This Perfectly Imperfect Life

Thankful for the contented productivity that comes with purging, especial on days when I'm under the weather! Sent from my iPhone

Happy New Year, friends! I hope 2013 is off to a good start for you and your holidays were lovely!  On Saturday, December 29th, one of my dearest, longtime best friends G & I had our annual Christmas visit. I look forward to this every year! We exchanged gifts and along with a novel called The Language Of Flowers, she gave me two skeins of drool worthy yarn in brilliant shades of pink & green. I later set those skeins in my knitting basket and decided it was time to finishing an unfinished knitting project before I would even contemplate what to do with them. That unfinished knitting was a piece I started back in 2010, sometime after I got home from the hospital in July to begin a very long road of recovery after a near-fatal infection damaged my muscle tissue, memory, heart function and put my left kidney in jeopardy. I was on bed rest for over three months, and in such emotional shock, I could barely do more than watch television most of the time. Around the time ...

Finally! Accumulating snow arrived here on the coast in the wee hours of yesterday morning, but (isn't there always a but?!) unfortunately it turned to sleet the rest of the day and we've iced up something awful! (Temps are headed back up into the 50s early this week so we won't be frozen for long). Turned into a cozy day at home with the Hubbs filled with cooking & baking thanks to our well stocked pantry & freezer, writing my latest gardenchat column, reading for this week's evening bookclub, knitting with new yarn picked up this week, taking photos (of course) during a garden walk etc., dreaming of my garden in Spring thanks to stacks of gardening catalogs & dreaming of France again (because that just happens from time to time). One of those good days that helps you through the bad! Hope you've been enjoying your weekend too, no matter the weather, and enjoy the slideshow! (If the slideshow goes too quickly for you, you can click on it and this ...

My furry creatures like Miss Boo here who made me laugh with her determined intent to snuggle on the scarf I was knitting earlier this evening!

Day 19 While up at our weekend place, I worked on this scarf some more and continued writing my "Vines" story which I started over this Summer. Day 20 Continued working on "Vines."

Frustrated by my recent knitting woes, I started making scarves with other yarn late this afternoon and decided I would keep at it until one went smoothly. This was my 3rd attempt and the only one I liked of the 3 so I kept going. This won't take long to finish and I'll post another photo when it's done. (I had to take a break because my fingers were starting to cramp). Now if only I could read & knit at the same time... Sorry for the crappy photo. I had to take this with my cell since I've exhausted yet another 4 AA batteries in my camera.

This scarf is giving me fits! I started it just fine on Labor Day then I tried to knit & purl the first black rows. Apparently, I've forgotten how to purl. Again. (sigh) So I pulled that mess out and tried to just knit the first black rows and messed that up. Pulled them out & tried again. Did alright and put it down. Tonight I discovered I'd dropped a stitch and had to add one back in, so I pulled some rows out to do that. I haven't knit anything since March or April but I've gone for stretches of the same before and haven't had this much trouble starting again! But I'll keep at it off & on until it's done.

Last Autumns' isn't! Ah well! Not the best pic - doesn't show the variations in color as well as I'd hoped! I used James Brett Marble Machine Washable 100 percent acrylic in a color called "Dye". I can't recall the size needles though so I'll have to update that later! (* Size US 8/5.0mm needles). It didn't feel itchy while I was knitting it but it has the few times I've worn it! I love the colors in it! The dusty blue reminds me of an autumn sky and the yellows, oranges & browns, from dark to light, remind me of the first leaves beginning to change colors!

This is my knitting basket in the living room, which I referenced in my last post. Each season, I switch out the skeins with other colors appropriate for the new season! I always do it a little ahead of time to get me inspired! (Sitting to the right of the basket is a UFO from last Fall! I cannot believe nearly a year has passed already!)

In order to make room in our bedroom and catch the overflow from the basket in the living room, I designated a shelf in the linen clost for yarn! Now I only have 1 basket of scraps in the bedroom!

Visited a new dentist today. I do NOT like going to the dentist. And this place was a real peach. Nuff said! After having some soup at Panera, Mom and I went over to AC Moore (in the same plaza). I wanted to take a look at the new Fall and Halloween merch. As soon as I started seeing Scarecrows, Sunflowers and Pumpkins and caught a whiff of Pumpkin Spice potporri, I felt my entire being relax to the point I nearly cried! (Fall and Halloween are my FAVORITE time of year!) I picked up 5 packets of Seeds, only 33cents ea, (Autumn Beauty Sunflowers, Nasturtiums, Snapdragons and Old Fashioned Garden Mix) a Yellow Ribbon to tie to the porch (for our Nephew in law who went bk to Iraq) for 60cents, a tiny vine Pumpkin for $2 and all sorts of yarn skeins for $1, $2.49 and $2.99! (12 skeins of yarn for about $27! Original price would have been well over $60 or $70!) Total purchase? $33 and change! The smile it all gave me? Priceless!

Got these the week before last at AC Moore during their 25% off all yarn sale! I usually buy at least 2 skeins of any yarn, but I controlled myself and only bought 1 of each since I have no idea what to do with them! From the top: Bernat Soft Boucle in Rosewood Shades, Bernat Camouflage in Pink Camo, Moda Dea Silk n Wool Blend in Orchid Pink and Patons SWS Soy Wool Stripes in Natural Geranium.