Meh: Lamentations, WIPs and Getting Buttons

What a meh day, huh? Or maybe it’s clear and sunny where you are, I haven’t checked the "local on the 8s" yet. lol.

Winter days and Wednesdays on the Island just don't hang together real well.
 
 
1. I’ve finally decided on my Urchin Hat for the birthday present needed THIS SUPPERTIME.
Disastrous results yesterday on the gauge for two different yarns, two different patterns, couldn’t find my #4 circ needle, well you know how this goes… on and on.

urchin hat/arm warmers

So.

moss stitch

I am getting ready to cast on for the Urchin, and this time try a moss stitch around the band to shake it up a little. If I get distracted, I can always gift one of those said lovely hats I made out of Quince yarn before Christmas and didn’t sell. Is that kosher? Must get those on Etsy soon, and then pin to my Pinterest to get some action, possibly.

something like these

2. I want to sew. lol. Didn’t see that coming did ya?
There’s a book - How to Sew a Straight Line - that has inspired me. I brought back from Hawaii scads of Hawaiian print fabric to make sun dresses out of, and sell during the summer season, and haven’t done so. lol. Yet another Lucy scheme on my part.
I wonder how hubby puts up with this stuff sometimes. The ideas in this head could be harnessed for good, if they would settle in a little, lol.

3. The house is a wreck - The kids got the things we stored in my Aunt’s basement "temporarily" and dropped them smack dab in the middle of the main level of our house, so there’s no way around it, literally, I must go through and put the damn stuff away SOMEWHERE, lol. 
 As for that: A) What was I even thinking? It was stuff from the Victorian cottage we had. I’m not sure what I was thinking other than it had to get moved out ASAP to clear the place for sale and I don’t know. lol.
So the communal dining table is stacked - I am typing around the stuff, that’s how hard-core I’ve become.

4. Another button I need to do. Get a "butt on" the chair in the office and continue my free-lance writing assignments right here in "river city." Stringing for the local rag here takes some persistence - you have to eyeball the island action and pitch the story to them first rather than the other way around. The slant on community and news is very different from the Mainland - they take it personally. Example? Recent bitching has been about putting in a rotary road where the only traffic light of sorts - it's a blinker - on the island is presently located as a four-way stop. The debate has been hot, the State Authorities called in, lots of slinging of the "L" word (lawsuit, lol) around.  Anyway, I've got some pre-tty interesting ideas up my sleeve ;) - as usual - just you wait and see. :)

5. Wishing you lived close by to distract me - we could go grab a cup o' joe at Mocha Mott's or Espresso Love and knit a bit.

Instead, I have Family Supper Night (read that with an echo, it’s endless sometimes how much I want to hang with my extended family, lol).

And a hat that must be knit.

I could probably just put this up in a post, couldn’t I?
Good idea, lol.

Yours in yarn,
J

Have a Good One. :)

Cooking Sundays: Cooking to Knit By

Winter on the island can be cold, reclusive and just plain downright blehhhhh.

So. To jazz things up, I've decided to include a regular post challenge called Cooking Sunday.
Hopefully, I will be cooking my way through local cookbooks, so you can get a feel for what kinds of yummy, wonderfulness (is that a cooking term? I think it is now!) local cooks, chefs and establishments regularly feed the flock with.

This week, however,  I'm going to start off slowly, cooking-wise, with a good winter Sunday supper regular.
And bonus for you knitters out there - it's cooking you can knit by!

But really, you don't have to be a knitter to include this in your repertoire of good-tasting, easy-fixing go-to recipes.

Ta-Da!

Zesty Slow Cooker Chicken BBQ

6 frozen skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 (12 oz.) bottle Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce ( Honey Barbeque is one good option)
1/2 cup zesty Italian dressing
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbs. Worcestershire Sauce
optional: 1/2 cup diced onion
optional: 1 tsp. liquid smoke

Servings/Yield: 6 servings

Place chicken in a slow cooker. In a bowl, mix the bbq sauce, Italian salad dressing, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over the chicken.

Cover, and cook 3-4 hours on High or 6-8 on Low. (You can also use fresh chicken breasts - just adjust the timing.)
Add buns, maybe some sliced cheese in there with the buns and voila!
Sunday Supper!

