Looking Forward to Weekending!

 Hello and Good Morning,

It's a little later than I normally post...the morning kind of got away from me.  But it is Friday and that's a very nice thing.  And my 8:30 a.m. conference call was cancelled.  I still have one at 10 and another at 11, but the sun is out and temps are on the rise again.

It has ended up being a busy week!  I have very limited cabinet space in the kitchen and no pantry at all.  Which is a shame.  Years ago Fletch built shelves for me in the basement and we store canned goods (soups, beans, tomatoes, etc.) down there.  I will also put bags of flour, sugar, corn meal, etc. down there - all secure in tough zip lock bags.  This winter, for the first time ever, mice have gotten into flour and corn meal.  So gross.  Yesterday we took everything off the shelves and Fletch used a shop vac to clean them up, then did some more cleaning.  I bought some plastic bins to store things in, so hopefully everything is mouse-proof now and will stay fresh.  I also discovered a number of canned goods we will never use (things I will say that Fletch bought at the beginning of the pandemic when he feared we might never get to a store again).  I now have two large Trader Joe's bags ready to donate to a food pantry.  That will hopefully happen later this afternoon.  It feels good to have gotten all that stuff organized.  Recently things had just been put on any shelf with no rhyme or reason to placement (I'm not going to name names, but if I had put things away that would not have happened - LOL).

Tyg ended up on the patio roof again the other morning!  I refused to open the window for him - I don't want him getting used to climbing up there and then jumping in a window.  I ended up getting up and going downstairs, putting the coffee on and then opening the patio door and calling for him.  Very soon he had climbed back down and was coming inside.  He had a quick bite to eat and then wanted to go back out!  In and out and in and out.  Enough to make you crazy!

I'm now working the smocking stitch on my Heart Warmer cowl and it is such a fun stitch!  Pictures next week.  And, last night I did cast on using the Northern Lights yarn from Knitpicks for a new pair of socks.

Not much, but a start.  Five rows of 2x2 ribbing are complete.  I usually do 15 rows on the cuff.  I hope to work more on these this weekend and start the pattern I've chosen.

Tomorrow we are heading to Colin & Mailing's for dinner.  They have gone Vegan for Lent, so no meat or dairy in the meal.  I think Colin said he was going to make French Lentil Soup and bake a loaf of bread.  I'm sure it will be yummy.  He also suggested that we come over a little earlier than usual so we can all take a walk in the afternoon, and he told Fletch he may try to shovel a path out to the fire pit in their back yard.  That would be fun.  I had planned to walk yesterday with our warming temps, but the wind was still too much for me.  Even with an earband or hat on I tend to get ear aches when it is windy.

I've started reading Perestroika in Paris by Jane Smiley and am finding it so charming.  Thanks for the recommendation Kym!!

Well, that's a wrap for me.  I need to get another cup of coffee and get ready for my conference call at 10.  Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!  Enjoy!!

Unraveled Wednesday 02/24/21

 Good Morning Everyone!

How are you on this Hump Day?  We had quite a drippy party going on yesterday.  The temps increased and all the ice on the roof (and elsewhere) began to melt and drip, drip, drip.  There is still plenty around and the ground is still snow covered, but there is hope!  Fletch shoveled some snow away from the edge of our patio so he can haul the grill out to cook some steaks tonight!  I'm excited.  Food does that to me.

Yesterday morning was spent on tax stuff (ugh).  But, I managed to get everything together for our accountant.  Today I'm going to head into the office and make copies of stuff and either later today or another day this week I'll drive over to the accountant's office and drop everything off.  It will be good to have that off my plate.  I also managed to clear out a lot of old papers from the filing cabinet which is always quite a chore.  But again - finished!!

Meanwhile, it's Unraveled Wednesday and, as usual, I'm linking up with Kat to talk about making and reading.  I am SO happy to report that the Yule Wave socks are finished - off the needles!

Are they perfect?  No  Do they fit?  Yes  Will I try colorwork again?  Definitely

The "wearing" pics are quite dark - sorry, but you can tell they fit (see my hand weights in the upper picture?  LOL).

These socks seemed to take forever to make.  Of course, I did make 3...the first one being so tight in the colorwork section that I couldn't get it over my instep!  Lesson learned.  I used size 2 needles to knit the socks, but size 3 for the colorwork and that did the trick.  I'm also really, really fond of the two red stripes just before the toe decreases.

