Unraveled Wednesday 11/5/25

 Good Morning!

Once again, I've slept in a bit on a Wednesday...so rushing to get a post written and get some coffee into me.  Not a lot to share anyway, but it's time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers.  

There has been no unraveling fortunately, but there also has been no knitting.  I have not picked up my knitting in over a week!  I know, shame on me and that is certainly not the way to get family birthday socks completed in time.  

Still at the beginning of the gusset decreases.  Thank goodness I'm making shortie socks for Mailing...and Iris' socks should (ha!) be quick.  I'm guessing I will get these two pairs completed and, perhaps, Colin's socks started.  But his socks will be full size and I imagine they may be started but not finished by birthday celebration time.

I've been reading a bit though I have only one finish to share with you.  It's a fabulous one though!  I read The Place of Tides by James Rebanks and I cannot recommend this book enough.  Rebanks' writing is simply beautiful and I found this book to be calming and soothing.  Perfect for These Days.

Now I'm enjoying The Letter Carrier by Francesca Giannone.  Many thanks to Kat for bringing this book to my attention.  It's an easy and fun read - reminds me a bit of Brooklyn and Long Island by Colm Tobin.

Usually I do not read two books at once (other than what I'm reading and what Fletch and I are reading together), but I have started The Atomic City Girls.  This book is about the women who worked in Oak Ridge, TN during the war.  Many of them didn't even know what they were working on!  Though a novel, the book is filled with famous people and so far (I've only read the introduction and one chapter) I'm enjoying it.  My Dad was recruited and pulled out of grad school to work in Oak Ridge.  He took a week off to head up to Vermont and marry my Mom.  Upon their return, she began working there as well. I figured this book is required reading for me - lol.

Fletch and I are still in the midst of listening to Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane.  We are maybe halfway through (we are now in India) and are continuing to enjoy this.  

Time for me to guzzle some more coffee and pull some things together to take with me when I head out to watch Iris today.  Happy Hump Day!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 11/4/25

 Hello and Good Morning!

Another day has passed with me successfully avoiding chores.  LOL. I did, however, take in donations to our local food pantry and I did pick out new frames and order new glasses - they should be ready in under two weeks.  Yay!

Fletch has been doing garden chores daily - getting it all ready for a long Winter's rest.  The other day he dug our potatoes.  It was a very poor showing this year.  There were only 6 small ones.

But, let me tell you, these were the sweetest and creamiest potatoes I've ever had.  They were delicious...I only wish there had been more.  We had them last night along with fresh green beans and some haddock that I cooked in the air fryer (nice and crispy and tasty).  When I walked out to look at figgy, I noticed a few more figs are beginning to ripen.  They are all small but there are loads of them.  I hope more will ripen...I'm not sure as the leaves are beginning to yellow.

Anyway, all of this brings us to the first TNT of November!  As I mentioned yesterday, stitching has been calling me much more than knitting and I think I got a lot stitched in the past week.  The Evil Serpent has been completely outlined and the tip of his tail has been filled in.  The balance of his body still needs some color and obviously there is a lot of tree trunk to be filled in.  And the creepy crawly was finished.

Sorry for the shadow...here's an overall look at where things stand.

Every time I pull this out to stitch I get a big smile on my face.  I love it!  But...I will be happy to do something a little smaller for the next one (no pattern chosen yet - still lots to stitch on this one).

Time for another cup of coffee and time to get my day started.  Hope your Tuesday is a good one!

Weekending 11/3/25

 Hello My Friends!

Welcome to November!  How are you?  I am well.  I had not intended to take a little break from posting, but I did.  Many mornings last week found me sleeping in and then rushing around.  Anyway, the little break felt good, but now I am back.

Let's see what happened.  We received 2" of rain on Thursday!  And boy did we need it.  And then Friday was super windy - all day.  I'm not a fan of wind because it usually bothers my ears.  I took a Yin yoga class on Friday and loved it.  For those of you who are not familiar with yoga, Yin is a slow practice low down.  Typically it involves a lot of stretching and holding poses for up to 5 minutes.  My joints and muscles are so tight, this class was really good for me.  I am not going to watch Iris this coming Friday, so I will sign up again.  Some folks were in costumes.  My teacher was a cat.

Speaking of cats, Iris was dressed up for Halloween as a cat - too darn cute.  They spent an hour or so walking through their neighborhood where, apparently, folks really go out with decorations.  They all had a great time and Colin said he can't wait to take Iris out next year when she will be walking more (she was in the stroller this year).  We had zero trick or treaters at our house - so glad we had not bought candy to hand out!

Saturday I was back at the yoga studio for another Vinyasa class.  I had wondered how back-to-back classes would feel, but all was good.  I'm planning to do the same this coming weekend.

Once again I was successful in avoiding all chores over the weekend!  LOL. (Today needs to be a little different.) There was stitching and reading and cooking.  (Today will hopefully find me knitting again...but stitching has been calling me more than knitting these days.) We forgot to turn the clocks back Saturday night and were up way too early Sunday morning.  But, I cooked bacon and made some waffles. Sunday night we went over to Colin & Mailing's for dinner.  We had a hearty beef stew with an apple tart for dessert.  YUM!  We finished the evening with a fire in the pit.

Along with tackling some chores today, I'm hoping to get out and choose some new frames and have an updated pair of glasses made for me.  There are donation bags to drop off at our local food pantry as well as a bag of goods to drop at the thrift shop.  Most importantly I want to finish up our Medicare Advantage stuff for 2026.  I have found that some (quite a bit) of the information on various sites is not accurate.  For example, one provider indicated that one of our doctors was not "in network" at the office we use, but is at another office.  Upon checking with the doctor's office, the "other" office doesn't exist!  (And, the office indicated that they DO accept that insurance.)  Geeze - everything needs to be double and triple checked.  It is such a time suck ordeal. 

