Unraveled Wednesday 11/22/23

 Good Morning!

Oh man!  What a rainy night we had.  I don't know how much fell (Fletch put the rain gauge away before it could freeze in the winter), but it was a lot and heavy.  And this morning is mild - just 50 degrees out.

Are you ready for the big feast day?  I have not done any cooking yet, but I will get started today making the cranberry relish and the cranberry chutney.  The pumpkin pie and the Brussels sprouts will wait until tomorrow.

The other day when I went out for a loaf of bread and left the store $80 later, one of the things I picked up was an amaryllis!  At the grocery store!  The picture on the box is a red and white one, so I hope that is what we get.  I plan to get that into the pot today.  There are already leaves coming out of the bulb, so time to get it settled into some dirt.  I do confess I seem to be running out of room for plants though.  I need to do something about that.  Also, two more acorns have sprouted in the yogurt cups on my kitchen windowsill.  There will be a little family of oak trees to give to Colin & Mailing for their property.

And here we are on Wednesday, Thanksgiving Eve and it's time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to talk making and reading.  If you read my post yesterday, you know I spent time unpicking some of my stitching, so thankfully that took care of any unraveling.  However, there has not been much knitting.  The Red Winged Blackbird sock has grown a little bit and a couple more granny squares were crocheted.

The Granny Square on the left is so Thanksgiving-looking!  I hadn't even realized it.

A third granny square is near completion, so I'm keeping up with them.  I should lay them all out and see what it looks like.  Maybe later.

I'm itching to start something new.  A shawl perhaps.  I double checked the yarn I caked up for a Hitch on the Move, but I may need to re-think that plan.  I don't think I have enough of either color.  I definitely want that shawl to be large.  I do have yarn for a couple of other patterns, so I may start one of them.  Stay tuned!

I did finish the William Kent Krueger Book I was reading last week.  It was good, but not as strong as some of his other books (my opinion).  Now I am about halfway through The Comfort of Crows and it is so good.  Just a marvelous book.  Very much like her book "Late Migrations" and it is the perfect book to read before turning out the light at night.

And now it's time for another cup of coffee and get started on the day.  Wishing each of you a peaceful, relaxing and tasty Thanksgiving - Enjoy!!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 11/21/23

 Good Morning!

I'm happy to let you know that the kids arrived safely home yesterday afternoon - before rush hour!  Thank you all for the good wishes for them.  As happy as they are to be out of the car, I suspect that Talbot and Marcel are even happier and pleased to be back on familiar ground (versus a hotel room!).  I'm also betting they are all a little chilly!  Even though Austin, TX can get awfully cold (like last Christmas when we visited), typically they are warmer there than here.  This morning it is just barely 32 and the dampness is evident - it will be raining by the afternoon according to our forecast.

Yesterday I made a lemony chicken soup with carrots, leeks, celery, onion, garlic and orzo.  It was good but I've decided I don't really like orzo.  I would rather have had noodles or rice in this mix.  Anyway, I wanted some good, crusty bread to go with it and didn't feel like baking any, so I ran to the store.  For one loaf of bread.  $80 later I walked out.  Yup.  I have NO self control.  I did find things that we *need* (sort of) and things I could use (some new canning jars for the cranberry relish and chutney to be made), some treats and food for Mabel (she deserves them), but also two (not one, but two) half gallons of ice cream.  Yikes!!!  I wasn't even hungry when I went to the store!

And now it's Tuesday and time for a TNT post and I have almost nothing to show...

The blue to the right of the letter C is new.  Earlier it was a much larger image, but if you look closely you can see where I unpicked a bunch of stitching.  Tedious would be a good way to describe it.  The blue is the beginning of yet another bouquet.  When I got down to where the container for it is stitched I realized I was off by a stitch.  One measly stitch.  I thought I would fudge it and then realized I wouldn't be happy.  The error was in the letter C.  The top of the C was short by one stitch.  So I unpicked all the blue, the beginning of the container and then the border to the right of the C and the top of the C.  Did I mention tedious?  But, I'm glad it is lining up now and am happier than I would have been if I had just fudged it.

Some weeks are just like that.

Today Fletch and I will go grocery shopping in the morning (because $80 wasn't enough to spend yesterday).  My annual review (which will determine when I retire) was supposed to be yesterday and first it was changed to a virtual meeting instead of in-person and then yesterday morning it was postponed to this afternoon.  So, I have that to look forward to - LOL.

Today is also the day I plan to make the cranberry relish and the cranberry chutney.  The house should smell yummy a little later!

Whatever you are up to this Tuesday, I hope it is fun and enjoyable!

Weekending 11/20/23

 Good Morning Everyone!

