Furball Friday

Nearly every time Pip gets comfortable in this particular kitty bed,

Milo the Koodle decides that Pip would be even *more* comfortable if he was there too.

It seldom ends well.

Here's hoping your weekend is overstuffed with good things!

Keep cool!

Summer Unraveled

Well, it's officially summer.  Which means it's officially time for me to work hard on thinking of things to keep me from going into a deep depression.  And immediate heat and humidity do not make that an easy task.  I think I may be the only person in the world who suffers from reverse Seasonal Affective Disorder.

So, what do I have for today?  Well, I'm gonna join Kat and the others for Unraveled Wednesdays, for one thing.  Why not?  I have knitting and I have reading, so here goes.

The reading is a cozy mystery, because a) I was in the mood for something quick and not overly challenging, and b) I wanted to read something before I could pick up the book on hold for me at the library.  So I'm reading this, which is a new series to me:

(Photo from Goodreads, since I'm reading it on my Nook)

So far, it's really entertaining, and is even more well-written than I expected, so that is a plus.  And I may be able to even work it into one of my Book Bingo squares, which would be a nice bonus.  We'll see.

The knitting is something besides a sock this time.  Rest assured, I'm still working on my Orange Tabby Socks, but you've seen what they look like, so here's some variety for you this week.  It lives in this natural-history themed project bag, which has become one of my most favorites.

And as you have heard, I'm making a Sonora Shawl.  I'm calling mine Scattered Wishes, because the blue colorway is called Wish, and it's used only in a few places.   Here is what I have so far, mushed up and unblocked, but still fun to knit and pleasing to me.

I just finished the second color section, so it's growing pretty quickly.  I highly recommend this pattern.  I'm using stash yarn, which does not have the same loft as the recommended yarn, but I am still loving it - so much so, I can completely imagine making another one before too long!

Of course I was zooming along on it before it got really icky, weather-wise, so I'm not sure if things continue as they are if I'll feel like having something this size on my lap to knit ... so it may become a nice-day project, which is fine, since then it will feel like a treat!

How about you?  What are you knitting, reading, thinking, doing, eating, whatever?  Inquiring minds want to know.  :-)

Keep cool!

Well I Didn't Mean to Do That!

"That" being not write a post for a week.  But last week was a bit much, with A LOT of unexpected dental work, a long time to recover, then getting ready for company this coming weekend.

The lowlights:

I had gone for my 6-month checkup and cleaning at the dentist, which is usually no big deal,* but the dentist said a crown needed to be replaced.  So I went back and when she took the old crown off, it turned out I needed a root canal.  So I went back the next day for that.  During the root canal, part of the tool broke off in my tooth root(!).  The endodontist assured me that it would not cause any problems,** and finished up with the temporary crown.  Then today, I had to go for the tooth to be prepped for the permanent crown.  Oy.

*Even so, of all the medical-type things I ever have to do, or have done, going to the dentist and getting my blood pressure taken are the two things that freak me out the most.

**When I told this to The Tim, he said, "Isn't that how superheroes happen?"

The highlights:

On Friday, my sister Mary Ellen and brother-in-law Pat, along with my niece Amanda and her husband Pat came for Bloomsday weekend.  We had a great weekend with them, laughing, catching up, going out to dinner, and exploring Philadelphia.  Fortunately, Saturday - which was the only entire day they were here - was humid but not oppressively hot (like it's been since then), so our walking-around-tour was not messed up until the very end when we started home/back to their hotels, and there was a torrential shower.  Mary Ellen and Pat have visited a few times, but have never had much time to see a lot of the city, and Amanda and Pat are always up for anything.  So we walked over to see the new plaza and the building of city hall (everyone is a history and architecture fan), then to the Reading Terminal Market, where we all had a local beer, and the two guys bought locally-made spirits ("From Farm to Glass" was the name of the place, which I thought was great).  Then we wended our way to Jeweler's Row, Independence Hall Park, and our final destination, the National Constitution Center.  With three out of the four of the group being lawyers, we thought it was a good stop.  It was wonderful (we'd never been there yet, either), and they had a special exhibit about Prohibition which was both interesting and fun.  So we covered quite a bit of ground!

The knitting:

After everyone left on Sunday, I sat down and [finally] cast-on for the second of my Orange Tabby socks.  I'd finished the first one last week, and then became slightly obsessed with knitting on my Sonora Shawl.  But I want to get the pair finished, and decided casting-on would be the best way to actually get that accomplished ...

Of course, I have no pictures to show you, at least not at the moment, from this past week.  Instead, I hope you enjoy this picture from our trip to Acadia National Park and Forest last September.  Looking at it, I can remember not only how great that trip was, but also how the weather was neither hot nor humid.  Win-win for me.  :-)

Odunde Sunday and [Finally] Some Knitting!

