Front porch chattin'

Oh, I thought it was the wrong day!   Then, I walked down the road but no one seemed to be home.  Except for Wendell, of course.  He's got an interesting style of hosting. Invited us to the barn, offered his own hay... good thing Patrice showed up.  So, here we are and the chat has started right in. 

What's your favorite day of the week? Why?   I'm not sure I have a favorite day of the week, really.  I do love those 'bonus' days when you have an unexpected day off from something you do on a regular basis.  Sort of like a snow day off from school.  I can just read or knit the whole day away. 

What's your favorite Christmas movie?  Again, no real favorite.  I don't really like the modern movies much, they're pretty silly.  So, I think if I were going to be asked to choose, it would be almost any of the old black and white movies.  They all have a gentleness and  a seriousness that I find appealing. 

Is there a Christmas Carol that's special to you?  Right now, I'm practicing 'Once in Royal David's City' for my piano workshop in December.  So that gives it a specialness right now.  And I guess I have some special feeling for it since I chose it from all that were in my book to play that day.  

Is there an art or craft that you'd love to be able to do? Oh, I'd love to be able to weave.  But it takes up so much room.  And I already take up a lot of room with knitting, quilting and rug-hooking.  Even if I'm not always active, the materials don't take up less room while they wait for me to come play with them.  
 
Do you have a live Christmas tree or an artificial one? Artificial because of allergies.  And, small because of lack of space for a big tree.  Did someone say maybe I should shove some wool aside? 


And now it's time to go visiting everyone.  If you want to join in, just hop over to Everyday Rurality...we're still talking. 

Cyber Monday!

Really??

I resisted Black Friday and blacker Saturday.  I can go into yarn stores and just buy that special needle size.  I can squeeze the yarns for their softness and admire their colors.  Then I can walk away and leave them on the shelf.  Because I have Taken The Pledge.

But, now this Cyber Monday thing has been invented to seduce me!   More yarns than I could ever see in a dozen yarn stores are right there at my fingertips.  I need to be locked up.  "No, stay strong", says the clear little voice in my right ear.  "Oh, go ahead", says the smooth voice in my left ear, "You'll be buying again in January.  Then you can use these yarns.  Just put them away until then.  Think of the savings."

So far, I have resisted.  How long does this thing go on for? Just one day?   Hah! Fibbers, all.   Knit Picks lasts 'til Wednesday.   I'm afraid to look at any more.  elann and Simply Socks have quietly slipped their temptations into my inbox.  Of course, I looked.  That's the easy part.

Now, I have you all on my side.  You'll save me...right?

Sunday wonders - B

B is for Birds.  I don't think of myself as a bird-watcher in the 'twitcher' sort of way.  In fact, this became very clear on our trip to the canyons.  Our guide was a serious bird-watcher...it was hard for me to keep  up.   I just like to watch birds do their bird thing. I'm amazed at how some have extraordinarily beautiful coloring and some are so very plain.  And it's fascinating that they all have their special seasons and habits which help them to survive.

There are winter birds who visit us in the fall on their way to warmer nesting grounds, like the snow geese.

The robins come back to us in the spring when our ground is warmer and the food is more plentiful for those begging beaks of their chicks.

Mother and Father Goose go everywhere with their family in tow...

The great blue heron hunts in solitary patience...

While others feed communally - and with some help from their human friends.

Some birds seem familiar to us, like this moor hen we found paddling in Ireland.  At first glance, we just said: 'oh, a coot'.  But, when we looked closely, we realized that it was an exotic kind of coot with a brilliant beak and a different name.

There are birds that don't mind  standing out on a rainy, fall day...

And birds that like the drier, warmer weather and find it difficult to fly in the rain.

There are homely birds who take shelter from the noon sun in summer...

And birds who are with us year-round - even in the snow.

Birds can be any color at all.  Some blend in with their surroundings...

And others don't seem to blend at all. 
All are worth watching.  It's easy - and free.

Saturday Stash

Back again with the stash report.  I've just come in from my front porch photo shoot.  The wind was blowing rain at me and I was ducking the flying leaves but I did manage to click the shutter a couple of times.

I've been slower this week.  But that's what comes of being single-minded.  I usually have about four things going at once these days and I work on each - a little bit.  But this week, I was determined to finish the cardigan for Katie.  I call it the Fishergirl's Cardi - there are two bright pink 'fish' buttons which don't seem to show very well.  And it's an adaptation of the warm cabled sweaters many northern fishermen wear.  I love how the soft yarn has made such a tough-looking design very feminine without losing stitch definition. 

And I'm sure you all remember how I cast on for the Herb Garden stole back at the beginning of September.  Sure you do.  I cast on, knit two rows and put it away to work on later.  Then we went on holiday and I kind of forgot about the stole.  I came across it the other day.  I've now done 60 rows.  I'm loving the color.  It's perfect for the days when you wonder if spring will ever come again.  The greens are so vivid and make me smile. 

And, then, the other day, I had a conference call scheduled.  I meant to get some knitting going but left it too late.  So, I grabbed some white cotton yarn and my needles and cast on during the call.  This is what is emerging from the needles.  I call them Snowberry Socks.  Usually, my patterning goes down the foot but this 'berry' pattern wasn't looking like something I would want to wear inside a shoe.  And, I really wanted to make some socks using this stitch pattern.  Compromise position is to have three bands of berries around the leg. 

So, that's this week.  According to my photo labels this is week number 22 of reporting how I've been using up my stash.  One month and a bit to go...