Wow!  It's Thanksgiving week which does not seem possible.  I've some things I need to prepare for our feast on Thursday.  We will be going to Bonnie & Zhongren's for Thanksgiving.  I am making my Mom's cranberry-orange relish and also Fletch's Mom's cranberry chutney.  Those two are staples that are demanded every year!  I'm also making a pumpkin pie and will try a new (to me) recipe for roasted Brussels Sprouts with leeks, toasted pecans and pomegranate arils.  Anna (Mailing's sister) is making an apple pie and green beans.  I'm pretty sure Mailing will be doing the turkey, stuffing, gravy and mashed potatoes.  I can't wait!!

And today is the last leg of Colin & Mailing's long journey back up to PA.  They left Saturday morning and drove to Joplin, MO the first day; Dayton, OH yesterday and they should land in Lansdale, PA sometime late afternoon or evening today.  Wishing them the safest and easiest journey.  I did make it over to their house again yesterday and cranked up the heat a bit, moved some homemade soup from the freezer to the frig for thawing and left some good, crusty bread on the counter along with a bottle of red wine and put butter in butter dish.

My weekend was lovely.  Of course Dee and I met up on Saturday morning.  We went back to Manhattan Bagel for the first time since we were under-whelmed with bad music that one time.  Guess what?  The same guy was playing from 10-12.  Fortunately we were at the opposite end and had a partial wall blocking the sound.  LOL  Just our luck.

That afternoon I was in the mood for gingerbread, so I baked some.  The house smelled so good (and the gingerbread was great for dessert).  I also left some of the gingerbread for Colin & Mailing.

Yesterday I decided to try a new-to-me Recipe for a whole roaster cauliflower.

Fletch said it looked like a delicious pastry!  LOL

I liked it initially and then it didn't taste so good.  Fletch didn't like it, so not something I will try again.  Oh well, you don't know unless you try, right?

Mabel has definitely mellowed - either with age, or with the experience of her "great adventure."  Yesterday I picked her up and held her for quite a few minutes with no crying or squirming on her part!  She just settled down and purred and purred.  She is still sticking close to home and is in all night.  She is also shedding and the white chair needs to be vacuumed daily!

Have a great Monday everyone!

House Cleaning

 Hello and Good Morning!

How are you?  I so enjoyed having yesterday off.  I arrived at Colin's ahead of when the cleaner was supposed to arrive...and then she was late because she went to the wrong address...  Anyway, a very nice person (HUGE false eyelashes and beautifully manicured, long nails - don't know how she keeps them with the business she has).  The cleaning was adequate.  The house is certainly cleaner than it was - bathrooms cleaned, all the floors done, etc.  There were just some things that were not done (to my specifications).  All in all though, I'm glad to have had it done and glad to have paid for it.  The kids will have a clean house upon arrival.

It was fairly chilly yesterday and the house was freezing!  I had to text Mailing to find out how to turn on the heat - I didn't even know where the thermostat was!  LOL  I did get the heat on and I did remember to turn it back before I left.  I'll go back on Sunday with some last minute groceries for them and will put the heat back on then so that when they arrive on Monday evening it won't be icy inside.

While the cleaning was being done I did manage to knit, read and crochet.  A perfect day!!

Seen on my way home on the car in front of me.  LOL

Now it's Thursday morning and I have a bunch of reports to run and distribute.  A contractor will be here around 8 or so.  My hope is that 1) it is not too noisy and 2) the work is finished early.  We shall see.

Happy Thursday everyone - make it a good one!

Unraveled Wednesday 11/15/23

 Good Morning Everyone,

I'm hoping that this morning finds you all doing well.  It is sunny here in Eastern PA and a bit on the chilly side (upper 20's), but no snow in the forecast!  And, for those of you wondering, the average speed of a snowflake falling is 3-4 MPH.  My guess was 3.

Here we are mid-month and mid-week.  Time for linking up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to talk making and reading.  I am making, but at a slower than normal pace.  I did start the Red Winged Blackbird socks for Fletch:

I don't see any red or yellow in this yarn, so I'm not sure where the name comes from, but I like the colors and the way it is knitting up, so it will do.

I also managed to crank out a couple more Granny Squares.  One day I will have enough for a blanket!

Reading has also been a bit slow.  I'm still reading The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger.  I have less than 100 pages left, so should finish it soon - maybe even today!  Yesterday I picked up a few books from the library including The Comfort of Crows which finally came in for me!  Excited to start that one.  I will try to take my time with it and not rush...rather I'd like to savor it.

I'm off work today - I'll be heading to Colin & Mailing's a little later this morning and will hang out there while their house is being cleaned.  I have more food to put in their freezer and am excited that they will be local by next Monday evening!  So, I will pack some reading, some knitting and perhaps some yarn and my crochet hook to keep me busy while I'm there.

