Unraveled Wednesday - the Last of 2025!

Good Morning!

As you can see, my Vermont Christmas Cactus continues to perform.  If you click to enlarge you will be able to see that the blooms are doubles.  I don't remember that from the original (parent) plant in Vermont, but my memory is certainly not as sharp as it used to be.

Well, how are you?  I'm doing well.  The State Store was visited at 9 a.m. yesterday to get wine and Prosecco and then Fletch and I managed to do the grocery shopping before lunch.  I did venture out to my least favorite hangout yesterday afternoon - the laundromat.  But now I have dry towels which is a good thing.  I forgot to call Mr. Appliance yesterday, but I will reach out to them today to see about having our dryer looked at.

Even though Kat is not posting today, it is still Unraveled Wednesday and I actually have some knitting to show!  Like my stitching, my knitting had been languishing for quite some time, but I'm happy to report that the first shortie sock has been finished and the second one is on the needles!

The first one took a little over 2 months!  I think that's a new record - even for me.  LOL. Hard to tell from the photo, but the second one is through the heel flap and turn and gusset stitches have been picked up.  Next thing you know I will be sailing down the foot!

On the reading side of things, I finished The Killing Stones by Ann Cleeves.  I think this may be the very first book I've read by this author!  Fletch and I watched Shetland and now this book brings me back into the world of Jimmy Perez.  The read was enjoyable, though not my favorite mystery by any means.  I'm now in the midst of another book and picked up yet another one from the library yesterday.

By my count I read 82 books in 2025 (I won't finish my current one today, so 82 is the final count).  In 2024 I read 52 books.  I don't set reading goals for myself, I just always like looking back at what I read.  Of the 82 read, there was only one audio ("Raising Hare").  There were 14 books of poetry read and 17 non-fiction books.  There were books of essays and a couple of short stories (not my favorite genre, but I did enjoy the ones I read).  26 of the books I rated as 5 stars and 29 of them as 4 stars.  That's a very high percentage!  2025 was a wonderful year for reading and I'm expecting more of the same in 2026.

Who has big plans for tonight?  Not us - LOL.  We have not gone out in decades on New Year's Eve.  Too many crazy people out there and I probably won't even make it to midnight.  Usually I make a crab quiche for us to enjoy with a bottle of champagne, but this year we are having BBQ shrimp (NOLA style), crusty bread, a big salad and Prosecco.  There are still cookies and other sweets left from Christmas, so no need to make a dessert.  My plan/hope is to just relax today with knitting and/or stitching and my book.  Whatever your plans, enjoy.

Wishing everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year!!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 12/30/25

 Dear Friends,

The wind is HOWLING and has been since yesterday afternoon.  We were mild yesterday.  At one point I looked at my phone and it was 50 degrees!  Then the winds picked up and the temp dropped rather rapidly.  During the night it sounded as though the house would be blown apart!  When I looked out the back bedroom window this morning I could see that our thistle feeder is on the ground (again).  The wind is just under 40 mph and steady...as in non-stop.  Whew!

After doing absolutely no stitching the past couple or few weeks, it felt good to finally get back to it yesterday afternoon.  Here is an overall look at where Appil stands as of this morning:

I managed to completely fill in the bird and then outlined the balance of the tree.  That bottom row (not finished) is the bottom of the piece!  Still a whole lot to be stitched, but luckily still much fun.  Here's a close up of the bird:

I'm hoping to finish the brown, brown, brown of the tree trunk before the next TNT.  We shall see...

Meanwhile, my dryer may be broken!  I don't really need or want this, but a load of towels has been in the dryer since yesterday afternoon and after a few cycles they are still not dry!  At least the washer is still functioning as it should!

I'd like to get to the liquor store for wine at some point today (trying to avoid that place tomorrow - New Year's Eve) and we do have grocery shopping to do.  Fingers crossed we do not get blown over.  There is no link up tomorrow for Unraveled Wednesday, but I will be back with a post.  See you then!

Catching Up 12/29/25

 Hello My Friends,

How are you?  I'm hoping that everyone is fine and recovering nicely from the holiday overload.  So.Much.Food.  But delicious!

