Unraveled Wednesday 4/1/26

 Good Morning Everyone,

Welcome to April!  I feel like I'm running behind - after a less than ideal (meaning extremely restless) night of sleeping (or not), I fell asleep early this morning and then slept in longer than usual for a day when I'm scheduled to be with Iris.  I've showered and coffee has been poured, but that's about it!

Yesterday I was able to procure a leg of lamb for Easter dinner!  The 7 hour leg of lamb that I will be cooking (Patricia Wells' recipe) is cooked along with potatoes, onions, carrots and tomatoes and becomes so tender that it falls off the bone.  According to the recipe, you should be able to eat it with a spoon.  I never have, but it's a good recipe.  I need to get a couple of bottles of wine to pour in - most likely I'll use white this time (you can make it with either red or white).  I plan to also have asparagus, but I will pick that up later in the week.  And a coconut pie which I'll most likely make on Saturday.

I also accomplished quite a bit on my long to do list including rubbing all the cabinets in the kitchen with orange oil.  It smelled so good!  And the cabinet doors are no longer dusty!

Now it's time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to talk about making and reading.

My Panning for Gold sock has not seen any love since Monday, but it is further along than last week.

I'm roughly half way through the heel flap which this time is a simple slip stitch rather than eye of the partridge.  Maybe I can manage the balance of the heel flap and heel turn whilst at C&M's today (while Colin and Iris have lunch together).

Monday's mail included a bounty of new yarn stash!  First up is the April yarn for The Farmer's Daughter's 2026 Sock Squad.  Aptly named Morning Honey.  I love it!

And the yarn I ordered from Lisa at Fibernymph Dyeworks arrived.  Fast!!  First up the set up minis that I requested.  The color way is River Rocks and I couldn't resist it.  There's a bit of Stellina in the yarn, so sparkles!!

And then two full skeins from Lisa:

The skein on the right is her Pollinator Pi color way and the one on the left is Mountain House Winter.  Both are gorgeous!  I've knit with Lisa's yarn in the past and it does not disappoint.

I'm pretty sure that Pollinator will become socks for Colin (bright!!  cheerful!!) since he has talked of wanting to have bee hives.  And Mountain House Winter may become socks for Fletch.  Of course, I need to finish what's on my needles and there are so many other things I want to knit.  More hours in each day, please.

Reading has been good.  I finished listening to Blaze Me a Sun by Christoffer Carlsson about a crime in a Swedish town.  This is the book that Fletch and I had started listening to but stopped when Fletch got bored.  I decided to finish it.  It was good, but I wish I had paid more attention (meaning stayed awake) early on when Fletch and I were listening.  I'm not planning to jump out and find other books by this author, but I did enjoy it.

With my eyes I read Speak to Me of Home by Jeanine Cummins - a saga of family, home, identity, love.  It was good though in places it felt a bit long and drawn out.  Still, a good read.

Fletch and I are continuing to listen to The Long Ships by Frans Bengtsson after dinner.  There is much that I had forgotten about this story that we read out loud decades ago, including a lot of humor.  We are both really enjoying this one.

And that's a wrap for me.  Time to pour some more coffee and try to wake up.  Happy Wednesday!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 3/31/26

 Good Morning!

And whoosh!  Just like that we are at the last day of March 2026.  The last day of the first quarter of the year 2026.  That just does not seem possible.  Really!  (I know I say that all the time.)

Anyway, all that being true, it is Tuesday, so time for a TNT update on Appil.  Despite all my running around at the end of last week I did manage to find a little bit of time to stitch.  Adam is beginning to be fleshed out and a bit more of the Garden is appearing underneath him.

And here is the overall shape of how things look right now.

My plan is to work on Adam's flesh today, but my list of things to do is long (isn't it always?), so time will tell.

I'm happy to let you know that the kids (and Iris) loved the soup and muffins I had left for them.  Iris ate two bowls of the soup Sunday night!  They were too full for the crostata, so they probably had that last night.

It is cloudy out and I woke to heavy rain early this morning.  Today I'm off to hunt down a leg of lamb for Easter dinner on Sunday!  Here's hoping your Tuesday finds you having some kind of fun.

Weekending 3/30/26

 Hello Everyone and Good Morning!

How are you this morning and how was your weekend?  Mine was good, though filled.  Lots of errand running and lots of back and forth to C&M's to feed Talbot (and clean the litter boxes...).  The kids are back home again safely and they had a lovely time in Virginia.

After errand running Friday morning, I baked a strawberry crostata.  YUM!!

It was like a taste of summer!  Half of it ended up in C&M's refrigerator for them to enjoy.

Then on Saturday I made a new-to-me recipe for chicken and garbanzo bean soup,  I used dried chick peas (soaking them overnight).  The soup had chicken thigh meat, carrots, onions, fennel, celery and spinach.  It is a recipe my sister-in-law shared with me.  I didn't much care for the scent while it was cooking, but the soup was actually very good.

I also made Morning Glory muffins which have shredded carrots and shredded apples in them along with applesauce, white & whole wheat flour.  (I think I remember the recipe from long ago - the "hippie days" of eating brown rice and veggies for dinner - LOL). A large container of soup and half the muffins migrated over to C&M's on Sunday morning.  I wanted to be sure they had something to eat when they got home from their travels.

