Pumpkin Sunrise

After my joyous return to home and bathing in its lovely comfort, I wrote up a few things that needed to be done.  I tend to put off menu planning because it's a challenge for me.  Now that I'm doing the 30 Day Vegan workshop offered by Heather at Beauty that Moves , I'm motivated to meet what I consider stumbling blocks. First and foremost I am the only one doing the vegan challenge.  My husband loves new dishes but also love to eat meat a few times a week.  For quite some time I've cooked separate dishes for that reason.  The other reason is because of my lactose intolerance.  Our son is home only one more week and he has many meals that are his favorites that I want to cook for him and alas, many are not vegan either.  So you see my dilemma! Yesterday I sat down and wrote out some meals that I know could be flexible for everyone.  Here's what I came up with: -burgers and fries -chili with cornbread or bread -curry -lentil soup (yum!...

We had an active weekend so my reading time was sparse.  I continue to enjoy this book, The Midwife,  and find her career fascinating. She is very frank about her experiences and frequently describes them with many senses.  I get quite the chuckle when she mentions how nauseated she gets by overwhelming smells.  Glad I'm not the only one ;) I am on the body of my same same cardigan .  What time I lacked in reading over the weekend was spent knitting.  I love that you can knit with a group of people and it's socially acceptable.  Lucky for me, my knitting did not require any great thinking on my part.  Now that the sleeves are set aside, each row is a breeze to knit.  The body knitting will not be boring because I have to remember three details:  1) the button holes!!! 2) waist shaping and 3) the pleats along the side seams.  If you are an advanced knitter or an adventurous intermediate knitter, who is comfortable with instructi...

I thought you would like to see Frodo's enemies.  There they are basking in the sun while Frodo was still at the kennel.  Unfortunately for the rabbits he is now safely home and this afternoon he will once again bark and disturb their zen life.  This weekend was spent in the car, a lot.  I find I'm getting tired of long car rides and traveling.  But this sacred place is not where I want to whine so....onto the happy! This is our garden.  We have spinach and lettuce sprouting-both my favorites.  We have rabbit proofed one raised bed so our produce is safe from those pesky nibblers.  I'm dreaming of salads to be once we can harvest! Remember my rotting tree stump that I think is beautiful?  Well....someone has been at it.  Look at the whole that is on the side of it!!  We are thinking it was a bear-the stump has been active with ants since last autumn.  The wood chips are at least 1 inch big so I'm doubting it was a ...

At the beginning of this week, I started a 30 day vegan workshop offered by Heather at Beauty that Moves .  My intention is to be open minded and to try new dishes along with being mindful of how I feel during the day.  I participated last year and felt like I "failed" because I was only 100% vegan for four days.  My approach is completely different this time around.  I'm facing each meal as it presents itself and making choices.  I'm being flexible and kind.  So far I've been successful.  I love the retreat feeling of the workshop and eagerly await the daily postings.  It would be lovely if this new plant based diet would have a positive impact on my arthritis. My days have been fluid almost suspended with peacefulness.  My son is home for a few weeks before he starts his summer research program, so we've fallen into a quite easy routine-just the three of us.  It's nice having him home for a bit.  The dorm room messes ha...

A week ago, shortly after finishing this shawl , I decided to cast on another shawl.  If you know me, you know I love tiny needles and lace weight yarn and I tend to have a project on the needles at all times to satisfy my knitting desires.  When I saw this shawl in the "hot right now" category while noodling around Ravelry, I knew I had to cast on.  It's simple and it grows and it's a half circle, a perfect summer project! My ravelry page is here . The Midwife  by Jennifer Worth is an excellent memoir and a lovely read.   Call the Midwife TV series  is based on this book. (you really should be watching the show as well).  As I read this book I feel like she is personally talking to me face to face maybe over a cup of tea.  I am getting a history lesson without knowing I am and that's the kind of history lessons I like.  It's interesting to read how the tenement housing conditions were in the mid 1950's also with lifestyle choices and ...

I finished this little shawlette last week and wanted to share it with you.  I was gifted a lovely skein of Cima  for Christmas (thanks sis!) and scoured Ravelry for a project.  This beautiful skein had only 328 yards which made it a challenge to find a pattern, but I did. My chart reading was off (user error) so I know where a tiny mistake is but I'm not telling :)  I love how the shawl turned out.  Oh and I must correct myself.  I stated a while back that everyone should knit with a wool silk blend.  Ahem, this is an alpaca wool blend....I could have sworn it had silk-it sure felt like it! I highly recommend the yarn, it was a joy to knit with.  The shawl pattern I would say is for an advanced knitter who is very confident with chart reading.  It's a beautiful pattern with a lovely lace design edging.  Oh and you can make the shawl bigger if you have more yardage.

