This summer in FL was way too hot. We love to take our cameras out into nature but it was way too hot. I did my gardening at 7am. We have decided to move back to Rochester, NY after 20 years in FL. Can't wait! Since we are now retired we won't have to worry about driving to work on bad roads! :)
The past year was worse than life in the pandemic. During that time I learned a remarkable new (for me)- stay in the present. Too far forward can cause fear and looking back too far creates regret. In January, our lives changed. Lars was diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer. Spring and summer were spent in Bismarck playing golf, riding bike, and gardening or fishing and hanging at our pretty Spiritwood Lake cabin. We’ve spent most time with chemo treatments, med appointments, and home care. My favorite times have been spending an overnight with girlfriends at the cabin. The quiet times, the laughs, and the beauty of the lakeside have been brief soul salves. The best times are having the time, talent, and love to spend with Lars - oh, and hanging with our three feline owners. :^)
One of my favorite autumn activities is like my favorite spring, summer and winter activities----sharing a bottle of wine, cake, and ice cream with Mary and Jen, swear to the gods!
My favorite thing this summer was growing my own flowers in a raised bed in the garden. Sunflowers were the most attractive. Dahlias were short-lived. Zinnias were colorful. Marigolds turned out to be a great trap plant for ugly pests. Cosmos was a late/bloomer.
On the third weekend in July, we hosted a family reunion to celebrate the fact that our farm in Ohio has been in my husband’s family for the past 200 years. Over one hundred family members from all over the United States attended, many of whom we had never met. It was a big success and the weather was perfect. Everyone enjoyed learning about the beginnings of the farm and its evolution over the years to result in our current business of raising Christmas trees for the past 45 years. Although we don’t live on the farm, it is always great to get out of the city and back out among nature and our trees. We received a lot of accolades for the reunion from those attending as well as recognition from the Ohio Department of Agriculture, one of our State Representatives and the city mayor. But most of all, it was fun for me to see my husband be publicly recognized for the culmination of his vision to ensure that this important piece of land stays in our family for years to come.
I hope everyone had a chance to see the super rare Super Blue Moon on August 30th. It was so bright and so beautiful as I hope the rest of the year is for all of us. I am now in Israel for a wedding, family, and friends and I am quite litterally WALKING ON THE MOON as the song says from The Police.
We had a wonderful three weeks in Tuscany in May, a week in San Diego to cool off over the summer (stayed in Little Italy). The fall will bring a trip to Mass., NH, Vermont and Maine to see the changing leaves and rocky coastline, then back to the warmer beaches on the Sea of Cortez, MX, for a weekend a few weeks later. Happy Fall, y’all!
I finished a winter sweater, a glittery evening sweater and a grandsons back to school sweater over the summer..now knitting a silk haze sweater.. I read fourth wing and imagined a world with dragons and hero’s and heroines...
Fall will come with sweet new beginnings . Fingers crossed when not reading, knitting, cooking...
First of all have a great time and stay safe. Should be beautiful! The second thing is Miranda Krone! I loved her funky little place in West Seattle and her great food. I followed her to White Center but that didn’t last unfortunately. I know that she has been through a lot,but do you have any idea if she’s cooking anywhere else? I don’t think there is anywhere else quite like her cafes or food but I would sure like to know if there is. Also she was really nice. It’s funny that you mentioned her because I had been thinking of her the day before you posted.
My summer was full; I work in youth programs at MassArt, (the one freestanding public college for visual arts in the country!). We always create a short slide show so that parents and folks can feel energy and attention of these young people creating art! Please take a peek as it might brighten your day:
I was in Georgian Bay, Ontario, for 11 gorgeous days. I was allowed to skip my weekly chemo treatment. My four children, their spouses and all 10 grandchildren overlapped for one glorious day. They came from all over the country. We hired a professional photographer to memorialize this special day. I cried a lot!
I am making christmas presents. This year knitted potholders with a lining and a backing. They are taking much more time than I expected. Really I should have just made socks. They are much faster lol. Also planting some shrubbery and weeding as it gets cooler.
wow! That's great!!! I still need to finish my scarf for my husband, then I'll get to this. I have lots of things I've been saving to upcycle, (something I've learned about through the MassArt Youth Programs "Fashion Upcycling" classes), so I've saved plenty of materials for padding and the backing material. I'll need to hand knit and hand sew because I don't know any other way, and that's fine with me. I'm not in a rush...
Every year I try to make presents for the family. A few years ago I made over 20 hats, another year I made socks, and I made foot warmers one year (socks without heels or toes) with multiple yarns. I also made fingerless gloves one year.
Still I seem to have so much yarn as I keep getting it from friends lol.
