Unraveled Wednesday 11/29/23

 Good Morning!

It is a chilly one here - just 22 degrees by my phone and my computer.  I have a shawl wrapped around my shoulders and a steaming cup of coffee next to me.

Many of you commented on sweet Mabel yesterday and I thank you for that.  She is not all angelic though, for sure.  When I got home from feeding Marcel and Talbot yesterday morning, Mabel pranced across our patio with a bird in her mouth.  I was not pleased.  I know it's only natural, but I don't have to like it.

Also, I have a needle felted raccoon that I think I bought at one of the MD Sheep & Wool that I attended.  It is hanging from a shelf bracket in the kitchen.

Looking a little worse for wear these days.

On one of my strolls through the living room yesterday I noticed the poor raccoon under the rocking chair!  Now Mabel knows she is not supposed to get up on the buffet (under the shelf), but she could only have gotten the raccooon by jumping up on the buffet.  Again, not pleased.  A year ago I put that raccoon away in a drawer in the buffet because Mabel was constantly "getting" it.  I brought it back out after she went missing earlier this year.  Guess I may need to put it away again.

Yesterday was awfully chilly and very, very windy.  We also had some flurries!  When I was two minutes from home yesterday, driving over to Mailing's and Colin's it started snowing.  Stopped at a traffic light, I was able to get a shot:

We had more flurries in the afternoon before dinner.  Pretty, but bitter cold!

Well, it's Wednesday and time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to talk making and reading.  Unlike the lack of stitching I had for yesterday, I do have a tiny bit of knitting to show.

The First Red Winged Blackbird Sock

The heel has been turned and the gusset decreases are completed on the first  Red Winged Blackbird Sock.  I need to step up my game a bit if I am going to get these finished for Christmas and, perhaps, knit something else.  I have some ideas in my head of "quick" things I could make...but time will tell.

Reading is still slow.  I'm almost finished "The Comfort of Crows" and am enjoying it immensely.  I think "Late Migrations" is my favorite of her books, but "Comfort" is a close second.  I've moved up in the queue for "The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store" - I am now #128!! 

On my nightstand I have Fox and I which I am looking forward to diving into once I finish "Comfort."  Finally, Fletch and I are wrapping up The Jefferson Key by Steve Berry.  It is like a Robert Ludlum or Dan Brown book and is ok.  We will be happy to get into something else!

After feeding Talbot & Marcel this morning, I am planning on driving to the office.  It's been quite some time since I went in and I should check mail, etc.  Then I have some errands to run (Trader Joe's and a bit of shopping for gifts!).  It will be a longish day for moi, but I'm hoping that stores will not be too crowded on a Wednesday.

Have a wonderful Wednesday whatever you are up to!

No TNT Today 11/28/23

 Good Morning Everyone,

There will be no TNT post today.  I have not picked up a tiny needle in over a week now!  It's just been busy (as you know, because I mention that ALL the time).

But, I have a couple of things to show.  First up, sweet Mabel.

A minute before I snapped this picture she was attempting to grab the yarn as it spun around the bowl.

I've always liked jade plants and I finally got myself one.  Very small.  In a small pot in the office room.

And here is what I hope it looks like some day!

This one is at Bonnie & Zhongren's home.

I managed to get C&M's wet laundry re-washed and dried yesterday.  I'll take that over this morning.  Fletch went over last night after dinner to feed Talbot & Marcel.  I had planned to go with him, but ended up having to work instead (see...busy!!).  I'm looking for an easier day today.

Time to dry my hair, get dressed and head over to C&M's house.  Wishing you all a lovely Tuesday - enjoy!

Weekending 11/27/23

 Hello and Good Morning!

I'm hoping that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that it was as tasty as ours was!  The biggest thrill for us though was having the kids back in town.

It was great to all be together again, if only for a brief time.  C&M are now back in Texas, having flown back last evening.  Colin texted that despite the dire prognostications, there were no lines at security so they breezed through and their flight was on time and no delays (despite the pouring rain here in the Philadelphia area).  Mailing will be back for 2-3 days next week for work and then they will both be back permanently on the 19th.  YAY!!

Otto (Anna's dog) joined us on Thursday.  He is a big fan of turkey!