A good portion of the week was spent stitching rather than knitting and, as a result of that, the Guernsey Wrap was not even taken out of the project bag.  The Heart Warmer Cowl did see a few more rows added to the Broken Rib section.  I think I have 8 more rows of that and then the smocking section will start.  I'm excited to do that - it's a new stitch to me.

Still loving the yarn and colors in this one.  The Broken Rib section is a bit boring (K1, P1 for one row then knit a row...repeat those two rows 9 more times) and I could fall asleep doing it, but perhaps I can finish that section today.

In the shiny new object department I wound up yarn for my next pair of socks.

Pretty, huh?  The yarn is KnitPicks Stroll and the colorway is "Northern Lights."  I think I've picked out the pattern I want to make (Twinkleberry) which was a free pattern on Ravelry (I don't think it's available now).  I'll modify it to do a normal ribbed cuff, but I like the lace and cables in it.  Hopefully it will work with this yarn.  These will go into the gift box when finished - the colors in the yarn are perfect for a friend of mine.

On the reading front, I finished 4 books this week!!  The one I mentioned in Monday's post (Time for Outrage - 5 stars), and I finished (finally) "Monogamy" by Sue Miller.  I kept thinking it would get better for me, but it never did.  After that I read two quick mysteries (one in the Ohio Amish series by Linda Castillo and the other in the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series by Deborah Crombie).  Both of those were read in a couple of days and were a bit of a palette cleanser after Monogamy.  Next up is "Perestroika in Paris" by Jane Smiley which I'm looking forward to.

Time to pour another cup of coffee and pull things together for going into the office.  Wishing you all a wonderful day!

Tiny Needle Tuesday

 Good Morning!

Well, a bit more snow fell than was forecast!  Here is what it looked like all morning (well, from 9:30 on) - a downy at the suet feeder and other birds flying in to sample thistle seeds and meanwhile the snow coming down like crazy!

All told, we ended up with an additional 5" or so.  By 2 p.m. the snow had stopped and temps had risen above freezing.  It still felt cold and damp to me, but Fletch went out and shoveled a path to the birdfeeder as well as out to the compost area.  We did not get the forecast rain, so there is still a lot of snow on the ground.

It was a good day to say inside and have some tea.  I had a fairly busy morning work-wise, but the early afternoon provided an opportunity for some knitting and stitching.  The past week was a pretty good one for my tiny needle.  Here's an overview of where my Quaker Autumn Sampler now stands.

You can see the middle motif is finished - complete with a hunter and a deer!  In addition to finishing that motif, I managed to stitch 3 leaves, the letters X, D and Q, a small bird to the right of the D and the larger bird with a branch (of something) and a red beak.  Here's a close up:

Still quite a bit to stitch on this, but I can tell the end is in sight!

I tried a new recipe last night that turned out delicious!  Encilada stuffed mushrooms:

Portobella Mushroom caps stuffed with a mixture of sauteed onions, pepper and garlic.  Then you add some frozen corn and a can of (rinsed) black beans.  A bunch of spices, some fresh chopped cilantro and a small can of red enchilada sauce.  I baked them at 400 for about 20 minutes then pulled them out to add some shredded cheese on top and sliced jalapenos on mine.  I made fresh quacamole to go with it.  So yummy!!

Hope everyone is having a great week!  

Weekending

 Good Morning!

It's early still and dark.  Looking at the weather and radar, looks like we will be having snow (again) starting by 11 a.m.  But, our temps are on the rise and I'm betting by 3 or thereabouts it will just be rain.  It's been a number of years since we've had snow on the ground for this long.

How was your weekend?  Mine was filled with more domestic duties than anything else, but I'm glad to have (finally) gotten to them.  The bathrooms are spotless.  The kitchen floor has been scrubbed.  Our bedroom has been thoroughly dusted and vacuumed, as has my office room.  Some laundry was accomplished - there is more to do today, and grocuries were procured yesterday.

A (very) little knitting was done.  For being in constant play, the Yule Wave socks have to be taking the longest time EVER!

