My plan? To post three things I am grateful for every day this week.
And before you ask….Yes, Unraveled Wednesday will be here… but a gratitude edition! (I mean how can one not be thankful that they are a maker and a reader?!)
Things I am grateful for today:
My improving painting skills and finding a creative outlet that both challenges and inspires me!
Sherman… every single day! But especially this week as he is my constant kitchen companion!
Poetry… which I cannot imagine not being part of my day… any day. But most certainly a week that we focus on gratitude!
And with that, I am going to begin the housework portion of my day… with a grateful heart. Happy Monday All!
Brings big changes and the urge to bake all the things!
Starting with the weather… last Monday ushered in a glorious week. We had temps in the 70’s several times! I had to break out the summer attire to stave off a need for Steve to turn on the AC during the week (I lost… he did turn on the AC, sigh.)
Today, the furnace has been running steadily and it was just barely 30°F when I took Sherman for our morning walk. My ears got cold, I could have used a hat! I saw a few flakes drifting gently down on Saturday, but no accumulation. But the inner child in me did a mini-dance of joy at this week’s forecast with better snow chances on Thursday!
This colder weather turns my attention to baking. Today I am going to whip up David Lebovitz French Apple Cake. His take on Dorie Greenspan’s version is my absolute favorite! I think there will also be some more pumpkin bread as well!
The big dough bucket will be empty this week so it will be time to fill it back up! That wheat dough… well the taste is wonderful and it stayed soft and moist for the 4-days it lasted! We finished it off Saturday night with a “breakfast for dinner” of eggs and toast! In my second attempt, I baked it in a loaf shape as the recipe suggested. I used the baking steel that we use for pizza and my results were so good!
Finally, I am going to make a big batch of Baked Pumpkin Steel Cut Oats because there is nothing better than some hot oats to help warm you up after an early morning excursion with Sherman!
And there you have my very full list for the week! I will see you all back here on Wednesday with some other sorts of making!
I got a Christmas Cactus last November from Trader Joe’s… it was full of buds then, but not a single one bloomed. Instead over the course of a couple of weeks, they all fell off. I was quite heartsick over it.
But!! I did not give up! Instead I rallied around this despondent Christmas Cactus. I watered it…I made sure it had light and a lovely spot to sit. And yes, I talked to it… a lot! It is a very attentive listener! LOL
And in mid-October I began to give it the tiniest bit of fertilizer… and look at it now! Apparently, my plant was patient as well… patiently waiting for that bit of fertilizer! And it looks like it is going to be a showy November which will hopefully carry over into December as well!
The end of each phylloclade has at least one bud…quite a few have two, and some have THREE!
If ever there was a lesson for me in not giving up, this is it! Sometimes the payoff takes a LONG time… but don’t give up!
That, my friends, is my Sometimes Monday wisdom for all of you.
Welcome to the final Currently post of this year. I know. Where did the year go?
Time flies. It’s up to you to be the navigator. — Robert Orban
Good advice, and some advice I have been following closely this year – I am the navigator of my days – the “filler of my minutes”… Let’s see what I am finding to fill those minutes, shall we?
Cooking —
Even though November has decided to revisit early summer this week…tomorrow will be in the upper 70’s and Steve is threatening to turn on the AC again. Sigh. However, I know that cold weather is hanging on the doorstep and as such, my desire to cook all the cold weather foods is burning inside me! This week I made a huge pot of chicken soup, chocked full of carrots, celery, and yes… chicken. I also picked up some Vital Wheat Gluten to try my hand at this whole wheat bread recipe, which I will be baking later today! And next week I have plans to do more baking…pumpkin bread anyone?
Watching —
I am savoring the latest Masterpiece Mystery – The Magpie Murders. I have watched one and really enjoyed it. I hope to catch myself up with it as my Gnome Knitting companion. Ha! I also watched the latest Shetland series on Britbox… the farewell to DI Jimmy Perez. It was bittersweet, but I hope they have plans to continue something with Tosh and Sandy. It is not quite the same as the books, but they are based on Ann Cleeves books. And can we just talk about the scenery for a moment? It is stunning. Speaking of stunning… I discovered a BBC Scotland show, Landward (also on Britbox.) It is a little glimpse into life in Scotland with a heavy take on farming and nature.
