Thursday, May 31, 2018

38 Years!!

Good Morning Everyone!


It was 38 years ago this morning that I was having a (strong) screwdriver and fruit salad for breakfast.  Then at Noon I said "I do."




Fletch and me and my parents.  We had a nice thunderstorm (good luck!) when I was going to the church and I managed to knock over a lit candle in the church.  I was a tad bit nervous - lol.


We spent our wedding night at the Black Bass Inn in New Hope.  That night in the dining room we watched a thunderstorm roll down the river - it was beautiful.  The next day we got up and headed off to Nova Scotia for our honeymoon.


We don't often (rarely) see eye to eye and we (often) drive each other crazy, but there is no one else I'd rather be with through thick and thin.  Love you Babe - Happy Anniversary!*




Fletch doesn't read my blog, but I told him this morning I love him and wished him a Happy Anniversary.

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Unraveled Wednesday and Happy Birthday Dad!

Good Morning All,


Thank you all for your comments yesterday and my apologies for not replying to you by e-mail, but as most of you are experiencing, e-mail notifications are not coming through (what's up with that???).


Kathy B - yes!  Pavlova is so easy to make (why haven't I made it previously?)


Teresa - I intended to take a picture of the Pavlova, but Colin and Mailing were already digging in as I was putting the final berries on it!!  (Next time I'll do that at the counter rather than at the table...)


May 30th:  my Dad would have turned 98 today!!  I miss him daily - his humor, his intelligence, his kindness and love.  He passed away in 2013 at the age of 93 and was still so "with it" - interested in politics (he would be horrified at what is going on today), an avid reader, an excellent Scrabble player.  I miss his wise counsel always.


So, my new sock is Cataraqui and the yarn is some Trekking I picked up at Conversational Threads after the Allentown Fiber Festival.




I picked the yarn because 1) it was in the sale bin and ultra cheap (lol), 2) the color - I don't usually knit with a yellow/gold (I have no socks in this color) and 3) I had heard good reports on Trekking yarn.  It is very nice to knit with - soft and non-splitty.  I don't think the pattern is showing up all that well, but I'm going to keep knitting anyway (because I don't really want to unravel).  As I mentioned yesterday, the pattern is written for 54 stitches which is fewer than I usually cast on, so I went up a needle size to #2.  They seem a little bulky and big, but I figure that will be perfect for my hiking boots.


On the reading front, I'm still in the midst of Empty Mansions which I'm finding interesting.  I had never heard of Huguette Clark (or her father, W. A. Clark).  I'm hoping to wrap this one up soon, because next up is The Crane Wife which finally came through on Overdrive.  I've been waiting for this for some time.  A day later another book I've been waiting on for months came through - Never Caught which has had good reviews.  And Dee brought me another book on Saturday which she had read and said was excellent:  As Bright as Heaven which looks really good. 


I've also decided to play along with Book Bingo...I'll print out a card, but I'm going about it like Bonny this year.  I'm not going to pick books to fill my squares, I'm just going to read what I want (and what I would read anyway), and if they fit in a square - great!  If they don't, no great loss.


My dentist appointment went well yesterday - he was able to "patch" the spot where a piece of a filling had broken off.  I was out of there quickly and home in time to work out and then enjoy a drink on the patio before dinner.


Well, that's it for me!  I've got an errand or two I need to run at lunch and I'm hoping to fit a little knitting in as well.


Joining in with Kat and friends on this grey, foggy Unraveled Wednesday.  Happy mid-week!

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Not Quite The Weekend That Was Planned

Well Good Morning All!


Last week, so busy (!!) seems like a blur now.  There were several evenings where I was just too tired to knit or read.  Add to that our friendly construction workers behind our woods - they were pouring concrete again at 3 a.m. Thursday night/Friday morning.  Once again Fletch called, once again apologies were offered...but apparently just issuing cease and desist orders is not sufficient.  The code enforcer sounded pretty wimpy on the phone and I don't think any fines have been levied.  Per the company who is having the addition built, it shouldn't happen again...because there is no more concrete needed.


And then it was HOT (90+ degrees)!  We don't have central air, and Fletch had not yet put our window air conditioners in.  Very little sleep on Friday or Saturday nights.  (Now that it is cooler, the air conditioners are in...we're ready for the next onslaught of heat.)


