Pumpkin Sunrise

  Good morning! How are you? How are your projects coming along? I finished the purple sweater for my granddaughter but it is taking forever to dry. This in-between weather is not ideal for air drying wool blend garments. So I decided to show you my grandson's sweater . His favorite color is yellow so I am hoping it is still his favorite color by the time Christmas comes around. I am loving this project so much. Top down construction is the only way to make a sweater anymore.  What are you working on this week?

  Good morning! How are you? After a wonderful cold snap, it's now getting warm again but thankfully not overly warm and the nights are still cool. AND it's September, finally!  Over the weekend, we celebrated our granddaughter's second birthday with family and friends. I enjoyed seeing everyone and of course watching her delight as she opened up her gifts, two years old is a wonderful age! I'm sure she will be in the terrible twos soon, but for right now she is happy and compliant and full of energy and discovery. We celebrated our 38th wedding anniversary on Friday! We went out to lunch at a new to us Chinese restaurant. They had a HUGE sakura (cherry blossom) tree in the middle of the eating area. I loved it! The food was fantastic as well. I saw my arthritis doctor and there's a chance I will be adding a medicine to manage symptoms. I guess I'll know in a week or so after some testing results. I'm not happy about it more medicines but I am happy if it se...

  Good morning! How are you doing? I am doing much much better after being unwell for over two weeks. Onward and upward! As I stated earlier, we went up to see our daughter and son in law in the Boston area to help them pack up some boxes for their apartment move. Since we were packing, I didn't take many photos, but here are the ones that I did manage to take. We popped into the Catholic church in Harvard square, I've been in this one before for Mass. We didn't attend Mass this visit because they have no air conditioning (I would die....). This is the church we did attend Mass. I cannot remember the name, but it was pretty!!  Below are all the things I bought every single time I was in a bookstore. I love bookstores immensely. As you know, I try to support independent bookstores and it is a goal that is easily done. Last week I started the cross stitch sampler for the grandbaby to be and it's been slow going. However, I try my best to stitch at least one hour a day if ...

  Good morning! How are you and are you experiencing the hot hot hot weather? Goodness it is hot here and I am ever so grateful to have AC to hide in. I've been busy this week helping with the grandchildren. Even though I am busy I finished a few books. The first one is Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett. I picked this book up on a whim and thoroughly enjoyed it. I've reserved the next in the series on Libby. Supposedly that will be available in 11 weeks. I can wait. I also finished The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. I enjoyed the content of the book but I really didn't care for her writing style. I know this book is popular among creative people and I can see why. But the book was not for me. I did finish it though. Yesterday I started reading The Great Gatsby  which I have never read. It was not required when I was in high school and I thought I should read it. I picked up a used copy somewhere a few years ago and I have delightful notes scr...

  Good morning! How are you? Thank you so much for the kind words about the christening blanket, I thoroughly enjoyed knitting that project but I am so glad that I am now done with it and can knit other things.  My life has been full since the kids moved into town. My husband and I babysat the grandchildren yesterday late afternoon early evening for a few of hours and we had so much fun. We took a walk, played sidewalk chalk then came in the house and played with the toys. I don't know who was more tired..!  Inside I feel like I am 30 years old but my body says this is not true! We are happy and grateful to be in their lives. Our gardens continue to thrive and mature since my husband has revamped them a few years ago. My sister and our neighbor have helped us by giving flowers from their gardens. We have bought and added our own as well. The challenge is whether or not the deer will eat it or not. Yesterday afternoon I decorated my art journal and my weekly planner for th...

  Hello! How are you doing? I've been really busy. We went to Indiana for the last time (unless someone else moves there that we visit) to help our son and his family relocate to our area. The ride home with the kids was the longest ride ever, ha ha. They have been unpacking and trying to get settled while the kids stay with us at our house. Hopefully they will be sleeping in their new home in a day or two. I haven't knit a single stitch since Wednesday.  The contact learning curve is getting better and faster but I still have a few tries getting them in no matter what. I get less irritated though. These contacts hold preservative free saline on my corneas all day long. It has helped with the eye pain I was experiencing from severe dry eye.  Sadly I ended up with a salivary gland infection over the weekend and am currently on antibiotics, I am feeling better though. Hopefully I will be knitting this afternoon during naptime!

  Good morning! How are you? My family left yesterday morning and yes, they did find a house that is 12 minutes away for us. They are so excited to be moving to the area and we are happy as well. We will get to see the grandchildren more often. My weekend and my past week was busy with grandchildren. We played lots, did sidewalk chalk and took little walks down the street. My grandson is 3 years old and my granddaughter is 19 months old.  Currently I am loving the silence! Yesterday I put away all the toys and baby stuff, cleaned the bedrooms and bathrooms and did a ton of laundry. I did not knit the entire week, however last night I added more inches to the second sleeve.  How was your weekend? (those beautiful daffodils from my front yard got zapped by the extreme cold, I hope the warm weather revives them!) I hope to be catching up with all of you soon!

