Bring On the Family

Greetings and happy Friday, friends! As we arrive at the end of the workweek, I've got myself one very relieved teen. I won't say the final exams were all easy, but she is mighty glad to be done with them (and appreciates your well wishes). It's been a stressful week and she's looking forward to having some fun with friends at Kennywood today, provided they don't get rained out. As for me, I'm working as usual (with breaks for walks), but I also have an appointment at the dermatologist this morning and am scheduled to give blood this afternoon, provided my iron is high enough.

Knitting is still happening in fits and starts here, and in fact I started a new project earlier this week after finishing up the socks.

It's a rather uninspiring photo, thanks to subpar lighting, but this is the start of a handspun Zuzu's Petals (Ravelry link). I knit one of these years ago and probably still have it somewhere, but I thought I'd make another for the SSK make-along (for door prize tickets!) and, if I don't feel a need to keep it, either put it away for a gift for someone or take it to SSK for their raffle to benefit the center where the retreat is held. It's been simple enough to work on while reading and while Ruthie naps, but I'm about to start the lace, so this will require some attention going forward. The yarn I'm using is a skein I spun last September from two batts that were a door prize at the last SSK I attended. They contained Rambouillet wool, mohair, tussah silk, and silk noil, so this yarn has a lovely sheen that's not at all captured in the photo. Although my yarn is probably in the sport to DK range, I'm following the instructions for the fingering weight version so that I'll use up as much as possible.

This weekend we'll be spending a lot of time with family for my niece's baby naming (her Hebrew naming, if you want to get technical). The naming and a brunch will be on Sunday morning, but we'll have a dinner on Saturday night with the whole family plus my aunt and uncle, who are coming in from Michigan. This is the aunt who taught me to knit! And my uncle we've been referring to as the dog whisperer of the family because, in retirement, he's been volunteering with a guide/service dog organization. We're hoping that he'll be able to work his magic with Ruthie, who is warming to some people but still barks at the Mister -- even after he gives her multiple treats! Dinner is at my parents', so we'll take her crate with us for her to go in if she's feeling scared.

Speaking of family, I don't know if I mentioned it, but I got a dog DNA test to do for Ruthie, given that we only got "Jack Russell Terrier mix" from the rescue, and we got the results yesterday afternoon -- and they made me laugh!

That first breed is not a surprise, nor is the "supermutt" (which is basically a catch-all for a smattering of DNA from lots of different breeds that comes with being descended from lots of mixed-breed dogs, though they identified German Shepherd, Pit Bull, Rat Terrier, and Australian Cattle Dog as most likely among them). I did not expect Australian Shepherd to show up there! It's especially entertaining because one of her dog friends who we see on our walks is a mini Aussie who's about a month older than her. I think that dog's owners are going to be amused to hear these results! Also, they explain this a bit:

After a month, she's letting her wild and crazy flag fly!

I hope the weekend brings you some sunshine, some relaxation, and some time with friends and/or family. See you back on here on Monday!

Unraveled, Week 28/2025

Happy Wednesday, friends! We are having another soggy week after that beautiful weekend, so while I'm still outside a lot (in a raincoat), it feels like a good week to be inside with my books and my knitting. Time to link up with Kat and the Unravelers and give you an update!

I have an FO this week -- a finished pair of socks! They're obviously not blocked yet, but the knitting is done and the ends have been woven in. They won't be given to their recipient for more than a month, so there's plenty of time for blocking.

Thanks to the gloomy weather, the colors aren't quite right here; what looks like a dark purple is really more of a navy, and what looks like a navy is more of a dark teal. I have to say that I wasn't too impressed with this batch of Felici -- incidentally, they were the last two skeins in my stash -- because in addition to the badly tied knot, I also noticed a lot of white spots in some of the darker stripes where the yarn wasn't fully dyed. Oh well! I think my mother-in-law will like them just fine, and while I do have a fair amount of leftovers, it does feel good to use up a small part of the stash.

I've been continuing to work on my Sugar Maple tee in the evenings while we watch TV (Molly and I have returned to Season 3 of The West Wing and the Mister and I have finally gotten to the last episode of The Pitt), and I'm now in the middle of the decreases that form the waist shaping. Yesterday I decided to give it a try-on and also put it on Matilda, my dress form, for a progress photo while I was at it:

What you can't see here is how much shorter it is in the back because the shaping on the front causes the fabric to bias and thus elongate at that point. So while it may look like I'm almost done, there's still quite a bit to go because the length you need to reach before doing the ribbing and binding off on the body is measured on the back. That said, I'm feeling more confident that this will get done, especially if Ruthie keeps sleeping as well as she has!

