by Kat | Aug 26, 2016 | General
Last night I achieved a goal I really never imagined I could reach – I finished reading Knitlandia, and with it completed my Summer BOTNS Book Bingo card.
A cover all, people! Twenty-five books read in eighty-seven days!
There were good books, great books, amazing books, and some books that were not any of the above. In no particular order, I present my summer reading:
- Knitlandia – 4 stars (With a one-word title)
- To Kill a Mocking Bird – 5 stars (Published the year you were born)
- 81 Famous Poems – 4 stars (Poetry Collection
- She Stoops to Conquer – 4 stars (From the Harvard Classics 5-foot shelf)
- Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls – 4 stars (By or about a member of the LGBTQ community)
- It Itches: A Stash of Knitting Cartoons – 5 stars (BOTNS BOOK BINGO free square)
- Emma, Vol. 01 – 2 stars (Manga)
- Shear Spirit: Ten Fiber Farms, Twenty Patterns and Miles of Yarn – 4 stars (From the top shelf of one of your bookcases)
- My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry – 3 stars (With a family member (wife, son, uncle, etc.) in the title)
- The Book Thief – 5 stars (Told by a child narrator)
- My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life – 5 stars (With food as the theme)
- The Inner Circle – 1 star (Hated by someone you know)
- Charlotte’s Web – 5 stars (A non-human main character)
- Doc – 3 stars (Western)
- The Summer Before the War – 4 stars (Most recently added to your TBR)
- Blue Lightning – 4 stars (Read another book by an author already used for this Bingo card)
- A Man Called Ove – 5 stars (Borrowed from the library)
- Hamilton: The Revolution – 4 stars (Nonfiction in graphic novel format)
- The Redbreast – 4 stars (A classic mystery)
- Still Life – 5 stars (Recommended by a librarian or bookseller)
- The Paris Architect – 5 stars (That you think you will dislike)
- The Goldfinch – 5 stars (With an animal on the cover on in the title)
- Written in My Own Heart’s Blood – 2 stars (Six words or more in the title)
- White Nights – 4 stars (Set in another country)
- The New Yorker – 5 stars (A literary magazine or journal of any genre)
This was a colossal undertaking for me. I have not been the most voracious reader in recent years, but this has truly brought my love for reading back to life! A huge thank you to Carole for talking about this all those many weeks ago – I would not have even known such a thing existed! It was a throwback to my youth and my local library summer reading programs!
And speaking of colossal – while nothing much looks fab in the gardens right now with much of it looking worn, weary, and burned out. Not so with the Coleus and the White Salvia we planted this year!! It is the King of the Garden right now and even the bees are paying homage!
That brings us to the linky portion of this post, enter at your own risk! You have been warned!
I will close with some incredible bloggy goodness, thanks to Kate Davies (who ALWAYS has the most phenomenal photos ever!) However, recently she shared some really incredible things:
That is all I have for you this week, the knitting continues – and last night I sat at my spinning wheel for the first time in almost a week! Have a fantastic weekend and I will see you back here on Monday!
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by Kat | Aug 15, 2016 | General, In This Moment
The weather seems to be in a holding pattern – hot, humid, with intermittent and at times heavy rain showers. There was not much time outdoors this weekend. This remains the forecast for the week, and though I am not thrilled to admit it – I am really ready for a change in the weather. Cooler would be nice, less humid even better! And, it would make it enjoyable to sit outdoors…just sayin’.
A quiet Friday night to usher in the weekend seemed like the perfect plan. It was indoors – the air-conditioned indoors!
There was Olympics monitoring, coupled with some knitting and some spinning (also indoors).
There was some reading – I am about halfway through To Kill A Mockingbird. And I started a new audiobook – The Secrets of Mary Bowser by Lois Leveen, and it is so GOOD!
We have also arrived at the Season of Tomatoes. All things tomatoes. All the time tomatoes. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner tomatoes.
It is also that time of the year when the garden beds and the lawn are both looking a little tired and worn out. However, these photos from a couple of weeks ago are going to tide me over in January, February, and March when there is no color and it is bitterly cold out. The best thing ever was this little bag of seeds we planted this year. They have provided an almost non-stop, 4′ tall, wall of color and I am so happy to report that we have seen hundreds of bees this year. There is nothing better than watching them move from flower to flower to flower. I have only seen one monarch this year, which is horribly sad – however, there have been a variety of other butterflies on the Butterfly Bush as well as some very large bees!
There you have the Cliff Notes of my weekend, Gentle Reader. How was your weekend?
by Kat | Aug 2, 2016 | General, Words
It’s Tuesday and you know what that means…Carole wants an update my Summer Bucket List to see how I am doing…
Oh boy…
Here is the link to the original post
Now, how am I doing?
Undone:
Done:
However, I need to have a frank discussion with myself about the chance of success for completing the undone. I might be able to get one or two more things completed, but 100% is highly unlikely.
I mean, it is August 2nd and there are only thirty-three days until Labor Day…There is your depressing thought for the day.
You’re welcome.
Did you have a Summer Bucket List? If yes, how are you doing?
by Kat | Jul 28, 2016 | General
We have some much-needed rain in the forecast today – the skies are cloudy and it smells like rain.
It’s the perfect day to make a batch of Salsa Verde and a jar of Sweet Pickles.
And…by week’s end I think I will have enough little tomatoes to make a batch of Roasted Cherry Tomatoes.
The only other thing on my agenda today is a wee bit of letter writing!
What’s on your agenda today?
by Kat | Jul 26, 2016 | General, Words
It’s Tuesday and that can only mean one thing…Carole wants to know something very important!!
This week she is asking: 10 Ways to Beat the Heat
This question could not come at a more appropriate time, because we are in the midst of some of the warmest weather we have had all year here in Pittsburgh.
So let me share a few things I have been doing, or will be doing before this heat spell snaps…
- Cooking and heat are not the best of friends, and sometimes even grilling when it is 90+ degrees out is too much for any sane person…However, if you were smart on Amazon Prime Day and were able to snag an InstaPot, then you are in luck. Cooking with this thing is Ah-mazing! We used it once this week already, and I have to tell you – I am IN LOVE!!!
- If you don’t have this gizmo, then perhaps you should queue up my go to summer meal – a Classic Salad Niçoise, made even better by the fact that very little actually needs to be cooked.
- When the weather gets hot… the tough go shopping in an air-conditioned facility.
- Or perhaps take in a movie, at an air-conditioned theater
- Water – as in submerging your body in it… so head off to a local pool, lake, river, etc.
- Museums are also a great place that are air-conditioned!
- Your local library – you can sit and read or knit. You can even listen and knit if you have ear buds!
- Take an afternoon siesta – there is something so perfect about a nap on a hot summer afternoon.
- Embrace the heat and go see a ball game…bonus points in that cold beer is readily available!
- And, if all that fails – then plunk yourself in front of a fan with a glass of iced tea and do not move until absolutely necessary!
How about you? How do you beat the heat??
Photo courtesy of Terry Freedman
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