Tiny Needle Tuesday 2/28/23

 Hello and Good Morning!

I had not intended to NOT post yesterday, but...I slept in a bit and really my weekend was not all that exciting.  Good but not exciting.  I did meet up with Dee as is our habit on Saturday mornings and that was delightful as always.  The balance of the weekend was filled with some chores, but also some knitting and reading and stitching.  And I took no pictures.  I also had a number of errands to run yesterday morning, so after I got some laundry going, I went out.

There is a stand of bamboo that I have passed many times and I've always wanted to get a picture.  As luck would have it there is almost always traffic behind me which prevents me from slowing down to take a picture.  Yesterday luck was on my side!

You need to click to enlarge so that you can see ALL the panda bears that someone has placed in among the bamboo.  Too funny and too cute!  This is actually just down the road from Colin's offce (here in PA...not TX), so I sent the picture to him.  He knew exactly where I had been!

Today we are saying goodbye to February and getting ready to welcome in March.  March can still be pretty fickle, so don't put away your woolens just yet.  Yesterday did warm up a bit late morning and I decided to get out while I could to walk after lunch.  Once again I walked along the Perkiomen Trail which runs by the Perkiomen Creek.  There were SO MANY geese again.  

Instead of my usual jaunt, I turned left from the parking lot and went down the trail in the opposite direction.  I do love seeing a pretty stone wall covered in moss and lichen.

I won't pass this wall in warmer weather - there are very large snakes in that wall - this is near Colin's office and he has seen them numerous times.

I also love seeing a line of  Sycamore Trees.  They always look so stately and graceful to me.

There are so many beautiful homes in this area - many perched high above the water with mostly glass fronts.  What views they must have!

I had hoped to spend the afternoon stitching, but work interrupted those plans!  I did, however, do a little more since last Tuesday.  

After I calmed down work and the multiple emails, it was time to prep dinner.  I made a new recipe last night:  Sticky Tofu which turned out well.

It's the first time I've cooked tofu and I did manage to get it crispy and the sauce was delicious.  I call that a win!  I think I liked it more than Fletch, but he did have more than one serving!!

And then our fickle weather showed up.  I was talking on the phone to a friend and opened the door for Mabel.  This is what I saw:

If you enlarge, you will see some solar lights that are on around our arbor at the entrance to our woods.  That is all the snow we got, though it remained cool overnight.  The tops of cars are still covered.  Hopefully the sun will do it's job on the windshields before we leave to go grocery shopping.

This has turned into a long, rambling post.  Thanks for sticking with me (if you are still here).  Wishing you all a wonderful Tuesday!

TGIF 2/24/23

 Hello and Good Morning,

It is a blustery morning here in Eastern PA.  I could hear wind chimes during the night as well as our buoy bell which hangs quite a distance at the back of our yard by the shed.  Looks like it is sunny and not too chilly (low 40's at the moment), but I know the cold is coming in this afternoon and tonight.  When Dee and I meet up tomorrow morning, the forecast high for the day is only 35.  Then back up to 50 on Sunday.  So, our roller coaster ride continues. 

I have a bunch of different things to share today.  First up the pink lemons I mentioned earlier in the week.  I cut into one Wednesday night to put on our salmon.

Not as pink as I had hoped, but definitely a bit different than "normal" lemons.  I did not notice a difference in taste.  Yesterday I cut one up for my infusion water bottle and added some blackberries.  Again, no real difference in taste (in my opinion), but they are pretty on the buffet where we have a platter of fruit since the skin has green stripes on it.

I'm stealing my thunder for next Wednesday's Unraveled post, but the cowl is finished!!  Woo-Hoo.  I'm tempted to keep it myself, but it is already tucked away for my SIL for next Christmas.

There were issues with blocking it (which honestly I don't think it needed since it bunches up around you anyway)...

Mabel has been enjoying the blocking mats...as well as sitting on the wet cowl while it blocked!  I had to resort to closing the office door when I wasn't in there.  Fortunately it was only this one mat that she used to sharpen her claws.

