Today I am sharing my brief, but spectacular trip to Michigan in photos!
The sun and I arrived together in Chicago!
Grand-dogs are the best and Bowser was happy to see me!
A beer or two at the Lake Ann Brewing Co
The weather cooperated nicely for most of the weekend!
Which inspired an impromptu "picnic"
All picnics should include silly selfies!
Clear skies to close out Friday!
Saturday morning snuggles with Bowser!
Early rising in northern Michigan is the best thing ever!
I walked to Lake Ann and the views were glorious on Saturday morning!
A quick breakfast with these two was so much fun!
The undertaking of the day was my son's new tattoo.
I just love how it turned out (and how well he endured the process!)
On to the Empire Hops Fest with my son and his lovely girlfriend, Jupiter!
I think they make the cutest couple!
So many amazing beers!
Sunday included one more early morning walk to Lake Ann.
Harvest Festival at Vivi's school meant she had some of her own artwork this weekend!
Sunday night's clear, crisp skies!
And before I knew it the weekend was over, but flying into Chicago had some amazing views!
It was a whirl-wind weekend, packed full of so many good things!
My backyard pano was insane!
Monday’s sunset was truly amazing, but boy was I happy to get into my own bed!
And that, my friends, brings us to another weekend. One that will, at least for me, be much less busy! See you all back here on Monday and I hope you all have a great weekend!
We know that in September, we will wander through the warm winds of summer’s wreckage. We will welcome summer’s ghost. — Henry Rollins
The weekend days were indeed summer-like, warm and breezy. Even the pop-up storms we had Saturday night had a summer-like quality to them. And, yes – we needed to turn the damned AC back on, and it looks like we will need it several more days this week. But I also must turn lights on morning and night and that makes me really long for summer light!
But there was an outside happy hour on Friday that was so nice…until the mosquitoes arrived! They are the one thing that makes me yearn for that first hard frost.
This is the professionally-styled me… but how I love my Morrine Short and Sweet
I got my money’s worth from Friday’s haircut – it is so short! I loved how she “did” my hair on Friday but I have yet to replicate that. I feel like I have 2 left hands as I struggle with my brush. I am sure I will soon be comfortable styling it but right now, the struggle is real.
I managed to finish Reagan and I am blocking her today. Glamour shots coming on Wednesday if the weather cooperates! Steve thinks it is too big, but I am reserving judgment until the blocking is complete. I also ripped back Early Bloomer and began the re-knitting process. I do not think I will have this done before I leave on Friday, but maybe? I started the ribbing last night, but I think I should have slipped it on a couple of needles and tried it on. I will do that this morning before I go any further!
It will be a full week –
– A friend is dropping off her sweater pieces today for me to block and seam
– Sherman has a bit of unplanned surgery tomorrow morning – another histiocytoma appeared last week and is in a spot that is most irritating for him so off it will come
– I need to run to JoAnn’s to get a bit of pink fabric to make a bow for Vivi’s Reindeer headband
Plus, all the normal weekly things – just with one less day to get them all done
That’s all I have for today – how does your week look?
Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. – Albert Camus
The weekend had a deliciously summery feel, that is if you just considered the temperatures and not the light – because the light was most decidedly fall! But the days were warm and sunny!
But joy of joys… today begins my favorite season: Fall! Its days are fast, but I am determined to slow the season down by savoring each day – rain or shine!
Yep, Friday I got an urgent message from Steve that there was a significant water break and all the South Hills (or almost all of it) were on a “Boil Water Advisory” for at least 48 hours. Water is a curious thing… open the tap and voila! Water! Easy, right? Except when it isn’t. And, when you can’t drink water it is the only thing you want to drink!
I also went to get some blood work done prior to a doctor visit tomorrow and yes, I am a bit nervous about the results.
Leggings were seamed up, but no sewing was done…so that is on my list for the week! As is that doctor visit and hopefully I can manage a haircut on Friday!
