Weekending | 3.30.20

Weekending | 3.30.20

It was a wild weekend here in the Burgh! Crazy winds brought insane storms over the weekend, but the temps in the 70’s were awesome!

Steve is not working on Friday’s these days as his office is closed, but the power went out so all the pc’s turned off so no one could remote in which meant he did have drive in at a time which used to be peak rush hour traffic. On Friday however, there were less cars on the road then there is at 5am when he normally drives in. Eerie.

We did make a visit to our local TJ’s on Friday as well. We stood in line roughly 30 minutes… the sidewalk was well marked and the people in line were lovely

Photo courtesy of @stevofc who does not understand the concept of landscape photos….

Friday there was a typical happy hour with French Manhattans… they were so good!

Cognac, orange liquor, sweet vermouth, orange bitters, and a cherry.

No one takes better photos of the Pittsburgh area than Dave DiCello… but his lightning photos are just crazy.

The Monongahela River is doing its thing overflowing the wharf. This is about what my back yard looked like for most of Saturday and Sunday morning.

Sunday meant sock knitting and Negroni’s. (I don’t know if it is just me… but are you all drinking more these days?)

Working through clue two!

Then the sun came out and dried up much of the rain, so I could drag Steve out for a “forced photo shoot” (which he hates so much, lol) But anyways, here is my finished and MUCH loved Nightshift! It is HUGE and it is perfect! I only pinned the edges so they laid flat with really no stretching at all and it is so generously sized! I love it so much I **almost** wish for the tiniest sliver of cold weather to wear it a time or two…

There you have my weekend…I hope you managed to find some bright spots in yours! It seems unreal, but I will be back tomorrow with an update on my word!

Friday With More Perspective

Friday With More Perspective

You cannot see the wood for the trees. — John Heywood

This week brought increased worry for both the rapidly increasing numbers of the sick as well as all those who are caring for them. The stories don’t sound like something from a first-world country, but rather they sound like the horror stories from a war zone or a third-world country that you might vaguely notice in the news.

I read this post yesterday and it really made a huge impact on me. Gratitude + Perspective is my new focus. Less complaining. Less rose-colored glasses views. Less meaningless lists. Less foolishly looking back at unimportant things with misplaced longing.

But, it’s not all less…because there is so much more! More heartfelt conversations with loved ones. More prayers for the sick and those caring for them. More gratitude that I have a home to shelter in and that I can easily communicate with my children. More gratitude that my library is serving the community mightily from a distance. More gratitude that I have no lack of projects to work on. More gratitude that I have an abundance of food. And, finally… more gratitude in just staying home!

Thank you, Carolyn for helping me adjust my perspective!

I do have some “lighter” things to share… things to, you know, STAY HOME and do!

Have you wanted to learn to crochet? There’s a CAL for that! Thank you, Casapinka!

How about knitting a bit of Wool Week? The hat pattern is out today!

I don’t know how this pattern appeared on my radar, but it would be the perfect spring shawl!

Then there was this from Lori Versaci. Gorgeous, but and the color combinations in the test knits are what really caught my eye!

That is all I have for this week. Again my mantra… stay home, wash your hands, and stay well!

Haiku Monday | 3.23.20

Haiku Monday | 3.23.20

Grey skies whose raindrops
Gently caress the new leaves
Teasing them to wake

My daily goal is to seek out something beautiful in the tiny world around me and some days I actually succeed. Today was one of those days! The return of tiny green leaves on the bushes in my yard reminds me that despite the uncertainty of life right now, some things are constant and don’t require any human assistance. I am thankful for these small leaves!

I am also thankful for these smiling faces from yesterday! Thank you to Mary for hosting us again!

However, I did learn that slippery needles make for easy dropped stitches! The sock I was working on is up next for a “do over”! (FYI, Vera!! CoopKnits is hosting a FREE Mystery-Sock-Along! Clue ONE is up here!)

Happy Monday (yes, it is Monday even if it doesn’t feel like it!) Have a great day and stay home, wash your hands, flatten the curve!

Spring TGIF | 3.20.20

Spring TGIF | 3.20.20

Time is the longest distance between two places. — Tennessee Williams, The Glass Menagerie

This quote perfectly describes how the passage of time feels right now. Monday seems like it was eons ago and today does not feel like Friday at all. And topping off the already chaotic week…life changed dramatically last night here in PA. All businesses that are not “life-critical” are now closed…for.the.indefinite.future. Which means Steve is suddenly not working anymore… PLUS My son is calling me multiple times a day to have me talk him down from the ledge, and my heart is breaking that there are so many miles between us because all I want to do is gather him up in my arms like I did when he was little and hold him close. Hard times, so.hard.

Tension-reliever –

This lovely gift arrived in my email this morning and I signed up before you could say Settling the Mind! Thank you, Michelle for this! Please join me… we can settle our minds together and be part of the best commUNITY, even though we are miles apart!

Great finds –

This week there were many!

First, NPR now has a very short new podcast: Coronavirus Daily. I love that I can get an update that is straightforward, no hype, no bs… just a simple update.

Want to learn to sew? (because you now have the time to learn, amirite??) Here you go… seven free and very well-done lessons! This will get you from wanting to doing!

I have a friend who recently started her “Magnum Opus” project – a Russian lace shawl with something like 60 pages of charts… Yeah, my thoughts exactly! However, I did come across this beauty, which I think could be classified in that Magnum Opus category!

Remember last week when I told you about Hinterm Stein’s KAL? Well, she released a sweater this week that is DIVINE!! (and it is on sale right now!!)

Added Inspiration –

April 7th a new #100DayProject begins and I have re-assembled my “stitching basket” and will be stitching a bit each day. This time it is a more ‘planned out’ project. I know what I want it to look like…so my inspiration is to take that thought and make it a reality on my fabric!

All.the.FUN –

Last night Mary hosted our first “Long Distance Knitting Group” on Zoom. I was concerned that I would have trouble staying awake…HA! The truth is, I had trouble going to sleep afterwards! Want in on this riotous group? We are planning to meet again this coming Sunday afternoon… watch Mary’s blog for details. We talked, we laughed, we knit… and the joy overflowed! I can tell you that this was the BEST thing I did for my sanity all week… thank you all!

That is all I have for this week… my “forced” forsythias have been a ray of sunshine in this week! (Their outside compatriots are just starting to bloom – so soon, sunshine inside and out!) Have a great weekend, stay well, wash your hands, and keep flattening that curve!

Sometimes Monday | 2.24.20

Sometimes Monday | 2.24.20

Comes with a completed sock and a start on its mate!

It also brought day three of sunshine and I don’t know who is happier me or the hundreds of birds singing in my neighborhood!

Sadly, it includes lots of the “regularly scheduled” Monday things as well which will delay knitting and spending time outdoors.

I hope your Monday is low on “must do’s” and high on “want to do’s”! See you back here tomorrow to share my word update tomorrow!

Happy Monday All!

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