Pumpkin Sunrise

always a black pen For many years I've established and kept a writing practice that I thought I'd share with you.  I wake up quite early, by choice around 5:15 a.m.  That is my time where I sit quietly in my kitchen with a fresh cup of coffee in my favorite mug and I write before the day begins.  I am a morning person and have been one since I was a child.  My best thinking is before 2 p.m., after that I'm toast. I keep a hard cover Moleskine journal without lines as my daily account of what has transpired the day before (since it's early!).  I write about what happened, the weather, what I was thinking or worrying about and maybe what I wished I was doing instead of wasting time. At the end of each daily entry, I write a gratitude list and focus on positive thoughts.  I see good around me in minute detail.  Writing a gratitude list is a saving grace for me and has served me well in my overall attitude on life. The red paperback moleskine is a writing prom

I've been feverishly knitting this shawl and love the gradient color changes.  So subtle and yet striking.  The pattern is memorized and I seamlessly pick up and knit away and get lost in the rhythm of the knit.  Knitting is meditative and soothing. I finished that cowl I've had on the needles since the unexpected snow storm, right now it's upstairs drying after a soak and a block.  Oh yeah, I'm nearing the body ribbing of my cardigan .  You know what that means -- sleeve knitting! I started this book, A curious Tale of the In-Between  which has been mildly entertaining.  I think it's a middle schoolish book but some of the vocabulary is meaty.  I picked this novel up at a used book sale last week.  If you know me well, you know I chose the book because of the cover art! What are you up to these days?

I'm sitting here with a cup of hot green tea in my favorite mug savoring this weekend.  The past two days was fabulous.  The weather was beautiful and even though the humidity was more than I like and my RA flared a wee bit, I still loved every minute. On Saturday we went to some town festivals.  One was an arts festival where all sorts of artists sold their wares.  I was inspired to branch out of my knitting and dabble in drawing and painting.  I am envious of their skills!  My favorite is pottery....gah.  I didn't buy anything this year but I do drool over the bowls and mugs and more mugs.  My cupboard is busting from the amount of mugs I own.. I can never pass up a good bathroom tile floor :)  My husband and I shared a portobello mushroom wrap and some fries.  Sharing lets you eat lots of flavors for half the calories.  I've made the wrap at home a few times but it tastes much better when someone else makes it.  I wonder why? Today I babied myself to r

The dogwoods are in full bloom this week.  I'm lucky to have many trees growing wildly on my property.  Once the dogwoods bloom, I can safely believe spring is here.  Yesterday, Frodo and I took our daily walk in sunshine and warm breezes.  No jackets required. As I look out my windows, I see green everywhere!  Last night, a neighbor was mowing for the first time and the hum of the tractor reminded me of summer time.  Hopefully today, my husband and I will get the swing outside put up and ready decadent idleness.  Before you know it, the pool will be opened! This week had me struggling again with technology.  I keep thinking I'm winning the war, but those battles are wearing me thin.  Honestly.  I sometimes feel like I'm missing something.  However, here I am with imported photos and typing away so I do know enough to get by. Always learning is a key to growing.  I like that I have that stubborn streak that doesn't quit no matter what.  I have been like tha

I never tire of the excitement when I finish a shawl.  The casting off is a reward that most knitter's get excited about.  There is the fun of casting on, then the steady momentum of the middle part, you know picking up a project and just toodling along. Then there is the cast off, soaking and blocking.  The dessert of a fabulous meal. This is my second Pebble Beach Shawl and I repeated the edge lace a bit more than was written in the directions.  I find that the crescent shaped shawl to be THE shawl that wears nicely around the neck.  Also the narrow depth distributes the weight of the shawl better. I think I have a delicate neck and I don't like weight around it... Ravelry notes are here !

This weekend was nearly a 'do nothing' weekend.  The very best kind of weekend, if you ask me.  I love when nothing particular is on the schedule.  Friday night, we went to a banquet for my husband's work and I dusted off the "dress clothes".  I rarely ever wear skirts, so it's a big deal!  I live in jeans all year round. Saturday, we had a slow morning of reading newspapers and doing some puzzles.  We headed off for a lunch out then a bit of shopping.  I recently broke my brand new coffee carafe.  I remember within of week of purchasing the coffee maker, I slammed the carafe against the sink and nothing (!) happened.  A few weeks later, I poured coffee and a big piece of glass fell out of the side.  Luckily, I had a back up carafe and as far as I know, I didn't drink glass parts. So yeah, slamming into hard surfaces will weaken glass... Sunday morning was 7:30 Mass and the laundry chores.  The weather this weekend was perfect and I will ne

Ah, the never ending scrap sock blanket that I wanted to be finished by spring.  Well, that didn't happen but you know what?  I'm okay with that.  I've placed this work in progress on the loveseat and I have to move it to sit down.  That will remind me to do a few rows! One day I will show a photo of this cardigan with the sleeves on needles.  For now I'm working on increasing the body of the sweater, after those decreases to give it a finished fit.  I'm working on this while I read a book (yes, at the same time!). My husband's cowl is about half way done.  The knitting is super simple and a nice project to pick up and put down.  Easy peasy. Last but not least, I cast on another surf shawl with my gradient skein kit that I received for Christmas.  I love this pattern and this time around I'm making the large size. Have you started a new project lately?  What are your spring knitting plans?