So close!  Only 5 or so rows left on the toe decrease section and then I can Kitchener up the toe and weave in the ends.  I got this close last night and just could not finish!  Instead I watched the season finale on PBS of All Creatures Great and Small.

A little stitching and some reading was done as well.  In my deep cleaning on Saturday, I came across a little gem of a book in an upstairs bookcase.  Time for Outrage: Indignez-vous! by Stéphane Hessel.  My Dad had seen him on public TV and immediately bought the book.  Hessel was a member of the French Resistance, a diplomat, writer, etc.   So many wonderful quotes in this book which was written in 2010 when Hessel was 93.  One quote from the book:

It is the duty of us all to ensure that our society remain one of which we are proud, not a society wary of immigrants and intent on their expulsion or a society in which the media are controlled by the wealthy.  

An interesting and timely (still) book.  It is under 50 pages, so a very quick read.  Highly recommend.  The best part was finding a note from my Dad at the front of the book saying how he found this book so apropros of our times.  

The Tygus (as Colin calls him) is doing well and was a sweet companion most of the weekend.  He pretty much leaves my stitching or knitting things alone, but he likes to be close.

Today's plans include a conference call at 10 (hopefully a quick one) and some other bits and pieces of work.  Perhaps I will even arrange to finish the sock?

Have a great week!!

It's Friday!

 Good morning!

We are on the verge of the weekend which makes me happy.  I have a 10 a.m. conference call and I think that's it for the day (fingers crossed).  We ended up with about 5" of snow and then some sleet on top of that.  It could have been worse, so I'm grateful that's all we got and it ended sooner than predicted.

Still cooking and consuming food these days.  Last night's dinner was rainbow trout, Asian green beans (fresh beans done in a wok with sesame oil and soy sauce and plenty of garlic - YUM) and quinoa with sliced radishes, chopped scallions chopped grape tomatoes, pepitas and dried cranberries - all with a splash of EVOO and fresh lemon juice.  

We also had some more of that decadent dark chocolate tart for dessert.  The scale was NOT my friend this morning - LOL.  Tonight I'm making home-made pizza.

A bit more knitting on the Yule Wave sock was completed.

The heel has been turned (in red), gusset stitches picked up and now the decreases are occurring.  It should be smooth sailing going into the weekend.

Finally, this guy says Thank You for all the well wishes.  We were able to get the de-worming med on him (administered similarly to Front Line...but liquid on the neck is not a pleasant thing for cats) and I have not been seeing the segments, so health is being restored.  He will get the second doses on 3/16.

Happy Weekend from all of us.  Enjoy!!

Unraveled Wednesday 02-17-21

 Good Morning!

How are you on this Wednesday?  I woke at 3 a.m. and never got back to sleep so...I'm a bit drowsy this morning.  I was up early (obviously) and found my way to the office...some things I needed to do.  It is now approaching 9 a.m. and I am finished what I needed to do at the office.  After I write this post, I will head to Trader Joes, the liquor store (more snow forecast for tomorrow) and Staples.

Yesterday was a gorgeous day!  Spring-like even.  Blue skies, sunny and temps in the 40's.  Today it is back to frigid weather and (as I mentioned above) snow is in the forecast for tomorrow.  Supposedly 3-5", but who knows?  It will be nice to not have to go anywhere.

I did get to the vet's yesterday and picked up the de-worming medication for Tyg.  Thank God!  She recommended two doses - one yesterday and one a month later to be sure those "bad boys" are gone.  I agree.

Meanwhile, it is Wednesday which means Unraveled Wednesday.  As usual I am linking up with Kat and friends to talk about what we are making and reading.  First up is the Heart Warmer Cowl.  Gosh I love this knit!  The Bobble section is finished and I started the next section which is Broken Rib.  After that comes a Smocking stitch which I am interested to try.

Still loving the yarn and the way it is knitting up.  I should have gotten a better picture, but it was late last night when I took this (and the others).  Better shots next time.

My Yule Wave Sock (#2) is now at the heel flap.  I usually just knit on this after dinner while Fletch reads (which means every other night since we take turns reading).

Again, not a great picture (and it flipped sideways).  Once I get the heel done and the gusset stitches picked up, it should fly down the foot.  I really like this and I've enjoyed knitting it and doing the color work, but I'd like to start a new pair of socks.