Knitting —
Last night, I began Gnome Eleven and purchased the December Mystery Gnome… and I have begun thinking about yarn colors (the mystery gnome needs 5 colors!) I am not purchasing yarn but rather will be peeking into my yarn leftover bag if I need to add something different than what I have used thus far this year! And my new Gnome… well, I am thinking it will be a she… so no beard, but I am seeing some curly locks! And she has a handspun sweater… so I know she is crafty. I am wondering if I could take a wee button and a bit of a broken dpn and make her a little drop spindle! The Gnome Knitting has been such a fun project this year… and I am thinking about what to do next year that will inspire whimsy and creativity! I also have been enamored of all the in-process Pressed Flowers I have seen on IG. I am not jumping on the knitting bandwagon to make a cardigan, but I am rekindling my plans for a rectangle shawl version. I am at the *thinking about yarns* stage… and wondering what I might couple with some handspun that I have.
Aging —
While we were in Erie, we walked… a lot. On all sorts of terrain… and lots of uneven terrain. And each day I began to notice that my left hip was progressively more painful than the day before. And by the end of our time in Erie, me trying to walk in the morning would be comical and if I was not in so much pain, I’d surely have laughed at how I looked hobbling around. The intense pain has subsided (although the stairs are still a bitch) but I am making an appointment to go see my doctor to discuss what might be the problem. And I am long overdue for an eye check… but oof, do I need one. So it is on my list to make an appointment, pronto! And after that… I need to address my hearing (or lack thereof) issue. Getting old is not for the faint of heart!
Worried —
While I have not been stressing about it, I am concerned about what our nation will look like after Tuesday’s elections and what all that will mean for democracy as I have known it. I have voted and I have encouraged everyone I speak with to vote. (I mostly don’t care who you vote for as long as that candidate is living in a fact-based reality…) It does make me so angry that there is a very loud faction of people in America who are racist as all get out… and they are not even ashamed of it at all. And all this not so subtle fanning of the flames of violence… well, I just don’t know how we pull back from that but I hope there are more voters that are concerned about voting for candidates who live in a fact-based reality than not. And I really hope that all the poll workers working next week are safe.
And with that, I leave you. Have a great weekend and I will be back on Monday!
Last month, I copiedCarole’s idea to welcome the new month… I liked it. It kept me focused. And it was semi-successful! Ha!
So, Welcome November!
In November, the smell of food is different. It is an orange smell. A squash and pumpkin smell. It tastes like cinnamon and can fill up a house in the morning, can pull everyone from their bed in a fog. Food is better in November than any other time of the year. — Cynthia Rylant, In November
Yes to all of that! I am all about the November eats! Pumpkin pie, stuffing, turkey. Yes please! Haha! And even though I cook for a “scaled down” version of Thanksgiving. I still like to have all the parts! November, you are so good!
But food aside, there are some things I want to accomplish this month and I do have a couple of “carry overs” from October’s list as well! I put them up top on my list so they are sure to get done (or at least started… see Steve’s socks! lol)
The List of More has some really good things on it:
More Studio Tunics, please! Yes, I have two corduroy tunics to sew! The fabric arrived the day before we left so I have a good excuse for not getting them done, but as soon as I have the fabric washed, the sewing will begin!
I have one sock to knit… still. So Steve’s Sock gets a spot again. Sigh. My excuse… I lost a needle (and I have torn the house apart looking for it…grrr!) I can knit the sock with 4 needles, but I prefer 5. So I need to get another set of needles. This yarn is thin and really needs a size zero, so I need to make a stop at JoAnn’s and pronto!
It’s November which means I have a new Gnome to knit! The Eleventh! And I have selected Gnemo for this month! Colorwork, a sweater, and a curly beard!
There is a fun new thing to add this year… watercolor Christmas cards! Yes, instead of buying cards this year – I bought card stock to paint on! I am even contemplating doing a painting for Steve’s Mom and Dad for Christmas. Stay tuned!
And speaking of watercolor… yes, I start another class today! Kym and I are committed to keeping each other painting and I am so glad! She inspires me and I just love how painting makes me feel.
