Unraveled Wednesday 7/24/24

 Good Morning My Friends,

We find ourselves on a Wednesday nearing the end of July which just does not seem possible.  Where did the month go?  Anyway, it IS Wednesday when we usually link up with  Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to talk all about what we are making and what we are reading.  But, I just saw that Sherman crossed the Rainbow Bridge last night and Kat is taking a break.  Please keep her and Steve in your thoughts.

Despite Summer Ennui continuing, I did manage to finish the pair of Shortie Socks!!

These were made using the January Sock Squad yarn I received from The Farmer's Daughter.  You may recall this was the yarn I used to make a crescent moon sock and then it would not go over my foot.  Oh well.  No worries, I now have a lovely pair of shortie socks.  One thing:  shortie socks are FAST.

I mentioned a bit back seeing a pattern for Semplice and immediately being drawn to it.  I love how there are triangles, rectangles and squares within the pattern.  I didn't find the necessary yarn in my stash so I ordered some!  It has yet to arrive, but what I ordered is KnitPicks Gloss (70 wool, 30 silk) in the beautiful color way named Jacaranda which is a lovely lavender shade.  You sure can't beat the prices of KnitPicks yarn!  I successfully resisted temptation and did not order any other yarn.

Of course, I still need to get back to work on my Hitch on the Move which has seen no love for several months.  And the Shakerag Skirt!  I'm now at the point where all I need to do is knit the waistband.  Maybe I'll get to that while waiting for my yarn order to arrive.

Reading has been good (though Summer Ennui is creeping in there too).  Right now I'm in the middle of The God of the Woods which I am thoroughly enjoying.  I have roughly 150 pages to go.  I also picked up  James from the library on Monday.  I'll start that as soon as I finish The God of the Woods.

Our afternoon visitor has been Steve the Beav (our groundhog) who comes out daily to forage in the grass.  He is pretty skitterish and will book it back to under our shed if he hears our back door opening, so this picture was taken through the door.

You may need to click to enlarge.  We love his white cheeks!

Have a wonderful Wednesday.

No TNT This Tuesday. 7/223/24

 Good Morning My Friends,

I have no TNT pictures to show you today.  I have not done a single stitch since last week!  I believe that summer ennui has set in.  I don't feel like stitching, don't really feel like knitting (though I did order yarn for a new shawl...and bought the pattern), even reading doesn't seem to be what I want to do.  Mostly I just sit and stare!  LOL

We started looking at washers over the weekend.  I have been encouraged to be in touch with Maytag...one guy said they may do something for me even though the machine is out of warranty.  I guess a call can't hurt.  I will try to do that later.  I want a top loader and so far I'm leaning towards a Speed Queen (the only machine made without a locking lid).  The Speed Queen is around twice the price of others, but it does have a 5 year warranty compared to other models that only offer a one year warranty.  I still have a little looking to do.

In other news, four new gladiola shoots came up and yesterday they started to bloom!  Different colors than the red...some pink and some an orange color.  Very pretty.  A glance out the door this morning shows that once again, all the stalks have been bitten off by deer.  Grrrrrr.

On a positive note, we did receive just under half an inch of rain last night!  It sounded so good at 2:30 a.m.  LOL. It's been 5 weeks since we've needed to have our lawn mowed, but I'm guessing we will have it done next week.

We had a delicious dinner at Colin's last night.  Mailing is back in Texas for the week, so we missed her, but Colin cooked a wonderful meal with a lot of fresh produce from their CSA  - beautiful heirloom tomatoes, lots of greens (dandelion, chard and carrot greens!).  All was yummy and bonus - I got a load of towels washed and dried while we were there!

I hope everyone is doing well and I hope to be back to a regular TNT post next week.  I will be back tomorrow for unraveled Wednesday.  See you then!

Friday Felines

 Good Morning!

I'm almost afraid to say this (or write this), but it kind of feels chilly this morning!  The temp when I got up at 6 was just 60 degrees.  Quite a difference from a few days ago.  No AC running and I haven't even put on the ceiling fans yet.  Delightful!

Mabel has stayed out the past two nights.  I guess she is acting like a teenager...disobeying curfews, etc.  During the day she pretty much hangs around and yesterday I caught her very relaxed as she sprawled on one of the picnic benches.

We did go to Colin & Mailing's on Wednesday night for dinner.  Colin grilled burgers and we had a ton of fresh veggies from the CSA share they had picked up on the previous Saturday.  Roasted carrots and beets, fresh pickles, lettuce and tomatoes and onion for the burgers, etc.  I made a crostata for dessert using rhubarb from our garden, some blueberries and strawberries.

The first shortie sock has been finished and the second one started!  I'm also seriously contemplating a new start - a shawl!  Time will tell.  I have plenty on the needles that I could and should finish up.  But the temptation is strong.....

First I have some running around (errands) to do this morning.  Here's hoping the weekend is a relaxing and enjoyable one for all.  Have some fun!

A Gathering of Poetry 7/18/24

 On this third Thursday of July, I am going in with Bonny and others to share some poetry.  I don't always join in, but thought of this poem since last night was a bit of a restless one.

