Category Archives: knitting

four things | eighteen

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I hope your week was good event-wise and weather-wise.

We did finally get the garage door repaired. We originally went with a nationally known company but when they ignored us for two weeks, Mr. Aitch fired them. He called a local company on Tuesday and the repairman showed up on Thursday. The job was completed in less than an hour and a half.

Our area had some weather excitement and not the good kind. We got rain Monday night and all day Tuesday and were under a flash flood warning. The ground wasn’t bone dry so some of the rain soaked in. And then it didn’t.

We live in the Allegheny Mountain portion of the Appalachian Mountains and water has the tendency to flow downhill, or down-mountain. With the windstorms we’ve had this year lots of trees fell in the rural places. Add rain soaked soil, more heavy rains, those downed trees and a disaster can happen. The trees and branches end up in the creeks, streams, and rivers. Flash flooding happens.

You may have heard about the rescue of students and teachers from a Westernport school in Maryland. That’s not too far from us. Schools in my county closed early on Tuesday and remained closed until Friday. Mr. Aitch and I are very fortunate to not have suffered any damage.

I had to go out Wednesday and took a few pictures of a stream that overflowed its banks on Tuesday.

Fortunately the water has really receded less than 24-hours later. It was over the stone walls. You can see the log jam at the bridge that crosses the stream and how the road got covered with water and mud. That bridge and the one below were under water. Several businesses had heavy equipment clearing the mud and debris from parking lots.

I was standing on this bridge for those pictures and this bridge is definitely compromised.

what I’m reading

Well, actually I’m listening to the book ArtCurious by Jennifer Dasal. She talks about some of the strange and odd tidbits of artists and their paintings. One chapter is about the curious theft and return of the Mona Lisa, one of the world’s most famous paintings. Her style reminds me of my Art History professor at WVU. He often included little known details about the artists and their works during class.

what I’m loving

source: Country Living

what I’m working on

I’m still plugging away on my socks. I turned the heel and got all discombobulated. My stitch count is off when I began the gusset. My plan is to unknit the last row I did and see if that helps. I’ll also do that when Pepper is either asleep or not jumping on me when she comes into the room to find me. It’s nice to be so loved.

what I saw on my walk

I only got a walk in on Monday and Friday due to the rain Tuesday-Wednesday. It was just too wet to walk and then the garage door repair on Thursday kept us home. It was very warm and muggy yesterday. In fact Pepper stopped and laid down under a tree less than halfway on our usual route. We turned around and went home sooner than I wanted to but was grateful to get some exercise.

Two gorgeous flowers to share today.

These colorful calla lilies are so bright and intense. I don’t know if they will dig up the rhizomes in the fall to replant next year or if they are treating them like an annual flower.

None of these peonies were blooming on Monday when I saw them but several burst out sometime within the past couple of days. Looks like more will follow from the multitude of buds still unopened.

Have a safe and beautiful week.

four things | seventeen

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This week was better than last week though my garage door is still not fixed. We decided to have both doors reinforced so maybe they are waiting for the parts…. It’s amazing how one gets used to a luxury then when it’s out of commission, we think we “suffer”. It’s just a nuisance.

I managed to go for a walk everyday this week except for Wednesday (I always skip Sundays). I did get my steps in since I went to two grocery stores and managed to backtrack several times at both.

We had a rather cool day yesterday in the low 60’s so I made veggie beef soup from the leftover roast beef we had earlier in the week. What we don’t finish today will go in the freezer and my future self will be happy for some homemade soup.

Onto this week’s four things…

what I’m watching

I bought some flowers for the front porch and deck plus two tomato plants and a lonely dill plant. It’s been nice weather, not too hot, not too cold, a few showers and plenty of sunshine. I’ll be watching to make sure they have enough water and don’t get too hot later on.

Pepper is checking out the dianthus on the front porch.

From left to right: Calibrachoa, Celosia with Creeping Jenny and Petunias, Lavender with Celosia.

I love lavender and hope to plant them in the ground. I’m just not sure where so for now, large planters are their temporary home.

what I’m loving

Great things do not just happen by impulse,
but as a succession of small things linked together.

Vincent Van Gogh

what I’m doing

Yay!!! My knitting mojo has returned. I have no idea where it went but I’m so overjoyed it’s back!

