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

Sometimes Mondays

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Are for resting and recharging after a very social weekend. I’ll be enjoying a bonus day at home today doing . . . whatever I want.

I hope your Monday is equally epic.

Eye Candy Friday

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It’s not my intention to show you photos of Iceland piece meal, however, they are super appropriate for Eye Candy Friday and I don’t have anything else nearly as lovely in my portfolio right now. This one was taken right in front of our AirBnb. Yes, the scenery in Iceland is gorgeous and breathtaking.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Three On Thursday

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I haven’t forgotten about Ask Me Anything, all evidence to the contrary. Today, in a catch-all sort of way, I’m going to answer 3 questions from the original AMA post I wrote back in May.

Sarah asked: will you please tell us more about what you do at your job?
I am a Library Director in a small town in Southeastern MA. I’ve had this job for almost exactly 22 years, I started on 9/19/1999. Most of what I do is management . . . submitting payroll, processing bills, staff scheduling and keeping the Board of Library Trustees informed about things at the library. I attend Department Head meetings and network meetings (I’m the President of our network this year) and I hold staff meetings. I schedule passport application appointments, I deal with patrons who have problems, I handle performance reviews and I catalog the magazines. I print out and pull the holds list (books that people have requested, some that stay at our library but most that go out in delivery) every morning, I sometimes work at the circulation desk and create flyers and newsletters (not as often as I should) and emails to entice people to attend library events. I love my job because I get to work in a beautiful place with really great people and I’m surrounded by stories.

Bonny asked: what do you enjoy (and not enjoy) about being a selectman:
I’ve served on the Board of Selectman in my town since April, 2019. I enjoy almost all aspects of this role, from attending meetings to contract negotiations, to problem solving with my colleagues on the board. I like working with our Department Heads and helping them be successful, not just for themselves but for the town overall. I like being . . . in the know and making decisions on behalf of the people who trusted me by putting me in this position. I think the only thing I don’t like is that sometimes I can’t tell people why we did something because it’s related to a personnel matter or a lawsuit or executive session. It can be really frustrating to see people on social media speculating (or blaming) us for something and I just want to say, listen! this is why! But out attorneys won’t let me, hahaha!

Kym asked: what do you consider to be your main superpower?
I’m good in a crisis. Like, really good. I don’t fall apart, I am able to assess what needs to be done and either do it or assign it to someone else, and I generally know the right thing to say. Case in point, when Dale got hit by a car last year, I was calm and held it together. Inside I was terrified and shaken to the core but on the outside I was calm, thanking everyone for what they were doing, calming down my kids and assuring them that everything would be fine, and asking questions and writing down the answers. I might fall apart after things settle down but in the moment . . . I’m the one you want. The sad truth is that this stems from childhood trauma and chaos but it has served me well as an adult.

And those are my answers for this week – I hope you learned something new about me.

If you wrote a post for today, please include your link below. Thanks, as ever, for hanging with me on Thursdays.

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21 in 2021, 3/4 year update

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We are three quarters of the way through 2021 and I think it’s a good idea to check in on how I’m doing with my 21 in 2021 list. Because, let’s face it, it’s becoming do or die time.

  1. Run for selectman again
  2. Renew passports
  3. Deal with the big bag of socks (still sitting on the floor in my bedroom but on the list for spring cleaning)(now moved to the closet but still not dealt with)
  4. Get an estimate for the dining room floor (I’m thinking we’re going to postpone this until at least next year given the fact that materials have gotten so damn expensive.)(This is going to have to wait until we figure out what we’re doing with the wood stove because when that goes we will need to do the living room floor and we are thinking we’ll do both rooms the same.)
  5. Learn to knit brioche
  6. Learn to knit intarsia (not yet and I haven’t even considered it because wedding knitting)(not yet and probably not this year at this point)
  7. Complete 2 creative writing prompts each month (on track)(I have completely fallen off the creative writing wagon but I have a plan to get back on track)
  8. Celebrate the 8 Sabbats (on going and on track as I have observed Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane and Lithe. My steam has run out a bit but I’m going to reenergize myself for Lammas and Mabon!)(Mabon is next week and it’s one of my favorite Sabbats so I’m excited!)
  9. Learn about crystals (not yet but Hannah loaned me a book)(same)
  10. Complete my Peloton Century Ride
  11. Learn to make stuffed artichokes for Jessica (not yet)(this seems like a good fall project, I’m currently searching for a good recipe)
  12. Learn to make Italian meatballs (and I just have to say that now I make them all.the.time!)
  13. Take a virtual cooking class
  14. Bake with Jackie
  15. Keep Mama Cass alive & bake sourdough bread regularly (so far, so good)(I didn’t bake over the summer because it was too hot but I’m feeding Mama Cass again and ready to bake bread soon)
  16. Plant flower and vegetable beds (2 beds of zinnias, the first of which bloomed yesterday, and one bed with summer squash, cucumbers and tomatoes)(we had great success with tomatoes and the zinnias are insane!)
  17. Watch a movie outside (not a movie but we did watch the Boston Pops 4th of July concert outside on the deck so I’m counting this as done.)(And hoping to do this again now that it’s not so hot and it gets dark earlier, too)
  18. Do two puzzles (not yet)(I sort of forgot about puzzles, I’m going to get cracking on this)
  19. Learn one new skill, ideally something to do outside (I hope to try the stand up paddle board on vacation on the Cape next month. I’m also considering learning to tie-dye which should absolutely be done outside.)(Still nothing and still open to suggestions for this.)
  20. Do all 12 OLW Prompts (on going and on track, I have done 6 months so far)(still on track)
  21. Get all the golden tools in Animal Crossings (on going and on track, I have the golden axe, the golden slingshot, and the golden watering can. I have 2 fish left to catch to earn the golden fishing rod and 7 bugs to earn the golden net. I should also be getting the golden shovel soon since I’ve helped Gulliver close to 30 times now. )(well, this is not going to happen this year. I have 2 bugs left to catch [the golden stag and cicada shell] and they won’t be around again until next July. I have one fish left [the golden trout] and it’s available until November so I am hopeful about that and I should be getting the recipe for the golden shovel any time now but still, I’ll be missing that golden net without those two bugs.)

Alright. I’m prioritizing the bag of socks, the puzzles, and the stuffed artichokes! Wish me luck!

Read With Us: The Unsettled Ground Discussion

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Ready to talk about Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller? I don’t know if it’s just me, but I feel like I read this book a lifetime ago. You too? Or maybe not. But either way, today is discussion day, not just here but over at Bonny’s and Kym’s, too.

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I have two questions with regards to this discussion.

How did the novel encourage you to explore how humanity deals with people who live on the edge of society?

As I was reading the book, I often had to remind myself that it was set during the present time. Something about the cottage and the garden and maybe even the setting in general felt old world to me. Did you have that same impression? Discuss whether you did or did not.

I look forward to your comments. And don’t forget, we’re doing a zoom session tonight at 7pm EST to discuss things . . . errr . . . face to face. Okay, not really, but you know what I mean. I hope to see many of you later!