3:00 AM

Only my hand

is asleep

but it’s a start

 

 From Musical Tables by Billy Collins.  I just love his short poems!

Enjoy your Thursday!!

Unraveled Wednesday 7/17/24

Good Morning!

It is HOT, still.  But, last night a thunderstorm blew through.  Not enough measurable rain in the gauge, but the temp dropped to a very comfortable 79 degrees.  In fact, I slept with the AC off last night and the bedroom windows open.  Mabel loves that because she likes to lie in the back windowsill where she can look out over the backyard and keep her eye on the deer and any foxes that might wander into the yard.

Here we are mid-week and it's time once again to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to talk making and reading.  It's really been uncomfortable to knit or stitch much due to the weather.  I did not bother taking yet another picture of my Shakerag skirt which still needs a couple off rows added before I start the waistband.  The shortie sock has had a few rows added though.

You can see I am cruising down the foot.  I think I have 20 or 25 rows left to go to the toe decreases.  I'm meeting up with Dee this morning, so perhaps that will get completed (or not...no worries).

Like the sock, I am almost finished reading The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier which I am enjoying quite a bit.  I still think her book "Remarkable Creatures" is my favorite of hers, followed by "The Girl with the Pearl Earring," but this novel is enjoyable.  As Bonny mentioned to me the timelines are a little weird, but still I'm liking it.  I need to finish it up, because waiting on my night stand is The God of the Woods and I just received an email that James is being held for me at the library.  When it rains it pours!

Hoping everyone has a pleasant Wednesday.  We are headed to C&M's for dinner tonight and I promised to make a strawberry-rhubarb crostata, so I will be tackling that this afternoon.  Stay cool everyone!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 7/16/24

 Hello All,

Greetings from the furnace!  Yup, Eastern PA is back to the VERY hot and sultry weather.  Yesterday was close to 100 on our patio.  Mabel goes out and collapses on the patio.  We do go out and bring her inside when we see her panting with her mouth open.  Sometimes that girl has no sense!  It has now been 4 weeks since we've had our lawn mowed.  There is no need!  No rain = no growth.  The brief shower we had Sunday that cooled things down to 80 wasn't even enough to be measured in our rain gauge.

The deer have consumed ALL of our gladiolas which had started to bloom.  Yesterday I spied one small dahlia that had opened, so I picked it and brought it inside before any creature would get it!

All of the other dahlia buds turned brown.  It is still only one dahlia plant that has produced buds (or even come up out of the ground).

The garden is not doing so well.  The eggplant has some kind of scale insect that is destroying the blooms, so no fruit.  The yellow squash plants have died.  Beans are FINALLY growing well and I picked one tiny pepper the other day.  Tomatoes are puny and not really ripening.  Fortunately Leslie brought us tomatoes from Bob's (her husband) garden:

I sliced one of the larger ones last night to go with our dinner and it was so yummy!

Meanwhile, it is Tuesday which means it's time for a Tiny Needle update.  I have a new piece that I am stitching.  It is from the book A Schoolgirl's Work by Blackbird Designs.  The design is called "Ann's Sewing Tray" (but I will not be making it into a tray).  Here is my start:

It is a soothing piece to stitch and I am enjoying it.  I'm using 40 count linen and DMC threads (1 thread over two linen threads).  Hopefully there will be more progress to show you next week.

I will see you back here tomorrow for Unraveled Wednesday!

Weekending 7/15/24

 Good Morning!

How was your weekend?  Mine was so very full...in a very good way.

Saturday morning saw me on the road early to drive to Easton, PA.  It was raining lightly when I left home, but by the time I got on the PA Turnpike, the rain had stopped.  My destination was Three Birds Cafe where I met up not only with Dee and Bonny, but also Sarah and her daughter Mo!  What a delight!!

Sarah and Mo are both wearing sweaters they made!!  We spent a delightful couple of hours chatting, sipping and working on various projects.

All too soon it was time to say goodbye and get back on the road.

And then on Sunday my friend Leslie arrived!!  Leslie's daughter Jaimie and her granddaughter Emory were with her, but they didn't hang with us...they went to a hotel to hang instead.  Jaimie is fighting bronchitis and Emory had just gotten over pneumonia and they did not want to chance getting any of us sick.  

Colin and Mailing came over in time for dinner.  After a pretty hard rain storm, it was actually pleasant enough to be outside.

All too soon C&M went home and I took Leslie back to the hotel.  

This morning will find me at the laundromat catching up on the laundry that has piled up.  We've decided to just cut our losses and buy a new washing machine.  The one we have is (obviously) a lemon and it's not worth having a repair person come out.  In the meantime, I'll be hanging at the local laundromat.

Unraveled Wednesday 7/10/24

 Hello All,

Still hot and humid here in Eastern PA.  I thought we might get a little relief yesterday, but no such luck.  This morning all is still (not a breath of air moving) and at 6 a.m. the temp is already at 80.  Ugh!

Let's instead focus on happier things.  It's Unraveled Wednesday and time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to talk making and reading.  My knitting making has focused entirely on my Shakerag Skirt.  No progress on the first shortie sock at all.  But, the Shakerag skirt (despite looking similar to last week) has progressed nicely.

