Sometimes Mondays.

...begin with a few quiet moments and a heart full of gratitude.

Wishing y'all a wonderful week!

FO Friday | Parallelogram Scarf.

Yes, indeed, it's finished!

Ravelry details here

...and it's a beauty. 

It's also a bit of a beast - my finished piece is about 30 (thirty!) inches longer than the pattern suggests ... but it's another cold windy day here and a double wrapped scarf around my neck (on top of a turtleneck) feels nice. even inside.

Those last few inches went fast - I had about 10g (from a 100 g ball) of each color left when I set it aside for our trip. I picked it up again Thursday evening and by Saturday evening the knitting was done. So done, in fact that I had to rip back the last two rows because I didn't have enough yarn to bind off. Sunday morning, I finished the bind off, wove in the four (gotta love it!) ends, gave it a soak, laid it flat and let it dry. 

This was my first foray into sequence knitting and I look forward to trying more. It's a really cool technique ... even when I can't count to two!

Today also marks the end of Michelle's self-portrait challenge; the prompt is ritual. I don't really have any rituals aside from a hot cup of coffee with steamed milk first thing in the morning. Since First Thing happens before I check email, I didn't see the prompt in time to capture that moment. I do, however, have a deeply rooted daily habit to take a photo.

...which given my long-standing love of self-portraits in black and white, I'll be sharing on Instagram like this.

(clearly the sign of a great piece when it's just as pretty without the color!)

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Selfie Sunday | Three-fer.

On any typical NaBloPoMo Sunday, I'd be reaching for just one photo ... but today I have three. and since I have plenty of weekending story to tell without them, I figured I'd share them all today. 

First - the tree is up and the twinkle lights are on! I had considered skipping church this morning to hang the ornaments, but this view convinced me that wasn't necessary. I'm thinking next Sunday's view will be full decorated, but maybe not ...

6 am

Second - Shades of Sandy debuted today. It was a perfect layer this morning when the temperatures were in in the 40's and 50's.

11 am

Third - By the time I got home this afternoon it was warm enough for bare toes. I can't imagine we'll have many more flip flop days, and I intend to enjoy every one of them!

4 pm

I hope your November is coming to a bright, warm close as well - xo, M.

Sunday Selfie | Sense of Touch.

I've joined a Sunday school class this season for an opportunity to dig a little deeper into Dickens' A Christmas Carol; we're reading The Redemption of Scrooge. Today's discussion focused on chapter two, The Remembrance of Christmas Past and how Christmas memories - and more generally our past - shape our today and tomorrow. I'm the youngest member of class, by at least 15 years!?!, and I enjoyed the stories of WWII-era childhood Christmases. 

We only had an hour, so maybe that's why we didn't get to one of my favorite parts of the chapter. The author talks about how many of our memories are centered around our senses - the sights, sounds, smells and tastes ... but "probably the most underrated sense during the Christmas season is the sense of touch." (p. 68) He then introduces a "touch inventory". What have my hands been doing all week? What is the thing I've most often touched?

Shades of brown and gray at my kitchen counter

...of course, I thought about knitting. Yarn and knitting needles are probably what my hands touch most.

But when I started thinking about all the things my hands have been doing this week - wow! - it's a long list. My phone, computer keys, food (I'm eating popcorn as I type this), mugs and glasses, dishes, soap and water, towels, clothing, bedding, mail (birthday cards!), a pen and paper, books, Holly, people (Marc, Katie, girlfriends, friends at church), my drivers license and car key, a credit card and even a little bit of cash ... and the list could go on and on.

I don't often think about the sense of touch as a blessing, but beyond that, how easy it is to count my blessings when I list those things I touch. and as Thanksgiving week begins, I'm looking forward to touching more family and friends, getting up close and personal with a turkey and a few sides ... and my knitting.

What are you looking forward to touching this week?

Selfie Sunday | Morning Run.

Three miles down to the lake and back is my favorite Sunday morning workout. It's quick (which is a good thing when I need to leave for church at 9:15) and quiet. There's never much traffic in our neighborhood on Sundays; I have the road to myself. and my thoughts. and my ears are filled only with the steady rhythm of my feet hitting the asphalt. Good for my body, and my soul.

Happy Sunday!