Yesterday was a gorgeous day!  It was very foggy in the morning.  I drove up to Souderton to drop off all our tax stuff at the accountant's office.  By the time I got home it was lunchtime and then the sun came out.  I headed over to the trail that runs along the Perkiomen and had a nice 2.25 mile walk (I turned around when my back started to bother me, but nice to know I can do at least a mile comfortably and the return trip to the car was not bad).  There were some signs of Spring.

BUT, you had to watch where you were stepping.  These guys leave a BIG mess on the trails.

There were plenty of folks out - some walking, some biking, some running, some roller blading and I saw one guy on a skate board.  When I got home I walked around and looked at stuff:  there are buds on the fig tree (YAY), the garlic shoots are coming up, greens are beginning to grow in the one raised bed box that has old window frames over it like a greenhouse and even our Asian Pear has some buds.  It won't be long!

The Spring feeling continued when Fletch grilled wings (hot and BBQ) for dinner.  I had made a broccoli salad to go with them.  By the time he was done grilling, we had to shut the door, but it sure was nice to get some fresh air!

Now I need to get to work.  I have a busy morning and then a conference call at 11.  After that I'm thinking my weekend will begin!  Have a good one!

Unraveled Wednesday 2/22/23

 Hey Hey and Good Morning!

A bit of a late start for me today.  I had my annual physical early this a.m. and got home just in time for a work conference call that was a total waste of time (what's new?)!  Anyway, it is Wednesday, so time to link up with Kat and all those who are part of the Merry Band of Unravelers to talk making and reading.

My knitting looks ridiculously similar to how it looked a week ago!  First up the lovely cowl for my SIL.  Adtually, a few more rows were knit and I am now on the final ribbing with about 4 rows left before I bind off.

When I met up with Dee last Saturday I worked a bit on the sock and completed the heel flap.  Nothing has been done on this since!

Oh well, as I always say, it is not a race.  I did place an order with Fibernymph Dye Works for this year's Pi Yarn!!  This year it is Wild Atlantic Pi Self Striping and while there I managed to slip the Wild Atlantic Pi Minis into my cart as well.  They should ship within the first week of March!  

Reading has moved along.  Fletch and I are still listening to "Master and Commander" after dinner, but I find myself often nodding off.  LOL  The latest Louise Penny book in the Three Pines series became available and I blew threw that.  I am back to reading "The Love Songs of W. E. B. Du Bois and thoroughly enjoying that.  I also picked up at the library a copy of "The Shipping News" for our Read With Us discussion in late March.  I read that book when it first came out (30 years ago!!) but I honestly am not remembering much as I get into it.  I am finding it very enjoyable though and am definitely looking forward to our discussion.

I need to get moving.  Emails keep streaming in for work with multiple (foolish) questions from folks.  I'll be trying to catch up with blogs a bit later in the day.  Happy Hump Day!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 2/21/23

 Good Morning!

How are you today?  It is grey here.  And damp.  We had rain during the night and more is forecast for today.  Extra Vitamin D is on the menu this morning.  Meanwhile...on the menu...I just put a loaf of pumpkini bread with cranberries and pecans in the oven.  It should come out in roughly 50 minutes.  Already I can smell the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice.  YUM!!

So, sort of a gloomy TNT day, but that's ok.  Sometimes these grey days can be kind of soothing.  There is permission to move a little slower and to take your time doing things.  I like that!

During the past week I managed to do a little stitching on the big Ellen Harrison sampler.  Here is where it stands right now.

When you click to enlarge, you will see that the house has been completed and the border has come down to the bottom on the left and is starting across the bottom.  A tiny motif was stitched and the beginning of another.  There is still so much to be added to this piece.  As a reminder, here is what the entire thing will (or should) look like when finished:

So, as Robert Frost would say, I've got miles to go before I sleep.  Ha!  Luckily I'm still enjoying this and all the various motifs are keeping me interested.  The white stag with spots at the bottom will be a beast to stitch though!  I hope whatever I choose to stitch next will not include large expanses of the same color....

