Friday!

Hello All, another gloomy day in Eastern PA.  36 F when I left my house this a.m. and rain...and grey...heavy rains forecast with possible flooding.  BUT, it is Friday and the end of the work week is in sight.  I have my usual 10:00 conference call and the rest of the day should float by.  I plan to work on Mick Jagged some.  Here is what I got done yesterday at lunch.

The yarn is so pretty - Miss Babs Yummy 2 ply.  The skein on the left is Dark Orion (and is darker in person) and the right one is Daydream Believer.


I never did get to cake up the rhubarb yarn last night.  Col was over for dinner and then we had a break in the rain so we had a small fire in the pit.  After that we watched the Jungle episode of Planet Earth II.  Fascinating and beautiful (the birds!!).  Colin really liked the socks and, in fact, texted me this morning that he is wearing them!


No kitty pictures today, but Fletch told me that yesterday he watched Tyg crossing the yard with something in his mouth.  Fletch was sure it was a bird, but fortunately it was a vole.  The vole sprang out of Tyg's mouth and then Tyg batted it around a bit.  At one point Fletch said the vole turned around and looked directly at Tyg - almost like he was saying "please Mr. Cat, just put me out of my misery...get it over with."  Not sure what happened as Fletch was running out for errands.  No sign of a body in the yard....(and Tyg doesn't eat them - thank goodness).


And a funny cat story:  when I was growing up we had a cat named Kitsy.  He was huge -- 25 lbs and solid black.  My little brother used to cut pictures of birds out of National Geographic and other magazines and tape them to the wall near Kitsy's food and water bowls.  Phil said that he thought Kitsy needed some art to look at while he was dining!  LOL


Have a wonderful weekend!

A Finish, A Re-Start and a Beginning

Hello All,


The sun is out -- 2 days in a row!!  But, the temp this morning is 32 F.  If the forecast is to be believed, it should get into the upper 50's today, but rain is in the forecast through Saturday.  Sigh...


Thanks for your nice comments on yesterday's post.  It was a lot of fun for me to look through my Mom's scrapbook again - I hadn't pulled it out in several years.


Colin's socks are finished!!  The pattern is Petty Harbour (free on Ravelry) and the yarn is Regia.  I really like how they turned out and he is coming over for dinner tonight so I can hand them over.

They are the same size, even though this picture makes the one on the left look larger.


Last night I pulled out yarn for some socks for me and then decided it was too dark and wintry-like.  I want to wind the skein of "rhubarb" yarn I bought in Lancaster and knit some Spring socks with that.  Hopefully tonight I'll have the time to do that.  In the meantime, I ripped out what I had started on the Mick Jagged shawl and have brought that to work today to re-start.  Pictures later.  The yarn is pretty - two skeins of Miss Babs Yummy 2 ply in blues (Dark Orion and Daydream Believer).


As I mentioned in an earlier post, I did start Sigla over the weekend.  I haven't gotten any further, but here is the start.

Someone was trying to play with my yarn.  Here are the colors that I'll use for the "flags" on the sweater:

Starting from the top :  purple (which is done in the first shot).  Next up green, then a rusty color and finally blue.  Kat has made excellent notes on modifications for the neckline - making it looser.  I want mine pretty tight, so hopefully this will work out.  It's not quite at the point where I can test it, but fingers crossed.  I think it will stretch enough.  If I can keep at this, I should be ready for Fall and Winter when they next show up.


Nice to be almost at the weekend.  And, next week should be an easy one (or boring) for me - both of my bosses will be in Key West for a Division President's get-away (tough life, I know).

My Mom and Her Wheel

Hello Everyone!  Our sun is out today.  What a difference that makes.


Some of you had requested that I do another post on my Mom and her bike trips.  So, here goes.  Knitting, etc. to resume in another post.  I had to scan images from her scrapbook and I hope they will show up ok on the blog (speaking with no experience in this at all - lol).


Mom's first long trip was a solo one in 1939 when she was 20.  Here is the article that appeared locally:

I honestly can't imagine riding through the Green Mountains (or any) on a bicycle with only a second gear!  And, of course, the trip was a tad on the scandalous side...a single girl (daughter of a minister no less) taking off on her own on a bike!