Wishing you all a gentle Monday as we ease into November!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 10/28/25

 Good Morning!

Welcome to the last Tuesday in October!  Wow!  I don't even know how that is possible.  But here we are, so time for a TNT update.

A bit of progress was made on my large piece.  The Evil Serpent now has a head (that looks rather cartoonish) and a bit of its body.  The creepy crawly thing has some of its legs.

If you click to enlarge, you will see the Serpent's eyes are red.  EVIL!!!

Here's an overall shot of the entire piece as it stands currently.

I might be able to find a bit of time to stitch today, but I'm not sure.  There is already a load of wash going (and Fletch isn't even up yet) and more where that came from.  But, an easy dinner is planned (salmon) which bodes well for some time in the afternoon.  (I should also do some knitting, but that's a story for another day.)

I hope your Tuesday finds you doing something you love.  Have some fun!

Weekending 10/27/25

 Good Morning!

The temps dipped overnight and it is now (at 7 a.m.) about 34 degrees.  I've put the heat on in several rooms and have a hot cup of coffee by my side as I type this.

How was your weekend?  Mine was good.  Another yoga class on Saturday morning was great.  I didn't do much chore-wise at all.  Mostly I read and tried to catch up on some sleep.  Friday was a pretty long day with Iris only napping for 30 minutes or so.  Fletch came over to Colin's Friday afternoon with Thai food for dinner, but he and I left soon after we ate.  Colin & Iris were fairly tired too.

Now that we've come to the last week of October, our Morning Glory plant is showing more and more blooms!

Aptly named "Heavenly Blue" and so gorgeous.  In other garden news, the hibiscus is still loaded with buds, but the leaves are turning yellow, so I doubt we will have more blooms.  There have been no ripe figs for several days  The plant is still loaded with them, but they may not ripen.  The climbing bean trellis has been taken down and some dried beans saved for next year's planting.  The hoses have been drained and put away for the season.  We are still enjoying wonderful greens (red and green romaine lettuce, spinach and chard and several other kinds of lettuce).

Yesterday Fletch and I ventured out in the afternoon to drop off our ballots for the election November 4th.  We then drove to Otts, a wonderful nursery and plant place to get some pumpkins.  There was no parking!  The place was mobbed.  So, we turned around and came home.  I think our grocery stores have some very nice pumpkins (and for a lot less $$$ anyway).

Today will find me back caring for Iris.  I hope your Monday is equally rewarding for you!

Tis the Season!

 Good Morning!

Spotted this on our drive over to Colin's yesterday morning.

The tape across the spare says "crime scene."  The green color of the skeleton cracked me up.  We also passed a number of jeeps with skeletons attached to the front.  All the jeeps.

Here's to a great weekend ahead!

What's For Dinner?

 Good Morning!

The sun is shining brightly here.  It's cool, but lovely outside.  I was able to sleep in a bit this morning and then when I got up I cooked some bacon and made French toast for Fletch and me.  Yum!

As is often the case lately, I forgot to take any pictures, but I wanted to share a dish with you that I made for dinner on Tuesday.  It was so delicious!  I made Creamy Bacon and Mushroom Pasta.  I used regular thick cut bacon, but I think turkey bacon would work also.  Or, skip the bacon completely.  It would also be tasty with sun dried tomatoes added in.  I used light cream instead of heavy and I think milk would work just as well.  Anyway, it was fast, easy and very satisfying.  We had a nice salad with greens from our garden to go with it.  I will be picking more greens for another salad tonight and will be making some spaghetti with clam sauce.  I do enjoy food a lot!  LOL

Later this morning we will head over to Colin's to borrow one of their cars.  The car that Fletch usually drives is in the shop - needs a drive shaft - OUCH!  Still, cheaper than a new car for sure.  That repair won't be done until next Tuesday.  Meanwhile, I need to be at Colin's tomorrow to watch Iris and Fletch has a doctor's appointment in the morning to have some stitches removed.  Thus the need to borrow a car.

Other than that, no plans!  There is a library book that came in for me to pick up and I want to do some stitching and/or knitting.  No chores though!  

I hope your week is winding down nicely.  We are just about at the weekend!!

Unraveled Wednesday 10/22/25

 Good Morning!

It appears that the cooler temps have finally come to Eastern PA.  Today's high is forecast to only be 59.  Luckily I took some chicken soup out of the freezer for dinner tonight.  I wanted an easy dinner since I will be with Iris today.  I'm anxious to see how she is doing (and also Colin) with Mailing away for several days.

It's Wednesday which means it's time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to talk all about what we are making and reading.  Wednesday's blogs are always filled with interesting and inspiring things!

My own knitting (or rather lack of) isn't all that inspiring.  Not much has been knit in the past week.  Only 10 or so rows on a heel flap.

At least there was no unraveling.  And, at least this is a shortie sock.  Not sure I will get anything done on it today, but we shall see.

I've finished 4 books since I last posted any updates on reading.  First up The Crowded Grave by Martin Walker.  This is the 4th novel in the Bruno, Chief of Police series and quite enjoyable.  There were even some laugh out loud scenes.  I'll be requesting the 5th book in this series shortly.

Next I read Kitchen Yarns by Ann Hood.  This book was recommended by a friend of a friend.  A memoir with recipes, I was sure I would enjoy it.  And I did.  Not great writing, but it was perfect for me at the time I read it.  Easy and enjoyable.

Fletch and I finished listening to Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton.  Sarah had thought we would enjoy this and she was right!  Thank you Sarah for the recommendation.  I loved, too, that the book was narrated by the author (such a soothing voice).  We started to listen to Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid, but neither of us could get into the story and we both found the narrators to be annoying.

