by Kat | Aug 14, 2020 | General, In This Moment
I cannot remember the last time I shared what is my “current world” (small as that world is these days) So here you have a little slice of my world!
Celebrating —
K-A-M-A-L-A…. oh my gosh! Yes, there were tears and cheers! I am so thrilled! But honestly… watching Kamala debate Pence in October will be a must see event! Ha! But we have reached the 80 day mark, people. 80 days!! Although, I think these next 80 days are going to be a really rocky ride… but I will take a moment to ask you all… are you registered to vote? Have you applied for your absentee ballot? 80 days will go a lot faster than we think!
Anticipating —
I am a huge proponent of my local library and usually I don’t mind waiting my turn for a book… that is until I listened to Isabel Wilkerson talk about her new book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. After listening to this and then this I don’t think patiently waiting to read this is an option. Now to decide, physical book? Kindle copy? Audible?
Contemplating —
Some weeks ago, I made myself a promise to *finish my plethora of in process projects before starting anything new* but boy… the new MDK Field Guide has some amazingly yummy things in it! I can’t get the Aperture Stole out of my head and I am itching to make it however, I have not bought any yarn… yet.
Harvesting —
I had a brief lull in bean production, but that has resolved and now I am back to picking an overflowing handful every day. And so.many.tomatoes! I roasted some cherry tomatoes yesterday. And have shared more tomatoes with neighbors… But I think the end is near for the plants. This heat has really put the garden on “fast forward” it seems. My containers look like they do after Labor Day and the tomato plants are about “done” so I don’t think I will have the luxury of a September garden that is producing anything significant.
Over —
This unrelentingly hot summer. Since Memorial Day we have only had 20 days where the temperature was between 70 and 80 degrees (no days below 70 at all) and 61 days of 90+ degrees. Steve has not mowed the yard since mid-June. I am not kidding you. We have had virtually no rain to speak of and it is so dry. It’s not that I want to usher in the next season early, but boy do I need a break from these endless days of heat and humidity. (And really… a week of soaking all day rain would be so welcome!!) The weather person (whose reliability in forecasting is really not good) says that next week no temps above 80…. I have my fingers crossed!
And with that… this week is a wrap! I hope your weekend is exactly what you need!
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 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
I don’t know about you, but I have some serious Knitting-ADD going on right now. I can’t seem to focus on any one thing and keep at it until it is finished! I spent some time last week going through my stash and odds and ends to see what I could find to make a sweater for Winston. I settled on five colors from two Blue Ridge Yarns Footlight sets and some left over yarn from a previous project and printed off a copy of ML Egan’s Leland (sorry no links to Ravelry any more) and cast on Monday night! I think it will be the perfect wintry sweater and I am loving how these colors look together! Why did I suddenly have the urge to cast on? Well, my daughter sent this photo and it was the best reminder that I needed to get moving on a sweater for that sweet boy! My nana heart aches that I cannot hold him, but Vivi promised me she is holding him all.the.time! I think she is doing an excellent job!
Vivi’s winning the mani/pedi contest (and I am in awe that her mom found the time to do that!) and that yawn!!
I have not forgotten Ranunculus, but neither have I picked it up since Sunday…I am on sleeve island and almost done with the first sleeve and I really want to get it done but, yeah. That desire is not inspiring me to stay project-monogamous..at all, lol.
Fortunately, my reading has been much more focused! I do love audiobooks, but sometimes a book does not work in the audio form… Song Yet Sung was one of those books for me. But The Summer Book was PERFECT!! And I have been reminiscing about similar conversations I had with my nana and chuckling to myself. I had sooo many questions and so many crazy ideas but my nana was as lovely as Sophia’s grandmother! I am sure my nana spent lots of time wondering where the hell that conversation came from! Haha!
Song Yet Sung by James McBride
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Sometimes listening to a book is not the way to read it. This was one of those times. I struggled to keep up with the cast of characters. I needed to have a book where I could flip back to remember. Still, the story is compelling… I recommend reading it versus listening to it!
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Gathering is peculiar, because you see nothing but what you’re looking for.
This book was wonderful. A friend stated that this book was one of the best reads of the pandemic and I wholeheartedly agree! This book is a conversation between a grandchild and her grandmother, and I loved every word! I saw conversations I had with my nana in these words. I laughed, I cried, and I did not want to leave Sophia’s island! I highly recommend!
That is all I have for today, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
