No TNT Today 4/29/25

 Hey Hey Everyone,

Good Morning!  Happy Tuesday.  Usually I would find myself writing a TNT post this morning, but honestly not one single stitch was made last week.  So, no TNT update on the Kindness sampler.  Sorry.

I did manage to make the lemon blueberry scones last night.

But, guess what?  I don't like them!  I found them to be on the bland side and just not real good.  So, they are packaged up for me to take over to C&M's later today.  If they don't like them, they can put them out for the birds!

Yesterday was a fun day with Iris.  Just in the last week she has changed a lot.  When I arrived yesterday morning Zhongren (Mailing's Dad) was holding her.  I walked in and Iris broke out into a wide smile.  Did my heart good for sure.  Zhongren had come over because there was no power at his house - some kind of line work or something was going on and he needed to get on line for work.  He handed Iris over to me and she babbled and smiled for over an hour before deciding to be a little cranky.  It was time for a nap.

Really nothing else to report.  I do hope your week is going well.

Weekending 4/28/25

 Good Morning Friends,

The sun is up and we have blue skies!  How was your weekend?  Ours was typical which is fine with me.  Saturday was a rainy day.  Nothing hard, just a gentle rain on and off all day long.  I did not sleep well Friday night and therefore didn't feel all that great on Saturday.  So other than a couple loads of laundry, paying bills and roasting a chicken for dinner, I did not do much.  

Sunday, however, I felt great and accomplished so many domestic chores.  LOL. Vacuuming and dusting were done along with more laundry and scrubbing of floors.  I had planned to bake some lemon blueberry scones, but someone (not me and not Mabel) had snacked on most of the blueberries.  I did go out and get more blueberries, but never got around to making the scones...perhaps tonight.

I did, however, make a delicious dinner!!  

While penne pasta was cooking, I sautéed some onion and garlic.  Then added some white wine, sun-dried tomatoes and marinated artichokes.  Let that cook a few minutes then added some asparagus, lemon juice and red pepper flakes.  Next up shrimp went into the pan and once they were cooked through the drained penne pasta was added to the pan.  It all was topped off with parsley from the garden!  So good and easy and leftovers!!

In between rain showers on Saturday I walked out and cut a sprig of lilac.  The whole house smelled lovely.

And I discovered that our Lily of the Valley are beginning to open, so I picked a few of them along with some grape hyacinths for a small vase.  More heavenly scents!

Today I'm heading back over to help care for Iris.  I need to get there a little bit earlier than sometimes because an electrician is coming at 11 to look at a few things the kids want done.  Whatever you have planned, make your Monday a great one!!

Friday, Finally! 4-25-25

 Hello Everyone!

I'm so happy Friday is here.  My arms and legs and knees are tired.  LOL. I would not give up time with Iris, but I'm always grateful for a little break.  Yesterday ended up being a bit of a break anyway.  I had an eye doctor appointment in the morning, so wasn't planning to go over to see Iris till after lunch.  Since we were planning to have dinner with Colin, Mailing and Iris, we waited until closer to 2:15 to go over to their house.  Using their crockpot (no stove replacement yet - they plan to shop this weekend) Colin fixed a delicious lamb tangine with chickpeas, onions, tomatoes, olives and a slew of spices which we had over brown rice.  It was nice enough that we ate outside.  I had made a batch of the chocolate peanut butter bars that Bonny shared the other week - delicious!

Yesterday was simply gorgeous and before Fletch and I drove over to Colin's, I walked around a bit.  Our wisteria suddenly popped open in one day!

In the background you can see our apple tree which is in bloom.  The tree is slowly dying, but it still blooms and produces apples each year.  The recent winds have brought a lot of the blooms down and at times it almost looks like it is snowing outside!

We are so happy that we have a pair of bluebirds who have decided to set up house in our bluebird house!  Yesterday I managed to catch both the male and female sitting on the garden railing.

They are just below the house and to the right on the railing (which is bamboo from the back of our property!).  You can see the garlic shoots in the last bed in the garden.  Before long we will have scapes and then by early July it will be time to harvest.  YAY.

We have no real plans for the weekend.  With helping to care for Iris, my domestic chores are now all bundled into the weekend (and that does not always happen).  It is looking like Saturday will be a huge washout - rain all day - so I will most likely try to get some cleaning done then.  I also have a whole chicken in the freezer and that may be a good day to roast that.  I know Fletch is hoping to get some gardening done on Sunday and, as always, I'm hoping for some reading, stitching and knitting time.  Fingers crossed!