He is a quiet dog and takes his food so nicely - sitting and then giving first one paw and then the other.  When he takes food from your fingers, he is so gentle!!

None of my Christmas cacti have buds yet, but Bonnie & Zhongren have a gorgeous one beginning to blooom.

I do, however, have snapdragons still blooming!  For the first time ever I caught deer munching on them, so I chased them off and then cut a couple of the blooms to have on the kitchen windowsill.

Dee and I did meet up on Friday for a few hours of friendship, knitting and sipping.  We decided that Panera's might not be quite as crowded as it can be on a Saturday and that everyone else out would be shopping on Black Friday.  As usual, it was a lovely time.  However, it kept making me think that Friday was Saturday and then Saturday was Sunday, etc.  

So now a new week.  We are on cat duty and I will be heading over to C&M's to feed Talbot and Marcel once Fletch is awake (and it is no longer dark outside).  I will also be picking up soaking wet laundry!  C&M's washer conked out in the middle of a cycle yesterday morning, so I will gather up the wet clothes, bring them home to wash (again) and then dry.  Once they are back in town, if they determine they need to replace the washer I will not recommend a Maytag (the one I have) - LOL.  I will, however, suggest a Speed Queen.

Cheers to a great week ahead!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Unraveled Wednesday 11/22/23

 Good Morning!

Oh man!  What a rainy night we had.  I don't know how much fell (Fletch put the rain gauge away before it could freeze in the winter), but it was a lot and heavy.  And this morning is mild - just 50 degrees out.

Are you ready for the big feast day?  I have not done any cooking yet, but I will get started today making the cranberry relish and the cranberry chutney.  The pumpkin pie and the Brussels sprouts will wait until tomorrow.

The other day when I went out for a loaf of bread and left the store $80 later, one of the things I picked up was an amaryllis!  At the grocery store!  The picture on the box is a red and white one, so I hope that is what we get.  I plan to get that into the pot today.  There are already leaves coming out of the bulb, so time to get it settled into some dirt.  I do confess I seem to be running out of room for plants though.  I need to do something about that.  Also, two more acorns have sprouted in the yogurt cups on my kitchen windowsill.  There will be a little family of oak trees to give to Colin & Mailing for their property.

And here we are on Wednesday, Thanksgiving Eve and it's time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to talk making and reading.  If you read my post yesterday, you know I spent time unpicking some of my stitching, so thankfully that took care of any unraveling.  However, there has not been much knitting.  The Red Winged Blackbird sock has grown a little bit and a couple more granny squares were crocheted.

The Granny Square on the left is so Thanksgiving-looking!  I hadn't even realized it.

A third granny square is near completion, so I'm keeping up with them.  I should lay them all out and see what it looks like.  Maybe later.

I'm itching to start something new.  A shawl perhaps.  I double checked the yarn I caked up for a Hitch on the Move, but I may need to re-think that plan.  I don't think I have enough of either color.  I definitely want that shawl to be large.  I do have yarn for a couple of other patterns, so I may start one of them.  Stay tuned!

I did finish the William Kent Krueger Book I was reading last week.  It was good, but not as strong as some of his other books (my opinion).  Now I am about halfway through The Comfort of Crows and it is so good.  Just a marvelous book.  Very much like her book "Late Migrations" and it is the perfect book to read before turning out the light at night.

And now it's time for another cup of coffee and get started on the day.  Wishing each of you a peaceful, relaxing and tasty Thanksgiving - Enjoy!!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 11/21/23

 Good Morning!

I'm happy to let you know that the kids arrived safely home yesterday afternoon - before rush hour!  Thank you all for the good wishes for them.  As happy as they are to be out of the car, I suspect that Talbot and Marcel are even happier and pleased to be back on familiar ground (versus a hotel room!).  I'm also betting they are all a little chilly!  Even though Austin, TX can get awfully cold (like last Christmas when we visited), typically they are warmer there than here.  This morning it is just barely 32 and the dampness is evident - it will be raining by the afternoon according to our forecast.

