by Kat | Sep 20, 2016 | General, Words
Hello Tuesday! And, you know what that means! Carole wants to know something!! This week she asks:
We’re going to shake things up a little bit this week and do two lists of 5 things. First, I want you to write about the 5 best things you did this summer. And then I want you to share 5 things you are looking forward to doing this fall.
Summer bests, there were quite a few of them!
- My Summer Knit Along takes first place – for me it was really just the motivation I needed to clean up a plethora of languishing knits. Best thing about it – absolutely no requirements, no pressure, just go at whatever pace you desired. A win-win for all! I managed to get a good number of things done too!
- My vegetable garden had some tremendous successes. Tomatoes, beans, peppers, and raspberries were all in that category. I am still picking about a pint of raspberries every other day and tomatoes – what can I say – we have them in abundance!
- A couple of new flower beds that really added some lovely oomph to the back yard – including their being a huge draw for bees of all sorts!
- The new pergola which precipitated
- Some really nice extra-long weekend staycations. (although the summer ended on a very warm noted, it did get some use in May!)
Now, on to what autumn has in store! (Besides the cessation of AC usage – I am so over it!)
- Cooler days that will afford the use of the pergola well into the fall and
- Using our new re-purposed fire pit a number of times more before the bitter cold sets in
- A trip to Michigan to visit family – this is on the schedule currently and I am so eager for it!
- A trip to a Hops Festival (with my son and perhaps my daughter!!) and perhaps a winery or two while in Michigan. (Also, a stop at the Grand Traverse Distillery!) (After all that, you’d think a 12 step program would be on my list…)
- Some home improvement things in the house – not a super fun thing on the list, but some fresh paint will absolutely spark joy!
There you have it – the best of summer and some autumnal anticipation! What are you looking forward to?
by Kat | Sep 15, 2016 | General, Words
I had been so filled with joy in emptying out boxes and sorting through things from my move to Pittsburgh.
Really.
Overflowing with joy!
There were things that were easy to either move on to a new home or get rid of because if you have not used something in 3 years, you probably don’t need it right?
However, I moved here with LOTS of things from/for my kids. Things they made. Things I made for them. Things I loved dearly and that sparked such amazing joy.
If something sparks joy, Marie says it’s a keeper and this stuff sparks joy and then some! However, would they spark more joy in my children’s homes now?
Two Year Old Hands carefully stitched.
I had to take a step back and reassess my Konmari process. There are things that Marie Kondo had left out of her amazing little book. She forgot about the Saudade items – those things that bring deep, nostalgic, and melancholic longing for a time that will never return.
So, I have begun a box or two that will go with us when we visit my kids at the end of the month. The sorting process has gone rather slowly as I have worked through the challenging task, and it has been filled with bittersweet memories and a wistful longing for days gone by.
I am going to need more Kleenex™ to get through this.
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by Kat | Sep 13, 2016 | General, Words
September is upon us and that means FOOTBALL!
And for me, that means college football and especially MICHIGAN football!!
Why football, you ask? Well, Carole wants to know my:
10 Favorite Football Foods. (As in, your favorite things to eat while watching football.)
Well, let’s get to the starting lineup then!!
- Steve’s Buffalo Wings
- Hummus with fresh veggies
- Chili, which must have some nice warm….
- Cornbread, of course!
- Pizza – take out works so perfectly, really!
- Meatballs
- Chips and dip
- Sliders
- Nachos
- Jalapeño Poppers
Really, finger foods are key here (with the exception of the chili and cornbread!!)
Although Carole did not ask about things to drink – there should be beer!
There you have it, Gentle Reader – Football Eats! What’s on your menu?
by Kat | Sep 6, 2016 | General, Words
Happy Tuesday that feels like a Monday to me! Although that is not all bad because tomorrow is Wednesday already and that is halfway to the weekend!
Although, there may have been a conversation yesterday about needing a weekend from our weekend…some things are so nice they just should not end!
Carole wants to know:
10 Things You Did This Weekend
There were so many good things this weekend, I will be hard pressed to hold them to 10!! So, let’s get this rolling shall we?
- An extra special (and early) Happy Hour on Friday (thanks to Steve taking the day off from work, which started our weekend off nicely!!) It included his AWESOME Buffalo Wings and a plethora of Americano’s
- Estate Sale-ing (I can fondue, can you?)
