Knit One - Read Too....

“As I get older, I just prefer to knit. ”
...     Tracey Ullman ....

 

I enjoy doing double moss stitch.  Such a simple little pattern - but with such pretty results - especially with variegated yarn!  This is Lorna's Laces sport weight...  The book - the jury is still out on this one.  I am going to read a bit more and see if I want to continue. So if you are interested in trying it out - get it from the library!!

 

 

Happy Christmas!

Hmmmm...dreaming of sugar plums - or some nice fat sweet mousies!

 

Merry Christmas to All of You!!

 

 

 

 

Collecting...

I've collected many things over the years - teddy bears, heart shaped items, raggedy Ann dolls - and on and on, but this one is probably the oddest. I have no idea why I started collecting Starbucks cards - but just did - years ago - and it has grown and grown.  I always meant to put them in a little booklet (sort of like a photo album) - but for now, they are residing in this big coffee cup (which is meant to be a planter)....  I got a kick out of the knit themed one I found recently!

Book Spotlight....

“If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.”  

That quote fits me to a tee!  I re-read certain books over and over and OVER again.  I think I'm only on the third re-read of this one! 

A seamless collection of essays that explores the agony and ecstasy of "knitting yarns" on the needles as well as on the page...

Shadow Play....

 

 

 

Find beauty not only in the thing itself, but in the pattern of the shadows, the light and dark which that thing provides.....

....Junichiro Tanizaki

On The Needles....

again.....  I had started a Saroyan last year.  However, due to the fact I just didn't care for the yarn I was using, I took it off the needles - even though I had over half of it done!  About a month ago, I restarted it in a yarn I'm much happier with.  It is moving slowly - but only because too many other projects keep yelling for my attention!!  Hopefully I'll get it done and be able to wear it before the weather turns warm again!

I Wish I Could Sew!

I love cross-stitching samplers with the word "Ohio" on them!  I've got a couple on my wall right now.  Years ago, I decided to stitch this sampler and then wanted to turn it into a little pillow. As I do not know how to sew on a sewing machine (I've tried, taken lessons - can't do it); and my husband can use a sewing machine, but didn't want to mess my sampler/pillow up, I actually sent it off to my best friend Barb (who is also my former sister-in-law) and who actually lives in Ohio... and she stitched it up for me (using the little piece of fabric I sent her for the back), leaving a little corner open. When I got it back from her in the mail, I stuffed it and bam - a little pillow that I love!

Thanksgiving At Dusk - Still Life....

 

 

 

 

 

I was just about ready to finish up fixing dinner, when I glanced out the window and saw the sun going down. Ran out to snap a photo before it was too late - who cares if dinner burns - LOL!

Book Spotlight....

 

 

 

 

The Lost Art of Mixing by Erica Bauermeister.  This is the sequel to The School of Essential Ingredients.  I enjoyed that book. But this one, I'm loving! 

"Lillian stood at the restaurant kitchen counter, considering the empty expanse in front of her. It was Monday morning at the end of December and the restaurant held the calm that occurred only after the onslaught of holiday feasts, the culmination of a culinary season that began in the fall".

Sunday Haiku....

 

 

Outside my window

Cloudy skies and naked trees

Hot coffee warms me

Shadow Play....

“I thought the most beautiful thing in the world must be shadow.”
 
― Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

Book Spotlight....

I love this book! I re-read it about every other year - don't even know how many times I've actually read it total!! 

There is an old house, old bones,  a bit of romance, and a dog named Elvis...what more could you ask for?

Be Buried In The Rain by Barbara Michaels....

Pardon Me Please....

for this photo which I know is not done well!  I was going to stage it much much better but I haven't been feeling well - so this is as good as it gets!  It is my Windward scarf - a scarf I thought I was close to almost being done with. But then realized this morning, I still have another 265 rows to go yet - aghhh!! But at least I'm really enjoying this pattern.  There are various places in the pattern where you repeat various rows different amounts of time. And I didn't calculate correctly on the number left!   I'm already picturing in my mind what yarn I'll use when I do my second one!  Like I said,  I'm really enjoying this knit.  Just hoping I get it done while winter is still here - so I can wear it many times!

