Pumpkin Sunrise

How was your weekend? We were able to walk yesterday but Saturday was a rainy drippy dreary day.  I missed the sun while it was raining and the day felt like it lasted forever. Frodo and Holly were in the same room!  Frodo didn't know Holly was on that loveseat and he did figure it out eventually.  It was a noisy morning.  I think they have fun with their dog-cat game.  Holly knows what he does and she likes to instigate once in a while. As you can predict, I knit a lot, cast on some new stuff, and finished a project.  I'm stuffing my brain with all the knits!  I finished a 'meh' book and needed a day to recover.  So let's hope what I pick next is better, honestly there is nowhere to go but up for me. I met with my real life knitting friends for a zoom meeting.  It was nice to see everyone and I took a photo of my knitting mess below.  Good times! Sunday I watched Mass on youtube and did my laundry as always.  What did you do this weekend?

Good morning!  I'm sitting at my kitchen table writing this post while watching the sun rise and send beams of light through the window.  The birds are singing and I hope to have a walk later today, weather permitting.  I noticed a drippy drip at my kitchen sink and I need to call the plumber to schedule a visit.  I'm sure we need to replace the faucet. Remember last summer when we (the royal 'we' - I did nothing) ripped out the bushes in the front yard because the deer were eating them and ruined them?  Well my husband planted crocus bulbs here and there and I swear the deer are nibbling them.  We have no rabbits on the property, Frodo has scared them all away.  Of course the groundhog could have done it as well, or any other roaming rodent but I like to blame the deer, I see them daily looking at me with guilt in their eyes. Anyways I'm happy that lots have sprouted and are blooming, as well as my daffodils in the back yard.  I believe all of our new dee

How are you?  I've hit my knitting stride this week after adjusting to all the changes that have occurred with my schedule.  First and foremost I finally decided on my new project.  I pulled out some luscious yarn and casted on yet another citron shawl .  According to Ravelry this is my seventh one but I gave many of them away.  I think I own two of them.  I wanted a true comfort knit and I love the pattern and how it grows and the rhythmic stockinette knitting.  Also the yarn is a gradient so I'm interested to watch the colors change. My sweater hasn't seen much knitting overall but I did manage to add another inch.  I should get back to this and get to the sleeves!  I won't be wearing this until the fall since spring is here.  I will have something new in my wardrobe when the leaves start to fall which I find exciting and hopeful. I've been working on my hitchhiker in the evenings while watching TV.  I found some left over sock yarn from a previous

Our weekend was low-key because of the PA shutdown.  So what does one do?  Well we are trying our best to walk every single day if the weather permits.  On Saturday we saw HUMANS.  I said 'hello human beings!' as we kept our more than six foot distance.  We live out in the country so our human sightings are limited.  However, I see humans more than I see bears, and I see deer more than I see humans. My husband was whistling this weekend and I asked him what is he so happy about.  He replied 'I love social distancing'.  As you can imagine he is an introvert. All of the daffodils are blooming and are a cheerful sight to behold.  There is a hill speckled bland with dead grass and bushes yet to sprout leaves. In the middle of this hill there's a cluster of daffodils booming and screaming 'it's spring!'.  So lovely. I'm starting to focus better as I adjust to what is going on, I heard your advice to quit consuming the news, I am trying

Hello!  How are you all doing?  Here in PA we are in the midst of a statewide shutdown of all non essential businesses.  Earlier this week my husband starting working remotely after a scramble of setting up the remote duties.  I know that Frodo and Holly love having us home so much.  We are walking daily taking in the soft signs of spring as it emerges.  There is a faint green sheen on the bushes and some trees.  The daily walks also help manage the doom and gloom feeling of the 'new normal'. So far my kids are safe at their places and we have tons of food even though people keep panic buying and making shelves bare.  You would think I have been super busy with knitting and creating but I am struggling to focus.  I am consuming the news too much, mostly because the news changes so quickly.  I've made a list of what I want to get down.  I need to make an exercise routine so I quit wasting time deciding what I will do.  I'll be dusting off the yoga mat as w

