by Kat | May 29, 2017 | General, In This Moment
A Monday that is still the weekend is all kinds of awesome in my book!
So far, my weekend has been practically perfect in every way: the annuals have been planted into the various containers, there has been lots of grilling (i.e. I have not been doing much cooking), and yesterday morning we headed out for a long-ass walk which we are repeating again this morning, and while there has been the threat of rain it did not materialize until late last night – all in all it has been a glorious weekend.
How about some Literary Links for a Monday?
Book Riot shared this most disturbing news yesterday. Perhaps all you can take a few moments to send off a little love letter to your elected officials and let them know that you think it is a very bad idea to give any powers at all the illiterate dolt in the White House.
Need some help filling squares for your Summer Book Bingo card? Goodreads to the rescue with this list of the most popular books for the past 100 years.
For the total bibliophile: 8 Literary Shower Curtains to Make Your Bathroom Look Like a Library
There you go, Gentle Readers! Have an awesome extended weekend and, spend a few moments reflecting today.
by Kat | May 23, 2017 | General, In This Moment
Reading: After being on the wait list for eons at the library for the second Tana French book, I got the loveliest email late yesterday that it is now available. So, I downloaded it this morning and will start reading it today! I also was stunned to get an email this morning that a book suggestion from Mary for my Book Bingo list came in also. Gah! I have not downloaded it yet… But I did add a few more books to my summer book bingo list. I basically have mapped out my summer reading and I could not be happier. I shared Book Bingo with some friends at church on Sunday and I was thrilled to get an email yesterday filled with excitement about book choices!
Watching: Not much, really. I finally caught up with Call the Midwife and Homefires on PBS. There are things I want to watch, but have no burning desire to sit down and watch them. I had been an avid watcher of The Leftovers on HBO, but this final season has been a huge disappointment. So much so, I am not certain I will finish watching it. Perhaps a plan of 60 minutes in the morning riding the stationary bike and watching something on Netflix or Amazon Prime will accomplish two things at once? Stay tuned!
Listening: My audible book library is chocked full of good things to listen to and all of them are on my summer reading list. I am slowing down on Moby Dick to finish it on Memorial Weekend (and thus giving me my first square!)
Knitting: It seems like every year about this time, Knitting Ennui strikes. I am restless and not much interested in any of the projects I have going. It is indeed a sad state of affairs. However, last night I might have found the cure…I got some yarn to sample from Love Knitting – a lovely cotton from Sweden “MillaMia” and they sent three colors. Hmmm, a method to their madness? I have never knit any creatures so I was unsure how much I would like it. But, I cast on Alex the Mouse to test out the yarn and the pattern last night. So far, so good! I also have finally (almost) finished half of a pair of socks for Steve. I will be finalizing my summer knitting projects today and will share my list tomorrow. Stay tuned!
Eating: All the asparagus, really – all of it! Janoski’s shared yesterday that this is about the end of it. Will there be more next week? I do not know, but they can keep these amazing strawberries coming, please! They also had the most gorgeous Swiss Chard yesterday. The eating is so good in my neighborhood right now!
Loving: So many things!
- To start out – the weather, although we had a couple of days in the 90’s, for the most part it has been the perfect spring.
- Next up, the variety in my garden this year – we have 10 different varieties of tomatoes, 3 varieties of peppers, beans, some kind of squash (thanks to no plant labeling but they are either zucchini or summer squash) cucumbers (thanks to a happy accident at the greenhouse) and we added in a new variety of rhubarb this year! In the perennial beds, we added in some new plants this year as well; all of the deer resistant variety. So far, so good! Although the bunnies are making quick work of the cone flowers and they also love the leaves on the lilies! All this gardening makes me so happy!
- Last, but certainly not least: my stitching! I could not be happier than I am in the few moments I spend each day stitching. I have also been watching Vicki and Kym stitch such beautiful Alabama Chanin garments. I am absolutely intrigued. Perhaps over the summer I will stitch up one of these and see how it turns out and I bet Steve has an old tee shirt I can use!
And, finally: Selling LipSense… and loving it. If there is something you’d like, message me and I will be glad to help you! (Also, I have been using their skin care for over a month now and if you want to hear about the changes it has made, I would be thrilled to share with you!)
