My OLW: Nourish

Good Morning!

Who can believe that this is the last Tuesday in March?  The month has flown by and it is time to check in with my One Little Word.  This year my word is Nourish.  And, it continues to be a good word for me.  I am nourishing my body and my soul these days by:

Cooking.  Well, I always cook, but I seem to be doing more of it (more time at home).  Mostly healthy things, though a few pleasures thrown in there as well (I'm looking at you banana bread with blueberries and cookies).  Lunches continue to be mostly salads (with our lettuce from the garden!!) or raw veggies and hummis or cheese.  Some dinners are still vegan or vegetarian (though we do still love our meat).

Moving.  I continue to do a workout routine every single day!  Yay me!!  LOL.  But I'm finding it does make a difference and especially these recent damp, grey and/or just plain rainy days that I don't get out to walk.  Plus, after sitting at my desk (home office), it is nice to get up and move to another area of the house and DO something.

Archery.  This goes witih moving, above, but really a separate thing all on its own.  It is SO much fun!  I'm not very good at it, but I enjoy it immensely.  I'm thankful we are able to shoot right in our back yard (always making sure Tyg is inside first).

Seeing the Beauty Around Me.  I'm wandering outside to pick flowers almost daily.  And I'm loving all the birds that are (still) coming to our feeders, Steve the Beav traipsing through the back yard, etc.  I picked these yesterday:

Thankful that Fletch is keeping busy with various projects.  The latest is grafting!  Our Weeping Cherry which was always gorgeous seemed to mysteriously die last year.  Fletch cut away a lot of it, but yesterday when he dropped off cookies and a burning bush at Colin's, he took some weeping cherry whips from Colin's trees and is grafting them onto our tree.  Not sure it will work, but it sure is nice to see some blooms on that tree!

Saying a prayer of luck for it.  And, we've had so much rain that our apple tree is now covered in lichen! 

We are making a quick run to the grocery store today (we never did go last Friday) to pick up mostly wine and fresh produce.  Unlike the liquor stores (which sadly remain closed, though I consider them a necessity), the grocery stores limit how many bottles you can buy at one time.  Meaning, you cannot just go in and buy a case.  You would think in these times of necessary STAY AT HOME, they would change their rules.....

It's another grey and dismal day here, so I will do my workout before we head to the store.  Be well and stay healthy!

BTW, I had an email yesterday that someone on the first floor of my office building tested positive for Covid-19.  My company is on the 2nd floor.  But still...  That person had not been in the building for a week.  Then I received another e-mail from the property management company confirming that the entire building had been thoroughly cleaned.  What?  Aren't they doing that on a regular basis?  Anyway, no plans for me to go into the office (I had thought of it late last week to print some things, but that can wait).  Also, no date yet for my office to re-open.

Keeping Active

Good Morning!

I hope this dawn finds you well.  It is a bit on the foggy side here.  It was that way yesterday too.

There is something I find soothing about fog, so I really don't mind a day like that.  However, our entire weekend was wet and damp and chilly.  Not the best.  I am hoping for a bit of sun and a little more warmth today.

Friday, however, turned into a gorgeous day.  I decided to walk along the River Trail in Valley Forge Park.  But...the parking area was barracaded.  I know parks are closed, but I thought trails were being kept open for folks to get out.  I guess it's different with Federal parks.  So, I headed back to the canal walk which I love.  First I spotted a lot of individuals NOT practicing social distancing:

These guys are just about piled up on each other!  And then these two:

But I was rewarded with spotting the blue heron who was practicing social distancing:

What a gorgeous bird!  I actually watched him fly down low over the canal and then land in this area.  He was walking around cautiously/slowly/gracefully looking for a meal.

Later that afternoon I practiced some archery.

Do you see how close to a bullseye I got?  What you don't see are the arrows that completely missed the target - either landing too short or too far.  LOL.

