It Was A Tough Week

It was a pretty tough week, despite the fact that I only worked four days. This was in my mailbox when I got home Friday afternoon and I have to say, I laughed out loud right there on the sidewalk.

After going through my craft/yarn room and culling more out, I rewarded myself by watching Home Fires and casting on for the Guernsey Wrap using the Green Mountain Spinnery Weekend Wool I purchased last weekend. So happy about the color!

Gracie really enjoyed napping on my 3 Color Cashmere Cowl (mine isn't 3 colors or cashmere, but I love it anyway).

Not sure how this is comfortable, but. . .

Hope your week is a good one!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Quick and Dirty

I find that I'm paying for my four day weekend to Rhinebeck with long days and nights catching up with grading and dealing with a messy house and loads of laundry, but, oh, it was so worth it. Laughing in the car on the drive up, and spending quality time just hanging out and knitting for an extended time was just as much fun as the actual festival! We even talked about planning a knitting weekend that wouldn't include the buying of yarn, just time to knit! Cause I've got to tell you, the knitting time has slowed WAY down since I got home. A row or two right before bed is about the most I've been able to do.

But tomorrow is Friday and I'm hoping to get some knitting in this weekend. After all the work I've done this week, I've earned it! I think Gracie will enjoy it too. But first, I need to put some yarn away before it becomes a cat bed!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Hudson River Valley

The adorable house we rented was in Saugerties, about 20 minutes north of the Duchess County Fairgrounds. At first I thought it was silly to go further than we needed to, but it turned out to work in our favor, as the traffic was lighter than if we had been coming from the south.

As a bonus, we were within walking distance of so many cute places, like this bookstore/coffee shop.

Love this original tiled floor!

The shop had loads of comfortable couches and chairs and creaky wood floors where there wasn't tile.

Lots of the houses on "our" street had already decorated for Halloween; another one nearby had a giant spider on the roof.

The restaurant we ate at on Friday night was called Rock Da Casbah, and the food and beer was delicious.

 

But our favorite discovery was The Perfect Blend, a yarn and tea shop, just around the corner! The shop was open late on Friday and Saturday, and even served snacks, which allowed us time to visit. We plan to spend even more time there next year as it was super cute and inviting.

This little mouse was on one of the shelves, leaning against a teapot. Don't you love his little scarf?

Cute little shop sample; I love the way the embroidery on the shoes match the buttons!

I was excited to see a Guernsey Wrap knit up, as I bought Green Mountain Spinnery's Weekend Wool for this pattern as my big Rhinebeck purchase. I chose the Pumpkin color way and will share my progress as soon as I get started on it.

Two little knit chickens, hanging out with the tea.

On Sunday, rather than eating at the fairgrounds, we drove to Red Hook and ate in this diner. While it was a small place, it was a great choice.

Last but not least, we were lucky enough to eat breakfast at Lox of Bagels on Sunday and we loved it so much that we went back on Monday morning, on our way home. Not only was the food delicious, but the service was outstanding!

The lady behind the counter told us she was a relatively new knitter and she agreed to let us take her picture with us. (From left to right: Melissa, me, our new friend, Lori, and Kristin, although you'll have to click on the photo to see Kristin for some reason). We can't wait to see her next year too!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Rhinebeck 2015

A beautiful weekend at Rhinebeck, made even better by our AirBnB house, shown below. It was so lovely, we came back early in Sunday to relax in our pajamas and knit!

The Catskills were beautiful, as was the weather.

 

The leaves are always breathtaking and this year they seemed even more beautiful, especially against the blue skies.

You can see how much fun we had; this was taken on Saturday, when it was brisk. Sunday was quite cold, in fact, it even snowed!

 

 

Of course, the animals are always fun to see.

 

 

We head home tomorrow but I'll post photos of some of the yarn we bought, as well as the lovely little yarn shop in Saugerties that we all fell in love with. Rhinebeck 2015 was a rousing success!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Rhinebeck Slumber Party

We made it to our AirBnB in Saugerties; my friend, Melissa, made us all matching pajama bottoms and bought knitting t-shirts. We think we look pretty cute!

And Kristin bought us all matching knitting bags! Needless to say, we are having a blast.

More later!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Pre-Rhinebeck

There were quite a few festivals this weekend and I only made it to two of them. Today I went to a Heritage Festival with my parents and saw some sheep and goats and lots of rustic wool, but as I am heading north on Friday, I refrained from acquiring anything except photos. Isn't this one a dear?

These two were too hungry to pose.

But this little goat didn't mind.

I spent some time in my craft room last night, and as usual, Gracie kept me company.

Melissa and I went to an Indie Craft Show yesterday that was held at a local brewery. Here she's checking out some clothing made on site.

A young boy at a potter's wheel; not sure if he threw anything or was just taking a break.

Melissa and I had some coffee afterwards at a cafe around the corner from her apartment.

And here's Gracie, keeping close to me as I get ready to watch the newest show on PBS: Home Fires. I hope you're watching it, it's terrific!

Have a great week!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Project: Relax

As a result of my ER visit and subsequent sleeping the weekend away, I decided to really focus (again) on what I need to do to take better care of myself. And as of tonight, I'm pretty satisfied with my efforts. I made a roast on Sunday night and baked cranberry muffins to take to work on Monday. Last night I played tennis and let me tell you, hitting those balls felt fantastic! I need to do that more often. I had to leave work a little early today for an unrelated doctor's appointment, and I decided I'd make homemade lasagna since I had some extra time. I had a craving for it last night, and despite the amount of time it took, I am glad I did it. Steve wasn't due home until around seven o'clock tonight, and I love cooking by myself with the music cranked up when I have the time. I had invited a friend over but she got a migraine and bailed, so I'll take her serving to her tomorrow for a lunch treat. As usual, I made enough to feed a family of eight! No matter, it was amazing. I usually make it vegetarian, but this time I used ground turkey and hot Italian sausage, along with a lot of ricotta cheese. Rich and delicious, and since I only make it about once a year, guilt free.

While I was cooking, I looked over to see Gracie sitting on the table. The reason this was funny is because I had just told my mom she never does that! Kids and cats will make a liar out of you every time, won't they?

I also did a little hand sewing this week. These were free form mushrooms that I had intended as baby gifts a few years ago. When I found them, I decided they would be good cat toys, so I stuffed some catnip in them and seamed them up. Of course, Gracie won't touch them, but Melissa wants them for her cats, so all is well.

While I was sewing, I noticed that the chair cushion had deteriorated, so I took a page from Tom of Holland's visible mending philosophy, and repaired it. It isn't pretty, but I'm happy nonetheless.

While it sounds as if I've been crazy busy, I've really only chosen to do the things that make me feel happy. I've also bought my Amtrak ticket to visit Meredith over Thanksgiving weekend, which is taking the place of my annual October visit, so that made me happy as well.

I hope you're doing things that make you happy too!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Grateful

Another hurricane is passing us by; we are seeing some strong wind and stinging rain, but nothing as bad as it could have been. We tend to get complacent every time we are spared, but I am grateful for another false alarm.

Speaking of false alarms, I spent some time in the ER Friday night with chest pains, but it turned out to be an anxiety attack. I have spent the weekend recovering from being up until 3:00 a.m. and feeling stupid for succumbing to anxiety again. I slept most of yesterday and I'm hoping to accomplish something today so my weekend isn't a total wash.

This was a bright spot in my email:

I can't wait to head up to Rhinebeck! I have two sweaters in timeout that are close to completion, so I may just have a Rhinebeck sweater for the first time, but if not, I will have my beautiful All the Shades of Truth wrap to wear.

 

Posted with Blogsy