may/june reading challenge and knitting update

Traveling gives great allowance to read and to knit, but sadly I can not do both at the same time. See Middlemarch resting atop of my necessary bag at my feet? Of course, I took it along to the beach to read, but then I must say I also carried a couple of other books to read too, and those were successfully finished. Therefore, the May/June reading challenge is not quite accomplished yet, but almost! I should be done with it within the next week.
As far as my Swan Island Amethyst Sweater is concerned, I continue to knit around and around with this easy to follow pattern...stitch markers are the key. A very pleasant woolly summer knit wherever you may be.

the completion of Middlemarch

It took exactly two months! I began reading Middlemarch on May 7 and finished reading the Finale on July 7. It traveled within my home as I would read it in bed, in the living room, or outside while sitting on the wicker furniture. I also read it in the car waiting for Charlotte, by the pool, and on the beach, not to mention the hours reading while traveling in the car (as a passenger...*smile*).  Note the worn edges...to be expected on any book as it is tucked amongst carrying gear. To say I did not sigh with satisfaction as I read the last pages is an understatement. But my satisfaction was two-fold, no make that three-fold.

1. I was satisfied that I had taken the challenge to read the novel.
2. I was satisfied that I had completed the novel.
3. I was satisfied in how much I enjoyed the novel.

I will remember reading this book, and I hope I will revisit certain thoughts from this novel as the summer months linger. It is that kind of book, a true classic. You may read my review on goodreads.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2371409955

a middle of the week holiday

Thankful I was this morning to go outside and realize there was less sultriness in the air. It made walking so much more more pleasant, and I came home to make my husband two poached eggs. Learning to poach eggs is worth knowing when your husband enjoy eating them so much. I have tried a few snazzy gadgets, but this has been my best and simplest method.

Poaching an Egg:

 Boil four cups of water in a small saucepan, add one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and lower the temperature to a simmer.

 Crack an egg into a bowl then slide it into the simmering water. With a wooden spoon give a gentle swirl. Add another egg in similar manner if one egg is not enough...never is for him!

 Simmer 2 minutes, remove the egg with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel to drain.

No special holiday decorations for the fourth of July this year other than a few flowers of red, white, and blue set into a vase of water. We have been invited to Witt and Claire's house for dinner, all I am taking is cut-up watermelon. I love watermelon! There is hardly a day during the summer months that you will not open my refrigerator and find watermelon, it is like a summer staple.

a days knitting recorded

I  returned from the beach and began working extremely hard to play catch up on extremely neglected house duties, just the consequence of the unexpected things that  had played havoc on my routine in late May and throughout June. Even though on most days I will try to squeeze at least an inch of knitting into my day, sadly, it doesn't always happen. But from the start of this day I just wanted to knit.

Ergo, I sat outside on the porch and as I enjoyed one last cup of coffee I knitted a couple of rounds; then by the cool-looking pool I knitted a few rows before the heat beckoned me into the water.

And knowing the charm of things that happens in threes, I peacefully knitted about thirty minutes before beginning supper preparations later that afternoon.

            Make it happen! That is one to inspire!

beach

I never intend for time to crunch me so tight that I do not manage to post here more often, recording my simple journey as well as reading other blogs. But it does, and sometimes for weeks on end. Back on June 1, I mentioned a family health issue that was at the time keeping us out of town with uncertain and unsettling unknowns. We thank the LORD for His perfect intervention and we know assuredly He is trustworthy in this matter too.

But a family beach trip was on the calendar, so we packed up our bags, left our worries behind, and went expecting the best. It was so much fun being there with Ivy and Rose.

                                                              Fathers Day

                                           Early mornings on the balcony

For years I have quietly slipped out early to walk the beach while the others slept, coming back to brewing coffee and sitting on the balcony with my Bible and journal. But time has made some alterations here too, and I am finding myself okay with these small changes. While I am still the early riser, I brew the coffee first then sit on the balcony with Bible and journal in hand before the long beach walk.  One fine morning Ivy was up early so I took her with me to the beach. We meandered down the beach a bit then sat on the sand wearing our sleeveless dresses and"chatted" as we watched the waves.

reading and knitting with "small things"

I was pleased to discover Ginny

had brought back her knitting and reading yarn along,

because frankly I do find myself enjoying

 the sharing of current reads and knitting projects.

And the best part is the fun of seeing

 what other knitters are reading too

When visiting Maine back in August of 2017, I could not wait to make a stop by the Swan Island dye shop, and while there I purchased this pattern.  In January, I drove to my local yarn shop and purchased  the required skeins of Swans Island merino wool in the beetroot color way.  I was literally itching to begin knitting with this yarn but I continued on with this sweater until it was finished, but now the  Madison is turning out to be a wonderful summer knit. The yarn is as soft as my cat's fur.

