Sunday, August 4, 2013

This and That on a Sunday

Hello all of you lovely friends of mine, I hope this Sunday finds you relaxing and having a wonderful day.

Thank you for all your lovely comments on my Clapo-Ktus, it was so much fun to make,  and right now on it's way to Kansas City.


And a very special thank you to Joan at Pembrokeshire Lass for this beautiful tea towel.  I was one of the very happy winners of Joan's tea towel give-away.  Isn't it just gorgeous?  My husband's family is half Welsh and half German, so I think this is a very fitting gift.  

 
I have always dreamed of visiting Wales.  My Mil and SIL's went several years ago and thought it was so beautiful.  Following Joan on her beautiful blog has made me want to visit even more.  She is constantly showing us the beauty of her country, with exquisite words of wisdom that I cherish.  Thank you so much for pulling my name Joan, I will cherish this beautiful tea towel.  Please pop by Joan's blog and give her a big, "Hello" for me.


I got surprise roses in the mail this week.  Aren't they fascinating?   This lovely gift was from our Pediatrician, who actually lives three houses away from me.  Her daughters are swimmers, so when they are injured I work on them to get them back into swimming shape.  This was her way of saying thank you.  I have never seen anything like them.  Apparently they split the stems into sections and place the sections in a different color dye, the dye gets soaked up and stains the petals, pretty neat I'd say.


My new Clapo-Ktus made a very quick trip to the beach with me yesterday.  My youngest has a friend visiting and they wanted to go to the beach.  Believe me I did not want to go, it was noon when we left (I try not to be in the sun from 11-4), and it was HOT!  I was hoping he would drive himself as he got his license this week, but no he was not sure about it so felt it was best if I drove.  So to make myself happy I thought I would knit on the beach.


Unfortuately the sunscreen I had on was getting in my eyes so I had to put the knitting away til I got home.  This is stash yarn, a chenille yarn that I remember was over 400 yards.  I have lost the information on this yarn long, long ago.  I can't recall why I bought it, probably because it is soft and yummy.  I am making this in size 6 needles just like the last one.  This one is taking longer as the chenille yarn sticks and you almost have to lift the stitch up when trying to knit into the back loop.  It is a bit fiddly, and slow, but I think the results will be worth it in the end.  I am going to do it my way again, so it has a similar border on both sides.  I am also not slipping the purl stitches at the beginning of the wrong side rows, I think that created a boarder with not enough give.


Using my zoom you can see the building of Clearwater Beach in the background.  Clearwater Beach has beautiful long stretches of fine, white sand.  It is a very busy place to be.  I'd much rather come to Honeymoon Island, the beach has some rocks, but is more natural.


Do you see the buildings on the horizon?  That is what it looks like with no zoom.  Aren't the clouds spectacular?  The clouds in Florida have always intrigued me, they are so big and boisterous.  I just love to watch them gliding across the sky.


Mr. 19 year old is home for 8 whole days.  I cried when I picked him up at the airport, he just shakes his head at me.  It is not something you plan to do, but when you see him walking towards you and then you wrap your arms around him, well it just happens.  It isn't like I was gushing tears, just a little misty is all.

I finished The Paris Wife by Paula McLain.  This is a fictionalized  story about Hadley Richardson, Ernest Hemingway's first wife.  It is based on letters that they wrote to each other, and on interviews of Hadley later in her life.  I have to say it was very well written.  I so wanted her to move on with her life, I felt so frustrated for her.  It is not easy to read about a marriage falling apart especially when the main character is in so much pain. I am not a huge Hemingway fan, and now even less of one, but the book was very interesting to read.

Hope you are all having a wonderful Sunday.

29 comments:

moonstruckcreations said...

looks like a beautiful day all the way over there in Florida!

One of my friends has just come back from a holiday in Wales, she goes every year and just loves it there.

Have a great time with mr 19 yr old!

Helenxx

Taci simmons said...

