by Kat | Jan 26, 2024 | General, In This Moment
It has been a topsy-turvy week here… we went from having temps in the teens on Sunday… to this morning an unbelievable 63°F. It smells like spring outside… and the birds must be thinking so as well because there was so much singing as Sherman and I trekked out this morning. The best thing might have been CLEAR SKIES!!! Those clear skies afforded me a glance at a Wolf Moon that was slowly setting.
So with a topsy-turvy week, my thoughts are sort of topsy-turvy as well… but an every once in a while you just need a good Friday brain dump, right?
Wolf Moon in pink skies…
Re-thinking —
This week Bonny posted about The Barbie Movie… which I have not seen. Then Kym sent some more encouragement my way about how I just might enjoy it… because it is fun! And then the icing on the cake came this week with the Oscar nominations… of course Ken was nominated… Which seems to me to highlight life for women… we do all the hard work, make all the things happen (and generally on time) and our reward is… no notice at all. So, this weekend I will be tucking in with my Great Cabled Sweater and watching The Barbie Movie with thoughts of solidarity for women everywhere.
Impetus (reignited) —
Speaking of that Great Cabled Sweater… well, I fanned the flames on it a bit yesterday and cruised through the button holes and made a LARGE dent in the shawl collar… I have a few repeats of increases and then a tiny bit of straight knitting before arriving at the Short Rows Portion of the collar. I am thinking the other band will go much quicker as I won’t have to make button holes… and I am thinking that The Great Seaming will happen in early February!
(a mighty) FINE (sewer) —
One of you asked earlier this week what I was going to do with my “pages” when I am finished sewing them. When I went to pull fabrics for this 100-day journey… I stumbled across all sorts of bits of fabrics from things I had sewn for Heidi’s kids… things that no longer fit (as happens with growing children) and I thought that putting them all together for her in a sort of a memory book would be special to her. Page one turned out so well… and page two is looking mighty fine as well (of course, I am biased) but I think it fits for Heidi’s “farm!” I am having so much fun with this project… most especially the timeframe… 15 minutes a day. It is a wonder what you can accomplish in just 15 minutes.
Days One and Two… and I think you can see my faint pencil lines of where I am heading later today…
Finding (answers) —
There has been a mystery that has puzzled me for a few months now… at first I thought it was a “one off” and the toilet paper scoring machine was having a moment. But then the next package had more of the same strange scoring on the TP… waves… ripples… not straight. (And honestly, I thought it was because we bought our TP at the Costco… so I thought they might be getting the “imperfect” lots.) But no… that is not the case at all! Leave it to Slate to uncover the toilet paper perforation mystery!
And there you have it… I am itching to get back outside in this unbelievable January April weather! See you all back here on Monday!
by Kat | Nov 3, 2023 | General, In This Moment
It has been a very chilly week here in my corner of the Burgh… the frosts have come (as did one morning with a dusting of snow!) This weekend we are supposed to be a bit milder so I am hoping to get the remainder of my bulbs in. This is my first time planting any bulbs and confession time… I much prefer warmer weather to be in the garden!
I have just a few of things to share with you all this week.
First up, I saw this post on Threads and I think his idea of practicing getting up from the floor as a game is a good idea. I am adding this to my “November List” of things… maybe you should too!
Anne Lamott wrote a beautiful opinion piece on the idea of “borrowed time” in the WaPo this week. It has stayed with me all week and I wanted to share her (profound) words with you all as well so I am gifting you the article, you can read it here.
Yesterday, I saw bits of an interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates which spurred me to find the entire interview. You might want to find a bit of time to watch it as well… as always, Coates has a way about him that makes me stop and think.
Finally, MY YARN ARRIVED for The Sweater! I need to find a spot of time to begin the swatch-o-rama! (My yarn choice? I went with Peace Fleece in the same color that Emily used… I do not have anything in my wardrobe like it and I am so excited!)
One large ball of Peace Fleece and four little bits that will soon be a gnome!
I am eagerly awaiting my class today… I wound some yarns and am ready to go!
See you all back here on Monday! Have a great weekend!
by Kat | Oct 27, 2023 | Finds, General
Gentle Readers,
October was A. Month… wasn’t it? My heart is heavy with All.The.Bad.News.
And then Lewiston, Maine and Allderice High School happened.
So today I am sharing some things that have helped me move forward this month. Things that have helped the hope within me increase. Hope that I have made a point of sharing.
It is my wish that you will find something that lifts you… perhaps even in these things I share:
First up… thank the gods for librarians, but most especially for Mychal (You should absolutely follow him… he is a highlight of every day!)l:
Next up is Levi... or perhaps my love is really for Levi’s dad… I don’t know, but gosh does Levi eat well!! If there is reincarnation, I would like to come back as a sibling of Levi please!
