Comes on the heels of a lovely, quiet, solo weekend!
Sadly, Steve had to work all weekend so what was a girl to do but get in some major knitting time and I made some impressive headway on my Tegna! The back is finished and I am moving right along on the front and with any luck, I will have it done this week. It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you are focused!
I hope you all had as wonderful a weekend as I did – I am well rested and very ready for all this week holds!
Today I am sharing my brief, but spectacular trip to Michigan in photos!
The sun and I arrived together in Chicago!
Grand-dogs are the best and Bowser was happy to see me!
A beer or two at the Lake Ann Brewing Co
The weather cooperated nicely for most of the weekend!
Which inspired an impromptu "picnic"
All picnics should include silly selfies!
Clear skies to close out Friday!
Saturday morning snuggles with Bowser!
Early rising in northern Michigan is the best thing ever!
I walked to Lake Ann and the views were glorious on Saturday morning!
A quick breakfast with these two was so much fun!
The undertaking of the day was my son's new tattoo.
I just love how it turned out (and how well he endured the process!)
On to the Empire Hops Fest with my son and his lovely girlfriend, Jupiter!
I think they make the cutest couple!
So many amazing beers!
Sunday included one more early morning walk to Lake Ann.
Harvest Festival at Vivi's school meant she had some of her own artwork this weekend!
Sunday night's clear, crisp skies!
And before I knew it the weekend was over, but flying into Chicago had some amazing views!
It was a whirl-wind weekend, packed full of so many good things!
My backyard pano was insane!
Monday’s sunset was truly amazing, but boy was I happy to get into my own bed!
And that, my friends, brings us to another weekend. One that will, at least for me, be much less busy! See you all back here on Monday and I hope you all have a great weekend!
Hello Unravelers! I am back from my whirlwind trip to Michigan – the weather was practically perfect. Although there was a bit of rain on Saturday afternoon, but that did not hinder any plans we had! More about my weekend on Friday!
It felt like I did not knit at all while I was gone but somehow, I managed to knit the final inches needed to divide Tegna (must have been that Packer knitting I did on Sunday! LOL)!! I decided that dividing front and back while on a flight might not be the smartest move ever, so I waited. And then yesterday I attacked the mountain of dirty laundry but today my list is short, and I am eager to get this sweater done, so that dividing to begin shortly!
I finished Early Bloomer again. I need to give it a soak, block, and weave in ends – but this will get some good rotation this fall!
The Reindeer Parts were greatly appreciated… stay tuned for the “complete ensemble” for Halloween! We ate dinner outside on Friday, which was perfect because Genevieve spent a good bit of time practicing her Deer Prancing!
Getting pictures of Genevieve was a challenge, she was most uncooperative!
Her patience for pictures was wearing thin at this point!
The week did bring a good number of book finishes:
I brought Red at the Bone with me and I devoured it on the way to Traverse City. I loved it! It is brilliantly written, and I highly recommend this short but sweet novel – 5-stars.
Next in the “devoured” category – I finished my second Max Porter book: Lanny. I listened to this one and I enjoyed it very much – however, I did not think it was quite as good as Grief is a thing with feathers. It is short, but brilliant – I think Kym’s review mentions Lincoln on the Bardo and I agree with her that there are some similarities between the two books! 4-stars and if you have not read any Max Porter – fix that…. IMMEDIATELY!
I also listened to Leaving the Atocha Station. The writing was good, but I so despised the main character – Adam – that I just could not get past that. He is truly as self-centered, highly medicated ass. This only got 2-stars from me.
Finally, I finished Searching for Sunday and I really debated how to rate this book. I did not like it yet; I was not sure how to rate this book given that the author is deceased. In the end, I just determined that I will give it the one-star I felt it deserved. I found the book trite and very clichéd – over and over and over again.
Now, I am focused solely on finishing the first Read With Us book and eager to do so!
What are you reading this week?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
September was an incredible month…there was baking, and the first day of school, and so many amazing skies (most of which were captured on my morning walks!) and there were good sips, Pilates, Sherman, and a new do! One thing struck me in looking back was this: even though the daylight hours were waning, the light itself was truly spectacular! Especially for taking pictures because it is softer and warmer and I definitely noticed that in this months photo images.
The video shares 1 minute of a September that felt like it began and ended about that fast!
And, that is a wrap for the week! I am heading off to Michigan bright and very early tomorrow morning. (Okay, really dark and insanely early as I will be on my way long before the sun rises!) I will see you all back here next week in time for Unraveled Wednesday!
The blocking is finished, although I was quite unsure about exactly how to block Reagan. In the end, I just blocked the lace, leaving the sleeves, back, and neck unblocked. I used blocking wires and t-pins and I think that worked. I love how incredibly soft the Einband gets when you soak it – the yarn also blooms a bit. However, taking photos in a sweater in the sun in 90+ degree temps… oh boy. It is indeed warm! Despite the heat I love the sweater and it will be the perfect layer for fall and winter.
As you can see above, I have the body finished on Early Bloomer and have started on the sleeves. My plan is to divide the yarn I have left and knit until I am out. I think I can manage to get an elbow length sleeve. And, the fit is MUCH better with the modifications I did on the re-knit (you can see the mods here.) I don’t know if I will have it done to take with me, but at least it will get some wear this fall, and it is off the “mend” pile!
One of my tasks for today is figure out some “travel knitting” for my Michigan trip. I know I won’t knit much once I am there, but I have a lay-over in O’Hare both going and coming home. I think the smartest (and lightest) thing for me to take would to pull out my Tegna and perhaps I can get the body completed!
It takes incredible talent to sleep with your head up, just saying….
AND!!! Sherman’s surgery was successful and here he is sans histiocytoma… albeit a little groggy from the anesthesia but home and so happy! He had a great night and is thrilled to be back to normal today – normal as in he can eat again, because he hates to miss a meal! Ha!
Now, how about the reading this week?
The reading was varied this week, with the bad seemingly outweighing the good… but the good was just so incredible!
The first Bess Crawford Mystery – A Duty to the Dead. I just could not get into this book at all and I tried over the course of several days… and eventually, I gave up – life is too short to struggle with a book when there are so many other choices!
Second dud of the week – Gabriel Tallent’s My Absolute Darling. I only got a few chapters into this one and stopped. How this is rated so highly on Goodreads is beyond me – I do not recommend this book at all.
I finished Everything I Never Told You and I really wanted to like this one, and perhaps my rating is because I only read it at night before falling asleep,. However, this one fell flat for me. I never really got into the story at all and while I did finish it, it only got 2-stars.
I heard about On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century on TRMS last week and was surprised that it was available at the library. It is a short read but full of eye-opening and thought-provoking things. 3-stars.
I read my first Max Porter book – Grief is the Thing with Feathers. Oh.my.gosh! I loved every word of this powerful little book. And, can I just say that Crow should be part of everyone’s grief process!! 5-stars and I highly recommend!
I also listened to some very interesting things this week that were not books! First up, did you know that you can listen to the entire whistle-blower complaint here? You should! It is not long – I listened to it while on a walk.
Next, if you have not listened to any of the 1619 Project podcast go now and do so! It is eye-opening and moving and there are just four episodes.
Finally….have you heard about Bonny, Kym, and Carole’s new book club? The first book looks like an excellent choice! I picked up my copy from my library yesterday. I’d love for all of you to join us!
That is all I have to share today, as always if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
