Ancient Paths

This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. Jeremiah 6:16
I am at a crossroads for sure and when I saw this Bible verse on someone's facebook page yesterday, I had to copy and save it. What a comfort to find a good way, walk in it, and find rest for your souls.
As Easter draws near, I pray that you will find rest for your soul, no matter what you are facing. He died so that we might live, and live abundantly. Bless you!

I got blessed today, by these beautiful flowers. Someone thought today was my last day, but I'm leaving April 30, a month to go. But the flowers were no mistake. I was tickled pink over these lovely daisies. There must be 40 of them!

I have completed the last toe of the socks and will begin the heels. I am sooo ready to be done with these things. I am pleased though at how they turned out. The countdown is on! Soon I'll have something else to post besides these Leroy Brown socks!!!!

Abundance

The joke around the office lately has been about how many coffee makers are in the kitchen/ break room. We recently got a Keurig machine with all the goodies. Apparently all of the machines bought from Costco in recent months have been defective (ours included) and the company has a policy to quickly replace the machine. However, the new one hadn't arrived yet so we dug out all the old ones in the supply closet (graveyard) to make coffee. Spoiled from our neat cup-at-a-time maker, no one wanted to make a whole pot anymore so someone brought a big box of coffee from Starbucks. And we share the kitchen with another office so their coffee maker is in the kitchen. Plus our boss's 10 gal. industrial size maker for large meetings, all were sitting on the counter. My co-worker jokingly asked me what that meant and I told him it meant we work very, very hard! :-)

The sole of my Leroy Brown second sock is well under way and I should finish it this weekend. Then on to the heels and I'll be done.

I'm thinking of picking this back up again, since it went to the UFO pile ages ago.

This weekend the NCAA is back at it; I am rooting for Kentucky all the way. I'm not from KY but Alabama isn't in the playoffs so the Wildcats will have to do.

I'm originally from the Gulf Coast of Alabama and I had a neighbor growing up who was a really nice man, a doctor in our area who I went to occasionally. He also had two grown sons that I used to babysit for, and sometimes they'd all go out together and I'd baby sit at Dr. Phillips 'big house'. Dr. Phillips had a hobby of selling antiques, or as he joked, archaeology. One of his sons became an antique dealer and the other who taught me 6th grade history, was in furniture restoration.

This spring a special mini-series is on HBO, called The Pacific. It features Dr. Phillips and his buddy, "Sledge".

They fought in the war at Guadalcanal and were heroes once upon a time. I never knew this. Dr. Phillips was just a kind older gentleman, with a bunch of grandchildren I used to babysit. Who knew? I even got to feeling bad about the fact that as a little girl, I never really realized all this. Then it occurred to me yesterday that this is exactly why our troops fight and sacrifice their lives. So that little 10 year old girls can play with their dolls safely and happily, without fear. Thank you, Dr. Phillips, for your sacrifice!

You are here

When ever there's a change up at the local mall, you can usually find a sign somewhere that will tell you where the store is that you're looking for, relative to where you are standing. At our local mall, I've noticed that one dept. store has no, 'you are here' dots on their signs. I even mentioned it to a manger one time and he said he knew it, and it frustrated him to no end that they wouldn't allow him to change it. Now that makes no sense! How are you supposed to find someplace else, if you don't know where you are now?

(ha, you knew it was coming...) Well knitting is the same way; if you lose your place in a pattern, it really makes no sense to keep looking at the directions or even to keep on knitting, until you find out where you are.
I'm at row 69, having just completed a cable row. I will knit to row 76 and cable again, then commence plain knitting (no more rib) and get ready to place my afterthought heel thread.
Now you can see where I am!
I recently made some life changing decisions that are beginning to take shape. I am blessed to have a Savior who guides me every step of the way; some people don't have that advantage. It's really handy when you don't know what to do next, to be able to ask the guy with the map. He's pretty much always been right, as far as I can tell.
Just knowing where I'm at has given me peace. Even this morning during prayer, I sensed more direction - very specific in fact. And all day long I kept thinking of my 'little moment' of direction and finding comfort there.
It's no fun being lost, just ask any kid who's gotten separated from his parents at the mall! And what a joy to find your way again.

Moving right along

It's so nice and warm outside today - I can hardly resist buying a whole flat of flowers and putting them out. But I know better. The word around here is that anything 'warm weatherish' should be planted after tax day. So I will resist. But there's enough budding and blooming to satisfy my urges already. I have a few trees planted in the back yard that have begun to flourish and show signs of growth.
The forsythia bush has bloomed.


