Weekending.

So nice to have a weekend where there wasn't too much by way of obligation.  I didn't even mind the rain, and not being able to go for a bike ride.  All the more reason to stay inside, knit, and get caught up on some shows on the DVR.  Steve had to work Saturday afternoon/evening, so it was just Sophie and me, and we had a fine time.  Friday afternoon was spent on the balcony trying to get an on-line order with petco.com sorted out-very very frustrating way to start the weekend, but we made it through.

I got to utilize the fitness center for the first time on Saturday, and was quite please with the set up and the equipment provided.  I look forward to working out no matter the weather.

A bit of laundry

College football [and knitting]-so-so disappointed in Georgia Tech

There were a couple errands that had to be done, but fortunately Sophie got to go with me-one included going to Petco because of the on-line fiasco with trying to order dog food!  With everything so close to our apartment we made our 3 stops and got back in less than 30 minutes.
An evening of knitting, and FINALLY getting Walk Away-under way!  I've started this project over no fewer than 3 times!

I finished To Set a Watchman and I honestly had a hard time putting this one downt-one of the few books I made notes on, and want to discuss it after I read To Kill a Mockingbird so I can finalize my thoughts on both.

I had to be at my office for a few hours, but that didn't keep me from watching the Falcons-of course when I left they were not winning.  Am so glad they pulled out a victory.

The entire weekend required these:

Other than the fitness center NOT being opened on time Sunday-it was a fantastic weekend, and we ended the weekend by having dinner with an old co-worker.  So much fun getting caught up.  Hope you had a little bit of sunshine for your weekend.

Fall is a time for cooler temperatures and yummy eats.

The last few days in Atlanta have been glorious and have teased us that fall is here, so the prompt on favorite foods for fall is well timed.

10.  Apples and pears [the above is this morning's breakfast-Jif all natural peanut butter is THE bomb!]
   9.  Chili-all types red-white-vegetarian.  Love how it can be made ahead, put in the freezer, enjoyed as leftovers, and makes fabulous nachos!
  8.  Gumbo-which is NOT chili-spicy-hearty-and like #9 make ahead and enjoy a bowlful a few days later!
  7.  Homemade chicken noodle soup [also not to be confused with chili or gumbo ;-)]
  6.  Costco's autumn bark-if you've had it you know what I'm talking about!
  5.  Freshly baked bread-it's good all year, but if I'm making it myself has to be done when it's cooler out.
  4.  Lasagna-veggie is the best but hubby likes meaty lasagna-will have to figure out a compromise.
  3.  Pumpkin bread-muffins-or cupcakes.  Not the pumpkin flavored stuff- homebaked goodies that use the real deal.
  2.  Butternut and spaghetti squash [goes great with chili for a healthy version of sincinnati chili]
  1.   Mac and cheese-I have to be so careful with this, and it has to be homemade of course!

Hopefully our weather will continue to evolve into fall for good, but knowing how suddenly Georgia weather changes-it could be a heatwave next week!  What culinary adventures await you this fall?

Where to begin?

This is the current state of the guest/Andrew's room.  There is a TON of artwork to the left that didn't make it into the photo.  Now that we are full time apartment dwellers the task at hand is to sort through a barrage of boxes.  Our storage unit is full, so I have no idea where this stuff along with the other boxes are going to go.  The other day I walked in and had to walk back out-not quite ready to deal with it.  If I could get the sewing notions organized who really needs 4 pin cushions? Decide where to put my wedding dress along with the 4 EMPTY very large storage containers, that honestly, we don't need and won't ever need.   Oh well, the next few days will include going to 2 footballs games (GT and the Falcons), a 5K at the Georgia Dome and a birthday party for a sweet boy who is turning 1.  I have a feeling that there won't be much progress in the unpacking realm for a while longer! It's almost Friday-hope there is something fun on your to do list.

Weekend full of fun

Finally a prompt that I could easily blog about, and hopefully there will be more posts since I'm not dividing my time between our now sold house and our apartment.  I love long weekends and try to balance it with fun stuff and projects .  Here's how I spent my time.

10.  2 very long walks with Sophie
  9.  Eating and drinking on the balcony, along with some people watching!

 8.  Fabric shopping and lunch with Mary-so much fun, and I was inspired to come home and try to get my fabric sorted and into better storage than moving boxes!
  7.  2-25 mile bike rides with Steve-I would have gone on a 3rd, but my tosh was hurting too bad!

