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Cruising into Fall

I’m not going to lie. I’m not sorry October is here. I am not a fan of summer, and although I love September, it was not until this week that temperatures started to dip. I will veer off my usual topics of knitting and dogs to talk about my first-ever cruise. If this doesn’t interest you, you are welcome to skip this month. After we spent last summer settling my mother’s estate, I decided we…

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I need less summer

To my friends it comes as no surprise that summer is not my favorite season. I just have to look at the thermometer to start sweating. I won’t say I keep my house too cold but my dogs regularly go outside just to lay in the grass even when it’s 95+ degrees. I prefer to do everything from dog training to playing pickleball indoors from mid-June through early September. Even inside I sweat like…

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Where, oh where, did my mojo go?

Vertical knitting with color My home away from home at Shakerage 2024 I barely picked up my knitting since early April. I have some projects on my needles but none are inspiring me. I love looking at patterns. I’m interested in knitting many of them. I’d love to make an emotional support chicken, but I hit the wall when it’s time to get out the yarn and needles. I have been working on the…

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Everything Looks Rosie

My husband and I took a weekend trip at the beginning of April. We arrived at the hotel early so visited Applebee’s for $2 margaritas. By the time I finished 2 margs, I had found a puppy I wanted on Petfinder. Of course, my husband thought I was kidding when I said I made an application to the rescue. I wasn’t. On April 14 I met “Pixel” who was being fostered through Big Fluffy Dog Rescue in…

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The Circle of Life

We adopted Ginger at 6 weeks old. She was rescued from a puppy farm. Too young and too small, just 1.5 lbs. It was January 15 and there was snow on the ground. We hand-fed her and taught her to use a litter tray. I worked from home and raised her by hand. The vet wasn’t sure she’d be healthy – she still had an open fontanelle, a hernia, and was the runt of her litter. If he had told me in 2011…

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Snow Days!

The excitement of the holidays is past and, for many, there isn’t another holiday weekend until Memorial Day in May. Hence, it’s easy to fall into the darkness of winter during January. Let’s make January and February about something other than cold and dank. I have a girl’s weekend planned for the first weekend in February. I’m also working on hobbies, planning projects for spring, and generally…

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Got that 2024 feeling

Not gonna lie, 2023 was a hard year which got better as it progressed toward 2024. Now that we have flipped that calendar page, I’m feeling optimistic. I’m throwing out that new year, new me shit. Old me is okay. Sure, there are things I’d like to improve upon but in January? Nope. It’s going to be all puppy snuggles and hot toddies, all month long. Speaking of puppies, Jack got his check-up in…

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I'm just out here, living my life

Ah, the great experiment, retirement. I’m not being very productive. I have a long list of things that I want to accomplish and I’m getting nowhere fast. This has been a hard year and I’m happy to see it fade into 2024. As motivated as my brain is at 1am, my body is not motivated during waking hours. In keeping with the Old Dog, New Tricks theme of this blog, I’ve recently learned to crochet. I…

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It's Fall Y'all

Speckman is decked out for Halloween There is so much to do in October! It’s the time for outdoor festivals, hockey season, cool temps, and dog sports. It’s the start of sweater weather and football. It’s my favorite time of year! We’ve had big fun at a variety of activities this month, running FastCAT, A Doggone Good OLD Time benefitting Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary, Bark in the Park to…

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It's my birthday, and I'll celebrate all month long!

September has always been my favorite month. Yes, it’s my birth month but it also signaled the start of school (I was one of those kids), the temps begin to cool down (sweater weather), my youngest daughter was born in September, and it marks the start of my third act. Let’s assume you’ll live to 90, you can break your life into roughly 3 acts. Your first act includes childhood, college, and…

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Flying into Fall like...

I cannot believe how fast time is passing. It was just Memorial Day, wasn’t it? Now it’s the last week in August and I’m not sure what happened to the summer. Although not a fan of summer, I can’t believe how fast it flew by. I’m looking forward to wearing handknits and not sweating when I get out of the shower. Like most of the country, in Tennessee, I feel like a chicken wing in an air…

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Swatching in the round

I have begun a new test knit for designer, Kate Oates. This is a top-down, in-the-round sweater. I was researching the idea of swatching in the round. I have always swatched flat but the argument for swatching in the round is compelling. Purling takes more yarn than knitting because the yarn travels over the top of the needle (who knew?) and when you knit in the round the gauge tends to be…

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The Insomniac Edition

I was planning a long post about my mother’s house being sold, but the contract fell due to some repairs needed and the buyer’s tight timeline. I’m now working through the punch list I got from the home inspection. Unfortunately, I seem to be doing this at night when I should be sleeping. Sleep has been elusive lately. I go to bed between 10:30-11:00 and wake around 12-12:30 only to sit in the…

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I think I said I liked to be busy...

But this is ridiculous! If you’ve been following along, you know that I am the executor of my late mother’s estate. I willingly took this ‘job’ at her request because that’s what you do, right? Little did I know that this project would consume all my free time for 6 months or more. Much of the administrative work was done right after her death…memorial, finding (and meeting) a lawyer, and…

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I love clean and why I hate cleaning

Whenever I get a wild hair to tidy up my office it goes terribly wrong. I let the room get so bad (like hoarder bad) that when I clean it up it gets so much worse before it gets better. It’s overwhelming. I get hot. I get sweaty. I get distracted. I get bored. Then I take a break (far longer than it should be) and lose my motivation. I’m at it again. I want to chuck my computer desk in favor of…

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Summer has arrived

My car, after training, Monday morning at 11am. Summer has arrived…with a vengeance. The humidity is high, are hitting the 80s every day and I’m already melting. Suffice it to say, I am not a fan of this season. Like some friends, it arrives too early and stays too late. I don’t want to wish my life away but September can’t get here soon enough (for many reasons). I’m currently sitting on a huge…

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And back to our regularly scheduled content...

My mom, c.2017, wearing a beautiful vest she knit (and I now own). Our last family gathering, her 93rd birthday, Oct 2022 Now that my mother’s memorial and celebration of life have passed, my new normal has begun. I spend my days working (remotely, thank GOD) and cleaning out my mother’s house. She was quite the shopper, my mom. I am finding multiple of many items, some of which have never been…