Thanksgiving thoughts

We had 9 for dinner yesterday. Not our biggest crowd ever, but a good size party.

Lots of conversation and fun.

I also enjoyed the quiet visits I had while I was getting ready.

I thought of my friend Jeff who gave us the magical extending table that seats us all – it has 5 leaves! We used to work together, and we had so much fun! When he got a new table, he gave us his old one. We love it, and are so glad to have it.

The dishes we used were from my grandmother, “Ma”, and the glasses were from the other grandmother, “Gram”. They had such different ideas about how one should live a life and entertain. I think I learned a lot from each of them and blended it all with what Mom taught me until I came up with how I live my life and entertain.

“Pa” (married to Ma, of course) stands with me as I sharpen the carving knife. I remember him with his sharpening steel and the big carving knife every year, those long smooth strokes, then perfectly carving the big birds Ma cooked. I am pretty sure he would have cringed if he saw what I did with the knife I sharpened on my little knife sharpening gizmo! I can get the meat off the bird, but it isn’t pretty!

Then there is my ex SIL, L, mother of nieces B and C the younger. Potato peeling is what brings her to mind. I always make too many mashed potatoes (except the year I baked them, and the reaction was so bad that I won’t do that again!) but I can’t beat L in the too much department. One year, early in their marriage, she and brother C hosted Thanksgiving in a cold, drafty-but-beautiful farmhouse in the middle of nowhere that they were renting. There were 5 of us for dinner. She made 20 pounds of potatoes!! She wanted to have enough. She nailed that! She also wanted to keep the stove going because it kept the house warm. I don’t remember being cold, but only how much fun we had, and how we all laughed at those potatoes. And still do.

My 1st stepmother,P, helps me get the gravy right. Stir, stir, stir forever. Longer than you want. Longer than your arm can stand. Just stand by the stove and stir while people move about you, move you to this side and that, while the meal gets itself ready to be eaten. When the gravy is ready, it’s time to eat!

It got quite crowded in the kitchen at times with all the present people and the past people, but that’s what makes it a good holiday celebration, isn’t it?

Sunday… no words

Not so busy!

Yesterday went just as planned, and was lots of fun! A’s friend cancelled for today, though, due to the death of a close friend. 😢

So we have an off day. I plan to put my loom together, and A brought a ton of pellets in yesterday BY HER SELF while I was at whorls and purls, so today we stack them.

I did take a few photos for you of the finished objects:

So now I need to think of some new things to make!

Busy weekend ahead!

This promises to be a crazy weekend! Tomorrow we go to Ellsworth for breakfast, followed by a visit to the craft fair I am not selling at this year. Then we come home and I head off to knitting, where I will pick up my loom!!!! Can’t wait!

Then to the grocery store on the way home. It will be a big week because I have to get the turkey and all the trimmings for next week.

Sunday a woman A knows is coming over to meet me and watch me knit and spin, from what I can tell. A has told her about the fiber stuff and she is curious to learn more. I have fiber covered!

I expect I will be engrossed with the weaving, but if I find time for knitting, I hope to work on some mitts and boot toppers, the Durrow and who knows what else? I have a test knit I can’t share yet, and some Christmas presents to knit by Saturday… good thing I finished the blue scarf and the dangling conversation! I’ll try to get photos for you this weekend.

And I suppose we should do a bit of shoveling, since we got our first real snow of the season. But not our last, I am sure!

As I said, a busy weekend!

Will you have a busy or quiet weekend?

What I love about Fall

Lots of long weekends!

This one was really needed – the time change has knocked me down. I think I am transitioned now, but I have been really tired all week.

Still managed to get lots of knitting done, though!

Finished a pair of socks, long on the needles, and a shawl that just flew off of them.

The shawl isn’t dry yet, but here are some in action blocking shots.

So naturally I cast on a few new things. One is a hat that a young woman ordered. She wanted black,white, and gray. I am knitting a couple of them and will let her choose among them. That will give me an idea what appeals to the younger set. She gets at least one hat a year, and looks gorgeous in anything, so I am looking forward to seeing her in one of these.