 

 

 

Your Opening Line Please! aka 10 On Tuesday...

The ten on Tuesday topic for this week is to come up with ten sentences that we feel would make good opening lines for a novel....  Here are mine!

1.  When the soft rustling sound came behind her again, she realized it wasn't just the wind....

2.  Land's sake, what is that thing in the sky?!

3.  Her heart fell as the doorbell started to chime over and over again.

4.  The scent of roses was overpowering...

5.  Come in....

6.  The sound of the ticking clock pierced the silence of the room.

7.  Secrets can come back to haunt you...no matter how far you run.

8.  The old house spoke out loud, but only those who were no longer living could hear it.

9.  She slowly blew out the candles and walked upstairs.

10.  Now how did my knitting needles get there...?

Cat On A Heat Pump....Still Life (aka....Saturday Snapshot)

 

 

 

 

One of the neighborhood cats (Joey) that stops by now and then....

Book Spotlight....

I tend to re-read a lot of books - and many of them (like this one here) - I re-read over and over again.  It just brings me comfort. And lately, it seems like I just can't find "new" books out there that appeal to me enough to pay for them!

I'm re-reading this one for probably the third or fourth time now! 

House & Home by Kathleen McCleary...

Ellen has two little girls to raise, a cozy neighborhood coffee shop to run, terrific friends, and a sexy, if irresponsible husband.  And she adores her house.  But as her 18 year marriage heads toward divorce, she is faced to lose it all....

First line:  The house was yellow, a clapboard Cape Cod with a white picket fence and a big bay window on one side, and Ellen loved it with all her heart".

The Sad (and pricey) Saga of a Scarf....

I started this scarf over a year ago. Just worked on it here and there over the months...other projects kept getting in the way....  I think the scarf felt like it wasn't being paid enough attention to. So about three weeks ago, it decided to unravel itself.  No fault of my own, of course. Not that I was watching tv or anything and not paying enough attention (or so it thought) to it.  And when I did deign to turn my eyes back to it (hey Scandal was on - what can I say)!, it had unravelled all the way down - over 50 inches...  I sat there looking at it for awhile, hoping against hope, that my eyes were deceiving me....but alas, I was wrong.   To put the cherry on top of the ice cream, I couldn't save the yarn. (don't ask - that is a whole 'nother story)...  So I went back to my LYS and found the one color, but they didn't have the other.  I waited a week or so - went back, still no go. So I bought another color, one I knew probably wouldn't look right.  And I was right - it didn't...  So back I went to get another color - knowing it probably wouldn't look right...  I was right...it didn't.  By now, I am into this scarf, the scarf that "isn't" at a price of over a hundred dollars!  I'm almost embarrassed to even say that here...
My sister will be happy - in her Xmas box of yarns - she will get these yarns that the scarf and I deemed were not right!  So all isn't lost!  I figure I would have spent money on yarn for her anyway, so I'm ahead of the game. That is my story and I'm sticking to it!!  The scarf and I wanted the original colors and darn it, we will get them!  I gave up on my yarn shop getting it in, so ordered it online!  And as soon as it comes in, I will be starting again.  I promise scarfie I will pay more attention to you this time around!  And look forward to wearing you "next" winter!

My small town....

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a photo looking down Main Street of Old Milford (Milford, Ohio that is)..  It is the small town I grew up in.  Right up until I was 24 years old and moved away from Ohio to live in Virginia with my husband. It is the town I walked around - played around - rode bikes around - drove around (when I was old enough) ...
When I go back for visits, I still start off from the street where my parents still live - walk all the way down and around and back up - past the school where I went until the sixth grade - past the school where I went to 7th and 8th grades - past the church where we went on Sundays - and then back to the street where my parents still live...   I was homesick the moment I left home in 1974 - and all of these many many years later - I still feel that way. It will always be "home" to me - and one day, soon I hope - I want to live there again.....

