lovely.

branching out completed
Originally uploaded by mere2007

...I am very pleased with every single aspect of this project (save one*). the pattern, the yarn, how long it took to finish, and of course, the finished object (soon to be wrapped in tissue and waiting for katie's first visit back to atlanta later in september).

*this was supposed to be a scarf that would envelop katie in warmth and mama-love during the cold new york winter. I should've known that a silk bamboo yarn would be pretty to look at, but no so much in the warm and cozy department. maybe the ariosa - a merino cashmere blend - that I'm using for my next project would be a better match...still looking....

blog silence.

...I hadn't realized it had been five days since that last post. and I didn't even get the last three daily photos uploaded til just now. I've been knitting a lot and cooking a little.

and very pleased to have a finished scarf to show for my time.

a scarf for katie.

238/365 - branching out debuts
Originally uploaded by mere2007

...she picked the yarn when we visited purl last month. and I picked the pattern after extensive research on ravelry, trying to find a pattern that would do the yarn justice (katie really liked another scarf on display at purl and we purchased two skeins anticipating that pattern - but after careful consideration, I think the yarn is just "too much" for that pattern).

This yarn...it's fabulous. a silk/bamboo blend . it is just ... luxurious and soft and I know it will be warm for the new york winter. but what really struck me tonight were the colors. I've been knitting it inside - and I could see the golds and what I thought was a sage green is really more of a gray. but outside. oh my. wow.

I hope she likes it. and she's coming to atlanta in september. and I am going to have it finished by then. (blog promises are serious!)

from my blog reader.

(photo by me)

...a few of the best things I found last nite:

♥ a mingled yarn reviewed the penelopiad by margaret atwood. and introduced me to the canongate myths. and I was excited to see that alexander mccall smith has also written one of these.
♥ and jane brocket makes me want to read raymond chandler.
♥I am already a huge fan of chronicle books. and now I have another reason to visit (and to buy!)
♥shimelle wrote about finding time to do the things you love. didn't learn anything new (as evidenced by the time - 5:08 a.m.!) but it was a great reminder to keep practicing the things I know. and I favorited this photo.
♥ last but not least, one of my sweaters is featured on the sweaterbabe gallery.

just what I needed.

...a triple-shot of "go me!" inspiration.

first, an awesome sunday morning walk with my journal and camera and I finally made the time to sit on the bench that has the beautiful view of the fountain. (I did feel weird walking to the park, carrying my journal and my pens and my camera, but the "go me" factor offset it - I was by myself after all). inspiration note - it's not that awkward to carry a notebook and pen on a walk.


second, the josephine top is DONE! I think this might be my favorite "I made it myself" sweater ever. even though I finished knitting at 11am on sunday and spent my next 12 hours of "knitting" time weaving in ends, picking up stitches, knitting "trim" and binding off stitches. inspiration note - this is why I LOVE top down/seamless construction and I cannot wait to start my next project(s).


third, I signed up for a scrapbooking class. it starts next week. I've ordered materials and the book. inspiration note - can't wait to learn more about photoshop, and use some of my pretty papers...and flex the creative muscles I haven't really used since elise's adventure ended...

happy birthday.

...to my mom - beautiful roses for a beautiful person.

bookclub at my house.

...total fun. and just a little bit tired :-)

the book was donna's pick from last month - mudbound. great read and we all enjoyed it. but we're all a little (or, honestly, a lot) tired about feeling embarrassed about the way this wonderful country of ours has been (is?) so racist.

I knew after I finished this one - and thinking about the last few we'd read - that my pick couldn't be about terrorism or iran/iraq/afghanistan, or WWWII or nazis, or racism in the US. turns out it's really hard to find a book that's worthy of bookclub without that!

one of our longstanding "rules" is that you should always pick a book you've read. I broke from that tradition a bit and selected motherless brooklyn. I have read the first 25 pages and it's delightful (if you can even say that about 25 pages narrated by a guy with tourette's whose boss gets murdered). and I loved that the opening scene takes place just a few blocks from katie's apartment.

and thanks to sara for the photo. I think the one I took on the timer turned out ok, but sara's does have fewer legs (val - that's for you!)

p.s. the poundcake was disappointing - great flavor, but the texture wasn't dense and rich; sara's doing research and we'll try again...

wish you could smell this.

...it's heavenly.

I got an early start on goodies for bookclub.

but it's going to be very hard not to try this til wednesday!

good food.

...saturday's lunch.

and dinner.

a different kind of blur.

...so appreciated all the good thoughts - I am happy to report I feel fine - thank you!

on our (my) favorite friday walk this afternoon, sara and I talked about how long the week seemed. and really sunday does seem like a very long time ago. wow and the days in between...just a blur. travel does that to me, I guess. a different schedule. a big room to myself (without having the tv on).




got marc packed for a week-long trip to china. he leaves tomorrow morning. just hope he packed enough clothes. and his visa works.

sara and I are planning cooking adventures (yeah, I know, panzanella can hardly be called an "adventure" for us, but we love it so much it just has to be in the rotation this week!). stay tuned....

happy birthday.

