This week mild weather with bright sunshine arrived in my town, and the people of my state (Colorado, USA) began to howl into the night every evening at 8pm in a show of support and unity. Flowers are starting to appear in my beds, and I am opening windows to air out the house. In the midst of bad news and scary times there is still sunshine, unity, and moments of beauty.
I hope that everyone continues to stay safe and that you are enduring the days of isolation in good humor. Here’s a few glimpses of some of my happy moments this week.
I ran out of milk and bread last week. I didn’t want to eat my cereal dry so I went hunting in the pantry and found… a can of pumpkin in the back. I picked a recipe online that would use the entire can of pumpkin, and used oil instead of butter since I’m hoarding those last two sticks to make shortbread cookies later on in the week. One recipe was discarded because it used too many eggs… hey, those guys are precious right now. Ta-daa! This recipe did the job. You know, pumpkin bread with a slice of white cheddar is a pretty tasty lunch, too! A couple of days later I had gotten my delivery of groceries and I now have milk again for my morning latte. The pumpkin bread is really nice with that, too.
I went grocery shopping a couple of weeks ago and saw a large bird arriving at a nest in the top of a tree a couple of blocks from my house. I walked down there this week in the nice weather to take a picture. I was expecting to see a golden eagle, but I kind of think that this is a great horned owl because it’s standing straight up and then there are those ears…. What so you think?
I’m still ignoring the finishing work that needs to be done on the Pebble Tunic; looking for easy knitting for stressful times I wound yarn and cast on another V-Neck Boxy sweater. This sweater is lightweight, extremely comfortable, and the perfect project to generate the peaceful Zen of knitting that I need right now.
I bought a beautiful variegated yarn that compliments this color with an idea to put some Fair Isle work on the sleeves. Now I’m considering making a cowl or small shawl to go with the sweater. Not to worry… I have days and days before I need to make a decision on that. For now I can just knit away and binge watch Netflix shows. Perfect plan for now.
We have a few more days of sunshine here before the rain/snow makes a comeback over the weekend; while I can I’m reading and taking naps in the front room with the plants. Good days in a sad time.
Have a good week everyone.
Yarn, Books & Roses 
Yay for knitting with all the colors! The V-Neck Boxy yarn is 😍😍😍. Your yarn choices for the Tartan Socks are 👌. Glad you got your delivery. I may never go to the store to shop again. I love having my groceries delivered. Stay safe!
I just loved the delivery, too, but I just tried to do it again and they don’t have any slots available for the next week. Wow. I may pop on my face mask and try to get some tomorrow during the early shopping hours for the medically challenged.
I think that I’ll just knit along on my sweater a little more while I think about my shopping/food options… Good thing I have my sweater to chill out with!
Are you using Instacart? My friends, here in WI, have been very happy with it.
I will check it out, but I used Safeway with the Instacart partnership. This is a big week in Colorado as the convention center just got turned into a huge field hospital and the numbers of people hospitalized are booming, so people are really being careful. I’ve been sewing some good masks so I may try my luck going myself.
If you do have to go out, please stay safe.
I know. It freaks me out. I’ve only been out of the house once in the whole month. It feels like there are germs lined up at the door just waiting to attack me…
That is almost exactly how the Milwaukee health commissioner described going out, today, during their briefing. Makes you never want to leave the house. 😞
To make it even worse, because of all the demand for hydroxychloroquine, one of the drugs that I need, I’m rationing and fighting a flare. Some of my friends can’t get it at all. As if going out wasn’t stressful enough…
Ugh! You’ve got to be kidding. The President really needs to stop saying it’s is the corona drug. I am so sorry you are struggling with a flare
He does need to stop doing that. He makes it sound like a harmless drug but I had to get testing done before I could start and ongoing organ and eye checks because I’m taking the drug. It causes heart problems (I do have some palpitations and fluid around my heart) and vision issues (distorted vision that can lead to legal blindness); I’m constantly monitored so I accept the risk, but no one is mentioning this in those press conferences!! When he said that there were now 30 million pills in the national reserves I thought… well, there’s my problem. Kaiser sent me a letter that they will directly fill and deliver my next prescription, but I kind of worry that they won’t have the supply to do that, hence the rationing. What a time to be alive…
I hope they are going to make sure that the patients who rely on this drug can get it. The doctors are scrambling to correct all of the misinformation, in their interviews. They have been saying everything you said above , regarding all the testing. I agree…what a time…
I have been shopping at Whole Foods, through Amazon Prime. The early bird gets the cart. 🤣 I got my cart ready and then tried the next morning, when I woke up, at 5:30 am. At least, that’s how their’s is working.
