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.

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!!

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!

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!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 11/18/25

 Hello My Friends,

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

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

Here is the way it all looks right now:

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

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

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

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

Here's hoping everyone is having a good week!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 11/19/24

 Good Morning!

It is still a little dark here, but the sun is starting to come up.  It's also a little chillier this morning than yesterday or over the weekend.  Did anyone else watch Part 1 of the DaVinci piece pulled together by Ken Burns?  What a mind!!  We'll see Part 2 tonight.  

It's Tuesday, so time for a TNT update.  I'm pleased that the door is now the correct width on the house.  There is still a bit to do at the top of the door (more dark color), but the width is now right.  Whew!

There is STILL so much to stitch on this piece.  I'm hoping that I will finish this before the end of the year, but all bets are off.

A week ago I showed one of my Christmas Cacti with numerous buds.  Well...some of them have now opened.

And, we counted at least 19 more buds!  My other two plants are sporting buds as well, but they are not as numerous or as far along.  So pretty!

We have a (shelled) peanut feeder hanging from the edge of our patio roof.  The birds all love to come and dine - sometimes even while we sit on the patio.  I decided to get some peanuts in the shell to put out for the Jays and crows (and the squirrels).  Guess what?  We discovered that deer love peanuts in the shell as well.  Here is the scene from yesterday afternoon.  Snack time!

Mabel and the deer are friends - the deer don't run off when I open the door to let Mabel in or out and they will approach each other (cautiously).  The deer have also become accustomed to Fletch and me.  I know they can be destructive, but I do love having them around.  (I also discovered they like roasted almonds!!  I had a bag of roasted almonds that just were not very good, so I put them out thinking the squirrels would like them...the deer chowed down before the squirrels had a chance!)

I need to remember to go out and harvest some of the French Thyme from our garden.  The other night I used the last of the garden peppers in our dinner and we had the last garden tomatoes at lunch one day.  Fletch said the Swiss Chard in the cold frame is doing well and some of the lettuce (some of the lettuce plants were hit hard by the cold weather a few weeks ago).  I'm thinking a quiche with some chard might make a nice dinner one night!

Here's hoping your week is off to a wonderful start.  Have some fun!

Unraveled Wednesday 1/31/24

 Good Morning!

Happy end of January!!  It's above freezing today, but not by much.  I had let Mabel out at 6 a.m. and just let her back in and she is a little wet.  I looked out the window at the cars, and they are a bit wet too, so we might have had a little rain recently.  I can't tell if the sun is not up yet or it's just grey outside...the sky is pretty dark, I think we have some cloud cover.  Oh well.

Inside I have some brightness...some pretty:

My Christmas cactus that started as a cutting from the GIANT one my Grandmother had in Vermont.  Her plant was huge - easily a couple of feet across.  Anyway, I've had this for years and for years it didn't bloom.  Dee suggested it wasn't in the right location, so I moved it to my office where it gets some sun but it is also cooler (I rarely put the heat on in the office room).  Last year it had two flowers.  And now this year it has many more and a bunch of buds.  If you click to enlarge, you will see that the blooms are doubles!  (To take a picture of it, I moved it onto Mabel's "ledge" where she will try to pounce on birds at the window...it is back on a bookcase out of Mabel's way now.)

Well, here we are the last Wednesday of January for Unraveled Wednesday.  Let's link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to talk Making and Reading.  Fortunately there has been no unraveling this week.  I've made slow, but steady progress on my crescent moon sock (the first):

The heel has been turned and I am moving down the foot.  I've fairly large feet, so still a way to go but the journey is pleasant.  The Farmer's Daughter yarns are very, very nice.  Of course, this is the January yarn and...my February yarn arrived Monday (along with my Sock Squad Journal which was missing from my January package).

The colors are so pretty (and I love the journal).  But, I need to let them marinate a bit on my desk and in my head to figure out what to make with them.  The blue skein is the mini.  The other two are what I call half skeins - 50 grams each - roughly 230 yards each.  I don't think I want to use this yarn for socks, but I may do a cowl or maybe a shawlette.  Again, I will let the yarn marinate in my head...any suggestions from you?

