Pumpkin Sunrise

Around here, the weather feels like mid summer with humidity and the thunderstorms that pop up at a whim.  Frodo has been policing the pool and has saved one toad out of many since they love to jump in but cannot jump out.  Of course he's been saving salamanders for the last two weeks as well.  He is living a full life.  Yesterday was the first 'I dropped the frisbee in the pool now you go get it' game.  He is quite predictable. June days are lovely - warmth sets in and jeans are set aside for capris or shorts.  I wake up to the day breaking and Holly sits at the side window, watching the birds, swishing her tail in excitement.   On Monday we walked by the river and then explored a new trail to us.  There was a dirt path down to the creek which we successfully navigated, however when I was walking back up hill I tripped and fell on my face and wrist.  My husband drove me to urgent care for x-rays and an examination.  My wrist was okay (phew!) and my nose, while swollen, see

Maybe you cannot see it, but I am making steady progress on my pink cardigan .  I'm about over half way done with the body of the sweater.  Knitting with cotton is a little slow going for me since there isn't much 'spring' in the yarn.  However, I dedicate time each and every day adding inches. The gradient shawl in the above photo is my TV knitting which is soft and wonderful to sit, knit and add a few rows during a show.  I'm nearly done with the second section of the pattern and then I'll be doing the border.  So close! I was delighted this week to pick up the books I reserved with our county traveling library.  It's been forever since I've stepped foot into a bookstore or a library.  Curbside pickup is wonderful!  I also check out the ebook library but many of the books I want have a long wait list.  I'm too impatient I guess.  However, I do place holds every now and then.  I'm excited to do a deep dive into that Tasha Tudor book! What have

What a glorious weekend I had!  We had low humidity, chilly mornings and endless blue skies.  I love those kind of days especially after a few days of hot humid weather.  I felt rejuvenated and ready to face the summer days ahead of me.   I framed the infamous 'red floss bleeding' project and no one would know there are tinges of pink except you and me.  It's our secret.  This project was started when my son was in middle school * cough cough about 15 years ago.... *  and I decided during these days to work on it once more. My son loved it and I hope he enjoys it when he moves into his new space in Indiana, yet to be determined.   Our daily walks have been great now that the temperature isn't overly hot.  All of the phlox is in bloom and yesterday I spotted Queen Ann's lace blooming, it won't be long before the daisies start popping up. There was lots and of knitting and lots of reading.  I'm knee-deep reading the  Middlemarch drama and I'm enjoying the

What I'm grateful for this week: -mostly sunshine instead of cloudy days -starting a creativity tracker in my planner before the pandemic never knowing how much it would be a big help in my days and my motivation -hitting a fine rhythm with daily cooking and weekly menu planning -the start of sketching out our summer outings outdoors and many picnics to be -modern technology and how it weaves a thread of togetherness -all the knitting! -Air Conditioning(!) -a brand new frisbee for Frodo to put in the pool and then bark at it -the upcoming landscaping project around the pool and replacing a retaining wall -rediscovering our traveling county library and ALL the books I want and curbside pickup. (this is a game changer for many desired books) -clean kitchen floors for now -big salads  -new to me salad dressings -ideas of challenging myself in artwork, both sketching and watercoloring -you-tube and all the artists who post information regarding watercoloring and sketching -for all the

Good morning!  How are you doing?  Well, my knitting has been keeping me busy and sane.  I am languishing in the wonderfulness of endless stockinette stitching of my cotton cardigan while reading Middlemarch at the same time.  What is nice is sitting outside by the pool while doing it!  Yes, the pool is looking good but it's still too cold to swim in for me.  We did our first 'foot dangle' yesterday.  Brr. I'm also enjoying working on the shawl I started a while ago.  This is my TV knitting project because I can mostly watch TV and only occasionally need to do a lacework row every now and then. What are you working on this week?

How was your weekend?  If you're in the USA you are still weekending since it's Memorial Day.  My weekend was good overall and continuing. Our walk was the first walk in the morning because of how warm it gets during the day.  Isn't that a wonderful progression as we head towards summer?  The little bugs are so horrible this year so we spray our hat brims with deterrent and that seems to work. I sat and cross stitched all day on Saturday and finished the piece!  Sadly there was a big hiccup with the picture.  On Sunday morning, I gave it a quick swish in cold water then smoothed it out to dry and when I looked at in a mere three hours later, the red floss BLED into the white cloth (insert a very very sad face).  I will blame it all on this project being from a kit and an unknown floss brand. I went through all the emotions: sadness, grief and anger.  I woke up with acceptance.  Since I discovered the bleeding, I swilled it in laundry detergent and soaked in lots

Hello!  I hope you all are doing fine this Friday morning, I sure am.  I'm loving the green on my walks and the warmer weather.  Of course a heat wave is coming so I'm soaking up the temperate temperatures while I can.  Once it's 85 degrees, I'll be hiding in my house again.  On our walk this week we saw a turkey vulture (above photo).  I was pleased I could get a photo of him/her with my iphone, usually when I zoom in I lose the integrity of the composition. I mentioned on Wednesday that I wanted to finish a cross stitch project within a week.  I have over half of it done already so my goal is attainable if I work on it daily instead of knitting all the time.  I'll keep you up to date on the progress.  I spent way too much time shopping for frames online.  It's so much easier to pop into a craft store and zip through an aisle and choose.  I hope they ship the frame soon! Holly's first sneak by Yesterday Holly insisted on slinking by the ot