Pumpkin Sunrise

  How are you? How are you doing as we lead up to the holidays? I am getting things done bit by bit aided my a very detailed to do list. I finished my granddaughter's hat a week or so ago and forgot to show you! This project was a fun quick easy knit. Below is a photo of my husband's hat that I would love to finish before Christmas. For incentives for me to finish on time, I started placing a marker before I start knitting for the day so I could see my progress. It appears I knit one inch or so a day. As of today I am confident I will meet my goal. Lastly, I restarted a pair of mitts for myself with some lovely wool my daughter gave me for Mother's day. The original pattern I chose was too hard for me to see the stitches to do the cabling and there were mistakes in the pattern that I knew needed to be corrected before knitting. I can do both but I just didn't have the mental bandwidth to do it. The older I get, the harder it is to see dark wool in the evenings even w...

  Around here, Autumn is showing off with beautiful oak leaves. I love them! Yesterday it rained all day and while my hair was a frizzy mess, I enjoyed the drizzle. We are in need of rain. I even took my daily walk in the drizzle, delightful! Over the long weekend we had both kids and the grandkids here, I made a fake Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday. It was a lot of work and I was exhausted even with helping hands. I miss the energy and stamina of my youth. On the other hand, I was proud I was able to do what I do! Whenever we have company, my house is turned into a mess. It's a good mess, but when everyone leaves I put away the toys, the chairs, the moved around stuff that happens when we have company. I miss everyone when they leave AND I missed my tidy home that I recapture.  Our grandson and granddaughter play with a splattering of old toys and new. They keep us very busy and we have so much fun playing with them. I am grateful they all traveled here to see us. What blessing...

  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?

  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?

  My weekend was spectacular because we saw our grandkids and spent some quality time with them. Our little granddaughter turned one! She is the sweetest. Our grandson is thoroughly enjoying the terrible twos and is on the brink of being a three year old.  I had a great time, of course the trip caused some aches and pains as it always does. Also the AC in the car was misbehaving and that makes my symptoms worse. But I am once again, home sweet home, enjoying my ordinary boring life.

  Last Thursday, we left with my husband's brother and sister in law to go to Hocking Hills, Ohio to meet up with our son, daughter in law and our grandkids at a lodge rental in the woods until Monday morning. We had so much fun! We did some hiking and ate out at restaurants and did the tiniest bit of shopping. Our grandson loved being outside, collecting rocks and other treasures. Our granddaughter crawls and sits up and loved to make a beeline for an outlet or a cord (who wouldn't??). Our grandson is in the terrible twos stage and had a melt down at least once a day. I wish I could act like that when I am discontent - It would be cathartic and freeing, but kind of alienating to those around me. Being the Grammy, I found it endearing but little too loud. We had nice weather, chilly but mostly dry. I was disappointed in the lack of cell phone reception at the lodge but they had mediocre wifi so I was connected sporadically. Since we both have elderly parents, I want that connec...

  Hello! How are you? My husband and I visited our son and daughter in law in Indiana for most of last week and this past weekend. We spent quality time with our 2 year old grandson and our 7 month old granddaughter. We are both exhausted!! I am amused at how I cannot remember being tired taking care of little ones in my youth, I must have had a ton of energy back then. Also I didn't have an autoimmune disorder that basically sucks the life right out of me. Even though I have physical challenges, I manage to love them up as much as I can. I will be resting and recovering this week. We had great weather while we were there and we ate out almost every day. (no cooking if you know me and my love of that). Our grandson talks up a storm and we have 'conversations' that are delightful. Sometimes I know what we are talking about! We are now home and I am going to 'play catchup' with all of you over the next few days.

  Well hello there! How have you been?  I keep telling you my knitting has been such a solace while I recover and it's been prolific. What a great way to be during the January days. Over the weekend I finished two hats that I originally wanted to knit and complete for Christmas presents but was unable to do so. I made a car hat for our grandson and a cat hat for our granddaughter. I've knit both patterns before and I do love to repeat a pattern.  I am feeling so much better and I feel like myself if that makes any sense.  I'm back to exercising and walking when the weather allows me and that helps me be the best version of myself. What are you working on this week?

  Good morning! How are you doing on this fine January day? Can you believe we are closing in on mid January? Sadly, we are expecting rain later today after a crazy amount of rain on Tuesday. I'm hoping to get out and walk with Frodo before the rain shows up. I started a new creative journal for 2024 and it will last for two years like the previous one. I do memory keeping and some journaling prompts and whatever sparks my interest. There is something about a new notebook or journal that just inspires me. Many of my journaling prompts come from whatever I see on the internet while I'm toodling about. I like to write about what I am noticing on my walks, what I am looking forward to doing in the coming weeks. There is always a gratitude page and sometimes just write about what I did during the day. Whenever we are gathered with family, I will print some photos of the grands and document the visit. Of course I write about our museum outings as well and any other day trips or week...

  Good morning! How are you? Happy New Year, may this year be full of blessings to all of you. Well now, I finally have an empty home after having our son, daughter in law, grandson and granddaughter here for six nights.  I am still experiencing fatigue and symptoms from the virus even though I am feeling better. It was a challenge hosting family while recovering. Also we babysat the kids overnight (!!) while my son and daughter in law went for little getaway. I am thankful and grateful my Aunt came over both days to help out with the granddaughter who never sleeps during the day. (snack-naps do not count!). They all left early in the morning, and while I was tired, sleep deprived and fatigued, I put away Christmas plus all the toys and doodads you need for babies. Today I am looking at a squeaky clean house. I am planning on reading books and falling asleep while doing so! My exercise routine is on hold as I slowly get better. Maybe next week I can muster up some energy for s...

