Friday Felines on a TGIF

 Good Morning!

I'm happy to report that our roof is still on the house and, in fact, the house is still standing.  I was wondering about that in the middle of the night when the wind was whipping around at a fierce level!  It is still windy this morning.  The good news is that the wind blew all the clouds away and the sky is a gorgeous blue.  It's a little cooler than previous days, so perhaps a walk this afternoon (I've got a conference call at 10).

This was the scene last night:

The kitchen table in all its messy glory.  Piles everywhere (including on the chairs).  I was working on the Beekeeper sock and Tyg jumped up to keep me company,  And then he took the DPN protector/cozy I had been using and tucked that right under his head like a little pillow!  The lilacs are droopy.  I cut them yesterday but they have not perked up in water.  They might just be too heavy.  The scent is divine though.

The silk threads I ordered for my next stitching project should arrive today!  I'm looking forward to getting started on that.  Once the threads arrive, I can pick out which fabric I want to use, get it ironed and then start in on the project!

My second Beekeeper sock is progressing nicely and I now have 200 stitches on the French Market Bag.  From here out (for a little bit anyway), it will be straight knitting around and around and around.  The thicker yarn and the #7 circular needle give my hands a workout and at times I need to put it down and just rest my fingers.

Bottom line:  there is no lack of projects on which to work - LOL.  Looking forward to a productive day and weekend.  Enjoy!!

What's for Dinner?

 Good Morning!

It's a bit grey out there this morning and almost a little foggy/misty (or it could be that the window upstairs I was looking out of is really, really filthy!).  The temperature climbed into the mid-eighties yesterday and it felt like summer.  In between bits of work yesterday I managed to change to a lighter color pocketbook (pale pink instead of winter brown) and moved my summer shoes into an easier place to grab them and shoved my winter boots into the nether reaches of my (very small) closet.  Still to be moved are my wool sweaters...didn't want to tempt fate too much...but I may tackle that project today and get out some shorts and summer shirts.

Meanwhile, it's Thursday, so lets talk food.  Here was dinner last night:

The first corn of the season (which was really, really good!!).  I don't know what you call the other things on my plate, but here is what I do.

• Asparagus - trim and steam or boil for only 2-3 minutes, then drain.
• Slices of Italian Bread - brush with EVOO and put under the broiler for a little bit
• Pull the bread out and layer on bruschetta (in the summer I might make my own, but yesterday I just bought it at the grocery store) and top with asparagus
• Fletcher's had parmesan cheese sprinkled on top...I wanted mine plain.
• Stick it back under the broiler (in this case till the cheese on F's was nice and melty...and you could use mozarella or provolone or even cheddar...they are all good!)

A quick, easy and delicious meal!

And, a bonus recipe for a chicken dish we had the other night - delicious!!

Another dish that is so easy to make and really tastes great.  We had this with steamed green beans, some cherry tomatoes roasted with EVOO and Agave Syrup on them (just threw them in a separate pan in the oven while the chicken baked) and some rice.

The other day we noticed a hummingbird coming to our lilac bush and also to the petunias.  And now look what is beginning to bloom:

Wisteria!  It is so fragrant - really overpowering in scent.

The Towhee was back yesterday afternoon while Fletch and I were sitting on the patio.  And this guy kept us company:

A handsome fella for sure!  Have a great day!

Post #2 on 4/28/21 - Cross Stitch Charts Free for the Taking

 Hi All,

A quick 2nd post today.  As I mentioned yesterday, I came across some cross stitch charts that I have already stitched...and I will not be stitching them again.  I know there are more, but this is what I found on Monday.  These are free if anyone wants them.  I'm happy to send them out (and free up a little space in my stash pile!!).  I just took very quick pictures and all but one are sideways and I can't flip them...at least I don't want to take the time to do so.

If there is anything you would like, let me know.  I'll hold them for a week or so and then will donate.  If more than one person wants the same chart, I'll use the random number generator.

Here they are:

Hoping someone will find something they would like!!

Unraveled Wednesday April 28, 2021

 Good Morning Everyone!

