I seem to only get around to posting once a month. It's not that my life is so busy. I just don't think about the blog that often. I've noticed other bloggers are not as frequent also. Maybe blogging is going out of style.
I finally received word that I will be starting work in August. The contract negotiations for the project my vendor submitted me on are now complete. We are only waiting for the purchase order to get issued. Hopefully that won't take too long. My vendor is hoping I can start on August 2.
Trisha and I went to Tennessee for a few days. We stayed in Franklin and explored the area.
We found a cute coffee shop in Franklin before browsing all of the shops in town.
In Nashville we toured the Country Music Hall of Fame, walked the pedestrian bridge over the Cumberland River and had lunch at Jason Aldean's restaurant. Country music isn't my favorite genre but I did see a couple of John Denver's gold records.
On our last afternoon we found a beautiful winery where we enjoyed a wine flight and the beautiful views.
Fourth of July weekend was a busy one. My oldest sister, Mary Anne, came to visit from New Jersey. It had been since Christmas 2019 since we saw each other. My brother, Joe, spent a few days with me before I took him back to Cincinnati. I also go to meet a couple family members that were born during COVID times. Frankie is my first great-niece who is now 14 months old and Finn is fourth great-nephew, born in May. Both are absolutely adorable and make me anxious to become a grandma.
Blake moved back to Cincinnati on Friday. He isn't completely healed from his surgery, but is well enough that he doesn't need me to do wound care any longer. He is moving from the UC campus area to an apartment in the far northern suburban section of Cincinnati. I'm very glad he is getting away from the UC area and into a cleaner, more grown-up environment. Ed and I aren't going to be able to help him move, but we hope to drive down to visit his new place soon.
On the knitting front, I've been spending most of my time on 3 projects.
First is a pair of socks using Arne and Carlos' Mountain and Fjord collection. If I say so myself, I'm doing a fantastic job of making this into identical twin socks.
Once I am done with the socks I am going to make a cat toy out of the remaining yarn because Squeaks is fascinated by this yarn. Saturday after coming back from running an errand, I found my knitting on the floor of the sunroom and a very guilty looking kitty hiding under the settee.
I am also nearing the finish line of the Pajama Cardigan by The Autumn Acorn. I am working the sleeves two-at-a-time so that they come out the same and I avoid 'second sleeve/sock' syndrome.
My last active project actually isn't knitting. I'm slowly crocheting flowers for the Arne and Carlos Astri Floral Throw. I'm using some Knit Picks Palette that I have had in my stash for a very long time. This is a slow project because it calls for 18 flowers in each of 18 different colorways. I am also thinking about improvising a few leaf motifs to place randomly in the throw. I think that will make it look more like a flower garden. I'll have to make sure they have the same size and general shape so that they fit into the throw without distorting the rows.
Occassionally the neighbor's cat shows up on our front porch. The cat's name is Topaz, but we call her Squeaks' Buddy.
Saturday morning I found her looking in the front door. I made me laugh because it reminded me of when my siblings and I were kids and we ran over early to play at a neighbor's house how to play. I could just imagine the kitty saying "Hi! Can Squeaks come out to play?"
We don't let Squeaks outside (don't want to deal with the health issues that go along with an outdoor cat) so Squeaks and Topaz have to just visit through the door. I wonder if they communicate somehow while they are staring at each other. Occasionally one of them will roll around on the floor. Neither seems to behave aggressively so I think they may get along fine if they were to be together. I'm not going to test that theory. Best to let them hang out this way and not tempt trouble.
