Unraveled Wednesday 6/28/23

 Good Morning,

Still no sign of Mabel I am so sorry to report.  We miss her dearly.  I keep thinking of our calico cat, Maestro, who once disappeared for a week and then showed up looking like a drowned rat.  That was a very good ending.  But, I'm not sure this time.  It's hard to be optimistic.  I do appreciate all your kind words.

We've had more rain and more thunder and lightning.  After so long with no rain, everything is now dripping.  Our air is still humid.

This is Wednesday when we usually link up with Kat to talk making and reading.  Kat is taking a little break though, so I will just post here.  

It still looks the same, but my green Hitchhiker has grown a little bit.  There are now 27 points or teeth I think.

I knit on this a little bit last night while Fletch and I listened to our audio book after dinner.  The rows are naturally taking longer and longer to knit.  However, I still have 48 grams of yarn left, so still a way to go.

The first PairFect sock is progressing...slowly, but progressing.

The heel flap has been knit.  Usually I will sit down and knit a heel flap, heel turn and start the gusset decreases all at once.  Folks, this particular heel flap took a week!  What???  I have no idea what my issue was or is, but I could not do more than 5 rows at a time.  Weird.  I'm hoping to get to the turn soon and then race down the foot.  We'll see (in this humidity I don't seem to be racing anywhere!).

Reading has been good.  Fletch and I almost finished listening to Vesper Flights last night.  I think we only have 10 minutes left (I would have finished right then and there, but Fletch wanted to get on with whatever it was he wanted to do).  We should wrap that up tonight and then we need to pick a new book to listen to together.

I did finish Finding Freedom in the Lost Kitchen which was just ok.  I wanted it to be more about food and less whining about life.  Then I picked up and read You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith.  So many of you have raved about this book and given it 5 stars.  The writing is wonderful and beautiful, but oh my!  This book was hard to me to read and even painful at times.  It just made me sad.

Now I am reading Hamnet and what a glorious read!  Maggie O'Farrell has such a way with the English language.  I loved "The Marriage Portrait" and now I am loving this book.  Initially I had no interest in reading Hamnet - the plague didn't seem like a very good topic to me (especially during a pandemic).  But this book is so much more!

Yesterday I also picked up 3 more books from the library - a cozy mystery that someone (I forget who) recommended and two other books that grabbed my attention - more on those later.

This morning I'll get out to run some errands.  I need to pick up a thing or two at Staples, a few things at Trader Joe's and also some wine.  While over at that shopping center I will also stop into the office to check mail and print a couple of things in color (knitting patterns...nothing work related...hahaha).

Here's hoping that everyone is having a good week.

Tiny Needle Tuesday

 Hello and Good Morning!

Well, we finally got the rain.  We had a whopper of a thunderstorm last night.  I went up to bed around 10:30 and read for a little bit, turning the light out around 11 p.m.  I don't think I got to sleep until sometime after 1 p.m.  The thunder was so loud and so frequent and the lightening so bright!  Constant flashes and loud crashes.  The rain gauge is showing about 2" this morning.

I would not have slept well anyway as I am worried - Mabel hasn't been around since yesterday morning.  She was here yesterday and came in to eat in the morning, but we have not seen her since.  It is not like her to miss lunch and to not show up for happy hour on the patio.  Please send all the good juju you can that she shows up safe and sound quickly.

Meanwhile it is Tuesday which means an update for Tiny Needle Tuesday.  Autumn Posy is showing a couple more flower heads.

And a few more dark purple do-dads floating around.

The Sampler aux Bouquets has also grown.  

Part I is finished and Part II has been started - a new alphabet and the beginning of some house construction!  Part II is large - looks to me to be roughly twice the size of Part I.  I'm hoping to have the house construction finished by next week.

Wherever this Tuesday finds you, I hope you are doing well.  Take care!

Weekending

 Good Morning,

The air this morning feels very thick.  We've had a little bit of rain over the past few days, but nothing like what was forecast.  At most we got (maybe) a total of half an inch?  An hour South of us in Delaware, my brother and his wife have gotten so much rain that he cannot mow the lawn or even get out to pick greens from his garden!  As Fletch and I sat out yesterday afternoon on the patio, there was thunder all around us, but no rain.

I walked yesterday and was surprised at how many joggers passed me.  I don't know how folks run when the humidity is so high (and it is so warm).  It is already 70 degrees at 6:15 a.m.  I felt sorry for the dogs that were being walked who passed by me panting with their tongues hanging out.  There was no river traffic which surprised me.  Usually I see one or more kayaks or canoes on the water.  There were a number of people walking and a few folks on bikes.  I heard a lot of bird song, but the only creature spotted was this guy who hopped in front of me.

There were some pretty cobwebs among the foliage.

I'm not much on spiders, but their handiwork can sure be beautiful!

Dee and I had our usual Saturday morning session at Panera.  We were both very tired and I didn't get the normal amount of knitting done.  I worked on my green Hitchhiker and I was just happy not to have messed up very badly (there was one spot where Dee had to figure out what was wrong...and she did!).  Panera's was crowded.  There were the normal folks we see every week and then there was a large girls lacrosse team from Dallas.  They were in the area for a tournament.

