Pumpkin Sunrise

Noticing this week: -birds singing and singing, the woodpecker busy in the woods-two days ago, I saw his silhouette. -did not have a camera for that moment, so I've memorized the photo -warmer days-short sleeve wearing-and shorts! -freshly mulched beds that have that earthy smell and look beautiful -eating a perfect watermelon    -and avocado    -but not together -the sun rising early and the nights taking longer to arrive -daily walks occurring early or late, never midday -friendly neighbors and passerby people who give a wave -Frodo with a new haircut :) -wild raspberries, strawberries and roses blooming along the roadside with the phlox What have you noticed? Have a lovely weekend :)

Currently I have two projects on the needles, with another three projects swirling around in my head but not on the needles....yet.  First off on the left is a ten stitch blanket , I have oodles and oodles of left over yarn and have been attracted to Steph's blankets that she has made with scraps.  I thought that this pattern would be easier, but I'm not too sure, I also think that placing the colors might be easier for me as one big square.  I have a huge range of colors.  So far I am pleased! My second project is the red rock canyon shawl  that I started yesterday, I am already madly in love with the pattern, chart heavy (but there is written instructions!).  I saw Andee's   shawl  and knew that I needed to have one of my own. I finished my orchid shawl and posted all about it yesterday. My reading is the same.  (I believe I'll be typing that sentence for at least a week or two).  David Copperfield is a long book and I only read in short bursts.  I'll

I finished this shawl a few days ago, gosh!  I wish it was cold enough to wear :)  How exciting to have a new shawl to wear when the weather is cold once again.  I've tucked it away for later. Ravelry notes are here .  This pattern was a little challenging and very chart heavy.  So this knit is not for a beginner, I'd say an intermediate level with experience with charts.  For some reason I had trouble on one chart, truly believing there was a typo......as always, it was user error on my part. The pattern is perfect, clear and many hours went into writing the charts and test knitting.  I'm still amazed that this was a free pattern! I'm thrilled with the beads that are sprinkled at the end of the knitting.  Only two rows of bead placement so the beading ended up being fun and quick!!

Weekends are for memory making,  relaxing and enjoying quiet moments of our days.   If you would like, please share your weekend moments  in the comment section with a link to your blog. I love long weekends and this one will still be going for another two days :)  Yesterday, friends of ours came over to share a meal and celebrate my friend's retirement.  She now can knit whenever she wants.  For a surprise I bought a bakery cake.....you know the kind-it's knee deep in icing and totally not healthy at all to eat.  Just thinking about this cake makes me love it so.  Everyone said that the cake was too sweet, too rich but not a crumb was to be found. We had fun catching up, laughing and picking up where we left off-just like we always do.  Today after Mass I've got tons of laundry to do and a master menu list to make.  Grilling season is upon us so my meals have shifted towards salads of all sorts.  One can never ever have too many salads in their life.

My daughter returned to her apartment to start studying for the bar exam which she takes in July.  We had a fun visit and now as a mother I am going through some growing pains.  She has to find a place to rent where she will be working in the fall, luckily it's only a little over an hour.  The transitioning, the coordinating and the planning cause me mental stress. My son will be attending school in the fall in Boston for his Math PhD.  Again, apartment hunting, planning, packing and moving.  Deep breaths.  This is when I am most thankful for my hobby. I don't know about you, but knitting soothes me and places me in a calm state.  I immediately become in the moment and feel relaxed.  So between now and mid August my growing pains will be there.  I know that once again both kids will be in their new places starting new chapters and I will be letting go a little more (frantically knitting!). Above is my Mother's day gift from my daughter.  I find that more now

I have focused mainly on knitting this shawl  and have a mere four rows left before the project is off my needles!  I am placing beads and find the task fun and relaxing.  I haven't had much time to knit since both kids are home visiting but I manage to carve an hour each day to make some progress. My reading is the same.....I picked a very large book and my reading time is slim.   However, I am enjoying this read and the characters and the twisty plot.  I believe you cannot go wrong with reading a classic novel. Do you have a favorite? What are you knitting and reading? Joining Ginny and Frontier Dreams

As you know most days here at home there is just the two of us and we live a quiet slow life.  These past few days with both children home, well, it's been crazy busy.  And we haven't done anything super exciting.  We take walks, chat, enjoy each other's company.  I feel like I'm falling behind in chores but when I check my list, I'm on target. I wanted to document some of my photos here and they really have nothing in common.  The kids were playing a duet together on the piano-I managed to grab the camera and capture that.  While we were in State College for my daughter's graduation, I snapped a photo of this delightful pig and piglets. This is the kind of farm animal I could care for and love :) I love my dogwood trees immensely and each day I look at them and get a little sad because there is one day less to look at them.  It's crazy but for a strange reason I am loving their blooms and beauty! This morning as I picked up the newspaper, the