I cast on 17 stitches double color strands on size 10 mm needles. And then just knitted every row until it was square - i used a thicker piece of cloth - or you could use an old blanket- and cut it square, and then a larger piece so that I could fold the ends over and sewed that. Then I hand stitched to my knitted piece. I added a strand to my knitted piece where the ends were and braided them for the little loop. And then attached. My favorite had a dark blue and a medium blue strand, with the material a dark flowered print. I used 2 strands as I had a ton of yarn I wanted to use up
I wish I could take a photo and show you. Although I knitted, used a sewing machine and hand stitched so it took longer than I thought. I made 13 pairs of them.
Spent most of the summer at home, in Rome, trying to recover from an inflammatory response to stress, then halfway through August travelled to my parents hometown in Southern Italy, still wondering why the place keeps pushing me away (I mean, I do know why it is so, but part of me still wanted to believe something could change...): https://puntarelle.substack.com/p/friarielli-and-mozzarella-di-bufala
I retired last year and returned home to Alaska from Italy where I’d worked for the previous four plus years. I spent a cool rainy summer in Alaska, went to the Anchorage Museum and then drove to Fairbanks with my dog, where we stayed in a log cabin, visited friends and saw Denali on the way home. We stopped in Talkeetna, Healy and Nenana, and enjoyed the very short five days of Alaska summer this year! LOL.
Last week I went to the Alaska State Fair in Palmer, close to home, and ate fresh oysters from Prince William Sound; I’m going back again with friends to hear Little River Band, and eat cream puffs and halibut fish and chips.
Later this month, I’ll fly back to northern Italy, where I have an apartment at the base of the Dolomites. From there I’ll go to Mallorca, Prague, Napoli, where we will visit Herculaneum, and then head to the island of Ischia to enjoy the thermal springs. I’m meeting a friend in Prague who has never been there or to Italy, so we will explore Friuli, go to Lago di Barcis and spend a couple days in Venice before we head south to Napoli.
Somewhere between now and flying back to Europe, I’ll get out my yarn and start learning to knit. Or finish the quilt I started at Quilting in the Snow at Chena Hot Springs in January. Have a great autumn everyone!
This summer in FL was way too hot. We love to take our cameras out into nature but it was way too hot. I did my gardening at 7am. We have decided to move back to Rochester, NY after 20 years in FL. Can't wait! Since we are now retired we won't have to worry about driving to work on bad roads! :)
The past year was worse than life in the pandemic. During that time I learned a remarkable new (for me)- stay in the present. Too far forward can cause fear and looking back too far creates regret. In January, our lives changed. Lars was diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer. Spring and summer were spent in Bismarck playing golf, riding bike, and gardening or fishing and hanging at our pretty Spiritwood Lake cabin. We’ve spent most time with chemo treatments, med appointments, and home care. My favorite times have been spending an overnight with girlfriends at the cabin. The quiet times, the laughs, and the beauty of the lakeside have been brief soul salves. The best times are having the time, talent, and love to spend with Lars - oh, and hanging with our three feline owners. :^)
“Most years we spent at our home in Bismarck or at the cabin. Not so much this year! Proofreader/editor must have been sleeping!
One of my favorite autumn activities is like my favorite spring, summer and winter activities----sharing a bottle of wine, cake, and ice cream with Mary and Jen, swear to the gods!
My favorite thing this summer was growing my own flowers in a raised bed in the garden. Sunflowers were the most attractive. Dahlias were short-lived. Zinnias were colorful. Marigolds turned out to be a great trap plant for ugly pests. Cosmos was a late/bloomer.
On the third weekend in July, we hosted a family reunion to celebrate the fact that our farm in Ohio has been in my husband’s family for the past 200 years. Over one hundred family members from all over the United States attended, many of whom we had never met. It was a big success and the weather was perfect. Everyone enjoyed learning about the beginnings of the farm and its evolution over the years to result in our current business of raising Christmas trees for the past 45 years. Although we don’t live on the farm, it is always great to get out of the city and back out among nature and our trees. We received a lot of accolades for the reunion from those attending as well as recognition from the Ohio Department of Agriculture, one of our State Representatives and the city mayor. But most of all, it was fun for me to see my husband be publicly recognized for the culmination of his vision to ensure that this important piece of land stays in our family for years to come.
My favorite experience this summer is moving to a new city and feeling belonging in a city that accepts all types of beauty and belief.
I hope everyone had a chance to see the super rare Super Blue Moon on August 30th. It was so bright and so beautiful as I hope the rest of the year is for all of us. I am now in Israel for a wedding, family, and friends and I am quite litterally WALKING ON THE MOON as the song says from The Police.
We had a wonderful three weeks in Tuscany in May, a week in San Diego to cool off over the summer (stayed in Little Italy). The fall will bring a trip to Mass., NH, Vermont and Maine to see the changing leaves and rocky coastline, then back to the warmer beaches on the Sea of Cortez, MX, for a weekend a few weeks later. Happy Fall, y’all!
