Unraveled Wednesday 11/26/25

 Good Morning My Friends,

It is another gloomy day here in Eastern PA.  Rain is once again in the forecast.  However, it is supposed to be in the mid-sixties today.  Tomorrow is another story - the forecast is only for a high of 41.  We might be once again in roller coaster weather.  But, rain or no rain, it is time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers for the last Unraveled Wednesday of November.

There has been no unraveling here.  In fact, there has been absolutely no knitting.  Oh well, c'est la vie.  I guess the Family Birthday Socks will not be happening - at least not in time for birthday celebrations (which are set for December 6th).  I will get to them, but not this week.  Of course this lack of knitting on my part makes me wonder why I signed up for the 2026 Farmer's Daughter Sock Squad.  LOL

A cowl is still on my mind...something easy perhaps.  I pulled out a skein of yarn to (maybe) cast on.  The color way is "Gold Panning" and it is from Twisted Owl Fiber Studio in Longview, TX.  This was bought at the NJ Sheep and Wool Festival a few years back.  It is 75/25 Merino/Nylon and the label states 100 grams/463 yards.  A steal at $11 for the skein!

Hard to tell in this dark early photograph, but the colors are mostly blues and some white with gold here and there.  If my Mom were still alive, I'd be making something for her since she ended up panning for gold in CA many, many moons ago (when she and her girlfriend biked from Vermont to California in 1941).

BTW, the pillow on the right in the picture is a crewel work pillow that my Mom stitched many years ago.  (The rooster pillow is store bought - I think Home Goods.)

Reading has been pretty slow.  I did finish Three Bags Full the sheep detective story by Leonie Swann.  It was a fun read, but became a bit boring for me.  I did see that there is a second book called "Big Bad Wool" but I think I'll wait a bit before trying that one.

I'm very happy to report though that I am now reading The Antidote by Karen Russell.  This is the book our RWU group will be discussing in January.  I'm loving this book so much!  This is a huge surprise for me since I tried reading this last Spring and could not get into it.  Now?  I'm finding it to be a great read.  Also surprising since magical realism is not one of my favorite genres.  It just seems to be working for me this time around.

A trip to CVS is on my agenda for this morning (prescriptions to pick up) and I'm looking forward to my washer being repaired this afternoon.  Other than that, I plan to just take it easy.  We are going to Mailing's parents for Thanksgiving, but won't be going till late afternoon, so my pie making will be tomorrow morning.  Wishing everyone a tasty and relaxing Thanksgiving.  I'm very thankful for this blogging community.

Tiny Needle Tuesday 11/25/25

 Good Morning,

Looks to be a bit of a gloomy day here.  Rain is in the forecast and it is dark early here.  But, it's Tuesday and time for a tiny needle update.  Another creature has arrived on the large sampler.  A bird!

Despite my best efforts, this mighty bird has not been completely filled in.  I guess I was too busy cooking to spend more time stitching.  At any rate, it was nice to stitch something other than a tree trunk!  LOL. Here's the shot of how the whole sampler looks overall so far.

The top half is almost completed!  It's taken about six months to get to this point, so I'm guessing another six months of working on this before it is finished.  Probably best not to think about that.  The important thing is that I'm (still) enjoying stitching this piece.

Here's hoping that your Thanksgiving week is going well...not too frantic or busy and finding time to be thankful.

Weekending 11/24/25

 Good Morning Friends,

Whoosh!  What happened to the weekend?  It feels like it went by in a blur.  I hope yours was good.  Mine included a lot of yoga (which is really helping my back!!).  Saturday morning I watered all the house plants and two of my Christmas cacti are really putting on a show now.

These two usually sit on my sewing machine cabinet, but I moved them to Mabel's ledge to get a good shot of them.  The one on the left actually has two plants in the pot and I think the second one (which is loaded with buds) will be a different color than the red.  If you click to enlarge, you will see all the buds which appear to be white with a light tinge of pink.  Time will tell.

The weekend also included some cooking.  Saturday I made a delicious salad (new to us) to go with the lamb chops that Fletch grilled.  I can't remember where I saw this recipe, but I will be making it again!  You chop up 4 beets (cooked), a pear, half a red onion and about a third of a cup of walnuts.  Toss all that together.  The dressing is 3TBS EVOO, the juice of a lemon, S&P, a quarter cup of chopped parsley. a third of a cup of chopped celery (which I forgot) and a TBS of honey.  Mix together and pour over the beets and pear.  YUM!!!