Last, but certainly not least, is my Guernsey Wrap.  I've now completed 40 rows (the first chart is 78 rows and you knit it twice and then knit rows 1-58 again).  Loving the yarn (KnitPicks Wool of the Andes), loving the color (Mink Heather) and loving the knit.  FUN!!

Again, the picture flipped sideways.  Oh well!  At least you can see the different sections in this picture.

On the reading side of things, I am still working my way through "Monogamy" by Sue Miller.  I'm not thrilled with it, but having read about two thirds of it, I will finish.  I certainly don't feel compelled to pick it up every day, but other books have come through from the library that I would like to read, so...I will continue to plug away.

And I guess that's a wrap for me.  Wishing you all a wonderful mid-week!

Tiny Needle Tuesday

 Good Morning!

Happy Mardi Gras!!  In our house, the masks are up!

I'm not sure if we will be throwing beads today, but I'm sure there will be a bit of alcohol!!  Have you ever been to NOLA for Mardi Gras?  I went in 1980 with a girlfriend.  At the time one of my brothers was living in New Orleans, so we had a place to stay.  And, oh my!  What a party it was.  I remember needing to go to the bathroom and not being allowed in a bar because I was a female (the bar was gay).  I also remember how everything was so filthy - trash and beer, etc. in the street.  And then, Ash Wednesday we got up early to head to the airport and you would never have known that Mardi Gras had taken place...the streets were spotless - no trash or debris anywhere.  The workers had worked all night to clean up everything.

Meanwhile, it's TNT, or Tiny Needle Tuesday.  A bit of stitching got done in the past week.  Not as much as I had hoped for.  I had planned to finish the center motif, and I got close, but not all the way.

This section - and then some - should be finished by next week.  A little boring to be using the SAME color for the entire image, but once it is complete, it works well.

The cooking - or I should say baking - continued yesterday.  I made Ina Garten's Dark Chocolate Tart which has to be the easiest dessert ever.  Also EXTREMELY rich and delicious!

There are a few slivers of this in the frig and the rest has been wrapped and is in the freezer.  Plenty of chocolate for a long time!  My version does have sea salt on the top, but the flakes are so small they don't show up in the picture...but the sea salt with the chocolate = LOVE!!

I've a bit of running around to do today.  The vet was closed yesterday for President's Day, but I left a message...we are sure Tyg has worms (ugh!) and I'd like to pick up the de-worming med today (the kind we have used before is just put on similar to Front Line.  We need some new shower curtain hooks for the downstairs bathroom, so I will most likely stop at Target for those.  I need a ruler (I've looked high and low in the desk and cannot find one) and I'd like to get some sprouts for salads - if Target doesn't have them, I know a grocery store I pass carries them.  Lasagna and a salad are on the menu for tonight.

If you are in the midst of the storm, stay safe.  Our temps actually rose a bit and we had heavy rain during the night.  And that's a wrap for me.  Work was quiet yesterday and I'm hoping for more of the same today.  Wishing you all a wonderful day.  

Weekending

 Good Morning!

How was your weekend?  Ours was very nice and...as this post will show...it was ALL about the food!  LOL

Saturday around 4 p.m. we went over to Bonnie & Zhongren's (Mailing's parents) to celebrate the Lunar New Year and also Zhongren's birthday (which is today).  Of course there was dumpling making.

Here are just some of the dumplings ready to be cooked

Colin was appropriately attired in red.

And the table was loaded.  Along with the dumplings, Bonnie had made some delicious dishes:  some fish, short ribs, another beef dish, eggplant, cauliflower with mushrooms, pickled radishes and cabbage, pickled garlic, potatoes.  Everything was delicious!

Mailing had made a black sesame cake for dessert.

That is the symbol for Ox (this new year is the year of the ox).  We were sent home with leftovers which is wonderful!!

Valentine's Day dawned and I made us some blueberry & pecan pancakes for breakfast (forgot to take a picture).  It still felt pretty raw to me yesterday, so I decided to make a big pot of curried shrimp chowder for dinner.  This is such an easy (quick) and delicious meal.  I got everything chopped and ready.

And then in no time the soup was simmering on the stove.  

In between all the food consumption I did find some time to knit a little and stitch a little.  I'll save those pictures for another post.