The last Unraveled Wednesday of April 2021.  Unbelievable!!  Also unbelievable is the fact that it is supposed to hit 85 degrees here today.  It's gonna feel like summer for sure!  I'd best find some shorts and lighter weight clothes to wear rather than the flannel shirts I have been living in, along with jeans or pajama pants (I'm telling you, I am quite the fashion plate these days!!).  Along with that, now that I'm fully vaccinated, I NEED to find a hair salon and get my hair chopped (I'm talking a major reduction).  But first there is a bit of work today and also some more laundry.

As usual, I'm linking up with Kat and friends to talk making and reading.  There has been some progress on the knitting front.  Beekeeper Sock #2 now has a heel turned and gusset stitches picked up...on the downside now.

I won't hazard a guess as to when this will be done...whenever I do that I tend to jinx myself and get into a stalling mode - lol.

The French Market Bag is also moving along.  There are now 152 stitches on the needles.

I need to get to 200 stitches and then it will be straight knitting for a bit.  I'd like to get all the increases finished on the DPNs (easier that way as the increases are after the first stitch and after the last stitch on each needle).  The DPNs should easily hold 50 stitches each.  Again, no guesses as to when all this will happen - hahaha.

I haven't finished any books this week.  Fletch and I are still making our way through "Radio Free Vermont" and I've started reading Mudbound which is excellent.  Barbara Kinsolver on the cover states that Hilary Jordan writes with the force of a Delta Storm!!

On a final note, we had a beautiful visitor to our yard yesterday!  Fletch and I were sitting on the patio sipping beverages before dinner when suddenly this bird appeared.

A Towhee!!  We see them occasionally, but they are fairly rare in our yard.

Happy mid-week!  Have a wonderful Wednesday.

Tiny Needle Tuesday April 27, 2021

 Hello and Good Morning!

Yesterday ended up being such a nice day - hoping yours was too!  I managed to do 3 loads of wash, cleaned two bathrooms (including floors on my hands and knees!), picked up books from the library, wound 2 skeins of yarn, knit a little, read a little, went through stitching stash and between all of that managed to do a little work.  Ha!  I keep thinking how much less I used to accomplish in a day (Monday through Friday) when I had to go to the office every single day.  Working from home is the best thing ever!  It is my Pandemic Silver Lining.

Anyhoo, on to the stitching since it is Tiny Needle Tuesday, or TNT.  I managed to get quite a bit done.  First I finished the border motifs at the bottom and stitched in the last creature - a bird of prey!

Love the beak on that bird.  Then I decided to continue and stitched my middle initial (E) in a color different than the other letters.

There was still time, so I stitched my other two initials (V, L) and then added the year which I stitched over one,

And before I knew it on Sunday I had finished this piece!!!  Woo-Hoo!!

I truly love this piece.  I am also truly happy to have it finished.  The last two border motifs at the bottom (yellow and green) gave me such "problems!"  I had to rip back on both of them due to being just one thread off.  

Here are the details:

• Pattern:  Autumn Forest Quaker by Stickideen von der Wiehenburg.
• Linen:  36 count vintage Pecan Butter by Lakeside Linens
• Threads:  DMC

And that is why some of yesterday was spent going through my stitching stash.  I've picked out two pieces and will work on one or both...but I had to order some threads which hopefully won't take too long in coming.  One piece will be done in Crescent Coulours Belle Soie silks and the other will be done in a combination of Gentle Art and Weeks Dye Works overdyed flosses.

When going through things, I discovered I still have some patterns that I have stitched.  Believe me, I will not be stitching them again!  Once done is enough.  I'll be doing a post listing various charts that I have and no longer want.  I'm happy to send them off to anyone - more to come on that another day.

Today I am going to the office.  My boss, Bill, is also going in and yesterday I cut a bunch of rhubarb from the garden to take to him.  He and his wife Sue love rhubarb so I always share the bounty from our garden.  Then I have that pesky conference call at 1:30.  I actually may be able to knit during this one!

Time to fix another cup of coffee, wake up Fletch and gather my things to take to the office.  Have a great Tuesday!

Weekending

 Good Morning!

