A Finish! And The Weekend!

Good Morning!


Hoping everyone had a nice weekend.  Ours was very nice!  It began with me leaving work at Noon on Friday (I need to do this EVERY week - lol).  I stopped for a few errands on my way home and then did my workout, took a shower, and (finally) finished up the plain socks in the Cascade Heritage colorway Baltimore.  I love the way these turned out.

They almost match perfectly, but I think towards the end of the leg of sock #2 I lost count of rows (knitting with a friend and talking will do that...Dee....), so the heels and the toes are a little off (but those will be in my shoes anyway, so who cares?).


And, I still had time to sit on the patio with Fletch before dinner.


Saturday was pretty overcast and cooler than we thought it would be.  I worked out first thing in the a.m. before Colin & Mailing picked us up shortly after 10 a.m. and we headed into Philadelphia.  We parked and then walked over to Whetstone Tavern for brunch/lunch.  So good!  I started off with the "Como La Flor" cocktail which is thyme tequila, St. Germaine, Compari and lime.  Delicious!  And, I think I can easily replicate this.  I ordered the shrimp & grits which was wonderful.  Mailing had the duck confit & butternut squash hash, Fletch had calamari and Col order the Dad's Double Burger.  Service was great.  We had hoped to sit outside, but traffic was just a bit too loud to be able to enjoy sitting outside.


After that, we walked over to the Museum of the American Revolution.  I think we were all under-whelmed by it.  All of the galleries are pretty dim/dark and we found reading the information to be extremely difficult in that lighting (and not just us older folks - lol).  There are short (and very loud) film clips in almost every gallery.  All in all, we felt it was a place best suited to a group of school children, or people bringing their kids.  Fletch and I ended up sitting outside for an hour plus waiting for Colin and Mailing to come out and it was fun just to have time to people watch.


When we got home Colin fired up the grill and mixed up some blueberry mojitos.  We had hot chicken (so good), cole slaw, baked beans, collards and strawberry shortcake for dessert.  It was a great treat to have someone else do the cooking!  We were ready to eat outside, but a thunderstorm rolled in just as Colin was finishing grilling.


Sunday dawned wet and chilly (low 50's).  I made a big frittata for breakfast (scallions, mushrooms, left over collards and peppers).  We did some grocery shopping, napped in the afternoon, did a bit of laundry, knit a bit and read some.  I also did my work out (7 days in a row!!).  I ended up fixing baked macaroni & cheese for dinner - craving some comfort food on that damp day.


All in all, a very nice weekend.  Now it is back to reality.  I have a large group of people in today for the start of budget reviews, so I'd best get to work.  Here's to a quick work-week!

A Quiet Evening!

Hello All,


I'm happy to report that last night was Quiet!!


Fletch did talk with both the police and the Township Code Enforcer (who was called at 4 a.m. after Fletcher's initial complaint).  The contractors were/are well aware of the noise ordinance.  When the police arrived the other night they had just poured concrete and, therefore, couldn't stop their work.  Our guess is that they have/had some kind of a deadline to meet in order to achieve a bonus...and the bonus far out-weighed any fine they might be slapped with for "disturbing the peace."


I did leave work early yesterday - by 3 p.m. - but when I got home I didn't feel all that tired so I cleaned the bathrooms, threw a load of towels in the wash, did a workout, got a shower and then had time to sit on the patio with Fletch and enjoy a beverage before dinner.  We walked out to the garden and yay!!  Spinach and red leaf lettuce are both ready to pick for salads.  Soon the garlic scapes will appear and we'll trim them to use and (hopefully) the garlic bulbs will grow and grow (we have 6 different varieties of garlic this year).  Rhubarb is going crazy as are our onions.  Sugar snap peas are up and growing, but our green beans are slow to appear this year.  The tomato and pepper plants that Fletch put in after vacation are thriving and getting big.


Yesterday I did a little more knitting outside at lunch (and after dinner).  I'm on the home stretch with sock #2.  Only about 8 rows to go before the toe decreases, so I should easily be able to do that today at lunch...and maybe even some of the toe.


It's a little foggy/overcast this morning, but is supposed to hit 78 by the afternoon with a possible thunderstorm this afternoon or evening.  Colin is coming over for dinner and Fletch is grilling steaks.  I'm hoping for a walk after dinner if the rain holds off.


Nice to be on the downside of the work week and I'm looking forward to the weekend.  We have plans to go into Philadelphia with Colin and Mailing.  We have reservations for brunch at Whetstone Tavern and then plan to go to The Museum of the American Revolution - a relatively new museum in Philadelphia and one that Fletch has wanted to get to.  Colin and Mailing are planning to grill dinner (hot chicken) for us at our house that evening.


