Change of Plans

I thought it was going to be an uneventful weekend, but of course when you plan for that, things are pretty much guaranteed to change. We heard late morning on Friday that my sister-in-law's father (my brother's father-in-law) had passed away. He had recently been diagnosed with lymphoma and had just had his first chemo treatment when he suffered several strokes and ended up in the ICU. It was all very sudden and very sad. The funeral is today, but we're not able to attend (the Mister is leaving for a work trip, and I can't take off from work on such short notice for someone who isn't immediate family), so we went to the visitation yesterday. That required a bit of shuffling of our usual Sunday activities, but it was important to be there for my sister-in-law and her family.

It wasn't entirely a sad weekend, though it was a chilly one! A front came through Friday afternoon, with wind and rain, making for a rather cold event on Friday night. It was held at a former train station in downtown Pittsburgh, a popular venue for weddings -- and it's easy to see why. The cocktail hour was held outdoors (fortunately there were heaters!) under the dome:

The dinner was indoors in what was the main hall/waiting area of the station. It was out of the wind though sadly not that much warmer. But it was equally beautiful.

We ran into a number of people we knew, including a former elementary and middle school classmate of mine who I have not seen in years! And the dinner was pretty good, although I was ready to go home about an hour before we left, having started my day at about 5:30 that morning.

Saturday was the first really cold day of the season; I don't think we made it much above the low 50s. On the plus side, it was a good excuse to wear some hand-knit socks and a sweater. And because I was having a little Rhinebeck FOMO, I made apple cider donuts:

I used this recipe, though for the last step I melted just one tablespoon of butter, brushed it on the tops of the donuts, and dipped them in the sugar/spice mixture. I obviously overfilled the donut tins a bit, as you can see they all have a bit of a "foot" to them, but a more robust donut is not a bad thing. And it only made a dozen, so I won't have donuts sitting around and tempting me. The batter is quite thick, so I think next time around I'll just make it as a loaf cake. The donuts are cute, but they are extra work -- not least of which is spent greasing each donut shape in the pan!

And I finished up the fingerless mitts I'd been knitting, using up a little more than half of the skein:

These were a fun knit, but I knit the largest size (trying to use up the most yarn), so they're a bit big on me. I intended them for the charity pile in any case. The pattern is Turnover, which I knit in the fingering weight version (there's a version for worsted, too).

I'm just about finished with the body of my sweater, and I've cast on another charity hat (using this pattern again). I knit most of the brim in the car to and from the visitation yesterday. I'll share updates of both on Wednesday.

It's going to be a pretty normal week, I think, other than the Mister's being away for a couple of days. Molly has Friday off for parent/teacher conferences and has a bunch of evening activities this week, so most of the time it'll be just me and Ruthie at home. After being away so much this weekend, I'm sure she'll be happy to have my undivided attention.