Adapted from an allrecipes.com recipe


Have a Good One on me. :)

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

"Night Combing Her Hair With the Moons": by local artist Margo Datz - Painter, Illustrator, Murialist http://www.margotdatz.com/

Winter Nights on the Island go like this.

It is 3:14 am.
I awaken from a deep sleep.
It is 12 degrees Fahrenheit out.

The pipes on the forced hot water heater go blub, blub.
The meter on the propane tank goes tick, tick.
The dollar signs in my mind's eye look like $$.

But I look out the window to see something like this.

Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh

                                                  
                                        And I know I ... am a lucky girl.




Have a Good One. :)

Note to Self: On Having a New Year

Ha.
And I bet you thought that's all I have been doing lately, lol.
Happy New Year's and all.
Well yes, there was some of that.

But no.
Mostly this.
Plotting.
Just plotting. :)

Note to Self: On Having a New Year

Am I going to go the usual route?
Top Ten List of Things I'm Going To Change?
No.

Am I going to chuck all that, like last year, and say, do an Anti-List? A No-List List?
Remember, Caution Joy Ahead?
Ha ha ha.
If you knew what the last year has been like for me ... well then, no.

No, this year I am tackling that illusive goal - peace.
And to do that, I am going on a specific diet
I am going on an Inner (Thinner!) Peace Diet.


I promise to do four things every day to create peace within myself.
For Peace of heart.
For Peace of mind.
For Peace of body.
For Peace of spirit.

Yep.
Has there ever been a more reluctant pilgrim?
I think not, lol.
It will be difficult, at best.

It takes commitment, for there will be rough spots.
It takes courage, for there will be conflict.
And it takes creativity, for the mind is a wily soul, waiting to "get out-of things."

I may be the only one on this journey, but it will affect many.

Finding rest.
A still point.
Finding inner (and therefore, thinner) peace.

An extended pause in life that takes you from rumpled to smooth.
From tension-filled to tension-less.
From thick to thin.
And from poor in attitude to rich in spirit.

Oh! you might say. That is a very selfish thing to do.
But no.
As they say in the air, "Secure your own oxygen mask, before helping others."
Why? Because lack of oxygen can make you too dazed to be of help to others.
So it goes real life, at least for me.
In our usual condition of messy, glorious living, we are far too dazed sometimes, to be of help to others.

So in the end, it is a must.
For myself.
And, it turns out, for others.

It is time.
Ending the inner war, and for me, finding inner (thinner) peace.
Peace out.

Have a Good-intentioned One. :)

Locally Grown and Proud of It: Yeehaw!

Ahem.
We have a big announcement to make.
Actually two.

1.  Andy (our son) and Jenna, eloped to Vermont in June! Those crazy kids just couldn't wait to get married and start a life together. :) (mum was the word till we figured out insurance coverage, sheesh!)

2. Andy and Jenna have recently announced they have started another collaboration of sorts, lol - something locally grown... they are expecting! Splash down? July 1st -ish.

3. Neela, the Rescue Pup is going to be a big Sister lol!

No more wash-ashores for us.
There's a new fish on the hook, and we are reeling it in. :)

So, this is actually a good time to also tell you about the original Island Grown Initiative here.
This non-profit "grows community through sustainable agriculture, local food advocacy and education."

We like this: trying to increase the supply and demand of local grown food for community health and the environment (like it says in the literature!). Read more about it here.

What does this mean for us?

It means we can get organic milk in old-school glass bottles from Gray Barn Farm.
It means I buy wool yarn spun from Liz Packer's sheep on Spring Moon Farm.
It means buying freshly-made gluten-free bread from the Scottish Bakehouse, or getting smoothies from Tisberry Yogurt with Mermaid Farm yogurt.

And it sometimes means spending a little bit more for a product that is in many ways healthier for us and our environment.

Each community could take a lesson from this inventive island program. Why not get behind the small, local business owners and support your community?

Why not use local resources to get what you want and know where it's coming from?
Why not teach the kids in your community how to eat right and even try their hands at growing food for themselves and their families?

What's not to like about that?

Being a member of an Island Grown food resource (Andy is fishing commercially), we want more than anything to be part of a growing concern that gives back to the community and to have fun in the process.

So when our little fish arrives, we will be happy to proclaim on many fronts, "Island Grown and Proud of It!"

