Joining Carole and friends again this week for Three on Thursday...

Thing 1:

My Parallelogram Scarf has grown a bit since yesterday (so much brighter!), due to...

Thing 2:

...evening attendance at our friend Pat's 2018 Film Festival! Looking for a way to get through the doldrums of winter and inspired by her sister-in-law's massive movie collection, this is Pat's 5th festival. Usually on Wednesdays, and with a total of around 40 altogether, four or five films are shown each festival day beginning at noon, with :15 breaks between. There is a theme each year -- 2014-John Cusack as lead actor, 2015-Edith Head as costume designer, 2016-Food, 2017-Classic Novels made into Movies -- and this year, it's Steamy, Hot, Summer - Heated Up! There's a healthy mix of genres and nationalities, and festival-goers come and go as they may. It's all about Pat, really; she's just generous enough to send out invitations to her friends.

Wednesday is normally my day off, so you'd think this would be easy, but no... I've hardly been able to attend at all (also, they lived about 20 miles away in 2014-15). And I worked yesterday... however, the last movie on the program, Salmon Fishing In The Yemen, has long been on my list and wasn't due to start until 5:55pm! Rusty and I arrived just as the previous movie ended, with enough time for a bit of socializing over a bowl of soup before showtime. It was wonderful (the company, the soup, and the movie)!

Thing 3:

Here we go!

I had a free :15 yesterday, so began my DAILY STITCHING, inspired by Margene (also as mentioned yesterday). It's a new thing (for me), and I'm not going to get too crazed about it, but I got myself situated and it felt so good to get started, finally, on my Alabama Chanin Car Jacket!

Finally.

Joining Carole and friends again this week for Three on Thursday...

Thing 1:

If you're on Instagram, have you seen/done this?

(There's always Some New Thing to see/do!)

Thing 2:

The sky was on fire this morning!

Thing 3:

Sometimes the old hydrangeas on the other side of those dirty windows are rather ghostly. I cannot wait to watch the garden come alive from this new vantage point, and love that even after 30+ years of living in this house, there are still things like a "new vantage point." Maybe the garden will even get some attention this year!

Joining Carole and friends again this week for Three on Thursday...

1 - At this time next week, Maddy will be winging her way to NZ for another stint at the winery! She's been staying with us since Christmas, and will head back to Milwaukee early next week so her friend can take her to O'Hare on Wednesday.

2 - Meanwhile, she's been painting my kitchen! At one time, we were loftily thinking that she'd be able to whack out new paint jobs in both the kitchen and our living area, but hahahahahaha. Did we ever underestimate that, especially given holidays -- and some unexpected dental work. Excruciating tooth pain does not a happy painter (or daughter) make, and when said pains thwarts even NYE celebrations with friends, you know it's bad. We've never in our lives been so happy about a near-emergency root canal!

Anyway, the kitchen is almost a complete reversal -- once-maroon walls are now nearly white, and white trim/woodwork is becoming a warm dark gray. I loved my maroon kitchen, but it was time for a refresh. It's looking rather stark right now, but decor will make a big difference. (Right?)

3 - And we're getting in all the blurry hugs & cuddles that we can!

It's a two-fer on 3TT because... CRAZY DAYS! Joining Carole and friends again this week for Three on Thursday...

ONE:

We attended the official ceremony to open our city's new fire station yesterday. It.did.not.disappoint!!

It was a once-in-a-lifetime sort of thing, and I've been looking forward to it for weeks!! Honor Guard, bagpipes, ceremonial hose uncoupling and fire engine push-back. It did not disappoint. Our new firehouse is gorgeous, and very visible in the community. Jün had to use the restroom at one point, so we got a little sneak peek all our own before the official open house craziness began. There are a couple of display cases in the reception area full of fire-related antiques and memorabilia. So cool!!

TWO:

Also, yesterday, the "new" sink for my dye studio was delivered!

Not much has been happening down there yet, as Rusty's been busy doing some work for my stepdad at Mom's house to get ready for Christmas visitors. Soon, we will begin work on this (and on rebuilding the cupboard above the fridge)!

