My flooded backyard is now a snow-covered ice rink… and it is very slippery in spots! But everything is covered with a blanket of fresh snow and it looks beautiful right up until you have to bundle up to head out in it that is! Wind chills in the single digits made for the fast walk ever this morning! While Frankie absolutely loves the snow but the bitter cold… not so much. It’s a day I am happy to have a closet filled with hand knits!
It is also a very good day to stay indoors reading and stitching… and hopefully I can make some headway with the button band! I have rounded the neck line and am heading down the final stretch to the bind off! Sounds short, but really there are LOTS of rows to go!
And for all of those joining in on a Word Journey this year, next Monday is our day to update how the month has gone! I will have the link up ready early and it will remain open all week!
If you are in the path of this wintry blast, stay safe and warm! Happy Monday everyone! See you all back here on Wednesday!
It has been more than a minute since I sat down and pulled together a snapshot of my life currently and this week seems like the perfect time to do that! For a short month, February is full (and feeling achingly long!)
Knitting — the button band on my Bolin Cardigan… after several fits and starts, I have both buttonholes but still have miles to go before I reach the neck…(Note to self… the button band goes up the front, not around the bottom!) Just a note, the directions are clear but the knitter should not watch a foreign police procedural that requires the reading of subtitles! I have thoughts about buttons… and it appears I better get to Joann’s quickly before they vanish into the void…sigh.
Scheduling — more tests. I saw the Most Awesome ENT doctor this week… the same ENT I saw roughly a year ago for my hearing. He was happy to see me (although not happy I was having issues) and we talked about my hearing aids a bit. He was so happy that I was having such success with them and we both sang the praises of Kara, my beloved audiologist! It was nice to see a physician who listened and believed me. I likely have LPR but won’t have a diagnosis until I have completed a swallow test. In the interim, I have started a new medication and (fingers crossed) it seems to be helping…at least with part of the problem!
Reading — slower! I confess, I am loving giving myself some “space” after finishing a book. I look forward to sitting down with my “book journal” and writing down my “finish” thoughts. And this slow down has not diminished the number of books I am reading! I read a dozen books in January! This rethink of how to approach books has really opened my eyes… as has the reread of The Secret History! I am picking up so many things I don’t remember at all from my first read! So, of course, I have a few books that I have added to my “reread” list! This really takes the pressure off the Library Hold List as well.
Researching — the dreaded Medicare and all its companion options! Yes, this year I turn 65 and who knew that would mean going to school to learn about the plethora of options with a plethora of prices. It is enough to give a person a headache and (more) indigestion! Of course, you know because I am doing all this research… Medicare will likely be axed, right? At least with all my research, I will really know what I am missing! Ha! But all joking aside, this is really not fun… there is this fear like a Damocles sword hanging over me as I worry about making a bad choice! Whoever thought adulting was fun… Medicare and all its cohorts want you to think again!!
Listening — to more silence every day… this is my focus this month as I settle in with Yutori. As I moved from January into February… the quiet was a bit discomforting. I have been “trying on” different quiet times and have begun to settle back into my morning meditation rhythm and it feels so good! Quiet… just the sound of a pen on paper as I jot a few things down… or the sound of the turning of a page as I read some poetry. I can feel the stress evaporate in the quiet. I have even expanded my morning meditation time to include painting (thank you, Frankie!!) and while I am not painting every day, I am painting MORE and having fun doodling with watercolors! I have even done a bit of “silent knitting”… not much, but some!
Finding — new social groups! Way back when I first moved to Pittsburgh, I discovered a LYS that had a “knit night” with some really delightful ladies. When the owner of said LYS decided she did not want us gathering there we went to the library and gathered there. We were steadfast as some members moved far away, some members died… and then came COVID and it all sort of fell apart. Now more members have moved away and the couple that I got a hold of are now in the “snowbird” category and won’t be back until April. So I have been on the hunt for a new knitting group… and taking a bit of sage advice from Carole, I expanded my search to other nearby libraries. The Andrew Carnegie Free Library has a knit group that meets once a month… but they also have a plethora of other groups that meet as well! My first new group foray is the 20th when I will go to their knit group! I am thinking about visiting some of their history talks as well!
Outfitting — myself! In the most recent reorganization of my closet, I spent some time really looking at the shape my wardrobe was in… the condition of my most worn (and most beloved) items. Some of them are wearing very well… while others, not so much. So I have crafted a bit of a list of things that need replacing, things that need some tiny bits of repair, and things that need to be repurposed into something else. This list brought about a companion list of things I wish I had in my wardrobe (or things I wish I had more of!) A few of the things are on my list to make… and soon! I have a vest… but I’d like another with a bit more ease and perhaps a v-neck… Sarah shared a pattern this week that might be perfect! The other urgent thing is that I need to get some linen to make another pair of Free Range Slacks. My beloved pair, with a heavier weight linen that I got at IKEA (of all places) are still wearable, but they won’t be forever… so I need to get going on a replacement pair. I’d also like to try my hand at making this pattern to add a couple of shirts to my wardrobe!
Training — Franklin ourselves… sigh. We are well into the “teenage” days with Frankie and while it is hard not to laugh at his antics, he has some behaviors that need to be curbed… biting being at the top of the list! (Or should I say jumpingand biting at the same time) Couple the jumping/biting with warp speed zoomies and you have the makings of one very naughty pup! All of this is taking all my patience (which is on the thin side most days) so I am trying to find those patience reserves that I know I had when my kids were growing up! What really amazes me how good Frankie is with me during the day and how bad Frankie is when Steve gets home… it is a bit like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Anyways… if you all could send me a bit of patience, I sure could use it!
and finally….
