Unraveled Wednesday 10/11/23

 Good Morning!

6 a.m. and the crescent moon is bright out my bedroom window.  When I got up, I saw the moon and also a buck grazing for apples under our tree.  I don't really think I made much (if any) noise when I got up, but as soon as I stood, the buck lifted his eyes to the window and then he turned around and walked off!

Here we are at mid-week again and it's time for linking up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to talk making and reading.  My second sock is moving along, albeit a tad on the slow side.

I'm a third of the way through the heel flap and soon (hopefully) will be turning the heel and then cruising down the foot.  I'm growing a bit weary of this sock!

There was unfortunately a bit of unraveling this week.  Remember the fingerless mitt I had started to go with the purple cowl?  It now looks like this:

Yes, that is the misbehaving skein of purple yarn, but I can't really blame the yarn this time.  The fault is all mine.  I cast on the recommended number of stitches and was happily knitting in the round when I realized the mitt might be a bit small...or rather it could be a compression mitt!  I had completely forgotten that the pattern was written for worsted weight yarn and larger needles...this yarn is fingering weight.  Oh well.  I will cast on today with additional stitches and hopefully that will work.

As far as reading goes, I have two finishes!  The Art Thief was an enjoyable read that I found hard to believe was true.  The end got a little draggy for me, but otherwise I really liked it.  I picked up Wicked Autumn that Kat mentioned last week.  I'm roughly 2/3 through this easy-to-read mystery.  It makes me think of Grantchester.

Fletch and I finally finished The Broken Road by Patrick Leigh Fermor.  It seemed to go on and on!  The first two books in this trilogy were better I think.  We are now 2 nights into Finn by Jon Clinch and so far, so good!

I'm happy to report that if any of you stop by, the bathrooms are safe to use.  Yup - got those rooms cleaned yesterday.  The kitchen floor?  Not so much...but there is always today if I am so inclined.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 10/10/23

 Hello, Hello

How are you all this morning?  It is a bit warmer this a.m. (46 instead of 42), but kind of cloudy.  Hard to believe, but it was 3 years ago today that C&M tied the knot!

My nephew, Ed, married them.

They will celebrate another day since Mailing flew to London last night for work.

And here we are at yet another Tiny Needle Tuesday.  Progress was made this past week on both pieces!  First up the Cacti Triptych.

Please click to enlarge.  Ocotillo in the middle had the final blooms added and the last of the three, Claret Cup has been started.  Still quite a bit to stitch on this one, but also still fun to do!

The BIG sampler also saw a bit of love.  

Hard to get the whole piece in one picture.  

The last alphabet at the top has been started.  This one is not in one solid color, but rather incorporates all the colors in the sampler.  Also at the bottom a snail was added!  And, the big floral part has begun.  Like the Triptych, there is still lots to stitch, but it is still fun!

My time at the office went smoothly and quickly yesterday.  I was ready to leave by 9:15 a.m.!  I stopped at TJ's on the way home and picked up a few things.  Among those things was this:

These are good!  We had them last night instead of rice or potatoes or whatever!

I successfully managed to avoid all the cleaning chores yesterday.  LOL  Still hoping to wake up and find everything sparkling clean!  Really though, work got a bit busy in the afternoon and then last night we sat out with a fire in the pit (until around 9:30 when it started raining).  I suppose I will need to face those chores today.

Meanwhile, I hope everyone's week is going well.  

Weekending 10/9/23

 Good Morning!

How are you and how was your weekend?  Fall came in for sure on Saturday here in Eastern PA.  It was warm Saturday morning when I got up - almost 70 degrees at 6:00 a.m.!  But, while Dee and I were chatting, sipping and knitting in Panera's (no bad music, thank you very much), the winds picked up, the sky turned black and a bit of rain fell.  By the time we left it was much cooler.  And now, this morning (6:10 a.m.) it is just 42 degrees out.  Definitely feeling Fallish.

While Dee and I were busy doing our thing, Fletch went off to the Lansdale Farmer's Market where they were having a pie contest.  I was tempted, but am glad I did not go.  He was very disappointed.  He had been hoping for maybe some pumpkin pie, apple pie, blueberry pie or whatever.  Instead he said almost everything was gelatinous or like cheese cake.  Not what he had been hoping for and he came home with NONE!

We are getting ready for Fall planting!  Our garlic arrived the other day.

