Unraveled Wednesday 2/25/26

 Hello and Greetings,

The last Unraveled Wednesday of February 2026 finds me looking out the window at more snow...  Yup, it snowed a bit overnight.  Nothing big - roads are clear, but the car will need to be cleaned off before I can drive to Colin's.  And last night was one of those nights where I hardly slept at all.  I'm tired at 6:30 in the morning!  Hopefully that sweet child will take a nice long nap this afternoon.

Well, it's time to link up with Kat to talk about making and reading.  I'm still plugging away on the Family Socks.  Specifically the last one.  I thought I might be finished or at least speeding down the foot on the final sock.  Instead I find myself meandering and pausing now and then.  It's ok.  It will get done eventually.

I've been thinking about/toying with ideas of what to knit next.  Definitely another pair of socks, but I will pick up something else as well.  Perhaps I should get back to Semplice - it has been in time out for a bit.  The last row I finished found my stitch count off by one and I have not really wanted to deal with it.  But, I'd really like this to be off the needles and blocked.  We shall see.

Reading has been good.  The Unselected Journals of Emma M Lion continue to delight and entertain me.  I finished Volume 3 and am more than halfway through Volume 4.  Already I am wishing that there was not an end to these books.

Fletch and I are enjoying listening to Bernd Heinrich's One Wild Bird at a Time which is giving us some interesting and surprising facts.

Canticle by Janet Rich Edwards was read with my eyes and I loved it.  Historical fiction set in Bruges, it includes mystics, saints, anchoresses and beguines.  Not something I would normally chose to read, but it was truly lovely.

If Canticle didn't provide enough religion, I'm now reading (with my eyes) Gilead by Marilynne Robinson for our RWU group.  I know I read "Housekeeping" by Robinson decades ago (when it first came out) and I think I liked it, but honestly don't remember anything about it.  Gilead is proving to be a bit laborious for me.  There are times when I'm reading that I thoroughly enjoy it and the writing is beautiful.  What Robinson has to say about family, faith and life is truly wonderful.  But then there are times that I keep thinking, get on with it!  Fortunately it is not a terribly long book and I should be able to finish it well before our discussion on 3/27.

Here's hoping your Wednesday finds you immersed in a wonderful book or two and having fun making something!  Enjoy and be sure to check out the links on Kat's blog.

Tiny Needle Tuesday 2/24/26

 Hello!

Welcome to the last TNT of February 2026.  Hard to believe that by the end of the week we will have been through the first two months of 2026.  Whew!  Progress has been made on the Appil piece.  No more hair for Eve (yet), but some creatures have been added.  Here's an overview of the entire piece as it is this morning:

As you can see, the creature on the right has been outlined.  I think it's a cat.  Here's a close up of that:

And two bugs (I think they are beetles) have been stitched on the other side of Eve.

Fun things!  More creatures to come and (of course) Adam needs to be added on the other side of the Evil Serpent.  Even though there is still a lot (a lot!) to stitch on this, I do feel as though good progress has been made and I am steadily moving on toward the end of this.

Our streets are now bare (they were by yesterday morning) and Colin came over in the afternoon (with Iris) to help with shoveling.  Fletch says we ended up with about 9.5", but most of that has now settled down.  It's pretty chilly though.  But at least the sun is out today.  My phone is showing the possibility of snow for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday!  Luckily less than an inch each day.  What a snowy winter it has been!

There are mushrooms and some meat marinating for kabobs for dinner. Peppers and onions will be added to the kabobs.  I'll try doing them on the indoor grill I just bought.

Here's to a great Tuesday!

A Winter Wonderland! 2/23/26

 Greetings from Eastern PA,

It's a beautiful Winter Wonderland outside.  We had some rain yesterday morning which turned into what I call "thick rain" - not really rain, but not quite snow, but not sleet either.  That eventually changed into all snow and it is still coming down this morning.  I took this picture when I came downstairs and stepped out onto our patio:

It's a lot.  Right now it is very pretty.  The street has not been plowed.  I was supposed to watch Iris today, but I'm not going anywhere!