Fletch and his brother (who lives in Virginia) had planned to go boating/camping in the Pine Barrens this weekend.  But Damon cancelled on Friday.  The weather forecast was pretty iffy and thanks to all our recent rain, the Mullica River was extremely high and not really safe for paddling a kayak or guideboat.


Saturday I got up early and baked a Pavlova (my first!!).  As it was in the oven baking, Colin texted to cancel his and Mailing's plans to come over for dinner that evening.  Luckily I read that a Pavlova will keep in an airtight container. 


I made my way to the Lansdale Farmer's Market and met up with Dee!  Always fun.  We walked around and I bought some veggies and a rosemary plant.  Then we headed over to "our" coffee shop - Backyard Beans - where we drank lattes and knit and chatted up a storm.


It was pretty hot and muggy, but I noticed our Siberian Iris were blooming, so I walked out to get a snap of them:




I really like these better than our "normal" iris.  These are such a deep purple, very tall and just gorgeous.  We also have some yellow ones and the first one had opened up:




Sunday was a mess!  I was up very early thanks to not being able to sleep and before Fletch was out of bed the rain started.  We had probably 2-3" within 45 minutes or so!  The entire basement floor was wet (not deep, but water everywhere) which has never happened in the 28+ years we've lived in the house!  You probably saw on the news about Ellicott City, MD - we did not have that much rain, Thank God!  The temps dropped some, but it was still extremely muggy.


Colin and Mailing did come over for dinner on Sunday and the rain had stopped enough that we were able to grill.  And we had the Pavlova!  I covered it with fresh whipped cream and a mixture of blueberries and raspberries.  We all loved it except Fletch (which really surprised me).  Col and Mailing left soon after dinner - we were all tired.


Monday was extremely lazy.  I never got dressed until I took a shower after dinner!  I did manage to finish the lace medallion socks:






The yarn (Barncat from Valerie) is wonderful to work with - soft and easy to knit.  It's interesting to me how the legs are striped, but the colors pooled on the feet.  I love them.


I started a new pair yesterday - Cataraqui Socks - in some Trekking yarn.  I'm not completely sold on them.  The pattern is for 54 stitches (I usually cast on 64), so I went up a needle size to #2.  but they look a bit bulky and big and I'm not sure the pattern is really showing up well.  I'll do another couple of repeats and decide to either keep on or rip them out.


Apparently I have been missing my dentist too.  Yesterday I managed to break off a piece of a (very old) filling.  Luckily it isn't painful, just extremely rough.  So I'll be back in the chair this afternoon having that repaired.


That's it for me.  A soggy, lazy holiday weekend.  I'm looking forward to an easier week at work. 

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Unraveled Wednesday 05-23-18

Hello All,


No unraveling has taken place which is nice...but there has been minimal knitting as well.  Yesterday morning I knit 4 rows on my sock before work.  Same thing this morning.  No knitting last night.  Sad....


But I did play a game of Scrabble with Colin which was fun.  I used to play weekly with my Dad when he was alive (and he could still beat me in his 90's!).  Fletch doesn't enjoy the game, but Colin and I do.  And Colin did win by about 20 points.


Meanwhile, Tyg has decided that even though he enjoys playing with DPNs and yarn, he definitely does NOT want to learn to knit.




I love the way he covers his eyes when he naps.


The crazy week at work continues - another day with about 15 (different from yesterday) folks in for budget reviews.  I'm up to my eyeballs in org charts and spreadsheets.  By the end of the week everything should be finalized (or finalized until the CFO comes back and says "you need to find another $2 - $3 million").  I'll be happy to reach the long holiday weekend.


On the reading front, I did finish Mrs. Hemingway by Naomi Wood and I enjoyed it.  I'm in the midst now of Empty Mansions which I am finding interesting.  I had never heard of W. A. Clark or Huguette Clark.


OK - gotta run.  Hope everyone's week is going well.

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Tuesday Updates

Hello All,


A quick post on this grey, damp (again) morning. 


Saturday was very wet, so Dee and I met up for coffee, knitting and then some lunch.  No Farmers Market and therefore, no Alpaca...hoping they will bring the animals to the market another week.