I promised I would have book reviews this week and I do -- three of them!

Wild for Austen: A Rebellious, Subversive, and Untamed Jane is probably a must-read for any fan of Jane Austen who wants to know more about the writer, her works, and the context in which her books were written. It's hard to categorize this book other than generally referring to it as nonfiction. It's part literary analysis and criticism, as the author (an academic who specializes in Austen) examines all of Jane's works of fiction for clues they might hold about their writer. It's part biography, giving background on Jane Austen's immediate family and her wider circle and speculating on her views about controversial subjects. And it's part cultural commentary, with examples of how Austen has influenced popular culture in ways she never could have imagined. Throughout, it's well researched and entertaining, and it most definitely challenges the notion that Jane Austen was a sheltered and mild-mannered woman with little life experience to influence her writing. I gave it 4 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a digital ARC in return for an honest review. This book will be published September 2, 2025.

I suspect none of you who has already read it will be surprised that I've finished Nesting, the next Read With Us selection, and now I understand why some of you stayed up past your bedtimes to finish it. To say that this book was an easy read is a bit misleading because it deals with very difficult things, namely spousal emotional abuse and how difficult it is for women -- especially women with children -- to leave and start over. I thought the author did a phenomenal job of showing first how difficult it is to leave a partner who has completely isolated you from your family and friends and made it so that their voice drowns out your own thoughts and then, when you do manage to leave, how hard it is to access the resources you need to survive. I was rooting for Ciara the whole time, and my heart broke each time she faced another barrier. I gave it 5 stars.

Finally, if you're a fan of Shakespeare, I highly recommend Judi Dench's Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent. It's technically an audiobook, but it feels more like an audio documentary. Dench and her coauthor, Brendan O'Hea, go through the many Shakespeare plays that she has appeared in over the course of her career. They discuss the plays and the writing and the roles, but it's also a wonderful look back at her career, the many talented actors and directors she's worked with, and her personal life. I wasn't familiar with a number of the plays, but they do such a great job of summarizing the plots that it really doesn't matter. It's thoroughly entertaining. I gave it 4 stars.

I'm at one of those points where all my library holds have come in at once, so I had to delay another audiobook but have started Onyx Storm. I'm not very far in just yet, and honestly I'm not terribly excited about it right now, mainly because I can't really remember much of what happened in the last book. And I'm deciding whether to go back to a physical book I already started (but was a little bored by) or start a new one.

What are you making and reading this week?

How I Spent My Mother's Day Weekend

The reality of weekends with a puppy, might like weekends with a baby, is that they're not that much different from weekdays, though at least there is no work to be done or, as was the case for me, no dinners to cook. Aside from the 40ºF weather that greeted me first thing on Saturday, it was as perfect a spring weekend as I could hope for -- beautiful blue skies, warm sunshine, low humidity. Of course, that meant that the Mister disappeared on his bike for several hours both days, but it's not like I wasn't going to be stuck at home most of the time anyway!

I did get out for a walk on Saturday morning in order to run a couple of errands. I finally figured out how to log in to our library's online system so that I could put physical books on hold, and there was one ready for me to pick up, so I figured I'd walk there to get it (the main branch is about a mile and a half, maybe a little less from our house). It not only gave me some exercise, but it also gave me some amusement for the weekend -- this is how I spent much of the two weekend afternoons:

I was on a long wait list for Nesting in ebook format from the library and was worried I wouldn't get it in time for the Read With Us discussion, but the catalog showed there were physical copies available, including one at the main branch. The print is pretty large and the hardcover stays open well enough that I've been able to knit while reading, and as a result, I've gotten close to finishing the second sock of this pair and read more than 2/3 of the book! I expect it will end up taking me longer to find a time to return it to the library than it will to read it.

Yesterday we had a delicious brunch at my brother- and sister-in-law's though it was a bit of chaos -- lots of little kids running around! It was a good excuse to do my hair and makeup and feel like a real person for a change. Molly and I took our annual photo and it's crazy to see how quickly she's growing up:

It turns out that the plants/flowers we ordered don't come in until next weekend, so I did not spend my afternoon planting -- which is just as well, because it was rather hot out! Instead, I got to read and knit while Ruthie snoozed, and that's really a perfect afternoon for me.

Here is your requisite photo of the pupper:

This week Molly has finals (can you believe her freshman year is almost over?), so while it's going to be stressful, at least the hours she has to be are curtailed. She has two exams this morning and one each the next three days. Friday is a makeup day, but barring any circumstance that causes her to need it to make up an exam, she'll be spending it at our local amusement park with friends. It's ostensibly a trip related to physics class, but really it's just a fun excuse to go. She's found a few other girls who don't do rollercoasters, so she won't feel left out, and I'm sure she'll get her fill of junk food. Next she has two weeks of mini courses (purely for fun), and then she's done for the year on May 30. And soon she'll start her summer job at a neighborhood juice/smoothie place! I'm looking forward to having her around more and having a helping hand with Ruthie and in the kitchen.

