Weekending 9/7/26

 Good Morning!

Happy Labor Day!  It's a long weekend here in the States, but honestly since retirement it's hard for me to keep track.  I will tell you that the weather has been just about perfect.  Sunny days but low humidity and modest temps - I think the high temp yesterday was 78.  I've had a few texts from the kids who are out in Pittsburgh and it looks equally beautiful there.  They've had fun meeting friends for meals, visiting Phipps and the Aviary and then yesterday they took off hiking/backpacking in the Laurel Highlands.  They will come home today.

Do you remember how the other week I said I thought the beans were winding down?  I was wrong.  LOL

Saturday afternoon I wandered out to the garden to get some parsley.  This is what I came back with.  The yellow beans completely filled (to bursting) a gallon zip lock bag.  There was a quart bag of green beans, some cherry tomatoes and the parsley is on the top.  And a cucumber too!  All of the beans and the cucumber have found their way to C&M's house.

Yesterday afternoon I walked out to cut some flowers and came home with another basket full of beans!  HELP!!!  Today I will be cooking up a yellow and green bean casserole.

Yesterday I made Slow Cooker Italian Summer Soup using THIS RECIPE.  Wow was it good!  I used both yellow squash and zucchini and I also added some asparagus stalks we had.  This is a great recipe for cleaning out the fridge.  I think it would be great with hot Italian sausage rather than the sweet (or a combination of both), but I used sweet as I plan to leave a big container in C&M's fridge this morning for their return later today.  The sweet sausage is ok for Iris but the hot is a bit much for her.  On my way over to their house this morning to feed Talbot I will also stop and pick up a loaf of crusty bread to go with the soup.

I'm planning a few chores for today (bathrooms, laundry, etc.), but am hoping that the afternoon will find me with either a stitching needle in hand, or a pair of socks in progress in my lap.  Or both.  And a book too.  Probably a nap will occur as well.

Wishing you all a wonderful start to the week - enjoy!

Tiny Needle Tuesday - July 6, 2021

 Good Morning! 

Here we are at the first Tuesday in July and I have two TNT projects to share!!  WooHoo - living dangerously, aren't I?

First up is the start on my Pomegranate Bird sampler by Heartstring Samplery.  I'm working on 40 count Patina Linen and using one thread over two threads of linen, so 20 stitches to the inch.  The threads are hand dyed cotton - both Weeks Dye Works and Crescent Colors.

Here is a picture of the full design:

The 40 count is almost enough to do my eyes in, but I love the way it looks.  I'm curious (and hopeful) if this will be easier after my cataract surgery!  As you can see, I started this design in the center.  I can't remember the last time I did that - I almost always start in the upper left hand corner.  But, the very upper left of this design is kind of blank, and though I would usually count over to start where the design does, on the 40 count it was easier to just start in the center.  The center of the urn still needs to be filled in, but I didn't feel like stitching with brown thread.  The colors in the flower are called:  Whiskey, Brandy, Pomegranate and Toasted Marshmallow.  Kind of like naming yarns!  I want that job.

Design #2 is Coverlet Birds by The Scarlet House:

And my start on this:

The fabric is 32 count and I am using Ginny Thompson Flower Thread which is very, very old stash.  I don't believe this thread is manufactured any more.  I like the way it looks (no sheen to it at all), but the thread is thicker than what I normally use and a bit on the coarse side.  But...the design is small.  When finished, this will be/should be small enough to make into a little pincushion.

Years ago Fletch and I stopped in Bedford on our way home after visiting Colin in Pittsburgh.  The National Museum of the American Coverlet is located in Beford.  For all you Western PA folks, if you have not visited this museum, I highly recommend doing so.  It is fascinating.

Two birds on two different samplers!  I do have a thing for birds - lol.

July 4th also means it is time to harvest the garlic and Fletch did so yesterday.  We (really he) managed to get a fairly good haul.  Fletch has separated it into small, medium, large and giant heads.

I'm looking forward to using this on home made pizza - simply the best!  First it will be hung on the patio to dry a bit.

After a little bit of a cooler weekend, the heat is back.  Yesterday was very warm and today promises more of the same.  I'll get to the office early and get done what I need to and then head home.  I'd like to just relax this afternoon and stitch and knit some.  Hoping that work will not interfere with that - haha.  First, though, it is time for a second cup of coffee and I need to wake up a bit more before getting behind the wheel.

