by Kat | May 16, 2022 | General, In This Moment
A bit of a random brain dump this morning… sorry about that.
This morning I am a bit “foggy” because I got another COVID booster shot yesterday. I had thought to wait till the fall but COVID numbers have been on a sharp incline here in Allegheny County so I went and got boosted. This morning I am having a lovely little immune response as the vaccine wakes up my t-cells and my plan is to queue up some PBS shows and sit on my new sofa. (yes… the sofa parts were delivered on Thursday! Woot!)
I wore my Tegna all weekend…. and it is too big. The fabric in the sweater is not behaving like the fabric in my swatch. Sigh. I am contemplating what to do. I do NOT want to unravel the entire thing, but maybe half way and shorten it a bit. On my list for this week… knit a couple of swatches that I can seam together and see how that holds up.
I started the Mystery Gnome this weekend… and clue two is out today! (stay tuned for a bigger update on Wednesday!)
I also started Sam’s sock… cuff as swatch told me that my gauge was a bit off so I did some Knitty Maths and cast on again yesterday. I have almost 3″ done (again) and I am using Wise Hilda’s Basic Ribbed sock pattern. (Ravelry Link)
Finally, I have been playing with the (pseudo) macro function on my iPhone.
Indoor lighting…sigh…
The colors in one leaf… I love it!
Freshly “unfurled”
That is all I have for this Monday. See you all back here on Wednesday!
by Kat | May 6, 2022 | General, In This Moment
When April steps aside for May, like diamonds all the rain-drops glisten; fresh violets open every day; to some new bird each hour we listen. ― Lucy Larcom
I thought this quote was fitting, especially for the weekend weather forecast Pittsburgh has… lots and lots and lots of rain-drops. I am not complaining because with the weather we have had, it could as easily be snow (which I would be complaining about!)
However, it is May and that means Macro May! This month I am going to play a bit with my iPhone and see what I can learn. Of course, Apple had an article that was both inspiring and overwhelming. I think I need to get my tripod out..lol. Good thing I nabbed that photo last night, this morning that blown dandelion is just a stalk.
A bit of a sofa update for you all… yes, I have a chair to sit on. No, the sofa issue has not been solved (i.e. no new sofa, no new parts, no repaired light post…) And yes, I am almost a raving lunatic at this point in time…But!! Steve fixed the storm door… so there is that.
This is not really a find… but perhaps a reminder… many of us (myself included) have put off things during the pandemic but one thing you should NOT put off is a colonoscopy. I called this week to schedule mine (I am now on the 5-year plan because my family history has a vibrant thread of colon cancer running through it… sigh) I think this colonoscopy will be the 5th one I have had (my first was at 30) and it amazes me that not much has changed since then… at least not that I have noticed. I confess I am not eager for that evening with a gallon jug of NyLYTELY, however I don’t need to worry about it until August. I chuckled at the scheduler who said she would update me on the COVID protocol closer to the date (as if COVID might not be a thing 3 months from now, lol)
Now how about a find or two?
First, I wanted to share a new podcast I discovered thanks to Ada Limón…As She Rises. This is from the podcast description:
“As She Rises is …from Wonder Media Network. It brings together poems from artists throughout the US and territories that depict the effects of climate change on their home and their people. Each episode carries the listener to a new place through a collection of voices, local recordings and soundscapes. Stories span from the Louisiana Bayou, to the silent tundras of Alaska to the receding coastlines of Puerto Rico. Centering native voices and women of color, As She Rises personalizes the elusive magnitude of climate change.“
I listened to season two while in Erie and it was really amazing. The poet reads their poem then there is a bit of a discussion with the hostess, Amanda Frances, that was both interesting and enlightening. I thought you all might enjoy listening to some beautiful poetry and a bit of a discussion on climate change with the poet. I have queued up season one to listen to this week!
Finally, it is #MeMadeMay which for me is really #MeMadeEveryDay! Yes, that is right, I have arrived at the point in my life where almost my entire wardrobe has been made by me. (Jeans and under garments are the only not-me-made items left in my wardrobe) I have been so inspired by the #MeMadeMay2022 thread on IG… it is my one guilty pleasure for the month! And, yes… I will be doing some sewing in May! Kym has inspired me to sit down and sew some knits!
There you go, Gentle Readers… have a great weekend! See you back here on Monday!
by Kat | May 2, 2022 | General, In This Moment
Greetings!
In the Weekend From Hell Category, I (we?) scored a ten. Although perhaps that should be a negative ten…because hell. Ha!
We have “been on the lookout” for a sofa for some time now….but most sofa’s are too big for our living room. So when we discovered the perfect sized sofa while in Erie last month. Steve did some research and found that.exact.sofa. at Wayfair.