We did have a lovely Christmas.  Iris was a delight.  We spent Christmas Eve at Colin & Mailing's and had a wonderful dinner and stocking stuffers. We were home early (before 9 p.m.) which was perfect.  Christmas morning found us at Bonnie & Zhongren's by 10 a.m.  Colin, Mailing and Iris showed up shortly after and then Anna and John.  We laughed and ate and unwrapped gifts and ate some more.  And...we were home by 2 p.m. in time for naps!  LOL

Our forecast was for a winter storm on Friday.  That did not occur until late in the day and then came in more as an ice storm than snow.  We ended up with roughly 3/4" of ice on the cars and driveway.  Luckily we had no where we had to go.  The only picture I took all during the past week was of the bird feeder outside my office window.  

Taken through a dirty window and screen, but if you click to enlarge, you may see the icicles hanging off the roof of the house.  The birds were happy to be fed.

I've been relaxing a ton!  Lots of reading, some cooking, a bit of knitting, some organization of things.  No stitching yet...but that should happen today.  Colin is off all week, so no babysitting Iris this week.  I miss her but my back is thankful.

I hope your days are unfolding in a relaxed and easy way.  I plan to be back tomorrow with a TNT update!

Christmas Eve and Unraveled Wednesday

 Good Morning!

Happy Christmas Eve.  I hope everyone is relaxing and enjoying the season.  We woke to more snow yesterday.  Only a dusting but it sure was pretty.  Now the winds are howling 

The Christmas Cactus above is the oldest of mine.  It's the one that started as a cutting from my Grandmother's huge plant.  And, mine has finally bloomed.  There are roughly two dozen more buds showing color and ready to open at any time.  Gorgeous!

We did manage to go grocery shopping yesterday and I made it to CVS (mob scene).  Fletch delivered a bunch of goodies to his former clients.  Everything is wrapped except the gifts for Colin, Mailing and Iris.  I'll get those wrapped this morning and also will make eggplant caponata to take over to Mailing's parents on Christmas.  

Now it's time to link up with Kat for Unraveled Wednesday.  I have no knitting to show...but my plan is to get back to that pronto (most likely on Friday...fingers crossed).

There has been a little reading.  I gave up on the Atomic City book.  Even though I'm interested in it due to both of my parents working there during the war, the book was a slog for me.  I'd pick it up and read a page or two and my eyes would start to close.  Too many other books to read!  I did finish Wreck by Catherine Newman.  This book continues the story of Rocky (Rachel) that started in the earlier book "Sandwich."  I had read Sandwich and thought it was okay...not great, but okay.  I found Wreck to be better.  It's a rather quick read (just around 200 pages).  Now I'm in the midst of "The Killing Stones" by Ann Cleaves and waiting for a bunch more in my queues at the library.

Wishing everyone a Very Merry Christmas - if you celebrate - and even if you do not, I wish you a very happy time this week.  May your days be full of delights and relaxation!

Weekending 12/22/25

 Hello and Happy Winter!

Now our daylight hours will gradually begin to lengthen.  This morning though it's a tad dark (cloudy too).  And...our 8" of snow disappeared last Friday.  It was still on the ground Thursday night when I went to yoga but heavy rains and winds made it all disappear on Friday.  Now, of course, more snow is in our forecast for tonight into tomorrow.  It is proving to already be a snowier Winter than last year.

The kids - Colin, Mailing and Iris arrived home safely from Aruba prior to the rains and winds.  They had a great time and Iris did well on the plane flights.  She went to the mall to see Santa over the weekend...but that didn't go so well.  LOL. Lots of tears - she did not like some strange man holding her on his lap.

I hope everyone is doing well and had a good weekend.  Mine was filled with cooking and baking.  Dinner one night was home made pizza.  Another night we had mussels, salad and garlic bread.  Last night I made spicy Cuban beef.  And cookie baking was done.  This year I did cut back on the number of cookies - I made peanut butter, chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin and walnut crescents (like snowball cookies, but rolled into a log and then cut and shaped like crescents).  I also made a couple loaves of cranberry pumpkin pecan bread.  One of those went to our neighbors Rob & Eva and the other one Fletch will take (along with a lot of cookies) to one of his former clients.  Another two loaves of the bread will be made (one for us!! and one for C&M).

This is the only picture from the weekend!  Mushrooms sautéing for the pizza I made on Friday.  It was yummy (and there are leftovers in the fridge).

Today is my last day of watching Iris until January 5th!!  Tomorrow I have errands to run (CVS of course for prescriptions), gifts to wrap and assorted domestic chores I'd like to get done.  We are headed to C&M's on Christmas Eve for dinner and stocking stuffers.  Christmas Day will find us at Bonnie & Zhongren's for brunch and gifts.  After that:  RELAXATION!!!!