How George Eliot's Middlemarch became my present book of choice for the present has a story too. I never was much for allowing the length of a book to intimidate me, yet the timing must be right, Sometimes I wonder if it the palpable absurdity of beginning this novel will be the hoping it will not end. Some books are like that and it is a quite a pleasant treasure when you find such a novel.

amendments

Another wedding anniversary has come, so there we have it, another amendment to our records. Life is a continual series of amendments, but adding a new year onto the years of your married life, well, there just is not anything quite like it.

The possibilities of what we could do...well, while there are definite limitations, the greatest factor is the state of the home fires so to speak. And currently our extended home fires are having some major health issues, not my husband or me, but one of our children. We do not want to make such final plans of going away that can not be changed on a dime if needed.

But there is an US, so while waiting to hear if and how we may be needed in the days ahead we make simple let's go here and here plans. Being together is what counts when all is measured and secured, and amendments are only a shifting part of life.

Four decades...

"I only know what I know, the passing of years will show.

You've kept my love so young, so new

And time after time, you'll hear me say

that I'm so blessed to be loving you."

at the shore cum amica mea

So it was that on Thursday afternoon we headed out to the beach, two young girls (Charlotte and her friend), me and my friend, and Rancher, the Boykin Spaniel, squeezed into the back seat between the  girls. But excitement was way too high to let anything bother, even the sometimes heavy traffic and scattered rainstorms.

We read. 

I read this book while my friend read her latest book club's selection by Diane Mott Davidson.

We knitted.

We walked.

Some of us walked quite a bit to the pier in the rain making "enoing" possible.

And of course, Charlotte danced.

Having friends is a sweet form of respite. Doing the things we enjoy together, laughter, and hours of conversations flowing of life's current events while recalling the years of old memories. This friend lost her husband in a tragic air plane crash well over five years ago. Of course, we talked of him and of her three grown sons, remembering our sons many adventures together through the years. 

Now Charlotte has gotten to know this friend better, and thankfully we are still making memories

music flow wrapper

She* gave it to me with a blessing. "Take it, knit it up", she insisted as she pressed the pattern into my hand. She assured me she would never knit this wrapper. So with pattern in hand I made a trip to my local yarn shop on a cold day in January and selected the yarn for this unusual one size fits all sweater.

Then I knitted throughout the sometimes snowy, many times windy, usually cold days of late winter, early spring.  As I watched the swirling snowflakes, as I drank hot coffee in coffee shops, and as I sat through many episodes of "Heartland" and "All Creatures Great and Small" at home in the evenings, I knit with a challenging pair of yarns, learning how to do Japanese short rows, and then upon realizing I did not like the look of those short rows with this yarn, I ripped and re-knit, preferring the German short row method instead.

But the day came when le bleu monster of a sweater was completed and blocked, and don't you know, the spring weather turned chilly once again giving full opportunity to wear it a few times before its summer sojourn in the cedar chest.

*Charlotte's wonderful and lovely piano teacher

a thick book

 As the list of books I want to read grows, my list charts, my piles of books, and shelves are only becoming larger and larger, but that is okay because the perfect time will perhaps present itself and I will actually begin to read a particular book. But many times certain books tend to loiter or make about- faces. 

When Alan was visiting back in May we spent quite a bit of time discussing books and various works of literature, since he is an English major afterall.  Middlemarch was one of the books he mentioned I should definitely read, and when GretchenJooanna mentioned a May/June read-along for this George Eliot classic, serendipity's charm performed its magic and I joined in this read-along line and sinker. Now that it is the middle of May, I am well into Book 2, and every time I pick up this book to read a bit, I become more hooked.

may in a jar

Time if ticking away and the "merry month of May" is in full-swing

which means sun-kissed ripened strawberries and grabbing our buckets and heading out to the fields. Therefore, I absolutely must not allow another day to come and go without sharing this simple combination, I like to call May in a Jar,  of strawberries, honey, and mint, which also just happens to be abundantly thriving in the garden at the present. The sweet taste of the strawberries mingle perfectly with the honey-infused syrup and fresh mint leaves creating the most delicious springtime ambrosia.

1 cup water
1 cup honey
1 quart strawberries

1/3 to 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves

Bring the water to a simmer on medium high heat and whisk in the honey until it dissolves. Continue to simmer for five minutes, remove the pan from the heat and allow the honey syrup to cool.

Wash and hull the strawberries. I cut the smaller ones in half and quarter the larger berries(we can grow some rather large berries in these parts).  With your hands, tear the mint leaves into pieces, then I like to layer  the strawberries with the mint into a two quart jar so the mint is dispersed throughout. After the honey syrup is cooled to room temperature, pour it over the berries. Cover and keep in the refrigerator for a day. 

I enjoy eating this completely as is, but it can be served with cake, ice-cream, whipped cream or yogurt. Enjoy!