I got a slight reprieve on the blue scarf, as J won’t be here for Thanksgiving. I am still aiming to finish it ASAP so I can ship it in plenty of time. I should finish it this week. Also need to knit some ornaments before next week. Hmmm I wonder what they will be?

Big news though, I ordered my first loom! It is an Ashford rigid heddle and I know it is the first step down a rabbit hole. 😉. I should get it next Saturday. Can’t wait!

Yesterday we met up with Mom and B for lunch in Belfast. Always fun! We ate at Bell the Cat, which just has yummy soups and sandwiches.

So today I am off and wondering what I will do. Likely putter and knit, and if the shawl is dry, I will reclaim the table and do some sewing. I have a Christmas present to sew up for A , and I want to get the dress finished, too.

Not sure that will all happen.

One thing that will is that I will try a new casserole recipe – chicken, cheese, artichokes and spinach with pasta. Mmmmm. Meant to make it yesterday but the day got away from me.

So a quiet kind of homebody day is ahead.

Do you have the day off? What will you do with it?

Another finished object

A simple pair of socks.

They took forever to finish.

They aren’t fancy or gorgeous. They are a simple mesh pattern in a utilitarian color. They are quite soft and squishy. They will be worn a lot this winter.

They are done.

Finished, ready for delivery

It looks good even in artificial light!

The button is where she wants it, and I think it will work.

I love these two yarns together, and I am so glad my friend likes them, too.

Rolling back time

Well, this was not the weekend I expected! Or at least, the last 24 hours wasn’t.

I had Friday off (I know, I didn’t give you a list!) and mostly did chores. All the laundry (which turned out to be an incredibly good thing), the grocery shopping, got a hair cut, did some cleaning.

I did manage to make the bias tape I need for the dress. What a lot one gets from a fat quarter!

It’s kind of fun to make, but involves a lot of ironing. And sewing tiny little seams.

I also knit a little bit. Everything is moving along nicely.

Saturday was about puttering in the morning, then Whorls and Purls in the afternoon. That was rather fun, as one lady brought her new rigid heddle loom and Deb taught us how the warp it.

The weather was rather nasty, but I didn’t pay much attention. I did notice the wind was howling as I crossed the Penobscot River on my way home, but at least it was raining, not snowing!

A couple hours later, as we sat watching TV, the power went out. No warning flicker, just sudden darkness.

We did the only sensible thing – reported the outage and went to bed.

But we hadn’t really prepared for an outage, no water in pots on the counter, no flashlights at the ready, cellphones not fully charged. No cooler of ice ready on the porch for fridge contents, no easy stove top meals planned.

We did joke the it made turning the clocks back much easier, but it was no fun getting launched back 150 years so unexpectedly!

Sunday we got up to still no power, and phones nearly dead, so we got dressed and went out in search of breakfast, charging phones as we went.

When we got home, we brought in another ton of pellets, and I finally planted next year’s garlic.

And then we sort of hung out, feeling off kilter. I did quite a bit of knitting, A lit a fire in the wood stove in the cellar, and we tried to figure out how we would manage to get clean enough for work in the morning. Worst case, heat water from the pool for a sponge bath. Not a pleasant thing to look forward to.

Meanwhile, the house was pretty chilly, and darkness was looming. We weren’t looking forward to another dark cold night.

At about 2:30, suddenly the light beside my chair was on and the fridge was humming! Yeah! Less than 24 hours and the power was back!

We scrambled about putting things right, washing dishes, shutting off lights, plugging in phones, fixing clocks,etc. Checked fridge and freezer, all was well. Ice cream a little soft but everything else OK. Whew! That’s usually the worst of a storm outage, when it isn’t cold enough out to save the food in the freezer.

Then we settled in with hot supper before the TV like any other 21st century Sunday evening.

How was your weekend?