We decided to skip going to the grocery store until sometime this week.  Turns out we had enough to keep us going (ha!).  There were a bunch of overly ripe bananas in the jumble of fruit on the buffet, so Saturday morning I made some banana blueberry bread.  Yum!

Sunday I noticed that this guy was back:

This is Steve the Beav...or most likely great-great-great grandson of Steve the Beav.  Yup, our resident groundhog who got his name when Colin was a toddler and thought he was a beaver - lol.  His tail does look rather beaverish though.....

Thanks to Jane Sunday afternoon found me baking some delicious cookies.

I don't need these hanging around the house.  I've packaged up some for Fletch to take to his clients and some he will drop off at Colin & Mailing's.  He is going out today to the one couple he still occasionally does a little work for.  They are elderly (she is 80 and he is 87) and he just wants to check up on them.  Fletch also dug up a young burning bush from our yard to drop at Colin's for him to transplant.

A sure sign of Spring - we noticed the wisteria buds are beginning to swell.

There are a lot, so it should be a pretty show this year.

Finally, there was some knitting.  Mailing's shortie socks are finished!

They sure are a quick knit!  That means today I get to dig through the stash and find something new to cast on...and, of course, I should spend some time on the Canary Blanket.  First though comes work.

Time to pour another cup of coffee and get down to business.  I hope this Monday turns out to be a wonderful one for all of us.  Take care!

Friday Doings

Hello Everyone,

It's looking...again...quite grey outside and the cars are wet.  I know it rained overnight and more is expected today.  But yesterday was nice and I managed to get out a bit - more on that later.

The other day I received a somewhat unsettling e-mail that talked about senior management taking a 90 day pay cut; lay-offs and furloughs to be expected, etc.  Fortunately right after that email came out my boss called me to let me know that I am not impacted by that.  Whew!  I am retirement age, but I am not yet ready to retire.  However, one of my peers is being impacted and now my work has increased in that I will be supporting 3 Division Presidents rather than 2.  That's fine with me, as you all know I haven't been that busy lately!  Plus, the new one - Bruce - and I worked together 20 years ago when I first came to the company.  So, it will be just like the old days...sort of...Anyway, count me as being very relieved.  But I feel so badly for my peer who is a single (widowed) mother with a young son.  My company is still fully operational, but 60% of our parent company's business is shut down now.  That's a lot.  So they are depending on our company for revenue, etc.  Thus the pay cuts, layoffs, etc.

On to nicer things.  I started some new socks!  I know, not really a surprise.  Since the Plaid Blanket socks are for Colin, I decided I should make some for Mailing.  She prefers short socks, so I started a shortie pair.

I'm using size 1 needles and the yarn is an oldie from Knitpicks - Stroll Fingering and the colorway is Koi Pond.  I think I made some fingerless gloves for someone out of this yarn and now I'm using the leftovers.  These should go quickly, though I don't seem to have gotten much done since starting.  The heel has been turned and I'm on the gusset now.

One reason I haven't gotten much done is that yesterday was beautiful!  I worked all morning, taking a 30 minute break to workout with my weights.  After lunch I knew I needed to get out and walk, so I headed over to the towpath in Phoeniville.  The canal is on one side and the Schuylkill River on the other.  There were plenty of people out and about (mostly keeping their distance...the 20+ year olds aren't so cautious).  Some walkers, some joggers, some dog walkers, some bikers.  There were the usual geese and ducks all over the place.

Things are greening up nicely and Forsythia is in bloom everywhere.

There were a few turtles sunbathing.

And I even saw a single kayaker.

Look at that blue, blue sky!  It was still a little on the chilly side and when the wind blew, my ears hurt, my eyes watered and my nose ran.  BUT, it was just so good to get outside for a little bit.

After I had been home for a little while, we decided to do this again.

We shot 3 rounds (9 arrows apiece each round)...so I shot a total of 27 arrows.  I could really feel it across my back (in a good way).  I'm not as shakey doing this as I have been in the past.  I guess the arm exercises I do with my weights are helping me to be a little bit stronger.

