by Kat | Oct 27, 2023 | Finds, General
Gentle Readers,
October was A. Month… wasn’t it? My heart is heavy with All.The.Bad.News.
And then Lewiston, Maine and Allderice High School happened.
So today I am sharing some things that have helped me move forward this month. Things that have helped the hope within me increase. Hope that I have made a point of sharing.
It is my wish that you will find something that lifts you… perhaps even in these things I share:
First up… thank the gods for librarians, but most especially for Mychal (You should absolutely follow him… he is a highlight of every day!)l:
Next up is Levi... or perhaps my love is really for Levi’s dad… I don’t know, but gosh does Levi eat well!! If there is reincarnation, I would like to come back as a sibling of Levi please!
And… can it even be fall without some Stella! (or again, maybe it is Stella’s dad who is the winner here!)
Finally, I have tried chai numerous times in my life and it has always been just too sweet nor am I a person who “googles” tea… ever. So I found it funny that Chai Ads began showing up on the Meta™ platforms… One in particular kept showing up on the regular and it piqued my interest. So I broke down and bought some… and WOW! And I mean WOW! If you, like me, are not a chai fan but wondered what good chai might taste like… wonder no more. The Kolkata Chai Co delivers! It has all the amazing flavors and none of the über sweetness that other chais have. And it is so good with oat milk. It is my new afternoon cuppa…
My hope for you is that you find somethings this weekend that lifts you in unexpected ways. See you all back here on Monday with my word update.
by Kat | Oct 25, 2023 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings Unravelers and Happy Last Wednesday!
It feels good to be back in my routine… laundry is caught up (as you all know it is really never “done” lol) and we (in the ‘Burgh) are back in a week of summery weather. I am loving this “Second Summer” especially after the frosty Monday we had! However, this spate of warm weather is delaying the Bulb-o-rama that is this box…
Bulb-o-rama!
I have bulbs for naturalization (daffodils and crocus), tulips (I love them so so much! I am hoping the deer won’t love them as much as I do though, lol), and some alliums to have another spring plant for the pollinators! I have my plan for planting and the forecast looks like once we get through the next 7-ish days, temps go back to more seasonably cooler temps… perfect for planting all these bulbs!
There was little to no making on my trek to Erie… by the time I sat down at the end of the day I was tired and the lighting was not fabulous so I barely knit any rows and only stitched two squares. But sometimes a break from making gives one a fresh perspective when you pick the making back up! I am one repeat, a toe, and a heel away from a new pair of socks! And I am forcing myself to finish my Pressed Flowers wrap after that is done. But I really, really, really want to knit something that is NOT MOSAIC KNITTING! My hope is that with this self-imposed knitting plan, I will be casting on something NEW soon!
The reading had only one highlight… Death Comes to Marlow (book 2 in the series). It was delightful! The other book I finished will not be a favorite (Old God’s Time) but ymmv. I am currently listening to The Running Grave (Cormoran Strike Book 7) and I am loving it as much as each previous installment! My evening read, The Underground Library, (a Netgalley book) is really not my cup of tea reading. History-lite-romance… is just all sorts of meh… trite… predictable. I have about 15% to go and yet it feels like it will never end! I kept hoping that it would get better but, thus far, it has not!
What about you all? What are you making and reading this week!
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below!
by Kat | Oct 23, 2023 | General, In This Moment
Is for finding my routine again!
It was a delightful break! Erie was, as usual, wonderful! We walked so much! In rain and shine… and I loved it! We watched the colors get more brilliant as the week went by! We had so many wildly windy days! We saw wildlife galore and I think I might have been channeling Vera with the plethora of Great Blue Herons I saw (dozens… it was so fun!) We found new places to walk as well… which always amazes me! I even managed to take a photo or two AND… I did the tiniest bit of painting! All in all it was a most needed break (although, I confess I was so happy to get home to sleep in my bed! LOL)
However, vacation wonder aside… I have to reacquaint myself with “real life” and all its mundane things… like laundry! Ha!
And… catching myself up with all your blogs! (that might be the most monumental task of all!)
Happy Monday and I will see you all back here on Wednesday with some unraveling!
by Kat | Oct 19, 2023 | General, Poetry
The poem I selected this month seems apropos since I am not home right now. I heard this poem read by Pádraig Ó Tuama some time ago and I think of it often (and I highly recommend listening to Pádraig read it… you won’t regret it!) I did not need to worry about anyone answering the door, we have the code to our Airbnb. But this poem evokes such imagery of being welcome, welcoming the stranger, and so much more.
I give you The Listeners by Walter de la Mare.
The Listeners
by Walter de la Mare
‘Is there anybody there?’ said the Traveller,
Knocking on the moonlit door;
And his horse in the silence champed the grasses
Of the forest’s ferny floor:
And a bird flew up out of the turret,
Above the Traveller’s head:
And he smote upon the door again a second time;
‘Is there anybody there?’ he said.
But no one descended to the Traveller;
No head from the leaf-fringed sill
Leaned over and looked into his grey eyes,
Where he stood perplexed and still.
But only a host of phantom listeners
That dwelt in the lone house then
Stood listening in the quiet of the moonlight
To that voice from the world of men:
Stood thronging the faint moonbeams on the dark stair,
That goes down to the empty hall,
Hearkening in an air stirred and shaken
By the lonely Traveller’s call.
And he felt in his heart their strangeness,
Their stillness answering his cry,
While his horse moved, cropping the dark turf,
’Neath the starred and leafy sky;
For he suddenly smote on the door, even
Louder, and lifted his head:—
‘Tell them I came, and no one answered,
That I kept my word,’ he said.
Never the least stir made the listeners,
Though every word he spake
Fell echoing through the shadowiness of the still house
From the one man left awake:
Ay, they heard his foot upon the stirrup,
And the sound of iron on stone,
And how the silence surged softly backward,
When the plunging hoofs were gone.
This poem is in the public domain.
Bonny is gathering the poems today, so be sure you stop by and read some poetry… and better yet, share some! We’d love for you to join us!
See you all back here next week!
by Kat | Oct 18, 2023 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings Unravelers from the midway point of our Erie trek!
I would like to think that I am making and reading up a storm but realistically that is not likely happening… or if it is, it is in very small doses. I have brought my Pressed Flower socks for company… as well as some wound skeins of Koigu KPPPM ready to be cast on… lol.
Steve is NOT a reader and he hates that I read on vacation so my reading time is limited to at night when I get into bed.
I am hoping that you all are making up for the void of making and reading in this post… please tell me what you are excited about this week! I will be back next week and will be delighted to catch up on what you all are up to!
As always, please share your post below and I will be back next week to tell you all about my trip!