How was your weekend?  Mine was good.  Nothing major to report on, it was just a very nice weekend.  I did some knitting, some stitching, some reading.

Our weather was beautiful on Saturday.  It actually got pretty warm.  My car has been looking yellow from all the pollen around and I was going to wash it, but I didn't.  And then we had rain all night on Saturday (I know it was ALL night, because I was awake ALL night...).  Even though sleep alluded me, the rain sounded so nice on our patio roof (metal).

Tyg was fairly busy keeping track of everything going on at the front feeder.

Our meals were good - shrimp stir fry on Saturday night and stuffed mushrooms last night.  Sunday breakfast was blueberry pancakes with pecans added in.  Yum!  I tend to buy items (mostly we are talking meat/fish here) when they are on sale...but I need to do a better job of taking inventory.  Over the weekend it was revealed to me that we have 4 lbs of XL shrimp (16-20 count) (this is AFTER I made the shrimp stir fry) and 8 (!) T bone steaks in the freezer.  Also about a dozen chicken thighs...some of which will be dinner tonight.  Definitely time to use up what we have.

Our apple tree has really popped with blossoms in the past week.

It is looking healthy again after a few iffy years.  I hope we get a decent crop of apples.  Those pretty blossoms were coming down in yesterday's wind.  I looked out at one point to see Fletch walking across the back yard and it looked like it was snowing, so many petals raining down around him.

I thought about going to the office today and then though better of that idea - lol.  I'll go in tomorrow or Wednesday.  Today I am hoping for a quiet day work-wise so that I can get some needed chores done around here.  Towels and sheets need to be laundered and the bathrooms need to be cleaned.  Some vacuuming should be done.  And let's not forget the knitting and stitching that is waiting for me!  Hopefully I can do a little bit of everything.

Wishing you all a wonderful week!  Hard to believe we are already at the end of April!

Friday Felines

 Hello and Welcome to the Weekend!!

This is my "Friday From Hell" but today it is not.  Every other Friday I have 3 conference calls in the morning:  one at 8:30, one at 10 and one at 11.  But today both the 10 and 11 conference calls have been cancelled.

In the realm of stupid things, yesterday I received an Outlook invite for a conference call next Friday from 4-5 p.m.  I emailed the person setting up the call and basically said that was ridiculous!  Who sets a conference call for 4 p.m. on a Friday?  It has since been changed to Tuesday at 1:30 (and I was tempted to reply again saying 1:30 is my nap time, but then I thought better of it - lol).

We need a few groceries, so Fletch and I are going out after my 8:30 call to do that so that the weekend is free and open!  Hopefully with a tad bit warmer temps.  35 here this a.m.

Moving on to Friday Felines.  You may recall that I told you all that Tyg has been hanging out in the office with me, ever since Fletch put up a bird feeder at the front window.  Here is a White Crown Sparrow sitting in the lilac bush waiting to come in for a snack (sorry you get the benefit of the window screen...)

And here is a Purple Finch at the feeder:

And the sweet Tyg.  He was breathing heavily here:

And finally, hoping that the window would somehow open up:

And then, after pawing the window and the bird or birds scattering, poor Tyg looks so dejected.

His antics sure provide me with a lot of chuckles!

Have a great weekend everyone!!

What's for Dinner?

 Good Morning!

Well, the heat is on in the house.  Yesterday it was 63 when I got up but by Noon the temps had started to plummet and it is around freezing now.  Luckily no snow like some of you poor unfortunate ones have gotten.

No further side effects from the second jab and my arm is no longer sore.  I slept like a rock last night and am up early on Thursday to run my usual Thursday reports.  Before I get into work, though, I thought I would do a post.

It may be chilly outside, but before we know it the warm/hot temps will be upon us.  So this week I have a couple more salads to share with you.  First up is the Marinated Eggplant dish I made last Saturday when Colin & Mailing were over.  I have been making this for years and it is just so good.  I hope you enjoy.

Next up is a lentil salad that I just made for the first time this week.  If I remember correctly, the recipe came from an Eating Well magazine.  This was really good and there were (actually still are) leftovers.  Lentils are very high in protein.

