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. Well, my weekend was full and busy and action-packed.  Our son came home on Tuesday night and on Thanksgiving day we visited my family.  The first three photos are of my sister's house and the last photo is a massive Christmas cactus that my aunt has, isn't it awesome? This weekend was shopping at all the stores that no one else was in.  That's the nice thing about being a crafter.  The lines in craft stores are much shorter and everyone is nice.  I started Christmas shopping too.  Saturday, I decorated my house which I will snap some photos soon.  Football was on the tv, so I had to hum my holiday music while decking my halls.  It's the little things.. I loved seeing my family and spending time with them.  Everyo...

In Gratitude: - mornings - quiet - family - friends - pumpkin pie - words and pens and notebooks - novels - kindness of others - chocolate - birds singing - the woods that surround me - my deer - comforts of home - cell phones and who they connect me to - knitting and the joy knitting brings to me - technology - the internet - woolen socks (and hats and mitts and scarves and shawls and sweaters...) - coffee and tea - lunches out - making lists and crossing off to dos - fresh sheets - memories of my mom - my health - my faith - my church - visits from the kids - blog hopping - creativity - cookies - donuts - bookmarks - yarn stores - bookstores - visiting my sister - talking to my aunt - seeing my dad - top 40 radio - knowing the current songs because of top 40 - Christmas music - my bed - knitting bags - pointy needles to knit with - starting a knitting project and finishing a knitting project - and the in between of a project - photography - the hopefulness of life - new beginnin...

Same book this week I'm afraid.  I haven't been reading much because of all the knitting and because of my eyes being tired at the end of the day from the endless drops.  I'm hoping that they are getting better!!  Next week I see the doctor.  Anyways, I'm enjoying my book when I do read it. My knitting has been productive.  I finally did the photo shoot of my pullover and posted yesterday .  Thank you for the kind comments and I agree that I'm being picky.  I finished all the mitts I wanted to finish and I've started on some more Christmas knitting for December.  Super secret knitting so I can't say much.  Hopefully over the holiday weekend I'll be starting some more projects that I can talk about. What are you knitting and reading this week? Joining Ginny and Frontier Dreams

Hey, guess what?  I finished that sweater - more than a week ago and my oh my was my blocking off and maybe still is with that pesky garter stitch slant...  The first time I blocked it, I did a slap dash job and it showed.  The sweater was too long.  So the second time I blocked it wide and used a measuring tape.  Much much much better. I might be picky but do you see how the front bunches a tiny bit?  Yup.  I don't like that.  So the question is:  is it just me being very picky?  is that the way pullovers are and I'm a die hard cardigan wearer?  should I block the sweater again? When faced with such dilemmas I tend to put the garment aside and wait it out.  There have been countless sweaters that I finish and my expectations are not met exactly.  Time away does do wonders.  For instance, on Saturday when I took the photos I really was not happy.  Now that I'm blogging about it and looking at it, I thin...

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. Brr, this weekend was chilly, but a good kind of chilly, at least for me.  The knitter in me is giddy deciding what wool to wear outside.  Friday was indeed my birthday --  thank you to all of you sleuths who figured out from ravelry and wished me well.  My day was quite nice. I found the new Jane Austen Knts magazine and of course bought a couple of books.  My husband and I had dinner out and enjoyed being with each other.  Both kids called as well as many family members.  All good.  All fun! My self imposed deadline that is arbitrary has not been met.  However, maybe by the time I go to sleep I'll be a day behind...of course completely self imposed.  The best kind of time crunch there is. I really wanted to fini...

Let's start with the awesome, shall we?  On Monday this past week I stopped by our local florist to deliver some prints from the wedding of their bouquets that were beautiful.  The florist has a photo album of weddings they've done and I loved looking at "real" arrangements.  Imagine my surprise to receive a bouquet to thank me, thanking them.  This world is full of good good people. I finished my sweater last weekend and blocked it willy nilly.  Only to try it on after two days of drying and finding out that the slap dash blocking is NOT flattering to my figure.  Ahem.  So I re-blocked the sweater on Tuesday using a measuring tape -- so far I love my sweater!!  Now to weave in ends and do the photo shoot. I've been Santa this week cranking out mitts for gifts that need to be done by this weekend (sort of self imposed deadline...).  I am happy to report I think I'll be finished-phew! Now for the eye update.  I went to th...

