Hat in Bulky Periwinckle wool

Here is my hat that I finished in a mad dash yesterday so I could wear. I was pleased with it but will add more to the body next time. I had adjusted the pattern to fit me and now have orders from my sons for boy color hats :-) My son Ian modeled it for me this morning.

Sunday Morning and a picture of my son Ian and the family cat Midnight cuddling on the couch. Yesterday as I was knitting the cats were watching their feathered friends outside and having a fit that they couldn't be out there to play too...LOL. If you could have seen them. The bodies twitching and the meows . They were probably swearing in frustration. This morning they are stationed at the windows watching the birds and squirrels.
This morning I think it's still rather cool, like yesterday. Very pretty but cool... I don't know what I am complaining about ,it's March, in Maine. It's not Florida so we shouldn't expect Florida type temperatures BUT it has been lovely with the warmer temperatures. Now it's just real Maine spring temperature.

Above a pic of my hat in Close up. It's in periwinkle. Here is Estella looking at the window waiting for a bird.
I'm a bit frustrated this morning trying to upload pictures so I'm going to stop for now.

Changing focus

It's Friday , midmorning. just got back from a IEP meeting for my youngest. I have decided that I will be a bit more structured with my blog. I will write here at least once a week. The day I write will be a day that I am not writing my book. This week for writing has been slow but only because I have been doing research for another project that I have been enjoying. In the afternoon I have been working on my hat , done up in a bulky wool yarn in purple. It will be a hat for myself which I will be able to wear for maybe a week (if lucky).

I have been enjoying quite a few Knitting blogs, Crazy Aunt Purl,  Masondixonknitting, Yarnharlot to name a few. Knitting has certainly changed from when I was younger and I'm glad. The material that is out there is wonderful and diverse. Not just plain wool but wild fibers like Alpaca and Yak, Buffalo. There really is quite a world out there and so many sub worlds so to speak that you could read forever on all the new yarns and fibers. I found a magazine that devotes itself to just Wild Fibers and it's right out of Rockland, Maine. I'm also teaching myself or finding online instruction to learn things that I knew and forgot or learning for the first time. It's nice because if you live way up in the wilds of Maine or Alaska and didn't have a group of women around who knitted, you have an online group right at your fingertips:-) A good many of them also love cats :-) Crazy Aunt Purl has three or four, Wendy Knits has her cat on her blog. I have four so I am in good company.
We also (us knitters) love to read and write which is right up my alley. I love to read. A lot of these knitters have written books and I also see recommendations for books to read. two books that I am reading now are "Zen and the Art of Knitting" and "Sarah's Key".. Zen and the Art... is about knitting and the power it has to  heal and links between knitting and Spirituality and Creativity. "Sarah's Key is about the round up of Jews in Paris and France in July of 1942. I'm reading it slower then started because I don't want it to end BUT once you start you can't put it down.
I'm going to list a few of the books I have read recently that I have enjoyed or made an inpact.

Buffy the slayer... and my smaller knitting basket.

My Bagheera. Look at those eyes!!!

A rainy Tuesday in Maine

The next few photos are to go with the post I wrote earlier. My new birdfeeders and pole the boys and Bob gave me for my Birthday!

