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This and That

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This past week has felt like fall.  Oh my goodness, am I in my glory!  Where ever I drive I am treated to many maple trees at peak color.  They are the showiest of trees.  My favorite continues to be the oak trees, plain brown but a brilliant brown. I look best in all of the colors of fall.  I could wear each burnt orange, subdued red and yes, plain old brown in my wardrobe.  Sigh, I want to bottle up all of my good feelings about autumn and take them out during a July heat wave. I forgot to mention that I did win the virus war last week and did not go onto antibiotics.  Resting and more resting served me well.  The preschooler has taken a break from sharing her viruses.  Maybe she has none to share as well.  We had a great day on Tuesday and near the end of the day she fell asleep.  I wore her out.  Truth be told, I could have fallen asleep right with her if I wasn't on child care duty. Frodo had his annual check up late last week and the minor mini lumps and bumps

Fallberry Mitts

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This pattern was so much fun to knit that I've already cast on another pair for a Christmas present.  Sometimes I wish you all could feel the squishy factor in a project through the photos on this blog.  These mitts are super squishy and while I referred to the pattern frequently, it was 'an easier than I thought it would be' pattern. Sadly I cannot tell you much about the wool that I used.  I bought it at a fiber festival and the spinner didn't give any personal details to her skeins except that it was sport weight and romney wool.  I was delighted to knit and find little bits of hay in the spinning, a rustic wool but oh so soft and springy. I cannot wait to wear them.  Yes!  They are for me instead of a gift for someone else.  I also have some wool left over to maybe make a hat. Ravelry notes

Weekends

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owl at the festival How was your weekend?  Mine was a mixture of being laidback and having fun.  On Saturday morning, I drove to a nearby country store to begin my Christmas shopping for my side of the family.  I managed to buy gifts for many on my list and of course I indulged on a few gifts for myself. In the afternoon we spontaneously decided to go to a neighboring town's festival and had a great time walking around with manageable crowds.  We ate unhealthy food (!).  The weather was perfect with a light jacket.  Sunday morning the deer were in my yard.  They are so bold, I can walk right up and snap photos as they stare at me.  They always come around this time of year because all too soon deer hunting season will start and I guess they know my yard is a no kill zone.  Deer are smart.  I'm interested to see what they will eat in my yard now that we planted deer resistant bushes. We took a walk down the dirt road with Frodo and I noticed the leaves are

Listen

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This week I've been listening to my body.  I thought I had allergies but there was a significant plot twist and I'm now convinced that it's a cold.  Grr.  Because of my autoimmune disease, I have a difficult time fighting germs and try my best to avoid getting them. However, the preschooler that I babysit is ultra-generous in sharing ALL the germs.  I hand wash, I hand sanitize and still I get them.  Wednesday I felt under the weather and cancelled the gym to stay home.  I spent the day trying to update my mac to the new IOS.  I drank buckets of hot tea and rested.  Last fall thru this past spring I was ill a lot and on antibiotics (a lot).  I'm all for modern medicine but I tried tried tried to beat this bug on my own. As of today I'm cautiously optimistic that I might have won the war against this germ.  Maybe.  I'm not worse and that is a good thing.  Resting on Wednesday was the perfect solution.  I also spent time resting on Thursday.  My finger

Jewel Box Shawl

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If you are looking for an easy memorizable knit for a gradient yarn, I highly recommend the junction shawl pattern.  I thoroughly enjoyed knitting this shawl.  The simple design lets a gradient yarn shine through! I might be making another one with another skein of gradient.  I also think this is a great gift to knit quickly and a great project for on the go knitting..  My modifications were simple, I opted to not knit the lace edging so I could use up as much of the yarn as possible.  I had 24 inches left, so that fun goal was achieved. Ravelry notes

Weekends

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Another weekend come and gone, how was yours?  I thoroughly enjoyed the cooler temperatures even on the drizzly day yesterday.  Just wearing a light jacket makes me joyful.  Now along with fall comes the fall allergies.  I cannot decide if I am experiencing allergies OR the preschooler gave me something.  Every week it seems she is sharing germs. I guess when you start preschool you receive more than an education. Whatever you want to coin my stuffy/runny nose, it's mild enough to ignore most of the time but annoying once in awhile.  That's why I lean towards allergies.  Anyways, my weekend was mostly quiet.  Friday night we ate at home instead of going out for dinner like we usually do.  We attempted yet again attending a fall craft fair that has become ginormous.  I bailed after an hour of being there.  There were too many people and I could not approach any of the craft tables due to the excessive crowds.  I wrote to my future self in my planner to not attend un

Do Nothing Day

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Finally the cooler temperatures have arrived and I'm in my glory.  Yesterday I switched the summer comforter to the winter comforter feeling completely confident that the heat of the summer is over and done with.  I hope so!  I loved the rainy drizzly day and the excuse to stay home. I had a pressing week where I felt stressed with all of the tasks that were before me.  Yesterday I had a 'do nothing' day. But you see my do nothing day is doing what I choose to do!  I stayed home and strategically plotted out what I wanted to focus on.  Of course I did some pesky chores like laundry and cooking dinner. I also made space for some walking around the yard and taking photos.  Enjoying the drizzle and wearing a jacket. I made space for lots of reading and knitting.  When I needed to stretch which is important to do every hour if you want to be able to knit more, I focused on drawing, sketching and journaling.  Frodo and I walked about the yard once more. Thr

Knitting News

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I was hoping this shawl would be off the needles but yesterday was a babysitting day and a three year old doesn't stop much anymore.  Maybe today I'll be casting off!  I love working on this super simple shawl pattern and watching my gradient colors shift from one to another. I started a hat for me last weekend but haven't worked on it much lately.  Once the shawl is done I will be focusing on a 'me' gift. Last but not least are my mitts that I ripped out and cast on in the larger size.  I've done a lot of knitting but little to show since I started over.  I love working with this earthy wool. I'm reading: Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson (kindle) Glass Houses by Louise Penny (kindle) Everything Belongs by Richard Rohr Trevor Noah Born a Crime by Trevor Noah Joining Ginny