If It's Tuesday....

Hey, does anyone remember that movie?  "It It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium"  I have no idea why that popped into my mind a few seconds ago (like so many other things that pop in and then out).


Friday I did leave work by Noon.  It was just too lovely to stay in my office.  And this is what I saw at the edge of my driveway when I pulled in:

Such pretty flowers.  There are some blooming by our front door as well.


I managed to get all the bills paid (I HATE that chore) and then picked up the Oaklet shawl.  It was ok!!!  Woo-Hoo.  I finished the main part and actually started the lace border over the weekend.  I've done only 4 rows, but the border is only 21 rows.  And no more knots in the yarn.


Saturday was a lot of domestic chores - laundry, dusting and vacuuming, etc.  I also managed to pull all the tax stuff together and called the accountant and set up a time to bring everything to her.  Glad that chore is done (well, at least my part of it).  Then I (finally) tackled the filing cabinet and cleaned that out.  Whew!  A lot of papers went into the trash and I can now open the drawers and actually move files and see what is inside them!


Fletch and I played with our bows and arrows again on Saturday before the big storm moved in.  No more bulls eyes or splitting twigs, but I did manage to plant an arrow in a tree a distance behind the target.  We wrapped up our play time around 4 p.m. and by 5:00 the storm was rolling in.  Wind!  Thunder and lightening (in February!!) and rain.  It was all over by 6:30 or so and the temperature had dropped 20 degrees.  Sunday was nasty cold and windy and now it is supposed to be back up in the mid-70's by tomorrow (with more strong storms in the afternoon).  Crazy!


I've pulled out yarn for a pair of socks for Colin, but my first cast-on was awful - loose and ugly.  So, I ripped that out and I have yet to cast back on.  Maybe tonight.  No pictures till at least a few rows are completed (and look good - lol).


It's March tomorrow -- only 3 weeks till Spring!!


And, happy Mardi Gras!!

Monday and Kathy B's Q&A

Wow!  Where did the weekend go?  Up in the storm clouds I guess.  Here we are again at the start of another week and Kathy's Famous Q&A - last one for February:




*Ever had a fruit bearing bush or tree?


Yes – we have a red delicious apple tree in our back yard.  We’ve made a ton of applesauce…no sugar needed, just cinnamon and nutmeg.


*Would you rather do the HARD part of your knitting early in the project phase or late?


I guess it depends on my mood at the time.  Sometimes the easy parts get too boring….


*Is there something your parents let you “quit” as a child?  How did that work out for you?


I can’t think of anything at the moment, but we were encouraged to do what we wanted and not do what we didn’t want to do (within reason…I did have to go to school – lol)


*Have you ever square danced?


A lot when I was in Jr High School – with a church group.  It was fun (and it is exhausting too!!)


*Do you have something that only needs buttons to call it finished?


Nope!


*Woody Allen.  yes or no?


Don’t really care for him or his movies.


* Do you prefer a beret, a slouch hat, a stocking cap or a roll brim?   You can only pick one.


Slouch Hat


*Do you follow the stars in the sky seasonally?


I would love to, but unfortunately we have too much night light in our neighborhood.  I do love looking at the night sky when we go camping.


*Breakfast wouldn’t be breakfast without:


Coffee


*It’s Al’s 29th Birthday.  What wisdom do you have for a woman in her final year of her 20s?


Enjoy life – have some fun – go a little crazy – do what YOU want to do not what someone else wants you to do.  Oh, and keep knitting – you are an AMAZING knitter.

Tygus

It's Friday!!!  And another gorgeous day in Eastern PA.  Rain is supposed to move in tomorrow and by Sunday we will be back in the 40's for high temperatures.  But today we can pretend that Spring is here.  I may need to leave work early....


Here is the Tygus (that is what Colin calls Tyg) all stretched out in the recliner that Fletch usually claims.

I love the way his leg is off the chair (and his tail).  So comfy - cats are so great at relaxing.


Colin stopped by after work for dinner last night.  It was so nice out and Fletch grilled hot and sweet Italian sausage and veggies (green pepper, onion, mushrooms, yellow squash and Brussels sprouts) and, after dinner, we had a fire in the pit.  We had some Pinon wood that Fletch had picked up at either Home depot or Lowes, and it smelled just like incense.