 6.  Mixed up a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough
 5.  Went grocery and gift shopping with Steve, something we haven't done in AGES!

 4.  Watched TV-college football and Get Shorty-love this movie and read the book back in May which was equally enjoyable.

 3.  Celebrated a special birthday for a special girl with special people-Happy 21st Paula
 2.  There was some knitting and reading
 1.  Slept in just a little bit on Saturday and Sunday

Hope your Labor Day weekend was full of things that make you smile-mine sure did!

5 on Friday

I have been such a bad blogger lately, and it seems like the last few months have been non stop purging, packing, shuffling, moving and selling!  There have been a few bike rides, knitting, and a quick visit with the in-laws, but honestly, I'm soooo ready to have this moving thing over and done.  Here's a glimpse at my August calendar which is chock full of lists and appointments still to come.  After all the work we've been doing to get the house ready, it seemed like ages before we got a contract on our house, and believe me I was getting a little worried.  Right now we are on course to close on 8/31, paperwork seems to be in order, requested repairs are being made, and we are moving things into storage at what seems like a snail's pace.  The closing for me will be a great way to end the month and the summer.  I know summer isn't officially over until the end of September, but once kids are back to school that sorta says end of summer to me!  With that being said, I'm getting pretty excited about fall.

So here are my 5 things on Friday:

Looking forward to: lunch with PJ, Andrew and Charlotte today, and the 1st pre-season game for the Falcons that Andrew and I will be going to tonight.  Just hope I can stay awake til the end!

Excited about:  Mary, Karen, Katie and Charlie coming for birthday knitting tomorrow.  Then another visit with Brenda at the end of the month.  Even though our new place is small I'm enjoying having company so much more now.

Planning to: knit a baby blanket for a co-worker who just told me he's going to be a daddy in 2 months!  I had best get to knitting!  They don't know what they are having, so I may end up doing something in a soft grey.  I also have another co-worker who has a baby girl on the way in January, but I got time for that project.

Need to:  block a finished shawlette and kitchener the toes on a pair of socks [then block].

Hoping that: the paving is finally done at our complex and there will actually be stripes for parking cause people are parking all which-away-grrr.

Happy Friday, and I hope the rest of your summer is filled with fun and excitement.

Staycation

Carole's prompt makes me wish I had a summer staycation scheduled.  Maybe later this summer it'll happen.  Here's what I'd do on a staycation:

10.  Read a lot or at least try to listen to as many audiobooks as I can manage.

  9.  Enjoy a glass of wine with lunch-it's still a vacation-right?!

  8.  Knitting and lots of it-either finishing up some projects or getting a jump start on others.

  7. Outdoor bike rides everyday if possible, or at least long walks.

 6.  Lunch and knitting dates with friends.

5.  Take care of large and involved projects.

4.  Bake bread or do some other cooking that I wouldn't normally do.

3.  Sleep in on a day or 2-I don't normally change my sleep schedule on vacation, but sometimes it's nice to not HAVE to be up or go to bed at a specific time

2.  Enjoy coffee outside in the mornings.

1. Sit outside and listen to the birds in the morning, and watch the fireflies at night.

Whether it's a staycation or a away from home vacation-time off to decompress is always a good thing.

Another 10 things

Yesterday when I was outside at lunch doing some knitting it got me thinking about what I'll miss about our office's current location, as well as, what I won't miss.  Our building has been sold and right now we are looking at property about 15 miles further north, and the move is planned for early 2016. 

10.  I'll miss free and secure parking when I come to Midtown for the Peachtree Road Race, or other events that are in the area.

9.  The great restaurants nearby-walking distance-which I LOVE

8.  I'll miss my short commute-I'm just getting used to being "around the corner".  I'm hoping I can find some alternates that will keep me off I-285.  Even though it'll only be another 15 miles, in Atlanta traffic terms that could mean an hour!

7.  The local color-I get to witness some interesting sites from my window.

6.  Having a shady spot to enjoy knitting and my lunch-am hoping that we will have something similar in our new space.

5.  My morning/lunch time walks-this has been a great area to walk around, and there is always something to see.

4.  I won't miss the stairs-getting copier paper delivered is a true nightmare.

3.  The absolutely INSANE HVAC system in our office.  The building was not designed as office space, and we are constantly having issues.  I know many offices tend to be a little cooler, but ours is to the extreme.

