Painfully Obvious

I spent a some time last week working on a few little projects. Some Travellin' Gnomes for the minions (evidently Little Miss' Gnome wasn't done traveling because she didn't make it home with us, but there will be more I'm sure)

and a crocheted Ode to Molly Weasley shawl

which was entirely made up of leftover sock yarn held double and works for my current Thursday Night Knitting Group KAL which is a shawl of your choice. I simply substituted the KAL with a CAL, but I don't think anyone minds and too bad if they did! ;) There were some other projects that I will mention next post but these two were special because they were to be used for our trip to Portland, OR to see this trio - my SIL K, my BIL M, and their latest creation, Z.


This was the minions' first experience on an airplane and I thought I would whip up a few gnomes, just in case. I figured, if they were nervous on the plane they could hold onto them for support and if they did just fine (which they did) they could be a Hey, you did a great job! project. Little man really liked looking at the wings.


It was a shorter trip and there are tons of photos. So many in fact, that anyone who saw me while I was wandering around over on the West Coast can attest to the fact that it is painfully obvious that I need to get out more. There are so many photos, that I will warn you now - this post is extremely heavy on the mosaics (that link is for you K!). If you want to see any of the photos in full size, they're all on Flickr.

So this is Z. 'Cause I know you're curious. He's a big man now, 5 months old! And I think he had a nice time partying with the minions. Little man really liked reading to him.


These are some miscellaneous photos taken on our way to the playground which is near K and M's house.


(Told you I need to get out more!)

The minions had a field day at the playground. It's been so cold and miserable here that it's been a while since they were able to stretch their legs a bit. They didn't waste any time trying to make Mom cringe!


And of course the in-laws had some time with their latest Grandchild.


Little man was all over the place. He was moving from one thing to the next so quickly that I'm surprised he was actually in focus.


Little miss was a little more subdued while at the playground, but she OWNED the teeter-totter! Just look at that mane!


I had to put this next image in because look at the handknit socks this little cherub was sporting while at the playground. No idea who she or her Mom are, but these socks are awesome!


The minions had such a good time at the playground that they didn't want to leave.


But leave they must, for I had my own agenda for the afternoon! A quick dip in the ball pit


and we were off to Rogue. Mmmm, Rogue. Let me count the ways.... Such tasty little brews/spirits and the food wasn't bad either! Evidently the Portlanders (is that what they're called????) aren't quite as excited to visit this little brewery as I am because, well, it's there, and they're there, and I'm not. But... if you're ever out that direction, stop on in, you wont be sorry!


The next day we headed out to Cannon Beach, after a quick waffle/coffee fix of course.



The minions enjoyed some ice cream and treats while we waited out the rain,


just so we could see this. It's the Goonies shrine.



We would choose the coldest, rainiest, and windiest day to go to the beach. We lasted all of 5 minutes - if that - but the kids can say that they've been there, and little man has the salt water/sand in his shoes to prove it!




Originally we were going to have lunch at the beach and hit this restaurant for dinner, but we hit the restaurant for lunch instead. This is Camp 18 and it had a myriad of vintage logging equipment and tools and odds and ends to check out. There's even a wee trail on site so you can work up an appetite.


Well, what about the yarn???? Portland is loaded with little yarn shops and my SIL K and I headed out to 2 of them on our last day there. I really enjoyed Twisted.


They have a wall of single socks (how fabulous is that?) AND I found some really great yarn produced in Oregon and had a helluva time trying to decide which ones to get - just ask K. Fortunately for me, they are supposed to be opening up an online store which I am very excited about. They even sell natural pencil rovings, squee!

Here are a few more random images from my wanderings.


I will have a few more images (maybe) to post later - they're on my SIL K's camera and I don't know how well they turned out yet. One of the pictures is of this absolutely crazy bookstore.... I didn't know if they could get me out of it for a minute or two but I was able to restrain myself and walked away with only 2 books ;)

It was a nice little trip. Hopefully we'll be able to see them again soon. I will have more knitting/crochet content next post for you too :)