A Horse Tale

Hi all! I hope this week is treating you well. It's been very nice here in Philadelphia, and I am enjoying every minute of sunny days and cool nights and mornings.

Yes, the above image is Mr. Ed, the talking horse. As you may or may not know, Mr. Ed is one of my favorite TV shows *ever.* When I was a kid, I dreamed of having a horse - any kind of horse, really. But if it turned out to be a horse like Mr. Ed, that would have just been a bonus. And Mr. Ed is the reason that I have a lifelong love for horses. Just seeing one makes me happy. If I get to pet one, kiss its nose, or ride one, then it's all exponentially better.

OK, that was some background. Now the reason I'm telling you about this. A month or more ago, when I abandoned my Relax Tee, I said that if anyone was interested in the lovely linen yarn that I was using, I would be happy to send it along. A woman named Barbara who lives in Texas, and obviously reads the blog, sent me an e-mail and said she would love to have it. In the course of our e-mails back and forth, she mentioned that she had horses. REAL LIVE HORSES that she can see every day, whenever she wants to! In any case, I finally got my act together and sent the yarn, and she sent me a very lovely thank you package, which I'll take about in another post. But when I read the note enclosed with it, I was reminded of this story, which I don't think I've ever told you before, so here goes. If you are only interested in knitting or book content, you can skip this post.

*****

Years ago, when we first moved to Philadelphia, we lived in a neighborhood where about half a mile from our apartment were the City Stables. It was near a little market we used to visit, so when we could we would go and see the horses afterwards. Well, it turned out that they offered riding lessons for adults, but they were so popular, it was by lottery. I took riding lessons as a child, as part of a club at a school I attended in some place where we were living at the time, but hadn't really ridden a horse for years. The Tim had never ridden a horse, so we put our names into the lottery, and we were chosen!

They did the lessons in groups of six people. Our group was 5 women and The Tim. One of the women, whose name was Dottie, said at the beginning that she signed up for lessons because "she was hoping to meet a man." Good luck with that, right?

So after our first lesson, which involved showing us how to put the tack on the horse, get onto the saddle, and then guide the horse around the ring, we were back at the stables, putting things away, grooming our horse, etc. My horse was a sweet boy named Durango. I was the last one out of the lesson, so The Tim was nearby waiting for me to finish. Dottie went over to him and started chatting. Now, you should know that The Tim is a very polite and often charming person in public, and will talk to anyone, but isn't really stellar in the listening department unless he knows he has to be. So he and Dottie are chatting, and I heard her say, "What's your name?" And frankly, I suspected he wasn't paying attention, and that was confirmed when he responded, "Durango." I immediately started to laugh so hard I cried while I was finishing up with the *real* Durango, and Dottie replied, "Oh that's so weird, just like the horse!" Frankly, I was laughing so hard, I have no idea how he got himself out of the conversation. 

Going home, he said, "You know, I wasn't really paying close attention, so I thought she asked me if I knew the horse's name." (No sh*t, Sherlock.) 

Well, this story has become a legend in our family. One of my nieces said the only way it could have been better would have been if the horse's name had been Powder Puff or something like that.

The next 5 weeks of lessons were wonderful, but nothing as memorable as the first night, when we learned that one of the people in our group had the same name as one of the horses at the stable. 😉

Barbara - thanks for the gift, and for bringing this memory into my brain. I hope you enjoy your yarn at least as much as I enjoyed this story, and thinking about it again.

*****

Happy Trails, y'all. 

You Need to Start Somewhere

Hello all, I hope you are well. And somehow managing to continue to go along every day in this world full of trauma. It's hard. And sadly, getting harder each and every day. Just remember, you have to take care of yourself first and foremost, because otherwise you can't help anyone else at all.

I have two things to look forward to that are keeping me from complete despair. The week after next, we have two little trips planned, and since we haven't really had any outings since our trip to WV over Memorial Day weekend, the fact that these trips are coming up have been keeping me going. I'm the sort of person who can put up with just about anything if I know there is something to look forward to, even if not for quite a while. 

I promised I'd show you my sock project that is in progress, but I keep forgetting to take a picture of it. The first sock is well into the foot section, so by the time I photograph it, instead of a piece o' sock, it might be a finished sock. 

But I did take this photo of a something I knit yesterday:

When did I become a knitter of fiddly things? Let me be clear, this is not my fave kind of knitting, but I have always avoided anything looking or sounding the least bit fiddly in the past. The stuffed doggie I knit was just fiddly in parts, but this project is nothing but fiddly! So we'll see how long it takes for me to finish it. Though it is nice to knit for a short amount of time and have something to show for it, LOL.

This is my first piece in the Fall Harvest Charm Set, by Susan B. Anderson. Apparently I do love kits, and I do have to say that Barrett Wool Co., Anderson's company with her son, put together really lovely kits that usually are not overly expensive, considering what you get. Anyway, I bought this kit a very long time ago, and much like the puppy kit, decided during a recent stash review that this fall I was actually going to make this thing. Making this tiny acorn reminded me of the quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson: "The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn." Reminding me that in both knitting and life, you may start small, but it's the starting that is important.

So I need to figure out how to try to start in so many ways. I've gotten some things started, and they just need to continue. But with the world constantly bombarding me with so much terrible, I need to make my way through to finding positive things to start, to move along with, to keep myself sane.

I hope that those of you reading have been able or are able to start finding ways for yourself to be in the world without complete despair 24/7. Granted, what works today may not work tomorrow or next week, but we should all keep on trying so that we can work our way to better days, better health, just better all around. 