Per Fletecher, our temps are supposed to moderate a bit this week.  There is still quite a bit of snow on the ground and icicles are hanging off the house and shrubs.  I just keep remembering that each Monday brings us that much closer to March 20th and SPRING!!

Wishing you all an enjoyable week ahead!

Unraveled Wednesday 2-10-21

 Good Morning!

6:47 a..m and it is just beginning to get light here.  Looking out my office window, I can see across the street.  I don't think that was possible a week ago.  Slowly and steadily our daylight increases each day.  It's a miracle and can be magical - almost like turning a heel!  LOL

All the plumbing stuff went well yesterday.  Even though the guys were half an our late showing up (I hate that).  Lots of $$$, but I'm happy to have everything done!

As I said I would, I pretty much sequestered myself in the office room yesterday with the door shut.  I did have work to do, and inbetween emails and phone calls I managed to do a tiny bit of knitting.

A jumble of projects (which is always fun).  Upper left is the Yule Wave sock (#2).  I think about 5 or 10 rows were added since my last picture.  The Heart Warmer cowl is on the right.  I did the first 3 rows on the Bobble section (which are just plain knitting).  I love making bobbles, but it had been some time since I had done so.  Therefore I decided I needed to practice.  The little square on top of the varigated section is my practice piece.  Just 10 stitches across and I made bobbles on two different rows successfully, so I'm ready to plow ahead.  

The bottom piece on the circular needle is the beginning of my Guernsey Wrap (Jared Flood design)!!  So excited to have started this.  I got roughly this far yesterday afternoon and then had to rip it all out (I think the noise the plumbers were making was distracting me).  But, I managed to cast back on and I've done 12 rows.  (There are only 465 rows in the pattern....).  This is my first time using Wool of the Andes yarn by KnitPicks and I have to say it is lovely.  Very soft and easy to knit.  Even though it is worsted weight and I'm using a size 8 needle, it is not bothering my hands.  And the Mink Heather color is just wonderful.

On the reading front, I started Monsieur Mediocre and am disappointed in it.  I thought this would be really funny, but so far (4-5 chapters) I'm finding it boring and more of a "Aren't I wonderful" story.  I haven't returned it (yet), but I've set it aside and instead picked up Monogamy by Sue Miller.  75 pages into it and for me it is just ok.  It seems to be moving slowly and is a bit more wordy than I think necessary.  I'll keep at it though.  And, I will be stopping by the library for curbside delivery today as I received an email that this book is waiting for me to come fetch it.

So plans today are to get more knitting and reading in (the hell with work - lol).  Tomorrow I have to go in to the office.  We have 3 candidates coming in for VP interviews and I need to bring in a continental type breakfast (I'll just pick up some fruit, bagels and muffins) for the panel (5 folks who will be doing the interviewing) and I will need to order lunch for them too.  The panel will be there all day, but I'm hoping I can leave after lunch arrives.

That wraps it up for me.  As usual, I'm linking up with Kat for Unraveled Wednesday.  Head over to her blog to see what she and others are up to.  Always inspiring!!

Tiny Needle Tuesday

 Good Morning!

Thank goodness for a great night of sleep...almost 9 hours!  Really I don't think I had much choice as I was so freakin' tired after the episodes Sunday night - LOL.  Tyg was inside last night, but did not bother me until 5:30 this morning.

Another week has gone by since my last TNT post and a bit of progress has been made.  I don't seem to be stitching this in any particular order - I'm kind of all over the place and just working on what strikes my fancy.

And a close up of what was accomplished this past week,

On the left side, I stitched the cluster of three acorns and a leaf, the yellow leaf to the left of that and the owl (or some bird) underneath.  On the right side I managed to stitch the letter J and the leaf that really looks like a chili pepper.  The dark green motif to the right of the A is a start on a large central motif on the sampler.  Perhaps that motif will be finished by next week.  There is still SO MUCH to be stitched on this piece and luckily it is still holding my interest.  I may work a bit more on it today...or not...

I've decided I do want to cast on for the Guernsey Wrap I plan to make.  But first I need to get an old, partially knit and abandoned sweater off the needles because I need my 32" size 8 circular for the Wrap.  I've been meaning to unravel this sweater for some time, so today is the day.  Most likely I will be holed up in my home office for at least the morning.  I need to stay out of the way!  We have a plumber coming this morning to install a new kitchen sink (Yay!!  Finally a sink large enough to fit my large roasting pan) and faucet and also two new toilets.  Should be a fun morning (not) and a pricey one!  Best if I am out of sight.