Yesterday I made a lemony chicken soup with carrots, leeks, celery, onion, garlic and orzo.  It was good but I've decided I don't really like orzo.  I would rather have had noodles or rice in this mix.  Anyway, I wanted some good, crusty bread to go with it and didn't feel like baking any, so I ran to the store.  For one loaf of bread.  $80 later I walked out.  Yup.  I have NO self control.  I did find things that we *need* (sort of) and things I could use (some new canning jars for the cranberry relish and chutney to be made), some treats and food for Mabel (she deserves them), but also two (not one, but two) half gallons of ice cream.  Yikes!!!  I wasn't even hungry when I went to the store!

And now it's Tuesday and time for a TNT post and I have almost nothing to show...

The blue to the right of the letter C is new.  Earlier it was a much larger image, but if you look closely you can see where I unpicked a bunch of stitching.  Tedious would be a good way to describe it.  The blue is the beginning of yet another bouquet.  When I got down to where the container for it is stitched I realized I was off by a stitch.  One measly stitch.  I thought I would fudge it and then realized I wouldn't be happy.  The error was in the letter C.  The top of the C was short by one stitch.  So I unpicked all the blue, the beginning of the container and then the border to the right of the C and the top of the C.  Did I mention tedious?  But, I'm glad it is lining up now and am happier than I would have been if I had just fudged it.

Some weeks are just like that.

Today Fletch and I will go grocery shopping in the morning (because $80 wasn't enough to spend yesterday).  My annual review (which will determine when I retire) was supposed to be yesterday and first it was changed to a virtual meeting instead of in-person and then yesterday morning it was postponed to this afternoon.  So, I have that to look forward to - LOL.

Today is also the day I plan to make the cranberry relish and the cranberry chutney.  The house should smell yummy a little later!

Whatever you are up to this Tuesday, I hope it is fun and enjoyable!

Weekending 11/20/23

 Good Morning Everyone!

Wow!  It's Thanksgiving week which does not seem possible.  I've some things I need to prepare for our feast on Thursday.  We will be going to Bonnie & Zhongren's for Thanksgiving.  I am making my Mom's cranberry-orange relish and also Fletch's Mom's cranberry chutney.  Those two are staples that are demanded every year!  I'm also making a pumpkin pie and will try a new (to me) recipe for roasted Brussels Sprouts with leeks, toasted pecans and pomegranate arils.  Anna (Mailing's sister) is making an apple pie and green beans.  I'm pretty sure Mailing will be doing the turkey, stuffing, gravy and mashed potatoes.  I can't wait!!

And today is the last leg of Colin & Mailing's long journey back up to PA.  They left Saturday morning and drove to Joplin, MO the first day; Dayton, OH yesterday and they should land in Lansdale, PA sometime late afternoon or evening today.  Wishing them the safest and easiest journey.  I did make it over to their house again yesterday and cranked up the heat a bit, moved some homemade soup from the freezer to the frig for thawing and left some good, crusty bread on the counter along with a bottle of red wine and put butter in butter dish.

My weekend was lovely.  Of course Dee and I met up on Saturday morning.  We went back to Manhattan Bagel for the first time since we were under-whelmed with bad music that one time.  Guess what?  The same guy was playing from 10-12.  Fortunately we were at the opposite end and had a partial wall blocking the sound.  LOL  Just our luck.

That afternoon I was in the mood for gingerbread, so I baked some.  The house smelled so good (and the gingerbread was great for dessert).  I also left some of the gingerbread for Colin & Mailing.

Yesterday I decided to try a new-to-me Recipe for a whole roaster cauliflower.

Fletch said it looked like a delicious pastry!  LOL

I liked it initially and then it didn't taste so good.  Fletch didn't like it, so not something I will try again.  Oh well, you don't know unless you try, right?

Mabel has definitely mellowed - either with age, or with the experience of her "great adventure."  Yesterday I picked her up and held her for quite a few minutes with no crying or squirming on her part!  She just settled down and purred and purred.  She is still sticking close to home and is in all night.  She is also shedding and the white chair needs to be vacuumed daily!

Have a great Monday everyone!

House Cleaning

 Hello and Good Morning!

How are you?  I so enjoyed having yesterday off.  I arrived at Colin's ahead of when the cleaner was supposed to arrive...and then she was late because she went to the wrong address...  Anyway, a very nice person (HUGE false eyelashes and beautifully manicured, long nails - don't know how she keeps them with the business she has).  The cleaning was adequate.  The house is certainly cleaner than it was - bathrooms cleaned, all the floors done, etc.  There were just some things that were not done (to my specifications).  All in all though, I'm glad to have had it done and glad to have paid for it.  The kids will have a clean house upon arrival.