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Unraveled Wednesday April 21, 2021

 Good Morning All,

We are now fully vaccinated!!  Woo-Hoo!  The line was long...very long...but moved very quickly.  Everyone in line had already had their first shot.  Once again we arrived early - ahead of our scheduled time - and were in an out and on our way home before our scheduled time!  No bad side effects so far.  My arm is very sory (which I did not have with the first jab) and I didn't sleep last night due to the arm.  But otherwise all is good.  Glad to have that finished.

It was a beautiful day yesterday and when we got home from vaccination city, I took a quick walk around the back yard (before lunch and a long, long nap).  Our Redbud is gorgeous right now - probably at peak.  Hard to capture the intensity of the color, but here's the shot I took.

I couldn't get a good shot of all the Asian Pear blooms as we still have that little tree encased in a cage to protect it from deer or any other critter that would like to nibble on it.  The largest raised bed box at the back of the garden is half full of garlic coming up.  Home grown garlic is simply the best (plus you get the benefit of garlic scapes!!).

The plant in the far back left corner is a sunflower that Colin started from seed and brought over a couple of weeks ago.  

Our apple tree is coming into full bloom (did not get a picture of that).  Seems to me there are more buds than there have been in some years, so I am hopeful that our tree is on the mend and will do ok.

Onward to Unraveled Wednesday doings.  First up there was unraveling - several times - but at the very beginning of the project.  Specifically the French Market Bag - oy vey!  What a fiddly start this bag is.  You start with 8 stitches on 4 DPNs and then increase every other row.  Those DPNs kept spinning around and trying their best to twist, but I finally got it!

There are now 96 stitches on the needles.  Once I get to 200 I believe the increasing stops.  At some point I will need to switch to the circular needle, but not quite yet.  I really love the color of this yarn (Thistle) and I sure hope it felts up well.

The second Beekeeper sock is coming along.

If I remember correctly, I've done 30 rows on the leg and sock #1 has 70 rows...so a bit to go before I do the heel flap and turn the heel (so magical!!).

I'm hoping today to get back to that pesky yellow border motif in my stitching, but also spend some time on both knitting projects.  We'll see...after not sleeping much, I may be dozing the day away!

On the reading front, I finished Broken Ice the 2nd in the Nils Shapiro series by Matt Goldman.  I liked the first book better, but this one was ok and I've requested the next in the series from my library.  Fletch and I started a new book after dinner last week and are enjoying it.  Radio Free Vermont: A Fable of Resistance which takes place in current times (or rather just past times - trump times) where a group is recommending that Vermont secede from the Union.  I'm enjoying this as I know so many of the places mentioned and have such ties to Vermont.

Time for another cup of coffee and to catch up on some blog reading.  Linking up with Kat for Unraveled Wednesday.  Have a great Wednesday!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 8/4/20

Good Morning!

It's dark out there.  It's not really that early (7 a.m.), but we are getting the rain from Isaias...and will be getting it all day.  It's coming down, but not terribly hard which is a good thing.  We - the garden and lawn - need the rain, but we need the kind that will soak in, not run off.  So far, so good.  Another benefit to the pandemic - no need to get up and drive in to the office on a day like today!

Well, it's Tuesday and I did start my next Adam & Eve sampler last week.  It is "Permit Me Not To Stray" by Heartstring Samplery.

I love the BIG flowers and the fact that there is a lion in it!!  I'm very happy that my border has met up.  I wanted to do that first and make sure my count was correct.

The wrinkles are from me bunching up the fabric as I stitch.  I do not use a hoop or frame, but rather stitch in hand.  This is a little bigger than I was thinking it would be - roughly 10" by 10" on my fabric.  I'm using 38 count white Gander linen and mostly Sampler Threads from The Gentle Art.  There will be some DMC in the piece as a couple of the Sampler Threads are not in stock in any on line shop I checked.  I hope to get started on the inside - specifically some of those flowers - today.

Meanwhile, in life around the house.  As I mentioned, Tyg has been hanging out on the picnic table under the camper birdhouse.  It turns out our birdhouse is now a nursery.  Yes!  We have baby wrens.  And Tyg is excited.

Do you see the little bird head peeking out from the opening?  Yesterday afternoon this little guy was mostly there resting his tiny beak on the opening of the birdhouse waiting (not so patiently) for a parent to come by with food. 

On the gardening front, I went out yesterday afternoon to pick tomatoes and grab some onions,  I checked on our Asian Pear tree and our 2 little pears are steadily growing!

They are beginning to get that squat Asian Pear look.  We are keeping the wire "cage" around the tree to protect it from the deer.  Likewise, I looked at our Fig which has come back so strongly after being nibbled to the ground last year.  It looks so healthy and full, but I did not see any sign of a fig.