My snowball tree has budded, as well as the apple tree behind it.

And even my river birch is showing signs of new growth.
The little tree next to it is a deciduous pine that I planted too close to the birch. I'm sure it needs a lot more water than it gets, and it is hanging in there, with big brother looking over his shoulder. (It's almost not fair.)

And of course I have to show the True Leaves of my greens! I'm so thankful that they've made it.
The little leaves are the ones that surround the 'seed' but the larger ones are the true spinach leaves. I also have some mesculin lettuce.
You can just start to see the red leaf of the lettuce starting to come out.

I got up this morning with no other desire than to spin, and spin I did. This is the last of the Alice fleece that didn't get spun with the rest. It was just right to spin while watching you tube videos of the Knit Picks mitten KAL.
My dear son and his girlfriend came over. Things are moving right along for them and we're having lots of 'talks' lately. Good stuff!
Last night before they arrived, we had a dinner guest who was just leaving. He is a friend from our church who will be helping us update some websites. Very fun time learning about his family history (grandma was in Japan when the bomb went off - she's got cancer now). He shared his ideas and even told some fun and interesting music stories. I felt great about our time together and he and my husband are cut from the same cloth. It was like two little boys playing trucks together in the sandbox. (Meanwhile I watched a little bit of the Syracuse game on TV.)Like I said, things are moving right along!!

The Madness of March

Yes, I've gone and done it. Filled out my bracket and stepped into the office pool for the NCAA championships. I do like college basketball and there seems to be a fresh wind in the game this year. Of all the attorneys I work with, the one I'm in most contact with is Larry who lives in Lexington, KY. Hometown of the University of Kentucky. He moved there to be near to his grandchildren last year and he says things are nuts around there; I can imagine why!

And as today is St. Patricks Day, I am feeling fresh myself. I had a fun coffee-talk with my friend Julie today which totally lifted my spirits. Work has been crazy lately, as we approach tax season. Actually it is tax season, and like deer season, people are ready to pull the trigger at anything that moves. Our phones are ringing off the hook and I know this madness will continue until after March and into April. Yuk!

My purple sweater is a buh-reeze to knit, and I should know by now to beware. Nothing that easy can look good when it's finished. But, I say, who cares? I'm having fun and reducing my stress!

I'll get finished with my brown socks sometime after the temps reach 90 degrees. Here's my measly progress.

You can see my mistake in the second shot. Oh well.

Easter is just around the corner, and I'm a fair skinned semi-Irish looking lass. So I have to use that tan cream from the drug store, since we aren't allowed to wear panty hose with our dresses anymore. I had a new dress to wear to work yesterday and my legs were all 'tanned' and I asked my hubby what he thought before I left. "try another belt" he said, then "how about some different shoes" . I wasn't born yesterday. It was the dress. Or my fair skin. So off with the stylish shirt dress and on with my brown pants and beige sweater. At least I had on some cute high heels!

Life Goes On

Since my last post had no pictures, I'll make up for it tonight. Sunday night, back to work in the morning.
I had a very good weekend and just finished one of my favorite sandwiches; a tuna melt. With a sugar free cranberry lemonade!

I have gotten some really good cloud pictures so that's where I'll start. The one above is from my cell phone; grocery store parking lot.

I understand that the blue sky is not actually blue but it appears that way for scientific reasons. I like it anyway.

My friends came over Saturday night to watch a movie so I did some cooking on Saturday. I made some homemade rye pizza for my husband who's counting calories (doctor's orders) and I made some potato soup and brownies for me and the girls. We also had salad, cheese & crackers and wine. Strong coffee at the end to keep us awake through an almost 4 hour movie.

Proofing the yeast and adding the flour.
Ready to heat and eat when hubby got home. Then Potato Soup and Cocoa brownies with Fudge Frosting for the girls!



And while we watched our movie, I knitted the back waist band for the Deep Purple Pullover. Two short sleeves are finished.

And I finished spinning and plying a bobbin of silk - so very pretty.
My daughter and her husband joined us for lunch today - they spent some time with friends and his family so we only saw them for a short time this afternoon, but it was worth it! I love my kids! My husband had to go back to work this evening so I watched a little TV and will hit the treadmill soon enough. I am helping him do some things with his business and I think I've got a good lead on someone to help with his website. It needs some updating and my son is pretty wrapped up with school, church, work and a serious girlfriend. Life is going by so fast!

