14 days......

Yes, I think that it is official... this has been the longest stretch that I have gone without posting. It's not that things haven't been happening... it is just that too much has been happening and I have had to put some things (including blogging) on the back burner. So, I will attempt to give a brief summary of the past few weeks - not necessarily in chronological order......

First off, let me reassure you that life has still been filled with cupcakes!! And lots of them. Here are some of the mini-cupcakes that K made for a women's retreat that we cooked for this past weekend. They were a big hit!! There was even rumored to be contests happening as to who could eat the most mini's before noon. I participated and was in the running for first place!!!





It was a pleasure and a joy to spend a whole weekend with some wonderful women at a neat retreat center tucked away on 100 acres of rolling hills and pasture in the center of Iowa. It was especially fun for me as K, M and CB were all able to come and spend the weekend.








I think the hit of all of our cooking, however, were the mini-cupcakes; cake balls and warm homemade cookies that K provided. She was quite busy in the days before the retreat getting them all made. And it looks like she is going to stay quite busy! Yesterday her 'As You Wish' Bakery was featured in our local paper!!!! Check it out here. The orders started coming in pretty quickly. We are busy getting a website; brochure and price list ready... hopefully in the next day or two. Feel free to reach into your computer screen and help yourself to one of these Decadent Chocolate Chip mini cupcakes!!!!


But we haven't just been baking! We are in the process of doing some redecorating! The first room to get a facelift was the upstairs bathroom. Here is the before....















And the after:


We still have some finishing touches to put on it, but it is on it's way to being complete!














Also in the past 14 days, was a quick trip to Chicago to be with our friends Paul and Sheri. Sheri and I's destination was Stitches Midwest, which was full of fibery fun as well as running into several women from my knitting circle of friends!!! Steve and Paul headed downtown and enjoyed the beautiful parks; fountains etc... I do think that Chicago is one of my favorite cities. I love that it is only 4.5 hours away... an easy weekend destination!!

Since the camera was with Steve, I didn't get any pictures at Stitches, but we have lots of the guys downtown. About half of his pictures seem to be pictures of themselves taking pictures of themselves in this Cloud Gate structure. Must be fun photographically!!!






Well, I know several of you are wondering if there will EVER be knitting content on my blog again.. after all, it is titled 'Willow Way Knitting'.. and I ask you not to give up!!! Life is starting to settle into a routine and I think I will be getting my pointy sticks out again soon.... so stay tuned!


Until Next Time....

Morning Meet and Greet....

Morning comes early here at our house. I'm a morning person, so that suits me fine!! I am usually up before the sun spending some nice quiet time reading and journaling and starting in on the first pot of coffee for the day. I LOVE my mornings!!! I don't know about you, but I have a favorite mug for my morning java. This is it. I love the polka dots and it holds just the right amount.











Mugs are actually something that I LOVE to collect. I especially like the Starbuck City and Country mugs. I collect them whenever we travel, and it is the perfect souvenir. And it is fun when the kids bring me them home from their travels as well. These are two I got this summer. The Wales one from R and M and the Jordan one from K.




Sophie humors me in the morning and stays contently in her area until I am ready for the next part of the morning..... our walk in the back field!! We have done this morning and evening for over a year and Sophie still gets as excited as if it were her first time!! I adore her enthusiasm for life!!!

She runs to greet the sun...



She cautiously greets the cows that live in the field to the West of us.... Heaven forbid they are still laying down happily chewing their cud! Sophie will bark until she gets them up on their feet. It's time to start the day, after all!!!







Then it's over to the East pasture fence where the llamas greet her cautiously. There will come a day when she will get spit on. It hasn't happened yet, but I think the writing is on the wall.... When it does happen it will entail a bath, that is for sure!







Sumo tags along most mornings, but sticks to the paths and leaves the meeting and greeting to his younger counterpart. These cooler mornings are heavenly to him, and sometimes he even breaks into his version of a run. Through it all, I do believe he is smiling!













Sophie does pause now and then just long enough to plan out her next mad dash.










When the walk is over, we saunter back to the house and I pour another cup of coffee and look to see if there are any of K's cupcakes needing 'sampling'. Here is her new creation from yesterday - Chocolate Peanut butter cupcake with chocolate buttercream frosting and a mini reeses peanut butter cup. Yeah... they are as yummy as they look!! Come on over! I am happy to share both coffee and cupcake. You can even join us on a field walk if you'd like!!!