I'm not sure whether I will post again this week.  There has been no stitching for TNT and no knitting for Unraveled Wednesday though there has been reading, so I may post on Wednesday.

Hoping that today finds everyone resting and enjoying the final days leading up to Christmas.  Let there be no frantic running around!

Unraveled Wednesday 12/17/25

 Good Morning All,

It is 28 degrees here this morning which is 12 degrees warmer than yesterday...the warming trend has started.  I believe rain is in the forecast for tomorrow and Friday, so much of our snow (which is still sticking around) will be gone by the weekend.  Yesterday when I was at C&M's to feed Talbot I noticed the rain chains that Colin had hung were covered in ice.  Really pretty.

You may need to click to enlarge and really see the ice.  But look at that blue, blue sky!  Brilliant light yesterday.

Now it's time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to chat about what we are making and reading.  Fun stuff!  Not much knitting (and no stitching!) has been going on here.  I feel like I'm busier than when I watch Iris - going over to C&M's twice a day eats up a good chunk of time.  Despite spending a little time knitting while over there (to keep Talbot company), I still have not even finished the first of Mailing's shortie socks.

I still need to knit 5-10 rows before starting the toe decrease area.  Oh well.  Obviously the Family Birthday Socks are not happening.  Nor are the Family Christmas socks.  Maybe Valentine's Day?  I'm not putting any pressure on myself - the socks will get knit when they get knit.

No books were finished in the past week.  I'm plugging away on The Girls of Atomic City but am really pretty bored with it.  This past week I picked up two new books that came in for me:  Wreck by Catherine Newman (a follow up to "Sandwich") and The Killing Stones by Ann Cleaves.  I may just need to start one of those.  Fletch and I are still listening to the latest Dan Brown, but I can't tell you anything about it because I doze while we listen after dinner.  LOL

Yesterday morning a surprise was waiting for me when I came downstairs:  Fletch had gone out and bought a live tree (very small - table top size and planted in a red bucket)!  It is on a chest in our living room and is just so pretty.  I don't think we will even decorate it - it is pretty skinny and it would be difficult to put any ornaments on it.  Plus, we both like the way it looks all on its own!

My massage yesterday afternoon was fabulous!  Mallory (my massage therapist) really worked on the area that has been hurting since last week's yoga class (where I twisted maybe too far?) as well as my upper back and shoulders.  Pure bliss.

Last night I made a big pot of pinto bean soup for dinner and I have a large container that I will take over and put in C&M's fridge so that they have something to eat when they get home.  I also picked up a loaf of rustic bread for them to go with the soup and have a half dozen clementines that I will leave for them.  They get home around 9 p.m. on Thursday, so I still have four trips over (morning and afternoon today and tomorrow) to take care of Talbot.  

In between the cat feedings, the laundry, etc. I need to remedy the no gift situation for most everyone we will see on Christmas Day and I need to start baking some cookies.  I'd best jump on it!

Weekending 12/15/25

 Good Morning!

Well, I guess it really is winter!  On Saturday our forecast was for 2-4" of snow starting that evening.  I was at Collin & Mailing's feeding Talbot, so I put an extra bowl of food out for him...just in case.  Fletch and I watched the latest Knives Out movie and by the time I went to bed, the forecast was saying less than an inch of snow.  This is what I woke up to Sunday morning:

A little bit more than "less than an inch".  Of course there was also sleet involved.  I made some pear waffles for breakfast (really good - highly recommend) and by the time we were finished eating breakfast the snow had mostly stopped.  I took the leftover waffles out for the deer and measured the snow on the picnic bench:  8"!!  

My poor rosemary plant on the patio:

I've been using it regularly...but it may be done for now.

Our street had now been plowed, but I managed to get out and head over to C&M's by 10 a.m.  Their street had not been plowed either, but I managed fine and just pulled into their driveway a bit.  I don't think they got the 8" that we had, but it was still pretty.

Talbot was very happy to see me (and get more food).  I also went back over in the afternoon.  I was so surprised that Talbot actually spent some time in the sunroom (which is not heated and was icy cold).  Luckily he came back into the main part of the house before I had to leave.

We had a yummy shrimp stir fry for dinner (over jasmine rice).

