Pumpkin Sunrise

  - neighborhood pumpkins - my oak trees showing off - new friends at 'school' - Tai Chi hour - lunch out with my husband - cold morning walks - an unexpected warm up - all the fall knitting (imagined and real) - wearing wool - browsing knitting patterns - sister outings - dark chocolate - blue skies - neighborhood dogs - the kids coming to visit next weekend - the to-do lists that I am creating - afternoon reading (possible snooze) - apples! - soups! - hearing the breeze whisper through the trees - setting intentions - giving myself grace when I need it the most - solitude - grandchildren laughing - Holly being Holly - Blue skies - phone calls from family and friends - the kindness of others - assuming everyone is doing their best - drinking water and staying hydrated - hot decaf green tea in a BIG mug - first sip of coffee - geese flying in V formation and honking all the way (delightful!!) - Focusing on gratitude - focusing on joy  What would make your happy list?

  Good morning! How are you? I forgot to take a photo yesterday of the little sweater I made for my granddaughter. You know I love fall and winter the most but there is an advantage to having more daylight is spring and summer for photoing my knitting projects. This sweater zipped on and off my needles! I did a lot of car knitting which led me to finish knitting the bulk of the yoke and body of the sweater. Once I got to the sleeves it was all downhill. I do love top/down construction just for that aspect. I knit this pattern last year for her holiday sweater so I decided to make it once more in a bigger size. I'm pleased with how it turned out. What are you working on this week?

  Good morning! How was your weekend? Oh mine was deliciously cold, brr. Sadly there will be another warm up this week but hopefully that warm up will be brief. I've been loving this chilly weather and the colors changing on the leaves.  My sister had a craft show over the weekend and I helped out (moral support really). I thoroughly enjoyed seeing family, friends and meeting some of my sister's friends. I had a good time and of course got a lot of knitting done.  I've been spending lots of time knitting my granddaughter' sweater - I have to dig around and find the perfect buttons today.  I noodled around Ravelry some more looking for a new project to cast on. Maybe a shawl? I just don't know what I want to knit. But I guarantee you I will be knitting something! How was your weekend?

  Since we arrived home on Tuesday, I've been marveling at the fall foliage trying to memorize the colors and pocket them for future reference. Each day gets better and better. Yesterday after a lunch out with family, we drove through the park just to take in the colors. October truly is a beautiful month.  I'm so glad to be home and back into my ordinary days. I have the week off from classes before the second session starts up next week. I'm still busy around here though. My sister is having a craft show and I go over to help her (I do not do much, but it's fun to be together and see family and friends). I've been pouring over cookbooks coming up with some new recipes.  My heart monitor results were normal, so that's a relief! I'm not sure why I had to do that test but it's done and now I can forget about doctors for a while. (fingers crossed). The less I see of them the happier I am. There's something about autumn and my creativity blossoming. I s...

  Hello! How are you? I am back at my ordinary life and playing the big catch up after taking some time off to be with family. We had a great time and loved seeing our grandchildren and spending time with them. Before we saw the grandchildren this weekend, I finished my grandson's holiday sweater and I had to wait for it to dry before I could take its 'finished' photo after I returned home. I love how knitting projects on size eight needles go fast! This flax pattern is a wonderful sweater that comes in many sizes. I also love knitting for little ones, the projects just fly off the needles. What are you working on this week?

  Hello! How are you? We are having a lovely time with our grandchildren and have one more day with them before it ends. We’ve had dinners out and adventurous walks. The weather has been beautiful and warm.  How was your weekend?

  Good morning to you all, how are you? How has your week been? Mine has been great, my school schedule is winding down for a break then I start back up with some classes in a few weeks but I will be less busy (at least it looks less busy on paper, I will find out if I feel less busy).  Yesterday the back patio awning was taken down for the winter season. A sign of winter approaching!  I continue to take daily walks but now they are in the middle of the day instead of early in the morning. I love the rhythms of the seasons and adapting to the weather. My husband and I went to the conservatory in Pittsburgh to see their fall flower show yesterday. We had a great time and enjoyed the myriad of mums on display. Some of my favorite sections were closed off which was a bummer but hopefully they will be done renovating those spaces soon. I'm sure it's difficult to renovate while trying to keep the conservatory open to visitors. I'm still knitting daily and enjoying my time with...

  Hello! How are you doing? My knitting progress has been fantastic. I'll admit the cool weather helps motivate me immensely. First off, I finished those socks and am now done with sock holiday knitting. I like the way they turned out and will probably not knit socks until mid December for my husband, but never say never. Below is the progress of my grandson's holiday sweater . I am thoroughly enjoying this project, the yarn is divine and the pattern is easy-peasy. I hope to finish the first sleeve today. What are you working on this week?