10 Things I Wish I Could Learn Instantly....

The challenge for the ten on Tuesday this week is to list ten things we wish we could learn instantly. I thought I would have problems with this, but I jotted them all down in a matter of - well...an instant!

1.  How to sew - not so much to make clothes - but to make pillows and carryall bags, curtains,  etc. etc... just small items for personal and home use.

2.  How to knit socks on circular needles (heck, on any needles)! Even though I don't wear socks often, I know I would enjoy knitting them over and over....

3.  How to speak French. My dream one day (if I can get over my fear of flying that is) is to go to France....  Speaking French would be a bonus - plus I just love the language - so even just speaking it here would be fun!

4.  How to crochet.  For one thing, some of the items I would like to knit - call for crochet borders. So I just don't knit them. And that is a loss.  I would also like to crochet other things - bags, baby items.... So this skill would come in handy.

5.  How to decorate cakes - no real reason - just for fun again....  something I would find soothing and enjoyable - especially in times of stress..

6.  How to bake all kinds of breads - yum!

7.  How to paint pictures - especially water colors. I've tried my hand at watercolor pencils here and there - but to be able to actually paint on a canvas - ahhhh....bliss.

8.  Lace tatting. I've always been fascinated by this. It looks quite hard to me though!  But if I learned, it would become a craft I would practice often.

9.  To spin yarn on a spinning wheel!  Oh my I want to learn this.  I'm thinking about taking a class at some point - but starting off on a spindle.

10.  To weave on a loom!  This is another art that I so want to do. I read magazines about it (and spinning) - but that is as close as I've come so far.

Onward and Upward - Windward!

Windward - take two!  I started knitting this a couple of weeks or so ago.  In my excitement to see how it would all turn out, I kept messing up - dropping stitches - increasing when I shouldn't - on and on....and therefore, it was looking pretty ragged. Granted, all the "whonkies" were on the wrong side and no one would have seen them (most likely). But I would have known they were there.  So, even though I had about 120 rows done, I took a deep breath, and frogged it!  I immediately cast back on and started over. Well, first I cried a bit - then I started over - LOL!  I'm now growing ever closer to being back where I was before. But it looks so much better and I'm so much happier!  I was also able to find another skein of this yarn!  I knew I wouldn't have enough and did not know what I would do....  I checked my LYS - no luck. I checked two places online - no luck.  Then on Amazon, one seller had one lonely skein!  I clicked "buy" as fast as my fingers could hit that button!  And now I'm set!

Happy Knitting!

I've been so loving my knitting projects lately!!  Above you see Nangou (on Ravelry).  I've also started two others that I'm enjoying quite a bit - Orbit - and Windward (also on Ravelry - of course)!  Windward is a funky whacky looking scarf - that looks like it would be very difficult to knit (well, for me that is). But it is the simplest thing in the world to do. I love those - the ones that look hard - and everyone just raves over my talent.  But in reality, (and don't tell anyone) - they are actually quite simple.  I'm one of those people also - who wants their patterns "spelled out" - step by step - line by line.  The ones that tell you how many repeats to do to get the same basic results. Not that you can't do more repeats - and sometimes I do. But I just don't like "winging it" with a pattern.  Not my style - not my brain capabilities!

Saturday Snapshot....

Memories of all those Easter Sundays growing up....  Matching outfits with my sister (I'm the one on the left)  Shiny new shoes.... Easter baskets filled with candy!  My favorite was always the big solid chocolate bunny. First I bit off the ears and then I bit off the feet - LOL!

Ordinary Little Things....

The Ten on Tuesday prompt this week (by CarolKnits) is ordinary things that bring you joy.

1.  Coming home after being out on a really cold day - and jumping right into my cozy pj's - even before dinner - imagine that!

2.  Turning off the tv - and just sitting with the fan quietly whirring in the background while I curl up and read my book.

3.  Singing rock-a-bye baby to my cat each morning....

4.  Coming home with some new books that I've just bought - and sitting down to peruse each one - read the cover blurbs - read a page or two. And then pick out the perfect bookmark to use...