Meanwhile, plants are happy!

THREE:

Junah came down to admire the sink with me and all of a sudden I heard him talking very excitedly about a tiny 'barrow! Ooops!! I forgot about that! We went back upstairs but he was not going to forget that he'd seen that little wheelbarrow! He started putting on shoes and gloves, talking about filling it up with dirt -- and WALNUTS - but snow, so we'd have to shovel that off first... and let's go get it...

Luckily, he was OK with just shoveling some crusty snow off of the pergola deck and dumping it elsewhere! And now the 'barrow resides in the shed, leaned up right by Grandpa's! Realizing that I'm not Santa, so this is not as terrible as it might have been, I told him that it was supposed to be a Christmas present from us! Haha. I'll still clean it up and put a bow on it for Christmas... and luckily, he didn't see any of the other presents hidden down in the basement!

Joining Carole and friends for Three on Thursday...

1st Thing - We had our first significant snowfall yesterday, and I discovered that I didn't have a brush/scraper in my car. (It's usually in there 24/7/365.) Now I have a new one!

2nd Thing - We decorated the tree on Tuesday night!

I love that Jün put all three of these ornaments together!

3rd Thing - Santa & Mrs. Claus!!

Um???

There was a holiday sing-along with stories, crafting, cookies, AND a visit with Mr. & Mrs. Claus at our library last night... Ho ho ho!! 🌲

Obviously, it's a little less magical for Gin than it is for Jün this year!

Is Jün checking out Santa's ginormous watch or cool jingle bell bracelet?

That photo cracked me up! As did this one, in a display of work from the summer reading program:

A random ack of kindness always makes the world a better place.

_ _ _ _ _

YaHOO, the weekend begins today at 4:00! There are still a few special ornaments to hang on the tree, plus stockings to hang and a few other things... and putting away all of the empty boxes. I need to take stock and get a good idea about where I stand in the gift situation -- I think I'm pretty good!

How's it going for you??

Kids, woods, family, thankful.

I am thankful for my husband! He made pies this morning, carved the turkey this evening, and is doing clean up!

I am thankful for my daughters! Maddy & Kate, along with Rusty, took the kids on a walk in the woods this afternoon so that Ali could take a nap!

I am thankful for my grandkids! They are more delightful every single day... and come March, they'll welcome a sibling!!

There is so much to be grateful for, but nothing tops this. Happy Thanksgiving!

1 - What's old is new again!

This funny old table used to be in the coffee shop a long time ago. I used it at home for a while, and had a plate glass top made for it. Eventually, it moved back to the coffee shop, but in the upstairs work area. Lately, it's been hanging out in Ali's garage... and she'd been trying to find a new home for it.

Well, guess what?!! I have a home and a need and... this is why KonMari-ing, Death Cleaning, purging, etc., CAN BE SO HARD!

2 - Ali also has the perfect 2-basin stainless steel sink in need of a home... I am so lucky.

3 - I should have taken a before photo, but I didn't...

This is currently the only thing hanging on our refrigerator and, well, that bare naked almond fridge it's practically blinding us every time we turn around. I am so ready to take delivery of a new fridge on Saturday!

Joining Carole for Three on Thursday -- check it out!

Too many to number... plus UNRAVELED! Checkother 3TT posts here, and Unraveled here.

Jün and I got up and hit the floor running yesterday morning and, other than a few minutes at lunchtime, I didn't sit down until after 8:00 last night. We had such a GREAT DAY!!

We were a little late for Tumbling because while walking to my car...

DIGGERS ON MY STREET!

After Tumbling, we went to the P.O., paid the electric bill, and took the long way to lunch (we had to kill a few minutes before they open). We've gone to the same sub shop for lunch for three weeks in a row, we order the same things, and Jün makes sure we sit at the same table. Next Wednesday is the last session of Tumbling (already)! I told Ali that I want to continue this overnight tradition, but probably not every week... I enjoy every minute but I don't get a thing done (or very little).

