I have so enjoyed reading the flurry of “Current Updates” in the blogisphere, I thought I would join in and share a little slice of my world as 2019 winds down. I was surprised to see that I had not done one of these updates since June! It makes me smile to see where I was on the first day of summer – especially since we will welcome winter on Saturday! Okay, maybe someone will be up to welcome it at 11:19 PM EST but I promise you, I will be tucked into my cozy, warm bed!
Contemplating:
My word for next year! Focus has been so very good that part of me wants to “stay in the zone” for 2020, but I think I can drill into it a bit – take what I have learned through focus and apply it specifically into areas of my life that focus has shown to have issues. I am thinking about purpose/purposeful and intention/intentional.
Watching:
Un Village Français, courtesy of my library. I am just in season one, but it is fascinating to watch life just after German occupation in 1941 in the village of Villeneuve. I know I say this all the time, but I truly adore my library and the vast number of options I have to watch, read, and listen!
Reading:
Speaking of reading, I do not know where the recommendation came from – but I am reading One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow by Olivia Hawker. I love when a book sucks you in from the very first paragraph! I am about 1/3 of the way in and enjoying it tremendously – it might even be causing me to stay up just a wee bit later to read “just one more chapter”!
Savoring:
These December days – we are halfway through the month, with the best half yet to come! And, I am spending them enjoying all the subtleties of the season! The lights, the music, and especially those moments of unexpected good will in curious places – like the grocery store!
Knitting:
Yes, we got a dusting of snow overnight! WOO!!
Crazily, I have some delusion that I can finish a pair of mittens to match this headband that I knit over the weekend. Yes – I translated the pattern and figured out how to double-knit – now I am feverishly knitting a pair of matching mittens. If I can get these done today – I can make one more trip to the post office tomorrow and they *might* make it to Michigan in time for Christmas! If all that fails – then I can add them to whatever we send Vivi for Valentine’s Day!
Planning:
Some selfish making in January! All this gift knitting will be done, and I have plans to do some sewing – including a Day of Pinning and Cutting Out All The Things in the week between Christmas and New Year!
There you have what’s current in my life! What about you? What’s your favorite current thing?
Summertime is always the best of what might be. — Charles Bowden
Happy Summer Solstice! After torrential overnight rains, this morning the clouds are giving way to pale blue skies. The humidity is gone, and the birds are singing! I have shut off the AC and opened wide the windows, welcoming in the cool air. After a week of rarely seeing the sunshine, this is the perfect start to summer!
Celebrating:
Our ninth “anniversary” of sorts! I use the word anniversary loosely because we are not married – but no less committed to each other (and perhaps more so!) Anyways, we had the most hilarious conversation this morning where we struggled with the date a bit – how many years now? After much conversation and checking of calendars – Happy 9 years of co-habitation! The highlight of the morning thus far was the email informing me that I have 1 year of BritBox awaiting me! Steve does know me so well – sometimes is scares me! Ha! Anyways, I have plans to celebrate tonight with our usual Happy Hour, which tonight will be a Happy Anniversary Hour! And, I think the weather is going to cooperate nicely and allow for a bit of a bonfire tonight!
Making:
Yesterday I got all the pieces cut out for Vivi’s quilt top (thanks to Middlemarch – which is the most engaging company) and this morning my plan was to start sewing squares together… But perhaps it would be a better thing to get this yarn skeined up and soaking since the weather is perfect for drying yarn! I also need give my Screen Door a quick soak and a bit of blocking. Yesterday, I pulled out this project and managed to get past the sleeve divide. And, this weekend I want to make some more of this incredible jam. It is insanely delicious – far less sweet – and much faster than this jam. I did NOT strain the jam as suggested in the recipe. As you can see, there is no shortage of “making” going on here.
Watching:
The latest season of The Handmaid’s Tale and a new series, Das Boot – both on Hulu. I also finally caught up with the latest season of Bosch on Amazon. And, best of all – the latest season of Endeavor on PBS!
Loving:
Michelle’s Summer Friday Prompts! They are a wonderful thing to contemplate and I am carrying them with me through the week in my morning meditation time. This week’s prompt was ironically timely – and I am profoundly grateful for the prompts. It is always a good reminder to look beyond the bad and think about the future – and to find something to be grateful for.
Asking:
For your valued input! I have been thinking about the future of Unraveled Wednesday – is it stale? Does it need a reboot? How many weeks can we really be excited to talk about our making and reading? I welcome your thoughts, comments, and suggestions! (and if you don’t want to leave a comment here you are welcome to email me at kachrist37 (at) gmail (dot) com – of course you know to swap out the (at) and (dot) with an ampersand and a period.
That is what is happening in my world right now – Have an amazing weekend and I will see you back here on Monday! (And, I look forward to your thoughts and suggestions about Unraveled Wednesdays!)
I don’t remember when the last time I have done a “currents” post (I looked, and it was May) and with Carole away on vacation it seemed the perfect day to do one! Waning August is heavy on my mind. Things look tired in my yard… spent…done, perhaps even overdone! It is sad to spend time in the vegetable garden because things there are almost done. I don’t know how many more big tomatoes we will get, but I am still harvesting a few cherry tomatoes every day, but I don’t think that will be the case much longer! The beans seem to be the one thing that has been entirely unaffected by all this wretched heat… I am picking a healthy handful every day. But, this was not a good year for peppers at all. But, am I really ready for a new month and a new season? Yes, I confess I absolutely am! And, here is what else is filling my days and will carry me into September!