I hope you all have great weekends - have some fun!!

National Poetry Month. 4/24/25

 Good Morning Friends,

As you all know, April is National Poetry month.  This April I have delighted in joining Bonny, Kym, Kat and Sarah posting poems each Thursday.  This week is the last Thursday of the month and we are all posting poems by Adrienne Rich.  She is a new-to-me poet; someone I was not familiar with, but I have come to appreciate her poetry so much.  I hope you enjoy the poems we have selected.

The Return of the Evening Grossbeaks

 

By Adrienne Rich

 

 

The birds about the house pretend to be

Penates of our domesticity.

And when the cardinal wants to play at prophet

We need tell his eminence to come off it.

 

The crows, too, in the dawn prognosticate

Like ministers at a funeral of state.

The pigeons in their surplices of white

Assemble for some careful Anglican rite.

 

Only these guests who rarely come our way

Dictate no oracles for us while they stay.

No matter what we try to make them mean

Their coming lends no answer to our scene.

 

We scatter seed and call them by their name,

Remembering what has changed since last they came.

I chose this poem because my Grandmother liked Evening Grossbeak's so much.  I remember being with her and hoping they would show up.  Their time in Vermont was so fleeting each year.

Have a good day - it's almost the weekend!!

Unraveled Wednesday 4/23/25

 Good Morning my Friends,

How are you this fine morning?  I am much (so very much) more rested than yesterday.  I slept for over 10 hours last night!  And it felt so good.

Yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous day - sunny and temps in the 70's.  More of that is forecast for today.  But before I get ready to head over to see Iris, it is time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers for Unraveled Wednesday.

As you all know I have not been doing all that much knitting lately.  But I did cast on for yet another dishcloth.  (These are just so easy to pick up and put down with no issues when watching a baby.)  This time it is not a corner to corner one, but rather a waffle weave.

I'll admit with only 6 rows knit it is difficult to see the pattern.  I think the pattern is from Purl Soho.  An easy-to-memorize 4 row pattern.  Who knows?  Maybe I'll get to knit a little on it today.

Reading has been good.  Not great, but good.  I finished two books in the last week.  First up I read The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen.  This is the first mystery/thriller by Tess Gerritsen in a series (so far just 2) featuring "The Martini Club" - a group of ex CIA operatives living on the coast of Maine.  I found the book to be good, but a little predictable.  Easy to read which has been what I've needed lately.  I'm in the queue for book #2 in this series.

I also read Good Soil: the Education of an Accidental Farmhand by Jeff Chu.  Chu started going to seminary at Princeton and then volunteering/working at the Farminary (love that word).  I enjoyed the texts about plants and food, but overall for me it was a bit too heavy on the religious side (which should not be a surprise from a theologian).

The good news is that I've moved up to #7 in the queue for Nesting - the next RWU selection.  Fletch and I are reading Round River which is a book made up of selections taken from the journals of Aldo Leopold (of Sand County Almanac fame) and edited by Luna Leopold.  An easy and enjoyable read.  When I pulled it off the bookcase shelf for us to read, I found myself tearing up.  Inside was an inscription from my Dad:  "Dear Vera:  Giving a book to you is like "carrying coals to Newcastle" but I hope you may enjoy this.  Love, Mom & Dad".  A present from them at Christmas 2000.

OK, time to rev myself up with more coffee.  Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 4/22/25

 Good Morning!

The sun is up and the temperature is mild.  Yesterday it felt like Mother Nature couldn't make up her mind what to do - it was cloudy and then the sun would come out, it was breezy and then the winds stopped.  Today looks calm and nice.

I never saw Bonnie yesterday!  She ended up going over early and taking a walk with Colin and Iris and then she left by 10.  She is still working part-time and needed to get back to work.  I arrived around 10:45.  Iris and I had some alone time yesterday while Colin ran to Whole Foods.  I expected her to be very fussy, but she was very good instead.  We read some books and played with a few toys and then she fell asleep in my arms.  But only for about 15 minutes and woke up looking for Colin.  I'll go back over this afternoon.  Hopefully she will be good because this Grandma is tired!  I've basically been awake since 3 a.m.  Not good!

