play dough bird on nest with purple eggs

jeanne was in charge of helping with the play dough 

on a walk.... sebastian was not impressed with the super cute hat from aunt betty

feeding the horses (don't worry, the super cute hat was not eaten)

mormie and kateri ran ahead....but we caught up, Bash, didn't we? (pant, pant, wheeze, wheeze!)

a lovely day in Northern Virginia for the end of October 

paper wasp nest investigation

Hiking in Shenandoah National Park

We've seen an interesting pattern to our last 3 day trips to SNP....

One trip was during national parks week, and admission was free;

another trip was during Labor Day weekend,

and yesterday, too..... the place was packed!  But with brilliant sunshine, fall color, and beautiful vistas to enjoy, who could blame thousands of other people for having the same idea?

Some pictures so you can visit the park, too, without the crowds:

This was a lucky shot :)

mimi, john and peter went with us

A marker like this on the Appalachian trail indicates a place to get water for the through hikers.

And a.....

very mysterious picture:

A rose blooming in the inky darkness?

No, just a peek down a hollow log!

Nonie-oca

The Hill littles love Nonie's tapioca, which one of them nicknamed "Nonie-oca'

On Friday, Nonie had some to share with them in the kitchen--

Which they enjoyed immensely!

Ends and odds

First of all --thanks be to God-- finished the 16 pairs of socks in 2016 goal...woo wee!

#14, 15, 16 for the Irwin ladies!  

 Mary sent some cute pictures 

Opening the package...quite possibly thinking, "Socks? A surprise package in the mail, and it's socks?!"

Lia 💓

Jojo 🍒

Isabel 🍑

And Lia enjoying the kitten stickers. 😍

Am making some socks now for Kateri in the same yarn....

This shows how kateri and bash have spent the last 8-9 months!

Should I knit something for Peter next?

Leslie and Jeanne made a beautiful apple pie

Somewhere between a sunbeam and a rainbow.....

On a side note, I thought I would add notes on notable cars when spotted by Peter 

So this week:

On the 234 bypass

BMW i8 hybrid sport car, $136,000.

During this election remember:

AMEN!!!!!!

What to our wondering eyes...

Should appear in the mailbox: an envelope for Peter....

Addressed by Peter......who had no idea what it could be....

He began laughing when he opened it.....

And Mimi began laughing when she saw it.......

They both ended up in the floor.....

Finally, I got to see it too....

After 3 years, RG3 responded to peter's fan mail....he sent a signed picture in which he is wearing a redskins jersey. (Lately he has been warming the bench in Ceveland)

RG3 may not be the best football player or person, but he sure gave everyone a good laugh!

Thanks, RG!

Falcons visit

Today's blessing sampler at falcons

Princess review

Of course the littles played this quietly the whole time...ahem.

Some cute portraits:

And a great group shot:

So sweet!

From there....

Off to the store

A favorite destination is just around the corner....can you guess it?

Yes, the pool!!!! The littles were really fascinated watching the big kids play in the water!

Tee and Laura were so good at shepherding the littles along the way

And Nonie was the pied piper with the ducklings in tow....

Soon we met up with mormor

And this is my last photo 

Our lively group approaches the innocent little store, and the curtain closes, as this reporter was busy looking for bargains and sharing interesting objects to look at with Sebastian.

After being inspired by Betty's wonderful  blog post about her birding adventures this weekend, here are some of our odds and ends:

Ken and I went to Fredericksburg to the plow and hearth outlet and got this rug:

I hope it's not too dark, but it was a good price, wool, made I the USA.

After the outlet we went on a 5k walk on a river and canal trail that loops through Fredericksburg.

The only picture I took right I the heart of the city:

But I wish I had taken some pictures of the amazing Victorian homes and the rappahanock River.

Knitting news...

I have just finished the 12th and 13th pair of socks for the 16 in 2016 goal.  Knitting baby socks has made the goal much more achievable!

Yay! It's been fun to try a bit of embroidery too.

 We've been hosting Laura's cat plum plum kitty.

Maybe I should knit something for her....