Pumpkin Sunrise

  Holly staring down Frodo who is under the ottoman Hello!  How was your weekend? Mine was pretty good.  We had an outing!  I know you're wondering 'what is an outing'.  Well, ours was a simple one.  We picked up subs and ate them at the park near the river.  It was one of the best decisions of of the week. We also went to a neighboring town for selective store shopping.  I was strategic and brief while shopping and was thrilled to see mask wearing everywhere I went.   Saturday and Sunday were blissfully uneventful.  I did my weekly chores as well as spent time knitting and reading.  Holly has been bold bugging Frodo and Frodo has been up to his barking antics as well.  It's been a noisy weekend. It's now Monday and my to do list is mighty long!  Tell me about your weekend -

Hello! How has your week been?  I've been down a delightful rabbit-hole on the internet.  I have no idea why it happened but I was noodling around looking at art journaling and wow, I was inspired!  Down I jumped willingly and happily looking at journalling pages and ideas on Pinterest.  Of course there is the big question of 'do I need a new notebook or a notebook system?'.   Do I need it?  No.  Does it matter? No, of course not.  I've admired Julian's notebook for some time and maybe just maybe I'll be following in her footsteps.  Do you have a notebook system? The butterflies in my yard continue to delight me.  They seem to be most active in the afternoon while my husband and I sit on the back patio talking about nothing.  (He's retired now, so no work talk).  Talking about nothing is wonderful.  I was going to make him a list of things to do around the house but I'll give hime a few weeks before shocking him. We've walked a few times this week i

    Good morning!  I've been busy with three knitting projects this week and yet I'm yearning to cast on a new one.  I'm resisting the urge since I really want the golden wheat shawl done.  I am getting very close to running out of the yellow wool and debating whether to add a contrasting color and make the shawl bigger or just finish the shawl with one color.  I'll let you know what I decide, it'll depend on what is leftover in my stash. The Wedding shawl  is making great progress.  I work on this at night since I can watch a tv show at the same time.  The row with beads is very slow going but ultimately satisfying!  I'm using this method to place the beads .  I love how this is turning out. The socks for my daughter's Christmas present are my zooming socks.  I can knit and talk with this project and so I save this project when I'm gabbing away.  I adore the color-way and the stripe sequence. What are you working on this week?

Good morning!  How was your weekend?  Mine was busy.  I went to see my sister and brother in law on Saturday who delightfully surprised my husband with a retirement present (yay retired!!)  We had a lovely time in their backyard enjoying the butterfly garden or should I say sanctuary?   Her garden is registered as a monarch wildlife something or other...I cannot remember what the title is.     Above is a newly hatched (born?) butterfly.  They act a bit slow when they emerge as they pump their wings and then get going onto living life.  We had a great time visiting and being with them.  My husband and I stayed at hotel. I'm amused that I get excited about staying at a hotel but once arriving I am missing my home.   My bed is the best bed and my home doesn't have little people (sounded like a preschooler to me) running up and down the hallways at 11 o'clock at night yelling, of course there was an adult with letting them be loud.   Yesterday I attended a bridal shower that wa

  Butterflies are abundant in my backyard!  I've seen monarchs and swallowtails on the butterfly bush. My challenge is having a camera on hand when they are around.  How have you been?  Are you loving the summer days?  Or are you like me waiting patiently for the heat to abate and some cool breezes to waft slowly in?  I truly try my very best to enjoy what I like about summer even though deep down it's my least favorite season.   I love:  - the cicadas and the tree frogs singing in harmony - sitting outside with my husband in the shade chitchatting -  dangling my feet in the pool - big salads and easy dinners to grill - all the flowers - butterflies and bees enjoying my blossoms - witnessing the changing landscape as early/mid/late summer evolve eagerly awaiting soft signs of fall Today is my husband's last day of work and then he is officially retired.  I was teasing him this morning on what will fill his mind and his days.  His work has been stressful for the last few yea

  I finished the Ashling shawl after many many many months.  Well it felt like many months anyways.  I originally thought the garter stitch portion of the shawl in the beginning would be repetitive and easy.  However the increasing was placed in such a way that you had to pay attention on every single row.  Also the wool was a super-wash wool and silk blend that made the stitches slippery. If you recall, I dropped some stitches two weeks ago and it was a nightmare fixing that little mistake. I do love the way the shawl turned out and my challenges were worth the result.  The shawl is super soft and delicate!  This might be nice to wear with summer dress.  Now I have to dig in my closet to see if anything 'goes' with it.  It's been months since I've worn a dress or had a function to attend. Ravelry notes 

How was your weekend?   Mine was busy but a good kind of busy.  I am loving the soft signs of fall approaching.  The oak tree has been dropping acorns and I'd say they are a week behind compared to last year.  Some leaves are turning - not many but every morning there are at least two leaves in the pool. Our son and daughter in law were in town for a friend's wedding.  I guess their friends were scrambling to change the venue and the plans.  Instead of indoor - it was outdoor.  The wedding list was hacked to a small gathering.  Such are the times! Who knows what will happen to their own wedding in January.  I know they are getting married no matter what. I was gifted the bridesmaid bouquet!  My daughter in law to be left it in my fridge and I placed them in a vase and put them in our bathroom which is a cat-free zone.  Holly would gobble these right up!  Today after blow drying my hair, I was blessed with a beautiful vista of flowers.  Maybe I should always have flowers in the

This week the weather has decided to give me a much needed break.  I've been enjoying low humidity and mild temperatures that have been rare most of the summer.  I know this reprieve will end soon.  I've noticed some leaves falling, dare I hope that it is an early sign of fall?  I'd like to believe so. This week I've been seeking peace and calmness in my days.  I love when I have a string of easy days where nothing is pressing on my mind, oh to bottle up that contentment! Then of course there are those days when everything is on my mind, I magnify their importance and maybe just maybe I am magnifying in error.  How lucky that every single morning is a personal reset to focus on what matters. This is why mornings are the sacred time of the day for me. This week my husband has put up netting to save the kale and the cabbage from cabbage worms.  It's a battle.  He'll be retiring next Friday and the duties and tasks are in multitudes until that day arrives.  The gar

Hello! I have to admit that this week has been upside down with my knitting.  The above project also had to ripped out two rows (twice!) because clearly I am challenged at following a pattern correctly.  However, I am happy to report I am back on track and the knitting is easy! I've had two knitting zoom meetings and at both I made some errors.  Reading and knitting is fine, talking and knitting is a slippery slope for me. I finished reading Rules of Civility  by Amor Towles.  Overall I enjoyed the book, I had trouble getting into the story line at the beginning and the ending was 'okay' but all the middle part I enjoyed a lot.  I have a Tana French book, In the Woods , that I'm itching to start today.   What are you working on this week?

How was your weekend? Mine was nice, we stayed home and relaxed mostly.  I made potato salad and every time I eat it, I remember my childhood - Easters and picnics - with family.  It's a nice memory.  My one Aunt made the best potato salad and everyone who followed her recipe couldn't recreate hers.   I just follow good old Betty Crocker and omit the onions and double the celery.   My husband wasn't feeling the greatest so I forced him to not do anything yesterday.  If he isn't trying to get everything done before retirement (two weeks!) he is doing a myriad of chores around the house.  He started power-washing the cement around the pool and gosh that is noisy! diving board needs power-washed In the mornings I hear an owl and it's delightful.  Sometimes at night I can hear him/her but definitely at 5:30 a.m.  Also the tree frogs are getting louder each evening.  I love their sound too.  Well folks, like Icarus I flew too close to the sun.  I boldly have been knittin