The decreases have been completed (and those stitch markers removed).  I am now in the process of adding some rows since I don't want the skirt to be mid-thigh length - LOL.  Soon, though, it will be time to knit the waist band, add the elastic and have this project finished!

This morning, reading MDK's daily post, I came across the pattern for Semplice by Vera Marcu and I'm smitten!  I might just need to cast that on sooner rather than later (I've been thinking of shawl knitting...of course my Hitch on the Move has been ignored for months...but no worries).

On the reading side of things, I read Piglet by Lottie Hazel.  Unlike Sarah and Bonny, I did not really care for this book.  It just didn't seem real or logical to me.  I have never met anyone who behaved the way Piglet did in the story...I kept wanting to shout "oh for God's sake, grow up!!".  Oh well, different strokes for different folks.

Last night I started reading The Glass Maker by Tracy Chevalier and roughly 30 pages in I am liking it so far.

In gardening news Fletch picked the first ripe fig!!!

Can't wait to try it.  Alongside it is a small (quite small) yellow squash.  Normally Fletch would have left that to get a bit larger, but the larger squash had been nibbled on by something, so he decided to rescue this one before some critter got to it.

Today I go back to the audiologist for a fitting check.  I confess to not wearing my hearing aids very much.     My hearing loss is so minor I think I probably could have waited to get hearing aids, but I'll keep them at this point.  I just need to remember to put them in/on today before I go to the appointment.  LOL

Happy Hump Day everyone!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 7/9/24

 Good Morning Everyone!

How are you on this fine Tuesday morning?  It is still warm here in Eastern PA.  Tiny apples have started to fall from our apple tree (this happens every year) and the deer have started to come to dine.  Have you ever watched deer stamp their leg(s) when they sense danger or something they don't like?  This morning I looked out the bedroom window and saw a little fawn doing that.  So funny to watch.  The poor thing almost couldn't stand on just 3 legs.  LOL. I think that Mabel must have been on the patio (I had let her out earlier) and the little fawn didn't like that at all.

As I mentioned in my post yesterday, despite the heat I managed to get some stitching done over the weekend and "Gaze" by The Primitive Needle was finished.  I love it!

Overdyed threads by The Gentle Art and Weeks Dye Works were used and the linen is just 32 count.  The finished size is 5.25" tall by 4.5" wide.  I will most likely make this into another pin pillow.  Just need to find some fabric in my stash that will look good with it.

My next stitched piece will come from this book from Blackbird Designs:

I actually started it yesterday, but will wait until next week to show it when (hopefully) there is more to be seen!

And guess what has stopped working again?  My washer!  Yup.  Bought in January of 2023, repaired in September 2023 while under warranty and now, of course, no longer under warranty.  Can you say Lemon?  Definitely will not spend much on a repair...I don't think this particular Maytag is any good.  I will see if it can be fixed reasonably, but if not, we will be shopping for a washer again.

On a more positive note, here is the Gladiola stalk as of this morning:

There are some more flower stalks, but they are all closed tightly right now.  I'm curious to see if they will be the same red color or if we will get something else.

Well, time for me to get moving.  I've a busy morning.  Hope everyone is doing well and I will be back tomorrow for Unraveled Wednesday.

Weekending 7/8/24

 Hello and Good Morning,

Boy was it HOT and HUMID this weekend.  Not pleasant!  It's difficult to get comfortable, difficult to think 0f anything appealing for meals, etc., etc.

But, let's not whine.  My one Dahlia plant with the bloom has more buds that should open soon!

And the first flower stalk on the Glads has started to open!

That photo was taken the other day when the first one opened.  As of this morning there are now 4 blooms on that stalk and it is gorgeous!

I don't think I mentioned that Fletch had to have emergency root canal work done the other week.  He is fine...no issues with the root canal, etc.  Saturday night during dinner, one of my crowns popped off!  We will be funding our dentist's summer and/or winter vacations!  LOL. Luckily I have no discomfort or pain because my dentist has summer hours and is not open on Mondays!  I will call tomorrow morning and hopefully get a quick appointment to have the crown put back on (luckily I didn't swallow it or throw it away!).  It's always something!

In spite of the miserable, hot weather, I did manage to get some knitting and stitching done as well as some reading.  I'll save the details for TNT tomorrow and Unraveled Wednesday the following day.

I'm looking forward to next Saturday when I will be getting together with Dee, Bonny, and Sarah (and Mo) in Easton at Three Birds Coffee!  It will be so nice to meet Sarah and Mo in person!!  And then on Sunday, my friend Leslie and her daughter Jaimie and granddaughter Emory will arrive for a quick visit.  It will be a banner weekend for sure!

Today's plan is to figure out what would taste good for dinner other than ice water!  Wishing you all a wonderful week!

Unraveled Wednesday 7/3/24

 Hello All!

It's Wednesday and time to talk making and reading.  Usually we all link up with Kat to chat about what we are doing/making/reading, but Kat is taking a little break so I don't think there will be any official link up.

No matter!  We can still talk about what we are doing.  My Shakerag Skirt looks very similar to the photo I shared a week ago, but trust me a number of rows have been added (I've now added 5 decrease rows which means a total of more than 45 rows have been added!)