C&M and Iris all arrived in Aruba safely.  Colin texted that Iris was great on the plane!  And, the hotel they are staying at (a Hilton) had overbooked, so they were upgraded to a lovely suite.

Today's plan is to get back over to feed Talbot this morning.  I will probably hang out there for a little while - I'll take my knitting and maybe have a hot cup of tea while keeping Talbot company.  Later I need/want to wrap gifts that I hope/plan to mail out tomorrow.  I'll be back to feed Talbot in the afternoon and then, perhaps, start baking some cookies.

Friday Winter Blooms

 Hello Friends,

It's Friday and I'm happy about that.  I had 3 very good days with sweet Iris this week, but I am ready for a day at home!  Today is that sweet girl's birthday and I cannot believe she is a year old.  I think I mentioned that I'm having a difficult time coming up with gift ideas for everyone.  That is not quite true.  It is very easy to find things for Iris...and they keep being delivered to my door!  LOL

Anyway, today I thought I would share some blooms with you.  The first is not quite blooming, but it is budded.  By my count this morning there are (at least) two dozen buds on this Christmas Cactus!

This plant is from a very, very old plant.  Years ago (maybe 25 or more...maybe 35) I took a cutting from the Christmas Cactus at my Grandmother's home in Vermont.  That plant was HUGE.  You could not even wrap your arms around it!  My plant has had good years and some that were not so good, but I think this year will be a banner one!

Extra surprising is the snapdragon blossom that I cut about 2 weeks ago.  It is still looking wonderful.  Often when I cut a snapdragon in the summer, it will start to lose petals pretty rapidly.  Not now!  

The bonus is that there is another stalk in bloom outside!  Wonders never cease.

My Yin Yoga class last night was very good, though I may have twisted a little too far - LOL.  I've had a pain in my left side all night.  Advil is my friend though and I have another Yin class at Noon today.  My plan/hope is to do a few errands this morning before class and then settle in for an afternoon of stitching and/or knitting.  There is a library book that has come in for me, so I will stop there and I'm betting there might just be a nap this afternoon as well.  I took an eye roast out of the freezer for dinner and have fresh asparagus and a huge buttercup squash to go along with that.

The kids fly out to Aruba early tomorrow morning.  I will still be going over to the house - actually twice a day - to feed Talbot while they are gone.  And to water their Christmas tree if needed.  Bonnie volunteered to take them all to the airport and pick them up when they return.

I hope everyone has a relaxing weekend planned with a bit of fun thrown in - enjoy!

Unraveled Wednesday 12/10/25

 Good Morning Everyone!

It doesn't seem possible, but 36 years ago I was just beginning to feel the twinges of labor.  Yup - Colin was born just after midnight on the 11th of December.  There was snow on the ground and it was frigid out!  We don't have snow at the moment (though some is predicted for this afternoon) but it is chilly.  Not quite as cold as yesterday though.

And, I'm so happy to tell you all that my washer is fixed and was used multiple times yesterday successfully!  Jay (Mr. Appliance) was here just before 9 a.m. and by 11 he was leaving.  What a relief to have that done.

Now it's time for some updates.  Let's link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to talk about making and reading.  A few more rows (I think 8) were added to my Panning for Gold cowl.

This is just a fun knit and the yarn is great.  The biggest surprise is that I picked up the first shortie sock for Mailing and actually knit a bit on it!

Sorry for the dark photo, but IRL it is very pretty.  I'm a good way down the foot (more than half way) making my way to the toe decrease area which will be in the purple like the cuff.

Yesterday was a nice mail day as well.  I ordered some yarn from MDK and it arrived yesterday!  I have wanted to make a Shakerag Top since forever, so I finally caved in and bought some ITO Kinu (silk) yarn for that in the color way Cayenne Red (which really looks more orangey or peachy to me).  And I also ordered some Jane in Caladium to make some fingerless mitts for moi!

Pretty, huh?  Looking forward to using these yarns in the new year...or maybe a Christmas Eve or Day cast on.  We shall see.

On the reading side of things, I finished The Antidote by Karen Russell and I must say again how surprised I was - I loved this book!!  Back in the Spring when I got it from the library I just could not get into it at all.  But when it was announced as the RWU choice I decided to give it another chance.  My thanks to Kym, Carole and Bonny for this choice - without them picking it for our group I would not have bothered picking it up again.  The characters are so quirky and wonderful and even though I do not consider magical realism a favorite genre of mine, it just seemed to work so well in this book.  I'm looking forward to our RWU meet-up and discussion in January.

