Tuesday Beauty

Hi Everyone,

 

Another chilly morning and...there were flurries in the air yesterday as I cooked dinner.  The temps are steadily rising all week though and I am hoping and praying that the weekend forecast holds.

 

As I mentioned yesterday, we had an off-site luncheon yesterday.  It was really lovely and the food was so good (Caesar salad, some antipasta, rigatoni with broccoli rabe and roasted tomatoes, sausage and peppers, BBQ chicken, mashed potatoes and a TON of desserts).  Everyone received an envelope with two $100 gift checks inside AND we were out of the office for 3 hours.  I mention all this not to rub in what a fantastic place it is where I work, but as a preface for some talk that went on during the luncheon.

 

Bobby, our CEO, talked a little bit - mostly introducing new employees and thanking everyone for what they do each and every day.  He said that we are reinstating a suggestion box in the office.  We had one years ago, but people wrote in stupid suggestions (like wanting free ice cream in the summer...which we had at one point until someone kept emptying the freezer at night and taking ice cream home!!).  Then he opened up the floor for anyone to offer up suggestions for things that would improve the environment in our office and said he would hand out gift cards ($100 gift cards to Target, Lowes, Zapppos, various restaurants, etc.) to anyone who made suggestions.  You would not believe what people said:

 

• Someone suggested an on-site nurse in case anyone felt bad during the day
• Another person wanted a day off on the anniversary of their hire date...because their vacation had not increased since they were hired.  Everyone gets 4 weeks as soon as they are hired...I'm thinking that is very generous, but maybe that's me.
• Someone suggested we have a massage room and massages offered during the day.
• Someone suggested a nacho machine in one of our kitchens (we have 3 kitchens!!).

I wish I had snapped shots of Bobby's face as these suggestions were made.  Really???

 

Some decent suggestions were made:

 

• One person asked about going to a 4 day work week.  Bobby had apparently already said he was in favor of this (which I would LOVE), but HR shot it down because it wouldn't work for all departments and, therefore, wouldn't be fair.
• One person suggested putting together classes at the FREE (yes, free) gym we have access to.

 

 Anyway, bottom line is I can't believe how so many people don't realize how good they have it and just want more and more and more.

OK, my rant is over (for the moment).  On to the beauty portion of this post.  This was one of the centerpieces on the tables at our luncheon:

So pretty and colorful!  I love the little bowl that has two birds on it.  It is a welcome sight on my desk this morning as it is grey (and chilly) outside.

 

Monday Musings

Good Morning All!


A chilly start to our day here in Eastern PA - 32 degrees this morning.  On April 9th!  What's up with that?  And, yes, there is snow in our forecast for tomorrow - just snow showers.  And, by Friday it is forecast to be in the mid 70's.  Crazy roller coaster continues.


My weekend started early.  I left work before 2 p.m. on Friday.  It was great to be home with so much extra time.  I managed to knock out some chores (bathrooms, dusting and vacuuming) before dinner which left the weekend open for mostly just fun things.


The plain sock progressed some (I knit on it while Fletch read after dinner):

I'm liking the colors in this one a lot and, because I have other projects to work on, the plain knitting is not bothering me (plus the color changes always help).


The Lonely Tree Shawl is another story.  I did a couple of rows Saturday morning and then realized I had an extra stitch somewhere.  I tinked back several rows, but lace work is (for me) difficult to tink (all the yarn overs and the SSK parts).  Finally, I just ripped out the entire thing.  Of course, I had not put in a lifeline.  Fortunately there were only 24 rows or so.  I managed to re-knit up to the point where I messed up:

If you click to enlarge, you may see the red yarn running through a few rows down.  A lifeline - what a concept!!


The rest of the weekend for me was spent cooking, doing laundry, reading and napping.  I finished "Billionaire Blend" a coffeehouse cozy mystery.  Glad to be done with that one!  I started reading Flat Broke and am enjoying it so far.  It's a bit difficult for me to understand folks who let themselves get into such a financial mess, but on the other hand I know some people like this.  It's a quick read (I did not like the part where there is a copperhead snake in the house!!).  I think I'm between a third and half-way through this book.  Next up is "The Great Alone" by Kristin Hannah which came through for me on Overdrive.


Fletch was busy all weekend readying our camper - we leave in a week and a half for vacation.  Hopefully the weather will improve - the weather radar on my phone was showing all weekend - and this morning -  snow where we are going!! 


And, my work week is starting off busy - I've got a conference call at 10 and then we are having a luncheon off-site at 12:30.  Looking forward to next Saturday and the Allentown Fiber Festival!!  The weather is forecast to be in the mid-70's for Saturday.


Hope everyone's week is starting off great!

TGIF 04-06-18

Good Morning!


Finally!  The weekend is upon us.  Rainy (and chilly) this a.m. which I was not expecting.  But, the good news is the forecast for tomorrow.  Originally my forecast was showing 3-6" of sleet and snow.  By last night that had dropped to 1-3".  As of this morning, no accumulation is forecast.  It could end up being mostly rain.  So, YAY for no snow (fingers crossed).  Hopefully the rain will end when they say - around 10:30 this morning...Colin is doing another volunteer stint helping to clean up the river behind his office complex this afternoon.