I finished a winter sweater, a glittery evening sweater and a grandsons back to school sweater over the summer..now knitting a silk haze sweater.. I read fourth wing and imagined a world with dragons and hero’s and heroines...
Fall will come with sweet new beginnings . Fingers crossed when not reading, knitting, cooking...
Ahh, the photo reminds me of The Sunflowers by Mary Oliver. Perfect.
First of all have a great time and stay safe. Should be beautiful! The second thing is Miranda Krone! I loved her funky little place in West Seattle and her great food. I followed her to White Center but that didn’t last unfortunately. I know that she has been through a lot,but do you have any idea if she’s cooking anywhere else? I don’t think there is anywhere else quite like her cafes or food but I would sure like to know if there is. Also she was really nice. It’s funny that you mentioned her because I had been thinking of her the day before you posted.
My summer was full; I work in youth programs at MassArt, (the one freestanding public college for visual arts in the country!). We always create a short slide show so that parents and folks can feel energy and attention of these young people creating art! Please take a peek as it might brighten your day:
https://youtu.be/2TPuZETKQjo?mc_cid=0768511de5&mc_eid=UNIQID
I was in Georgian Bay, Ontario, for 11 gorgeous days. I was allowed to skip my weekly chemo treatment. My four children, their spouses and all 10 grandchildren overlapped for one glorious day. They came from all over the country. We hired a professional photographer to memorialize this special day. I cried a lot!
I am making christmas presents. This year knitted potholders with a lining and a backing. They are taking much more time than I expected. Really I should have just made socks. They are much faster lol. Also planting some shrubbery and weeding as it gets cooler.
Can you share the pattern? I would like to try this too.
:)
I forgot to say that the material i used over the old blanket was quilt material I had laying around
wow! That's great!!! I still need to finish my scarf for my husband, then I'll get to this. I have lots of things I've been saving to upcycle, (something I've learned about through the MassArt Youth Programs "Fashion Upcycling" classes), so I've saved plenty of materials for padding and the backing material. I'll need to hand knit and hand sew because I don't know any other way, and that's fine with me. I'm not in a rush...
Every year I try to make presents for the family. A few years ago I made over 20 hats, another year I made socks, and I made foot warmers one year (socks without heels or toes) with multiple yarns. I also made fingerless gloves one year.
Still I seem to have so much yarn as I keep getting it from friends lol.
I cast on 17 stitches double color strands on size 10 mm needles. And then just knitted every row until it was square - i used a thicker piece of cloth - or you could use an old blanket- and cut it square, and then a larger piece so that I could fold the ends over and sewed that. Then I hand stitched to my knitted piece. I added a strand to my knitted piece where the ends were and braided them for the little loop. And then attached. My favorite had a dark blue and a medium blue strand, with the material a dark flowered print. I used 2 strands as I had a ton of yarn I wanted to use up
I think I'm going to give this a try! Thanks!!!
I wish I could take a photo and show you. Although I knitted, used a sewing machine and hand stitched so it took longer than I thought. I made 13 pairs of them.
Spent most of the summer at home, in Rome, trying to recover from an inflammatory response to stress, then halfway through August travelled to my parents hometown in Southern Italy, still wondering why the place keeps pushing me away (I mean, I do know why it is so, but part of me still wanted to believe something could change...): https://puntarelle.substack.com/p/friarielli-and-mozzarella-di-bufala
I retired last year and returned home to Alaska from Italy where I’d worked for the previous four plus years. I spent a cool rainy summer in Alaska, went to the Anchorage Museum and then drove to Fairbanks with my dog, where we stayed in a log cabin, visited friends and saw Denali on the way home. We stopped in Talkeetna, Healy and Nenana, and enjoyed the very short five days of Alaska summer this year! LOL.
Last week I went to the Alaska State Fair in Palmer, close to home, and ate fresh oysters from Prince William Sound; I’m going back again with friends to hear Little River Band, and eat cream puffs and halibut fish and chips.
Later this month, I’ll fly back to northern Italy, where I have an apartment at the base of the Dolomites. From there I’ll go to Mallorca, Prague, Napoli, where we will visit Herculaneum, and then head to the island of Ischia to enjoy the thermal springs. I’m meeting a friend in Prague who has never been there or to Italy, so we will explore Friuli, go to Lago di Barcis and spend a couple days in Venice before we head south to Napoli.
Somewhere between now and flying back to Europe, I’ll get out my yarn and start learning to knit. Or finish the quilt I started at Quilting in the Snow at Chena Hot Springs in January. Have a great autumn everyone!
Wow! sounds wonderful!!!
It’s been amazing. I have a wonderful life and am grateful for every day whether in Alaska or Italy.