The following year, 1940, when my Mom was 21 she and her friend Jennie took off riding from Vermont to California.

I certainly would not have been planning on biking (averaging) 50 miles per day...and there were some days that they biked more.  And $1 per day for expenses!!  As the article states, they planned to stay in American Youth Hostels as much as possible...the further they went, the less this happened...


Here are some pictures of their bikes:

I'm not sure what/where that little place on the left is, but I like that it shows their bikes loaded...they really did not take much with them.  In the picture on the right, my Mom is on the left in the light colored shirt.


There were times they would catch a ride with a trucker...going across desert country or extremely hilly country (I always told my Mom that was cheating).  Here's a shot of their bikes on top of one of the trucks.

They did make it to California ok, and here's my Mom panning for gold!  (did not get any...or at least said she did not...).

They did get to the Fair in San Francisco and tooled around CA some.  They were just starting on their journey back East when there was an accident:

My Mom had some scrapes, but Jennie ended up with a fractured skull!  Once my Mom was healed, she actually worked a bit in the hospital for room and board while Jennie convalesced.  And then (finally) it was time to return to Vermont.  Did you know that planes used to have sleeper berths?  I had never heard of them.

One way Sacramento to NY was only $149.95!!  And an additional $5 for the sleeper berth!   Eventually they arrived back home.

My Mom is on the left in the picture above.  I love the paragraph with my Grandmother's comments about their dress!


Jennie and my Mom remained friends all their lives and we almost always spent at least a month every summer at Jennie's family's cottage/camp at Lake Dunmore (between Rutland and Middlebury). 


Quite the adventure, huh?

It Was a Dark and Stormy Day

It looks like night-time outside!  It’s almost 9 a.m. and it is dark, grey, rainy, etc.  Quite honestly, a perfect day to have stayed home…but I did not.  Our weather has not been the greatest lately.  Saturday was warm – 72 F, but too breezy for archery.  On Sunday the thermometer struggled to get to 40 F.  Yesterday we were back up to 68 or so, but very foggy and damp.  Dark and foggy on the way to work this morning and now raining heavily.  Sigh…I just want to curl up under a blanket.

 

I felt the “need” to start something new on Sunday and because it was so chilly and raw I cast on Sigla.  No picture yet, but I’ve gotten through the first color on the yoke and am ready to start the second.  It is a fun and easy knit so far.  I am using Léttlopi yarn which is a bit scratchy, but I will be wearing a shirt of some kind under this sweater, so am not concerned about that.  I love the colors.  Pictures next post (hopefully).

 

I managed to get some done on Colin’s second sock…almost there!

 

 

Hoping to finish this by Thursday when he will be stopping by for dinner.  Then I think it will be time for a new pair of socks for myself.

 

My friend Carol who is coming up from Maryland for the Steel City Fiber Festival wants to learn how to knit socks.  She is going to spend the night at our place that Saturday, so hopefully I can get her started on some.

 

I also dug out the copy I have of my Mom’s scrapbook from her “big adventure” in 1940…I will try to scan some pages for another post.

 

And last, but certainly not least, here is Tyg.

 

 

 

He was curled up on the bed in the guestroom Sunday when it was so chilly and raw.  I think he slept for hours!

 

 

TGIF

Hello Everyone,


TGIF.  This has seemed like a long week to me.  I've got my usual conference call at 10 and I'm hoping to get out early today.  We'll see.  Our CEO will be in today and wants me to do a few things for him...hopefully early - lol.


Colin stopped by for dinner last night and tried on the finished sock.  Success!!  He said it fit like a glove...or a sock!  Now I just need to finish the second one which has seen no action for the last 36-48 hours. 


Colin hung around for a little bit and we watched the first episode of Planet Earth II.  Highly recommend - gorgeous photography and David Attenborough narrating.  The first show is all about Islands.  The next one is Mountains.


No real plans for the weekend other than a scheduled appointment tomorrow late morning with the accountant...just have to zip up to her office and drop off all the tax stuff.  Will be glad to have that done!  If the weather holds (it's supposed to be warmer), I hope we can do some archery.


