fun with Ian

We just had a wonderfully rewarding and busy weekend, taking care of our sweet little Ian for 4 days and 3 nights.  He's much more entertaining than anything else going on around here!  And totally consuming of our attention and thought.  I guess when our kids were little we were just so absorbed in it that it did not seem remarkable, but at this stage in my life, it seems like a daunting task to raise up a child.  

We were a little bit pleased with ourselves that we actually managed a couple of outings with him.  On Saturday afternoon we drove about 15 miles to an orchard to stock up on delicious things.  But we also got to introduce Ian to some farm animals and implements--

Ian the tractor jockey

 He really liked sitting up on that little seat, and the fact that he can sit pretty independently made it all the more fun.  He sits pretty good now on the floor, although we do keep some soft stuff piled up behind him for the occasional topple over.
The orchard we visited was the Sunrise River Farm in Wyoming, MN.  I also bought some pumpkin butter, something I had not tried before.

I sampled it on my breakfast toast, and it passed the taste test!  Sort of like apple butter.  But why are these things called butter when there isn't a speck of butter in the contents?  Just wondering.  

On the jar lid I found these instructions for using the contents to make a pumpkin pie.  Might need to make another visit to the orchard for more jars!

And, of course, we brought home some apples.  Two varieties -- Sweet Sixteen and Zestar.  So good!

big news

Look at all those apples!

We need to get some pickin' done before that branch breaks! This is going to be a bumper crop of apples from our 2 trees this year,the first time they have done so well. Bob has paid special attention to them all summer, getting advice from the nursery on what to treat and how to help the trees be happy. Well, I think they are very happy! Bob bought a new electric juicer and started making apple juice last night.

I have some more very fun news to share, I have been holding off for a long time, ever since June. The need to keep this under wraps has been an awful long wait for me, but at least I don't have to keep it hush-hush for 9 MONTHS!

Can you guess what that means?!! Brita and Ben are blessing us with our first grandchild, due in late February--hoping to avoid Leap Day! That's them on the right, with Dan and Grandpa and Grandma Herbert back in June when the baby was maybe peanut-sized. Brita is healthy and fit, no morning sickness, Ben is looking out for her, and things seem to be developing just as they should be.

As for me--since it's all about the grandma, right?--I'm planning on some things to make for our new little one. Trying not to overwhelm Brita with a whole pile of baby things all at once, but here's for starters--

I'm trying to learn how to make little knit booties from this wonderful new book filled with totally cute baby stuff. You will notice that the yarn is black, kind of drab for little baby, but this is a test run and as soon as we get the results of Brita's next ultrasound I fully anticipate a switch to another more appropriate color! Also made a couple little flannel receiving blankets, an easy way to pacify my need to start a supply of handmade items for babies!

Making these little quilts for donation is a fun task, and I got all three finished, bound, and washed today, ready to deliver to Deb and Quilts For Kids. This is the same corduroy I talked about last week, and after washing it is nice and soft.

Here's another quickie that I made today--

wine bottle gift bags from Quilt Smart--the pattern is printed on fusible interfacing and sewn right into the bag. Makes it so easy! The pink one is destined for the upcoming silent auction at Bear Patch to raise money for Susan G. Komen fund. Watch The Bear Blog for more information.