I set off with my son to pick up my daughter so there could be some serious brother-sister bonding.  Schedules juggled and mission complete!  Car rides with new-to-me music courtesy of my son.  We tend to have similar tastes so it's an enjoyable listen. Last night we watched Silver Linings Playbook , if you haven't seen this movie yet you should.  I promise you will enjoy it immensely. Dinner out, dinner in, donuts bought, laundry piles, journal entries, Dr. Who watching, book rearranging, piano music playing and listening to Rent  that creates a most pleasant tune in my head "no day like today" rabbit hunting (this one is Frodo's weekend activity-he almost caught another one-we are calling him a warrior) and a wee bit of daydreaming which is the best stress reducer How was your weekend?

Yesterday our son came home and along with him came the dorm stuff.  It wasn't as too bad, but boy oh boy it's amazing what they can collect.  He is only here for three weeks and then he's off to a summer research math program.  So we've tucked some boxes in the dining room, guest room and his room.  It would seem that most of the stuff will follow him. Today will be the epic laundry day.  I like to wash all the bedding whenever they move back, it needs to be fresh (and clean).  While we are talking about mundane to do lists, I'll be tackling our huge collection of cardboard boxes in the garage.  For some unknown reason I save them thinking I'll need them one day in the future.  For mailing items or for moving even though I haven't moved in years!  When I went out to get the paper this morning,  a pile of them fell on one on the cars, yep it needs to be addressed. Tomorrow our daughter will arrive and we'll be all together f...

I'm excited to tell you all about a new sweater that I've cast on.  Remember my pink sweater ? I enjoyed knitting up that pattern so it was only natural to pick up some  Madeline Tosh Merino Light  and start another one.  I adore the top down construction and the intricate detail to the shoulder shaping.  What is not to love when there's ruching involved?  Exactly!  My colorway is "wicked" which makes me sing " defying gravity " (great musical by the way).  My love of madeline tosh yarn is overriding my slight concern that this yarn is a single ply.  So there is a bit of a worry that it will pill with wear.  For now I've thrown caution to the wind and I'm knitting on.  My fingers are crossed.  Maybe I'll walk without swinging my arms? While I was in a bookstore, I scoured the area looking for "Call the Midwife" memoir.  We only started watching this season and I knew I had to have a copy.  I could not locate the ...

Last week I did something I rarely do (besides put car keys in the wrong car ignition, ahem).  I impulsively bought something from Etsy.  Now keep in mind, I've been daydreaming of THE perfect embroidery stamped patterns since I saw Steph's stitching .  I perused may shops online as well as box stores, always leaving empty handed.  I get discouraged when I have a certain idea of what I want and it doesn't exist. A dear blogging friend, Cory , has started an Etsy shop called  dreaming of pastures  and she listed the pattern of my dreams, see it does exist!  A lovely peacock that I can go wild with different flosses.  My package arrived yesterday, only five days after ordering-impressive! So this morning I dusted off the embroidery floss boxes from my long ago cross stitching days.  Sometime this afternoon I'll be starting a new project and hoping that my stitching skills return quickly. Thank you Cory for a lovely Embroidery Sampl...

My weekend was book browsing, and book buying.  I never tire of that activity and flipping through pages and reading inner flaps is a past time that I've done for decades.  I had dinner out yesterday before saying goodbye to our daughter who is currently back at her apartment as I type.   Washing dishes and clothes, sweeping floors and slowly reading the paper-pulling out the puzzles for later.  Lilac gathering for the family room (knowing my allergies will suffer but visually it's worth it!).  Later today there will be knitting with friends and probably a walk after dinner.  Yesterday we heard the spring peepers  in the evening, I hope today will be the same.  Joining Amanda

Hello Beautiful. (Frodo says "hi") It's been a flustery kind of week.  On Wednesday, while rushing to go to work, I jammed the wrong car key into the ignition.  Well jammed means that I couldn't drive that car. My husband spent the morning prying the key out, calling a tow truck and well.....Let's say "haste makes waste" and it's going to be an expensive fix. So with that snafu looming about in my brain, I've been focusing on enjoying my daughter's visit!  We went shopping a few times this week and I've been cooking all my new meals for her to taste test.  Because she lives alone she's challenged by cooking for one.  As you know, I'm challenged by cooking for two!  It all comes down to flavor to make cooking exciting.  She leaves tomorrow. Our son arrives home on Thursday for three weeks before he leaves for a summer research program.  This will be the first summer without kids.  I think I'm okay with that.  It's ...