I did manage to finish the first sock Saturday evening and started the second before I could enter the Second Sock Syndrome world.




I love the way it turned out.  The lace pattern is pretty and very easy to do.


Well, I've got approximately 15 folks in today for budget reviews (including the Lame Duck - that's what I am now calling my boss who has resigned - lol).  I'd best get back to work.  Hope everyone's week is going well.

Friday, May 18, 2018

TGIF 5-18-18

Hi All,


TGIF!  It has been a LONG week.  And next week will be brutal work-wise.  One big announcement:  one of my bosses is retiring in January!  Woo-Hoo (a tad bit envious over here).  It's definitely time (he's been miserable for too long) and I've known about his plans for 2+ years, but finally it was announced.  Now there will be jostling and positioning among the underlings.  Will be interesting to watch (or maybe it won't be so interesting...).


Colin backed out of coming over on Wednesday, but he did show up last night and we watched Phantom Thread.  I LOVED it!!  The costumes, the details, all the sewing and the music!  Plus Daniel Day-Lewis.  I know a lot of you didn't care for the film, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and want to see it again (which is really weird because typically I don't like movies and get bored and rarely watch one a second time).  In addition to DD-L, I thought that Lesley Manville and Vicky Krieps were excellent in their roles.


So, it's almost the weekend!  The Lansdale Farmers Market is opening their season tomorrow and there will be an alpaca on hand!!  I'm planning to meet up with Dee - hopefully at the market - and then for coffee...or the reverse.  Depending on the weather which is decidedly soggy.


Well, the caterers have arrived with our breakfast at work, so I'm going to make my way to the kitchen to see what's there.  Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Unraveled Wednesday 05-16-18

Good Morning All,


The storms certainly did roll through yesterday - just about dinnertime for us.  No hail (though some nearby had that), but very high winds, thunder, lightening...luckily no loss of power for us.  Our temperature dropped quickly from 90 to 70!  And today is only forecast to be in the 60's.  And, of course, more rain forecast every day through the weekend.  The garden will soon be a jungle!!


Joining Kat and friends for an Unraveled Wednesday post.  So far, no unraveling:




The pattern is Medallion Lace - a free pattern on Ravelry.  The yarn is Barn Cat from Valerie and is a delight to knit.  The colorway is Varadero (the name of a Cuban town which...you will see...fits in very nicely with what I've been reading!!).


The lace pattern is 28 rows.  I did 2.5 repeats.  I wanted to make it 3, but I weighed the yarn and felt it might be a little too close to call.  I wish I had made the cuff a bit longer, or just added 5 plain rows or so before starting the heel flap.  But, I still think they will be lovely.  The flap is now done (as of this a.m.) and I'm ready to turn the heel.


On the reading front, I am about 3/4 of the way through Mrs. Hemingway by Naomi Wood.  So, finished the first 3 Mrs. Hemingways and onto the fourth.  I'm enjoying this book.  I've always enjoyed books that take place during that era (20's onward).  And there's Cuba!!  Cuba is where the parents of a friend of mine honeymooned in the 40's and they loved it.  (And, thus the tie-in to the yarn from Valerie.)


I'm not counting on getting much knitting done today.  It is "Inclusion Day" at work (oh boy!) where we are supposed to celebrate the differences between/among us.  The nice part is there will be a catered lunch.  Tonight Colin is coming for dinner since Mailing has some work function and I believe we are going to watch The Phantom Thread which I'm excited about (in spite of some of your reviews - lol).


That's my day!  What's up with you?

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

A BIG Tree!

Hi All,


Thanks for your kind comments on my finished socks.  They were fun to knit!  I'm now working on the lace medallion pair I had started (and put away) before vacation.  They're coming along nicely - picture soon.


Meanwhile, Colin took the day off yesterday and spent it with Fletch.  They watched a movie (Black Panther), did some errands and then took a walk on a trail in Collegeville (believe it is one of the "Rails to Trails" in the area).  Look at the tree they came upon:





That's Col with his arms spread in front of it.  HUGE!!!  I love finding trees like this (and wish I had been with them).


Well, another busy day here at work and I got in a little late because I stopped to vote on my way in.  It is supposed to be HOT here today (90) with strong thunderstorms (and possible flooding) this afternoon.


Hope your week is going well!