Last night I finished The Names by Florence Knapp.  Many of you have already read this and raved about it, but I struggled a lot with this book.  The abuse that Gordon (the father) showered on his children and especially his wife was just very hard to read.  There were times I had to put the book down for a bit.

That's it for me!  Hope your Wednesday brings some joy.

Tiny Needle Tuesday

 Good Morning!

I woke up at 3 this morning chilly and had to put an extra blanket on the bed.  And no, I never did get back to sleep.  Oh well, there is time for a nap later today.

I stuck with only using brown thread this past week and just about finished the upper branches and trunk of the tree!

Very soon the upper half of this sampler will be completed!  If I don't nap too long, I might just finish that branch up today.  Then there is a creepy-crawly thing to the left of the moon and a little bit down - a thing just hanging in air (as is often the case with these samplers).  Then, of course, the Evil Serpent will start winding around the tree.  More to come later.

No real plans for today other than grocery shopping (and, perhaps, a nice nap).  And, perhaps, booking another massage and reviewing the yoga studio classes so that I can figure out when to go again.  Wishing you all an easy Tuesday!

Weekending 10/20/25

 Hello My Friends,

How are you?  This morning I am lazy, having slept in a bit.  I'll be heading over to watch Iris mid-day.  Mailing is home this morning, but will be picked up mid-day and taken to LaGuardia airport.  She is headed for a very quick business trip to Turkey and Austria.  Very quick in that she will be back on Saturday.  I know both Colin and Iris will miss her, but I think it will be a more difficult separation for Mailing.  Luckily she should be busy while overseas.

Speaking of lazy...this was the scene Sunday morning.

A deer taking a rest - very sweet.

My massage on Thursday afternoon was wonderful!  So good that I will be booking another one in a couple of weeks and then plan to go monthly.  I had forgotten just how wonderful a good massage is.  I'm thrilled that I discovered this new-to-me place.

On Saturday morning I attended my first yoga class at the new-to-me studio I found.  And it was great!  There were only three other people in the class.  I'm hoping to get to another class this week.  I need to get back into it as it was very obvious how stiff my body is!

Saturday night we had dinner at Colin & Mailing's and then a nice fire afterwards.  Dinner was delicious:  roast chicken, beets, carrots, roasted broccoli and acorn squash.  Dessert was a spiced persimmon cake with a bit of honeycomb ice cream - yummy!!

The balance of my weekend included some domestic chores, some cooking (cranberry muffins!), some stitching and reading.  Despite not picking up my knitting once, it was a lovely weekend.

I will see you back here tomorrow for a TNT update.  Have a wonderful Monday!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 10/14/25

 Hello and Good Morning,

Gosh it is dark these days when I get up.  I know a number of you are up and walking dogs - hope you have a flashlight or a headlamp or something!

Well, it's Tuesday and time for an update on my "And All Was For An Appil" piece.  Here's an overall look at where things stand right now.

The top half of this sampler is nearing completion!   I finished the remaining leaves in the center and also outlined some of the branches...getting ready for the brown, brown, brown filling.  Here's a close up of what was done in the last week.

A little secret:  The bottom outlining of the two branches is actually the beginning outlining of the Evil Serpent that is winding around the tree!  As I say each week, still a long way to go on this piece.  Still enjoying it though!

Yesterday I forgot to mention one of the (many) things that Louanne and Daria brought when they visited us last Friday - Persimmons from their tree!!

I had one the other day and it was quite tasty!  Not a strong flavor, but very nice.  Fletch is not a fan (not sweet enough for him), so I will be enjoying these beauties myself!  (They also brought a bunch for Colin & Mailing.)

All went well with our flu shots yesterday - no reactions at all.  I took a nap in the afternoon (not due to the shot - I usually take a nap!) and slept on my left side.  My shot was in my left arm and I couldn't even feel where it was!

We received notice that our Medicare Advantage plan will no longer be offered next year (for us).  We have been with United Healthcare (AARP) ever since going on Medicare, so this is a disappointment.  I am not looking forward to trying to find a new plan (luckily I have the phone number of the guy who helped us previously).

I know I mentioned finding a new (to me) yoga studio and also a new (to me) spa.  I'm excited because I will be getting a massage on Thursday and I will attend a yoga class Saturday morning!  Woo-Hoo.

Weekending 10/13/25

 Good Morning!

Happy Columbus Day (I know it is now called Indigenous People Day, but I like Columbus Day better).  We will be celebrating by getting our flu shots later this morning.  LOL

How was your weekend?  Mine was simply lovely and I have absolutely no pictures to share, but I can tell you what happened.  Most of Friday was spent cooking.  I made Cardamom Cookies Thursday night and then mixed up the dough for butter cookies with cranberries and rosemary.  That dough had to sit in the frig overnight.  Those cookies were baked Friday morning.  Some of my favorite cookies!  The butter cookies taste like shortbread - rich and yummy.

Fletcher's sister Louanne and one of her daughters, Daria, drove up from Virginia on Friday.  They arrived in time for dinner.  I had put a big pot of spicy lentil soup on earlier in the day.  It is filled with veggies and protein and we had some crusty wholegrain bread to go with it.  And cookies.  After dinner we had a lovely fire in the pit.  It was a perfect evening for a fire.

Saturday morning we all drove over to Colin & Mailing's so that Louanne and Daria could see them and meet Iris.  We had a great, but very short visit.  C&M&I were heading off to the Brandywine Museum and Louanne and Daria were driving down to Arlington for a visit with Liam, Louanne's son.

The balance of Saturday I relaxed and worked on some stitching and some knitting.  I also read a bit.  The weather had turned chilly and damp with occasional rain, so it was a perfect day for staying inside.  We ordered out for dinner which made it even nicer.