Hope today brings you all something to enjoy!

Unraveled Wednesday 05-09-18

Good Morning!


Gosh it is a beautiful morning in Eastern PA, but my brain is foggy and I am so ready for a nap (it's 8 a.m. as I type this...).  Our property is made up of two lots - the lot our house is on and the 2nd lot we own behind that which is wooded.  Beyond our woods there is a field and then a plant - Streamlight - which manufactures flashlights and other stuff.  Streamlight has construction going on for an additional building (guess business is good!).  It's been annoying in the afternoon when the work crews are still working after 5 p.m. and we are trying to enjoy a beverage on our patio.  Lots of banging and clanging and back-up beeping going on.  Heavy construction vehicles.  Well, last night (this morning) we were awakened at 3 a.m. to Major Noise.  Fletch ended up going downstairs and sleeping on the sofa.  I closed our back bedroom window and turned the ceiling fan on high and eventually fell back asleep.  Oy vey!  I'm betting Fletch will be calling Streamlight - or the township - today to complain.


Not a lot of knitting has happened, but no unraveling.  Yesterday at lunch I knit outside and managed to turn the heel, pick up the gusset stitches and start going down the foot:

Still hoping to finish this week....


On the reading front, not much has been going on either.  I started The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah last weekend.  But gosh!  What a cast of dysfunctional, abusive, cruel people.  I got about halfway through it but just was not enjoying it at all.  So, I quit.  Very unusual for me to get that far along in a book and not finish, but life is too short to read stuff that you don't enjoy.  Last night I started Mrs. Hemingway by Naomi Wood.  I've only read a few chapters, but am enjoying it.  Lighter reading for sure.


Joining in with Kat and others this hump day.  Hope everyone's week is going well.

One Sock Finished!!

Good Morning! 


It was a little foggy on my ride into work this morning, but the sun is now shining brightly and I think it will be a beautiful day.  High's forecast for the mid-seventies which is much better than the 90's we had last week.


When I got home Friday, our Wisteria at the side of our patio had begun to open.  There are many more blooms now and the fragrance is amazing:

This happens so fast.  The week before I took this, the buds were barely an inch long.  Our heat wave of last week really opened up a ton of flowers.  (And, of course, everything is coated in lovely yellow pollen!!)


Saturday Dee and I met up at Backyard Beans for some coffee, knitting (a little) and good conversation.  We hung out for awhile and then wandered down the street, stopping in a bookstore and then ending up at a small place for lunch.  A fun day.  I cooked dinner, but not much more was accomplished.


Sunday was grocery shopping, laundry and cooking.  But...progress has been made on the socks:  the first one is completed and the second one is down to the heel flap.  YAY - maybe a full pair by the end of the week?

I always think that socks go faster once you get past the heel, but truth be told, my feet are so big and that foot is usually as long as the leg - lol.


Wishing you all a wonderful week!

Friday Felines

Hello All,


A little overcast this morning (storms expected late this afternoon and/or evening), but still a very pretty sunrise and I heard geese flying overhead when I stepped out on our patio this morning.  Everything is popping open - apple blossoms, weeping cherry, Redbud, wild roses.  And my allergies have also kicked into high gear.  Yuck.  I woke up completed stuffed and head-achy this a.m.


Poor Tyg had a tiny scratch beneath his left eye (I thought at first it was a deer tick).  When I got home from work on Monday his whole left cheek was swollen and then I noticed that his fur was all matted beneath the swelling.  Yuck again!  We ended up using a warm compress on him and then put some Neosporin on (which he did not like), but it did the trick.  The swelling started to go down.  I had to do one more compress the following day, but now he is all back to normal.  (And a vet bill avoided.)


Meanwhile, here is Marcel in his glory:





LOL.  Mailing ran a Spartan Beast race last Saturday and Marcel is wearing her medal.  Yay for Mailing (I certainly wouldn't and couldn't do that race) - she actually ran it in (I think) just around 5 hours.  I couldn't get the link to work, but if you are not familiar with these races, the beast is 15 miles and there are a lot of obstacles to go through (jumping over fire, going through mud, carrying heavy buckets up hills, etc.).  You have to complete not only the run but all obstacles as well.  She is signed up for two more Spartan races this year - the easy one and the middle one.  I'm glad the beast is over for her.


Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.  I have plans to meet up with Dee for knitting and coffee tomorrow - looking forward to that!