The only time I had to stitch this past week was Saturday afternoon.  So, it's a little difficult to tell that anything was done, but some progress was made.

Naturally more brown was added, but also a couple of petals on the main flower were filled in.  It's coming along, just slowly.

Time for me to get some coffee into my body!  I hope everyone has a wonderful Tuesday.

Weekending 4/21/25

 Hello and Good Morning!

I hope everyone had a good weekend.  Ours was fine and we had time with family which is always wonderful.  Saturday was pretty warm.  Overcast, but warm and a bit breezy.  I ran some errands and then stitched in the afternoon.

Just about dinner time Colin called to say that Easter was cancelled!!  Their stove had died.  Colin had turned the oven on to preheat to bake the lemon tart and when he came back inside to check if it was ready, one of the heating elements was fried and the oven was filled with smoke!  Luckily no one was hurt and there was no fire, but they unplugged the stove, so no ovens and no burners.  We decided to go over anyway.  Colin grilled a huge ham steak outside and they had a large container of corn and black bean salad left from Saturday night.  I made a French carrot salad (no mayo) and an edamame and tomato salad.  A loaf of French bread completed the menu.  No pineapple stuffing which I really missed.  Iris did have a little pineapple though.  And they had made delicious vanilla ice cream for dessert (no lemon tart...).

We ate around Noon and after that took a walk in the neighborhood.  It was a pretty day.  Cooler than Saturday and breezier, but still nice.  We did not pass the house with this flag, but Colin had taken a picture of it earlier in the week.  I love it!!

So perfect!!

Later in the afternoon we headed home and Colin drove over too.  He used our oven to make the lemon tart (he had already made the crust and filling - it just had to bake).  While that was cooking Colin helped Fletch with some stuff in the garden.

Today I am heading back to Colin & Mailing's to help with Iris.  Bonnie (Mailing's Mom) is also coming over.  Iris is bonding with me, but has not had all that much time with Bonnie.  Since we both will be caring for Iris once Colin goes back to work (mid-June), it's important that Iris become familiar with her as well.  I have not seen Bonnie in a couple of months, so it will be good to get together again.

Have a wonderful Monday!

TGIF 4/18/25

 Good Morning Friends,

I'm glad it is Friday!  It's been a rough week for Iris with all her vaccinations on Monday.  She's been mostly fretful and also very, very clingy to her father.  Sweet to see, but hard for him to get a break!  C&M have started her on some solid food - not really enough for nourishment, but it's one way to check for allergies.  They are making her food themselves.  So far she has had mashed banana mixed with breast milk, another night she had oatmeal, then steamed and mashed carrots.  Not sure what she was trying last night.

Last night I knit the last few stitches on my latest dishcloth.  The yarn isn't as nice as what I used earlier, and it is pretty splitty, but I think it turned out ok.  A dishcloth doesn't need to be perfect anyway!

I'll take my needles and some different yarn to C&M's today when I wander over that way.  Simple dishcloths are the easiest thing to work on when I'm helping out with Iris.

Despite a little chilly start to the day, it is supposed to be in the 70's today and then up to 80 on Saturday!!  That will be welcome.  I don't think Easter Sunday will be quite as warm, but as long as it is sunny, that will be good.  We will be going over to C&M's for a noon time meal.  I think Colin said he would make ham, pineapple stuffing, green beans and a lemon tart for dessert with homemade vanilla ice cream.  YUM

Happy Easter to those of you who celebrate.  I hope everyone has a lovely weekend.

A Gathering of Poetry

 Good Morning!

Once again we come to a Thursday in April...National Poetry Month.  As in previous weeks in April, I am joining Bonny, Kym, Sarah and Kat to share poems with you.  This week we are sharing poems on aging.  I recently came across this poem by Ursula LeGuin.

Theory of Aging

 

As the number of the years gets bigger

the year itself grows smaller

but heavier.  It acquires gravity.

It will finally get so heavy

that it cannot continue as it is

but implodes to a black hole

into which sink all the years

becoming numberless

and utterly weightless.

This poem and others can be found in a recent volume of poetry I read:  So Far So Good Final Poems 2014 - 2018 by Ursula K. LeGuin.

Unraveled Wednesday 4/16/25

 Good Morning Everyone,

Happy Unraveled Wednesday!  The sun is up (has been up and the birds are loud!) and I can see blue sky.  Poor little Iris was still not feeling all that great yesterday.  Hopefully today will find her in a better mood and feeling better.