My trip to the office yesterday went smoothly.  I saw one other person there and the parking lot was empty!  President's Day has never been a "holiday" for my company, but since schools were closed I'm assuming some folks who might have come in to the office decided to stay home.

My errands yesterday went smoothly.  Though the State Store had an awful lot of empty shelves.  Actually I was surprised they were even open given that it was a Federal holiday.  But, whatever.  There were 2 Spanish wines Fletch had asked me to look for, but (of course) our (antiquated) stores don't carry them and the clerk had never even heard of them!

I did find something new at the grocery store:

I have not tried them yet and, in fact, have not even cut into one.  I thought they might add a bit of fun flavor to my water when I go walking.  And, I will use one later this week when we have fish one night.

Lastly, I found an Easter card for Mailing and Colin that simply cracks me up:

The inside simply says "Here Comes Peter Cat-N-Tail"  Hahahaha  Every time I look at this card I just crack up.

And now I need to clean up the kitchen and pull out a cooling rack for the bread which should be done in another 20 minutes or so.  Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Weekending 2/20/23

 Hello all,

What a lovely weekend I had and I hope you did too.  Mine began Thursday night since I took Friday off.  For once, I really took the day off.  I did not do any work!  Even at the last minute, I was able to book a massage for late morning and that was simply wonderful.  Our temps were still mild and it just was so, so nice.

Saturday was much colder and windy.  As usual, I met up with Dee for our morning together.  Many laughs and a little knitting ensued.  When I got home around 12:30, I noticed these blooms in our driveway bed.

There are also yellow crocus flowers that are budded as well as budded daffodils.  Hopefully all will survive (we are already on the upswing of temps again).

Fletch did a bit of yard work.  The pine tree by our mailbox was a live Christmas Tree for us one year.  There are always a lot of pinecones, but this year the abundance of them is amazing.

That is just roughly a quarter of what he raked up in the yard and around the base of the tree (he was spreading some mulch).  Also good news:  the first garlic shoots have sprouted up!!  I finished using our garden garlic from last year just the other week.  We won't be harvesting until early July, so we will need to use store bought for a bit.  But if the shoots are coming up, in a bit we will also have scapes!!

A week ago when I got together with Dee I was complaining that my Christmas Cactus wasn't producing and hadn't produced any buds.  I know they prefer a cooler location but Dee also thought perhaps it was getting too much light since I had it in the living room.  I moved it to my office and in just that short week buds have appeared!!

(Note to self:  get back to crocheting the granny squares so you can finally make a blanket!!)

Sunday was not too exciting.  I did a lot of laundry and took everything out of the refrigerator and cleaned it.  Whew!  What an awful job and it took forever.  I did find a few things to trash, so that was good.  I also paid bills and pulled all the tax stuff together - some of my least favorite things to do...but now they are done!  I'm heading to the office early this a.m. so that I can copy all the tax stuff and then later this week I'll drop everything off at our accountant's office.

And, since I'm heading to the office I will make a stop at Trader Joe's for a few things and also the State Store for wine (the State Store near my office is much better stocked than either of the stores near my house).  I'm betting a nap is in my future since last night was a restless one as far as sleep goes.  I feel fine right now, but by early afternoon I will be nodding a bit.  LOL

Happy Monday - cheers to a nice week ahead!

Framed!!

 Good Morning,

How are you?  It's Thursday and my weekend will start soon.  I've decided to not work tomorrow!  YAY  The thought of multiple conference calls was just too much - especially when one of them was moved from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. - not a good thing on a Friday.  Yesterday I emailed all my bosses telling them I needed to take Froday off.  

This should be a quick post.  Today is rather busy - I've got my usual financial reports to get out and then Fletch and I need to run out.  His phone died the other day, so that has got to be replaced.  This afternoon I have a call with one of my bosses to review his organization.