Despite all the errand running and back and forth to C&M's, time was found for some knitting, a little stitching and some reading as well.  All-in-all, a lovely weekend.  I even managed to do some chores (laundry - of course - as well as vacuuming and dusting).

Even though it cooled down over the weekend, I think temps are back on the rise.  And then a bit of rain is forecast over the next few days.  My expected yarn never showed up over the weekend, but it should arrive today!  I'm back to watching Iris today and I cannot wait to see her again!

Here's hoping your Monday is a good one.

Unraveled Wednesday 3/25/26

 Good Morning My Friends,

I hope this Wednesday finds you doing something fun and enjoyable.  Me?  I'll be with Iris again which is always enjoyable.  Mailing is in Richmond (VA) for work, and Colin and Iris will be joining her there tomorrow.  They plan to meet up with a few members of Fletcher's family.  Even though I won'[t be watching Iris for the balance of the week, I'll be heading over to their house twice a day to feed Talbot.  No rest for the weary and all that.  Honestly, though, I'm happy to do that.  Talbot is a sweet cat and they don't live that far away.  I also plan to do a little baking and leave some treats for the kids to find when they get back home Sunday evening.

Meanwhile, let's link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers for Unraveled Wednesday.  There is not a lot of knitting to share.  It seems I spent more time stitching than knitting, but sometimes that's how it goes.  My "panning for gold" sock has gotten a little longer.

I managed another 15 rows or so.  Quite a bit more to do.  I've yet to swatch for the sweater I want to make (Shakerag), but perhaps I will get to that this weekend.

More yarn is on the way from The Farmer's Daughter (should be here by Friday I think) and not like I need even more yarn,  but a sale is going on at Fibernymph Dye Works so I naturally ordered some.  Oy!  I will share a picture once it arrives.  I'm excited because one of the skeins I ordered is Lisa's Pollinator Pi Self-Striping yarn.  Colin has long expressed an interest in raising bees and C&M have ordered some pollinator flowers for their yard.  I'm thinking the skein will be perfect for a pair of socks for Colin!

Meanwhile, on to the reading.  Fletch and I started listening to a new book after dinner.  The Long Ships by Frans G. Bengtsson is a book that we read out loud after dinner many, many moons ago.  It is an epic adventure and a wonderful tale.  It is also quite long so we will be listening for some time.  I'm listening to the balance of the other book we had started (that Fletch became tired of):  Blaze Me a Sun by Christoffer Carlsson which is ok...a bit longish at times, but I'd like to finish it.

With my eyes, I read Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May.  How appropriate that I finished this book on the very last day of Winter 2026.  I found the book enjoyable, but it did not quite live up to my hopes.  At times I found it to be bogged down and a bit off course.  Still a worthwhile read.

Thanks to Kat, I requested and got a book from my library:  Bright Scythe: Selected Poems by Tomas Tranströmer translated by Patty Crane.  These poems were just wonderful and I highly recommend reading some of his work.

Lastly I read Ursula K. LeGuin's Book of Cats.  What a fun book!  Colin had seen this and ordered it for me the other week.  It is a bunch of stuff:  poems, musings, sketches (including Cat Tai Chi - LOL), meditations, etc.  A quick book that was just a delight.

You all know that when it rains it pours.  I received an email the other day that there are five books waiting for me at the library!  I definitely need more hours in each day.  Oh well, it's certainly not a real problem to have a wealth of books.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 3/24/26

 Hello and Good Morning!

How are you on this next-to-the-last Tuesday in March?  And how is it possible that we are just about a quarter of the way through 2026?  Yikes - time is flying.  

Yesterday was such a nice day (despite the weather) with Iris.  Something happened that has never happened before.  We were sitting on the couch and I was reading to Iris.  I realized she had gotten a bit still and when I looked over at her I saw that her eyes were closed and her head was bobbing.  She was sound asleep!  This was earlier than she usually naps - around 11:30 or so.  Colin was wrapping up a meeting and then they were going to have lunch together, but Iris ended up sleeping for an hour!  And then she took a two hour nap in the late afternoon!

Traffic was light coming home later than usual from C&M's which meant that Fletch and I were still able to sit down to dinner by 6 p.m. which was nice.  Then we listened to our audio book for a little bit.

And now it's Tuesday and time for a TNT update.  A bit of stitching was completed in the last week.  Modest Adam now has his fig leaf (leaves) filled in and a bit more of the ground beneath his feet has been stitched (including some kind of leaves sticking out of the grass).  Another creature (bug) has been placed upon the Evil Serpent's back.

And here's an overall shot of how things are looking at the moment.

Slowly but surely...more ground to the left and also some larger creatures!!  And one more flowering plant.  Adam needs his flesh as well.

I'm looking forward to seeing some of you tonight for our postponed RWU book discussion.  Till then, have a wonderful Tuesday!

Blooms! 3/23/26

 Good Morning,

It is a rainy Monday here.  Heavy rain.  Maybe the stereotypical April Showers are starting early?  

Finally we have some blooms!  I spied these crocus just outside our front door:

So pretty!  And, on the north side of our house (where I often don't go), there are daffodils planted.  They were there when we bought the house and they continue to perform.  It always surprises me when they are the first to bloom (because...north side...), but perhaps it is because they are snug up against the house.  There are five clumps of them and here is one.

I cut a bunch and have one vase on the buffet and a small vase on one of the kitchen windowsills.  They always cheer me up.

