Hello May. Sunday was a beautiful Spring day with sunshine, a breeze, and blooming lilacs. As I walk, I enjoy the tulips, wild violets, and the green fringe on all trees. Some trees have leafed out, some are in process.The Linden in our backyard sports buds beginning to unfurl. Friday a thunderstorm blew through and Monday gentle rain fell all day. We had almost an inch of rain. The rain was much needed as wildfires were burning out in central Nebraska.
My husband has recovered from a mild case of Covid. I tested negative. We completed a ten day quarantine with only minor inconvenience. Vaccines and boosters did their job even though the latest variant is sneaky. I'm thankful for the making that helped pass the time.
Today I'm easing back into my routine by linking with Kat and the Unravelers. I hoped I'd have this shawl finished but continue to experiment with color placement. A cup of coffee and a chocolate chip cookie helped me on my way. Doesn't everything go better with a chocolate chip cookie? The stitch marker is a dropped stitch. I plan to finagle and secure it on the wrong side after the shawl is finished. I wasn't sure I could drop down and work my way back across the eyelet section and didn't want to rip out that many rows.
I continue spindle spinning two braids of fiber. I spin singles from one braid and while they rest I spin singles from another. I plied 90 yards of this raspberry BFL on Sunday. When I began to read about spinning, I heard about classes for spinners who wanted to spin something beside their "default" weight of yarn. I recall thinking that I'd be happy just to have a default kind of yarn. Well I have arrived at a fairly consistent default - two-ply yarn at sport/dk weight.
As far as reading, I listened to The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak and thoroughly enjoyed it. Although some of the story takes place in Cyprus in the 1970's, there is a lesson for any kind of civil conflict including those of our own time. I enjoyed the Fig Tree as a character and didn't see the ending coming until almost the end. The audio voices were excellent.
I read Field Study: Meditations on a Year at the Herbarium by Helen Humphreys. Although this nonfiction may not be for everyone, I loved it. Humphreys wrote about a year (2020) she spent visiting Fowler Herbarium located at the biological research station of Queen's University in Ontario. I enjoyed the look into citizen collectors. This elegant little book is organized around the seasons and illustrated with photographs and labels of plants as well as a few drawings by Humphreys. I appreciated Humphreys' looking for and writing about the few women and Native Americans she encountered in her work. As the news goes from bad to worse, this book was just what I needed.
Spring, although cool, has arrived here. The double lilacs are blooming and so is the bleeding heart. I watch a robin sitting on a nest amid blossoms on the neighbor's apple tree. The tree and the nest are visible from my kitchen window. I hope you find just the book, project, or flower you need this week. Thanks for reading.
Your shawl is so pretty. I'm sorry about the dropped stitch, but your plan for it sounds quite logical (and so much better than ripping out rows and rows of lace knitting. I read Island of the Missing Trees and loved it. A powerful novel I felt. I was just looking at a book called "The River" by Helen Humphreys which looks really good. Here's hoping your husband fully recovers quickly and that you stay negative!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your husband's case was mild, that he's recovering, and you didn't get it. I can see how the making of that lovely shawl (with matching mug and cookie) helped during quarantine and congratulations on achieving a default spinning weight. That yarn is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI don't have many regrets in life, but I do regret not digging up the bleeding heart that my mother planted and nurtured when my father sold the house. Thank you for sharing the photo of your large bleeding heart that reminded me of my mother's and a wonderful memory!
Vaccines are doing their job! and hurray for books and yarn to help you pass the quarantine time. I think the whole world would be a better place if everyone paused to enjoy a cookie and a cup of coffee (or their beverage of choice).
ReplyDeleteI love your bleeding heart. Our son who lives at home got Covid, but he had a very mild case and Charly and I never got it. I am grateful for the vaccines and boosters. We will get out second booster this month in anticipation of summer travel. You always read books that sound so interesting! Hope your week is going well. See you again soon.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful bleeding heart, Jane! Like Bonny, I regret not digging up the big, lush bleeding heart I had at my former house. (I had planned to, but it was August when we moved . . . and I couldn't find it by then.) I'm so happy to hear your husband's case of Covid was mild, and that he has recovered. (Also that you didn't get it.) I, too, loved the The Island of Missing Trees.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree that everything is better with a chocolate chip cookie. That shawl is looking gorgeous and so are those bleeding hearts. Your yarn is also quite lovely -- I am starting to get the spinning itch and these pretty little skeins aren't helping. I'm glad that Covid is out of your house and you escaped it!
ReplyDeleteI adored The Island of Missing Trees. I smiled and smiled at the ending. Somehow, it gave me a little hope. I think it's a book worth rereading in a coupe of years to look for the clues that led up to the ending.
Enjoy the rest of your week, Jane!
I am sorry to hear your husband was ill, but I am thankful his case was mild and that you didn't catch it (the vaccines do work!). The shawl is looking beautiful and like a very soothing knit. Your spinning continues to enchant me, too. I wish that we could sit and spin together in person -- perhaps one day!
ReplyDeleteOh ugh! I am so sorry your husband was ill but I am perhaps more thankful for vaccines that do their job!
ReplyDeleteYour knitting is beautiful!