I'm a bit more than half way through The Salt Stones by Helen Whybrow.  It's a little more technical than I think necessary (I don't need to know that much about sheep chewing cud and what is in their stomach, etc., etc.). And, Fletch and I are listening to The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown, but I'm not really enjoying it and, in fact, pretty much doze while we are listening!  Other than the fact that it takes place in Prague, I don't remember much about it (and I don't like the narrator either).

Be sure to head over to Kat's place to see what others are making and reading.  I'm betting you will not be disappointed.  Have a great Wednesday!

Weekending 12/8/25

 Hello, Hello!

Whoosh!  Again the weekend sped by.  It was (too) busy and fast.

There was yoga

There was baking a cake for Iris.  (And both layers fell apart when they came out of the pan!  I wanted to cry but instead I cursed really loudly.  The frosting - whipped cream - luckily held everything sort of together.  And it did taste good.)

There was celebrating Iris' birthday with lots of presents and laughs and good times.

There was a trip to the laundromat (my washer is now scheduled for - hopefully the final - repair tomorrow).

There was helping Fletcher wash his hair!!  He had a spot of skin cancer on his nose that was removed on Friday.  He now has a honking LARGE bandage on his nose that cannot get wet.  Luckily he goes back today for a bandage change and for the doctor to have a look-see.  Hopefully a small bandage will be in place.

There was ordering a new TV.  On Friday the volume on our TV quit.  Just like that!  We finally got around to ordering one late yesterday afternoon.  Last night before I went to bed the volume inexplicably came back on!  I need to quickly cancel the order!!

And now I'm thinking about the holidays fast approaching.  I have not thought about cards at all.  I have not bought more than a couple of gifts. I'm having a difficult time coming up with ideas for anyone!  The problem is that we all don't NEED anything and when we want something we just buy it.  BUT, I'd like to have something for folks to unwrap on Christmas.

Finally there was waking at 3 a.m. and not getting back to sleep.  Ugh.  And today I'm on Iris duty - hopefully I can stay awake.

OK, that's more than enough.  I hope your weekends were lovely and cheers to the week ahead.  May it be filled with happiness and relaxation.

TGIF

 

Good Morning!

Here's hoping that this Friday owning finds you doing well.  I am, though I'm a little on the chilly side - the heat needs to be cranked up a bit.  My Friday started rudely when, at 4:45 a.m., I came downstairs to let Mabel out and stepped in the middle of a hairball on the kitchen floor.  Yuck.  Fortunately I was not barefooted.

Our washer repair guy showed up right on time yesterday!  But...the machine is not yet fixed.  The belt for the spin cycle had slipped off the pulley.  Jay (repair guy) was able to get it back on, but when he tested it, the belt slipped right off again.   Apparently we need both a new belt and a new pulley.  That is in the works and Jay is confident he will be back early next week to complete the repair.  Meanwhile, I suppose another trip to the laundromat is in order...

Today, however, is about rest.  Last night's Yin yoga class was wonderful (there were only 3 of us in the class!) - lots of shoulder and upper back stretching.  I have another Yin class at Noon today.  The balance of the day (I'm hoping) will be for knitting, stitching, reading and most likely napping.

Tomorrow we are heading over to C&M's for dinner to celebrate Iris' first birthday!  I can't believe she will be 1 already (on the 12th).  I have yet another yoga class late morning tomorrow, but before going to that I will make a cake for her birthday party.  We are celebrating a week early since late next week the kids all head to a sunny location to celebrate.

Whatever your plans are, I hope they include plenty of relaxation.  Enjoy!!

Unraveled Wednesday 12/3/25

 Good Morning,

I hope everyone is doing well.  I was thankful to be home yesterday as the weather was miserable.  I woke to sleet and that pretty much continued all day long.  It was cold and raw.

My morning was spent attempting to schedule my washer repair.  I've given up with the original service that Speed Queen had arranged.  After multiple e-mails, texts and phone calls, I still have not heard from anyone!  Another call to Speed Queen was made and now another service should be out tomorrow for the repair.  I have their number and if I do not hear by this afternoon with a window of time, I will be in touch with them.

