Whew - back in the driver's seat

After a period of being constantly annoyed and in mild pain, the stitches were removed and I'm back to full steam again.

The geneology work continues, and continues to expand! The bug has bitten Mike and now we're busy researching various lines in both our families. Mike's family history really is a straightforward telling of the history of westward expansion in the US with all ancestors tenaciously pursing their manifest destiny and making their way to Kansas, where they homesteaded land. It's fascinating. My family came over early in the formation of our country, and then there were later immigrants too. My family mostly stayed on the east coast, with a branch wandering around the South - including Texas and MO ever since.

I continue to be totally absorbed in knitting. For many years my standard baby gift has been a baby blanket. But now, it just seems that there are too many babies or too many things competing for knitting time and baby blankets are just too much knitting. So I've been searching for some sort of knitted baby gift that meets my criteria: durability (I want a practical gift that will be used and is easily cared for), ease of knitting, and must have a major WOW factor for the mother. Through this new knitting site, www.ravelry.com, I've been able to use the search capabilities to come up with multiple options. Sort of good news/ bad news.....am now knitting my way through a series of test projects to see what will sort itself out as the best option(s). Currently working on an aran patterned cardigan for a baby. More on my knitting blog: www.totallytangled.blogspot.com.

Finally got a reserve of dog food established again. The dogs' are doing much better. It's sort of like, you can get by eating at Subway...but if you want to really feel good - you're going to need some very nutrition and well-balanced food. It's time to resume our obdience training again, and really get serious about putting more Rally titles on Rowdy. Tillie continues to be active,. very loving and uhhhh, demanding and bossy - so we know she's feeling good and doing well!

Mike and I are going to take Rowdy out for a walk around the new ICAR (automotive research park with Clemson University) area today. We all need the exercise.

Yesterday Mike and I went to Black Mountain, NC. We wanted to see the leaves, having heard mixed reviews about the display this year with the drought and heat. The leaves were pretty, but it's not one at the usual spectacular level. Still, it was great to get back to the mountains and spend a nice day wandering around a mountain town. We were in shirtsleeves, and are eager for the temps to get a little cooler. It's hard to get into the fall spirit when you don't even need a light jacket.