Yesterday I did receive a call from my doctor's office.  The blood test I had last week did indeed come back positive for Lyme Disease.  Yuck.  But, at least I know that's what the rash was and at least I got on the antibiotic quickly.  My understanding is that I will always test positive for Lyme now.  That's my news for the day.  Hope your week is going well. 

TGIF

Hello Everyone,

It's nice that Friday is here.  I don't even care that it is supposed to rain ALL day (it hasn't started yet).  I've been getting texts and emails about possible flooding.  We shall see.  No rain yet.

This has been one of those weeks that has felt long and has felt as though I really haven't accomplished much.  I think the heat and humidity have gotten to me.  There hasn't been much knitting.  A little stitching (not quite as hot as knitting), but not much.

I've also been bothered by a rather large (huge!!) rash on my stomach.  I was finally able to get an in-person appointment yesterday and I am now on antibiotics for Lyme Disease!  Mind you, I have not had a blood test or anything like that, but the drugs can't hurt me and better safe than sorry.  Both the nurse practitioner and the doctor immediately said LYME when they saw my stomach.  Fortunately I've had no symptoms like fevers or joint pain.  Colin contracted Lyme disease a decade or so ago when he was in college.  It took forever for him to be diagnosed and he had severe joint pain and had tons of fluid drained off his left knee a number of times.  Hopefully starting the antibiotics now I will be fine.  Of course, I also have to stay out of the sun while taking the pills.  It's a 21 day supply, so I probalby won't go walking for a bit.

On a more pleasant note, I have done some cooking and the other night we had curried vegetables for dinner.

This was so good with peppers, onions, brocolli, cauliflower, tomatoes, carrots, eggplant, garlic & ginger.  I didn't add any meat to it, but chicken or shrimp would be a good addition.

And we have eggplants growing!!  We have the plants in a pot on our patio, next to my rosemary.  These little guys are noticeably longer each morning!

I love grilling or broiling eggplant slices and then putting them on pizza.  Yum!

No real plans for the weekend.  It is supposed to be stupid hot and humid, so we will most likely lay low.  Hope you all have a wonderful one!

Weekending

Good Morning!

How was your weekend?  Mine was not what I had planned.  Dee and I were supposed to get together for a walk and then some knitting under my apple tree.  But, Thursday night Mailing started running a fever.  So erring on the side of caution Dee and I decided not to get together.  Mailing was tested Friday for Covid, but we don't know the results yet - hopefully today (2-4 days for the results).  Since Fletch and I saw Colin & Mailing 6 days before she ran the fever, we are staying away from everyone.  I had planned to go into the office today, but am staying home instead.  Mailing is feeling better each day, but is still not 100%. 

Friday I did walk along the canal, and looking across the water I saw these day lilies:

Such a profusion!  I love seeing the reflection in the water.

On Saturday I walked a little over 5 miles along the path in Oaks.  And boy was it muggy!  We had rain early in the morning but by 9 it was clear, so I headed out.  There were a number of walkers and a lot of bikers.  I thought this little guy was going to come right for me:

Hard to see in the picture, but this is a young buck with tiny antlers still in velvet.  Tail up and he meant business!  I was in his way and he was not going to stop - lol.  Later a young, spotted fawn broke out of the woods running right towards me.  It had been frightened by two German Shepherd dogs (on leashes) ahead of me.  I'm like a magnet for these deer!

And, speaking of deer, they have managed to do severe damage on our garden!  They have munched bell peppers, jalapeno peppers (!!), tomato plants, etc.  Farmer Fletch has put up screening and wires around everything!  And he went out and got coyote urine to sprinkle around everything.  LOL

So disappointing after everything was doing so well.  And now our garden looks like a prison with wire everywhere!

I did manage to get a little knitting and a little stitching done over the weekend, but no pictures yet.  Not sure what I will be able to do today.  The morning has already been busy work-wise and I have a conference call at 10.  It is also feeling a bit sticky already, so I doubt I will get out for a walk.  Time will tell.

Wishing you all a great week!  I can't believe we are at the end of June!!!

A Thursday That is Like a Friday!

Good Morning!

Well, a chilly start to the day - it was in the 40's on my drive into work today and I (gasp!!) put the heat on in the car!  It is so sunny and just lovely out.