I hope your weekend was restful and that you also got some sunshine and blue skies. See you back here on Wednesday, when I promise I will have at least one book review!

Week's End Wrap-up

Oh, I am very glad to see this Friday come! It's been a long week, largely because the Mister has been away at a conference and because I had to go into the office yesterday for a couple of meetings. Plus there's been the usual puppy stuff -- keeping a constant eye on her and taking her out for frequent potty breaks can be pretty exhausting! But there have been good moments, too, and I always like to end the week with good news, so here you go:

• I've managed to run twice this week and am hoping to make it my usual three times later this morning. I haven't been doing quite the same mileage as I used to, but I'm still covering about six miles per session (running most but not all of that distance), and generally I'm able to start out doing a 5K (3.1 miles) before I have to take a walk break. And my foot has been feeling great!
  
  

  

  If I slept this way, I wouldn't be able to stand up straight in the morning!

  
  
• Ruthie had a big night on Wednesday -- she slept through the whole night all by herself. And that means I got to sleep in my bed for the first time since she came home! While she's been sleeping mostly through the night (without a potty break) for about a week, I've still been sleeping on the couch just a few feet away from her. With the Mister out of town this week, I thought it was a good opportunity to try sleeping upstairs in case I needed to let her cry it out. Granted, it's probably me who needs to deal with listening to the crying, and I'll admit that I didn't do a good job the first night I tried. But on Wednesday she didn't really do any evening snoozing and was asleep by 9, so it seemed like it might work. I didn't hear a peep from her until about 5:45, and that was after I woke up on my own at 5:30 after passing out myself. Last night wasn't quite as easy (she was whining at bit around 10 and then was up on and off starting a little before 5) but I didn't come downstairs until just before 6 and she managed just fine -- or maybe I should say I did just fine!
  
  
• This weekend we're supposed to have great weather, especially on Sunday, which is perfect for the annual Mother's Day brunch that my brother- and sister-in-law host and for the fact that I'll be getting the flowers from our synagogue's plant sale, which I asked for as my gift. I hope to spend the afternoon planting them and getting the garden started for the season.

I'll leave you with a laugh. This little flyer was tucked under the mat at our front door the other day, and I'm honestly not sure if it's for real. If it is, this guy is quite versatile! I've blacked out the personal information for his privacy, but I think what's left is sufficient to impress.

Wishing you a lovely weekend and a very happy Mother's Day to those of you celebrating!

Unraveled, Week 27/2025

Good morning and happy hump day! How are you all today? If I had to pick one word to describe things here over the past week, I'd pick DAMP. I honestly don't remember the last time we had a day without at least some rain. The grass seems to be liking it, at least!

It's Wednesday, and that means it's time to link up with Kat and the Unravelers!

First up, the knitting -- there has been some. For starters, after I shared that bad mid-stripe join on the socks the other day, I ripped it back to before the start of the stripe (the original color), wound off yarn from my ball until I got to that color again, and rejoined the yarn at that point. I've since knit well past where I was.

Apologies for the lighting again -- the rain makes for a lot of gloom

If you look closely, you may be able to see where the join is, as that section is a little thicker (I used a clasped weft join, so there's a section of stitches knit with a double thickness of yarn). I think it'll settle a bit after the socks are washed, and it's on the leg and thus unlikely to cause any discomfort in any case.

I also had a bit of an a-ha moment the other evening when I realized that Ruthie likes to spend the hour or so before we go to bed snoozing and is pretty much oblivious to what I'm doing during that time. So I got out my Sugar Maple tee and worked several rounds on it!

I'd really like to get this done this month so that it counts for the SSK make-along (and earns me some door prize tickets), but there's still quite a lot of knitting left to do, so we'll see. At least once I'm done with the body, I'm done with the whole thing, and there aren't any fiddly bits left. I think it's just a matter of prioritizing it when I am able to knit.

Sadly I have not finished any books this past week -- that hasn't happened in a long time! I am making progress on my current reads, but it's hard to sustain attention for long periods of time like I used to. I hope by next week I'll have something to report!

Early May Weekending

All too soon, it's Monday morning again. It was a wet weekend here, with rain on and off most of Saturday and part of Sunday. It was a good weekend for napping, and I did some of that on Saturday because Ruthie was up at 5:50 a.m. -- and so that meant that I was up that early! Aside from the early wakeup, though, it was a pretty good weekend. And I think the reason she was up so early is because she's started sleeping through the night, so despite getting up early, it means we've both slept for about 7 hours.

