Unraveled Wednesday - 10/18/17

Good Morning Everyone!

 

Interrupting the vacation posts to join Kat and friends for an Unraveled Wednesday post.  But first up, look who I met last night:

 

 

YAY!!!  Finally got to meet Dee.  Fletch and I met Dee and Steve for dinner last night and it was so good to finally meet them in person.  Can’t wait for them to move here…looking forward to showing Dee my favorite yarn shop in the area as well as a very nice cross stitch shop.  I can picture some coffee shop knitting sessions on the horizon – something to look forward to soon.

 

I know Dee has met a number of fellow bloggers, but she is my first “meet in real life!”

 

On the knitting front, nothing new to show, but the Nutkins are on my feet this morning!

 

 

Yup – our patio thermometer was reading 43 this morning and my phone was reading 36.  A beautiful Fall morning with a nip in the air.  Loving it.

 

On the reading front, I recently finished “History of Wolves” which I enjoyed for the most part.  Some of it dragged for me and some of it didn’t quite connect, but overall I enjoyed the book.  I also finished “The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane” and liked that one a lot and also “I Shall Bring Rain” which was a very fast read for me.  That book makes me want to go back and re-read “The Grapes of Wrath” which I loved.  Currently I’m about 1/3 – ½ way through “Dandelion Wine” which is a fun read about Ray Bradbury’s childhood.

 

So, what’s on your needles and what are you reading/listening to?

 

Now, I’ve got to get back to my “Morning After” breakfast (egg, bacon, avocado and cheddar on an everything bagel – so good!!) and my crazy, busy work-day.  Hope everyone’s week is going well.

Unraveled Wednesday 10-4-17

Hello All,


Welcome to another edition of Unraveled Wednesday.  Joining Kat and others on this first Wednesday of October.


Fortunately, no unraveling has happened this week.  Minimal progress has been made on the 2nd Nutkin.  Minimal, but progress nonetheless.  I think I've managed 12 - 15 rows since my last picture.

The gusset decreases are complete and now it is just straight knitting for the foot until the toe decreases (I'm not doing the pattern on the front of the foot - I prefer a plain foot).  I doubt I will finish before we leave on Saturday, but I'm ok with that.


The majority of my "chores" before leaving for vacation are done!  Bathrooms scrubbed - check.  Kitchen floor done - check.  Fletch cleaned the living room and dusted up above the kitchen windows where there were bugs and webs, etc.  It's that time of year (Fall and Spring) where all the little creatures come out of hiding to bother me.  Most of the laundry is done, though Fletch informed me last night (after the washer was going) that he has some shirts he wants washed.  Oh well, that's easy.  so that and paying bills (far more painful) and I will be ready to go.


On the reading front, I am now three-quarters of the way through History of Wolves and will finish that before we leave.  I have several others on the Kindle including I Will Send Rain and Dandelion Wine so I think I'm good on the reading front.


Still need to pick up wine for the trip (of course).  We did test the lights on our camper Tuesday and YAY!  They work (this was the problem back in May and why we ended up with a staycation at that time). 


What are you all up to?  Hope there has been no unraveling in your worlds.

Count Down to Vacation!!

Hello All,


Happy October!  Finally we had some gorgeous Fall weather over the weekend.  Saturday was mostly grey and very, very windy and chilly but Sunday was PERFECT!  Fletch did a lot of work out in the garden.  I picked the last of the tomatoes and a couple of peppers.  We still have peppers growing and four eggplants!


Sunday morning I did manage to pack for vacation!  We leave next Saturday and I didn't want to leave it for evening doing...this week will be busy enough.  And, I don't really need sweatshirts and flannel shirts for work, so a no-brainer to get it done.  Only last minute things to put in, and I still need to figure out what to take knitting-wise.


Meanwhile, there has been progress on Nutkin 2:

The heel has been turned, gusset stitches picked up and the decreasing has begun.  Still rows and rows to go since I have large feet - lol.  Hoping to get these done before we leave.  I don't need them for the trip (hand-knit socks already packed!!), but I don't want to drag a project with me that doesn't have much to finish...just a waste of precious space in my opinion.  So, I will plug away.


But, the week is busy.  Busy at work (always before vacation, plus our new fiscal year started 10/1).  Yoga tonight, dentist appointment Thursday, last minute cleaning (I always clean before leaving for vacation - can't stand to come home to a dirty house).  So, as Fletch says, I'll be a bit manic this week.