Time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to talk all about making and reading.  Two of my favorite subjects.

Only a little knitting was done last week.  Semplice finally saw a little love.  A new section was started and about 8 rows knit.  Honestly it doesn't look much different, so I did not bother spreading it out.

And I am now on the decrease side of the dishcloth.  Just barely!

In other yarny news, my aunt sent me a box of yarn!  She lives in Maryland and a yarn shop in Baltimore (I don't know which one) sent her the yarn.  Rose is involved with a needlework group at her church and I imagine that is how she came upon the gift of yarn.  Anyway, she sent some to me.  First up, we have four skeins of Red Heart Plush (80/20 acrylic/nylon).  Not sure if I will use this or just donate it.  I like the color (sage), but knitting with size 8 needles is not a strong suit for me.  Maybe a nice blanket for Iris?

Next up we have 14 (!) skeins of Kid-n-Ewe from Bryspun in Eugene, Oregon.  50/50 Mohair and Wool.  Each skein is 50 grams; approximately 120 yards.  So there is a lot of it!  I love the raspberry color and need to figure out what to make with it.  Any suggestions?  I'm not familiar with this yarn.  It feels thin to me, but the recommended needle size is #7.

It was a good week for reading!  Fletch and I finished our after dinner reading of Six Walks by Ben Shattuck.  We both enjoyed the book - Shattuck's writing is just a pleasure to read and his sketches added to this memoir.

I also read Wintering by Peter Geye (a new to me author).  I found Geye's writing to be beautiful.  Amazon tells me that this is Book 2 of 3 in a series and I will definitely be looking for the other 2 books.  I found the story compelling and moving.

Last up, I read So Far So Good Final Poems 2014 - 2018 by Ursula LeGuin.  Even though the poems deal mainly with aging and dying (LeGuin passed away ini 2018), I found this volume of poems to be very good.

Thanks, as always, for stopping by and reading my post.  Be sure to check out the other Unravelers to see what they are up to both in making and reading.  Links can be found on Kat's blog.

Tiny Needle Tuesday 4/15/25

 Hello Everyone and Good Morning!

My phone tells me it is 55 outside!  The sky is gradually becoming more visible as the sun comes up...looks like it could be yet another grey day though.  Yesterday I had rain on my way to get my mammogram, but the sun came out later and it ended up being a very pretty day.  Fletch and I were able to sit outside comfortably before dinner for the first time in weeks.  In other Spring news, our grass was cut for the first time yesterday.  And, it was so nice that Fletch grilled steaks for us.  YUM!

My mammogram results are already in and all is good.  Whew!  With breast cancer in my family (my Mom and my paternal Grandfather [!]), I'm always a little on edge each year.  But poor Iris!  Yesterday was not such a good day for her.  She had her 4 month check up and was jabbed three times plus received an oral dose of something.  She was pretty fretful all day long.

Now it's time for a Tiny Needle update.  I wondered if I would even have anything to show, but Sunday afternoon I found a nice pocket of time when I was able to stitch.

A bunch more brown (of course) in the main section was stitched.  But, I also finished the lettering across the bottom and the fourth little corner square.  Still need to stitch Kindness begets on the left side and then finish the middle stitching.  It will take a little while.

Today is looking to be filled with grocery shopping in the morning and Iris snuggles in the afternoon.  Here's hoping that your Tuesday is a good one.

Weekending 4/14/25

Good Morning My Friends,

Another wet, grey weekend has gone by.  My weekend was filled with cooking and domestic things (laundry, cleaning bathrooms, etc., etc.).  No pictures - not even one!

Saturday I made homemade baked beans.  I had soaked yellow eyed beans overnight and then baked them in the oven all day.  A little dry mustard and some maple syrup was all that was needed.  I also baked an apple pie.  Fletch didn't really like the pie (!!!), so I will take it over to C&M later today.

Sunday I made a new-to-us dish:  Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken.  It was so good and so easy.  Here's the recipe in case anyone wants to give it a try.

SLOW COOKER BALSAMIC CHICKEN

 

1/2 Cup balsamic vinegar

3/4 Cup chicken broth (I used a full cup)

1/3 Cup brown sugar

1 TBS Dijon mustard

4 cloves of garlic minced

 

Mix all of the above in the bottom of your slow cooker

 

Boneless chicken breasts (I used two BIG ones cut into two pieces each and trimmed of fat)

 

Sprinkle chicken with oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, salt & pepper

 

Put chicken in sauce in slow cooker and stir to coat the meat with the sauce.