Yesterday I received an e-mail mid-day letting us know that our office will be closed tomorrow as a thank you for a strong end to our fiscal year!  Isn't that just the best?  Bobby (CEO) told me it was just so beautiful driving in yesterday that he thought we should all have a long weekend for the last one of summer. 

And the weekend promises to be JUST like summer - temps are forecast to be in the upper 80's with plenty of sun.  Dee and I are going to meet up at a craft fair that is being held at Pennypacker Mills which (hopefully) will be fun.  I don't think I've ever been there, so am looking forward to seeing the place.  I'm sure there will be coffee and knitting too😊

Usually I don't participate in Three on Thursday, but yesterday when I got home, Fletch and I were sitting on the patio with our beverages and I looked out at the garden and saw three things to share with you!

1.  Not the best picture (it was sunny and shadowy), but this is the Fall planting of sugar snap peas beginning to climb the trellis.  Fletch thinks they will start blooming by the time we return from vacation.  YAY  (The mess behind the trellis is the volunteer raised bed box with tomato plants, cantaloupe vines, etc.)

2.  This is the Fall planting of spinach and lettuce (a big mix of things).  Fletch has built a cold frame cover for this raised bed box.  In past years we've been able to pick greens at Christmas!

3.  🍅Tomatoes.  Still.  I picked the bowl on the left yesterday.  The bowl on the right was picked two days prior (and had more in it, but we've consumed a bunch).  These are so sweet and so tasty and they just keep on coming!  Our large tomatoes have been slow to develop and slow to ripen, but when they do they sure are good!  I'm also planning to use a few for Fried Green Tomatoes.

Linking up with Carole and others for Three on Thursday (or Friday in my case!).  Bring on the weekend!!

Sleepy Monday

Good Morning!

I am just so sleepy this morning.  I seem to be going through another phase of waking at 3 a.m. and never getting back to sleep.  Nothing going through my head, no worries, just moonlight streaming into the bedroom and me wide awake!  Hopefully I won't nod off at my desk today - lol.

The weekend was a mixed bag.  Lots of frustrations about various things.  But Saturday was so nice.  I met up with Dee and we went to Echo Valley for some fiber enhancement.  Sorry, I forgot to take a picture, but I bought a lovely skein of Hedge Hog Fiber Sock Yarn in the colorway Hawk.  Gorgeous.  We went out to lunch and then to a coffee shop for some knitting.  I started a new pair of socks (no, the watermelon ones are not finished yet - not even the first!!), but I ended up ripping them out.  Somewhere along the way I messed up and my count was way off.  I tried *tinking* what I had knit, but the pattern had so many K2 tog, SSK and YO parts to it that it was a mess to do that, so I just pulled the needles out and re-wound the yarn.  I will try again.

Before I left my house Saturday morning, guess who showed up?  Mr. Fox went loping across the backyard and Tyg who was on the patio ran out to the garden to join him.  Yikes!  The fox did run off when he saw me and Tyg came back to the house thank goodness.  Then Sunday morning this guy showed up.

He had been under our apple tree munching on some fallen fruit.  A little later a doe showed up too.

One of my frustrations:  Sunday I went to 5 different stores looking for kitchen curtains.  No one sells them these days!  They carry floor length drapes, but no short curtains.  I guess I will need to buy them on line, but I would really prefer to see them in person before purchasing.  I could make them (which is what I did the last time), but honestly I don't feel like it!  I will continue to look a bit more.

Fletcher pulled all the onions out (they were beginning to rot in the ground) and dug up the few potatoes we got from the couple of plants he put in the raised bed:

Some of those potatoes are so gnarly!  They sure are tasty though.

I finished reading Late Migrations and enjoyed it very much.  Her essays are short but so well written.  The sub-title is A Natural History of Love and Loss.  So, it won't appeal to all, but I liked it quite a bit.

This is going to be a busy week at work - I have a group of 15 or so coming in for 3 days of training.  I may need to pump a bit more coffee into my system! 

Wishing you all a great week!

TGIF July 12, 2019

Hello All,

Wow did we have some strong storms last night!  Lots of lightening and thunder and so much rain.  One of my roads to work today was closed due to flooding.  Hopefully it will be cleared up by Noon (when I am planning to leave to start the weekend early).

No new knitting to show and no Friday Felines this week.  But, I don't think I ever showed the garlic from our garden.  Fletch pulled it on the 3rd and it's hanging on our patio to dry.  We gave some to Colin, but this is the balance of what we have:

The yellow thing is Fletch's kayak, the wooden guideboat he built is below that.  I can't wait to use some of this garlic - so yummy!

