The Summit Inn

K and I had our first night away from EJ. Our fourth wedding anniversary was this past Thursday and he had planned a surprise get away for us. He assured me that he had made arrangements for the dogs to be watched by my sister and EJ would only be an hour away from us. We stayed at the Summit Inn in Farmington PA (Fayette County). This hotel was opened originally in 1907, and is along what was originally the National Road.

The lobby was quite cozy and the hotel seemed to be pet friendly. We saw two dogs while we stayed. Had we known we could have brought Mo along (he is far more laid back and hotel compatible we think).
It is close to many different great places to visit in Fayette County including Laurel Caverns, Falling Water, Kentuck Knob, Nemicolin, and Ohio Pyle to name a few. Because we where on a limited time frame and have been to those other places we just stopped by a few stores and the Christian Clay winery.

One of the most enjoyable features of the Summit Inn to me was the expansive front porches. We sat on them and chatted while sipping on our beverages just enjoying the breeze (and the unfortunate noise of the cars racing past on the highway). I also knit

The food at the Inn was really quite good. We had the Crab and Cheese fondue while sitting on the porch, it was wonderful! Then later at dinner K enjoyed the crabcakes and I had the Seafood Medley. There was too much for me to finish. It was so good I felt really bad not being able to take it with me. But seafood in a hotel room over night is not very appetizing. We also enjoyed breakfast there before leaving. I have to say the pancakes where top notch!
Sadly, we where unable to enjoy the porches Saturday morning before leaving. The area was under a tornado watch... and with that comes rain. The view from our room Friday and Saturday, a comparison:
.
Not a huge loss, we had a wonderful time Friday and it was time to get back to EJ anyway...

Souvenir

And it is one of the best kinds too, a wooly souvenir! My In-laws just returned from Tennessee and before they left I jokingly mentioned to my mother-in-law that if she came across any unique yarn that I would happily accept it as a present. Well, she came through. They where in a small store, where in the corner an 80something woman, Bette Raymond would spin and dye wool with natural dyes.


The label reads:
Appalacian Colors
Natural Dyes on Natural Fibers
from
'The Mustard Seed'
Studio Workshop
of
Bette Raymond
Sevierville, Tennessee

This Wool was dyed with Indigo and Osage Orange Wood, and I have almost 10 oz (two skeins) of it. I wonder what it will become...

Happy Memorial Day!

Long time, no updates... I could make up excuses why I have not blogged in a while but I am certain no one really cares. Mostly because there isn't any good or exciting reason it has taken me two weeks to post something new. I have finished the second February Sweater in my queue. So two down and one to go. Also, I use the term finished very loosely. No buttons, and there is still some ends that need taken care of as well. But the knitting is finished, and the sun was out, and Eleni was napping so I photographed!
Here it is lounging amongst the Lamium in some dappled sunlight-

And a closer look at the color of the yarn-

The yarn is Cascade 220 Superwash Wool. And the color is... well I don't know what they call it. The label is upstairs and it isn't important enough to climb the stairs. I found it at Natural Stitches and it is obviously green- but not a solid. This time I used a worsted weight yarn, and knit on size 8 needles. This gave me a much larger sweater from my first attempt and should fit Miss Collette quite well this coming winter. I also knit these sleeves in the round rather than flat. I was thrilled to not have to seam anything!

In other news, Eleni has a new trick. The silly girl can hardly sleep because she wakes herself up trying to practice.

Last night, she woke up around 11:45. I fed her and she wouldn't relax enough to go to sleep. She kept kicking, twisting and pushing up in bed. She would get on her hands and knees and lunge forward... causing her face to crash into the crib rails. It was quite a site. Needless to say, we had to resort to some special circumstance sleeping arrangements. Bella was not too pleased about sharing her spot in bed, but we slept in until 6am! (Hey, it's better than 4am!)

Hope that you all have a lovely Memorial Day weekend. We are invited to RD's house to picnic with her and some of their family. I made an awesome pasta salad with tomatoes, basil, and fresh motzerella topped with a balsamic dressing. I can't wait for dinner!

Handmade toys are fun!

Thanks again to Jen for such a great present. She made Eleni a couple of toys that matched her room. Eleni has started to really enjoy playing with one of them. Just take a look for yourself!


I think the yelling translates to- "This toy is so freaking great! Jen is awesome. Mo if you eat this, I will kick you in the head once I figure out how to do that."