NaBloPoMo 2021

NaBloPoMo 2021.5

November 5, 2021 Vicki7 Comments

Flashback!

On this day last year, we were on the North Shore of Lake Superior, and the weather was so unexpectedly mild that Kate & Ducky made the journey, too. She camped in a state park a few miles up the road, but we'd get together for hikes & meals & visits.

Flash forward… Rusty & I are headed back up in a couple of weeks and, boy, are we looking forward to a little get-away! We'd really love to see some big waves on that lake… that would mean nasty weather, but that's what a lakeside cottage, a fireplace, and some knitting is for, right? Sounds perfect to me.

NaBloPoMo 2021.4 – 3TT: Yesterday

November 4, 2021 Vicki9 Comments

Joining Carole & friends for Three Things on Thursday…

…and today I'm sharing three photos that I took yesterday:

Photo 1:

I have a new Airbnb helper and he is doing GREAT! He's also pretty handy with things like yard work, hanging art, and general "fixing." I told him that one of these days we'll have to pretend that our house is an Airbnb (since I don't have cleaning ladies coming to my house right now). The really great thing about cleaning the Airbnbs is that there are no "piles" to deal with. No bills, no old newspapers, no crafts… oy, the crafts. (My workroom is an unmitigated disaster, and must be dealt with soon!)

Photo 2:

Being a "typical" Wednesday, it was my day off of work, and sometimes that means appointments. Last week it was the dentist, yesterday it was the doctor… for the "annual" physical that I tend to get about every three years. I had three things scheduled — physical, blood draw, mammogram — and that meant three different waiting rooms. This was the "Wildflower" room and, well, isn't it just so pretty?

I was astounded that I was out of there in an hour! I think the pandemic has led to some very welcome streamlining… yeah, I'm going with that. (And most of the results are in already; so far, no surprises.)

Photo 3:

Being a Wednesday, Ali & the kids came over after dance class for supper. That little rocking horse was a gift I gave to my godson-now-boss about 40 years ago! Crazy!!

NaBloPoMo 2021 · Unraveled Wednesday / Knit & Read

NaBloPoMo 2021.3: Unraveled

November 3, 2021 Vicki9 Comments

Joining Kat & the Unravelers today for Unraveled Wednesday…

CROCHET:

I am working out the edging for Hexie Love (Rav link) using a couple of charts from similar (free) patterns that I found — with enhancements by Malina!

I want to "fill in" the little dips between hexagons at the top & bottom edges of the blanket so that it ends up straight on all sides.

I've already worked a single crochet up one side of the blanket… and ripped it out. So, "unraveled" is spot-on today! Now I'm working half-double crochet up the side (but started only a couple of motifs from a corner because it's the corner and the top/bottom edge that I really need to work out. I'm not crazy with how that half-hexie looks, but I'm hoping I'll refine/improve that as I go.

I think it'll work… there's a long ways to go. This is the first of at least four rounds!

READING:

I finished Stanley Tucci's memoir, Taste: My Life Through Food, on Friday night and LOVED IT! Memoir is my genre of choice, and this did not disappoint in any way. Except that I listened to it on Audible and really wish there was a download with all the recipes.

I shared the book with Kate, and we started talking about audiobooks, memoirs, memoirs read by the author… and she told me that her friend Blair was listening to Dave Grohl's new book and loving it, even though she's not a big fan of his music.

I feel the same about the music… I wouldn't recognize a single Nirvana or Foo Fighters song… but I am aware of Dave Grohl and what a cool guy he is! When his memoir, The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music, was announced, I purchased it straight away, so that's what I'm listening to now… and LOVING IT!

NaBloPoMo 2021

NaBloPoMo 2021.2

November 2, 2021 Vicki8 Comments

How it started… How it's going… My backyard through the (quite dirty) bedroom window.

April 11th:

April 25th:

May 2nd:

May 14th:

May 24th:

June 12th:

June 19th:

October 8th:

October 30th:

I snapped the first photo on a Sunday morning in April and thought that I'd take a photo from the same spot every week. Well, it hasn't happened weekly, but it's been happening consistently enough to see what I wanted to see… the changes in a year. This represents only half a year, though, so watch for an update in April!!

NaBloPoMo 2021 · Weekending

NaBloPoMo 2021.1

November 1, 2021 Vicki11 Comments

Lucky 13! Thirteen is also a Fibonacci number, a prime number, a star number, and a happy number (among other things, and thank you very much Wikipedia). That's all good enough for me as I embark on the 13th year of NaBloPoMo!

It was a pretty great weekend! We went to an art opening, put together a futon couch/bed at Ann's Queen Anne, cleaned up and pulled in plants from outside, and got a start on both Airbnbs as there are guests arriving later this week at both.

The kiddos stopped over yesterday after Trick or Treat Round 1, enjoyed sorting and eating (or trading/giving away) some of their treats, and then I took Jün & Gin out for Round 2 in my neighborhood. There weren't a lot of houses with lights on (I didn't have a single kid at my door, other than my own grandkids), but they came back with plenty of goodies. To their delight, most people said, "Take as many as you want!"

This house, a couple of blocks from mine, is probably the most decorated in the area. At night they had big swirling bats projected on the house and it was really cool.

Ginny was originally a witch but it was so windy yesterday that her big-brimmed hat kept blowing off, so she traded it for a tiara!