Hello September.

this morning at my desk - 7:55 a.m. and I still need lamplight...

Hello September.

Hello blank pages, fresh starts and new beginnings.

Hello family birthday season (which officially begins next weekend with Charlie's third birthday party!).

Hello cooler temperatures and sweater weather (Alaska spoiled me).

Hello college football weekends with bourbon cocktails.

Hello falling leaves and changing colors.

Hello finding joy in the little things*.

Hello long weekend (what a perfect beginning).

These monthly lists are a wonderful reminder about what I love in each month and season. Thank you Carole and Kat (and the rest of the Think Write Thursday gang) for another great week with one of my favorite prompts!

Also - Book Bingo officially wraps up this weekend. Books you finish by midnight on Monday, September 4 count for a square.

*from Ali Edwards' OLW prompt for September - so glad I made time this morning to watch the video!

Think Write Thursday | My Favorite Accessories.

Today's Think Write Thursday topic is to write about our three favorite things to wear.

The first one came to me in a second. Of course it's pearls. They've been my signature necklace for years. I have strands that belonged to my grandmothers and - thanks to Marc's many trips to Asia - I also have a wide variety of colors and sizes, plus bracelets and earrings. 

The second two I wasn't so sure about ... maybe lip gloss and mascara? my wedding ring? my Apple Watch?

But as I was taking the photo to share with this post, I saw it quite clearly.

Pearls ... with a hand knit and a smile.

Linking up with Carole and Kat today ... and looking forward to reading about what you love to wear!

Hello Monday.

yay for 10 minutes of pilates!

I hit the ground running (well, walking fast) this morning - with just a list in my head (choosing to spend that hour last night when I could've been making lists and getting organized knitting on the endless kidsilk haze and listening to a book) - and after 5-1/2 hours, I'm feeling good enough about where I am to take a few minutes to check in here.

It's going to be a busy week - I'm leaving as soon as I post this to spend the rest of the day with a friend visiting from Oregon (and woohoo - our dinner plans include seeing Katie and the boys!) My aunt arrives from Florida in the morning and my cousin joins us on Thursday. Hopefully there will also be time to share at least a few photos here.

Hope your week is off to a productive start, too!

Throwback Thursday | Four(ish) Months.

Charlie's on the left and Sam is on the right. I see a lot more similarity in their actions than their looks!

(and what a difference a little mascara and LipSense - one layer of Aussie Rose and two of Apple Cider - makes for me!)

Midweek Mash-up.

...aka I have nothing more than a few photos to share and they have not much in common with each other ... except that it's Wednesday!

First up, I dropped my taxes off this morning and was delighted to see a redbud in full bloom just outside the accountant's office. ♥ #blueskyblooms

Next, I wore my Fiona Coat today. I finished it way back in January and I've worn it a couple of times, but I've always had to take it off because it was too warm. Not today! These two photos will have to suffice for FOs because I totally hope it's too warm from here on out to put it on again before next fall.

And finally, my first LipSense order arrived (thank you, Carole, for the helpful and quick service!) Isn't her packaging wonderful?!

I'm getting used to the feel of the product on my lips, but I can certainly attest to it lasting all day long. I applied the color this morning and it still looks fresh. This is Roseberry and I love it!

OK, now that I've shared a few random thoughts 😉 - I hope you have one to share with me!

Here's to Wednesday! 

Thursdays with Sam | Four Months.

What a difference a month makes. especially when it's 25% of your whole life! Today was my first day with Sam since early February. We had a great time. Gone are the worries about bottles and sleeping in a strange room. and in between the bottles and naps, we took plenty of photos (and sent his mama lots of text messages), 

including a few selfies,

read a few of our favorite board books (Goodnight Moon, Harold and the Purple Crayon, Everywhere Babies),

and practiced "talking". Since he was last here, he's found his voice. I love how he concentrates when he's getting the sounds out.

(and now I'm ready for a nap and a glass of wine!)

The Think Write Thursday crew is writing letters to March today. I'll be back with mine tomorrow. Happy Thursday!

A Timbered Choir | Third Sunday.