And… can it even be fall without some Stella! (or again, maybe it is Stella’s dad who is the winner here!)
Finally, I have tried chai numerous times in my life and it has always been just too sweet nor am I a person who “googles” tea… ever. So I found it funny that Chai Ads began showing up on the Meta™ platforms… One in particular kept showing up on the regular and it piqued my interest. So I broke down and bought some… and WOW! And I mean WOW! If you, like me, are not a chai fan but wondered what good chai might taste like… wonder no more. The Kolkata Chai Co delivers! It has all the amazing flavors and none of the über sweetness that other chais have. And it is so good with oat milk. It is my new afternoon cuppa…
My hope for you is that you find somethings this weekend that lifts you in unexpected ways. See you all back here on Monday with my word update.
by Kat | Sep 29, 2023 | General, In My Backyard
It must be September,
July sun has disappeared
― Charmaine J. Forde
This was certainly true this month… one of the most significant things I noted this month… darker morning and evening walks with Sherman. In the morning we are waiting for the sunrise and though it seems lighter at night, it is just because we are out as the sun is setting…and soon that will be dark as well!
I was fortunate to catch a few migrating travelers at my bird feeders this month. Yes, two different warblers stopped for a snack… a Bay-breasted Warbler and a Cape May Warbler. It was delightful to see them briefly on their long journey!
I took a bit of advice from Kym and went out into my garden with my journal and a pencil…and I wrote down lots of notes! I also did a bit of prep-work for the onslaught of spring bulbs that are on their way (The Slow Boat from Amsterdam!) Of course, they are slated to come when we will be in Erie, but Steve’s mom is our Mail Watcher when we are gone (I think she is the original Nebby Neighbor, but in this case it is useful, LOL!)
I am surprised that my tomatoes have continued to produce all month (despite the cold snap we had!) but this weekend I will harvest what is left (fried green tomatoes anyone?) and pull the plants next week. My pots are looking mighty sad these days… that cold snap did them no favors! I will clean the lot of them, which will be sad… but I won’t have to come home from Erie with that to do AND plant that plethora of bulbs heading my way!
There was less porch time this month… but what days I could, I was out on the porch! And that will be my plan next month as well!
I have just today and tomorrow to go in Squat-tember! And while I did not achieve a perfect completion (I missed a few days) over all, it was a success! I found Petra to be a great motivator! I am going to continue squatting (and doing more floor sitting!)
And there you have my month… it was good but went by way too fast!
Have a great weekend everyone and I will see you all back here on Monday!
**photo above is from the 22nd at 7:27PM
by Kat | Sep 8, 2023 | General, In This Moment
I had other plans for today post but life got in the way yesterday… bigly.
A small-ish issue with Sherman required some extra attention yesterday morning and a rather lengthy vet visit yesterday afternoon. But we have some new meds to try and I am hoping he is feeling better soon!
My plans for reacquainting myself with my painting spot did not happen … and it might not happen this morning either. I will have to see how Sherman is doing today… but it is absolutely on my radar!
I am falling back on the simplicity of a bit of a Friday RIFF… so let’s get started!
Re-adjusting —
Kym shared some links this week that I had been contemplating one of them until I saw this fun little knit from Leila Raven and I realized that this is exactly what I need.. fun, stripe-y, and I have the yarn in my stash! This is the motivation I need to finish my Pressed Flower wrap because I want to knit this next!
Investigating —
This week I saw a *new-to-me* butterfly in my back yard, Google told me it was a Great Spangled Fritillary… a member of the Nymphalidae family of butterflies. It was so fun watching it hang around for all of Wednesday afternoon. A lovely addition to the plethora of Monarch’s that are in love with my butterfly bush this year!
Hello, Lovely!
Fresh (air) Poetry —
You Are Here… Yes, yes Ada Limón, The Library of Congress, and National Parks are getting their Poetry ON! I discovered it on that site formerly known as Twitter this week and yes… I am super excited for the anthology of poems! (Especially since poetry has been in the spotlight this week… and if you are a member of the Armed Services who writes, reads, or recites poetry… well done you!) I will be reading some poetry this weekend… it is the best sanity-saving thing I do!
Finally —
Today I am going to hope that Sherman has a good day and I can spend some time refreshing my painting spot. But… I am not beating myself up if I don’t because outside of that my week has been very productive. My *computer desk* has been decluttered and I have used it! My calendar got some “face time” with me… and that felt so good! We even had a bit of rain yesterday… not enough, but some is better than none.
That is it for me this week! I will see you all back here next week. Have a great weekend everyone!
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