That was basically my weekend.  We ate leftovers and cold shrimp - I did not do any cooking.

Today I am hoping to get out for a walk this morning.  Though, my weather app shows we could have a thunderstorm within the hour.  I may wait and go a little later.  I need a bit more coffee in my belly to help wake me up before I try to do anything!

Monday seems to be off to a slow start.  Wishing you all a good one!

TGIF 6/23/23

 Good Morning,

Another grey damp day here, but a little warmer (64 degrees).  No rain yet though.  I thought we were supposed to have heavy rain yesterday and today, but so far nothing!

Still is tick central here.  OMG!  this morning I picked up 3 ticks off the rug in front of the tub.  flushed them all down the toilet and then when I got out of the shower I saw another one crawling on top of the scale.  I'm calling the vet this morning to see if there is something else (besides Frontline) we can use on Mabel and/or if we can use it more frequently than once a month.  I really hate putting the chemicals on her, but I also really, really hate that she is bringing in to the house so many ticks.

We had a lovely surprise in the mail yesterday.  Colin had sent us a bunch of gifts from his and Mailing's trip out West a few weeks ago.  Among the treasures is this hummingbird carved out of marble:

So tiny and delicate!  I've moved it to a shelf over the buffet - I was afraid that here, on the windowsill with a bunch of other things, it might get bumped and broken.  As it turns out, this hummingbird was a positive omen - we saw our first hummingbird coming to our trumpet vine blooms yesterday afternoon!

We also spotted one lone daylily by the shed.  The deer have eaten all the rest of them.

Right after I walked over to take the above picture, 5 deer wandered into the yard and one of them looked like it was going to munch down on this bloom.  We (Fletch) chased him off.  Among the 5 were 2 very little spotted fawns.  So precious!

Dinner lst night was a meal I have made in the past:  One Pot Sausage and Arugula Pasta.  So good!

Hooray for Penne pasta - one of my favorites.  Bring on the carbs!  LOL

Here's the easy/peasy recipe in case anyone is interested.

Plenty of leftovers too.  I froze some and there is a container in the frig for lunch some day.

Well, it's Friday so I have conference calls.  One at 10:00 and then my 1:00 call was moved to 4 p.m.  I'm planning to skip that one.  I'm looking forward to meeting up with Dee tomorrow morning for our therapy session - nothing better than knitting, sipping and chatting with a friend.  Other than that, no real plans for the weekend.  We may head back over to C&M's house to do some things...or we may skip this weekend.  Time will tell.

Whatever your plans are, I wish you all a wonderful weekend!

Hey! I Made Bagels!

 Good Morning Everyone,

How are you?  So Summer is here with the Solstice having occurred yesterday, but it sure does not feel like Summer.  It isn't even 60 degrees yet and it is another grey, damp day.  I have capri leggings and a tee shirt on, but also a flannel shirt and warm slippers  It is downright chilly!  I'm not complaining, just saying.  I wouldn't mind a little sun, but I don't think that will happen for a number of days.

I had a bit of a rude awakening this morning.  I got up around 5:45 and went into the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face.  When I picked up the toothpaste tube I saw a tick on the cap.  Our little tick magnet (that would be Mabel) is bringing them in left and right and center.  Fletch told me he found 2 ticks on himself after Mabel was sitting on his lap.  We do treat her with Frontline (which I hate doing as much as she hates having it done), but I don't want to go more than once a month.  Mabel likes to nap on the rug in front of the tub in the upstairs bathroom and often I will see a tick crawling on the rug after Mabel leaves the room.  It is just gross!

Anyway, moving on to better topics.  I made some bagels yesterday!  I made bagels decades ago when Fletch and I were first married and then I kind of forgot about it what with the availability of them in every grocery store bakery.  But recently I came across THIS RECIPE which calls for just two ingredients:  self rising flour and plain greek yogurt.  I was intrigued.

The process is quick.  This recipe does not call for dunking them in boiling water prior to baking.  You just mix the two ingredients together and knead for about 3-5 mnutes and then divide the dough into 4 pieces and shape your bagels.  Let them rest for 15 minutes while you heat up your oven.  Then bake them and bingo, 4 bagels in under an hour!

Waiting for the oven to heat up.  I used Everything But the Bagel seasoning on them.

And fresh out of the oven!

They turned out good.  Not great, but certainly edible.  I think I prefer a regular recipe, but I would certainly make these again in a pinch.  To me they are a little more dense than a good bakery bagel.  I tried one yesterday with my salad for lunch - had a bit with butter and a bit with cream cheese.  I toasted about half of it and had butter on that.  It all went down easily!  Carbs you know - I do love them.

Yesterday did not yield all that much time for making...I am hoping for more time today.  It is so chilly, I pulled some soup out of the freezer for lunch,so that should be a quick meal.

Happy Thursday everyone - we are edging closer to the weekend!!  Enjoy your day.

Unraveled Wednesday 6/21/23

 Good morning!

How is it already the Summer Solstice?  Time is just whizzing by these days.  It is another grey and damp-ish day here.  No rain yet, but heavy rain is in the forecast for Thursday and Friday and then a chance of rain every day after that through next week!  The lawn and gardens will be happy.