- Right size: check
- Right color: check (the requisite grey…don’t ask)
- And the right price: check… it was on sale…although perhaps the on sale bit should have given us a heads up but I digress
The perfect sofa! And we knew it was comfortable having “test-seated” it for 10 days! We ordered it! (mistake #1…)
I no longer thought about said sofa until Steve got an email letting us know delivery would be Saturday… and as the week progressed, they refined that time to “10am-2pm” on Saturday. Then came a most reassuring email… I suppose… of their “strict COVID policy for No Contact Deliveries” The email had a list of things that we must do to “keep their employees safe”…things like Masking, Distancing, etc.
And so on Friday we disassembled our old sofa… yep, disassembled and removed from the house. (in hindsight, this was our second big mistake…)
Saturday… I’d truly like a do-over please! Heck, I’d like an entire weekend rewind… sigh! LOL Anyways, that 10-2 delivery window soon became 12-4pm… and 4 pm came and went with no hint of a delivery and by this time Steve was off the charts angry… and I am just keeping my mouth shut in our now sofa-less living room.
When the delivery people (boys? Seriously, I wonder if either of them were old enough to drive) finally arrived after 7PM… maskless, by the way… they wrangled 2 boxes from their truck and in the wrangling, they rolled the largest box into our front light post. The angle of it this morning is most lovely… really… if you live in the Crooked House, on the Crooked Lane! And before they were done, they had broken our front storm door… So now we have a Crooked Light and a Broken Storm Door!
And in case you are thinking that… whew… at least you have a damned sofa to sit on. Well, that might be right if those boxes had contained the correct back pieces to attach to said sofa.
And Customer Service closed at 8PM on Saturday (because, of course it did!) and Sunday’s Customer Service was… well… exactly like the sofa they delivered…it was missing the important parts (like actual customer service!)
The moral of the story is if you buy a sofa on the internet, you may need a new light, a new door, and perhaps another sofa.
Happy Monday from my Sofa-less Corner of the World!
P.S. The photo has nothing to do with a sofa and everything to do with a lovely little African Violet I got from TJ’s last week…a bright spot for any Monday!
P.P.S. I am thinking Wayfair’s new jingle should be “you don’t got what I need.”
by Kat | Apr 11, 2022 | General, In This Moment
Is for lists of things… good and not so great. I would ask you if you want the good or the not so great first, but since you are not here… I will get the not so great out of the way. If your Monday is Monday enough without any more not so great, please skip ahead to Thing Three!
Thing One… today is my sister’s 58th birthday and it has been 3 months since I have heard a word from her. I am holding on to the thought that no one has contacted me with bad news… Still, it was so easy to get used to talking again…however brief… and even though it was simply because she had hit the bottoms bottom… I miss talking to her… even it if it just to listen to her version of truth.
Thing Two… (as if Thing One was not depressing enough) 100 days into 2022 and Pittsburgh has had 4-whole-days-of-sunshine. 4-freaking-days. I am more than ready for some prolonged moments (days? weeks?) of sunshine. Also… I am going to remind myself of this in August when it is 90-gazillion degrees and we need rain.
The remainder of my list is for your ears… things to listen to while you work on your Monday list.
Thing Three… This morning Season Five of Poetry Unbound began! Ahhhh…and this morning’s episode was exactly what I needed (“I put myself back into the trance…weather, gossip, news”)… because of course poetry helps all things…and even more Pádraig’s commentary… it helped me make sense of my void.
Thing Four…Thankfully, Jon Meacham has returned with another podcast offering. I have listened to several installments… they are short… and so lovely. If you like history, then I think you will enjoy Reflections of History.
Thing Five… Ocean Vuong. His latest book of poetry, Time is a Mother, was released on the 5th. You can listen to a beautiful interview here from NPR’s Book of the Day podcast. I found myself nodding with so much of what Ocean shared with Rachel Martin.
I hope your Monday is gentle… see you all back here on Wednesday.
by Kat | Apr 1, 2022 | General, In This Moment
Welcome to the Second Quarter, Gentle Readers!
I am wondering how on earth I am welcoming April… no fooling! This year seems to be moving at a pace slightly faster than warp speed… sigh.
However, my Blog Calendar tells me that today is the day for my Currently Check In! I am excited to be documenting my year in this way. This feels better to me than the monthly review… which, for me, felt like Blog Overkill. For me it feels better to check-in with a current list that allows me to see what I am doing now and where I was with the hope of perhaps holding myself accountable for things that “fall off my radar” for whatever reason.
Decreasing: Stashes… of all sorts. I spent some time at the end of March going through my “Yarn Closet”… reorganizing and, yes, removing a good portion of The Stash. It felt good. I also went through some “unpacked boxes” left overs from my move from Michigan almost 10 years ago…Yeah, I should have just tossed those boxes but I went through them. Thanks to one of those boxes I have a new set of pjs and I will soon have another pair completed! But most of the stuff I unearthed is gone… or is waiting to be donated. Some time ago I started a box for each of my kids and then promptly (conveniently?) forgot about them. But those boxes are back on my radar and I am going to spend this quarter working on getting them filled (which I hope will empty more boxes!)
