...3.30...Over the Weekend...

...our grass is getting greener every day...we'll probably mow it next weekend...

...the weather was just about perfect...so we headed up the road for a nice hike along an old railroad bed...

...and it seems a lot of other people had the same idea...we weren't expecting the parking area to be full...haha...

...but we headed out onto the trail...expecting to see a lot of people...

...stepping out onto the first train trestle...

...the view downriver...

...and across the bridge...

...there was a plaque denoting the old trestle ruins...

...and yes...we could definitely see them....

...the view upriver...

...another plaque for the old train station...

...and the ruins of that...

...there were a few pretty wildflowers blooming...not a lot...

...and we found that we had the trail pretty much to ourselves...

...another train trestle...

...and there was a stairway to climb down from this one...or up as the case may be...haha...

...so we walked around underneath a bit...

...just admiring the structure...

...then back up and across the bridge...

...and we're still alone on the trail...we did pass a few people though...

...our shadows...I'm wearing a hat with an attached neck covering and I told the Man my shadow looks like a nun...haha...I'm also carrying binoculars...but we didn't see a single bird...

...the trail just winds through the woods...everything is still just opening up and turning green...

...we hiked about 3 miles...and this is the trestle on the way back...

...it was still a little bit too early for lunch...so we drove a little bit further to see the "oldest" Lutheran Church in the state...but that can't be quite right as their own sign says that a group of 'dissenters' from another church formed this one...soooooo...

...it's no longer in use...and we couldn't go (or see) inside...

...but it was neat to walk around...and admire the woodwork and the architecture...

...this is the chancel area...

...I'd love to see the windows too...

...wondering if they had a balcony as there are windows up there...

...and interesting that there's no steeple...

...driving back through the country we passed this neat old abandoned store or gas station maybe...it funny how close to the road they sat...

...but then we found the Greek restaurant that we were intending for lunch...

...and shared a big plate of hummus and pita bread...and an equally big plate of broccoli...

...and since there was a big asian store next door to the restaurant...we wandered around there for a bit...and got a few things...

~Wishing you a lovely start to your week!

...3.28...Dinner and a Movie...

...the Man made a delicious lentil curry...he's really not a fan of curry at all...but says it's tolerable when he's in control of the spices...

...it was delicious...not a traditional curry at all...but there was a hint of curry there...haha...and we served it kind of unconventionally with grits - instead of rice...toasted baguette and a salad from the garden...

...still reading The Subtle Knife...and even though it was the Man's turn to choose...he said he didn't really have anything in mind...so we started the TV series - His Dark Materials...it's three seasons...and it seems to be following the book better than the movie...

...what have you been watching lately?...

~Have a lovely day!

...3.27...Friday Update...

...Our Airman had given this barometer to his Papa way back in 2010 when we were living in North Dakota...you can see him opening it on his birthday way back then...

...and he finally hung it up here...

...in the downstairs hallway...

...and then he took the old nest thermostat off the wall...and painted behind it...

...and then installed the new ion thermostat...it looks so nice and sleek...

~Have a lovely day!

...3.26...Delicious Vegan Food we ate...

...y'all know how much I love sandwiches...and we often get sub sandwiched out...

...but sometimes we also make them at home...this veggie sub was delicious...toasted french bread topped with all the sliced veggies...vegan mayo (which you usually can't get on a sub if you eat out), mustard, red wine vinegar, and oregano...

...do you ever make subs at home?...

~Have a lovely day!

...3.25...W.I.P...Wednesday...

...I'm focusing on dollie's ballet costume this week...I made her a little purple ballet sweater to match Little Sissie's...

...I started with this wrap sweater pattern ...but instead of an applied I-cord...I just did a few rows of the same seed stitch border that I did on Sissie's sweater...and the body of this pattern is knit as one piece...of course I'll be adding sleeves...

...of course I had the same issue with the slanted decreases...

...this is the body...

...and then I made two little sleeves...without a pattern...just measured around her wrist and the length and did a couple of increases...

...and stitched it together...it turned out super cute...

...added the ties...

....and then I made a quick pair of leg warmers...

...just a stockinette stitch tube knit in the round with a bit of ribbing top and bottom...I've got the Ballerina Leg Warmers by Caryn Prouty queued up for a matching set for Little Sissie...

...it's super quick knitting tiny things for a dollie...and they fit her well...

...so now...on to the dollie's tutu...it was already purple...but I wanted it to 'match' Little Sissie's tutu...so I took out the seam of the child sized tutu...

...and roughly measured how much ruffle I needed...haha - homophone...

...and look what I found...

...the waistband is already adjustable...and don't worry there's plenty of ruffle here...you won't even notice the missing bit when I sew it back together...

...this is the small chunk I scavenged out of the tutu...

...I cut off the solid bit as I'll just be sewing the sheer bit to her existing waistband...

...I took apart her existing tutu...

...gathered and sewed on the new ruffle...

...and of course it fits her perfectly as it was just added to her existing outfit...

...it's super cute and it will match Little Sissie's tutu now...her necklace is actually a little girl unicorn bracelet and I plan to include a note from the dollie saying that it's OK for Little Sissie to 'borrow' her necklace...haha...

...dollie's outfit is complete except for the shoes...and still to make are Little Sissie's leg warmers, leotard, and ballet slippers...so hopefully by next week I'll get everything done and in the mail...I need to include plenty of travel time as the doll won't fit into any 'express' post office boxes...so it will go 'ground' and we know from experience that that can take a while...

...what's in your workbasket this week?...

~Have a lovely day!