On Sunday I got to work making the cranberry-orange relish and the cranberry chutney for Thanksgiving.  The cranberry orange relish is from my Mom's recipe files.  You just chop up a bag of cranberries and an orange and then add sugar.  It is still tart, but a little sweet.  The chutney is one of Fletcher's Mom's recipes and includes a chopped up orange, another bag of cranberries, a lb of raisins, some cider vinegar and then cinnamon, cloves and ginger.  Everything is dumped in a pan and cooked on the stove till the berries pop.  It thickens up nicely.

The chutney's are uncovered to finish cooling.  We had a little with dinner last night - I wanted to make sure it was good enough for Thanksgiving.  LOL

There is still a pie to be made - that will be done either Wednesday or Thursday morning (depending on what time we need to be at Mailing's parent's home on Thursday).  Today and tomorrow I'm caring for Iris and on Wednesday my washing machine is scheduled to be repaired!  The days keep zooming by.

This time of year is one I really enjoy - candles at dinner, wrapping up in a warm shawl, etc.  But, I know many (Fletch included) are impacted by the diminished amount of sunlight.  Just remember, it is less than a month until the Winter Solstice and then our daily dose of sunlight will steadily increase.

Wishing everyone a gentle week.  Enjoy!

Friday Felines 11/21/25

 Good Morning,

I have not posted a picture of Mabel in some time...she is not fond of having her picture taken - LOL.  But here she is resting after a long night outside (bad girl not coming home).

She may be bad, but she is sweet also.  And, if you look closely you'll see there is a bird at the feeder and another one flying in.  Last year's feeder was one that was suctioned cupped to the window and I think Mabel liked that one better.  However, the squirrels destroyed it, so we have a different one now.

The last two days with Iris were hard on my back and shoulders, so today is going to be about resting.  I did have a Yin yoga class last night and am planning to go to another one today.  But that's it!  Oh, I may stop at the library.  The other day I requested The Antidote by Karen Russell for our Read With Us group and yesterday I received notice that it is in for me!  Fast!

Whatever your Friday has in store for you, may it be a good one!  Enjoy.

Tiny Needle Tuesday 11/18/25

 Hello My Friends,

How are you this morning?  I'm a bit on the tired side.  I slept well for so many nights in a row, but then last night I woke at 2:30 and never really got back to sleep.  And in the "I Can't Believe It" category, my washer is not working correctly!  It was only about 14 months ago that we bought a Speed Queen.  But, the spin cycle is not working.  Everything comes out of the washer soaking wet and dripping!  Today I will be finding a repair person.  On Sunday our power went out twice in a row.  It wasn't off long, but I had wash going and clothes in the dryer, so I went down to the basement to make sure things were running.  There was a smell of something burning.  Fletch and I spent about 15 minutes in the basement looking all around and could not find anything wrong.  No smoke, just that awful smell.  So, I don't know if that power issue had anything to do with it or not...we shall see.

Meanwhile it's Tuesday and time for a TNT update.  I ran out of time before I could finish coloring in the snake, but he/she is almost finished.  And, a good portion of the brown, brown, brown trunk of the tree has been completed.

Here is the way it all looks right now:

It is slowly coming along.  I started this on 5/31/25, so I've been at it for over 5 months now!

One of my Christmas cacti finally opened one of the buds!  I counted another dozen or so buds on this one small plant!

The other Christmas cacti have buds (lots) but none open yet.

Thank you all for your kind thoughts for my friend Janet.  She came through her surgery on Friday with no issues and actually came home on Saturday!  She was supposed to stay overnight at the hospital for two nights, but she was doing so well they let her go home a day early.  They are still waiting on further biopsies to determine whether she needs any additional treatment (chemo and/or radiation) beyond the surgery.  Fingers crossed for her.

Here's hoping everyone is having a good week!

Weekending 11/17/25

 Hello Everyone,

Well, I have no photos to share from our weekend, but it was a very good one.  And it started a little early!  Damon (Fletch's brother) arrived Wednesday just in time for dinner.  I had made a crab quiche and we had a BIG salad with garden greens.

