Pumpkin Sunrise

Each morning this week I managed to sit with coffee and indulgent knitting or reading before the day started.  Every single morning should be indulgent-makes the day start off in a good direction.  I went out to dinner with my family on Friday and afterwards quickly picked out a new washing machine (4 year old one is going going almost gone) then browsed Staples even though I needed ink for the printer. Saturday was quiet, slow with grilled chicken, baked potato and green beans. I finished knitting up a pair of mitts for my daughter (photos soon) and then plotted out some more knits to cast on. I had a crummy sinus headache all weekend but I'm happy to say today is much much better!   I've been watching Dr. Who from the beginning, not the old beginning but the new beginning-reboot.  Neither my husband nor my son are fans, but I do love how when it's on the TV they watch :)  I don't know what it is about the show but I find it quite entertaining. So I

Yesterday I started a pair of fingerless mitts for my daughter upon request.  I don't know about you, but when my family asks for a hand knitted item, I get giddy deep down inside.  There's a quiet joy rummaging through skeins of wool and patterns, matching and creating.  One mitt is nearly finished and hopefully the pair will be gifted while she is here next week. I've been holding up bravely when I look at the coffee table.  It will get worse (messier) once my daughter arrives home.  For now it's not bothering me one bit.  Sometimes, I must confess, I have piles of stuff-that never bothers me.  Double standards. I'm back into the swing of planning out menus and buying enough food, keeping up with household chores. It's raining at the moment and all week it's been cloudy and humid.  I've noticed some early leaves changing yellow and falling.  My oak tree has begun to drop a few acorns, however summer is still here. My moleskine journal is f

I am currently working on two projects while I romantically dream of three yet to be other projects.  My sunshine yellow shawl  is heavenly to knit.  The yarn is beautiful in person, there's a slight halo but the silk and cashmere give it a softness that makes me want to keep knitting forever.  The pattern is complicated enough to keep me on my toes.  The hat  is my tv knitting project, I tend to make few errors while knitting round and round.  Oh and if you haven't seen my blog post from yesterday , I finished my wicked cardigan (finally). I started a new book this past week, Here on Earth  by Alice Hoffman, who I just love to read because I love her writing style.  However this story is a remake of Wuthering Heights  and I'm not sure how I feel about that.  To me the classic is a stand alone book, one of my favorites.  I am still in the beginning and I'm still thinking back to the classic.  I'm hoping that after a few more chapters I'll stop comparing a

The  Wicked Cardigan  is off the needles folded neatly on my dresser waiting for cooler days for me to wear.  I am quite pleased with how it turned out.  I was concerned about the  Madelinetosh tosh merino light  for my choice in wool, mainly because it's a single ply.  However I love the slight halo the sweater has, hinting at it's coziness. I have knit up this pattern  before  and I confess I would knit a third sweater as well.   Same same but different  is an excellent pattern, well written but is for a knitter who is familiar with sweater construction and top down construction.  I love how there's detail to the shaping of the body and the ruching at the shoulders. My modifications were few, I made the buttonholes 2 1/2 inches apart so there would be less of a gap when buttoned up.  I also added length in the body and sleeves since I am tallish.

This weekend was a non stop weekend and I must say it was enjoyable.  My husband and I decided to go exploring in other towns before we picked up our son.  Typing in addresses in the GPS and just following the directions blindly, not sure of where we were going.  When we first met one of the hobbies we enjoyed was "taking a drive".  There was more adventure back then because we had no idea where we were going unless we looked at a paper map....who would do that??   The photos this weekend are what I did while moving our son out of his apartment.  I stayed with the car, as you can see, I look good in my grief (grandma saying). All of our son's new friends helped out with the big move.  Goodbyes were said and then we were on the road again. Have you noticed the early morning darkness?  Slowly the daylight is shifting and changing-I've noticed and paused.  We sat on our swing, eating an appetizer kind of dinner, drinking iced tea, catching up on news and