I hope your weekend was a good one.  I spent much time reading and stitching and in-between doing some laundry and cooking.  Last night we had dinner at Colin & Mailing's (ham, green beans, pineapple stuffing and an amazing lemon tart for dessert).  It was mild enough that windows were open and once Iris was in bed, we had a fire outside.  Around 8:30 or 9:00 it started sprinkling a bit, so we called it a night and came home.

Time for me to get moving.  I was late getting up and I have a longish day ahead of me watching Iris - longish because Colin let me know he has a meeting from 4-4:30 (usually I leave around 4).  Whatever your plans are, I hope your Monday has some bright spots.

Happy Spring! 3/20/26

 Good Morning My Friends!

Spring has arrived!!  (Or it will a little later at 10:46 a.m.)  Although still chilly outside this week, the sun is stronger.  We just need a series of sunny days so that flowers will begin to pop a bit.

Today is also my Mom's birthday.  If she were still alive, she would be 107!  Here is one of my (and my siblings) favorite photos of my Mom.  It was taken probably in the early 1930's.  We call it "The Gunslinger" - LOL

Such a skinny girl!  Here's a later picture of her with my Dad.  I took this shot at Hawk Mountain in the mid 1970's.  Both my parents were avid hikers.

I sure do miss my Mom's laughter, silliness, and all the fun we had together over the years.

Yesterday I had a most wonderful massage in the afternoon.  Pure bliss.  I followed that with a Yin Yoga class last night.  Today I have another Yin Yoga class at Noon and then a Restorative Yoga class tonight.  So much yoga!  But between the classes and regular massages, I think my back and shoulders are doing better.  I'm still conscious of (all) the arthritis I have, but some days movement has improved.

Today I plan to venture out to Trader Joe's this morning for a few things (including flowers!).  A stop at my doctor's office is also in order to pick up a prescription for a mammogram (ugh but necessary) and there are a couple of books ready for me to pick up at the library.

I'll leave you with a fun wine label.  You know I often buy wine for the label and I could not resist this one.  It is a cab from CA and though not outstanding it's ok and pretty drinkable!

Let's get the first Spring weekend started!

Unraveled Wednesday 3/18/26

 Hi Everyone,

Still chilly here in Eastern PA and I guess we will remain that way for a bit.  You may thank me for taking off the flannel sheets the other week.  Despite below freezing temps, I refuse to bring them back out!

Meanwhile it's Wednesday and time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to chat about what we are making and what we are reading.  I confess to a bit more unraveling this week.  Nothing major - just the yarn that I kept insisting should be a cowl when it was clearly telling me something else.  After four (yes, 4) attempts, I gave up (sometimes it takes me a little time to get a message or learn a lesson).

But, all is not lost.  The yarn is now happily becoming a sock.

This is the first of what will be a pair of "gold panning" socks.  The yarn is mostly blues and some white with flecks of yellow (gold) throughout.  So, kind of like a cool mountain stream where one might find bits of gold.  I think of my Mom when I work with this yarn since she really did pan for gold when she and her friend Jennie rode their bikes from Vermont to California.

I also managed a couple of rows on Semplice, but it still looks like a lump of purple, so I'll spare you another picture of that (for now).

It was a very good week for reading.  I listened to both the 6th and 7th volumes of "The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion" by Beth Brower and I've downloaded (but not yet started) Volume 8 which (sadly) is the last one (so far) available.  I've read on line that the author is planning 24-25 volumes in total which seems amazing or impossible to me.

At the suggestion of my friend Leslie, I requested and got from my library Go as a River by Shelley Read.  Leslie's book club was reading it and she thought I might like it.  I found it good - a bit predictable and an easy read, but still good.

I also finished The Resistance Man by Martin Walker - another Bruno Chief of Police novel which I enjoyed very much.  I'm disappointed that my library does not appear to have the next book in the series.  It has later ones, but not the next.

Fletch and I are continuing to listen after dinner to Blaze Me a Sun by Christoffer Carlsson.  It's not quite as compelling as we had hoped and we both tend to doze off while listening - lol.  TBD whether we finish it or go with something else.

What are you making and reading this week?  

Tiny Needle Tuesday 3/17/26

 Hey-Hey and Good Morning!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  How are you?  After a rather rainy but balmy day, the cold temps have returned along with lots and lots of strong winds.  In fact, there were tornado warnings for yesterday afternoon.  Fletch had heard that winds could gust up to 85 mph!  We have a buoy bell hanging from our shed at the edge of our woods and I woke to hearing that clanging this morning.

Our weekend was good including lunch at C&M's on Sunday which was a St. Patrick's Day meal:  corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, Irish soda bread and a chocolate Guinness cake.  Oh my!  It was delicious.  I was back over there yesterday to watch Iris and had such a nice day.

Now it is Tuesday and time for a TNT update.  Look who has appeared:  Adam!!!

Yet another strange face.  The beginning of the left side of the Garden has also appeared by his feet.  Of course, his body needs some flesh, but that will come.  Here's a shot of the overall piece:

Still more greenery and more creatures to be stitched, but this is coming along nicely.  I started this piece on May 31, 2025 and I'm hoping to finish before May 31, 2026.  But, time will tell.  There is still much to be put on the fabric.  Thank God I'm still enjoying this!

