Get it? Catch Up--Ketchup?
Oh well...I tried.
Spring Has Sprung! As I tap away on my keyboard, it is a Blissfully Sunny 75 degrees outdoors. My windows are open, I feel uplifted, and I'm even barefoot right now. My walk was sprightly and pleasant. Crocuses are smiling at the sun, buds are on trees, and the guy down the street was out mowing his lawn. As I leaned over our neighbor's fence to give treats to their dogs (The Boys, as I call them), I took note of their forsythia just beginning to show bright yellow blossoms. My chives are up and ready to be snipped for baked potatoes tonight, and my oregano and tarragon are starting to come on. And, looking closely, I spot a fine sprinkling of dill which has nudged up through the mulch. Hooray!
I Am The Champion! After a grueling season rife with injuries to my marquee players, my perseverance paid off and I beat Sam in the Championship Round of our NBA Fantasy League. I had an impressive record of 18-3 with an 11-game win streak. And I was the only woman in the 10-team league. My knowledge of the NBA is bordering on the obsessive at this point. Once a student, always a student.
Undecorator Update. As of today, very few Christmas Decoration Sloths in my orbit have taken down their decorations, most egregious being the Nativity Wreck on my street and the mailbox wreath three blocks north. I've decided to Be Grateful that none of the offending decor is an inflatable.
Knitting Pathology. I started a mitred square blanket with the intention of A) using up a lot of yarn that was given to me and that I had bits and pieces of; B) focusing on Knitting As Therapy, and; C) having an ongoing small and easy project that wouldn't give me fits and didn't have a date certain for necessary completion. It all sounds Just Perfect, right? Well, baloney to that.
First, I found little mini-skeins of very pretty yarn on sale that I thought, "Oh, that would be so lovely to fill in squares on the blanket project" so I bought a load of them. Then I knitted a couple of different projects that used bulkier yarn, and I really loved that, so when I found a bunch of it at a ridiculously low price, I bought that. And then I decided that I would set A Square A Day as a Knitting Assignment for myself, which is completely reasonable, and then every day I keep an eye on the clock, wondering when I'm going to have some unbroken time to sit down and knit my square. All of which is Completely Counter to what my Original Intentions were. I swear, I am a Horrible Project most of the time.
Looking Forward. Last Saturday, our mail was exciting! In it was an invitation to a release party being thrown by our favourite winemaker in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. We were verbally invited last October, but hadn't given it much thought again until the invitation showed up. Luckily, we were able to book a room at our usual inn, and we can't wait to go and taste the new wines before they are released to the general public. We've developed some very nice relationships with so many of the wineries and winemakers there that every time we open a bottle, it's like reliving a memory.
I do so hope that Spring has shown up where you are. We here in NEO will be back to the 40s and low 50s in just a couple of days, but this gift of Fleeting Spring has been a much-needed tonic. And that is, after all, what Spring is all about: rejuvenation, reward, and renewal. I'm storing this up until Spring comes again To Stay.
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Today is the first truly spring day that we've had here. Lawns are being mowed. Birds are chirping. All is right in the Land known as Suburbia. However, rain is forecasted for tomorrow so it'll be back to a more gloomy world. Spring can be so annoying so years. I feel like all I do is wait.
ReplyDeleteAlly Bean--I'm glad you had a Spring Day. We're back to Reality here today, too, with clouds and temps sliding back down into the 40s-50s. I think we're going to have to get used to Spring being only about a month and a half long, if that. In NEO, anyway.
DeleteAnd yes, all we do is Wait. What a great point!
I want a forsythia bush so badly!
ReplyDeleteI had to laugh at your plans to use up yarn only ending up buying more. I did that with quilt fabrics last year and still haven't done anything with them. I love the planning and buying part better than the cutting and sewing, I guess.
Jean--Forsythias are such a nice harbinger of Spring. They tend to get really rangy and send out a ton of shoots, however; pruning them is a full-time job.
DeleteI did really well with NOT buying yarn for a year or two except if a project called for a specific type I did not have or if it was for a specific gift. Then all Hell broke loose for some reason. I think it was a SAD Coping Mechanism.
My coping mechanism this past year has been eating. Knitting is so much healthier.
DeleteYou crack me up. Your squares project sounds precisely like what would happen if I did that. One day at a time for me. So if its going to act like Christmas, then PHOOPH Im going to knit an ornament . I swear i am
ReplyDeletekathy b--I'm assuming you mean Christmassy Weather? I saw that horrifying bigass storm headed your way up there in the Wisconsin/Michigan area and shivered. If that stuff came here to NEO, it would put me IN the wine cellar for sure. I'm glad you are levelheaded enough to laugh at this point. Bless your heart. Knit that ornament, dammit. Now I have to log off and GET MY SQUARE DONE BEFORE THE DAY IS OVER!
