by Kat | 5 hours ago | General, Welcome
In October, a maple tree before your window lights up your room like a great lamp. Even on cloudy days, its presence helps to dispel the gloom. — John Burroughs
It is the month I eagerly anticipate all year… my most favorite of all!
Although, it feels very off to be delighting in these days as my neighbors to the south are struggling mightily. But we sent off a donation or two… it seems so inadequate to just send off money but I know that all these donations will make a big difference. And despite the enormity of this disaster, there are bright spots that shine brighter than the trees will… stories of people helping each other. That gives me hope… and I hope it brings hope to those affected as well.
My October List of things is short this month:
- We head to Erie next week (and I am so very ready for it!)
- Then… once our Erie Time has finished, we will go pick up our new puppy!
Perhaps that is exactly how it should be to allow for maximum reveling in October days because just 4 days in and I have been doing LOTS of reveling!! The weather has turned nicely this week. We got some rain (we could use more, but I am not complaining!) and the past couple of mornings have been quite chilly! Yesterday morning, I watched the fog roll in (literally, I could watch it roll down the hills behind our house!) and it was incredible to watch! I have pulled out a couple of lopapeysa’s to wear… and they are the perfect woolly layer! Might a Mr. Heater have been nice? Yes… it would. But I have not “done” anything about making that a reality. (Done, as in tell Steve to order something! Ha!)
After taking August and September off from baking sour dough bread, I feared my starter (which, for those wondering, is nameless) would be dead. Not at all! It just needed a bit of “reviving” and 36 hours later was raring to go so I baked bread yesterday and was happy to have a fresh loaf of bread to go with the tomato soup I made!
Now I am off to do a bit of garden clean up on this amazingly gorgeous morning! Happy October everyone!
See you all back here on Monday!
by Kat | 2 days ago | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings dear Unraveler’s and happy Wednesday!
Every year, when I turn the calendar to October, these words from L.M. Montgomery echo in my head:
I am so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.
Yes, October is my hearts delight! There is so much to love… the light as the sun comes up is just magical. The return of some cooler weather that stirs the desire for autumn-y foods. The cooking of those autumn-y foods which fill the house with the best smells! Normally, leaves would be included… I do so love the trees that change from deep green to a palette of colors that are a delight for the eyes. But this year, I fear that those colors will be more on the brown palette… thanks to the very dry summer we had. But despite that, I am happy that it is October!
Moving on to the elephant in my room… the bout of Knitting Nojo I am having! Yes, nojo… not mojo. My desire to knit has up and left… I did force myself to finish Monkey Sock One and cast on Sock Two. But force is the correct word… and forced knitting is about as fun as it sounds. I have not picked up the gnome part in a week… so I am still in the same spot as I was last week with Clue Three.
A few days ago, Ann Wood dangled the idea of a bit of fall stitching… in the form of an Autumn Book. Twelve pages… one for each week. And, of course, I jumped right on that idea! My pages have been cut from an old pair of jeans. It is soft and lovely to stitch on. The ideas are percolating away in my brain… but I am starting with some acorns made from scraps of fabric from a sundress I made for Vivi eons ago! And I figured out the acorn caps yesterday afternoon… I had a sample piece I wove (eons ago) to work on my weaving tension. It was not large enough to do anything with and the colors are perfect… I began stitching the first cap on yesterday afternoon! I like how it looks!
Page one, underway!
Yesterday, I began the October stitching as well… a month of leaves! I have decided that this will help my “changing leaves” deficiet thanks to the long dry summer!
September stitching is finished and I began October!
And my September painting was very productive! A little video of my pages:
I tried some new things this month… and I learned a lot. A double spread is not optimal because of the seam in the middle. And I had so much fun just painting… not from a picture, but just paint. I also made some “watercolor swatches” that I have cut apart and plan to put them on the cover of my book! That book is fantastic! It lays flat! I will be able to paint a double spread if I want! My plan is to take that book to Erie with me next week and use it as my journal. I will do some painting outdoors and I am excited about that!
