Gratitude Sunday: Peonies, Peeing & Poutine

Joining Taryn today at Wooly Moss Roots blog for Gratitude Sunday. A chance to look back at the week that was and reflect with gratitude.

Feeling grateful this week for:
:: colour in our yard-an abundance of pink peonies, red flowers (who's name I can't remember) and purple sage flowers
:: after many months of belt-tightening, we are in a place of being able to relax a bit as far as the finances go. I prefer to be home tending the garden, the children etc but the reality is I have to work and it's nice to see results from those long hours.
:: a good run Friday night. I ran the whole time instead of my usual run, walk, run. I've never been a really athletic person and took up running several years ago to lose some weight and because I usually find walking really boring. Being able to run the whole 1/2 hour/3 km is a pretty big accomplishment for me.
:: The Boy's confirmation. It was a beautiful service this morning and he did well. It's not easy to write your own creed and even more challenging to have to read it in front of the church when you stutter. So proud of him!
:: an impromptu lunch with a very good friend yesterday. I needed that! We ate poutine on the patio, poked around in shops and talked each other's ears off. I came home with a new book to read, a couple of thrift store treasures and 2 hanks of wool/merino mix for my stash plus a healthier perspective on life.
:: the wisdom to stop on the way home yesterday at a lookout. In Southwestern Ontario, most of the lookouts aren't all that dramatic as we don't really have big hills or valleys but this one looks out over rolling farmland, meadows, trees and a piece of the Grand River. I followed the path down to the river and was going to keep going but I had to pee. I am the sort of person who is fine with finding a tree to pee behind but I had this feeling that I was going to run into people. Sure enough, on my walk back up to the parking lot I ran into the hot, young Conservation Officer and felt glad I had that premonition and kept my pants on ;)

Yarnalong: Mittens & The Road to Yesterday

Joining Ginny today at Small Things blog for Yarnalong:

Knitting: Chicken mittens. After a long break it's time to start knitting mittens again for my Etsy shop. The chicken mittens are my best seller so I figured I'd better start with those. The wool is Bernat Super Value, a good basic acrylic yarn that holds up well during knitting, washing and wearing. I use a 2-needle pattern from an old Red Heart pattern book. I can knit these things in my sleep now!

Reading: The Road to Yesterday by LM Montgomery. The other day I was feeling restless and bored in general, and in particular with the books I had on the go so I closed my eyes, rifled through my book shelf and ended up with this one. I was in the mood for some comfort reading and Lucy Maud always does the trick. This one is a collection of short stories with Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe included but more on the periphery.

What about you? What are you knitting and reading?

Gratitude Sunday: Being Late, Rain & Serendipity

Joining Taryn today at Wooly Moss Roots blog for Gratitude Sunday. A chance to look back at the week that was and reflect with gratitude. A day late but whatever...

The Em-ster looking slightly frightening and yes, that's ET

Feeling grateful this week for:
::The Em-ster's 11th birthday. What an interesting kid. For her actual birthday dinner she chose hot dogs and Kraft Dinner and I made her a chocolate cake from an old Betty Crocker cookbook I have. She's definitely her own person, quite the individual, with a strong sense of who she is (and isn't) and that includes an...interesting sense of fashion. Everyday is an adventure with her and we love her to bits.
::a new member of our family and The Em-ster's birthday present from us-a Holland Lop rabbit. I have tried numerous times to take a photo of Mia but it's kind of like trying to take a picture of a toddler. They're just so fast. Mia is entertaining, nice to pet and provides my garden with lots of goodness :)
::rain. Like many of you, we too have been feeling the need for some rain which came over the weekend.
::pepper plants from a neighbour around the corner. I had been wanting to add some to my garden but between the time and the expense I hadn't gotten around to it. I love it when the thing you need appears out of seemingly nowhere.
::colour in my front garden in the form of annuals, found on sale over the weekend.
::an impromtu fire and hot dog dinner on Saturday night with my husband's family and a relative visiting from Germany. There's a conservation area 5 mins away from our house and has been the site of many picnics over the years we've lived here.

Yarnalong: Half-a-Cardi

Joining Ginny today at Small Things blog for Yarnalong:

 Knitting: Half-a-Cardi, a pattern I found on Ravelry in a desperate search for a little sweater I could wear to a wedding in a week. I knit like mad all week, knit in the car on the way to the wedding, hid in a corner of the venue and furiously cast-off. I didn't have time to finish the sleeves so I just tucked in all the ends and wore it anyway. Nobody noticed or nobody cared-not sure :)

My Mom and I and The Sweater.

 I finished the sleeves a few days ago and I was so pleased with how they turned out. You put all the sleeve stitches back on your needle, knit one row, purl the next, knit another and then cast everything off.

 It desperately needs to be blocked but even still it behaves quite well. I tried reducing stitches at the edges to give it a rounded look but it didn't quite work out. I was definitely winging it and will check out another pattern to see how it's done before I try again.
Wool-my favourite-Paton's Classic Wool in currant. It took about a ball and a half.
Needles-#4 circular.

Reading: nothing in particular or at least nothing I'm excited about. It's hard to find time to read these days between working, parenting, my garden and the laundry.