My plans for today are to post this, then work on finishing the laundry, and take a walk. I woke up this morning with a killer headache, so instead of taking my walk right away, I took some Tylenol and just sat for a while. The headache is close to being history, so the walk will come soon. I'll probably also work on the aforementioned sock, and read a bit. The Tim is cooking dinner tonight, so I can forget about having to plan that. 

Have a good day, however you are able to. (Well, unless that means murdering someone - that's not good and face it, they are likely not worth a lifetime in prison. Try to focus things elsewhere. 😉)

September

 

Hello and Happy Labor Day! I for one am always glad for the "official" reminder that a lot of the things we take for granted - set working hours, a limit to working hours, etc. - are in place thanks to labor unions. Even if you are not a union member, you benefit from many things they fought long and hard to gain.

So here we are with Labor Day actually taking place on the first day of September, which for many people, marks the start of a new year. I have been out of school since approximately 1893, and I still think of Labor Day and the beginning of September as a new start. This year is no different, but I'm taking a slightly different approach.

As you may have heard me blather on about mention, I have been working hard to create new exercise/activity habits, along with my niece Amanda and my friend Lisa. We all keep each other updated and accountable, and I have to say, this has worked better for me than anything else. Having support and people who give you grace when you fall short of what you hoped to do is game-changing in my life. Not that I didn't have support from The Tim before, but it makes a big difference when you are also supporting the others as well. The Tim has always been pretty fit and never has health issues for the most part, so he didn't really need me saying "Good job" to encourage him to continue.

My niece Amanda has a personal practice that I'm going to try to adopt for myself. Instead of trying to keep track of overarching goals over the course of a whole year, she thinks about what she hopes each new month can be. In her case, she creates a type of vision board and uses it as her wallpaper on her phone. I am not that advanced, but I like the idea of thinking/working on a month-by-month basis rather than a yearly one. So starting this month, that's my new practice. I have a few things roughly thought out, but one of my activities today is to actually put them on paper - yes, I still use paper! - so I can see them and remember them more clearly than if I just tried to put them in my brain for storage. 

I'll let you know how/if this works for me, in case you are interested in trying it. Though it wouldn't be surprising to know that a lot of you already do this type of thing, since you are more on top of your lives than I may be. 😊

So here we go - enjoy these -BER months!

*****

Thank you for the nice comments for me and especially for Alfie and his newfound freedom to roam in the garden. We spent a good deal of time out there this weekend, and here he is just enjoying the chance to be outside. 

In the comments, Jose asked if Alfie was on pain medication because I mentioned that he is declawed. First of all, before you give me a lecture about the evils of declawing cats, please know that when we got him, he was a three-legged, declawed cat already. So we were not in any way involved in that. 

But to answer the question, Alfie doesn't take medication at all. He doesn't seem to be in any pain, and gets around very well - especially if he is chasing something! He goes to the vet regularly (as do the others), and we have never had any indication that he is uncomfortable. So as far as we can tell, and based on his activity levels, Alfie seems to be just fine as he is.  He was on medication briefly last year for ear problems, but those are resolved, and now he's just busy in his true destiny of Nature Cat. 

I hope all of you have a good holiday, if Labor Day happens where you are. Unfortunately, it turns out that The Tim did in fact have to labor today, so we'll be glad to see him later to have a good evening. I'm going to attempt to make shrimp kebabs for dinner, so wish me luck!

Yes, Cat Dreams Do Come True

Especially if your name is Alfie.

As you may or may not remember, a few years back (prior to the pandemic), we took down the door that leads to our garden in our outside entryway. It was already in place when we moved in, and had simply rotted to the point that there wasn't much left of it.

Now this wasn't really a huge problem in the grand scheme of things. It did mean there was slightly less privacy if we were in that area of the garden, but the biggest issue was that if the cats were outside in the garden with us, they could just stroll out onto the street, which is less than an optimal situation. So we knew we needed to replace it, but at the time funding was extremely low. And the garden was seriously full of mosquitoes, so we didn't spend any time out there unless we had to. 

Over the past few years, we've been able to make some headway cleaning things up, and though the mosquitoes were still in force, at least the garden wasn't a complete mess and eyesore anymore. And once our mortgage was paid, we suddenly had some available cash to make some of the repairs and improvements we'd had to delay.

The first few things that were the most necessary were taken care of, and so now we could move on to thinking about other projects that had been waiting. I was "assigned" by The Tim the project of getting the garden door replaced.

Of all of our most recent cats, Alfie was the one who insisted - no, NEEDED - to go out into the garden whenever we went outside, even if for just 5 minutes. And then he would immediately run out onto the street as part of his routine. That is of course dangerous for any cat, but Alfie has only three paws, and is declawed. And let's just say his reaction times to things are not in the top 5 percent. It drove him crazy that he could not go out, because as far as he is concerned, he is a Nature Cat. I kept promising him that we would get a new garden door, and his dream has finally come true.

I was finally able to find someone to come and give us an estimate, in the first place, which was no easy feat. The person was just one of those people you can tell are the real deal when you meet them, you know what I mean? And he was very fond of Alfie, which of course Alfie assumes everyone is. And so this past Monday, one of the guys who works in the company came and both built and installed a new garden door!

Going into the garden (yeah, a weird angle because the entryway is very narrow and this is the best way I could take a photo):

And then if you are leaving the garden to go out onto the street:

It's a nice, solid, cedar wood door and it took the person about 5 hours from start to finish to get it all accomplished. The handle is a simple latch, which is nice. Now you may be saying, "Aren't you going to install a lock on it?" and yes, we could, but in order to get into the entryway where you could then open the door into the garden, you would have to get through a wrought-iron gate. And frankly, if you can figure that out, a simple lock isn't gonna hold you back. So for now, we're leaving it alone. This coming weekend, The Tim is going to put a cedar finish on it, for weather protection and aesthetics. But it's finally in place, and Alfie and I ventured into the garden yesterday, and he was the happiest cat in Philadelphia, I'm pretty sure. 

