So many hobbies!

Sunray Venus

I wanted to stay

I walked on the beach every morning and lived the week in shorts.  It was a cruel awakening to come home to Michigan and winter.  I took my camera with me but hardly took any pictures.  Usually, I take a bunch of photos of the sunrises but it was cloudy every morning so the gorgeous sunrises didn't happen.  Still, walking on the beach is fabulous even without a good sunrise.  There was a full moon last week so we had some fabulous low tides.  Sadly, the shelling wasn't very good but we had a great time anyway.  We visited some new beaches which was lots of fun.

I brought two knitting projects with me, mittens and socks.  The mittens I finished and they're great:

They were used today and worked beautifully.  I reknitted the first finger 4 times before I get it right.  Thanks, Gayle, for the direction to cast on some extra stitches for the finger.  I wouldn't have figured that out on my own.  I love how they came out.

The other project I worked on was a shell mirror.  My mom brings her hot glue gun with her every year so I had a ready source of glue.  Part of the shells I glued to the mirror were found on the beach, some I bought in the local shell stores and some I got from my sister.  Here's what I made:

That pretty shell flower at the top was made by my mom.  (Yes, that's the TARDIS on my shirt.) 

We had a great time.  My sisters and I are trying to find a way to buy a house on Sanibel and live there year round.  At this point, though, it's just a really nice dream.  None of us can move to Sanibel for quite a few years.  Anyone want to donate to the Sanibel fund?

Nibbled by a goat

 

The Handmaiden Casbah socks are done.  Finally.  I started them October 2nd and finally finished them this past Saturday.  Well, I wove in the ends Saturday.  The fabric is tight and thick and will be very cozy on my feet.

 

I cast on for these in the airport on my way down to Florida.  I've made pretty good headway.  The kittens, on occasion, give me a bit of knitting peace so between the week in Florida and the past week, I'm about an inch and a half from starting the heels.  They're going much faster than I expected them to.

 

A little more shell art.  This is a Sunray Venus my parents found on the beach.  I pretty good find.  I'm partial to anything sun-like so once I find a place, this guy will hang on the wall.

 

My spinning guild meeting was this past Saturday.  One of my fellow guild members often brings in orphaned baby goats or sheep.  This little girl is a three day old angora goat.  For some reason, she nibbled everyone's chins and necks (she wasn't hungry, we tried that).  Little, tiny nips with her teeth, but not enough to hurt.  It tickled instead.  (The picture was taken by my friend Amy with her iPhone and a special photo app.)

So beautiful here!

I've made it out to the beach the last three mornings in time to see the sun rise.  Every morning it's different and always beautiful.

It was windy today which meant the waves were beautiful.  Hey, can anyone tell me why on some days there's two low tides and on some days there's only one? 

I was able to get a cat fix today.  This is Miss Wildflower.  She lives at one of the stores in town.  When I first saw here, she was sleeping on a pile of pet beds for sale in the store.  I guess she was doing her part to prove the beds were pet approved.  (I miss my babies!  No one has laid on my face or stepped on delicate body parts in days!)

It's into Fort Myers tomorrow for some shopping and lunch at our favorite restaurant:  Sweet Tomatoes.  My sister and I make the trip every year to visit the bookstore, Sweet Tomatoes and craft stores.  This year we're adding a quilt store.  Could be dangerous.

 

It's sunny here!

 

I love Sanibel Island this time of year.  Especially compared to Michigan in winter.  The sunrise was beautiful this morning. 

 

The guy who makes the sand castles was here last week.  I don't know how he does it but this sand sculpture will look this good all through this week.  Apparently, this year he was working on spheres.

I'm lucky enough to be here with my parents and both of my sisters.  My mom tells us on a regular basis to behave ourselves.  If she wanted us to behave in public, she really shouldn't have let us spend so much time with Dad when we were growing up.  Dad's worse than we are!  Needless to say, we're having a great time.