Another Sunday morning comes

And I resume the standing Sabbath

Of the woods, where the finest blooms

Of time return, and where no path

Is worn but wears its makers out

At last, and disappears in leaves

Of fallen seasons. The tracked rut

Fills and levels; here nothing grieves

In the risen season. Past life

Lives in the living. Resurrection

Is in the way each maple leaf

Commemorates its kind, by connection

Outreaching understanding. What rises

Rises into comprehension

And beyond. Even falling raises

In praise of light. What is begun

Is unfinished. And so the mind 

That comes to rest among the bluebells

Comes to rest in motion, refined

By alteration. The bud swells, 

Opens, makes seed, falls, is well,

Being becoming what it is:

Miracle and parable

Exceeding thought, because it is

Immeasurable; the understander

Encloses understanding, thus

Darkens the light. We can stand under

No ray that is not dimmed by us.

The mind that comes to rest is tended

In ways that it cannot intend:

Is borne, preserved, and comprehended

By what it cannot comprehend.

Your Sabbath, Lord, thus keeps us by

Your will, not ours. And it is fit

Our only choice should be to die

Into that rest, or out of it.

- 1979, II (p. 6)

(This Sunday series is inspired by Wendell Berry's A Timbered Choir.)

Five Things | The Story Behind the Photo.

Starbucks, 12:27 pm on Saturday, November 12

1. This is my first Red Cup of the season. I thought it would be Thursday, when I had my first Holiday Spice Flat White (and got to introduce my favorite holiday coffee treat to Katie), but that Starbucks was only using Red Cups for Grande and Venti drinks. (also, Starbucks has outdone themselves with the Red Cups this year; I wonder how many of them I can collect?!)

2. Across the table is my friend Penny, who moved from Atlanta to Birmingham almost three years ago. She's in town for the weekend - to visit friends, not family - and it was a special treat to have her at the table.

3. I'm knitting No Tails (pretty much monogamously :-)

4. I took the photo shortly after we all sat down - that row counter you can't quite read shows "61" ... thirteen more rows (175 stitches each) until the little bit of back neck shaping - and then the back is done!

5. Four of us (Becca, Penny, Kim and me) were sitting around the table, knitting, talking and drinking coffee.  We did chat a little about politics at the beginning (Penny and Becca had been to see Marianne Williamson last night and they had much to share about the event), but mostly we didn't. We talked about Kim's son's upcoming wedding, little Sam (and his family), what we're going to knit next, the struggles with our current knitting projects, families, sewing projects, and so much more.

That row counter now reads "74" ... time for the neck shaping - and then blocking to be sure my gauge is on track before I start the front!  (I'm starting to think this sweater might just be ready for Thanksgiving...unless I just jinxed myself by saying that?)

Here's to the stories that might not get told. and to friends, knitting and coffee! I hope your Saturday includes a few of those wonderful things, too!

A Rose among Thorns.

Today's Gratitude Note opened with these lines:

Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns; 

I am thankful that thorns have roses. 

 ~Alphonse Karr~

and gave us this challenge:

As you consider gratitude today, think about something that bothers you, irks you, ticks you off. Pause. Can you think of one thing (just one) (but maybe more) that’s actually good about this particular thing? Does it stretch you in some way? Can you accept the thorns in order to celebrate the rose?

I couldn't help but recall those words as I left the polls this afternoon after casting my ballot in what has been the most awful election process I could imagine.

I love this country. I love (most of ... let's be honest here) the people who live here. The right to vote - to elect those who will lead this great country of ours - is a privilege and an honor. And casting my vote in an informed manner is a responsibility I have taken more seriously this year than ever.

Regardless of next week's outcome, our nation has a lot of healing to do. We'll need to keep our eyes on the rose

One nation ... with liberty and justice for all

because I think the thorns are going to be plentiful and painful.

So - this wasn't at all the post I thought I'd write today, but it's the one that seemed right. Many of my blogging friends are playing along with Kat and Carol today and talking about their favorite teachers. Click here to read more about it and to join in the fun!

Halloween 2016.

When my girls were young, Halloween was my least favorite holiday. I had limited imagination (and less time); the whole costume thing always threw me for a loop. and then there was all.that.candy. Fast forward twenty-odd years and it's still probably my least favorite holiday, but it has a whole lot more going for it now. 

Like the Prisma app's special Halloween filter. (yep, that's me - same fascinator I've worn the past few years.)