I'm one of those people who cannot wait for Fall - my favorite season.  But even I think this is rushing things a bit:

This was from our grocery store ad that I was looking through while having coffee this a.m.  Before you know it, Halloween candy will be in the aisles. 

Finally - I think we (really Fletch - he did all the work) found the car we want.  We're going to look at it tomorrow!!  Fingers crosssed it will be perfect!

Have a great weekend.

Unraveled Wednesday 06/19/19

Good Morning!

Pardon me while I check out my feet - just making sure I haven't developed webbing between my toes!  Gosh it is wet...and 96% humidity this a.m.  More of the same through Thursday and then I think Friday is supposed to be sunny and 79 or so. 

The garden has been exploding with sugar snap peas.  Fletch is picking gallon bags daily!  The other night we had our first strawberry (yes, singular - it was large enough that we could split it) and cherry tomatoes should be ready to pick any day.  Onions and potatoes are growing quickly as well.

I've also noticed some weird things garden-wise.  First up one of our burning bushes (we have 3) is already turning red!  Second, our trumpet vine is already blooming...and there are a lot of blooms.  Usually that doesn't happen till July.  Hopefully we will see the hummingbirds soon.  Last, we are growing mushrooms EVERYWHERE.  Colin gave me a planter box with white icicle radish seeds (one of my favorite radishes) planted in it for Mother's Day.  The radishes are not doing so well, but the spores?  Taking off!

Last night those little 'shrooms were tiny and close to the dirt.  This morning they are standing several inches high!

On the other hand, knitting is going well.  I'm staying loyal to the socks I am making for Fletch and not knitting on anything else.  Monday I finished up the first sock at lunch and started #2 that evening.  Here's where I'm at right now:

Difficult to get a good picture on this grey day, so it is hard to see the pattern.  The finished sock also looks weirdly huge in this photo - lol.  But...I had Fletch try it on Monday night and it fits perfectly!

I'm excited and looking forward to trying something new!  The latest MDK Field Guide is all about socks - cuff down, toe up and lots of different patterns.  I am Determined to learn how to knit socks toe up.  The provisional cast on may throw me for a loop, but I will give it a try once these are off the needles.

Linking up with Kat on this Unraveled Wednesday.  Head on over to her blog to see what she and others are making and reading.

June Weekending

Hello All,

My intention was to post on Friday, but it quickly became a very busy day at work.  On the plus side, I was able to leave the office shortly after Noon and start my weekend a little early.

Around 3:30 p.m., Fletch and I joined Colin and drove over to the Kimberton CSA Farm.  Col & Mailing bought a subscription for the summer and they get a box of produce every Friday.  They were going away for 5 days, and wanted us to have the goods!  Oh my.  What a lot of food:

There were strawberries and peas, baby turnips, zucchini and yellow squash, parsley, oregano, chives, cilantro, lettuce, scallions, Swiss chard, collards, kale, dandelion greens - I'm probably missing something.  It was a struggle to fit everything into the fridge!  On Saturday it took forever to trim the greens - lol.  I ended up making a huge pot of ALL the greens and then added black eyed peas and fire roasted tomatoes with chilies - sort of a hoppin john.  Fletch said it was really good.  I couldn't eat it because I pulled a couple of worms out of the pot and couldn't be sure I had gotten them all.  The down side of fresh produce!!

The plan was to make zucchini bread, but Colin & Mailing had given us some, so I grated most of the zucchini and it is in the freezer for when I am next inspired to bake some.  We gave some zucchini and lettuce to a neighbor.  We grilled the little patty pan squash last night and it was delicious - very sweet.

So, most of Saturday was spent prepping and cooking food.  Sunday I was able to relax a bit.  Since Colin & Mailing are away, we are on cat duty.  I drove over to their place Sunday after breakfast and stayed for about 2 hours.  It was so nice to sit and knit in their sun room.  Talbot kept me company - staring at me from his perch (or his throne!!) - perhaps he wanted to learn how to knit?

Marcel hung out in another room.  I worked on a new pair of socks in the Tart colorway by Tosh.

The pattern is Gladys - a free pattern on Ravelry.  I am just doing the very top of the pattern (the "rig and furrow" portions and the herringbone pattern) and I met my goal of getting through that portion.  Now it is just plain knitting, so these came to work with me today - hoping for some lunchtime knitting.

Last night I also put some more rows in on my Down the Rabbit Hole socks which are coming along (despite being neglected all last week):

I'm really enjoying this Grapefruit Sangria yarn - so pretty!!