But now it's Wednesday and time for us all to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to talk about what is on our needles and what we are reading.  Although not much knitting has happened, there has fortunately been no unraveling.  I managed to (just barely) start my Panning for Gold cowl.

I'm enjoying the way the colors are playing together in this yarn.  I've cast on 150 stitches on #4 needles and have started with a K2P1 rib.  The picture shows 5 rows completed and that's where it stands as of now.  I'll do another 5 rows and then decide on another pattern.  I have several cowl patterns by Helen Stewart and I may just do a combination of some of the rows in her patterns.  I may add bobbles just because I love them and think they are fun to make.  There will definitely be some eyelets.  But for now the entire thing is just a mystery!

No pressure for this piece.  I'm not sure who it will be gifted to, but that won't be until next year.  This is definitely not a gift for 2025!

There has been reading, but no new books have been finished.  I am roughly 2/3 of the way through The Antidote by Karen Russell (the next RWU pick for discussion in January) and am still enjoying it very much.  Such interesting characters and such an interesting story.  I am finding that some parts drag on a little longer than I think are necessary, but overall I like it.  I also picked up and have started  The Salt Stones by Helen Whybrow.  I'm reading a few pages each night as I crawl into bed, so I'm not real far, but this is another good book.

Dinner last night was a frittata!  I had some asparagus in the fridge and sautéed that up with a bit of onion and some chopped mushrooms...added a bit of chopped up ham along with some tarragon and some thyme...then sprinkled a bit of Swiss cheese on top.  Poured in the eggs that I had whisked with a small amount of milk and a few chopped cloves of garlic.  Popped it in the oven, and at 400 degrees, the dish was ready in about 15 minutes.  YUM!  And, plenty of leftovers too.

Today I'm back over at C&M's to watch Iris (I'm hoping my car doors are not frozen shut with all the sleet).  I need to stop at the store to pick up sunflower seeds for the birds.  This will be my last day watching Iris this week.  I was scheduled for Friday, but I asked Bonnie if she could take that day so I can go to yoga.  In exchange, I am taking care of Iris next Monday when Bonnie was originally scheduled.  

Here's hoping your week is going well.

Weekending 12/1/25

 Good Morning My Friends,

How are you?  How was your weekend?  How was your Thanksgiving?  I am well and both Thanksgiving and the weekend were lovely.

One Thursday, Fletch and I headed over to Bonnie & Zhongren's in the late afternoon.  Mailing was cooking and everything was so delicious!  We had roast turkey (from the farm) and gravy, mashed potatoes with caramelized onions, stuffing and roasted broccolini (one of Iris' favorite veggies).  Zhongren had baked some naan, Anna made an apple pie and I made a praline pumpkin pie along with both cranberry orange relish and cranberry orange chutney.  I don't think anyone was hungry after that meal!

The weekend included two yoga classes as well as a trip to the laundromat...my washer has yet to be repaired.  The repair person who was scheduled to show on Wednesday ended up being a no-call/no-show.  I tried calling the business on Friday, but of course they were closed for the holiday.  Oh well, in the grand scheme of things it's not all that important.  Yes it is annoying and frustrating.  But I try not to hold on to those negative thoughts.  I'm lucky to have a laundromat close by (that was not crowded).  I'm hoping for an appointment tomorrow since I will be watching Iris today.

Sunday ended up being full of beautiful surprises!  I made some multi-grain pancakes for breakfast with blueberries.  While cooking I looked out and saw a bluebird.  Such a brilliant blue!  He (definitely a male) had come to our picnic table where we have a large saucer filled with water (and a heater to keep it from freezing).  Then, during breakfast, I looked out and noticed it was snowing.  So pretty.  It didn't stick really (except on the pumpkin which is still on the picnic table) but it was just so nice to see it coming down.  Then I noticed that our snapdragons are still blooming.  What a surprise!

We also have a petunia that refuses to stop blooming in our kitchen window box.

Continuing with the cooking theme, last night I made Shrimp in Thai Coconut Curry Sauce that was wonderful.  We had it over basmati rice.

I only used 1 TBS of fish sauce (that stuff is STRONG!!) and next time I would add more of the red curry paste.  Very yummy though.

Most likely there will be no TNT post from me tomorrow.  To date, I have not put in a single stitch since I last posted an update on my sampler.  I doubt I will have time or the energy to stitch tonight.

Also, we watched a great movie last night:  Train Dreams.  Available on Netflix and we highly recommend.

Welcome to December!!