More Snow!

 Good Morning My Friends,

I'm a bit weary this a.m. which I will explain in a bit.

But, first, tell me how you are and how was your weekend?  I hope you carved out some time to enjoy those things that you do - knitting perhaps, reading, sewing, whatever.

Colin & Mailing came over Saturday for dinner.  I made red beans (a New Orleans/Creole dish) and rice, roasted Brussels sprouts and an apple crisp (with whipped cream of course).  The kids brought over frozen Palomas (Ina Garten recipe) and wow were they delicious!  Red grapefruit juice, tequila, lime = amazing!  The only picture I took was of the red beans in the morning when they were simmering away on the stove.

Aside from the kidney beans, the dish also has hot & sweet Italian sausage, onions, peppers, garlic, celery and a ton of spices.  So tasty.  (And pretty in my new Dutch oven!!)

Snow was forecast for Sunday and sure enough it started a little after I got up and continued all day.  At times the flakes were HUGE.  It was (thankfully) a light, fluffy snow - easy to clear from the cars and the drive.

It was very pretty out.  At one point I was sitting in the kitchen working on my stitching and I looked out the patio door and there were so many cardinals!

Cardinals always look so striking to me against snow.  What a sight!

I was also able to get a start on the second Yule Wave sock.  I cast on Friday night and got the ribbing finished.  Yesterday I finished up the colorwork and have started down the balance of the leg.

My sleep was broken Saturday night, so I was pretty tired and went to bed early last night - like 9 p.m.!  Tyg woke me at 12:15 to go out.  Mind you it was forecast to be bitter cold last night (and it is 11 degrees this a.m., so the temp did drop), but I figured he has a fur coat, he will be fine.  Well, I slept a bit fitfully after that and at 3 a.m. I heard a noise on the patio roof right off one of our bedroom windows.  I got up and looked out (it's almost like daylight at night because of all the snow) and that bugger of a cat was on the patio roof meowing to come in.  I can't believe he managed to climb up onto the roof with all the snow!  He saw me looking out, so I opened the window and before I had it fully opened Tyg had jumped up, pushed the screen in and was jumping from the windowsill onto the bed!  What a beast!!  Of course, he wanted a kitty treat after that episode, so I went downstairs with him, got him some treats and then went back to bed.  It took me some time to fall back asleep, so that is why I am a bit weary this a.m.  Luckily work (so far) is quiet.

Hopefully my peaceful morning will continue and I can just take it easy.  Wishing you all a wonderful week!

TGIF

Good Morning!

It is a very relaxed Friday for me.  No conference calls for a change and minimal emails flying about.  Earlier I looked out and it was snowing furiously!  But it only lasted a moment or two - nothing major thank goodness.

Since I knew it would be an easy Friday, I decided to make breakfast for Fletch and me.  Of course, I forgot to take a picture, but I made "Eggs & Shit" (my friend Leslie's name for this dish).  Basically scrambled eggs with whatever is in the frig that you want to toss in.  So, we had some leftover ham, broccoli, mushrooms, onions, tomato.  I forgot the peppers.  And we had toast.  It was very good, but now I am overly full and attempting to digest.

Here is the obligatory Friday Feline picture.

Such a sweet cat...who happened to wake me at 1:30 this morning to go outside!  What is up with that?  And, the picture above was taken after he usurped the chair I had been sitting in.  I sit at the end of the kitchen table to knit and stitch.  The light is good and it's a comfortable spot for me.  But...if Tyg is at the patio door wanting to come in, as soon as I open the door he runs in and jumps up in the chair!

Some knitting was accomplished:

Only 8 more rows or so till it will be time to Kichener up the toe.  I worked on it a little this a.m. with my first cup of coffee and then had to get busy cooking.  I will finish in a little bit.  No rush!  I would like to start the mate to this one sometime today.

