by Kat | May 16, 2022 | General, In This Moment
A bit of a random brain dump this morning… sorry about that.
This morning I am a bit “foggy” because I got another COVID booster shot yesterday. I had thought to wait till the fall but COVID numbers have been on a sharp incline here in Allegheny County so I went and got boosted. This morning I am having a lovely little immune response as the vaccine wakes up my t-cells and my plan is to queue up some PBS shows and sit on my new sofa. (yes… the sofa parts were delivered on Thursday! Woot!)
I wore my Tegna all weekend…. and it is too big. The fabric in the sweater is not behaving like the fabric in my swatch. Sigh. I am contemplating what to do. I do NOT want to unravel the entire thing, but maybe half way and shorten it a bit. On my list for this week… knit a couple of swatches that I can seam together and see how that holds up.
I started the Mystery Gnome this weekend… and clue two is out today! (stay tuned for a bigger update on Wednesday!)
I also started Sam’s sock… cuff as swatch told me that my gauge was a bit off so I did some Knitty Maths and cast on again yesterday. I have almost 3″ done (again) and I am using Wise Hilda’s Basic Ribbed sock pattern. (Ravelry Link)
Finally, I have been playing with the (pseudo) macro function on my iPhone.
Indoor lighting…sigh…
The colors in one leaf… I love it!
Freshly “unfurled”
That is all I have for this Monday. See you all back here on Wednesday!
by Kat | Nov 27, 2018 | General, Words
I hope you all had the best of holidays with family and friends! It was a gloriously long weekend, but I am very happy that Steve is back at work today! Because I did not even think about a blog post at all over the weekend, I thought I’d share some random tidbits that have either crossed my screen or have been drifting around in my brain recently! And, sorry in advance for the long post!
- Nicola Sturgeon shared her rebellious reads list last week and yes, I have added a thing or two to my read list! And, imagine my surprise in finding that Sunset Song has been made into a truly lovely little movie.
- Has anyone beside me been lamenting the microscopic print on food packaging? To solve this dilemma, I have placed a pair of readers conveniently on the window ledge in the kitchen. But, really… is normal print size too much to ask for?
- The Great Christmas Tree Debate came to its fruition over the weekend with the purchase of a smaller footprint tree! The Home Depot Black Friday Sale was the tipping point… unexpected sale FTW!
- Heidi texted me Friday night asking ‘how hard would it be to make…’ which meant a quick trip to Joann’s on Saturday morning to get the things needed to make a fleece car seat poncho. A Google search found a free pattern on YouTube that will just need a couple minor modifications!
- The knitting of Blaer has halted as the elbow aggravator seems to be purling. I have not stopped knitting entirely though because I did manage to cast on a pair of mittens that I worked briefly this weekend.
- In a somewhat related thought, I have put one thing on my list of Intentions for 2019… learn how to knit and purl in the Continental-style in hopes of curtailing this elbow irritation! I know how, but what I need to practice is keeping the tension even!
- In the cuteness overload category, did you see the Little Red Long Johns? I am in love with them and think these are the most adorable things yet this holiday season!
- Football was so painful on Saturday with Michigan’s loss to Ohio State. So painful. And, I am still not recovered! Way to go from #4 to #8 in one stinking game Michigan! Ouch!
- There were some glorious moments of sunshine on Sunday which helped the exterior Christmas Explosion tremendously. Although, you’d think we never saw the sun this year as we achieved #2 for wettest year on record and with 34 more days this year, is the #1 spot achievable?
- We have some odd changes to our recycling program starting January 1…they are reducing the number of items we can recycle including a dramatic decrease in the plastics allowed and the removal of all glass from the recycling list. What?? I have not yet determined what I will do with these items, but I think it will merit a call to my state representatives – perhaps it is time for PA to get on board with a bottle deposit!!
That’s all I have for this Mon-uesday! See you back here tomorrow for the last Unraveled Wednesday of November!
by Kat | Mar 7, 2017 | General, Words
Perhaps a throwback to Carole’s 10 on Tuesday with ten random thoughts courtesy from my brain!