Now for the best part of my week… the reading!! And thank goodness I am not having the same hiccup with reading as I am with knitting! This week’s finishes are two amazing books! First, Marjan Kamali’s The Lion Women of Tehran! This was a book I did not want to stop! It begins in the 1950’s in Tehran and runs through the end of the pandemic and it is a story that at times brought tears to my eyes. (Okay, make that many times… many, many times!) It is beautifully written and has absolutely moved into the “best books I have read this year” hallowed space! I highly recommend. I listened to the book, and the narrators are perfection! (Mozhan Navabi and Nikki Massoud)
The next book that I thought was just as magnificent was the debut novel by Susanna Kwan, Awake in the Floating City: A Novel. The writing is perfection… and it is a debut novel!! How I mercifully stumbled into this Netgalley read was the cover. It (coupled with the title) drew me in. It is classified as a dystopian novel, but I did not think it was dystopian so much as really just a book about relationships. Relationships with others and the relationship we (try to) have with ourselves. It is about feeling adrift (sort of like a floating island maybe) and trying to find connections in life. It is really an incredible story and I am so sorry it won’t be published until next May! I also shed a few tears as I read this book.
I also started listening to the next Read With Us selection… It was not a good start as it is absolutely not a book you can listen to “in the wild” … oh boy. (And yes, I could have just listened with my hearing aids, but I don’t like to do that.) Thankfully, Matt Haig’s latest came available on a library hold and it is off to an infinitely better start!
And there you have my week… what about you all? Do any of you have something to bring back my knitting mojo?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | 4 days ago | General, Words
Time is the fire in which we burn. — Gene Roddenberry
I have reached the portion of the year that feels like I am racing against time. The days are growing ever shorter… both in the hours of daylight and what time I might have left to me. How appropriate that the seasonal changes are reminding me clearly that I am well into the autumn of my days.
This is not exactly a bad thing… or at least that is what I tell myself as I get up with the familiar aches and pains of my life. Those morning moments as I try to “get myself all working again” are the most humbling ones of my day.
I have spent this month contemplating what I want to accomplish yet this year in my study of time. Nine months in and I still am learning new things about time… or I am still learning new things about myself. I believe both things are true… and that is wildly invigorating! Learning is life!
I read a very interesting little book this month… Carlo Rovelli’s The Order of Time. When I first finished it, I thought… well, there’s not much here. But I am rethinking my initial thoughts on that little book… it is one I have not stopped thinking about. Most especially Rovelli’s thoughts on memory… he likens memory to time, or rather, that our memories are time.
This is time for us. Memory. A nostalgia. — Carlo Rovelli
Think you haven’t used your time wisely? Dip into the well of your memories and see just how perfectly you have used it.
I have spent lots of time in my memory well and have added pages chapters to the memory journal I am making for my kids. And in these moments, I find that time is not burning… rather I have found another point of Jenny Odell’s “vertical time” … where the passing of time stands still.
And that, dear friends, is a very good distraction from the feeling of trying to stay ahead of those flames devouring the minutes of my day!
As always, I am so grateful for Carolyn gathering us all together to share our progress each month.
Happy Monday everyone, I will see you all back here on Wednesday!
Photo by Eugene Shelestov
by Kat | Sep 25, 2024 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings Dear Unravelers and Happy Last Wednesday of September!
The months have reached the point where they just race on… and too darned fast if you ask me! I find it almost impossible that there are less than 100 days left in this year!
It’s been a slow making week for me… I have knit a bit on the Mystery Gnome (I am very behind, but I have yet to peek at any images from those further along than I am! I like prolonging the mystery!) And I made some progress on my September Socks… and I am admitting that I won’t likely finish a pair this month (but I am going to try my best to surprise myself!)
Stitched, which was not as easy as it looked in the video. I will purchase a curved needle before I make another book!
I did manage to stitch the signatures of my book together and I figured out a work around for not having any c-clamps. I did have a couple of sturdy scraps of wood and zip ties FTW! I began the glueing process yesterday… the waiting time between glue layers might have been hindered due to the humidity, but I got it done! Today, I am going to try and add a pocket to the front inside cover and call it good! I enjoyed this process very much! What a great way to use all those big sheets of watercolor paper…so once this book is full look for more handmade books in my future!
Just one more layer of glue to go!
Mostly, I have been working on “Puppy Proofing” my house. Sherman chewed on nothing… ever… but I am not expecting the same from a new puppy! We leave for Erie in a couple of weeks and when we get back we go to get that puppy! My “Fall Cleaning” list has expanded quite a bit and yes… I am feeling a bit behind in all.the.things!
The reading this week has been delightful though. I finished Pilcher’s September and I really enjoyed spending some time in Scotland with Violet and her (very) dysfunctional family. I did not think it was as good as The Shell Seekers (but could anything be better than that?) But Pilcher writes about flawed characters and allows them to work out their struggles on the page for the reader to “come along for the ride,” as it were. I also finished a book that Bonny put on my radar… Sing Like Fish. I really enjoyed this book that taught me so much about how fish “sing”… and Kingdon goes far beyond whale song. It was fascinating!
