Category Archives: vlogs

friday files – weather and likes / dislikes this week

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We’re getting long stretches of mild and uninspiring weather here in SE Michigan – no snow, no sun, not much except a cool grey damp. Is this climate change in action? Winters of my childhood seemed much different, with snow so deep we could dig igloos and tunnels in it, elementary school lockers crowded with wet-smelling coats and mittens, clumping home in moon boots that leaked and had to be lined with bread bags. Regardless, it makes running outside feasible so I’m hoping my January running will be much better than the last 2 years (I don’t think I did more than 10 total miles in January in 2021 and 2022).

A few good things this week: The Elvis birthday movie on Saturday night was everything we hoped it would be – a true Elvis / Colonel Tom Parker stinker called ‘Spinout’. No real plot to speak of, disjointed and ill-timed music numbers (one of which was called ‘Smorgasbord’, which referred to all of the women that Elvis’s character liked to enjoy being a single swinger). We chatted with the theater owner for awhile after the show and recommended ‘Clambake’ for next year’s offering.

My boss and I were finally in the office at the same time this week and she gave me a Christmas present – the Five Minute Journal. My boss is pretty amazing and always thinks of me around the holidays, usually with a nice bottle of champagne. But for a journal geek like me, this gift was perfect. I’m really looking forward to spending some time with it. This will be the 3rd journal / planner I keep – I have a Hobonichi Techo for my personal / family life, a five year journal that I’m 3 years into, and now this.

Other likes: ‘Pale Blue Eye’ on Netflix, which we’re about halfway through – massive shout out that Edgar Allan Poe is played by Dudley of Harry Potter film fame which is an almost unbelievable transformation. My work pants still fit (barely). I’ve been watching a lot of homesteading channels on YouTube (recently just found Little Spanish Farmstead and Hannah Lee Duggan).

two weeks in a row of painting my nails!
I don’t even know who I am anymore!

Dislikes this week: I picked up “Livid”, the new Patricia Cornwell, off my library reserve list and so far it is a dud. I’m going to keep going with it but this is a disappointment, since I really enjoyed the last one. MTC on this but so far this is just an ‘everyone is part of a massive conspiracy out to get Scarpetta’ and those are so tiring. I have to go for an ortho consult on Monday because my bite is so bad that my teeth are loose and some are chipping and my dentist can’t do Invisalign out of his office, he has to outsource me due to the complications.

The weekend will be quiet with the kiddo preparing for final exams and Brandon still on a six day work schedule. I hope everyone is able to recharge and enjoy!

friday frivolity: halloween recap, and some new knitting

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Halloween was a bit of a disappointment – the forecast was clear, but the weatherpeople were not correct. By 7:30 PM or so, the winds had picked up and the rain was pelting. We were expecting a flood of kids, pent-up demand from the past year, but we had a small turnout and the weather put a damper on festivities. We have LOTS of candy leftover which is terrible for my discipline and self-esteem.

the kiddo and brandon making the most out of her costume

I took Monday off and put away the Halloween decorations, smashed the pumpkins under our birdfeeder and filled them with sunflower seeds. The birds, deer, and other yard wildlife (we have possums and a raccoon) enjoy the smorgasbord. It’s turned colder so the flannel sheets are on the bed and the woodbox is filled. The kiddo and I had dentist appointments this week, on Tuesday Brandon & I went to vote the short local ballot (city council), and work has been a bit stressful. I had a call with Japan one evening that I spent a lot of time preparing for and feeling anxious about and now, here on Friday, I am drained and bloated and sugar-hungover and ready for a weekend of lots of water and fresh, clean food. I haven’t been able to muster the energy to run in the newly cold mornings, which seem increasingly dark, even though I do really like cold-weather running and I have all the appropriate gear, so I have to conclude that I’ve just been silly and have not done the best job at self-care this week.

Vlogtober is OVER and I am bummed out. I so enjoyed following two of my favorite vloggers with their daily updates. Gayna from Tales from Cuckoo Land and Ali from This Little Wonderful Life are just a joy and being able to climb under a blanket with my iPad and watch them every day was a balm for my busy October. Ali is pretty regular so I expect to see her again soon – and I think she’s already committed to Vlogmas – but Gayna has intimated that she maybe won’t be able to film again until the New Year and as I really enjoyed her Vlogmas last year, this is a crushing disappointment. I really need Christina and Red Bank Mike from Chelsea Knits to commit to a Vlogmas so I can fill in my Gayna loss. (Their house and chickens are so fun, and I love her planner vlogs too.)