- Walking – LOTS of walking! Up hills and down!
- Enjoying our repurposed fire pit – twice! Simple but effective!
- Eating… so much eating. And drinking!
- Reveling in a less humid, cooler atmosphere… ahhhh!
- Game playing… Uno, Bananagrams, and Pass the Pigs, note… these things inspired so much laughter, perhaps we spend too much time adulting and not enough time caring for our inner child.
- A minute amount of knitting, very minute.
- Picking MORE tomatoes and raspberries! Holy produce!!
- Thoroughly enjoying the Hummingbird Moth visits! So amazing!
That was my very full weekend! How about you? How was your weekend?
P.S. Sherman did an awful lot of this. I think he had a very good weekend too!
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by Kat | Aug 30, 2016 | General, Words
Hello, Gentle Readers! It’s Tuesday, and Carole is back and wants to know:
10 Things You Miss About Your Home When You’re Away
Hmmm, this might be a bit of a challenge, but let’s see how far I can get…
- My bed… of course this is number one, because well – it is perfect for sleeping. And, really – another bed is just never quite right, know what I mean?
- My routine…yes, I am a creature of habit – while I love change, I like somethings to be the same.
- A closet and dresser – living out of a suitcase can be a challenge
- My spinning wheel – although, for an upcoming trip I am planning on bringing a drop spindle or two…
- My own bathroom. Enough said.
- My water – really, your body gets used to the water where you are, different water feels different, smells different, and yes – tastes different.
- I would say the library, however, thanks to Overdrive and a Kindle this is no longer the issue it could be.
- My stash… yes, really!! It is challenging to pack knitting projects!!
- My kitchen. I like to cook, and I eat much better (healthier?) if I prepare the meal.
- Sherman… our preference is to take him with us, but sometimes that is just not possible. When it’s not – I miss him horribly.
There you have it – what I miss most when I am away from home! How about you? What do you miss most?
by Kat | Aug 23, 2016 | General, Making, Words
Last week, Jillian Moreno’s highly anticipated (at least by me!) book Yarnitecture was released. I got my copy on Friday and that sort of derailed any other reading plans I had for the weekend.
And, today being Tuesday I am going to share you my 10 favorite things from the book!
- The cover. Really. Did Jillian plan this just for me? I mean who could resist a book with all that great green on it!
- Are you a knitter who wants to spin? This book is entirely focused from a knitter’s perspective about the creation of yarn. In other words, she tells you the absolute best way to create a yarn you will want to knit with!
- There are fantastic photos (of course, that is sort of a given) that show clear photos of crucial things that new and old spinners struggle with – things like drafting, twist, and plying.
- She spends the entire book talking about spinning prepared fibers – and especially the amazing fibers available at Fiber Show’s and on Etsy. This is especially great if the idea of processing an entire fleece to spin is not your cup of tea!
- That being said, she still talks in depth about the LARGE variety of fibers there are available to spin!
- Yarnitecture takes you through yarn construction like you are building a house! She breaks it down into very manageable stages that help you make the yarn you want to make. I have been spinning a good bit of time and I had a number of “aha” moments!
- There is an entire chapter on the multitude of ways you can finish your yarn. Menacing your yarn is such a great phrase!
- Jillian demystifies grist for the spinner and breaks it down into something that is understandable and meaningful. (Especially if you are spinning for a large project)
- There an entire chapter on color and how to make color work for you as you are spinning – especially those lovely dyed braids of fiber. She inspires your imagination by showing you the tip of the iceberg on how they can be broken down to spin. After reading her inspiration, my mind is just flooded with dozens of ideas for fiber in my stash!
- Last, but certainly not least, there are 12 stunning patterns by a variety of talented designers using handspun yarn – from socks to shawls to sweaters – there is sure to be something that calls to you! I promise you my “knit list” has grown!
Jillian shows us that the possibilities are limitless when we are sitting at our wheel. Yarnitecture gives you the tools you need to build the yarn you want and then offers encouragement to knit something with it! Jillian is absolutely correct when she says, “I love knitting period, but handspun (yarn) takes it to a different level…” It absolutely does, Gentle Reader – and if you’d like to share that experience, this book is for you!
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