by Kat | Sep 23, 2019 | General, In This Moment
Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. – Albert Camus
The weekend had a deliciously summery feel, that is if you just considered the temperatures and not the light – because the light was most decidedly fall! But the days were warm and sunny!
But joy of joys… today begins my favorite season: Fall! Its days are fast, but I am determined to slow the season down by savoring each day – rain or shine!
Yep, Friday I got an urgent message from Steve that there was a significant water break and all the South Hills (or almost all of it) were on a “Boil Water Advisory” for at least 48 hours. Water is a curious thing… open the tap and voila! Water! Easy, right? Except when it isn’t. And, when you can’t drink water it is the only thing you want to drink!
I also went to get some blood work done prior to a doctor visit tomorrow and yes, I am a bit nervous about the results.
Leggings were seamed up, but no sewing was done…so that is on my list for the week! As is that doctor visit and hopefully I can manage a haircut on Friday!
I also did a good bit of reading, but more on that on Wednesday!
And finally, STILL…there is all that never-ending lace! But I am almost ready to join a new ball of yarn and I only have 2 left, so the end is slowly getting closer!
But for now, I need to get going with my walk – rain is threatening! See you back here tomorrow when I join Juliann to share how my focus was for September!
by Kat | Sep 16, 2019 | General, In This Moment
Happy Monday everyone! I hope your weekend was one that was full of all the things you needed, and you are ready to tackle a new week!
“One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries.” – A. A. Milne
This weekend included some major Kon-Mari-ing of all the upstairs closets. It was not quite the level of Swedish-Death Cleaning, but the closets are organized, have a bit of space, and the “transition” wardrobe pieces have been moved so they are readily available! Also, if you find something you forgot you had it feels a bit like you got something new!
I even made a list of items my fall-into-winter wardrobe is missing…things I want to make. Our recent trek out to the Outlets really showed me how much I don’t like Ready To Wear. None of it fits well, it almost always needs alterations and/or adjustments to make it fit right, feel right, and look right. So, fall making is now high on my priority list! And, at the top of that list is a pair of good fitting jeans! This fall I plan on sewing a pair of jeans that fit me.
Now, what does the week hold for me?
Well, Reagan lace knitting is at the top of the list, and I am just over halfway – so 7-ish more inches and then the bottom band, but those rows are so.long. just saying…so I expect this lace knitting to continue into next week.
I also need to transform this into reindeer ears and some cabled leggings.
AND…I need to tackle my Zadie jumpsuit muslin so I can work out the pattern kinks.
But, what about you? What’s on your list this week?
by Kat | Sep 9, 2019 | General, In This Moment
The “list-free” weekend was truly restful – although, on Sunday we did get some much needed yard work done! We did a bit of culling of the dying plants from the pots on the patio – the coleus was getting pretty leggy and were dropping leaves thanks to the spate of cool nights we have had. I would like to get a couple of mums for the fall but I won’t have time this week – maybe next week that will happen. But for right now the impatiens remain the star of the waning days of summer – they are just magnificent! The remaining vegetable plants in the garden have also headed to the compost pile. I have made a somewhat detailed list of garden successes as well as failures. August’s hot humid days did my basil in – perhaps assisted by my overzealous watering.
On Saturday night as we were looking for something to watch on television and we discovered that there is a new season of The Great British Baking Show on Netflix…produced by Netflix. There are 2 episodes up currently, with a new one coming each week until the end of October! Only Paul remains from the original shows, but I thought it was still most enjoyable!
But, it’s Monday and this is what my list looks like this week:
This is the September inspiration from The Balanced Life and these words are exactly what I need as I head back to my Pilates mat this week. As Kym has shared many times over the past few months – you can go from one who avoided exercise to one who finds something so very worthwhile in it! I really want to be in the latter group and I am going to make moving and exercise my focus this month!
This week, I have just the inspiration necessary to bring me back to the mat… stay tuned for my Friday check-in to see how I did! Add to that, my daily walks and moving my body is getting back into focus! I am so disappointed at how easy it was for me to lose this essential habit! I have put these words in several prominent places and hopefully they will continue to inspire my movement this month!
I have a wee bit of sewing to finish! One pair of Rose pants and a Zadie Jumpsuit have been patiently waiting for me to get back to them. Which will happen this week because there is no baking or preserving to distract me!
My daughter added a couple of things to my list yesterday with a request for some “Halloween costume” help – so I need to look up some cable patterns to knit a tiny pair of leggings and see if I can pick up some flannel fat quarters to make some “reindeer ears” so Vivi can be a little reindeer for Halloween!
My final goal for the week is to begin the lace portion of my Reagan! I am ever so close to finishing the sleeves and hope to have some lace progress to share with you on Wednesday!