As soon as I finish this post, I'm heading downstairs to go into to the garden - with Alfie, of course - to water the plants, replenish the birdbath, and fill the bird feeder. I have found a mosquito repellent "system" that seems to be working pretty well for us, so now I don't need to put on long pants and long sleeves for those activities, which is nice. So it's actually nice to be out there. I'm hoping that we can spend some time there this weekend and into the fall, since during the heat and humidity of the summer, none of us has much interest in being out there unless we have to.

But Alfie would like you to know that after waiting SO long and hearing promise after promise, his fondest wish is now a reality. He can truly enjoy his role as Nature Cat of the Outdoors. So remember that if you just wait and hope long enough, perhaps your dreams can come true as well! 😊

*****

No major plans here for Labor Day weekend. As I said, The Tim is planning to work on putting the finish on the new door. In a pleasant turn of events, he may not have to work on Labor Day like he usually does. So it would be nice if the long weekend would be a long weekend for him for a change. I'm on a bit of a decluttering spree, so I'll likely spend at least some of the time working on that. But it sounds like it will be a good few days for walking, bike riding, and just generally being outside, so I'm sure we'll find a way to take advantage of that.

Here's hoping that your Labor Day weekend, or just your weekend in general since - GASP! Everyone doesn't live in the U.S. - is a good one, and that you can enjoy it however you like. 

As the song says, "See You In September." 

The Journey to an FO Post For Today

Hello all - I hope this finds you well, and ready for Labor Day weekend. As of this a.m., they are predicting nice weather for the long weekend here. Though frankly I'll believe it when I see it.

This is an FO post, but it took me a long time and some ridiculousness to get here. You may or may not remember these socks that I started: 

Project: Pool Beans Socks

Pattern: Vanilla Bean Socks, by the Crazy Sock Lady

Yarn: Jojo's Fave Sock Set, in the colorway I'll Be By the Pool, from Hopemade Yarn Co.

Needles: US size 1/2.25 mm

Modifications and Notes: First of all, none of the issues I had with these socks were a result of the pattern or the yarn. It was all me and my brain, or lack thereof.

You see the photo for the sock above. I started this pair by knitting the pattern stitch all around the sock, as it's written in the pattern. Then after the heel, I kept the pattern on the top/instep of the sock. I wanted to use the turquoise for the toes as well as the cuffs and heels, but I wasn't sure if I had enough. So I stopped before adding the toe and decided to knit the second sock and then see how much of the turquoise yarn I had left, if any.

So I happily knit along on sock #2, and after the heel, decided I probably had enough for the toes of both socks. But when I went back to sock #1, I realized that I had likely made it too long. Which is no big deal since I would just need to go back and eliminate a few rounds. 

BUT then I noticed that on the second sock, I had knit the leg with the pattern only on the front of the sock! I guess I was on autopilot and was knitting it like the foot of the first sock. Needless to say, I was annoyed with myself. So much so that I frogged the entire first sock because I decided I liked the sock with the pattern only on the front instead! 

And I am actually really pleased with how they turned out:

And as you can see, I had enough yarn for the toes. After kitchenering the second toe, I had less than 3/4 of an inch of the turquoise yarn left - so yes, I had JUST enough! Phew!

At the start of the summer, I'd given myself three projects to complete, and this was the last one, so I'm glad I made it (even though technically there are still a couple of weeks left in the summer season). In case you were wondering, those projects were:

Relax Tee (frogged and abandoned)

Waffles Puppy - completed

Pool Beans Socks - completed

So two out of three isn't bad. I usually can get more done during the summer than this, but this year, it just wasn't happening. I'm glad I only told myself that these were the primary three, because otherwise I would be annoyed with myself. 

*****

I've already started a pair of socks requested by one of my nieces' husbands when I put out a call for anyone wanting handknit socks. I'll show those next time. And I'm ready to start this, from another kit I've had for a while (apparently this is the year I knit some kits!). I'm still deciding what my third project will be. I find that for me, three is a good number. Always a sock, and then two other things that are different levels of having to concentrate. Any more than three and I start to feel overwhelmed.

In non-knitting news, I'm very pleased because I ordered this purse online, and when it arrived, it was even nicer than expected!

It also came in black and a snakeskin print. I have a black purse that I already like a lot, and I'm not much for snakeskin prints, and well, who doesn't love a red purse??

Anyway that's it for today. I do have some other tales to regale you with, but I'll save them for other posts.

I hope the rest of your day goes well. See you again soon!

Friday FO Post: Waffles Puppy

Hi there! It's still too hot here, and humid, and icky, but on the plus side, my incision on my back from my surgery is not as bothersome as it has been, so that's good! I hope you're doing OK wherever you are, since it seems like everyone everywhere is having some kind of extreme weather.

I wanted to show you my completed Waffles Puppy! I know I've been taking you along on my knitting trip with this project, but to review, first you knit and stuff his head:

And it was fairly simple and straightforward, but I gotta tell you, adding the safety eyes and the nose were one of the hardest parts of this whole project! Making sure to get them snapped so that they would not be able to be pulled out took me about half an hour! I kept thinking I'd have to wait until The Tim got home from work and ask him to help me. Fortunately, I managed to finally make it work on my own.