I'm sure this will be just the first of many mayhem-filled posts from Grammy, so stay tuned!

Kiss your kids, eat good, locally grown food and have a good one. :)

Keep Calm and Carry Yarn: WIP Wednesday

     Jennigee's Etsy Shop

Yep.
That's what I always say.
When the going gets tough, the tough get knitting.

We are heading down the home stretch on several fronts. Mom's last-minute house stuff, the looming holiday season, the knitted items I'm preparing for sale at the artisan's fair in a week, and that, in the middle of this, they just had to go and have a sale on couches at the local home furnishings store. So add to that going through my mom's paperwork, my piled up paperwork, the office closet that never got organized and "where am I gonna put all this stuff, since the couch is going in the corner of the office where the boxes sit unpacked?"

Yesterday, I had to take a break to knit.
I was one hot mess.

I was overloaded, upset and on the brink of pitching in the proverbial towel. I had started a sweater for the Rescue Pup, it’s colder now and she’s short-haired. And I wanted desperately to have a project I could finish right now, very quickly. I guess because I’m not finishing these endless "must-do" projects, and then even more shows up.

So I think, this is garter stitch - the most basic of stitches in knitting, easy peasy - sturdy, big needles thick yarn right? Well you could tell I just wanted to get through it, and man was I frustrated, cause the dog is big! So I looked at what I had knitted. Long length, like a … REGULAR sweater, lol. THAT's no short project.

Then, I found it to be too long. The minute I saw that I said, "Hey stop, look how tight, how wrong the seaming, how too ill-fitting this is." And I had to actually stop. Sit several minutes... to let the anxiety, frustrations, etc. go. This is the first time my “art” was imitating real life. Not good. (but a great post!)

How could this be?
Then again, how could it not be?

Who was I kidding? I was physically sublimating my life into craft. These knitted bits of love I do and make have meaning, beyond clothing. They do not need the frailties of life knitted into them, like a cocoon of despair.

Point is...
1. When in the middle of one hot mess, stop, find something to do that is equally opposite of what is causing your frustration. Yes, even if working. That means - stop take a few moments to meditate, sit quietly, whatever, at work.

2. OBSERVE what happens.
See. I told you. It does create a gap - a pause that refreshes the brain, like say, a page on the internet.

3. Do you need me to tell you this?
Yes.
And no. lol.
Sometimes we know better, but we don't do better.
Don't make that mistake.


No, the dog sweater is not done. I have to sew it together. But still. Almost!

Yes, the artisan fair items are coming along.

And yes, I did. 
I did shove everything back into the closet so the sleeper sofa could be delivered.
And what a sofa. It was on clearance! It fits! It's comfortable! And best of all, my mom can enjoy a night or two here, when she wants to. All on the main level. :)

Proof is in the pudding:

 My artisan fair items: a quick-knit hat and some cool wrist-warmers I made up. Mostly, the yarn is by Quince & Co. What a beautiful stitch definition, huh?


                          On the needles....



Life is a WIP. Sigh.

Have a calm one. :)

Works-In-Progress: It's Raining, It's Pouring and I'm a Little Teapot....

I adored those nursery rhymes when I was little.
But when they become part of my adult life, however,  not so much lol.

It has been raining and pouring off and on for a week now, and, I for one, am tired of it.
But if living on this island has taught me one thing, it has taught me tolerance and acceptance.

Here, the island community accepts diversity as a matter of fact, like the time of day or when the next ferry arrives or departs.
We are diverse geographically, botanically, in architecture, culture and cultivation.
Diversity is worn as a badge of honor, something to be respected and revered.
It is what has kept the nation young and vigorous and this island creative and productive.

On 64,000 acres of island land, you can have your pick of diverse town centers.
Do you want to be where the action is? Then head to one of the three down-island Oak Bluffs, Vineyard Haven and Edgartown - each has its own "flavor."

Edgartown

You want day-trip touristy? Go to mostly summer-town Oak Bluffs, and experience the Victorian-era cottages of the CampMeeting grounds. Or browse the many t-shirt and souvenir shops Circuit Avenue has to offer.

You want to step back into the Whaling era? Try Edgartown, with its Greek Revival, shuttered captains' homes, and higher-end boutiques, along with quaint harbor restaurants and sights.

