Pumpkin Sunrise

  Good morning! How was your weekend? As you can see, I didn't take many photos over the weekend. Maybe I was fully present in what I was doing or I forgot to take some photos. Either way, it was a great weekend. The mornings have been cool enough to be chilly (brr) on our daily walks.  We are officially one third of the way through the summer season.  Saturday, I did laundry and finished reading The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store , which I loved. This was a library loan so the clock was ticking for me to read it within the three week period. I'm still reading The Secret Garden  and hope to finish that book by the end of the week.  Sunday, we drove up to see my dad and step mom to celebrate his birthday along with my sister and brother in law. The drive takes an hour, so I pack for a 'day trip'. I knitted on a sock while I was there. Lunch was good and I snapped that photo above on their property.  How was your weekend?

  How was your weekend? On Saturday, my local family arrived for a picnic at my house. We sat outside for about an hour then headed indoors because the heat became too much. Most of Saturday morning, I got ready for the picnic. I'm so grateful that family brought dishes to share which made my work in the kitchen manageable. After everyone left, I had the house put back together again before I went to bed. Did I take a photo? Nope. I was in the moment! On Sunday morning, I went to 7:30 am Mass then came home to do one load of laundry since I did much of the laundry the day before my work was easy. I rested the whole afternoon and evening. I read a ton and knitted a little bit.  As you can see, I am knitting the sweater and I still have that last leg warmer to finish up. It will be done today! 

  Good morning, how are you and how was your weekend? Our daughter and son in law arrived Friday night and are leaving sometime this morning to go back to the Boston area. We are so grateful they came to see us. We had a fabulous time together. Saturday morning, we went to the conservatory for their summer show and it was fabulous. We love being members there and I always see something new when I walk about their gardens. It was very hot in the sun outside and I wilted. My autoimmune disease (Sjogren's Syndrome) makes me sun sensitive and heat sensitive.  I try to cover myself from head to toe to shield the sun and yet I still at some point feel unwell (flu like symptoms).  I guess that is why I love winter so much!  After the conservatory, we had a difficult time getting home because a major highway ramp was closed. So we took the scenic route through another section of the Pittsburgh area and after an hour ended up at our place for lunch. That had a 45 minute wait time (ugh) and

  And just like that, I'm back in ordinary time.  I go to my classes and continue to love Wednesdays because that is tai chi day. I'm not an expert but I've graduated myself to the back of the class so that new people can be up front if they wish to see the instructor clearly.  Frodo continues to be well considering his age. We are grateful to have him every day. Holly continues to check in on him and wish him well. In the photo above, she is watching us from the upstairs window as we walk around the yard. For the first time since moving here (2021), the hydrangea bush is blooming! Every day I witness its beauty. Now if only the lilac bush would bloom. Maybe the inspiration will come from the hydrangea bush for next spring.  Our daughter and son in law are visiting us this weekend and today I have a bazillion things to do. (it feels like a bazillion). I wish I would have done a little bit each day this past week but I waited until today.  I have yet to decide on a sweater p

  How are you?  I am doing well and so is dear Frodo. Everyday I believe he is back to himself and then the next day I see more improvements. He's on two antibiotics until the end of the weekend so I imagine coming Monday he will be the fully restored and rebooted Frodo.  Thank you all for the well wishes and prayers, they meant a lot to me and they worked! Every day is a bonus day with him, and I take each day as it comes. He will be 15 years old in October. Yesterday we went out for lunch at our favorite outdoor restaurant near a pond in a local park. The ambience is fantastic. Over the fence by our table, we watched a bird sitting on a nest built amongst the reeds. The best kind of lunch entertainment. I have slowly eased back into ordinary life. I knit a bit, read a bit and journal a bit. It's a wonderful existence. I am enjoying my non-credit classes and as you know, I am once again in Tai Chi, if you ever have a chance to take a class, I highly recommend it.  Below is a p

  Good morning! I hope all of you are having a fine weekend. I'm popping in to do a post since tomorrow morning I'll be busy visiting my dad and my step-mom.  Earlier this week, we went to London Ontario to visit his mom. We stayed at the nicest hotel named the Idlewyld Inn and Spa . Our room was perfect and everyone we met was kind, friendly and helpful. We will definitely stay there again whenever we are there for a visit. We had a nice time with his mom and took her about town doing what she wanted to do and eating at restaurants where she wanted to eat. I think we made her happy. We had nice weather going up and back, but sadly on the way home a major highway was shut down in Canada due to construction and they didn't give detour information. Our US phones act like they are gasping for air in Canada when they try to use the satellite.  The navigation app on my phone used up most my battery, but we did find an alternate route, got back into the USA. My phone breathed a s

