frenchtown, nj

Way back in January, I gave the Ringing Rocks Family Campground a call.  Mr. Hero and I had spent our anniversary in Frenchtown, NJ last year and we really fell in love with the place (coincidentally, this little town is also home to Elizabeth Gilbert and her husband's store, Two Buttons...if you are a fan of the book and movie, Eat, Pray, Love).   But besides the Elizabeth Gilbert draw, Frenchtown is a quiet little artist town dating thirty years or so before the American Revolution.  Once I saw the Delaware River and the bike path running right alongside it, I knew this would be an amazing place to take the kids and Mr. Hero for a small vacation.  And boy was I right on this one.
Here are some of the pics from our trip:

our cabin- costing us $109 for 3 nights

biking the path along the Delaware
we ended up biking 16 miles in 3 1/2 hours
Mr. Hero, Mr. Tailor and Mr. Reporter all took
turns giving Mr. Ninja a lift whenever he pooped
out.

crossing the Delaware into Lumberville, PA for lunch.  We
ate at the Lumberville General Store, where we had cold
cuts, soda sold to us in glass bottles, "Joe's" potato
chips, and Juicy Fruit gum- which was a lifesaver in getting Mr. Ninja and
Mr. Cook back to camp.

Washington Crossing State Park
For Memorial Day, we wanted to learn more about the
importance of Washington's crossing of the Delaware.
(OK... truth be known... I'm a homeschooling mom and
needed to get a field trip in for the boys' portfolios).

motorcycle weekend?

Walking through Frenchtown w/ Mr. Tailor

Back at camp....Bingo Night!  Mr. Ninja winning the "black-out" pot.
He's now $25 richer!

How about you?  Where do you like to escape for your summer fun? I'd love to know.

manos silk blend 3049

They're done.

Ice Cable Socks pattern from Rowan.

pics by: mr.tailor

thanks!

under the influence- my first shot at haiku

the dreary spring rain

mirrors my feelings today;

wistful, warm, and free.

love

My mom in love shared this with me and I thought you might enjoy this, too.

baby crow

The boys found an abandoned baby bird in our yard, yesterday.  My six-year old, Mr. Ninja showed me where it had fallen underneath our privet bushes- looking all worn out and tired.  Mr. Ninja kept asking me why the mama bird wasn't there to feed it anymore- which kind of threw me.  Logically, I figured that birds don't bond the same to their young as people do, but honestly I wasn't so sure about that.  However, that is the answer I gave Mr. Ninja and several times throughout the day, he'd whisper to me that he "really, really, really wished the mama birds would take better care of their babies".

I tried to explain to the boys that the bird would probably die, as I continued to sweep the kitchen floor.  This did not stop them from trying to save it's life.  Mr. Ninja and Mr. Cook found a shoe box for it and donning gloves, they placed the bird inside along with some small leaves and twigs, then put on the punctured lid in order to shield the little bird from the rain.

Later in the evening, all of the boys got involved.  They even asked for the advise of the eleven-year old neighbor ( who had had success with a wild bird a year ago).  T. had only fed his bird water and watching my sons give this bird live worms, was new to him.  When asked what had happened to his bird, he replied that it had just flown away after a few days.  This I think, gave my sons some hope.

Early this morning, I was surprised to find Mr. Reporter (my fourteen-year old who likes to sleep until 10 am each morning) outside with the bird.  He was making squawking sounds and gently talking to the bird as he placed a couple of worms into it's mouth and then cleaned it's nest. I asked him about the worms and what he was using for his source, fearing that he had been raiding his father's vermiculture experiment, found downstairs in the basement.  I was right.   His alternate solution was to electrocute the ground using the car jumper cables.  I told him that using a shovel to dig into the compost pile found in the back yard would work just as well (I know. Much less exciting, right?).

Oh my goodness.  All of this makes my heart cringe.  I wonder if the gods do the same when they see us struggling for a hopeless cause.  Or are our efforts still meaningful because of the pure exercise in love?  Whether we succeed or not? Whatever the outcome, I'm sure the boys will be glad they tried.

I hope so, anyway.

update: We were able to save the bird.  I contacted the Animal Hospital of Dauphin County and was informed that they have a certified wild life rehabilitator that will be able to nurse the baby bird to health until it is able to fly back into the wild.  
Whew! 

brooklyn cowl

Mr. Hero and I explored lovely Brooklyn recently.  With it's dogwoods, cherry blossoms, and tulips in bloom, we couldn't have hoped for a more perfect day.
  

We meandered our way into the Park Slope historic district where we found Stitch Therapy.  Mr. Hero took a chair and patiently waited as I ogled the yarn and received knitting tips from the owner, Maxcine.

Maxcine's tip: all your favorite stitch designs used for various sock patterns can be used for cowls as well.  It's just a matter of figuring out the math to adjust the stitches.  That simple.  

She had a selection of Aslan Trends Los Andes yarn that I couldn't resist.  And with it's purchase, Maxcine gave me this wonderful Feather & Fan Cowl pattern that was easily knit up in under two hours...

color 1328

Feather & Fan Neck Warmer-
designer: unknown


Gauge: 14 3/4
Needle Size: 15 dpns or 16" circular
Cast on Stitches: Adult: 60
                           Child: 48
Using Cable Cast-on method (or whichever you prefer) cast on stitches.  Join for working in the round being careful not to twist stitches- place marker (pm) for beginning of round.  Begin Feather and Fan Stitch in multiple of 12 stitches.
Rnd1: Knit
Rnd 2: (K2tog)2x. *(yo,k1) 4x, repeat from * to last 8 stitches, (yo,k1) 4x, (k2tog) 2x.
Rnd 3: Purl
Rnd 4: Knit

Repeat these 4 rounds for desired length- bind off..

photo by mr. tailor

giving me just enough time to finish up for the beautiful Craft Queen.