Next, you added the ears:

Again, the pattern is extremely well-written and understandable. but the hard part here was not just picking up the stitches to create the ears, but the first few rounds of knitting. It's hard to knit when the stitches you've picked up are not kind of free-standing, so to speak. This was the most difficult thing every time it was needed in the pattern.

The body was next, and because it was a larger piece, not too fiddly.

And then, of course, he needed his feet!

And finally, his arms and little tail:

GAH! He's so stinkin' cute!

Here are the details for anyone interested who may wish to make a puppy of their own.

Project: As yet unnamed puppy stuffie

Pattern: Waffles Puppy, by Susan B. Anderson

Yarn: Home Bulky Twist Marled Yarn, in the colorway Folkstone Twist, from Barrett Wool Co. 

Needles: US size 8/5.0 mm and US size 10/6.0

Modifications: Are you kidding me???

Notes: I bought this in a kit years ago from Barrett Wool Co. It's still listed as a product in their "Kits" section, but says it is currently out of stock. Anyway, I put it away and when I was doing a stash review earlier this summer, decided that I would knit it as a good summer project. The yarn was already wound (so clearly at some point I thought I'd start and then did not), so all I needed to do was collect the needles and get going. 

This is the first time I've ever knit or even attempted to knit a stuffie. I think it was a good idea that I started with this project, because it only has a few pieces, and it is larger, so although parts were fiddly, it was not working the entire time on a very small, fiddly project, which I'm not sure would have been that agreeable to me. 

Anyway, for the most part, I worked on one section per week - which really amounted to working on it for a few hours one day a week. At the time, I was working also on my late Relax Tee, and that was getting most of my knitting time. It wouldn't have taken long at all to complete it if I'd worked on it as my primary project, but it's not like I had a deadline or anything.

The pattern was very very well-written, with good photographs to help with needle placement, etc. The yarn was lovely, rustic looking, but very nice and pleasant in your hands. And it seems like it is also sturdy, so if say a kiddo had this toy, it would be quite durable. 

As I said, the hardest parts for me were the safety eyes and nose, and knitting in the round for the ears, etc. for the first few rounds after you'd picked up stitches. 

Now, as you may have noticed if you looked at the Ravelry link or the Barrett Wool. Co link, the puppy is wearing a hat and a sweater. My puppy currently has neither, and likely will not have them for a while. I will probably knit his hat when the weather gets cool, and decided that it's more likely I will turn the sweater into a vest if I do decide to knit that for him. But right now, I'm not interested in him having accessories, and it's too  hot for him to wear them anyway! So for now, he can bask in some puppy nakedness! 😊

This was such a fun project, but I have to say I'm glad I made it now, and not when I first got the kit. I'm a much more confident knitter than I used to be, so I knew I could do it and even if it wasn't perfect, it would be close enough. If I had started this when I first bought the kit, I have a feeling that when I first started with the ears, I may have given up. I would have been sure that the stiches shouldn't be so hard to maneuver once they were picked up. But now I understood why that was the case, and knew it would get easier to do one a few rows were underway. 

I finished knitting him this past Monday, and am still contemplating his name. I decided he is a "he" because all the dogs I've had in my life were male, so that makes sense to me. I have a few thoughts, but I need to live with them for a while and see which one he seems most like. 

If you are in the mood for something different but fun, I would find some yarn - you could probably use just about any weight - and knit yourself a Waffles Puppy. It's so much fun to see him coming into existence, and at least for me, it was a different enough project to keep my interest, but not so involved that working on any part of it was a slog.

And then at the end, you have a puppy! What could be better??

*****

No specific plans for the weekend. I think I mentioned when I posted last week that we were going out to dinner on Friday to a Mexican place in our neighborhood (or maybe I didn't ... I'm too lazy to check). Anyway, it was really enjoyaable and delicious. We even had margaritas, and boy were they good! One thing we especially enjoyed was a salad we'd shared - we asked our server what kind of dressing it was, and he checked for us and said it was a coriander vinaigrette. So now I'm on the search for a recipe.

This weekend, really the only thing I'd like to do is go to the Lowe's near us. I want to see if they have any garden pots, etc. on end-of-summer clearance. I have some ideas for next spring/summer, and if I already have the pots or planters, I'm more likely to make it happen.

And that's all the excitement around here. I hope you have a good weekend, and if you are in the throes of any extreme weather, that you can stay safe. 

See you next week!

Almost There!

The puppy I'm knitting has a body now! It just keeps getting cuter, if you ask me. Now I have the front paws and back paws, and finally the tail to knit, and then he will be complete. As you can imagine, I talk to him a lot as I'm knitting him, so he's become a therapy dog of sorts. 😊

I haven't been around this week because I've been getting used to being uncomfortable from an outpatient procedure I had last Friday. A visit to the dermatologist a few weeks ago led to her finding something suspicious on my back. It turned out to be a basal cell carcinoma, and she scheduled me for August 1 to have it removed. The procedure itself was completely uneventful, but boy does having a line of stitches on your back make for being uncomfortable! I think it's because most of us don't have a lot of padding on our backs. The doctor told me it would be unpleasant for at least a couple of weeks, because there are internal stitches as well as the ones I can see (though not that well, based on where they are located) on my back. I was very happy to hear from her yesterday to learn that they got clear margins on the area they removed. So unless another one pops up again, I should be OK. Though she warned me that with my - as she calls it  - "pale Irish skin" and being of a generation that grew up before sunscreen was invented, it may not be the last time a carcinoma shows up. Ugh. Even after a childhood spent avoiding the sun because I sunburned in record time, I'm paying for it now. 

At least I have a dermatologist who is paying close attention.