Sunday I got to work cooking again.  I made red beans (a New Orleans dish) which take pretty much all day to cook.  I also pulled out all my wool sweaters and heavier tops and put away all the summery shirts and (most of) my shorts.  It felt good to do that.  I also put the winter comforter on the bed.  Usually when I do that I weed out things that I haven't worn or that I no longer like, but this time I couldn't be bothered - I'll do that in the Spring when I pull things back out.

Colin & Mailing and Iris were in New Hope for brunch, but decided to come over for dinner.  It was great to see them on both Saturday and Sunday - especially since I won't be back to care for Iris until Wednesday.

All in all, a great weekend.  Today there is plenty of laundry to catch up on as well as a few other chores.  I hope your Monday treats you well.

Unraveled Wednesday 10/8/25

 Good Morning My Friends,

It is a rainy Wednesday here in Eastern PA.  It is bringing cooler weather which I am looking forward to.  Yesterday was a good day.  We managed to do the grocery shopping.  I managed to avoid both the kitchen floor and the bathrooms!  But, I did manage to do four loads of laundry, so I feel like I accomplished something.  And we are now scheduled to get our flu shots next Monday morning.  At that point, we should be finished with vaccines for a bit.

And here we are at Wednesday morning (with yet another poor night of sleep!) and time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to chat about what we are making and reading.  Always a pleasure to check in with everyone.

As I mentioned the other day there was some unraveling this past week.  Some months ago I had started another Heart Warmer cowl.  It's a fun pattern and I had chosen some pretty yarn.  But, I messed up in the first section (lace and cables) when there was too much background noise for me to concentrate.  I tinked back to where that section began and then put it into time out for "x" number of months.  Picking it up again, I started on the lace and cables and promptly messed up again.  Rather than put it into time out once more I just unraveled the whole thing.  The yarn is back in my stash and the circular needles have been put away.

I did, however, wind some yarn that I think will make nice family socks for Colin, Mailing and Iris!

It is Denali from Pagewood Farm and the color way is Violet Fusion (only they spell it Fushion - lol) - an 80/20 blend.  I have no idea where I got this yarn, but it is really pretty.  The skein is a hefty 125 grams, so I think there is sufficient for socks for Colin, shortie socks for Mailing and tiny socks for Iris.  My plan is to make contrasting cuffs and toes on the socks - a purple for Mailing, a blue/turquoise for Iris, and a gold/wheat color for Colin.  Late yesterday afternoon I cast on the purple for Mailing's cuff and screwed that up!  That was unraveled and I will try to start them this week.

A few rows were knit on Semplice, but it honestly looks the same, so no photo of it.

Last week I only finished one book (but did start another).  I read Finding Grace by Loretta Rothschild.  For me, the book was ok.  I know that some of you read it and couldn't put it down - reading it in a day or two.  I found it easy to put down and then forget about picking it up again!  The first chapter was definitely a real kicker and then the rest of the novel is told in an interesting fashion.  The whole thing just wasn't my cup of tea (or coffee).  It was good, just not great.

I'm excited to have discovered a new local spa, so will be booking a massage (hopefully for next week).  I've also become aware of a new (to me) local yoga studio that looks very nice.  The studio I was going to (which closed just before the pandemic) was great because class sizes were small.  I inquired about class size at this new studio and was told the average size is only 7!  I don't like the classes where 30 or 40 people are practicing, so this place sounds ideal.  I'm going to try out a class and see how it goes.

But first I'm back on Iris watch today and tomorrow and then on Friday Fletcher's sister and one of her daughters are driving up from Virginia.  So, I need to get the bathrooms cleaned!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 10/7/25

 Good Morning!

It was a luxury to laze around in bed this morning and not jump up immediately!  I've been having those nights where I go to bed and fall asleep rather quickly but then wake up at 2 or 3 a.m. and stay awake for several hours.  Frustrating, annoying and tiring!  Last night was more of the same though I wasn't awake for as long as usual.  And, when I did open my eyes at 7 a.m., the sky was a gorgeous rosy color.

Now it's Tuesday and time for a TNT update.  A little stitching was accomplished during the past week.  Two leaves (one not quite filled in completely) and another blossom (or piece of fruit?  not sure what it is) were done.

And here's a shot of where things stand overall:

There is another rather large leaf to be stitched and then lots and lots of tree trunk...brown, brown, brown.  Today I hope to finish filling in that one leaf and (perhaps) outline the next.

But, I have lots I need and want to get done today while at home (instead of watching Iris).  We do need to grocery shop.  I have a book to drop off at the library and another one to pick up.  There is a ton of laundry waiting to be done as well as the usual chores - bathrooms and kitchen floor, vacuuming, etc.  We shall see how much actually gets done!

Whatever is on your agenda, I hope you have a lovely day.

Weekending 10/6/25

 Hello My Friends,

Happy Monday!  How was your weekend?  I hope it was as lovely as mine.  Time allowed me to stitch, read and do some yarn things (including unraveling and winding - but more on that on Wednesday).

Our weather was lovely.  The days were a little warmer than I like for October, but once the sun starts its descent, the temps cool off into more reasonable October temps.  There was lots of sunshine and blue, blue skies.  I walked out to the garden yesterday to check on figgy (nothing more there - all the figs remain small and unripe) and found that one of our large peppers had fully turned red!

Isn't it gorgeous?

And Fletch spotted a visitor on a railing.  Our first toad this year!

I have never seen one with this coloring.  Really, he looked like a rock, but I saw him blink.  No idea how he got onto the railing and no idea where he went later.

We ended the weekend with dinner at Colin & Mailing's and a fire after that.  It was a perfect evening for a fire and the moon was big and bright in the sky.  I'll be back over there in a couple of hours to watch Iris today.

Have a wonderful Monday!

Unraveled Wednesday 10/1/25

 Good Morning!

