Home.

...was not where I intended to be this afternoon. I had planned to spend an hour or two at the shop catching up with folks before heading to my sister's to resume our weekly knitting (and wine) time.

But the weather reports were downright scary - we moved from tornado watch to tornado warning, with plenty of nasty rain, thunder and lightning thrown in. Karen and I rescheduled for tomorrow.

So home is where I'm staying. Holly is in my lap as I type this. but soon I'll be back on the sofa knitting. That's No Tails in the photo. I've started the first sleeve (yeah, I didn't come close to having this done "for Thanksgiving" but it's gonna be a shoe-in for Christmas :-)

And hey - how about those socks!? I started them on my flight to Madison back in July...and finished them yesterday. I'm glad I have a bit of cozy home to share with Sara (they'll be headed her way as soon as I can get to the post office). I thought it might've been nice to have a fire going in the background, but it's 60+ degrees outside right now and I think she'll appreciate that kind of warmth when she wears them!

And how about another successful NaBloPoMo?! Parts of me are in denial about tomorrow being December, but other parts of me are ready for November to be over!

Happy Wednesday!

Home.

the view from my car yesterday afternoon

After nearly four weeks in Florida, it feels ... strange and unsettled to be sitting at my kitchen counter.

I did walk dark early in the park this morning with Lauren; I'm grateful that's one routine that won't be hard to re-establish. But the piles of paperwork (yikes, tax season!), the empty cupboard and bare refrigerator (I guess now is a great time to clean it!), the dust, the laundry ... so much else ... seems overwhelming.

Thank goodness it's Friday. I'm looking forward to catching up with Marc. and hopefully Charlie (and his mama). and being back here with y'all next week.

Have a great weekend!

Watercolor Wednesday | Home.

...how meta it is to watercolor a photo taken through raindrops on a windshield?!

I'm glad I turned on the porch lights before I left earlier this evening...and really glad my coming home view inspired a post about something other than Charlie or knitting!

Ten on Tuesday | Home.

This week, Carole's invited us to share ten things we love about our home. Shortly after I picked up the prompt, I read this:

...then she'd walk from room to room in a small private ritual* she had, something she did whenever she'd been traveling. She'd touch all the things she loved the most, the objects and pictures and mementos that made this house her home, the one place on earth where she truly belonged and that belonged to her. (from Debbie Macomber's A Turn in the Road)

As I prepare for tomorrow's trip, the timing couldn't be better! (and a post that's long on photos and short on words is welcome, too!)  Here goes:

1. the front door. I love that it's a big window and you can see through all the way to the porch and the trees behind. and it faces west, so evening sunset reflections can be very cool.

2. the screened porch. it faces east. nothing better for a morning person than a front-row seat for sunrises.

3. just off to the left as you enter the front door is my study. this little vignette is on the corner of my desk. I love every piece of it...and the memories and emotions each evoke.

4. this is the path to the lower level. where all of Marc's stuff "lives". I love that he has his own space (that I don't have to see or clean...very often). That painting is of Katie/by Katie from a fabulous middle school art class.

5. the space where I live (almost) all the time. I love it all!

6. and this little corner (which is just to the left of the photo above)... a "shrine" to 32 years of marriage (I made the photo collage and Marc likes to bring home "pairs" from his Asia trips). a much-simplified cookbook collection. Georgia Tech (of course). and a reminder of last year's OLW.

7. and now upstairs. the bookshelves in my "office". my yarn stash (well, most of it anyway ;-), my favorite books and photographs and OLW's... altogether with my desk, swift & ball winder, laptop, printer... this is where I'm sitting now as I type this post. I have to say, I never dreamed I'd share an office with so much yarn-y stuff, but it's good...very good!

8. the 360 degree mirror in my bathroom. I took a photo of this the first time I saw the house. love at first sight!

9. a sitting room in our bedroom. the windows face east and the light is bright in the morning and not so much in the evening. (just like me!) I love to read and knit in those chairs. (yeah, I don't have a favorite - is that weird?!) the space is calm and serene....

10. except when Charlie's here! turns out our bedroom is the easiest place to entertain him. he can't get into too much trouble and there's lots of room for toys and exploring. (and nope, no walking today - he definitely walked along the windows, and the chairs, and the dressers... but nothing on his own!)

Thank you, Carole, for another delightful week. If you're not already playing along, click here to join the Ten on Tuesday fun!

*Of course my ritual isn't like the one Debbie describes. I run to the bathroom...then walk Holly, unload the car, pour a glass of wine, and chill at my kitchen counter spot (emails, blogs, Ravelry, Instagram) until bedtime. when I'm forced to carry bags upstairs and unpack. Honestly, I think I like Debbie's better. And I just might try it on Monday!

Happy New Year!

...if last night is any indication, 2014 is going to be full of laughter and friends.

we celebrated with a few friends at our home…and yes, the tree is still up!

(of course if today is any indication, I might not get much accomplished…but hey, I'll have fun doing nothing!)

Wishing you and yours all the best in the new year!

Ten on Tuesday. Home Sweet Home.

...Carole's prompt this week has us thinking about what we miss most about our own homes when we're away.

1. Holly and Marc. I seem to have to leave one (or both) of them behind when I'm away. 

2. Coffee (brewed half regular and half decaf) with heated almond milk. It is my favorite way to start the day and I really only get it at home.

3. Knowing where everything is (or if I've forgotten, being perfectly ok with opening all the cabinets and drawers to search for it).