Time to get some more coffee and start in on my work day.  Hoping your week has been going well - enjoy the wind down to the weekend!

Unraveled Wednesday April 21, 2021

 Good Morning All,

We are now fully vaccinated!!  Woo-Hoo!  The line was long...very long...but moved very quickly.  Everyone in line had already had their first shot.  Once again we arrived early - ahead of our scheduled time - and were in an out and on our way home before our scheduled time!  No bad side effects so far.  My arm is very sory (which I did not have with the first jab) and I didn't sleep last night due to the arm.  But otherwise all is good.  Glad to have that finished.

It was a beautiful day yesterday and when we got home from vaccination city, I took a quick walk around the back yard (before lunch and a long, long nap).  Our Redbud is gorgeous right now - probably at peak.  Hard to capture the intensity of the color, but here's the shot I took.

I couldn't get a good shot of all the Asian Pear blooms as we still have that little tree encased in a cage to protect it from deer or any other critter that would like to nibble on it.  The largest raised bed box at the back of the garden is half full of garlic coming up.  Home grown garlic is simply the best (plus you get the benefit of garlic scapes!!).

The plant in the far back left corner is a sunflower that Colin started from seed and brought over a couple of weeks ago.  

Our apple tree is coming into full bloom (did not get a picture of that).  Seems to me there are more buds than there have been in some years, so I am hopeful that our tree is on the mend and will do ok.

Onward to Unraveled Wednesday doings.  First up there was unraveling - several times - but at the very beginning of the project.  Specifically the French Market Bag - oy vey!  What a fiddly start this bag is.  You start with 8 stitches on 4 DPNs and then increase every other row.  Those DPNs kept spinning around and trying their best to twist, but I finally got it!

There are now 96 stitches on the needles.  Once I get to 200 I believe the increasing stops.  At some point I will need to switch to the circular needle, but not quite yet.  I really love the color of this yarn (Thistle) and I sure hope it felts up well.

The second Beekeeper sock is coming along.

If I remember correctly, I've done 30 rows on the leg and sock #1 has 70 rows...so a bit to go before I do the heel flap and turn the heel (so magical!!).

I'm hoping today to get back to that pesky yellow border motif in my stitching, but also spend some time on both knitting projects.  We'll see...after not sleeping much, I may be dozing the day away!

On the reading front, I finished Broken Ice the 2nd in the Nils Shapiro series by Matt Goldman.  I liked the first book better, but this one was ok and I've requested the next in the series from my library.  Fletch and I started a new book after dinner last week and are enjoying it.  Radio Free Vermont: A Fable of Resistance which takes place in current times (or rather just past times - trump times) where a group is recommending that Vermont secede from the Union.  I'm enjoying this as I know so many of the places mentioned and have such ties to Vermont.

Time for another cup of coffee and to catch up on some blog reading.  Linking up with Kat for Unraveled Wednesday.  Have a great Wednesday!

Tiny Needle Tuesday, 4/20/21

 Good Morning Everyone!

Kind of a chilly morning here (37).  I'm sitting at my computer with a shawl wrapped around my shoulders.  Tyg is keeping me company - he loves hanging out in the office ever since we put one of those bird feeders that attaches with suction cups on the front office window.  Purple finches, white crown sparrows and greedy cardinals come to feed and Tyg bangs on the window with his paw.  So funny to watch.

Anyway, it is Tuesday, so it must be TNT time.  As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I had a lot of ripping back to do on Sunday.  I was working on one of the last two border motifs and the yellow (kind of pale) against the linen was difficult at best for me to see.  Here's a close up of that part...the yellow looks stronger in the picture.

I had finished the right hand side, but when I went to join it across the top I found that I was one stinking thread off.  Of course I discovered my error at the bottom, so had to rip out all I had done on the right hand side.  I might have been able to fudge it, but it just did not look good to me, so out it came.  I have not picked it up since!!

Before that mess, I did manage a mother (I assume)/child duo of wild boars!

I don't normally think of wild boars as being cute, but I like this pair.

