GRATEFUL

"If you must look back, do so forgivingly.
If you must look forward, do so prayerfully.
However, the wisest thing you can do is be
present in the present...gratefully."

~ Maya Angelou.

 Now that the rain has moved on
we are starting to slowly dry out,

and it is fun seeing all the
mushrooms that are springing
up.

 The drive is still a wee
bit soggy, but the sun
is shining and I have
managed to get my walk
in each day.

 I have a plan for when I
'must' visit the market and
that is to try at least one new
thing. I get tired of eating/
drinking the same thing over
and over, I need to try new
foods, it helps keep my world
interesting. This week I tried Suja
Juice and have plans to buy
more, it was quite good. Have
you tried it?

 Along with celebrating Veterans
Day, this week was also the 240th
birthday of the Marine Corp.
Since I am the daughter of a
career Marine and live in a
town that trains recruits this
was a really big deal in my world.
I am so grateful to all the service
members for their sacrifice.

 It was a great mail week,
I received a package of
handmade bookmarks
after winning a giveaway
hosted by A butterfly in my hair.
Thank you so much V, I love them.

I am finally finished with
my chunky [cheater:Karen;)]
knitting, I had a few requests
for chunky knits, but I am
now thrilled to be knitting
with needles that don't feel
like logs in my hands.

Emerson had her 2nd grade school
photos taken and I will admit to a
few tears, she is so beautiful and getting
so big!

Enjoy the most wonderful weekend
my friends. We are going from a
high today of 80F to 63F and maybe
I will see the first frost of the season,
fingers crossed.

Much love,
Tracey
XO

YARN ALONG

" But Grandmother what big eyes 
you have" she said, " The better
to see you with my dear"

~ Little Red Riding Hood
   The Brothers Grimm

Not long ago I received a
phone call from my granddaughter,
Emerson, asking me if  I would please
knit her something to keep her head
warm when she walks to school since
Germany winters are so much colder
than the southern winters she is
use to. After looking at several
patterns we decided on the Canyon
Cowl. Emerson would have loved to
have it in orange, but since red is also
a favorite color we went with it as
I knew it would be easier to find the
red yarn in the weight I needed.

The cowl would have been done
much sooner, but I made the mistake
of twisting the stiches when I joined
for the round, something I haven't done
in years, and I had to rip out almost
half and begin again.  It was knit on
a size 13 needle and I thought it would
have knit up a lot quicker, but I kept
having to take breaks since that size
needle is just not comfortable in my
hands. Give me a size 4 or 6 needle
any day!

The rain has once again arrived in
SC so I spent the day inside, baking
and knitting. I finished the last few
rows of knitting and after seaming
the hood I managed to crochet the
optional border around the face,
something I was going to leave off
since I don't crochet, but it really
wasn't that hard, yah me  ;)

I think Emerson will be pleased with
the results and I'll post photos of her
modeling it just as soon as I can.

Reading has been so slow, not because of
the book, but because I am just exhausted
at night after spending as much time as
I can outdoors.  I am reading Station Eleven
and really am enjoying it. I think with
all the rain I will be able to spend a little
more time reading this week and once
this book is done I have plans to read Kate
Morton's newest release, The Lake House.

Joining Ginny

MAKING EACH DAY COUNT

Make today count,
you'll never get it
back.

                                                             {Photo Credit: Erin, Emerson's mommy]

Well, it's now the middle of August
and I am noticing a slight change
in the temperature, the light, the
smell in the air, and while it's still
warm outside I can feel autumn in
the not so distant future, I'm ready!

This week I've spent getting ready for
the new school year, my last! I had
planned to begin formal lessons after
Labor Day, but Alex is excited to begin
so begin we will. I think we are in for
a fun year, but I am not looking forward
to Linear Algebra; mathematics is 
a subject I was not wired for ;)and
it's kind of hard being a beach bum 
when papers need to be written.

My dishcloth knitting is moving right
along, cast on 44 stitches, garter stitch
for 9 inches, bind off, simple and easy.