Increasing: Play Time! Thanks to Karen Abend’s Sketchbook Revival, I have been spending some time each day practicing not being perfect. Playing. Coloring outside the lines. Trying new things. Contemplating creativity. And it has been so much fun! This is a thing that I want to keep on doing… because it is such a great release! Because it is so much fun! And because I am inspiring myself.
Anticipating: Spring. Really. Mother Nature has teased us with some hints of spring but I fear that we are going to go from Winter to Summer… wham, bam. Boo, because I like the in-between seasons… spring and fall. A gradual easing into what is coming next…but I might need to disavow myself of that wish this year. Sigh. Instead, I am looking forward to April Poetry and an April Trip to Erie… things that I can be sure of! Ha! And speaking of April Poetry – you will find Kym, Bonny, Sarah, and myself sharing our love of poetry on Thursday’s this month!
Meanwhile, in the oven: Yes, I am still mixing up a “Tub of Dough” roughly every 20 days…and baking baguettes, boules, and lots of pizza! I just love the ease and simplicity of 5-Minute Bread… This was absolutely one of the best things I am continuing from the start of the year. I hope to figure out focaccia this quarter…I have a recipe, I just need to make the time to make the recipe!
The Bandwagon Knitting Ban: Yes, that is right… In January I jumped on the bandwagon to knit a Musselburgh Hat… and… it was a failure on a number of levels. First… my yarn was too fine… so my hat might have fit a shrunken head. Second… Bandwagon Knitting. Yeah, sometimes it works… but, for me, it has not worked for a long time. I end up with a thing I won’t use or wear. So yep, I have A Bandwagon Knitting Ban… for the foreseeable future.
Projects for Success: This idea really resonates with me. But what is it… well, for me, it is making things I love…and wear often….again. Sort of like a Uniform Wardrobe…pieces that wear and play well with the other wardrobe staples. In that frame of mind… I started another Tegna, this time with a warm weather yarn. I also want to knit another Fall/Winter Marsa Alum. (Ravelry Link) I also plan on sewing another Esme Tunic… in a summery linen. I am also contemplating knitting another Ranunculus, (Ravelry Link) most likely not out of linen yarn this time… but I don’t have any idea on what yarn I want to use, but I am thinking about it… lots.
Reading: My reading life is so much better this year. I stopped reading for a “number” and started reading more spur of the moment reads. These little changes have really inspired me! And the books I am reading are staying with me longer… which might be the best change ever. Sometimes small changes make a huge difference in the quality of ones life. That is certainly true for me and reading this year!
And there you have a snapshot of my currents… Have a great weekend everyone and I will see you all back here on Monday!
by Kat | Mar 25, 2022 | General, In This Moment
I have said this many times, that there seems to be enough room in the world for mediocre men, but not for mediocre women, and we really have to work very, very hard. — Madeleine Albright
Dearest Madam Secretary,
The news of your passing took me by surprise this week because, somehow, I was of the mindset that you would be here forever… If only. I have such incredible memories of you… starting with your becoming Madam Secretary. My goodness, that was such a note worthy event. You were The First (but absolutely not the last!) You were such an incredible breaker of glass ceilings and you were most certainly not mediocre! But my greatest joy ever was listening to you read your book, Fascism: A Warning… I imagined that what you shared must be similar to what your students heard in your classes, and perhaps… what other leaders heard when you spoke to them. You are leaving a void that will take many to fill but fortunately, you have inspired so many others and my hope is that those many others will rise up and fill that void in magnificent ways. I promise you that your memory is a blessing to so many. May you rest in power.
With Deepest Sympathies,
A Devoted Fan
Honorable Judge Brown Jackson,
I wanted to take a moment to send you my thoughts on The Senate Confirmation Hearing…aka Your Week In Hell. I am so very sorry that out of the hundreds of judgements that you have delivered, some…the mediocre…only focused on a very small handful. Do not fear, we all saw that they were doing there… Sadly, Irony died a very long time ago. The adage of glass houses seems to be most appropriate here, but they are blind and deaf to that. Sadly, the mediocre are never mute… and for a very brief moment I erroneously felt a bit of woman-ship with you. Many of us have been in meetings where we were interrupted…continuously… so please, forgive my white privilege in even momentarily thinking what I (and many other white women) experienced was in any way similar, it was not…at all. I also want to thank Cory Booker for showing us all so beautifully how to have someones back. And yet through the entire debacle, you maintained such incredible composure! You are a shining example for all of us! I am so eager for your confirmation to the Supreme Court. Your presence there is long overdue…and I, for one, am so glad you persevered. You are the best of all of us!
Sincerely,
A Joy-Full and Inspired American
Have a great weekend everyone, I will see you all back here on Monday with my word update!