So what have I been doing? Well, I spend an inordinate amount of time trying to get comfortable, or at least less uncomfortable. I know it could be lots worse, but after a summer of ridiculous heat and humidity, I have little patience left for anything. The doctor told me to take it easy for two weeks, and not do anything very vigorous. I've done some reading and a little bit of knitting, but have a hard time really concentrating. I haven't been able to sleep well, so I feel very tired most of the time, which does not help with my attention span.

OK, enough whining, let's just talk about something else.

I don't know if I've ever mentioned the ongoing saga of our garden door. The short version is that we had a door - really more of a panel - that had a padlock on it that closed off the entryway to our front door from the garden. (I'm not explaining this very well, but just go with it.) It was neither attractive nor durable, but it came with the house, and it did what it needed to do. About two years ago, it finally just fell apart, and we took it down. Which is not a big deal, but we agreed that at some point, we wanted to replace it, for two reasons at least: 1) so if the cats were in the garden with us, they could not leave and go out onto the street; and, 2) for privacy and a fake appearance of security (because if someone wants to get in, they can figure out a way). 

When I said something about it earlier this summer, The Tim informed me that it could be "my" project. So I've been looking for someone to give me an estimate on the cost. I finally asked local friends for a recommendation on Facebook, and a friend who I know has high standards recommended someone who had done some work in her house.

He came yesterday, and took all kinds of measurements. Once again, nothing is standard about the measurements, so it requires a bit of finagling on his part. But he had a couple of good-sounding ideas, and he is going to see what kinds of things would be involved and send me an estimate. If it seems reasonable at all, I'm gonna go with it because most people I contacted either wouldn't come into the city to do the work, or weren't interested in such a small project. The thing I didn't tell them, since they were being kind of rude about it, is that we have some internal door-type and other projects that, if the garden door project would turn out well, we would consider asking for estimates for those as well. So we'll see how it goes, but I would love to have a garden door again. And the cats would be thrilled, because then they could explore when one or both of us are out there. And at a minimum, Alfie MUST be allowed to do that!

And that's the excitement around here lately. I just realized that this post is brought to you be the letter P:

Puppy

Pitiful me

Property improvement

But somehow, "Tryon Street" doesn't have the same ring to it as "Sesame Street," does it?

Take care, and I'll be back soon!

🌷🌹🌻

Relax No More

Hello there and happy too hot and humid Monday. Why no, I'm not enjoying it, but thank you for asking anyway.

I have finally thrown in the towel (yarn?) and have decided I shall Relax No More. Not actual relaxing - I mean, that's a major part of my lifestyle, I'm not going insane. 

But I am finished with trying to knit myself a Relax Tee.

A little bit of background. Years ago (pre-pandemic), I knit nearly an entire version of the Edie pattern in Quince & Co. Sparrow yarn. I had put the sleeve stitches on waste yarn while I finished the body. When I picked it up to do the sleeves, "someone" had apparently gotten into it and not only pulled out the waste yarn, but a lot of the stitches. I asked three different "expert knitter" friends if they could help, and all of them tried, but couldn't figure out where in the pattern things were, or how to repair things. So I frogged the entire thing, and put it away to use again sometime.

I decided this summer was the time. So I pulled it out, and figured I probably had enough to make some other summer top. I was no longer interested in using the yarn for the Edie top, and looked for something else. Everyone and their brother was raving about Aimee Sher's Relax Tee - some people were making multiples. I liked the look of it, so I decided to give that pattern a try. 

I worked my way through most of the body. And I gotta tell you, I wasn't feeling it. I like the yarn and was not having any problem knitting with it, but a) I was wondering why I chose the color I did (Port - pretty, but kind of dark for summertime), and b) why everyone enjoyed knitting this pattern. I can't even tell you what it was about it, but I was just not feeling the love, you know? 

Before starting on the sleeves, I decided to try it on. It would fit fine in the end, but ... meh. I decided to put it aside for a few days, and then see if I wanted to finish. 

I do not. I have decided that at least right now, that pattern is not for me. Maybe later it will be my most favorite pattern I ever made, but right now, this summer, I am not enjoying it, I am not relaxing at all while knitting it, and I am done. 

I've also decided that the yarn and I are also parting ways. I've tried two separate things with it, and though yes, I could go back and knit another Edie, I'm just finished with this yarn in this color. As Marie Kondo would say, it's not longer bringing me joy.

Actually, I'm OK with all of this. Yes, I spent a good portion of the summer knitting on this project and have nothing to show for it but a bag of re-wound yarn and some untouched skeins. It's pretty yarn, the color is nice, but I'm done with the whole shebang. There are at least 3 or 4 full unwound skeins, and a decent amount of other skeins re-wound into balls (I have no idea exactly how much, sorry). 

My original plan was to donate it, but then I thought I'd at least ask if any of you are interested in it at all. If you are, I'm more than happy to send it to your very own house, so let me know. If you are a small-ish person, or knitting for a small-ish person, I'm sure you could get a tank top or short-sleeved top out of all of it. Otherwise, you might need to mix and match or knit a thousand washcloths or something with it.

(You can ignore this paragraph  - the yarn has found a home! So that's everything about that. Do let me know if you are interested in the yarn - you can send me an e-mail at baclancyATverizon.net, or let me know in the comments. If I don't hear from anyone by the end of this week, I'll go ahead and donate it. I want someone to enjoy it and use it instead of simply throwing it away.)

And I'll find another project. I have lots of socks I owe to people, and I actually find knitting those relaxing, so if nothing else, I can work on socks for a while.

I'm actually relieved to be officially decided I'm finished with the Relax Tee project. It was hanging over my head more than I realized.