I won a giveaway and you can too. 
Wacoal Bras is giving away 30
$80.00 gift cards each week until
December.  Check it out, you can
enter once a day.

My kitchen is beginning to see
a little more activity which makes
my guys very happy. I have been
on a yogurt kick and have made
it twice this week and I even turned
my oven on and baked blueberry
muffins.

My fall garden spot has been disked
so I am hoping to get my hands 
dirty this weekend. It will be me
against the deer and squirrels, but
I have high hopes.

I gave up reading The Vacationers,
thank you for agreeing, and found
a new book that looks pretty promising,
I will keep you posted.

The best thing this week was a phone
call from my daughter and getting to
talk with Emerson. The Army finally
has them a place to live so they will
be moving out of the hotel and into
an apartment this weekend. Next week
when they get internet set up we will
finally be able to Skype which will
ease my heart some. I got a great photo
of Emerson at the grocery store.
They sell yarn at the grocery stores
in Germany? American markets should
take some tips! 

Happy weekending my friends.

Love,
Tracey
XO

A VERY LONG WEEK

"Everyday is a new beginning, 
Take a deep breath, smile and 
start again."

Oh my goodness, between Emerson moving
to Germany with my daughter and son in love,
and then having issues with not being able to
upload photos it has been a very long week.
We won't even go into the issues I had when
I tried to start a new blog, argh! Thank goodness
I still have Google Chrome on my computer
besides Windows 10 so I am back in my space. :)

Emerson is now in Germany and they are loving
it.  I miss her so much. Thank you for the phone
calls and emails checking on me, you are the best!

I have been keeping busy to pass the time...

I did a lot of house loving [I clean when I am upset]

I finished knitting a shawl [and started a hat]

I am reading a new book [it's okay, not great, but okay]

I am doing a little Bible Journaling  [thank you Stephanie]

Baking cakes [thank you Karen]

And watching the above video over and over and over....

I hope your weekend is all that  you need it to be.

Much love,
Tracey
XO

EMERSON'S PULLOVER

At the end of the day it's
not about what you have
or even what you've accomplished
...it's about who you've lifted
up, who you've made better. It's
about what you've given back.

~ Denzel Washington

 

With everything that has been

going on in my world I wasn't

sure I would be able to finish

the pullover I was knitting for

Emerson, but picking it up

and knitting a few stitches here,

a few stitches there, I was able

to finish it Saturday night. A

gentle blocking and a fast photo

shoot and it's done.

I absolutely love this pattern,

it is very straightforward

and easy to follow.  I did make

a few changes, making the ribbing

a little longer and also knitting

the sleeves to full length, but

that is all.

 

Emerson was thrilled to arrive

and find her knit all ready to

pack for the move to Germany.

I would love to have had a

photo of her wearing it, but

with my summer temperature

there was no way I could ask

that of her, but I did request

a picture when it's worn this

winter.

Now to see if I can fiddle with

the numbers so I can knit one

in adult size; it would be just

right for my winter since I

rarely wear a coat.

 

 

YARN ALONG

A sensitive soul
sees the world
through the lens
of LOVE.

Before I share this week's

yarn projects I wanted to

give each of you the biggest

THANK YOU for all of

your sweet comments to

my guest blogger last week,

you all made a six year old

wee girl very happy, and

she says thank you too. I am

thrilled to say that she is

still practicing her knitting

each day and loves it. It

has been so thrilling to pass

on this love all of things woolie

to my first grand.

 

My knitting has taken a hit this

past week with other projects

needing attention, but I am

making progress on the pullover.

I need to knit the back ribbing,

the cowl and two sleeves, I'm

not sure I will have it done in

time before the move to Germany,

but I am going to try.

 

I finished the test knit hat I was

knitting, but realized I blocked

it a little big [I shouldn't have

used the mannequin head], but

I love how it came out and

have plans to knit another

Sunday Sweater to go along

with it.

 

My reading this week is super lite,

I am a huge Mary Kay Andrews

fan and Beach Town is the

perfect summer read, especially

when you are sitting on the

beach or laying in hammock

under the pecan trees.

 

Joining Ginny