Mabel

 Good Morning All,

How are you this morning?  It's raining here.  I woke up at 3 a.m. to the rain and it is still coming down.

Please send all your healing juju to Mabel (I know your healing juju works - it always does).  When I got home from the office yesterday, Fletch told me that Mabel had been upstairs all day.  Highly unusual.  She had been out all night and I let her in Wednesday morning and put food out for her before I took off for my blood work.  I went upstairs and she was curled up on the bed...barely acknowledging my presence.  Again, highly unusual.  And silent!  Mabel is ALWAYS talking...usually loudly.

Anyway, I had a busy work afternoon and then it was time to cook dinner.  We ate and then watched an episode of "Our Great National Parks."  Finally when I was ready to go up to bed around 10 p.m., she came downstairs.  She did not want food or water (but I left some out for her).  And then she disappeared!  She has hiding places and must have gone to one of them.

This morning when I came downstairs, she greeted me and made some soft meows.  I put some fresh food down and she ate a little, but not too much.  She came into the office room with me, but did not jump up on her window ledge seat and now she has left...not sure where she is. I snapped this sweet picture after she had a little food this morning.

She has stolen our hearts over the past few months and we sure hope she is ok and that this is nothing serious.  We are keeping her inside for now and she is not arguing with us.

Meanwhile, it looks like it was a rainy night in Pittsburgh for the kids and their backpacking night.  Luckily they had reserved a shelter along the trail, so at least they could be dry sleeping and not have to wrestle with tents in the rain.  And the forecast for Pittsburgh for Saturday looks nice for an outdoor wedding.  Fingers crossed.

I've got another busy day ahead of me...I need to get up from this desk, dry my hair and get ready to go to the office.  Wishing you all a wonderful day!

Unraveled Wednesday 5/18/22

 Hello My Friends,

How did we already get past the halfway mark of May?  Yesterday was a pretty nice day weather-wise though very, very windy in the afternoon.  We actually had to close the door to the patio when we sat down for dinner it was so windy!

My office visit yesterday was ok.  Very busy (which is a good thing - makes the time fly by).  Today should be similar and again I will plan to leave no later than 1 p.m.  I have a few stops to make on my way home and this morning on my way to the office I need to stop and have blood work done.  I'll be thankful for a day with no errands or stops on the way to and from the office!

Here we are at Wednesday again which means it is time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to talk making and reading.  If you read my post on Monday, then you know that I was (finally) able to finish knitting and felting my second French Market Bag.  I can't wait to use it!  My other knitting time was a bit limited, but I managed to finish some more rows on the Guernsey Wrap. 

I know it does not look much different, but it is longer...now 42" (unblocked...obviously).  Chart C has been fully knit once.  It will be knit once again and then a portion of it knit for a third time...then there will be some garter stitch rows and binding off!  That is still 143 rows...so a little way to go.  The difficult part is finding time to knit this week.

On the reading front, I am so happy to say that I finally finished Young Mungo Monday night.  I did not like it...at all.  But I'll be happy to discuss it with others in the "Read With Us" group.  Now I am happily into Salvage the Bones and enjoying it very miuch.

Time for me to get going.  Hope everyone has a great Wednesday!

Tiny Needle Tuesday

 Well Good Morning!

Yesterday turned out to be not as bad or as tiring as I feared - being in the office.  There were a lot of folks around and only one mask to be seen.  But, everyone is vaxed and boosted and distances were observed.  My bosses were understanding about my need to leave early afternoon so that was not a problem.  Today will be similar, I'm sure.

I left the office around 1 p.m. and once home I wanted to cut a few small blooms for a bud vase before the major storm arrived.

Some Lily of the Valley and some Azelea blooms.  So delicate!  And the Protea is still hanging on - so weird!!

We did not get the afternoon storm that was forecast.  That mostly went North of us.  But, right around 6 p.m. the wind picked up and sure enough, some rain and hail fell.  Volume on and you can hear the hail hitting our picnic table.

Everything sure is lush!

Let's jump to Adam & Eve (who still have not made an appearance yet) this Tuesday morning for a TNT update.  Only a little stitching was accomplished this past week.

The branch under the BIG bird has been added and the two side borders in red have been lengthened a bit.  Obviously still a way to go on this, but it's still fun and that's what matters.

Colin & Mailing are flying to Pittsburgh today.  They are meeting up with friends Rob and Faye for a one night overnight backpacking trip in the Laurel Highlands and then friends Christina and Michael are getting married Saturday at the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden (Oakdale).  Both Mailing and Faye are in the wedding party, so there is the rehearsal dinner and cocktail hour Friday...wedding Saturday...and reception (also at the Botanic Garden).  Hope they have good weather for this.  And then just 2 weeks later the kids will be back here for another wedding!

OK, time for me to get dressed and ready to drive to the office.  Wishing you all a great Tuesday!

Weekending

 Good Morning!

