Around Here | 8.2.19

Around Here | 8.2.19

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!

TGIF | 7.12.19

TGIF | 7.12.19

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!

TGIF – A Holiday Weekend Edition!

TGIF – A Holiday Weekend Edition!

The weather forecast seems to be attempting to put the kibosh on a glorious welcome to summer:

But I am not going to let the weather stop me from having a good weekend!

In the plus column – I did indeed get my Charity Shawl completed and blocked! Which means I can ease back into my regularly scheduled knitting – which includes my Marsa Alam and a pair of toe-up socks! I have never knit a pair of socks toe-up so this is an entirely new experience for me. I am not sure how I feel about the process compared to my usual sock knitting method, but I will have a better idea once I have gotten to the heel. I am also a bit concerned about the cast off, but hopefully my typical stretchy bind-off will not fail me!

Thinking about:

Sewing! I finished my Rose muslin yesterday. I had made some alterations to the pattern – I shortened the length and I knew I would need to shorten the rise but I was unsure exactly how much to shorten it. And even though I did not quite shorten it enough, it is still a wearable muslin! I used some fabric I got at IKEA a couple of years ago. My original plan was to sew a cushion for the window seat at the top of our stairs, but that never happened and so I thought it would work well for a muslin and it did! The pattern directions are well written and very clear. I tried the pleat option and it was surprisingly easy!  I think the gathered front looks nice as well so I will get some fabric this weekend to make another pair. I think these would work with fun prints, linen, and even a lightweight denim! AND!! They are super comfortable and I predict these will be the Pants of the Summer!

Gearing up for:

The start of Summer Book Bingo! That’s right – any book finishes beginning tomorrow can count for a square! I am ON the “Made into a TV series” square with the first book of Elizabeth George’s Inspector Lynley series – A Great Deliverance. I have high hopes for this book as the reviews on Goodreads are stellar! I started it Wednesday night and should easily have it finished this weekend! It is not to late for you to join in as well! Book Bingo makes summer so much more fun!

Inspired by:

PatternScout! I love this idea of remaking things and giving them a new life. Also, I really love her pattern suggestions – especially the Burda Knot Front Blouse! And, I truly love her “Monologue” especially this: “This hobby has given me so much confidence…creatively and about my body.” YES, so much yes!!

Fun, fun, fun:

I am going to harvest some rhubarb today and have plans to make a batch of Rhubarb-Thyme Syrup. This will come in handy as an addition to some beginning-of-summer-inspired cocktails this weekend – I am thinking about something new with gin. Stay tuned – I will share the recipe next week!

That’s all I have for this week – have an amazing Memorial Day Weekend and I will see you all back here next week!

Weekending | 4.15.19

Weekending | 4.15.19

Monday’s are never fun, but when Monday and Tax Day fall on The.Same.Day. Well, that should just be against the law, imo!

Happy Tax-Monday…NOT!

So, rather than dwell on the Monday-est Monday ever – let’s rewind the weekend a bit, shall we?

Friday, I managed to get a good bit of knitting done on my sweater, but it did not get anymore “knit time” during the weekend except for a few brief moments on Sunday. Still – borrowing a great idea from a brilliant blogger – I have visible progress! Woo hoo!

Happy hour was fantastic – martini’s with bleu cheese stuffed olives are simply divine! And, the meatballs were not bad either! Haha!

Saturday, oh Saturday… we wondered if Janoski’s might have asparagus in – but alas, it is still a couple of weeks out. So, back to the task of the day… taming the back yard. It took most of the day, but not as long as either of us imagined… which was a good thing. Steve grilled burgers for dinner (which as also a good thing!) Now, here is where our age factor showed up – by 6PM I was MORE than ready for bed – as was Steve. I wish I was kidding… but sometimes reality bites…and early bedtimes are a must! Haha!

Sunday brought rains and Palm Sunday church was wonderful as was the pedicure after church! Remind me to do that next year the day after “Back Yard Clean Up” because that massage chair… oh yeah! The day rounded out with a jump start on laundry, a wee bit of knitting, and omelets for dinner.

The perfect, and simple, ending to a too short weekend!

How about you? How was your weekend?

Weekending: In pictures

Weekending: In pictures

Notes on a weekend: I do not consider myself a pie baker, but this recipe intrigued me and 8 cups of frozen raspberries from our garden that I had done absolutely nothing with glaring at me every time I opened the freezer. So, out came the raspberries to thaw a bit while I put mixed the pie crust ingredients together on Sunday morning. My raspberry modifications: 4 C raspberries – slightly thawed. 3 Tbsp corn starch (next time I will only use 2 Tbsp), 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp vanilla paste, the juice and zest of one lemon. I needed to bake it about 8 minutes longer than the recipe called for.

Oh, and that corned beef… omgosh, it was hands down the best corned beef I have ever made – or eaten! If you have always felt sort of ho-hum about corned beef… try Andrew Z’s recipe. It will turn you into a corned beef fan!!

My quilt top is almost done! As is the back of Deschain – so you know that means I simply had to cast on a new project, lol. This will be the shawl I am donating to and Close to You won the great pattern debate. I wound the yarn while I watched the NCAA selection show (there were cheers for Michigan pulling a #2 seed despite losing the Big Ten Tournament to Michigan State) and the winding continued while we watched the Circus. But, cast on was achieved before I finally turned off the lights and headed to bed.

And, with that – the weekend is just a warm memory and the mundanity of Monday awaits me! How about you? How was your weekend?

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