Thanksgiving Eve

Hello Gentle Readers. Light wind blows the few remaining leaves from the trees. Overnight temperatures drop below freezing on this Thanksgiving week. A thriving parsley plant in a pot has finally succumbed to frost. Since it is a biennial, I'm leaving it and hoping it will grow again next year. Monday I looked out the kitchen window to see a Cooper's Hawk perched nearby on the deck railing. The pigmentation of his/her feathers is so striking and the range of motion in the neck is something to behold. I know they attack song birds but what fierce beauty and grace in this bird. 

Wednesday is the day to post with Kat and the Unravelers. The deep red Leaflette Shawl/Scarf blocked out beautifully. I enjoyed knitting it and I'll enjoy wearing it. I've worked on this pair of holiday socks. As per pattern and in the same needle size, I knit the ribbing and colorwork over 64 stitches. When I switched to the cranberry red yarn, I decreased 4 stitches to my typical sock circumference of 60 stitches. The sock is going to fit and not be too tight in the colorwork section. 

I worked a bit on the sweater. The yarns work well together but there is too much ease in the sweater and quite a wide deep neck. Likely, I'm going to start over but not this week. I knew this project was an experiment. I'm learning I don't like too much ease in my sweaters. 

Currently I am reading Becoming Willa Cather: Creation and Career by Daryl W. Palmer. This nonfiction is not biography but a literary analysis of how Cather came to write as she did. The author examines elements of Red Cloud newspapers, citizens, railroad, and community activities, as well as Cather's early short stories. He explores use of gender in her writing in a thoughtful way, reflecting on how gender roles of white settlers were less rigid given the necessary work to survive. It wouldn't be for everyone but I'm enjoying it. 

I listened to The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. This is the sequel to the book I mentioned last week. I found it equally charming and touching. Somehow Bradley manages to incorporate many elements of World War 2 in the lives of Ada and her community while also portraying a young teenage girl with all the angst and joy of that age. 

In the spirit of giving thanks, I am grateful to all of you for reading my posts. We are traveling to spend Thanksgiving with our daughter and family so I'll be absent for a week or so but will look forward to catching up on our return. I wish you a warm, safe, happy Thanksgiving with someone you love.