Anyway, you all know I do a bit of stitching but don't really have anything framed these days.  I have some pieces framed from long ago and they are hanging in various places, but neither Fletch nor I want a house filled with needlework.  However, there is one piece that I've wanted to have framed.  It will be for Colin as it's the one piece of needlework I've done that he likes.  It is A Parrot, A Leopard, A Lion from The Scarlet Letter.  Last Fall I found a frame in a thrift store that I thought would work.  

And finally I got around to taking the stitched piece and the frame to a local framer last Thursday.  Yesterday I received a call that it was ready to pick up.  It was a tight fit (and, in fact approximately 1/8" of stitching is hidden), but I am so pleased with the way it turned out!

  Sorry for the glare - it was difficult to find anyplace to get a picture of this yesterday afternoon.

The decision now is whether to tell Colin, or wait until he comes up to PA to show him then.

OK - gotta run and get to work.  Have a good Thursday everyone!

Unraveled Wednesday 2/15/23

 Good Morning All,

This morning is finding me a bit stiff - not sure why as I slept well and did not walk yesterday (back was too sore), but whatever!  Earlier it looked very white and grey outside, but now I can see a bit of blue in the sky outside my office window.  Hoping it will turn into a pretty day.  I believe it is supposed to be warm-ish.

Well, I did make the applesauce donuts this morning.  I am not impressed and the recipe I had printed out is now in the recycling bin!

They are extremely bland tasting (despite the applesauce and cinnamon in the batter).  I will need to search for another recipe to try.  Also, I need to remember to grease my donut pan (even though it is non-stick)!

However, the chocolate mousse I made for Valentine's dessert DID turn out!

Initially I was not hopeful.  When separating an egg, some of the yolk went into the white...so that all went in the compost.  Then the first batch of chocolate did not melt well - it got all grainy and hard.  Fortunately the next batch worked and the mousse was good.  Rich, but good!  Fletch grilled some steaks and we had little new potatoes steamed, some air fryer breaded mushrooms and a green bean casserole.  YUM!!  Lots of leftovers.

Hard to believe we are already half way through February!  And today is Wednesday which means it is time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to talk making and reading.  My knitting is coming along slowly.  The grey sock is progressing a little bit:

And I feel as though I am close to the end of the cowl for my SIL:

I think I will do one more pattern row and then start the ribbing and bind off.  There was a time when I thought about making fingerless mitts to match, but I don't think I have enough yarn left.  I will need to weigh what's left after I bind off and then decide.

My reading is moving along.  Fletch and I are still listening to Master and Commander - he is enjoying it more than I am, but I am content to just knit while we listen.  I've now read over 200 pages in The Love Songs of W. E. B. Du Bois and it is so good, however I'm putting that aside because after months of being in the queue, I am finally back in Three Pines!  Yup - my turn came up yesterday for A World of Curiosities and I started it last night.  It amazes me how Louise Penny can continue to write this series without it getting old or tired!

Earlier in the week I finished Catalogue of Unabashed Gratitude by Ross Gay.  I thought it was ok.  Not great, but ok.  Some of the poems I really liked, and some I did not.  And some just didn't strike me one way or another.  I will try another one of his books in a little bit and see what I think.

Here's hoping your Wednesday is going well.  While looking at your screen, be sure to hop over to Kat's to see what others are making and reading - always inspirational.

Tiny Needle Tuesday 2/14/23

 Hello and Happy Valentine's Day!

This gorgeous bouquet greeted me when I came downstairs this morning.

I first noticed them early on - like 5 a.m. - when I came down to let Mabel out, but I didn't turn on lights or look closely...I just went back to bed for a couple of hours.  They are truly lovely though and such a wide variety of flowers and colors.

My plan was to surprise Fletch with some home-made applesauce donuts (that he has been talking about), but as luck would have it, I am missing one ingredient (whipping cream).  Oh well...another day.  The rustic apple cranberry tart that I made DID turn out well.  We had it for dessert last night.  Yum!!