DeleteI completely understand about the yarn projects, as you remember I started three different sweaters with the same yarn and still did not like the finish. I Think we are all completely stressed out, politics being the main culprit, I wish I could sit and knit for hours, I think I need it.
ReplyDeleteMeredith--My knitting is supposed to be therapeutic, but I don't allow it to be. Instead, I turn it into another Perfection Project. Such is my pathology. Maybe I need to sit and knit dishcloths. That way, I can just knit and simply not care a bit. AND I ALREADY HAVE THE YARN.
DeleteOur roller coaster continues - 80's on Saturday and 40's on Sunday. Makes me crazy. And, speaking of crazy, I passed two houses over the weekend with inflatables (deflated) still in the yard. It's almost enough to put one over the edge....
ReplyDeleteVera--Ours, too. It rained ALL day yesterday (Sunday) and never got above 47. There was tornadic activity in the Akron area. Today, it is gloomy and with wind chills, in the 20s. Snow is coming in overnight, but thankfully, no real accumulation (at least none is forecast yet!). It is a challenge to remain good-tempered.
DeleteAnd, in the Misery Loves Company category, at least I am not alone seeing Xmas decor. I wish there were an ordinance banning these individuals from outdoor decorations for five years, and that City Workers were able to come and take this crap to the dump. It's been almost four months--they've abandoned it!
Here in Texas... well, we can't complain because we really never had a proper winter (as far as a 'proper winter' goes in these parts.) My biorhythms are totally off kilter because of leaving the house with 40 degrees in the morning and coming home late afternoon to 80. Regardless, here's to the snippet of spring you *did* enjoy and... release parties for wine tasting!! Sounds like the perfect antidote for a far too ravaging winter's tale.
ReplyDeleteWish I could comment on other stuff, but I am totally out of the sports scene except for keeping a wary eye on the upcoming World Cup and... nothing witty to say about the knitting... except that my talents in that area never advanced beyond some very long scarves I gifted to the usual Christmas present victims in my family when I was 10. I should probably attempt this again, starting with figuring out why the edges always curled inwards.
Ortizzle--Well, the Fantasy Sports and Knitting items weren't about Sports and Knitting so much as they were about A) my stunning achievements as a Woman In A Man's World, and B) my sad obsessive compulsive tendencies coupled with a streak of perfectionism. Perhaps you were being Tactful and Keeping My Ego In Check. :-)
DeleteI can sympathize with your Missing Seasons. Today in NEO we reached the lofty heights of 35, but with wind chills the real feel was 29. Snow is forecast. Ditto for Tuesday. I am freezing and OVER IT. Pretty much now we get two seasons, Winter for 6 months and Summer for 6 months. Spring and Fall appear for a week or so, but they hardly rank a mention.
(If your scarves curled, that's probably due to knitting them in stockinette stitch. It will always curl, no matter what.)
I owe you an email, I know. Sigh. I would like it to be a pleasant and interesting one, so that explains the wait.
Ha-ha. No ego check, for sure. And for the record, I am in awe of your Fantasy Sports achievement! I would never have been able to work any of that out! As for OCD... that's pretty much how I deal with most challenges. Lately, I have tried to be less perfectionist about things with the end result being that when I obsess less on one thing, I tend to obsess more on something else, lol. So we're probably hard-wired to do that. The only thing that helps somewhat, I have found, is that the older you get, the more you cut down on the *number* of things you obsess on. So there's that.
DeleteI cannot believe your never-ending winter. We have had pretty much the opposite for the last 2 years: fall, spring and (a very long) summer. What's really weird is seeing dried up autumn leaves falling in February and then flowers blooming in March.
Curling scarves: yes, I actually "googled" that after writing about it, and apparently there is no cure.
I hope the weather is nice for your wine jaunt to Ontario. If it's not, at least... there are all those lovely wines to look forward to. :-)
It just seems so fabulous and sophisticated to have a relationship with wineries. I have a relationship with the Total Wine store down the street, that's about as fancy as I get. I'm glad you're having good weather (hope you're having good weather again, since it's been a bit since you posted.). It has decided to be warm this week. It rained last week, and now it's going to be mid-80s. It makes me miss the rain. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteJ@jj--Sometimes, it IS sophisticated and fabulous to have that relationship. We get ushered over to a different tasting area and get a nice, long tasting with cheese and nibblies, often with the winemaker himself. And we don't pay for any tasting and get to taste everything, even library wines and items way beyond the tasting menu. They can see that we're knowledgeable, often because I tell them up front exactly what we're looking to buy in order to fill a gap in our cellar. And I bring along my wine journal so that I can take tasting notes since we pair wine with food so often. (I know--Wine Nerds.)
DeleteWe had snow last week and on Tuesday I drove in a blizzard. Today, it is 60, but with very cold, brisk winds out of the north. We are having an average of low 50s for the week, but may hit 70 tomorrow. Oh I hope so. I really really do.
And I hope your weather moderates and that Good Rain is in your forecast when you need it.