On the reading front I finished The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane (Lisa See) and liked it.  Mostly I enjoyed all the info about tea.  Am now about a third of the way through History of Wolves.  A little draggy in parts, but overall I'm enjoying it.


Hope you all had a great weekend.  I've got a ton to get done today, so I'd best get going.

A Finish (Well, a HO), Some Luxuries, Practicing and a Surprise!

Hello All,


A Tuesday Afternoon and it is back to HOT Phila. weather.  Whew.  Between Fires in the NW, Hurricanes in the Atlantic, Earthquakes in Mexico and weird weather EVERYWHERE, I'm thinking Mother Nature is one pissed off individual (and I can think of several reasons why).  Hoping everyone is safe and having a good week.


That's a pretty long title up there, so let's get with it.  Here is my finish (or in Dee's famous words, my HO):

That's one Nutkin finished and one started.  Yippee!!!  It's a crappy picture, but now that I've figured out how to knit this sock my way, I just love the pattern.  With 80 rows after the cuff and before the heel flap it's longer than I usually make socks and I really like that...I will continue to do that (provided boredom doesn't set in).  And, yes, I'm proud of myself.  I cast off the first sock yesterday morning and cast on the 2nd one last night.  No SSS here!


The luxuries and the practicing go together.  Sunday was Fletcher's birthday.  Some time ago I decided to take this Monday and Tuesday off.  Originally we were going to go away, but we couldn't come up with any place we really wanted to go (and spend money) - especially with leaving for vacation in just under 2 weeks.  So, a little luxury is having a couple of days off with no plans and I told Fletch that really I was practicing for retirement - LOL.  Happy to say that will be no problem (well, at the moment I still have a paycheck...retirement will make a huge difference, I know).


Since we were not away I cooked for the birthday boy.  I made angel hair pasta with mussels and shrimp and a big tossed salad.  So good.  And a pound cake - which fell apart when I took it out of the pan.  Not pretty, but pretty tasty just the same.  Good thing we were not having company.


Yesterday Fletch decided he wanted to go to Cabela's to see if there was anything (else) I could get him for his birthday.  We took back roads which included some detours due to road construction up to Hamburg, PA.  Fletch found a couple of small things and I found a fleece vest for only $17!  Not bad.  The ride was long, but nicer than highway driving (and we didn't have anything else to do anyway).


Today we had absolutely no plans.  I ended up going to a yarn shop in Kimberton called Purls of Wisdom.  I had been there once in the Spring, but didn't have much time and didn't buy anything.  What a lovely shop it is!  Well stocked and friendly people.  And, plenty of "come in and knit" times on different days of the week.  I did not buy myself ANYTHING!!  Shocking I know.  But I did purchase some things that will comprise my give-away for the I Love Fall KAL hosted by Dee and moi (mostly all by Dee, really).  So that is (for now) the surprise.  My question:  Do you want to see what I got for that?  Or should it remain a mystery/surprise?


One last little luxury - a shower at 3 p.m. today.  Normally I would be working.  What a treat to not have to wash my hair after dinner and then wait for it to dry (forever), or to get up early to shower before work.  Little things, I know...but they make me happy.


And, Leslie (my bestest friend for 50+ years) is calling tonight and we're booking our flights for Sisters' Weekend in October.  Life is good (despite the HOT weather).


What are you up to?

Unraveled Wednesday 9-6-17

Good Morning From the Grey Suburbs of Philadelphia!


Yes, we are having a bit of a drizzle this a.m.  And we had some rain last night, but not as bad as had been forecast (though Mailing had hail on her way home from work!!).  And the temps did not drop as much as promised.  Still muggy around these parts.


I did manage to re-cast-on Nutkin Monday (after ripping it all out Sunday), but only got 5 rows of ribbing done.  Last night after dinner I settled in for some knit time.

That's 15 rows of ribbing (much, much better than the folded over cuff).  And I managed to knit another 12 rows after that, so one pattern repeat done (10 rows) and the next started.  I'm happy to say that it is working out well doing the first stitch on each needle as a knit stitch rather than a purl.  It doesn't impact the main pattern and looks fine.  So, Nutkin is reborn as my own version.  I most likely won't get to work on this again until the weekend.


Reading continues.  "The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend" is not what I expected and a bit of a slog for me, but I'm about three-quarters of the way through it, so will push on.


Mid-week already!  I'm heading to yoga tonight since there was no class on Monday and I believe Colin will be over for dinner tomorrow.


Hope everyone is settling back into routine after the long Labor Day weekend!