5.  Looking out each night before bed - to see the moon.  I usually call out - well hello moon. 

6.  A big glass of chocolate milk.  If there happens to be some peanut butter on Ritz crackers to go along with it - that is even better...

7.  Learning a simple new knitting technique - something that I haven't been able to do in the past - but all of a sudden - blam, it clicks - and allows me to knit something I wouldn't have tried before...

8.  Reading - simply reading - I love it!

9.  Knitting - that little thing we do with sticks and string - that brings me countless joy and peace...

10.  Taking a hot shower - just standing in there with the water running over my neck and shoulders - taking out all the kinks ....  and just getting some alone time to think or sing or cry...

On The Needles....

I've been slowly knitting away at this fun scarf! It is such an easy peasy pattern (free on Ravelry).  Only one row!  over and over. How simple is that!  You want to use a variegated yarn - with at least three colors - I think a light, medium and a dark variation - works best. I like my choice - but think something with colors that pop more - would work better!  I'm using Lorna's Laces Sportmate yarn.  Oh, the pattern is called Spectacular Single Skein Scarf.
The book I'm trying again for the third time! And this time, it is working like a charm!  I really loved her book "Big Little Lies" and am re-reading it right now. But for some reason, The Husband's Secret just wasn't grabbing me.  Because I'm a giver of chances again and again on books - I went for one more time - and am happy I did....  Nice reading for a hot muggy summer day....

Saturday Snapshot....

For about a week - we had a "pet crow"...  I think he got separated from the rest of his flock and was a bit confused.  So we were helping him out with his eating (several times, he took a cracker out of my husband's hand)!  Then the other day, all the big crows came back from wherever they had gone off to - and I think "our crow" found his Mama and off he went!  It was a fun and interesting interlude for our lives....

Feeling Like A Kid Again....

I have always loved crayons and coloring - as a young girl - as a teenager - and still as an adult! Yes, I'm one of those people who have gotten on the coloring trend again!  I've already bought new crayons, tons of colored pencils and three coloring books for adults!  It is so much fun and very calming.  This tin was given to me by my Mom for Xmas many years ago. I can't remember if it had crayons in it - or candy!  The box of crayons are some I found in an antique shop (again many years ago). I think they could be from the 1930's or 1940's.  Either way - I love them. I will never color with them - they are just for gazing at!

On the Needles...

One of the things I'm knitting is this cute little top down baby sweater!  Not doing it for any reason - no one to give it to that is. But I will most likely donate it somewhere.  My sister told me about the pattern (free on Ravelry) - called Lazy Daisy All in one top down sweater) or something like that!
It goes from preemie size up to 6 years old.  You just have to click on the pattern and then go to the various links. There is no taking stitches off and putting them on holders - nothing like that. Just knitting from the top down - with some binding off on one row! That is it! Easy Peasy!  I may make some othe other sizes eventually.

The book is one I'm re-reading for probably the third time. I just need "comfort reads" right now - so re-reads work best for that!

Rounding the bend....and...

heading for the homestretch!  This is called the Color-Tip scarf (free pattern on Ravelry).  There are endless color combinations you can use for this scarf - and various weights of yarn.  I've seen projects done in worsted, sport, chunky, fingering.... I plan on making more of these fun scarves in the future!  I'm seeing one (well, I really am copying someone else's idea - like I did for this one pictured here) - in chocolate brown, cream and pink!!
It is hard to tell in the picture - but mine is done in dark grey - light grey - and then the lime green! I used Cascade sport-weight yarn....

I'm Addicted To....

well, many things....books, yarn, coffee mugs...and....

umbrellas umbrellas and umbrellas!

I presently have 13.  Note, the "presently".... I know there are more in my future. I laughed out loud when a friend once asked, why do you need so many umbrellas.....  well, why do people need air?! LOL!

These are four of my favorites!  The orange one was given to me by my niece Sara. She surprised me with it one time when we were out shopping on one of her visits here....!

My Newest Creative Outlet...

Cause I needed another one! LOL!  So now, along with knitting and reading and cross-stitching, I have "coloring".....  I only have one book....so far...
have plans though to get more soon! And I bought a bunch of colored pencils today!  Woot!

