Pumpkin Sunrise

Hello, I am happy to be blogging because you see, I've lost power on Monday night. Right now we are in a cheap hotel but and this is a most glorious but, I had a hot shower and I'm on the Internet and I have the news on.  My anxiety is through the roof. However my fingers are crossed that the power will be restored and all will be well. I have a tiny confession, I quit reading A Casual Vacancy  over the weekend. It was harsh writing for me. I did like the long list of characters and the nosy  little town. I did not like the excessive offensive language, I do like to sprinkle my sentences with sentence enhancers but this was too much for me.  I thought every character was so sad and it was causing me anxiety to read it, so I quit. I started this book a few days ago and it's too early to opine.  My knitting is two lovely skeins of purple yarn. I'm alternating each row and doing garter stitch. Easy, mindless, and fun. It's going to be a couple of days unti...

My weekend was filled with: -listening to every media give predictions of the hurricane -crossing my fingers and HOPING I can keep my electricity -a walk with Frodo and my husband before the time change next week -a little sadness that the after dinner walks will end because of the shorter days -donuts, oh how do I love thee? -a curry dinner for today made by my husband -knitting with friends -knitting projects -list making for Christmas, groceries, errands and email musts. (the yarn in the photo was hand dyed by my sis for me!!  It is 880 yards of laceweight wooly goodness and she said "I thought you could make another citron", oh baby sister, you know me so well.) Joining Amanda

This week has been quiet and serene.  We are heading towards another weekend where there is nothing planned and I think we both are quite happy to have nothing to do.  As you know, something will happen but it will be spontaneous and carefree.  I checked the weather and it seems we will be blessed with a huge storm filled with rain and little sunshine.  Sigh. If only it could contain one little tiny snowflake.  I know that rainy days are very good for knitting and planning on knitting and you will find me doing both. Yesterday I had 4 inches of hair cut off and it feels so swingy and healthy!  I was due a hair cut, you see I cut my bangs every month or so putting off the professional appointment then one day my hair will scream "enough".  So today I am a new person and my hair looks great as long as I don't go outside in the humidity. I've pulled out odds and ends of worsted weight yarn that were left overs from previous projects.  My goal...

My knitting this week has kicked of the holiday knitting fever that starts every year around this time.  My list is short so I am confident that I will get the knitting done in time for gift giving.  For the last few days I've been thinking of a shawl for my aunt and I knew I wanted to make the Multnomah  but with what yarn? I unearthed this sock yarn and I cannot remember why I bought in in 2009.  It is not in the colors that I would enjoy.  However, my aunt would love the pastel hues!!  See.  That is why there is a substantial yarn stash in this house.  I feel like I saved some money by not going out (again) and shopping for wool.  You know I would buy something for me as well.  I just cannot resist, but resist I must for now. I am over 100 pages into the new Rowling book and it's very well written and the way she unfolds the story is a lot like Maeve Binchy's writing (RIP).  However, this is not a happy book so far.  S...

I have been noticing that each year when the leaves change they are not always the same color and definitely not the same time.  These two photos were taken only a week apart and they are of my back yard.  As you can see the trees are nearly done and the wild bushes are not the golden yellow they were last year.  Red foliage seems to be scarce this fall so far but we still have a few more weeks, my fingers are crossed! I met a friend for lunch yesterday and the drive to and from the neighboring town was just picture perfect.  I wish there was a way to drive and take photographs at the same time safely.  Someone should invent that.  Or maybe I just need to be the passenger :)  I drove through rolling countryside and passed many farms as well as a Christmas Tree Farm.  The journey was just as nice as the lunch visit.  Of course there was knitting involved as well. Would you believe I had ten rows into a cowl that had 264 stitches...

The weekend was mainly a "do nothing" weekend for me.  A restorative weekend was in order.  On my calendar was penned Rhinebeck! and I had every intention of attending for the first time this year, really I did.  But the closer that date loomed the more I questioned whether I really wanted to spend seven hours total in the car to do a day trip. I'm sure I've mentioned that I do not like crowds nor do I like to wait much for anything.  I have the luxury in my life to do my grocery shopping with retired people during the day-that's my speed.  So on Thursday, I canceled the kennel stay for Frodo and looked forward to a quiet uneventful boring weekend.  For some reason the "do nothing" weekend felt like a gift. Once the decision was made, I felt completely at peace and happy. So my weekend contained: -starting a new knitting project, and yes it's another cowl -inhaled and soaked up the sights and smells of fall in my back yard, it is completel...