Please don't let this post discourage you, if you were considering the pattern. Like I said, I think at this moment in time, my head and heart are just not in it - by I do hope to try it again someday.

*****

This week is one of those busy running around kind of weeks. And Friday is the first of August, which makes me happy. This has seemed like an eternal July, and though I hate to wish my life away, I'll be glad to move into another month, especially one that brings us closer to fall. Hopefully August and I will be better friends - we'll see! 😊

It's Monday ... Again

Funny how it happens every week, huh?

The last few weeks, I've been feeling kind of sad on Sunday afternoons and evenings, and I couldn't quite figure out why. I don't have a job to dread, or any unpleasant activities that happen every single week on Monday, so it was a bit of a puzzle.

Then it occurred to me - during the week, I'm on my own the entire day. Yes, the cats are here, but unlike the weekend days, The Tim is at work. Thinking about it more, I decided that it's more the idea of someone else being around that I like. Some weekends we have plans, so we do things together for most/all of the weekend, but frankly most of the time, we do our own thing. Since I get nothing but alone time all week, I try to give him as much alone time as I can when the weekend comes, because he's not a fan of being social 24/7 any more than I am. 

Anyway, once I figured that out, it made sense to me. And who knows, maybe I am just biologically tuned to feel a bit down on Sundays, after a lifetime of having other, more intense, reasons.

*****

Last week, my niece La Liz sent us a text, asking us to make a video for her husband Greg. He is turning 50 on Thursday, and she had asked a bunch of family and friends to make a video, saying one thing they liked about him. You may or may not remember that Greg is a HUGE Baltimore Orioles fan. We went to the Phillies-Orioles game in Baltimore with them last summer. And he doesn't just love his own team, he can't stand some other teams - the Phillies included!

So Saturday, we got dressed in our Phillies t-shirts and sat down to make our video. We talked about the reasons we loved him, and then as we were ending it and saying "Happy Birthday, " we both put on our Phillies caps. Then The Tim said, "Oh and one more thing, " and we both said, "Go Phils!" La Liz said she was watching it with tears streaming down her face because it was so lovely, and then almost passed out when we "pulled out the Phillies hats!" She can't wait for him to see it and neither can we. 😂

*****

I was watching a YouTube podcast a week or so ago, and one of the people on it was knitting a sock in the most amazing yarn combo I'd seen in a while. And I could not resist, especially because the accent color in the sock set was turquoise, and I'm a sucker for that color. So I placed an order for it from Hopemade Yarn Co.  It arrived really quickly, and I cast on the next day. I just love it, don't you?

The colors just scream SUMMER to me, which is funny because when I wear socks in the summer, it's white athletic socks with my sneakers - otherwise, it's too hot to wear socks for me. So these will remind me of the good things about summer, while keeping me warm the rest of the year. 

So that's it for now. I hope you have a good week, and have a chance to do something that's just for you.  See you again soon!

The Ugh of Summertime

The way things are going in the country right now, we don't even need a weather report like this, but it's not far off the truth. You know, the kind of weather where you get out of the shower and towel off, only to find that you need to start over. Ugh.

The other day, The Tim said, "Fall will be coming, right?" - and that's when you know it's bad. He's not a fan of summer, but mostly suffers in silence. 

I've been trying to decide what I can work on that won't make me want to pass out or throw up. For once, I'm in the mood to do some of the projects I have around the house that have been on my list for a while, but since we don't have great air-conditioning, it's not really worth even starting. And forget doing stuff outside - I've been forcing myself to go out for my morning walks, but other than that, I stay put inside because it's the kind of weather that actually makes me physically ill.

So there has been more reading than usual, as well as knitting. But I've also been really conscientious about balancing the checkbook (which if you know me, says how desperate I am), and organizing the linen closet. I think I'm wearing out the towels and sheets I've been fooling with them so much!

Anyway, I'm a bit uninspired with my knitting. I have the puppy project, which I showed you recently, that I'm enjoying. But I don't feel like working on that every day. I am on the body part of a Relax Tee, by Aimee Sher, and if I could make myself work on it regularly, it could be finished. But contrary to the name, I do not find the pattern relaxing. 

I have been wanting to make this pattern, and even have yarn chosen. But regardless of the size needle I use, I keep ending up with too many stitches to the inch in the gauge, which I find suspicious, especially since no matter what size needle I try, I get the same numbers! - but there you go. There's a part of me that is tempted to start it anyway, and see how it goes. But I don't want to do that because even if I've done only 10 rows, it will be too disheartening to rip it out.

I guess I'll pull out some sock yarn and wind it because then at least I'll have a project that I can pick up and put down without causing problems. 

Sometimes, it just seems like everything is too much work. For me, that almost always happens in the summer. And really, it's never too much work in reality. So I'm gonna look for a skein of "extra special" sock yarn to use, because that will inspire me.

What about you? Any exciting projects going? Let me know, I'm happy to live (knit?) vicariously!

Thinking of My Mom Today

Today marks 37 years since my mom died. That's a long time ago, but I still think of her - and often talk to her - every single day. 

I love this picture. She said she was probably about 4 years old here, and that people used to bring ponies around the neighborhood when she was a little girl and parents would have their kids photographed on the ponies. When I was a little kid, I used to think my life was supremely lacking and unfair because no one brought a pony - or any other animal - around the neighborhood for any reason, ever. To be 100 percent perfectly honest, if someone brought a pony or a horse or a donkey, or any other out-of-the-ordinary animal to the neighborhood today, I would want a picture with it - even if, for the animal's sake, I wasn't *on* it. 

WHERE HAVE THE NEIGHBORHOOD PONIES GONE???

