and it’s july.

Posted on July 11, 2015 by barefootrooster

I always forget how intense summer session courses can be. Three weeks of daily discussion sections have gone by in a flash, and it’s July. Yesterday I took my first swim in the lake. And Boh and I have two more weeks here in the lake house, and in our sweet small town, before we move on to our next adventure. Here are a few snippets from the last few weeks:

A porch pancake breakfast with friends who came to visit for the holiday weekend.

We had a dinner party! And a galette! (Tomato, corn, zucchini, scallions, and parmesan.)

Dick: The Game. (A Moby-Dick themed version of Cards Against Humanity. Yes, we are nerds, and proud of it.)

This face.

These falls.

These flowers, in between where I park my car and where our summer course was held. I’d turn the corner each morning and just breathe them in.

Packing. I started with the knitting books — I didn’t realize I have so many! The box pile is slowly growing, and the movers will be here in just under two weeks…

mostly boh.

Posted on June 14, 2015 by barefootrooster

No knitting this week, just a lot of pictures from walks with Boh. (My family was in town this week, and we spent a lot of time outside!)

But first, porch work and peonies.

This guy had to stay inside because he was howling at the gardener in my neighbor’s yard.

A statement necklace I bought a decade ago. I don’t know what prompted me to reach for it last week, but I love it with this blouse.

My brother and I saw this heron while walking Boh in the park.

Ears.

Our homemade ransom note Father’s Day card for my dad.

Boh being silly — asking for a belly rub while wearing his circle bone as a bracelet.

Tuckered out.

From a walk with my parents — the view from the crest of a hill.

I’ve been looking for brown heeled sandals, and I think these are the winners. (Not exactly what I was looking for, but I think the best I’m going to find in my price range. It’s possible that the only thing I’ve done today is confirm that these are comfortable enough to wear all day…)

And all this guy did today is nap! Hope you had wonderful weekends, friends.

graduation weekend, part 1.

Posted on May 26, 2015 by barefootrooster

So, it’s as official as it can be. Thought you might to see how we celebrated. Part 1 was quiet; instead of going to the big institutional stuff, Boh and I celebrated with good walks, knitting, and playing in the kitchen. (Part 2, which I’ll share once my dad sends me some pictures of me in my regalia, as requested, involved fancy robes, a poofy hat, and plenty of pomp and circumstance.) But first, Part 1:

Couch lounging with this guy.

And some working. This dog always lets me tuck my toes underneath him. I love that.

He also sneaks over to the side of the couch he isn’t supposed to be on. (His blanket is on the right. He knows the rules, but still breaks them. Sometimes.)

A little bit of knitting! Remember this? It’s Avery, a squishy, textured cowl. I’m knitting it in Malabrigo, and I hope it gets cold enough in my next home for me to wear it…

Awkward before-the-gym picture — my bird tattoo is healing nicely. It’s been a month, and I’m finally getting used to it being there. (And I love it.)

After a good run, and instead of attending convocation and the PhD hooding ceremony, I took Boh to a favorite spot of ours.

I always admire this tree.

We took the path down to the edge of the lake, and I think we both enjoyed the view.

Boh wanted to play with this snail.

This looks like a pretty good aisle for a graduation procession, doesn’t it?

First basil harvest from the potted herbs I planted earlier this spring.

I made a big batch of pesto, and also some pesto pasta salad. Leftovers are on today’s menu…

plants/procrastination.

Posted on May 5, 2015 by barefootrooster

On Sunday, Boh and I went back to the creek. (It is an especially good weekend walk because it is sort of hidden. Only locals.) But first we made pancakes for our houseguest!

First porch pancakes of the season.

Then it was back to the tree the beavers have been working on.

And over the same mossy log.

But once we made it down to the creek, we met this adorable creature. PUPPY. Boh and I were both very excited. 10 weeks old, and so excited about playing in the creek.

This guy was pretty happy to lounge while I read.

And appreciated the view. I am going to miss this spot.

pretty much all boh, all the time.

Posted on May 3, 2015 by barefootrooster

Sometimes, this dog is the sweetest.

And also, quite the ham.

Gorgeous sunset over the lake.

What my dear friend Champ calls a fake gin and tonic. (All the treating yourself, none of the gin.) Good for afternoons and work nights.

Boh, focused on the deer in the background. So. Focused.

Yesterday I got the official letter in the mail that says I’ve done all the things for the Ph.D. and “should be granted all the privileges of this degree.” (It’s for sending to my employer, because my contract is contingent on actually finishing, but I’m also interpreting it to mean that Boh and I are now required to take really good walks.)

Like this one, on a path you’ve seen many times here on this blog. It leads to the creek.

I brought fun reading, and Boh kept an eye on the folks fishing a bit downstream.

And would not sit still until he’d moved around some rocks and found a good stick.

And after a good dose of sunshine and creek water, we strolled back to the car.

Over moss covered logs, and past trees felled by the labor of beavers.

This guy was so, so tired when we got home.

And happy. (And after that, we took another walk with the friend of a friend staying with us this weekend. She has completely charmed Boh. And there was ice cream. Because sunshine and spring.) Another beautiful day forecasted for today. But first, pancakes.