I spent Thursday and Friday at C&M's caring for Iris.  While I was doing that, the guys were tackling a lot of projects around the house.  This was no vacation for Damon!!  On Thursday I had made a crockpot dinner since I wouldn't be home and then I had another Yin yoga class at 7:30.  What a fabulous class!!  (I'm going back this week.)

Saturday I had another yoga class and the guys did more stuff around the house (inside and out).  Then we headed back to C&M's for a delicious dinner.  We had a rump roast, carrots and salad.  Colin had baked sourdough bread to go with everything.  And also...an amazing chocolate cake (3 layers) with the BEST buttercream chocolate frosting I have ever tasted.  And wine, of course.  The men enjoyed a fire outside, but Mailing and I opted to stay in (it was pretty chilly out and a bit on the damp side).

We took Damon out to breakfast Sunday morning and then he headed home.  I did a bunch of laundry and Fletch finished up some projects.  Today is more laundry (just sheets that I didn't get to yesterday).  I'm planning/hoping to do some yoga and also some stitching and knitting.

The weekend was full, but so lovely and I hope yours was too.

Unraveled Wednesday 11/12/25

 Good Morning All,

It's a little warmer this morning - low 30's.  Thankfully it sounds as though the winds have died down.  It was very blustery yesterday afternoon.  My massage in the afternoon was blissful, though I have SO MANY knots in my back, shoulders and thighs.  Ugh!  Hopefully regular massages and my yoga classes will help with that.

Time does seem to be moving at warp speed and here we are at Wednesday again and time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to talk about making and reading.  After not knitting for what seems like forever, I managed a few more rows on Mailing's first shortie sock for the Family Birthday Socks.

Nearing the end of the gusset decreases.  Last night I had a dream that these shortie socks plus Iris' pair were finished and Colin's were started.  But, at the rate I'm getting these done (slower than a tortoise) these may end up being Family Christmas socks or even Family Valentine socks.  LOL

Part of my slowness in making these Family socks is that I do not work on them when I'm at C&M's watching Iris.  I want them to be a surprise and Colin is always interested in what I am making.  I'm going to try another cowl with the yarn that did not want to be a Heart Warmer Cowl!  I really want to make this for my friend Janet (Leslie's sister).

You may remember that my friend Leslie has been through so much - lung cancer and then two bouts of breast cancer and more recently uterine cancer (thank you Tomoxifan).  Now Janet has been diagnosed with breast cancer (2nd time) and she is scheduled to have a double mastectomy on Friday.  If you would send some healing wishes her way I would really appreciate it.

In other knitty news I did succumb and push the button to subscribe to the 2026 Farmer's Daughter Sock Squad.  And, it feels good!  I have no idea where I will put all the yarn, I'm overrun at the moment with storage bins, etc.  But, this is a good opportunity to organize and rediscover things buried at the bottom of various places.

Reading has been so-so.  I did finish The Letter Carrier by Francesca Giannone and enjoyed it.  It was a pleasant, easy read for me which apparently is exactly what I need these days.  Two books that I had been in queue for (a long time) - The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong and My Friends by Fredrik Backman finally came in.  And, I could not get into either of them!  I would read a few pages, get bored, or my eyes would start to close.  They were both returned to the library.  I may try them again later on...time will tell.

I am reading a rather fun and different mystery now.  Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann is a sheep detective story!  Yup - you read that correctly.  A flock of sheep discover their shepherd dead with a spade stuck in him and the sheep go about trying to figure out who did it.  Another easy read that is perfect for me right now.  I heard about this book through The Farmer's Daughter who has a book club (I'm not part of it, but I enjoy seeing what they are reading).

Fletch and I are on the final leg of Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane (we are now in Canada) and we are still enjoying it.  Listening will be on hiatus while Damon is here, but we will pick it up again after his visit.

Well, that does it for me.  I have a long list of chores and errands for today, so I'd best buckle down and get to it!  Happy Hump Day!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 11/11/25

 Good Morning and Brrrrr!

My phone says it is 29 degrees out, but feels like 15!  I think that's the coldest we've been since last winter.  I texted Colin to bundle up - he takes Iris out for a walk every morning.  And, that girl is just like her father was at that age - she does not want to have a coat on at all.  Or a hat...or socks!

It's Tiny Needle Tuesday again (already) and there is not much to show for the past week.  Only a few stitches in the palest color of the Evil Serpent were put in.

