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. Oh my, if you were here right now,  I'd lament over and over again about the technical difficulties I'm having today in writing and publishing this post.  I'm weary!  My photo editor (paint shop pro) is not working and later I have to uninstall and reinstall the program.   So I guess this iphone photo will have to do instead of the lovely photos I took today with the big camera.  You'll have to use your imagination today in this post. This weekend, we went car shopping since we are lending/giving one of our two cars to our son.  Now I bet you can guess how exciting I find this....not.  I hate to car shop, it's ultra boring and I weary of the sales pitches.   My husband and I make a great team and we shopped all day Frid...

Supposedly the heat wave is over today, I will not believe it until I feel and witness it.  Call me Doubting Thomas!  My week has been overall a good one.  I've been reflecting most of the time of how I spend my time.  I want to be more purposeful in my days. I love when August rolls around because it's a new school year showing up.  I am married to a professor so our years start in the fall in a way.  My daily planner does as well.  Later today, I'll be transferring dates and important events into my new one. I remember my first day of high school and how I'd plan out my school days, making a color coded schedule, that is how I feel this week!  A new school year and I'm not a student, so no pressure studying for tests.  I love back to school themed store sales, insisting every one needs a new notebook, pencils, pens, and highlighters. After knitting one pair of socks and having a second pair currently on the needles, I recovered ...

My knitting has been the same this week.  I'm making steady progress on my Dandelion Daze Shawl , after ripping out four + rows over the weekend.  Silly me, I set the project down mid row and well, stitches fell off and I was unable to rescue and knit them back up.  Learned my lesson!! My socks are coming along.  I love that they are from Santa Barbara, so I think of my visit when we went there in May.  I am trying an afterthought heel instead of a heel flap.  Stay tuned for my review, I hope I like it!! I finished my Hermione Socks as well. I started The Dinner  by Herman Koch last week and it's pleasantly entertaining.  Now I will warn you that the narrator has a sarcastic attitude which could be off putting to some.  However, my nephew insisted I would like this book and so far he is correct (I guess I ooze sarcasm...).  I love that there have been a few plot twists that I didn't expect.  I hate when I guess where the st...

Have you knit Hermione's Everyday socks ?  I think everyone has but me, well until now!!  I had a delightful time knitting these up.  I loved the simple texture pattern and the sense of accomplishment as I finished each step. The heel flap is a new to me experience and I loved the slipped stitches along with the garter edge.  However, I like my own sock recipe better, the fit is perfection and these pair of socks are sort of loosey goosey around my skinny ankles and feet (I have skinny ankles and narrow feet, not the normal foot at all).  So I think it's me and not the pattern :) I had a burning desire to do a contrast heel and toe.  I love the way the sock looks, I feel stylish! 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. My weekend was quite nice, especially yesterday where nothing happened.  Just lots of reading and lots of knitting.  Later in the evening having friends over for a fun dinner.  We talked and caught up with family news.  I served grilled chicken, roasted potatoes, corn on the cob and a spinach salad (yum). Today was church (of course) and this afternoon we attended a University graduate student function where my husband was the speaker and a delicious luncheon was served.   right before showtime! How was your weekend?  I didn't mention the super hot weather we are having because I am boycotting it.  I've decided to quit summer and each night I go to sleep I'm one day closer to fall.

did you say "walk"  As soon as my son left I ran around the house furiously cleaning and tidying all the spaces.  I do this every single time - I find visual clutter quite noisy and unsettling.  Well I'll be honest, I find auditory noise unsettling as well.  Putting the house back to my "normal" is bliss. We had a bit of stress this week in the house....there was a large fly inside the house and well my brave schnauzer is afraid of flies inside the house.  Poor poor Frodo, he hid upstairs in his cage for forty eight hours.  If he was outside, he was hiding under a bush refusing to come inside the house. awesome big salad with a puzzle! Yesterday my main goal was to kill the fly.  Oh the things we do for our children and pets.  I remember when my daughter would scream if she spotted a spider.  The whole family was involved in finding and killing a wee little arachnid.  Why was it that the spider loved to appear at ...

I asked many of you on Instagram what to knit next with this skein , overwhelmingly you said "SOCKS"....I am so very glad I listened to you, because this skein is delightful and I'm loving the colors popping as I knit and knit.   Sock knitting bliss at it's finest.  I decided to go back to my personal recipe for socks, because I love not reading directions and following my own in my little old head.  Also the yarn is so busy I feel a pattern would be lost. I am still reading The Martian,  I was hoping to finish the novel yesterday (which I am enjoying immensely) but I was sidetracked by the internet and a silly search for a quick getaway before the summer ends.  I didn't find a getaway (yet) but a staycation is looking very lucrative for us!! By the way, there is a giveaway here on my blog for a free pattern by Andrea once it is released. What are you knitting and reading this week? Joining Ginny and Frontier Dreams

My Linto Cowl has been finished for a week or so but I had my son here for a few weeks and so this post was delayed.  I loved this pattern immensely!   Andrea  wrote a clear pattern that showcases almost any kind of fingering weight yarn. If you have some experience knitting and are a beginner knitter looking to stretch your knitting skills this pattern would be ideal.  The directions are clear and concise.  The details Andrea addressed are perfect for dipping your toes into a textured pattern. So there is a giveaway of ONE pattern to a person who comments on this post.  The rules are: -you must have an email or ravelry name so Andrea can contact you. -you must have a ravelry account - the pattern will be gifted through ravelry on ravelry -the contest runs from today until next Tuesday - July 26th, noon eastern time. -the winner will be selected by a random number generator by me -I will announce the winner here on this post on July 26 a...

