Knitting and Reading

After 4.5 inches of snow last Thursday, Spring reappeared. The snow was a beautiful wet fluffy variety that melted the next day. The reappearance of green was glorious. Slowly but surely I'm cleaning winter debris from the garden and flower bed areas. I don't have elaborate or large garden areas, just enough dirt to keep me happy. Today I hope to tackle the strip along the fence where I grow perennials. Earlier this week I pulled the weeds out of the vegetable patches. I can almost taste a fresh tomato warmed by the sun.

Yesterday I wove in the ends on Kate's shawl. I'm going to take a deep breath and send it off to her. The yarn worked beautifully for the shawl. I'm sending it with hugs and love across the long miles.

Knitting with scraps feels like play. Since my winter walking leg warmers are old and saggy, I am randomly striping these scraps to make a new pair. It took three times to cast on the right number of stitches in the circumference but now the project is easy car knitting. Where might we go, you ask? Last week we drove out to a lake/recreation area about 40 minutes from our home. Once there we took a walk and watched pelicans on the lake. We have been attending the Saturday evening Carillon in the Car concerts. Last Saturday it was a beautiful slightly warm evening in the neighborhood. The fifty seven bell tower, originally dedicated on Memorial Day 1931, stands as a symbol of hope and endurance. It has quite a history. I took this photo last Saturday.

I'm enjoying knitting on the gray sweater but too much time with it makes my shoulder and neck tight. I pace myself. The shaping along the sides has a nice look. I like the meditative quality of this pattern with this yarn. I hoped to finish at least the body before summer arrives but maybe I'll have to change my plan.

I am reading and enjoying The Secrets We Kept. I was a young child during the 1950's and remember hearing about the cold war and civil defense measures of the day. We did bomb drills at school where we hid under our desks. In hindsight, that probably was as useful as hoarding food and toilet paper during a pandemic. Each time and place has it's own misguided actions. I just finished reading A Divided Loyalty, a mystery in one of my favorite series. Reading about familiar characters in a familiar setting and structure is soothing even in a murder mystery. This one had some interesting twists and turns. I did miss the protagonist's strong willed, well connected Aunt Melinda.

Thank you for your suggestions regarding coiled knitting needles. The boiling water method worked well for the Addi needle I was using. I just looked back at a blog post and noticed many photographs do not display. I'll see if I can figure out what is happening. Blogger is not the most reliable platform and technology is challenging for my aging brain.

Now I will link with Kat and the other Unravelers and later see what I can learn about posting photos. It might be time for a change.

I hope you are well and safe.