Karin's and Jody's Excellent Adventure Among the Orchids

Every spring my knitter friend Karin and I make the two and a half hour drive down from Albany to "da Bronx" to take in the annual Orchid Show at the New York Botanical Gardens. As soon as I see this view of the conservatory my heart races a bit with anticipation knowing what beautiful blossoms are inside.

 The main arrangement set the theme "Chandeliers". It was breathtaking!

 Karin and I started our tour saying that this year we were not going to take 483 pictures of flowers. Yeah, right!

 Even the moss covered baskets were beautiful. And some of the orchids were chocolate scented. What a perfume!!!

 The bromeliads were blooming too.

 I grow purple phaleonopsis in my kitchen window but they aren't this plentiful!

 The pink cymbidiums were so graceful.

 I don't remember the variety of this orchid but this is the view from underneath the blossom.

This is what you see from above. Still beautiful!

The anthuriums stood out among the greens in all their waxy glory.

 Our ride down was a bit rainy and cloudy but once we arrived the sun shone on us a warm welcome.

 In the distance we saw a blue haze on the lawn. Up close and personal were these little blue beauties.

 Karin and I loved the delicate yellow blossoms of this Veitch Winter Hazel.

 During the tram ride we passed the azaleas in full bloom.

 We hopped off the tram to catch the magnificent magnolias at a slower pace.

She's like a graceful ballerina. 

 And look at that beautiful blue sky!

 We stopped at the newly renovated cafe for a tasty, but pricey lunch. I guess you pay for the pretty!

 This spot always brings me peace. Maybe I'll have my ashes scattered here!

 Those blossoms take my breath away.

We couldn't leave without taking a selfie! 

Thanks Karin for another memorable visit to the orchids!

Closeups and Part Two of Moose's Visit

Today's post is all closeups of our works in progress. Sheila started a pair of mittens. After a few false starts, she is on her way through the ribbing.

Beth was in a quandery about what to do when you have yarn in the stash that is "who-knows-how-old" and you can't get anymore, and you think it will be enough, but you find out too late that it might not be enough. That's the time to break out a complimentary yarn to use for cuffs and such. I really like the way this looks!

After the success she had with her husband's bike socks, Maureen is making another pair using a pretty variegated yarn.
I'm making a shawl from my design, "Flirtatious" using Karin's new sparkly yarn called "Wink". It has a very feminine flicker in the yarn that's not at all garish.
My other project is a baby cardigan knitted from the top down in one piece using an alpaca and bamboo blend. Soooooooo soft!

When Moose was here last week his Mom and I HAD to make a trip to WEBS for their annual sale. I made sure to bring my phone which is packed with video games (most grandmothers carry gum in their purse for antsy grandkids. I carry video games!) Moose played for a little while until he saw the girl with the I-Pad! He made friends with this sweet child and she let him play her games while Mom and I shopped. Poppop was relieved because he was in charge of Moose and now he could stand by and watch.

After our trip to WEBS we drove into Springfield, MA to the Springfield Museum where Moose made friends with everyone. This sweet grandma let him "help" her how to play the mirror and lights game.

Then he ran off to make friends with the lizard. The lizard wasn't having it.

We emailed this photo to Uncle Drew because he LOVES dinosaurs! Can you see how small Amanda looks down in the lower left of the photo?

Moose found a Moose!

And then we went to the Dr. Seuss Sculpture Garden. It was so much fun! Moose "met" the Cat in the Hat, Dr. Seuss.....

Horton....

Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose....

and his favorite, The Lorax.

He ran around the garden for 30 minutes and then we had to go home. Except for the occasional Beatles songs, it was a calm ride home.

The next day we visited a local playground. Getting ready for all the running and fun is important, you know.

Amanda and I were knitting while we watched all the fun and before you know it Moose was giving a guided tour of our projects to all the little girls.

We loved watching him play. As he descended the slide, instead of calling out "Cannonball!" he yelled "COTTONBALLS!" We laughed so hard our sides hurt.
We stopped in to see Great Aunt Jamie and the Great Grandparents on our way home on Saturday. Moose and Jamie had a good time playing detective with a flashlight.
Great Grandpa Billy and Moose were having a deep conversation. Nanny Boo never wants her photo taken, so we didn't get any pictures of her this day.

On Easter Sunday after church, we drove to the cemetary so Moose could give some flowers to his sister Eliana. As we were leaving he called out to her "I love you Ellie, bye Sweetie."

He is such a sweet little boy!

Flowers for you to enjoy!

I had to do that awful job of weeding today, so to cheer myself up afterwards, I decided to take some pictures of my flowers. They seem to be doing nicely this year. I even caught a critter enjoying them too.

My Grandpa's roses always bloom around my birthday.

I even have some lovelies blooming indoors.

Last but not least, I started two tomato plants using those upside down planters. They are growing like weeds! Here's the beefsteak tomato with two teeny fruits just starting out and....

here is my Roma tomato so I can make homemade pasta sauce.

My Grandpa would be so proud! :)