I'm meeting Dee this morning for a bit of knitting and chatting time and I will be working on this skirt.

Since finishing the (PITA) Fairy Maiden socks, I started another pair of shortie socks and am through the heel flap on the first one.

These are being knit with my January Sock Squad yarn from The Farmer's Daughter.  Gorgeous colors.  You might remember that this is the yarn I used to knit a "crescent moon" sock that would not go over my high instep!  My friend Carol was able to (just barely) get it on her foot and I said I would knit a matching sock for her.  Well...forget that!  I had thrown away the pattern I used (my own creation) and I tried and tried to create a chart for a matching sock and I just could not.  Rather than waste a lot of time on it, I decided to just do something else.  My yarn, my rules.  LOL

Reading is picking back up.  I read Maud's Line by Margaret Verble.  I can't remember where I heard about this book, but it feels like one of you recommended it.  Whatever.  I finished this last night.  It's a well written book (novel) about an 18 year old Cherokee growing up on an allotment.  There is a lot of roughness, many hard times and way too many mentions of snakes, but I enjoyed the book a lot.

Fletch and I are still listening to Nobody's Fool - the first "Sully" book (in a trio) by Richard Russo.  I say STILL listening as the audio book is just under 25 hours.  Given that we only listen at most 20 minutes per night (and not every night), it is taking a bit of time to get through this.  I think we have 15 hours left.  There are some nights we really enjoy this and others that are quite boring...but we will get through it.

I'll be stopping at the library later to drop off Maud's Line and to pick up two books that are being held for me.  I also looked and am moving up the queue for a number of books (I'm now 56 in line for "The Ministry of Time" our next RWU selection and number 12 for both "James" and "The God of the Woods").

Wishing everyone a fun 4th of July and hoping that all of our animals are not too traumatized by fireworks.  We will be heading over to Colin & Mailing's for a cookout.

Tiny Needle Tuesday 7/2/24

 Good Morning!

How are you this morning?  The air still feels so fresh and yesterday was absolutely wonderful.  Not hot, not too cool (though I could have used a little shawl or something when I sat on the patio late afternoon).  This morning it is in the upper 50's.  Almost like September!  I know the heat is coming back...and soon...but right now it is glorious.

Today finds us at the first Tuesday in July and time for a Tiny Needle update.  Gaze by the Primitive Needle is a rather small piece and I thought I would have a finish for you today, but I don't.  There are still a number of little do-dads/tiny little new-agey things to stitch.

This should be wrapped up by next week.  Those little tiny motifs take some time - some of them has as many as three different colors in them...so five stitches here...change thread...another 6 stitches...etc.  It all takes time.  Luckily I am still enjoying this one.  I also need to think about what will be next.

Meanwhile, let's talk flowers.  We planted gladiolas for the first time this year.  Six or eight I think.  They are up and their leaves are tall.  Yesterday we spotted the first flower stem.  I'm curious as to what color it will be.  I'm also curious as to whether we will get more flower stems.

Thanks to all of you Dahlia growers, we also planted Dahlias this year.  Again, six or eight.  Not all have grown.  There are only 3 definite plants that we have seen.  Of those 3 only one has buds.  Yesterday, one of those buds finally opened.

It's pretty, but looks a little ragged...a little worse for wear...kind of like me.  The lackluster performance of the Dahlias is leaving us a bit underwhelmed.

Once again it is time to finish my first cup of coffee and then jump in the shower.  Have a marvelous Tuesday my friends!

Weekending 7/1/24

 Good Morning!

And welcome to July.  We had some good rain yesterday which seems to have cleared the air a bit.  Geesh but it was a hot and humid weekend.  I hope your weekend was a good one.  Mine was good despite the awful weather.  There was cooking, knitting, reading, stitching, just sitting, sipping wine - all the things that I love.

Fletch had an appointment Friday morning, so while he was out of the house, I took advantage of the time to turn on the oven and make the promised peach/rhubarb crostata.  Oh my!

It really was delish!  And there is even some left in the frig!!  While that was baking, I stepped onto the patio and spied a little visitor:

Such a beautiful and delicate creature.  The picture is not the greatest, but each time I moved to get into a better position to capture it on my camera, it would fly up and around and then land again.

We had a modest amount of rain Saturday evening, so Sunday Fletch went out to the garden and pulled all the garlic.  We (He) managed to get some nice heads...others are a bit small, but the scent is wonderful!

Fletch will be hanging the stalks on the patio to dry.  We will share some with Colin & Mailing too.  Last Fall Fletch planted some at their house, but the squirrels dug each and every clove up!  Never would have imagined that squirrels liked garlic...

Sunday afternoon I finally finished the 2nd Fairy Maiden sock.