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. mornings starting right with writing and reflection Did you have a wonderful weekend?  I hope so!  I find the weekends hold such slow moving minutes, the more I age the faster time flies by but weekends, well they go a little bit slower.  Yesterday I was computer/internet free (I know!  I'm shocked..) and I enjoyed lots of podcasts and knitting.  I also escaped to Mars via  The Martian  novel that I'm reading. I've decided to quit judging books based on genre.  Well I hope I quit because this book is a compelling read and I'm not into science or surviving on Mars.  If I stretch my brain, I'm an apocalypse catastrophe believer, especially an epidemic... good good stuff, totally believable.  I wonder how many books I pass...

My attention has felt fractured these days.  Whenever I have family visiting, the rhythm changes and my focus is shifted to lots of talking, being together and well enjoying the moment.  I like that a lot.  However, my daily life is chopped up into little bits.  I don't know how I got anything done when the kids were small and I was a full time mom.. but I did. Now I feel proud when the dishes are done and the kitchen is closed for the day, I will not tell you about the ever growing pile of my son's books on the kitchen island that I'm gracefully ignoring.  Usually that pile is on the coffee table.  Don't worry the coffee table has a bit of a mess going on and I'm gracefully turning a blind eye to that as well. Okay, back to fractured attention...I wonder about the time and attention I put into this blog and on instagram.  I love both but when life is busy, I cut back on reading blogs and writing posts.  My standards are minimized and 't...

As you can see, I'm making fantastic progress on my socks .  I do love the contrasting heel and toe, I might do that on the next few pairs of socks.  The pattern is quick and easy, I did change a few things, mainly doing 2 x 2 ribbing, my preferred ribbing of choice.  One sock done and one to go! I'm plugging away on The Martian  and overall I'm enjoying the story.  The main character is sarcastic and quite funny (I'm sarcastic and quite funny).  However, I admit that my science education is rusty and lacking.  There is a LOT of chemistry talk and gosh, my eyes glass over and I kind of drool in my own stupidity.  However, I guess I'm learning something (?). I wish, really wish, that I paid attention to Mrs. Lucas in Chemistry I.  But I didn't and I relied on my chemistry partner, Eileen who was the valedictorian of our class, to do all the labs for us.  I cheated myself in learning basic science stuff (see! high tech science tal...

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. Guess what?  I was in Old Montreal over the weekend! Originally we were planning ( I was planning) to go in August but our son expressed an interest so we moved the trip up to July so he could go with us. As you can imagine, I had lots of fun but I missed home more than usual.  Getting old? street performers! We left on Thursday and stayed two nights and took in the sights and sounds.  I loved the basilica and all the holiness inside of it.  That is when I love being a Catholic the most, the statues, the candles and the history - so so good! Friday we walked everywhere and I clocked over 21,000 steps walking towards downtown which is 12,000 more that I like to do with my RA but I survived (after complaining and pouting). Isn't that church...

For me when the string of ordinary days occur, I hit my blissful self.  There is nothing like the same old same old over and over that soothes my mind and brings contentment to my days. I've been like this since I was a child. I had anxiety whenever the school had a field trip and the schedule shifted. As soon as I was on my way, I was fine (sort of, when the tears stopped).  So when I'm faced with boring days, endless sameness over and over - I'm my happiest! I will admit that traveling makes appreciation my focus.  I do enjoy seeing new places doing new things (sort of..) but I shine brightly at home getting all my tasks completed.  Ordinary days gives room in my mind to center my intentions on myself and on others.  That focus helps me feel like I'm helping in small ways. Gratitude lists, praying for others helps me train my brain in mindfulness, a skill I've lacked growing up.  How lucky am I that I've found my way to this practice....

Well, you must be thinking I'm someone else the week.  I am reading The Martian  which is completely out of my reading comfort zone.  I did love the opening sentence of the book which is R rated and kind of sarcastically funny.  You see, both my son and my nephew insisted this is my kind of book and the content isn't as important as the way the story is told.  So, I'm reading it and I'm liking it. I finished The Nest  and it was fantastic!!  Sure it's about a dysfunctional selfish family of middle aged siblings but I kind of liked them because it showed the "ugly" side of us, the petty, the unforgiving and the horrible stuff that might cross our minds when we are feeling vulnerable or sad (or selfish).  The characters were interesting and most of them had personal growth. My knitting!  Can you see it?   SOCKS .  I felt like if I cast on another shawl I was going to groan.  So I needed to do something else, and socks are ...

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. me not doing anything important  My sister and her family were here this weekend and I was in the moment completely.  Now if you can read between the lines, that means I did not snap one single photo!  My company arrived Friday for dinner, she brought dessert (sweet!).  I fully appreciate all the work she does when I visit because I am exhausted from the prepping, cooking, cleaning and doing it all over again and again. shamrock plants worshiping the sun We had so much fun!  On Friday I served that salad  with green beans, grilled chicken and sausage and a tossed salad.  She lovingly brought brownies, with icing. Saturday we shopped in the morning and returned home to sit and knit, sit and read, or just sit and talk.  Every...

I've spent too much time in the kitchen this past week.  You see, my son arrived on Wednesday afternoon and is staying a few weeks before he goes back to Boston to finish off the last weeks of his school work.  Then he'll be starting school at Penn State University mid August, we will be helping in the "big move".  His new apartment is on the third floor with no elevator... eep. As much as I love my boring life where every day could look exactly the same, I enjoy the busyness of having him home.  Making dinners that he loves and doesn't cook for himself.  Yesterday we had a winter meal of baked chicken thighs, mashed potatoes and gravy.  It felt weird to be eating with summer in full swing.  He was quite happy though.  I come from a long line of family members that show love through food.  Lots and lots of food.  I like that kind of tradition. Today my sister and her husband arrive for the holiday weekend and later tonight my n...