It was fairly chilly yesterday and the house was freezing!  I had to text Mailing to find out how to turn on the heat - I didn't even know where the thermostat was!  LOL  I did get the heat on and I did remember to turn it back before I left.  I'll go back on Sunday with some last minute groceries for them and will put the heat back on then so that when they arrive on Monday evening it won't be icy inside.

While the cleaning was being done I did manage to knit, read and crochet.  A perfect day!!

Seen on my way home on the car in front of me.  LOL

Now it's Thursday morning and I have a bunch of reports to run and distribute.  A contractor will be here around 8 or so.  My hope is that 1) it is not too noisy and 2) the work is finished early.  We shall see.

Happy Thursday everyone - make it a good one!

Unraveled Wednesday 11/15/23

 Good Morning Everyone,

I'm hoping that this morning finds you all doing well.  It is sunny here in Eastern PA and a bit on the chilly side (upper 20's), but no snow in the forecast!  And, for those of you wondering, the average speed of a snowflake falling is 3-4 MPH.  My guess was 3.

Here we are mid-month and mid-week.  Time for linking up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to talk making and reading.  I am making, but at a slower than normal pace.  I did start the Red Winged Blackbird socks for Fletch:

I don't see any red or yellow in this yarn, so I'm not sure where the name comes from, but I like the colors and the way it is knitting up, so it will do.

I also managed to crank out a couple more Granny Squares.  One day I will have enough for a blanket!

Reading has also been a bit slow.  I'm still reading The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger.  I have less than 100 pages left, so should finish it soon - maybe even today!  Yesterday I picked up a few books from the library including The Comfort of Crows which finally came in for me!  Excited to start that one.  I will try to take my time with it and not rush...rather I'd like to savor it.

I'm off work today - I'll be heading to Colin & Mailing's a little later this morning and will hang out there while their house is being cleaned.  I have more food to put in their freezer and am excited that they will be local by next Monday evening!  So, I will pack some reading, some knitting and perhaps some yarn and my crochet hook to keep me busy while I'm there.

Whatever your plans are for the day, I hope they include some moments where you can relax and just enjoy whatever is going on around you.  Take care!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 11/14/23

 Greetings My Friends,

How are you this fine morning?  Yesterday I mentioned not sleeping well the previous night.  Well, last night I made up for it sleeping about 9.5 hours!  My eyes would not stay open for anything last night - knitting, stitching or reading, so I finally gave up at 8:30 (!!!) and went to bed.  Pure bliss to sleep that well for a change.

Yesterday's work holiday luncheon was very nice as well.  Delicious appetizers and way too much food for the meal, but all very tasty.  Usually at this affair numerous prizes are given out but this year the focus was changed to giving.  There were 12 seats at the meal that had numbers underneath the chair cushions.  The individuals who sat in those chairs got to pick an organization/charity (and tell why they chose that particular one) and the company will be making a donation to that organization in the name of the individual.  The stories were all very touching.  Someone whose daughter had been diagnosed with melanoma chose the melanoma foundation; a girl who growing up was homeless chose the shelter where she and her mother stayed, and on and on and on.

There were still trivia questions and awards ($200 gift cards) for the correct answer.  Yes, I did win one (for guessing the average speed - in mph - of a snowflake falling)!  All in all a very lovely time.  Hard to imagine this is most likely my last work event like this.

All of that brings us to this morning and Tiny Needle Tuesday (TNT).  This is another week with nothing to show you on the cacti triptych.  I thought I would focus on that at the end of last week, but things got busy (again).  However, very good progress was made on the BIG Sampler aux Bouquets:

The giant bouquet that seemed to take forever is finally completed.  And look!  A bird is perched at the top.  Love it.  Still more blooms and letters to stitch, but the end is close!  I really am going to attempt to work on the cactus piece this week and hopefully will have something to share next Tuesday.

Now it's time to pour another cup of coffee and get going.  Hope your Tuesday is filled with bright spots!

Weekending 11/13/23

 Good Morning!