How are you? My knitting is the same as last week, this time I thought I would show you my progress of my hitchhiker .  The garter stitch is soothing and calming while I watch the news and try my best not to freak out.  I thought I would share some links to keep you busy if you are experiencing a shut down in your state like me, or if you are huddled in your home. Scott Shapiro, a professor at Yale Law, is doing a podcast class on Jurisprudence and is opened for all if you are interested.  He is fun to follow on twitter and that's how I found the class. Cambridge university press  is making all their online books free access Need some culture?  Here's some  Free museum tours And for all you Catholics (and religious) Magnificat has made their publication free.  I highly recommend their publication, I've subscribed for years. Please if you know of any other resources to share mention them on your blog or in the comments section.  We are all in this together, s

My weekend was pretty good even though the news is unsettling.  My hands are sad from all the hand-washing.  At the grocery stores the paper product aisles are completely bare.  These are strange times. My son and his girlfriend were visiting for the weekend and we had dinner in each day at home.  It was nice to see them and be with them.  Yesterday after dinner they headed back to their apartments.  My house is tidy and back to the way it was before they arrived. I've done a lot of walking and taking in the signs of spring.  I'm compelled to check the news frequently and yet I try to curtail the checking.  I've been reading a lot and of course knitting tons.  This might be the time to start some new projects while we are hunkering down. How was your weekend?

This has been a crazy week.  We were supposed to go to NYC for a few days during the middle of the week.  Because the news keeps changing hourly, I was constantly checking the news about the virus outbreak trying my best to decide what we should do.  Do we go?  Do we stay home? My husband had to see our dentist for (another) newly cracked molar and had the tooth temporarily crowned on Monday.  I babysat on Tuesday and my Little Miss was contrary and sassy.  Those babysitting days are LONG days.  At one point she told me she could do whatever she wanted.  OH MY! Tuesday night while prepping for our trip, more news came in about our local universities closing and that was the last straw.  I called Telecharge to cancel our broadway tickets (and received a FULL refund!) and I called the hotel who waived their 48 hour cancellation policy.  So we aren't out of any money.  Just sad to not be going but glad to not be going.  Now that I see that NYC is in a state of emergency and

I have to confess that all of my waking hours are spent knitting my yoke sweater.   Last night I finished the color-work and now I'm on the plain old stockinette knitting.  You know what that means,  I can read and knit at the same time.  Knitting bliss! What have you been working on this week?

Phew! This weekend was filled with family visiting.  My sister and brother in law along with my daughter and son in law were here this weekend for a get together.  The weather was beautiful for early March.  My sister and I headed out for a walk Saturday to take in the early signs of spring.  The sunshine was abundant! We played Trivial Pursuit (family edition) as teams of boys vs. girls.  That was fun and the girls won.  Heh heh heh.  My husband and I cooked both Friday and Saturday and my sister supplied desserts for both days.  I am filled with gratitude. Sunday was tons of chores and putting the house back to the way it was.  Almost.  I had my knitting group and I managed to remember to take a photo! Thanks for all the well wishes!  I saw a kidney specialist due to abnormal results from routine testing.  My RA doc referred me and I was super lucky to get an appointment last Friday (randomly assigned).  The doctor was wonderful and says I need to have repeat testin

We celebrated my husband's birthday this week.  He had to work a very long day so it wasn't the best birthday ever, however I bought him a carrot cake roll and that makes all those late working days a bit easier to do.  Spring feels so close I can touch it!  Holly has resumed her perch on the windowsill watching dawn break and the birds tweeting and hopping around.  She is endlessly entertained.  This week when I babysat the preschooler on Tuesday she was naming all the birds.  What amused me greatly was her made up names for every single one.  I would respond 'no that's a robin' and she would say 'no Mrs. Karen it's a cocklebird'.  hm  okay, I'm going to go with that. What I love best about my one day a work week is that it is only one day and it wipes out any other thoughts in my head.  I like the day with the preschooler! Wish me luck, today I have to see a new medical specialist for possibly more medical tests because of a referral