I say finally because these were such a PITA to knit.  First of all the initial stitch on each DPN is a purl stitch.  I dislike starting with a purl stitch.  The pattern is 8 rows long.  The first 3 rows of the pattern have cables (both front and back) as well as some yarn-overs, SSK and K2together.  I can do all those things, but I guess because I was knitting with DPNs it was more fiddly and awkward.  I was continually messing up my stitch count (either dropping stitches or adding some).  THIS is a link to the free pattern on Ravelry in case anyone wants to make themselves crazy.  LOL. And here is a picture showing a close up of the very pretty pattern:

Pretty but still a PITA to knit!  I'm glad to have knit them but I'm betting I will never knit this pattern again!  LOL. (The yarn is from The Farmer's Daughter - April's Sock Squad yarn)

Finally, I will end this lengthy post with yet another picture.  When I came downstairs at 6 to turn the coffee on, look what I saw outside:

Two little fawns resting on the grass.  So sweet.  They didn't stay there long after Mabel went outside.  (Picture taken through our door so that I wouldn't disturb the little darlings.)

Well, time to finish my first cup of coffee and then hop in the shower.  May July fill you with wonder and bring you much joy!

New Yarn!! Garden Produce!!

 Good Morning All,

Gosh, the air actually felt a little chilly this morning (early - like 6:00).  That was weird!  Another weird thing?  I completely forgot to put my hearing aids in yesterday.  LOL. My hearing loss is not great...it is very minor.  When I first got up I made coffee, took my meds and supplements, took by blood pressure (good), etc.  I knew I would be jumping in the shower soon, so I did not put them in.  Then I wanted to wait to put them in until after I dried my hair.  Then I was getting ready to run a couple of errands and I just forgot about them.  Today they are IN!!!

Yesterday was a good mail day.  My July yarn from the Farmer's Daughter arrived and it is gorgeous!

Just look at that blue!!  The mini is not bad either.  I've been so pleased with the yarn I have received for 2024 Sock Squad.  Of course, I'm behind in using it all, but that does not matter.

We are finally getting garden produce!!  Fletch went out in the morning to check on things and came back with this:

Our first cucumber and the first cherry tomatoes.  The redder tomato on the right is actually a very (very) small Roma tomato.  We had a salad to go with dinner last night and included these in it.  Delicious!  Fletch mentioned that we have a few yellow squash that are 3-4" long, so it will not be too long before they are ready to pick.  And, with July 4th coming up next week, it is time to harvest the garlic.

Yesterday I managed to finish the patterned leg of sock #2, so it is on to the heel flap and turn and then the foot.  That should go faster than the leg for sure.  I'm planning to get to that today as well as more skirt knitting and, perhaps, some stitching.

Wishing you all a wonderful Friday and the best weekend - enjoy!!

Chicken With Peaches

 Good Morning!

Whew!  It is HOT here again.  Yesterday my car thermometer registered 102.  That is just nasty.

It was so nice to (finally) get together with Dee again.  We had a nice time and I actually was able to knit 9 more rows on my skirt!!  In the afternoon I picked up my hearing aids and they are wonderful.  Nothing is too loud or annoying.  There are two main things I noticed:  the first was my own voice!  It definitely was a little louder.  The second was the toilet flushing sounded really loud.  LOL. I go back in two weeks for any needed adjustments to the fitting, etc.  Those two things - meeting up with Dee and getting my hearing aids - wore me out though.  I was in bed by 9:30!  LOL

The other day I mentioned that I would be trying a new recipe for chicken with peaches.  It's a winner folks.  Of course I completely forgot to take a picture, but THIS is the recipe I used.  Of course, I did my own thing.  I did not use a cast iron pan (I hate cleaning them) - instead I used a pyrex baking pan which worked fine.  I used boneless, skinless chicken breast rather than thighs because the thighs in the grocery store looked horrible.  I did use the shallots, kale and a couple of peaches.  Also Thyme from our garden.  I cut the large chicken breast into three pieces and there is still one piece left for Fletch to have for lunch.  This came together rather quickly and then baked in the oven.  Easy-Peasy.

We still have a bunch of peaches, so there may be peach pancakes on the menu for breakfast tomorrow...or a peach crostata...or a peach/rhubarb crostata.  Or all of it!

The home health nurse is supposed to come for a check up on me today...but I have yet to hear about a time (they should have called yesterday).  Wishing you all the best Thursday possible.

Unraveled Wednesday 6/26/24

 Hello and Good Morning,

Thanks again for all the good wishes for my healing.  I had an excellent visit to the Wound Center yesterday - what a lovely group of people and - BONUS - no waiting at all!  I go back in another 2 weeks.

Our heat is back unfortunately.  Yesterday my car was reading 98 while I was running to CVS in the afternoon.  I hope everyone is staying cool and well hydrated.  

This being Wednesday, it is time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to talk making and reading.  I do have some knitting to show!  First up, my Shakerag Skirt is growing!!

Sprawled out on Mabel's "ledge" at the front window in my office - LOL.  The rows still seem rather long, but I'm getting through them one by one.

The second Fairy Maiden sock is progressing as well.

Though a very pretty pattern, I doubt I will ever knit this pattern again.  I am continually either adding a stitch or dropping a stitch.  I find it a very fiddly pattern and I will be happy when I finish the leg (2 more pattern repeats) and move on to the heel flap.

Reading is moving along as well.  I finished Suite Francais which was excellent.  I am savoring Amy Tan's "Backyard Bird Chronicles" - just reading a little bit at a time.  I also picked up "Grace (Eventually) Thoughts on Faith" by Anne Lamott which I am finding to be just ok...not great.  Finally, I am now in the queue for "The Ministry of Time" which is the next "Read With Us" selection.

