YoP week 3

A big hello to all of my friends and family.  Hubby and I have arrived safely back home.  We got home around 1 yesterday afternoon.  It was so good to be home and be able to sleep in our own bed.  But the downside is..........................we know we won't be seeing our grands in TX again for at least another year.

But before I get to the vacation story, let me show you what kind of fibery goodness I achieved while away.

This is my Dive In Shawl that I started just before we left.  I know it doesn't look like much, but it is done with fingering yarn and I have already used about 50 grams on it.  It is going to take quite a bit more to make it a nice size for a prayer shawl.  It is an acrylic yarn, but extremely soft and does not have that plastic feel to it.  This actually is left overs I had after I made myself a slouchy hat and fingerless mitts last year.  I have plenty of it left, to complete the shawl.  (Can you say, over buyer?)

Next up

Our future Son in Law's sock.  This is a great yarn too.  It is premier yarn (non wool) in the colorway, Grand Canyon.  I love yarn that changes colors as you go.  It makes stockinette stitch not near as boring.  I have another inch or two before I start the heel.  

So that is all I accomplished while away.  Doesn't seem like much, does it?  But I was enjoying my time with my grandsons way too much to be worried about progress on knits.

So now I have some photos of our trip:

This is one of the rain storms we encountered on our way to our first nights stop.  It was totally blinding and there was lots of flooding because of it.  

Do you see the deer under the tree?  That is what we saw as we ate breakfast on day 2 of our trip.  This is my hubby's brothers home.  They live in the country and we also got to see a skunk just wandering around his property as well.  Very rural..............but so peaceful and lovely.

Our first outing was on day 3 of our trip.  We went to see the cattle drive through old town Fort Worth, TX.  I had wanted to see it for several years now, so I can scratch that off my bucket list.  It was not what I expected at all.  These long horns just mosied a long the brick streets for about 2 blocks and then went back to their corral where they are well taken care of and fed well too.

This is the lot of us, minus 2 grandsons.  We went out to eat, just to get out of the house.  Our server was kind enough to take our picture for us.

The youngest Grandson turned 12 on Sunday, but since we knew we would not be there, we took the family out to dinner on Friday and the serving staff gave him a wonderful birthday send off.  He was very surprised by it.

That ended our 10 day trip with the Texas family and then we were off again to do the 16 hour drive home.  Here are a few pictures of what we saw:

Wind turbines that produce energy.  These are popping up everywhere here in the USA.  And what better place to put them, then in breezy Texas.

We did not drive straight through, but made a stop in Las Cruces New Mexico.  We were about 3 blocks away from La Mesilla, so we took a little stroll through their shops and this gazebo was right in the middle of their square.

And, we went to church while there.  I love old churches and their architecture.  This was the altar at San Albino Parish.  The church was built in the 1800's and is small but beautiful.

Sunday morning we got up early and headed back to AZ.  We had to take a couple more pictures though because:

This is the club that my hubby's Grandfather owned and operated for years and years.  It has been passed down to his sons and now down to their sons.  It is now for sale as the town it is in is dying.  Businesses are closing daily.  So sad to see this happening to a once thriving community.

As we were leaving the club photo shoot, we noticed that the street it sat on was named for Grandpa!  How exciting to see your name on a street sign.  It's not a common name in the states either.  Very common in Italy though. 

That is all from this end of the world.  Today will be spent getting back on our time zone and doing laundry and visiting my mom.

Until next week.....................

Happy Crafting!