Three on Thursday- "Snowed" In

This week included a holiday and 2 snow days-this week's Three on Thursdays include some of how I kept myself busy:

I baked some whole wheat rolls-these were actually pretty easy and I'm looking forward to enjoying these with dinner this next week.

 There was lots of knitting-I am almost done with Taproot.  This project was perfectly timed with my trip to Las Vegas and then being home for 2 days.

I had lunch with a friend I haven't seen in a couple years at a new to me restaurant Muss and Turners. The Caesar salad was great the falafel not so much.  It was nice catching up, and hopefully it won't be so long before we can get together again.  I was also able to include a meet up with Mary and her knitting group at a local coffee shop.  I really miss social knitting.

There were walks outside-Sophie definitely didn't mind the snow or very low temperatures.  I was glad that today's afternoon walk was 40 degrees as opposed to the 17 degrees when we went out the first time.

I finished this hat for Andrew- Tin Can Knits Gather.  Steve will be heading to DC on Saturday and will be delivering 3 hats [one is a hand-me-down hat is now too big for me] and a cowl.  Hopefully he won't think the cowl is "not him".  The colors are masculine and I think it will look great on him; he claims he's just not a scarf guy, but I think the DC/Maryland weather may change that!

Also, there's been significant progress with the amaryllis-I didn't realize how much fun this was going to be. 

Pass the popcorn

I don't get to the movie theatre often, but between recent my cross county flight and a 90 minute bike ride [indoors] yesterday I managed to watch 3, new to me films, and part of another one.  They were all very good, so I thought I'd share them here.

Goodbye Christopher Robin-I scrolled past this and didn't pay much attention until someone sitting diagonal in front of me was watching something that looked very WWI-ish and British.  I figured out that they were watching a movie about Christopher Robin of Winnie the Pooh fame.  What a great movie for anyone who is a fan of the story.  It was sad in parts, but well worth watching.  It's not on Netflix so I'm not sure if it can be streamed another way.  I love any movie that motivates me to either think or look up information to learn more.

The Mountain Between Us-this was recommended to me by someone who was in my training class who said the lead actor, Idris Elba, from Luther [a very good BBC crime drama] and Kate Winslet.  While the critics don't seem to like the movie much, but I enjoyed it as a change of pace from the more recent CGI films and there's a dog.

Battle of the Sexes- the story of Bill Jean King's career and her tennis match against Bobby Riggs.  I didn't get to finish this one, but what I watched I enjoyed so I need to find a way to finish it.  It seemed to do a good job of combining aspects of her personal life and her professional career and the issues professional female athletes faced during the 70s.

The Woman in Gold- I watched this while I was cycling.  I had previously read the book The Lady in Gold by Anne-Marie O'Connor and I had heard there was a movie, so I figured I had nothing to lose.  The movie's focus is the story after the painting was taken by the Nazis and the subject's niece [played by Helen Mirren's] desire to recover the painting.  I enjoyed the movie as much as I did the book.  If you like reading about art [and watching movies about art] I highly recommend both.

Now onto my amaryllis watch.  I took this photo last weekend before I left for Las Vegas.

Here is yesterday morning's photo shot and since there has been more opening of the center flower and more red is peeking out of the one on the right.  This plant must really like where it's been placed as it is really thriving.  The tallest plant is almost hip high on me [I'm 5'1" BTW].  I may have to do a mid-week update if this speedy growth continues.

I'm glad that I have a 3 day weekend to recover from my trip to LV-adjusting to the time difference was tough!  While the temperatures continue to dip into the teens overnight at least the sun is shining and there is a blue sky.  Hope this weekend finds you seeing the sunshine as well.

Three on Thursday-

1. Amaryllis watch-wow.  I need to get a photo of these when there is some better light.  I can't believe how fast these are growing.