2.  I won't miss not being able to get out of the parking lot due to road work, movie filming, wrecks, downed power lines, etc.,  south of us-it can be difficult manuevering around 4 lanes of one way traffic.

1.  There may be several folks I work with who will go back to their assigned departments or find other jobs due to the added commute time.  Some of these I'll miss and there are some I definitely won't miss.

I really don't know what early 2016 holds for me.  While I really like my job, my salary and my boss I'm not so sure the longer commute will make it worthwhile.  Steve and I are enjoying the area we've just moved to, and would like to stay here for a while.  We'll see, my focus is selling the house, all the other relocation stuff is just stuff.

Home Sweet Home

I've thought alot about the topic that Carole chose for this week especially since we just recently moved from a house to an apartment, and now have the house up for sale.  So I'll split the list because there are somethings I really love about being in an apartment, and there are things I'll certainly miss about not living in a house.

APARTMENT PERKS

10.  Based on the photo above-sitting on the balcony [which faces west] has become one of our favorite things.  It's shaded, our deck was not, and there are no mosquitoes to constantly swat.  Since there's far less to clean, there is a lot more time to just hang out.

9.  My commute-I've easily cut off 1.25 hours per day between the morning and afternoon drives.

8.  Close proximity to everything-restaurants, grocery stores, bike trail, library, etc.

7.  Repairs and maintenance are no longer my responsibility.  It does help that this place was recently painted and new carpet so it has a newish feel to it.

6.  Valet trash pick up-you put your container outside your door at night, and the little garbage fairies take it away!

THINGS I'LL MISS ABOUT MY HOUSE

5.  The large amount of counter space and the wall microwave.

4.  The garage, especially once winter rolls around.

3.  My grill-can't have one on the apartment balcony :-(

2.  The storage space-especially the linen closet and pantry.

1.  The red front door-I really really like that door!

Really, as long as you are with the people you love it doesn't really matter what kind of space you call home-right?

5 on Friday

I have been a bad-bad blogger, but I have also been a busy one.  FINALLY after much cleaning, hauling away, packing and over all effort our house in on the market!  Whoo-hoo.  There are 2 other houses for sale too, so we're hoping there's lots of traffic and a quick sale.  This weekend I feel like I can actually relax after months of getting to this point, so  . .

5.  Training for the Peachtree Road Race which is next Saturday.  The photo is from my morning walk.  It's been in the 90s here during the day, so I've been getting up early so I can walk before work.  Last weekend I was on my feet so much I may have over stressed my knees, so I'm taking it a bit easy, and not pushing myself too much.  I'm also getting new running shoes tomorrow.

4.  Finished objects-Square and Axis, 2 shibui patterns and yarns both of which I can't wait to wear.  I hoping that I'll get Apex finished as well-we'll see.

3.  Looking forward to cooking breakfast and morning coffee on the balcony tomorrow.  This is the first weekend spent at the apartment with no trips to the house

2.  Planning to listen to a new book and marking another square off my BOTNS Summer Bingo card.  I just finished The Devil in the White City and I really enjoyed it.

1.  Make and enjoy some sangria, most likely on the balcony.

Happy Friday.

Summer plans and expectations

Carole's prompt this week is about our summer bucket list.  I haven't really given it much thought, and with my luck [so far I've lost my cell phone, dealt with an in-ept contractor, and today-left my shoes at home-and that's just been in the last 6 days!] summer will slip away and I'll have done little to make it really enjoyable.  So, with my list it seems more like a to do list, and hope that when fall comes around it's not only much cooler [temps hit high 90s in Atlanta this week], but much less stressful!

10.  Sell our house-it would make a fantastic August 12th birthday gift-even if I had to spend my birthday at a closing!  Of course, I'd love for it to close sooner.
  9.  Finish packing my kitchen and craft area.
  8.  Finish my summer knits-I'm on the 3rd of 4 planned projects.  Above is Shibui Square-it's now ready for a FO photo. and Axis just needs to have the ends woven in and blocked.  Apex is about 40% complete, and I need to cast on Gretel.
  7.  Blog more-I certainly have the time in the evenings to do so.
  6.  Get better acquainted with technology-specifically using i-cloud, google drive, etc.
  5.  Books on the Night Stand Bingo-I wasn't going to participate, but have managed to make headway on the reading already, so I'm going to try to see this one through to the end.  Especially now that I've figured out how to put audio books onto my i-phone.
  4.  Clean up my computer-it has gotten soooooo slow, am sure there's lots of junk that needs to be deleted.
  3.  Visit with friends-would probably be an instant stress reducer.
  2.  Go for a bike ride-outside-we are so close now to the Silver Comet Trail it's a shame that I haven't ventured out yet.
  1.  Seek out a local farmers market and go there more than once this summer.