It is brisk outside.  My phone says 21, my computer says 26.  The first sip of Cafe du Monde is tasting so freakin' good this morning!

The weekend was lovely.  Relaxed and full of good things.  And then last night I seemed wound up - stayed up later than normal trying to get sleepy and finally crawled into bed only to lay there awake for several hours.  I did finally fall asleep, but I'm wondering what set me on edge.  Nothing in particular on my mind.  Another one of those mysteries of my life.

My 10 a.m. conference call on Friday was cancelled at 9:45 a.m.!  Woo-Hoo.  Fletch and I ran out and picked up our new glasses (so much better for knitting and reading!).  It was a day with rain on and off, so our contractors did not show up.  Nice to have a day off!

In the afternoon I drove over to Colin & Mailing's to water plants and drop off some food for their freezer.  Then I drove to Otts to look for some baby gourds.  The other week Kym posted about different gourd displays (so gorgeous - especially that cairn-like display with a bouquet on top) and there was a bit about hollowing out tiny gourds or pumpkins and putting tea lights inside.  The grocery stores no longer have their bins of tiny pumpkins and gourds and the ones at Otts were bigger than I wanted, but I bought one anyway.

Well, I just about broke my hand trying to cut off the top.  Fletch couldn't either.  He finally used an electric drill to drill holes all around the top and then he was able to lift off the top.  (It was still difficult to hollow out.)  It's big enough that a tea light would sit down too far.  I found a slightly larger candle and tried that.

 It looks pretty, but still didn't really provide much light (unless you looked down on it).  After dinner, I melted a bit of a taper and then stuck it in the gourd.  We'll see how that works at dinner tonight!

So, pretty, but I will not be making a bunch of these for Thanksgiving!  I might try it next year with the itty-bitty pumpkins (if I remember).

Meanwhile, the balance of the weekend was lovely.  Dee and I met up as usual for a morning filled with laughter, coffee, knitting and friendship.  So nice!  I found pockets throughout the weekend that allowed for knitting, crocheting, reading and stitching.  My kind of weekend!

Yesterday I made a crockpot full of vegetable beef soup.  I have a container of that to take over to C&M's on Wednesday when I'm over there for their house to be cleaned.  (So much easier now that Colin is no longer vegan!!)

Hard to believe, but today is my work holiday luncheon!  Once again it is being held at Pomme Radnor which is where it was held last year.  Some of you who have been reading my blog for a bit my recall that we used to (pre-pandemic) have work holiday luncheons ALL the time - Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's Day, etc., etc.  The pandemic, of course, changed all that.  And now that no one is in the office regularly (certainly not daily), it has been pared down to a luncheon in the late Fall.  It is always a lovely affair with plenty of gifts to go around, so it should be a fun time.

And the contractors will be back today...in fact, I should probably move my car out of the driveway before they arrive so that I can easily leave for the luncheon.  I'd best get moving and dry my hair and then move my car.

Have a great Monday!

Mabel!

 Hello Everyone,

I slept in a little bit which feels wonderful!  I'm having my first sip of coffee and the sun must be up because it is not pitch dark outside, but it is awful cloudy and about 50 degrees.  Not bad for a November morning.

Mabel continues to be a delight and is still staying inside at night and not crying to go out.  That is truly amazing.  She is out pretty much all day, but comes in 5-6 times for a bit of refreshment and to just say a few words.  Lately she's been jumping up in my lap while I'm working.  And she just purrs and purrs and purrs.  I'm guessing she is very happy to be back home with us.

She is definitely happy to be back in "her" apple tree!

Mabel surveying her realm!

She's a wild one, our girl.  

This has been a busy week for us.  We've had contractors here re-doing a back upstairs wall (determined it needed to be done when we started bathroom renovations...if you give a mouse a cookie...always more than you expect/want.  BUT, our contractor is awesome as are his workers.  They will be back today and may finish...or may need a little bit of time on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Fletch and I need to run out to pick up new glasses and I really should stop at Colin & Mailing's to water house plants and do a few things.  I managed to line up someone to clean their house next Wednesday!  What an ordeal that was...the first place I called quoted me $265.  The second place quoted me $555!  Yikes!  To clean a mostly empty (very small) house.  There is minimal furniture (much is in TX).  Anyway, I found a more reasonable person, so I am taking next Wednesday off so that I can be on site.  I'll consider it to be found time to knit and read!

