by Kat | Aug 12, 2020 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings, Unravelers!
I am on Tiny Sleeve Island! Round and round and round I go! I love the little stripes on the sleeves, and the rhythm of decreasing is perfect! By this time next week… a sweater should be finished! Yes, it will be a bit big, but I don’t think it will be for long! Winston is sleeping like a trooper and eating like one too! (Sorry, no new photos this week…)
Once I have departed from Tiny Sleeve Island, I am back to Big Sleeve Island to finish my Ranunculus! (and I am pretty sure I will get some good use out of it because we are back in the upper 80’s to 90’s here… ugh.)
I only one finished book this week, but it was so good!
The Chessmen: The Lewis Trilogy #03 by Peter May
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
What an excellent ending to this trilogy! We find Fin settling into life on Lewis, and while he is entangled in a mystery, he is still trying to untangle the past. This book ties up some loose ends and gives us some idea of Fin’s future. Excellent writing and I highly recommend this series!
I am close on two others, but I am still working on how to fit them into my bingo card!
I sure hope you have all been way more productive than me! So… wow me, what are you happy about this week?!
As always, if you wrote a post to share, please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | Aug 10, 2020 | General, In This Moment
I don’t know about you, but this weekend just raced past.
No trips out of the house, but there was an “Amazon Run” and I love how I can get face wash and food for thought in.the.same.package!
The food complaining is at a peak in this house. So last Wednesday I whipped up a batch of my favorite pizza dough ever (thanks to YEAST!!) and on Friday night I made pizza with ricotta, chicken sausage, artichoke hearts, and olives. It was so good. And not a typical Friday meal at all!
The Saturday encore was a Buffalo Chicken Pizza…another hit! (and I have the dough for 2 more pizzas in the freezer!)
Sunday was a “breakfast for dinner” winner with hash browns, sausage, and eggs! No picture, but trust me… it was good!
I also have been thinking lots about Ravelry, and specifically how to track projects and not use Ravelry. I think I came up with a work around that I am comfortable with.
You can see that I made a new “In Progress” page and have even added a project! I will be adding things in as I have time, but until Ravelry fixes their issues, this is my solution for project tracking. I am still working out how I will purchase patterns and would love to hear what you all are doing!
I hope your weekend was full of good things that spill over into your week! (and may it go as quickly as the weekend did!)
by Kat | Aug 7, 2020 | General, In This Moment
I stumbled across some poems by Jane Kenyon (from a series entitled “Having it out with Melancholy”). I am having a running battle with melancholy these days and her words fit my mood. But this week I found this bit especially true:
4 OFTEN
Often I go to bed as soon after dinner
as seems adult
(I mean I try to wait for dark)
in order to push away
from the massive pain in sleep’s
frail wicker coracle.
Yes, yes, and yes!
Sleep has been very elusive recently…insomnia has moved in, and I am really so over it. But the more I fight it, the worse it seems to get. It is a vicious circle.
Speaking of melancholy, Michelle Obama’s podcast this week…wow! It has quickly become the best conversation in the entire week. I have written down so many things that I want to keep in the forefront of my meager, depressed, sleep-deprived brain. This one from Michele Norris was the best of the best: Don’t reach for normal, reach for better! YES! It is nice to know that my house is not the only one that is experiencing depression, concern, worry, stress… and the feeling that I just can’t take one more day of the ugly reality we live in…Thank you, Michelle for sharing so openly and honestly. I feel just a little bit less alone today.
If you, like me, have some niggling worries (okay, night terrors) about “what if” scenarios regarding the election not happening in November…this might allay your fears…it did mine a bit! (you will need to fast forward to 34:44 to listen to Teller – of Penn and Teller – give you the run down of what would happen if there are no elections in November…and it does not end with President Pelosi, just saying)
It should come as no surprise that I am in LOVE with Patrick Stewart’s Sonnet a Day and the sonnet from the 3rd was especially lovely:
If you are on Twitter, he is an excellent follow!
Finally, in the anticipation category, Ali Smith’s Summer will be out soon! And I can hardly wait!
That is all I have for this week, have a good weekend and I will see you back here next week!
by Kat | Aug 6, 2020 | General, Looking Back
In summertime, when the weather is hot, you can reach right up and touch the sky. — Mungo Jerry
Oh, July. I will not miss your incredibly hot, dry days. July was one very long run on day… an endless repeat of heat and humidity. I almost bailed on this look back post because, well, on month four of Covid-19-stay-at-home there were not a lot of “new” or “expanding my world” days. But Mary’s post convinced me otherwise. Perhaps a celebration of “all things at home” is exactly what I need to do!
Something new
The best new thing was the fried green beans for happy hour on the 23rd. After doing a little research, I settled on this recipe. Yes, it was a little work, but it was so worth it. The batter was light and crispy and the dip was excellent. (I subbed about a half teaspoon of tabasco sauce for the wasabi powder) If you have an abundance of beans and want to try something different, I highly recommend trying Almost Famous Green Bean Fries!
Best “Oh, Wow” moment/s
The early hours in the garden were absolutely my favorite times. Though most mornings started in the upper 70’s temperature wise, it was much better than the upper 90’s of the afternoons! I savored those moments outdoors because the remainder of the day was spent hibernating inside sitting in the air conditioning!
What I could have done better
I did manage to finish one project in July, but there are so many “lingering” projects that should be getting some attention! Instead, I spent lots of time in the tranquility of Knitlandia (my AC island). Here is to an August with less “checking out” time and more focused making!
The best part of the month
Hands down, the best part of the month were my grandchildren (especially Vivi’s birthday on the 21st) and Sherman, who continues to be the best pandemic companion…ever!
Finally, I am thankful for this house – which is not the worst place to stay! And how can forget the joy of my local library, who provides an endless stream of books to while away the Pandemic hours with! (and all those Pandemic Happy Hours!)
by Kat | Aug 5, 2020 | Uncategorized
Started: August 3, 2020
Finished: August 20, 2020
Yarn: Blue Ridge Yarns Footnotes – parts of two sets
Pattern: ML Egan’s Leland
Needle: US 3 and US 1
Gauge: Pattern gauge: 28 sts and 40 rows = 4 inches. I did not get row gauge, so I am following the row instructions for the smallest size.
Size made: 6-12 months
Project Notes:
This pattern was a pleasure to knit! The instructions were clear and how it is written made it easy to adjust to fit my row gauge to the pattern. I did not have enough of my “accent yarn” to finish the collar/button band, so I used the blue from the body for the final row and bind off. The button were from my Nana’s button box!
