Reading and a Finish

Hello All,
Fletch and I have a habit of reading out loud after dinner.  The books vary...sometimes it is fiction, sometimes non-fiction, sometimes poetry, sometimes a nature journal.  This habit started many years ago. 
It was probably at least 15 years ago that we had a number of people over for dinner on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  My best friend, Leslie, was staying with us and she suggested that we turn Saturday's dinner into a soiree of sorts where everyone reads either something they have written (poem, essay, etc.), or a favorite piece.  Leslie (who is a writer), naturally read one of her poems.  Colin (our son) and Fletch both read poems they had written.  My Dad and I both read favorite poems.  Fletch's brother and his son both read pieces that had great meaning for them.
The habit has stuck with Fletch and me ever since.
The current book we are reading is a hoot!  It is one my Dad read and recommended and we both thought "whatever."  But last week we picked it up and are finding ourselves laughing out loud every night.  The book is American Road by Pete Davies which is the story of the first transcontinental highway built across America.  Here is a sample from the book (hoping you can read or enlarge and read):

Too funny.  I took a picture of another page, but it just came out blurry.

Anyhoo...highly recommend this book for some good laughs and also a boat-load of history that I was not aware of at all.

Finally, happy to report I finally finished Colin's socks:





I'm not going to bother blocking them since 1) it is so humid it would take FOREVER for them to dry and 2) he is coming over for dinner tomorrow...I'll just give them to him then.  Both the pattern and yarn band are upstairs, so if anyone is interested let me know and I'll get the details to you.
Now I get to pick another project!!  I started Mick Jagged a week or so ago, but am not happy with how I'm joining yarn in a shawl.  In fact, I pretty much suck at that.  I need to re-think/re-try, etc.  how I do that...or just make it in one color...or pick another pattern.  Most likely I will cast on more socks too (yes, I am addicted to knitting socks).
Hope everyone has a wonderful evening.  I can't wait for a long holiday weekend!

Ten on Tuesday

Good Morning!  It's Tuesday and Carole is back home again.  This week's burning question is 10 things you miss most when away from home.  This one is pretty easy!!

• Tyg - our sweet kitty (even when he nips my ankles)
• My own bed
• My coffee (I like it really strong and usually add milk that I froth and heat)
• Free time in the morning.  At home I am almost always the first person up by at least an hour.  That is my found time to do whatever.
• My shower/bathroom...always!
• Space!  Our house is a very tiny Cape Cod, but if we are away we are usually in our camper (very tiny) or a hotel room.
• Knitting and stitching stuff.  Yes, I ALWAYS take projects with me (too many), but I always end up thinking of something else I would rather be playing with.
• My kitchen...I do cook when we camp and that is a lot of fun, but I don't have as many pots, spices, etc. in the camper.
• My routine (goes along with my free time in the a.m.).
• Just being in a familiar, comfortable, cozy place.  I do love to get away, but coming back home is great!

Le Weekend

The weekend started at Noon on Friday!  An early release from work...always welcome.  Fletch and I went out to a local Thai restaurant for dinner.  Yum!  We had a tiny bit of an appetizer:  Golden Triangles which are crispy on the outside and filled with a bean curd paste (I know it sounds awful, but is really good).

I had Evil Jungle Princess with chicken and Fletch had red curry with beef.  So good!

Saturday we got up and met our son and his girlfriend for breakfast and then headed over to the Lansdale Farmer's Market.  Scored some local maple syrup, coffee beans, wax beans and sweet corn.  (Had the corn tonight and it was HORRIBLE!).  There was also a local arts festival going on, so we headed over to the park to check that out.  Some things were nice, some not so much.  The only thing I bought was a Tee shirt which I love:

Every time I look at it I crack up (easily amused I guess).

Sewed some new seat pieces for the deck chairs that we use on the patio...since the other night when I sat down the seat split right down the middle (time to lose a bit more weight...).

Oh, and this was Friday night - Tyg and Bambi.  Tyg was lounging on the table under our apple tree and bambi was busy consuming some of the fallen apples.  They tolerate each other very well.

I hope that can be enlarged...I'm not very talented at adding pictures...but I'm learning.

Time to watch an episode or two of Chef's Table and do a little knitting.  Not really ready for Monday at work, but it will come anyway.  Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!



Friday Felines - Take 2

Hopefully this time the picture will show up!  I can see it, but apparently no one else can....

Sweet girl!

Friday Felines

This is Maestro.  She was out sweet kitty before Tyg.  Years ago (10-15) we had stray/wild cats on our property.  There was a mother with two kittens (we named the kittens Cheech and Chong).  A year or so went by and Cheech was pregnant (so young!!).  Cheech had 3 kittens one Mother’s Day morning in one of our cellar window wells.  Our neighbor and I were able to rescue 2 of the 3…Maestro and Ike.  We fed them with an eye dropper, massaged their tummies so they would go to the bathroom, gave them baths and took turns keeping them at night.  They were so very, very tiny!  I have to find the picture of my son holding Maestro – she fit in the palm of his hand with room to spare.  Closed ears and eyes…so sweet.   Both cats thrived which was a miracle. 

Maestro became our cat and Ike our neighbor’s.  They were not the best of friends, but tolerated each other somewhat.  Ike is still alive and lives next door.  He and Tyg have become very good friends and have a lot of fun wrestling and tumbling around.

I still miss Maestro terribly…she was the sweetest, most loving kitty ever.

Kathy B's Q&A on a Tuesday

Well, good intentions usually go astray.  I had planned to post this on Monday, but work was busy and then I went to yoga that night and was tired and hungry when I got home at 9:00.  So, here are Kathy's questions from yesterday:

1-Have you ever won an award?

   Yes – for piano recitals when I was in grade school and high school
2- Do you like the baby blanket below? 

    Yes!  Love the pattern.

3- What's your favorite gauge to knit in?

Socks in fingering weight.  Love!!
4- Where was the best cup of coffee you ever enjoyed?

This past June when we were camping I made coffee in a percolator like we used to use when I was a kid.  It was delicious!  When we got home I bought a stove-top percolator to use and now my French Press is buried in a cabinet somewhere.  And, I love Café du Monde coffee.
5- Do you have a favorite family recipe that has been passed down for a few generations?

I have my Mom’s cookbooks and all her recipe cards…also some from my Grandmother’s home.  A favorite would be my Mom’s bread recipe, but I find I often use my bread machine instead.  I love the whole bread-making process – kneading, etc.  But it is time consuming for sure!
6- Did you know you can have a conversation in the message section of Facebook with someone out of the country?

Nope – I don’t go on Facebook very much.
7- Is it harder to send the kids to kindergarten or college?

Both were hard for me.  At least kindergarten was closer to home.

 

 

 

8. This is a new free Knitpicks pattern.  I may have to knit one.  I think pattern are so much better written now than years ago.  Do you?
    Not knitting for all that long, I can’t really say.  Love that hat though.  I should make one for Harry’s Hundred!
9. Ravelry really changed our craft and our communication. Do you have an old pattern that a family member passed down to you? 
    I have patterns that my Mom used.  Some of the pictures are so funny – from the 60’s. 
10. When is the last time you traveled with your pet in a car?

    A week ago when I took Tyg to the vet for his annual check-up/well visit/shots.  Not a fun experience!!