Pumpkin Sunrise

Weekends are for memory making,  relaxing and enjoying quiet moments of our days.   If you would like, please share your weekend moments    in the comment section with a link to your blog. I can never pass up a pretty floor, can you?  My weekend was kind of nice and slow and wonderful. We celebrated my son's birthday yesterday with carrot cake and I know you all asked for the recipe last Friday and I must confess, um...it's from a box (gasp!). Here is sweet Frodo, oh he is a joy! This morning there was a guinea hen in our yard!  Funny, we do not have anyone in the neighborhood that owns them.  I think maybe it went back "home" or it's hiding in the woods.  What a strange crazy day this has been.  Right now it's thunderstorming and looks all gloomy outside.  I've made a cup of tea and will be knitting. How was your weekend??

As I sit here and type this, I'm waiting for the AC guy to call me back.  Our outside unit (whatever that thing is called) is running all the time since yesterday afternoon.  I'm pretty sure that is not good.  At least I have AC right now.  I hope that it can be fixed or replaced or whatever it takes  Remember when my water pump for the house broken, oh the sadness I felt.  I could have cried buckets of tears and that was on New Year's Day a holiday!! When we were living in Texas our AC broke TWICE.  Of course it was during 90+ degree weather as well.  We were too poor to go to a hotel so we had to tough it out... The house was incredibly hot and I was incredibly miserable. Anyways, have you noticed that "poof" spring is in full swing and hinting at those summer days?  I walked yesterday and the woods were the greenest green if that's possible.  May was such a lovely month, I'm sure June will be just as fine. Tomorrow is m...

I finished this shawl last week before the company came and went. As you know this is my fifth (?!) citron shawl and I could knit it again.  The pattern is the best kind for talking and being distracted as long as it's not an increase row.  Such a forgiving pattern. I used  Zauberball lace  and loved the way it felt while knitting and how it blocked. My only complaint is that there was a break in the gradient colorway and so instead of black to gray to white, the company tied black to white omitting the gray.  I don't think that it matters now that it's knit up. Today is hot and humid and echoing signs of summer.  I'm holding a winter shawl...Oh the anticipation to wear this when there's a nip in the air. Ravelry notes are here .

I have been furiously working on the baby blanket this past week.  The simplicity is soothing since my home has been filled with kids visiting and wedding planning.  Yup.  We are getting closer to the July date and more items are added to my "to do" list each time I walk by. I don't know about you, but I get more motivated to tackle that list and have great joy crossing items off. I am still reading the second book of the Stone Gap Series by AdrianaTriagiani Big Cherry Holler.   I am enjoying the story so far.  I picked up the new issue of Bella Grace  and Mingle .  The first is for nurturing my soul and the second magazine is for some ideas for the luncheon I'll be hosting the day after the wedding. What are you knitting and reading this week? Joining Ginny and Frontier Dreams

Weekends are for memory making,  relaxing and enjoying quiet moments of our days.   If you would like, please share your weekend moments    in the comment section with a link to your blog. This weekend I went to with my family to hickory run state park  where we visited boulder field .  The kids walked all the way to the end while my husband and I sat with Frodo.  Who LOVED being at the park. Sadly in the past couple of weeks vandals spray painted numerous boulders.  We have through the years visited this park whenever we have out of town company and sometimes we just took the kids for fun. Frodo truly believes that everyone is put on this earth to say "hello" to him :) We picnicked but I did not photo that...too busy eating food. We walked a stretch of road that is less traveled, all you could hear was the rushing water in the nearby stream and birds.  I find I use my phone camera all the time becaus...

I cannot believe that the painting was one week ago.  Bright splashes of color that seemed bold and unreal when they were first applied now seem like they've been here for months.  I adore the green that I was skeptical about.  Each morning when I wake up and start the coffee, I sit and write in my journal and enjoy the new feeling in the kitchen.  Old lady green?  Never. Above those nasty kitchen cabinets (you know, the dust and grime collection area) I rescued my tiny collection of apothecary jars that I picked up here and there throughout our marriage.  I decided to clean them, fill them and display them.  My favorite is the orange lentils.  In the others are two varieties of popcorn and petite white lentils.  Whenever I am in Pittsburgh and in a Whole Foods store,  I load up on "rare to me" seeds and grains.  I would love a Whole Foods store near me but the closest is Philly area and that is not close enough. Moving...

