A New Day

I am feeling very grateful today.  So many things I could be unhappy about but why waste the energy.  I have a lot of things to do each day and am glad that I can do them -- maybe not all in a day, but slowly and surely complete portions of tasks daily.

If you are feeling low today, I hope you can take the time to remember that you woke up and felt the Sun on your face and maybe heard birds chirping.  And that is just the start.

Blessings-

Knittin' more than Nothin'

Wow is it hot!  We are in the throes of a heatwave and I haven't done so well in it.   This prompted me to make a change I had been contemplating about for a while. 

I cut my hair! No, not a trim. . . but 6 whole inches gone. . .

I have had locs for about 9 years.  I cut them completely off about 5 years ago and quickly regretted it.  I started them again within a year, and over the years, they have grown quite long, just below the shoulder blades.  Now they are at my shoulders -- I just put a new picture on the blog and now I have to change it LOL!  I feel pretty -- Oh so pretty.

So much knitting activities have been happening. I have knit 3 pairs of socks in the last month and a half.  This is a first for me and I have an itch to knit another!  After I completed the LCS socks last month I was compelled to knit myself some luxury socks in a yarn I have been coveting and acquiring for over a year.  The Sanguine Gryphon has made a loyal customer out of me with their Bugga! lines, Traveller and Gaia DK yarns.  I chose Bugga! in the Orange Assassin Bug colorway for my project.  A vibrant, range of orange hues that make up this colorway make me think of blood oranges or Halloween.

I wanted to use and equally renowned designer pattern for these socks so I chose the Chicklets Sock from Anne Hanson of Knitspot.  It is simple but beautiful and classic.  This is an easy pattern with a memorable 12-row repeat that makes it great for travel & movie watching.  Since it is made for sportweight yarn, it is a win-win for me, heh-heh.  I totally loved Bugga! and it is so funny because I have been purchasing it for a while and never knit it up.  Silly girl.  How could you have waited so long?

While knitting the socks, I needed another Bugga! fix so I casted on some Skinny Bugga! for slouch hat in the rare colorway called Blowfly.  OMG, it is the most gorgeous color!   I now understand why it is so sought after.  This pattern is another from Veronik Avery's book, Knitting 24/7 called "The Pinstripe Slouch Hat". A Perfect pairing.  See?

Since it is fingering weight yarn, I am not moving as quickly as I would like.  Well, I won't need it for a while so what's the rush, heh -- it's just for me.

Well, that's enough for now --

Blessings 

What a May Happened. . .

And I do mean happened!  As I said, I will share with you all the event that went on since I last posted.

Well, My lovely hubby and I were in the midst of updating our family room and after the carpeting was re-stretched (shout-out to Mr. Stretch of NJ, you guys rock!), and shampooing carpeting and wool rugs, our new furniture was delivered. 

I was sooooo excited and relieved that it arrived in pristine condition and fit perfectly.  The hubs and salesperson tried to convince me that we needed extra seating but I am glad I stuck to my guns, it fit perfectly.  One more item checked off the list. 

The next item up is planting our little garden.  We wanted to actually till an area of the yard near the honeysuckle, but with all of the things happening at once, we figured we would tackle that next year. 

We decided to scale back and do container gardening again this year.  We chose Roma tomatoes and cherry tomatoes for the hanging containers with cubanelle and California Wonder peppers for the ground containers.  They have only been planted for about 10 days and are blooming and fruiting already!

My Husband had been quite busy lately and sharing only some of what he was up to.  Hmmmmm.  Well I found out soon enough. 

I turned 50 last Wednesday - WOOOHOOO and it was great! My young men teased me mercilessly but with love and then presented me with funny cards and gifts equaling 50 from my fav LYS.  Hubs took the day off and just spent time with me -- the best gift of all.  He told me to wait until the weekend for my gift.  No problem.

The wait was soooooo worth it.  The party he was planning was supposed to be on Saturday but with the threat of thunderstorms he postponed it to the next evening.  And what a night! The daytime temps on Sunday was in the high 80's and breezy, but it cooled very nicely by party time.   An old-fashioned fish fry, mini-burgers and hot dogs, his mom's potato salad, my sisters' wonderful side dishes and cornbread were the menu.  Buckets and buckets of refreshments, Family, Neighbors & Friends, and . . . Ciroc Grape Martinis and Pear Martinis for the Birthday girl!!  Oh Yeah!

I was then told to go inside and and wait.  Once summoned, there was a birthday cake from this wonderful little local Italian Bakery that was amazing.  Chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling with whipped cream frosting and coral colored whipped cream roses that were near perfect.  After the singing I look up and saw a HUGE inflated movie screen -- it had to be at least 12 feet tall and 15 feet wide!  The Cineplex was about to play Avatar!  Since I hadn't seen it I was so ready.  After the sun set, the movie started -- in my backyard!  Popcorn, matinee candy boxes, chaise lounges and chairs.  Everyone with blankets and snuggled with kids and sweethearts.  What a wonderful gift. 

I think I will keep him forever.  This was the best birthday ever. . .