Calling — and calling and calling and calling and calling! Yep, I am making very good use of 5Calls! I absolutely call, or try to call, my two senators daily. I also am calling my state AG, who has an (r) behind their name, encouraging them to stand up for us constituents! Is this helping? I think it might be… the volume of calls from all of us is getting noticed! (Why even my senator who has a (d) behind their name has complained about the call volumes! Ha!) But the most important thing these calls are doing for me is that I am making my voice heard, I am speaking up, I am not silently letting democracy die. And I am watching Michael Sheen frequently… his reading of Dylan Thomas’ poem is inspiring… perhaps it will be for you all too!
And there you have it, gentle readers… the state of my life currently! Happy Friday all… and Happy Valentine’s Day!
Actually, I started my trek down Button Band Alley Sunday night after my departure from Sleeve Island but then a couple of things happened… Philly scored (again) and I wondered if knitting on this button band would be infinitely easier if I washed and blocked my cardigan before attempting this trepidatious journey! So I ripped out the couple of rows I had begun and added “soak Bolin” to my Monday list! A brief delay on my trek whilst Bolin is drying but I did manage to get some housework done in the interim! Ha!
And while it is STILL not dry (as of this writing late Tuesday afternoon) I still feel a cardigan will be achievable before week’s end! I don’t have any suitable buttons but once it is done I will head off to see if I can find something appropriate at Joanns before looking elsewhere! And here is the best news of all… the cardigan fits!! Yes, I have broken the sweater curse that beset me last year!
As I idle on button band knitting my mind has turned to a new project (or two) since I am nearing the end of Bolin. Kay was looking so smart on the MDK Society Zoom last week in her Bolin with a matching Sophie Scarf!! I am not sure I will have enough Felted Tweed to knit myself one but no worries… I will be ordering the yarn. (I am not sure if you all noticed, but yarn is now practically cheaper than eggs… just saying!)
I did cast on a new project on Monday afternoon… a long-ass time ago I bought all the yarn to knit this blanket. I had pulled the yarn out, printed off the pattern, gathered the correct size needles and had it “waiting in the wings” to cast on… can I just say that US 11 knitting needles are HUGE!! I am going slowly because I want to make sure I am “catching” both strands of yarn as I knit along, but I am happy with the look of the fabric with a few inches knit!!
I have a finished page and a newly started page in my 100 Day Stitch Book!! And with 5 pages complete… I am a quarter of the way done! New page inspiration from the library book… I am not sure these “flowers” would be so precise if I was not incorporating EPP! I am “glueing” the fabrics versus stitch basting them… but my stitch time of 15 minutes is working well with this pattern! I can see how this could become very addictive (as well as the perfect way to use up scraps!!)
The reading this week has been just so delightful… I am almost finished with There are Rivers in the Sky (which I am loving and don’t really want it to end) and a Netgalley mystery, A Mother’s Love (a title that needs a bit of work, imo) which is very, very mysterious indeed! I also am reading a bit each day in the next RWU book, The Secret History (a reread for me and I am loving it as much as I did the first time!)
And there you have my making and reading this week… how about you? What’s on your radar this week?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
Like all of you, I have been struggling with all the stuff that is overwhelming us daily. I have spent more time “doomscrolling” than is healthy but on one of my recent avoidance sessions Professor Crunk, aka Professor Brittney Cooper, arrived and she turned on a lightbulb for me… a big, bright, shiny lightbulb!
Community! And I began jotting down all the areas of community that lift me, give me strength, that nod along when I rage, that rage while I am nodding along… by Sunday I had quite an amazing list! This blog community was on my list, as were a few other online communities that I really like engaging with during the week… these communities are vital to my well-being right now!
What was missing from my list? Local, in person community… so maybe it’s time to try to rejuvenate my local knitting group or find a new local knitting group!
Happy Monday everyone! See you all back here on Wednesday (with perhaps a finished sweater!!)
It has been a full week… a bit too full perhaps and next week does not look much better! But even in “not busy” weeks it is so easy to get bogged down by the Tsunami of Chaos that is barreling down on us each day. I have found it crucial to identify things saving my life right now… I thought I’d share a few of them with you!
I have been trying to get back to my old morning meditation time… not the easiest with a boisterous puppy! But he is getting older and I can handle his “bone chewing” in the silence… especially since he puts up with me sometimes reading poetry out loud to him (and whoever else is listening!) The thing I most noted in this very busy week… the mornings I missed any meditation time led to a day that was more stressful.
Has bone, will stay put!
I have even managed to do some quick watercolors and it feels good! Water brushes certainly help with the quick factor… a quick spritz of the paints to moisten them and I am off and painting. I would like to expand the time a bit and do something a bit more involved… but for right now, the fact that I have picked up a brush again is a very good thing!
Margaret Renkl’s Leaf, Cloud, Crow is a fantastic morning companion as well. Her prompts are inspiring and if you ever told me I’d become a “backyard journalist” I’d have laughed… but I am even getting better at drawing those pesky squirrels that visit my yard!
Finally, getting outside each day (multiple times each day!) is such a good thing! Snow, wind, cold, sunshine… it is all good. I just adjust my “level of bundledness” and we (Frankie and I) head out the door. He is even … slowly… getting better at walking on the leash (versus yanking me down the street!) These bursts outside are such a balm to my mental health… and I can tell you that in the past ten days, I have noted an increase in birdsong, especially two wrens that are engaged in “song wars”! They are so vociferous that even Frankie stops to listen to them!
And with that… I am going to let this Friday unfold as it will! What is saving your life right now?