Am sure others have much more interesting bucket list-so I'll live vicariously through them!

How about a tour . .

This weekend we moved into an apartment so that we can get much needed work done on our house before it goes on the market.  Also, we believe it will be much easier to show if we aren't living there. I have to say my 20 minute commute this morning was soooo nice!  When I saw the apartment for the first time it was not what I expected and I did make a couple frown-y faces, but after the shock wore off I got a better handle on the situation.  Realize that these photos were taken while there was still  light outside; which is so lacking in this apartment, and before we did much unpacking. Hopefully by the end of the week it will have less of that just moved in look.

So from the front door- the living room-I LOVE that I'll get to use my Austin Powers is my boyfriend chair a lot more now.    It's in the perfect spot for knitting and TV watching.  I agree with one of the movers it is groovy!  

Next view from the dining area

We have a small, but nice balcony that gets the morning sun-I will enjoy sitting here in the evenings with a cocktail or glass of wine. 

Here's the kitchen from the door way-it's not the open layout that I thought, and the floor has a bit of sag, but there are new appliances and I like the brown cabinets even though it's not the best paint job.  The wire shelving rack is one that we already had, and we're putting it to good use.  I'm sure I'll change things around over the next few weeks.

View from the sink

The dining area-to the left is my desk, a fold up table with formal dining room chairs in the middle, and PJ's desk and hutch set that has been put to use as a wet bar/liquor/china cabinet.  We are a resourceful bunch ;-).

Now as you go down the hall way-Steve/guest bathroom to the right

Andrew's room on the left-I didn't realize he was going to get a whole room to himself!

Next on the right-a nice size laundry room, but I think the shelf is going to be too high for me to reach.  Luckily we had a cabinet that Steve made that fits, and that'll be a good place for storing detergent and such.

Next on the left is Steve's office/storage room-this is going to require some serious purging, but I can close the door, and not look at it-I'm good with this!

Next up on the right is my walk in pantry-that's right-15 feet or so away from the kitchen I have a HUGE pantry.  Most likely we'll also store our 2 road bikes in here too.  Where the other 3 bikes are going to go I have NO idea.  I love how easily the shelving units fit into this room-Andrew suggested I get a cart to use when I need to get stuff out of this room.  He may be right!

Finally at the end of the hallway is the master bedroom-nice and spacious, but no light fixture or ceiling fan.

and the walk in closet which Steve has graciously given me full use of-currently all my knitting stuff is in here, but once I get things sorted I'll be stashing yarn under the bed, and will have the books on the book shelf.

Here's the master bathroom which Steve again has allowed me to take over, I love the extended vanity.

Steve and I believe these apartments were probably built over 30 years ago, there are aspects that are still dated.  Based on the re-do of the leasing office this complex definitely wants to compete with the newer apartments being built, which is good to know.  The apartment is not totally renovated in the sense that they were gutted and re-done, but rather refreshed.  I love the gray walls which are throughout the apartment, and the carpet.  The floors have some sag in places, but due to the age that's to be expected.  While the finishes (knobs, faucets and such) are updated with the matte nickle finish, the closets still have the old pole and wooden shelves vs the wire closet system.  There are certainly some trade-offs compared to where we've been living, but I think we'll enjoy being here.  Sophie isn't so sure, but there is a nice enclosed dog park area inside the complex, so hopefully she'll make some friends.  Our goal right now is to get our house sold as soon as possible.  If last night was any indication of how safe this complex is, I won't worry about being alone.  It was just Sophie and I here for the first night, and when I couldn't find my keys this morning (car key included) I realized I had left them in the front door (on the outside!) over night-face palm.

Stay tuned for more adventures in downsizing and apartment living!

