ordinariness

After returning home from my trip, I woke up Tuesday morning with a scratchy throat and a bit of malaise. That defined form of malaise that is not enough to make you stop and remain in bed or even stay wrapped up with a comforting afghan on the sofa all day, but the sort of malaise that just makes you feel as if you would like to crawl back into bed, and do nothing. Yet you keep on going, doing everyday things, just with a spirit of tiredness. My immune system is fighting hard and I want to think my drinking a concoction of fermented ginger "tea" is helping, along with regular doses of elderberry juice and Vitamin C. This tea is delicious and soothing:  I mix a teaspoon of fermented ginger, 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice, and a teaspoon of honey with hot water.

And who expected the storm that was supposing to wham us hard (Hurricane Florence...in my area anyway) did not, but then Hurricane Michael blew in on Thursday afternoon with such  surprisingly strong magnitude, while we sat by the window and watched it blow in and blow out within an hour, leaving messes to clean up and causing many to loose power for several days.  We could not help but  go outside and watch the sky after the storm had passed through...I have never seen such a sky, and I am still rather wordless to describe its stunning uniqueness.

The rest of this ordinary day (Saturday) was spent helping my husband wash the outside windows of the sun room, and then while Witt and Claire went on a much needed "date", we gladly kept  Breanna and Riley.

a trip up north

Packing my suitcase as I have plans to travel with my husband, leaving in less than 48 hours. Now you need to know a bit of inside information about me to fully grasp my present thoughts. I very much like to go places and see things, even the thoughts of traveling to certain places or making definite plans for a trip stirs excitement with a great spirit of adventure oozing out all over the place.  But as the departure day approaches I get anxious, and even though I continue to give myself pep talks along the way...my home body tendencies flare to high volumes those few days prior to leaving home on a trip. Does this happen to you?

Back when I was in high school my parents planned a family vacation to drive to Niagara Falls. I was seventeen years old and intentionally getting into a car with my parents and two younger siblings seemed completely uncool. So I stayed home and never once regretted that rash immature decision. Until...well... about fifteen years ago, and I began to have a serious hankering to see Niagara Falls some time during my life time.

Opportunity has knocked, therefore, we are taking it full throttle.
Now for a question to those of you who've been to Niagara Falls, is there anything I should not miss seeing or doing while there? And, are there eating/dining places you recommend? We will also be going into Canada, so please give options for any Canadian highlights that you know of too. Thank you so much!

I shall post about my trip when I return.

october yarn along,worsted wool,and a garden

Of course, I knit, and I read... no matter what comes my way.

 And I join along with Ginny and other fine ladies from time to time blogging of my experiences as part of the monthly yarn along.

My calendar was flipped this morning, I stepped outside while it was still dark and beheld a luminous waning gibbous moon and several large lights in the sky. Coffee mug in hand the cooler air was inviting as I drew my robe tighter around me.

 A visit to the Salty Sheep Yarn Shop in Swansboro while at the beach in May triggered a decision to knit this sweater, The Weekender, by Andrea Mowry. This little shop, while not my local yarn shop, holds a fond place in my heart for several reasons, one being that I was there the very first spring that it was opened for business in 2008. My friend and I, knitting in hand, joined the local ladies knitting circle one morning sitting  by the opened windows where the salty air stirred our hair. 

 A worsted weight wool from Blue Sky Fibers, Woolstok, was purchased as this wool and pattern seemed destined to be a desirable match for an autumn knit.

After knitting the Swans Island Madison ( I call mine the Amethyst) all summer,  I was very ready to begin a project using a worsted weight yarn. Thus far, I have knitted the bottom ribbing beginning with a tubular cast on, tonight I will begin to join these two pieces as the sweater will be knitted in the round inside out.

Perhaps you have heard of Elizabeth Von Arnim? If Enchanted April rings a bell then you know of her work. Upon first picking up this little gem of a book you are aware of its simple and plain bearing, written as the journal entries of an aristocratic German woman in the late 1800s. She loves her garden, even in the frigid German winters, and she weaves her stories of home life, visitors, and experiences throughout its pages. However, I am thankful that I was not born of a particular class or during a specific time in history that the rules of society possessed such strict restrictions regarding women...gardening demands that one get on their knees, pick up a spade and dig in the dirt!

This book can be read online as a free ebook.