Wow!  October has arrived.  Three-quarters of 2025 is already in the books.  It does not seem possible or believable.

And now we are at the first Wednesday in October.  Let's link up with Kat to talk about and share what we are making and reading.

After finishing up the socks for Iris last week I intended to stash dive for yarn to make family socks for Mailing, Colin and Iris.  But, I have yet to do that.  Instead I pulled out Semplice and worked on it a bit.

I'm in the midst of the home stretch on this shawl!  This last pattern part has 44 rows and I have knit 17 of them.  After that there are 10 rows of garter stitch before binding off.  It should not take too long, but every other row adds 4 stitches, so it keeps growing.  It will obviously need to be blocked once finished.

Reading was done last week too.  When Clara Parks mentioned Basho the other week, I went in search of any books about him.  What came up was Grass Sandals: The Travels of Basho by Dawning Slovak.  It turned out to be a book for children, but I loved it.  I had never heard of Basho, a famous Haiku poet and one who traveled throughout Japan and kept journals.  The book talks about where he went (there is an illustrated map at the end), shares some of his Haiku poetry and is beautifully illustrated by Demi.

Fletch and I finally finished reading (after dinner) Force of Nature: Three Women Tackle the John Muir Trail by Joan Griffin.  This was billed as being a cross between "Wild" and "A Walk in the Woods".  Really it was just the author writing about her experience hiking.  It wasn't awful, just not great.  It could have been much shorter.

Lastly, I read Where the Rivers Merge by Mary Alice Monroe. A Southern (Lowcountry, SC) story set against several generations.  Predictable family drama.  There is supposed to be a second book continuing the saga, but I don't think it has been written yet.  Again, nothing great, but an easy and enjoyable read.

Now I need to get moving - I'm back to watching Iris today.  I've missed that little girl and it will be so good to hold her again.  I hope your Wednesday is a good one.

Tiny Needle Tuesday 9/30/25

 Good Morning All,

Kind of a gloomy day out there.  No rain in the forecast and it is supposed to hit 80 today.  That doesn't sound like the end of September to me.

After letting Mabel out at 5 a.m., I managed to get back to sleep until 7:15!  Mabel hasn't yet noticed the new bird feeder outside the office window, but I've already seen chickadees feasting, so it won't be long till Mabel is curled up on her shelf at the window.  I love when she starts chittering to the birds.

This is the last TNT for September 2025 and I have progress to show!  After nothing to report/show last week, I am happy to show you that the last angry cloud has been completed, the stars are shining and...the Moon has appeared!!

I love the moon!  And here's an overall shot of where things stand.

Very wrinkled, but c'est la vie.  There are more leaves and blooms that will go to the left of the moon and there is also some kind of bug a little further down.  The leaves and blooms in the middle are part of the large tree that the evil serpent is wound around further down.  Still a massive amount of stitching left on this piece, but thankfully I am fully enjoying it still.

My dental visit went well (no issues thank God) and today is an eye doctor appointment.  Also grocery shopping at some point.  I hope your Tuesday will be a good one.  Enjoy!

Weekending 9/29/25

 Good Morning!

How are you these final days of September.  The month has flown by for me.  And although my back is extremely grateful for a rest, I've been missing Iris.  I got so accustomed to seeing here every Monday - Friday, that having 6 days "off" in a row is a bit disconcerting.

How was your final September weekend?  Mine was lovely.  Filled with things I love doing - cooking, sitting outside, reading, stitching, knitting.  While Fletch was in the garden picking greens for a salad, I joined him to look at our fig.  Miracle of miracles!  I discovered one fig that had gotten slightly larger and had ripened.  We split it and it was delicious!  The next day I walked out again and discovered 3 more!  They are not as large as prior years, but the flavor is superb!  I'll be checking daily to hopefully beat the birds at harvesting them.

Raspberries were on sale, so I got a bunch and then made some raspberry puff pastry treats!  I have not tried one yet, but Fletch pronounced them "very good" which is high praise - he usually thinks I don't make things sweet enough!

One day I ventured out to Lowes.  I needed a shepherd's hook for hanging my new bird feeder.  My office window bird feeder was destroyed by squirrels last year, so we are trying just a regular bird feeder hanging from a shepherd's hook at the window.  Mabel should still be able to enjoy watching the birds come in and (hopefully) the squirrels will not ruin this one.  No one has discovered it yet, but I'm sure some birds will any day.  Meanwhile, this is what greeted me when I walked into Lowes:

It's September and already Christmas trees and everything else are on display.  We haven't even gotten to Halloween and Thanksgiving.  I did notice a few skeletons, but they were already packed in boxes to be put away!  Geeze!!  Makes me crazy.

The only thing I have going on today is a dentist appointment this morning (routine cleaning).  I'm hopeful that the balance of the day can be spent enjoying doing those things I love (stitching, knitting, reading).  Cheers to the week ahead - may it be a great one for all of us.

Unraveled Wednesday 9/24/25

 Good Morning My Friends!

And Happy mid-week.  Also, Happy Birthday to my favorite guy.  Yup, it's Fletcher's birthday today.  I will be caring for Iris (the last day of my marathon session is today), but Colin is going to cook dinner for us.  And...if the weather holds (who knows?) we may have a fire outside.  After a forecast that showed rain each and every day, we had none on Monday and none on Tuesday until later last night.  Nothing measurable in the rain gauge, but it sounded lovely and the scent of rain in the air was divine!

Wednesday means it's time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to chat about making and reading.  Two wonderful things!

The socks for Iris are finished!!  Woo-Hoo!  I was able to finish them up yesterday while she had lunch with Colin outside.

The yarn is Static from KnitPicks and the color way is Taos.  Using #2 needles, I cast on 44 stitches.  The cuff is a 1x1 twisted rib and the sock itself is plain vanilla.