Another Memory-filled Memorial Weekend

This week's prompt from Carole is very easy.  My husband's family have been gathering on Memorial Weekend for a loooong time-close to 20 years-maybe?!  In the beginning all the grandkids were pretty small, toddler through elementary aged.  Now we've got all adult kids and a wee one who was with us for his first Memorial Weekend get together.  For the first few years we stayed at Calloway Gardens and then we began staying at the chalet's at Dillard-both in Georgia.  This year we were at a new place Big Canoe (Jasper, GA).  Everyone as able to attend even the 2 nieces who live out of state.  While the location has changed the great times together have not.  Here's some what we did -

10.  Wine and and special cocktails were drunk along with eating some fabulous food.
  9.  Knitting-lots!  Of course, I brought way more than I'd every hope to finish.

8.  Celebrated a special birthday-Steve's Big 50!

7.  Play time with Charlie-you can just see his head near the table.  Such a sweet boy.

6.  There was some pool AND ping pong

5.  Time spent with the folks-although there isn't an individual group photo there were plenty taken, and I think if all share them everyone will be represented. 

4.  Reading-I started Get Shorty, but didn't make as much progress as I've had liked.
3.  Played games-I mostly stuck to the easy dice games like Zilch and Yahtzee so I could knit and not think too much.
2.  Big Canoe Bingo which my Sister in law created for us.  I got at least 1 Bingo and had I done a little yoga I would have had more!
1.  Talked and laughed-ALOT.

This weekend is always a special time for us, and we hope it continues for a very, very long time.

As you travel down the road before you

Carole's prompt is timely since my oldest graduated from Georgia Southern 2 weeks ago (wow doesn't seem like it!).  The commencement speaker was an student at GS 20+ years ago, and he gave a very good speech.  Short and to the point, but full of good advice.

10.  Well done-in 4 years PJ earned 2 Bachelor degrees in International Trade and French.
  9.  Never give up
  8.  Life's road will have speed bumps and detours; keep both hands on the steering wheel and don't get distracted.
  7.  Do what makes you happy and brings you joy.
  6.  Be a person of integrity.
  5.  Your first job doesn't have to be your career.
  4. Take care of yourself-mind, body and soul.
  3.  Take advise from people who are successful.
  2.  Take responsibility for your own actions and choices.
  1.  Always be willing to learn

I wish someone had given me some advise like this when I got out of high school.  I might have gone to college a lot sooner!

Thanks Carole for a timely and reflective prompt.

Reality is setting in

now that the landscaping is in place, 60 bales of pine straw yet to be delivered, our downsizing plans are taking shape.  There is LOTS to do before the first phase of moving takes place on 5/29.  When Steve told me we'd received our welcome letter from the complex and that he'd scheduled utilities to be turned on-it was like whoa we're really doing this!

The tags are my first real step in getting the inside organized tagging/boxing/packing.  I've done some of this in my head already.  Fortunately we don't have to empty the house on the 29th, just get the essentials to the apartment which will be our primary residence, so the work inside the house can be completed more easily before the for sale sign goes in the yard.  

This whole process seems a bit surreal and exciting at the same time.  What I'm looking forward to the most is having my commute distance cut by more than half whoot!  I'm hoping that will mean more knitting time-we shall see.  Hopefully I'll do a better job of documenting this journey -more to come . . . .

Putting it off.

I don't typically procrastinate.  I like to get things done, and delight in having a "to do" list that has everything ticked off.  I missed Carole's last 2 prompts even though I did have stuff to contribute.  I'll blame Instagram!

10.  Blogging-there's been traveling, boot buying, good food, and lots of knitting.
  9.  Packing up stuff in our house that we won't need for a while
  8.  Tagging items throughout the house that either will be moved, stored, or left until the house sells.
  7.  Washing and storing all my winter-y hand knits-I see the pile and think "next year"!
  6.  Game plan for the Books on the Nightstand Read Harder Challenge.  I'm making great headway with the reading, just not on the final list of books.
  5.  Cleaning off the back deck
  4.  Cleaning out the planters that will either be tossed or planted with flowers for curb appeal
  3.  Bike tune ups-can't go for a ride til this is done.
  2.  Car emissions-can't wait much longer for that though!
  1.  Finishing some sewing projects-I hate being inside when the weather is nice-I'd rather been on the desk with wine, tunes and knitting.

We can get in the habit of rushing to get things done, and we might miss out on the small moments that make big memories.  I try to have a balance, and just have a steady flow of things that are getting done-how do you approach those "to do" lists?

