My knitting has seemed so slow lately!  I finally have two FOs and may finish a sweater for myself this week!

The FOs are for Banjo...it started getting colder and I realized I hadn't knit him a winter sweater yet.  I have wanted to knit the Seeded Rib Pullover ever since my sister knit one for her grandson earlier this year.  I used the Taos yarn that I had left over from a sweater I made for myself and after  a trip to the blocking spa...

Banjo was ready for his photo op.

MMMM...soft and warm, Granny Jane

I may not even need a coat when I wear all this wool!

This hat will go with everything!

Hey, isn't Granny Jane supposed to be knitting my Christmas stockings?

 Yes, as soon as I finish the last sleeve of my sweater and put it together I have 8 Christmas stockings to knit!
 
 
 
 
 

Bob and I spent Halloween in Wintergreen with Erland and Mike.  They were spending the weekend there and invited us to tag along.  We had a great time in the mountains.

We started our trip with a stop at a mountain brewery for dinner.  We met Jimmy and Donna there.

Erland and Donna

 After dinner we headed up the mountain and partied for a while before bed...except Bob and Mike who stayed up until around 2:30am solving all the world's problems.  They were sleepy on Saturday!

Saturday morning the men and women split up and while the men visited another local brewery and watched football Donna, Erland, and I went exploring.

I always love to drive through Vesuvius, Virginia for a Halloween visit.  They really know how to decorate.

After a pretty drive we ended up in yarn heaven, also known as Orchardside Yarn Shop.
 
 
 

I love this yarn shop and always try to take a picture by the stream.

Erland doesn't knit but you don't have to knit to love Orchardside.  She visited the antique shop and got scared away by a peacock who was admiring herself in a mirror.

After a visit to the Cheese Shop in Stuart's Draft we headed back up the mountain for a cook out at Jimmy and Donna's house.  We were joined by Greg, my cousin Patty's son!  Patty and I spent so much time together as children that I really want our children to know each other.

Erland and Greg

To end a great visit everyone played Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil just to amuse me for Halloween.

Being in the mountains means that we missed Banjo's first Halloween.  Luckily Jessica has some great pictures to share.

Bob and I spent the weekend in North Carolina with his sister and bil.  Our nieces came, also,  so we had the best time playing scrabble and watching all three of the dogs run around.

Lily

Lucy

Levi-who is also a huge Tarheel fan.

   But, the most inspiring part of my weekend was spent reading letters.

Love letters...

As Jane was busy cleaning out my in-laws house recently she came upon two sets of love letters.

My sweet in-laws met in elementary school and were great friends right away.  That friendship quickly turn into a love that lasted  until my MIL passed away in August of 2008.

There were two stacks of letters.

She kept her letters from him wrapped in green ribbon.  He kept his letters from her in an old cigar box.  The first letter was dated 1940 and the last was 1943.  They were married in 1942.   I read every letter this weekend and was so moved.  I was moved at the depth of love and emotion that my father in law was able to express in writing.  It was sweet, concerned, and lovingly teasing.  They were approximately 35 miles apart at this time and he missed her terribly.  He really wanted her to move back to the "country" so they could see each other more often.  She was living in Richmond, but her grandmother still lived in the country.  I really admired the way my mother in law didn't just fall all over herself for his letters-someone must have told her to play it cool and let him make the bold moves.  He was obviously putty in her hands.  Each letter began with sweet terms of endearment.

How lost and lonely he must be without her.  I know that this love did  not end when she drifted into Alzheimer's or when she passed away.  How lucky for our family, especially our children and their children, are to have this fine example of the love that we witnessed written in letters for us to cherish.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Rob and Jess were so tired last night when they came to dinner that they left Banjo for a sleepover!  Yea for us.  It's so nice to wake up to this little pumpkin....

Don't worry, he slept in his own bed and was just hanging out with his Grand Bob while I got ready for school.

Jess took some great pictures of Banjo's new hats...

My friend, Lisa, knit the cutest hat for her most adorable nephew...

      "Nice knitting, Auntie Lisa!!!  You should knit me lots more hats!!!!  It's getting colder, you know!"