I do have one conference call at 10 this morning and after that I will be in weekend mode!!  Happy Friday everyone - have a great one and a wonderful weekend.

Unraveled Wednesday 11/8/23

 Hello Everyone!

Welcome to Unraveled Wednesday where we link up with Kat to talk about all the wonderful things we are making and reading.  Such fun!

My days are still a bit busier than I like, so I have not had ALL that much time to knit.  I did, however, manage to wind up a new skein of yarn for some lovely socks:

KnitPicks Stroll in the colorway Red Winged Blackbird

I think this will knit up nicely in the Petty Harbour pattern for Fletch.  He says he does not really *need* any more socks...I'm here to tell you that he does not know what he needs!  LOL  And, really, *need* does not factor into it at all.

Saturday when I met up with Dee and Bonny, I was attempting to work on a pair of shortie socks for Mailing.  I managed to screw them up royally and when I went to unravel back to the dropped stitch I found even more mistakes, so I just ripped out the whole mess.  Last night I started them again.

I managed to finish the cuff (which is only 5 rows) and then start the heel flap.  By the time I finished the 10th row of the heel flap my eyes had had it!  Once I get the flap and heel turn accomplished, I will switch to a light varigated yarn for the foot.

See those granny squares piled up?  I took them all out and counted - I now have 41!!  That's not (nearly) enough for a blanket, but it is way more than I thought I had.  I hope to start another one today.

On the reading side of things, not much has been read.  I'm in the midst of the latest William Kent Krueger book - The River We Remember - maybe a third of the way through.  I enjoy Krueger's writing, but this one is not real compelling...meaning it is easy to put down and go do something else.  I'll finish it and then return it to the library.  Meanwhile I am finally in the #1 spot in the queue for "The Comfort of Crows" by Margaret Renkl and I cannot wait to get my hands on that!!

Today is a busy workday for me.  I have to have training on our new legal database (because no one yet knows I will be retiring...).  I had signed up for the training yesterday morning and completely forgot about it!  Instead it will be at 1:00 this afternoon.  Luckily it is virtual.  I need to do open enrollment (even though we are on a Medicare Advantage program, I still sign up for dental and vision)...just in case my retirement is delayed a bit.  Also I need/want to schedule Colin & Mailing's house to be cleaned.  I will start calling around for that today.

So, I'd best get cracking!  Hope your Wednesday is a good one.  Be sure to check out Kat's blog to see what everyone is making and reading.

Tiny Needle Tuesday 11/7/23

 Good Morning!

Boy this first week of November has flown by!  And, even though it is November, it is warm - my computer says it is currently 52 degrees.  52 degrees and it is not even yet 6:30 a.m.  Strange and weird weather (again).

My office visit was brief yesterday - just as I wanted it to be.  I was home before 10:30!  I have my new fob and once again I am set up to print.  We are doing away with our print servers at my office.  When I send something to print it goes to the cloud.  Then I can walk to any printer, tap my fob and then print whatever it was I had sent.  I still have a small laser printer on a credenza by my desk, but for "big" jobs or color jobs I use one of our larger printers.  Supposedly I can now print from any printer that is owned by my company - whether it be in Charlotte, Atlanta, New York or wherever.  It all sounds a bit "big-brotherish" to me and I certainly don't understand how it all works (nor do I need to).

Meanwhile, it's Tuesday and time for a TNT update - finally!  I think it's been around 3 or 4 weeks since I last posted on a Tiny Needle Tuesday.  Not that there is a huge update.  There were weeks where I did not stitch at all.  Thankfully that busyness seems to have eased a bit now.

I have not carved out any time to work on the Cacti Triptych, but I will plan to have an update on that next week.  For now, we will just deal with the BIG sampler - "Sampler Aux Bouquets" by Jardin Prive.  Here's a shot of how the entire piece looks right now:

It's Getting Bigger!

And a close up showing what was recently stitched:

More of the flowers at the bottom - still more to add there as well as leaves.  And the letters D, E and F were added yesterday afternoon.  I'm on the last chart for this piece and really am nearing the end, though there is still a lot of stitching to be done.  Luckily I am still enjoying it.