At Thanksgiving I had gotten a free (8 lbs!!) turkey breast from one of our grocery stores and decided to cook that yesterday.  I made stuffing and a small green bean casserole.  Good food on a snowy day.  This morning I have the bones simmering on the stove for soup.  I think a turkey sandwich is on the menu for lunch!  I will freeze the soup for another day.

Some nice surprises over the weekend:  I discovered a new flower on my biggest Christmas cactus!

And then I discovered buds on another Christmas cactus!

I guess they really like living in my office room (where I never turn on the heat).  When I watered plants this morning I noticed even more buds on the one plant.  

So, a good day to stay in.  We don't even need to go grocery shopping tomorrow if we don't want to.  Plenty of food in the freezer.  I think today will be spent knitting and/or stitching, some reading and listening to the Unselected Journals of Emma M Lion and, perhaps, a little nap after lunch!

I hope everyone is warm and cozy and if you are in the midst of the storm or expecting it, stay safe!!

Unraveled Wednesday 2/18/26

 Good Morning!

Greetings from very foggy Eastern PA.  It's still quite dark out, but my phone says dense fog until 10 a.m.  And, Happy Birthday to my little brother.  The temp is a bit more mild this morning (34) and I think this week will see us above freezing overnight all week!  Both cold temps and damp weather are bad for my back, so I will be glad to see a change in the weather.  Of course our forecast shows we could get snow on Sunday.  Ugh.

It's Wednesday and time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to talk about making and reading.  I love Wednesdays.  Always inspiring and often enabling in the best kind of way.

Today I have one and a half socks to share.

The last pair of the Family Socks!  The first is finished and the second is up to the heel flap.  It should not be long now.  I intended to work on this yesterday but pulled out my stitching instead.

Reading has been quite good!  I've listened to the first two volumes of The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion and they are simply wonderful.  So good that I'm almost finished with Volume 3!  And, yes, I did write "listened" - me!!  My library does not have the books, so I decided to download from Audible to use up some of the many credits I have.  The narration is superb and the story is just plain fun.  Thanks to Sarah for this recommendation,

With my eyes, I read Seascraper by Benjamin Wood.  What a book!  Moody, atmospheric, perhaps even a bit melancholy.  Beautiful writing and I highly recommend it.

Fletch and I finished listening to Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson.  Again, the narration was quite good.  We both laughed a lot and enjoyed the book, though by the last hour or so we were tired of it and ready for it to be over.  Last night we started listening to a book by Bernd Heinrich - one of our favorite nature writers.

Due to my aching back, I never managed to get around to putting orange oil on my cabinets yesterday.  And today I'm off to watch Iris.  Perhaps I'll get to the cabinets later in the week.  Tomorrow I have an early doctor appointment and a massage in the afternoon - can't wait for that!  I may sign up for a yin yoga class Thursday evening - depends on how my back does today.  I think the slow stretching is good for me.  I just need to remember to not twist too far!

Whatever your plans, I hope you have an enjoyable Wednesday!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 2/17/26

 Hello!

It's Fat Tuesday!  Happy Mardi Gras!  My beans have been soaking overnight and I have hot Italian sausage thawed.  We will be having red beans and rice for dinner.  I can't wait!  But first, the rest of the day awaits and it is time for a TNT update.

Stitching (some) was accomplished this week.  The solid fill-ins do take some time.  But the ground underneath Eve (the Garden of Eden?) has been filled in and, the bottom line over to the right side (as you look at it) of the sampler has been stitched!

Obviously no more hair was added to Eve and I don't know if that will happen this week.  There is a creature off to the right that I am anxious to stitch.  Also a few more bugs between Eve and the Tree as well.

I'm happy to report that I did manage to get my chores completed yesterday!  That was scrubbing the kitchen floor and vacuuming upstairs.  Today I may wipe the cabinets with orange oil if I am so inspired to do so.  First, though, I'll cook some bacon & eggs for Fletch and me and we will do a quick run to the grocery store to procure some things (mostly fresh veggies and fruit).  Hoping to find reading, knitting and stitching time at some point.