Now for the exciting news:  Dee and I are finally getting together again this morning!!  LOL. It has been weeks and I am so looking forward to catching up with her.  And later in the afternoon I have an appointment to pick up my hearing aids.  A banner day for sure.  Hope your Wednesday is a good one too!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 6/25/24

 Greetings All!

Yesterday ended up being the first day in weeks that we did not turn on the AC!!!  We never did get the rain, but wow the winds were strong.  It was rather gusty all day long.  We are supposed to be back up in the 90's again today and for several more days, but for now the morning is gloriously cool.  I'll take it.

It feels like forever since I wrote a TNT post, but I am finally back to stitching.  The piece I'm working on is called "Gaze" by The Primitive Needle.  Here is a link showing the full piece:  https://www.casacenina.com/the-primitive-needle/gaze.html.  It is one I have had in my stash for such a long time and it is kind of new-agey, but it really appeals to me.  Here is my start:

I'm using the called for over-dyed floss (both Weeks Dye Works and The Gentle Art) and all the bright colors are so appealing to me.  The linen - not so much.  First of all it is a low count (30...so stitching over 2 threads, it works out to 15 stitches to the inch).  I really prefer a higher count linen.  The fabric is very rustic and rough - not easy to hold (I don't use a hoop or frame when I stitch).  The linen threads also are kind of splitty.  Fortunately this is not taking long to stitch.  It's pretty small - only 5.5" by 4.5".

The only "thing" on my agenda today is a follow-up appointment with the doctor about my "site."  That's at 10:30 and the balance of the day is mine.  I'm trying a new recipe with chicken and fresh peaches tonight (the peaches this year are so good!!).  If it turns out, I'll share it with you later in the week.

Here's hoping your Tuesday is filled with good things.

Weekending 6/24/24

 Good Morning!

Weekending:  It was (and still is) HOT.  We stayed mostly inside.  The end.

That pretty much sums the weekend up.  Beastly hot.  I was able to do some knitting and stitching inside as well as a bit of reading, so it was not all bad.  We had a slight chance of rain last night, but that never happened.  Thank goodness Fletch watered the garden.

While Fletch was watering, I walked out to look at things.  First up, we have little yellow squash beginning to grow!!

It's almost time to harvest garlic...but we usually do that around July 4th.  Meanwhile, our onions are growing so well.

We can't decide if our tomatoes are doing well or not.  We have one Roma plant this year - I wanted it for cooking.  There are two tomatoes on it beginning to ripen, but they are small.

Our cherry tomato plants do have fruit, but nothing ripening yet and the plants don't look all that healthy.  Fletch planted a ton of beans and we have exactly 2 shoots coming up.  Not sure what's with that.  We do have several very small cucumbers growing and the eggplant on the patio is healthy and finally flowering, so it should not be long before we see early eggplants forming.  The most exciting though is that we now have figs!!

It took awhile.  After forming 3 figs prior to any leaves erupting, nothing more happened.  The tree leafed out and nothing...then one day Fletch spotted a dozen or so figs about the size of pencil erasers...now they are getting to be marble size.

We will do a quick grocery shopping this morning before it gets beastly hot again.  That's it for today's plans.

I hope everyone is staying cool.  Fingers crossed we get a break from this weather soon.

Summer Solstice. 6/20/24

 Hey-Hey and Hello!

I do not normally (don't think I have ever) linked up for "A Gathering of Poetry."  But today I am linking up with Bonny to share a poem.  

This morning I was up a bit early...fixed a cup of coffee (my first in more than 2 weeks!!) and did a few things.  I was waiting to get in the shower until Fletch was waking up...since he has to "tend" to me after I get out of the shower.  While waiting, I picked up a book from my nightstand:  Musical Tables by Billy Collins.  In my opinion, one can never go wrong reading Collins - he is a master!  And this volume of his poetry is especially fun - all the poems are very short and the one I will share is perhaps one of the longest.  At any rate, it seemed so appropriate for the summer solstice.

Summer

 

The two of us

One night in lawn chairs

Music coming from somewhere.

 

You explained

what we were hearing

Was the B-side of the moon.

Happy Summer Solstice everyone!

Unraveled Wednesday 6/19/24

 Good Morning All,

I am happy to tell you that every single day is better!  I've still got a *hit load of healing left to do, but it is coming along.  I had a very good follow up appointment with my PCP yesterday (who gave Fletcher the highest marks for the "nursing care" he is providing to me!).  So, all is good.  I even drove on Monday and went grocery shopping as well (we were completely out of fresh produce...so mega $$$ later we have a frig full of veggies and some fruit).  It is SO good to be having GOOD food (the hospital food was vile).

Not only has Fletch been a wonderful (and necessary) help to me, but Mabel has been wonderful too!  They say that animals can sense when you are not well and she is patient...not whining...not walking on my head or body at 4 a.m. to go out, etc.  She is also very wary (thank God) when she is outside and is sticking close to home.  She is also willingly staying in at night.  The fox (or foxes) are still nearby, so we are all on guard.

