It's Here!

We knew it would come eventually. Somehow it is still a shock when it does. And no easing into it this year. From 60's to this in less than a few days.

Thank God for snow blowers. This is heavy, wet stuff. Perfect for snowmen. And it was too nice to come in after the driveway and sidewalk got cleaned off, so I got to work on this guy. I guess you're never too old to hurt your back pushing big snowballs around the backyard.

After a crazy week, it felt so good today to just knit, watch cooking shows, eat freshly made English muffins, and eventually nap in front of the fireplace. What more could you ask for on a Saturday in November?

Delphinium

When I went to find some yarn for a new project, I made up my mind to go beyond my usual earth toned palate and venture into something new. And so I came home with delphinium. To me, delphinium sounds better than purple.

Once I finished my last sweater, I wasn't sure what to do next. I even went knitless for several days before I made up my mind and found the right fiber. (The hazards of being a monogamous knitter.)

The project I finally settled on was the Cabled Swing Cardi from The Knitter's Book of Yarn. This has been on my to-do list since I first bought the book. It's almost a knit jacket in style and has the prettiest cabled panel on the front. I went with Berroco's Vintage--a relatively inexpensive, worsted weight acrylic/wool/nylon blend. I had used this yarn once before on the Mondo Cable Cap. It's a nice basic that works beautifully for cables, is super soft, and comes in some great colors. I actually prefer this yarn over Cascade 220, although I'm sure some purists would balk at using anything less than pure wool.

The front piece has gone quickly. I did have to put it aside for a while last night. I had just gotten to the point where I was decreasing and binding off on both sides of the piece--you know, the kind of knitting where you have to pay attention to what you're doing--when we started watching the first episode of Season 2 of Fringe. Something had to go.

This weekend I should get a moment to wind up some other new yarn I found for a scarf project that I want to get going as well. Those were dark days when I didn't have any knitting in the house. It can't happen again. I'll snap a picture and post the details later.

Three Guesses

Bet you can guess where we were this week---at least if you're from the great state of MN.

That's right, Duluth! Home of lighthouses and the great lift bridge. We even broke out record this year and visited three lighthouses in one day. Not bad.

A fall trip to the North Shore is always fun. This year it was even better than usual with temps into the 60's and sunshine every day. The leaves were gorgeous, if not even a little past peak, and the sky and the water were brilliant blue. All that, and we got to visit our son to boot.

Now that we're back home, Mother Nature's show is starting to come our way.

Take Two

It's a miracle I don't hate this sweater, but now that it's done I actually like it. In fact, I actually like it a lot.

This poor yarn started out as another sweater. It tried. It failed. And as much as I hated to do it, I ended up ripping out the entire back piece. I've got to tell you, at that moment I was not in love with this yarn.

Experience told me that if I threw this yarn in a bin and moved on to something else, it would probably sit there forever. Yarn like that only festers. It's hexed.

So, I reminded myself that I liked this yarn well enough at one point to buy it--and pay quite a bit for it to boot. It was going to become a sweater.

There was a time that that meant digging through piles of old patterns, leafing through my library, or running around to yarn stores to fine a substitute pattern, but no more. Ravelry to the rescue! Their new search service gave me plenty of suggestions and within a short time I had found the perfect sweater for my orphaned yarn. I've called it Willow:Take Two.

Now that it's complete, I still have two skeins of this yarn leftover. They are going into the bin. Maybe someday they'll become a pair of mittens or a kid's sweater. I still like the yarn. I'm just not going to push it.

It's a Love/Hate Thing

We've had various work crews going through and around our home now for over a month. It wasn't supposed to take this long, but you know how it goes, one thing leads to another...and five weeks go by. (Not to mention several thousand dollars.)

It's gotten so that the sight of a van with a ladder on top of it pulling into our driveway has become a welcome and dreaded sight all at the same time. So happy to see progress and yet so ready to be done.

As we approach October, I think the end may be in sight. And not a moment too soon.

Last Gasps

Now that it's officially fall, it's time to face the fact that the garden is winding down for the season. Part of me would like to go through and clear out some of the saddest foliage, but I know that the plant is better off if it keeps storing up strength for the winter months.

Besides, time is better spent enjoying the last blooms we'll have before frost arrives, and since our average frost date has come and gone already, we're due for one any time.

In August my blue salvia looked terrible. Some bug or disease had infested the whole bunch, so I trimmed them way back and now I'm getting a terrific second show of blooms.

The zinnias too had spots of mildew, but the pruning out paid off there as well.

I'm most excited---sad, but this is what excites a gardener---about my snakeroot plants. They are blooming!

It took years for them to get established and every year I would watch for a bud without success. Finally, this year I've got some blooms. They are beautiful plants.

And the hyssop. It's right next to my cherry tomatoes. So, if you want to steal a couple to pop in your mouth, you have to ask yourself if you're willing to take on the dozens of bees that hang out here all day. I suppose the bees are working hard to fill up for the winter, too.

Last, but not least, is this sedum that decided it wanted to grow in the rocks by our service door. Sure it's a pain to walk around it every time you want to go out to the grill. I simply don't have the heart to pull it out.

US Open 2010

Tennis, tennis, and more tennis.

For one last hurrah of the summer season, we flew out to New York to go to the first week of the US Open Tennis Tournament. As it turns out, this is not a sporting event for the weak--spectators included. Even though this was definitely not a restful vacation, the effort was worth it for the chance to see some incredible play.

As a former tennis Mom, I've watched my share of matches over the years, but of course, this is tennis at a whole different level. The court coverage, the power and precision, and the player's stamina is almost unbelievable. It actually took a while to get used to even following the speed of play. And while watching tennis on TV can be enjoyable, you simply can't appreciate a 144 mph serve from your living room.

Of course, the venue for this event is as much a draw as the athletes themselves. The facility is beautiful. We were a little disappointed by the foods provided after all the build-up, but it was still better than most. (And you are there, after all, for the tennis.)

Weather played its own role in the opening days. The heat and humidity were oppressive even for watching, which makes you marvel all the more at the fitness level of the players. And to top it all off, Hurricane Earl threatened to literally dampen at least one day of the event, but thankfully only gave us a few drops of rain and delayed play for only a brief amount of time.

All said, we had a great trip to close out the summer, and when we got back to MN, even the weather reminded us that summer is definitely over. So, it's time to get our son back to school and for us to get back to work.