Tyg came in with a tick kthe other day, so everyone watch out.  The season is upon us.  I was holding him in my lap last night and saw a tick crawling across my hand.  Luckily Fletch was right there to grab it and flush it down the toilet!  I felt itchy all evening!  LOL.

I have a conference call at 10 and I think a quick run to the grocery store is in order later (we are just about out of fresh produce).  If the weather clears, I'd like to get out for another walk.  We'll see.

Hope you are all hanging in there and doing ok.  Take care!

Unraveled Wednesday 03/25/20

Good Morning Everyone!


How are you?  Are you coping ok?  We are good.  The weather (today) is not helping - another grey, wet one out there.  But we are snug inside and I am finally sleeping better.


I don't have much work these days, but am working a bit and am in touch with my bosses daily.  I was thinking I would have to go into the office sometime this week, but that does not seem to be the case, so I am staying home.  I believe PA is all under a "Shelter in Place" law/rule now (I could go to work since my work is with medical facilities...but if I don't have to go, that's fine with me).


I've been doing a workout every day which I am really enjoying.  It doesn't take me long (20 minutes or so), but I do a series of arm exercises using my weights (only 3 lbs), a series of different leg exercises, some crunches and some butt exercises.  I've also been cleaning.  Gah!  The other day I scrubbed the outside of my kitchen cabinets.  But enough of cleaning!


So yesterday I dug out the Canary Blanket and got to work.  It seems I had a helper.

It has gotten pretty heavy in my lap as I work.  Here is a shot of where it was mid-day yesterday.

I wound two more balls of yarn yesterday, so will try to get another repeat in today (20 rows). 


Last night, to give my hands (and lap) a break from the blanket, I worked on the second Plaid Blanket sock.

That was just before bed last night.  I'm up to the toe decrease, so will finish this up today!


Naturally I've been cooking a bit as well.  I usually don't bother with desserts as I don't eat them regularly and Fletch will have a serving and then leave it for days before having any more.  But yesterday I was in the mood for something, so I made "Lemon Delight."

This is an old, old recipe.  You end up with a very light (almost sponge-like) cake on top and a pudding underneath.  Tastes like a lemon meringue pie without the crust and without the meringue.  I'm thinking it would be good made with a lime instead of a lemon...or a combination of the two.  Simple and easy to make.  If anyone would like the recipe, please let me know.


That is my jar with basil just behind the dish...and further back are tomato seedlings growing steadily.  And speaking of plants and gardening stuff, yesterday Fletch planted both white and red onion sets and radishes!  While he was gardening, I went out and picked some more daffodils.

So cheerful and so nice to have indoors - particularly on these dreary days.  The solid yellow ones are (again) from the North side of the house.  They are a smaller variety, but so many have multiple blooms on one stalk.  In the picture below you will see a double (on the right) and a triple!! (on the left).

Like many of you, my reading is slow as I'm finding it at times difficult to concentrate.  But, I did finish I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter over the weekend.  I tried to return it on Sunday, but even the library's drop box outside has been removed...which if I had thought about it I would have realized.  I'm re-reading "Olive Kitteridge" in anticipation of reading "Olive, Again."  I had thought I wouldn't bother downloading anything more from Overdrive since I am having difficulty concentrating, but last night a book I had been waiting for came through:  Drive Your Plow Over The Bones of The Dead which I'm hoping to start today.


We Skyped with Colin the other day which was fun but weird - the last time we Skyped was when Colin was in South Korea for a year teaching after graduating from college.  We miss seeing both him and Mailing.  But...we may coordinate grocery store runs so that we can say Hi in person (at a distance).  Colin had a work e-mail yesterday saying they are targeting getting back to the office by April 13th.  I'm not sure how they can name a date yet...but maybe it is to keep folks calm and to have a focal point.  I don't know.  Easter is the 12th and it will be a strange one this year.  Who knows if churches will be having services that people can attend.  And no major family dinners. 