It was quite windy (again) by the time I got home yesterday, but Fletch grilled anyway - hot and sweet Italian sausage.  I had him grill enough that there is plenty left over so that I can make some sauce this weekend (LOVE home-made spaghetti sauce with grilled sausage).  I sautéed some peppers, onions, mushrooms and yellow squash and we had a nice baguette to go with everything.


Colin read several chapters in Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying" after dinner.  Gosh it is a sad book, but Faulkner's language is so sparse and wonderful.  The guys watched the new Star Trek Wars movie which I had no interest in seeing, so I did dig out some Cascade Heritage yarn and started a plain vanilla sock:

The color is #35 - Baltimore.  It's a bit on the patriotic side with red, white and blue in it, but there is also some black and gold.  I think it will turn out pretty and it is perfect easy knitting for work or when I'm too tired to concentrate on lace work.  I managed to get 10 rows of ribbing done last night and I brought it to work with me today, so hopefully will finish up the ribbing and start on the leg.


Tyg, as you can see, was lazy last night (and not interested in Star Wars either).


We have no real plans for the weekend.  I have some cleaning that really needs to be done (bathrooms for one) and the usual laundry and grocery shopping.  Otherwise we will just be hanging out which sounds perfect to me.  Whatever your plans are, I hope you have a wonderful weekend - enjoy!!

Miscellaneous Thursday

Good Morning!


The sun is out for a change.  Yesterday was so foggy in the morning - like Sleepy Hollow or Sherlock Holmes foggy.  And mild.  Like 60 degrees.  Then the temps dropped and gale force winds picked up.  Today is sunny, but cold - like 31 degrees on my patio this morning.  And...my weather forecast on my phone is showing 3-6" of sleet & snow on Saturday.  Our roller coaster weather seems to be continuing.  Please let this be the last of winter weather!  Fletch and I leave on a camping trip on April 19th...I don't want to camp in the snow.....


I've already checked out yarn shops on Ravelry for our trip and there are plenty!!  I need to make a list so I'm ready.  And the Allentown Fiber Festival is in a week!  I'll be meeting Dee and (hopefully) Bridget there.  I've already printed out maps for the festival showing all the vendors' locations.  Excited!!!


Sadly there has been no knitting - not even a single stitch - since Sunday!  I've brought the shawl to work every day to work on, but I've been too busy to take a break at lunch.  Evenings I seem to have run out of time.  Colin is coming over for dinner tonight, so I doubt I will knit anything then.  I want to start a mindless project that I can bring with me to work.  I think the lace shawl and lace socks are just too intricate to try to do with folks milling around, phones ringing, etc.  Seeing Nancy's latest socks out of Cascade Heritage made me remember I have several balls of that yarn.  I'm thinking plain old vanilla socks for the win!


I did finish a book...or rather we finished it.  It is another one that Fletch and I read together after dinner.  No Life for a Lady by Agnes Morley Cleaveland is a memoir type book.  She was born in New Mexico in 1876 and raised on a cattle ranch.  This was an entertaining read and we both enjoyed it.  Next up we are going to read Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne.  I can't believe I've never read any of his books.  We have also been listening to Colin read us "As I Lay Dying" by William Faulkner.  Colin does an excellent job of reading out loud and it's a pleasure to listen while he reads.  Since he is reading to us, it is only on Thursday nights.


Today and tomorrow should be easy days for me (maybe some knitting at lunch???) as both my bosses are in CA for a "meeting" (really more a celebration of last fiscal year - spouses are included in this get-together and there are no meetings per se - just free time and dinners).


Hoping everyone is having a great week.

New Starts

Good Morning All,


It is another grey, cold day here in Eastern PA.  One wonders if Spring will ever arrive.  We are beginning to think that Winter will just hang around for a bit longer and then suddenly it will be 80 degrees and no Spring at all.  Hoping that will not be the case.


I'm still dragging a bit, feeling tired and run down.  Part of it, I'm sure, is due to the uninspiring weather.  And, I think part of it is due to a new medication I started last week (and have now stopped taking).  But, I did manage to get some new knitting done on Easter before we left to go to Colin & Mailing's for dinner.


Here is my start on the Medallion Lace Sock.  It's an easy pattern (if I don't mess it up - lol) and I think it will be very pretty.

The Barn Cat yarn is so pretty and soft.  I'm enjoying knitting this.  Obviously it's mostly ribbing so far with a bit of the pattern (I believe I managed to get through 6 or 8 rows of the pattern so far...I can't remember exactly).


And here is the start to my Lonely Tree Shawl:

This is about 20 rows.  I love the color "Weathered Green" which is sort of a greyish-green.  The yarn (Green Mountain Spinnery Cotton comfort - 80% wool and 20% cotton) is a bit "rougher" than I am accustomed to using, but I believe it will provide the warmth I want with this shawl and so far it's not bothering my hands to knit with it.


