Tag Archives: reading

four things | thirty-six

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It’s been a few weeks… Mr. Aitch and I were on two mini vacations. The first weekend was with his brother and wife, and the next week was with my brother, his wife, and our sister.

I had every intension of posting about those times as well as about the week my BFF and I spent at Hocking Hills State Park in Ohio.

I’ve been busy. Our patio project is finally finished and I’m waiting to take some new pictures of that as soon as some grass grows back from the construction. Quality work takes time and we are so pleased with the outcome.

Last week was a week from, well, it wasn’t good. Mr. Aitch was outside with Pepper doing some yard work. I was ready to leave for a church meeting when we c realized she had wandered off. Forty-five minutes late we found her down the street at our neighbor’s house. i missed my meeting.

The next day our email wasn’t working. “Your credentials do not match our system records.” Ummmm. Several friends were also without their email access as well so it wasn’t just us. So many services we use are tied to our email address. Mr. Aitch has his pretty much back to normal with a new email address but I’m still working on some of mine.

Thursday, I got some expected but still distressing news about my hearing. On Saturday the printer decided it didn’t like the paper I was using and kept jamming. Sunday morning I was teaching a craft with our Women’s Ministry group which was more suited for a one-on-one session rather than a group session. Everyone still had a good time and at least 3/4 of the women were successful with their project. I texted each one individually on Monday to let them know I was available for a refresher course at their convenience.

So I was stressed last week that spilled over into this week. That was all in the past so lets see what I’m reading, watching, loving, and working on this week.

what I’m reading

Our Book Club met this past Monday. The book was The Pecan Man by Cassie Dandridge Selleck. The events took place in 1975-76 and Ora, the narrator, is recounting the tale 25-years later. After reading the brief summary of the book, I didn’t think I’d like it. I was wrong. It was very moving and and about doing the right thing when it’s the most difficult to do so.

what I’m watching

Mr. Aitch and I just started watching The Last Detective on Brit Box. The main character, Dangerous Davies, get handed the detective cases no one else wants. He’s good at solving them with little or no recognition.

what I’m loving

One of the shops at Bemus Point on Lake Chautauqua has the BEST cards. When I saw this quilling card, I knew it would be the perfect thank you note card to send to my brother and his wife for their hospitality during our stay at their cottage.

what I’m working on

Mr. Aitch has misplaced his hand-dyed, hand-knit 1898 hat I knit for him several years ago. I wanted this to be in the blue range as that’s his favorite color. I didn’t have the right worsted-weight yarn so I’m holding a DK weight together with a fingering weight yarn to get the right thickness. I’m also using a US# 8 needle instead of the #7 called for in the pattern as it should be a better fit for him.

I’m really liking the marled look of the yarns held together. And the knit-in ear coverings really keep the chill out.

Have a good week.

Patti nona

four things | thirty-four

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I finally figured out what happened to my knitting mojo. The last two patterns I knit required thinking—following a chart with no repeats for 16-24 rows. And that is all fine and good; however, sometimes I just don’t want to have to think. I like to listen to or read books, watch a movie or program on my iPad, and sit and knit on the front porch while knitting on autopilot.

I have one WIP (work in progress) that I should finish. It’s a sweater for Pepper that’s been a WIP for almost two years! She’ll be three years old next month and has most likely reached her adult size, barring any girth spurt. I hope to have a progress report or a finished sweater by next weekend!

This week is all about orphans, bobcats, men, and yarn.

what I’m reading

Our Book Club book this month is The Orphans of Mersea House by Marty Wingate. The story takes place in 1957 England with two childhood friends reconnecting after twenty or so years. Margery moves back from London to take over her recently deceased uncle’s store and turn his huge home into a boarding house. Olive needs to find a job and a place to live after her mother also recently passed away. The two boarders and Margery’s 11-year old polio-stricken ward complete the main cast of characters.

The characters were likable and the story was sweet and somewhat predictable. I prefer a bit more action and surprises but this was a pleasant, feel-good read.

what I’m watching

I love watching a plan take place. After living in our house for thirty+ years, we are finally having a sidewalk connecting from the driveway out front to the deck out back. Finding a reliable person was the major hold-up. The construction began on Tuesday and will continue for another week or two.

This is much larger than I anticipated but we are going to love the extra outdoor space under some shade trees.

what I saw on my walk

This little wooden man brought a smile to my face. He’s about two-feet tall from his feet to the top of his hat.

what I’m working on

Since Joann’s closed, I have very limited stores close by to shop for fabric, yarn, or crafting supplies. Michael’s and Hobby Lobby are at least an hour away. I happened to come across this yarn yesterday at Walmart.