Linking up with Kat for Unraveled Wednesday.  Check out her blog and see what others are up to these days.  I do hope you are all doing well and staying healthy.  I keep saying this can't last forever...I just wish we did have an end-date in sight!  Take care.

Weekending

Good Morning Everyone,


After our 78 degree weather on Friday, things went downhill...or at least colder.  We had some pretty big wind chills and this morning it is 35 degrees with snow and rain all around us.  I had hoped to get out for a walk either Saturday or Sunday, but it was hard to muster up the ambition when it was so bone chilling.  I still did my workouts inside and I did some major cleaning, so I think I got enough movement/exercise.


We did manage to have a bit of fun Saturday afternoon.

And...I managed to hit the target and not have any of my arrows go off into the woods!  It felt good to do this again.


Tyg has been extremely lazy.  This was the way he looked most of Sunday morning.

One of his many yoga stretches.


We have more daffodils opening each day and then yesterday I spotted this.

I think Fletch said this is a PMJ Magnolia...which looks like an Azalea.  This bush is down near the end of our driveway and our mailbox.  A year or more ago a car plowed into our mailbox in the middle of the night and took out a chunk of this bush as well.  Fletch replaced our mailbox and we were wondering if this would survive.  It has!  And it is loaded with buds.  So pretty to see.


A little bit of knitting has taken place.  Not a lot, but a bit.  And cooking too.  Last night was Portobello mushroom caps stuffed with black beans, spinach, shallots, bell peppers and a bit of wheat germ.  Pretty tasty!  Tonight's menu:  scallops.


As always, I hope everyone is staying well (and sane).  Take care.

Friday Doings

Good Morning All!


I hope this foggy in Eastern PA morning finds you well.  Once again I did not sleep well, but thanks to Tyg being outside all night (and therefore not asking to go out at 5 a.m.), I finally fell back asleep after 4:30 and didn't wake up till almost 8 a.m.!  So I feel refreshed even though I was awake for 3 hours or so in the middle of the night.


Yesterday did see the finish on the first Plaid Blanket sock.

I just love the colors in this yarn.  The plan is to cast on Sock #2 today.


Last night's dinner was chicken thighs roasted with fennel and onions.  I had had fennel previously, but never cooked it.  The onions and fennel really caramelized and were delicious.  All that stuff was rubbed with a mixture of coconut oil, orange zest and thyme.  I confess to not liking the coconut oil.  Next time I will use EVOO or even butter.  But, it was nice to have something a little different.  To go with it, I made this:

Yum!  The recipe is for cous-cous, but I used quinoa because first the bag was open and second I wanted to use it up.  It would be equally good with farrow or rice or anything!  Basically you cook your grain.  In a bowl combine chopped radishes, cherry tomatoes, scallions, some slivered almonds, a few raisins and a bit of fresh mint.  Once your grains are cooked add them to the bowl.  Then add some EVOO, some lemon juice and salt.  Toss and eat.  This is good warm or at room temperature.


Tonight we are having chili that I took out of the freezer to thaw and I'll make a salad to go with it.  Fletch will be able to pick lettuce and some kale from our garden (stuff wintered over in our cold frame).  I'm hoping/planning to get outside for a walk today.  It is supposed to be around 78 which seems unbelievable (the weekend forecast is for temps a good 20 degrees less or more).


Time to grab some more coffee and then I have a conference call at 10.  Stay well!


Hoping everyone is doing ok and hanging in there.

Back on Line

Good Morning All!


I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe at home.  My new laptop did arrive yesterday morning and I was able to connect to our internet at home, but was unable to get into Outlook to access work e-mail and I was unable to access any of my files that had been transferred to the laptop.  Long story, but I ended up driving into the office yesterday afternoon and was able to connect there.  First time logging onto a new device they had to verify it was moi and the way they do that is to call my phone - that is my office phone.  Geeze.  Anyway, I did not stick around (there were 3 other people in the office) and everything is working fine now at home.