From the bookshelf

This week's prompt about the last 10 books we've read shows me that I haven't read much since September.  Most of these are either for book club or part of my Books on the Night Stand read harder challenge.  My list includes some winners and losers.  I always check Good Reads after I've read a book to see if my final thoughts are similar to others, and most often if I liked/disliked a book the majority of other reads felt the same way.

 So here you go with the most recently completed at #10

10.  The Girl on the Train-LOVED it.
  9.  Daughter of Fortune-another good one.
  8.  The Widow Clicquot-I decided to read this micro-history because I'm a HUGE fan of champagne/sparkling wine.
  7.  The Mysteries of Pitttsburg-part of the read harder challenge-I didn't get much out of this one.
  6.  Olive Kitteridge-same as #7, but after watching the HBO miniseries the book probably deserves another star.
  5.  The Light Between the Oceans-LOVED this one too.
  4.  Saving Grace- way to predictable and pretty boring characters.  Sorta reminded me of the Shelley Long, Ryan O'Neal and Drew Barrymore movie Irreconcilable Differences. 
  3.  Dear Life Stories-a book club read-just felt kinda -meh about this one.
  2.  The Storied Life of AJ Filby-I liked the story well enough, I listened to this on my way to Florida in October, so don't know if I read the book-book I'd feel differently about it.
  1.  Language of Flowers-LOVED!  This was my book club recommendation, and I enjoyed reading it the second time around and having someone to talk to about it.

What's left your book shelf recently? 

A tisket a tasket guess what's in my knitting basket---

On Sunday afternoon I completed my Easy Folded Poncho and my Sommer Sleevless Top which meant I officially had empty needles! I'm not counting the Kaffe Fassett Alghan squares cause I'm not even finished with 1/2 of the 54 squares. That will be an ongoing project that I hope will be finished by the fall, but I'm not giving myself any deadlines at this point.  So after a visit to Cast on Cottage I got the yarn for 2 of the 3 Shibui spring/summer patterns that I'm planning to knit.  I had yarn leftover from another project that I'll use for one of the patterns.  I figured now is a good time to do my initial documentation.  I still need to set up the tripod so that I can get photos of my FOs, of which there are several-that'll be another blog post soon I hope!

After tiding my craft area I wound some yarn, gathered together project bags, patterns and needles and headed back out to the deck-where I pretty much spent the ENTIRE day after church-to begin the swatching process.

First up, Hayward shawlette which will be knit with Infinite Twist Helix- this is part of the prize pack from the 2 Knit Lit Chicks Podcast.  Everything I needed for this project was included even the 3 circular needles!  No plans to swatch unless I'm not happy with the fabric, but think it'll just be fine.

Next, Apex, a super cute tunic and I'll use Elsbeth Lavolds Hempathy that had previously been the aran necklace tunic.  I really liked that pattern, but for some reason the finished product was not up to snuff.  I'll definitely re-knit it at some point.  Swatching still to be completed .

Here is Lithos, yarn is Debbie Bliss donegal tweed-gifted to me by Mary yea free yarn! the photo does not show off the color very well-brown with bits of tan and blue-very pretty.  This is a heavy sweater that might not get much knitting once it starts getting really hot, but I wanted to at least get it going.  Have already done the swatch, and the gauge is spot on-whoot!

Square-another Shibui, I'm using pebble and linen in tar.  I had 2 skeins of linen leftover from Aperture I have NO idea how that happened!  I've done the swatch, just need to wash and block before starting the project.  So far needle size and fabric seem to be dead on with gauge.

A hat, so that I can stay on pace with the Stash and Burn 15 hats in 2015 challenge.  Yarn is Berroco Vintage DK and pattern is Beret de Printemps-sort of appropriate for spring knitting right? 

Last but not least Axis by Shibui, will be doing this in pebble and kavo- in the caffeine colorway.  I had 3 skeins of Kavo that I had tried to use in 2 other projects that just didn't work out.  I think it works much better being held with another yarn.  I've done the swatch-just need to wash and block.

I think these projects will keep me busy for a few months which is why I'm getting everything organized now.  This means I'll be on a bit of a yarn diet for a while, and I'm going to do my best to not get distracted until I have a couple of these items off the needles.  I feel like I'm in a good knitting place right now which is great since it's nice enough to enjoy the outdoors for a while when I get home from work.

So what's in your basket?