On the knitting front, now that the Halloween socks are finished, I have turned my attention to a couple of other projects. I cast on a hat for the kiddo – the SImple Pleasures hat by Purl Soho. It is fantastic. She picked the grey tones and the yarn is absolutely luscious to work with. For the ribbing, you hold two strands of the wool, and once you get into the body of the hat, you cut one strand and replace it with a strand of the kid mohair. I’m considering doing another one for myself, maybe in one of the plum tones. I also got myself a little gift for Thanksgiving knitting – this tiny stitch marker from Sucre Sucre Miniatures. It’s the most perfect, detailed, immaculate slice of pumpkin pie and the artistry is amazing.

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I’m also winding yarn for the Snuggle Down Cowl by Jooles Hill. This has been on my short list for awhile, and I’m finally winding up some of my mini-skeins from last year’s Legacy FIber Artz Advent calendar. I’m pairing them with a silk mohair in a pink shade from one of my new favorite indie dyers, Casual Fashion Queen, who is up in Ironwood, MI, where it’s already snowing.

So there’s my Friday update for you all. I hope you are well and safe, warm if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, and cool if you’re under the Southern Cross. We change our clocks back this weekend so the long days of dark are upon us. Be well, be kind, and enjoy. xo

more rain, more tests, a bit of sun and vlogtober

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The sun came out on Saturday and it was a joy. It feels like it’s been raining for a week straight – nothing dries out and lawns are full of fairy rings of strange mushrooms. I’m a bit concerned that I’m just not ready for the long dark days in winter to come, since these ceaseless days of damp have really gotten to me this week (along with everything else on our plates at the moment). Running and being outside is a necessity, but in our village it is perilous because of the slipperiness of wet leaves and the occasional ankle-turning black walnut hidden therein…I tried to soak up the golden rays and took advantage of the beautiful day to pad out our Halloween decorating scheme.

Jacques is the hanging skeleton for the porch- Gus is the pumpkin head. In Miss L’s world Gus has the voice of a Bronx cab driver and Jacques is a former French aristocrat.

Brandon and I both got Covid tests on Saturday as well and they are both negative! So Miss L came home from her dad’s. And then it rained again.

The rest of the weekend was spent reading and crafting. I am burning along on my Halloween socks and also my little Halloween cross-stitch. This is totally due to the joyous thing on YouTube known as “Vlogtober” in which vloggers vlog every day in October (perhaps that was self explanatory…). A couple of my favorites are participating – Tales from Cuckoo Land and This Little Wonderful Life – so I’ve had a lot of peaceful time with them and my projects.

And that was the weekend. I am hoping for a more normal week ahead but it will be a busy one, with doctors appointments (optometrist and general physical), a Girl Scout activity next weekend and Miss L’s big orthodontist appointment. As well as the usual work from home and normal upkeep of home and family. Onward friends.

some warm days

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Author’s Note: In March my family suddenly lost my father. There is no way that I can ever put into words what that has been like. For awhile, I didn’t want to talk about it, except with y mom and brother, and I didn’t want to be online at all, much less on my blog. But this space is about celebrating the things (mostly small things) that make me happy and bring me joy so I feel like that is positive and something I can do. My family has pulled together and we are dealing with our grief the way he would expect us to- by loving and supporting each other and moving forward as best we can and with humor. I don’t want to share any more, but not sharing our enormous loss at all didn’t feel right, either. I appreciate your support as always.

We’ve had a spate of warm days and spent most of them in the yard. We’ve raked up the detritus of our willow tree and I weeded and raked one small bed which contains a day lily, coneflowers, and sedum. I also planted container lettuce, tomatoes, and strawberries.

Brandon’s passion project this year is our grass. He’s spent an inordinate amount of time overseeding and patching and consulting with the Scott’s expert at our local hardware store.

I’ve been enjoying so much knitting lately although I don’t have many FO’s to show for it. I finished my Mittens to Fit by Slavi Thomsen in March so had to photograph them amongst the new spring growth. They’re Raveled, blocked, and go into the mitten basket for next winter (unless, in typical Michigan fashion, we get a spring snowstorm).

I’m currently working on these Beatrice mitts by Leslie Friend of A Friend to Knit With. They’re a super easy and quick pattern and the recommended yarn – Turtlepurl’s Striped Turtle Toes in the Trenchcoat colorway – is divine to work with. Although I’m really trying to de-stash this year and only buy yarn for specific patterns, I might buy another skein for another pair of Mittens to Fit.

I’m swatching a couple of different options for a cotton short-sleeved summer sweater.