It was really too warm for socks yesterday, but she let me put them on her feet and they fit!  I need/want to pick out more yarn for socks.  I'm thinking I may make matching socks for C&M and Iris!

The excellent reading continues!  Last week I read Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy.  I know that many of you have already read this book.  And WOW!  it really packs a punch, doesn't it?  I finished it around 10:30 Saturday night and then had trouble getting to sleep - my mind kept going over all that happened in the book (and so much happens).  A book I absolutely loved and I highly recommend it.

I picked up something a little easier for my next read...not as intense.  I'm about a third of the way through Where the Rivers Merge by Mary Alice Monroe.  This is a multi-generational novel that takes place in the Lowcountry of South Carolina.  I'm finding it ok, nothing spectacular, but easy to read (also easy to put down and go do something else!).

Emails from my library came in again and I have more books to pick up!  Not a bad problem to have.

Time for me to get going.  I have a bunch of things to do before heading over to Colin's.  Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Weekending 9/22/25

 Hello My Friends

And Happy Autumnal Equinox (2:19 p.m. today).  After a gorgeous weekend, I woke to gloomy skies outside.  We may have rain all week!  We never got much of any rain last week, so who knows?  Certainly not the weather people.

Anyway, how was your weekend?  Mine was filled with catching up on chores.  A lot of laundry was done.  Two bathrooms were cleaned and floors scrubbed.  The kitchen floor was (finally) scrubbed.  Initially I had visions of doing some knitting (finishing Iris' sock maybe?), stitching (finishing the angry cloud?) and reading.  Reading was accomplished, but no knitting or stitching.  Grocery shopping was completed.  The chores took so long!  But...I was able to cross everything off my list except for a trip to the library.  A book is waiting for me to pick it up, but I decided to hold off because I could see that a book that Fletch had requested should be in today or tomorrow...I'll just pick up both at the same time.

This morning I had the luxury of sleeping in a little bit.  I will be going over to care for Iris today, but I have a late arrival (just like school - lol).  Iris has a pediatrician appointment this morning (9 month), so I don't need to be at C&M's until around 11.  And, Bonnie comes back from China (I think tomorrow) and will be taking over Iris duty as of Thursday.  So, a short week.  My back is very, very thankful.

The kids took Iris camping this past weekend!  They were at Hawk Mountain which is such a beautiful place (though there are Copperheads and Timber Rattlesnakes which makes me nervous).  Hopefully they did not see (or hear in the case of a rattlesnake) any of them.  Colin texted that they did see a porcupine when they went for a walk Sunday morning!  They stayed in a shelter (Adirondack style - 3 sided).  I'm anxious to hear more about their adventure.

Yesterday afternoon I walked out to the garden.  A couple of green tomatoes and a couple of green peppers (hoping they turn red).  The figs are still very small and don't appear to be ripening at all.  But, the Hibiscus is still blooming!

Both the yellow and green beans that remain are drying on the plants.  Fletch will save some of the seeds for next year.

Even though I didn't get to any "making" this weekend, it felt like a good one and I'm happy to have gotten all my chores done.  How was your weekend?

Unraveled Wednesday 9/17/25

 Good Morning My Friends,

I hope this day finds you feeling well and having some fun.  We are forecast for rain which we really, really need.  And, I honestly enjoy a rainy day now and then.  It can be calming and soothing.

Mid-week and mid-month.  It's time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to chat about making and reading.  Iris' second sock is underway.  I managed to get to the heel flap yesterday while she was busy having lunch with Colin.

Luckily I am not a match-matchy person because there is no way her two socks will match.  This one has an entire leg in the blue color.  The first one had almost no blue in the leg.  You can see the first one here.

Recently I've had a large number of wonderful books come in for me.  Over the weekend I finished reading Heartwood by Amity Gaige and I loved it.  A woman goes missing while thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail.  After finishing that book, I started in on Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy and was immediately sucked into the story.  I'm roughly 100 pages in, so about a third of the way and it is wonderful.

There are still two other library books on my nightstand and I received an email that yet another book in my queue has come in for me!  Nothing wrong with an abundance of books.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 9/16/25

 Good Morning All,

It appears I am having a little trouble waking up this morning.  I first typed "Unraveled Tuesday" for the title of today's post.  LOL

Saturday afternoon provided a little bit of time for stitching, so I eagerly grabbed it and got down to work.  I want to finish that 3rd cloud (angry) on the right side of the piece, but I'm a little tired of it.  So instead, I started outlining the stars that are underneath said cloud.

After stitching the outline of one star I went back to the "angry" portion of the cloud and filled in a little more black.  Then on to the second star, back to the cloud, etc., etc.  The final bottom band of that cloud will be the darker blue.  And the stars will be filled in with gold.  It's coming along.  There is another leaf and flower to the left of the stars.  And, of course, the moon (I can't wait) underneath the stars.

Here is an overall shot of how things look right now.

Progress is being made and it feels good!  However, there are still miles and miles of stitching to be done.  I'm happy to be enjoying the journey.

Yesterday mid-day got pretty warm.  Colin turned the air back on.  But, by the time I was home, it felt much, much cooler.  There was a pretty strong breeze and I turned fans off in the house!  I think today should still be nice, though rain is in the forecast for Wednesday and Thursday.

Time to get more coffee and attempt to wake up.  I'm looking forward to seeing some of you for tonight's Zoom RWU book discussion.  See you then!

Weekending 9/15/25

 Hello and Good Morning My Friends!

It feels as though we are back to summerish weather.  It feels a bit closer out - maybe increased humidity, I don't know.

How was your weekend?  Mine was lovely.  And I have no pictures to share.  Colin and Iris came over yesterday for lunch (Mailing was away for the day).  Even though it was pretty warm, I had made vegetable beef soup earlier in the week and I baked corn muffins to go along with that.  Iris ate a lot!!  We spent some time sitting on a blanket in the yard enjoying the sun.