After knitting the quick and easy projects for the children's knitting classes, I've returned to my shawl .  I am at the fun part-lace edging!  Yesterday as I continued the lace pattern and all of my decrease stitches on the wrong side were mixed up.  Then I realized that I was not reading the chart correctly! That is what happens when you set something down and forget about it for a few days.  It was easy to correct the decreases without ripping out and now I am good to go on the shawl.  Phew! The Hundred Year Old Man  etc... is entertaining.  I must say it's a bit slow going for me but I am not an adventure reader of books.  I like psychological family drama (soap opera story lines in print).  I do like the humor that is in the book and as I read I frequently think that this is a book my son would love.  I am going to start reading it during the day as well.  I think a fresh mind would do wonders compared to a sleepy mind. ...

In one week my lilacs are nearly at full bloom.  The trees surrounding the property are all leafed out and these days have been the perfect weather conditions.  It's warm in the sun and cool in the shade with low humidity.  I could have an entire summer with the temperature never topping over 75 degrees.  A girl can dream! I had fun with my sister and we enjoy getting together without our children (who are now all adults).  We laugh a lot and are easily entertained by the simplest things.  My husband had a truck load of dirt delivered to our back yard and my brother in law helped disperse the dirt over our developing crater.  Our property was not graded properly so we are guessing the craters are fallen trees below the dirt, decaying (we are sticking to that theory!).  Now when he mows, our lawn tractor won't take a beating.  And how boring to be excited about a truck load of dirt. Our daughter is home for the week.  Yesterday we ...

A few weeks ago, I sketchily created some children's learning-to-knit-classes on the fly for where I work.  So this past week, I knit up two of the samples.  The first project is a garter stitch cowl that will introduce casting on and off, miles of the lovely knit stitch and some fun eyelets for buttons. The second project was going to be a "stuffy", this class would introduce the purl stitch and continue reinforcing the miles of knitting plain fabric.  I sewed the seams with the mattress stitch but I think a whipped stitch would look just as lovely maybe with a contrasting thread? The possibilities are endless. Here's the interesting part.  My sister thought I should do an owl.  I said "no" I wanted monsters or something free form without parameters.  We had an awesome weekend with lots of sister time and she left early Sunday morning and I focused on my faceless stuffy.  As I rummaged through my button collection, ideas of owl faces called to ...

This week has been glorious-the sun has been shining, the birds singing and my wild dogwood trees are blooming.  I remember when I was about 12 years old and our family moved from the city of Pittsburgh to the suburbs.  I grew up with a cement back yard fenced in with two patches of grass just long enough for one cartwheel.  As a small child, I would ride my tricycle in circles or beg my sister to throw the jump rope over me while it was tied to the fence so I could practice my skills for recess at school. Even then recess was competitive and demanding. We moved to a tiny brick ranch on a half acre that was overgrown by flowering trees and bushes.  Lilacs lined the driveway and underneath poked grape hyacinths. Dogwood trees were also in the yard and they blossomed near the end of school days.  Around this time of year I would be planning my summer reading list.  It was around 12-13 years old that I became an avid reader.  Sitting under a ...

I am onto another book and this one I'm sure I've seen on yarn along posts but cannot remember who was reading it.  The title is a l-o-n-g one The 100-Year Old Man who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson.  It is a book from Sweden and translated into English.  I've read reviews and it's been noted to have a "Forrest Gump" vibe.  I just started last night and I'm eager to get into the plot.  I tend to stay away from translated books because sometimes they read haltingly for me.  So my fingers are crossed that this book entertains me and makes me smile. My knitting!  I'm showing you my dead simple hat  that is a fantastic knit to have on the needles.  It's my third one of this pattern and what I love most is the miles of stockinette.  It's great for TV knitting or more importantly, social knitting.  I can talk and not make a mistake!  I'm still chugging along on my shawl  without a photo of the pro...