On and off my needles this May!

While traveling to and from Florida (and places in-between) last winter, and the winter before, I knit Lucy Bag after Lucy Bag, and posted many pictures of them here and here. They were great traveling projects! I could knit round and round, rarely having to look down at my work (and therefore avoiding the car sickness that has plagued me since childhood).

At Thanksgiving, everyone female, and I do mean every one of them (lots) got a Lucy Bag. It was time to move onto something different, yet travel-easy.  This year I did baby sweaters. I have posted about the Cute As One Button baby cardigan in the past. Quick, easy to do, and again - wonderful while a passenger in a car.

The center one is just minus the buttons - soon to be sewn on for recently born Baby Bennett.

Currently on my needles is the small shawl, Summer Flies. Darned if I could get a decent picture - every one came out almost fluorescent pink. Also, I do confess to doing a fair amount of improvisation of the pattern along the way. A word of caution - do not try to work on this while watching the film Philomena. Too many tears and too much needed attention. - just saying.

I only have rather small projects on the horizon, which suits me just fine at the moment. Little appetizers is how a refer to them!

In closing for today, I ran across an interesting article Knitting and Needlework:  Relaxing Hobbies or Seditious Activities; one of many that seem to be popping up regarding the resurgence in knitting, and its far-flung links to the past.

Women knit as they chat over the garden fence in Bayford, Hertfordshire. Photograph: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Happy Mother's Day!

Our time, since our return from Florida, has been a whirlwind - mostly in a good way. We had our Kentucky Derby party - so much fun! The next morning I left for Vermont for a several-day visit to see my son Alex, and his partner Hannah. They recently moved to Vermont, and I had not seen them since we left for Florida.

What a wonderful visit! They are nestled in the woods, alongside a lake, and they are loving life. What every parent hopes for.

Their spring is a couple of weeks behind ours - you can see its infancy at every bend.

A couple of shots from the ferry, heading back to new York State.

I surely do miss them, but they are much closer than they had been, and we will see them in a few short weeks for a family celebration. It was a wonderful trip!

"I read and walked for miles at night along the beach, writing bad blank verse and searching endlessly for someone wonderful who would step out of the darkness and change my life. It never crossed my mind that that person could be me." ~ Anna Quindlen

Two and a half years ago, when I began using Pinterest, I titled my first board "My Beach House". A dream, often "a dollar and a dream", I have always wanted to live near the beach. Shortly before we left Florida to head back to the northeast, my dream became much more of a reality.  Two days before heading home we closed on a condo in Stuart, Florida!

When I emailed my sisters with the news, I said something to the effect that in the best of worlds, we would be moving into a two-bedroom; two-bath; turn-key; near the water condo. The reality is more like a one-bedroom; one and a half bath; needs a lot of work; near the road condo. 

But it's ours! No more searching each year for a winter rental. No more dealing with landlords (who for the most part have been great - but not always!). No more having to move out by a certain date; use a mish-mash of kitchen utensils; someone else's sheets, towels, etc. Its ours and we are very excited! We know that there is work to be done, but we feel content to tackle it as it comes. We are about 5 miles from the beach; close to shopping and a fabulous library; close to a charming downtown; close to friends from the north and newly made friends from the south. We are excited (I think I already said that!)

Below are a few pictures - a bit of a mess - but ours! I will keep you posted as we begin our work - warts and all! All of the furniture stays, except for the armoire. It's not necessarily all our style, but it will certainly serve us well for the time-being!

To be referred to from this point forward as "Our beach condo'!