On the reading front, I finished The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin.  I'll give it 4 stars.  Parts of it dragged on and on for me - I think it could have been tightened up a bit, but overall it was good.  I've started reading "Billionaire Blend" by Cleo Coyle (one of the Coffeehouse Mystery Books).  This is not great literature friends, but it is an easy and fast read which is exactly what I was looking for at the moment.  Not sure if I will read any more of these, but time will tell.


Hope everyone's week is going well so far.

Happy Easter

Good Morning Everyone,


Happy Easter!  And, Happy Passover (a little late) to those celebrating that holiday.  I've been under the weather a bit.  Ended up running a fever Wednesday night (no sleep).  Went to work Thursday just to get some financial reports out and then left by 10:30.  Slept most of that day.  Colin was over for dinner Thursday and a fire in the pit, but I went back to bed long before he left.  I'm feeling better, just worn out, a bit achy, etc.  I don't think it was the flu, but not sure what I had.  Friday was a work holiday for me anyway which was a good thing.


And now, no April Fool's joke, our forecast is for snow starting around midnight tonight through tomorrow morning.  Anywhere from 1" to 5" expected.  What????


Yesterday was nice though and Fletch and I got some archery shooting in during the afternoon.  It felt strange to be doing that after months of not practicing.  And the not practicing part was pretty obvious!  I did manage to hit the target a couple of times, but mostly I fell short.


Back to Friday:  I finished the never-ending red socks with the lateral braids.  Fletch decided he liked them, so they are his:

And a close up of the braids:

I am definitely going to incorporate the braid into a pair for myself one of these days.


The yarn is the Malabrigo (Tiziano Red) that was a real PITA to wind.  It is some of the softest yarn ever though and feels wonderful on your feet.


Saturday morning I managed to wind up several skeins of yarn:

The beautiful pastel ball on the left is Barn Cat fingering from Valerie in the colorway Varadero.  So pretty and Spring-like.  I needed something like this after the dark red socks.  The pattern I've chosen is: Medallion Lace Socks - free on Ravelry.  I started them Saturday evening but managed to mess up the first row of the pattern, so pulled everything out.  Hoping to start today.


The other three skeins will hopefully become: 

I can't remember where I got this one...probably from a blog.  I re-discovered this pattern when going through the hundreds of patterns I have printed out to save (what was I thinking???).


The yarn is some that I bought over 10 years ago while on vacation in Vermont.  It is from Green Mountain Spinnery and is "Cotton Comfort" - 80% fine wool and 20% organic cotton.  The color is Weathered Green.  I'm hoping this will work up into a slightly heavier shawl than what I have made in the past.


We are heading over to Colin & Mailing's for dinner tonight.  I've got an Easter Basket made up for them complete with a chocolate bunny, jelly beans, peeps, etc.  I'd better throw in some catnip treats for their kitties too.


Hoping the weekend is finding all of you relaxing and enjoying life.  And, I won't lie - I'm hoping for at least a 2 hour delay for work tomorrow!!!

Treasures From My Grandpa

Well, it is Unraveled Wednesday, but I haven’t done much knitting in the past few days and therefore have nothing to show.  I did finish “Manhattan Beach” by Jennifer Egan and enjoyed it very much.  I’m now almost halfway through “The Immortalists” by Chloe Benjamin and liking it a lot too.

 

Inspiration for this post comes from Kym and Bonny both of whom recently blogged about beautiful wooden items made by their Grandfathers.

 

My paternal grandfather, Ray Lyman, was born in Stratton, VT in 1887.  He was a big man – 6’3” (and my Grandmother was only 4’11” or so!!) and he had the largest hands.  When Colin was born his hands and feet were really big and the first thing I thought was he will be just like my Grandpa (for the record, Colin is not 6’3”, but he has grown into his feet and hands – lol).

 

Here are my grandparents on their wedding day:

 

 

And here they are in later years in front of their house:

 

 

And one of my favorite pictures of my Grandpa – at his workbench in the barn that was attached to their home:

 

 

Grandpa held many different jobs (including a stint in state politics) – he ran the creamery down the street from where they lived and he also worked at a bowl mill.  Much of the furniture in their home was made by him:  bureaus, tables, chairs (caned and woven), stools (caned and woven) as well as bowls and other wooden items.  I’m fortunate to have some of the pieces he made:

 

 

The piece on the right is one of the many offering plates he made for the local church they attended.  The bowl and salt & pepper shakers are like those that were used daily in their home.  The little rattle was carved from a single piece of wood!

 

This bureau is one he made out of birds eye maple (love) and this is where I store my fabric (the drawers are now easy to open since I got rid of so much stuff!!).  This piece weighs a TON. 

 

 

The apothecary style cabinet on top is one Fletch gave me and that holds my specialty embroidery floss – silks, linens, Danish Flower Thread, etc.  The smaller black & white cabinet on top of that is another gift from Fletch and that holds my “special” buttons (some day I’ll do a post showing some of those).  Other buttons are in the jars to the right (and various boxes and tins hidden away – lol).  The Galileo Thermometer was my Dad’s.

I was also gifted the sewing cabinet my Grandpa made for my Grandma.  It is one of my prized possessions and I will show that in a later post.

 

Hope everyone’s week is going well.  My office is closed Friday, so I’m on the downswing of the work week which feels really, really nice!