I was thinking this week about how I like to eat the color green the most.  Salads, green beans, avocados, brussel sprouts, peas, kale-oh I could go on.  Once I started thinking, my green vegetable list grew and grew. Whenever I sit for a meal, vegetables are the first bite.  At the farmer's market this week, I bought locally grown green beans!  Those remind me of my teen years, I would be sent out to pick green beans in my father's garden, one for me-one for the bowl-one for me-one for the bowl. Believe me, it took a while to gather enough green beans. Mild temperatures have graced us this week, summer at its best.  Each day, I have the back door open to listen to mid summer songs of cicadas and birds and sometimes the rustling of a breeze.  August is a busy month for me.  Our son will be home three weeks-we pick him up from his summer research program tomorrow and our daughter will be home for a brief visit mid month.  The rhythm of my days currently are slow, pu

I am pleased to share with you some exciting news, I have finished knitting the sweater !  All the ends are buried so now I have to pick out buttons, I have a few in mind.  Soak and block this beauty.  Hopefully all will happen today.  I know I bought buttons with this sweater in mind sometime in the spring while visiting my sister.  So I just have to find them... I was getting a little tired of knitting the sleeves, there is just not a good way in my mind to knit sleeves fast.  I opted for two circulars-it felt fast but not fast enough.  Hopefully I will have some photos by next week so please visit again. My other knit is a wurm  hat with Zitron Unisono  yarn.  I love this yarn!!  It is soft yet crisp in stitch definition and I am thrilled with the long color repeats.  I went out and bought another skein in another colorway.  This knitting I am savoring, if it was a food.  I love the way the stitches feel in my hand and I'm just enjoying working with the yarn.   I

My husband and I have made an effort to go on day trips, enjoying what is near where we live.  As much as I long for a beach getaway and maybe it will happen this year but I doubt it, I can get lost in taking in the sights and sounds of Northeastern PA. Yesterday we drove a few towns over and spent some time at  Knoebels Amusement Resort .  We had a  great time walking around.  You see, it's one of the few amusement parks where admittance is free. And the parking is free. (you still by tickets to ride)  Gotta love that. You would never catch me on that ride in a million years. I've been waiting for the perfect weather day:  low humidity, mid seventies, blue skies and during a week day :) My children would have loved to have any of those brightly colored "buy me now" toys. Just look at that sky!  Is it beautiful or what? That is my husband, not realizing that I've stopped for a photo.  He's quite patient when photography is

My weekend was filled with: -opened doors and fresh air -spotting a huge hawk that captured a rabbit-beautiful and no camera in hand -a walk, to drink in the mild summer temperatures -enjoying the butterfly bush that some insects are noticing hopefully a hummingbird will catch word -travelling visitors for lunch-strangers to me, acquaintance to my husband-friends as they left -oh the leftovers from my overkill for a mere lunch -picking the first cucumbers and tomatoes -sleeve knitting, getting very close to completion how was your weekend? Joining Amanda

The heat wave is over and I am one happy individual, the back door was opened, birds sang and the cicadas are in full swing heralding mid summer's arrival.  I've huddled inside during the heat wave, with knitting on my lap, ignoring the high temperature and the humidity. Hiding and ignoring makes me blind to what I can see-truly see.  I look out windows, I glance at my surroundings while picking up my mail or newspaper, taking for granted the nature that embraces me each day whether the weather is comfortable or not.  Each morning I journal and I end my entry with what I am grateful for that day.  It resets my attitude-makes me focus on good things. Yesterday I went outside and took my camera and once again, looking at nature through the lens lends pause to my day and several grateful thoughts.  I'm suspended by the moment while capturing nature.  I fiddled with settings, trying to catch that butterfly in flight-unsuccessfully I might add. While crouched

My sweater is still on the needles, in fact I'm still on the first sleeve!  I continue to work on it a little bit each day so I'm making progress but it's slow progress.  So instead of focusing on the sweater sleeve construction, I cast on another project!  Doesn't everyone do that?  It's like starting a new dessert while another dessert is still available.  However, I will not throw my half eaten dessert (sweater) into the freezer (bottom of the knitting bag) to preserve it, promise.  My new project is a wurm hat and it will be the fifth time I've knitted it.  However I only own one since I keep giving them away.  Everyone should knit this hat at least once in their knitting lifetime.  Ravelry notes are here . I finished The Sound and the Fury  by William Faulkner over the weekend.  It was a difficult read in the beginning but it was worth it.  I've never met more miserable characters in a long time.  I want to read it again but not for now, I need a b