Painting With Yarn...

Well, sort of.  I just finished a cowl called "Painterly Cowl" (paid pattern on Ravelry). 

When I saw pictures of the finished projects of this cowl, I just knew I had to do it.  Most of theirs looked like they were "painted"... Mine, well, sort of. Not quite what I was going for...but still pretty.

I was so excited to get this one off the needles.  But when I did and put it on, I felt such major disappointment!  No fault of the pattern - just not what I had in my mind's eye while knitting away faster and faster - trying to get to the bind off and put it on point!  After blocking it, it looks much better (a bit wider) and I'm happier with it.  If I do another one at some point, I will definitely make it wider while knitting - and then the blocking will bring it to the perfection point!

Do you ever do this?  Knit something that you just see in your head is going to turn out a certain way and then your bubble bursts?

 

Saturday Snapshot.....

A published poet - sort of!!  I've always enjoyed writing poetry and especially Haikus.  Well......

A long long LONG time ago, I wrote this poem....  I think I might have written it for my niece and her Mom (who is my best friend) because they love Halloween...  Fast forward to years ago when my friend in Texas started designing cross-stitch charts.  I sent her my poem. She turned it into a pattern!  She came up with the color scheme and the little added features in the corners. I stitched the model.  When the first one sold, I couldn't get the smile off my face for days, weeks, maybe months!!  I still felt that way every time she told me someone had bought one!  And I still feel that way today every time I look at my framed piece that is here in my house! I'm a published poet now - sort of!!

Slowly but surely....

I'm knitting away at my "zickzack" scarf....  I WILL have it done for this winter!  I want to get started on another one, but keep thinking I should finish this one first! LOL!  My next one will use self-striping yarns (as the pattern calls for). I'm using variegated this time around.  Gives if a different look, but I still am happy with it!

Saturday Snapshot....

We've taken in a lot of strays over the years (or at least cared for them)...  Until last June, Buddy was an outside/inside cat - preferring to stay out more in the nice weather times and in more in the bad weather times.  So many nights, I went up and down the stairs - opening the front door - to see if he was out there and ready to come in - sometimes until the wee hours of the morning I would do this. And of course worrying about him being out there and something hurting him.  He used to get into fights and I would mostly be able to heal him. But last year, he got into one and his eye was damaged. After taking him to the vet to get it fixed, we also decided to have him neutered and he became and indoor cat permanently.  The first two weeks were awful - he yelled and cried over and over - all day - all night. But finally he settled in and now loves being an indoor fur child!  He is the best cat - he makes me laugh every day!  Even those days when he is driving me crazy wanting to eat more than he should - he still makes me laugh!  We lost our other cat, Katie Sue Bird, right about the time he was recovering from his surgery.  If I hadn't had him here, I think I would have gone down deeper into my sadness than I already was!  He likes to "help" me with the laundry each week.  Yesterday I literally had to dump him on the floor so I could finish up - LOL!

A Favorite Read of Mine....

I can't even count how many times I've re-read this book!  I re-read it at least once every other year (sometimes it might be every year).... I never tire of it. It is my "go to book" for those times when I just need a comfort read.
A decaying plantation, a meanie of a Grandmother, a bit of romance, a hot cloying summer, old bones, and a dog named Elvis. What more do you need!!

Saturday Snapshot....

 

 

 

I did this in July of 1995!  After stitching it, I coffee stained it - to make it look more primitive - added a little key from my "old key" collection. When my Mom came for a visit, she asked if it was hers to take home. I was like - well, it is hanging on my wall, so I think it is mine - LOL!  After they left to go back to Ohio, I immediately started stitching another one for her. I did hers on a better piece of linen - called antique white. And then gently stained it....  It is still hanging on her wall to this day - connecting us by "heart" - 500 miles away....

 

Saturday Snapshot....

Ahhh, taking a nap....

this is the bush right outside my front window. I love watching the squirrels cooling off and snoozing... I really love it when they jump on the windowsill and peer in at me!

Easy Peasy?

