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.