Saw a beautiful fox run across our backyard the other evening.  A gorgeous russet color with a black-tipped tail.  Sometimes I worry about Tyg going out, but he's holding his own (he was out all last night...came in to eat this morning and wanted to go right back out).  Here he is in a more sleepy moment.

Hoping you all have a wonderful weekend!

Hump Day

Hello All,


First of all, thanks so much for all your wonderful comments on my Monday post about my Mom.  She was a fun person for sure.  Fletch reminded me that there are some interesting "things" in her scrapbook, so I will try to show some of them in future posts.  The trip to CA was pretty scandalous for the time...both my Mom and Jennie were from a very small town in Vermont and my Grandfather was the Baptist minister in town...my Grandmother was worried about what people would think of girls in jeans - lol.  More on that in another post.


I'm about half-way done the leg on Colin's second sock.

(picture just taken at my desk moments ago).  I'll do some more at lunch and hopefully be at the heel flap by tonight.


So, what to knit next?  I have the yarn to knit Sigla but that is a Winter sweater (of course I couldn't have started it back in January, right?), though I'd really like to knit it.  I also started Mick Jagged some time ago, didn't like my joins and ripped it out...I could do that.  Or, I could start some Spring socks for myself (I'd love to knit up that rhubarb yarn I bought out in Lancaster not too long ago).  And let's not forget that I'm going to the Steel City Fiber Festival in 2.5 weeks.  I've already put together a list of yarn I need for certain projects (Tales From the Isle of Purbeck or Yoga Shawl or Squad Mitts - another wintery pattern).


Decisions, decisions.  I'll just have to think for some time.


What else?  My little brother and his wife are vacationing (from Colorado) somewhere in the Florida Keys.  He texted me a picture last night from their fishing day where they landed a 5' shark!  He even had a picture of its mouth (gross).  They did release it after they took pictures.  Then he texted a picture of them getting ready to go out in kayaks.  No thank you!!  Dee - I know you do this, but I could not...at least not where there are animals that could "get" me!!


A lot of our snow in the backyard has melted (still some piles) and we may be able to shoot some archery tonight or tomorrow (thanks to longer daylight into the evening), but our temps are dropping again with a forecast only around 39 or 40F today.  But, it's not snowing (or raining), so Fletch is grilling chicken sausage with bacon and pineapple for dinner!  I need to figure out a veggie -- maybe grilled eggplant.


Work is slow today (obviously).  Hoping your Wednesday is going well.  Halfway to the weekend!

First Day of Spring

Happy Spring!!  It is finally here (even if we do still have snow on the ground…it is melting quickly).

 

I am wearing my new shawl (really more of a scarf in my opinion) today and I do love it.  The colors are wonderful.  A craptastic selfie, but the best I can do at work:

 

 

 

And today, in addition to being the first day of Spring, is my Mom’s birthday.  If she were alive, she would be 98!  She was a pretty amazing woman…very independent and adventurous.  When she was 19, she rode her bike from Vermont to Canada, camping out along the way.  The following year she and her girlfriend, Jennie, rode their bikes from Vermont to California!  They camped in fields…or in bad weather spent the night in barns.  Keep in mind these were bikes from back in the 30’s – balloon air tires, etc.  What an adventure.  I have a copy of the scrapbook she put together after that trip (the original one was disintegrating).

 

She was equally adventurous when she was raising me and my three brothers…always up for a trip somewhere.  She loved to hike, play tennis, swim, etc.  My Dad always said that one of the things he loved about my Mom was that she wasn’t afraid to try anything.

 

Here are two pictures of my Mom taken way before I was born.  We found these in a box of photos after my Mom passed away.  I love them.  (Excuse the flash spots --  I took these pictures quickly with my phone at 5:30 this morning.)  These are hanging in our stairway along with other family shots.  Look how skinny my Mom was!

 

 

 

The first one we kids have named “The Gunslinger” – lol.  One of her brothers was an avid trapper and hunter (though usually with a bow) and I’m pretty sure the gun was his.  The second one is a shot of her all suited up and ready to ski.

 

Sadly my Mom’s health deteriorated when she was in her late 70’s, and she passed away in 2004.  I miss her laughter and spontaneity and how she and I would be so silly together.  Happy Birthday Mom!!

