First Sunday Brunch

A friend has been hosting a brunch on the first Sunday of the month for years.  I was invited to join the group a few years ago, and attended when I was in town, meaning I got there about two of three months.  One person would always cook scrambled eggs, breakfast meat (bacon or sausages or both), and potatoes (meat and vegetarian versions, with sweet peppers and onions), and the rest of us brought whatever we liked.  It could be donuts, fruit salad, vegetables, quiche, various baked sweets, orange juice and sparkling wine of some sort.

Then the pandemic hit, and there hadn't been one since March 2020 until today.  A small group of us gathered, and the weather was good so we could use all the outside spaces and move through the house in threes and fours.  It was interesting to be in a group.  I was the only one who kept a mask on almost the whole time, but I felt more comfortable that way.

I'd been thinking about taking fruit salad or just fruit, then I found a recipe for Nectarine Upside-Down Cake, and decided to make it because nectarines are available at the farmstand where I have my CSA share this year.  It came out a bit darker than the photograph, and a bit dry because I forgot the oven was on convection and I should have dropped the temperature and/or baking time.  But it was liked well enough, and there isn't much left for me to take to the bicycle shop this week.

I'd made another recipe from the same blog for the local cooking club (we don't meet in person, so it's not quite as fun as when we could taste each other's cooking) earlier this week.  Most of the ingredients came from the farmstand and this is definitely something I will make again.

Resolutions Report

Another month when I didn't do the end-of-month report, but we were busier than usual in the last few days because my uncle suddenly took a turn in the level of care he needs, and it turned out the place where he had been living couldn't provide it, so we had to find a new place and get aides to give the extra care he needed until we did and get him moved and settled.  When I say "we" I mean that my parents, who live near him, did most of it, although as his legal representative I had to sign a lot of things and tomorrow I go to a bank to get one notarized.  Conveniently, if you can call it that, the tax payments I mailed to our town mid-month seem to have gone missing so I have to go to their office (paying on line incurs over $60 in service fees) tomorrow to pay, as it's the deadline.  And stop payment on cheques.  So while I am out and have to visit the bank anyway........

I did have some time to do some knitting, and made progress on the Omega Shawl.  I am now working on the mesh border, and so far I am not a fan, but I persevere.  I'll see what I think after one full repeat of the stitch pattern is finished.  I've also made progress on the charity sweater and am about halfway up the yoke.  Since the yarn is solid black it's a challenge to keep track of the decrease rows at night, so I am alternating between the two and steadfastly not casting on something new except as I need it for dentist knitting.  I finished the hat I had, so I need a new one OTN before Tuesday when I go to get the new implant checked.  Yes, I broke a tooth and there wasn't enough to save, and this is the best option.

Where I'm not today, with a shawl

According to the itinerary, today on the Craft Cruise we would be in Dublin, "the home of Guinness Beer, numerous literary greats, and the rock band U2; a fun city that is currently enjoying the status of being one of the hottest and most livable cities in Europe."  Instead, as for the last four months, I am home.

Upside of being home in the summer is the fruit arriving at the local farmstands, and I have had to ration myself on blueberries and peaches or I would eat little else.  Ditto corn, which is so sweet and fresh you can eat it raw!  I am already planning to freeze portions for the winter.  Tomatoes are not yet in enough but when the season hits, I'll be ready.

I get my CSA share about every other week, sharing it with three other people and we take turns.  Yesterday was one of my weeks, and to my disappointment I seem to always miss the weeks with fennel.  I did get parsley, celery, zucchini, eggplant, purple basil, green beans, chard, scallion, and garlic.  My share partner got the napa cabbage instead of chard because her stove is disconnected for kitchen remodeling so she could take only things that can be eaten raw.  She did get the two bigger zucchini as I got the eggplant.  Otherwise we split fairly evenly.  We're both going to farmstands for fruit this week.

Since I planned to start the Boneyard Shawl the day I should have left on the cruise, I had time to finish a hat and scarf for charity:

Scarf folded at left is about 66" long.

Other side of the hat.

These were made from leftovers of my grandmother's holiday vest from last winter.  Lion Brand "Ferris Wheel" in Buttercup.  Just a simple 1 sc 1 dc pattern, hat made up on the fly.