Basic Instincts

Whether we realize it or not, some things are just IN us. We are born with certain basic qualities and needs that just don't go away. I know that the need to eat, breathe and sleep are pretty much at the top. I love to eat, I love to take a deep breath, and I love my bed.

Last night I got a good night's sleep after a fun visit with my son and his girlfriend. I had already planned to cook from a Saving Dinner recipe; chicken was thawed and ingredients bought over the weekend. It was a surprise to have company, so what a treat to come home and cook for 4 instead of 2!

Amber mentioned that she wanted to learn to cook more fresh vegetables and I gladly shared some recipes I had that all used very fresh ingredients. She took my notebook home to try some out and I was immediately inspired. This morning I read a bunch of cooking (foodie) blogs and am inspired to clean out my pantry and fridge!
We will probably make a trip to Costco today, and maybe a health food store. The popular ones today are a far cry from the old school earthy ones from years ago. Now they are just like the regular supermarkets, selling high priced fancy stuff. I used to shop at two really great stores when the kids were small. One was basically a soul food grocery store where you could buy brown paper bags of turnip greens, cheap bunches of broccoli and major bags of potatoes. The other store was a health food store that sold small amounts of cool things, and had a large bulk spice and grain section. My mom always bought our fruits and vegetables at Jimmy Lowe's fruit stand, on our way home from school. They're still in business by the way!
Tomorrow some girlfriends are coming over to watch Gone with the Wind. My friend's daughters have never seen the movie and we both thought it would be fun to have a girl's night. My daughter might be joining us as well, although she and I have both seen the movie. I love the part where Scarlett is foraging around in the trampled garden and finds a small root vegetable. She's very hungry and gets a resolve to never let this happen to her again! You go girl!!

(sorry for the blurry shots - it's raining!)
Update on lettuce and spinach~

They're here!

I have been patiently waiting for the snow to melt long enough for my little seeds to sprout!
I can't believe they finally came up. It's like seeing your first sonogram (almost). The soil looks so dry but I think the little guys actually needed to dry out and get in some sunbathing. Aren't they darling?

I think I planted them about the same time I started these socks. I'm making good progress with my cables; no cable needle around, just using the spare DPN.
Two cables on the sock - one on each side. First is cable forward. Second is cable back.
Here's the forward.
On Monday I had a tummy ache and came home; what a blessing that it was such a warm, lovely,sunny day, I wrapped up in my sweater and sat on the patio for a while. I really needed the vitamin D.
Things are changing at work. I'll be leaving at the end of next month so I'm trying to think ahead for the next guy/girl who takes over my position. I do hope it's successful for them. I'm sure they will do very well. As for me, I'm looking forward to my future and what I'll be doing. Everyday I get more and more excited. I can hardly wait!
While I was sitting around the house on Monday afternoon, bored, I decided to put on a big pot of water to boil and add some vinegar and yellow dye.

SUNFLOWER!
Can you tell I'm looking forward to spring? And daylight savings time is just days away!!

Yarniverse

Yes, you read my title correctly. I went to Yarniverse in Memphis and I did buy something; a sweater pattern that my daughter just loved. Nice cabled boatneck sweater.


I also ate at Cafe Eclectic which was just the kind of place I love to visit. Not like a cattle call (buffet), not an open, airy, look-who's-here place, not a pricey, snooty, waiter-thinks-he's-all-that kind of place either.
(knitted lamp post cozy in front!)
Just a cozy, warm, bakery like cafe where they bring you good coffee, food and check on you only when they see you're out of something, otherwise they leave you alone to eat and visit in peace and privacy.
(Can you tell I have a thing about eating out?)


We also visited my son in law's new school building. He's a 2-L student and my daughter and he live in the heart of the city.

(Judge not lest ye be judged!)
The building is downtown and used to be a large post office. The renovation brought in imported Italian marble and beautiful windows with views of the Mississippi and Mud Island. Mud Island was featured in the movie The Firm and the little house that Tom Cruise and his wife were given in the movie is in my daughter's neighborhood. (lots of free trivia today, whether you want it or not!)
They are great hosts and treat us so well when we visit - chocolates on the pillows, tours of anything we might remotely be interested in, and never a bore to be around.
It's always a fun time for me. Last night we watched The Informant and I was cringing all the way till the end. You may not like this kind of movie, but it was pretty unsettling, since it was true.

I knitted just enough on my deep purple sweater-sleeve #2, but tried my best to not be preoccupied while we talked. I did enjoy the quiet mornings reading and praying. Very nice to not be in too much of a hurry.