  Good morning! How are all of you doing on this fine Monday morning? I'm back after having family here for nine nights (!). Our little granddaughter went back to ER this past Thursday for some oxygen monitoring and was successfully discharged the same day. She sees her doctor this afternoon in her hometown, so far she is feeling better. The miracle is that no one else came down with the virus. (maybe her dad but it was barely 48 hours of a mild cough). It's all about me and I'm glad that I didn't catch it. Our company left Friday morning. My husband and I blitzed the house like madmen. We put away all the toys, playpens, the highchair and compressed our kitchen table down from seating six to seating four people. I completed four loads of laundry that day. (let me tell you that little baby and grandson generated a load of laundry per day - and both kids generated a bag of garbage daily - I do not remember any of this when my kids were little). We strategically went thro...

  Hello! Happy post Thanksgiving! I'm dropping in for a quick update. Our families arrived on Wednesday night as planned but sadly our little granddaughter wasn't feeling well Thursday morning and so her parents took her to ER and she was diagnosed with RSV but not admitted and sent home.  That diagnosis dispersed our big Thanksgiving family to two houses instead of everyone at my house. My sister and her family stayed at her house and my family stayed at my house. My dad visited both houses. My sister and I were swapping dishes to complete the meals. (We cooked the turkey she made the stuffing etc). It was quite the production but we made it work and we each had a good Thanksgiving. Our little granddaughter is slowly feeling better and so far no one else has any symptoms (yay!). Our days are filled with babies playing, napping, crying and eating. We are living our best life. To make things more exciting, our new furnace quit working yesterday and we had to have an emergency t...

  Good morning! I am so happy to share with you my granddaughter's little cardigan ! I loved working on this and enjoyed how speedy the knitting was. I decided to make the six month old size knowing that the garment would grow with soaking and blocking because the wool is super-wash. 

  I am so close to finishing my granddaughter's holiday sweater . I had every intention to finish it yesterday but I didn't knit at all. I have high hopes and pipe dreams that today I will finish that sweet tiny sleeve. Also, I was so busy that I forgot to take a photo in natural light, hence the above early morning photo. What are you working on this week?

  Good morning! How are you? We had a long weekend up in London, Ontario visiting family. This time we met up with our son and his family and shared a house rental while up there. I am grateful that I had extended time to spend with our grandchildren and be a part of their lives.  Our grandson is full of energy and is quite spunky. He is a lot of fun. Our granddaughter is wonderful and is starting to get into a routine of sorts. However when she is up crying in the middle of the night we are all up in the middle of the night, ha ha. We had fun visiting my husband's mother and brother and is family. Cousins and Cousin's children gathered for a lovely luncheon hosted by my brother in law and sister in law.  Of course I was in another basilica attending Sunday Mass. We sat in the back with all the other young families thoroughly enjoying the little ones wiggle and squirm. I'll be catching up with you in the coming days! How was your weekend?

  This week was fabulous, my husband and I traveled to Indiana to see our grandson and to meet our new granddaughter. Our grandson is at a wonderful age, he's beginning to talk ( A CAR!) and understands most of what we are saying to him or at least pretending to understand. He loves to tell stories that are unintelligible except for the occasional word here and there, delightful. My husband read many books over and over again. I marched around the house singing while he gleefully followed along laughing and giggling. We took long walks at the local park. Our little granddaughter is perfection. She loves to snuggle and be bundled up like a little burrito. She is using all the blankets I knit for her and for her little brother.  Our travels to and from Indiana were smooth and uneventful and now I am back home trying to catch up with all those pesky chores. Later this morning, I'll take Frodo for a walk and catch up with all of your blogs.

  I did some fast knitting in the last few days. I started and finished this Christmas Stocking for our granddaughter and now my hands are sore. I know that my hands are the happiest when I knit with wool. When I knit with plant fibers or some acrylic yarns, I have sad hands. The stockings that I have made thus far for my son's house were made with cherry red wool that has since been discontinued. I faced the dilemma of ordering a replacement wool online knowing that red (and purple!) are two colors that computer screens can mislead as true colors.  A while ago, I spied redheart supersaver in THE red that I know is very close to the discontinued wool color so I bought lots knowing that my hands would take a beating. I cannot wait to see how close I  matched the reds. (My hands recovered quickly!) What are you working on this week?

  Our sweet little granddaughter, Esther, was born over the weekend and so I need to stitch her name and her birthdate on the sampler as well as looking into framing it. We cannot wait to meet her in person and see our grandson! We are lucky that her parents are sharing lots of photos with us until that day comes. How was your weekend? I started striping in my 'other' yarn to finish off my sweater. So far I like how it's looking and hope I have enough with these two colors, I have a plan if I do not but let's hope adding the off white is all I need to do!! While knitting, I've been thinking about all that I want to knit for the holidays and realize that I need to start knitting soon if I want to knit all that I want to knit.

  This is the third weekend in a row that we have family plans. This weekend, our daughter and son in law are visiting us from Massachusetts, we haven't seen them since last September. I've been busy planning a family gathering on Saturday night and meals to make while trying to keep it simple.  Finally! I snapped a photo of the birth sampler project for grand baby girl number two. I work on this an hour a day and really love how easy it is. First of all I can see it (big win) and second of all there's little to no backstitching.