How are you all doing?  I find myself so distracted and scattered and (of course) not sleeping well which doesn't help things.  Weird how I crave days stuck at home - when it is my own choice.  Being told I have to stay at home is another story.  Especially with no end in sight.  I'm trying to stay busy with knitting and cooking and reading, but again I am tending to wander.


There was a finish yesterday though!  Miss Lime #2 was completed.

Here is a close up of one of them stretched on a sock blocker so you can see the pretty pattern.

These were fun to knit, but I'm glad to have them finished!


This morning I knit some on the Plaid Blanket sock (#1) and am now up to the toe decrease.  I'll finish that today and get the second one on the needles.  I also knit several rows on the Canary Blanket yesterday afternoon before deciding to run into the office.


Fletch always has so many projects that he wants to do that he is managing to stay occupied.  We've had one of those plastic owls on a pole in our garden for years.  You know - the kind that is supposed to keep other birds and critters away from your produce.  When the large tree came down in our woods several months ago, Fletch discovered one limb that was covered with woodpecker holes.  He decided to use that as a mount for the owl.  He was able to get that set up the other day.

Now we are ready!  Sugar snap peas have been planted and we (the collective we which means Fletch) have tomato seedlings in yogurt cups on the kitchen windowsill.  They need to be transplanted to bigger containers soon.


Chrome for me is suddenly all in Spanish!  I had to switch to Internet Explorer to write this post!  I had noticed it was switching to Spanish on my phone sometimes.  Just one more weird thing.


Well, time for me to get to work.  I have some financial reports to run and data to get out to my bosses.  Hopefully that will be a good distraction for me.


I will try to catch up on your blog posts later today.  Meanwhile, sending calm and peaceful wishes to you all.  Stay safe!

Work Update

Hi All,

Just wanted to give a quick update.  My office is essentially closing for an indefinite period of time.  The plan/hope is that my desktop computer will be packed up and shipped to Charlotte (home office of parent company) today, everything on it transferred to a new laptop and then that shipped to my home.  Whew!

The office will not be closed/non-accessible.  Our office manager will be in a couple of days per week to deal with mail, etc.  Financial folks will be in and out to deal with receiving money, sending out checks, paying bills, etc.  And, as Bobby (our CEO) said, some people may just want to come in for a day to remain sane (i.e., get away from the kids/spouse/partner/etc.).  So true.

My business is in the healthcare field and we are definitely feeling the effect of this pandemic. We provide support services (Environmental services - cleaning, patient transportation, laundry, plant operations, sterile processing, food services, etc.).  Some of our facilities are experiencing labor shortages, some are experiencing being unable to get needed products (soap, hand sanitizer, etc.).  Additionally, we are set to open/start approximately 400+ pieces of new business in the next couple of months.  It is going to be difficult at best to fully staff the new business.

A number of our employees are in the low income bracket and having children at home is preventing them from coming to work, so we are looking into setting up some temporary (long-term?) day care centers.  Also looking at getting meals/food delivered especially to those families whose kids rely on the free breakfasts and lunches they were receiving at schools that are now closed. 

Anyway, I am still computer-less at home (my laptop finally bit the dust for good and I haven't replaced it...but I've enjoyed not having one quite a bit knowing I could get on line at work).  So, once my computer is shipped out to have everything on my hard drive transferred to a laptop, I will be without a computer totally for probably 36-48 hours.  I'll be able to read your blogs on my phone and that will be a comfort.

Everyone stay safe and sane!!

Weekending in Strange Times

Good Morning!

How are you all doing?  I'm finding myself distracted these days.  But it is a beautiful sunny morning here in Eastern PA.  A little chilly (29 this a.m.), but so pretty out.

Friday at lunchtime I braved Trader Joe's for just a few things.  The store was crazy busy - it always is, but even more so with folks buying up dozens of cans of beans, etc.  Nuts. 