What’s on your list for the week? I hope that you can make the most of your Monday and start your week off wonderfully! See you all back here on Wednesday with a knitting and reading update!
by Kat | Aug 2, 2019 | General, In This Moment
This first Friday in August just seems like the perfect time to do an “around here” post!
Around here – I am so happy to welcome August with its warm, sunny days – although there is a perceptible difference in the hours of daylight. It is no longer light out when I get up and the light is fading much earlier…BUT!!! We still have so much summer to enjoy and there is still lots of time for Al Fresco Happy Hours!
Around here – I will celebrate some special dates next week: the 8th would have been my paternal grandfather’s 112th birthday and the 10th will be the 26th anniversary of my Nana’s death. Both people were so influential in my life and I still miss them so much.
Left to right: my dad – Gordon, Grandpa John, Aunt Janice, Grandma, Uncle Kenneth As I recall, this photo was taken about 6 months before my Grandpa John died at age 62.
Heidi’s Baptism, left to right: My sister, Susan, my mom (holding Heidi) me holding Rachel, my ex, and finally, My Nana – Mae Huxhold How about those hair styles? I have permed hair – so awesome! Haha! This picture was taken about 3 years before my Nana died. I looked for a photo with her from Sam’s baptism – but there are no photos that include her and that makes me so sad. She avoided the camera – so photos that include her are rare.
Around here – I have happily reached the “little flowers” portion of my shawl and the end is in sight! Good thing because, as you can see above, I am well into the second half of my yarn! Also, a good thing because I am itching to cast on a new project! This crossed my radar last month and I have been bouncing it around in my brain for about a week now and I think going to Sock School sounds like the perfect thing to do and I might even learn something that will inspire me to knit more socks! Plus Carole’s finished socks really inspired me and I have a skein from Knitterly Things that needs to be socks in a bad way!
Vesper Sock Yarn in the “Happy Accident” colorway
Around here – I am picking more and more from my garden. I have a plethora of peppers that will make their way into our meals this week! I am also picking more than a handful of tomatoes each day as well and I am this.close to the raspberry apocalypse!
Around here – I have been surprised by some of the unexpected moments at the debates this week! Now, granted, there were way too many unsurprising moments, but those brief unexpected ones are standing out for me! But, best of all might be the post debate commentary – from Clorox discussions to how much “Moscow Mitch” hates his new moniker and I laughed at all of them, but this one… well, I am with Miranda Yaver!
And, there you have my brief but, hopefully spectacular “around here” moments! I hope today ushers in an amazing weekend for all of you and I will see you all back here on Monday!
by Kat | Jul 12, 2019 | General, In This Moment
Another Friday and another weekend. Summer is not being lazy at all!
Thinking About:
The future came and went in the mildly discouraging way that futures do. – Neil Gaiman, Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
I find myself pondering the passage of time this month. In less than 10 days, Genevieve will be 4 years old and that seems so impossible to me. July is almost halfway over, and that also seems impossible to me. Gaiman’s quote seems most appropriate – indeed the future is coming and going all to rapidly. And speaking of Genevieve – her mom and dad took her to get her ears pierced last week. Genevieve has been begging and begging to have this done. Well, as you can see – she has one ear pierced but there was no way in hell she was getting the second one done! I confess, I am laughing about this – I should not, but I am. That face looks so angelic… ha! Bribery to get the second ear done has begun in earnest but she has not yet succumbed!
She looks so innocent…
Grooving On:
Early Bloomer’s color work! There is something addictive about color work – it is hard to put down. The urge to knit just more row to see how the pattern will unfold pulls me in and keeps me knitting. I have one set of flowers to go and their magical lure will be complete! Vera asked to see the colors I am knitting with… a dark brown, coffee-colored yarn paired with a green and a turquoise. I think they work well together. I am a little concerned that the neckline is going to be too wide – but maybe not. Once I am done with the color work, I am going to take Heidi’s suggestion and finish the neck to check the fit.
Just one more section to go!
Impatiently Waiting:
While I would like summer to slow down a bit, I am eager for my growing tomatoes to ripen! I think we need more sun than we have had for that to happen, but I am hoping that soon I have at least a handful of tomatoes to put on my salad!
Yes, those are raindrops on my tomatoes!
Fed Up With:
Rain. And really, the volume of rain we have been having! We got another 2 inches of rain yesterday. The flooding here is crazy and my garden has had a moat surrounding it more days than not. I might not mind the rain so much if we had an all-day, soaking rain versus the torrential downpours we have been having. They are “rain events” not rainstorms.
That is all I have for this week! I have my fingers crossed that I will win the battle and Happy Hour tonight will be outside. Have a great weekend everyone and I will see all of you back here on Monday!