We started with an early lunch birthday party for my youngest nephew, who turned 2 on May 1. He entertained us with the amusing things he had to say, like asking my sister-in-law "Do you need a helping hand?" And we finished with chocolate cupcakes.

An added bonus for me was when we arrived, my niece was wearing the tee I knit for her last summer:

The Mister took Molly and her friend to see the show, and Ruthie and I took naps. Then we went out to dinner with my parents at a Turkish place in our neighborhood. 

Ruthie did a great job both times we were out, even though we were gone for about two hours both times. She's continuing to do really well with the house training -- which really means I'm doing really well at getting her out when she needs to go! Yesterday was the Pittsburgh Marathon, and the route comes close to our house, so I took her up to watch the runners for a bit. There were a lot of people, quite a few dogs, and a lot of noise. She was very nervous at first, but she soon adjusted, so it's clear that exposing her to new situations with people is good for her.

I managed to do a little bit of knitting this weekend, too. I started the second sock for my mother-in-law and was in a groove on the leg when I came across a knot in the yarn. I snipped it out and carried on as before, only to realize several rounds later that the two ends that were tied together were different colors.

I'm not sure if my mother-in-law would notice, but now that I've seen it, I can't not see it. So I'll likely be ripping back to the start of the stripe in the first blue and winding off yarn until I get to that point in the stripe sequence. So much for easy knitting!

A Finish on Friday

Happy Friday and happy May, friends! It's been a heck of a week here, though the puppy stuff has been the least of it. We had some strong storms move through on Tuesday that caused some major damage in the area from high winds, though amazingly we didn't lose power. So many people did, though, that the city and county are under disaster declarations and quite a few schools have been closed for multiple days this week. I saw our lights flicker once or twice but that was it. To Ruthie's delight, there were tons of sticks in the street on Wednesday, so a large part of our trips outside have involved taking them away from her (in addition to trying to keep her from eating various other things she finds on the ground).

On the positive side of things, I went for a run on Wednesday! I've been trying to get Ruthie to be more comfortable in her crate and not bark and cry the whole time, so I thought I'd give it a try to see how it went. I also had a couple of things to drop at the post office, so I ran there (it's about half a mile from our house) and back and then did some loops around the neighborhood. The last time I ran was on April 11! I didn't do my full distance because it was the first time I was leaving her alone, but it felt good to be out there again (until my knee started to hurt and it didn't feel so good). I was definitely sore yesterday, but it was nothing like after my first run following my broken foot, so that's a good sign.

My finish for the day isn't terribly exciting, but it's something. Since finishing up that second slipper sock, I've pulled out the socks I've been knitting for my mother-in-law again. I'd really like to get back to my Sugar Maple tee, but it's been safer to have something small (and with only one ball of yarn attached) that I can quickly put down and away. I've worked on it this week while Ruthie has been napping and managed to finish the first sock yesterday -- though she woke up as I was about 2/3 of the way through grafting the toe, so I had to put it down and finish it up later!

Again, terrible lighting that doesn't do it any justice, but it's what I could manage to do without putting her back in the crate.

This weekend we've got some actual plans on the calendar. My youngest nephew turned 2 yesterday, and his birthday party is on Saturday morning. It was supposed to be outside, but the weather is not looking good right now, so it will probably be moved indoors and we'll leave Ruthie at home. That afternoon we have tickets to see Come from Away; originally the three of us were supposed to go, but I don't think Ruthie can hold it that long, so given that I've seen the show before, I told Molly to see if she could find a friend from school who would want to use my ticket. Then my parents are taking us out to dinner Saturday night, just to a neighborhood restaurant so we'll be close. I don't know if it's some sort of special occasion or if they just feel like they haven't been giving us enough attention lately (my brother has been having terrible back problems the past several weeks, so my parents have been helping out a lot with my niblings).

And because no post is complete without a puppy pic, here is an example of how dainty our little pup can be:

She's continuing to make good progress with house training (very few accidents, likely because she often goes to the door and sits when she needs to go out) and generally has been getting up only once in the middle of the night. What we really need to work on now is not barking and growling at other people, especially the Mister. And her DNA is on its way to a lab to be analyze, so soon we'll have a better idea what breeds are in her (and maybe how big we can expect her to be)!

I hope you have a wonderful first weekend in May -- and if you're headed to Maryland Sheep and Wool this weekend, kindly fondle some yarn and have some ribbon chips on my behalf!