Until Next Time...

One Year.......

Well, today is the one year anniversary of the arrival of that adorable golden bundle of energy we named Sophie. And life hasn't quite been the same since!!!! She was so cute back then. Sigh.















Sumo tried to warn us about the hazards of getting a puppy. I remember his looks of 'What WERE you thinking?????' We still get those looks from him a year later. Often with reason!!








Like yesterday when she got the top off of the puppy safe package container on the front step and destroyed the mail inside. I wasn't so mad about the credit card bill she ripped to shreds (pretty sure I'm exempt from having to pay it now!!!) but I was a little mad about one of CB's text books that came.







Her life was spared, however, by her good fortune that the calendar I had ordered from my friend Claudia in Germany had come registered mail and was NOT left in the puppy package box. Never was I so happy to make a trip to the post office to pick up a package!! I hate to think what would have happened to her had she shredded this!!! It was so fun to get this after hearing Claudia and her husband Andreas talk about the idea of it at the Spring Fling in April. It is a calendar of Claudia's AMAZING yarn strategically placed on the male models. (Her husband is one of the models!) All of the proceeds go to charity..... If you are interested in one, you can purchase it from Claudia here. But be warned - if you are offended by bare b*tts, you may not be interested. But it is done in good taste and the calendar is wonderful!!




We had a great weekend and got to make a quick trip to see A in his new apartment. Lunch at Hickory Park is always a treat as well!!











K made an incredible birthday cake over the weekend for a 60th birthday party. It was 3 tiered and covered with amazing flowers. (That she had made with homemade gumpaste). It was breath taking.















She also got a request for a cupcake that was coffee flavored with a hint of toffee. After researching recipes and combining ideas, she came up with these. The frosting is an espresso buttercream that is unbelievable. I couldn't stop eating it!! She is trying to decide what to call them. Head over to her blog and cast your vote: As You Wish












With some leftover fondant and frosting, I succeeded in decorating my first fondant cake. A football!! I was really excited how it turned out. I think I see more of these in my future....






Until Next Time...

Cousins, Corn and Cupcakes, Oh My!

This past weekend we had a mini reunion for Steve's family here at our house. Everyone was able to make it except R & M who had a wedding they were in out of town. It was great to have everyone together and the weather was fabulous!! Steve enjoyed giving rides to his niece's 4 children. (I think he may even have enjoyed it more than they did!!!)





We got to have a great bonfire on the new pit we put in late last fall. Hoping to see many more as the weather gets cooler and Fall arrives. I just LOVE a good bonfire complete with gourmet smores!!! (Smores with the traditional graham crackers; chocolate and marshmallows - just add strawberries; Andes Mints; bananas; etc...!) Yum!







And since this was an Iowa reunion, we had to have sweet corn!!! It's amazing how quickly 2 dozen can get shucked with this many hands!!!















Had other yummy food as well. For lunch we had one of my favorite sandwiches, The Savory Sandwich Ring. This is an easy sandwich to fix and always a hit!!!!








K has been busy with her baking business. She is fine tuning her cupcakes and they are incredible, if I have to say so myself!

My personal favorite are these almond cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting. They are heavenly. I dream about them. I eat them for breakfast. I may have to set a rule that they can not be in the house.







These decadent chocolate chip cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting and mini oreos are Steve's favorite. I am pretty sure he could set a world record in cupcake eating if given the chance!!!!














The chai cupcake with chai spice buttercream frosting is a favorite of all. In this picture you see my very important role in the cupcake preparation. The placing of the little 'extras'. It is a very important job. I do confess to sticking some of the bears head first into the frosting. I think it's more realistic of what a bear would actually do given the chance to attack the cupcake.












Finally, a peek at the tray that K created for the teacher's lounge at the elementary school that M teaches at. Cake balls surrounded by her special chocolate chip cookies - some of them dipped in chocolate with sprinkles. I guess the word 'divine' came up by some of those who got to eat from the tray!!!







Until Next Time.....

Monday again.....

Wow! Where does time go? Has it really been over 3 years since I started blogging? (My first post was August 7th of 2006! Crazy!!) It has also been over 10 days since my last post, but it seems like I posted just yesterday. Time is truly a funny thing!! It's also interesting how my blog has evolved. It started TOTALLY as a knitting blog (hence the name) but has turned into more of a journal about life - including family stories; favorite recipes, and yes, even some occasional knitting. (Which I hope to resume again soon!!!!) Maybe today I will knit. Maybe.

