Oh My

I was cruising along on my beautiful Guernsey Wrap, even going so far as to weave in the ends of each new skein, so that as I neared the finish line, I would be ready, when all of a sudden I noticed a serious mistake.  At the midpoint, I had mistakenly started an odd row on the even row side, and then many rows later, probably at a chart change, I'd flipped it back.  And while not everyone would notice, I know it would forever bother me.  So it's ripping time.  My rationalization is that it's beautiful yarn and a beautiful pattern, so instead of seeing this as a calamity, I'm choosing to enjoy the opportunity to have some extra knitting time with them both.  Or I will as soon as I screw up my resolve enough to actually do the ripping back.     Meanwhile, even though the wreath on the door signifies autumn, this lilac in my yard thinks it's spring.  I am enjoying both.  

A group of friends and I had our mammogram party Saturday morning.  This is the fourth year they have met to do their mammograms together, and the second year for me.  One person brought doughnuts, then we all ate lunch out afterwards.  It's a cool way to make sure we are taking care of ourselves.  We got an innocent bystander to take our picture in front of the breast cancer awareness dolphin.    

Speaking of self-care, thanks to Mason-Dixon Knitting, I have found a new source for self-care wisdom.  Max Daniels is a witty writer on the topic; I signed up to get a weekly email from her and meanwhile, have spent the week reading her old blog posts. Good timing, as I'm also thinking about trying Whole30 as a way to stop the comfort eating, reset my system, and take care of my self in a different way.  Living alone is an awesome opportunity to start some new habits.   Having said all that, I had another difficult Sunday, for no real reason,  I made myself meet friends for brunch, then visited my parents, and still I have struggled today.  I took a nap and have puttered around in my craft rooms, rearranging things, but I have to say, I'm kind of glad the weekend is over.  I'm not beating myself up about it, just trying to be honest here.  This process is full of ups and downs, but it's a part of life for everyone.  I know I have a good life, but sometimes even a good life is hard.  Have a good week, friends, and thanks so much for your comments and love.          

Moving Along

I did a lot of yard work this past weekend, so much so that I could barely move on Monday and Tuesday.  To make sure I slowed down, I treated myself to a pedicure after work on Tuesday.  Between the massage chair and the warm water, I was so relaxed that I almost fell asleep!  So now, the flower beds and my feet look pretty good.   I cannot believe that October is coming to an end.  It's such a cliche, but time really does seem to fly.  I've been making good progress on my Guernsey Wrap, as I want to finish it before I start the Mary Francis sweater, using this raspberry Weekend Wool from Green Mountain Spinnery.

    I only have one and a half repeats of the last chart to go and it's already as wide as my love seat!  Such a gorgeous pumpkin color; I think I'll really enjoy wrapping up in it this winter.  

 

    I've been watching the Longmire series as I knit, and I've really enjoyed it.  I just finished season three and have season four on hold at the library.  Sadly, I'm the seventh person in the queue, so no telling how long I will have to wait.  This is when I wish I had a streaming subscription like Netflix.  One of these days, maybe.   Melissa and I went to a craft show last Saturday, at a local brewery, and had a good time.  Isn't she a cutie?

I thought this selfie was pretty good; I always look so happy when I'm with my girls.

 

Gracie, curled up on the sofa beside me.  This is her "isn't it time for bed?" pose.  

Say good night, Gracie!  

Rhinebeck

Because I'm using a new blog app, my photos are in a random order.  I'll figure it out eventually, but I've been wanting to share these all week, so random it is!  This is a photo of our packed car on the day we left Saugerties to head back home.  We were pretty sad to leave, but impressed with our packing skills.

 

 We wore our matching sheep leggings and I gotta tell you, we were stopped and photographed a lot that day.  I wonder how many places we've showed up out there on the web!  We were also supposed to wear our completed Baa-ble hats, but if you look closely, you can see DPNs sticking out of the top of mine, as I was the slow poke this year.

 

One of the high points of our trip this year was meeting four nurses from the Mayo Clinic on their first Rhinebeck trip.  We went to dinner with them on Sunday night and had a blast.  The waiter was fun too.

 

Loved this little guy and his dad in matching sweater vests. 

 

 

The fog on Sunday morning was a surprise, but it burned off quickly.

 

I finally was able to eat some apple cider doughnuts this year, my first time locating them!  This is the line for them the second time I got them. Totally worth it.

 

 

 

I was able to finish my hat by Sunday, and even though it was too warm to need it, I plan on wearing it when we get some cold weather.  I used my Lopi yarn leftovers from my Stopover sweater.  I ordered a skein of white and black from Tolt, the store on the west coast, and again, their speed and service was incredible!  Love them!

