Carole Knits

october zinnia
october zinnia
martinis with a view
martinis with a view
gettysburg fence for
gettysburg fence for
germinate shawl on rocks
germinate shawl on rocks
field of flags 2
field of flags 2
color affection with edge
color affection with edge
cedar leaf shawlette 2
cedar leaf shawlette 2
3_27_2014
3_27_2014
3_18_13
3_18_13
2_24_2014
2_24_2014
1_11_13
1_11_13
peony-bouquet-for-carole-knits
peony-bouquet-for-carole-knits
dale-and-jackie-for-carole-knits
dale-and-jackie-for-carole-knits
nightshift-progress-for-carole-knits
nightshift-progress-for-carole-knits

Three On Thursday

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Is this week dragging by or is it just me? I don’t know if it’s waiting on the election or the somewhat dreary weather we’ve had or what . . . but I feel like Monday was weeks ago. In any case, it’s Thursday and I’ve got 3 random things for you this week.

  1. Halloween. It’s not cancelled in our town but I think for the first time ever we are keeping our lights off this year so that the little ghosts and goblins don’t darken our doorstep. That doesn’t count for Jackie, of course, and for our neighbor’s kids as well, but I think for the very few trick or treaters we generally get it’s just not worth it. Plus more peanut butter cups for me! I’ll be making my traditional American Chop Suey for dinner and I think Dale is planning a fire in the firepit for the late afternoon and the kids will all be over for dinner (and smore’s?) and I’m hoping it all doesn’t feel too anticlimactic.
  2. Field of Flags. This is a fundraiser our Kiwanis club offers to raise money not just for our club but also for Fisher House Boston, a home for veterans and their families needing medical treatment. We’re under restrictions because of COVID so we can’t have our ceremony, but we are still planning on placing 1,000 flags on our town common. If you’d like to sponsor a flag you can find the form here (it’s a Google doc) and it has directions for either mailing in a donation or donating online. Our major fundraisers for the year have been severely impacted . . . no pancake breakfast last spring . . . no golf tournament this summer . . . so if you’re inclined to make any sort of donation at all I would truly appreciate it.
  3. Animal Crossings. I got my Switch back from Nintendo repair about a month ago, which is terrific . . . but my island was gone and I had to start over, which is not so terrific. Still, it’s been an opportunity to build things differently and perhaps even better since I have more of a sense of the endgame. Mostly I’m sad about losing all those Bells I had in the bank plus all the fish and bugs I caught over the spring and summer. Do you play? It’s engaging and fun and provides a great escape from the doom and gloom of the world right now.

And that’s what I’ve got going on this Thursday. If you wrote a post for this week please include your link below and thanks for joining me.

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Walk With Me Wednesdays

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I’ve walked in 3 different locations since last week and I took photos of each to share with you.

First up: Down Back last Wednesday after work. The colors have changed so much in the last few weeks and I am really enjoying tracking those changes.

Next up: a walk in “Sean’s Woods” last Saturday. There is a trail behind his house that I have never explored even though I’ve lived in this town for over 23 years. We walked it together last week and it’s lovely. The cranbery bog at the end was being harvested and it’s always such a treat to see that happening.

I’ve said it before but it’s worth repeating: those berries glistening in the sun remind me of rubies and I love to see them floating.

There were also structures in the woods, little lean-tos and several stone cairns piled on big rocks. I enjoy seeing the presence of others in the woods and this made me smile.

On Sunday, Dale and I took a drive to Duxbury. We found big fields with paths cut through the tall grasses that lead through some woods to a small beach. Here’s my guy taking a bit of a break while I went off to explore a little further.

The colors were muted and the clouds were moody.

It’s hard to imagine the heat and humidity of summer when the wind is blowing and the trees are about bare.

I hope you enjoyed these scenes from my walks this week. I enjoyed taking you along with me, that’s for certain.

One Little Word: October 2020 Update

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I almost feel like I peaked with this word last month. In case you need a recap, I shared my journey with open as it relates to vulnerability and how I am learning that being open to sharing my stories creates space to potentially help someone else.

So where do I go with this word until the end of the year?

I think what I do is I stay open to whatever comes up. Open to possibility and potential. Open to discovering new ideas and hidden parts of myself. Open to dropping habits and routines that don’t serve me any more. Open to . . . gulp . . . the unknown, the scariest thing of all for me.

And, finally, open to discovering what my word for 2021 will be. I’ve got one that I’m fighting which probably means it’s the one I need.

Monday On My Mind

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It’s Monday. Here’s some stuff on my mind this week.

When a tragedy occurs . . . a death in a family, an accident, a terminal diagnosis . . . it’s human nature to say something along the lines of: let me know what I can do to help or I’m here if you need anything. And I think that’s great. But if you say it, if you offer, if someone follows up and asks for help . . . please make sure you do what you said you would do. I am very very grateful for all of the help we got after Dale’s accident. People were wonderful and they did things we asked them to do, like helping fill the bird feeders, and also things we didn’t ask for, like dropping off coffee and treats and even dinner. But there were also people who said the words let me know what I can do and then we told them and then they didn’t follow through. And there were people who never offered, people we thought we could count on, and . . . crickets. Now. I realize I could potentially sound ungrateful and that’s not my intention here at all. I know how fortunate we are to have wonderful family and friends who went above and beyond over and over again. My point in writing about this is to serve as a lesson for you. If you are someone who offers to help a friend with a big chore (or even a little one, for that matter) please make sure you follow through with that. If you don’t, your friend will be left wondering why you didn’t. They will be hurt and let down and they might question your feelings about them and maybe even your integrity. Don’t be the person who makes a promise and then doesn’t keep it. Rather, be the person who shows up with coffee and treats, be the person who keeps the promise. And, if for some reason you can’t keep that promise because life happens, then be the person who explains why it’s not possible, be the person who apologizes for dropping the ball, and then (if you can) offer to do something else.

Whew. I’m glad I got that off my chest because what I really need is to let this go. To focus on all of the good that our people did and to forget the tiny few who didn’t show up. And to remember all of this next time I say the words: let me know what I can do.

And I think that’s quite enough for a Monday morning.

Eye Candy Friday

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Sometimes you only have to go as far as your own backyard to find something lovely and seasonal. Golden hour helps, too.

Look for the lovely this weekend, friends. You know you’ll find it if you do.

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