Bonus… it was a very good week for Book Mail! I got my copy of The Gnomes of Grimblewood AND Leaf, Cloud, and Crow.
The best book mail!!
I was very much feeling the deepest sorrow at starting the “final season” of The Comfort of Crows but now I will be able to continue on in December! Dearest Margaret has set up Leaf, Cloud, Crow beautifully. She invites you to a deeper relationship with the nature around you… as in, you don’t have to leave your backyard! She includes some suggestions on “how to pay attention” and each week has a beautiful quote to help inspire your writing. There are both lined pages for writing and blank pages for drawing. And the artwork, which is gorgeous, has been done by her brother, Billy Renkl. If you loved The Comfort of Crows and want to immerse yourself in the world of your backyard, Margaret has made it amazingly easy! I plan to use it together with Comfort of Crows… because, somehow, Margaret’s essay for each week always finds a commonality with what is going on in my backyard.
And I feel like I am working on setting a part of my journey for making next year… yes, there will be more gnomes! I like this idea… small, portable projects that don’t require swatching or ‘fitting’! Ha!
And there you have my week! What about you? What are you making or reading this week?
As always, if you wrote a post to share and want to join us as we Unravel our making and reading… please leave your link below! All are welcome!
I am not sure if I will post again on Friday… it really depends on how much I get accomplished on my list! If not Friday, I for sure will see you on Monday!
by Kat | Sep 23, 2024 | General, In My Backyard
September tries its best to have us forget summer. — Bernard Williams
Yesterday, autumn arrived and I am feeling a deep sorrow in my heart at the end of summer… which is the most curious coming from a person who never really liked summer at all. Yes, I am grieving the end of summer. And even though September began tempting me with some decidedly autumnal weather earlier in the month, I am happy that that cooler weather has given way to a return to warm summer days.
I am not ready to give up Porch Sitting at all. It is my most very favorite time of the day. Now some might say that it all is just a colossal waste of time… sitting quietly in the morning, sipping my coffee, listening, reading a poem or two, and jotting down my thoughts. But for those few moments… as I am “in the world” and not in my house, I have discovered and experienced things I would have missed if I was “busy” doing something else in my house (and trust me… the dust will wait!!) I am contemplating figuring out a “Mr. Heater” that can help me extend my time outdoors! (Thanks to Kym for putting Mr. Heater on my radar!)
Some treasured moments from my “summer sitting” time:
- The oriole feeder that not a single oriole visited, but I discovered that the house finches dearly love some grape jelly, so I kept it full for them. Watching them feed their babies a “spot of dessert” was just so fun. But the most fun visitor to the oriole feeder were the wee Downy Woodpeckers who sipped the hummingbird nectar… and yes, that same oriole feeder saw loads of Hummer’s each and every day!
- I also discovered that juvenile Red-bellied Woodpeckers also love hummingbird nectar. They were regular visitors to my hummingbird feeders!
- I delighted in the chipmunks antics at avoiding the squirrels but still getting their fair share of peanuts. They grew so used to me sitting on the porch, that they stopped ‘taking the long way’ back to their nest, and instead scampered past me!
- It was the summer for rabbits in my yard as well, we had a plethora of babies all summer long and as we close in on autumn, I find myself happy that three have evidently decided that our yard is a good space to hang out. I see them regularly.
- I have been amazed at how very smart blue jays are! I, perhaps, learned the most about them this summer! Their “bird bath” antics though are most hilarious! They have brought laughter to my days, which was so appreciated in the days after we lost Sherman. A good reminder that laughter does not diminish sorrow but it does ease it for a bit.
- I reveled in the long days and mourned when the days shorter length became evident. And I really delighted in a season that contained four full moons… two of which were super moons!
- Yes, I even tried to spend some time outside when the sun was down! I did okay until the mosquitos got very bad but I very much loved watching the fireflies.
- And speaking of insects…I know many of you had a bout of super noisy cicadas however, I found their drone delightful on a sunny afternoon! And as August gave way to September I am delighting in the songs of the crickets as the sun sets.
- My butterfly bush was seriously amazing this year. It was immense… and full of blooms from late June to now… yes, it is still going strong! I watched a plethora of bees navigate systematically from bloom to bloom. I delighted in the abundance of butterflies… swallowtails, monarchs, and fritillaries galore! I also watched hummingbird moths as well as actual hummingbirds!
So as I turn the page of summer and I try and ready myself for fall… I am most thankful that I am here to experience the seasons!
What memories of summer will you carry with you into fall?
See you all back here on Wednesday for some Unraveling!
**Image by Viktor Hanacek on PicJumbo**
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