Anyway, by the time we got back...

DIGGERS AT MY HOUSE!

We started with a seat on the porch, but soon, it was front row all the way baby!

The workmen were all SO nice and SO patient. We watched from start to finish, and then watched as they pulled the old fire hydrant at the end of the street... for HOURS! At least a couple.  :)

Then he wanted to go out back and pitch some more walnuts. On Tuesday afternoon, I had watched the next door neighbor's lawn service guy rake all the walnuts from her yard over to mine (instead of into the ravine, as he might have done) (thanks buddy), so we got out the big guns: a wheelbarrow in addition to shovels for both Jün and me.

Not the same size anymore!

By the time we'd unloaded two loads, my back was killing me so we took a break -- juice & a book!

I was excited when I had notification earlier in the week that my pre-order of My Journey To The Stars by Astronaut Scott Kelly had shipped, arriving just in time for Tuesday night bedtime reading... reprise on Wednesday! By Wednesday, Junah put his hand to my mouth at just about every turn of the page. He had QUESTIONS & REMARKS! I just love how spongy little minds work. Related: A Year In Space is available to watch on Amazon Prime, and Part 2 debuts on PBS next month. Also, Scott Kelly's Instagram photos (@stationcdrkelly) from space were INCREDIBLE.

Speaking of READING, here's what's on my list right now:

• Still Life with Bread Crumbs - pages. (Oops - due at the library yesterday, renewed online today... love technology!)
• Yellow Crocus - audio. This one has been on my list for a while, and I've wanted to listen to another book narrated by Bahni Turpin, too!

And in KNITTING:

I ran out to take a photo before losing light on Tuesday, and bound off shortly thereafter. This is Woman Must Make Her Own Arrows. Weaving in ends was the perfect activity last night, and will continue tonight at Knit Night. I will block after taking care of the ends, and then determine whether to knit the i-cord border all the way around... that will depend on how much I love it. I love it now, but don't know if I love it that much!

I haven't done a #tbt Throwback in a while, but a few copies of this were on my desk today:

That's Kate, as a flower girl, on the cover of a local magazine that I used to do typesetting for; the bride is an old friend who used to style my hair back in the day (and she probably still would, but lives too far away). I don't know what happened to them, but there were some other even cuter photos of them, if you can even believe that (Kate stole the show!).

What are you reading? What's on your needles??

Ooops, a day late with the Unraveling! Things got away from me yesterday. We're all a bit frazzled 'round here for some reason... all that heavy equipment outside, shutting off water, temporarily hooking up water, new refrigerator delivery delayed... everyone's been so nice, but... frazzled!

THREE THINGS THURSDAY

One -- A Finished Object! I knit a hat for Gin/Jün while we were in the U.P. I cast on Saturday morning in our cottage as we drank coffee. I continued while Rusty walked the blustery beach at Whitefish Point, and as we made our way from here to there and everywhere. I finished on Sunday as we watched the Packer game on TV. This photo is after the 3-needle bind-off but before sewing the side seam -- I had to take my opportunity to dash outside while there was still a bit of natural light!

• Ravelry Project Page: Another Striped Hat for Gin
• Pattern: This is what I did (an unvented pattern as follows)
  • CO 98 sts (includes 1 selvage st at each side)
  • Work 2x2 rib for 2” (begin each row with slip and k1 or p1)
  • Work in stockinette stitch, with or without stripes, for approx. 6.75" (including ribbing)
  • Knit half-way across, then fold & manipulate needles as needed in order to work 3-needle bind-off
  • Sew up side seam
• Yarn:
  • Plymouth Yarn Worsted Merino Superwash Solids (Pinks #48 & 21)
  • Malabrigo Yarn Rios (#57 English Rose)
• Needles:  US 6
• Start to Finish:  October 7-8, 2017

Two -- Reading. Ali was working on Tuesday morning when I stopped at the coffee shop on the way to work. She said with a wink that Jün was planning to sleep over again! That was fine by me! He was excited to find the books we'd read the week before still upstairs:

The Little House has been a favorite since I was a child, and I'm so happy to read it again. Bushbaby was a favorite of Maddy's -- likely purchased at a book fair!