Yesterday was a big errand day for me.  And an office day.  Not many in the office (I saw Bill and two others) and I was only there an hour or so.  Then I went to the liquor store where there was only one other customer!.  I needed some birthday cards, and I was the only customer in the Hallmark shop!  On to one grocery store to pick up bird seed and the library which was the busiest!  But, I called from my car and they brought out my book.  I dropped off 3 in their outside bin.

Meanwhile, Fletch has a doctor's appointment this morning and I am going to run to CVS and the grocery store for a few needed things.  Colin & Mailing are coming for dinner tomorrow and there are a few ingredients I am missing for the dish I'm making (red beans and rice - a New Orleans/Mardi Gras dish).  Also another stop at the library as I received notice that a book is in for me (Monogamy by Sue Miller).

So many folks out there have been working on puzzles...and we have been too!  We finished this one last night.  It's big (1,000 pieces and just about covers the card table).

All different patches/stamps of National Parks.  Fun to do.  This puzzle also had letters on the back - A through F - each letter representing a section of the puzzle...so if you got stuck you could look at the letter on the back and see if you were even trying to fit it in at the right place.  Sort of like cheating in my book!

And that's a wrap for my Friday.  Wishing you all a wonderful weekend - enjoy!

Unraveled Wednesday 2/3/21

 Good Morning All!

Our snow event has finished - Thank God!  Yesterday afternoon turned very sunny and much of our snow has compacted down.  My guess is that we ended up with around 15" or so...now it is around 12".  Fletch heard on the news that a town between Allentown and the Poconos received three feet!  Better them than me I say.  I'm still content to just stay home - heck I've been doing pretty much that for almost a year anyway.

Work managed to get in my way a little bit yesterday, but I still managed to get some knitting accomplished.  First up my Heart Warmer Cowl which doesn't really look any different, but the Interrupted Rib section is now complete and I'm ready for the Bobbles!  Last night I was just too tired to attempt them.

My Yule Wave sock saw a bit of action as well:

I finished the Eye of the Partridge heel flap, turned the heel (in red) and am (maybe) half way down the foot.  I had a momentary "Oh No" moment last night with this.  Partway through the gusset decreases, I decided to (finally) try on the sock to make sure the colorwork wasn't too tight.  Thankfully it fits just fine.  But, in the process of trying it on, I managed to knock about 4-5 stitches off several of the DPNs.  Two of those stitches unraveled quite a ways down.  There were no curse words uttered and no tears...instead I calmly found my little crochet hook and (thankfully) managed to pick up all the stitches and then continued knitting.  A few rows later I dropped two more stitches!  Honestly, I think I was just plain tired.  My eyes kept closing as I was knitting and, believe me, that is not something I should do - LOL.

On the reading front, I finished Some Writer! and really enjoyed it.  This is a biography of E. B. White written for children, but really it is for anyone and everyone!  There are pictures of White growing up and it is a very fast read.  Fletch and I finished the book we were reading together after dinner:  Cry of the Kalahari and while we both enjoyed it initially, we both found it tedioius towards the end.  The couple who spent years during the early 1980's studying hyenas, lions, etc. in the Kalahari took so many foolish risks - it's amazing they lived to tell their story.  I also read the second book in the series by Linda Castillo - mysteries that take place in an Amish community in Ohio.  Again, it was a bit graphic and gruesome, but not as much as the first (which makes me ask am I becoming immune to this?).  I'm now reading the second book in a series by Deborah Crombie, but honestly I'm a bit mored with it.  I will finish it as I only have about 50 pages left.  I have a bunch of books on my nightstand and a bunch I'm waiting to come in for me at the library.  So glad my reading slump is over!

As usual, I'm linking up with Kat for Unraveled Wednesday.  Be sure to jump over to her blog to see what she and others are making and reading.  You'll find inspiration for sure!

Still Snowing on Tiny Needle Tuesday 2/2/21 AKA Groundhog Day

 Hello and Good Morning!

It appears the weather folks were correct...for a change...we have not had a storm like we are having currently for a long, long time.  Yesterday we had sleet ALL morning.  You could hear it hitting the window and at times making an awful racket.  At some point in the afternoon it changed back to snow.  Fletch was out shoveling a path to the bird feeder and I stepped out to take a picture.  This was at 9 p.m. last night (Monday night):

And now it is 6 a.m.  This next picture is one I took when I stepped out on the patio at 5:30 a.m. this morning:

It looks very similar, but I can tell it is a little deeper.  The weather app on my phone is showing the snow continuing through 7 p.m. tonight.  That will be a lot!  Or as my friend Leslie commented, "that's a butt load of snow!"