I will check them out. Safeway lets you pick a date and delivery window for a week out, and the slots are all gone. Maybe it is because of Easter…
You are probably right. Easter and Passover.
I am so glad you are doing ok and enjoying the sunshine for today! your bread looks amazing.
It was really easy. It made two loaves so I froze one and it did fine. 🙂
love that you now have some for latter!
Great post! Lots of hopeful things to share. Bread looks yummy and the knitting projects are lovely. Cheered me up.
Thanks! There’s always some room for things that make us happy!
Those socks are spectacular!! I’ll have to add them to my queue.
The Valentine yarn is so pretty! I see why you had to have it:)
Spring is arriving here in full force. People are out walking on the nice days. It’s really pretty nice considering…
Aren’t they just the happiest socks ever?! As soon as I saw them on Ravelry I had to make them. I’m thinking about how to make the matching arm warmers…
What I like about the Valentine yarn is that it is a color that will go with lots of things in my wardrobe (okay, we are talking basic black, grey and indigo blues…) so it will be a real workhorse for me. It is a lightweight so I may be able to wear it this spring if I knit fast enough and in the early fall for sure.
I just love spring. I can’t wait for the first bloom to appear. 🙂
The socks look great. So does the sweater. The owl is the best! I’m so glad you shared that picture.
We had golden eagles in our neighborhood years ago and they were just fantastic. Once I thought about it, though, their nest was enormous compared to this one. I’m so glad I got the picture before the leaves arrive on the tree. I just love that owl too!!
Good notes of optimism. Your good wishes reciprocated.
Thank you.
I like the owl! Your socks are so pretty…love the colors.
He’s a really cool owl, huh! He seems pretty exposed at the top of that tree though. Hope he’s okay when the thunderstorms arrive. I’m ready to start the heel on the sock and the colors are just so much fun!!
I absolutely love owls. We have a local farm that gives away free milk from their road side stand. All one has to do is pull up, grab and go. The knits are lovely!
Owls are cool, and hopefully they are eating lots of mice and other pesky critters in my neighborhood. I’m lactose intolerant so I have to get milk with the lactose removed. I know a lot of people think that milk is inflammatory, but I have discovered that I need (lactose-free) dairy almost every day to keep my GI symptoms under control, so I really missed it. I got groceries today so I am good to go for another two weeks.
I am in love with that sock! It’s gorgeous!
It’s easy to knit, too. It’s mosaic knitting, so you only use one color at a time which makes it easy to work on while binge watching a show.
I wish I liked knitting the Boxy sweaters better because they’re so comfy & fun to wear, and yours will be gorgeous in that color! I made pumpkin muffins recently and really enjoyed them, especially having them “out of season”!
This is my third boxy sweater… I like the V-neck look and of course the comfy fit. I’m mostly homebound, so for me it is all about the comfort!! I think that the pumpkin is appealing right now because it is comforting.
Sounds like spring is springing there! Glad you have some positive things going on, but in your weather and in your crafting 🙂 Have you been going out and howling too?
Those socks are very cool, and the Valentine yarn is gorgeous!
I have not joined in on the howl… I keep forgetting the time and the howl is over before I get to the door. In my neighborhood they also light off fireworks, and that is what finally gets my attention.
It will snow this weekend, so spring is kind of messing with us. I want to plant flowers, but it isn’t safe until sometime in May.
As soon as you mentioned the howling, it sounded like something you might enjoy 🙂
Our weather is goofy too. We can’t really plant anything outside until May either 🙂