Reading is still a bit slow for me.  I did read an excellent book Winter Solstice by Nina MacLaughlin.  What beautiful writing!  Very soothing to read.  I'm looking forward to "Summer Solstice" by her, but am saving that for a bit.

Carolyn had mentioned reading "Rooted" by Lyanda Lynn Haupt.  My library did not have that, but it had another book by the author:  "Mozart's Starling."  After close to 100 pages read, I am giving up on it.  I don't need another book about someone walking around with a bird on their shoulder pooping down their back!  The title of this book should be Lyanda's Starling as there was almost nothing about Mozart in those first 100 pages.  I'm dropping off the book at the library when I go out to get my hair cut this morning.

Fletch and I, thankfully, are still thoroughly enjoying The Ride of Her Life - we're almost 100 pages in.  Most chapters are just 7-10 pages long - the perfect length to read after dinner.

That's it from me this Wednesday!  Be sure to head over to Kat's to see what others are making and reading.  Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Monday and a Finished Hitchhiker!!

Hello Everyone,

If your weekend was half as good as mine it was a great one!  Our weather was so nice and we did a lot of different things.  Saturday we mostly spent the day with Colin and Mailing.  After lunch I had plenty of time to knit and actually bound off the Hitchhiker!

That's a dark shot, but it is spread out on the sectional in their living room.  This shot shows the colors better.

I ended up with 39 teeth and 6 grams (or 0.2 oz) of yarn left.  I washed it Saturday night and it is still on the blocking mats.  It was dry as of this morning, but I didn't have time to fool with it.  It was a little stiff prior to washing, so I hope it has softened up some.  I love the colors in it (Rhubarb is the colorway).

I'm still working on the Shell Cottage sock, yet thinking I *need* another project - maybe some socks for Fletcher.

Sunday was taken up with chores and errands, but we managed to get some archery in during the afternoon.  Tyg was safely inside napping so we took advantage of that time to shoot.  I am definitely out of shape and it has obviously been quite some time since I shot an arrow...many of mine fell short of the target...but at least I didn't lose any in the woods this go-round.  And I did manage one hit pretty close to being a bulls eye!  Regardless, we had fun (and I can feel it across my back this morning).

Our Christmas Cactus is continuing to bloom and this morning I spotted yet another bud on it!

It's interesting how some of the blooms are double and some are not, but they are all beautiful and a welcome sight.

Hope you all enjoyed the weekend, and here's to a great week ahead.

A Surprise!!

Good Morning!

Are you surviving/doing ok with the time change?  I seem to be coping (but yawning a lot - lol).  Saturday was an absolutely gorgeous day - warm and sunny.  Then Sunday came and it was extremely foggy all day.  We had a lot of rain overnight and it just looked like Sleepy Hollow outside - even in the middle of the afternoon.

We had friends over on Sunday and made BBQ shrimp and salad for dinner.  I baked Cuban bread in the morning to go with it - crusty on the outside and chewy inside - perfect for sopping up the butter/bacon/garlic/Old Bay "stuff" in the shrimp pan.

And look what our friends brought for dessert - Black Forest Cake!!

Truly decadent and delicious! 

The surprise from my blog post title is this:

I have had this Christmas Cactus for years!  It started from a cutting of the plant my Grandmother had.  Her's was HUGE - an enormous pot that took up an entire side table in her living room.  It always bloomed several times a year and was always covered in blossoms.  Mine bloomed faithfully for a number of years, but it has to be at least 5 or 6 years since it last had a blossom.  I had been thinking it was time to trash it and just replace it with a new one from the garden center.  Saturday morning I spotted this bloom (it's a double!!) and there are three more buds showing color.  I'm so glad I didn't trash this!

There was a bit of knitting over the weekend.  Progress is being made on the first Shell Cottage sock:

I'm still finding this yarn a bit splitty, but I'm loving the colors and the way it is striping.  I also seem to be getting better at the Knot stitch - as long as I remember to keep my stitches fairly loose, I'm able to lift the third stitch over two and off the needle (without losing the first two - ha!).

That's a wrap on my weekend.  How was yours?