Of course the upside is that most of my chores were completed.  Not all, but most.  Today I'd like to finish those chores, do the grocery shopping and I have a massage booked for this afternoon.  Tomorrow I have a few errands to run in the morning and I'd like to do some baking (cookies).  Damon should arrive by dinner tomorrow and I'm planning to make a crab quiche and a salad to go with it (with greens from the garden - Fletch closed up the cold frame yesterday, so all should be ok).

Stay warm if you are in this cold snap and have a wonderful Tuesday!

Weekending

 Hello My Friends,

Time does seem to be marching along, doesn't it?  Already November 10th.  So, tell me, how was your weekend?  Mine was good.

There were two yoga classes again.  The Yin class on Friday (LOVE!!) and then a regular Vinyasa class on Saturday.  Boy could I feel it though!  The Yin class focused on stretching hamstrings (can you say TIGHT??).  The Vinyasa class included a lot of twisting which I enjoy, but my back was more than a little tired after that.

Chores were (finally) accomplished!!  Both bathrooms were scrubbed, the kitchen floor was cleaned, multiple loads of laundry were washed and dried and I was able to pick up my new glasses Saturday afternoon.  Yay!

In addition, I managed to do a little baking.  Sunday I made the Parisian Apple Cake.  A fast and easy recipe that turned out delicious - highly recommend.

Last night I roasted a bunch of mixed nuts.  Usually I just toss them in a tiny amount of EVOO, salt, red pepper flakes and fresh rosemary.  Instead I tried a sweet and savory recipe.  They are ok, but I think I prefer my simpler way of doing them.  This recipe called for egg white, sugar, cinnamon and then a bunch of spices.  They taste good, but I'd rather not have the sweet part - just give me the savory.

There are now fresh sheets on the guest room bed, although that room still needs to be dusted and vacuumed.  We are expecting Damon to drive up from Virginia on Wednesday and he'll be staying until Sunday.

I'm debating about joining the Farmer's Daughter Sock Squad again for 2026.  I haven't even used all the yarn I received in 2024, but it's an awful lot of fun to have a surprise in the mail each month and the price is beyond reasonable.  Plus, for 2026, the theme is color!  The button hasn't been pushed yet, but I'm very, very close!

Here's hoping your Monday finds you doing something fun.  I'll be with Iris and that is always a good time!

Happy Friday and a Correction!

Good Morning,

When I posted on Wednesday I shared a link to a book I am not reading - LOL.   The book about Oak Ridge, TN and the women who worked on the Manhattan Project that I am reading is The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II by Denise Kieran which is a non fiction book, not a novel.  Sorry about that!

Last night when I finished reading "The Letter Carrier" I picked up Atomic City and read another chapter.  There are photographs in the book including some "then and now" pictures of a few of the women.  It's an interesting read, but unlike my normal behavior, I will most likely pick up another book (novel) to read alongside.  There are a few on my nightstand to choose from as well as another one ready for pick up at my library.

Both Wednesday and Thursday were great days with Iris.  I can see the four teeth on top that are beginning to come in.  That little girl is a trooper and doesn't complain too much.  We spent a lot of time reading (as usual) - many books multiple times.  One of her favorites that we read at least 4-5 times a day is Grandfather Twilight which is just such a beautiful and sweet book.  Another favorite is Night is Coming which is so soothing to read (even in the daytime).

The other week Bonnie (Mailing's Mom) had gone apple picking at an orchard.  She brought over apples for Colin & Mailing, but also for Fletch and me.  The apples had been sitting in a bowl on the buffet, and I was beginning to smell them every time I walked into the kitchen.  Not wanting them to go bad, last night I peeled and chopped about 8 of them and made some applesauce.

Yum!  Brown sugar (not much), cinnamon and nutmeg plus a sprinkle of vanilla sugar.  There are more apples still and I'm planning to make a Parisian Apple Cake hopefully this weekend.  

Today is busy with multiple errands (CVS, wine, library) and yoga at Noon.  Laundry has piled up again and after successfully avoiding my chores for multiple days, I need to buckle down and get them done.  We are looking forward to a visit from Damon (Fletcher's brother) next week.  I need to find out if Peggy, his wife, is coming with him or not so that I know which bedroom to prepare!  And what meals to plan to fix!

Time to have some coffee and get started on my day.  Have a wonderful weekend!

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!