I also started a scarf in the Uzume pattern, using some Noro Silk Garden that had been waiting in my stash for something to happen:

She's right - it's pretty in a shaded yarn.

Shannon Okey, the designer, had mused on Cooperative Press' Facebook page about how it would look in a shaded yarn, and offered to send yarn to a knitter interested in making one.  Since I had yarn in my stash I figured I'd just go ahead, especially as I knew I'd put it aside midmonth.  More photos when it progresses.  The pattern is fairly easy, I've had just one blip when I didn't do the correct cable row in sequence and I decided to frog.

July Mini-Resolution Update

I did start the shawl on July 11th, the day we were to have set sail from Amsterdam: 

The yarn is from Hedgehog Fibres, their merino aran in "Ferrum".  Not one of Stephen West's yarns, although I bought it in his shop.  And ..... I just wasn't feeling it.  It's lovely yarn, quite silky-soft, and the colour glows, but somehow as a shawl it wasn't thrilling me.  I kept seeing me wearing it as a vest instead, even though I don't usually wear autumn colours.

So I went back to the yarn I'd purchased in his shop last year, which included a handful of miniskeins from an Amsterdam dyer called Undercover Otter:

I remember having plans to make mittens out of these but have decided the shawl will be a better use.  Handily, if I were traveling "for reals", it is a very compact item, even though it is growing quite nicely:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3 - Yes, I added a stripe of Colour 2.

Day 4 - Finished Colour 1.

Day 5 - On to Colour 3!  Currently 12" deep, 24" across top.

Clearly, this is Meant To Be.  Yes, if I were on the cruise I couldn't have done the switch, but if I were smart I would have begun and learned the issue before I left home.  Or made the other choice before I left.  Or purchased more yarn in his shop......

Happy 40th, Mom and Dad

My parents got married forty years ago today, the only day both of them plus the reverend, an old family friend, were available.  They invited some close friends and a few family to dinner, with a mystery stop on the way that turned out to be the chapel where they were married.  We don't have photographs because a cousin opened the only camera and ruined the film, but this one from a New York City trip some years ago seems appropriate:

Happy Ruby Anniversary, Mom and Dad!!

Not much to report here.  Work was very busy running up to the end of quarter, as people tried to get deals signed.  I had only a couple days when meals were granola bars and peanut butter, which I consider a win for EOQ.  Because I am home I could have at least one properly cooked meal each day, which is even more of a win.  I've enjoyed cooking local chicken, local eggs, local vegetables, and the herbs from my countertop kitchen garden, rounded out with local cheese and yoghurt and ice-cream or italian ice.

I am reading books again.  For a while, I couldn't.  Too much reading for work, keeping up with articles and reports online, and I just lost the ability to focus and enjoy the words.  A friend finished and launched a book, and I'd seem some early chapters, but it took him long to finish, and coincidentally the book comes out in an eerily similar time.  It's available free to download today, as it is the first of every month, and is a prequel to his earlier book, also free to download today.

Next I will try to finish some books I abandoned when I stopped traveling.  I had a couple that lived in my briefcase or travel bag, and when I cleaned those to put away for the longterm I found them.  They are waiting, but I have a feeling I'll dive back into them soon.

Status of June Mini-Resolutions

I did not finish two of the OTN items.  I did finish the sock, but not anything else that was in-progress.  The Center for Knit & Crochet suggested that World UFO Day tomorrow also apply to UnFinished Objects so I give myself through tomorrow night.  When I read that I was inspired to go to a bin where I have two quite old items.  One is a shawl I started during the nearly-year in Madison, and the other a shopping bag from before you received reusable bags from anywhere.  I am pretty sure I started it when I lived in Texas and the yarn shop from where I purchased the yarn is no longer in business - so it's been a while.  The pattern is fairly mindless so I've made quite good progress, and it might be done tomorrow if I figure out the top and strap.  The pattern is long gone.

I did finish the gift for my friend and the post office says it was delivered, so here are some photos:

I had just enough yarn for two bags - one crocheted, one knit.

  

I used the lace pattern from the Phyllotaxis Hat.