- This head cold has totally derailed my night time reading – I have not even tried to read a single word. However, I feel I have turned a corner and perhaps tonight will be the night that before bed reading resumes… I have my fingers crossed.
- I made great strides on my catch-up list yesterday, which means my list for today is only semi-daunting! At this rate, my Wednesday list should be back to normal.
- I am almost finished listening to Orwell’s 1984 and wow. Just wow.
- This website has brought new clarity and understanding to my thought process.
- My forsythias are opening, the red-winged blackbirds have returned, and there is joy in my heart that the weather was mild again this morning.
- Amazon Prime Exercise Videos have not been a rousing success – I am blaming this waning but damned cold.
- However, Lenten meditations are – and have even offered a few moments respite from thinking about my foggy head.
- I jumped on the Helical Stripe Bandwagon last week – Birthday Socks have begun. A word about Helical Stripes – WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE???? Yes, they are that good.
- My concern level for the number of projects in the works is growing – there are way more of them than there are of me!
- Tomorrow is International Women’s Strike Day…I love this statement: “Some of us are striking, marching, rallying, and boycotting. Some of us wish we could. Everyone, everywhere can join the PUSSYHAT GLOBAL VIRTUAL MARCH!” YES!!! You can participate virtually! Really. It’s a wear, declare, and share kind of day – so, put some red on and your pussyhat, make a little sign about where you are from or what you are for, and take a selfie!! Share it on your social media and tag it #pussyhatglobal All the details are on Pussyhat Project.
There you have my Tuesday, Gentle Reader. Oh, and dust off your Pussyhat’s for tomorrow!
by Kat | Nov 15, 2016 | General, In This Moment
A collection of outright craziness – just because!
- I was fortunate to capture an image or two of the Astronomical, Gigantic, Larger-than-life Super-Duper Moon on Sunday night. It took a few shots to figure out exactly what settings to use (or not to use as was the case) on my camera – thanks Steve for your assistance! This was kind of a big deal for me because, the next time the moon will be this close to the earth will be in 2034, at which point in time I will be 74 years old and who knows if I will even care about the moon at that age!
- Because of this excellent post I considered volunteering as and ESL tutor, however in the great state of Pennsylvania – you must either have your teaching certificate or be in school to get your teaching certificate. Result – do not pass go, do not teach ESL, find another option. Boo!
- Trying to figure out a low calorie, yet appealing Thanksgiving feast is proving to be a challenge. Turkey is low calorie! That is until you add in all the other things like stuffing, gravy, etc. Not to mention sweet potato casserole and pumpkin pie… The option of blowing my points for the entire MONTH is not very appealing and so really, I am considering calling the entire thing off because, Thanksgiving without those things just seems so un-Thanksgiving-like.
- Someone thought I was crazy for ripping out more than once in my weekend of gauge failure. Really? I knit and rip out often… doesn’t everyone? Now I am concerned that my knitting is not normal. What say you, Gentle Readers…
- I am in a Sunday Book club and we are reading C.S Lewis’ Screwtape Letters. I had read this book about 20 years ago, and as I am re-reading it I am struck by how timely it is for right now – which I think is incredibly curious!
- If you follow Mason Dixon Knitting, then you know about the Great Moby Dick Listen-Along. This got me wondering how many other classics are available in a similar format… Well, per my Google inquiry an incredible amount!! (about 2,000,000 results in 0.60 seconds, if you want to know) You can find some here and even more here and yet even more here. And, that is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg!
I think that is enough craziness for one day! Have a good Tuesday!
I wanted to take a brief moment to pay tribute to Gwen Ifill who died yesterday and far, far too soon! I have watched PBS Newshour for such a very long time and I remember that monumental day when she and Judy Woodruff were named co-anchors. It was a banner day for women! I loved Gwen so much – her honesty, her trustworthiness, her amazing brilliance in delivering the news – and for continually challenging me to learn more. She made me more curious every single day.
In her words, she gives us all hope for the future:
“Change comes from listening, learning, caring, and conversation.”
These are words we can all carry with us in the days ahead.
Rest in Peace, Gwen. You will be missed.