I’m also watching some wonderful new-to-me crafting vlogs- Tales from Cuckoo Land and Ollie and Bella, both on YouTube. Chelsea Yarns is a newish one as well although I may have mentioned that before. So many beautiful things.

I am still working from home and still fine with it. It looks like we may go back in July and in my current frame of mind I am not eager to do so. I can’t help but feel exhausted at the thought of the commute and constantly being surrounded by so.many.people. The upside is that I will be fully vaccinated by that time. Brandon and I got our notifications that we were eligible for our first dose at the big Covid clinic being held at the home of the Detroit Lions, Ford Field. One sunny Friday morning we went down and got our shots. It was a quick, friendly, efficient process and apart from slightly sore arms (similar to the flu shot) we felt no side effects. Our second dose is already scheduled for April 30.

I think that brings us somewhat up to date. I hope your spring (or fall, depending on your hemisphere) is lovely so far. xo

friday five – where’s the turkey, chuck

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  1. All I can say is thank goodness Apple TV loosened their capitalistic stranglehold on the Peanuts holiday specials and are allowing them to be shown on PBS after all. I bitterly railed against the loss of the Halloween special and can’t imagine getting through the holidays without seeing Snoopy fight with a lawn chair and Linus bring us to tears with his simple reminder of what the holidays are all about, Charlie Brown. At the age of 47 I will still be sitting in front of the TV at 7.30 EST Sunday night November 22 with Miss L and my snacks (maybe popcorn, pretzels, jelly beans and toast?) to bring back a taste of my childhood.

2. Some weekends, all I want to do is sit and knit with something soothing to watch. I love vlogs and am so excited about Vlogmas coming up. Some of my favorite crafting vlogs include Ina Knits, Sandy by the Lakeside, Birch and Lily, and Mandarine’s (all available on YouTube). I also love Christine McConnell although that’s less crafting and more aesthetic (achievable crafting, anyway), Talasbuan, and Northern Heart, and I recently found a new one that I love called Simple Swedish Life. This is a very quiet, peaceful vlog about a young Korean man married to a Swedish woman living in Sweden with their toddler. It’s very aesthetic, full of poignant musings and images, not much (if any) spoken word, and some great cooking and recipes. If you’re looking for an excellent accompaniment to an afternoon of working quietly with your hands with a cup of your favorite beverage, I would highly recommend any of the above.

3. I don’t think I’ve shared yet, but I cast on my holiday socks in the post-election trauma and have been busting away on them ever since. They are the Summer Camp pattern by Jill Zielinski (which is not seasonally appropriate, I know, but looks great with the yarn I chose and a contrast heel / toe) in two colorways from West Yorkshire Spinners. I can’t remember them offhand and the ball bands are downstairs so I will just say the socks are Raveled and I’ll add the colorways later on. Whilst I was taking the inaugural picture for Ravelry, Emmett decided he wanted to help display their attributes and I let him. He’s a handsome model, don’t you think?

4. For the first time perhaps ever, I am almost finished with my Christmas shopping before Black Friday. Making a budget and lists in advance helped. My biggest project left to finish is Brandon’s Advent calendar. I don’t want to reveal it here, but I found the base idea on Etsy and have to buy the supplies for each day. I have 6 days done but need to hit up some shops over the weekend to finish it up. I didn’t quite realize that the month was going so fast. All three of us are getting Advent calendars this year and I look forward to sharing them here on the blog and also over on my Instagram (link in the side column).

5. For the past two weeks I’ve been scheduling my workouts in advance and blocking off time on my calendar. Over the summer, it got light early enough that I could be up and out and get back and shower and not have to delay the opening of my home office, but with the shorter days and darker, cold mornings, I find I have to make accommodations. Setting aside a few mornings a week where I don’t schedule meetings too early has been great and I’ve stuck to my scheduled workouts every time – either getting out for a walk or run or, if the weather is inclement, going into the basement for a strength workout. It’s not always going to be possible this winter to do this, based on my work schedule, but anything is better than the nothing active I did last spring during early work-from-home times (and the corresponding weight gain). Could it be that I’m getting the hang of this “adulting” thing? (Questionable.)