How about the ferry boat's main port-of-call, Vineyard Haven? It's more of the year-round town for the island, and its shops and main street reflect that.

From Kitchenporch.com/Allen Farm

If you want isolated English Moor Mood, try up-island. It's the more rural area of the island, where people live off long, dirt roads and old-island fishing families still head out for catch from the tiny village of Menemsha. Aquinnah holds the Wampanoag Indian Tribe and The Cliffs, a starkly beautiful scene of clay cliffs sweeping down to the ocean.

Settlers came from all walks of life and cultures to create a uniquely individualized island community, from missionaries and Wampanoag Indians, to merchants and whalers, to religious evangelists finding summer shelter. 

Nowadays, you can be waited on by Jamaican waiters, Bulgarian checkers at the grocery store, Brazilian landscaping crews, to American college students earning money for college in the t-shirt shops and cafes.

We have our differences,  and that's o-kay.
We accept all races, creeds, colors, gender identities, sizes and shapes.


Which brings me to my second point: I, like the teapot, am now short and stout. :)
And I, like the little teapot, have gotten all "steamed up"  from having been tipped over and poured out one too many times.



So this little teapot is getting a makeover. A do-over, if you will, of my life.

Whatever you call it, it's going to change and be a little different.
Yep, there's a new sheriff in town and things are gonna change. :)

In no order of importance, this is my new "sugar bowl" list:
1. Meditation
2. A.M. yoga stretch
3.Walk/bike/or pool-time
4. Daily food journal
5. Weigh and measure food
6. Freelance writing assignments/blog
7. Afternoon tea break
8. Daily Chore Check List/Master List (for my family and my mom's care)
9. Knitting
10. Reading

This may look a little like my old life, but make no mistake. Even making one small change can alter the whole picture.

Take for example my check list. My current "project" list I'm overseeing is over four pages long.
FOUR PAGES LONG.
Honestly, how can one feel a sense of accomplishment with a daily list like that?
As I was pondering this, Andy and Jenna came home from their fish-scouting trip to Fla.
And Jenna, God Love Her!, had a suggestion.
Put a check by the works-in-progress (so you feel like you are getting somewhere) and cross out the finished items.
Genius.

To celebrate my new-found independence, I purchased a really nice yarn and pattern for a tea cozy.
I think one of the most important things you can do for yourself, and one that I intend on implementing into my new schedule, is take a short break in the afternoon to "regroup."

Here is my work-in-progress, my Brown Betty Teapot Cozy (pattern on Ravelry from Churchmouse and Teas - the Anniversary Tea Cozy). I used a great little English tweed for the yarn with a wood and Bakelite button for the top.

I know, I know, it does look done. But it isn't. I have to fit it to the teapot and sew the sides to match. And it's looking a bit large, so my choices are: buy a new teapot or frog it (tear out the stitches, for non-knitters) and make it smaller.

My bet is on the new teapot lol.









Don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today, and  Have a Good One. :)

Call of the Wild

William Ternes

As we walked down the back lane to our house, it turned Fall today.

I could tell because the leaves had started to shift colors, just a little here, just a little there.
Brightening red plumes amidst the browning of summer.

Today we meandered.
It was not a time for power walking, or jogging, or running or talking.
It was a time for relaxing, remembering and reflecting.
It was a time for ... walking sticks and good, firm shoes.


Even the dog dawdled, sniffing, head in air, then sniffing, nose to ground, smelling the musty, earthy smells of autumn along the edge of the dusty lane.

Rain was in the air. You could smell it.

The warm summer breeze was long gone.  A cool, soon-to-crystalize autumn breath replaced it, barely ruffling our hair as we went along.

Overhead, we heard the cry of the first Canadian Geese heading south.
We looked up and to each other, smiling a little at the familiar call and what it meant.
We were making the transition into autumn.

Sometimes we look forward to the end of the summer season. It's hot, it's muggy, there are people, cars and congestion. It's hard to concentrate when it goes from 0 to 60 in the fast lane of resort life. And when it's over, we breathe a sigh of relief. We remember why we moved here.

For simpler times, slower ways.
Soup for supper, newspaper and knitting after.

Today it's just us.
So we walk. It's a way of slowing down without too much fuss.
A way to change gears, catch a breath, reboot, if you will.

