Pumpkin Sunrise

  Good morning! How are you? This weekend was one of the best weekends ever because we got snow and it was unpredicted which made it all the more special. I even took a walk during the squalls but decided to cut the walk short. Brr. Besides wintry weather, I am proud to announce I am ready for Christmas. We are going over to my sister's house for Christmas Eve dinner and do our exchanging with her family. It will be fun. Christmas day is just the two of us at home, plus lots of phone calls to family far away.  My son and his family arrive on Saturday for a whole week visit. I am excited about that. I am not ready for that, but I will be. (lists are my friend) The above photo is the morning moon winking at me. The very first photo is the odyssey shawl  I started before my car trip. I have ripped this back twice because I keep forgetting the pattern and keep knitting thinking I know the pattern.  I finished my husband's musselburgh hat , this will be in his Christmas S...

  Hello! How are you? I am doing great! I have an ultra detailed list of what I want to do each day so I can be 'ready' for Christmas. I also do not want Advent to fly right by without enjoying the season of preparing. So during my busy 'to-doing', I have space to enjoy the the days leading up to Christmas. I've been missing Frodo, but not missing his round the clock medical care (and the endless worrying). I am so grateful we have Holly (the cat) who is thoroughly enjoying Frodo NOT being here. She loves being number one!! I am glad she can be number one now. It's been seven years since I found her as a little kitten on the side of the road (half dead, half alive) as I was driving home. We named her Holly because it was early December.  My sister bought me this beautiful wool mini bundle collection for my birthday which was a few weeks ago and I've had fun pouring over the hat pattern possibilities which are endless. I hope to start something soon but it wi...

  How was your weekend? Well, I decided to decorate the house on Saturday in one fell swoop. I am still sore but it is done! My calendar is going to be busy from here on out and I wanted this task done. My house feels like Christmas! Because I was decorating all day, we ate from the freezer for dinner and it was nice that Past Me froze the leftovers from our Fake Thanksgiving celebration two weeks ago. What a delicious dinner! On Friday night my sister and brother in law made dinner for us and we played board games. I also received my birthday gift from them. Holly had to intensely investigate the bag. I love her 'concerned' look when she is evaluating the degree of threat. Sunday I went to Mass and enjoyed some reading and knitting and being chill. Of course there was the laundry and some chores. How was your weekend?  ** Please note that I will not be posting this coming Friday as well as the following Monday. We have family visiting again and I know I will be busy with them...

  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...

  - 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 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...

  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? 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 all doing on this fine Monday? Finally after weeks of no rain, we are in a rainy season. Yesterday we took a long walk in the drizzle while taking in the signs of fall. We were a little wet but it was worth the fresh air. We visited his mother earlier this week and yet again, I have no photos to share. However, once I was home I was back at the documenting my life. Whenever we are visiting people we eat out a lot and so when I get home I need to get back to healthy eating and living. There is nothing like a fresh salad except a fresh salad made by someone else. Also when we got back home I started to feed the birds with the 'winter' feeder. Word was spread within the hour and I had my birds back. I love them so. Also my hydrangea bush is heading into the fall season beautifully. Saturday morning I ran a bunch of errands and did some returning at a few stores. Once I was home, I wrote down a quote I stumbled across, then did some knitting. I'm wor...

  How was your weekend? Mine was wonderful and relaxing. Even though it is feeling like summer (hot), it looks like fall when I sit on the back patio. I'm enjoyed being out there immensely. Of course once it gets too hot, I scurry back inside to the air conditioning to cool off. Both Saturday and Sunday I spent time outside with my knitting, reading or daydreaming. We had no big plans except for attending Mass on Sunday morning. I spent the whole weekend doing laundry and I'm officially back to my ordinary laundry schedule. Phew! On Saturday I deep cleaned the house and then basked it its loveliness. Yesterday on a whim I went to a local yarn store to buy some yarn for the grandkids' holiday sweaters. That was fun and what made it more fun is that my sister went with me. Sister outings are the best.

  Good morning, how are you doing?  I am fully recovered from our trip last weekend. I spent a little bit each day catching up on chores, going to my classes and resting. I love being home! Maybe I have more gratitude towards my home life only by going away?  I spent most of yesterday afternoon on my back patio knitting away for hours (with breaks of course!). I enjoyed being by myself, listening to the birds and watching my resident chipmunks and squirrels scurry around. I was joyful and fully present.  I finished knitting my sweater! Today I will dig around for the perfect buttons and weave in those pesky ends. After that will be the great blocking spa treatment.  As you can see by the photos, fall is inching its way in and squeezing out the summer days. I am so ready for cooler weather. Most exciting of all, they are predicting some much needed rain. We have had no rain for 11-12 days and everything is looking kind of sad from it.  How do you get into a ...