Right?  Wrong! LOL!  I'm doing this simple little scarf where you knit half of it one direction and then change direction to knit the second part.  Well, I have this talent of messing up many of the things I'm knitting - sometimes when I'm on the very last row - arghhh!  This one, I had the first half done, went to do the second half, set it down for a moment - and well, yep, you know the rest! So it all got taken apart and I started over! I'm now on the second half and this time - success!!  The pattern is called "Easy" and is on Ravelry....

I've just started this book.  The Mapmaker's Children.

 It sounded really good to me - goes back and forth in time - from Sarah Brown (John Brown's daughter) - who painted pictures with maps - to help slaves escape...  and a modern day woman who moves into a house and finds a doll head - that starts her on a journey back to Sarah Brown...

Saturday Snapshot....

This is my first time participating in this... If you would like to join in, here is a link to the blog where it is being done! 
http://www.westmetromommyreads.com/

It was one year ago, May 21st, that we had to say good-bye to our sweet girl,  Katie Sue Bird.  She loved to sit under this lamp in the winter to keep herself warmed up.  I still miss her so much....

Feels Odd - But In A Good Way....

I started cross-stitching again today - the first stitches I've made in linen in over two years (if not longer)!  I stopped for various reasons - and then just never picked it up again.  It felt odd to not be stitching (after doing it for over 25 years or more)...  But I just couldn't bring myself to start again. Not sure why!  So now I feel almost on balance again. Not sure how much of it I'll do each day - because I knit like a mad woman. But just to have that other creative outlet again -  is a joy to me!  The sad part - the two cross-stitch shops I had that were 20 minutes from me - are now gone.  Both women basically retired from it to pursue other things.  The other place I go to is about 45 minutes to an hour away. Which is maybe a good thing - LOL! That way I can't go as much!

Simple Pleasures....

 

 

I'm not sure how many times I've re-read this book. Maybe this is just the third time.  For some reason, I seem to be enjoying it even more this time around. Maybe because I need "comfort" and this is one of the books I turn to at those times. 

"Bette Nolan moves to a small town after the death of her husband.  She is looking for renewal - to follow down another path.  She is looking to find pleasure in simple daily routines.  Along the way, she has both expected and unexpected help in this desire. One of them being a quirky and sweet little 10 year old boy who lives next door."

There are many sentences and passages in this book that move me or make me think or make me cry or smile. I'll leave them to you to discover if you decide to read it.  I'll just share one of them with you!!

"Birds sat in a convivial row on the nearby utility wire.  Elongated drops of water hung beneath them, shimmering in the breeze.  I watched the birds for awhile, waiting for the invisible signal that would have them all life off together, but it did not come. That sat content, enjoying their version of a coffee klatch".

Crossing the "X".....

I used to cross-stitch all the time!  I started over 35 years ago.  At first I didn't care for it - so didn't pursue the hobby. But then a year or so later, I decided to give it another go - and it became a joy of mine. I remember my first project was a lighthouse - with all these marsh grasses and birds and outlining. When the person doing the framing for me realized it was my first piece, they said I was quite brave!  I just knew I wanted to do it for a friend I worked with at the time - so off I went, without thought.  So many projects over the years....many of them given away as gifts.  I haven't been cross-stitching very much lately - especially since I started knitting about 5 or so years ago! But I'm really itching to get back to it.  Below you can see one of my favorites! It is hanging on my wall - mine to gaze at, whenever I please!

 

Is There Such A Thing As Too Much?

I don't think so - not when it comes to knitting projects!  I keep each individual project I'm doing in a paper bag - the kind you get from Starbucks or Bed Bath and Beyond - or other shops I visit!  Right now, I have about 20 of these bags sitting in my family room....  Sometimes there is more - sometimes (rarely)...less....
Most of the time, it comforts and soothes me to see them all sitting there - patiently waiting for me to pick them up and knit a bit on them.  Other times, it stresses me out - LOL!  Right now, it is calming me...

Re-reading....

I re-read books quite often.  This is one that I'm doing just that with right now....