Like everyone else, we are dealing with a major heatwave.  Yesterday after my PCP visit, my car thermometer was reading 97.  Yikes!  And then Monday night, just after I went upstairs to go to bed, our power went out.  I got up, came back down and sat outside with Fletch.  Our neighbor who had just come home told Fletch that a transformer had blown.  I am happy to tell you that amazingly PECO (our power company) had the power back on in under an hour!!  A close call.

Anyway, it's Wednesday and time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to talk making and reading.  Though I have not done a whole lot of knitting, I wanted to show you the progress on my Shakerag Skirt.  I am now at the row where I will add the markers and start the decreases.  Still a lot of rows to knit, but they will (thankfully) be getting smaller and smaller.

Sorry for the poor photo - it was difficult last night to get a good picture.

The first Fairy Maiden sock (with my April Sock Squad yarn from The Farmer's Daughter) was finished yesterday and the second one started.

The second one is now at the point where I will begin the leg pattern.

Finally, I picked up the Cactus Triptych from the framer yesterday!!  Not the best picture, but I had to find a place to put it last night where there was no glare on the glass.

I'm so pleased with the way it turned out.

No books have been finished since I read Summer Solstice, but I am a little more than halfway through Suite Français and what a wonderful book it is.  The writing reminds me a bit of Proust.

Time to wrap this up.  I've a ton of phone calls to make...appointments to schedule...etc.  I'm going to try to catch up on some blogs today and will try to comment.  Thanks again for all your thoughtful emails and concern for moi.  So very much appreciated.  

An Update

 Hello Everyone!

This will be quick because I am not quite up to blogging yet.  BUT, I wanted first of all to say thank you so very much for all the emails, texts, etc inquiring how I am.  I'm sorry not to have responded to many of you, but I just wasn't up to it.

Long story:  I ended up in the hospital last Saturday (the 8th I think) and discovered I was fighting a very nasty infection.  Like 3 IV antibiotics!  That was healing well (and still is), but my BP spiked while in the hospital and they had a hard time getting it to lower.  I finally came home on Thursday (13th).

Fletch has been wonderful!  And I will be having home health care (nurse) coming in every few days to check the wound, etc.  Per the doctors it will take roughly a month for healing to be complete.  I'm still tired and sleeping lots, but am managing to do a little (very little) knitting and some reading.

One book I read while in the hospital was Summer Solstice - An Essay by Nina MacLaughlin.  I had read "Winter Solstice" by her during December or January and enjoyed it.  I liked "Summer Solstice" so much better!  5 stars and highly recommend (and only 61 pages!!).

I've read some blogs, but not all and haven't commented...I will hopefully get back to that soon.  Not sure how frequently I will post...depends on how I am doing.  Once again, thank you all for checking in on me. Words can't begin to describe how wonderful it was to get your notes.  Thank you!!  Our little blogging world is a wonderful place.

A Little Break

 Hi All,

I'll be taking a little break...for a few days.  Yesterday was terribly busy in the morning and then I did not feel well the balance of the day (like sleeping ALL afternoon and more than 12 hours last night!).  Needless to say there has not been all that much knitting or stitching.  I'll be back later!

44! 5/31/80 - 5/31/24

 

Good Morning My Friends,

Yup - 44 years ago today Fletch and I got married.  Whew!  What a long, strange trip it has been.  LOL. Not really - it's overall been wonderful and I would certainly do it again in a heartbeat.  They say thunderstorms are lucky and I suppose it's true.  There were quite a few storms that day.  Our first night we stayed at The Black Bass Inn and as we had dinner in the dining room, we watched a thunderstorm come down the Delaware River.  It was beautiful!

In other nice news, I finished the Vierlande Elisabeth Sampler last night.  And yes, there is yet again another error in the last motif, but it works and it's staying that way.  I'm calling it a design element.  

I stitched a tiny "L" in the middle of the last motif, but I left all the other letters off the sampler.  They didn't mean anything to me and, quite frankly, I'm ready to move on to something new!  Today I will be putting away the threads I used on this one and gathering some fabric and other threads for a new project.

A moment ago I got up to let Mabel outside and spotted a doe and her little fawn munching away in our boggy area.  I wasn't able to get a picture before they bounded away, but it made me smile to see them.

No real plans for the day.  We are not doing anything special to celebrate our anniversary.  I may get a walk in later - it is gorgeous out right now (actually a little chilly - in the 40's!).  We will just be easing into the weekend and I hope you do the same.  Hard to believe June will be here tomorrow!

Unraveled Wednesday 5/29/24

 Hello, Hello,

I am (obviously) posting later than usual today.  I slept in and then went out to meet up with Dee again this morning, so no computer time until now.  But, it has been a good day.  And it is Wednesday which means time to link up with Kat for an Unraveled post.  Let's talk finishes!!  The shortie socks for my friend in Florida were just finished within the last hour!

This second sock is what I worked on this morning while Dee and I chatted up a storm.  I got down to the last 5 rows of the toe decrease when it was time to leave Manhattan Bagel, so you know I just HAD to finish it when I got home.  The yarn is all leftovers from other projects.  The purple (toe & cuffs) is Crazy Zauberball in the Route 66 color way, the gold is from a skein called "Hidden Forest" (this is the skein I used for my Odyssey shawl) and the blue is called "Hera's Peacock" and I have socks made with most of that yarn.  Fun to use up leftovers.