 

 

Almost Spring...and a Finish and a Half

Hello,


Happy Spring, almost.  Tomorrow morning Spring will arrive.  This morning when I looked out the kitchen window I saw a fat robin on a patch of grass that is exposed (we still have quite a bit of snow on the ground).  Also when I looked out the window first thing this morning (while still in bed), I could see some huge sheets of ice hanging off the upper roof ready to fall onto the patio roof.  We've been hearing crashes all morning and stuff is dripping like crazy.  The icy patch at the end of the driveway is gone.  Hooray!


Can you hear the Hallelujah Chorus?  The Oaklet Shawl is finished!!  Woo-Hoo.  I love the colors.  I did not like working with the yarn (KnitPicks Chrome in the Vermont colorway).  And the shawl?  I like it, but am disappointed that it did not block out larger.  It can hang down my back, but then it won't wrap around my shoulders comfortably.  If I wrap it around, then it draws up pretty short in the back.  I would call it more a shawlette than a shawl.  But, the main thing is it is finis!!

So much sunlight today!  This was finished yesterday just before dinner.  And, on Friday night I finished the first of Colin's socks:

The yarn is Regia and the pattern is Petty Harbour (free on Ravelry).  Look at the size of that foot!  This had better fit him...it's big on me, so there is hope.


Also on Friday I made pizza for dinner.  OMG, this was so good.  Trader Joe's pizza crusts (I like their pizza dough too, but these ready-made crusts are fabulous).  Toppings were:  some sauce and oregano, asparagus (which I had par-boiled), black garlic (also from Trader Joe's - it is a fermented garlic and is kind of sweet and smoky), prosciutto, onion slices, marinated artichoke hearts and some mozzarella.

Last night I cooked a turkey breast and roasted some winter squash and Brussels Sprouts with a little butter, maple syrup and cinnamon.  Yay for turkey sandwiches today.


I really do like to eat...more than I should.....


Last night was another one of those nights when I didn't sleep well at all.  I went upstairs around 11, read for a half hour or so and turned off the light.  Fletch came up at 1 and I was still awake and I doubt I fell asleep before 3 a.m.  Tyg woke me at 5 to go out and then I woke up at 7.  I've been in a cleaning frenzy this morning (bathrooms, kitchen floor, several loads of laundry) in the hopes that I will be exhausted tonight and sleep well.  I hate going to work worn out!


See you next season!!

Friday Felines

Hello and Happy St. Patrick's Day!


I've got a conference call at 10 and then my office is having a "Cube Crawl" to celebrate the day.  Folks are decorating cubes to be Irish Pubs!  We've done this for several years and it is a lot of fun.  And...people always provide food - yay!  And...we are having a catered lunch today.  Double Yay!!


Meanwhile, here's a snap of Tyg that I took yesterday when I got home from work.  he's coming across the neighbor's yard.  He likes to go out, walking on snow and listening for little creatures underneath.

Colin just texted me that more snow is expected this weekend...I had only heard rain.  The end of my driveway is still a frozen mess and the snow is still piled up against our front door where it drifted the other day.  Monday is the first day of Spring (and my Mom's birthday).  What the heck???


Hoping to finish the first sock for Colin tonight (was afraid I would be short on yarn, but I think I'm ok) and I "plan" to work on/finish the shawl this weekend.  Hoping to have some finished object pictures early next week.


Enjoy the weekend!!

The Blizzard That Wasn't...Thankfully...

Hello All,


My office announced on Monday that it would not be open Tuesday.  Our blizzard never materialized, but I'm glad I didn't have to go to work.  We had snow, then icy pellets that hit the windows with a loud noise, then freezing rain, then more snow, etc., etc.


I had been all ready to go to yoga Monday night when Maria, my teacher, called to say she was sick and class was cancelled.  Colin was on his way over to spend the night and was picking up Chinese food for himself and Fletch.  I quickly texted him with my order and we settled in for a nice evening.  The boys watched Arrival which I had no interest in seeing (don't really care for SciFi), and I sat in the kitchen and worked on Colin's sock.


Our forecast was for 4-8" overnight, but we only got a few.  Colin was up at 5 and out shoveling and then I took him into work around 7.  At that point, the roads were not bad.


I got home and puttered around.  It was Pi Day, so I had to make a pie!!

