November 4 - Numinously Cerulean

One day last week I walked out my back door into a day that was incredibly beautiful. I saw my neighbor and inquired as to how he was doing and he looked at the sky and said "numinously cerulean!" (He's always coming up with creative word combinations to let me know his state of mind). I turned and looked over my shoulder into what was one of the most amazing cloud and sun duets I had ever seen. I think he was right on the money with his word gumbo. Thank you, JD! 

TGIF Entertainment

The birds came out to play and beg for peanuts. They put up a right fuss, squawking, flapping around, looking up at my window and doing their best to let me know they're ready for the treat. 

The snow came and went throughout the week, but I was there to scatter peanuts and the birds were there to take the treat and tuck them away for another day.  

We have a mutual admiration society going on. Entertainment and joy is only a handful of peanuts away. 

Now That's Blue!

Different stylist, different day, different blue. Say cobalt and you don't know which cobalt you'll get. Everyone who's seen me (so far) has had a favorable response. I love blue. 

Day 13: If You Feed Them

...they will come.

Almost every day the scrub jays come to visit and wait for their snack of peanuts. If I speak the the male he will cock his head and listen. If I had time to sit for a spell he'd be eating out of my hand, as he comes very close when I talk to him.

I try to remember to put my camera in my pocket, but usually I am walking out the door to drop the peanuts before I remember the phone back in my office. I enjoy their daily visits and the reason to leave my computer screen behind. They are a very welcome distraction.

The photo below is from early this summer when they were in the process of molting. The soft and fluffy regrowth left down here and there around the steps. Once in awhile I'm lucky enough to find a feather.

The pair of them stay around all year round as scrub jays do not migrate.  I made sure to stock up on extra peanuts and blue bird pellets. This next week it will be cold and snowy. If I put the food out they will come to hyde the peanuts and eat a few pellets.   If you can't tell, I rather do enjoy feeding my blue babies. They always make me laugh as they can be such clowns. 

Happy Weekend, friends! 

Passementerie

"Passementerie (/pæsˈmɛntri/, is the art of making elaborate trimmings or edgings (in French, passements) of applied braid, gold or silver cord, embroidery, colored silk, or beads for clothing or furnishings."~Wikipedia

The first thing I thought of when contacting Kim about the colors for the Mystery shawl, was the idea of trimmings, gold braid, "passementerie". Kim always seems to read my mind and assured me that her Butterscotch Pudding was just the right shade to work with Through the Looking Glass. Since this was a Mystery Shawl, and no one knew the direction it would take, I made a leap of faith.

I first started with Butterscotch Pudding, but after the second clue arrived without a change in color, I changed my mind. I began again with Through The Looking Glass and I am now grateful I listened to my intuition.

After years of great Mystery results, I trusted Kirsten to design a shawl I'd love and, the newly named, Liz Christy is no exception.  Our only direction as to color was the guidelines Kirsten suggested when we signed up. My idea for the colors worked, but not in the way I had first envisioned. Questions abounded while knitting (What? No stripes!? Whatever are we going to do with this second color? Will this shawl be a disappointment?) As with Germinate, this shawl ended up being a serendipitous (and fortuitous) melding of the designer, the dyer, and a knitter's trust.

Kim's Airy, a deliciously soft single spun yarn, which I enjoyed knitting. As the yarn slipped through my fingers I saw the colors held both light and shadow adding depth and intensity to the shades. My delight with the shawl is evident as I have worn nothing else (as usually happens when I finish a great project). I am predictable.

I am also not very good at putting notes on my Ravelry projects, but you can still check out my Ravelry page.

Mood Indigo

My weekend was broken up into segments, the total of which left me no time to do the usual errands and chores. It was a fun weekend and I wouldn't trade it for anything.  I had...

• two afternoons...one in a salon chair, one with girlfriends. I love my blue hair which has mostly been given the thumbs up. I figure if someone doesn't like it, well, it's their problem.

• two mornings...one with Cheryl shopping at Utah Natural Meat, and one with Smith. We fit in lunch one day and worked in the garden another. We now have enough meat in the freezer and produce in the garden, that I could skip grocery shopping altogether. This is the best time of year, imo.