Saturday morning saw me out on the road.  I went up to pay for our tax preparation and drop off the signed forms so that our accountant can e-file for us.  Next I hit the liquor store to load up on wine and get some of the whiskey that Colin likes and vodka!  The person in line behind me asked the clerk if there were any plans for the store to close and his response was a smile and a no.  He said "we have been told we are essential.  After all we make money for the Commonwealth."  Of course, later it was on the news that all state stores are closing as of tomorrow.  Yikes!!!

Later in the day Fletch and I did grocery shopping.  No shortages (other than eggs) in either of the stores we went to.  I did get enough food for a few weeks so that we won't need to go out (unless it is for fresh produce or something).  God forbid we have a power outage because our refrigerator is packed.  Fletch managed to get an "essential" item for our pantry:

LOL

I did spot this sign while I was out and about:

The local sports bar just up the road from our street.

Friday afternoon I picked these lovelies:

These are actually pretty small - I guess a miniature variety.  Interestingly these are all along the north side of our house and they are always the first to bloom.  The variety on the south side of our house are just budded.  Hopefully they will open in a day or two.

Sunday was an absolutely beautiful day.  Full sun and limited wind.  I drove over to the River Trail in Valley Forge Park for a walk.  I was lucky to get a parking spot - it was mobbed...but everyone was spread out on the trail, so it didn't feel crowded.  Here are some shots I took:

Interesting burls on that tree.

Some of my favorite trees along the trail.  If you click to enlarge, you will see a rather large vine on the tree on the left.  That is a Trumpet Vine and it is massive!  So gorgeous when blooming.

Anybody home?  As a kid I loved "The Wind in the Willows" with Toad, Ratty and Mole.  And the Thornton Burgess Books - "Old Mother West Wind," "Sammy Jay," "Reddy Fox," etc.  I still have some of those books from my childhood and whenever I see a log like this I always wonder who lives there -  lol.

Well, we are having a meeting at 10 here at our corporate office.  Apparently we are being told that we do not need to come to work.  However, my computer is a desktop, not a laptop so I can't work from home.  If no one is coming in, I'm fine with coming in on my own.  My boss told me not to worry about it and just play it day to day...if he needs something he will let me know.  Meanwhile, my computer is supposed to be refreshed at the end of April and at that time I will switch to a laptop.  That time frame may be stepped up per one of the guys in IT.  I'm good either way.  Just trying to stay calm and not be crazy (there are enough folks around here who are crazy).

I'm sure the Fiber Festival April 4th has been (or will be) cancelled/postponed and that's a disappointment, but it makes sense.  I hope you all are coping well and taking care!

Friday the 13th

Good Morning and Happy Friday the 13th!

As the morning host on the classical station said this morning, You decide whether or not Friday the 13th will be a good or bad day.  I've never been bothered by Friday the 13th, but I know a number of people are.  Even though it is a grey, rainy morning, I feel it will be a good day!

Schools in our county are closed for at least 2 weeks now.  And, of course, all the colleges and universities are going to on-line classes.  My one boss Bill and his wife Sue have been looking forward to their son's graduation in April.  Now I wonder if there will even be a ceremony!

But, on a positive note, Colin & Mailing's "Save the Date" cards went out over the last couple of weeks.

So cute👫  Their engagement pictures were taken at Shofuso a Japanese Garden in Fairmount Park.  (I think I posted about this previously.)  They also included in the envelope a magnet:

The little black "stockings" on their feet crack me up, but the garden provides these for the house if you do not have socks on (you must leave your shoes at the entrance).

As usual, Colin was over last night for dinner (vegan sloppy joe mix made with lentils - yummy!!) and despite the threat of rain, we did have a fire.

And it did start to sprinkle immediately, but we were able to enjoy the fire for an hour or so.  It felt and smelled so good!  Fletch had thrown some scraps of cedar wood into the mix and the aroma was just wonderful.