And here's an overall view of the sampler.  As I say each week:  closing in on the finish!!

One and a half border motifs to go, one more big creature and then my initials and date (year).  It's a satisfying piece (except when I have to rip out).

Yesterday's time at the office (about 3 hours) went well.  I only saw Tom from IT and as I was leaving two folks from accounting were in a conference room.  That's it!  Also, by the way, it appears that the hawks are not nesting at the office.  I don't know what happened, but I haven't seen them for a number of weeks and there is only a stick or two on top of the light fixture.  Too bad - I would have enjoyed watching the nest again this year.

After leaving the office, I drove to "Steve's Sew and Vac" in King of Prussia to pick up my sewing machine.  I have a new foot pedal for it and the machine has been serviced (cleaned, oiled, tension checked, etc.).  And boy have prices climbed - it was over $100 just for the servicing!!  The final bill was just under $150.  Not what I had been expecting...but still less $$ than a new machine.

Today Fletch and I are heading out for our second vacinnation jabs.  We have to go back to Willow Grove (about 40 minutes away).  We'll go early like we did for the first one and hope to get in and out.  I have three conference calls this afternoon, so hopefully I will feel ok.  (But I've reminded my boss that we are getting our shots and that I could be delayed or just not feeling well - time will tell.)

I'd best grab another cup of coffee and then make sure that Fletch is waking up.  Have a good one!

Weekending

 Good Morning!

How was your weekend?  Mine was lovely.  My Friday got a little busy work-wise, but my 10:00 conference call that day ended up being cancelled, so that was very nice.  And, we managed to do the grocery shopping that afternoon and made home made pizza for dinner.  To me, that's a great Friday!

Most of Saturday morning was spent prepping salads and baking a cake for dinner.

So yummy!!  The salads were a marinated eggplant dish with pimientos and pine nuts and then a corn and black bean salad that is a favorite of ours.  Fletch grilled delicious burgers and Colin and Mailing brought a case of beer and rolls for the burgers.  It was so nice that we had a fire in the pit.  Colin cranked up a bluetooth speaker and we yakked and played music until 10 p.m. which was fun!

Sunday was a lazy day.  I did a lot of stitching on the Quaker Autumn sampler and then discovered I was off by one single thread.  Grrrr...I ended up ripping out all of the stitching I had done in the morning and afternoon.  Not what I had intended.

On the bright side, I walked around outside some and things continue to "pop."  There is a lilac outside my office window that we brought home from Vermont a number of years ago.  It has never been a prolific bloomer, but the flowers it does produce are lovely and it is just about to open:

Our wisteria has a huge amount of buds that continue to grow in size and are beginning to show color:

Soon the air will be filled with the fragrance (and I will be sneezing more than I already am - lol).  I did not take a picture of it, but our Asian Pear tree is loaded with flowers.  Last year we had 3 flowers and 3 pears, so we are hoping for a bumper crop this year.

On the docket for today is a trip to the office.  I got a message over the weekend that my sewing machine is ready to be picked up, so I'll go to the office, have my conference call at 10 and then head to King of Prussia to pick up my machine.

First, though I need more coffee.  This is from The New Yorker and I love it!!

Rise and Grind Everyone!  Let's make this a great start to a new week.

Who Am I?? and...New Stash!!

 Hello and Welcome to the Weekend!

Well, I still have some work to do and a conference call at 10, but I'm calling it the start of the weekend now.  Plans for the day include getting through the morning (LOL) and then Fletch and I are grocery shopping.  Since Colin & Mailing are coming for dinner tomorrow, I'll be busy in the morning baking and making some salads.  Fletch will grill burgers and I will make a pineapple upside down cake (YUM), a corn and black bean salad and marinated eggplant.  The kids are bringing rolls for the burgers and we'll have sliced onions and tomatoes and lettuce to go with.  Tonight is home made pizza.