My sister and I went for a hike just the two of us on Saturday afternoon last weekend. For some reason I read the map very wrong.  I thought it was a paved trail, and it was not.  At first it was marked and we were happily following the dirt foot path through the forest.  Chatting and gabbing away the minutes. There was a point in our walk that we were both thinking "are we on the trail still".  The markings were gone!  We would walk and wonder and ignore the slight panic of what if we are lost.  I did have my cell phone but there's isn't any reception (fat good that would do).  So we followed what we thought was a path. Thank goodness for the graffiti artists that love to carve hearts and who they love on the trees.  That was the only way we knew we were heading somewhere where other hikers have ventured.  Still no markings from the state park officials though. Suddenly my sister was thrilled to see a tree that she remember...

I finished this cowl over the weekend while I was roughing it.  Ha ha.  I wanted to knit up my Balancing Act Cowl in a fingering weight.  I cast on 264 stitches and added one extra repeat.   The loop measures 45 1/2 inches which is slightly smaller than the DK version.  But I can still wrap it around my neck.  I might just make a few more for some holiday gifts.

When we were traveling across Pennsylvania and we stopped to see our daughter, I was lucky to borrow the new Rowling book that she had just finished reading.  I am so excited to see how Rowling writes for adults, I started last night and did not fall asleep which is a very good indicator.  I think this is going to be a really good read :) I finished my Buddha Standard Time  book and I did like it over all.  At times the author seemed to repeat many ideas but the little meditation prompts that are scattered through the book are helpful.  I think anyone who wants to be in the moment could benefit from the book. As you can see, I've started another wurm hat.  While I was at the cabin, I wore my green wurm hat every single time we went out.  I wanted another one and another one all in different colors!  For some reason my hair did not get all wonky like it usually does so maybe I am officially a hat lover? What are you knitting and reading? ...

Here is the campsite that was in the back of the cabin.  We did not have a campfire because it was too cold during our stay.  We did however cook on the grill both nights. This is the back of our three bedroom cabin.  It had everything:  electricity, kitchen, heat, wi-fi (not very strong).  What more could one possibly need? You just gotta love this tree. And lastly a lovely photo that a complete stranger snapped for me while my sister and I were out for adventures.  Whoever the stranger was did a pretty good job.  My sister is on the left.  I am the squinty one.  I took my glasses off because they are transition lenses and did not want shades. I am the older sister and we are best friends :)

We met up with my sister and brother in law for a weekend in a cabin in the woods.  We did this last year and had so much fun that we made sure to schedule it in this year.  My weekend was -very cold! but I loved it so much -a hat-mitt-shawl wearing weekend -s'mores, they are calorie free when eating them in a cabin, just so you know -eating meals on the grill -taking in the scenery while hiking -discovering flea market finds -knitting with my sister -seeing both my son and my daughter while traveling to and from the cabin -a cozy fireplace sitting and chatting and enjoying everyone's company -once again carrying my camera and capturing nature's beauty How was your weekend? Joining Amanda

Today is quite the fall day when leaves are dropping and the air is crisp.  If you're in the shade your chilled, if you're in the sun with a light jacket well then you might just be in heaven.  Even Frodo knows this is a great time of year.  He is outside more than inside, sunbathing in the grass.  In the newspaper this morning it reported that we are in for a cold winter!  Well I hope it will be colder than last year's winter, that was just too warm. I think I will be finished knitting the cowl over the weekend.  We have more adventures planned and I will have an opportunity to knit with my sister.  Very excited about that!!  I have a sweater that is my "wish to cast on" idea but I am fighting an intense urge to knit another hat for me.  Let me say that I am not nor have I ever been a hat wearer or lover.  From a very young age I would take any head wear off as soon as I knew my mother could not see me when I walked to school. ...

I have been a busy knitting beaver this past week.  I finished (finally) my pink cardigan  last week and then had to wait for it to dry.  I guarantee you I will be knitting that pattern again in the very near future, I absolutely loved it!  I also finished my dad's socks for Christmas, here is the Ravelry page.  With each project finished I felt lighter and happier knowing that new projects could be cast on without feeling dread.  Remember four projects at the same time is my maximum.  For some reason I feel like I am cheating on one while working on the other.  I do like to mix it up though with intricate knitting and easy knitting. My current project is another cowl with my pattern only in fingering weight.  I cast on more stitches (can't remember how many but I'll put the number on the project page).  The wool has been in my stash for quite a while.  I'm thrilled to be knitting with it and seeing the colors of autumn in my ...