Yes, the edges are a little burnt (which I do like)...I was busy texting on my phone and checking blogs and e-mail and time got away from me.  It was good anyway.  Raspberry pie.  Yum.


In the afternoon I baked Cuban Bread.

This is the easiest bread recipe ever (not using a bread machine) and delicious!  It has a great crust and the inside is nice and chewy.


Snowing and sleeting all the while.  Fletch went out to shovel.  He didn't bother with the snow blower, but said it was some of the heaviest snow he had ever had to shovel.  Our neighbor was using his snow blower and it sounded like a sick cow -- just struggling to get through the mess.


I picked Colin up from work (roads were worse, but passable) and he decided to spend another night rather than risk going home after dark on country roads.  I made a big pot of curried shrimp chowder to go with the bread.  And knit some more.  I'm about halfway done the foot on the first sock.  I did not bother trying to work on the shawl.  The wind and ice were too distracting.


Today it is back to work.  I took major roads into my office rather than risking the back roads through Valley Forge Park.  Some side roads are still pretty snow covered and there was a lot of standing water yesterday which is now all ice.  Still bitter cold, so I don't think much of anything will melt today.


I did cut some daffodil buds Monday night...I just didn't want them to all be damaged by the snow.  The buds were extremely tight and I wasn't sure they would open, but as of this morning they have started to open up.  So pretty to have a touch of Spring on my windowsill.


Hoping everyone in the path of the storm made out ok (My girlfriend in the Chesapeake City area of MD lost her power at 9 a.m. yesterday...and is not expecting it back until Noon at the earliest today).  We have the possibility of more winter weather this weekend, but I'm not even going to think about that right now!

Monday's Q&A...the Snowy Version

Hello Everyone,


This week Kathy has divided her Q&A into two groups:  one for the snowy (or soon to be snowy) folks and one for those in warmer climates.  Since I am in the path of the oncoming storm, here's my version:

1. You are snowed in.  What 3 things do you need to have for a storm?

Plenty of yarn and stitching supplies (check)

Plenty of reading material (check)

Plenty of wine (and other libations) and plenty of food for cooking and baking (check/check/check)

I’m ready to goJ

 

2. Do you eat corned beef and cabbage?

Well, I made it last year and hated it!  My Mom used to make it several times a year and I always liked it then.  I will not be making it this year.

 

3. What is your favorite hat pattern to knit?

I’ve only made one hat – the Baable hat which I really like (even if it is a tiny bit small for me).  Once I did knit and then felt a bowl and my son took it and used it for a hat – lol.

 

4. Are you wearing wooly handknit socks today? What color?

Not today because the boots I am wearing are too tight to wear handknit socks with them.

 

5. How do you deal with  your hair drying out in the winter?

I was just talking about this with my girlfriend the other day.  Growing up (adolescent thru college and 30’s and 40’s) my hair was fairly oily.  Aging has done away with that problem and now my hair tends to be dry enough that I use Argon Oil on it when I blow it dry.  It seems to be helping a bit.

 

We are forecast to get a foot or more of snow.  I'm not really interested in more winter weather, but I am definitely interested in not going to work tomorrow.  I'm already planning what to make (bread and soup and a pie since tomorrow is Pi Day), what to knit (maybe I can pick up the shawl and finish it??), and what to read (almost finished "News of the World").  Our son is coming over to stay since his office doesn't close unless the stock market closes.  We are only 5-10 minutes from his office, but he lives about 45 minutes away.  Much easier to navigate from our place.  Will be fun to have him around for a night or two!


Everyone in the path of the storm - stay warm and safe.

March Snow

Hello All,


March is turning out to be more wintry than either January or February!  Friday it started snowing here right around 6:45 a.m. when I was leaving for work.  It continued harder than I thought it would all morning.  I had a couple of conference calls, and when the last one ended around 11, I headed out to clear off my car.  By that time there was about 5" on it!  And here is what my backyard looked like when I got home:

That's our archery target at the bales of hay.  Of course, it stopped snowing almost as soon as I got home (I did time leaving work perfectly!!).  I spent the afternoon just puttering around - I did workout some (2 pilates workouts), knit, read, etc.  Around 4 p.m. it got very dark, very windy and then the snow came in again.  Didn't last too long though.