So, back to the title of this post.  Usually I am a one project person.  One stitching piece and one knitting piece.  Occasionally I might have a second knitting project on the go, but not usually.  Lately, however, I've toyed with starting numerous projects.  I showed the yarn for the felted French Market Bag the other day (which I still have not been able to start....).  Now yarn arrived yesterday for not one, but two shawls!  For a long time I have wanted to knit Steven West's Botanic Shawl and now I will!  Kim knit this a bit ago and it is just gorgeous.  Here is my yarn:

The Zauerball Crazy is the same colorway (Sanduhr) that is shown in the pattern picture.  My light grey is Cascade Heritage.

The second shawl I want to make is Wintertide Shawl by Beatrice Perron Dahlen and I picked a similar color to what is shown in the pattern picture.

It's a little dark in the picture, but it is again Cascade Heritage yarn (75/25) and the colorway is Cerulean.  such a rich looking blue!

And, of course, there are more socks to knit (plenty of yarn in the stash for that!).  And I discovered I have sufficient lace weight yarn for a shawl (Birch Leaf Shawl) that is gorgeous.  Karen is currently knitting this shawl in a beautiful shade of pink.

It's possible that I will make myself a little bit crazy with all this yarn!  LOL  And again, Who Am I?

Last week Dee had a fun post titled "Know Your Needleworker" where she listed a number of questions and then her answers.  I thought it would be fun to copy.  So, here goes:

1. Where do you live?

Eastern PA - suburb of Philadelphia

2.  What do you do for a living?

I work for a company that provides outsourcing services to health care facilities.

3.  Do you have children?

Yes.  Colin is our son.

4. Do you have any pets?

I think you all know about The Tygus (that’s Colin’s name for Tyg, our rescue cat) 

5. Do you have any hobbies?

 I enjoy knitting, stitching, reading, walking/hiking, cooking, traveling to name a few 

 6.  What is your favorite movie?

 I’m not much of a movie person, but if I had to pick it would be “Out of Africa” or “Cross Creek” or “Gone With the Wind.”

 7.  What is your favorite book?

 Well, too many really to pick just one:  “The Poisonwood Bible,” “Ahab’s Wife,” “Shadow of the Wind,” “Stones From the River” to name a few.

 8.  What is your favorite music?

 I enjoy most music.  Favorites at the moment are jazz and classical.

 9. What is your favorite project that you have made?

 Oh gosh!  I have stitched so many samplers that I really love...but I don't frame many.  As I've said before, I don't want needlework hanging all over my house.  I think my favorite is PPL...A Parrot, A Leopard, and a Lion from the Scarlet Letter.  I will be framing this one - actually for Colin who likes it a lot.

10.  What one word describes you.

Hmmmm… maybe STUBBORN

 Well!  This has turned into a lengthy post and I need another cup of coffee.  Enjoy your weekend!!

What's For Dinner?

 Good Morning!

It's a little later than I normally post, but I had an early eye doctor appointment this morning.  I'm still a bit blurry after the drops, but that should wear off in a bit.  My eyes have gotten worse and, specifically, my cataracts are much worse and it's time to have surgery.  I was hoping to last another year of so without have them done, but no such luck.  The doctor in the practice I see has cut back on her hours and she no longer does surgery, so the doctor who did Fletcher's cataract surgery will do mine also.  I have an appointment with her in June and at that time my first surgery will be scheduled.  I'm not looking forward to the surgery, but I sure am looking forward to seeing better!

Meanwhile, it's Thursday, so let's talk food.  Tonight I am making "Ellen's Pork Chops" for dinner.  Named after my Aunt Ellen in Vermont (my Dad's older sister) who usually made these at some point when we visited her.  These are quick to pull together and the baking time allows the maker to relax a bit and do some knitting or reading or whatever!

Ellen’s Pork Chops

 Place pork chops in lightly greased casserole dish.  You can use any type of chops – I prefer thick cut boneless chops and I do trim any fat off.

 Place a slice of onion and a slice of tomato on top of each chop.  I typically also add sliced fresh mushrooms.

 Mix up some stuffing – any kind will do – I usually have a bag of Pepperidge Farm Herb stuffing on hand.  Spoon stuffing on top of chops and bake at (approx..) 365 for (approx…) an hour.  Temp and time can vary depending on whether or not you are cooking anything else in the oven and need a different temperature.