The house was filled with the aroma of cinnamon and cloves while it was baking yesterday.  Heavenly!

I also managed to get out for a short walk after lunch.  I went to the canal path hoping to see a heron, but no luck.  I did see two turtles.

Those were the only turtles I saw - I guess it is still a little early/chilly for the others to come out.  There were not many folks on the trail either...I only saw a couple of people walking and maybe 3 on bikes.  The day was sunny and rather warm when you were in a car, but on the trail I could have used a hat or an ear band - a bit breezy and chilly.  My recent cleaning frenzy must have tired my back, because it was sore while I was walking.  Still, I managed a half hour which for me is roughly 1.5 miles, so not bad.  And, it was nice to be out in the fresh air.

Anyway, it's Tuesday and time for a TNT update.  Only a little stitching was done in the last week.

A couple more rows on the left side of the house and some kind of a tree or something to the left (in gold).  I'm hoping to finish up the house today and bring the left border down to the bottom.  Then I can get back to some of the fun motifs sprinkled on the other side of this sampler.

The sun is up and I can see blue sky when I look out my office window.  Maybe I can get outside for a bit again today.  Whatever you do - enjoy!!

Sometimes Monday....2/13/23

 Hello, Hello,

Not much to say here and no pictures from the weekend!  It was a nice weekend for sure.  As usual I met up with Dee for our weekly therapy session which was (always) lovely.  

As I mentioned the other week, it appears that Karyn (whom we hired to clean) is not working out.  So...I buckled down and scrubbed bathrooms and did 4 loads of wash on Friday!  Over the weekend I managed to clean the kitchen floor, do some dusting and wipe all the kitchen cabinets with orange oil.  Now they are clean AND shiny!!

There was some cooking, but the new recipe I tried yesterday was a complete failure.  It was a soup recipe with shrimp, fennel, leeks - you would think it would be wonderful and it was simply awful.  It's in the trash now.  I am planning to make a rustic apple/cranberry tart thing today, so hopefully that will turn out.

I also managed on Saturday to head over to Colin & Mailing's to water house plants.  I (finally) boxed up books of Colin's that have been sitting on the floor of his bedroom here and took those over.  The boxes are now sitting on the floor of his office room at his house.

Since I am in the purging mode, I plan to bag up some things today to donate at a thrift shop - kitchen gadgets that we do not use, books, some clothes, etc., etc.  Work is currently quiet, so that is in my favor.  There is also laundry to be done (what I did on Friday were sheets, towels, bath rugs, etc.).

So, I'd best pour another cup of coffee and get started.  Hope your week is off to a great start!

Friday Felines and Signs of Spring! 2/10/23

 Good Morning Everyone,

How are you on this fine Friday morning?  I do have a conference call at 11 this morning, but I'm still considering that the weekend has started.  And that pleases me immensely.

Errands were run yesterday, but no cleaning was accomplished.  One must have priorities and cleaning is not at the top of the list for me.  I will, however, try to do a little today.  Sheets and towels do not get washed by themselves...they require a bit of help.  Likewise, floors and toilets don't scrub themselves...sadly...

But, our temperatures actually got up to 60 degrees yesterday and Fletch and I sat out on the patio with beverages in the late afternoon.  We only lasted about 40 minutes, but we had not sat out since early Fall, so even a short time was a welcome change.  Mabel joined us for a little bit.

She rolled around on the patio a bit and then dashed off and ran up the apple tree.

That girl loves to run and climb.  Before we got too chilly, Fletch and I did notice a few signs of Spring.  Right at the edge of the patio we have some bulbs coming up:

And then many, many more are coming up around the base of the apple tree:

What a welcome sight!  Fletch pointed out the other day that our lilac is budded (leaf buds, not flower buds yet).  We have often had rather large snows in February and even in March, but these green signs are so nice to see.

Last night I tried a new (to me) recipe for Black Bean and Avocado Enchiladas and they were delicious!  Mine, of course look like blobs (my tortilla wraps were on the small side) rather than nicely rolled enchiladas.