There was time for reading, knitting and stitching as well as grocery shopping, letter writing and some cooking.  A good, balanced weekend.

The other day my in-box contained a letter from Helen Stewart (Curious Handmade) and I loved this:

I learned something very beautiful today. In French, 'bibliothèque intérieure' means your 'inner library', the invisible shelf you carry inside, filled with every story that's ever shaped you.

The books you've loved, the heartbreaks you've survived, the random quotes that stuck, the memories that built you. They all live there. Quietly reminding you of who you are and how far you've come.The 'bibliothèque intérieure' is a place of quiet reflection, where the stories of our lives reside and inform who we are.

We are already at mid-September which does not seem possible!  I hope this Monday finds you at the beginning of a wonderful week.

Merci 9/11/25

 Good Morning!

Just dropping in very briefly to say Thank You for all the wonderful birthday wishes.  My day was perfect (despite the less than stellar weather).  Iris was a little doll all day (and I still say there is no better feeling than having a baby fall asleep in your arms).  She demonstrated her ability to stand (and even take a step or two) all day.  Fletch was very impressed to see that.

The dinner Colin made was fabulous!  Salmon bowls with wild caught salmon, rice, avocado, spinach, cucumbers, seaweed wrappers.  And dessert!  Oh My!

This is a Plum Torte from the NYT.  Fabulous doesn't even begin to describe it.  There was whipped cream  to put on top and enough left that we brought a generous helping of Torte home with us.

Thanks again for all the kind words and wishes.  I hope your week is winding down nicely.

Unraveled Wednesday 9/10/25 (and...#72!!)

 Hello My Friends,

It is a rainy Wednesday morning here.  Perfect for staying in bed a little longer (which I did for about 15 minutes).

Happy Unraveled Wednesday and Happy Birthday to moi!!  As my friend Leslie says, we only look "old" on the outside...inside we are still silly and young.  She and I can't figure out how we got to be 72 years old, but we are celebrating.

I'm looking forward to a dinner prepared by Colin and Mailing which I know will be delicious.  I know we are having salmon bowls and some kind of baked dessert - I will report back on that.

Meanwhile, let's link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to see what everyone is making and reading.

Happily I have one finished Iris sock to share with you.

I managed to finish this last night so I will try it on Iris later this morning.  I started the second Iris sock last night, but about 7 rows into the 1x1 twisted ribbing I saw a gaping hole!  So, yes, there was a bit of unraveling.  I put everything away and will cast on again for Sock #2.

Reading was quite good.  Last week I mentioned (I think) that I had started When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzen.  Oh my!  What a fabulous book!  There were parts that made me laugh, there were parts that brought tears to my eyes.  A meditation on life and death and everything in-between.  I thought this was simply a beautiful book.

Next up I read Hunter's Heart Ridge by Sarah Stewart Taylor.  This is a second book in a series featuring Franklin Warren, a police detective in Southern Vermont.  I would not call this a "cozy" mystery, but close.  It's an easy mystery - nothing to keep you up at night or make you turn on all the lights.  What I like is the location:  Southern Vermont.  Both of my parents were born in Vermont (my Dad in Stratton and my Mom in Brandon) and I have spent a considerable amount of time traipsing around Southern Vermont over the years.  Even though the town in the book (Bethany) is fictional, real places are mentioned and it's fun to know exactly where they are talking about.  Even though I found the end of this book bordering on "sappy" I do hope that the author continues the series.

Books I'm in queue for keep arriving at the library!  I am now about 50 pages into Heartwood by Amity Gaige and am finding it to be a very good read.  And yesterday afternoon I received an email letting me know that Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy is waiting for me at the library (I've been in the queue for this book for what seems like forever!).

Please join everyone over at Kat's and let us know what you are making and reading!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 9/9/25

 Hello Everyone,

Brrr, it's a chilly morning here in Eastern PA.  I put the bathroom heat on while I took a shower this morning and am now safely tucked into pj pants and a sweatshirt.  Soon I'll need to move and dry my hair since my head is cold!  I slept with the windows wide open, but an extra blanket on the bed.  It was a delicious feeling.

My making time has been curtailed since caring for Iris every day.  It is honestly a joy, but by the time I get home I'm too tired to pull out stitching or knitting.  I can read (and I do) some, but I can't find the brain width to do any making.  And, as you know from yesterday's post, my weekend was pretty full.  Thus, not much stitching was accomplished.

The pale blue above the star was all that was stitched over the weekend.  I had hoped to complete that cloud and also outline the other stars below, but there's always another day.

The Iris news is that she is now crawling forward, but often prefers to scoot around on her butt.  Mostly though she prefers to stand and does that ALL THE TIME.  I predict she will be walking any day now.  She will turn 9 months old on Friday and that is just so hard to believe.

Time for me to dry my hair.  I'll be back tomorrow with a minimal knitting update and a reading update.  Hope your Tuesday is a good one!

Weekending 9/8/25

 Good Morning Friends,

Whew!  Our (my) weekend was very busy...to the point that I wonder what happened to the weekend.  The good thing is that I was so exhausted last night that I went to bed early and slept nine hours!  Guess I needed it.

My weekend started early on Friday with an early dismissal from watching Iris.  C&M both worked only half days and then they all took off for a weekend at the beach.  The weather wasn't great around here, but they had a good day Saturday with both beach time and riding bikes.

Meanwhile, I was driving back and forth to their house to feed Talbot and Saturday morning Fletch and I drove out to the farm to pick up C&M's CSA share.  We did not bother going out to the fields to get the "U Pick" things, but the share we gathered included tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, peppers, celery, garlic, dill and a few other things.

This boy was extremely talkative each time I was over to feed him.  He missed his people!

