Goodby Blogging

After almost ten years of blogging, it's time to move on.

Thanks to all my readers who have followed me through many knitting projects, admired my bird pictures, watched my granddaughters grow, enjoyed my doggy school tales, and comforted me in the sad times. Blogging has been a blessing and I will miss it, just a little.

My life is very different now. I have a soul mate to spend the days with, the remaining two dogs are retired, and I'm planning to move into a townhouse in Portage/Kalamazoo, Michigan. It's all good and I am happy.

Blessings and happy knitting to all of you.

Marguerite

Early Spring Bird Report

Mrs. Bluebird is trying this nest box on for size.



Mr. Bluebird is watching from a nearby bush and waiting for her decision.



This early morning robin is all fluffed up trying to keep warm in the morning frost.

Tuesday Tidbits for March 26

Polish Pottery Mug
A gift from BF Jay. A beautiful Polish Pottery mug for drinking coffee or tea at his apartment. I got to choose the pattern, he got to pay the bill. Love this mug for many reasons.



Blog Description
In an attempt to bring this blog up to date on where I am in my life, I've changed the description from "Marguerite's Knitting Blog" to "Marguerite's personal blog with posts on life, love, family, weather, knitting, and whatever."

Kimmy is Now Kim
Granddaughter Kimmy is seventeen now and is asking to be called Kim, her grown up name. I fully support her in this. I am in the process of breaking a seventeen year habit of calling her Kimmy.



The good times we had together while she was a child will always be some of my most precious memories. Kimmy is the girl on the left in the picture below from 2003.



Bufflehead Ducks
Last Sunday three Bufflehead ducks landed in the pond and spent the day playing, eating, courting, and resting on their migration to somewhere else. It was the first time I'd ever seen one in person, and I had to look them up in the bird book to do an identification.

Dave's Cuffs Done

I've been knitting on brother Dave's Christmas socks and the cuffs are done.

It's a basic 72 stitch sock with k6p1 ribbing and a gansey flag pattern knit into alternate columns.



Now on to the heel and the very long, shoe size 14 foot.

Just for fun I calculated the number of stitches needed between the gusset pickup and the beginning of the toe decreases. 7296 for one sock. 14,592 for the pair.

Those are numbers a sock knitter really doesn't want to know. It's numbers like those that cause non-knitters think we're nuts.



Pattern: Basic cuff down sock pattern on 72 stitches. k6p1 ribbing and a gansey flag pattern knit into alternate columns.

Yarn: Cascade Heritage #9825.

Needles: Options #1, 2.5mm

Gauge: 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch

Tuesday Tidbits for March 19

Unwanted Snow
We're still having winter in SW Michigan. The word "snow" is in the forecast for the entire week. Today we had about three inches with a 90% chance of more tomorrow.



Humans and dogs are ready for spring. All this cold and snow is not welcome in the second half of March. Pappy says to not wake him up until the weather is better.



Internet Radio
Lately I've been listening to Pandora internet radio. Love getting to choose the kind of music I'm in the mood to hear, or I can select "shuffle" and get a mix of all the kinds of music I like.

The greatest thing about Pandora is something I've always wanted in my music radio. If they play a song I don't like, all I have to do is put my finger on the thumb down and it stops immediately and goes away from my play list forever.

My New Hat
Jay will be back from his Arizona (84 degrees and sunny today) trip this coming weekend. He's bringing me this straw cowgirl hat being modeled by his daughter Joni.

I've never been a hat wearer, so this will be an experiment in style. Where does one wear a straw cowgirl hat? And, just as important, where does one not wear a straw cowgirl hat? I won't ask if a 68 year old woman is going to look ridiculous in a straw cowgirl hat. I'm wearing it!

Karen's Socks Done

I'm still working on Christmas socks for brother Dave and his partner Karen. Karen's are done.

I won't try to give an excuse why I'm still knitting Christmas socks in March. We'll just pretend it is OK.



Last year when I posted a picture of the cuff of these socks (see below), there were several people who wanted the pattern. It's not a pattern. It's a basic ribbed sock with an Alpine design running up each side. If you want to know more about it, it's explained in detail in a previous blog post here.

Here's a closeup picture of this beautiful yarn.



Pattern: Basic cuff down sock pattern on 64 stitches with Alpine motif down both sides.

Yarn: Cascade Heritage #9828.

Needles: Options #1, 2.5mm

Gauge: 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch

Testing Smart Phone Posting

Testing out the Blogger ap to post from my phone.

It's Saturday morning. Sunny, Pappy, and I are snuggled back in bed. The dogs are sleeping and I'm playing with my phone.

This is pretty slick. I'm planning to remember this ap for when I actually have something to post.

Snow, Ducks, and Hawk

A March snow is seldom very serious, but it is disappointing to those of us who are ready for spring.

These pictures were taken today during breaks in the Lake Effect Snow waves that have hit on and off since yesterday.

The ducks don't care if there is snow. They know nesting season is coming soon so they're checking out the pond.