I used the included recipe for enchilada sauce, but next time I would just use canned sauce.  There was more filling than I could put in the tortillas, but I think that would be good just scooped up with tortilla chips (which might be lunch today!).

Any plans for the weekend?  I'll be meeting up with Dee tomorrow morning for a therapy session - plenty of sipping and chatting and a bit of knitting.  I also want to get over the C&M's to water the houseplants and (hopefully) drop off a box or two of books that have been living in our house for a long, long time.  I'll walk around their yard and see if I can find signs of Spring there!

Miscellaneous Things on a Thursday

 Hello Everyone,

It's Thursday, so almost the weekend which makes me very happy.  My Thursday financial reports are done and they have been distributed via email, so I am mostly caught up.  I still have some documents that I need to add to the legal database.  It is really such a cluster.  Long story short:

• We have had a contract/legal database for a number of years that I use
• It was determined that we would switch over to our parent company's database
• When that couldn't happen as planned, our original database was going out of contract
• We had to stay with the original one, but it was "updated" and "improved" by the owner.  HA!  The new version is very cumbersome and not very user-friendly
• We were told that we would be switching to our parent's database in the new year (to me, that means January).  That has now been pushed back to mid-year.
• Since we were supposed to switch rather quickly, I decided not to fool with the new and improved version of our old one...and the documents I needed to add piled up.

My meeting yesterday at the office was to learn how to "easily" access things in the database.  That was a disappointing meeting.  The woman I met with really didn't help me that much.  I came home and spent the afternoon fooling around with it and FINALLY I made a bit of progress.  I added maybe 10 documents (I still have at least 20 more to add...but finding the correct location is the challenge).

But, because I was at the office, I stopped at Trader Joe's and bought some fresh flowers.

Gerbera Daisies are always so cheerful.  I love the color of these and they make me think of Frida Kahlo.  They are cheerful and happy and so bright on a grey February day.  My computer says "wintry mix," but I think it may be too warm for that.  However, the sun is missing.

Yesterday I also stopped at the library.  I had never read anything by Ross Gay and some of you have raved about his writing.  So, I requested This Book and it came in on Monday or Tuesday.  While picking up that book I looked for "The Shipping News" by Annie Proulx for our next Read With Us book.  No luck on the shelves, so I will request it.  But, I found some other treasures:

• The Love Songs of W. E. B. du Bois
• Hamnet
• Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo

I read some of Gay's poems and like them.  And then I started Love Songs.  Wow!  I managed to read about 50 pages after dinner and before Fletch and I caught up on All Creatures.  This is a LONG book (800 pages), but it reads so easily.  There have already been a few disturbing things...but I'm sure I will love the book.

Hamnet is a book I never wanted to read (subject matter and sad) until I read The Marriage Portrait.  I was happy to find it.  And the Russo book is one that Kym recommended and now Kat is in the midst of and has highly recommended.

Some errands are on the agenda today.  And I really need to buckle down and do some cleaning (once again, no Karyn...I don't think she is working out...).  But all I really want to do is read, knit and stitch.  The hell with work and everything else!  Oh, and I really, really want and need to book a massage.  

Here's hoping that your Thursday is off to a great start!

PS - one more thing:  I know a number of you have read and loved The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher.  It is now a Series  on Acorn TV!!

Unraveled Wednesday 2/8/23

 Good Morning All,

First up:  technology issues resolved!  YAY  Turned out we needed a new box (is it top box?) - the thing in our basement.  The technician showed up right on time (1:30 yesterday afternoon), went down in the basement and immediately said that was the problem.  Apparently Verizon has had a lot of them fail recently.  I can't even tell you how old ours was - decades anyway.  By 3 p.m. my forced vacation from work was over....and the TV was back on (of course - lol).  We were happy to be able to watch an episode of Poirot last night and tonight will find us catching up on Masterpiece Theatre.