There was an old Living magazine up there, which we paged through... those cookies on the cover were quite interesting! And he pointed to Julia Roberts in an ad and said, "That's Maddy"!

Then Harry hit the scene!

He found all of Maddy's well-read Harry Potter paperbacks on the bookshelf and was apparently quite intrigued! He pulled them out -- plus a couple of others -- and added them to the reading pile!

He seemed happy enough with my reading of one random page from each book in the stack!

In terms of my own, I am still reading Still Life with Breadcrumbs by Anna Quindlen (pages) and listening to Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert. I am enjoying both quite a bit, even though it's been slow going. "Big Magic" came out of nowhere... I'm not usually into self-help-ish books very much, but her TED Talk, Your Elusive Creative Genius, is still one of my favorites -- and I fell in love with her voice.

Three -- Knitting. Yeah. Woman [continues to] Make Her Own Arrows.

I'm on the final section, which I'm knitting as a color "shift," these are the colors I've chosen -- now I just have to get going! (once I'm less frazzled)

Joining Kat/Carole for Unraveling/Three on Thursday -- check them out!

One.

This is getting old real fast. Even Junah seemed to have his fill yesterday, though we did spend a fair amount of time peering through the front door, sitting on the front porch, and standing on the sidewalk to observe operations.

Usually, I'm leaving for work as the workers arrive, but yesterday (my day off) we needed to have our vehicles moved by 7am or we weren't getting out until end of day. Same for today & tomorrow. They're finishing with the water line & new fire hydrant, then beginning the sewer line work at the other end of the street. Next week, from Monday-Thursday, we won't have street access at all, as they will be replacing the sewer line. Ugh, the schlepping...

Two.

On Tuesday, Junah finally had his first sleepover at our house since he was around a year old. He said yesterday that he'd like to stay at my house EVERYDAY, so I'd say it was a resounding success!

Good morning! He woke up so happy... and so snuggly!

Trains before breakfast!

Trains after breakfast!

Jün was the lucky recipient of a very nice hand-me-down set of tracks and we had fun with different configurations. Fresh batteries for James, the engine, made for happy times!

Tumbling was terrific! Participating and engaging a bit more each week! Yesterday, he even hit the mat.

We stopped for an early lunch and I'm glad we did! That boy was hungry (and so adorable).

He has recently discovered the wonders inside my "depression glass cupboard," which, over the years, has evolved into a bit of a treasure box. In addition to my favorite green glass pieces, it holds some of the kids' elementary school ceramics, origami birds that my cousin made in remembrance of Sharon, Christmas ornaments that Sharon made, some ceramic pieces made by Grandma Blum (including an epic failure that she kept to keep her humble and to demonstrate to her students that it happens!), a pewter vase that my mom made in an art metals class in the '70s, so many mouse figurines, a few photos, some shells, old marbles, dried/preserved flowers, souvenir shot glasses & vintage spoons... just all sorts of trinkets.

He especially likes the marbles and all the little porcelain eggs. He's gentle & careful, and so far, so good.

Three.

I had a hair appointment yesterday. Kate, my stylist, gave me a little trim and some '70s tousled waves -- I believe my hair is the longest it's ever been. Ever!

I think I had dried tears & snot on my shirt (there was one little melt-down prior to going home yesterday) and I'm wearing no makeup (yay, shades), but I felt like a million bucks when I took this selfie in the Home Depot parking lot (waiting to meet Kate). I particularly love how my "highlights" are showing here. I'm nearing the beginning my 60th decade on this planet... um, hello, I think I'm ready. BRING IT!!

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Head over here to read about more Things!

I spy...

One. Tumbling. Well, it went a little better than last week! I'd say that I still got a bit more of a workout than Jün, but he definitely participated more... not on the mat with everyone else, but off to the side. More engaged, but on his terms!

