by Kat | Mar 31, 2020 | General, Words
Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen Hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Appreciate your friends. Continue to learn. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is. — Mary Anne Radmacher
Oh boy, can you say Intention Derailment? I feel like I am living on the edge.
Stuck on that dammed edge, wishing like hell that I could go back to last years word… to pick it up and wrap it around me because I really need something familiar right now. Something easy.
And then I read this:
Whenever something bad happens, keep calm, take a few deep breaths and shift the focus to something positive. — Roy T. Bennett
Yep, that is where I am right now… trying to stay calm, trying to breathe, and unsuccessfully seeking anything positive.
If this was all just about me only…I think I’d be fine with little or no hiccups in my day. But every day there seems to be some new thing to be concerned about for those I love (specifically my kids) and, honestly, it is damned hard to “put on a happy face” or find something positive.
But I have discovered that even small breaths are good. And faking calm works in a pinch – or at least for the duration of a phone call, then all bets are off.
And silent tears sometimes are the most positive thing in a day.
And that is all I’ve got.
Now, please go visit Honoré and see what everyone else has!
You can see my Intentional Journey here.
by Kat | Mar 30, 2020 | General, In This Moment
It was a wild weekend here in the Burgh! Crazy winds brought insane storms over the weekend, but the temps in the 70’s were awesome!
Steve is not working on Friday’s these days as his office is closed, but the power went out so all the pc’s turned off so no one could remote in which meant he did have drive in at a time which used to be peak rush hour traffic. On Friday however, there were less cars on the road then there is at 5am when he normally drives in. Eerie.
We did make a visit to our local TJ’s on Friday as well. We stood in line roughly 30 minutes… the sidewalk was well marked and the people in line were lovely
Photo courtesy of @stevofc who does not understand the concept of landscape photos….
Friday there was a typical happy hour with French Manhattans… they were so good!
Cognac, orange liquor, sweet vermouth, orange bitters, and a cherry.
No one takes better photos of the Pittsburgh area than Dave DiCello… but his lightning photos are just crazy.
The Monongahela River is doing its thing overflowing the wharf. This is about what my back yard looked like for most of Saturday and Sunday morning.
Sunday meant sock knitting and Negroni’s. (I don’t know if it is just me… but are you all drinking more these days?)
Working through clue two!
Then the sun came out and dried up much of the rain, so I could drag Steve out for a “forced photo shoot” (which he hates so much, lol) But anyways, here is my finished and MUCH loved Nightshift! It is HUGE and it is perfect! I only pinned the edges so they laid flat with really no stretching at all and it is so generously sized! I love it so much I **almost** wish for the tiniest sliver of cold weather to wear it a time or two…
There you have my weekend…I hope you managed to find some bright spots in yours! It seems unreal, but I will be back tomorrow with an update on my word!
by Kat | Mar 27, 2020 | General, In This Moment
You cannot see the wood for the trees. — John Heywood
This week brought increased worry for both the rapidly increasing numbers of the sick as well as all those who are caring for them. The stories don’t sound like something from a first-world country, but rather they sound like the horror stories from a war zone or a third-world country that you might vaguely notice in the news.
I read this post yesterday and it really made a huge impact on me. Gratitude + Perspective is my new focus. Less complaining. Less rose-colored glasses views. Less meaningless lists. Less foolishly looking back at unimportant things with misplaced longing.
But, it’s not all less…because there is so much more! More heartfelt conversations with loved ones. More prayers for the sick and those caring for them. More gratitude that I have a home to shelter in and that I can easily communicate with my children. More gratitude that my library is serving the community mightily from a distance. More gratitude that I have no lack of projects to work on. More gratitude that I have an abundance of food. And, finally… more gratitude in just staying home!
Thank you, Carolyn for helping me adjust my perspective!
I do have some “lighter” things to share… things to, you know, STAY HOME and do!
Have you wanted to learn to crochet? There’s a CAL for that! Thank you, Casapinka!
How about knitting a bit of Wool Week? The hat pattern is out today!
I don’t know how this pattern appeared on my radar, but it would be the perfect spring shawl!
Then there was this from Lori Versaci. Gorgeous, but and the color combinations in the test knits are what really caught my eye!
That is all I have for this week. Again my mantra… stay home, wash your hands, and stay well!
by Kat | Mar 26, 2020 | General, In This Moment
I am joining Carole and friends today to share three things I stumbled across this week!
Thing One:
Really, how long can the coronavirus live on surfaces and how to clean them! Thank you NPR!
Thing Two:
A talking schnauzer to get you through with a smile! (and yes, I am following Pluto on IG!)
Thing Three:
Yesterday, The Hidden Brain podcast shared Lessons from the 1918 Flu Pandemic.
I hope that you found these things helpful! Stay HOME, wash your hands, and be well!
by Kat | Mar 25, 2020 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings Unravelers!!
I have finished my Nightshift and I am so smitten!! My ending was a bit sketchy but, I like how it turned out and I used up so much of my handspun yarn! You can read my pattern notes here where I explain my “recipe” for knitting. My goal was to have this completed before I start any of the “mystery” knits coming up (Yes, I am going to knit both Romi’s Mystery Shawl and the Lunar Phases Mystery! It’s Corona-Mystery-Knitting time because I **also** started a mystery sock on Sunday as well!)
The reading has been a challenge in this topsy turvy world. Focusing has been rather tricky, but at least I had 2 finishes this week!
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I do not typically read YA novels but this was the next selection in the Read With Us book club. I grew up in a city that had a very large Hispanic population and growing up I had neighbors/friends that I spent time with. I found Julia’s home to be very typical but her friends…not so much. I found that to be curious and it did not quite ring true (at least to me).
I also did not find it believable that Julia’s parents kept so many secrets about their lives “before they crossed the border.” But, it made me think about how tragic it is to be an undocumented worker, never feeling safe and never being able to travel to see family.
There are some significant gaps in the story line with little explanation of what happened. All in all, I do not recommend this book.
What Never Happens by Anne Holt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I started this book thinking there must be a book missing between the first book and this one but I could not find one! So suddenly Johanne and Adam are married and have a new baby. How they got there from book one is an unanswered mystery!
Gruesome murders are taking place and you are nicely drawn into the work to solve the crimes. Overall it is fairly fast-paced, although some parts parts drag a bit. BUT!! the ending is brilliant! No spoilers here, but it was genius and I did not see it coming!
That’s all I have this week! If you wrote a post to share, please leave your link below and thank you!