Are you melting?  I'm not so far, but I have no delusions about it as the day goes on.  We got out in the garden early today to clean up, so we could be out when it was still bearable.  And it worked, it was about 71 degrees and there was a tiny cool breeze.  We have both since come inside, showered, and eaten breakfast and currently it's 88 degrees, with the high expected to be between 93 and 95 degrees.

Which means that it's also a nice day but extremely hot for the Odunde Festival, which is today.  It's really fabulous, but between the temperature and the crowds (easily 1/2 million people in our neighborhood!), we'll be staying put, sitting in front of the fan.  Of course we'll still be tempted by the smells coming through the windows of all the yummy food being grilled ...

I realized the other day that I never did an official FO post for my Mojito Socks, and we can't have that, being that you a) kept hearing about them while they were in progress, and b) I love them so much!

Project:  Mojito Socks

Pattern:  Classic Socks for the Family (my go-to basic sock pattern)

Yarn:  West Yorkshire Spinners 4-ply, colorway Mojito (ordered from The Woolly Thistle)

Needles:  Size 1 US

Modifications:  I made the leg longer, because I like my socks a little higher above the ankle

Comments:  How I love these socks and this yarn!  I came across it shortly before we were headed to Puerto Rico in April, and knew that it had to come with us on our trip, and that it would make great socks.  I enjoyed knitting the socks, because the yarn is very nice to knit with, and loved watching the stripes show up.  And though I did not make any special efforts to get them to match, they actually come pretty close!  I can also recommend The Woolly Thistle, both for prices and for fast shipping.  Everything about this pair makes me happy, and they will always remind me of a wonderful trip as well.  I cannot wait to open my Box o' Socks in 2018 and see them waiting for me!

That's it for now.  I hope you have a lovely Sunday, and if you are also getting blasted by the heat, I hope you can stay cool.  And of course, Happy African New Year!  :-)

Five Favorites for This Friday

Are you ready for the weekend?  I have some things I want to do around the house and in the garden.  Next week my sister and brother-in-law, and my niece Amanda and her husband Pat (of our trip to Puerto Rico fame) are coming to spend the Bloomsday weekend with us.  So I want to finish putting some stuff away, and finish cleaning up.  And I would like to plant a few things that I have for the garden and front planter.  Elstwise, nothing too elaborate or exciting, but that's fine since we'll be so busy next weekend.

The socks from the last post are in a brief timeout, until I can get over to Loop and buy another set of needles.  I lost one from the set I'm using, which I bought because the other set I was using was so worn, they were snagging the yarn.  The Tim had sanded them for me a couple of times, but it's time to move along.  You'd think with all of the sock knitting I do, I'd spring for multiple sets of double pointed needles.  At least right now, you would be wrong ...

Anyway, it's time to share five good things from the week, so here you go.

1.  Cool weather.  It's actually still spring, in spite of everyone else wanting it to be summer.  For the last few years, we've been lucky if we got a week of springtime weather before heat and humidity arrived.  This year, we've actually had spring weather - nice days and cool (sometimes actually cold!) nights for sleeping.  Since I suspect we are going to have a brutal summer (and the heat and humidity are supposed to arrive on Sunday), I've been enjoying spring and the cool weather.

2.  A better circular needle.  I started working on the Sonora Shawl, and when I got to the colorwork portion, it was a nightmare with a metal needle.  So I walked over to Loop the other day and got a wood needle, and it's made all of the difference!  That made me happy, because I have really wanted to knit the pattern ever since I saw it, and instead I was a) making a mess, and b) getting really discouraged and frustrated.  Wood needle for the win!

3.  Lasagna.  We don't have this very often, but the other night, The Tim fixed some truly amazing vegetable lasagna.  Fortunately, there are leftovers, so it wasn't a one-shot deal.  :-)

4.  Kitty cuddles.  Since it's been cool, all of the cats are still wanting to cuddle.  I've been enjoying it, knowing that once the weather changes, those cuddles will be few and far between.

5.  Taking a long walk on a beautiful day.  Last Saturday was a gorgeous day.  and in the afternoon The Tim and I went out for nice, long walk.  We have taken plenty of walks together overall, but generally we are on the way to somewhere, or running an errand, so a leisurely walk was a special treat.  We stopped and got coffee on the way, then stopped at the Farmer's Market on the way home.  It was one of those days when it seemed as if the planets had aligned, you know?

What about you?  Do you have any things from the past week that were especially good, and/or made you smile?  I hope so!

Here's to a good weekend, no matter what your plans happen to be.