Anyway, I hope you are all well and safe and your families, too. What’s on tap for this weekend? I will be finishing up the Advent calendar for Brandon, picking up the last bits and bobs for our Thanksgiving dinner next week, knitting and enjoying my books and vlogs. Take care and enjoy. xoxo

five things friday

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  • I get a lot of “standard bird” visitors to my feeders – sparrows, downy woodpeckers, chickadees, cardinals, finches, etc. – but this week I’ve been excited to note a “newbie”. I get white-breasted nuthatches but I’ve been seeing many red-breasted nuthatches this week too! Apparently, they are going to be a more common sighting in the Midwest due to poor cone crops on spruce and fir trees in the boreal forests of Canada.
  • I’ve been watching Sandy by the Lakeside’s vlog for awhile now and was thrilled to snap up one of her large project knitting bags during her last shop update. They sell out fast and I am so happy with it – super fast shipping and beautiful workmanship. I can’t wait to cast on some new socks to put in it.
  • I finally got library books after almost six months without. I’ve been solely relying on Kindle reads and old paperbacks and finally had a couple of “must-reads”. My library will return to a limited in-person service next week but in the meantime, the curbside pickup was very convenient.
  • I’ve had a hormone headache all week and since it was also the first week of remote learning school, the timing was not ideal. Miss L is very independent and very efficiently navigated all the new technology – I was only called on to offer tech support a couple of times. I feel very thankful for all of the hard work that our teachers and school staff have done to start the kids off with new platforms, build relationships, and manage stress levels. I also feel enormous gratitude for a kid who loves to do things on her own. The tech has had some issues and glitches this week, and we’re still trying to manage our wi-fi connections here – we currently have all 3 of us at home and trying to juggle bandwidth for work, school, and Tour de France streaming (ahem BRANDON ;)) But all in all, a solid start and now thankfully the kids get 4 days off over Labor Day to recharge.
  • I think I finally have a day planner that’s going to work for me. I started out the year with Hobonichi and they just didn’t work. Too small. Not enough space. I’ve learned that an electronic calendar paired with a simple notebook works best for my work organization and I got a big discount on a Commit30 planner for the remainder of 2020 and a new one for 2021. I love the construction, the layout, and the size of the days even in the compact version (although I did get a full-size for 2021). And yes, fun stickers and colored markers do motivate me.

Very happy now to have a holiday weekend to try to shake this headache and enjoy my birds, library books, and knitting. Wherever you are I hope you also have a peaceful and recuperative weekend! xoxo

weekend randoms

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Emmett is off his kitty Prozac and feeling needy

We spent most of yesterday with our eyes on the skies and our weather apps as the forecasters had told us to expect an “unprecedented” winter storm that would “more than likely” result in power outages. We hauled our woodpile into the garage and then watched it rain, and rain, and rain, and then sleet a little bit, and this morning it’s brightly sunny and clear. Don’t get me wrong – I am NOT complaining.

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Our sideyard always floods!

My mom got me this skillet cookbook for Christmas along with two hardcore cast iron skillets and last night I made a chicken and rice recipe. It was excellent and I can’t wait to try some skillet bread & other recipes. There’s something about cast iron.

I’m trucking on my sweater and finished the ribbing, so very soon will be starting on sleeves and maybe have an unblocked, work-in-process photo to share…just a reminder that I’m knitting the Pink Memories pattern by Isabell Kraemer. I also got these adorable progress keepers from the Etsy shop Bump on a Hill and I can’t wait to use them on the sleeves.

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I’m doing a lot of knitting to a new-to-me vlog these days – Talasbuan, about a couple in Sweden going off-grid. The photography is just lovely and their journey fascinating.

And we are still on the fence about the new Dracula on Netflix, but likely going to tune in for the second episode tonight!

I hope you are warm and dry and I will see you here on Tuesday for Show Us Your Books – I have a couple great ones to share!

xo

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thanksgiving, some links, & a finished object

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Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because you get all the gratitude, joy, and time with family without a lot of the extra nonsense and pressure to conspicuously consume. You just eat and watch football, and when everyone goes home you have some extra time to put up the holiday decorations and take naps! What can be better than that?

Brandon & I started the day with the Detroit Turkey Trot, which is sponsored by the Parade Company and runs along the Detroit Thanksgiving Parade route. It was clear and cold and despite my initial reluctance to roll out of bed, I was so glad that I let Brandon convince me. The vibe is fun and excited, with folks camped out on the streets before the parade, slapping high fives to the runners and calling, “Happy Thanksgiving!”  We’d initially planned on doing the Drumstick Double (which would be the 10k and the 5k) but it cut it short to the 10k so we could get home a little earlier to prep for dinner. It’s a fast course, mostly downhill for the last half, and we had a tailwind, so I was pretty happy with our time.

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I heard there are around 18,000 participants for the Detroit Turkey Trot.

