This Morning vs. Monday Morning

Alfie and I just got home from his annual check up at the vet. Needless to say, a very thorough bath was necessary. But other than that, Alfie was and is quite pleased. He doesn't mind being in the carrier at all, and sees the entire thing as a chance to be social, and then visit with people who are completely interested in being with him. They talk to him and make a fuss, they give him treats, they let him sniff around the exam room - I mean, what's not to like? Yes, he got a shot, but no biggie. 

And that's this morning. Then there will be Monday morning, when Milo the Koodle will be making his annual visit. Let's just say it ... won't be pretty. For anyone and everyone involved. I need to spend my weekend preparing for the trauma that will be felt not just by Milo, but by me. Because not only will I be seen as the enemy who will be trying to get him into the carrier and then taking him to the vets, but when we get home SOMEONE MUST PAY. 

Send prayers. 😉

You may ask, well, what about Esme? Well, what about her? At some point, I'm hoping that she will let me get to the point where I can pick her up, but right now it isn't happening, so we're just lucky that for all intents and purposes, she seems healthy.

"Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?" 

*****

Anyway, this too shall pass, and hopefully with minor injuries to me. In the meantime, I'll enjoy the rest of today, and likely do some knitting in between the other house chore things I want to accomplish. Can you believe that at this moment in time, I have only one project going? I can't remember the last time that was the case. I'm enjoying it, and making a lot of progress, but I also think this weekend I will cast on at least another pair of socks.

Meanwhile the other afternoon, I knitted a pine cone for my fall garland:

This was the fiddliest little item so far, but it didn't take that long so it wasn't like something I was trying to work on all day long. 

Next up will be the pumpkin, and then I'll start over again. I think I would like to have at least two of each thing on the garland, so I'll see what it looks like once I have that amount - maybe I'll need a few more! But in any case, I'll have fun making these little things, even once the garland is done. Because they are the perfect little spurt of paying attention but not for too long.

The Tim especially wants me to make a green pine cone to see if it looks like a tiny Christmas tree. I'll let you know.

I'm so glad that so many of you commented that you also like to put up decorations for yourself to enjoy for holidays. It's nice for once to not be an outlier on something! 

In other news, I *think* fall is finally here to stay in Philadelphia, and I couldn't be happier. Cool sunny days, and chilly nights are so wonderful. Though it is supposed to rain later next week, which is actually good since there is a serious drought happening. And unless I have to be out in it all day, I actually enjoy rainy days. 

Next week is our anniversary and also Halloween. And then November will be starting, which I'm sorry, just seems crazy. Originally, we planned to take a trip next week somewhere to celebrate our anniversary, but neither of us did much about it, so we'll probably go out to dinner someplace that's nicer than usual for us, and that will be nice. We have agreed that for gifts, we are going to buy ourselves some new chairs for our TV room. The current ones are at least ten years old (probably much older), and frankly I'm surprised they are still in one piece. So one of these weekends - maybe even this one - we'll look for replacements. I always think it's fun to get new furniture or a rug or something in a room - it makes the whole place seem different!

And that, my friends, is the excitement around here. I hope all of you enjoy your weekend, and have a chance to do something you really like or want to do. See you next week!

Our Drought May Be Over

A couple of weeks ago, Pennsylvania officials announced that we were officially in a drought, due to lack of rain. I'm hoping that with all of the rain this weekend, going into this week, it means we'll be out of that danger. The rain has been steady, not the kind where there are sudden dumps and then nothing (at least here in Philadelphia). So we'll see if even though it's been a LOT of rain, it's been advantageous. I sure hope so.

The good thing for sure about the rain this past weekend is that combined with the cool temperatures, it made it a great weekend to stay in and be cozy. We went out on Saturday morning so that we could go to breakfast and then I could get my watch batteries replaced. But once we came home, we just hunkered down with knitting and kitties, and enjoyed a really cozy day. Pip and Milo decided the weather was such that it would be good to cuddle together.

Alfie took one look and went downstairs to claim the bed in the guest room for himself ...

And then, as must always be the case, things headed downhill, and Milo kicked Pip out of the cuddly bed. BUT Pip got the last laugh, because I had put out the kitty igloos, and Pip's day was made!

Really, it just meant that everyone ended up winning: Alfie had the guest room bed to himself, Milo had the cuddly cat bed, and Pip was in a state of bliss in the igloo. 