I did make a turkey pot pie for dinner which turned out great (and I forgot to take a picture) and also made some bread (and failed to take a picture of that too).  We haven't tried the bread yet, but it's an oatmeal bread with wheat germ and both whole wheat and white flour.  Work was a little busy for me, but not too crazy.

The birds were feeding like crazy ALL day.  This guy showed up at our peanut feeder while Fletch and I were having lunch.

Lots of blue jays, chickadees, tufted titmice, sparrows, wrens, woodpeckers, cardinals, etc.  Fun to watch.  And, amusement for Tyg of course!  He was trying to help last night as I took pictures of my Quaker Autumn Sampler:

Poor Tyg has been a little stir crazy.  He goes out and then comes back in...then goes out again and comes back in...then chases kitty ghosts all around the house.  After a bit he will settle in a chair in the kitchen where he can feel the warmth of the heater or he will sprawl on the bathroom floor tucking his paws underneath the heater.

But, speaking of the sampler, it is TNT, or Tiny Needle Tuesday and a little bit of progress has been made in the past week.

The letter Y, the acorn and the rabbit were all stitched this past week.  The rabbit looks more like a Jackalope minus the antlers.  Fletch thinks it looks like a Kokopelli.  Whatever it is, it was fun to stitch.  Slowly but surely the sampler is filling in a bit.

On another topic, I'm tempted to fool around a bit with MDK's Kiki Mariko pattern - looks like an awful lot of fun.  Is anyone working with this (or have you in the past)?  The MDK post today shows a sweater (!!!) in that pattern as well as a cowl and, of course, the rug.

Planning to get more knitting (and maybe a bit of stitching) done today.  The bathrooms need to be cleaned as well and now some laundry because earlier I spilled an entire cup of coffee on me!  Klutz!  Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Snow Day

 Good Morning!

How are you?  How's your weather?  We are having a snow event!  Word on the street is that this storm will bring us more snow than we have seen in 5 years or so.  Forecast for us is up to 14" possible!  Here's what it looked like at 6 a.m. (still dark thirty):

When I stepped onto our patio to take this shot, I could hear the sleet hitting surfaces, so the awful "wintry mix" is happening.  The snow started yesterday right around 12:30 p.m. or so, and it is supposed to continue snowing through tomorrow!  And tomorrow, of course, is Ground Hogs Day.  If this weather keeps up, Phil will not see his shadow.  The wind seems to be back again too, which is not fun.

We were supposed to head over to Colin & Mailing's for dinner yesterday, but with the snow coming down we all decided it made more sense for us to stay home.  Boo-Hoo.  Hopefully all this will be cleared up by next Saturday when C&M are supposed to come to our house for dinner.

Fletch and I are both now registered with the County for THE VACCINE.  No word on when we will get it, but at least we are registered.  My brother in DE received his first dose last week (his wife still has not, but my brother has major health issues).

A little knitting was accomplished over the weekend.  Not as much as I anticipated, of course.  But here is where things are with the sock and the cowl:

I'm on the heel flap (Eye of the Partridge version) on the sock and am more than mid-way through the Interrupted Rib section on Heart Warmer.  In the mail I received my Darning Kit from Katrinkles so I set to work repairing a pair of Colin's socks.  All I can say is that I need practice!  My patches are quite uneven.

On the cooking side of things, I made Morning Glory Muffins for breakfast yesterday.  Oh boy!  It was like having carrot cake for breakfast.  Yum.  They have grated carrots and apple as well as crushed pineapple, coconut and walnuts.  I planned to take half over to Colin & Mailing, but now we are stuck with all of them!  I wanted something warm and cozy for dinner tonight with all the snow, so I took leftover Thanksgiving turkey out of the freezer and will be making a turkey pot pie.  Comfort Food FTW!

If this were PPD (Pre Pandemic Days), I would be having a snow day, but since I typically work from home these days, even though we are having a major storm, I will have to work.  Boo-Hoo.  Hopefully I can squeeze in some knitting and reading time.  I hope everyone had a great weekend and if you are in the storm's path, be safe and warm.