Tag Archives: sunset

FO: colorblock bias blanket.

Posted on by
9

IMG_2421

Tada! I love how this turned out, and I finished it in time to give it to M. and J. on Sunday. I’m bummed that I won’t be able to attend their wedding next month, so it was nice to at least get to give them their present in person.

IMG_2422

The blanket, folded.

IMG_2412

Boh, napping.

IMG_2404

Happy dog, after a walk that got cut short by a downpour!

IMG_2369

Stunning sunset.

IMG_2357

More napping.

IMG_2354

Farmers’ market flowers.

IMG_2436

Boh with a ball of yarn that’s attached to colorblock bias blanket #2!

IMG_2445

Yep. This one is also a wedding present.

IMG_2443

I’m absolutely loving these colors together. Hoping to make some serious progress on my overdue wedding knitting this summer. (You know, in addition to making progress on my dissertation…)

 

Advertisement

hello, april…

Posted on by
8

Hi folks. Continuing to apologize for rather irregular blogging isn’t what I want to be doing every time I sign on here. But thanks for bearing with me and for reading what I do manage to share. I tried to at least remember to snap some pictures of the non-work stuff going on around here this week, so here’s a bit of that:

startingapril1

Helping.

startingapril2

Dumplings also help.

startingapril3

Tea on the porch.

startingapril4

Boh keeps watch. (And demonstrates his length! I am always surprised when he sits up straight like this.)

startingapril5

Weaving in the ends…finished pictures soon!

startingapril6

More “helping” from Boh.

startingapril7

Spring sunset.

startingapril8

Tuckered out. I love those wrinkles. Happy April, folks!

home.

Posted on by
7

Hello, friends. Thanks for sticking with me through a couple of mostly blog-less months! I’m back at the lake house, and Boh is here too. I’ll spare you the details and pictures of the mess I found when I returned (still dealing with that), and instead, I’ll focus on the good stuff. Things like tea, sunset, and my sweet dog.

IMG_4403

Lemongrass tea in a beautiful mug a dear friend gave me for my birthday. And a subtle vanilla candle to help me reclaim my space.

IMG_4408

Handknits and a snoring pup. Just as it should be.

IMG_4425

IMG_4427

Sweet dog.

IMG_4419

Last night’s sunset.

IMG_4428

Coffee, Jolie Holland playing on the iPad mini, and some yarn for inspiration on the coffee table. So good to be home.

whoosh.

Posted on by
11

That, my friends, is the sound of deadlines passing. I’ve managed to stay on top of the stuff with deadlines set by other people, and I’m working on accepting that perhaps I was too ambitious in setting some deadlines for myself this winter break. Really hard to be in the right mindset to finish up a chapter draft while my house (and let’s face it, life) is in disarray. I do not like being in between. I know this about myself, and I should’ve been kinder to myself about what kind of writing was manageable during this period of transition. Lesson learned (let’s hope). In the meantime, I’ve got a head cold, and I’m mostly packed up. Heading to DC today, and hoping to leave the cold behind. Want to see some pictures from this week?

IMG_4072

Boh, contemplating the view from our friend M.’s window and wondering if anybody is going to fix him a drink.

IMG_4067

I finally blocked Agnes, and the neckline is more relaxed now (and so much more comfortable). The length is better too, though if I were knitting this again, I’d add a few more inches so that it hits at the hip when I’m not pulling it down with my hand in a pocket.)

IMG_4064

More Hudson Bay Inspired Blanket knitting. I love the way this is turning out. Endless garter stitch has been exactly what I’ve wanted to work on lately, so this is definitely coming with me to DC.

IMG_4085

Sweet, sweet dog. He’s settled in now at my parents’ house, and it sounds like all is well. The house has been so quiet without him here, and I’ve found myself listening for the padding of paws and the jingle of his collar. I know he’ll be much happier where he is, but this will be the longest we’ve ever been apart.

IMG_4076

A stunning sunset. Almost as if the universe wanted to leave me with a reminder of how much I’ll miss my cozy lake house. Fingers crossed that my subletter takes good care of it while I am away.

IMG_4080

Time to work through my last to-do list and hit the road. More from DC!

porch writing.

Posted on by
5

If you have to write a dissertation, I recommend doing it this way. Seriously.

Working from the porch means you get to watch the sunset.

This morning, I fried two eggs, added a little bit of green chile, and took it out to the porch.

It was a little chilly, so I pulled on my first handknit sweater. (This is how I know it is really fall.)

Fall (okay, and playtime with my neighbor’s dog) makes Boh sleepy. (I wish you could hear the snoring.) Another sign of fall?

Roasted tomatoes.

Roasted tomatoes on homemade pizza. With gorgonzola.

Also, scalloped tomatoes with croutons. I love this recipe. In conclusion, I love fall. (In case you can’t tell, it feels really good to set aside grading and fellowship applications, even if only for a couple of days, and get back to my project. I need to remember this, and aim for a bit more balance in my work-life.)

wednesday, start to finish.