It's a Blustery Day

Well it's a gray Tuesday. It wasn't especially nice yesterday either but what can you expect on a Monday in Maine in March... I shouldn't complain though since the weather here has been quite extraordinary for this part of the world. Saturday I worked outside. Did a lot of raking and moving stones around. Then I found a chair... Bob cleaned the lattice /trellis work on the front deck. It didn't take any scrubbing, just a lot of spraying on his part. I sat on the lawn furniture out of the reach of the spray of the water and knitted and drank tea and later in the afternoon some Pina Coladas :-)
Today is a different kettle of fish for sure. I just saw a neighbor whose son is a friend of my Pat. She was walking her dog... I was going to walk Mowgli but you won't catch either Mowgli or I out in this drizzly, cold day. We are quite happy to be in where it's warm and dry. He is at my feet and counting his blessings that I am not zealot when it comes to walking...
It's been a slow few days in the writing department and I really need to get my butt into gear... I get a bit done BUT not what I have been doing as in pages or word count. It's not writers block, BUT the last couple days have not given me much in the way of time and quiet. You ask when do I have quiet with as many kids in the house like I have? Only when they are sleeping :-) AND when they are in school so that's when I work. Tomorrow and Thursday I am suppose to start volunteering at the animal shelter. I haven't heard from them BUT I will go anyway and do what I can.
I am excited about a project that I may work on with my son. I have started some of the research end of it, Which will also include a book by me to go along with his movie.
He will be at the Arizona International Film Festival with his film The Road to Freedom , April 15-25th. Then I think his premier for the movie is at the end of April in LA. If he eventually does well he will try and help me get my first book published. Back to his other project , while he and I were talking last week on the phone he was mentioning things and I knew I had seen somethings in the past. So while we talked I googled and found info that his sister/my daughter had mentioned earlier for him to find, he just couldn't remember what it was about or who BUT as soon as I started reading it to him he said "That's it Mom!" That's one of those areas that I am very good at so it will be lots of fun for me to do research.
Well the wind is blowing my wind chimes. I have three hanging from the trellis.
Well the dog is snoring. My other dog is trying to find a cozy place to take a nap. All the cats are around me too, sleeping or watching the birds at my new bird feeders that the boys gave me on my birthday yesterday.
Well I'm gonna close this down for now... till next time :-)

Bagheera at a younger age.

A gray Monday

Well It's one of those Mondays. I haven't started work yet. Had appointments this morning for Daniel and then errands . I have been puttering BUT need to get motivated. The animals are all around me which is nice.
We are all still waiting on word for our cat Bagheera who has been at the vet for almost a week. He has a urine problem that can be fatal with male cats BUT it looks like we have caught it in time. Poor thing will be so happy to get home. I know we all will be happy when he comes home and his buddies as I know they miss him.
My son's film "The Road to Freedom" will be in the Arizona International Film Festival this April which we are all so proud of him. He worked so hard on it and deserves recognition for his great work!
Spring is just around the corner with Pussy Willows seen in swampy places. Daniel and I saw a bush this morning after leaving the eye doctor. He wanted to get out of the van and pick them. I also saw crocuses at St. Thomas's. There and at the library are the places I notice them first. That is very exciting!!!
Well I really should get working. But looking at the cats makes me want to curl up like them.

Good Morning Camden Maine...

Just thought I'd get on here real quick. The last two days have been banner days for me and my writing. 4000 words plus each day which has made me very happy. I start up as soon as everyone is out of the house. Now if I could just get paid for what I love to do...
I should be back up to 10,000 words a day soon. BUT some days the scenes take more and I have to sit and think about people and arranging them and then something else pops in and characters decide to do something different and so I go with the flow. Getting the word count is good BUT I also like to develop and doesn't always = with lots of words...

March 1st

Well March is certainly coming in like a Lion!! The wind hasn't stopped howling all day. We lost our power for a bit. Not long enough to fire up the generator. BUT while we were out of power, it was when everyone was getting ready for school and I couldn't find any matches to light the bloody stove for tea!!! Then found 3!!! WOW!!! Do I sound sarcastic or what?? It's a problem when my teens are running off with the matches... LOL!!
My cats don't like this wind. I find myself drawn more to my cats. They talk to me. I talk back. I will be in the store buying cat food and some little old lady will ask how many cats I have and I tell her and then we talk in the aisle about our cats and their antics!! :-) We leave being just about best buddies. I love my dogs but there is something about the cats. They are independent and full of it but they love to snuggle. The dogs are my ears though and I wouldn't be without a dog. I feel far more safer with them then without.
When writing I always have some kind of pet whether it be cat or dog. They are a good part of my stories. They are living and breathing just like the people I create.
Well that's it for thoughts today...