And peace reigned in the kingdom. 😊

Sunday was my 10-4 shift at the yarn store. There were two classes happening, and the Sunday Knitting Circle. And, as has been the case on the other Sundays when it has rained, we were insanely busy with customers! Except for maybe the first half hour of the day and the last fifteen minutes before closing, people poured into the shop just like the rain poured outside. And I guess most of them figured if they were going out anyway, they might as well make it count, because most people bought so much - which is good for the shop, of course. My co-worker and I kept wondering a) "don't these people have homes?" and b) "where are people getting all of this money to buy yarn?" All the while, of course realizing that "these people" were keeping us employed!

So it was a good weekend all the way around - while I was at work yesterday, The Tim got a couple of his house projects done, and had time for a nap (his favorite activity on any day). This week I start working on Wednesdays as well as my Sundays and Tuesdays. On Thursday night, we have tickets to go to this concert, which should be good, so that will be a treat.

Other than that, we'll just have to see what else shows up or doesn't. October is one of my most fave months, but I don't want it to go by too quickly, so I'm going to try to enjoy it all in the moment.

I hope everyone has a good week, and a good October as well. 

One of the Best Days Ever!

Do you see the cutie in this photo?  That is my nephew Chad, born 50 years ago today!  It was one of the most exciting days of my life, and I was so pleased be an aunt.  In this photo, he is three weeks old, and I forgot how much hair he had, how chubby he was (he was 9 pounds at birth!), and that my sister Nancy had her hair bleached platinum blonde.  :-)

Thus begins The Birthday Marathon, and also a bittersweet time.  Life really is full of good and bad moments and memories, and they can hit you when you least expect it.

I remember when Chad was born, my parents were SO excited!  Though I also remember that all of us were perplexed to think our family now included a boy - we were a family of three girls, and my mom was an only child and my dad grew up with two sisters, so a boy was a completely foreign thing to us.  Chad was a cute kid who was a lot of fun, and we have so many funny stories about him.  My father met him once, which neither would really have known, as Chad was only a few weeks old and my father was in a coma.  But oh how proud and thrilled he would have been to know what a kind and wonderful person his grandson turned out to be.

Chad and his family of a wife, three daughters, a son, and about a bazillion pets all live in Arizona, so I seldom get to see him.  But when he was little, my sister and her family lived in Maryland, so I got to spend a lot of time with him.  I hope his memories of our adventures are as happy and fun as mine are.

He is also fortunate because both of his parents are still alive and healthy, as well as his sister and her family.  From all accounts he is doing very well in his career, and his kids are all intelligent, kind, and good people.  It's a gift to have been able to see him grow up and become and adult - one that neither of my parents had, so I am trying to enjoy and appreciate it for them as well.

Happy October 1, and Happy Happy Birthday to Chad!  May many more happy days be in your future.

Hooray! An FO!!

Hello and Happy October!  I love this month for so many reasons, and the weather has cooperated here in Philadelphia this weekend by being sunny, cool, and crisp.  Sleeping under a cover, pulling on a sweater over my t-shirt in the evening - it's all good.

And to start things off, I have an FO for you today.  I finished these a couple of weeks ago, but had wait to get a decent photo to show them off.

Project:  Summertime Solar Socks
Pattern:  Solar (a free pattern on Ravelry)
Yarn:  Yarn Ink Classic Sock, colorway Beach Life
Needles:  US 1.5
Modifications:  I made the legs slightly longer than the pattern instructed
Notes:  This is a whole lot of YES for me.  I loved the pattern, I loved the yarn, and knitting these socks were truly enjoyable.  The pattern is easily memorized and not as complicated as you might think when you first begin.  I had never used any yarn from Yarn Ink before, and this yarn was not just pretty to look at, but so pleasant to knit with.  It was smooth, and not splitty at all.  I could completely understand anyone who wanted to build a sock stash of this yarn alone!

I now have 9 pairs of socks in my Box o' Socks for this year!  For me, that is an amazing feat, and I'm thrilled I've been able to do this.  Next, I'll be making my October socks.  I'm gonna use this yarn:

These socks will be my entry for Dee and Vera's I ♥ Fall KAL.  I've narrowed it down to two possible patterns.  You'll just have to stay tuned to see which one I choose ...