Col took Mailing's socks with him and texted me late last night that they fit.  Success!!


I'm up to row 93 or 94 on the Oaklet shawl.  Yesterday I worked on it a bit at lunch and something just didn't look right.  I thought I had dropped a stitch, so I picked one up.  When I counted I realized I had too many stitches.  Once I got home I looked at it more closely and realized it was even worse!  Where I thought I had dropped a stitch, the strand of yarn had actually stretched out and there was a knot in the yarn!  A KNOT!  How could I have knit and not even realized it?  I think sometimes just plain knitting and purling back and forth is so Zen-like that I go into a trance.  Anyway, I was able to unpick the knot, but the yarn (Chroma from KnitPicks which I will NOT buy again) frayed a bit and I only had about 1/2 inch on each side to join.  I **think** I did it, but at that point I put it away to prep the veggies for dinner.  Fingers crossed please.  I haven't looked at it since - too tired last night and no time this morning and I did not bring knitting with me to work today because I need to run to Trader Joe's at lunch time.  Hopefully it will be ok when I look at it tonight.


Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!

Slow But Steady Progress

Hi All,


I picked up the Oaklet Shawl that I started last September and discovered I had done 55 rows.  Last night I took a very quick picture to send to a friend:

That was at about 73 rows and I am now to 80!  Slow, but steady.  I've been able to do a few rows at lunch each day this week which has been nice (and relaxing).  The knit rows go fast for me, but man am I slow when I purl.  And, of course, every other row the stitch count increases by 4 (now at 169 stitches).  There are 113 rows before the lace border.  Slow, but steady...


And, so far (day 3) I have resisted casting on anything new.  I'm really enjoying the flow of colors in this shawl and it is mindless, almost meditative knitting.  That's a good thing!  Once I get to the lace rows, I will not be able to knit this while at work...too many interruptions and distractions.  Guess I'll have to cast on some socks at that point!!
 

Bulls Eye!!

Hello All,


What an absolutely beautiful, gorgeous weekend!  Though a bit strange for February.  We passed one time and temperature sign on Saturday and the thermometer read 71!  Amazing.  And blue, blue skies.


We headed out Saturday morning to Colin & Mailing's and from there Colin drove us all to Hawk Mountain.  We were walking/hiking by 11 a.m.  The trails are fairly rocky and a bit steep (though not as bad as Colonel Denning State Park that Fletch and I visited in late October).  BUT, these trails were also snowy and icy in places.  And muddy in other places.  Still, the weather brought everyone out.  It was not as crowded as it gets during peak raptor migration times, but there were plenty of folks on the trail.  We all hiked to North Lookout which is about a mile.  We stopped there and sat on the rocks in the sun to have lunch.  We saw one or two hawks and a bunch of buzzards.  No eagles, but we didn't really expect to see any.  It was just wonderful to be out in the fresh air.


After lunch Fletch and I decided to re-trace our steps back to the Visitor's Center.  Col and Mailing continued on for a longer loop - "Rock River Trail."  Thank goodness we opted to not join them.  When they finally made it back to the car, they told us there were places on the trail where they had to be on all fours to navigate it! 


We had enough time to get home and change before heading out to dinner at Nectar.  Wow, our food was amazing!  Appetizers were:  oysters on the half shell (for everyone but me - I don't do raw and I don't do oysters), calamari & edamame and pork buns.  Plus drinks of course.  I have a mango and ginger martini which was excellent.  I was pretty full after that, so just had some stir fried veggies for dinner and Fletch had a salad.  Col and Mailing ordered regular dinners, but none of us could fit dessert in.


Sunday was another gorgeous day.  Fletch and I were both a little sore in our legs from the hiking on Saturday (I am so out of shape!!).  We fixed breakfast and did some grocery shopping.  Later in the day we went out to "do" some archery.  I couldn't believe it, but I actually got a bulls eye!!  It was a fluke, for sure.  One of my arrows went over the target to the woods and if I had tried to do this a million times I could not have, but look what happened:

My arrow actually split a twig/branch of a little tree!  Let me tell you, archery is harder than it looks.  My shoulders and arms are feeling it today.  I am hoping that it will remedy some of that old lady "dingle-dangle" I have going on in the upper arm region - LOL.