Today is bitter cold and windy.  And a Nor'easter is forecast for Tuesday!  I, of course, am hoping for a day (or 2???) home from work.  Just the time I need to do some knitting and cooking.


Hope everyone's weekend is going well.  I have lasagna cooking and we are staying inside tonight for sure.

What I Did Instead of Knitting

Well Hello Everyone,


This is what I did last night instead of knitting:

Yup - baked cookies.  Specifically Toffee Pecan Cookies.  Oh my!  I snagged this recipe last Fall (I think) from Leslie and they are so yummy -- very, very sweet, but oh so tasty.  I should have been knitting or exercising (ha!), but I don't often make dessert and Colin is coming by for dinner tonight...I figured he could take the majority of them home so that Mailing can enjoy as well.


Speaking of exercising, I got the great idea of signing up (free) for 21 Days of Pilates.  Every day I receive an e-mail with a link for a video (just 10 minutes each).  I got the idea from Mary.  So far (it started Monday), I have done NONE of the videos.  I know.  It's bad.  But, in my defense, I don't have time in the morning (I get up at 5:30, shower, have coffee, get dressed and am out the door by 7) and Monday night I was at yoga.  Tuesday my tablet was dead, so I couldn't watch the video in the  bedroom (which is where I exercise...when I do exercise that is), and last night I got home from work a little later than usual and had to start cooking dinner right away or we would have been dining at 9 p.m.  So, I'm full of excuses, that's for sure.  Not sure about tonight since Colin will be over for dinner.  But I am determined to start...maybe this weekend, or just start next week.  I still have all the links in my e-mail.


Update on the tow thing - all repaired~!!  I managed to tie it up using a cable from our IT department and it didn't drag going home.  Fletch got it fixed and secure while I was cooking dinner.  It had been bolted on to the underside of the car and Fletch said the entire bolt piece had rusted away (in 3 years!!).  Yikes.  Just glad we weren't on a camping trip somewhere towing our camper.  What a disaster that would have been.


A book I keep on my nightstand and read periodically is Hal Borland's "Twelve Moons of the Year."  It is a collection of his essays that appeared in the New York Times many years ago.  They are mostly about nature and the changing seasons.  There is an essay for each day and they typically are no more than a page.  I enjoy reading one or two before bed.  Last night, as I climbed into bed, I could hear the winds roaring and whistling by.  It was mild (50 degrees or so), but very, very gusty.  Apropos, the passage for March 8th was titled "March Winds."  Here are a couple of quotes from that essay that I really like:


"The winds of March are as inevitable as the vernal equinox, and they can be as variable as the moods of the season."


"March wind is the dying breath of winter, the first triumphant gasp of spring.  It is clearing of the air.  It may howl or whisper, sooth or punish, but it is the wind of change, the voice of seasons in transition."


Sounds like we are in for more change - snow forecast for overnight tonight (and it is to be in the 60's today!).  The roller coaster continues.....

Mid-Week

Hi Everyone,


I feel a bit weird today - I have not been sleeping well for the past few nights.  Not sure what is going on.  I'm tired and then wake up in the middle of the night...nothing on my mind, not hot, not cold, still tired but not sleeping.  Frustrating.  So, I feel pretty much like crap today.


No knitting pictures.  I did get 12 rows done on the sock yesterday at lunch (without messing it up!!).  I have yet to touch the shawl...maybe this weekend.


And it's not Friday (for Friday Felines), but here is a picture of Tyg from last night.  Silly cat.  It was around 9 p.m. and we were out on the patio.  Well, Fletch and Colin were out - it was a tad too chilly for me to be comfortable, but I stepped out periodically.  Tyg was running around playing with a tennis ball in the yard (sometimes he is almost like a dog) and then he bolted for the apple tree and climbed all the way to the very top!  This picture was taken when he had come down and was in the crotch of the tree.

This morning on the way to work I kept hearing something...like something was dragging on the car.  It wasn't loud (like a muffler would be), but it was annoying.  Got to work and looked at the tires - all is ok.  I take a quick look at the back of the car and find that the tow hitch has come unbolted and is dragging on the ground.  Yikes!  Still plugged in (wires for lights, etc.).  So now I need to find a bungee cord or rope or something at work to tie it up so it won't drag all the way home.