I know some of you read The Narrowboat Summer which I found to be a fun read.  Well, Fletch discovered a show on TV (I think he said he found it on Tubi TV) which is a documentary on narrow boats!  He has been enjoying it.  There was one boat where a father and son live and have a pizza business - they float down the water, stop and then make pizzas for whoever wants them.  Another guy has a bicycle repair shop on his boat.  One boat is 75' long which seems amazing to me.

Today will be a somewhat busy day.  We will grocery shop this morning (once again in dire need of fresh produce and a few other things) and I will be going back to our accountant's office in the afternoon to drop off signature pages so that our taxes will be e-filed.  I've watered the houseplants and one load of wash has been started.  From the look of things on my desk, I can see that there are some bills that need to be paid.  It doesn't end!

Whatever is on your schedule today, I hope there are some nice things.  I'm looking forward to seeing some of you tonight for our RWU book discussion.

Unraveled Wednesday 3/11/26

 Good Morning!

Yesterday was simply gorgeous!  And warm - it actually hit 80 here in Eastern PA.  For the first time since last Fall, Fletch and I sat out on the patio with beverages before dinner.  A butterfly flew by!  Earlier I had said to Fletch that I'd like to see a bluebird and then we spotted a pair of bluebirds along the garden fence.  They were checking out the bluebird house.  It was a fun afternoon.

Now it's Wednesday and time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to chat about making and reading.  Not much knitting was accomplished in the last week.  There was, unfortunately, a bit of unraveling.  First I unraveled the cowl I had started back in December and then neglected for two months or so.  I was off by a stitch and when I tried to fix it I ended up dropping a stitch or two.  So, the whole thing came out.  I hadn't really done that much - maybe 15 rows or so.

Yesterday morning I unraveled the Hitch on the Move that I started in February of 2024!

There were many times I almost unraveled this project over the past year, but I never did.  But, I realized that every time I picked it up to work on it I hadn't liked what I saw.  I was using fingering weight yarn and I think this really needs to be knit in DK weight.  So, back to the drawing board.  I really like these two yarns together, so I may look for another pattern to use them together.  (The yarns are "Wish You Were Beer" and "Weathervane" and are by Emma's Yarn.  Both are Superwash Merino, Cashmere and Nylon.)

It was a good week for reading though!  I finished both the 5th and 6th volumes of "The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion."  These books are just plain fun!  

Fletch and I finished listening to One Wild Bird at a Time by Bernd Heinrich and have started a new audio book for after dinner - Blaze Me A Sun by Christoffer Carlsson.  We are both enjoying this one and once again we have lucked out with good narration!

Finally, with my eyes, I read Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood.  I enjoyed this book, though it began to drag for me a bit towards the last third or so.  Plus, way too much about the mouse plague!  LOL

Now it's time for me to get ready to head over to spend the day with Iris.  I hope your week is going well.

Tiny Needle Tuesday 3/10/26

 Hello and Good Morning,

Well, last night's sleep was better.  However, I was woken early by Mabel coughing up a hairball in the bedroom.  This, of course, necessitated getting up earlier than I wanted and turning on a light so that I could avoid stepping in anything.  Mabel is thoughtful and avoids (usually) puking on a rug.  Instead she usually pukes on the wooden floor which is certainly easier to clean up.  Not the best way to wake up.

Iris was good yesterday.  She is almost always good.  She had not slept well Sunday night and ended up taking a 2.5 hour nap in the afternoon.  Though I don't sleep when she naps, at least I can close my eyes and rest some.

I'm happy to report that the socks for Iris fit!  Though they may be a little loose.  Colin and Iris were out for a stroller walk when I arrived yesterday morning.  When they came in it was minus one sock.  Iris had kicked off her blanket and, though Colin didn't notice it at the time, she had also kicked off one of her new socks and it exited the stroller.  While Iris napped Colin took a break from work and walked in the neighborhood where they had walked in the morning.  Luckily he found the abandoned sock!

Now it's Tuesday morning and time for a TNT update on Appil.  The cat now has a coat of fur and the ground on the bottom right of the sampler has been fully stitched.

An amusing cat for sure.  I'll be starting the left bottom side next!  Dare I say closing in on finishing this piece?

Today's plans include a trip to the library (a requested book is ready for pick up), some laundry (again) and grocery shopping.  It's supposed to be another gorgeous day with temps in the 70's, so I'm planning a light dinner:  shrimp salad on croissants.  Yum!!  I think a little salad to go with that will be nice.  And, Fletch left one of his socks for me to see a hole in the toe...I've already found the yarn with which to darn the hole, so I will do that too.  Finally I need to review all the papers for tax season - my appointment to meet with our accountant is this Friday.

Whatever your Tuesday holds for you, here's hoping it is something good!

Weekending 3/9/26

 Good Morning!

We are back to dark mornings with the switch to Daylight Savings Time.  But, the temperature is mild!!  I washed sheets this weekend and retired the flannel sheets until next Fall/Winter.  I figured that was a sure way to have another cold snap, but so far we are good.  And, it felt great to get into a bed with crisp sheets and to have the window open for fresh air.

How was your weekend?  Ours was very nice and I failed to take any pictures!  The one picture I have I took this morning.  A blooming Christmas Cactus:

So pretty, and there are more buds.  This one did bloom around Christmas and now it is blooming again.

Anyway, as I said, our weekend was nice.  We had dinner with the kids on Saturday.  Burgers, crispy potatoes and coleslaw.  I made a blueberry gateau for dessert.  The family socks were well received and appreciated.  I hope they fit - no one tried them on.  It was mild enough that we had a fire outside after dinner.