 

Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours (I cooked ours on high and it was done in 2.5 hours)

 

Once chicken is cooked, spoon juice from the cooker into a sauce pan and simmer to reduce.  Add cornstarch to thicken.

I roasted some asparagus and little potatoes to go with.  Fletch said it tasted like a holiday meal!

Luckily I found a bit of time for both knitting and stitching and also reading.  So, all in all, a good weekend even if it was a gloomy one!

I need to get moving and pour more coffee into my body.  I have my mammogram this morning and then will head back to see Colin and Iris (who is now 4 months old!!  Time flies).

Here's hoping your weekend was good and I will see you back here tomorrow!

 

A Poem In Your Pocket

 Good Morning!

Welcome to Poem in Your Pocket Day.  What fun.  Choose a short poem - one that will fit comfortably in the pocket of your jeans, or one you can memorize.  Better yet, copy it onto a scrap of paper and share it with someone today - preferably a stranger.

I overslept - or slept late - this morning.  Luckily I saw Kat's post before I sat down to write this one.  Because...she posted the poem by Billy Collins that I was going to post!  LOL. So, I've chosen another great poem from Billy Collins, also taken from his volume of poetry called Musical Tables.

Departure

 

I wonder –

did you happen

to play something new

on the piano

 

just before you left

 

or was it the breeze

from the door

you left open

that turned the page?

Wishing you all a wonderful day.  Make some fun!

Unraveled Wednesday 4/9/25

 Hi Everyone,

How are you?  I hope all is well.  I'm good other than my back screaming for mercy this morning!

Iris seemed to be doing a little better yesterday...until late afternoon.  By that point she had not seen her Mama in 10 hours so she was fussy and cranky.  She did drink more from the bottle yesterday and Colin got her to nap for 30-45 minutes in the early afternoon (of course, holding her the entire time).  And he texted that after I left (at 4 p.m.) he managed to get her in a good mood and she drank another 4-5 oz!  So, progress is being made.

So here we are mid-week, hump day, Unraveled Wednesday!  Time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers.  Before I jump into what's going on knitting and reading-wise, let me tell you about yesterday morning.

Fletch and I typically do our grocery shopping on Tuesday morning.  Tuesday is Senior Day at Acme and seniors receive 5% off.  With the price of groceries these days, I will take advantage of any discount we can get.  Thanks to digital coupons and sales, we were able to score $50 worth of NY strip steaks for $22!  Not bad.  They also had fresh bluefish which Fletch loves.  I don't like it at all, but I do cook it for Fletch, so we got a couple of filets.  And cat food and the other usual weekly buys.  Then while we were in the check out line a woman from the office came up to us and said we had been picked as customers of the week.  I thanked her, said she was sweet and then she handed me a $50 gift card and told me we could get a free bakery item and free flowers.  Fletch pretty much gets pastries every week, but she said no...get something better and more expensive.  LOL. Luckily we can use that free offer next week.  I did pick out a lovely bunch of roses for free though!

That was such a nice surprise and an extra $50 off our grocery bill was wonderful!

OK, now down to business.  My lovely shawl (Semplice) was not worked on at all this past week.  I did, however, finish up my MedKNITation dishcloth and I really like how it turned out.

It is nice and big and soft and squishy!  I also started another one yesterday while Colin was getting Iris to nap.  This one is using a cotton yarn as well, but this yarn is harder on my hands (like Sugar and Cream).  Still, I was able to get a good amount done on it (roughly half way through the increase rows).

This is another corner-to-corner cloth, but this time I cast on 4, knit across one row and then started the pattern which is simple:  K2, YO, K across.  When I get to the halfway mark, the decrease rows will be K1, K2 together, YO, K2 together again, K across.

I do have some books to tell you about!  First up, thanks to Kim in Oregon I read The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths.  This book is not scheduled to be published till July, but somehow Kim managed to score two copies and she sent me one.  Thanks Kim!!  I loved Elly Griffiths' Ruth Galloway series and was sorry when that ended.  This is the start of her new series.  My opinion was the book was just ok...time travel is involved which is not my thing, but that aside I didn't find the book terribly compelling.  Still, it was not bad.  If anyone would like the book, I'd be happy to send it along to you.  If no one wants it, I'll see if my library would like the advance copy.

