Pumpkin Sunrise

Good morning!  We are finally having some decent rainfall after weeks of very little if any.  The duck pond residents are probably quite happy.  My knitting has been progressing along.  I'm over half way on my knitting the body of my pullover .  Yay. I'm quite happy with how the sweater is looking.  That luscious skein of madelinetosh yarn is for a super secret knitting project for Christmas.  That is all I can say about it.  So each of you can use your imagination on what it is and who it is for :) I'm over half way through my book The Remains of the Day .  I'm enjoying the book but I find that I comprehend more during the day.  It's a "talking" book so long paragraphs of reflections lull me when it's late at night (late like 8:30 p.m. ha ha ha).  Daytime reading, no problem at all. What are you knitting and reading this week? Joining Ginny and Frontier Dreams

Hello!  This weekend was my nephew's wedding and both kids (yes both!!) came into town for the exciting event :)  I documented that with that photo. The wedding was at St Vincent's Basilica where my nephew and wife (wife!) met while attending university.  I adore cathedrals, basilicas, chapels and churches. As you can imagine, there was lots of traveling, lots of eating, dancing and talking with family and friends.  All good fun and I'm disappointed that all that dancing did not register on my fitbit as exercise!  What the hell?? I'm sore from head to toe in a good way. I can never pass up a nice tiled floor without a photo :) Me and my sister, the mother of the groom, who tried hard not to cry but did. I'm thrilled that we were all together. How was your weekend?

No matter how summer like it feels outside there are sights and sounds of fall. Yesterday on my walk, I was hot but oh my, the views!  The angle of the sun feels different and the heat is less intense.  Fall is here and here to stay. This week I've been knitting up a storm, working on the hat and the sweater and cycling from one to the other with glee.  I need to add another project in the rotation.  Christmas knitting is whispering to me and yet I want to knit for myself.  Oh what to do!  A little of both I guess. Slowly salads are being replaced by warm meals... soup!  I love the change of seasons and the change of foods.  Bring on the pumpkins and squashes.  I've plans for potato leek soup as well! Have a great weekend!!!

I've been working on a hat for my son and I've been enjoying inventing the striping pattern as I knit.  Free form knitting?  Knit doodling?  Whatever you call it, I'm finding it quite engaging.  I hope he likes it.  The yarns are all left overs from previous projects, mainly Cascade 220 and Ella Rae.  The ravelry page is here . I finished The Girl on the Train  which I found quite enjoyable.  It's a fast read and even though I guessed who did it, I loved reading and watching the story unfold.  An extremely easy read and entertaining.  Last night I started The Remains of the Day , I do not recall reading this book but once I dig in I'll know soon.  Sometimes I cannot remember what I read 20 years ago... Oh and I finished my cardigan What are you knitting and reading this week? Joining Ginny and Frontier Dreams

 I finished my cardigan over the weekend and in time for the wedding.  However, I put my dress on with the sweater and it looks not good.  So I won't be wearing it after all.  Poofy skirting is hard to dress up with wool.  Just saying. If you haven't knit this sweater yet, you should.  It's fun and light and a great traveling project.  I'm thrilled that it looks great with jeans. Ravelry notes are here

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. A cool breeze greeted me this morning, so wonderful!  I hope cool breezes are where you are too.  This weekend has been quiet.  I walked two times yesterday and once I hit publish, I'll be heading out again.  I'm basking in that fall like air! Friday night we went out for pizza, a new to us place that we've been to about three or four times, so now I feel like a regular.  Yesterday, I shopped around a craft store and popped into a bookstore. Today was church (as always) and my husband made a new Indian dish but it was too spicy hot for me.  He loved it though!  My mouth is still tingly from my few bites of giving it a try. How was your weekend?

September has been delightful with cool air in the mornings, wearing sweaters and windows flung wide opened to catch that chill in the air.  After lunch, the heat of the day has built up and summer once more swells and heats my days. We didn't plant a vegetable garden this summer because of the wedding planning and my husband's busy work schedule (that we are still adjusting to each day).  However, Mother Nature has graced us with volunteer tomato plants!  Frodo and I walk by them each day to pick the cherry tomatoes. He still remembers his yellow jacket sting, every time any insect buzzes near him, he is more than ready to run-run-run.  Silly, but I would be the same way.  I used to be afraid of bees and dragonflies as a child.  I cannot explain the dragonfly fear, I'm guessing it is the hum of the wings and the way they dart.  Now I think they're quite pretty. Most mornings are started with writing, praying and a short yoga routine.  I'm finding thi

My pullover and my cardigan are slowly making progress.  I just finished the second sleeve of my cardigan and will be picking up the neckband today!  I'm still thinking that I'll be wearing this pretty cardigan at a wedding at the end of the month :) Oh my reading!  I finished We are not Ourselves  and it was spectacular.  It is a sad book so read some reviews on Goodreads before you take the plunge.  I enjoyed it, I thought that it could have been a shorter book but other than that, a great read. I'm now reading The   Girl on the Train on my kindle.  I only just started so I have no opinions. 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 we went to the Endless Mountain Fiber Festival .  I love the sights and sounds of this festival.  There are the animals that are fluffy soft and adorable, each one beckoning us to visit and pet.  My husband took some photos then I took some.  He is patient while I browse and shop the stalls.  He joined in the spirit of the festival by requesting a "thin scarf".  Thin as in fingering weight thin.  I am only too eager to knit something and then we proceed to look for the yarn for his scarf.  He chose a dark purple that will look fantastic. I am drawn to mute greens and yellows and oranges and browns....Earth tones.  So while I was there I had to buy something but I was trying not to buy "my" colors.  Branch out from my comfort color zone.