I've been knitting furiously (and somewhat fast) on the gift mitts .  So far I have two pairs knit and I'd like to knit two more.  My goal is to be done by Friday....we will see about that.  Anyways, I have been thoroughly enjoying the quick projects.  Instant gratification :)  Early in the morning I add a few rows to my shawl . Because of the massive amounts of time I'm dedicating to my knitting, I haven't been reading a lot and when I do I fall asleep since it's at bedtime.  I cannot read and knit on dpns without making a mistake, and yes, I have tried!  Also because of all the eye drops I'm on, my eyes are tired by the end of the day and somewhat blurred.  I see the wonder doctor this afternoon and I have my fingers crossed that I get to discontinue one of the meds if not both.  Whatever it takes to get better I am at peace with whatever. 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, oh this weekend.  The air felt like late fall and so crisp.  Frodo and I walked the wooded roads and took in the silence.  I've felt calmness since switching to an ophthalmologist and starting medicines that are working (my eyes look almost normal!).  Sigh.  It's been a very good week!  I see her on Wednesday and find out what is next. My husband was away for a annual convention and I made sure I had a donut for every day he was gone.  Simple pleasures, people!  I also made sure I had a lunch date with a friend each day as well. Oh,  I didn't cook either.  I lived off of left overs, eggs and toast, salads....So now he is back and my world is once again back to normal, phew!  I like having him ar...

This week has been quite the week with emotions.  Usually I'm not emotional, I can keep the tears at bay even during a heart wrenching movie.  Now when I'm worried about my health, well then the waterworks begin!  Monday had me worried and crying about my eyes, so I went to an urgent eye care clinic at the big big hospital and saw an ophthalmologist. You see, I started with a simple eye infection and those antibiotic drops caused corneal abrasions that were not healing with subsequent drops prescribed.  So after the third visit and my eyes looking worse I knew I needed to switch doctors. So now the good news, after two days of yet again new antibiotic eye drops, I went for a return visit for a recheck with the reddest eyes (so ugly!).  However, my corneas are nearly healed and I've now started a steroid drop that has reduced the inflammation significantly.  This is by far the best my eyes have felt in a long long time.  I see her (the doctor)...

Another holiday knit finished!  I just love these mitts and it'll be hard to part with them.  But knitters who give gifts have to part ways with some of their creations.  I know that the person who receives these mitts will love them! These mitts make me wish for snow :) Ravelry notes are here .

My knitting and reading this week have been kind of slow.  However, I did have a chance to start a hat for a Christmas gift, no project page yet but the pattern is here .  I'd like to start some fingerless mitts for gifts as well this week. That is my knitting plan and I'm sticking to it. I continue to enjoy All the Light We Cannot See.   The plot is slowly building up, more characters are being introduced and I'm waiting for all the characters to be woven together.  How exciting! 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. My weekend started with a dinner out with my husband and ordering something completely different--our sweet waitress recommended that we switch it up, so we did.  We ordered various appetizers and sampled the night away.  That was fun! On our way home, we stopped for donuts and ran into friends we haven't seen in a long time.  So we stayed and talked for a few hours. (Of course I brought donuts home as well...) Saturday was slow and easy, a walk and just relaxing.  I knit some on that hat that was supposed to be finished today (it's not finished).  I watched two episodes of Dr. Who, I think I'm okay with the newer doctor.  I think. Today was Mass, meeting up with friends to knit, loads of laundry and dinner for toast. ...

“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson A few days ago, Jane tagged me to join in on a quote challenge.  While I admire these challenges, I am challenged by doing three :)  Two weeks ago, I was in Concord MA and was inspired by the group of authors who created and pondered everything about nature and life, Hence the quote that I chose for today's post. Being positive is a state of mind that I cultivate daily.  Honestly, I'm a "glass half empty" girl who is trying to rewire my thoughts and reactions.  I've found at this age that everything I've ever worried about never comes true.  Chanting positive statements over and over to drown out those niggling negative thoughts has served me well.  I'm much happier! I am STILL using eye medicine after not passing a recheck on Wednesday and I hope in the next two weeks I'm finally finished.  I'm starting to get angry about it now.  Could it ...

Every morning I work exclusively on my sweater  while I read a bit.  Slow and steady and completely fulfilling! I tried the sweater on this morning and I think I might redo the bind off of the body but I LOVE it so far.  The binding needs to be a bit looser.  I cannot wait to block this and see what it looks like after the magical touch of warm water and wool wash. I'm still reading All the Light You Cannot See  and I'm enjoying it immensely.  Short chapters are like potato chip eating, just another and another.  In my photo is Flannery O'Connor's short stories and I'm over half way through the collection.  My goal is to finish this book by the end of the month.  Again, I love reading a shorty story a day (while knitting of course!). 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. How was your weekend?  I hope you had a good one like I did.  No traveling this weekend, just staying at home catching up on the outside chores.  Well....my husband did that.  I did the inside stuff, it's in the marriage contract. Friday night was dinner out just the two of us at our new favorite pizza place.  We walked about in a few stores mainly window shopping.  I really should start Christmas shopping but I'm just holding off a bit more.  I want to see what I can get done in my Christmas knitting. Saturday I visited a craft store to stock up on paper supplies and basic wool.  Today we are having burger and fries for dinner and when the kitchen is cleaned up I'm gonna knit.  Are you surprised?  The turt...