And all I want to do is take a nap!


Hope your week is going well.

A Near Disaster Averted – Miracles DO Occur, a Fresh Start and Sleepy Birds

Hello All,

 

How’s that for a post title?  Well, the shawl is not finished, in fact it is where it was when I left off with last Friday’s post.  After being so sure I could whiz through the final rows, I somehow managed to screw it up royally during lunch on Friday.  What a mess.  And, my lifeline was at the very beginning of the lace work (15 rows back).  I think I remember saying here that I should not work on the shawl or any lace work while at work.  True, true.  When I knew for sure that I had messed it up, I just threw it in my bag.

 

After a glass of wine that evening I decided to tink it back.  Ha!  That didn’t work, so in my frustration I just pulled the needles out.  This is where the miracle occurred:  I was actually able to pick up the stitches once the needles were out.  I did not have to rip it back to the lifeline!  Some of the stitches were twisted, but I managed to correct them when I knit a row.  But, I had miss-guessed the row I was on, so that didn’t work either.  I put it away for the night.

 

Saturday morning (which was wicked cold – about 8 degrees!!) while having coffee I looked at it again.  I tinked the row I had done the night before and then knit the correct row.  And it worked out!  Whew.  I debated about moving the lifeline up to a new position and wasn’t going to, but fortunately some sanity prevailed and the lifeline has been moved (just in case…).  At that point, I put it away again and decided not to mess with it for the rest of the weekend.  I need a rest from it and, I’m sure it needs a rest from me.

 

Needing something to knit, I cast on a new sock.  These will be for my son (since the last pair didn’t fit).  The yarn is Schachenmayr Regia in the colorway “pinstripe.”  And the pattern is Petty Harbour which I have knit before.  An easy pattern to memorize and I think it will look good in this yarn.  This is where they were as of last night.

 

They are in my bag for working on during lunch today…believing I can do this without messing it up – lol.

 

Yesterday was still bitter cold, but we got up and went out to breakfast.  Later was grocery shopping and interspersed throughout the weekend was a lot of laundry, cleaning bathrooms, scrubbing the kitchen floor, etc.  Fletch installed a new LED light over the kitchen counter on our driveway side.  I love these lights!  I can see!  He had installed one over our sink a month or two ago and what a difference.  Now I want to find some (large and long) to replace the fluorescent lights we have on our patio and in our basement. 

 

Sunday afternoon I looked out our back door and saw two birds napping!  One was a downy woodpecker on top of our suet feeder (that picture didn’t turn out) and the other was this nuthatch hanging on to our peanut feeder.  Not a great picture – taken looking through our (somewhat dirty) sliding door onto the patio.

 

This morning was still cold, but birds are singing their Spring songs and it is sunny.  Temps are forecast to rise all week.  I’m ready for sun and warmth.

 

Hoping everyone has a great week!

Friday Felines

Hello All!


Almost weekending time...just need to get through the Friday workday...but - hey - breakfast this a.m. at work.


My son texted me this picture of Marcel yesterday:

Climbing along the clothes.  I asked if Marcel was stuck or just resting...Colin replied neither - he is just being a nosy brat!


Meanwhile the warmer weather we've had earlier (like last week) seems to have brought out the ticks.  We (well, Fletch) has pulled two ticks off Tyg in the last two days.  I really hate to use Frontline on him, but I'm not sure what else to do.  Any recommendations?  I've heard that rubbing fresh rosemary on pets helps deter ticks and I used to do that with Maestro, but she was never really bothered by them (meaning they didn't seem to like her).  Any suggestions would be great.


The Oaklet Shawl is almost done!!  Only 6 more rows and then I can bind it off.  This is where it stands as of this morning:

I tried to spread it out to show the lace work, but it wouldn't spread too well.  The strand of red is my lifeline which, since I put one in, I haven't needed.  Hoping to get a row or two done at lunch today and finish it up tonight.  A wash and blocking party this weekend!!  Pictures once it is finished.  Just hoping I don't run out of yarn.


What is everyone up to for the weekend?  I have no plans other than casting on something new.