That is what is currently my world. What’s in your world right now?
by Kat | May 22, 2017 | General, In This Moment
I would love to be able to push a button and go back to Friday. This weekend was one of those weekends that you just don’t want to end. The weather was perfect, including the slow, soaking rains on Sunday! The only “gardening” I have left to do is to fill the containers for the porches and the patio. It would have been nice to get that done over the weekend, but time ran out.
By Saturday morning, the poppies were in full bloom. Their cheery red catches my eye every time I go to the kitchen, and stopping to look at them is the best detour of the day. And, the perfect contrast of petals and the purple center is so stunningly beautiful. As Kym says, flowers are indeed magical.
I worked more on my Book Bingo list, invited a couple more people to join, and then began to work on my “Summer Knitting List” of things I need to finish, and things I want to knit. Both lists will take some dedication to make headway on so, I spent some time looking for audio book options on my Bingo list. I was quite successful at the library which I hope means that my summer knitting and reading will be successful!
I did hit a bump in the road on the KAL knitting project. Pro-tip… dropping a stitch with super slippery yarn (read not wool) is a very bad thing. Not noticing the dropped stitch for half a dozen rows is devastating to the knitting. I tried, unsuccessfully, to pick the stitch up but in the grey light of Sunday afternoon reality spoke clearly in my ear – rip back and start over. Reality is right – this is gift knitting and so I ripped back and will start again today. For the record, I am blaming this incident entirely on the fog that is brought on by allergy medicine. Thanks, Zyrtek… NOT!
I know this should be an “unraveled” story for Wednesday, but I am hoping by Wednesday I am as far as I was pre-mistake-discovery. So, if I could rewind this, I would have not knit this on Saturday and worked on simpler projects with wooly yarn!
And that is all I have for today! How was your weekend?
by Kat | May 15, 2017 | General, In This Moment
Weekends are over just too darn fast, aren’t they?
Anyways, here we are and it is Monday and I was not ready to say goodbye to the weekend!
Saturday, we headed down to Mt. Lebanon for the return of the Farmer’s Market. New vendors this year meant that we had a bit of a Whiskey Tasting with Wiggle Whiskey (yes, before 10AM) and we also had a Maple Syrup tasting. Okay, stop the presses – that maple syrup was so good we bought a gallon of the stuff. Because, you know, we might want to bathe in it or something. Now, I am by no means a maple syrup connoisseur, but I know that I do not like any of the mass produced, high fructose corn syrup varieties available at the super market. This is made locally and it has a slightly smoky taste due to the fact that it is cooked over a wood fire. It is so good. Really. And, they ship, hint hint! Oh, and the wonderful gentleman who was there let me know that his mom is a knitter, so really can it get more perfect? Perhaps if they had sheep, and maple syrup, and knit…but 2 out of three is not bad!
We did a good bit of walking after taking our spoils to the car. The rhododendrons were all in bloom and even though it was an overcast day, the riot of color everywhere was stunning.
We also did a good bit of garden prep work. All the “deer netting” has been replaced and I will be transplanting my young plants out to their new beds over the course of the week. I am a bit worried about planting so close to our “safe time” (which is Mother’s Day) but the forecast is calling for a super warm week, so maybe I am okay. (Says the person who has been burned by this every single year since moving here…)
Mother’s Day was quiet, which was fine by me! I am almost caught up on Call the Midwife and am in the semi-mindless repeats on the Brambles Shawl. And, I made my favorite dinner – fresh asparagus, wrapped in Speck and roasted in the oven – topped with a couple of poached eggs.
Also, a blogging note…no post tomorrow but I will see you back here on Unraveled Wednesday!
How was your weekend?
by Kat | May 9, 2017 | General, In This Moment
Monday’s list was so successful that Tuesday is getting a Monday-esque list.
But, in among the tasks yesterday there were bits of joy; A gift from a friend, a hot cuppa, and yes – that bit of yarn means a finished object!
So, Tuesday – we’ve got this! What’s on your list today?
by Kat | May 8, 2017 | General, In This Moment
Bright and sunny Monday’s are never a bad thing and this morning was really a glorious start to the week.
This is good because after the weekend of indulging in Cinco de Mayo foods and beverages (and yes – weekend! And, there are still leftovers!), I am in desperate need to take a nice, long, extremely brisk walk this morning!
Did you all catch President Obama receiving the Profile in Courage Award last night? His speech was, as usual, amazing! If you missed it you can watch it in its entirety here.
I also have one long-ass list of stuff to get done this week…
So, with my list in hand – I am off and running! Hope your Monday is amazing!