I also read The Shape of Night by Tess Gerritsen.  I had recently read about a new series by her dubbed "The Martini Club" that sounded good (ex CIA agent and pals hang out in Maine and solve mysteries).  I stopped at my library but they did not have her new series available so I picked up this one.  Ghosts are involved and all I kept thinking about was "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" - LOL.  This book was ok, but easy to figure out who did it.  Still, an easy and slightly entertaining read.

Lastly, when I was at the library, I picked up a Billy Collins volume of poetry that I had not seen previously:  The Trouble With Poetry and Other Poems which, as I'm sure you can all guess, was simply marvelous and a lot of fun!

If you are still here, thanks for reading along!  Please check out what others are making and reading - you will find links on Kat's blog.  

Tiny Needle Tuesday 4/8/25

 Hi Everyone,

Well, we are back to howling winds coupled with cold temps (32 this morning - prediction for even colder tomorrow morning).  Good thing I did not put away any of my woolens yet!  Oh and dampness too.  Rain all day yesterday and more in the forecast for Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Oy!  Colin installed rain chains at their house and let me tell you, looking at them dripping can be meditative or just about hypnotizing!

I had roughly 4 hours at Colin & Mailing's yesterday.  Iris is better at taking the bottle so she is not quite as hangry, but her naps are not all that restful or long enough.  Colin is successful at getting her to fall asleep in his arms, but the minute he attempts to transfer her to the crib she wakes and fusses.  But yesterday was the longest Iris was separated from Mailing and Colin was successful in getting Iris to drink 6+ oz from a bottle.  Progress.

I took some of our spicy red lentil soup over for Colin & Mailing.  He had made sourdough bread over the weekend and last night was a perfect night for soup and bread.  In return, he gave me a couple of ribs he had cooked with homemade BBQ sauce and some cornbread he had baked in a cast iron skillet.  So, dinner was settled for us.  I sautéed some cabbage to go with it.  Fletch pronounced the ribs and cornbread as real soul food!  It's wonderful to have family who love to cook:)

So now it is Tuesday and time for a TNT update.  The Kindness sampler saw a bit of love this past week.

It's hard to see, but a bunch more green has been added as well as a lot of brown (so much brown in this piece!).  Since helping out with Iris, I don't have as much time to knit or stitch, but that's ok.  Iris is so much more important and nothing is a race.

Fletch and I are going to do grocery shopping this morning and I will head back to snuggle Iris after lunch.

Make your Tuesday a good one!

Weekending 4/7/25

 Hello My Friends,

How are you?  Doing well, I hope.  We are well.  I had been scheduled for a colonoscopy today, but the surgery center cancelled it.  I was not disappointed.  LOL. Long story - I was diagnosed as having C-Diff last November.  Got on antibiotics, got rid of it.  BUT...the surgery center wanted to be sure, so I had to have another test.  All is clear and I need to reschedule the colonoscopy.  And I will...eventually.

Meanwhile I have been getting lots and lots of Iris snuggles.  Mailing went back to work last Tuesday and Colin is officially on paternity leave.  The only issue is that Colin can't nurse and Iris had taken an aversion to a bottle.  Therefore, she was pretty hangry during the day.  And tired from fussing.  That girl likes to be bounced or rocked or swayed all the time.  And she is heavy!  It's a workout for sure.  So, I was going over most days just to give Colin a break so that he could maybe grab a bite of lunch, or put a load of laundry in, etc.  Luckily Iris started drinking from a bottle over the weekend.  I'll be going back over today and am anxious to see how she is.

Our weekend was wet and chilly.  We had rain on both days and the temps hovered around 40 or 42.  I decided on Saturday to make a big pot of Spicy Red Lentil Soup and I also baked Cuban Bread.

A nice chewy bread with a good crust.  It went perfectly with the soup.

Sunday was filled with chores - laundry and scrubbing floors.  I still managed to find some time for reading, knitting and stitching.  So, overall, a lovely weekend.  

This morning I will call to re-schedule my colonoscopy (IF I can get through - the line is often busy or I'm on hold for 15+ minutes!).  And, I will head back to see Colin and Iris before lunch.  I'll take a book and knitting in case she decides it's ok to take a nap after all!