…and approved.

Posted on April 29, 2015 by barefootrooster

That means I’ve done everything I need to do to receive the degree at the end of next month. One more conference next week, but this is the homestretch of a lot of things.

Got notice about final approval this morning. Want to see how we spent our day? (I mean, after a bunch of work and teaching-related emails, which I did not photo-document.)

I took a blanket out to a natural area owned by my university. Boh licked all the different kinds of grass, and then basked, like this, in the sun. I started a book.

And then I finished it on the porch, after stopping for my first soft-serve ice cream cone of the season.

I made multiple trips to the library this evening to return books, because I’ll need to clear out my account before graduation. (But I did make a big pdf of everything I had checked out so I can go back to some of this stuff when it is time to begin the process of revising the dissertation into a book manuscript.)

And then we did a little more lounging while listening to the new Mandolin Orange album, streaming here. (To be released next week.) I still have teaching work to do, but I’ll prep for tomorrow’s afternoon class in the morning. Knitting soon, I promise!

fall.

Posted on October 4, 2014 by barefootrooster

I just looked over at Boh snoring next to me on the couch, and thought you might want to see a little bit of what we’ve been up to the last few months. I’m not knitting very much, but I’m hoping that my fingers will want to work on something simple and help me catch up on the wedding gift knitting in my queue. Things are very busy around here — fellowship applications, the academic job market, the dissertation. I can’t promise there will be much blogging, but I am still here, still reading blogs, and still very much appreciating the internet community of knitters and spinners. Happy fall to all of you.

Boh enjoying one of our favorite places to walk.

And wade.

We enjoyed watching this flicker look for treats on the stone steps outside the enclosed porch.

Scrambed eggs, avocado, and salsa on corn tortillas: lunch of dissertators (champions?).

Negroni on the porch.

I had the flu a few weeks ago, and Boh took care of me.

A self portrait in the very fancy bathroom of a new building on campus.

Sitting on the dock.

My mom came for a quick visit, and she brought me a pumpkin!

Farm flowers. The gladiolas this year were gorgeous.

Happy, happy dog.

Fall has begun. I love it, and I think Boh really does, too. Maybe there’s something about the smell of leaves?

Fancy shoes and a manhattan help with proofreading, right? (One of my goals for this fall is to become a little bit more proficient in the land of mixing drinks.)

A view of the lake from campus on a clear, sunny day.

Thanks for reading, friends.

August?

Posted on August 3, 2014 by barefootrooster

Whoa. Can we hit pause, please? This summer is moving far too quickly for me. I’m not really knitting (though I’ve got another one of those colorblock bias blankets on the needles), but I’m not ready to be done with this space, so here’s a handful of images from the last several weeks. As you can see, Boh is hard at work. (I am too, though those photos aren’t anywhere near as thrilling.) Hope you’re having a wonderful summer!

Boh and I went to the Berkshires for a writing retreat. Here we are taking an afternoon hike along a section of the Appalachian Trail.

And here we are looking out across the Berkshires from the top of Mt. Greylock.

A local lap around a manmade lake on campus.

Sweet dog with his favorite bone.

Farm flowers and pancakes.

Out for a hike.

More farm flowers.

A view from a bridge over the inlet that leads to the lake.

“Working.”

I’m dog-sitting for a friend for a few weeks, so we’ve doubled the number of dogs here. These two play hard and then collapse on the couch like this. So sweet.

This was our first day together. Lots of cuddling, not so much working.

Maybe I’ll have some knitting to share next time?!

FO: ANOTHER colorblock bias blanket.

Posted on June 12, 2014 by barefootrooster

Hi, friends. Haven’t been blogging, but clearly, I have been knitting. (And writing, and even running/working out.) Not quite settled into a summer routine, but closer than I was a few weeks ago. And I’m pretty sure this blanket pattern is helping. I’ve got such a backlog of wedding gifts to knit, and this pattern is perfect: easy enough to knit after a long day, fun for playing with color and yarns in my stash, and really, really lovely when it’s all done. Here’s my latest:

The colors are more accurate above, but here’s one shot with the flash on:

It’s a bit grey and rainy, so there isn’t as much natural light for picture-taking as I’d like, but you get the idea. With this one, I worried less about the amount of yarn I had for each color, and just picked colors I thought might be nice. I really like the mint green Malabrigo stripe in there, and with the switch to some darker greens and blues near the end, I think I’ve changed who this is for! (Not to worry, though. I’ve already started a third…)

Other stuff happening around here?

Morning “helping.”

Our first of many weekly walks en route to picking up the farm share. (Paws/toes in the water.)

Lots of water and mist after some steady rain.

Boh, mid-yawn. Love this dog.

FO: snowbird.

Posted on December 19, 2013 by barefootrooster

I love the pockets.

The sweater is a little slouchy, but overall I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. And just in time, too. These pictures are from last month, but since then, we’ve had cold and snowy weather.

Sweetness.

Squash soup.

A few pictures from the last good fall walk we took before the weather turned.

This light. So lovely.

It’s been a very busy fall around here, folks. So busy that I missed my blogiversary! Six years and counting now, even though I’ve slowed down a bit recently. Hope you’re all well.

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