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Weekending 2/16/26

 Good Morning All,

How are you and how was your weekend? Ours was very nice.  Fletch and I went out to breakfast on Saturday morning.  That was a great treat - I love going out to breakfast.  The rest of that day was spent on good things - books, knitting and stitching.  I cannot complain.

Sundy morning we met Colin, Mailing, Iris, Bonnie and Zhongren at the Colebrookdale Train Station in Boyertown.

Such a beautiful train station with elegant gingerbread trim.  It was mobbed!!  I think the train was full.  The cars were all beautiful.  White linen tablecloths, cloth napkins, fancy silverware and nice china.  There were fresh flowers and chocolate truffles on each table.  Wine and champagne and even a boy (teenager) strolling through the cars playing his violin.  I kept expecting to turn around and see Poirot!  LOL. It really was fun.  The food was surprisingly good - French toast, eggs and sausage for brunch.  And everyone received a long stemmed carnation as we stepped off the train.  The ride goes through what is known as the Hidden Valley.  It was pretty with snow still on the ground and I'm betting it would be gorgeous in the Fall with colorful leaves.

We got home around 1:30 and yours truly took a nice, long nap!  Then we went over to C&M's for dinner.  We had coq au vin with mashed potatoes - a perfect meal for a winter's night.  And chocolate mousse with whipped cream for dessert.  And, of course, wine.  We were all beyond stuffed at the end of the meal.

On our way over to C&M's we had a bit of rain, but as we left to come home, snow was falling.  This morning we woke to a few new inches of snow - the kind that coats all the tree branches.  Very pretty (but I am tired of snow).  We had been commenting that the snow has been sticking around for such a long, long time.  And then Fletch heard on the news that this is the longest a snowfall has stayed on the ground since 1963!  At least the new snow is still pretty and white and has covered up a lot of the grimy patches.

Nowhere I need to go today, so I will be staying in.  There are a few chores I should take care of - time will tell whether I do or not.  I hope your Monday is a nice one - enjoy!

Wrapping up the Week

 Good Morning!

How are you on this Friday the 13th?  I am doing well.  Other than a Restorative Yoga class this evening, I have no real plans.  There is laundry to be done and the kitchen floor is pretty dirty, but nothing major.

Yesterday I ran errands, set up appointments (including with our accountant for taxes), did some knitting and a bit of reading.  It was so relaxing.  One of this things I picked up on my errands was this cute little bunny basket for Iris.

Isn't it sweet?  I also picked up one of those cars that you pull back and then it zooms off.  The one I bought is a banana.  LOL. I will get some other goodies to fill the basket for Easter.

After Iris was born and we were going through all the books that were Colin's when he was young, I was disappointed not to find two.  The first was Sheep in a Jeep and the other was a Golden Book - Two Little Gardeners.  I had forgotten that the author of Two Little Gardeners is Margaret Wise Brown who wrote "Goodnight Moon" and "The Runaway Bunny" - two of Iris' favorites!  Anyway, I ordered both books.  The Golden Book is coming from Abe Books, but Sheep in a Jeep I ordered from Amazon and it arrived yesterday!  I'll probably take that to Iris next Wednesday when I will be watching her.

There has also been cooking, of course.  Last night I made white clam sauce and added some smoked mussels along with the clams.  Highly recommend!!  It was quite tasty.  Tonight I am fixing baked ratatouille - lots of veggies and a bit of cheese.  YUM!

We have no plans for Valentine's Day and I have yet to figure out what I will cook, but there is time to figure it all out. On Sunday we have plans to meet up with Colin & Mailing & Iris and Mailing's parents for a brunch train ride on the Colebrookdale Railroad in Boyertown.  That should be fun - it will be Iris' first train ride!  Also, Sunday is Zhongren's birthday and he loves trains, so perfect timing.

I hope this Friday finds you well and enjoying life!