Such a pretyy view my dear friend...I love the beach and love to seat and just enjoy the wind, the sun abd the sounds of the waves. I think you are lucky even if you just knit for a few minutes just to seat there and breath in the air...
beautiful shawl, I also love the few of chenille but have a hard time working with it...the good news is that the finih product isjust absolutely yummy.
Gorgeous flowers. have a great Sunday alos my dear firend!

Susanne Tyree said...

Your friend is going to love the shawl you made and sent. I have never been able to sit in the heat of the day and handle yarn. I sweat just standing or sitting still. I guess that is why summer isn't exactly my favorite season. Give me the 70 temps and I love it. The shots you took of the beach and clouds are so pretty. We have had a lot of strange and spectacular cloud formations this year. There will be all these beautiful and white fluffy clouds and then there will be some dark and stormy looking gray clouds under them, so strange. My friend in Ft. Myers said it rained so heavily yesterday that it was almost like a hurricane. They have standing water everywhere. Today they are headed for the Keys and I hope they can enjoy their next 7 days doing the lobster traps. Hope you have a great week ahead. I know how tearful reunions with children can be. Your son will understand some day, when he gets to be a parent.
(((HUGS))) Susanne :)

Teresa Kasner said...

I also received a tea towel from Joan, I will photograph it and share it too.. she's a wonderful person, isn't she? Those roses remind me of the 60's.. psychedelic! I'm glad your college boy is home for a while.. they grow up so quick. I'm glad you went to the beach if only to share with us those ocean views and clouds.. I could just feel you relax while there. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

Unknown said...

Your friend is goping to love her gift! So pretty! I love the roses. I have seen them dyed in one color, but never like that. eautiful!
The beach looks so relaxing and peaceful. I wouldn't want to go to a crowded beach either. I love to be by water.
I couldn't decide what to do today. I wanted to go somewhere, but just couldn't think of what to do. So am putting chicken in the oven and deadheading plants.
Have a great week. Hugs, Teresa

Jennifer Hays said...

Wow, the beach is beautiful. I love those roses, what an interesting way to color them! My husband is also German and Welsh. I think his maternal grandfather was born in Wales. That's a really nice tea towel she sent you, congrats on winning the giveaway!

Gerda said...

O, a beautiful beach! Very pretty photo's. I still love to lay on my back in the grass, and watch the clouds. They can take so many shapes, and colours. Congrats on winning the towel, a special one it is. groetjes, Gerda

Gracie Saylor said...

Your comment about having to knit slowly made me smile...Meredith slow stitching...I truly can not imagine it :)
Thanks for sharing the photos and stories of your flowers, the special tea towel and your gorgeous surroundings. I enjoyed them all!
Gracie xx

Anonymous said...

I thought those roses were made of paper until you wrote how they were dyed. Very interesting.

Your beach pictures make me jealous. We have had a very stormy weekend and some of those storms have been very sneaky! LOL

Suzan said...

Florida does have the most fantastic clouds and I LOVE watching the rain roll in -- off in the distance or out at sea!! You captured the clouds beauty!! The color of the water is gorgeous too! We're Moms and it's OK for Moms to cry or get "misty" when we see our Babies or they do something special!!

RURAL said...

Those roses almost look artificial..I had to look a few times to be sure.

Your beaches, and the sky amazing...sigh. White sand, never have seen that before.

Jen

Stitchy Mc Floss said...

Awesome post as always....and now I am getting misty seeing those pictures of Florida!

Blessings always sweet friend.

Joy said...

Another lovely interesting post Meredith, and thank you for sharing!
So lovely for you and your young man to have some time together during his break - never mind the tears, they are healthy!
Your roses are beautiful - quite unreal and such a lovely thoughtful gift - as is the Welsh tea towel!
Your friend is going to love your beautiful gifted shawl and it's so nice that you have another on the pins - but sorry the yarn takes up extra time!!!
I can't bear the heat either, especially at the beach as there is usually nowhere to get away from it - but you did get some lovely pics - the clouds are wonderful to watch!
Happy week to you and yours, lovely Meredith!
Joy xo

Betsy said...