Here's hoping it's a good week ahead for all of us.  ;-)

No Tricks or Treats

Happy Halloween!  

I hope your Halloween was more fun than mine was - we did not get a single trick-or-treater.  It's so disappointing, as I love seeing the kids in their costumes.  In previous years, Dug and I would sit outside on the steps and needless to say he was very popular!  Tonight it was a little bit too chilly to sit out, but other than the little girl next door who always has a party with her friends, I didn't even hear any kids around.

Sigh.

**********

I signed up for Gratitude Week, which I read about at Kat's blog.  I figured it would be a way to focus on good things, but also help me slide into NaBloPoMo.  I participated in NaBloPoMo last year, and though some days it was really a challenge, it was also a lot of fun and I enjoyed it.

Anyway, today I am grateful that I can still enjoy Halloween even without trick-or-treaters.  I enjoy seeing ours (and others') decorations.  I like seeing pictures of kids, adults, and pets in costumes of all kinds.  It will be a nice treat to have some candy to eat, since all of ours is left over (we didn't buy that much, but it's still all here).  In a world where plenty of people can't celebrate Halloween even if they wanted to, or where having anything at all to eat, much less leftover candy, is a struggle, I know that I am a lucky person, and I am grateful for that.

Farewell, October.  Tomorrow we're on to November, to see what it brings.

Hello October

Oh October, I'm even happier to see you than usual.  You are one of my most favorite months, but for you to show up on a Saturday after a Friday at work that lasted from 7:30 a.m. until 9:30 p.m., is particularly considerate of you.

I've been thinking about you a lot, since you mean so many different things to me.  On this, your first day, 47 years ago, I became an aunt for the first time.  So exciting and mystifying at the same time.  My aunts and uncles were all older people by the time I was born, with families of their own; so although they were nice, kind, and loving to me, they were not overly invested.  But I had a nephew and I was 13 years old!  I knew then that no matter what, I wanted to be an aunt who tried as much as possible to pay attention and be involved.  Now that nephew has a wife and four kids of his own, and The Tim and I are close to those kids, even though they live in Arizona and we live in Pennsylvania.  It all worked out well. ;-)

You are the month of cooler weather, pretty leaves, hot drinks, and cozy clothes.  You are the month I got married.  You finish off in a spectacular fashion, by giving us Halloween.

But this year, I've decided you are going to be the month that I start making an effort to be more of myself.  Though I'm doing better than I used to, I still need to realize that it's up to me to live my life the way I want to, regardless of what else is or is not happening.  I want to stop chastising myself if I don't get things done on a weekend.  If I decide to take a nap because I don't feel all that great today, it doesn't mean that I have to "make up" for it.  I want to try and get back into my habit of tackling some things a little bit at a time, so I am not instead overwhelmed by the task all at once.

I want to try to take more walks.  Taking walks has always been something I loved to do, but suddenly I am on my own, since my constant walking companion is gone.  It's been hard to go out on my own.  And since we walked everywhere in and out of the neighborhood together, there are very few new paths, so the ones imbued with memories are the ones I have to take.  It will be OK, and I know I'll enjoy being on my own again at some point, but it's been really difficult.  I'm going to use October to move ahead.  :-)

I want to start enjoying things that have started to feel like chores and obligations because of my overall frame of mind. I love cooking and baking, especially on weekends, when I am not just trying to get something fixed at the end of a frustrating day at work.  And since The Tim and I don't always get to have dinner together, I want to enjoy it when we do.

I know there are those who are somewhat disappointed to see you, because the start of October means they must finally admit that summer has ended.  That is one of your best attributes, as far as I'm concerned.  Instead of October as the End, I see you as a Beginning.  Of things mentioned above, as the leader to the holiday season, as the time when wanting to stay at home and do my own thing is more acceptable - because, as you know, in the summer, you're supposed to want to be outside with friends all of the time, and it's suspicious if you aren't interested.  But during October, "hibernating" becomes more acceptable.  I thank you for that.

And so today as I am writing this, I'm still in my pjs, though I have been up for hours. I've had a lovely breakfast, two cups of tea, and only some vague notions of what I want to do for the rest of the day.  I don't feel pressured to have a plan, and I'm not worried about admitting that.

Thank you, October, for allowing my perspective to clear and my soul to renew.

(Jordan Pond, Acadia National Park, shortly after sunrise, September 14, 2016)