I've been daydreaming of new knitting projects, some lace weight cardigans that "go" with my pieces already in the closet.  Airy lightweight sweaters.  Sigh.  I am NOT casting on anything new until something, anything is finished!  As I type this, my citron is ever so close to being finished, hopefully today.  Once that is off the needles, I'm tackling the hitofude cardigan and the baby blanket . The painting week really through my knitting productivity off course. My reading has changed, I'm on book two of the Big Stone Gap series by Adriana Trigiani.  So so so good.  I love how the book is about a community and the events.  I've read this book before (Big Cherry Holler) but luckily I do not remember the plot.  So I'm guessing it will read as a new read, an extra bonus for me! What are you knitting and reading this week? Joining Ginny and Frontier Dreams

Weekends are for memory making,  relaxing and enjoying quiet moments of our days.   If you would like, please share your weekend moments    in the comment section with a link to your blog. My weekend was kind of nice, was yours?  As I sit here typing this post, the sun is shining outside and the birds are singing away.  All of the trees and bushes are green, even the ones around our house that the deer mowed down through the winter.  I believe they will look completely healthy green by the wedding.  I hope so, I really don't want to rip all of them out.  But then again, I don't want dead bushes in my yard. Fingers crossed!! Our daughter was visiting for the weekend and we got out and walked.  Frodo was thrilled to be outside as well. The bulk of the painting is finished.  PHEW.  My husband did the majority of the work, God bless him.  He is a driven possessed painter; he worked until 9 p.m. some...

Good morning!  I have been knee deep in painting the main level.  Well actually, my husband is the painter.  I am the packer upper and the cleaner upper and the wall prep gal.  He has quite the energy and can paint all day long.  He has this week off and he was hoping to have some down time. However, last night the hallway and stairwell were finished and we still have the landing, dining room and powder room.  We are amazed at how bright the house looks now that it's freshly painted.  Might I add that I was amazed at how filthy some parts of my house are?!?  And I'm super clean!! I decided to leave the area above the kitchen cabinets empty.  I just don't want to wash anything anymore.  My husband suggested we buy decorative pillows and shove them up there but they would just get greasy and grimy as well.  We are going to try not to cook anything that would create a grimy film.  I'll keep you up to date on that persona...

We have been busy this week painting the family room and kitchen.  We still have the hallway, stairwell, powder room and dining room left to do.  So as you can imagine, my knitting time is scarce.  However, I do sit and rest and pick up this super easy citron shawl .  This is my fifth one and I could knit this over and over again. I picked up Big Stone Gap  which I have read before but wanted a comfortable re read.  I have many other books going at the same time but needed a slow and easy read.  I love Trigiani's writing style so much like Fanny Flagg if you ask me.  Nothing traumatic happens and a very happy plot. What are you knitting and reading? Joining Ginny and Frontier Dreams

Weekends are for memory making,  relaxing and enjoying quiet moments of our days.   If you would like, please share your weekend moments    in the comment section with a link to your blog. Happy Mother's Day to all of you who are celebrating.  I missed my mom a bit, but my dad called to wish me a great day as did my aunt and kids.  I celebrated earlier this week because today was the day we started the preparation to paint the main level.   I'm exhausted and not a lick of paint is up yet!!  I've washed many light fixtures, switch plates, and I won't go into detail about the space about the kitchen cabinets.  I don't know who's brilliant idea it was to leave that space and then I decided to put stuff up there.  The dust and grime is gross. So now I ponder "what goes up there to make it visually pleasing and easy to clean...."  I'm stumped. I'll take suggestions if you have any. My weekend was: -sp...

May.  May is the month of Mary.  May is the month of true spring blossoms, Holy Communions, Confirmations, Mother's Day and Memorial day.  There is so much to celebrate during this transitional month and each year that it rolls around I love it more. My grandmother (my dad's mom)  celebrated her birthday in May and for some reason I think of her, she loved when family visited for her birthday and for Mother's day.  Her gardens were teeming with spring bulb blossoms and the air was sweeter while sitting on her porch swing suspended on bouncy springs.  We would swing and bounce, swing and bounce. Dogwoods are my favorite flowering spring tree, I think.  I love their airy blooms and the way each flower tilts up to the sky saying hello to the sun.  Luckily, I have many of these trees sprinkled throughout my property that were placed by mother nature with the help of breezes. On Wednesday, I fully recovered from my NYC trip.  I c...

Since I was out of town over a three day weekend, you can imagine that I had little time to knit or read.  However, I have been knitting here and there the past few days while catching up on chores and errands.  I've made some progress on my baby blanket .  I love the ease of the knit, so easy and mindless! I've been flipping through the newest issue of Taproot  during my days.  I continue to read short stories of Flannery O'Connor and Persuasion by Jane Austen.  All good reads and full of interest although I must say a contemporary novel is on my horizon, but I haven't picked it yet. What have you been knitting and reading this week? Joining Ginny and Frontier Dreams

Weekends are for memory making,  relaxing and enjoying quiet moments of our days.   If you would like, please share your weekend moments    in the comment section with a link to your blog. My favorite aunt treated us all to a girls only trip to NYC.  My daughter and I joined up with my Aunt, my sister, two cousins and my one cousin's two daughters and we spent three nights two days doing everything that could be squeezed in.  I'm exhausted!! :: I rode a taxi, bus, subway, water taxi and a ferry.  :: I saw the rockettes and the lion king (!!!) :: I was in the Upper West side, midtown, Battery Park, SoHo and Staten island. :: I rode through the Lincoln tunnels to get there but didn't for coming home...GPS...you're crafty :: Time Square is too crowded :: I loved the dogs of NYC--so many being walked by their owners. :: I am sore from head to toe and had to take more medicines. :: My aunt was really reall...