We headed to my house after Tumbling and had a snack, before taking a little walk to check out all the sewer/water work being done in the neighborhood. He had a jacket along, but I thought it was high time and very appropriate to pull out the Wonderful Wallaby Hoodie that Mack had commissioned 9 years ago (!!) with the dump truck on it!

I chuckled to myself a couple of times yesterday, when I was tempted to write a tongue-in-cheek post about being CHILLY! Haha. Seriously, though, yesterday's high temp was 62°F! It was 87° on Monday, 77° on Tuesday, and 62° on Wednesday... that's a pretty quick change to get used to at this time of year!! Today it's 70° and that is My Happy Place.

There were so many things to see! There's been a lot of work on the next street over this summer, partly because it's been extended by about 50 feet. With the main work done, the replacement of individual water lines has begun, so there were diggers of all sizes and configurations, lots of "men at work," and plenty of dirt, concrete, gravel, and dump truck action. A few of the guys greeted Junah, one of them asking if he was ready to get to work! If that wasn't enough, there were two big diggers working on a huge trench in the middle of the next next street over. Junah was noticing lots of little details and, well, he was just in heaven for about a half-hour!

Just wait until they're right in front of my house!! 

Two. Also from the 9-year mark on the Wayback Machine... I had jumped and began knitting this blanket to donate for a cause that quickly became sort of mirky and weird, so I never sent it. I never used it nor gave it away to any other cause... nothing; it's just been shuffling around my work area for 9 years. It had occurred to me many times to drop it off at a shelter, but it just never happened. Then, I learned about the Welcome Blanket project, and the ultimate path was crystal clear. I washed & dried it in the machine to make sure it would hold up, which it did, so I wrote my card, boxed it up, and dropped it at the P.O. yesterday. The deadline for blanket submissions has been extended to November 4th, so check it out!

Three. Can you believe it's the end of September??

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Head over here to read about more Things in Threes!

One.

Junah had has first Tumbling class yesterday and, well... I got a workout! I didn't do the somersaults (though I totally could have), but I did just about everything else. Jün finally warmed up a bit at the end. Whew! He became uncomfortable right at the start, when the instructor -- a family acquaintance -- recognized him and greeted him by name, but it's been a while and he didn't recognize her. She wasn't over the top or weird or anything, it was... all new, and it just didn't strike the right chord.

I have higher hopes for next week!

Also? Next round of classes? Dance!! Specifically, hip-hop. There was a class just finishing when we arrived and, OMG, you've never seen anything cuter than a toddler hip-hop dance class!!

I had a couple of things to return to the library, so we stopped down there after Tumbling. I haven't been in a while, other than to pick up or drop off a book, and I am still amazed at what a great place we have.

The Tumbling class was held at the "old library" -- a beautiful, historic, but extremely small structure (even with the ca. 1976 addition) -- and the first thing Junah said when we arrived was, "It's not dirty. It's clean!!" So, hopefully, we've now expanded his definition of "old." I wanted to point out that the "new library" is actually housed in an even older building than the "old library," but thought that might be a little hard to grasp right now!

Ali & Gin popped down to meet us and the kids had a wonderful hour or so playing with other kids -- not too many -- all of similar ages.

Two.

I got out of work early on Tuesday and drove down to the farm/wedding venue to pick up my lost earring. I was only about 6 miles from the Rauch Cemetery, so stopped by to say hello to my great great grandfather, great great great grandparents, and various great great great great relatives, etc.

I've been visiting this cemetery every few years for quite a while now... and it gets more mind boggling with every passing year.

And sad.

But also beautiful.

Three.

Have you seen the Stillness Collection? I was about to add the fourth or fifth pattern to my Favorites on Ravelry when I just Favorited the whole darn thing and then placed my order for the book. Holy cow. What a fantastic collection of designers & patterns! Individual patterns will be available in December... but I'm not waiting!

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Head over here to read about more Things... and to wish Carole a happy birthday!!