by Kat | Nov 7, 2022 | General, In This Moment
…is all about persistence.
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.
See you all back here on Wednesday!
by Kat | Aug 9, 2021 | General, In This Moment
Is for seeking input!
Last week we had a wee break in the heat and humidity, but that all ended over the weekend. This week is supposed to be warm and so humid. But that break…it makes me think about moving out of this season and easing into autumn.
It’s been such a strange summer… this was my “harvest” from this morning. Six little cherry tomatoes…sigh. I talked with someone this weekend who is having no better gardening luck that I am… and they garden on a much larger scale than the tiny garden we have.
But rather than dwell on the disappointments to start the week… I thought I’d ask the Knitting Hive Mind for some knitterly input. I have been thinking about Pressed Flowers …lots! I have even dreamt about it! (sorry, Ravelry link… I looked for other ways to share the shawl, but alas… Rav appears to be the only place Amy sells her patterns.) It would be a lovely thing to knit this fall and I think some of you have made it, but I honestly can’t remember if that is true. If you have made Pressed Flowers, what are your thoughts? Is it wearable…or maybe I should ask, Do you wear it often? I am contemplating using plötulopi to knit it with… my vision is a light, but warm layering piece.
That is all I have for this morning! See you all back here on Wednesday and I look forward to your Pressed Flowers input!
by Kat | Aug 2, 2021 | General, In This Moment
Are beautifully overcast and almost chilly enough to need a sweater!
This morning it feels like a switch has been turned off as August ushered in some much cooler nights. This paired with the now noticeably darker mornings and earlier darker evenings brings the knowledge that summer is not here to stay.
(Outside of my gardening woes) It has been the most glorious summer I can remember in quite some time. The pace at which I have been savoring summer has been perfect. I am not rushing to the “next thing” and while I am very disappointed in my gardens lack of productivity… my attitude of “it is what it is” is helping ease that disappointment. One thing I love is puttering in the garden in the early morning hours and productivity or not, that is where I like to be.
The outside time has brought another treat this summer… I have been enjoying the antics of a pair of Hairy Woodpecker’s brood of chicks and their unceasing demands for “more food…NOW”! Watching their parents fill the hungry mouths has been a delight!
One thing growing that has been on “hyper-growth” this year are my herbs… particularly my basil! And while I am sad that Kym is not having the same success… I am thankful that she shared a link for Basil Bombs. That bushy plant is about to get “de-leafed” and my freezer is waiting for those little green treasures. I don’t have an ice cube tray but I think I can make it work with “snack sized” ziplock bags.
One final very good thing from the weekend was an Amazon delivery that has brought things into focus… lol. Yep, I got an Ottlite and have been doing some stitching this weekend. What an incredible difference *seeing* makes! This stitching project is eons old (and I think it might almost qualify as an antique!) But, I made some very good progress yesterday once I got the right distance figured out! This is my “trial run” to see how it goes, and if it goes well… I have my eye on a couple of patterns from Etsy. (namely this and this)
And that is all I have for today… I will see you all back here on Wednesday!
by Kat | Jul 30, 2021 | General, In This Moment
Or, a “Currently” update…
I have not done a “currently” update for a very long time. Too long, maybe. Anyways, one has kind of been rattling around in my brain so I thought I’d share a bit. Sadly, it is not all of it is good… but that is often life, right?
Remembering — I read this morning that Senator Levin died and it reminded me of an interaction I had with him a very, very long time ago. I was at a gas station filling up my car on my way to work in Saugatuck. Senator Levin and his brother pulled in and while Sandy filled up their car, Senator Levin engaged in conversation with me. I, of course, recognized him and was kind of awestruck that he would talk with me. In our conversation, he asked for a recommendation on a place to eat. I asked him what he was hungry for… fish was the answer. I gave him a couple of options and he asked me where would I go… I gave him my response and he said that’s where they will go then! Such a great man with a legacy that will live on.