I want you to know that Mabel is back to her old self - racing around the yard, chasing leaves, catching mice and voles and zooming up the apple tree.  Yesterday she and a deer were having sort of a stand off.  LOL  The deer had come up to within about 2 feet of Mabel and was just staring at her.  Mabel stared right back (with eyes like slits and her ears laid back).  After the deer wandered away, Mabel raced up the apple tree.

This girl has NO fear!

Well, time for me to dry my hair and get a bit motivated to do some things.  Perhaps another cup of coffee first.  Have a fabulous Tuesday!

Weekending 11/6/23

 Hello All,

How are you?  I am well on this chilly (35 degrees) Monday morning.  I hope you all had as wonderful a weekend as I had!

If you read Dee's Blog [and if not, you should] or Bonny's Blog [again, if you don't, you should], then you already know that the 3 of us met up for a delightful morning and on into the afternoon.

These two just make me so happy.  We laughed (and laughed) and sipped our coffee and eventually had lunch and continued chatting away.  I don't think we solved any of the world's problems, but we dealt with some of our own.  I managed to really screw up the knitting I had started (the lighting was not good and I was having problems seeing what I was doing) and next time we go there (Lumberville General Store) I will bring a small pillow or cushion to sit on - the wooden chairs were damn hard!!  (and believe me, I have padding...).  It was so nice to get together.  Thank you Bonny and Dee for meeting up and for your friendship.  Love you two!

Eventually I made my way home and Fletch and I sat out briefly on the patio with our beverages.  We spotted a hawk two doors down at the top of a dead tree.  There were birds in some of the surrounding trees too (not crows though which are usually there).

I'm happy to let you know that some of the green figs I picked are beginning to ripen!!

I cut a few up Sunday morning for us to share with our breakfast.  Although they are not as strongly flavored as prior years and they are much, much smaller...it was still wonderful to have a taste of fig (and they went very well with pecan waffles and sausage!  LOL).

The balance of my weekend was taken up with some laundry, some cleaning and I FINALLY managed to pick up my tiny needle and put a few stitches in one of the pieces I am stitching.  It had been about 3 weeks since I had done any stitching which is pretty much unacceptable in my book.  Hopefully I can find a little more time this afternoon.

Today I'm going to the office in a bit.  My fob cracked in half.  I can still get in my office, but am unable to use it to log onto any of the printers.  Tom from IT (i.e., Jake) has already activated a new fob for me and he should be in today and will be able to set me up to print.  I hope to be home by mid-to-late morning and then I have a conference call at 11:30.  I may try to find a way to back out of that call!

Last night was pretty nice, so we had a fire and listened to music outside for a bit.  A nice way to end the weekend.

Have a great week!  I should be back tomorrow with a TNT post.

TGIF 11/3/23

 Good Morning,

We made it to Friday!  There were points during this past week when I didn't think that would happen.  Yes, it's been another long work week.  Just when I thought things would ease up a bit...they did not.  I'm taking deep breaths and attempting to practice patience.  Today I have two conference calls - one at 11 a.m. and another at 1 p.m.

My plan for this morning is to carve out some me time for knitting or stitching.  It's been far too long since I did either of those things.  And, I'd like to make another granny square to keep that project rolling.  First though I need some coffee (it's almost ready).

Last night I made a curry dish:

There is butternut squash, cauliflower, onions, garlic, ginger, carrots and chickpeas in it.  And kale (I subbed kale for the spinach the recipe called for).  All things I love.  But partway through dinner I thought hmmmmm if I eat another bite I'm going to get sick!  No idea why that happened.  Fletch wasn't that keen on it, so the leftovers have been frozen and will wind up in Colin & Mailing's freezer.  I think they will enjoy it.  I have some other things to take over too - trying to stock their frig & freezer with things so that when they come home at Thanksgiving they won't need to run to the store.

Ahhhhh, that first sip of coffee in the morning is always so good!

Tomorrow I'm looking forward to meeting up with both Dee and Bonny!  We will have a grand time I'm sure chatting, knitting, sipping and working on solving the world's problems (there are SO many!).  Whatever your plans are, I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

It's Getting Cold! 11/2/23

 Hello Everyone,

Just a quick pop-in before I dive into my usual Thursday reports for work.  My computer is saying 27 degrees out; my phone says 24.  Either way, it is chilly!