I thoroughly enjoyed knitting this top down cardigan and not once did I get bored.  There was a lot of details to keep track of during the body of the sweater.  Shaping, button hole making and pleating on the side seams kept me eagerly knitting away. Because of all the little construction details, I would say this is not a beginner sweater pattern.  Definitely give it a try if you understand sweater construction and have knit a top down sweater before. I think I will be knitting this sweater pattern again in a darker yarn, I wanted to cast on right away when this was completed but I did not want to burn out.  So I'm waiting a couple of months. I love the ruching detail at the shoulder seams.  The pleating on the side seams adds a lovely touch.  While I was doing all of this self photography, Frodo wanted in on the action.  So I decided to fulfill his wishes.  That is when he wanted down and to run away.  Too bad.  I sna...

My weekend happily contained: -wearing the above woolens all at the same time without being hot -so many walks and taking in the changing leaves. -a leaf shower on Saturday-the wind swirled the leaves off the trees up in the air to float down -changing screen savers to autumn themes! -a craft fair where my husband and I say "we could make that", but we don't. -french fries at the craft fair -scrambled eggs and toast for dinner because we were lazy. -football season has descended in my house. he was in the front room watching whatever is on today -I sat in the family room and watched A Tree Grows in Brooklyn .   Now I want to read it again. -Oh! I finished the socks!! So I wound up about six skeins of yarn and have three projects ready -started a cowl for me in fall colors (I hope to finish before fall ends) -enjoying Spirits of Joy .  Hannah graciously had a one day free sign up for her birthday at the end of September which I luckily saw on Twitter.  Than...

It has been quite the rainy week but I really haven't minded.  Since our company departed I have cleaned the house and laundered the linens and everything is back to its regular way.  I have been cooking simpler meals after eating out almost every single day.  As delicious as it is to eat out, it is healthier to eat at home. We walked Frodo last late in the afternoon yesterday and I noticed that the yellow leaves were floating down from the trees with each puff of wind.  It was quite nice, I've been very lax at carrying a camera around and I kind of like it. Sometimes it's nice to be in the moment.  Even though fall has arrived with the leaves changing, it has not been chilly the past few days.  Soon.  Soon it will be cold and dare I say frosty? While I've been steadily making progress on my dad's socks, I've been thinking of what to knit next.  Shawls have been my focus while I do some preliminary searches.  But I haven't committed to...

On Monday we took our company to a local brewery for a free tour of their facility!  Yuengling Brewery is the oldest brewery in America and it is still family owned.  I found it interesting that the family cannot inherit the business but that the interested family member has to purchase the business, I guess this protects the business from being neglected.  We always take care of what we pay for, usually. How about that electrical doodad?  My photos of the caves, which were created during prohibition for storing and hiding beer did not come out because I rarely photo in the dark.  Seems that I need to fiddle about with my camera at night to become proficient at night time photography. We really enjoyed the tour, the tour guide was quite knowledgeable and kept the tour interesting.  Of course at the end each person was permitted to taste two different beers. I loved the smell of the brewery it was a combination of damp, mold, cold, and bee...

I picked up this magazine while in New England and have been flipping through it occasionally the past couple of days.  Not sure if I am starting anything of the projects but I do enjoy getting ideas and seeing different yarns.  As you might have guessed I am still reading The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet .  It's a nice read but it is taking me a while to get through it.  Some parts are slow and I have to honestly say, with all the company in the house, I haven't been reading that much. My knitting is the same but I threw in another project in the photo to give my yarn along post pizzazz.  I started this Elizabeth Zimmermann Pi shawl  a while ago.  One of my knitting friends gave me that gorgeous yarn and I have 1500 yards!!  I knew that I wanted to make a BIG shawl, for some reason a circular one came to mind.  I do not wear circular shawls but I bet you my dining room table would wear it!! I finished my pink cardi after d...

I have been watching the rain outside today.  Most of the time I am not a big fan of rain but this week, I've been enjoying the shift of weather.  There is a little chill in the air.  The leaves are dropping rapidly and the colors are starting to show.  Today was my first acorn squash and it was delicious and tasted like autumn, if autumn had a taste. My company left early this morning, I hope that we can go visit them sometime in the spring or whenever the schedule lets us.  We had so much fun and I loved having a knitting buddy.  Something else....I'm exhausted :)  I think I might be getting older.  Today was a day of pure knitting mostly in silence.  I became centered again. Frodo was exhausted as well.  He slept ALL day.  Poor little guy, it's so terribly difficult to be loved by all.  We should all have his problems.