Tackling — This morning I have queued up a YouTube video on how to do horizontal mattress stitch. Honestly, it feels a bit daunting with all the “steps” because you bind off X stitches at the beginning of the row for X rows… which creates a series of steps. If I knit this sweater again, I will contemplate doing some knitting math and do some short rows to create the shoulder slant, which would allow me to bind off the row in its entirety (making seaming easier, I think…)
Reading — This week has been a banner week. First, I was finally “next in line” for Uncommon Ground and I stayed up a bit too late reading the past two nights – my plan for today is to get those shoulders seamed and then knit some mindless stockinette and read! Yesterday, I completed my Summer Book Bingo card with the finish of Ian McEwan’s Saturday. A brilliant way to finish my card… I just love his writing. And it is a book that will “sit with me” for some time.
(not) Growing — This summer will likely go down as the worst year ever for growing things. My vegetable garden has been a serious disappointment this year… I planted beans, some peppers, tomatoes, summer squash, and zucchini. Lots of things that are just not producing anything. Half of the zucchini have produced nothing… and this morning I noted that one plant has two zucchini starting… so maybe? The summer squash provided only 3 squash… and it appears there will be no more. Normally, I have more tomatoes than I know what to do with but it looks like I will be lucky to get a dozen tomatoes from 6 plants. I am holding out hope for some beans (to date, I have picked 5… that’s right, five beans) because I have blooms (again) so maybe this time I will get some beans. The peppers have had flowers, but no production beyond the flowers. One might think that my problem is bees… or the lack thereof. This is not the case… I have bees galore! So I am not certain what the problem is and Steve is now complaining about wasting water on a garden that is not producing.
(over) Grown — We made a decision earlier this year to not trim the bushes in the back yard in the spring, but rather cut them back significantly this fall. I worried about how “unkempt” the riot of bushes would look like, but I never imagined that those untrimmed bushes would be the source of some surprising visitors this summer! I usually hang a couple of hummingbird feeders, but had not gotten them out yet when the warnings went out about not feeding birds this summer… I was disappointed, because it is just so much fun to see hummingbirds from our porch. But, I never imagined the volume of birds that would flock to our Rose of Sharon… time spent watering in the yard is a joy with all the hummers zooming around. I have seen more of them this summer *with no feeders* than I ever did with feeders. This has caused me to reconsider garden beds and things that need pruning to “look good” … some good food for thought for the fall and winter!
Counting — Nine weeks from today we leave for Michigan. And while it seems like eons away… I know it will be here sooner than I think. I just can’t wait… although I have some trepidations about the trip (thank you, Delta Variant) My fervent hope is that both PA and MI will continue to stay out of the “red zone” as they currently are!
And there you have my “current” thoughts. I hope that you all have a great weekend and I will see you back here next week!
by Kat | May 17, 2021 | General, In This Moment
…is a respite from The Very, Very, Incredibly Busy Weekend.
It was full. So full.
My weekend started with some al Fresco-soak in the sunshine-sip a couple of beers dining. Yes, sunshine!! Temperatures that were well above freezing! Gosh, it felt so good and was the perfect way to welcome the weekend!
Saturday we headed out to find some asparagus (we didn’t) and get plants for both the flower containers and the vegetable garden (we got a few…sigh). Our local vegetable/garden center was a huge disappointment. A huge, gigantic disappointment. They had plants… lots of the same kind of plants. Perfect if you want pink petunias in every container. Less than perfect if that was not the look you were going for. Oh… and there was not one single impatien. So… on my list this week is to get out to another greenhouse for some variety for our shaded patio!
The remainder of the weekend we spent working on some major changes to the current garden beds. We lost a couple of shrubs over the winter, which has given us the opportunity to rework a couple of garden beds. Plus I have a few things that needed dividing… and once we started, we just kept on going… until we were about ready to fall over on Sunday afternoon! (and no, we did not finish, but the remaining little garden beds just need a wee bit of weeding. Oh, and we need so.much.mulch…ugh)
So that brings me to Monday… my take a big breath and ease into a busy week day. On the top of my list is to give myself a little rescue manicure this morning. (a desperately needed manicure thanks to the weekend!)
And the only other thing on my list today is to put together a bag for tomorrow when I am helping at the polls for our election. It is an entirely local election for us this time and so it won’t be busy… (how sad is that!) I need to have some things to knit and some things to read so I need to get that sorted today.
I hope your Monday will be amazing no matter how many things you have on your list. I will see you back here on Wednesday (albeit a little later than usual) for some Unraveling!
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