Hello October

Hello Gentle Readers. Monday rain fell a good part of the day and the temperature dropped. Today feels like autumn. I pulled out a flannel shirt and a pair of wool socks. Whoo - hoo! 

This week, we had a wonderful few days visiting with our daughter Kate and granddaughter Norah. They flew in on Saturday. Sunday, we took advantage of the warm sunny day. At Norah's request, we played a round of miniature golf. Later in the afternoon we blew bubbles and drew a hopscotch grid. Kate and Norah found twenty two ways to hopscotch down the sidewalk. I tallied each successful play. Monday was an inside day baking cookies, playing Uno, and having lunch with my sister. We also found time to read her favorite picture books. 

Late on Tuesday, the house is quiet but the construction paper, markers, glue stick, and scissors are still at the end the table. There are jigsaw puzzle boxes under the coffee table and cookies on the counter. Norah spent exactly five minutes playing a video game late on Sunday. In the same spirit, I have fewer photos but many memories. 

On Wednesday, I'll link this post with Kat and the Unravelers. The last few weeks I knit on two projects, enjoying them both. The wrap from handspun Corriedale fiber is growing. Now the trick is to make the most of the remaining yarn. You might remember I started a sweater with this yarn. Some of that yarn looks worn. It didn't rip and reclaim well. If I really need it for length, I have it. I look forward to using this wrap while reading and knitting this winter. It's light but quite warm. 

Today I began the contrasting toe of this (first) sock. Last week I decided to try the Shadow Wrap Short Row Heel as explained by the Earthtones Girl. Her tutorials are very well done. However toggling between her video and listening to an engaging audiobook was not a good idea for me. I knit the heel three times to get it right. Good grief! Honestly, it isn't that hard. However the third heel looks nice. I think the traditional heel flap/gusset is a better fit for my narrow heel. I also wonder how the stockinette stitch heel will wear. 

I listened to the audio version of When We Had Wings by Ariel Lawhon, Kristina McMorris, and Susan Meissner. This historical fiction is the story of three World War II nurses who were stationed in the Philippines. Early in the war, the Japanese military drove out the American forces. Nurses, civilians, and some military personnel became prisoners of war in Japanese camps. Three different nurses tell the story of their friendship and survival forged under horrible conditions. Man's inhumanity to man is hard to fathom. The element of romance in each of their lives was my least favorite part of the book but overall the novel was a compelling story. Perhaps in part because my Mom trained as a nurse from 1944- 1947 in the U.S. Cadet Nursing program. Had the war not ended when it did, she would have likely worked in a military hospital. There is another earlier work of nonfiction, We Band of Angels: The Untold Story of American Nurses Trapped on Bataan by the Japanese by Elizabeth Norman that I may read if the library has a copy. 

Here in southeast Nebraska, cool autumn weather has finally arrived. If you are in the northern hemisphere, may it come your way soon. 

What are you working on this week?