Pumpkin Sunrise

In less than one week I'll be teaching my first knitting class, because of that and because I keep forgetting stuff I bought a planner.  I think it's going to help me immensely.  I love opening it up and seeing what I want to do or I write down what events are going to happen.  My son just registered for the GRE and the Math Subject test-boy oh boy are they expensive.  Anyways, I jotted down in the planner the days he is scheduled.  We live "out there" so it's a production and traveling is involved. This is my second week of menu planning.  Menu planning for me is checking the pantry and freezer for meals I already own or partially own and then fleshing out the odd days with what I want to purchase.  I still wake up and decide what I feel like making.  Now I have a list at my fingertips to choose from.  The fish dinner on that list has been pushed back over a week....I'm not that keen on that one!  I wrote out all of the meals that I make that we li

I continue to make slow but significant progress on my barnacle sweater .  In one or two inches I will be starting the lace edging.  I hope I have enough yarn!  I did buy the recommended amount but I would love to make the body a tiny bit longer since I'm on the tall side of life.  Right now I'm not overly concerned but when I knit it's in on my mind.  Fingers crossed!  I have romantic notions of working on the sleeves which should go quickly since there's less stitches.  One can dream. I finished The Snow Child  and really enjoyed it.  I loved all the snow talk and the story is compelling.  I expect that this first time novelist has some more stories to publish and I will be reading them.  If you haven't flipped through the book you should and maybe read it before spring arrives.  My son insists that I read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time .  He's read it at least twice and I think it's one of his favorite books.  I only just started i

My organizational blitz through the house is still going strong, however it's illogical and sporadic, a drawer here, a closet there.  Yesterday I tackled my bedroom closet that contains so. much. yarn.  Most of it is inherited yarn from my mother.  I have difficulty parting from it even though it's unlikely that I'll be knitting with it any time soon.  Let's just say, destashing is a work in progress. Anyways, I've been wanting some tins for my family room to keep some "stuff" inside.  While going through the closet I found these two tins that were from my teenage years (antiques???perhaps!).  At one time they contained fresh writing paper and envelopes.  Now they are empty and ready to be filled with knitting notions and pens.  I'm excited that I didn't go shopping and re purposed what I already own. Also gone are many pairs of jeans, forgotten pajamas, tee shirts and socks.  With each item ready to be donated there is a freeing feeling.  

This weekend was: -very relaxing with a movie, Monsters, Inc. -making progress with my knitting without ripping out -foggy and dreary-perfect days for staying at home -spent falling into the rabbit hole called the "internet" -looking at ways to organize everything in sight! -phone calls with my daughter as her semester starts up -finished with pizza for dinner :) Just to add that the lovely table cover in the photo was hand stitched by my daughter for my birthday two years ago.  I just love it, and it makes me smile. Joining Amanda

Yesterday became a day that you just soak up and enjoy.  The sky was brilliantly blue and the temperature was perfect for a walk.  I find that I look down more than I look up while walking, probably to avoid stumbling about in the world.  However looking up sometimes gives me a happy feeling and a sense of wonder.  I can't remember enjoying a blue sky in my twenties.  Or even in my thirties.  Now that I'm older (won't mention an age-because I'm ageless) I see beauty in my everyday surroundings. Have you noticed the days getting longer?  I have.  I'm one of the few that enjoys the dark days while approaching the winter solstice.  By Sunday the snow will be completely gone and we are in for some drippy days. Oh and the birds are singing!  My, my are they a bit early. Their singing is more than welcome on my walks. I've managed to clear out two bags of paperback books that I'm fairly certain I won't miss.  I've straightened up some drawers in the

I won the battle with the pi shawl , see yesterday's post for details. It ready for the first lace section out of three.  The anger has passed and I am loving it again.  As a reward I cast on another citron shawl .  I know, before you say "again?" I want to clarify that I did give one as a Christmas present.  So technically I only have the one to wear. The yarn is mystery yarn of sorts.  I bought it at the fiber festival from a vendor who was desperate to sell her yarn, I felt sorry for her and bought this lace weight.  It's NOT labeled and I wrote the name of the wool down quickly then couldn't read it when I came home.  My writing tends to be illegible at times. Anyways, from googling the many varieties of sheep I'm quite confident the wool is California Variegated Mutant spun lace weight (I wrote "cal var mut").  I like it because it has a crispness to it and it's somewhat soft.  I also get a giggle when I find bits of vegetable matter th

I've ripped out the green pi shawl , oh I don't know, over four times.  I should know to not make executive knitting decisions past eight at night, it's not my ideal thinking time.  I haven't been thrilled with the second lace pattern for quite some time.  I even wrote when I finished row one or row three and still I've found a mistake and where there isn't a mistake, I didn't even like that pattern!  Before dinner last night, I was on the mad hunt for another pi shawl that would be to my liking.  Lucky for me Elizabeth Zimmermann had one of her "pithy" directions in her Knitter's Almanac book. This morning I am fresh, renewed and restored, ready to tackle the beginnings again.  Ready to knit a pi shawl that will require minimal effort on my part besides the counting of stitches.  Wish me luck! I've tidied my crate shelves, that we found in a barn in Ohio when we lived there around 1987.  I love them so.  Notice the gaming guides