Summer Weekends Are My Favorite

Summer Weekends Are My Favorite

It was one of those perfect “height of summer” weekends that started with a laid-back Friday Happy Hour that included Whipped Feta Dip… mmmm so good! This will be in the rotation again!

The farmer’s market on Saturday was full of all the good things! Peaches, Plums, and Sweet Corn all made their way home with us. Plus, we had a bit of a bonus at a local grocer who had some elusive but oh so delicious Michigan blueberries in stock! This meant lots of cooking over the weekend… I am not a pie baker, and while I have an aunt who would crank out pie crusts in volume, this is my least favorite thing to do. But, “cheater” pie crusts, FTW! Unroll, fill, and bake made it so easy! I made Plum, Blueberry, and Peach Crostatas. And, really… they were all so easy!

Saturday was also Genevieve’s third birthday! The day was extra special because Christian was in port and not too far away so it made for the perfect little family celebration for them!

I picked an almost overflowing bowl of tomatoes and a couple handfuls of beans.

Plus, there was an entire meal of Sweet Corn. Ahhhh, summer! How good you taste!

Lest you think all we did was eat and drink and sing Happy Birthday all weekend, there was plenty of other stuff accomplished too! And, today Steve is home and will soon be in “internet heaven” when FIOS comes to install giga-bit internet here. Be still my heart, lol.

BUT, drum roll please…I even have an almost completed Beekeeper Cardigan! The knitting is done, I just have the seaming of the sleeves to do! Just the thing to occupy myself and stay out of the way today! Ha!

There was even some much-needed rain… all in all, the perfect weekend!

I hope your weekend was full of as many good things! Happy Monday!

Three on Thursday | 7.19.18

Three on Thursday | 7.19.18

Last week Carole shared a most interesting list and several others posted luxury lists of their own. It really got me thinking about luxuries. But, what is a luxury? The dictionary says it is “the state of great comfort and extravagant living” and the list of synonyms include opulence, grandeur, magnificence, splendor, and lavishness. All this sounds very expensive, doesn’t it?

But, all that sort of flies in the face of this quote from Coco Chanel: “Some people think luxury is the opposite of poverty. It is not. It is the opposite of vulgarity.”

Much better, yes?

Today my things are luxuries that are the opposite of vulgarity – and ones that I think are truly luxurious.

Thing One:

The ability to “not have to work” and spend my days doing exactly what I want to do. I am so fortunate that I can do this, and I am most appreciative of that fact!

Thing Two:

Making. This is perhaps the best luxury of all – knitting, stitching, sewing, cooking, baking, etc. Being a maker, I am sure was not always thought of as a luxury and was more a necessity. But, being able to create with my own hands things for those I love is lavish.

Thing Three:

The unexpected luxury of less humid weather mid-July and all that it brings – open windows, no AC, and yes…much longer walks.

There you have my unconventional luxury list. What about you? What do you consider a luxury in your life?

Want to see more lists? Head on over to Carole’s!

Fiber Friday | 7.13.18

Fiber Friday | 7.13.18

By the time you read this, Steve will be off to his work weekend extravaganza and I will be ensconced on the sofa attacking Day 4 of the Beekeeper Cardigan Knit Along. I have roughly 5 inches to go and then the ribbing of the body as per the pattern…BUT!!! I have seen some really awesome cropped models of the Beekeeper (especially like this one) and I am contemplating doing something similar. I love the idea of making my new tunics multi-seasonal by adding a layer. Although, I think I’d like the sleeves a little bit longer. What are your thoughts?

We had a Thursday night happy hour to make up for Steve missing tonight and I made a cocktail that was really incredibly delicious! It is from Ming Tsai’s Simply Ming Show. I made the cocktail exactly as written with Thai Basil from my garden and with Bombay Sapphire East Gin. Oh.my.gosh… it was so good! If you are looking for something different to sip, I highly recommend it!

If you are knitting KK’s MKAL, clue 4 is out today! I managed to get through clue 2 and started on clue 3 last night, but I was having trouble remembering the k3tog and the sk2p, so after tinking back a row, I set it aside last night. Apparently, I need to either mark the pattern to remember or get more sleep than I have this week.

The links were slim this week, but I did manage to find some things of controversy (of course) and interest to add in to the knitting links!

This Rolling Stone article on ICE is deeply troubling.

This is beautifully done… and powerful.

The knitting community is not without controversy, sadly. I knew of a bit of an uproar over BT which is why I did not post links to their latest collection. I would like to think that this community is better than this, but apparently not.

Did you see Dot? I loved it and especially appreciated how they made Dot!

Now for some actual knitting links!

Kate Davies Traigh

I love Black Coast (and Holst Garn is a LOVELY place to order from!)

And, finally Nacre

That’s all I have for this week! Have a great weekend and I will see you back here on Monday!

Summer Weekending | 6.25.18

Summer Weekending | 6.25.18

Is there anything better than a long summer weekend? I don’t think so and we certainly made the most of it this weekend.

There was a visit to our local farmers markets where we picked up some cucumbers for pickling and more strawberries to make more jam. And, yes – pickles and jam were made!

There were good foods eaten, a cocktail or two sipped, and some time spent just enjoying the warm weather!

The weekend was even rounded out with some knitting and reading!

All that makes Monday easier to face and I am more than ready to tackle what will be a very busy week!

How about you? Did you have a good weekend?

Weekending | 6.11.18

Weekending | 6.11.18

Sometimes a closer inspection reveals beautiful detail like my feeble macro attempts with the big camera this weekend, although there was a small Cabbage White butterfly that kindly volunteered for me!

And, sometimes a closer inspection reveals nothing new, just the same old, same old. But, sometimes that same old is just the thing you need, amirite? That was my weekend…same old perfected!

I did manage to drag Steve outside for an al fresco happy hour with Toronto cocktails to celebrate Canada as they hosted the G7 err G6. The changes I made to this most excellent cocktail were as follows: I substituted Amaro for the Fernet Branca and I used orange bitters since I did not have an orange. Oh, and I used Crown Royal! It was excellent!

The cooler temperatures of the week gave way to heat and humidity on the weekend, so weeding a bit on Saturday proved to be a very good workout! Sadly, I have no pictures, but trust me when I say that the garden is growing well!

Sunday was a day of a whole lotta nothin’, which was just perfect, and I managed to fill the time with a good bit of knitting! I have about 6 inches to go on my Eavesdrop and it feels like the end is near!

I hope your weekend was full of good things too!

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