It’s a holiday weekend and Steve has the day off. I thought today would be the perfect day to share our brief but spectacular bush (Maybe Bridal Veil? I am not sure what it is.) Anyways, it blooms and is over before you can really even appreciate it, sort of like weekends are occasionally!
If you celebrate Easter or Passover – have a wonderful weekend and I will see you all back here next week!
It was a full week and next week will be more of the same so today I am just taking a deep breath and planning on spending some time today knitting on my Marsa Alam, because I don’t think there will be many knitting moments this weekend – the yard is fairly screaming for some attention and the Yard Work Fairies have yet to show up, darn it all!
But all that aside, it was such a good week!
Gardening… it is that time of the year! I stumbled across this article about a garden that is still thriving…six decades after the death of the gardener! This makes me think about my yard and garden beds in different ways – ways that are more long term and lasting. I am also reminded of our visit last year to Fallingwater and all the rhododendrons that were planted all over the grounds – the forethought of this truly impacts the beauty of the grounds today. Gardening with purpose is something I always want to do, but I don’t always achieve that. These are good reminders as we begin a new season.
My library. Truly. It is a place beyond measure. A place to gather with friends, a place for stirring conversation, a place with unending books ready to take you away…and this morning I saw this! This sparks all kinds of joy inside me! I am adding “nurturer of crafting” to the list of things my library does!
Courtney, as always – and the timeliness of her messages. How does she know? Her words of wisdom about how to deal with being busy – even too busy – are just what I needed this week. I have been thinking about the things I spend my time on – and have been paring some things back. At first these things were hard to “give up” – but after a couple of days I found I did not miss the constant scrolling I was doing on IG – I check it, but only at the end of the day. Am I missing things? Yes, I am quite certain I am. But if you don’t know you are missing something, are you really missing it? I am also not spending hours each day “surfing the net” with much the same results – at first, it was so hard to get up and walk away from my pc! But like the IG phenomenon, after a few days it was not hard to get up at all. In fact, each day it is easier and some mornings I have had to make myself go and sit at the pc! What am I doing with all this extra time? Well, for one thing – my meditation time has really improved since cutting back on my screen time! And that is absolutely inspiring!
This weekend Steve and I are heading into the “wilds” of our yard to tame the overgrown bushes. Is this going to be fun – oh, hell no! But!! I am going into it with the following mindset – I am going to be quiet no matter how much Steve yells (and he will be yelling, oh my! lol) I am going to be patient no matter how much I want to be doing something else – my mantra will be, “this too shall pass”, and I am going to be cheerful even when I don’t want to be (because it is hard to yell at a cheerful person right?) Wish me luck!!
And, there you have it! I wish you all a wonderful weekend – full of every little thing you want! See you all back here next week!
It has been a hell of a week and I have been eerily reminded how history repeats itself. Yet, knowing how history happens does not make the here and now less stressful. Yet this morning gentle rains filled my senses with a sense of calm and then I found Sara Teasdale’s poem. Her words filled me with a sense of calm – someday all of what is happening right now will just be history and “no one will care at last when it is done.” May these words give you peace as you welcome the weekend, and may you spend more time listening to the robins “whistling whims” than worrying about the latest news. Have a wonderful weekend and I will see you back here next week.
Sara Teasdale, 1884-1933
(War Time)
There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground, And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;
And frogs in the pools singing at night, And wild plum trees in tremulous white,
Robins will wear their feathery fire Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire;
And not one will know of the war, not one Will care at last when it is done.
Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree If mankind perished utterly;
And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn, Would scarcely know that we were gone.
Around here – it seems that March got the memo… it came roaring in like a lion and is making a very lamb-like exit. When I look at Dark Sky to see the forecast the days ahead are full of mild temperatures! Even this mornings rain that greeted me was welcoming – I took great deep breaths of very spring-smelling air. It smells so good outside! It was so mild this morning that rather than my usual hot coffee, I switched things up and made myself an iced coffee instead! And, that first iced coffee of the season? Well, it just tasted amazing!
Around here – new projects are buzzing around my mind, specifically I have been inspired by Mary’s marsa alam. I have a cone of Coast and this would be the perfect spring/summer cardigan. I will have to rewind it but that might happen soon so swatching can begin later today!
Around here – it’s basketball… all the basketball! My brackets – which got off to great start, were entirely blown by the end of last weekend and today I have just one pick remaining – so Go Duke! But brackets aside, this tournament has provided some of the best basketball I have seen is a long time! And, there is more watching to be done this weekend!
Around here – there was some binge watching of the new season of The OA that dropped this week on Netflix. There will be more binge watching today as I try and put together the puzzle pieces of self-printed patterns!
Around here – the quilting process continues. I have reached the milestone point of “making the quilt sandwich” with the quilt top, batting, and backing fabric. Before I tackle the big quilt, I am going to do some trial runs with these smaller place mats. I am a bit nervous about the big quilt – figuring out a place where I can lay it all out is going to be the biggest part of the challenge!
Around here – seeds are springing to life! I love how the beans look very jack-in-the-bean-stalk-ish next to the other tiny seedlings!
From left to right: Basil, egg plant, peppers, tomatoes, Chinese celery, and those giant beans!
That is all that is going on around here! I hope your weekend is full of all the good things and I will see you back here next week!
This has been a very mixed bag week, but it is finally Friday, so I am setting the week aside and making room for the weekend!
This might be my best start of any bracket I have done in years! And, believe me there have been years that my bracket was blown on Day One, but this year I only missed two picks on the first day! And, there were some crazy good games yesterday!! You would think with all this basketball, I’d have some knitting to show for it… think again, lol.
So, my plans for knitting yesterday somehow went by the wayside. There was a trip to Costco and then during dinner a conversation started about possibly moving the bedroom furniture around… which then morphed into moving the bedroom furniture around after dinner. Yes, we have completely and totally lost our minds. We managed to get things moved enough to go to bed – but it was not pretty. You know what I am doing today… more bedroom furniture moving!!
A few Bunny Bags to fill with treats for the kids and Genevieve! These were courtesy of the Bernina We All Sew Newsletter yesterday – and so timely. I would love to join Kym with her latest knitting obsession, but I think the sewing of bunnies might be easier (and quicker) than knitting an army of bunnies!
I also stumbled upon a new-to-me magazine yesterday which has FREE PATTERNS available on their website!
And, finally – I am joining kmkat again this week with a photograph from one year ago! Yes – we had a doozy of a snow storm and damned if we don’t have snow and gale-freaking-force winds in the forecast today. Spring!! I am looking at you! I am a wee bit concerned about my lilacs!!
That’s all I have for this week! Have a great weekend everyone!