Anyway, my mother was a lot of fun. After my dad died, and my middle sister finished college and got married and moved away, it was just the two of us for about 10 years. They weren't easy, since we didn't have a lot of money, and she had health issues, but we did have a good time, and I have the best memories of spending time with her. 

This is, I think, her high school graduation photo. It's nice to think of her being so happy and having so much ahead of her, before things that come with adulthood had actually arrived. 

She pretty much always looked like a version of this photo, so I could always recognize her in the bazillion pictures she had from friends and family. 

Though towards the end of her life, when she was probably about a year or so from dying, she had lost a LOT of weight and though she still had all of her hair, it was cut very short so that she didn't have to fool with it much. At the time, she lived with my sister and brother-in-law, and their four kids. She was confined to a wheelchair, so didn't get out as much as she had for all of her life. 

My sister and brother-in-law were invited to a barbecue at a country club where their friends were members during this one particular summer. The friends knew my mother as well, and told my sister to bring her along, since there would be people there that she knew, and it would be a chance for her to get out, etc. So they all got ready and headed to the country club, and for a while at least, things went well. Then a woman who knew my brother-in-law through his work (he is a labor lawyer) came up to talk to him, and he introduced my mother. Well, apparently this woman was one of those types who sees elderly people - particularly those in wheelchairs - as infantile. So she started talking to my mom like she was a little kid - you know, "Oh how ARE you sweetie? Is this fun for you?" And my sister could tell my mom was getting annoyed. 

Then the woman said, "Oh I know who you remind me of - Nancy Reagan!" and my mother responded, "Well that's not good." To which the other woman said, "Oh that's a compliment, I love her and think she is so beautiful." To which my mother said, "Well, then you're a damn fool."

And then they went home. Like, *right* after that. 😂😂😂

That, my friends, is a perfect story about my mother. She could be perfectly nice, and pleasant to anyone and everyone. But she did not suffer fools gladly. When my sister told us about this, none of us were surprised even one small bit. And she had always been like that, it's not something that developed as she got older. 

Yeah, I've got a million stories, and of course she also had a bazillion sayings and expressions, some of which I've shared here. So although I miss her every day and would love for her to be here still (but she'd be over 100 years old, and The Tim said he doesn't think he could take that, LOL), most of my memories are happy ones, or of fun things we did together. She believed that life was to be enjoyed, and as far as I can tell, she enjoyed her life for the most part. 

I know I am like her in a lot of ways, as are my sisters. But there was only one person who was actually her. So raise a glass today and do a "goddam toast" in her honor. 

That is, if you can bear it, since it's "hotter than Billy be damned." 😉

Puppy Love

Hello and Happy Friday! I've been fairly productive so far today, which pleases me because for a change I can clean up some things without feeling like I'm going to pass out.

Besides the summer top I've been knitting (more about that another time), I started another project that is a little bit fiddly, but fun. Many years ago, I purchased a kit from Barrett Wool Co., to make the Waffles Puppy. Then, just like many things I think would be wonderful to make/do, I put it away and kinda sorta forgot about it. When I did a stash review in April, I came across it again, and decided that I would definitely make it over the summer. I even set it where I would see it to make it handy to pick up and get going.

And all during June, it just sat there. And I would always be ready to start, but not really. Then last Thursday, I decided it was time. I found the needles I would need, and got started. Now, I can't remember if the yarn arrived in the kit already wound, or if I had actually wound it up when I received it, mistakenly thinking I'd start it soon. But in any case, once I had the right size needles, I had no excuse but to give it all a try.

I spent a little while knitting, and finished the head, including adding in the safety eyes and nose that were included in the kit (and that was quite a project itself, let me tell you!). 

I love that little face!

Then yesterday (what is it about Thursdays so far?), I tackled adding the ears. It was tricky, because a) I'm not good at picking up stitches "on the right leg of a stitch" in general, and being that it was on a stuffed part of the project, it was challenging for me. But you know, nothing ventured, nothing gained, and all that. 

It didn't take long until that sweet little face had some ears to give it more of an identity:

And once I got past the first couple of rounds of knitting the ears, it was pretty quick. It was a good thing to be doing (and I thought, appropriate) while I was transcribing voicemails for PAWS,* the organization that I volunteer for a couple of times a week. 

Next up will be the body of the pup. I've looked ahead at the instructions, and much like the ears, it looks pretty straightforward, once you pick up the stitches on the bottom of the head and get going. 

Now, if you look at the photo of the Waffles Puppy, you'll see that he has both a hat and a sweater. I'm not convinced that I'll have it in me to knit a tiny sweater once I'm finished with the puppy. Maybe a hat, but I've decided that since it's summer, a hat and sweater would be too hot anyway to wear. So maybe that will wait until cooler weather, when a sweater and hat would be needed. 😉

*****

What are you up to this weekend? As far as I know, we don't have any specific plans, other than the usual things we do on a weekend, which is fine. The Tim will likely be busy working on setting up his new computer that arrived the other day. And I will be busy staying out of the way because I am not an idiot! 😂

I'm kind of hoping that I can get The Tim to take a couple of days of vacation sometime soon. Not to necessarily do any real traveling, but maybe a day down the shore, and/or some other day adventure. It would be a nice change for both of us. We have a plan for a long weekend in Rehoboth Beach after Labor Day, which I'm really excited about, but it would be nice to just have a few days to poke around places in the next few weeks.

Here's hoping you can find some happiness and joy over the weekend, and have a chance to relax. I'll be back next week, take care!