The tomatoes were are still cranking out tomatoes before we left for Erie, so I left them (and came home to find a bowlful to pick!) but I will be pulling them this next week (we are having a week of temps in the 60’s here, so maybe they will keep on cranking out tomatoes and in the dark o’clock to take Sherman out it looked like more were ‘on the verge’ of being ripe!) But they will get pulled – eventually – so I can put their pots to bed for the season.
Now for the Less is More category… because you know that November needs to have at least one thing that I need a lot less of, right?
Christmas… yes, in November. I like to decorate once Thanksgiving has happened…so Black Friday? Well it’s Trim the House Friday in my house! But this year I am contemplating downsizing the volume of decorating I do. Perhaps a Less is More approach and I don’t know how I feel about that, but I have some time to contemplate…I am generally a person who embraces change but Christmas decorating is all about the care of a little girl who missed out on all that fun. I grew up in a house that put up a tree on Christmas Eve and it was gone the day after Christmas. So I think you can imagine that because of that, I take Christmas to the top… and then push it over. But I am not that child anymore (or at least I hope I am not) and this year of really thinking about what a Full Life is… and is not… has me thinking about full not meaning all.the.things. but perhaps having the all the best parts…and finding joy in them. I have tried to do this in previous years and I have always felt like so much was missing. So my goal is to view this from a different approach this year and achieve success… I hope. Ha!
And with that, I have my “November Lists”… What’s on your list this month?
See you all back here on tomorrow with some Unraveling!
P.S. In case all you readers out there are in fear of a solid month of blog posts… never fear, there will be no #NaBloPoMo for me again this year. Whew, right?
First up… before any fun begins… I want to give a bit of a reminder to check your voting registration… in PA you have until October 24th to register to vote in the November election AND there is still time to get your mail-in ballot! You will find your state information here! There is so much that is not on the ballot, so who you vote for has never been more important.
No matter who you vote for, the most important thing is that you vote! (and with that I will get off my soap box and return you to your regularly scheduled blog post)
Now how about some excellent RIFFs for this chilly Friday!
Radiant —
A clip of the video below showed up in my Twitter feed one afternoon this week and I just needed more. I thought this might be the perfect way to usher in Friday. Brilliant, joyful, so uplifting and I believe that this was exactly what Mr. Vivaldi was hoping would happen with his music! This week, the Goede Hoop Marimba Band has given me the best “ear worm” ever! I hope you enjoy it as well!
Indigenous (Mapping) —
Steve had the day off on Monday for The Holiday Formerly Known as Columbus Day. In all honesty, I never spent much time thinking about the greatness of Columbus on this day. But recently I have been thinking much more about the silliness of celebrating a day of discovery of a land that was already discovered… and had been for roughly 25,000 years. I had so much fun with this map that NPR shared this week. It shows a well-inhabited North America… and drilling down to my neighborhood, I now know that I live on lands of Osage and Shawnee as well as the ancient tribe of Monongahela Indians.
My library does not contain many books so the fact that I have a copy of Dryer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style should tell you that I thought this book was important and very necessary. Reading his article has reminded me that I am long overdue for a reread.
But… this could have been written for me: “Good writing, I think, ultimately exists between the twin goal posts of as-few-words-as-you-need and as-many-words-as-you-want. I, a natural natterer, lean toward the latterer.”
I am thankful for Dryer’s reminder on my over use of very and actually… at least for the moment! LOL
(and) Finally —
A bit of a vacation blogging schedule notice. Next Thursday (10/20), we head off to my most favored of places on the planet – Mississauga Lands (otherwise known as Presque Isle in Erie, PA) for a bit of a rest and rejuvenation! There will be an Unraveled post on Wednesday (10/26) but that is it. I don’t know how much making and reading I will have accomplished while on vacation, but you never know… I might even surprise myself! Ha!
I will be here as usual next week. On Monday the docent will have a new Museum of Me exhibit, and of course, there will be some Unraveling on Wednesday. I will be closing the week out on Thursday with A Gathering of Poetry installment and I’d like to invite you all to join in with us and share a poem that you might have stumbled across recently. Or share a poem that is near and dear to your heart. Really. The more the merrier… life can never have too little poetry!
And with that I will let you all get on with your day! Happy Friday All!