This is like a flashback for me to previous times...meaning pre-pandemic.  I'm writing this post as I sit at my desk at my office.  That is when I would post in the olden days.  I was up early, but did not have time to write a post before heading to the office.  Luckily I am not planning to stay all day.  I've already let folks know I'll be here till about 1 p.m. and then I will need to leave to go rest my back!  LOL  But it is true.

How was your weekend?  Mine was so nice.  I met up with Dee Saturday morning for our therapy session of sipping coffee, chatting, and knitting.  It does my soul good to get together with her - there is always plenty of laughter and we pretty much solve most of the world's problems while we are together.  Good thing we met in the morning because the afternoon was pretty much a wash out the entire afternoon.  A steady, but gentle rain fell.

This was a rhubarb weekend.  I mentioned last week that I had cut some rhubarb and on Saturday evening I stewed some of it with a few strawberries.  On Sunday I combined a bit of that with vodka and seltzer water for a very tasty afternoon beverage.

While sitting on the patio sipping, Fletch and I were keeping our eyes on this bird house.

We have Chickadees nesting in this house and the one bird (male, I assume) has been flying in and out of the house about a million times a day.  Must be many hungry mouths to feed!  I've tried several times to get a picture of him either flying into or out of the house, but he is way too quick for me.

I also managed to make a strawberry rhubarb pie on Sunday afternoon.  YUM!!!

I would have been happy with just that for dinner, but we also had some salmon and asparagus.

In other big news I have another finish!!  Remember my second French Market Bag?  I started that late in September last year and managed to knit up to where I would bind off and make the handles and, for some reason, forgot about it.  I resurrected it and knit the handles Friday night.  Here is is pre-felting:

Saturday afternoon I got it in the washer and it took no time at all to felt it.  Surprisingly it dried overnight (surprisingly because it has been to damp around here - I thought it would take a few days to dry).  And voila!

I do love the way it turned out.  It shrunk more vertically than horizontally, but it will be the perfect size for carrying a sock project or cowl project.  It was a slog to make it SO long, but it paid off in the end.  If I were to make one again, I would make it a little less wide and would make the handles a bit longer

There was a time when I thought about making one or two of these for girlfriends, but now I don't think so...takes too long!  But, there are always felted bowls to be made - cute, quick and fun.

Well, the troops have been filing in for the budget meetings, so I'd best wrap this up and get to work.  I have some stuff to keep my busy for this morning.  Hope everyone's week is off to a great start!

Thursday Check-In

 Hello All,

It's Thursday which means Weekend Eve!  That makes me very happy.

Yesterday my trip to the office was quick, just as I had planned.  I did what I needed/wanted to do and then got out of dodge.  Fletch and I had lunch together and then I took off for a walk along the Perkiomen Creek in Oaks.  It was beautiful.  I don't like the fact that I can hear a lot of traffic while walking on that trail (hello Route 422 with lots of trucks), but the Creek is so peaceful looking.  Also, this particular trail is paved which is easier on the soles of my feet.

There were a bunch of flowers blooming - some of them extremely fragrant.  First up some phlox (pretty sure that's what they are).

The next ones looked just like Lily of the Valley except they were very tall...so I don't know what they are!

I walked further this time - past where the Perkiomen Creek spills into the Schuylkill.  Just as I got to where the two bodies of water meet up, a Blue Heron flew over the water!  My phone was in my waist pack and I could not get it out quickly enough take a video, but the Heron landed on the opposite side of the Creek and I took a shot then.

There were plenty of geese around - many with babies.  This pair was on the bank of the Schuylkill.  I'm not sure if they had youngsters around or not.

I even saw an elephant!!

LOL - the first painted rock I've seen in some time.

Even though it had clouded up a bit and there was no blue sky, it was so nice to get out and take a walk.  Not sure then that will happen again.  Today I have a dentist appointment at 7:30 and PT at 1:30 and then tomorrow we are forecast to get some rain.

Meanwhile, I'd best get to work on my reports to do something before I have to run to the dentist.

Hope your Thursday is a good one!

Unraveled Wednesday 5/11/22

 Hello and Good Morning!

Gosh yesterday was such a pretty day.  Temps hovering right around 70 and lots of sunshine and blue, blue skies.  The morning was busy with PT and then grocery shopping, but the afternoon was ours.  Fletch ordered a new "box" for the garden.  Box in quotes because this thing is round but I can't think of what to call it.  It was delivered the other day and Fletch put it together...then I helped him move it into one of our raised bed boxes.

You can see it fits nicely into the center of one of our raised bed boxes with room still in the corners of the box for tall growing things - like tomato plants.  This new thing comes about chest high, so no bending over to harvest!  The plan for this is to use it for pepper plants and the like.  Depending on how it works, Fletch may order a second one for another box.  He has put straw in the bottom, then will add some peat moss and top soil.

Yesterday was also the day to harvest some rhubarb (and I forgot to take a picture).  I cut a bunch and have plenty for a pie and also to "stew" some.  When it gets really hot I'm thinking a rhubarb and vodka slushie might be just the ticket!!