*PAWS = Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society

Recipe: Cold Cucumber Soup

Hello all - while I'm at my volunteer gig, taking care of kitties, I thought some of you might enjoy a recipe that is perfect for summertime - provided that you like cucumbers!  This is something I've been making during the summer for years, and it's always good and especially welcome on a hot day. So for those of you who are cucumber-friendly, here you go!

Cold Cucumber Soup

2 medium cucumbers (or 5-6 of the small type)

2 cups buttermilk

3 green onions, sliced 

Pepper and dill to taste

--> Wash cucumbers, and cut them into 3/4 inch slices. Reserve six of the slices for garnish, by wrapping them up and refrigerating them.

Pour 1/4 cup buttermilk into a blender or food processor; add half of the cucumber slices and blend on high speed until smooth. Add remaining cucumber slices, pepper, and onion. Blend until smooth, about 1 minute. Stir in the remaining buttermilk, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and no longer than 48 hours. At serving time, garnish each serving with reserved cucumber slices.

Needless to say, you can add any additional ingredients you may like, and you can use both fresh or dried dill and still get a yummy result.

I hope if you try this, you'll enjoy it. 😊

July 4, 2025

How to Celebrate the Fourth 

of July When America

Is a Constant Disappointment

Build a little banned books library for the neighborhood

children. Hoard Plan B for your sisters & daughters

& nieces & friends. Forgo fireworks & provide comfort

to shelter dogs frightened by the noise. Plant explosions

of rose & dahlia across your yard - make your lawn

a rainbow welcome mat for pollinators & love.

Learn & acknowledge the names of Indigenuos lands

where you stand. Sing Joan Baez. Read Langston

Hughes. Dance to Bruce Springsteen. Boycott Amazon.

Savor the fireflies while you still can.

-- Danielle Coffyn

End of June FO: Cat Socks!; and, a Quick Catch-Up

 Hello! I didn't mean to be away so long. But one week found me in a flurry of Dr appts, volunteering, and being much more social than I wanted to be - especially by the end of that week!  And last week the heat and humidity had me in such a deep depression, I just didn't do anything much.

But I'm here now, with an FO to show you!

I started these socks at the beginning of June:

And one of the very few things I did last week was actually finish the pair:

Project: Cat Socks!

Pattern: Peeky Catsocks, by Marna Gilligan

Yarn: CoopKnits Sock Yeah DK, in colorways Ammolite (pink), Fleet (blue), and Tatarus (gray)

Needles: US size 5/3.75 mm

Modifications: Instead of having a big cat face "peeking" out of the foot of the sock, I knit most of the foot and then added a row of cat faces before starting the toe. The pattern has the larger cat face on the top of the foot, and a color pattern on the bottom, and I just wasn't feeling it.

Notes: This was a kit I bought a really long time ago. I remember trying to start it, and thinking that I couldn't figure out how to read the chart, so I tucked it away in a place somewhere in my stash, never to be thought of again. That is, until I was doing some stash reviewing and came across it. Since I had successfully knit my Christmas colorwork sweater, I decided to give it a shot.

The pattern is well-written, but other than using the chart for the cat faces, and following the color suggestions, I left things plainer. Not that it was vastly different from the pattern, but in any case, they were a fun knit.

Once they were finished, I tried them on and they didn't fit over my instep. Which was disappointing, and if I had been making DK socks on my own, I may have used different numbers, etc. But I was trying to follow the pattern since it was written for the colorwork, etc. So I will give this pair away, and someone will be thrilled and have happy kitty cat socks to keep their feet warm.

One thing I've decided is that I don't really like DK socks. I'm a sock/fingering weight girl, and when I want heavier socks, I just go to worsted. I like "regular" socks or slipper-type socks, but DK just doesn't do it for me. 

Anyway, I know have a cat face chart to use for anything I want, so I consider it a win overall!

*****

So, as I mentioned in last my post, we participated in the "No Kings" March here in Philadelphia:

It was great! So many people showed up, and it was incredibly well-organized. It was warm, and somewhat humid, but not completely miserable - it was cloudy so you didn't get baked as you walked along. The speakers at the end were great - and all of them kept their remarks to no more than 20 minutes. I had not paid attention to who the speakers would be, but the first one was Congressman Jamie Raskin, and he was followed by Martin Luther King III. They were followed by more local people, and everyone was articulate and interesting. We were so glad we decided to go!

There were a lot of great, and really funny signs. Two that stick in my memory said, "Happy Birthday, Old Yam Tits," and "If She Had Won, We'd Be At Lunch." 😂😂

But my very favorite was one that said, "This I The Only Orange King That Philadelphians Will Support" and it had a picture of this guy under that:

This is Gritty, the mascot of the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team. He is - as you can imagine - beloved in Philadelphia, in the tradition of sports mascots that are insane. But that sign was perfect!

*****

So now you are pretty much caught up on all of the highlights around here lately. I can't believe that Friday is July 4th! But I'm all for it, if it means that summer is moving along, since as you know, I am not fond of summer in the least, and see it as a path to the next season. At least according to the weather people around here, after tomorrow, the rest of the week is supposed to be warm and bearable - like summertime used to be before global warming decided to really get going. So I'm counting on that, not because we have any plans for the 4th (The Tim has to work), but because it means I will not have another depressive episode, and that's always a good thing! Plus, I really enjoy breathing, and last week it was difficult at best. 

What about you? Any exciting plans for the holiday/holiday weekend? I'm glad we're not planning to travel, because I think it's gonna be pretty crazy on the roads. I'm planning to make a holiday-type dinner on Friday, and depending on the weather in the evening, we may go onto our roof to see some of the fireworks. But that's about as thrilling as things will be around here.

I hope your June ends well, and that July will be a good month for all of us. I'll check in later this week, take care!