...to my lovely sister-in-law lydia. so glad we had a chance to celebrate this past weekend. best wishes!

just a blur.

223/224 - evening sunshine
Originally uploaded by mere2007

...how I've felt these past few days, perfectly captured in yesterday's photo (and totally by accident - I love the result, but have no idea how to replicate it!). a nasty infection kicked me hard and I spent most of the last 36 hours sleeping it off. but antibiotics are a wonderful thing and I'm almost feeling like myself this morning. sipping coffee. reading blogs. and getting ready for a quick trip to falls church, virginia for work. hoping to add another photo to my collection. one that's in focus.

just one more year.

221/365 - back to school
Originally uploaded by mere2007

...of school. yep, that's all we have left. sara starts her last year of high school today. and she's ready. with a backpack full of notebooks, paper and pencils.

and a fun sunday night dinner of fish tacos (again).

another play day.

yesterday we gathered to celebrate my sister-in-law lydia's birthday. starting with very good upscale cheap mexican and margaritas.


and ending with a movie - we saw julie & julia and it was wonderful. sara was, I think, the youngest person in the theater, but she enjoyed it. maybe not as much as I did. nora ephron did a fabulous job intertwining the two stories. kind of like on their own, they're very good, but together, wow. and meryl streep became julia child. amazing performance.

play day with sara.

...funny how our idea of "play" changes as we get older. just a few years ago, a "play" day likely would've involved toys, or maybe the pool, or maybe a park and some swings. I do still love the park and swings, but it was HOT in Atlanta today and not really suited to being outside [complete sidenote here - how in the world did ANYone ever live in the south before air conditioning?!]

so here's how play day plays out for us now:
*7am workout with rob (sara even manaqed a few smiles despite the early hour - and I thought it was nice to arrive in the daylight - my usual time is 6am and it's never light then!)
*9:30am appointment with jo at spa sydell for a first-day-of-school brow wax for sara (I knitted)
*lenox mall for urban outfitters (sara found 3 dresses, a skirt and a few tops - huge success), american eagle (super-cute skinny jeans on sale for sara) bath and body works (stocking up on yummy-smelling soap for the powder room), j crew (cropped pants - on sale! - in black for me) and anthropologie (the only disappointment - I wanted a wide leather belt but they had nothing)
*portofino for lunch - we each ordered the pranzo - a "pick any three" lunch special. all of it was delicious, and we're thinking we could make the chickpea and farro salads at home. (click photos for details).



*end of lunch photo - I posed the camera on my water glass so this would "count" as my project 365 photo :-)

(and yes, we sat outside - the shade and a breeze - somehow it seemed like only 75 degrees there)
*perimeter mall for bobbi brown at nordstroms (a new bronzer for me), sur la table (a built lunchbox for sara), j crew (again - for the gray pants they didn't have at lenox)
*and finally...home - whew!

and I love that it's just 5:30 and the plants have been watered, photos uploaded and we're watching barefoot contessa.

happy friday!

lunch out with sara.

...at our favorite bistro vg. we got there just after 2:30 - not quite in time for "lunch", but perfect for the "late lunch" menu. and plenty of time to talk. about how quickly the summer has passed - but in a weird way, the first week of summer vacation (and the last time we were here) seems like a very long time ago. two trips to new york are my excuse. and sara's been working. but still. this is seeming like our end of summer tradition.

I didn't photo the roasted beet salad with frisee and roasted vegetable ratatouille with cumin chickpea fritters we had to start. trust me. they were delicious.

but I think I liked the main course the best (click photos for details).

and sara liked dessert. not too sweet and not too heavy. the perfect ending.

then my "dessert". a trip to cast on cottage for buttons to finish the 28thirty. and yarn to knit sara the new vogue knitting beret. (it's the pink one, 2nd column, 4th row) and of course! a bit more yarn and a few of the new classic elite pattern books (lydia, the brooklyn tweed book is better than you can imagine!)

... plus a fun conversation with theresa about post-retirement knitting. and a photo (thanks sara!)

enjoying summer.

...starting off with that lovely relaxing friday evening, the rest of our weekend continued in much the same way.

saturday morning at the farmers market.

a walk in the park on sunday morning. note to self - walking with my camera is a must-do at least once a month. love all the shades of green. and the last bits of water on the leaves from saturday night's rain.








a whole sinkful of fresh vegetables to make salad for dinner.

friday nights.

212/365 - another friday night
Originally uploaded by mere2007

...it doesn't seem like all that long ago that my ideal friday night was going out - for a drink after work, or for dinner with marc (or both!).

but now, the ideal friday night is being at home. a long walk in the park with sara. then a little tv and knitting. fixing dinner together (we made shrimp quesadillas). a shower and into my pj's before dinner.

and I thought I was enjoying that "ideal friday night" fairly often. but looking over this year's photos...no - not since march 13. of course since then, I have had some fabulous friday nights. in beaufort with my mom and my sister, getting ready for new york, paris (twice), new york again (and again). even a road trip. wow (it's been quite a year!)