Life With The Crew

The Salty Seashore and Soggy Homelife

We are back home, away from the salty sea and fresh lake water, but still soggy and wet.  Our area of Pennsylvania has had a lot of rain and flooding for over a week now.  Luckily we just have a house that feels damp and smells of wet dog and muddy paws.  I'm trying not to think about what my so called garden looks like.  After two weeks of no weeding, groundhog marauding, and too much rain, let's just say it isn't ready for a garden tour. 

Today is Tuesday, so I'll give thanks for my clothes dryer.  And of course the luxury of a vacation with family and friends (that are just like family) in our favorite location.  So many good memories remembered and new ones made.  I'm also thankful for the fact that I am a horse owner.  It isn't everybody's dream, but I was so happy to be able to walk into the barn and go to "my horse" after missing him for two weeks.  The thanks for that goes to my husband, for bringing home the bread and barn money.

What are you thankful for?

Duck Days

Three female mallards on a misty evening and one little babe armed with a bag of bread.  Happiness all around.

Maine Point of View

In our happy place.

Tuning Back in Tuesday

So I've been away from this space for a while.  Things have been growing in the garden and then chewed, not by myself.  A sweater has been completed - I can take credit for that.  There has been a lot of time spent with a certain senior gentleman horse - my therapy sessions, probably as expensive as the real thing.  Berries have been picked, both at our favorite organic berry farm and in our own backyard - our red raspberries are awesome this year!  There has been Airbnb work - cleaning and decorating.  (I'll put in a little plug here for The Bright and Cheery Cottage, The Warm and Cozy Cottage, and the Modern Whole House.)  Pets have been causing stress - an almost chewed-off ear (dog fight), a wool blocked rabbit (all better now thanks to pineapple juice), and on going liver issues for a cat and dog.  Oh, and two of the dogs are now pretty much deaf, so we have to rely on hand signals and loud clapping to get their attention.  

The sweater is the Skogafjall by Dianna Walla.  It is my first stranded work sweater and I am totally loving it.  After a lot of knitting, knitting, knitting in O-Wool's Local wool in Gingko Nut, I finally got to the fun part at the yoke.  As with most new things in knitting, I discovered that it wasn't as hard as I thought.  It does require concentration to follow the pattern on each row, but with an Icelandic sweater like this with the stranded work only at the yoke, it didn't take that long.  It turned out a bit bigger than I thought (I must be a loose knitter), but it will be terrific with leggings and boots.  I completed it during a super hot and humid stretch when almost every surface in my house felt wet, but currently the weather is nice and I'm wearing it at the moment just because it makes me smile.  

What has been making you smile lately?

*The potatoes are homegrown from Wood Prairie Family Farm seed potatoes - a little taste of Maine down here in Pennsylvania!