I’m working on the Trailblazer socks I started at the end of January and then just stopped in February. Maybe it was the dark charcoal grey yarn. Who knows? Fortunately I keep good notes and was able to pick right up where I left off. I’m on the second sock and am halfway through the heel flap. I hope I don’t hit another mental roadblock as I really want to knit something else.

what I saw on my walk

These metal sunflowers replaced the racing bunnies in carrot cars at the mailbox. Once it warms up and stays warm at night, one of our neighbors adds plants at the mailboxes and street signs so these flowers are a placeholder for those.

I posted a picture of this before but I thought I’d show both sides of the birdhouse while those irises are in bloom.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, caregivers, and all the motherly people out there. I hope you enjoy your day!

four things | sixteen

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Well, it’s been that kind of a week. The spring on my garage door broke. The garage door repair man didn’t have the right size spring and had to order it. We’re still waiting to hear back from him.

I have gout and it really acted up this week. It was so bad, I went to the doctor and got a shot in my knee. It’s much better now.

The clasp that holds the strap on my Fitbit broke. I tried to fix it but nothing seemed to work. I ordered a different brand which has more bells and whistles and I’m trying to figure it out..

What a week. At least it’s not snowing.

what I’m reading

Our Book Club chose The Secret Life of Sunflowers by Marta Molnar. It is based on the true story of Johanna Bonger, Vincent van Gogh’s sister-in-law. “Johanna inherited Vincent’s paintings. She was a 28 year old widow with a baby in the 1800s, without any means of supporting herself, living in Paris where she barely spoke the language. Yet she managed to introduce Vincent’s legacy to the world.”

I’m only half way through and I have a hard time putting it down.

what I’m watching

It was the end of a dynasty. Sparky, his harem, and all of his offspring are swimming in the warm tropical waters wherever guppies go when they pass on. Mr. Aitch bought Sparky, a male fancy-tail guppy, and two female consorts back in 2004. They did what guppies do and soon we had more guppies.

The life span of a guppy is about 2-3 years. Our three original guppies and offspring produced hundreds more in the following 21 years. The last of Sparky’s progeny passed on earlier this year.

Our aquarium was looking rather bleak until Mr. Aitch picked up six Rainbow Boesemani fish on Thursday! They’re only about 2-2 1/2 inches now and will get about 3-3/12 inches long. The males are brightly colored and the females have a faint yellow stripe. We have three males and three females and with any luck, we might get more!

what I discovered

The old seeds were too old. It was a long shot that they would sprout. They just smelled bad.

what I saw on my walk

This beautiful deep purple iris said, “Look at me!” So I did.

Enjoy your week.

four things | ten

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Our weather was quite warm at the beginning of the week then took a turn for cooler, breezy weather Thursday afternoon. But the sun is shining and it looks warmer than it is. Such is Spring weather.

I host our Book Club Monday afternoon and decided to freshen up the front door with a new wreath.

Actually I made that one a few years ago until some birds started making a nest in it. I love the wild birds in our area but I don’t want them nesting, pecking, chirping, or pooping on my front door. Looks like I might need to polish the door knob again.

what I’m watching

Since Gene Hackman was recently in the news (RIP, Gene), Mr. Aitch found several movies Mr. Hackman was in. We just watched Enemy of the State starring Gene Hackman, Will Smith, and John Voight. We both remembered bit and pieces of it when it first came out but really enjoyed seeing it again.

what I’m working on

A fellow knitter asked me for a sweater pattern I knit in 2014 for my then one-year-old grandson. Isn’t he a cutie pie? He just turned twelve in January!

Fortunately I still had my notes though they needed some lots of clarification. I was able to reconstruct them in a couple of days and sent them to her. I also updated that blog post with a link to the pattern.

what I’m growing

I started a window sill garden.

Ignore the Jade plant in a glass on the right. It isn’t edible.

I saved two Romaine lettuce ends, stuck them in water and they sprouted. I tried this a few years ago and got enough greens for a decent sized salad. I tried to regrow them one more time but they were finished. My understanding is that one can usually get one “crop” by doing this so why not? I also have a celery stalk and a few onions. The celery is showing signs of life. The onions not so much though I do see some roots forming. Maybe I should put them in soil…

what I’m loving

The Bob Newhart Show from 1972-78 was a great TV show. Mr. Aitch and I didn’t watch it the first few years as we were in college and either didn’t have a TV or the time to watch it. We probably caught the last few seasons way back when and love streaming the show in the evenings. The cast was perfect. The storylines were perfect. The characters were perfect.

We’re only into Season 2 and look forward to finishing the series. It’s fun to see so many different actors appear as “patients” who went on to star in other shows.

Have an awesome weekend and week.