Home

I wrapped up my time in New York with two days in Philadelphia to see a friend give a wonderful speech to the AVID Summer Institute, and now I am home again.

 

The butterfly is on a butterfly bush I planted at the corner of our property; isn't it beautiful?

Being back in my life and interacting with people after spending two weeks alone has been surprisingly challenging. I'm an extrovert, but I found I really enjoyed my time away from everything and everyone, and even though I was ready to come home and missed my people, I'm finding it just a bit difficult to be without the amount of quiet time I had in New York. It was definitely a luxury.

 

Posted with Blogsy

New York Selfies

A sampling of my week: relaxing with the dog (Olivia) and cat (Sinon), while watching Netflix and knitting.

Brooklyn Flea

After eating a Nutella doughnut at Dough; happy, happy, joy, joy.

Chamomile peach Popsicle from The People's Pops, at Chelsea Market.

A pier at the end of Greenpoint Avenue, in Brooklyn.

In front of the gorgeous window at Lion Brand Yarn Studio, in Manhattan.

On the High Line, overlooking the Hudson River.

A Mr. Softie twist cone; the best soft serve ever, and not easily found in Virginia.

Not all of these photos are flattering, but they all illustrate how much fun I had, so here you go!

Now, I'm on to Philadelphia for a couple of days. Wonder what I'll eat there?

 

Posted with Blogsy

Postcards from Brooklyn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Sweet Melissa

Who knew that this little sweetie,

 

 

Would grow up to be this beauty?

My sweet, sweet, Melissa.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Some Favorite Summer Things

I've finished the Three Color Cashmere Cowl that is neither cashmere nor three colors, but I like it just the same. I need to bind off but otherwise, it is done. I will probably knit this pattern again, sticking closer to the intended plan of color blocking. It was interesting and forgiving enough if you want to mix it up, whether by mistake or design.

I started a Heartache cowl, using leftover Baby Grande Alpaca, and it is also a fun knit. Even better, it requires four buttons, so picking them out from my collection should be a fun time. The color that looks yellow is actually more of a khaki color. This would be a fun way to play with colors. I'm already thinking about a grey, black, and neon color combo.

This is half of the lace portion of the Arroyo shawl, another pattern that I've wanted to make for some time. I'm using a 500 yard skein of Lisa Souza merino that I bought at Rhinebeck last October. The influence of autumn is apparent. I'm also using a lot of my favorite stitch markers, which is nice.

The volunteer sunflowers in our yard are bringing me lots of joy, every time I see them.

 

 

So are the coneflowers, Black-eyed Susans, and the butterfly bush, especially the way they look against the picket fence. And our fuchsia mailbox fits in nicely as well.

Gracie's eyes are rolling back in her head in this photo, but I love her little paws!

She was pretty relaxed, all stretched out on our dirty rug.

Dollar Tree had some new school supplies that I bought for my classroom; the rectangular baskets on the middle row (under the dish pans) are fabulous for student papers inboxes. I've used a set of primary red, blue, and green ones for the past five years and was sick of them, so when I saw these colors, I snapped them up! Their inventory decreased quickly; there was a huge stack of each color earlier the same day and they were almost out of them by the time I took this photo a couple of hours later!

I'm happy to have them, but trust me, I'm not ready to get back to school just yet: I have too much left to do this summer!

Posted with Blogsy

Slipping By

Because this has been a very busy week, I feel like the summer is slipping through my fingers. A cousin came in town, planning to visit with my parents, but they both got sick, so I ended up spending Monday and Tuesday with her. I took her sightseeing on Tuesday, which was quite nice; seeing the place I live as a tourist reminded me of how much I take for granted. We spent some time at Norfolk's waterfront, seeing the mermaids and a lovely park.

We then went to the Virginia Beach oceanfront, which was something she really wanted to do, as she grew up in Santa Monica, California.

The Norwegian Lady, one of the many statues on the boardwalk.

On Wednesday, a friend and I went blueberry picking early in the morning, before it got too hot. I picked eight pounds and have mostly been eating them on my cereal. I'm planning to freeze some, but there may not be many left by the time I make a cobbler. I'm hoping to go again on Monday, so that will help replenish my supply.

 

 

Wednesday evening, my friend Lori heard that her daughter was being taken to the hospital for a heart issue, so I quickly packed a bag, picked her up, and we drove the three and a half hours out to Lynchburg, arriving at 11:00 p.m. Thankfully, everything turned out fine; apparently, she had strained a muscle in her chest and the urgent care doctor had overreacted/erred on the side of caution. We drove back yesterday after having breakfast, and today is a beach day, and just like that, another week has slipped away.

The weather today was pretty close to perfect: hot but the breezes coming off the water made it comfortable, especially when sitting under the umbrella.

Hope your summer is a pleasant one!

 

Posted with Blogsy