Joy for Beginners.....by Erica Bauermeister....

The main character - having survived a life-threatening illness - celebrates with six close friends.  They challenge her to start her new lease on life by going white-water rafting down the Grand Canyon with her daughter. But she is leery of taking that risk.  But then one of her friends poses a pact - if Kate will face the rapids, each woman will do one thing in the next year that scares her. What are those things? Ahhh, you will have to read this book to find out!

A passage I read yesterday that I loved...

"The bookstore where Caroline worked was a perfect example, designed as a place to linger as much as shop, incorporating a bakery and café, a fireplace surrounded by oversized chairs for colder days and a patio outside for summer ones.  It could have felt chaotic, a party full of strangers unable to introduce themselves, but instead was more like a genial conversation - the metallic clink of silverware set against the contented sigh of a book being slid from its shelf, the murmured comments of a knitting group seated at a round table in the three-sided alcove that held - was it intentional or simply serendipitous? - the house, gardening, cooking books.  Smells of cinnamon and yeast settling in between the covers of books only to rise from the pages when they were opened later at home"

Ten on Tuesday - Ten Things That Delight Me....

1.  My cat Buddy. He always makes me smile or giggle or laugh out loud.
2.  Antics of the squirrels - especially when they get crazy in the springtime.
3.  Going to the yarn shop with my sister last fall (at least 3 or 4 times we went)!  Guess that should say "delighted".  It was on her visit here from Ohio that we got to do it. But now when I go on my own, I can "feel" her there alongside me.
4.  Buying lots of yummy glossy magazines, and then curling up to read them with a cup of coffee by my side.
5.  Going up and down the aisles in the fiction and mystery section at Barnes & Noble - just picking out whatever title or cover grabs my attention. Sometimes some of them come home with me....
6.  Browsing patterns at Ravelry. I could do this for hours. Oh, that's right! I do DO it for hours!
7.  That my sister now has a Smartphone and can now be on Facebook. She doesn't have a computer. So for the first time, we can chat back and forth a bit during the day online - and she can see my blog!
8.  Knitting of course!  All the joys this has brought to my life, in various ways, go unnumbered.
9.  Listening to the birds chittering outside my window in the mornings before I get out of bed.
10.  Driving around in the car - singing out loud to my music CD's

Parts of My Week....

were spent....

going out to dinner for my husband's 72nd birthday Friday. Had a really nice server. Especially liked her saying "my pleasure",  when I said "thank you".  Much nicer than "no problem"....

taking walks and watching the trees start to bud.  It always amazes me how different all the leaf buds look as they are opening up. This one is in my backyard...

knitting a bit on this cowl.... (Three Color Cashmere Cowl)... pattern

on Ravelry. 
I could not afford cashmere yarn in three colors. But the yarn I'm using has 15% cashmere!  Close enough for my pocketbook!

and parts of my week were spent reading this mystery. Third in the series by Julia Keller. 

A Study in Black and White....

A cowl I've got on the needles. Can't wait for this to be done - hoping the yarn won't be too itchy on my neck!  I'm using Zauberball for the first time.
The Pattern is called "September Circle" and is on Ravelry....
I'm also doing a re-read of "The Obituary Writer" by Ann Hood. Think I like it better the second time around. Don't have to think so hard as I try to figure it all out!

Flashback and Happy Easter!

Not sure what year this was taken!  Of course, my Mom always dressed us alike on Easter - for many many years.  Looks like our purses or whatever we are holding are different....  Oh, I'm the cute one on the left - LOL!

Flashback....

Many many (many) years ago, for Valentine's Day, my husband gave me a teddy bear.  I was collecting them at the time, so I was thrilled.  As I looked at it, something seemed familiar. I went upstairs and saw a teddy bear on my shelf.  Yes, the same bear!  I had recently purchased it for myself.  My husband didn't know this.  I did not tell him about it for many many (many) years.  What are the chances that he would buy me the same EXACT bear that I had bought for myself?  I went back to the shop and saw tons of bears that he could have chosen for me. But he chose the same one! I still smile to this day when I think about it....