  Last Thursday, we left with my husband's brother and sister in law to go to Hocking Hills, Ohio to meet up with our son, daughter in law and our grandkids at a lodge rental in the woods until Monday morning. We had so much fun! We did some hiking and ate out at restaurants and did the tiniest bit of shopping. Our grandson loved being outside, collecting rocks and other treasures. Our granddaughter crawls and sits up and loved to make a beeline for an outlet or a cord (who wouldn't??). Our grandson is in the terrible twos stage and had a melt down at least once a day. I wish I could act like that when I am discontent - It would be cathartic and freeing, but kind of alienating to those around me. Being the Grammy, I found it endearing but little too loud. We had nice weather, chilly but mostly dry. I was disappointed in the lack of cell phone reception at the lodge but they had mediocre wifi so I was connected sporadically. Since we both have elderly parents, I want that connec

  Good morning! How was your weekend? Mine was pretty good! Whatever allergy thing I was was suffering with for almost a week seems to be almost over. However, when I take Frodo for a walk this morning, I'm sure it will start all over again. We didn't do much this weekend. He worked on the finishing touches of the deck flooring and I did a lot of laundry and started to clean the house. Today I'll finish up what I didn't get done yesterday. Even though it rained over the weekend, I rather enjoyed it. My sister and I went out to a farmer's market on Saturday morning. We bought 'salad turnips' which tasted really good! She's going to grow some in her garden this year because of our adventurous purchase. I do love new things to put in a salad. My knitting remains the same: a pair of socks for my husband and a lace scarf. Both are doing okay. Sunday morning we went to Mass and had taco salad for dinner. How was your weekend?

  Hello! How are you? My husband and I visited our son and daughter in law in Indiana for most of last week and this past weekend. We spent quality time with our 2 year old grandson and our 7 month old granddaughter. We are both exhausted!! I am amused at how I cannot remember being tired taking care of little ones in my youth, I must have had a ton of energy back then. Also I didn't have an autoimmune disorder that basically sucks the life right out of me. Even though I have physical challenges, I manage to love them up as much as I can. I will be resting and recovering this week. We had great weather while we were there and we ate out almost every day. (no cooking if you know me and my love of that). Our grandson talks up a storm and we have 'conversations' that are delightful. Sometimes I know what we are talking about! We are now home and I am going to 'play catchup' with all of you over the next few days.

  Good morning! How was your weekend? On Saturday morning, I had a sister outing that was so much fun. We went to various stores then ended up with a smoothie and yarn shopping. That is the perfect outing. I bought three more skeins of sock wool for my husband. I completely forgot about shopping for myself.  Later that evening, my sister and brother in law came over for dinner and game night. It seems that game nights are seldom since our schedules are busy. I'm glad we squeezed one in before my sister's second grandson is born this month. We are all excited about a new baby! I worked more on the second sock, I haven't bought any new knitting needles yet. I'm still thinking about it. I am resting and stretching my wrists and avoiding the marathon knitting that I can easily do.  On Sunday, we had the craziest weather. It was snowing so much that you could not see across the road at times and yet the snow would melt, well mostly melt. Frodo and I were not happy about how

  Good morning! I have been focusing on these socks because we have a 'hand-knitted sock crisis' going on in this house. I threw away another pair of my husband's socks. They were threadbare! What is going on here? What forces are descending on this humble home? My husband has four pairs left in his drawer. Can I darn the worn out socks? No, I cannot - the holes are over an inch big at the soles where he wears them out. And so my knitting epiphany is to always have a pair of socks on the needles from here on out. I really do not want deadlines (I'm still recovering from the blanket deadline I created for myself) so I'm just going to have a pair on the needles. Slow and steady wins the race! (as a side note, I am thrilled he wears my socks threadbare and loves them so much, what a knit worthy person!!) What are you working on this week?

  Good morning! How are you all?  I finished the baby cardigan for my great grand nephew before the weekend even started (yay!). I love the the finished project, love the neutral color, but didn't care for the yarn. I did knit at a tight gauge which made the hand pain worse, completely my fault. I have found over the years that I prefer to knit with wool or washable wool for optimal knitting joy.  What are you working on this week?

  Good morning! How was your weekend? On Saturday, my sister and I drove north to visit my dad and step mom for the afternoon. We had a lovely lunch and spent time catching up. The drive up and back was a little stressful. Crazy drivers and pouring rain, but we made it safely there and back.  On Sunday, we went to the conservatory with my sister and brother in law to see the orchid show. All the flowers and displays were beautiful. I was disappointed we were unable to go outside in the children's garden (one of my favorites) but maybe they are getting it ready for the spring, which as you know is right around the corner. I've been busy knitting away over the weekend and reading my library book on my kindle ( The Stone Circle by Elly Griffiths)before it was due. This weekend was over all lovely!

