My amaryllis seem to be off to a better start than last year!
This week I can see lovely changes from the previous update!
We got an early start to the weekend last night! Steve is using his last vacation day for 2018 today!
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
On the last day of this lovely long weekend, I am remembering, planning, and pondering.
First up, I am quite certain that Blaer will be a challenge (if not impossible) to complete by the end of November. I spent a good bit of one on one time with Blaer yesterday and I am NOT TO THE SLEEVE DIVIDE YET. That’s right… and I have a good 3 inches to go before I get to that point. Cue the deep sighing… lots of deep sighing! Perhaps I can salvage this situation by flipping gears a bit. I have “plan b” formulated and if I get gauge, I might pull off a successful NaKniSweMo yet! Stay tuned…
On Friday I went to the fabric store (aka JoAnn’s… how I wish there was a Fields Fabrics here!!) But I did have some success… I see in my future a Thea Rachelle Raglan shirt, an Ann Carolyn Smock, and a Dress No. 2 with a sleeve variation!
Saturday’s visit to the Vintage Mixer was AMAZING!! The people watching! The nostalgia! The clothing!! The glassware! Oh, and who knew that our grandma’s pyrex would be so popular! We picked up a couple of bar finds that will make Friday night’s a little more special. We shared a slab of pie from Piebird and wow…so.freaking.good! I also loved that the bar was open at 10am… One suggestion I would make to the Mixer Masters is that they really need a sitting area…it would make sipping a libation and watching the people so much easier! I loved seeing so many people all decked out in their vintage duds! For lunch we headed to church… and ate WAY too much!
All in all, it was a great weekend! How about you… how was your weekend?
On a weekend where almost everyone was at Rhinebeck and yours truly was sadly not! The best thing to clear out those “I wish I was there blues” is to do something fun and this was indeed a weekend of fun here in Western PA!
Friday Happy Hour was the perfect kick off, and it is my absolute favorite to do that right here at home. It is, imo, best done at home and we have our routine down! And, I have a hot tip to share… if your local Costco sells liquor, the Kirkland American Vodka is a winner! And, it comes with a price that is even nicer! Thank you, Traverse City Costco for having well stocked shelves!
Saturday, we made the big trek to Sewickley, with a stop at Sewickley Yarns where I did some very minor stash enhancement. Lunch however, was the star of the day! We discovered Najat’s Cuisine! This little Lebanese restaurant is a bit off the beaten path, but the food was incredible, and the owners were so warm and welcoming. We will absolutely be back!
We then headed to a local distillery for a few tastes! I figured this would be a good reward for Steve’s patience in the yarn shop… lol. McLaughlin Distillery is unique – it is very small – practically a one-man business. The distiller even makes the barrels he ages the whiskey in and we might have left with a bottle or two…
Sunday was my “nose to the grindstone” day… I powered through the i-cord and got blanket one done, but more on that tomorrow!
And, yet with all that fun we saved the best for last. We headed off into the Laurel Highlands on Monday and it was the most amazingly perfect day – sunny, clear, and yes… dare I say mild! We hoped to see some fall color in our visit to Fallingwater and Ohiopyle! And, while the fall color was very meh, Fallingwater was almost a religious experience. It is more magnificent than its photos! I was unaware of the history of the property, but the 5,100 acres originally were purchased by the Masons for a camping retreat. The Kaufmann family then purchased the property from the Masons in the 20’s with the idea that Kaufmann’s Department Store employees from Pittsburgh could vacation there to get out of the grime of the city and enjoy the fresh and restorative air at the Camp. At that time there was a train that ran with a stop about a mile from the Camp. In 1935 Frank Lloyd Wright designed the home in 1935 and construction was finished in 1937 and it was used by the Kaufmann family until 1963 when it was donated to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy intact – with all the original furnishings! There is a main home and a guest house. And, the rhododendrons… there are thousands of them around the house and along all the walk ways. The grounds are incredible to walk, and it is so amazing to see the house as a living part of the landscape, rather than an intrusion to it. Frank Lloyd Wright’s quote was achieved spectacularly at Fallingwater:
No house should ever be on a hill or on anything. It should be of the hill. Belonging to it. Hill and house should live together each the happier for the other.
We spent so much time at Fallingwater, we only stopped at the Ohiopyle falls before heading back home. It was the best possible ending to a wonderful long weekend!
I am closing with a couple of quick video’s of both Fallingwater and Ohiopyle! I hope your week is going well!
Now I am off to catch up on all your blogs! Happy Tuesday, all!
Happy Monday, Gentle Readers!
Fall arrived in the ‘Burgh over the weekend… crisp days, very cool evenings, and yes, someone caved and turned on the heat but it was not me! And, my advice of putting on long pants versus shorts fell on deaf ears…
It was a weekend full of decorating for fall, but especially Halloween! Steve and I have been debating Halloween – do we give out treats? Do we pass? We decided that for the sake of the couple of neighbors with young kids, we will. These are the difficult decisions in life, I am telling you! Ha
It was not a weekend with much knitting. However, I did get my wheel out! I gave it a good tune up and I did some spinning! Saturday, I finished up the last bit of a braid of fiber from David at Southern Cross Fibre and yesterday, I plied it. It just needs a bit of a soak and I will see how much yardage I got. I don’t have enough for a pair of socks, but I think there will be enough for a pair of mitts!
There was also no baking – even though we got some lovely apples this weekend. I am hoping that I can solve that problem tomorrow! Today I have training to be an election worker!
How was your weekend?
P.S. Amazon has Still Life for $2.99 today!
Happy Friday, everyone! We made it through another week and while my list is not entirely finished this morning (I hope yours is!), I am confident that it will be done by the days end! And, so with that list in hand, I am doing a TGIF post today – sans links…and I am sorry if that is what you stop by for on Friday’s.
Thinking About: I continue to contemplate all I learned during the last three weeks of the Busy Boycott. There is so much to consider and “try on” and it will be an ongoing process as I figure out how to implement some of the things I learned about myself in the last few weeks. One thing I know for certain – that “just because I always have” is not a good reason for doing anything. I am excited to see where this leads me!
Grateful For: Time away! And, I mean really grateful! I am really looking forward to spending time away from media and electronics and being present in my life with my kids (and especially with Genevieve!!) The weather forecast is looking seriously wet, but I am not letting that ruin one second of my time in Michigan. **FYI there won’t be any regular blogging during the week – but I will have a post for Unraveled Wednesday for those who like to play along!
Inspired By: The arrival of autumn, a change in the weather, and yes – cooler weather meals! And, I have found some great inspiration on Pinterest for squash!
Fun, fun, fun: I have my list of “things” that I like to do when in Michigan from the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive (and walk!!) to the Empire Hops Festival to visiting some of the new breweries my son says have popped up in Traverse City. This year it includes a Fiber Festival in Leland and a stop at Wool and Honey in Cedar! While, I won’t be posting here every day, you can follow me on Instagram to catch all the fun! Who knows, I might even figure out how to do an Instagram story or two! Ha!
That is all I have for this week – I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