"Music" on the left and a German Red on the right.  Another type arrived Saturday, but I forgot to take a picture.  The hope is to plant some next weekend at Colin & Mailing's and also to get ours in the ground.  I love how BIG these are and I hope ours grow like that (the past few years our crop has yielded fairly small heads).  Like everything else you grow, home-grown garlic is just so much better (plus you get the benefits of scapes in late Spring).

Sunday I managed to do a bit of cooking.  First we had pumpkin waffles and bacon for breakfast.  Oh yum!  I did not gake a picture, but the waffle recipe I used is THIS ONE and they were quite good.  There are a few left and I think they would be good just popped in the toaster and then a little bit of butter put on top.

Since I had opened a can of pumpkin to make the waffles I went ahead and made a pumpkin sauce for coffee.  The sauce is just some of the canned pumpkin, some water, a smidge of sugar and a little bit of pumpkin pie spice.  It turned out ok - not great, but ok.  I had a cup yesterday afternoon and then added some to my coffee this morning before pouring in my frothed (and heated) milk.

It's tasty, but I think I like other flavors a bit more (peppermint, maple walnut, or caramel).  And actually, just straight, strong coffee is my favorite.  Next time I may just sprinkle some of the pumpkin pie spice on top of the coffee grounds when I brew my coffee.  I do that with cardamom and it is delicious!

It was way too windy and chilly to sit on the patio yesterday afternoon before dinner.  But Fletch donned a jacket and cap and grilled some steaks for us.  Delicious!  We had green beans from the garden and garlic bread (made with garlic we harvested in July).  The last time I made a peach/rhubarb crostata I had extra filling that I froze.  I defrosted that and made a crisp for dessert yesterday.  So wonderful to have the peach flavor again.  It was certainly a banner year for peaches.

I'll be heading to the office in a little bit.  It has been weeks (!!) since I was last there.  I need to check mail and I have some personal printing I want to do in color.  Then I will head to Trader Joe's to pick up a couple of things and hopefully be home in time for lunch.  I need to buckle down and do a bit of cleaning this afternoon - I spent my free time over the weekend stitching and knitting and reading.  And guess what?  The bathrooms and kitchen floor don't clean themselves (as much as I wish they would).

I'm hoping you all had a wonderful weekend and that the new week ahead of us is a good one - enjoy!

Thursday Stuff 10/5/23

 Good Morning!

Only 51 degrees this morning...the cooler air is moving in.  So is the dampness.  Rain is in the forecast for tomorrow and (of course) for the weekend.  And it is supposed to start feeling like FALL!

Just a quick post to show you two things.  First, our Hibiscus is still blooming!  Who would have guessed that we would see a bloom in October?

When I took this picture, I counted 15 more buds on the plant!

Next up I spotted this bumper sticker when I ran out to the library yesterday afternoon - LOL

Love it!!  And, it cracks me up!

OK, time for me to hop on the work wagon  I've a lot of stuff to do this morning so I'd best get moving.  Hope you all have a wonderful Thursday - we will be moving into weekend mode shortly!!

Unraveled Wednesday 10/4/23

 Greetings Everyone!

We have another pretty day on the horizon here in Eastern PA.  This first week of October has just been marvelous weather-wise.  Not to spoil the day, but Fletch and I are scheduled to get our Booster shots at 10:30 this morning.  Hoping for no ill-effects.

On this first Wednesday in October (!) it is time to link up with Kat and her merry band of unravelers to talk making and reading.  Friends!  I have success to report!  The Purple Cowl has been finished, soaked and blocked!

Abstract Leaves Cowl (Ravelry Link)
COBASI Yarn by Berocco (cotton/bamboo/silk)
#4 and #3  circular needles (16”)

Still on the blocking mat in the above picture, but T pins removed after drying in the sun outside!  I love it and the only explanation for the trouble I had was attempting to knit when too tired.  Now I want to knit another one - perhaps in a variegated yarn!

There is plenty of the purple yarn left (the misbehaving skein plus a little of the other one), so I started some fingerless mitts to go with the cowl.

Just a basic fingerless mitt pattern from Leslie Friend...but I can't seem to find it on Ravelry now...I think it was just a freebie off her blog many, many moons ago.

My second sock saw a little love this past week.  I'm almost half way down the leg (we have long legs and big feet in my family).  

Once this sock is completed, another gift will go into the gift basket!  (Same with the fingerless mitts to go with the cowl.)