Watched/Watching: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society is a lovely movie! It was most excellent company for Cretan stitching! It’s on Netflix if you are interested! I am also eagerly waiting each week for a new episode of Castle Rock on Hulu… it is also so good!
Listening: My new favorite channel on Spotify is Your Favorite Coffeehouse…it is my favorite Friday Happy Hour mix and we are listening to it regularly! Also, I am anticipating the new Tony Bennett and Diana Krall music!
Making: Every day! Right? But, I am caught between two seasons – trying to finish things up to wear them while there is still summer, and getting things done to be ready when the inevitable change in the weather happens. And, sewing is really consuming my mind…I have a vision for a slim, straight black knit skirt to go with my new AC-esque shirt! A blog friend asked yesterday if this sewing theme will continue into the fall, and yes… I believe it will – for the foreseeable future!
Feeling: Cooped up! It has been such a hot summer, I am really feeling a good bit of excitement for cooler nights (and yes… days too!) A house with wide open windows and with no AC running is my latest obsession! Also, I am feeling a perverse sense of joy at school being back in session! Really… the days are so incredibly quiet now and it is the loveliest thing!
Planning: Our trip to Michigan to visit the kids and my granddaughter and I really can’t wait. We are staying in a new place, much closer to them and with much more room. This means more cooking for me and “forced family fun” (as my kids loved to call it) but, I am eagerly anticipating it!
Loving: And feeling rather proud about some rather difficult decisions I have recently made! But, the realization that the decision to NOT be in choir this year was just what I needed…the feeling of a weight being lifted, the sense of dread gone, the anxiousness removed! Just because you have always done something, does not mean you always have to… trust me when I tell you that changing things up gives the most amazing new perspective!
Reading: voraciously! Yes, this has been one heck of a summer for books for me! I have read 45 books since Memorial Day weekend. So many good books! I also blew past my Goodreads goal this month, and have exceeded 100 books read this year! The key to my voluminous reading success is the number of audio books I have listened to this year. And, a huge thanks to Carnegie Library for their amazing selection of audiobooks to choose from!
There you have what my Waning August looks like. What about you? What does your current look like?
It seems with blogging daily I am telling you everything that is going on in my life. Close, but not really. A good bit of time has passed since my last Currently post, and Tuesday’s being an inordinately challenging blog post day, I figure it might be time for some more current and pressing things in my life right now, right?
Watching: I recently binged the London Spy on Netflix. Wow. It was good and had crazy twists and turns. I highly recommend. I am also watching Season 2 of The Handmaid’s Tale as they drop each week on Wednesday, also so good! And, The American’s is winding down to the series finale. So, lots of mystery and wtf moments in the watching department!
Experiencing: Incredible relief! I had a little sit down about my volunteer activities and it worked out better than I thought it might! Yes, I am still doing some volunteering, but it now feels more like volunteering and less like free work! This is a very good reminder to me that setting boundaries in all things are a best practice.
Planning: Lots of things (some of which I shared yesterday) but really… MEALS! I have somehow strayed from healthy eating. Okay, that makes it seem like I was not at all responsible for what I eat and drink, lol. The fact is I have gained some weight back and it is a good reminder that being healthy is a lifestyle, not a temporary fix. So, we have been spending the month of May focusing on getting back to that lifestyle. It has been a challenge, but I think we are turning the corner. I am not beating myself up over this lapse, but rather using it as a motivational point.
Loving: This post from IG that January One shared on Sunday. It struck a cord with me and was just what I needed to see.
Repurposing: I have discovered that Lotta Jandottor’s Esme Top with cap sleeves (which needs no binding around the sleeves) fits PERFECTLY in a repurposed 100 Acts of Sewing Dress No. 2. I will be sewing up a few more tops in the next week or so and it makes me feel so good that these dresses are not going to waste!
Contemplating: Planting!! Specifically, tomato and pepper varieties and pondering beans with the hopes that Operation Keep Bunnies Out does do just that.
And, there you have a list of what’s current in my world right now! What about you?
Watching Loch Ness which I borrowed from the library.
Reading A Stash of One’s Own by Clara Parkes – this one will fill a slot on my Read Harder Challenge list.
Listening to Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and I am enjoying it tremendously.
Making a bunny in a bear suit, mystery socks (which still are a mystery to me!), and sleeves on my Strokkur!
Feeling eager for the arrival of spring, gardening, and spending more time out-of-doors and ennui about my current knitting projects (except that little bear which is getting all the love!)
Planning lots of things! Starting with my participation in The 100 Day Project again this year. I would like to do something a bit more creative than I did last year. I am thinking about how I can successfully accomplish this. I am also planning some “days of sewing” coming up – why days? Well, when I get out the sewing machine – I’d like to have a few things to work on while it is out! And, the garden – lots of planning is happening over what to grow this year!
Loving the longer days and these surprisingly sturdy snowdrops that survived the weekends gale-force winds!