I also did a good bit of reading, but more on that on Wednesday!
And finally, STILL…there is all that never-ending lace! But I am almost ready to join a new ball of yarn and I only have 2 left, so the end is slowly getting closer!
But for now, I need to get going with my walk – rain is threatening! See you back here tomorrow when I join Juliann to share how my focus was for September!
Happy Monday everyone! I hope your weekend was one that was full of all the things you needed, and you are ready to tackle a new week!
“One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries.” – A. A. Milne
This weekend included some major Kon-Mari-ing of all the upstairs closets. It was not quite the level of Swedish-Death Cleaning, but the closets are organized, have a bit of space, and the “transition” wardrobe pieces have been moved so they are readily available! Also, if you find something you forgot you had it feels a bit like you got something new!
I even made a list of items my fall-into-winter wardrobe is missing…things I want to make. Our recent trek out to the Outlets really showed me how much I don’t like Ready To Wear. None of it fits well, it almost always needs alterations and/or adjustments to make it fit right, feel right, and look right. So, fall making is now high on my priority list! And, at the top of that list is a pair of good fitting jeans! This fall I plan on sewing a pair of jeans that fit me.
Now, what does the week hold for me?
Well, Reagan lace knitting is at the top of the list, and I am just over halfway – so 7-ish more inches and then the bottom band, but those rows are so.long. just saying…so I expect this lace knitting to continue into next week.
I also need to transform this into reindeer ears and some cabled leggings.
AND…I need to tackle my Zadie jumpsuit muslin so I can work out the pattern kinks.
But, what about you? What’s on your list this week?
The “list-free” weekend was truly restful – although, on Sunday we did get some much needed yard work done! We did a bit of culling of the dying plants from the pots on the patio – the coleus was getting pretty leggy and were dropping leaves thanks to the spate of cool nights we have had. I would like to get a couple of mums for the fall but I won’t have time this week – maybe next week that will happen. But for right now the impatiens remain the star of the waning days of summer – they are just magnificent! The remaining vegetable plants in the garden have also headed to the compost pile. I have made a somewhat detailed list of garden successes as well as failures. August’s hot humid days did my basil in – perhaps assisted by my overzealous watering.
On Saturday night as we were looking for something to watch on television and we discovered that there is a new season of The Great British Baking Show on Netflix…produced by Netflix. There are 2 episodes up currently, with a new one coming each week until the end of October! Only Paul remains from the original shows, but I thought it was still most enjoyable!
But, it’s Monday and this is what my list looks like this week:
This is the September inspiration from The Balanced Life and these words are exactly what I need as I head back to my Pilates mat this week. As Kym has shared many times over the past few months – you can go from one who avoided exercise to one who finds something so very worthwhile in it! I really want to be in the latter group and I am going to make moving and exercise my focus this month!
This week, I have just the inspiration necessary to bring me back to the mat… stay tuned for my Friday check-in to see how I did! Add to that, my daily walks and moving my body is getting back into focus! I am so disappointed at how easy it was for me to lose this essential habit! I have put these words in several prominent places and hopefully they will continue to inspire my movement this month!
I have a wee bit of sewing to finish! One pair of Rose pants and a Zadie Jumpsuit have been patiently waiting for me to get back to them. Which will happen this week because there is no baking or preserving to distract me!
My daughter added a couple of things to my list yesterday with a request for some “Halloween costume” help – so I need to look up some cable patterns to knit a tiny pair of leggings and see if I can pick up some flannel fat quarters to make some “reindeer ears” so Vivi can be a little reindeer for Halloween!
My final goal for the week is to begin the lace portion of my Reagan! I am ever so close to finishing the sleeves and hope to have some lace progress to share with you on Wednesday!
What’s on your list for the week? I hope that you can make the most of your Monday and start your week off wonderfully! See you all back here on Wednesday with a knitting and reading update!