Lion Brand 100% Nylon Stitch Soak Scrub is a worsted-weight, chain structured yarn that comes in 19 different colors. I was so caught up with making scrubbies with Red Heart Sparkle a few years ago that I wanted to try this out. Of the two colors available at my store, red was the winner.

I quickly cast-on 27 stitches per the Sparkle pattern and love how this is knitting up. I think I’ll look for a round KNIT scrubbie pattern to try out next!

Take care and enjoy your weekend.

four things | thirty-two

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I hope you had a lovely week. I’m sure most kids are back to school. That can be a good thing or not. The kids across the street are not liking the early morning routine.

Let’s get right to it….

what I’m reading

A fellow blogger recommended The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, which I read/listened to and I liked it so much that I started the second book in that series: The Man Who Died Twice.

The Thursday Murder Club was made into a film and is currently streaming on Netflix. Unfortunately I don’t have Netflix so… I understand it’s “mostly” true to the book.

what I’m watching

The hummingbirds are constantly buzzing around our three feeders. They are territorial and don’t like any other hummers drinking from their feeder. It’s so fun to watch them dart in and out between the porch posts. They are loading up for their flight to more warmer regions for the winter months.

I take the feeders down when I don’t see any more birds for a few days. Do you have hummingbirds in your area? Do you feed them?

what I’m loving

Sometimes you win and sometimes you learn.

Rachelle of A Tangled Yarn Knitter

what I’m doing

One of my goals for this summer was to do some outside painting but it was just too hot. This week was cooler with less humidity so I painted the outside trim around the garage doors. I still need to paint the outside basement door and trim and touch up the trim around the front door. I’ll tackle those next week, weather permitting.

Don’t let anything bring you down. Enjoy your week to the fullest!

Patti nona

four things | thirty-one

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As you probably noticed I didn’t post last Saturday. I was on vacation with my BFF in Hocking Hills, Ohio. I’ll talk about that another time.

This past week has been so comfortable with lower temperatures and less humidity. Mr. Aitch and I could actually work outside without melting into a puddle.

The tomato harvest is slowing down. I think we got over 500 Super Sweet 100 tomatoes this year on the two plants I grew in pots. I’m going to find bigger, heavier pots for next year so they don’t tip over in the windy rain storms we had this summer. Our soil, or lack of it, is the reason I use pots for my veggies. Our property is mostly shale and we are lucky to have grass growing let alone anything that has a deep root system.

My latest harvest — —- —- —- — —- — — — —>

This week is about book club, sewing video, awesomeness, and a finished object!

what I’m reading

Our August book club book was The All Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg. I read the book a few years ago but reread it or rather listen to it while traveling. It’s a fun read with the story line going back and forth between two different times but coming together in the end.

At age 59 Sarah Jane aka Sookie Poole discovers she was adopted. Her mother is a very strong-will, domineering woman and has ruled Sookie’s life as much as possible. Sookie has always felt she was a disappointment to her mother, Lenore. We learn about Sookie’s birth mother and her family and how that helps Sookie grow as a person.

“Here is Solvang, she wasn’t Lenore Simmons’s daughter. For the first time, she was just herself.’

“She learned that being a successful person in not necessarily defined by what you achieved, but by what you have overcome.”

what I’m watching

I’ve spent more time sewing than knitting this year and finished a Catch-All Caddy by Patterns by Annie. I want to make one out of canvas, denim, or other heavy fabric to use a a tool bag. I bought a cordless hammer drill and need a way to carry the drill, bits, battery, gloves, etc. when drilling into some of the tree stumps in our back yard. I’m “helping” the stump disintegrate by drilling large, deep holes and filling them with Epsom salts to speed up the decay.

I’ll use this one for some sewing or knitting supplies. I followed the pattern as written so I can make the necessary changes to fit my needs. Annie has Add-on videos for lots of her patterns and since I’m more of a visual learner, her videos have really helped with the tricky parts.

Check out her website if you find yourself needing a sewing project.

what I’m working on

I finally finished my Trailblazer Socks!!!

I lost my knitting mojo (how many times have I lost it?!) but needed to get these socks off my WIP list.

I played yarn chicken, meaning I didn’t know if I would have enough yarn to complete the project. And I didn’t. Of course, I didn’t realize that until I looked at the dwindling yarn ball the eighteen unfinished rows of the pattern. Enter yarn #2. Click here for more details.

I alternated about 3-4 rows of the original yarn and the new yarn so it would blend in better. If you look for the difference, you should see it*.

*It’s the sock on the right. But it’s close enough. For my feet.