Every Day Good

Every Day Good

There is so much going on every day and not all of it good. So, every day I try very hard to have something good to focus on, I thought I’d share a bit of that with you!

Watching: The eclipse! Even though in Pittsburgh we only got a partial eclipse – it was spectacular even with some cloud cover. The changes to the light were stunning. You will be happy to know that our household listened to the directions of not looking at the sun to prevent retinal damage. This was not the case for everyone… Perhaps this should be a test for competency? And, as for the digital watching: Game of Thrones (of course!) and Endeavor! I also watched the finale of Broadchurch and honestly, I was a little disappointed. But, I won’t say any more than that for all those who have yet to watch it.

Stitching: Every single day and I am really pleased with how August is unfolding. Really pleased! I also went and got some button craft thread and my hope is that I will soon turn this pile of tee shirts into my first AC garment.

Reading: and listening like a maniac as I chase down my cover all! I am just 2 squares away and have about 18 hours of listening to do. I am eager to get them done because Beach Music by Pat Conroy just came off hold for me at the library! I am also reading the Essays of E.B. White on my Kindle and I have both books by Laurie Colwin (Home Cooking and More Home Cooking). I am almost done with Home Cooking – I should have it completed this week. This has really been the most spectacular summer for reading. Ever.

Picking: Tomatoes…so many tomatoes. That picture above is from this morning! I know, you are all probably sick of hearing about tomatoes, but this year, the volume of large tomatoes has been really quite spectacular. In past years, I have been happy with the dozen we have picked, but this year has had a bumper crop with no signs of production slowing down! Also, raspberries… I picked enough again this morning to make a batch of jam. I know these are such awful problems to have. Spending time in my garden is really the best time, I would not trade it for anything – even with the bunnies decimating our beans! There should be a “not picking” category perhaps, because outside of the handful of zucchini we picked at the beginning of the season, it has not been a good year for them at all. We have picked a sum total of zero since then and it does not look like that will change. I am not sure why they are having such a bad year, but my neighbor is not having any success with his squash plants this year either.

Eating: Tomatoes from my garden! Every.single.day! And, for those things we aren’t growing: sweet corn, peaches, and an incredible variety of peppers! August is the month where I am quite certain I could become a vegetarian.

Looking forward to: Our trip to Michigan! We finalized the dates and have our Airbnb reservation all set. It is the one thing that is really giving me something to look forward to! Why? Because…

Dreading: The end of August. The arrival of Labor Day. The return of dark mornings. Having to turn lights on at night earlier. This summer I have really tried to not “wish ahead” but rather spend more time in the moment enjoying. This has been an eye-opening practice – I am much happier with each day and I am worrying less about tomorrow, or next month, or next year. September, you can just wait your turn – there is lots of August left!

Celebrating: Sherman’s 5th Birthday on Saturday! Every day I am so incredibly thankful for him. He is a bright spot in our day.

That is a slice of what is good in my life right now; how about you? What’s good in your life?

Summer Bucket List – 2017

Summer Bucket List – 2017

This week’s Think Write Thursday is to share my Summer Bucket List.

Summertime is always the best of what might be. – Charles Bowden

Summer… that wonderful time of long sunny days! As a child, I loved summer, although I started to miss school right after the 4th of July – you know that feeling, boredom was settling in. Too much of the same thing is never a good thing. But, some things are good to be repeated so my list has some favorite repeats.

  • Book Bingo: Get a cover all and maybe a book or two more in!
  • Finish knitting projects. I mean really, if I died what would my kids do with half completed knitting projects??
  • Organize my fiber stash and determine if I have enough to plan a combo spin for a sweater.
  • Walk – every day. Rain or shine. I have been incredibly lax on this and I am only walking when Steve wants to walk. (while you read this, I will be walking!)
  • Return my focus to my diet as I have been insanely lax over the past few weeks.
  • Can it really be summer without a trip to Mt. Washington to capture a sunrise?
  • Try and convince Steve that a trip all the “Ville’s” and “Vale’s” is just the thing we need to do! Please note, I am not holding my breath on this one – chance of success, slim to none! LOL i.e. Millvale, Swissvale, Lawrenceville, etc.
  • A trip to Lake Erie (never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought THAT would be a great idea, but it is closer than Lake Michigan!!)
  • Go visit my kids!!

Finally, to finish up with my opening photo… Happy Hour on the Porch as often as possible!! Shake, sip, repeat!

What’s on your Summer Bucket List?

If you would like to see what everyone else has on their Bucket List, you will find them here. If you would like to join Carole and me on Think Write Thursday’s you can sign up here.

Last Friday in May…

Last Friday in May…

…First weekend of summer!

Where has May gone? I mean really! Next week is June? What!?

Start your Knitting – Summer Knit-Along kicks off tomorrow! And, because rules are really not much fun – it is a go at your own pace, knit what you want to knit, make your own rules Knit-Along. And if you want to start today – go for it! If you started last week, good for you, if you are not starting until next week – perfect! No stress…really!