Kim received an elevation within her religion and I had a hank of hand-dyed sock yarn that reminded me of her.  I offered to make something out of it and she sent several ideas.  I decided to make these bags and I think they came out rather well.  Both patterns are my own design, other than following the lace pattern, and based upon measurements she sent.

Edited to add:  Kim posted that the bags are "perfect", she's thrilled.  Huzzah!

July Mini-Resolution

This is easy.  I was going to be on a Craft Cruise this month, but it was cancelled due to the pandemic and because no ships are sailing.  I'd planned to have at least one project in addition to the class projects:  Stephen West's Boneyard shawl, in yarn I purchased at his shop last year.  I plan to cast on July 11th, the day the cruise was scheduled to begin, and plan to have it finished by the time the cruise would end on July 25th.

Maybe I'll get some other UFOs finished, too.

The Fiber Fest that Wasn't - Day 3

Today at DFW Fiber Fest I was going to do an all-day class called the "I Am Dragon Trilogy" which teaches a format that looks like dragon scales.  I've tried a crocheted version and it's tedious and I was hoping for some hints and tricks.

Instead, I worked a bit on the vest, not enough to make a progress picture worthwhile because I also did some other things, including the weekly Torah Study, which included a discussion about whether it is acceptable to have somebody go to the grocery store for you.  While the rabbi didn't offer an answer, we had many opinions and views shared, including from one participant who is a healthcare professional and did catch COVID-19 at work.

After class, I went out to the post office, pharmacy, and farmstand.  I wore this outfit, with the sweatshirt zipped and hood up, and further accessorized with gloves and shoes:

At the post office I picked up a few more packages of goodies from DFW Fiber Fest vendors:

A Hundred Ravens.  A friend adores
their yarn and the one on right is the
commemorative show colour.

Brazen Stitchery - not sure why
I ordered the one with all the pink,
but I couldn't resist "Hermione".

LeRoo's yarn is REALLY soft.

moondrake added the pink; the lavender
and brown is their commemorative colourway.

That should be the end of it, but some vendors held out their offerings until this weekend, or have now added some show-special items.  Dang it.

Gnomespun isn't a vendor, but I was reading about the spinning wheel he made at 1/16th size, and wandering into his shop area, and somehow these showed up in my mailbox, too:

The blue is even more amazing in person than onscreen, and I am SO glad I gave in to temptation.

After that photo shoot the mail went back into the boot/trunk of the car to wait a few days.  then the packages get wiped down before coming into the house, and isolated in a corner for a few more days.  I took the photos to show the yarn during DFW Fiber Fest weekend.

Then I scrubbed off the veggies I'd gotten at the farmstand: two kinds of radishes, rainbow carrots, stripetti squash, brussels sprouts, rapini, mushrooms (gently soaked, not scrubbed, because they are delicate), golden beets, sweet potatoes, and parsnips.  I also got a dozen eggs, which I wiped before putting into the refrigerator.  They took a preorder  of a couple items I wanted to be sure to get and packed the rest while I was there; the farmstand is an open shed and they let one person in at a time, and do all the picking and packing for you.  Hurrah for supporting local farms.

Then I scrubbed myself and put on fresh clothing:
  

Closeup of the leggings.
I don't know why they look
so grey in the full-body photo.

At DFW Fiber Fest I wouldn't be wandering about in just a shirt and leggings, but at home, I can do it.  And with the day as sunny as it ended up being, I'm more than warm enough.  It's hard to see the shirt in the morning photo above, but it's the same saying, just on a different colour and the light grey has short sleeves.

And yes, I am planning a crochet project for some of the yarn I've gotten from the vendors this year, although the several ideas I've had are all knitting.  Back to the vest for now.

I'm knitting while watching streaming arts programs:  Met Opera, Andrew Lloyd Webber, etc.  I'd planned to be at Rover Dramawerks for their "365 Women a Year" festival, but they have been shut down since mid-March, like most of north Texas nonessential businesses.  You can see the sign the City of Plano posted to their door at the top of their website.  They received permission to post video from some of their "10 Minute Plays Festival" and although I'd been to the shows, I'm enjoying watching them again.  I'll probably send the price of a ticket or two to them in appreciation - arts organizations are hurting now, and any bit that can help, really does.