a rainy, Thursday?
As both HoneyDew and Sampson had their plans made for the day and incidently snagging the best seats in the house (no dumb dogs here!), that left me free to enjoy a nice cup of tea and work on some knitting.

I am currently working on some hat, scarf and mitten sets our local Fiber Guild is contributing to Community Services for some Christmas packages. I'll have pictures of them later. This is one project that I finally did get completed and will be sent out to a special someone tomorrow.

The temperatures are supposed to be in the 50's tomorrow and in the 60's by Sunday. I told the pups so they are probably dreaming about a walk as they snooze away the afternoon!

Happy DOT's!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

At the feeder...

Two days ago the feeder was full and then yesterday it was half full.
You might imagine that I had quite a few feathered visitors, but this was not the case. And while I could not get a photo of him in the act (he was too fast for me everytime he heard the front door open), this is who has been cleaning me out...


We call him Mr. Chipmunk and he has a hole in our front yard that he pokes his head out of and runs back to when he gets his little cheeks full.

We did have a couple of our feathered friends stop by for what little Mr. Chipmunk left...




We do have a cat...

"Am I going to hunt Mr. Chipmunk? Ah no, I was just seeing what you were upto, um, it's cold out here! Can we go back in now?"

Monday, November 2, 2009

Chickens enjoying a treat...


...leftover jack-o-laterns!


The chickens share nicely!


Look at those pretty tail feathers.


Still a wee bit o color in the old oak trees.


However, from the exposed bare limbs on the rest of the trees you can tell November is here.