• 3 evenings of fun...two with girlfriends, one alone. A friend and I saw the movie Mr. Holmes and liked it very much. The scenery alone was worth the time and I loved all the set director's attention to detail.  My night alone was great, as between rain storms I walked the labyrinth in our garden and, after that, read on the patio while rain wet my toes. 

The weekends, while fleeting, give us strength, time to share love with friends and family, and enough time for relaxation and recreation. I love my weekends.

So, my friends, what do you think?

Wild Wednesday

I totally lucked out with this shot. While the jays grab the peanuts I snap and snap pictures, one after the other, and sometimes get lucky as I did last Thursday. Dad was hiding a peanut in a nearby tree, mom is on the ledge and baby is the one flying.

The scrub jays endlessly entertain me as they fly between tree and bush, side to side, gliding through the air with ease.The baby still has a beautiful pristine tail and perfect wings that have not been beat up by time. He hasn't begged or fluttered his wings in the baby way for some time now, but he does call for mom and dad if he's left alone for too long. He/she searches the skies for wanted company (or if magpies are in the area) and calls and calls. However, the pretty little thing seems to be doing well alone and is left to his/her own devices.

Wednesday's Are For Knitting

Getting organized in a timely manner in order to list my Summer Bucket List just didn't happen. However, there are several things I'd like to do this summer while the sun shines and the skies are blue and first on my list is to soak up the heat! I'm the one who is always complaining about how cold I am so my intent is to get as much warmth into my skin as I can (not by sitting in the sun, but in any other way I can). 

Second on my list is to knit, read, and sew every chance I get. I am working on my beading my Alabama Chanin T-shirt, a slow, slow process, but loving every bead and sequin I sew into place. I'd also like to work on my Market Bag and maybe sew a pair of pants, ala Marcy Tilton and Vogue.

And, since Wednesday's are for knitting, I plan on knitting as often as possible through the summer. Through the Loops Mystery is on my needles now and since it's a mystery, the results are slightly obscured.

I love my-new-favorite-color of Kim's yarn, Through the Looking Glass. At some point, there should be the addition of another color (where or when remains a mystery) and I think my choice will look great with the blue. I am much enamored with the process of the lace, even if it has tripped me up a few times, but sometimes the process means "back"  as much as it means "forth".  How does your knitting go? 

Water and Sky

Do you remember my promise of revealing my Romi's Mystery? We took pictures over Memorial Day weekend, but the last week of the month is a busy time and fitting in a post just wasn't to be. However, waiting until this week gave me time to take more pictures at one of my favorite places, one I think you'll recognize. Between Silver Lake and Red Butte Gardens, I have the best back drops of any place.

The minute I decided to knit Romi's Mystery, I asked Vicki to dye my yarn in the colors of water and sky. She dyed several skeins and I picked 2 that I thought were close to my vision. However, before I'd knit many rows, I decided the second skein needed more contrast. Vicki concurred, and I was happy to hear she still had one of the darker skeins on hand.  It made all the difference.


Knitting a mystery is a unique experience, as you never know what the designer has in mind. You trust her, you take each step with her and, while you may have reservations, you act on faith and just go with it.


The  colors worked out perfectly, the design exactly right for my water and sky vision, as the lace and stripe sections remind me of waves.

The size of the shawl is large enough to cover my shoulders  and keep my arms from the chill of air conditioning.  Romi's Mystery 2015 and Vicki's Make.Do.Dream, six weeks of knitting time (I'm slow, but I get there eventually), and a whole lot of fun all wrapped around me. I love knitting.

Sunday's Are For...Joy!

And poetry...

The minute I heard Mary Oliver would be publishing a new book I called my local bookshop and placed an order. When it arrived I read it from cover to cover, but I keep it near and reread a poem every once in awhile.

A few weeks ago Mary's Facebook page asked for photos of Blue Horses along with a favorite line from the book and I complied with a line from Such Silence!.

"What's magical, sometimes, has deeper roots than reason." 

When the publisher asked for addresses I immediately sent mine. Would I really get a book plate with Mary's signature? Truly, I wasn't sure I'd be one of the 200 hundred she was signing, but a couple of weeks later I received an envelope from Penguin Press and my heart skipped a beat. To have Mary's signature for my book is stunning.