Beautiful beach. Beautiful shawl and yarn. Beautiful, beautiful roses. My baby comes home on Wednesday for a week. It's been 2 years since I've seen him, 3 1/2 years since he's been home. I can guarantee this Mama will have tears in her eyes when I see him. It's normal for us Mama's.
Blessings,
Betsy

kathy b said...

Very cool roses! I've never seen them dyed like that!

Darn the sunscreen in the eyes..it HURTS.

Love all your images.

Why do these boys make us puddle up so?

Kris said...

Hi Mere.....love those flowers! How interesting! Were they white roses originally, I assume?
How nice of your neighbor!! I don't go anywhere without a bag of yarn anymore!!
Hugs!!!
Kris

linda said...

Lovely post Meredith I enjoyed reading about what you have been up to. Those roses are so unusual, very pretty and I love the tea towel. Your knitting is coming on well, I bet you have it finished by now! Enjoy your sons visit :)

Olga Poltava said...

The tea towel is so lovely. And what a bouquet of roses! I've never seen anything like them either. A day at the beach sounds fun, sorry to hear you weren't able to knit that day.
Have a wonderful week!

Tanna said...

Congratulations on the win from Joan!! Lovely and happy prize! I have never seen roses like those, either. It sure was sweet to receive them for your help; its always nice to feel appreciated.

You are going to town on that next Clapoktus and sure got some beautiful photos even if the sun screen slowed your knitting progress.

I totally get the crying at the airport. ;) hugs and blessings ~ tanna

ColourMeCrochet said...

What beautiful pictures of your beach, the sand looks white, the water clear and the clouds look huge and fluffy. I would love to spend an afternoon on that beach crocheting.
I always used to cry when my daughter came home from Uni, but I think it's more that you're so pleased to see them.
Enjoy your time together.

Sally :) xx

EMMA said...

I have that very same tea-towel!!! So glad you won Joan's give away. I can confirm Wales is a beautiful place, and Joan's blog shows it off beautifully. Your beaches in Florida look amazing, love the photo of you knitting with the sun-sea-sand back drop! The colors just lead into one another beautifully.
Never seen roses like that before, what fun!

Crystal Rose Cottage said...

I could feel the lotion stinging my eyes when you described it...ouch! It was probably almost too bright to knit out there nit to mention the heat. I am sure it will turn out lovely. I know you are enjoying your college boy home this week! My husband and I spent the weekend in Columbus staying with our boys. My annual high school reunion was Saturday night and it makes for a late night and too far of a drive home. I felt like I had a mini vacation. I must really need one bad if I felt that! Seriously, I really could use a change of scene. There are other things that need to be done before I can do that.
Hope your week is going well. I started a round granny square finally. I think I have 4 done so far. I would like to find a video tutorial that I like that shows a sunburst granny. I think they are very pretty!
Hugs, Patti

gilly said...

What gorgeous pics - the sea looks so lovely and inviting.
Enjoy having your boy home - and mums are always allowed a little bit of misty-ness ;-)
xx

Babajeza said...

I 've just come back from the beach (pebbles). At the lake, but beautiful nontheless. The water of lake Constance is so clear and clean and of course sweet. :-) I did not take my knitting with me because it is too hot.

Mrs. Micawber said...

Oh, those clouds are lovely ... my favourite shot is the one just below the "far away" buildings ... the water looks amazing in all those shades of emerald and jade.

Enjoy your time with Mr. 19 year old, and if there must be tears, may they be happy ones. :)

Mrs. Micawber said...

P.S. Great tea towel! I too have one from Joan - it's hanging in my kitchen right now. :)

Deb said...

Sitting on that beautiful beach & knitting looks like the perfect way to spend the day!

Kristen said...

I am swooning at your beach photos, and sympathizing with you re: getting misty over your boy. Your Clapo-ktus looks like it will be lovely, and the tie-dye roses are stunning! It looks like you had a perfect Sunday. :)

Paula said...

I also love Joan's blog! The geography is so different and beautiful in Wales. I would love to go there.

You are so talented - your newest project is really nice and I'll bet it is nice and soft.

Your beaches are quite different from our Alaskan ones!