The Odyssey Shawl did not get worked on per se.  But...the lace work includes some new to me stitches (making a hole and Purling 2 TBL), and I decided I'd best try those out on a swatch.  It took a bit of doing, but I feel comfortable now trying those stitches on the actual shawl.  If I'm not too tired after running over to Colin & Mailing's tonight to feed Talbot & Marcel, I may work on it.

Our garden is growing rapidly.  Fletch has been picking sugar snap peas every day!  He says we should have some cherry tomatoes within a week or so.  And our 7 Sisters Rose started blooming over the weekend:

So pretty.  The original bush was growing on Fletcher's grandmother's farm in Suffolk, VA.  His Mom took a cutting and was growing it in Norfolk.  When we bought our house, she gave us a cutting to plant. 

After a beautiful weekend (70's and low humidity), it is grey and rainy today.  The goal will be to stay awake - lol.  Wishing you all a wonderful start to the week - enjoy!

Mid-October

Well Hi There!


It's late Sunday afternoon.  Soon Fletch will light the grill.  He is grilling steaks and also cooking potatoes on the grill tonight.  I'll make a salad - with Garden Lettuce!!!  Hard to believe we are getting lettuce now.  Wonderful.


Meanwhile, with all the tomatoes Fletch picked, I decided I needed to make ketchup - the tomatoes would not hold till next weekend when I am back home again.  So after breakfast (raspberry pancakes and sausage - yum!!), I got to work chopping.  Then things had to simmer for 2+ hours.

Fletch confirmed, by the way, that this particular variety of tomatoes is supposed to be orange.  Meanwhile, the results:

Five jars.  It was the perfect day to do this as it was in the low 40's when we got up and didn't break out of the 50's all day (yes, another grey, dreary one).


I did manage to finish the first electric rainbow sock on Friday. And start the second one!

The shot is more than a bit washed out - the sock is really much brighter and very fun!!  The second one will be traveling with me to Atlanta tomorrow.


Fletch has been busy pruning bushes close to the house (to allow more light in through the windows (it's Fall!!).  Every year he tries to find praying mantis egg cases to put in our vegetable garden - we often have contests to see who can guess when the babies will hatch.  Today he found one:

Well, I'm packed for Atlanta and ready to go.  I have a car picking me up at 8 tomorrow morning to go to the airport.  Truthfully, I am a home-body and I will be happy when this week is over.  As much as I loved vacation and my Sisters' Weekend, those two trips were too close together and then Hilton Head was thrown in the mix and now Atlanta.  Once I am home Thursday I am (I think) finished traveling till the Spring.  And that is good with me.


I'll try to catch up on your blogs while I'm out of town, but probably won't comment.  Wishing you all the best of weeks!

TGIF 7-20-18

Good Morning!


Gosh, it's a beautiful morning in Eastern PA.  Actually a little chilly on my patio this morning.  I felt so badly - when I opened the patio door this morning to let Tyg in there was a doe under our apple tree nosing around.  The deer always feast on our apples each year and this year we have almost none!  The few on the tree (maybe a dozen?) are only golf ball size.  Usually we have enough that Fletch and I make a ton of applesauce and the deer dine on the rest.


We are, however, getting carrots from our garden!  Fletch picked these last night.

Nice and skinny!!  We tried one the other week and it was very sweet.  Hopefully these will be just as good.


Look at the size of this bean:





This is from Zhongren's garden (Mailing's Dad).  A monster bean - lol.


I had planned to cast on my sweater Wednesday night, but our power went off a little before 8 p.m. and didn't come back on till 9:30 or so.  Supposedly PECO was working on "infrastructure."


Finally I finished Enchantress of Numbers which I cannot recommend.  What a slog!  The story is interesting, but the book was just so slow and (in my opinion) focused for too long on Ada's early childhood.  Yesterday I started reading The Essex Serpent but haven't gotten far enough into it to make any judgement.


Today's plan is to get through my two conference calls this morning and leave work by Noon or 1 p.m.  I plan to stop and get my hair cut (trimmed) on the way home (and maybe I will have to stop in at Marshall's....) and then I have the afternoon to myself!  Fletch and Colin are spending the day together - taking a hike and watching a movie - and I plan to rendezvous with them for dinner at Colin & Mailing's (home-made pizza!!).  Perhaps I'll be able to cast on my sweater this afternoon?  Fingers crossed.


OK, my first call is in 20 minutes, so I need to get ready for that.  Wishing you all a great Friday and a wonderful weekend - Enjoy!!