I finished my fall socks today. They are darker than they appear in this photo. I am happy to be done with these socks.

I’m working on Koro Koro by Olga Jazzy Knits. The black is Knit Picks Paragon and the white with yellow and black speckles is Stranded Dyeworks Merino Sport in Batcave. I love how this is working up. I want this shawl to be huge, so I’ll be working on it for a long time.

Today we celebrated seven wonderful years with Audrey. We had spider donuts from Dunkin, spent the morning at the orchard, met friends at the zoo, and had the meal she requested for dinner (gnocchi in a cheese sauce). She is a joy and a delight. I’m so happy to be her mom.

I bought a thing.

I have no idea how to use this, but I’ll be learning how to spin. Wish me luck.

This week the kids and I headed to NE Iowa to do some hiking.

We spent our first day at Pike’s Peak State Park (Yes, Zebulon Pike did name two peaks after himself). We looked out over the Mississippi and hiked to Bridal Veil Falls. After that we headed to Effigy Mounds National Monument where we took a hike, did some worksheets about the mounds, and the kids became Junior Rangers. It was an exhausting and fun day.

The next day we headed to Decorah. We had a late start due to rain (did I check the weather before our trip or pack rain gear? No.). We hiked at Dunning’s Springs to visit the ice cave and explore the falls. We had a great time wandering around the park before meeting up with a friend for coffee. My niece goes to school in Decorah, and we had a wonderful time going to a playground, yarn shop, and dinner. It was a wonderful day.

We hope to get out on more hiking trips this fall. I’m enjoying the kids being able to log some miles on the trails.

I finished a sock at Audrey’s first Girl Scout meeting this afternoon. I hope to finish the second sock before the end of fall.