 Cooked this way, the chops stay moist and good!

I like the fact that this recipe includes a meat, some veggies and a starch in one dish.  I always add another vegetable side dish, but it makes for an easy and quick dinner.

Well, it's Thursday and I have a bunch of reports to do and send out.  Hopefully I can see spreadsheets well enough to work on them!  Hope your week is going well.  I'm enjoying winding down to the weekend.  Colin & Mailing will be over on Saturday for dinner.

Unraveled Wednesday 4/14/21

 Good Morning My Friends!

First of all, I meant to say that I did drop off my sewing machine on Monday to be cleaned, oiled and the foot peddle looked at.  They cannot repair the foot peddle, but said they can give me a new gas peddle - LOL.  So, it should be all ready for me to pick up in a week to a week and a half.

My computer issues have been solved.  Something - not sure what - happened with my cell phone over the weekend so that I'm not receiving either texts or phone calls for Microsoft Verification.  As I mentioned, I need to log into a VPN each day in order to access my files.  It is a double verification process meaning that first I put my password in and then I receive either a text or phone call to verify/authenticate that it is moi.  Everything is set up properly, so IT swears it is my phone.  Verizon tech support could find nothing out of the ordinary with my phone and swears it is on the computer end.  Oh well!  For now the verification is coming through a call to my home phone (thank goodness we still have one!!).

Here we are at Unraveled Wednesday (is it me or are the days/weeks flying by?).  I'm happy to show one finished Beekeeper sock and the second one already started!

These are knitting up nicely and I'm sure Colin will like them.  Once they are finished, I will start a new pair of socks using the Muse handpainted yarn I showed on Monday.  They will be for a friend.  No pattern chosen yet, but Valerie showed a pair the other day that she is knitting in the pattern I Smell Snow (Ravelry link...and the pattern is free) and I think that might be what I make!

The other yarn I showed on Monday that is new (here's a reminder picture:)

100% wool and the color is Thistle.  I plan to make a felted bag!!  Specifically French Market Bag (another Ravelry link and another FREE pattern).  If this turns out well, I'm thinking it would make neat gifts for my "sister girlfriends" - the ones I used to get together with every year pre-Covid times.  The plan was to start this bag right away, but discovered that I did not have DPNs in size 7 and also was missing a 32" size 7 circular needle.  Amazon remedied that situation and needles arrived on Monday.  Then things got crazy with computer and sewing machine woes and yesterday afternoon was BUSY with work once I was able to access my files.  So...it has not been started yet, but maybe later today.

Yesterday was gorgeous and I would have taken a walk except that in the morning I was on the phone with Tom from IT a lot and then in the afternoon was busy catching up on work.  I did manage to get out and do some archery - both in the afternoon and after dinner.  I am really enjoying it and actually managed to get another bullseye!!  But look at this - our Redbud in the back by our shed is simply gorgeous - opening more a bit each day.

On the reading front I read Benediction by Kent Haruf.  Such a well written book.  Not sure how I missed this one having loved both "Plainsong" and "Eventide" by him.  Now I'm back to reading a quick mystery, but just picked up several very good looking books at the library (Swede Hollow by Ola Larsmo and Mudbound by Hillary Jordan).

As usual, I'm linking up with Kat to talk about making and reading.  Take a look at her blog when you have a chance - her Day Tripper is GORGEOUS!!!

Tiny Needle Tuesday, 4/13/21

 Good Morning All!

Another damp, kind of chilly day here.  But, I think it is supposed to warm up some.  Fletch is planning to grill some lamb chops for us for dinner!!  Lamb is one of those meats that I don't want to have really often, but a nicely grilled loin chop is delicious (as is 7 hour leg of lamb - some day I'll share that recipe!).