Last night I made mushroom bourguignon for dinner.  It was wonderful!  And, plenty of leftovers for another meal.  Definitely a dish I will be fixing again.

I'm missing that hour of sleep that I lost Saturday night.  Hopefully I'll have an easy day with iris today.  Here's hoping your Monday is off to a great start.

Unraveled Wednesday 3/4/26

 Hello All,

Another bleak looking day here.  Yesterday it rained pretty much all day.  At times quite hard.  When I sit on the couch in Colin's living room with Iris asleep in my lap (such bliss), I can look out through the sun room and see one of the many rain chains that are hanging.  The water was pouring over it!  Luckily by the time I left to come home it had eased up a bit.  Also luckily it was rain and not snow or sleet!  It is already a bit warmer today (37), but the dampness hurts my joints.  Oh well, on the positive side, I can feel the hurt!  LOL

Well, it's Wednesday and time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers for the first Unraveled Wednesday of March!  Did anyone hear the Hallelujah Chorus over the weekend?  No?  Well, yours truly was singing it.  The Family Socks are all completed!  Woo-Hoo. Here is a pic of Colin's finished pair and then the whole family:

And there you have them.  Family Socks or maybe Goldilocks Socks (Baby, Mama and Papa).  I am so pleased with how they turned out and also so pleased to (finally) have them finished.  I started with Mailing's in mid October with the thought of making them Family Birthday Socks.  That thought turned to Family Christmas Socks.  Mailing's second sock was finished just after New Year's.  Iris' were started immediately and finished by mid-January.  So, my thought turned to Family Valentine Socks.  However, Colin's took from mid January to the very last day of February!

There was a feeling of playing a bit of yarn chicken when making Colin's.  The blue skein was fairly large and both Mailing's and Iris' socks are short, but still...I ended up with just 2 grams of blue left and only 3 grams of gold left.  There are still 6 grams of turquoise and 18 grams of purple, so those will be used for something.

We will be over at C&M's for dinner on Saturday (warm weather forecast, so grilling!!) and I think I will take them over then.  Here's hoping they like them AND here's hoping they fit.

Meanwhile, Semplice is back in rotation!  Last night I pulled it out and found where my "issue" was (one extra stitch).  I was able to correct that and knit a couple of rows.

I'm so close to the end of this shawl and I'd really like to finish it up.  I think I have about 24 rows left in the final pattern section and then 20 rows of garter stitch to wrap it all up.   But, there are about 342 stitches on the needle and an additional 4 stitches are added every other row.  Obviously the rows are long and take a bit of time to knit.  Being garter stitch, the last 20 should be fairly quick (fingers crossed).  Anyway, it's good to be working on this again at long last.

Reading continues to be a good thing!  I finished the 4th volume of  The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion  by Beth Brower and now am nearing the end of Volume 5.  I do not want these books to end!!  They are such fun and the narration is simply perfect.

Over the weekend I finished Gilead by Marilynne Robinson.  This is our RWU selection which we will be discussing on March 17th.  I can't say I loved the book.  As I mentioned last week I found it to be a bit laborious to read.  The writing is good - no doubt about that - it's just not a book you can storm your way through.  I would call it a meditation on life, faith and family, but for me parts of it just dragged on and on.  Thank God it is a short book!  LOL

Fletch and I are continuing to enjoy Bernd Heinrich's One Wild Bird at a Time, listening after dinner.  We have just about a half hour left, so most likely 2 more nights.  I need to find the next thing for us to read together.

And that's a wrap for moi.  I hope your week is going well and I hope you will take the time to check out Kat's blog as well as the links to Unraveled posts - I'm betting you will be entertained and inspired.  Enjoy!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 3/3/26

 Good Morning!

After our glorious Saturday that felt like Spring, we are back to chilliness and it feels colder than ever now.  Yesterday despite wearing a turtleneck and wool sweater I felt cold all day.  This morning the cars are wet.  My phone says it's snowing, but I don't see anything coming down.  I know we are supposed to have sleet as well.  I think/hope it will warm up enough to change to rain.  Meanwhile my shoulders and hips (arthritis) are feeling it.

Enough of that nonsense!  It's Tuesday and, therefore, time for a TNT update.  And look!  Eve now has a full head of crazy hair.  LOL

That's a whole lot of crazy hair and it took a whole lot of time to stitch it!  But now Eve is finished and I am ready to move on to something else.  I should finish the cat and the ground under that...then, perhaps, Adam?  Time will tell.

Time for me to get ready to head over to watch Iris.  Hope everyone has a great day!

Weekending 3/2/26

 Greetings my Friends,

And welcome to March!  How was your weekend.  Mine was just about perfect!  After taking a couple of weeks off from yoga due to my back bothering me as well as my arthritis acting up - particularly in my shoulders (thank you dampness and extreme cold), I finally went back to a couple of Yin Yoga classes.  It felt wonderful.  Yin is such a relaxing practice.

Saturday, the last day of February, dawned sunny and warmer.  In fact, it ended up feeling just like a Spring day!  For the first time in I don't know how long, I went out for a walk.  Due to all the snow melt, I opted to walk along the Perkiomen River Trail in Oaks which is paved.  The sky was a gorgeous blue.