Whatever your plans are for the day, I hope they include some moments where you can relax and just enjoy whatever is going on around you.  Take care!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 11/14/23

 Greetings My Friends,

How are you this fine morning?  Yesterday I mentioned not sleeping well the previous night.  Well, last night I made up for it sleeping about 9.5 hours!  My eyes would not stay open for anything last night - knitting, stitching or reading, so I finally gave up at 8:30 (!!!) and went to bed.  Pure bliss to sleep that well for a change.

Yesterday's work holiday luncheon was very nice as well.  Delicious appetizers and way too much food for the meal, but all very tasty.  Usually at this affair numerous prizes are given out but this year the focus was changed to giving.  There were 12 seats at the meal that had numbers underneath the chair cushions.  The individuals who sat in those chairs got to pick an organization/charity (and tell why they chose that particular one) and the company will be making a donation to that organization in the name of the individual.  The stories were all very touching.  Someone whose daughter had been diagnosed with melanoma chose the melanoma foundation; a girl who growing up was homeless chose the shelter where she and her mother stayed, and on and on and on.

There were still trivia questions and awards ($200 gift cards) for the correct answer.  Yes, I did win one (for guessing the average speed - in mph - of a snowflake falling)!  All in all a very lovely time.  Hard to imagine this is most likely my last work event like this.

All of that brings us to this morning and Tiny Needle Tuesday (TNT).  This is another week with nothing to show you on the cacti triptych.  I thought I would focus on that at the end of last week, but things got busy (again).  However, very good progress was made on the BIG Sampler aux Bouquets:

The giant bouquet that seemed to take forever is finally completed.  And look!  A bird is perched at the top.  Love it.  Still more blooms and letters to stitch, but the end is close!  I really am going to attempt to work on the cactus piece this week and hopefully will have something to share next Tuesday.

Now it's time to pour another cup of coffee and get going.  Hope your Tuesday is filled with bright spots!

Weekending 11/13/23

 Good Morning!

It is brisk outside.  My phone says 21, my computer says 26.  The first sip of Cafe du Monde is tasting so freakin' good this morning!

The weekend was lovely.  Relaxed and full of good things.  And then last night I seemed wound up - stayed up later than normal trying to get sleepy and finally crawled into bed only to lay there awake for several hours.  I did finally fall asleep, but I'm wondering what set me on edge.  Nothing in particular on my mind.  Another one of those mysteries of my life.

My 10 a.m. conference call on Friday was cancelled at 9:45 a.m.!  Woo-Hoo.  Fletch and I ran out and picked up our new glasses (so much better for knitting and reading!).  It was a day with rain on and off, so our contractors did not show up.  Nice to have a day off!

In the afternoon I drove over to Colin & Mailing's to water plants and drop off some food for their freezer.  Then I drove to Otts to look for some baby gourds.  The other week Kym posted about different gourd displays (so gorgeous - especially that cairn-like display with a bouquet on top) and there was a bit about hollowing out tiny gourds or pumpkins and putting tea lights inside.  The grocery stores no longer have their bins of tiny pumpkins and gourds and the ones at Otts were bigger than I wanted, but I bought one anyway.

Well, I just about broke my hand trying to cut off the top.  Fletch couldn't either.  He finally used an electric drill to drill holes all around the top and then he was able to lift off the top.  (It was still difficult to hollow out.)  It's big enough that a tea light would sit down too far.  I found a slightly larger candle and tried that.

 It looks pretty, but still didn't really provide much light (unless you looked down on it).  After dinner, I melted a bit of a taper and then stuck it in the gourd.  We'll see how that works at dinner tonight!

So, pretty, but I will not be making a bunch of these for Thanksgiving!  I might try it next year with the itty-bitty pumpkins (if I remember).

Meanwhile, the balance of the weekend was lovely.  Dee and I met up as usual for a morning filled with laughter, coffee, knitting and friendship.  So nice!  I found pockets throughout the weekend that allowed for knitting, crocheting, reading and stitching.  My kind of weekend!

Yesterday I made a crockpot full of vegetable beef soup.  I have a container of that to take over to C&M's on Wednesday when I'm over there for their house to be cleaned.  (So much easier now that Colin is no longer vegan!!)

Hard to believe, but today is my work holiday luncheon!  Once again it is being held at Pomme Radnor which is where it was held last year.  Some of you who have been reading my blog for a bit my recall that we used to (pre-pandemic) have work holiday luncheons ALL the time - Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's Day, etc., etc.  The pandemic, of course, changed all that.  And now that no one is in the office regularly (certainly not daily), it has been pared down to a luncheon in the late Fall.  It is always a lovely affair with plenty of gifts to go around, so it should be a fun time.

And the contractors will be back today...in fact, I should probably move my car out of the driveway before they arrive so that I can easily leave for the luncheon.  I'd best get moving and dry my hair and then move my car.

Have a great Monday!