Hopefully, you have a good book queued up because if Book Bingo starts tomorrow – and books you are reading now count, as long as you don’t finish until tomorrow! I have Moby Dick in a hold pattern to finish tomorrow! Great way to start Book Bingo, right? If you don’t have a card, or you are not sure you want to have a planned summer of reading, I will borrow some sage advice from my dear friend Caroleit’s your bingo card, so your rules! And, you might want to add something from Bill Gates Summer Book List.

Now, my summer knit along always includes a cocktail on Friday’s so I will occasionally share one here (but I will always share one in the Ravelry group!) And, today seems like the perfect day to do that! And, what better to usher in summer than some gin! This Cucumber Basil Gin and Tonic looks so good (I have no elderflower liqueur in the house, so mine will be made without however if you have it, use it! And, my gin choice for this one – Hendrick’s!)

There you have the makings for the perfect start of summer weekend – knitting, reading, and a beverage!

Now, how about some links?

  • In the “not knitting category” but absolutely linkworthy:  Trump Snooze
  • This pattern will be released on Monday, and it looks very intriguing!
  • Lorilee Beltman has a new mitten pattern! Because, mittens and summer – right? LOL Well, perhaps you want to start your gift knitting!
  • Why don’t I have a little black shawl? Perhaps I am kicking something off my list to add this…
  • Mint Latte – shawl construction FTW!
  • In the Free, but wait, it’s cute too category: Hibiscus
  • Freer (wait what…lol – for some reason Grammar check did not like “More Free”) and even cuter: Spots & Stripes
  • In the “looking for another country” category for those of us on embarrassment overload here in the US – OH CANADA (and, wait for it… it’s free too!)
  • Saltmeadow – simple, but stunning. (And, Gale’s photos!!)
  • Now, this might be perfect if you want to knit new projects this summer – Happiness Make Along (it starts June 1st!)
  • And, finally: TUK which is so cute! Every grandchild needs one!

Now, have a fantastic weekend. I will see you back here on Monday!

Summer Highs and Autumn Hopes

Summer Highs and Autumn Hopes

Hello Tuesday! And, you know what that means! Carole wants to know something!! This week she asks:

We’re going to shake things up a little bit this week and do two lists of 5 things. First, I want you to write about the 5 best things you did this summer. And then I want you to share 5 things you are looking forward to doing this fall.

Summer bests, there were quite a few of them!

  1. My Summer Knit Along takes first place – for me it was really just the motivation I needed to clean up a plethora of languishing knits. Best thing about it – absolutely no requirements, no pressure, just go at whatever pace you desired. A win-win for all! I  managed to get a good number of things done too!
  2. My vegetable garden had some tremendous successes. Tomatoes, beans, peppers, and raspberries were all in that category. I am still picking about a pint of raspberries every other day and tomatoes – what can I say – we have them in abundance!
  3. A couple of new flower beds that really added some lovely oomph to the back yard – including their being a huge draw for bees of all sorts!
  4. The new pergola which precipitated
  5. Some really nice extra-long weekend staycations. (although the summer ended on a very warm noted, it did get some use in May!)

Now, on to what autumn has in store! (Besides the cessation of AC usage – I am so over it!)

  1. Cooler days that will afford the use of the pergola well into the fall and
  2. Using our new re-purposed fire pit a number of times more before the bitter cold sets in
  3. A trip to Michigan to visit family – this is on the schedule currently and I am so eager for it!
  4. A trip to a Hops Festival (with my son and perhaps my daughter!!) and perhaps a winery or two while in Michigan. (Also, a stop at the Grand Traverse Distillery!) (After all that, you’d think a 12 step program would be on my list…)
  5. Some home improvement things in the house – not a super fun thing on the list, but some fresh paint will absolutely spark joy!

There you have it – the best of summer and some autumnal anticipation! What are you looking forward to?

A Labor Day Weekend, Sans Labor

A Labor Day Weekend, Sans Labor

Happy Tuesday that feels like a Monday to me! Although that is not all bad because tomorrow is Wednesday already and that is halfway to the weekend!

Although, there may have been a conversation yesterday about needing a weekend from our weekend…some things are so nice they just should not end!

Carole wants to know:

10 Things You Did This Weekend

There were so many good things this weekend, I will be hard pressed to hold them to 10!! So, let’s get this rolling shall we?

laborday collage

  • An extra special (and early) Happy Hour on Friday (thanks to Steve taking the day off from work, which started our weekend off nicely!!) It included his AWESOME Buffalo Wings and a plethora of Americano’s
  • Estate Sale-ing (I can fondue, can you?)
  • Walking – LOTS of walking! Up hills and down!
  • Enjoying our repurposed fire pit – twice! Simple but effective!
  • Eating… so much eating. And drinking!
  • Reveling in a less humid, cooler atmosphere… ahhhh!
  • Game playing… Uno, Bananagrams, and Pass the Pigs, note… these things inspired so much laughter, perhaps we spend too much time adulting and not enough time caring for our inner child.
  • A minute amount of knitting, very minute.
  • Picking MORE tomatoes and raspberries! Holy produce!!
  • Thoroughly enjoying the Hummingbird Moth visits! So amazing!

That was my very full weekend! How about you? How was your weekend?

P.S. Sherman did an awful lot of this. I think he had a very good weekend too!

Save

Save

Pin It on Pinterest