Good Morning!
I'm very happy to report that yesterday was not as terrible as I had expected! LOL I managed to get through all the emails that came in while I was on vacation (deleting so many of them) and getting a bit of work completed. I have more to do, but it is manageable which is a lovely thing. Grocery shopping wasn't bad either. Mostly we just needed fresh produce and yogurt, and we made it out of the store in record time. (Of course, I had to go to a second store in the afternoon for a few things our regular store didn't have...but overall not bad.)
And here we are at Wednesday. Specifically Unraveled Wednesday where we all meet up over at Kat's to share our making and reading. Amazingly I have something to show you!
One Goldfinch sock finished and another one almost so. The first one was finished at the AirBnB in NC last week and the second one was started immediately. For once I wanted these to be matchy-matchy and lo and behold, they are! The yarn is from West Yorkshire Spinners and the colorway is "Goldfinch." These are for moi!
On the reading side of things, I have nothing to report! For the first time ever in my life I did not read a single thing while we were on vacation! Unheard of!! I did look at the paper at Damon & Peggy's, but not once did I open any book. I guess that is another sign of a great vacation.
So, I am still in the midst of Trespasses by Louise Kennedy - our next "Read With Us" selection. I have roughly 80 pages left (I picked it up again last night for the first time in over a week). And Fletch and I are still listening to Patrick Leigh Fermor's Words of Mercury. I have a bunch of books that Dee has loaned me including "Lessons in Chemistry" and "Spare." And, of course, there are books I'm in queue for at the library. I'd best get back to reading pronto!! Honestly, a wealth of books is not a problem.
Yesterday I mentioned coming home to the redbud blooming as well as the apple tree, wisteria and lilac. I also discovered that my Christmas cactus is coming along very nicely:
Peggy sent me home with a large pot filled with an aloe, several spider plants, a wandering Jew (had no idea that is in the spiderwort family) and about 3 Christmas cactus plants and at least one of them is red (and blooming).
We had given Rob and Eva an amaryllis at Christmas time when they cared for Mabel during our Texas trip. Rob has harvested seed pods from it and has a lot of little seedlings started. He gave me one of the pods the other day, so I hope to plant some amaryllis seeds soon.
Finally, yesterday was a little chilly in the afternoon, but Fletch and I decided to sit out on the patio with our beverages anyway. It was around 4 p.m. and we were quickly rewarded when an eagle flew right overhead! I've heard for years that they nest along the Skippack Creek, but I have never seen one around here. So cool!
Remember to wander over to Kat's blog to see what everyone is making and reading, and have a wonderful Wednesday!
Lovely socks, Vera! And I'm so glad to hear you're settling back in to "regular life" after what sounds like a spectacularly restful vacation! XO
ReplyDeleteOoo! Socks named for birds! I like that idea!
ReplyDeleteI am still on the wait list for Trespasses, but I am moving up! My Christmas Cactus bloomed for Easter as well... I think it thinks it is a Holiday Cactus, lol!
Those are great socks and you've finished them fairly quickly! I always think that knitting and reading take a back seat once it starts to get nice outside, but it has been a bit chilly. We've still got rollercoaster weather with 84 predicted on Friday. Those amaryllis seeds and the eagle are very cool!
ReplyDeleteI love those socks. How wonderful that your gift to your neighbor turned into a gift for you as well.
ReplyDeleteWe have a nesting pair of eagles at the lake, and each time we see one of them it's a thrill. I hope you see yours again and again.
It's always a relief to open a full inbox and find that you can delete quite a lot of emails! You should have a pair of socks done very soon, though I hope you won't need to wear them for a while. Sounds like you have a lot of good options for your reading time.
ReplyDeletelove the bird themed socks and WELCOME home!
ReplyDeleteI love your socks. That yarn is just so lovely. Can't believe how lucky you are to have the eagle fly over.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that your day wasn't as busy and stressfilled at you feared. The first day back after vacation is always a bit difficult isn't it? Especially when you're still working. It sounds like you were able to accomplish a lot though. :-)
ReplyDeleteThe socks are looking great. I need to get mine out and get busy on them again. There are always so many projects calling.
I miss the eagles at the lake. There were two sets that nested there every year. I miss so much about that place.
To answer your question in the email, we'll head out the middle of June for four weeks or so. We're both looking forward to that. Dennis uncovered the camper this week and we'll go camping for a few days soon.
I hope you have a great day Vera.
Blessings,
Betsy
The socks look great - I love that yarn!
ReplyDeleteI want to get a cat shelf like that for my office window, but right now the room is too small. We do plan to expand the room a little (changing where the door is and using some useless hallways space.) And then I will be able to... but that's ages in the future!
Happy to hear your first day back went smoothly - another sign of a good vacation. I used to have all the plants you mentioned in my classrooms over the years and loved caring for them.
ReplyDeleteSuch a lovely newsy post from you! Glad that 'reentry' wasn't an issue for you. I know what you mean about eagles. We have several pairs that live around here and we probably see them three or four times a week in the spring/summer. I always stop and stare, they're just so beautiful. I hope you can get close enough to hear their vocalizations. It's very 'mild' for such a majestic bird.
ReplyDeleteInteresting! I've grown many an amaryllis, but I've never seen a seed pot. Now methinks I might not cut one of my stems and see what happens! Glad you had a smoother-than-expected re-entry.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you are settling in to home again! The socks are beautiful--nice job. The plants are going to be enjoyable--soon enough!
ReplyDeleteI love those socks. That's a beautiful colorway.
ReplyDeleteOh those colours are exactly a goldfinch! How lovely.
ReplyDeleteI love those socks! And that bulb is just darling - so tiny and cute!
ReplyDeleteSo glad to hear that your return to work went much better than you expected. What a relief!
Me again! Yes, the woven squares can be sewn together--I'm going to do a shawl with the yarn I made the first one with!
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice pair of socks to have as a reminder of your vacation. I do like that WYS sock yarn. I'm glad your reentry was fairly painless. Enjoy the rest of the week. What's with these Christmas cactuses?
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