If they could understand me, I would tell them the pond is not a good choice. It contains several large snapping turtles that will happily feast on their duck babies.



This hawk has been hanging around all winter. Now it appears it is checking out my nest boxes waiting for something yummy to move in.

Normally I don't mind nature being nature, but I do hope it will leave my nest box families alone.

Tuesday Tidbits for March 12

March in Michigan is blah. What snow is left is dirty. The new snow that comes down soon becomes slush and mud. Outdoor color is hard to find, which is why Michiganders get excited about the little snowdrops that are the first thing to pop up out of the garden.



Boyfriend Jay is doing what all Michiganders want to do in March. He is traveling to a warmer climate. While eating his way across the country to Arizona, he and traveling companion (his) daughter Joni stopped at Cattlemen's Restaurant in Oklahoma City for some Lamb Fries.

From a review: "Lamb Fries are testicles that are sliced, breaded, and deep fried. Gonads are a highly-regarded delicacy in much of the West. When young livestock is castrated on the range, it is traditional for cowboys to fry their harvest as a treat at the end of the day. Like much deep-fried food, it's breading that's the keynote flavor. The organ meat inside is moist and slightly sweet."

According to Joni, eating Lamb Fries makes Jay a "real cowboy".



Jay and I are keeping in touch on Facebook and texting. On Facebook he posted this picture of his "favorite street" in Gallup, New Mexico.

If you can't read the street sign, click on the picture to make it bigger.



Jay's daughter Joni asked if I had ever heard of Polish Pottery. I hadn't. When I Googled it, I found many pieces of beauty, the one in the picture below being my favorite.

Boleslawiec pottery is the collective term for pottery produced in Boleslawiec, Poland. Boleslawiec Pottery is also known as Polish Pottery or Polish Stoneware.

Need to find out more about this. It's totally beautiful, especially the nature pieces.

Snapshot of My Life on March 7

Weather in SW Michigan ...
Early spring In SW Michigan. It's a thrill to know that under the snow things are happening. In about a month these daffodils will be blooming, even if there is still snow on the ground.



Who Cares About That? Tell Us What's Going On With Your New Boyfriend . . .
We are very happy and all is well.

I'm trying to decide what to call him on this blog. I think I'll just go with his first name, Jay.

Really? ...
Got a phone call this week collecting contact information for my 50th high school reunion. Huh? What? How could it be 50 years?

Something from the kitchen ...
Just bought this book, Taste of Home: Slow Cooker: 403 Recipes for Today's One- Pot Meals (Taste of Home Annual Recipes). So far I have not dazzled Jay with my cooking skills, and it isn't likely to happen. He enjoys cooking and is a much better cook than I am.

I do like nice hardy crockpot recipes, thought, and I think if I make a few of these he will be happy to help me eat them.



I am creating...
A new life for myself. A life full of love and companionship with a very special man.

Part of the process is to figure out what I want to keep from my old life. I haven't decided what to do with this blog yet. I've missed blogging, but does it really fit in with the new life we're creating? My decision for today is to give it more time until the answer becomes obvious.

I am procrastinating ...
Getting the taxes ready for the accountant. But time is up. It has to be done. Having it all delivered by the end of next week is my goal.

I am reading...
My Utmost for His Highest: Updated Edition, a daily Christian devotional.

This beautiful book was a gift from Jay on our first re-meeting after nine plus years. (I can't call it a date, because I DID NOT date and never planned to start.)

Each page is dated. We both read it every day and sometimes compare thoughts on what we read. He's been through it in previous years, so he's way ahead of me with the thoughts. I'm finding it spiritually challenging. Almost each day provides something to pray about to deepen my relationship with the Lord.



I am hearing...
Geese out by the pond looking for a place to nest. They are very noisy and unwanted.



Outdoors ...
Took a walk on the back three acres today to clean out the nest boxes. It's not nesting season yet, but the birds are establishing territory.

When I looked up, this bluebird was sitting on the wire watching me.



A few plans for the next few days
When old people have a serious romance the "meet the parents" event is replaced by the "meet the children and grandchildren" event. I'm looking forward to going to Lansing to meet some of Jay's family.

He is going to be traveling for the next few weeks, and I'm going to be catching up on things that have been neglected. Hope to have some knitting time. And the taxes must be addressed.

Giving thanks for ...
A new, happy outlook on life.

And ...
If you would like to be my Facebook friend, e-mail Me and I'll tell you how to find me, or you can tell me how to find you to friend.

I don't put knitting stuff on Facebook because many of my friends and family don't relate, so only friend me if you're interested in the non-knitting parts of my life.

On Hiatus

Dear Blogging Friends,

Thank you for all the concern about my absence. This time it's a good thing that's keeping me from posting.

December 20 my life changed dramatically. A friend from the past became my love of the present and future. He and I are spending a lot of time together and there is no time left for knitting or blogging.

Knitting is in my blood. As things settle down into a normal routine (hard to imagine right now), I plan to be knitting and blogging again. Until then, wishing you all many blessings in 2013.