We had a busy weekend!!!! It was one of those 'divide and conquer' weekends where we headed in different directions and wished we could be in two places at one time!! Steve, along with A & CB headed to Chicago to pick up R & M!!! I cannot begin to tell you how great it is to have them home again!!! They also picked up some dear friends of R & M's who had flown in for a wedding last night.





K & I headed north to Minneapolis for the wedding shower of my niece. It was great to be among family for the day and celebrate my niece's up coming wedding. One of the things us aunts did was bring our head pieces/veils from our weddings and had her model them and try to guess who they belonged to. This was the hat that I wore over 26 years ago when Steve and I married. I thought it looked kind of cute on her!!!











We also delivered a 50th birthday cake to my brother Brad that K had made for him. Unfortunately I was not feeling well and so we had to take off before his birthday celebration. A very Happy Birthday to my older brother!!!! :-)!!















When we got home, K immediately started work dipping 250 cake balls for the wedding we went to Sunday evening. They turned out beautifully and were a huge hit at the wedding! (Steve confessed later to eating 6 of them!!)







R and M were pretty awake and had a great time at the wedding, even though they hadn't been home yet for even 24 hours. The bride has been a friend of R's for years and I know they were excited to be able to be home in time to attend. I still can't believe they're home!!








A and CB enjoyed the wedding and were taking mental notes for their wedding which is now only 9 months away. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding and I absolutely loved it.










There was dancing on the deck. Steve and I tried to remember some of the steps from our dancing lessons. Pretty sure we may need to take a refresher course before too long!!















It was so wonderful to see K & M have some time together at the wedding as well. We have all missed them so much this summer. I feel so incredibly blessed by the children God has given me. Life is good!









One of the final shots of the evening was the famous pyramid that R's group of friends has done at every wedding. (Ok, I didn't get a shot of the actual pyramid.. but will post one when I do!) This is the shot before the pyramid. It is an incredible group of friends and I love them all dearly!! So happy for each of them, but sure miss having them hanging out. (hint hint) Come visit soon!!!






And, of course, no blog post would be complete without some Sophie story. She has decided that she is also a 'papasan chair' dog as well. Ok, but this is it, family!!! I don't want to catch her up on couches, chairs or beds. I know that she is cute, but don't spoil her, for Pete's sake!!!










Until Next Time....

Little Bit Of Everything......

It is hard to believe that we are into August. For one thing we have had the coolest summer that I can ever remember. I keep waiting for it to get unbearably hot and humid, and it just hasn't happened yet. I'm not complaining. It just seems strange.

K and I took a quick weekend trip down to St. Louis and had a great time. Took K down to see The Cupcakery. We have had these cupcakes the last two years at the Spring Fling and they are incredible. What a treat to get one in between Flings!!!








We also did some shopping. Well, Sheri and I shopped while J & K went to the 'Build A Bear' workshop and made these bears. K named hers 'Isaiah' and he has become a special friend.










And we ate well, which is always the case when we go for a visit. Sheri always has THE BEST salad recipes. She made this one for us and it was incredible. I think I had at least 3 helpings. She added cooked chicken to it and a little extra of the oil/vinegar combo. (Check out the Pioneer Woman's website.. FULL of great recipes!!)



Got word from R & M that they have finished their time in Uganda and are now in England for 10 days. They had an incredible time in Africa working with orphans and the local churches.














They posted some photos on Facebook, so I decided to share a few here. I will definitely have them do some guest posts on their return.











We have really missed them this summer and look forward to them coming home next weekend!!











We have REALLY been enjoying having CB living with us this summer and having her and A around much of the time. They are both busy with work, but we catch what time we can. And they have been very helpful with eating some of the 'samples' that K has been producing as she moves forward with her business. She now even has a website!!! Check it out here. She has named her business 'As You Wish.... Custom Oven Creations'. Yummy stuff.




Sophie is her usual cute, pathetic self. One of her many quirks is jumping into ANY car that has a door open or hatch open and sitting there. I think that she has figured out that it is the car that takes us away, and perhaps if she just stays in there, we won't be able to leave her. I think that is what she thinks, anyways!












And she will wait!!!! Here she is an hour later. Still waiting. Steve finally felt sorry for her and made her get out. Now she is sitting at my feet while I update my blog. She's a funny girl. We love her!!!








Until Next Time....