Isn't he the cutest, little pumpkin ever?  I wish he would come to school to visit so I could meet him!

On Friday Rob brought Banjo to school for a visit and to pick up his finished Yoda hat.  It fits well.

"I like it, Granny Jane!"

 I think he did like it as he wore it the whole time he was there. 

"I get my love of Star Wars from my Daddy."

It even looks good from the back!

"Is Granny Jane going to fix my droopy ear?" 

What do you think?  Should I fix that droopy ear? 
 
 

Banjo's Yoda hat spent two days hanging around like this...

This morning I took it off the hangers and tried it on my Banjo model.

I love it.  The left ear hangs just a bit so I may have to put a little glue starch around the area where it's attached to the hat.  Can't wait to try it on Banjo...maybe he'll come to school today to see it...hint, hint, hint.....
 
 

Remember when Banjo e-mailed me on his one week birthday?  That was just the start of his love of technology.  Last week he hacked into his mother's Face Book account and sent me a message.  He wanted to let me know that the weather is getting colder and he needs some warm hats!  I got busy right away.  First I made him a pumpkin hat for the Fall.

He modeled it for his Auntie E.

I had also been intending to knit him a Felted Yoda hat in honor of his father's love of Star Wars.  I've knitted it and felted it.  

All I have left to do is starch the Yoda ears out with Elmer's glue and water and let them dry.  I hope Banjo likes it better after it's dry...the damp woolly feeling on his head did not make him happy. 

We had a house full of family last night and Banjo posed for lots of pictures.  He's such a good sport!

I wonder if this gives Auntie E and Uncle Mike any ideas?

Like all three of my children Banjo LOVES his Aunt Jane.

Tonight I'll starch the Yoda hat, I can't wait to see how that turns out!

The longer I don't blog the harder it is to blog so I'm just going to dive in and write a post!  Where have I been-I keep wondering why I've been gone so long? Well, I last posted on September 25, so, during that whole time I have been slowly knitting the same sweater.

This is my Savannah sweater and it's been on the needles a L-O-N-G time.  I'm running out of steam with the knitting 12 sweaters in 2009-this is number 8 and I have one more sweater to knit before I start Christmas stockings.

During this slow knitting we visited my home town for it's 250th anniversary!  Rob, Jess and Banjo went, too, and posed in front of the huge pig that used to sit in front of our Happy Days style drive-in.

While in Culpeper I also took one of my all time pictures of Banjo.

I would love to know what he's thinking!

I had my first my first ever flat tire while I was driving.  I kept wondering what I had in the trunk that was making all that noise...

Luckily Bob was just down the road and was able to come and change the tire.  Wow!  Nothing is as attractive as a man changing your tire with such ease!  Love you, Bob!  While we were waiting for Bob to come save us my SIL and I had fun counting the number of cars who just flew by us and looked the other way-I don't blame them-it was just funny.

Did you all know that I have a terrible fear of alligators?  That made it pretty funny to find myself spending a nice, long weekend in Kiawah in a condo that overlooked this charming lady.

It was easy to forget about her while I was spending time here...

What beautiful beaches in South Carolina!

The most fun thing I've done since I last blogged happened last week when Rob, Jess, and Banjo came over for dinner.  Rob and Jess were tired and Banjo needed a bath before bedtime.  I offered to bathe him in the kitchen sink!  Really-I used to think that my baby bathing days were over but I hope I have many more ahead of me!

"Really, Granny Jane, the kitchen sink?"

"Maybe I should do it myself...."

"Hurry up!  I don't like to be cold!"

"Ooooo, warm PJs!" 

"OK-we can go home now"

"If I can catch a cat nap in the car I'll be good to go for a few more hours-who needs a bedtime?"
 
 
 
 
 
 

     I am having a great time at PaPa Bob and Granny Jane's house for my first sleepover!  I was so excited when PaPa Bob got home from work.

They had Peking take out and I had my bottle.  When it was bedtime I was as good as gold!

I was so glad to have my alligator!

I hope you had fun at the concert...see you later today!

Love, Banjo

http://beatcrave.com/2009-09-16/mary-travers-of-peter-paul-and-mary-died-of-cancer-at-72/