And just like that, blue skies and warm sunny weather returned.
Today was the last sunny day before the next cold front; sadly these flower are in their last bloom for the year. I plan to plant the snapdragons into the gardens in the back yard this coming week and the geraniums will be coming in to live with the cats over the winter.
Huge flocks of geese now fly over my house each dusk. Squirrels chase each other down the back fence and over my roof; one got caught in a downspout of the rain gutter yesterday, setting off a panic with the cats. The last leaves are still sailing past my windows, but in my yard my trees are bare. Even though the flowers are confused, fall is now hard upon us.
Knitting
I’m still knitting hats like crazy for the Kaiser infusion centers. Yesterday I finished weaving in all the ends, took some pictures, and bagged each hat up with a little note telling the new owner about Frayed Knot, the group that I joined that handles the donations. Tomorrow I will drive them to the drop off location.
So far I’ve produced 4 Barley Light hats using MCN yarn, 2 Deco Beanies with superwash merino in DK weight, and three Anrheg hats using single ply merino wool. All the yarn came right out of the stash, and I have to say that it is kind of exciting to dig around and pull out yarns that have been languishing in there waiting for their purpose to arrive. All of these yarns were loved when I bought them, but somehow never used. Now their time to shine has arrived and I am on fire to produce as many as I can to help the group meet its goal (600 hats) this year.
Books
I was up into the wee hours of the morning finishing The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penney. I was a little worried that it had a topic that hit too close to home for me, but it was handled so well that I really came to love the book, and the eclectic cast of characters, as the chapters flew by. I don’t want to spoil too much, but I think that it is okay to say that this book drew heavily on the Covid pandemic (which is still going on and not ended as the book supposes) and created a character that argues, persuasively, that in a world that is limited in resources it is a duty for those who are a burden to society to submit to mandatory euthanasia. Um… wow. Pretty outrageous, don’t you think, but I can almost see it happening. There were hints of this in the worst of the surge last year before we had a vaccine when I heard people dismissively argue that the people who were dying from Covid were all old or had a comorbidity that contributed to their death. It was almost like… hey, they were going to die anyway, right? Why should this affect me? There were people who seemed to believe that healthy people should not be inconvenienced in any way to protect the vulnerable. There were policies enacted by leaders in positions of power that were designed to magnify the outbreak in an effort to reach herd immunity with little or no considerations for the vulnerable…
You know, if you think about it too much it is depressing. Enough of that. On to the book!
So, since this is a murder mystery, there is a murder that is associated with the charismatic individual who making this argument and who is heading up the movement. And the murder happens in Three Pines, of course. And there are a plethora of candidates that bring an array of social messages to the situation, and memorable richness to the story. Chief Inspector Gamache is on the case with his team from the Sûreté du Québec, his highly gifted neighbors, and some distinguished visitors. And a duck.
I really am glad I read it.
Yarn, Books & Roses 
I wasn’t aware of that really cute bear, Marilyn – but now I am ! Hope to see him all snowed in, eventually. 🙂
Those hats you knitted are BEAUTIFUL ! – bet they’re the nicest of all.
As for the mogs chewing the palm .. there’s a plant I should love to’ve had, but for the fact that (a) cats love it, and (b) it’s no good for them – ANY croton ! There are so many it’s mind-boggling; and they’re all to die for. But my lovely old Lui Stringer wanted only to eat them, and I believe Boodie would, too. [sob !]
Usually when I post a picture of the bear he is covered to his nose with snow. Poor bear. Someday he will get his snow and another day on the blog.
Most of the other people in the group crochet hats so my knitted ones sort of stand out. I have a lot of fingering yarn in the stash so my hats are lighter weight too, which I think might be nice for chemo patients as I remember that my mom wanted a hat to sleep in.
I sprayed the palm fronds with soap and that seems to have stopped the chomping by the kitten. I’m pretty sure that this plant is safe since it has enjoyed the attentions of three different cats over the years and they all survived their interactions with each other.
Your words take us right into your garden. The hat project is coming along nicely. That is an interesting book.
Thank you.
I am knitting a barley light right now. Such a great pattern.
I really like the Barley light pattern a lot. It is so easy to knit and looks pretty nice. I have a lot of MCN yarn that I’m using that I think will be nice for patients going though chemo.
That would be perfect. So soft and warm.
Louise Penny is one of my very favorite writes but I must admit I didn’t read the one with Hilary Clinton yet.
I just love her!! I haven’t read the one with Hillary Clinton yet, either. I have so many books to read on the shelf… I started the Heron’s Cry by Ann Cleeves last night and I’m thinking that I need to track down more of her books to read.
I really enjoy your writing. I often feel we’re having a chat. I’m pleased to see you making so many hats using your stash, then sending them to a good home. Nicely done. Happy November.
Finding a “voice” for the blog was one of the things that I struggled with when I started writing. Then I stopped struggling after awhile a just wrote like I was sharing the day with a friend. I’m so glad to get your feedback; thank you!!
I just took the hats to the drop off point. So happy that my yarn has gone to a great use. Tonight I’m going to cast on a sockhead hat and watch Yelllowstone. 🙂
You have made some wonderful hats, Marilyn! Glad you are getting some last blooms from your flowers, even though the cold is coming back soon. That sounds like an interesting book!
It is going to snow tomorrow (at least in our mountains here) and will be cold so that is the end of that for the outdoor gardens. The geraniums came indoors yesterday to the joy of the cats.
Stay warm! Winter is closing in here too.
It is cold and windy, but no snow. Drat! We are now getting close to breaking the record for the longest streak of “no snow” in our modern recorded weather history.
Wow! Ours came late too, but we really got hit today. 12 inches of snow! and up until Sunday it was dry and clear. Weather!