Not So Scary

It turns out that the 25th square was in my beach bag (just a little sandy), so I got to start the seaming of squares without further delay. And it also turns out that seaming them isn't so bad. I've managed to put two rows of five together and I've decided to sew those two strips together before continuing. That way it'll be done faster, right?

I took time out to make a small batch of Gingered Pear Preserves. It was supposed to make two pints but it was a little short. I think I must have skimped on the pears, which is strange since I have so many of them falling out of the tree in the front yard. I'm going to try to make another batch tomorrow. With photos of the finished product.

Let the S(cr)eaming Begin!

Why did I think making a baby blanket out of squares would be a good idea?

See the center square? I think it's a little scary, like a screaming mouth. Or maybe that's just me, screaming at the thought of

ALL. THIS. SEAMING. Not to mention the fact that I had to decide how all the squares would go together.

I think I decided on the last "group" photo as my layout, then I numbered the squares and stacked them up. Somehow I'm still short a square; despite my belief that I've knit 45 squares, it turns out I only have 24. If I had a cat or dog, I'd swear the squares were being stolen and hidden away, but I don't so it must be my poor math skills.

And after I seam these all together, I get to pick up a bajillion stitches to knit a cohesive border around it. Twice. According to the directions.

See you on the other side.

Poetry & Other Randomness. On a Monday.

How do you feel about poetry? I love it, although I feel as if I miss much of what is meant by the poet. Thankfully, I have A Tidings of Magpies on my blogroll, and therefore get to read lots of wonderful poetry. Don't know how I missed this one the first go round, but it's lovely. I don't think students read Fun with Dick and Jane any longer, and for good reasons I'm sure, but it certainly is familiar to anyone of my generation. The ability to read is one of the most incredible gifts; I can't imagine a life without it. I can't imagine my life without it.




I'm thinking I may make a few of these to wear to school next month; who knows, it may compete with the silly band fever!



This water bottle cozy would also be a nice thing to take to school.



I really like this skirt but I imagine it'll look a lot cooler on twenty-somethings rather than fifty-somethings.



Another gorgeous baby sweater; does anyone know how to use Google translator?



Does it amaze you as much as it does me how much talent and creativity is out there?

Learning curve going on here. I just transferred all my photos to an external hard drive, then deleted them from my puny laptop in the hopes that they are safe AND that the laptop works faster. Of course I had to transfer one back so I could keep my background photo. Anyone know about this "new" technology?


And thank you, thank you for all the positive comments about my latest endeavor. I'm thinking of calling it "50 at 50". I don't think I need to explain further. Steve and I walked this morning and are biking tomorrow morning, so I think I can safely say we're cross-training, right?

Weighty Matters

I hate talking about weight. I don't want to set a bad example for my daughters by focusing on my weight, how I feel about it, being overweight, or being obsessed about the process of losing weight. And yet, I have spent so much time doing just that. And I'm doing it again. I went on the Weight Watchers Online program over a year ago and lost 30 pounds; I didn't reach my goal weight, but I was pretty happy. Since then I've gained it all back and I'm not happy about it at all. I have had problems with my feet for the past two years and my hips hurt every morning and I know that the excess weight is not helping. At all. I had hoped to lose weight this summer and return to school feeling good about myself and instead, I did nothing about it. Now that's not to say I did nothing positive this summer, because I did. So I'm going to keep the whole weight thing in perspective and move on.

And so today, I re-enrolled and started the process of tracking my food intake. I know I can do it and I know I will feel better. I have to. And even though I won't be anywhere near my goal weight by the first day of school, I will have least made some progress toward that goal. I hate that I become obsessive about it when I do this, but it's the only way I know how to do it. Just thought you should know.


Now for something completely off topic: This is hilarious!! I love it!

And, I just booked my flight to New York to see Meredith and attend Rhinebeck!!

Hot! Hot! Hot!

This sun looks a lot happier than most folks around here do these days. The hot and humid weather is definitely back. I've already taken two showers today and I'm thinking a cool bath before bed may be in my future.