4. Toilet paper. (is it really weird that I love the brand I use that much?!)

5. My getting ready space. It's efficient and I'm used to the light so my makeup routine works better.

6. My closet. (I mostly miss the options it presents, but living out of a suitcase isn't great either).

7. The clock chimes at the quarter hours. That sound sets the rhythm of my time in the house.

8. Regular running routes. My go-to three, four and five mile routes all start (and end) at my front door.

9. The pantry. Almonds, walnuts, pretzels, popcorn, graham crackers, and granola bars. (yes, I'm a snacker!)

10. My knitting chair, with an ott-light floor lamp next to it. Comfort with perfect light for knitting and reading.

click here to join the Ten on Tuesday fun!

Throwback Thursday.

...my first attempt* at a throwback post - because really, I couldn't get this image

out of my head today. I'm guessing it was taken in early August 1985 (we closed on the empty lot on July 29, 1985).

What a difference 28 years makes.

We built our family in that house and have more good memories - and hundreds of photos! - than I could possibly begin to share here. Like I texted to Marc, Katie and Sara it's "the end of a very good era." I'm proud the house is still looking great!

*this is also my first attempt at a blogger post from my iPad and if anyone has tips and/or App suggestions to share, I welcome them - thanks!

the christmas tree(s).

...yes he did. and that was really sweet. tomorrow afternoon. a tree and a wreath (and trimmings so I can decorate the two mantels and the dining room).

but then tonight as we were talking about specifics and I said I also wanted to get two more artificial trees - one for the front porch and one for our advent calendar, he got all "what - five trees?!"

yes. five. I'm willing to give on the one for the porch, but the four for inside I feel pretty strongly about.

it's all the decorating I really do. well, besides those trimmings.

one big (live) tree.
a tree for my bird ornaments.
a tree for our holiday words.
a tree for our "advent calendar" (this was "live" last year, but I want lights...and I think a small artificial tree is a good investment here).

just four. perfectly reasonable, right?!

from where I sit.

... (or rather "sat") yesterday evening. the new deck is finished and I am really enjoying being outside again. especially glad since we woke up to rain today.

of course holly is right by my side

my knitting basket, complete with camera (which I didn't end up using)

directly behind the deck...stairs leading to the upper level

back to the left (note that we swapped the chairs - I'm sitting close to where holly was standing in this photo)

of course there's knitting...and wine! working on the swatch for laresca

pressing the pause button.

...I just read liz's post today where she talks about needing the pause button.

and I think about the lovely hour plus holly and I spent on the deck early last evening. the humidity was gone. the air was cool. there was a breeze. I had a book. and holly...had the whole world to see.

this is our version of kym's jennie being nosy

it was a pause button time for sure.

10 good things about coming home from a vacation.

...she's back! and I can only imagine that today's topic means she might need a little convincing about being home again. I know the feeling, having come home twice this month from short little trips away. the first few days back are alway too hectic...but no matter what, I'm always glad to be home.

see #1 below - marc's welcome home from my most recent trip

1. 99% of my trips are without marc so coming home means seeing him.

2. sleeping in my own bed.

3. drinking good coffee from my coffee pot. sure, other places have good coffee and sometimes it's even great coffee. but even so, it's never as convenient or reliable as the stuff I brew day in and day out. (I also like getting that little splash of non-fat milk from the carton that sits just so in the right hand door of my refrigerator.)

4. deciding what to wear from my whole wardrobe and not just the small subset of outfits I thought to pack a few days ago.

5. my shower, hair dryer, curling iron, makeup light and mirror(s!!). getting dressed is always better at home!

6. seeing the park. this is especially true in the months where the seasons are changing.

7. not needing google maps all the time to get from where I am to where I'm going. (and if I've been someplace where english isn't the language, it's nice being able to understand without having to translate).

8. seeing my friends.

9. catching up with what I've missed at the shop. thankfully, it's not always like this!

10. remembering how much fun it was to be away ... looking through the photos (once I get them off my camera(s), and processed, and uploaded to flickr) and seeing those vacation smiles.

happy easter.

the irises in our yard are in full bloom. perfect timing!

my new view.

click the photo to see notes in flickr

...I've been a fan of shanna murray's decals for ages, so I was thrilled to get one on my stocking last christmas. I'd planned to put it on this wall behind my desk to frame an inspiration board. but when I got serious about putting it up (say april?) marc started talking about installing something above the granite countertops ... and I got worried about committing my precious decal to a wall that might not be a commitment.

so I thought about less permanent solutions. a blackboard came first, but I couldn't find a frame to match the decor (I even tried paint, but that was a mess!) and then I figured out the frame idea. it took a few more months for a 50% off framing coupon (and for me to get the nerve to do it!). finally last month, I did. I took a few deep breaths and adhered the decal to a huge piece of brown paper. (kudos to shanna - it was easy!). then I took that paper to dick blick and had it framed.  a few weeks later... my inspiration "board".

I'm using magic tape right now to adhere the various pieces of paper. but I think it would be cool to get masking tape - in colors (or stripes??!) like the japanese washi tape.

but most of all, I'm glad to finally have reminders of what's important right now right in front of me!

summer love.

...the heat has been brutal this summer, but it's definitely paying off in our yard - the crepe myrtles are putting on a real show!

my love affair with crepe myrtles began the summer my family visited williamsburg - I'm not sure the year, but I was probably about 14 - I remember that smooth trunk and the colors (that's also the trip where I first had virginia ham on beaten biscuits...another love...and another story) and something about it being a tree - or a shrub - for warmer, more southern climates than new jersey where we lived at the time. summertime hot and lovely crepe myrtles have been linked in my mind for years.

fast forward to the mid 1990's when marc and I are landscaping the front yard - we planted three magenta pink trees on center stage

added white and pink ones to our side yard a few years later

and finally a few purple ones in 2003 when we re-worked our driveway.

it's taken a while and I am so thankful we still live here to see it!  all these in bloom, it really makes me smile!