The weekend will see some running around.  Saturday morning I head to our tax person to pay the bill and drop off signed papers so that they can e-file for us.  Then I need to stop and get wine (Colin said there's been a run on beer and alcohol!!) and we need to pick up a few things at the grocery store (if there is anything left!!).  Otherwise I intend to do some knitting and the usual laundry and (minimal) cleaning.

I've got to get rolling as I have a conference call in 10 minutes and another one at 10.  Wishing you all a happy weekend - enjoy!

Unraveled Wednesday 03/11/20

Good Morning!

Another restless night last night so I am a tad bit on the groggy side.  I am so over this waking in the night.....

But, it's Wednesday, so we are plowing through the week.  I am joining in with Kat (who may have turned into a sock knitting fanatic???) and friends for an unraveled report.  Here I was thinking I had done a lot of knitting yesterday, but when I took the pictures last night, it's not a whole lot!

I am on the foot of Plaid Blanket sock #1 (these will be for Colin).  This morning over coffee I added another 10 rows so am now halfway to the toe decrease.

Poor Miss Lime is looking rather pathetic.  When I last reported on this sock I had one pattern repeat completed (4 rows).  Not that it is really visible in the picture above, but last night I added another 12 rows for 4 pattern repeats.  The first sock has 20 pattern repeats, so I have a ways to go.  Unlike Kat, I am not doing the lace work on the foot.  After seeing her finish, I wish I were doing that, but Sock #1 is finished and it is not being ripped back to add lace.  Miss Lime has come to work today.  I am determined to wear these next Tuesday (St. Paddy's Day) when we are having a lunch at work.

Once again I am not reading very much.  I have given up on "The Gown."  I was just bored and not very interested in it.  Had it been more about the embroidery of the gown I would have enjoyed that, but half-way through the book I just couldn't take any more.  I have picked up "Olive Kitteridge" which I read when it first came out.  I'm re-reading it in advance of reading "Olive, Again."  The first two stories are finished and they are just so good.  Excellent writing.

Do head over to Kat's to see what everyone else is knitting and reading!

So Distracted!!

Good Morning All,

First, thank you all for your comments yesterday.  I'm sorry I didn't respond to any of you (comments are STILL not coming to my e-mail which is a PITA), but the morning was busy and I left work by 1 p.m. for my doctor's appointment.  Yesterday was just a field vision test (I hate those), so I was in and out rather quickly.  I got home and took a short nap.  But last night I really slept - like a log and for a good 8 hours so this morning I feel much, much better.

Driving into work this morning the full moon was hidden by some clouds, but the sunrise as I came through Valley Forge Park was gorgeous!  I had to stop and take a picture.

Such vibrant colors.  I wish I could have stayed a bit in the parking lot and snap a few more pictures, but I needed to get into my office.

After dinner last night I did manage to do the heel turn on the Plaid Blanket sock, pick up the gusset stitches and I'm moving down the foot now.  I think it was Betsy who mentioned that the colorway reminded her of a Pendleton Blanket.  Me too!  Which of course reminded me that I have a Pendleton jacket that my Mom bought back in the 40's or 50's!  It is still in great shape and I still wear it.

Meanwhile, I seem to have decided that I want to knit everything!  Maybe because I hang around with Dee?  LOL  Seriously, I am usually a one project person...maybe two (socks and a shawl).  Of course, you can add in the Canary Blanket, but that is not portable and also not something I can work on regularly due to LARGE needles and BULKY yarn.  So...I now am working on:

1. Miss Lime Socks
2. Plaid Blanket Socks
3. Odyssey Shawl
4. The Canary Blanket

But wait!  There is more yarn that I have pulled out.  First up, going through my stash on Friday afternoon (when I found the Plaid Blanket yarn) I also found this yarn:

This is Lamb's Pride Worsted weight (85% wool, 15% mohair) by the Brown Sheep Co. in the colorway "Bing Cherry."  Now that Spring is in the air and flowers are starting to bloom, I've decided I want to knit a winter hat.  Specifically Antler Toque by TinCan Knits.  The yarn and the appropriate needles are in a project bag ready to go.