I hope your weekend was a good one and I hope your Monday is shaping up to be a great start to the week!

April is for Poetry!

Hello Everyone!

April is National Poetry Month (actually I think of every month as being for poetry...but that's another story).  This April I am joining Bonny, Kym, Kat, and Sarah to share poems each Thursday in April.  This week we are sharing poems about HOPE (which we all need right now!).

I looked through a lot of poetry books and then went down a number of rabbit holes on the Web and suddenly I came across this poem.  I had not heard of the poet previously, but this poem spoke to me in a way that others I considered did not.  I hope you enjoy it.

Hope

Hope has holes

in its pockets.

It leaves little

crumb trails

so that we,

when anxious,

can follow it.

Hope’s secret:

it doesn’t know

the destination

it knows only

that all roads

begin with one

foot in front

of the other.

 

 

- Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer

Here is a LINK to Wikipedia and more info on Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer.

Unraveled Wednesday 4/2/25

 Hello My Friends,

The heat is back on in our house.  Yup.  It's a chilly morning here - right around 32 degrees.  And, it's Wednesday which means time for an Unraveled Wednesday post.  The first one of April 2025.  Let's link up with Kat and see what fun everyone is up to this week.

I'm happy to report that Semplice saw a bit of love this past week.  Another 12-15 rows have been added and I'm loving the way it is looking (not loving how long the rows are becoming...but that's life and that's the pattern).

You may recall that I said I would be true to Semplice and work only on that until it was finished.  Well...since I participated in the MedKNITation class last Friday I needed a mindless/easy thing to knit.  No counting involved.  I decided on a dishcloth.  It's not finished yet, but I am on the decrease rows.

A very simple pattern:  cast on 3 stitches.  Slip the first stitch (with yarn in front), knit next stitch through the front and back loops and then knit across.  Repeat till it is large enough for you (I went to 75 stitches).  The decrease rows are:  slip the first stitch (with yarn in front), knit two together and knit across.  So easy and so soothing - especially with yarn as soft as this - Dragon Tale Yarn.  It is 100% cotton, but oh so soft.  I have no idea where it came from, but the original skein was 1,600 yards and the price tag says $4.50!!  A bargain for sure.

The other thing we always talk about on Wednesdays are what we have read.  Unfortunately, I have no finished books to report on.  So, instead I will share a very easy, very quick and quite tasty cookie recipe that I tried last night.  What I like is that it is super easy and fast AND it does not make a whole bunch.  I managed to get 8 cookies from the batter (and plan to take 4 over to the kids today).  Fletch, who loves a hard, crisp cookie, was not in love with them - too moist for his taste.  I tried a piece of one and thought it was good.

Here's the recipe:

Mix together one mashed banana, 1/4 Cup peanut butter and 1 TBS maple syrup.  Then mix in 1 Cup of oatmeal.  Fold in 1/3 cup of chocolate chips and 1/3 cup of ground peanuts.  Scoop onto a prepped cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.  I'm thinking that dried fruit and other nuts would be good subs for the chocolate chips and peanuts.  I may need to experiment!

Be sure to head over to Kat's to see what everyone else is up to in the making and reading worlds.  Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 4/1/25

Hello!

April 1st - no kidding!  How did that happen so fast?

We had a loud and long thunderstorm last night.  It sounded wonderful.  By the time I went up to bed the thunder had ceased, but the rain continued.  The sound of rain hitting the roof was the perfect lullaby for falling asleep.  This morning the sun is shining brightly and I need to wake up.  I stayed in bed longer than usual and was tempted to stay there till lunch!  Now I am slowly sipping coffee and attempting to wake up. 

Time for a Tiny Needle update.  Last week found me able to squeeze in a little bit of stitching.  Not a lot, but some.

More green, more brown and a couple of petals were stitched in the orangey color.  I'm definitely not moving quickly on this one, but I am enjoying it.

Yesterday ended up being a pretty nice day and it got a little warm.  I decided to make a pasta primavera with shrimp for dinner.

I sautéed some broccoli, sugar snap peas, red peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes and threw in Kalamata olives (why not?).  Then added the shrimp and once that was cooked added some white wine and tossed in the linguini I had cooked.  So easy and so good plus plenty of leftovers!

Still sunny out, but the winds have picked up to howling level!  I hope everyone has a wonderful Tuesday - enjoy!