Part of the reason that I had to shower a second time was the fact that I decided to tackle my flower beds today. Steve has control over the entire yard with the exception of these two little spots, mainly because he loves gardening and I don't. I love the finished product, but I'm not a huge fan of messing around in the yard. I'd rather knit.

In April, when I was on spring break, I planted some things in here in the hopes that they would take over.

This is the right side: one hosta left.

The left side? One dead/dying shrub and one sickly impatiens.

So this morning, when it was breezy, if not exactly cool, I weeded out everything, then went to the garden center with a photo and asked for guidance. I ended up with three large ornamental grasses and three lantanas. Since the left side is where the mailbox is, I didn't want a plant that attracted bees near it, so I planted it this way:

one lantana and two grasses on the left,

and two lantanas and one grass on the right.

The original plan when I was at the garden center was grasses on the left and lantanas on the right, but I thought that would look weird. So I did it this way, thinking it would tie the two sides together. Now I'm not so sure about it. So I'm asking for comments. (Steve will certainly give me his opinion when he gets home today, but I would like as much input as possible.) What do you think? As is, or swap around?

On to something I am sure of; this great basket I bought this past weekend while thrifting! It cost me $20 but it's in great shape. And what do you know, it's already doing its job!

It's in the library since the color matches the bookcases so well and it's really too dark for the sunroom. (Not to mention I'm running out of room in there.)

And as a tiny aside, what's up with all the baby sweater patterns I'm downloading? I'm addicted to them. So cute, so tiny, so quick to start and finish. Now I'm going to go sit under an A/C vent with the fan running and do a little knitting. Cotton, of course.

This Is What Happens

This is what happens when you waste an hour reading blogs and following all the links when you should be getting ready to go to work.

He Missed Me

Not much time for blog writing this weekend, as Steve has been "wining and dining" me. Very nice to be missed. And by the way, how can it be August already? At least the heat wave has receded. We've had lovely temperatures since Friday and a significant amount of much needed rain. We've had the windows open for three days now, thank goodness.



I did finally upload the Richmond photos. This is the bookstore that Steve and I visited last Sunday, after the normally less-than-two-hour trip took three and a half due to heavy weekend traffic. It's in an area called Carytown; lots of artsy shops. Unfortunately it was 105 degrees that day, so we didn't feel like walking very far.

Besides, once Steve saw the inside of the store, he was quite happy to stay and browse. It had an upstairs as well and the prices were great.

I spent a few minutes there, as it's a very cool store, but then walked one block to find my personal Carytown favorite, The Yarn Lounge.


They were super friendly. Don't you love to see how different yarn stores decorate? I didn't even notice the balls of yarn above each shirt when I was there, but aren't they cute?






I love this wall of yarn with all the plants on top. Very soothing.

The store's signature colors are blue and brown and they even have a glass jar of M&Ms to match.

I really loved this store's shabby chic look (not sure what else to call it). This screen door propped up on a radiator is used for community notices. I think it would be a great way to display jewelry, if one had the space.

And this is an old refrigerator door covered with magnetic containers (probably IKEA) holding buttons. She also had a rack of old Kodak slide forms holding stringed buttons but I must not have taken a photo of it. It was really a cool display.

Anyway, that's about it for the trip. As for knitting, I'm plodding along on the Evil Stepmother cowl anytime I have a minute or two, and I've just about finished the cotton handtowel. I should be getting back to the Hokie cowl soon, so I can gift it as planned.



Random things:
I was catching up on my blog reading Friday night and saw this article, courtesy of knittyBlog. How true it is. On the first day of the VDOE committee meeting, I spotted a knitter, decided to sit near her, and bam, instant conversation starter. Plus it turned out we were even on the same committee and ended up hanging out throughout the week.



This idea for summer shoes looks interesting; although I'm not sure I'd make them, one of my crafty daughters might.


And last but not least, this link brought back good memories of crafting with my daughters.