And now it is Wednesday and time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to talk making and reading.  Fortunately there was no further unraveling for me after I ripped out the green sock.  Instead I started a new sock!

The yarn is Trekking (Karen I think we are knitting with the same yarn?).  These socks will be for Fletch and I'm knitting the Petty Harbour pattern (free on Ravelry).

The cowl saw a few more rows added.  I know it doesn't look like it, but really there were additional rows knit.

(I hadn't noticed till I snapped the picture how my bag coordinates with my knitting!  LOL)

The other week I ordered a few stitch markers on line (Etsy).  I had been given a gift card at Christmas that could only be used on line.  Most of the $$$ had been used for something (I can't even remember what), but there was roughly $11 left on the card.  Adding in tax and shipping, the stitch markers fit the amount and they arrived the other day.

I love them!  I've not used one yet and I'm not sure how those long bulb looking things will work, I may need to replace them with a jump ring, but time will tell.

On the reading side of things, I stopped at the library on my way home from meeting up with Dee and Bonny Saturday and picked up Love & Saffron which I thoroughly enjoyed.  A novel of friendship, love and food.  With recipes!!  It reminded me of 84 Charing Cross Road in that the book is a series of letters between two women.  I plan to stop at the library for a couple of books today after my morning at the office.

Fletch and I started reading Master and Commander after dinner.  Last night we switched to the audio version so that I can knit while we listen.  So far it is an enjoyable story (only just started chapter 2).

Here's hoping your Wednesday is off to a great start!

Weekending and Technical Difficulties! 2/6/23

 Hello and Good Morning (a little later than usual),

How are you and how was your weekend?  If you read Bonny's Blog then you know that she met up with Dee and me for our Saturday get together.  Geeze it was COLD.  But the warmth of friendship prevailed and it was such a nice time.  We met at Starbucks for some sipping and knitting and mostly chatter - also quite a bit of laughter.  Then went to a fun thrift store and finally to Braveheart Pub for a delicious lunch.  I will admit to being exhausted by the time I got home and took an hour and a half nap!  I could have slept longer, but I figured Fletch would like dinner at some point (I was still full from lunch).

Sunday came around as it does and after breakfast Fletch turned on the TV for Sunday Morning.  I was looking up something on the internet when suddenly our internet went out...and the TV...and also our landline (all through Verizon).  Thank goodness for cell phones.  We were on the phone with Verizon for over an hour trying different things and nothing worked.  Finally the Verizon guy said you need a technician to come out to the house.  And, the earliest time that can happen is Tuesday afternoon!  Doesn't that just suck?

Thus, I had to wait until I came into the office to post.  I'll be here longer than I expected since I have no internet at home.  I have a conference call at 11 through Teams, so I'll have to do that here.

Since I will not be able to post tomorrow morning, I decided to have my TNT post today!  Here's an overview of where Ellen Harrison is:

The house is under construction.  Here is a close up:

Let me tell you, stitching the main part of the house (that pale tan color) is not easy on this linen - kind of blends right in.  But that part of the house is finished.  There is more white on the left (also not the easiest to stitch on this linen) and windows and a door in front.  This will bring me very close to the bottom of the sampler!  Obviously there is still a lot to stitch on the other side.

Well, that's it for me.  I actually do have some work to do and I'd like to check out some blogs while I can!  Thanks Dee and Bonny for such a fun Saturday - we need to do it again soon!

Wrapping Up The Week 2/3/23

 Good Morning!

So nice to know that it is Friday...and even nicer to know that all of my conference calls for today have been cancelled.  Woo-Hoo!

Yesterday saw several things happening.  First up, I had a very good eye doctor appointment in the morning.  This was just a pressure check and that turned out to be just where it should be (in both eyes) and she said the field vision test I had several weeks ago was great - no change from prior tests.  Whew.

Next up, I used my new rice cooker and I love it!  I made jasmine rice and the aroma was so great, but most importantly, the rice turned out perfectly.  I made cashew chicken (in the crock pot!!) to go with it.  Yumsters!