I also re-discovered this yarn:

Is that not a gorgeous shade of blue?  I have had this yarn for probably 35 years.  Seriously!  I wasn't even really knitting then, but I had gone to a fabric store with friends, saw this yarn and had to buy it.  It is by Pingouin and I'm not even sure if it is still made (when I google it, I see some "vintage" Pinguoin yarn on Etsy).  It is 50% mohair, 25% wool and 25% acrylic.  This is where I need help.  I have seven 50 gram balls (121 yards each), so roughly 847 yards.  Not a whole lot.  What can I make?  I love the color so much and it is so soft I want to make something.  Please give me some suggestions!

Not sure if any of you remember the Juniper Top I started knitting last year (in a raspberry color).  I'm just not feeling the love with this one.  I love the color but I don't like knitting that particular top.  So...that will be unraveled shortly and a new project for that yarn will be figured out.  I remember years ago knitting a kind of Tee top (a Rowan pattern).  I'm going to search my bookcase for that particular book and see if there is enough yarn to make that top.

Finally, in just about 3.5 weeks the Allentown Fiber Festival will be taking place and I'll be right there!  I'm starting to make a list of yarns *needed* for certain projects (mostly shawls and/or wraps of some kind).

My question is, who am I?  It is so unlike me to have so many different projects going on at the same time.  I guess there is comfort that if we all become quarantined I have sufficient (more than) yarn and patterns to keep me going for a long, long time.  Going through my stash on Friday, I saw so many yarns I had forgotten I had.  LOL

The two sock projects came to work with me and I plan to work on one of them today at lunch.  Hoping your Tuesday is off to a great start!

Another Manic Monday

Hello All,

Yup, another Manic Monday (ear worm) or in my case, really a Blurry Monday.  There was a lack of sleep last night.  I woke up at 1:30 a.m. with an upset stomach (which is fine now) and then the phone rang at 2:30 a.m.!  What???  I did not answer it, but you know that feeling when the phone rings in the middle of the night (yes, we do still have a land line).  Plus I was too warm (the flannel sheets are coming off the bed today!) and Tyg who almost never gets on the bed (unless no one is in it), was snug up against me.  So major lack of sleep.

Luckily, I have an eye doctor appointment at 1:30 and I've already told my boss I'm going to that appointment and then going home to nap!  The weird thing is he told me their land line rang in the middle of the night too.  Not sure what is going on!

The weekend was nice, but I didn't do much.  I did not knit on my Miss Lime sock.  I did not knit on the Odyssey shawl.  I did not knit on the Canary Blanket. But I did start something new and when I met up with Dee on Saturday this is what I worked on:

Loving this yarn folks.  It is Tosh Twist Light and the colorway is "Plaid Blanket."  I'm using the same design I used for Fletch's Barn Owl socks (K6, P2) and these will be for Colin.  I managed to get through the heel flap and am up to the heel turn now.  No knitting at lunch due to leaving for my doctor appointment, but hopefully I can turn the heel and pick up the gusset stitches tonight and even knit a bit on the foot (if I can keep my eyes open!).

It did warm up a bit yesterday and I had high hopes of walking, but the wind was a bit much for me.  Today it is supposed to be 70!

This little delight popped up in our flower bed over the weekend:

Such a delicate and pretty crocus.  I wish there were more of them (our others are solid purple or yellow).  And we still have plenty of cardinals and other birds coming in for mealtime:

Love seeing them.  This morning checking on the hawks nest, one of them flew in with a mouse or some delicacy in their mouth!  No sign of any youngsters yet. 

OK, I'd best try to do a little work before I have to leave.  Wishing you all a wonderful week!