Posted on by
3

Yesterday morning, I swatched for Buttercup with my coffee. I bought the yarn for this three summers ago, when I was back in the southwest the summer after my first year of grad school. It’s Queensland Cotolino, and I’ve got 8 balls of it. 8 balls x 105 meters = roughly the amount required for the XS size. Good thing I’m not working on a Ph.D. in math…

So I swatched on 5s, and got gauge. But then I went down a needle size, because I know that this is going to grow when I block it. I like the drape with 4s, and it isn’t so tight that I will hate knitting it. Decision made. So I unraveled what I had, because I’m going to need every last inch of this stuff. Normally I swatch — for real — and wash and block the swatch to make sure I’m happy. This project officially goes in the “by-the-seat-of-my-pants pile.” I don’t think I’m going to go as A-line flowy as the pattern suggests, though I do want some of the increases. Also, everything I read on ravelry suggests that I should go down a size so that the neck isn’t too low and open. I’m knitting the small, and we’ll see what happens. Worst case? Someone I know will get an adorable summer sweater.

Then I had radish toast for lunch. (Radish toast, in this iteration, is toast, butter, arugula, radish slices, and salt and pepper. It is even more delicious than you think it is. Trust me.)

My progress right after lunch, strawberry smoothie in hand. (Note: I picked a gallon of strawberries at the farm on Tuesday, and I’ve already managed to eat 3 quarts. I’ll probably polish off the last one today.)

No, I do not normally stand like this. But these are the jeans I bought to replace the ones I ripped. And they are straight — or even tapered — at the leg. And that wasn’t clear in the pictures I snapped where I was standing not awkwardly. So here you go. I think I like them.

Boh and I took an afternoon walk with our friend J. and the dog she is taking care of this week. It was lovely.

More buttercup. I’m really enjoying the feel of this yarn, at least right now. And the stitch definition makes me swoon!

So does this sunset — truly the golden hour.

all the bones.

Posted on by
2

This is my neighbor’s dog, Tango. Tango loves Boh’s bones. He hung out with us yesterday because his person had an all day event. When his person came over to pick him up, Tango began to gather and chew on all the bones.

See? So very sweet. Boh didn’t seem to mind at all.

We’re working backward today, folks. This also happened yesterday. (My pinwheel is growing.)

Also, this. Boh is asleep on my leg. So much playtime!

And here’s a sunset from earlier in the week — maybe Wednesday?

Boh and his bone. (And nails in need of a trim.)

And just because, here’s a photo of my living room looking extra neat and clean. I snapped this picture before I headed to the wedding in Ohio last week. I rented the house to friends for graduation weekend, so I did some serious cleaning to get ready.

Time for dinner and some knitting while the dogs play. (Tango is here today, too!)

bibimbap on the dock.

Posted on by
5

This post starts and ends at M.’s house — which is a good thing, because lately her cooking has been way more inspired than mine. (I’m pretty thankful that she invites me over to enjoy it with her.)

Bibimbap on M.’s dock.

Bibimbap at sunset.

Sunset.

Supermoon.

Recap. No, really. I read about this somewhere in the blogosphere and bought three (two for me, one as a gift) immediately. I’ve got one on a mason jar I’ve been using as a water bottle, and the other one has been capping everything from salad dressing to deliciously portable green drink. I can’t wait until they are available for wide mouth mason jars.

Savory popcorn to accompany last week’s grading. (I haven’t made anything to go with this weekend’s final round.)

And these: smoked salmon blinis with dill and creme fraiche. At M.’s house, clearly. I did help, by bringing the yeast and by manning the griddle. These were a wonderful way to start Monday.

(For those of you playing along, you’re right: I’m a week behind. My grades are due tomorrow morning, and then I’ll be working to get my blog closer to real time.)

 

oops.

Posted on by
5

I didn’t mean to just not blog these last few weeks, but it seems that is exactly what I did. Want to see some pictures?

Sweet, silly dog.

Mick told me about green shakes, and I’ve been making them pretty regularly for the last few weeks: some combination of banana, almond milk, green stuff (spinach, kale, etc), something sweet (local honey, a medjool date), and some kind of frozen fruit (mango, berries). They are magical. And delicious.

Lots of walking = happy dog.

Boh and I at a local waterfall, which was roaring the morning after a lot of rain.

Awesome.

A spectacular sunset on the dock.

Boh and a beer: excellent company down at the lake.

Storm coming in at sunset.

My grades are due a week from Monday — so close to summer! Happy weekend!

porch dinner season.

Posted on by
3

These blossoms downtown can only mean one thing: porch dinner season has begun.

I asked D how he wanted to celebrate his birthday. The answer? Dumplings. So last night, he, T, and their charming child, W, came over with Coltrane to splash paws and hands in the lake, enjoy a beer on the dock, and eat dinner (and drink sake) on the porch.

A good time was had by all.

And after they headed home to put W to bed, I snapped this picture of the sunset. I know it is supposed to cool down a bit this week, but even so, I’m super thankful for this burst of sunshine and warmth. I think a lot of us needed it.

I finished the first sleeve of Kerrera, and I’m onto working the sleeve cap of the second. I shortened the sleeve length and ripped back a couple of rows of the double garter stitch cuff to get the right length.

And while I worked on that, Boh continued to refine his lounging skills. Nice work, sweet dog.