Frogs and other fun stuff...

We had some visitors two weekends ago!

My sister and three nephews

We had tons of fun going to a Valley Cats game (above), checking out the view at Thacher Park...

And catching tons of frogs from the pond in our yard...

It was so fun to have them here!

Later in the week, Paul and I went to Washington Park for the free outdoor musical they have every year.

They were performing "Cabaret", the storyline of which I had no idea was so depressing.  I've always had the impression that it was an upbeat, fun musical.  Not. At. All.  Didn't like it.  But, this year they are doing two musicals and starting this weekend, it will be "Hairspray" which we are looking forward to seeing.

Despite the musical being somewhat disappointing, it is still always a fun time.  We go early to get a good spot to sit and we bring dinner...

And knitting....

Although, I had to rip this out because I did it wrong!

And we do our usual staking-out-the-best-place-to-sit-while-trying-to-preserve-boundaries-and-prevent-people-from-cramming-in-too-close-next-to-us.  Who knew I'd have to worry about people cramming in behind me?

Knee VERY close to my head.

A well-timed adjusting of and leaning back in my chair fixed the problem!

Oh, and then there was THIS the other day:

This was flying all around our yard and street for over an hour the other day.  Flew right over my head, while i was out in the garden, several times.  I called the sheriff's department and they informed me, "They're just looking for a couple of people.  You're safe.  Just do what you were doing."  Needless to say, I stayed inside with the doors locked, especially since we have a gas pipeline that goes along our property and is the perfect pathway for someone to run through the woods!  Never heard on the news or anything if they caught them...

Then this past weekend was the much anticipated first birthday of Benjamin and Michaela, my nephew and niece whom I babysit!  It's been so exciting to see them grow over the past year.  I can finally show you the secret projects I was working on back in May (remember those?)...

Blankets!  I'm hoping they will be their most favorite-est, drag-around blankets that they never want to lose sight of.  ; )  We also gave them some books like Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? My First Reader , and One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish (I Can Read It All by Myself)  and a music CD Kidssongs by Nancy Cassidy, which has great songs! (click on any of those to go to Amazon)
The party was fun and included messy cake-eating!

In Knitting News:
The Ravellenic Games (or Knitting Olympics) have started!  This is an event on Ravelry.com in which knitters and crocheters pick a project to complete during the time frame the Olympics take place, and try to win (virtual) medals.  It's a fun way to challenge oneself.  I've chosen to participate in a WIP (Work-in-Progress) Event, where I will complete a project I started a long time ago and haven't worked on in many months.  My Cranberry Capelet: (click there to see a finished one)

....which is blue, not cranberry.  That is the neck and the beginning of the capelet part.  I have two weeks to finish it.  More pics to come as I get further along.  It looks really weird right now.

Also, I finished competing in the Tour de Fleece, in which I wanted to spin a little bit every day, and ended up with this!:

320 yards of 100% merino yarn.  I love it.  I'm going to submit that small skein on top to the Altamont Fair for judging.  Now I have to decide what to knit with it!

In Gardening News:
What the heck is this?????

It appears to be some sort of caterpillar.  Three inches long with rice-looking things sticking out of it and a spiky red thing sticking up near its back-end.   Any of my gardening friends  (Yvette? Christine? Aunt K?) know?????  I found 3 of them on the underside of my tomato plants when I was pruning them the other day. REALLY creeped me out.  I REALLY don't like creepy crawly things.  And here I want to have a BIGGER garden next year....

In Book News:
Read another great book,Caught by Harlan Coben. (click there to order it on Amazon)  I love Harlan Coben books and this one didn't disappoint.  Always a compelling mystery/suspense story with lots of page-turning action.  Here is a bit from Amazon: "In a novel that challenges as much as it thrills, filled with the astonishing tension and unseen suburban machinations that have become Coben’s trademark, Caught tells the story of a missing girl, the community stunned by her loss, the predator who may have taken her, and the reporter who suddenly realizes she can’t trust her own instincts about this story—or the motives of the people around her."

My Latest Obsession:
Iced tea k-cups for my Keurig! (such as Green Mountain Sweet Peach Black Perfect Iced Tea, K-Cup Portion Pack for Keurig K-Cup Brewers, 24-Count).  So refreshing and easy and perfectly sweetened (sweet but not too sweet).  LOVE. IT.