This morning finds me still having connection issues to the VPN when I am remote.  I can put my password in, but when the screen comes up stating that a code has been texted to me, I don't receive the text.  I tried having a call to my cell instead, but that didn't work either.  Tom from IT (kind of like Jake from State Farm - LOL) believes it is something that can be fixed remotely...hopefully that is the case as I am unable to access any of my files on the network!  That, my friends, means I can't do much work.  Yesterday I did go into the office, but as soon as I turn my laptop on at the office I am connected to the VPN.  Tom was in the office yesterday and looked at some "back" things on my laptop, but everything is set up the way it should be.  I was going to have to change my password in a few days anyway, so I went ahead and did that, but the problem wasn't solved.  Tom is not the fastest to respond to me, but I'm hoping this can be taken care of this morning.

In the meantime, here we are at Tiny Needle Tuesday.  The finale is getting closer and closer!  This past week I stitched a couple of leaves, a couple of letters and a pretty toadstool.  Here's a close up of what was stitched.

All of the letters except my initials have now been stitched.  The red in the toadstool is the color I will use to stitch my initials and I will also put in 2021 in that color somewhere in the sampler.  There are still two border motifs to be stitched and a couple of creatures.  Here is an overall shot of where things are as of last night:

Because I belong to the Free Library of Philadelphia, I get emails from them all the time.  Yesterday the email contained a link to an article in the "Philadelphia Inquirer" for a plant swap that the library is doing.  What a fun idea!  Along the lines of a Little Free Library, but this is taking place at the library (initially at the Chestnut Hill branch).  Wouldn't it be cool if this took off and started happening all over?

That's it for me on this dreary Tuesday morning.  If things (weather) improves, I may try to get a walk in...or I may have to hang around to deal with computer issues...hopefully not.  Enjoy the day!!

Weekending

 Hello!

How was your weekend?  Mine was so nice.  Another weekend that was filled with things I love:  knitting, stitching, reading, napping, cooking, etc.  It never gets boring to me!

I finally got around to repairing/doing some visible mending on a pair of favorite jeans.  This is like a throwback to the 60's!  LOL  I love these jeans, but was starting to get a tiny hole and then the fabric on a seam was beginning to wear away.

I just did a random flower-like shape over the tiny hole - purposefully making it not symmetrical (which I know will drive some folks nuts, but not me).  The seam was really too hard to embroider over and I remembered I had some decorative tape and voila!  I love the way this turned out.

Saturday was a beautiful day to be out and about...and I was.  Later it was still very nice, so Fletch built a fire and we sat out at the fire pit for a few hours.  Very relaxing.  Sunday was not such a nice day.  But, that is the day we eat breakfast together, so I made an apple & blueberry Dutch pancake.  Yum!

I'm not a fan of meatloaf, but Fletch likes it, so I made a large one for dinner (plenty of leftovers for lunches for that boy).  We had that with baked potatoes and roasted Brussels Sprouts and Parsnips (I love parsnips...Fletch not so much).  I just tossesd the veggies with EVOO and sprinkled on an "Everything but the Bagel" seasoning - they roasted while the potatoes baked and the meatloaf cooked.

Later in ithe afternoon I opened up my sewing machine and tried to do a mending job on one of Fletcher's jackets, but my machine would not work!  I could turn the wheel by hand (but that is slow going)...the foot peddle is not working.  So, Fletch unbolted the machine from the cabinet and it is now on the floor in the office room.  There is a shop in King of Prussia where I have taken it in the past for cleaning and oiling (which it needs again...anyway...).  They open at 10 this morning, so I will call and see if I can drop the machine off to be fixed.  I may just put the machine in the car, drive to the office to do some work and then (hopefully) drop off the machine.

I did manage to wind some yarn this weekend:

Pretty, huh?  The cake on the left is one I showed in skein form a few weeks back.  It is from KnitPicks and is in the "Muse" line - hand painted, 75% superwash and 25% nylon.  The colorway is "Enthusiasm Speckle" and it reminds me of bubblegum or confetti.  This will become socks for a friend.  The other yarn is new and is 100% wool from Juniper Moon Farm.  Patagonia Organic Merino and the colorway is "Thistle."  Any guesses as to what this will become?

Well, time to grab another cup of coffee and try to wake up.  I'm having issues connecting to my work stuff, so I guess I'd really better go into the office.  Tom from IT is always in on Mondays, so I can have him look at my laptop.  Wishing you all a great week!