  Hello, how are you? I'm doing pretty good, trying my best to keep busy and fill my days with the last bits of warm weather activities while anticipating the cold weather activities. Although later this week the temperature will be back into the low 70s, the next few days will be chilly. I love when fall breezes in and ebbs back out. Each time we are closer and closer to colder weather. My husband and I walked the local park over the weekend, I wanted to see the trees changing before they are past peak. As you can see, we are still early for peak colors. We were lucky because they closed the road down for some tree maintenance and that eliminated car traffic (yay!). We had a beautiful walk. Holly continues to be brave and bold since Frodo left us in August. She still checks his spot on the loveseat but doesn't look terrified when she does. Her progress has been steady. I love when she drinks from his water bowl which we have kept out for her. Gah!!  Over the weekend, I was kn...

  And just like that, October shows up and gives us a breath of fresh air and a chance to wear woolens. How are you? How has your week been? I have been basking in this beautiful fall weather. Might I add chilly as well. My morning walks are quite brisk but a wonderful kind of brisk. Probably next week we will be peak fall colors. Maybe! I love being cold so I am happy and content. This week I finished a lot of my first session non-classes, phew! I signed up for a lot and I enjoyed the classes but I did not like how busy I was and how I forgot about  weekly grocery shopping. Silly! The next two weeks will be a much more manageable schedule for me and then I will start the second session of fall classes. My schedule will be easier, I won't have to gobble up a lunch in between two classes and I will have opportunities to grocery shop in the mornings once more.  Besides loving this weather, I've been working on my grandson's holiday sweater which is coming along nicely. Sti...

  Good morning! How are you doing today? My knitting news is quite thin, but I am knitting every day and I'm so very close to finishing these  socks which are a holiday gift. I'm confident I will finish them tonite. I've been enjoying knitting socks lately and this pair is turning out so nicely. I love the simple seed stitch bands in between the stockinette rows. (four rows seed stitch, six rows stockinette). I love anything repetitive and easy to break up the monotony of endless stockinette stitching. Also it makes it super easy to match the socks exactly without measuring. What are you working on this week?

  Good morning! How was your weekend? I have been drinking up this weather!! The leaves are falling and the air is cool, maybe just maybe fall is here to stay. My fingers are crossed. Mine was very boring overall. I spent most of my knitting time on the second sock and yet it still isn't completed yet. Yesterday I was on the computer for over two hours creating calendars for some family members for the holidays. I was so glad when I finished it! Miss Holly is ruling her universe as Queen Bee. She is shy and will be a shy one but I can hope she will sit by me one day. She does sit with my husband late at night and looks at him adoringly. Grr. Thanks for the kind words about Frodo, we miss him (he was the best dog ever!) but for now we will be a cat-only house just to give Holly the love and attention she was denied when Frodo was master of the universe.  I started a sweater for my grandson for Christmas but haven't worked on it for about a week. I hope to return to the project ...

  Good morning! How are you? My past week was filled with classes and appointments. I am ready for a super boring weekend! In the above photo are the mums (chrysanthemums) I bought in memory of dear Frodo (who I miss so much!) and they are now blooming. So far the deer are leaving them alone. Sometimes you never know what the deer will eat up.  I love seeing my flowers and remembering our sweet boy! Holly the cat is getting ever so bold and brave now that her nemesis is gone. She still checks the loveseat where he slept which I find quite funny. She is very concerned that he might be there. She now lays in sunbeams in the kitchen and comes visit me briefly while I am knitting. Maybe one day she will snuggle. I had a cardiology appointment last week to discuss shortness of breath while exercising and he decided to discontinue one of my blood pressure meds (yay) thinking that is what was causing my symptoms. As a precaution he ordered an exercise stress test which I did yesterda...

  Good morning! How are you doing?  As you know, I have scaled back on my holiday knitting and have implemented a slower pace of knitting gifts to protect my hands and wrists. Last year I had an arthritis flare up knitting gnomes which caused a self-imposed knitting ban until I recovered. Knitting is such a lovely way to handle stress and to relax for me. So I've been mindful of what I knit, how I knit and to rest more often all with the goal of always knitting and to not be in a self-imposed knitting ban.  I'm pleased with my progress! I found these little stars on Ravelry and decided they would be a wonderful little gifts for my family. They use up little bits of scrap yarn and you could go wild with the color combinations. I enjoyed knitting them and the pattern was easy to memorize after one little star. What are you working on this week?