2.  I finally got the Lily Rose dress finished.  I didn't have enough of the purple to finish and I was going to frog a different baby sweater that came out a bigger size than I wanted for a newborn.  Brenda and Joyce suggested that I use another color to create a petticoat look and I'm so glad they did.  I like the effect and I was able to pass along the other sweater to someone at work.  The intended recipient was born yesterday and she is adorable and what a name- Wynter Anastasia, her sister is Brooklyn Alexandria.  Their last name begins with an "M" so their initials are WAM and BAM-I can only picture super hero costumes for these 2!

3.  Right now I'm kinda wondering if I'll actually fly out Monday morning.  There is supposed to be yucky weather, a gazillion people coming into Atlanta for the National College Championship along with the POTUS.  It's just going to be a hot mess-fingers crossed I have an on-time and uneventful flight out west. 

December Daily 12-16-Catching up

This week has been my busiest so far this month, and when I moved my calendar marker to next week, I was a bit giddy to see that my calendar is almost note free!  Thursday will be the start of my vacation until the end of the year.  I have things planned with friends and family, getting my hair done, but I'm also hoping that I'll get some knitting done and some "winter" cleaning.

Our annual holiday pot luck at my office was on Tuesday,  I had fully intended to take a photo once all the food was on the tables and got very sidetracked.  My desk is to the left of the table in the foreground.  Yes, this space is big enough to have food, including desserts, for over 100 people!  Thanks to the great folks I work with it was another success with just enough leftovers for to be enjoyed the rest of the week.  It was a very busy day from when I arrived at 7 until I left at 4.  However, there was no rest for the weary as my Book Club pot luck was later that evening, but on a much smaller scale!  The food there was delicious and the company outstanding.  No photo from that dinner, but the hostess had a lovely home all ready for Christmas. 

Early Wednesday morning was a routine appointment for my Mom at another Wellstar facility which had "soliders" at the door that were different from these and this ginormous tree!  My Mom posed for scale and I'm sure it had to be at least 15' tall.  My Mom loves Christmas decorations and she ooh'd and ahh'd at the wreaths and lights.   I took her back to place then had to head to work where things were still recovering from the previous day's festivities.  Our annual lunch was also a retirement party for my boss of 12 years, and I've very sad to see him retire.  Wednesday was also the day set for interviews for his replacement.  I have to say it was very hard to concentrate on anything with comings and goings of the candidates as my desk sits very close to the conference room. 

Luckily, I was able to leave work early as I was meeting my Mother in Law, Mary and Karen to see White Christmas on the big screen.  This is the second time I've gotten to see it at the theatre and I have to say I love seeing Danny Kaye and Vera Ellen dance and twirl- boy does she have moves and a great set of legs!  It was great, and of course the company really makes these experiences even more memorable. 

 Thursday I made a trip to Target to pick up some gift bags, battery operated lights for our little tree and other things.  I love that I have a Target nearby so it's easy to take care of these quick errands and I don't have to spend my weekends fighting the traffic and crowds.

 Friday night, and ahhhh finally a chance to relax.  Unfortunately, I managed to pull a muscle in my neck and shoulder.  Not sure exactly how that happened, but may have something to do with all the activity earlier this week.  The heating pad helps, but I have had a hard time sleeping because of the pain and not being able to find a comfortable position.  I had a nice long phone conversation with Andrew and he seems to have settled in with is job and new apartment.  He's hoping to be able to come home for Christmas provided he can work remotely from Georgia.  Fingers crossed-it would be nice to have him home.

 Saturday morning, a bit of devotion/quiet time, indoor cycling, and brunch at our leasing office [which was very very good].  The rest of the day was spent cleaning the apartment, grocery shopping, getting caught up on blog reading, a bit of knitting, and other things that have been waiting for me to have time to address.

 A lovely morning for a walk.

 And a benchmark for the Operation Amaryllis Watch.  My Mother in law gave this to me last Sunday at our cookie exchange and I forgot to take a photo.  It has certainly made progress since Sunday.  I'll do my best to show updates. 

I hope you are able to take time out to enjoy and savor the holidays.  I'm looking forward to some more baking, wrapping gifts, and knitting.  Hopefully I won't sprain any more muscles!