The afternoon light has shifted, casting shadows on my side table and delighting me.  Autumn is creeping into each day.  Yesterday the rain that was predicted became reality.  My hair was frumpy and wild, yet I was okay with the mess. I've had a restorative week, full of knitting and reading.  Starting a new knitting project does wonders to my excitement.  I've been writing more about me, my ancestors and stories that were told to me.  I wonder how much embellishing was done by the storyteller?  How much was true?  Then I wonder does it matter? Family histories are probably enhanced with the teller's thoughts or reactions. I grew up in the city and yet had the luck of a summer cottage to visit - owned by my grandparents. I ran bare foot in the grass and learned to ride a bike without training wheels down a dirt road. I gathered lots of scraped knees and elbows, and cried over each hurt begging for a band aid.  I collected dandelions, daisies, elderberries, ras

Last week I mentioned that this current read had me wondering where the plot was going to go.  Well, one more page and boom  the plot was revealed and my oh my is it GOOD.  Sorry for wondering, sorry for doubting.  The story is a sad story so if your looking for a pick me up happy book you might want to take a pass.  However, if you don't mind sad and some serious character development and a constant sense of cheering on a stern main character, well then you need to read this book. My knitting has been somewhat exciting.  Yesterday I bought a new sweater pattern and cast on and furiously worked all day long executing short row shaping with glee.  If you've known me a long time you know I knit cardigans, so are you surprised this is a pullover?  I am! What are you knitting and reading this week? Joining Ginny and Frontier Dreams

Oh my, was I distracted over the weekend.  I was looking at my knitting and the current projects and suddenly I had an urge to knit a baby hat for my grand nephew.  I wanted to make him one over the summer and never did. The joy of impulse knitting is divine. How sweet is this little pattern ?  I knit this hat in a day if all the hours were strung together. I made some modifications to make the hat a little bigger, I hope that it fits and fits for more than one season :) Ravelry notes are here .

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. How was your weekend? This long weekend that is still going strong held: :: long chat with my sister :: short chats with the kids :: green beans :: closing the pool :: knitting :: yoga morning rituals :: lots of reading :: firing up the grill :: MORE wedding cake :: watching Gregory Peck in To Kill a Mockingbird :: drinking morning coffee in the darkness :: light shadows :: allergies (boo) :: friends over to share a meal tonight :: having absolutely nothing on the schedule tomorrow :: daydreaming about nothing and everything :: planning goals for the next few weeks Please share your weekend!!

My this week has been ultra relaxing for me.  Gone are the stresses and the busyness of wedding plans, out of town families and my furious list making tasks.  I've been loving, savoring the slow quiet way my days unfold.  Truly it's a blessing and I'm grateful for this lull. I was talking to my sister who mentioned she was eating through the frozen dinners tucked into her freezer.  Initially, I thought that I didn't have any complete meals.  Well, I dug and found some curry, dahl and rice forgotten but thankfully found.  So I didn't cook yesterday, we had a "free" meal. The heat wave is ending today and yesterday it rained!  I'm not a fan of rain, but it's been weeks since we had a good soaking.  I opened the door a wee bit to listen to the thunderstorm, magical and musical! We've been battling a yellow jacket nest near our house and I think we won....still waiting to see.  One of those yellow jackets bit Frodo on the muzzle and he

I am carefully getting back into knitting after the frantic knitting of this hat for a special someone.  I am savoring the easy knitting of my featherweight cardigan and this simple sock  design.  I've been thinking of Christmas knitting and have a few projects in mind in the coming months.  I guess while the heat wave is blaring away, I'm holding off on lots of wool on my lap. I'm reading We are not Ourselves  and the novel is slowly emerging.  Overall I'm interested in the characters but I'm wondering what will happen since the author spends little time at any given moment as he whips through a few decades of the main character's life.  Curious.  The writing is good but I'm only one fourth of the way through and I've lived 20 years of her life!  I'll tell you more next week since I'll be reading this one for a month. What are you knitting and reading? Joining Ginny and Frontier Dreams

If you haven't knit the wurm pattern you probably should.  It's a satisfying knit and you will not be disappointed.  I finished this hat in less than 48 hours of casting on and my left forearm will never be the same. Caution:  you should rest your hands and arms when the begin to ache.  Oh well, the slight discomfort I'm feeling was worth it.  My friend's daughter LOVED her gift and I know she will have fun wearing it when the cold weather arrives and stays. The yarn is Malabrigo Arroyo and my, so squishy and lovely.  I will definitely knit with Arroyo again.