I also have made progress on my Shakerag Skirt!

Not the best picture - sorry!  But, if you click to enlarge you may be able to see that the lace portion is finished and I've done roughly 5 rows on the plain stockinette.  Kat and Kym, how many plain rows did you knit before you started the decreases?  Just curious.  

Yesterday's mail delivery included my June Sock Squad yarn from The Farmer's Daughter.  So pretty.  The color way for the large skein is " Fox in the Yarn Den."  Appropriate since our fox is still around....  The mini skein reminds me of gingerbread and I love the two yarns together.

Reading has been a little on the slow side.  I am almost finished (10 pages or so left) in the 6th short story in the Amor Towles book "Table for Two."  After that I have the novella to read.  I will say I'm a bit underwhelmed with this book.  Yes, Towles' writing is magnificent, but I have not really cared for the stories or the characters (remember short stories are not my favorite).  I loved "Gentleman from Moscow" and liked "Rules of Civility" (though I don't remember much about it which says something) and I thought "The Lincoln Highway" was average.  I'm happy to read it and will be happy to finish it and move on to something else!

And now, if you have stayed with me this long, I have some marvelous news:  Colin & Mailing are pregnant (well, Mailing is the pregnant one, but...).  Woo-Hoo!  They are expecting a baby girl around the first week of December.  Needless to say, we are thrilled!!  And so happy they are local and not in Texas!  You know I will have to get some yarn appropriate for a little one and knit something - anything!!

Now I'm off to try and catch up on what folks have blogged today!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 5/28/24

 Hello All,

Here's hoping everyone enjoyed a nice, long weekend.  Ours was nice, though a bit soggy yesterday.  The morning was gorgeous, but the afternoon saw heavy rain.  We are not complaining because we need it.  While Fletch and I were sitting on the patio yesterday afternoon I spotted something:

A sweet little heart at the top of one of our trees.  The tree is actually dead and is just being held up by a gigantic trumpet vine that has surrounded it.  The delicate little heart is just so nice.

Well, it's Tuesday and time for a Tiny Needle update.  I had thought/hoped to have a finish for you today, but that is not to be.  On Saturday, when I met up with Dee I mentioned that I had not done any stitching ALL week.  Right then and there I decided I needed to hop to it.  And I did...on Sunday...and then again yesterday.  Yesterday afternoon I had almost finished the final motif in the center.  But, as I was attempting to join it all together I realized that on the left hand side I was off by one single thread of linen.  For the life of me I couldn't see where my mistake was (in my defense, the last motif is stitched in the off-white thread which is difficult to see on a good day...add in clouds and rain...and you get the picture).  Anyway, I spent as much time frogging what I had stitched as I did stitching it.  You can probably see where I pulled out my stitching.

I left it at that and will pick it up again this week and (hopefully) finish it.

Today, however, will be taken up with some cooking.  Colin & Mailing were going to come over yesterday for a cookout, but the rain messed up those plans.  Instead they will be coming tonight.  Fletch is going to grill wings (hot and bbq) and I will make a corn & black bean salad.  Dessert will be strawberry shortcake, so I've got to make the biscuits, pick up heavy cream to whip and cut up some strawberries.

No other plans, which works for me.  Hoping your ease into this new week is a gentle one.  Enjoy!

Friends

 

Good Morning!

Happy Friday and Happy Memorial Day.  Nice to be at the start of a long weekend.  The yellow flag iris in our bog area have really multiplied this year.  I'm happy the deer have not destroyed them.  Colin & Mailing are headed out for a nice backpacking weekend with their friends Rob and Faye, so Fletch and I are on cat duty again this weekend starting with dinner tonight.  Luckily he and I have no real plans for the weekend.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting up with Dee and Bonny!

I'm fortunate that both of these lovely ladies live within a reasonable distance so that we can get together.  I drove to Dee's house and left my car there and she drove us to Peddler's Village where we met up with Bonny at Mama Hawks for some quality time catching up, sipping beverages and doing a little knitting.  We followed that with some lunch at Caleb's American Kitchen (the arugula salad was WONDERFUL!!).  By the way, we all get some brownie points for NOT visiting Twist Knitting and Spinning which is right across the street!  No stash enhancement, just a wonderful time with friends.

Pollen is still nasty around here.  Yesterday Dee and I came upon a cloud of dust...which turned out to be yellow pollen in the air.  It was thick.  Also, I ran into a bit of a traffic jam when I left Dee's yesterday afternoon.

There were another dozen or so (some even younger/smaller) crossing after these.  Everyone (human) was polite and let the geese cross the road.

In other news, my hearing aids have been ordered!  Yup.  I met with an audiologist on Thursday, had extensive testing and I do need some aids (which I had assumed).  Turns out our Medicare Advantage insurance is excellent (yay!) and basically I am getting two aids for the price of one!  They should be in within 2-3 weeks.  

No other news.  I'm just planning to ease into the weekend with a few chores and time with my needles (both kinds).  Sleep last night was not good, so there will most likely be a nap at some point.  Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!