There were plenty of walkers and joggers as well as folks on bikes.  I think everyone felt a tremendous relief to finally be outside in comfortable weather.  There was still plenty of ice along the banks of the river.

Big chunks and shelves of ice.  There was even a large amount of ice across the path at one point, but easy enough to get over it.

Scents were in the air.  It smelled like Spring - a bit mucky and almost swamp like.  No signs of wildlife yet (other than geese flying overhead), but it won't be long now.  This coming Saturday temps are supposed to reach 70+!!!

The weekend overall was a great balance of things.  I found plenty of time for knitting, stitching and reading as well as getting outside.  But I also managed to get some needed chores done (laundry, cleaning the bathrooms, etc.).

Meanwhile, today is a bit on the cooler side.  My phone tells me it is 23 out, but feels like 16.  My schedule is a bit different this week.  I'll be watching Iris on Tuesday and Thursday, so I will head to the grocery store today.  We are in desperate need of fresh produce.

Did you have a good weekend?  I certainly hope so.

Unraveled Wednesday 2/25/26

 Hello and Greetings,

The last Unraveled Wednesday of February 2026 finds me looking out the window at more snow...  Yup, it snowed a bit overnight.  Nothing big - roads are clear, but the car will need to be cleaned off before I can drive to Colin's.  And last night was one of those nights where I hardly slept at all.  I'm tired at 6:30 in the morning!  Hopefully that sweet child will take a nice long nap this afternoon.

Well, it's time to link up with Kat to talk about making and reading.  I'm still plugging away on the Family Socks.  Specifically the last one.  I thought I might be finished or at least speeding down the foot on the final sock.  Instead I find myself meandering and pausing now and then.  It's ok.  It will get done eventually.

I've been thinking about/toying with ideas of what to knit next.  Definitely another pair of socks, but I will pick up something else as well.  Perhaps I should get back to Semplice - it has been in time out for a bit.  The last row I finished found my stitch count off by one and I have not really wanted to deal with it.  But, I'd really like this to be off the needles and blocked.  We shall see.

Reading has been good.  The Unselected Journals of Emma M Lion continue to delight and entertain me.  I finished Volume 3 and am more than halfway through Volume 4.  Already I am wishing that there was not an end to these books.

Fletch and I are enjoying listening to Bernd Heinrich's One Wild Bird at a Time which is giving us some interesting and surprising facts.

Canticle by Janet Rich Edwards was read with my eyes and I loved it.  Historical fiction set in Bruges, it includes mystics, saints, anchoresses and beguines.  Not something I would normally chose to read, but it was truly lovely.

If Canticle didn't provide enough religion, I'm now reading (with my eyes) Gilead by Marilynne Robinson for our RWU group.  I know I read "Housekeeping" by Robinson decades ago (when it first came out) and I think I liked it, but honestly don't remember anything about it.  Gilead is proving to be a bit laborious for me.  There are times when I'm reading that I thoroughly enjoy it and the writing is beautiful.  What Robinson has to say about family, faith and life is truly wonderful.  But then there are times that I keep thinking, get on with it!  Fortunately it is not a terribly long book and I should be able to finish it well before our discussion on 3/27.

Here's hoping your Wednesday finds you immersed in a wonderful book or two and having fun making something!  Enjoy and be sure to check out the links on Kat's blog.

Tiny Needle Tuesday 2/24/26

 Hello!

Welcome to the last TNT of February 2026.  Hard to believe that by the end of the week we will have been through the first two months of 2026.  Whew!  Progress has been made on the Appil piece.  No more hair for Eve (yet), but some creatures have been added.  Here's an overview of the entire piece as it is this morning:

As you can see, the creature on the right has been outlined.  I think it's a cat.  Here's a close up of that:

And two bugs (I think they are beetles) have been stitched on the other side of Eve.

Fun things!  More creatures to come and (of course) Adam needs to be added on the other side of the Evil Serpent.  Even though there is still a lot (a lot!) to stitch on this, I do feel as though good progress has been made and I am steadily moving on toward the end of this.

Our streets are now bare (they were by yesterday morning) and Colin came over in the afternoon (with Iris) to help with shoveling.  Fletch says we ended up with about 9.5", but most of that has now settled down.  It's pretty chilly though.  But at least the sun is out today.  My phone is showing the possibility of snow for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday!  Luckily less than an inch each day.  What a snowy winter it has been!

There are mushrooms and some meat marinating for kabobs for dinner. Peppers and onions will be added to the kabobs.  I'll try doing them on the indoor grill I just bought.

Here's to a great Tuesday!

A Winter Wonderland! 2/23/26

 Greetings from Eastern PA,

It's a beautiful Winter Wonderland outside.  We had some rain yesterday morning which turned into what I call "thick rain" - not really rain, but not quite snow, but not sleet either.  That eventually changed into all snow and it is still coming down this morning.  I took this picture when I came downstairs and stepped out onto our patio:

It's a lot.  Right now it is very pretty.  The street has not been plowed.  I was supposed to watch Iris today, but I'm not going anywhere!

At Thanksgiving I had gotten a free (8 lbs!!) turkey breast from one of our grocery stores and decided to cook that yesterday.  I made stuffing and a small green bean casserole.  Good food on a snowy day.  This morning I have the bones simmering on the stove for soup.  I think a turkey sandwich is on the menu for lunch!  I will freeze the soup for another day.