Speaking of time whizzing by, here we are at Wednesday again and time for an Unraveled post.  Let's link up with Kat and talk making and reading.  I'll stick with knitting on the making front today.  And, I will not bore you with another green Hitchhiker phpotograph.  It looks the same even though a few more *teeth*  or points have been added.  No progress on the purple cowl.  I think I have cold feet with that one!

But, the first Pair-Fect sock is coming along nicely and I like it!

(I also like my pen with the mop-head - LOL)

Yesterday I only managed 5 rows, but that is better than none.  The colors are more pleasing to me than I thought they might be.

Last week I managed to finish 2 books.  The first, "The Thread Collectors" I had almost finished last week, but not quite.  It was good - not really compelling reading for me, but a nice read.  I found the ending to be a bit rushed and/or contrived, but it was ok.  

I also finished "Nine Horses" which is a collection of poetry by Billy Collins.  What a joy to read!  This is a book that had gotten buried on my nightstand under varioius library books and when I re-discovered it I was reminded of what a balm it is to read some poetry just before turning out the light at night.  I need to get back into that habit (and I already have numerous poetry books on my nightstand - both bottom shelf and top shelf!).

Currently I am reading Finding Freedom in the Lost Kitchen which is ok.  Not great, but it is keeping me interested.  Lots of abuse so far which is not one of my favorite things to read about...hopefully I will get out of that part soon.  I'm about half way through this book.

And, Fletch and I are contining to listen to "Vesper Flights" by Helen MacDonald and enjoying it a lot.  We have just under 3 hours left of listening time.

Yesterday I picked up two books at the library that I am anxious to delve into:  "Hamnet" by Maggie O'Farrell - I am finally jumping on this bandwagon!  LOL  The second book is the Maggie Smith Memoir "You Could Make This Place Beautiful" which so many of you have raved about.  

I'm planning to do some laundry today, some cooking (Mongolian Beef again - YUM) and hopefully will find pockets of time for knitting and/or stitching.  Fletch is taking my car in for it's 4 year check up and inspection...hopefully no major findings there.

Enjoy the daylight hours on this Solstice Day and have a good one!

Tiny Needle Tuesday...and More!!

 Good Morning My Friends,

How are you?  It is still early here (5:40 a.m.), but someone (that would be me) had a difficult time sleeping last night and then early, early this a.m. the birds were so loud!  I love birdsong and hearing it, but maybe a little later would be a better idea.

Anywho, I've lots to show you today, so grab your beverage of choice and let's dig in.  First, it is Tuesday, which means it is time for a Tiny Needle update.  My two pieces are moving along nicely and continue to be fun to stitch.  First up is the Autumn Posy by Plum Street Samplers.

The pumpkin is finished and a few do-dads have been added.  This is being stitched on 40 count linen with Weeks Dye Works overdyed cottons.

Next we have the Sampler aux Bouquets.  A 3 part sampler that I am stitching on 32 count linen with DMC floss.

I had thought I would finish up the first part this past week, but that was not to be.  However, Mr. Rabbit has made an appearance along with a potted plant (I think a rose?).  I have confirmed that the X and the Z will need to be moved in order to accommodate the balance of the design on Part 1.  No worries, it will look better when finished.

Now on to other things!  Yesterday, Juneteenth, was a holiday for my office and a 3 day weekend was a lovely thing.  I convinced/talked Fletch into heading out with me yesterday for a short morning walk and then lunch out.  We took off around 10:30 and drove to one of my favorite walks - the one where the canal is on one side of the path and the Schuylkill River on the other side.  It was a busy place yesterday - lots of walkers, lots of joggers, lots of dog walkers, some folks on bikes and a number of folks on the water - either paddle boards, kayaks or canoes.  We actually saw some folding kayaks which are pretty cool.

Along with all the people there was a ton of animal and plant life.  We heard bull frogs, geese, ducks, lots of song birds and then there were turtles!  Of course we did not hear them, but oh my gosh there were SO MANY baby turtles!  I don't ever remember seeing them at this location and certainly not the numbers we saw yesterday.

There were also bees and bugs on various blooms.

So many scents in the air too.  We were noticing how some scents are really strong when you are in the sunlight and then others become more prominent when you are in the shade.

We walked for about 40 minutes and then made our way back to Fitzwater Station for lunch.  We were able to get seats on the deck overlooking the canal so we could watch the water traffic while sipping and eating.  I loved this sign on one of the vehicles at Fitzwater Station:

We had a relaxing afternoon and then it was time to sit on the patio with a beverage.  Back when I was harvesting a ton of rhubarb, Nance had suggested that I make some rhubarb cordial.  Oh my!  What a treat!

This is what we ended up with after ditching the pieces of rhubarb in the bottle (basically cut up rhubarb, vodka and sugar - shake and let it meld together for a month, then strain and indulge).  It is tart, but in a very pleasing way.  I had a small amount over ice and enjoyed it a lot.  I think it would also be tasty with seltzer.

Mabel came around from wherever she had been patroling to join us.  Such a sweetie!

All lin all a very lovely day.