Time to Make the Caramel

Because it's never really not time to make Caramel, right? Because caramel is delicious in all seasons!

We played hooky from work on Thursday for a day trip to Amish Country, where I only took a couple photos of lunch and one shop. And when we got home, I cut a few lines of caramel to wrap for a birthday party!

Between January and November, I always seem to forget how long the process can take, but the end result is always so worth it. (I made the caramel Wednesday night, and cut/wrapped on Thursday, which is a pretty good turnaround time!)

I also seem to forget how long it takes to knit a sweater, well, between sweaters! I love my new sweater still, and I'm glad it's finished, but it took weeks...

...and I have sweaters to knit for the girls yet! Luckily, I am well on my way to having a Cam the Cat hoodie. This one will be followed up with some illusion knitting for the other sister, but one thing at a time in my knitting!

Speaking of one thing at a time, I'm scheduled to spend some time with a super-cute Starbucks lover, so I'm going to cut this short. I hope you also have some fun things planned this weekend!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Contemplating Christmas

While some of my friends and family have already started decorating for Christmas, 

With sofa decor, 

and shelf decor,

and wall decor...

I'm just not there yet. Well, perhaps that's not quite true...I mean, I did recently abandon gift knitting in favor of selfishly stitching and steeking a sweater for meeeee! 

I have wanted to knit a colorwork, Christmas cardigan for years, but selfish knitting is for January, and my motivation is usually gone by then. It's been a struggle since I started knitting sweaters, and it's just never come to pass... until now. This is apparently my year!

So, now that I have my handknit holiday sweater, I am seriously starting to contemplate Christmas, with all the decor and fun! I may even move some furniture this afternoon! But Birthday Cupcakes for my dear daughter are just about ready to decorate, so I'll sign off here and see you next week! 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

It's still fall, y'all!

Halloweekends, and More!

I know I've said it before, perhaps even last week, but I really love to spend time at our local amusement park, Cedar Point! I was there last Saturday, even while the pre-scheduled blog post was going live! 

Our oldest Grandson noticed that the merry-go-round was running backwards (for HalloWeekends) on our last visit, but we weren't able to stop for a ride that day...😪. So Pop Pop and I picked that boy up and took him again last week, and he rode it twice!

We rode lots of other rides as well, and we stayed much longer than we had planned, because we were having So. Much. FUN!

On Sunday, I spent time with friends and cats, 

and I worked on my Christmas sweater!

Which is good, because I have two more sweaters to knit this month (for the girls), so I've gotta get that cardigan finished! I mean, the boys already have their hoodies, and they love them...

Of course, they also like to pick their noses and make stinky toots! As a coping strategy to being a boy-mom, my daughter has taken to buying me early Christmas gifts...lol!

That's right, I'm knitting a Christmas cardigan, and she bought me a Christmas cardigan! It's a good thing that I'm into Christmas!

Oh! Christmas is coming! I gotta get back to my needles and yarn...the sweaters won't knit themselves, ya know!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

Yarn: It's In Our Genes

Alternate title:

Have I told you lately about my grandkids?

Because that's what us Gramma-types do! You can see by the photo that there are 5 of them, ranging from their teens to toddlers...

...and they're all hilariously fun! From the oldest of the girls 

to the youngest of the boys,

They sure keep us on our toes! (Especially the second-borns!)

(My daughter is a second born too!)

I am proud of each one of them for so many reasons, and this week I'm gonna brag a bit on the first one that loved yarn with me...

This sweet Peanut saw me knitting from the beginning, and she was playing with needles and yarn from a very young age. 

When she made her first independent stitches, I was so proud! 

Then I blinked, and she had a phone...and she started sending me photos of her own yarny adventures (she's a crocheter now) from several states away, with a "Look what I made!"

This pic came to me as she and her family were on a road trip. I asked how many squares she was making, and we had this convo

She crochets based off vibes...I'm fairly certain that she's "hooked!" I can barely stand it, and I'm so enjoying watching her and her sister as they craft with crochet and knitting (photo cred to their mom... thanks,  Christy!)

Even though the boys are not into knitting or crochet (yet), they bring me so much joy,

and they all love the fruits of my yarny labor, so I just keep knitting...

Toys and sweaters and nore...oh, my!

...and loving that the yarn tradition has been passed on to next generations. 

After all, I learned from my Grandma! I wish I had a picture of that...

Now I'm curious...what did you learn from your grandmother (or mom, or aunt)? Drop a comment to let me know. 🙂

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

Speaking of vibes, have you seen
tbe fall colors this week?

Like a Bird on the Wing?

Like a bird on the ... wait ... 

No wings for this guy yet. Lolz...seems appropriate for a day that we're going to visit prison. Unlike my brother-in-law, though, this bird will get his wings this afternoon. In fact, a few of his feathers are already finished.

For anyone who might wonder, visiting someone in prison is hard. Pre-Covid, we visited about once a month, and it was difficult, but we had it down to a routine. These days, our visits are far less regular...and the motivation to schedule each visit is scarce. Still, since we are generally his only visitors and contact with the wider world, we are trying.

Unlike the depictions I've seen on TV and in the movies, we can't take in photos, books, gifts or anything to share with him, not even a stick of gum or a slip of paper. We enter the facility, obtain our badges and lock up our belongings before we walk to the building where visits take place. Just the clothes on our backs and a government issued ID are all we may have with us. 

And a credit card for the vending machines. Who wouldn't love to share a meal with loved ones from a vending machine? Well, our inmate appreciated his microwaved, frozen chicken sandwich, Nacho Cheese Doritos chips, Payday candy bar and Dr Pepper today, and we are glad for that.

We are allowed one hug of greeting, and one at departure, visiting seated on molded plastic lawn chairs on opposite sides of a small table between hugs. This morning, we had much to catch up about, since it has been 8 months since our last visit. Family news, job news (his and ours), newsy news...our time together drags between topics and races through the words that make us laugh or want to cry. It's awkward every time.

When the visit is over, we walk back to the entrance/screening building and collect our things for the drive home. We are both spent, and I may or may not have taken a three hour nap this afternoon. But I've gotta get back to those wings! 

Like a bird on the wing is the soul that follows Jesus...or so I've often thought it should be. His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:28). But life is still hard in many circumstances. 

When I keep following Him, I get through the difficult things just fine. So I'll get by on a wing and a prayer (and maybe a bit of meditative knitting) when life gets complicated. I hope that you will do the same, no matter what life throws your way. 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!