Mabel did, thankfully, show up in time for her appointment with the vet.  She only needed a feline leukemia vaccine which is annual.  I had forgotten that rabies and distemper are 3 year doses and she is good till 2025.  The vet pronounced her to be in good shape!  A nice, clean coat with no traces of fleas or ticks, clear ears and clear eyes.  He probed around a bit and found no lumps or bumps in her (whew!) and her heart and lungs sounded good and her temp was normal.  She weighs 8 lbs, 7.5 oz.  The last time I had taken her (March 2023) she weighed 9 lbs, so really no worse for her little adventure away from home.

After that, Fletch and I got our RSV vaccines and neither of us have had any issues or negative results from it - not even a sore arm!

Late in the afternoon we wandered out to the garden.  There were some things to harvest and things to do in anticipation of the cold temps overnight.  Fletch put the cap on the coldframe to protect the lettuce and chard.  And we harvested some things.  Figs!

Not as many as I had thought and hoped for, BUT a few have started to ripen.  So, they are on a plate on the counter where the sun will hit them and hopefully we will be able to use them.  I had thought of making preserved green figs, but there really are not enough.

And, we picked tomatoes.

Amazingly there are more out there, but it was so cold (major wind chill yesterday afternoon) that I pronounced this haul to be sufficient.  Looks like we will have some fried green tomatoes shortly!

Well, that's a wrap for me.  I've got a lot of reports to run and sort through.  Later this mornoing Fletch and I will head out to one of the local "drop stations" for ballots - we started doing mail in ballots in the first election during the pandemic and decided we would just keep with it.  Easy and no waiting in long lines!

Have a great Thursday!!

Unraveled Wednesday 11/1/23

 Good Chilly Morning!

It is bracing out there - just in the mid-30's or so.  Refreshing, but chilly.  Mabel is out doing her thing...fingers crossed she comes back by 7:30 or so as her vet appointment is at 8:00.  Speaking of Mabel, we had sent a gift (Edible Arrangement) to the family who rescued Mabel, fed and cared for her for 4 months.  Monday we had the sweetest note from them.  Thanking us for the gift, but also saying what a joy Mabel was to have with them for that short while.  So nice the way things worked out.

Did you get any trick-or-treaters last night?  We did not get a single one!  Thank goodness we had not bought candy (we had some to hand out if any kids showed up).

Oh!  We never got our RSV shots on Monday.  I received a text from CVS saying they were sorry but our appointments had been cancelled.  Turned out they had no one in the pharmacy that day to administer the shots.  We are re-scheduled for 11:00 today.

Moving along, it is Unraveled Wednesday and time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers.  Usually I talk about knitting (usually socks), but with the flurry of work the past few weeks, I have not picked up my knitting needles in far too long.  However, I have had an itch to get back to making some granny squares.  I started making some at the beginning of the pandemic with leftover sock yarn and then I stopped.  Not sure why - most likely some bright shiny object caught my attention.  It had been so long that (again) I had to watch a video on how to make them!  LOL  Anyway, turns out that granny squares are so easy to pick up and put down when life is busy.  And the result turned out to be quite a few.

I have not counted how many I have in total now...I'm sure it's not enough even for a lap blanket, so I will continue to make these on a regular basis.  My basket full of leftovers from making socks had been over flowing and was really annoying me.  It is becoming much more manageable now.

Reading wasn't much better than knitting!  I did finish one book:  The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell.  Billed as a cross between Clue and the Great British Bake Off, I thought it would be fun.  Add to that the setting was in Grafton, Vermont - a village I know well.  I was put off early in the book when it talked about being in Northern Vermont...Grafton is definitely in Southern Vermont.  And then the book was just ok.  I finished it and enjoyed parts of it, but it just seemed a bit "over" - you know, over-done, over tedious, etc., etc.  And none of the characters were all that appealing.

I've picked up a new book at the library, so hopefully I'll have something different to talk about next week!

And, just so you know, I missed a TNT post simply because, like knitting, stitching has not happened  in a few weeks.  Hopefully that will all change now.

Happy November!  Be sure to head over to Kat's to see what everyone is making and reading.