  Good morning! How are you?  We had a super quick weekend getaway to Indiana to celebrate our grandson's second birthday! Both sets of grandparents were in attendance to spend time with the grands and we had fun at the little birthday party with our children's friends.  I cannot believe he is TWO!  I have to confess, I do love two year olds when everything is NO. (I can say that with joy because I am a grandparent and not a parent). He says 'no' to everything, adorable and funny.  I did a lot of car knitting. I am now on the friend's baby blanket for her first grandchild. I'm making lots of progress! I hope to catch up with all of your spaces in the next day or so!!

  Hello! How are you all doing? I'm doing pretty good. There was a peek of sunshine earlier this week and I rushed out of the house to walk. The birds are singing away and early signs of spring evident.  Mid-week, my husband and I met our daughter-in-law's parents downtown at a restaurant. We had so much fun talking about the kids and grandkids and then not talking about them and talking about everything else. After dinner we walked over to the theater to see My Fair Lady. I snapped a few photos before the photoing was banned. The production was fun and they did a few things through-out the show to modernize a dated story line, and yet stayed true to the musical. I love seeing the creativity of set designs, mannerisms and costumes. Also the way they changed the set between scenes was very clever. By the way, the photo of Miss Holly is one I took early in the morning. I never know where she will be sleeping so when she is there on the couch when I come downstairs to make the cof

  Good morning! How are you? Happy New Year, may this year be full of blessings to all of you. Well now, I finally have an empty home after having our son, daughter in law, grandson and granddaughter here for six nights.  I am still experiencing fatigue and symptoms from the virus even though I am feeling better. It was a challenge hosting family while recovering. Also we babysat the kids overnight (!!) while my son and daughter in law went for little getaway. I am thankful and grateful my Aunt came over both days to help out with the granddaughter who never sleeps during the day. (snack-naps do not count!). They all left early in the morning, and while I was tired, sleep deprived and fatigued, I put away Christmas plus all the toys and doodads you need for babies. Today I am looking at a squeaky clean house. I am planning on reading books and falling asleep while doing so! My exercise routine is on hold as I slowly get better. Maybe next week I can muster up some energy for some yoga

  Yesterday we went to the art museum and then had lunch out. Above is the nativity the museum displays every holiday season - the arrangement of figurines changes year to year which makes it fun to see the differences with the aid of a photo of course.   Are you ready for the holidays or getting ready? I am trying to be ready. I continue to take it easy with knitting and barely do one hour a day. My hands are mostly recovered but I don't want to risk any repetitive injury. While my hands may be idle, my mind is active with what to knit next. My daughter wants a sweater (yay!) and I'm itching to knit something for myself. I'm creating lists and more lists as we inch closer to Christmas Day. My son and his family will be here almost a week. I have menus to consider and outings to plan out and to offer. Hopefully the grands will be healthy this time around which will help me sleep better. I'm still recovering from lack of sleep! Are you baking this year? What are you baki

  Good morning! How are all of you doing on this fine Monday morning? I'm back after having family here for nine nights (!). Our little granddaughter went back to ER this past Thursday for some oxygen monitoring and was successfully discharged the same day. She sees her doctor this afternoon in her hometown, so far she is feeling better. The miracle is that no one else came down with the virus. (maybe her dad but it was barely 48 hours of a mild cough). It's all about me and I'm glad that I didn't catch it. Our company left Friday morning. My husband and I blitzed the house like madmen. We put away all the toys, playpens, the highchair and compressed our kitchen table down from seating six to seating four people. I completed four loads of laundry that day. (let me tell you that little baby and grandson generated a load of laundry per day - and both kids generated a bag of garbage daily - I do not remember any of this when my kids were little). We strategically went thro

  Hello! Happy post Thanksgiving! I'm dropping in for a quick update. Our families arrived on Wednesday night as planned but sadly our little granddaughter wasn't feeling well Thursday morning and so her parents took her to ER and she was diagnosed with RSV but not admitted and sent home.  That diagnosis dispersed our big Thanksgiving family to two houses instead of everyone at my house. My sister and her family stayed at her house and my family stayed at my house. My dad visited both houses. My sister and I were swapping dishes to complete the meals. (We cooked the turkey she made the stuffing etc). It was quite the production but we made it work and we each had a good Thanksgiving. Our little granddaughter is slowly feeling better and so far no one else has any symptoms (yay!). Our days are filled with babies playing, napping, crying and eating. We are living our best life. To make things more exciting, our new furnace quit working yesterday and we had to have an emergency te