These gorgeous trees are probably my most favorite thing about Rhinebeck.

 

Cider apple doughnuts came in second. 

 

 

We were talking on our way home about how sad we were to have to go back to work and I decided that instead of complaining, I would look at it from the perspective that I should be refreshed and happy I had been lucky enough to go. It really helped me keep a positive attitude this week with the kids, despite the usual backlog of grading and catching up to do any time I take a day or two off. And now it's the weekend and I'm going to do a little housekeeping and a little self care and call it a win.  I started off by walking to the beach yesterday as soon as I got home and enjoying the sunset.  The weather is feeling like fall here finally, so my windows are open and I'm ready to make some comfort food.  

 

Hope you have a wonderful weekend too.

Surprised

A couple of weeks ago, we had a day off school due to heavy rain and flooding. Well, Matthew gifted us this time. Oddly enough, our area wasn't expecting it this time, as the forecasts all suggested it was going to be well off the coast. Thankfully it wasn't a neap or spring tide situation, but it was bad enough. This is one end of my street.

 

This is one block over; I took a walk yesterday morning to check out my neighborhood.

My next door neighbor lost a tree, but I hear there were many, larger ones down throughout the area, due to the rain saturated ground. Notice how there isn't any water in the street in this picture? That's what's odd and lucky about my house's location. It's three houses away from serious flooding, but I'm ok. As a matter of fact, when I woke up Saturday morning, it looked like I was having a party, because many of my neighbors had moved their cars to my house.

 

This is one block away, on my walk to the beach. This corner always floods, but this was pretty deep.

 

I made it to the beach Sunday afternoon and there were three young men enjoying the water!

 

 

I enjoyed the wind and fresh air, but did not go in the water. Crazy hair, don't care.

I spent some time having a blocking party. This is the Brickless shawl I finished and blocked awhile back, but I hadn't stretched the lace enough, so I did it again.

I also blocked out the brown shawl and the grey/green shawl. I keep forgetting which pattern is the Nirmilintu and which one is Antraktis.

 

 

I finally found my Lopi yarn leftovers, from my Stopover sweater in February. I decided to use this yarn for my Baa-ble hat, since I had it. I did not want to spend more money on yarn before next weekend! I decided on pink for the brim/ribbing, and the lighter green for the cap. I will probably make my sheep grey, since I have that, and wing it on the black, since it's such a small amount of it needed.

Gracie's ear looked so cute here!

And while this may look cute, sometimes it's annoying. I am in the bathroom, and she thinks it's her special petting time, and will head butt me to get what she wants. If I close the door, she acts all hurt and jams her paw under the crack. Sheesh.

As for my guidelines for self care these days, I found this on the internet somewhere, and made a couple of laminated copies to remind me to pay attention to myself. Pretty good advice.

 

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October

October is here! It's one of my most favorite months, even though I don't think the weather is cool enough in this area; oftentimes, it's more like a rainy season. But I still love it. Going to Rhinebeck usually gives me a taste of the October weather I love and luckily I'm going again this year, with the same three women who went with me last year. We can't wait!

These are the last of the apples I picked the weekend I went to the Shenandoah Fiber Festival.

I made an apple pie for my parents on Saturday; the apples were perfect but the pie crust was more like a strudel. It was good (with all the butter I used, how could it not be?) but way too tough.

I used a bunch more on Sunday to make a small batch of apple sauce. I wish I had bought more, but I wasn't sure I'd make the time to do anything with them. I'd forgotten how easy applesauce is.

Since I was in a cooking mood, I threw a butternut squash and a sweet potato in the oven. They are quintessential October foods, aren't they? That's butter pats and cinnamon on top; it was a delicious lunch.

Gracie, relaxed on the couch.

And in one of her new favorite places, the living room chair. I've taken to reading in there once in awhile, and she usually wanders in and hops up on the back to keep me company.

I made homemade mac and cheese this week. Although my cooking skills are rusty, I keep trying. This turned out pretty well. Definitely going for comfort food these days.

Although I've been making food suited for fall, it still looks like spring around here. My lilac bloomed again.

No matter how spring-like the lilac makes it seem, fall is here. And in just a week, I'll be in the Hudson Valley at the New York Sheep and Wool Festival. My friends and I are as excited as kids before Christmas, planning our matching pajamas, knitting projects, and the knitwear we want to wear, as well as the yarn we want to buy. We're all also trying to finish our Baa-ble Hat. Which is going to be difficult since I haven't started mine yet. And this year's hat is pretty cute too. Plus I never made a replacement for the Saugerties hat I made and gave away. So many hats, so little time. But it's supposed to rain all weekend, and I have a new-to-me mystery series to watch, so I just may make my goal. Happy weekend, friends!

 

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