Even in Paradise you have to reboot.

Have a good one. :)

Final Week and It's ALLL Good!

The Immelts have hit the Derby board bigtime!
Columbus Day has been good to us lol!

My niece Julie is the Weekly Leader and and the Weekly Female Leader for Boat Bluefish catagory in the Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass & Bluefish Derby. This the final week, so it could be a LOCK!!!!
We are all very excited.:)

The proof is in the pudding.  Friends (Cara, Sue and Steve!) and Family (Julie and Stephanie!) fishing and the Weigh In:

Have a good one. :)

Teach a man to fish....

REMINDER: The Derby Committee strongly discourages parents from taking children out of school to go fishing or Juniors fishing during school hours. It is unsportmanlike to do so when other juniors are in school. We expect parents to support this commitment to education and good sportsmanship.

- notice from the current Derby website

You know, some parents will take their kids out of school to travel the world.
But here, they take them out to fish.

Have a good one. :) 

WIP Wednesday: The One Where She May Have Taken On One Too Many

Oh Lord, what have I gotten myself into.

You would think after selling two houses, buying another, moving out of two houses into another, promptly not unpacking, and eventually helping transition Mom to Assisted Living and then prepping her house for sale would be enough for the year.

But no.
I have to decide if I am Super Woman.

And If I can stupidly go where no man would ever dare go: the local knitting group.

I can see you shaking your head.
What has this got to do with island living?

And I tell you this.
Everything.

A knitting group in the East on an island is like a microcosm of Yankee Living.
Hell, any group in the East on an island is, lol.
Think your local legends, plus intensity.
And I am a wash-ashore (one who is not from the island but moves here).

But I digress.
My first foray into local fare started when I received an email via Ravelry from a lovely Englishwoman planning to visit the island to spend time with relatives. She wanted to attend a knitting group, and wondered if I knew of one.

Oh the pressure.
Was I ready to commit to island living among a local group?

I guess.

So I did.
Amid rainstorm and dark-of-night, we went... torch-carrying, (her term for flashlight), knitbag-toting, rainboot-wearing spectacles of foreign matter.


And it was good.
Like a nervous Nelly on the first day of school, but after awkward introductions, we dove right in. Rather, Meg (the visitor) did, lol. Losing no time, she broke right through the Yankee barrier with her warm and friendly chatter and knitting show-and-tell (can that woman knit!).

I ,on the other hand, knit silently getting the lay of the land.

We met the ubiquitous New England Stalwart, bustling, bristly, but the first one to offer help, the Local Expert (who with a quick turn of her head in thought was able to solve most knitting puzzles that evening), the Dazzler - that one in the group who has the best, the most detailed and pretty much all-time awesome show of a project, the Rebel - the one who chooses to do her own way and it looks fab, and others I save for a another rainy-day post. 

Suffice it to say in the East, people Knit In Winter.

And by the end, I didn't feel so new-like-a-shiny-penny, was thoroughly welcomed into the fold and found that unlike some generalizations about New Englanders, these people were friendly, warm and accepting.

Now I could have been intimidated, but I was not.
I think.

I immediately went home and cast about for waaay too many knitting projects for Works-In-Progress Wednesday.
Here they are:


Burly Spun Wrap

 

 free Rapunzel snowboarding hat


And








Alene's Wrap










Next week, I am prepared.
Ok. Overprepared.
But next week, I will go back, and with a better project and better yarn.
Possibly, local yarn.
That should do it, lol.




Buy handmade and have a Good One. :)

Hot Off the Presses: Derby Doings

Hubby reminded me (as men do when there is fishing involved) that I promised regular reporting on this subject. And, you can't let your man down, now can you?

It is day 21 of the Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass Fishing Derby. I can report that family members have "made the board," placed in the "dailies" and will, with confidence, continue to until the last day of fishing - October 15.

Let's see, we have:

                                        Checking out fishing spots - Lucy Vincent Beach
                                                         (from family member Julie Megan)

First catches by cousins

and first weigh-ins by cousins and "making the board"

                                                 Family competition heating up!

            Andy, Jenna and Neela going to weigh-in and "making the board"

                                                          Getting a daily Second Place!

And

                                                       What's For Dinner?

Ahhh.

Buy local, eat fish and have a good one. :)