Some nice surprises over the weekend:  I discovered a new flower on my biggest Christmas cactus!

And then I discovered buds on another Christmas cactus!

I guess they really like living in my office room (where I never turn on the heat).  When I watered plants this morning I noticed even more buds on the one plant.  

So, a good day to stay in.  We don't even need to go grocery shopping tomorrow if we don't want to.  Plenty of food in the freezer.  I think today will be spent knitting and/or stitching, some reading and listening to the Unselected Journals of Emma M Lion and, perhaps, a little nap after lunch!

I hope everyone is warm and cozy and if you are in the midst of the storm or expecting it, stay safe!!

Unraveled Wednesday 2/18/26

 Good Morning!

Greetings from very foggy Eastern PA.  It's still quite dark out, but my phone says dense fog until 10 a.m.  And, Happy Birthday to my little brother.  The temp is a bit more mild this morning (34) and I think this week will see us above freezing overnight all week!  Both cold temps and damp weather are bad for my back, so I will be glad to see a change in the weather.  Of course our forecast shows we could get snow on Sunday.  Ugh.

It's Wednesday and time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to talk about making and reading.  I love Wednesdays.  Always inspiring and often enabling in the best kind of way.

Today I have one and a half socks to share.

The last pair of the Family Socks!  The first is finished and the second is up to the heel flap.  It should not be long now.  I intended to work on this yesterday but pulled out my stitching instead.

Reading has been quite good!  I've listened to the first two volumes of The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion and they are simply wonderful.  So good that I'm almost finished with Volume 3!  And, yes, I did write "listened" - me!!  My library does not have the books, so I decided to download from Audible to use up some of the many credits I have.  The narration is superb and the story is just plain fun.  Thanks to Sarah for this recommendation,

With my eyes, I read Seascraper by Benjamin Wood.  What a book!  Moody, atmospheric, perhaps even a bit melancholy.  Beautiful writing and I highly recommend it.

Fletch and I finished listening to Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson.  Again, the narration was quite good.  We both laughed a lot and enjoyed the book, though by the last hour or so we were tired of it and ready for it to be over.  Last night we started listening to a book by Bernd Heinrich - one of our favorite nature writers.

Due to my aching back, I never managed to get around to putting orange oil on my cabinets yesterday.  And today I'm off to watch Iris.  Perhaps I'll get to the cabinets later in the week.  Tomorrow I have an early doctor appointment and a massage in the afternoon - can't wait for that!  I may sign up for a yin yoga class Thursday evening - depends on how my back does today.  I think the slow stretching is good for me.  I just need to remember to not twist too far!

Whatever your plans, I hope you have an enjoyable Wednesday!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 2/17/26

 Hello!

It's Fat Tuesday!  Happy Mardi Gras!  My beans have been soaking overnight and I have hot Italian sausage thawed.  We will be having red beans and rice for dinner.  I can't wait!  But first, the rest of the day awaits and it is time for a TNT update.

Stitching (some) was accomplished this week.  The solid fill-ins do take some time.  But the ground underneath Eve (the Garden of Eden?) has been filled in and, the bottom line over to the right side (as you look at it) of the sampler has been stitched!

Obviously no more hair was added to Eve and I don't know if that will happen this week.  There is a creature off to the right that I am anxious to stitch.  Also a few more bugs between Eve and the Tree as well.

I'm happy to report that I did manage to get my chores completed yesterday!  That was scrubbing the kitchen floor and vacuuming upstairs.  Today I may wipe the cabinets with orange oil if I am so inspired to do so.  First, though, I'll cook some bacon & eggs for Fletch and me and we will do a quick run to the grocery store to procure some things (mostly fresh veggies and fruit).  Hoping to find reading, knitting and stitching time at some point.

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Weekending 2/16/26

 Good Morning All,

How are you and how was your weekend? Ours was very nice.  Fletch and I went out to breakfast on Saturday morning.  That was a great treat - I love going out to breakfast.  The rest of that day was spent on good things - books, knitting and stitching.  I cannot complain.

Sundy morning we met Colin, Mailing, Iris, Bonnie and Zhongren at the Colebrookdale Train Station in Boyertown.

Such a beautiful train station with elegant gingerbread trim.  It was mobbed!!  I think the train was full.  The cars were all beautiful.  White linen tablecloths, cloth napkins, fancy silverware and nice china.  There were fresh flowers and chocolate truffles on each table.  Wine and champagne and even a boy (teenager) strolling through the cars playing his violin.  I kept expecting to turn around and see Poirot!  LOL. It really was fun.  The food was surprisingly good - French toast, eggs and sausage for brunch.  And everyone received a long stemmed carnation as we stepped off the train.  The ride goes through what is known as the Hidden Valley.  It was pretty with snow still on the ground and I'm betting it would be gorgeous in the Fall with colorful leaves.

We got home around 1:30 and yours truly took a nice, long nap!  Then we went over to C&M's for dinner.  We had coq au vin with mashed potatoes - a perfect meal for a winter's night.  And chocolate mousse with whipped cream for dessert.  And, of course, wine.  We were all beyond stuffed at the end of the meal.

On our way over to C&M's we had a bit of rain, but as we left to come home, snow was falling.  This morning we woke to a few new inches of snow - the kind that coats all the tree branches.  Very pretty (but I am tired of snow).  We had been commenting that the snow has been sticking around for such a long, long time.  And then Fletch heard on the news that this is the longest a snowfall has stayed on the ground since 1963!  At least the new snow is still pretty and white and has covered up a lot of the grimy patches.