  Hello! How are you doing and how was your weekend? My weekend was filled with celebrating our grandson's third birthday. I cannot believe he is three. He thoroughly enjoyed the birthday singing and of course the presents. My husband and I had a great time seeing family as well. I am so happy today is a 'boring' day so I can recharge and regroup. My granddaughter wore her sweater on the party day! (I wished I had used bigger buttons...) Even though the visiting was packed with socializing, I managed to seek in some much needed knitting time. I did not finish any projects, but I did add inches to the hat and the baby blanket. After pizza and cake, I'm ready for a BIG salad and lots of healthy foods.  How was your weekend?

  Hello! It's been some time hasn't it? My family is still here visiting but it's nap time and I'm quickly making this post a priority because when my family leaves on Saturday morning I will be putting away Christmas decorations and then I will need to recover physically from that. I hope to be back at this space sometime next week. I'm having a great time with the grandchildren, lots of playing (and crying, ha ha). We went to the museum the other day to look at the dinosaurs and that was a ton of fun. What wasn't fun is that my son arrived with some kind of stomach bug but luckily no one else got it from him. That is the Christmas miracle that warms my heart.  I still have my arthritis flare, I think it will stay with me until they leave and I can completely rest for three days. It's mostly my hands and wrists. It's not from knitting since I am barely knitting. The above project is a hat that is almost finished! I will start decreasing soon. I want it...

  Let's call this year, the year of the hat. I am in hat knitting mode and loving it. I whipped this little hat up for my grandson in a week. I altered the amount of brim and changed 1 x 1 ribbing to 2 x 2 ribbing. I'm hoping that this hat will last since the brim can easily fold up. I have already started one for my granddaughter. What are you working on this week? Happy Thanksgiving for all who are celebrating. I will be back to this space next Wednesday - we have family visiting us once again!!

  Around here, Autumn is showing off with beautiful oak leaves. I love them! Yesterday it rained all day and while my hair was a frizzy mess, I enjoyed the drizzle. We are in need of rain. I even took my daily walk in the drizzle, delightful! Over the long weekend we had both kids and the grandkids here, I made a fake Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday. It was a lot of work and I was exhausted even with helping hands. I miss the energy and stamina of my youth. On the other hand, I was proud I was able to do what I do! Whenever we have company, my house is turned into a mess. It's a good mess, but when everyone leaves I put away the toys, the chairs, the moved around stuff that happens when we have company. I miss everyone when they leave AND I missed my tidy home that I recapture.  Our grandson and granddaughter play with a splattering of old toys and new. They keep us very busy and we have so much fun playing with them. I am grateful they all traveled here to see us. What blessing...

  Hello! How are you? I am back at my ordinary life and playing the big catch up after taking some time off to be with family. We had a great time and loved seeing our grandchildren and spending time with them. Before we saw the grandchildren this weekend, I finished my grandson's holiday sweater and I had to wait for it to dry before I could take its 'finished' photo after I returned home. I love how knitting projects on size eight needles go fast! This flax pattern is a wonderful sweater that comes in many sizes. I also love knitting for little ones, the projects just fly off the needles. What are you working on this week?

  Hello! How are you? We are having a lovely time with our grandchildren and have one more day with them before it ends. We’ve had dinners out and adventurous walks. The weather has been beautiful and warm.  How was your weekend?

  Hello! How are you doing? My knitting progress has been fantastic. I'll admit the cool weather helps motivate me immensely. First off, I finished those socks and am now done with sock holiday knitting. I like the way they turned out and will probably not knit socks until mid December for my husband, but never say never. Below is the progress of my grandson's holiday sweater . I am thoroughly enjoying this project, the yarn is divine and the pattern is easy-peasy. I hope to finish the first sleeve today. What are you working on this week?

  And just like that, October shows up and gives us a breath of fresh air and a chance to wear woolens. How are you? How has your week been? I have been basking in this beautiful fall weather. Might I add chilly as well. My morning walks are quite brisk but a wonderful kind of brisk. Probably next week we will be peak fall colors. Maybe! I love being cold so I am happy and content. This week I finished a lot of my first session non-classes, phew! I signed up for a lot and I enjoyed the classes but I did not like how busy I was and how I forgot about  weekly grocery shopping. Silly! The next two weeks will be a much more manageable schedule for me and then I will start the second session of fall classes. My schedule will be easier, I won't have to gobble up a lunch in between two classes and I will have opportunities to grocery shop in the mornings once more.  Besides loving this weather, I've been working on my grandson's holiday sweater which is coming along nicely. Sti...

  My weekend was spectacular because we saw our grandkids and spent some quality time with them. Our little granddaughter turned one! She is the sweetest. Our grandson is thoroughly enjoying the terrible twos and is on the brink of being a three year old.  I had a great time, of course the trip caused some aches and pains as it always does. Also the AC in the car was misbehaving and that makes my symptoms worse. But I am once again, home sweet home, enjoying my ordinary boring life.

  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...

  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 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!!