And I did manage to (finally) finish Mailing's socks at around 9:30 last night. 

They don't look it, but they are the same size.  I used Dee's Take Five pattern and I love the way they turned out.  Hopefully they will fit!!  The top of the cuff seems a little tight to me.  I used a Long Tail Cast On, but it doesn't seem very stretchy.  How do you cast on for your socks?


I've decided to work on my Oaklet Shawl and finish that before starting anything else (let's see how long that idea lasts).  This is the shawl I cast on in September using KnitPicks Chroma in the Vermont colorway.  I did 30 or so rows and haven't picked it up since!


Here's to a fun week - enjoy!!

Friday Felines and Weekending Plans

Hello All,


It's Friday!!  And, as I understand it, for many the start of a long weekend.  I do not have Monday as a holiday and would like to protest.  I could handle a 3 day weekend for sure.


Here's a shot of Tyg that I took several weeks ago (excuse the mess all over the table).  This is often how he is when I sit in the kitchen to knit.

Fletch found Tyg stretched out on the guestroom bed the other day and decided to measure him from paw tip to paw tip:  34.5" - almost 3 feet long!  He's a beast - lol


So, what are you doing for the weekend?  It is supposed to be mild (i.e., 50's to 60's) here in Eastern PA.  We are planning to go tomorrow to Hawk Mountain with Colin and Mailing to hike.  It is one of my favorite places locally (about 1.5 hours from us) to hike.  We most likely won't see many eagles or hawks or other raptors, but the views are gorgeous and it is a good workout (which I need given the over-indulging I have done this week).  I think we are going to pick up hoagies to take with us (I see another indulgence coming my way) and have a picnic lunch at one of the overlooks.  I just need to remember to put gloves, etc. in my backpack because it will be probably 10 degrees cooler there and it is always windy.


An interesting book to read about Hawk Mountain is Hawks Aloft by Maurice Broun.  Maurice was the first warden of Hawk Mountain.  He and his wife were friends of my Aunt's.  I wish I could remember some of the stories my Aunt would tell.  I believe they all met when they were working at the Long Trail Lodge in Vermont.


And, after a tiring hike we decided it would be nice if no one had to cook dinner so we are going out to one of my favorite restaurants - Nectar.  The food is always awesome and the best part this time is that I was given a gift certificate to the restaurant at Christmas, so dinner will be free!!


This weekend I should be able to finish the second sock in the pair I'm knitting for Mailing.  Unfortunately not in time for our hike tomorrow, but by Sunday the pair should be complete.  Woo-hoo!!  I have a few ideas floating around in my head for next projects...will be fun to pick something new.


Whatever you end up doing/wherever you end up going, I hope you enjoy your weekend -- have some fun!!

Another Monday Q&A

Hello Everyone,


Hoping your weekend was a good one.  Mine seemed to go way too fast (as usual).  I managed to do a little knitting, had some retail therapy on Saturday, got the laundry done and successfully avoided other domestic chores.


Once again Kathy B has some great questions:

*What is your favorite fiber or blend to knit or crochet with?

                For socks, definitely merino and nylon.  But I love knitting with silk and alpaca also.

*What is your favorite fiber to wear?

                On my feet, my hand knit socks…so merino & nylon.  All other body parts:  cotton, silk or linen.

*Have you seen someone you know personally on television?

                Nope!

*Do you have a locket?  Who is in it?

                Yes…no one…I need to remedy that pronto.

*What is your favorite pizza topping?

                Spinach

*The box of Valentine chocolates is in front of you.  What’s your pick of chocolates?

                Anything dark chocolate

*Is there a state you haven’t visited that you’d like to visit?

                Alaska!

*What’s the oldest thing in your wardrobe?

                Oh wow!  I have a buttery soft suede & leather vest that my Mom bought when she was in her twenties (she would be 98 this year if she were still alive).

*When are you most likely to give up on a knit project?

                When I simply can’t get motivated to finish it…or I make too many mistakes.

*Name one thing you love about your husband/friend/or a family member

                I love that after almost 37 years of marriage I am still so happy to be with Fletch and that he still can surprise me.

Here's hoping for a quick work-week.  I'm heading to yoga class tonight and tomorrow we are having lunch and "sweet treats" at work for Valentine's Day.  Whatever you do - enjoy!!