My parents drove down from northern Michigan to spend the day with us and meet their grandkitten Pot Roast. My mom makes the best pumpkin pie, and Miss L baked her famous cheese rolls for us. Brandon carved and my dad introduced him to the delicacy of the turkey neck, heart, and gizzard. (Barf.) Although Miss L did classically Thanksgiving-themed placecard drawings, I went with a more Scandinavian-themed table setting this year, which I always really like.

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We spent the rest of the weekend getting the house decorated for the holidays, and I watched some new-to-me YouTube knitting vlogs (Fiber Tales from Denmark!) while I finished up my Garment House hot water bottle cover. (Raveled. And it was purely a to-be-used knit, so I didn’t bother with gauge, switched to a slightly larger circular from dpn’s halfway through, and ran out of the stashed Cleckheaton Mohair that I was holding with a plain Lion’s Brand worsted. So it’s wonky but since it will spend most of its life tucked at the bottom of a bed, I’m not stressed.) Brandon’s cousin came over to help install the replacement dishwasher for my old Bosch, and Miss L started her Advent Calendar!

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Harry Potter Funko Pop! Advent Calendar 2019!

Sadly, my car “Finn” did not want to start when the long weekend was over, so it’s been a Monday with a tow truck and working from the car dealership. I was dreading the outcome – new starter? new alternator? new CAR?!? But needing a new battery was the best (and likely most inexpensive) outcome so I am now ready to face the rest of the week with a working car AND a new dishwasher!

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He felt like all the rest of us on a Monday morning after a long weekend…

I got creative with leftovers over the weekend and apparently I was not alone – Brandon texted me that all of the guys he works with brought turkey pot pies today for their lunch.  🙂

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I hope my American friends had a lovely holiday and all of my overseas friends had an equally lovely weekend. To close, I wanted to share a couple of links for anyone who is as Moomin-mad as I am. Finland is definitely on my bucket list!

What the Moomins can tell us about climate change

My search for the real Moominland

Sunday.

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A rare session of lunchtime knitting at the Matthei Botanical Gardens conservatory last week.

Turkey Tom is safely in our fridge defrosting and our new Turkey Trot shirts are neatly folded – BOTH waiting for their debut on Thanksgiving Day. Brandon, Miss L & I spent a nice Sunday working around the house – Miss L is becoming quite a little baker, after we’ve rabidly consumed most seasons of Great British Baking Show on Netflix, and when she puts her hair up in a messy bun, I know she’s about to produce something yummy- and a lot of dishes to boot. I love her cheese buns but the dishes are no joke. My Bosch, which I think was purchased when Lily was a baby, finally died and although I would have hoped to have gotten a few more years out of a Bosch, we bit the bullet and found a new Maytag on sale at Home Despot. To be delivered later this week and although my credit card is smoking hot after holiday shopping and will definitely need a post-holiday break, a dishwasher is kind of a big makes-my-life-a-lot-easier appliance that I don’t like going without. So it goes. In addition to getting the dishwasher sorted out, Brandon has spent a lot of time in the house doing renovations – building shelves in our spare room and hall closet, cleaning the basement and garage, unpacking his study, rearranging our belongings in the house, and hanging art. Wwe finally finished up a few projects today that gave us a working spare bedroom and much-needed storage space, and had some time after L went to her dad’s for a three mile run in the to-be-valued November sunshine.

Brandon is carving out a knitting corner for me in the upstairs bedroom, and I look forward to the day soon when I’ll have a painted shelf for my stash and knitting books and an old comfy armchair. Sarge has pretty much claimed the spare room bed for himself, as you can see in this shot of the knitting nook in-progress.

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It wasn’t a very relaxing weekend, but it was very productive, and very rewarding to see his belongings mesh with ours in this house. He has a great aesthetic and a talent for knowing what looks good, and his touch and his things have made me love our space even more. We are definitely not a couple that goes to Pottery Barn and buys a matching living room set and Home Goods art and has a carefully curated furniture storeroom. We’re much more of a mismatched, whimsical decorating style, things collected and handed down, things  meaningful and interesting and a little shabby. I wouldn’t change a thing.

I’m looking forward to a nice break later this week, catching up on some of my favorite vlogs (Ina Knits and By the Lakeside on YouTube), magazines (loving Midwest Living), knitting (still working on the hot-water bottle cover, Log Cabin blanket and the Isabel Kraemer Pink Memories sweater), television (Crown Season 3 and of course more Great British Baking Show), spending time with family, running the Detroit Turkey Trot on Thursday along the route of the Thanksgiving Day Parade, and going ice skating at Campus Martius on Black Friday now that the Christmas tree is lit.

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Ina Knits on YouTube and a few rows of my Log Cabin blanket.