Intrepid Fiber Wizard

November come and gone

Yes - it seems to have come and gone in a flurry of work and holiday preparations.
(and many MD visits for mysterious illness, which seems to be solved for the moment... thank goodness)

There has been more knitting happening around here. I began the Ariosa Wrap Cardigan from the latest CEY booklet Autumn Book two. I am using an old favorite yarn (cascade 220). And I realized after I was about 1/2 way through this project, that it is the same heather color that I used last year for Heroine.. Silly rabbit. I suppose that its a good thing that I really liked it. 
I have finished the body of this, and only have the sleeves left to do; yet they will have to wait awhile, as Christmas knitting has begun.

 I enjoyed myself very much over the thanksgiving holiday. Erin and her boyfriend, Robert came down for dinner, and a friend of theirs, Mel, stopped by for dessert and card games. We laughed til our sides hurt, and ate until we collapsed in a pile of joy in the floor pillows.

 The photos cannot quite capture the giggles and belly laughs that we had - yet I will share them none the less.

My  Christmas knitting begins with a pair of slippers that are soon to be felted - these are from the pattern French Press. and I love it. They knit up in an evening or two at the most, and if I had a wood stove, they would already be dry and being modeled for the blog. (grins) alas, I await the long drying time of room temp...... 
These are soooo easy, and fabulously cute. You Must knit several pairs (yes, both daughters and I will be sporting these come January one. This is a pre-felting photo... finshed photos soon.
 

There has been knitting

Truly - there has ;-)
In fact...... just this afternoon, before I went out and raked leaves and cleaned gutters, I found these on my feet:

  and why yes... that is some actual sunshine streaming in across the rug!

Now the funny thing about this pair, is that in my sock drawer, I have another pair almost exactly like it....

yeah.. I know... I'm being silly...... so, here are sets for real.

  

The funny thing to me, is that you can truly see the difference between the sock that has been washed in each set, and the hot off the needles one. (new sock on the left in brown-eyed girl yarn, and on the right in the happy together yarn.)

The hand spun yarn really enjoys a good bath.

I am casting on tonight for two more singles, that will complete two more sets. yay..

It's been a glorious fall here.  I enjoy every moment of driving around, even during the rain that has been our constant companion until today.
 
Last week the trees looked like this -

And now this week, they look more like this:

And every once in awhile, you turn the corner, and your breath is literally taken away with the beauty:  

I recently discovered something else that is totally cool..... while admiring trees, and looking up at the sky, I saw that on the top of my office building, all four corners, there are gargoyles!! (well, griffins to be exact.. I think..) Aren't they incredible! They are original to the building, which was built in the early 1900's - one of the first "high rise" buildings out here (all 5 stories of it - grins). I have asked many of my friends who have lived here much longer than I have, and they didn't notice them either -
color me goofy, but I enjoy these little discoveries so much.

Life goes on

I have been missing my family, which is fairly normal I suppose after a lovely visit.

I wonder if those who actually win the lottery spend more time with their beloveds? - for my family and I seem to repeat the mantra "when I win the lottery, I will see you more"

I bought a ticket to the mega millions tonight. 
Music makes me misty - clouds make me melt -

Mom emailed me tonight, telling me of some gorgeous clouds she and Dad saw this evening, and how they both exclaimed that I would have wanted to take photos.
Indeed.
I was even shooting pictures of this evening's sunset as I left the grocery store. Did anyone see it? oh so pretty, and gone in a fleeting moment.

I find that as I age, I tend to enjoy the impermanence of things even more - a flower's bloom, a perfect ear of corn, a sunset that steals your breath away - these are things that matter to me.

There has indeed been knitting in wizard-land...........
two socks, past the heels....
and well on their way to making two new pairs for my sock drawer (lucky me - the mates are already complete!)

I also began a lace scarf with one of the newest yarn sensations, Zauberball...
I am totally enjoying it.
And it will look like something a bit more lovely, once it is blocked.
promise.
It will just take awhile (since each 20 row repeat takes me about 45 minutes. gack!)

I have been feeling sentimental these past few days - wishing that I had more control over the fates - yet at the same time, blessing the universe that I have no control.
M - next time you read this, know that you are still my favorite dance partner (for 45 years) - and this song has been playing in my head, wishing you were closer.

I made a batch of homemade Mac 'n cheese tonight. as you can see, it feeds an army. Anyone wanna hop on over for dinner??  It freezes pretty well, so I can save it if you cannot come by tonight :-)