Now it is Wednesday morning and time to talk making.  As usual, I am linking up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to talk making and reading.  If you saw my post on Monday, you know that the Hiking Trail socks are finished.  Woo-Hoo!  I have not yet picked out yarn for the next pair of socks.  I did not think that Fletch was really interested in another pair, but one night when I was winding yarn for the Guernsey Wrap, he asked if I was starting his socks.  Ha!  I guess he would like another pair...I will need to dig in the stash and find a suitable yarn.

Meanwhile, the Guernsey Wrap is growing.  I am on the final chart and plugging away on it.  Really it is a pretty quick knit with only 58 stitches to a row and worsted weight yarn.  Normally the yarn might bother me since it is not fingering weight, but it is KnitPicks Wool of the Andes yarn which is so soft and squishy.

There is still a bunch to knit here, but I'm pleased with the progress and I just love the pattern (click to enlarge).

On the reading side of things I have been struggling.  I'm about halfway through "Young Mungo" the book everyone is reading for "Read With Us."  I do not like it.  At all.  And, it disturbs me enough that I cannot read it after dinner or I will not sleep well and will wake up in the night thinking about it!  Wow!  Everyone is poor.  Everyone drinks heavily.  People are just not nice.  I will finish it because I want to participate in the discussion, but this is not a good one for me.

And then I was reading "French Braid" by Ann Tyler.  As I've said previously, Tyler can be hit or miss with me - mostly a miss and this one was a miss for sure.  I got about 100 plus pages into it and finally returned it to the library the other day.  I did not like the characters - I found them annoying (like I wanted to slap all of their faces!!).  I would read 3 pages or so and start to doze and then had no interest in picking up the book again.

One book I did finish is Read My Pins by Madeleine Albright.  This is a coffee table type book with gorgeous pictures of Madeleine Albright's pins and brooches that she was so well known for wearing.  I found this book very interesting and loved her stories of how she would choose a particular pin to wear when meeting with a particular person.  Dee found this book at one of the Little Free Libraries she discovered and passed it on to me.  Thanks Dee!  I am now shipping it to my friend in Maryland who is interested in reading it...once she is finished she will put it in a Little Free Library in her town.

When I returned French Braid to the library, I picked up two other books and I think I will be happy with them.  First is one I read about on Mary's Blog - Olympus, Texas which looks like it will be fun to read.  The second one which I have just started is Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward.  Ward is the author of "Sing Unburied, Sing" which I loved.  "Salvage the Bones" is an earlier novel by her and I'm optimistic that this will be equally well written.  I've also requested (and I can see on my library's web site that this has now been shipped and I should be able to pick it up in a day or so) This Book which my gardening friends might find interesting too.

Decades ago I was the type of person who would "have to" finish a book no matter what.  If I started a book, I had to finish it.  Thank goodness those days are past.  LOL  Life is way too short to continue to read things that don't bring you pleasure.  (Though I will, as I said, continue with Young Mungo.)

I'm heading to my office in a little bit.  I need to print out some things and work on updating org charts for budget season.  On the way to and/or from the office I will also stop to pick up a few things we couldn't find yesterday when we went to Acme to grocery shop.  I know our Giant store carries them, so will go there.  I don't plan to be at the office too long - next week I have to be in the office EVERY SINGLE DAY which will just about kill me.  I have folks in all week for meetings, plus the following Monday & Tuesday.  It's going to be a very long week!

I hope this mid-week finds you doing well.  Remember to head over to Kat's to see what others are making and reading.

Tiny Needle Tuesday 5/10/22

 Good Morning!

Oh my!  What a WONDERFUL massage I had yesterday.  Of course, it also made me useless for the balance of the day.  I was relaxed and did not feel like doing anything.  My back feels great and Chris, the therapist, really worked on the knots in my shoulders and shoulder blade areas.  Yikes there were a lot of knots!

It is still early now, but it looks like it could be another pretty day.  I have PT at 8:30 and Fletch and I need to do some grocery shopping.

A fresh mini bouquet in the bud vase, but also a fruit plate that is empty except for two lemons and two small avocados.  There are some strawberries in the fridge, but that's it for fruit and we are running low on fresh vegetables as well.

But first it is TNT or Tiny Needle Tuesday, and there has been an addition to the A&E sampler.  No, not Adam or Eve...yet...but the giant bird has joined the fun.

One of the things that cracks me up but that I also find charming in samplers is that things always seem to be out of proportion.  Here we have a bird that is MUCH larger than the dog.  Yet, it all seems to work out well together.  I am edging ever closer to adding A&E, but there is still a lot to stitch on this one.  Slowly but surely, progress is being made.

Time for me to get moving.  Despite the nicer weather, my head is chilly, so I need to dry my hair and figure out what to wear to PT this a.m.  Wishing you all a wonderful Tuesday!