Nowhere I need to go today, so I will be staying in.  There are a few chores I should take care of - time will tell whether I do or not.  I hope your Monday is a nice one - enjoy!

Wrapping up the Week

 Good Morning!

How are you on this Friday the 13th?  I am doing well.  Other than a Restorative Yoga class this evening, I have no real plans.  There is laundry to be done and the kitchen floor is pretty dirty, but nothing major.

Yesterday I ran errands, set up appointments (including with our accountant for taxes), did some knitting and a bit of reading.  It was so relaxing.  One of this things I picked up on my errands was this cute little bunny basket for Iris.

Isn't it sweet?  I also picked up one of those cars that you pull back and then it zooms off.  The one I bought is a banana.  LOL. I will get some other goodies to fill the basket for Easter.

After Iris was born and we were going through all the books that were Colin's when he was young, I was disappointed not to find two.  The first was Sheep in a Jeep and the other was a Golden Book - Two Little Gardeners.  I had forgotten that the author of Two Little Gardeners is Margaret Wise Brown who wrote "Goodnight Moon" and "The Runaway Bunny" - two of Iris' favorites!  Anyway, I ordered both books.  The Golden Book is coming from Abe Books, but Sheep in a Jeep I ordered from Amazon and it arrived yesterday!  I'll probably take that to Iris next Wednesday when I will be watching her.

There has also been cooking, of course.  Last night I made white clam sauce and added some smoked mussels along with the clams.  Highly recommend!!  It was quite tasty.  Tonight I am fixing baked ratatouille - lots of veggies and a bit of cheese.  YUM!

We have no plans for Valentine's Day and I have yet to figure out what I will cook, but there is time to figure it all out. On Sunday we have plans to meet up with Colin & Mailing & Iris and Mailing's parents for a brunch train ride on the Colebrookdale Railroad in Boyertown.  That should be fun - it will be Iris' first train ride!  Also, Sunday is Zhongren's birthday and he loves trains, so perfect timing.

I hope this Friday finds you well and enjoying life!

Unraveled Wednesday 2/11/26

 Good Morning One and All,

The warming trend is (thankfully) continuing.  Today it is 32 out right now which is roughly 10 degrees warmer than yesterday!  Woo-Hoo!  I'm still in comfy leggings and two sweaters, but I don't feel stiff and cramped with cold.

It's Wednesday!  The day when all the cool people link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to talk about making and reading.  I'm happy to show you that the first of the last pair of Family socks (got that?) is almost finished!  I only have the toe decrease and kitchnering to do.

Honestly I think I could have (and maybe should have) finished this last night, but my eyes were getting a little tired and my hands were beginning to ache just a tiny bit.  Better to not over-do it.  Hopefully I will finish it up tonight and even cast on for the last one!  I kept weighing my yarn to be sure I would have sufficient and I'm pretty sure I can get the second sock to match this one (fingers crossed).

Reading has been so good!  I finished The Black Wolf by Louise Penny and found it to be much, much better than The Grey Wolf (which I didn't like).  Like Kat, I was happy to read that the next Ganache book will be centered in Three Pines and should include more of the "characters" we have all come to love so much.

A ton of books have come in for me at my library - many of them new and therefore not renewable.  I may have to return one or two before reading, but not a bad problem.  I'm in the midst of Seascraper by Benjamin Wood and the writing is just wonderful.  Because of Kat's review, I've started reading Wintering by Katherine May which is just beautifully written.  I'm going slow with this and reading maybe 10 pages or so just before turning out the light.  And Sarah prompted me to download Book 1 of The Unselected  Journals of Emma M Lion which I am finding to be just wonderful!  The narration is excellent.

Fletch and I are continuing to enjoy Run for the Hills.  I think we have about 2 hours left.

And, of course, I still have "Gilead" by Marilynne Robinson for our RWU group. Other books waiting for my eyes are Canticle by Janet Rich Edwards and Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood.  And yesterday I received notice that Heart the Lover by Lily King is ready for me to pick up.

Whew!  What a bounty of books.  Lucky me!!

What are you making and reading this week?

Tiny Needle Tuesday 2/10/26

 Good Morning All,

Well, it is roughly 20 degrees warmer this morning than yesterday!  Progress!!  And I saw 40's in next week's forecast.  But, let's not jump ahead.  As we all know, the forecasts are more often wrong than correct.

I spent a delightful day yesterday with Iris.  We read so many (SO MANY) books!  Some of them multiple times.  Have any of you seen or read The Zabajaba Jungle by William Steig?  This is not one we read yesterday, but what a funny, weird book.  That William Steig must've been smoking something when he wrote this one!  Wednesday will be another day with Iris.

Anyway, it's Tuesday which means it's time for a TNT update.  The only time I stitched on Appil was Sunday afternoon for an hour or so.  Therefore, not a lot is new.  I skipped working on hair and instead concentrated on the ground under Eve's feet.  A little more outlining and a bit more filling in.

It is difficult to see, but there are a couple of shades of green in the ground.  There will also be some brown (of course...this piece has so much brown!!).

Today's plans include grocery shopping and making shrimp fajitas for dinner.  Yum!  I'm hungry for them right now!  Hope your Tuesday is a good one.