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!!