On to the reading side of things.  Fletch and I are moving steadily towards the end of The Broken Road by Patrick Leigh Fermor.  It is good (though many words in languages I do not speak or read...like Greek or Bulgarian or Rumanian), but not a fast read.  

I was excited to finally get (from the library) and start The Bee Sting particularly after so many great reviews by folks.  But, I am finding myself not sold on it.  I'm more than a bit bored with it and at times even finding it trite!  But, that's just me.  I'm into the third section and the lack of punctuation in this particular section is annoying (to me).  Will I finish it?  That is up in the air.  There are so many books that I want to read (my TBR list in Excel is over 200 lines long...) that I hate to spend time on something that is not really compelling for moi.

Yesterday I picked up (from the library) another book I had been in the queue for:  The Art Thief and that is what I read when I went upstairs to bed last night.  I only managed 2 chapters, but I'm hooked and enjoying this one a lot.

Time to pour another cup of coffee and get to work - emails have been flying in while I've been typing this.  Wishing you all a wonderful Wednesday!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 10/3/23

 Hello My Friends,

I'm hoping this Tuesday morning finds you all well and enjoying life.  Our nice weather (warm days and cool evenings) is continuing.  Monday was a long day of conference calls (only 2, but they lasted much longer than was necessary), but by 4 p.m. I was able to break away and sit outside with Fletch.  We both started nodding off!  LOL  We are just two old folks.

Yesterday also brought an invitation to a meeting in Delray Beach (FL) at the end of the month...but I declined.  Years ago I would have loved that...and would have booked a nice spa treatment.  But, with Covid on the rise again...and getting ready to announce my retirement soon, I really have no interest in being in a crowd at a resort.

Now it is Tuesday and time for a Tiny Needle update.  After ignoring my stitching for a couple of weeks, I finally got back to it this weekend.  Woo-Hoo!!  Not a whole lot was accomplished, but some.  The one motif at the top of the BIG sampler (Sampler Aux Bouquets) was filled in.

My plan had been to either begin the alphabet to the right or begin another big vase of flowers toward the bottom.  However, I ran out of time.

The Cacti Triiptych is moving along.  All of the green has been stitched in the second (Ocotillo) block and more orange blooms were added.

There are still a number of orange blooms to fill in (again, I thought I would accomplish that, but ran out of time) which I should be able to wrap up this week.  Then it will be on to the third and final block!

Today will be another busy one.  We are having some bathroom "work" being done and I have an eye doctor appointment in the afternoon.  I also received an email from my library that a book I have been in queue for has come in, so I will stop to pick up that.

Hope you are all having beautiful Fall weather - enjoy!!

Weekending 10/2/23

 Hello, Hello!

And Happy October!  Whoosh is exactly what September did.  How did we get to October already?  After many days of grey, damp, wet weather, our skies have cleared and it has been gorgeous out (and is supposed to continue this way for a couple of days, at least).  We had a great time with Colin & Mailing on Wednesday for dinner (BBQ Shrimp!! and salad with lettuce and tomatoes from the garden!)and even managed to have a nice fire in the pit.  We saw them again Saturday night for dinner at Mailing's parents.

Friday night I made a new-to-us recipe that was great!  Slow Cooker Chicken Fajita Chili.  I used This Recipe and it was so easy and tasty.  Lots of leftovers in both the frig and freezer too.  I did end up adding a third can of Rotel tomatoes and also an extra cup or more of water.

Saturday morning Dee and I met up as usual.  This time we met at a Manhattan Bagel in Lansdale.  It was a great time (as usual) EXCEPT that there was live music and the guy (playing the guitar and singing) had to be the absolutely worst singer I have ever heard.  Seriously!  Off key and just horrible.  That dude played for two hours straight with no break.  I thought I would go crazy.  LOL

We've been enjoying lettuce and chard from the garden in salads.  I've been picking 25-40 cherry tomatoes daily and our large tomatoes are finally ripening!

There are even more on a windowsill in the kitchen.  Sandwiches are so much better with garden tomatoes!

I even managed to find time to get back to my stitching this weekend (updates tomorrow).

C&M had come up to PA for a friend's wedding Friday night.  The couple are huge history buffs and had their wedding at the Museum of the American Revolution and Ben Franklin officiated the wedding!  LOL

C&M with Ben!

It was a great weekend and it's so nice to know that the kids will be back pretty soon for Thanksgiving...and then will be moving back permanently at Christmas!  We cannot wait.

I hope your weekend was a good one - let me know what you did.