Sitting on the front step at Katie's to pass out candy. Loving the kids that say "thank you" (and wondering when did York Peppermint Patties get to be the popular candy? *)

Not having to worry one bit about a costume - and delighted to see how much Charlie (and his dad) loves his.

Watching Charlie do his first solo photo with the neighborhood kids.

and say his first Trick or Treat.

I even had a few moments alone with little Sam.

(baby toes might just be the best treat of all!)

Hope your Halloween was more treats than tricks. And Hello November - NaBloPoMo here I come!!

* we leave a basket of candy on our front porch - a mixed bag of chocolates, including Snickers, Kit Kat's, Twix and M&Ms, plain and peanut. I was shocked when I picked up the basket last night to see that nearly all the Snickers were left. needless to say, those leftovers went to work with Marc today (and I hope he shared them!)

Weekending.

...was a little different - Marc was away with his buddies on a golf outing (in the North Carolina mountains, which was maybe the coolest place he could be...and he said the golf was good too) and my favorite little family was at the beach. I did a lot of what you might expect.

I watched Grace & Frankie, knitted and had popcorn and wine for dinner (just once).

Saturday morning I made my second trip to the Farmer's Market and enjoyed it (almost - since I was by myself) as much as the first time. I brought home a fabulous summer bouquet of sunflowers and zinnias and a really yummy tomato tart that I ate for dinner that night.  I also had a fun call with a girlfriend and then met up with other friends for knitting and coffee.

It was the perfect chance to debut Nangou. I had hoped to share more about that piece here last Friday, but instead of blogging about it, I ripped back and re-knit the bindoff. Super happy with the outcome!

Yesterday flew by. Church, a visit with Lydia & Steve, FaceTime with Charlie (and his mama), a call with Sara, more Grace & Frankie, more reading (both ears and eyes), and then Marc was home. Dinner, a very quick catch up...and early to bed.

I almost forgot to take a photo!

Was there anything different about your weekend? Regardless, I hope it was fun!

A Little Side Trip.

One of the highlights of last week's visit was a "little side trip" to visit my aunt and cousins in south Florida. From Mother's house to Aunt Betty's is 204 miles, which Google Maps suggests is a quick drive

...that includes 180 miles on Florida's Turnpike.  My mom is an old fashioned road warrior; turnpikes and interstate highways are not her thing. Wednesday afternoon, she mapped a much different route (on a paper map). And since she wanted to drive, and we had the time, why not?!

We left her house just after eight o'clock on Thursday morning. We headed south to skirt past Orlando on the western side and then headed southeast. Driving two-lane highways (or rather riding shotgun, with a little dog and maybe some knitting in your lap)

affords a much different view of central Florida.

I kept notes of our various turns and a few town names  -
470 to 33 to 50 to 33 to 474 to 27 to 70 to 710 to 706 to 1
Mascotte, Groveland, Okeechobee, Indian Town

Mother had driven most of these roads before; she told me stories about the many trips she and Daddy had taken over the last 20 years. Despite the rain and having to slow down to 38 miles per hour for more than a few miles, we still made it to North Palm in time for lunch.

It was a treat to see my cousin Beth (it's been more than 15 years!)

and meet her two children (they're all visiting Betty for two weeks; they live in Boulder, which partly explains the 15+ years). Her son Joseph wasn't much for photos (he's 11 so no surprises there) but Rachel (she's 8) happily posed. Especially with Holly (they have a giant schnauzer at home and I wouldn't be surprised if their next dog is a mini :-)

After lunch, we played Mah Jongg (those two kids are way better than I am) and then enjoyed Betty's balcony. She lives on the 7th floor, which is the lowest floor in the building with a view of the ocean. That bit of land across the way is protected, so there won't ever be any buildings to block her view.

Friday morning we took that walk along the marina and then headed home. This time we went up US 1 to see the water (mostly the Intercoastal Canal).

my first view of the Intercoastal

We took a quick detour onto A1A just south of Vero Beach to see the ocean.

And then back over to 1 up to Mims (just north of Titusville) where we headed west on 46. I didn't take notes about turns and towns, but it was just as scenic, and a lot more traffic-y than the trip down. We made it home just after three o'clock.

I can totally see what my mom loves about these kinds of trips. And as long as she's willing and able to do the driving, I wonder where we'll go next!