A winner of a new recipe.  Besides chicken and cashews (duh), this dish also included bok choy (stems and leaves), bell peppers and onions.

I made 3 servings of rice according to the manual that came with my rice cooker.  I wanted to make sure I had left over rice to make fried rice.  Well, 3 servings looks to me like it could feed a village!  LOL  But, that's ok.  There is left over chicken and I will make fried rice in a day or so.

And then there is the knitting...or rather what was the knitting.  This is what the green sock looks like now:

The green sock was my New Year's Day cast on.  The fact that a month has gone by and the sock has not been finished speaks volumes.  But after dinner last night, I got it out and started knitting.  I knit several rows and then noticed a dropped stitch.  Picked that up, no problem.  Then I noticed two more...but the spot where I would have picked it up was closed...there was no path to take the stitch up AND, I had the correct number of stitches on the needle.

Some time was spent thinking about the whole thing and then I just decided to rip out the entire sock (and I was only about 20 rows from the toe decrease!!).  But, I realized I did not like the pattern I had chosen (it wasn't really visible with this yarn and it just [to me] looked messy).The green yarn is now marinating in time out until I can think of what to make with it.  Maybe plain socks, maybe a shawl?

After that I pulled out some yarn to make Fletch another pair of socks and started on them only to decide the yarn was not right (better for a cowl or shawl), so that got ripped out.  I *think* I've picked out yarn for the next pair of socks, but time will tell.

Meanwhile, it's Friday and I feel like it's a free day since my calls have been cancelled.  Let the weekend begin!  Hope yours is a good one.

Unraveled Wednesday 2/1/23

 Good Morning,

It's dark and early here!  And, there is snow on my car in the driveway.  Figures this is the day I need to be at the office before 8 a.m.  Oh well.  It's not a lot of snow and I will warm the car before I need to scrape it off and pull out.

My baking continues!  Yesterday I made Harvest Spice Bread.  Oh man is it good!

This bread has pumpkin puree in it as well as grated carrots, chopped apples, raisins and walnuts.  What's not to love?  Oh, and it is very, very easy to make.  Here's a Link to the recipe I used.  Fletch is planning to take a loaf of the bread, some brownies and some cookies to Connie and David today.

And, my new rice cooker arrived yesterday.

Geeze this thing is more complicated than I think is necessary, but I can now cook all different kinds of rice as well as make baby food (which will come in handy if Fletch and I somehow lose all our teeth!).  I plan to test it out tomorrow night, so will let you know how it works (and if I can figure it out).

But on to the business of the day.  It is February 1st (already) and time to link up with Kat and the band of Merry Unravelers to talk making and reading.  Naturally not all that much knitting has happened here (I've been busy baking and finishing up a sampler).  The cowl for my SIL has not seen a single stitch/row added since I posted last week, so no picture of that.  The first green sock is moving down the foot.

I really thought/planned that I would have this one finished by now, but other things occupied my time.  Anyway, no rush as these are for me.  No rush on the cowl either since it is a Christmas gift.  I also thought I would have started a hat out of the Lopi I ordered OR the Albers Shawl in the Kid Silk Haze that I won...but nope - neither of those have been started.  And that won't happen today either.  C'est la vie.

On the reading side of things, Fletch and I have just about finished this book - we only have 7 or so pages left.  It's a fun read, but some of the stories are pretty strange.  I'm reading Red Knife by William Kent Krueger.  It's the next in a series by him that I am reading, but honestly I'm kind of bored with it.  I think this series may have run its course for me.  I have some books coming in at the library, so hopefully one of those will grab my attention.

My reading of Middlemarch has also slowed - as mentioned above, I've been busy baking and doing other things.  Now I need to get busy and get ready to drive to the office.  Hoping I can catch up on blogs once the meeting starts (since I'm not participating in the meeting - just making sure breakfast and lunch are delivered and set up - lol).  I do have some work I have to do, but I don't expect that will take ALL morning.

Have a wonderful first day of February!