The rest of my weekend included catching up on laundry and some chores and a small grocery shopping on Sunday on my way home from feeding Talbot.  We are back to a bit of a cooling trend, so yesterday I made a big pot of chili.

Yesterday afternoon included a nice, long chat with my friend Leslie who reminded me that it was 60 years ago that we met and became best friends!  How is that even possible?

I hope your Monday morning holds a promise of a wonderful week - enjoy!

Unraveled Wednesday 9/3/25

Good Morning!

The temps are steadily climbing a bit, but it is still pleasant outside.  We even had rain last night!  I drove over to CVS after dinner (of course...what's a week or day without a visit there?) and as I pulled into the driveway on my way back the rain started.  It wasn't hard, but it was steady and it sounded and smelled so good,

Today is the first Unraveled Wednesday of September!  Almost like the first day of school.  Everyone link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to talk about making and reading.  I guarantee you will find inspiration and perhaps a bit of enabling (we all do that so well!).

Since I had finished my Simple SKYP socks, I needed a pair of socks on the needles.  I picked out some leftover Static from KnitPicks and cast on the first of a pair of socks for Iris.  The little newborn socks I knit for her before she was even born never fit her.  Her feet at birth were larger than those little socks!

I looked at some patterns for toddler socks to get an idea of how many stitches to cast on.  I settled on 44.  The cuff is a 1x1 twisted rib and then the leg (and foot when I get there) will just be plain vanilla.  Theoretically these will be a quick knit...but time will tell.

Reading has been so good!  I only finished one book but it was an amazing read.  Isola by Allegra Goodman was just so good.  It gave me all the feelies if you know what I mean.  Just as "Crown" reminded me of "Nesting" "Isola" reminded me a little bit of "The Marriage Portrait."  Completely different stories, but there are similarities.  I highly recommend this one.

I'm in the middle of another library book that is excellent ("When the Cranes Fly South") and I have 3 more library books on my nightstand.  AND, I just received an email yesterday that yet another book is ready for me to pick up.  Guess I'll be busy for a little bit.

Time for me to gather things together to take over to C&M's today, dry my hair, and find something to eat.  I hope your Wednesday proves to be a joyful one.

Tiny Needle Tuesday 9/2/25

 

Good Morning!

After showing only one or two flowers per day, yesterday our hibiscus went into overdrive!  There are still more buds.  While other things have not fared as well, this is the best year our hibiscus has ever had!  Fletch found another tomato and cucumber ready to pick!

And Colin gave us a quart of paste tomatoes from the farm...I need to make some sauce.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.  Ours was very relaxed and fun.  I managed to read a lot, stitch and knit!  On Sunday we ventured over to C&M's for dinner.  Colin grilled hot Italian sausages and sautéed some yellow squash, onions and peppers.  He also baked a fresh loaf of sourdough bread.  We brought a big bowl of eggplant caponata and Mailing made an incredible peach crisp.  YUM!!  Afterwards, we sat out back with a nice fire.  Very relaxing.

Now it's Tuesday and time for a tiny needle update.  The first one for September.  I did manage to get a bit of stitching completed.  

The cloud on the upper right has now been completely filled in and the cloud underneath has been outlined.  And look!  The first star has appeared!!  There are still more stars underneath the clouds and then I will get to the moon.  Here's a look at the overall piece so far.

Today it is back to caring for Iris.  On Friday she stood up all on her own!  She was in a downward dog position and just stood up!  Scared the sh*t out of me as she was on a hard floor and I was a bit of a distance away.  But she plopped down on her butt after a little bit.  She is still not crawling, but scoots around on her butt very easily.  I think she may skip crawling and just start walking.  Bottom line, my hands are full when watching her!  LOL

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

Unraveled Wednesday 8/27/25

 Hello Friends,

Here it is the very last Unraveled Wednesday in August 2025!  Yikes but the year is slipping by quickly.  I'm ok with Fall being a little bit in the air.  After all, Fall is my very favorite season - using candles at dinner, having a shawl wrapped around my shoulders, warm beverages.  But still, it seems too fast.  And this morning I actually put the heat on in the bathroom while I had a shower!

Yesterday when we went grocery shopping we spotted gladiolas in the flower department.  I couldn't believe that a huge bunch was only $6.99.  These are much grander than any we attempted to grow, simply lovely.

It's now time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to talk about making and reading.  Won't you join us?

Guess what?  My Simple SKYP socks were finished Friday night!!  Woo-Hoo!

Obviously not blocked (confession:  I never block socks...just put them on and wear them - lol).  These did take forever to knit.  They might win the prize for being on the needles the longest of any pair I have ever knit!  But now they are finished and I love them.  Luckily they are for me.

I did wind up some yarn for another pair of socks, but decided I don't really care for the yarn all that much (Trekking 75% wool and 25% bamboo).  The yarn is extremely thin.  So I will go through my stash again and find other yarn to use.  It's good to have socks on the needles and I would like to get started on some gift socks.

My intention was to pick up the Heartwarmer Cowl again - the one I started months ago and then had to rip out a section and never got back to it.  That did not happen.  Nor did I pick up Semplice.  But, I will get back to both of these...at some point...

Last week I read an excellent book!  Crown by Evanthia Bromiley is a very strong debut novel.  A young pregnant mother and her twins are facing eviction from their trailer.  As their power is shut off, the mother goes into labor.  This book brought back memories of "Nesting" - one of our RWU books.  Different story, but similar themes.  I found it to be a very fast read and I highly recommend.

I'm now halfway through another book that I am finding hard to put down...but more on that next week.  And, Fletch and I are still reading (slowly, 8 pages or so after dinner) Force of Nature and it is ok.  Not great, but parts are interesting.  We are over halfway through it, but still have a lot of reading to do.

What are you making and reading this week?