Florida shells are way prettier than Cape Cod shells. Just sayin.

Have a terrific weekend. I’m just sayin’ that, too.

The Lens Day challenge for this week is Blossom.  How fortunate that I bought two bouquets of tulips the other day.

They were on sale for $5 a bunch and I knew I wanted two bunches but I had the hardest time deciding on the color.

I finally went with one pink and one yellow and I love the combination of the two.

The pink speaks to my girl-y side.

And the yellow speaks to my yearning-for-spring side.

And the whole thing just makes me happy. Tulips are good for the soul.

And really fun to photograph. Perhaps even a little addictive.

There’s still a lot of mitten knittin’ going on over here. I think I enjoy mittens because they are quick, portable, and a great way to have some fun with color and cables and stuff. The Chevron Love Mittens were all about the color but this new pair is all about the cables.

The pattern is All the Water Mittens by Kirsten at Through the Loops. As always, Kirsten’s pattern is perfectly written and includes plenty of details.

The yarn is leftover Madeline Tosh worsted in the color dahlia. They are soft and warm and were scooped up immediately by Hannah.

That’s okay, though, because the next ones will be mine, all mine.

Ten on Tuesday didn’t post last week so there’s no official topic again this week. Luckily, I have come up with my own idea and have shared it with a few friends. And if you are someone who would like to be notified of the topic I pick when there isn’t an official one – please give me a shout out in the comments today.

Anyway, today we are listing 10 Ways To Get Through The Rest of Winter.

1. Take a vacation to somewhere warmer. I already did this and it sort of helped – but I’d like to go back already.
2. Buy yourself some pretty flowers. Tulips are my favorite and they just happened to be on sale this week. Score.
3. Knit colorful socks.
4. Hang out with a cat. There’s nothing like a kitty snuggling by your side to make you feel warm.
5. Watch for signs of daffodils and tulips and crocus coming up. I usually see the first green shoots poke through in early February.
6. Get yourself a pedicure. Personally, I get one every two weeks but I know a lot of people stop in the winter.
7. Go to the flower show. The Boston Flower Show is back this year and I’m so happy about that!
8. Have an indoor picnic. It’s been a long time since Dale and I have done this, and the dog can make it rather challenging, but it’s still fun to put a quilt on the living room floor and eat some bread and cheese and drink some wine.
9. Force some forsythia to bloom indoors. Nothing says spring like forsythia.
10. Go to SPA. A weekend of spinning, knitting, eating and drinking with grrlfriends is appropriate anytime of year but it’s especially welcome at the end of February.

It’s not easy to make it through the winter when you love the warm weather like I do. Thanks for sticking around and making it better for me!

On Saturday I did something every knitter loves to do. I went on a yarn crawl with my friends.  You’re jealous, aren’t you?

Sharon and Martha and I met at The Wool Basket in Duxbury at 10. This is Martha’s local yarn shop and it’s a great one. The owner is super friendly and they have a truly wonderful selection of yarn. We spent some time (and some money) and then we headed on for our next destination . . .

And that was The Wool Patch in Middleboro. The owner there, Miriam, is terrific. She is helpful and runs a great little shop. Her yarn selection is also very good but totally different than the Duxbury shop. Once again we spent some time and some money and then we headed to . . . .

Lunch. And for lunch we had sushi at my favorite sushi restaurant, Sushi Joy in Plymouth. We shared a few different rolls and they were all fantastic. So were the Mai Tais.  Stuffed and happy we left there and went to . . .

Fancie Purls in Plymouth. Our friend Dinah, who we had hoped would join us but couldn’t make it, told us about this shop a few months ago and I’ve been anxious to go there and check it out. What an adorable shop! Once again we met a great owner, Ann, and once again we spent time and money.

At the end of the day I came home with some  Berrocco Ultra Alpaca for mittens, some Noro Silk Garden for an entrelac scarf, and some silk/wool for a small shawl.

And I also came home with fantastic memories of a day with friends. Laughter, yarn, and sushi. What more could a knitter want on a Saturday?

I told you things would be more colorful this week.  And nothing is more colorful than a sunset on a beach in Florida. The temp was about 70°. Ahhh.

Have a great weekend!

As you may have surmised from yesterday’s post, I spent the past few days in Florida. Dale and I made a quick trip down to visit his son Brant, daughter-in-law Heather and granddaughter, Ambrynn last weekend. Like any good vacation, we crammed a lot into a short amount of time.

We visited shopping areas like Fisherman’s Wharf in Punta Gorda. I found some cool Jimmy Buffett themed Tervis glasses but I didn’t buy them and opted to try and find them online instead. It was fun to walk around in summer clothes, sightseeing and shopping.

Of course we went to the beach. Ambrynn played in the sand while Heather and I chatted.

And Dale and Brant hunted for shark’s teeth. Dale and I found 11 between the two of us. Brant found 50. I think he spends too much time doing this!

We went to Sanibel and visited the Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge. We saw lots and lots of birds, including this Roseate Spoonbill. I saw some telephotos lenses that I truly envied and I wish I had thought to rent one before we went on this trip. Next time I will, that’s a certainty.

While on Sanibel we had lunch at the famous Bubble Room and then went to the beach and searched for shells. The tide wasn’t cooperating so we only found 1 unbroken shell but it was beautiful and warm and a good excuse to walk the beach. I studied a few of Brant’s books on Florida shells when we went back to the house and I’ve got some ideas on how to do this better next time, too.

Naturally, I took lots of photos. Photos of palm trees and sunsets. Photos of birds and fish.

And photos of my family. As beautiful as the photos of the flora and fauna, this one is my favorite. All of us together in the warm sunshine. I miss them already.

It’s another fun topic for this week’s Ten on Tuesday – Ten Songs You’re Embarrassed To Like. Writing my list will be fun but what I’m really looking forward to is reading all of your lists!

1. I Won’t Do That by Meatloaf. Oh hell, anything by Meatloaf. Even Paradise by the Dashboard Light is a freaking disaster.
2. Can’t Fight This Feeling by REO Speedwagon. This is probably my most embarrassing confession of the list but I really do love this song. Pathetic, I know.
3. Achy Breaky Heart by Billy Ray Cyrus. This was a big hit when I first started dating Dale and I’m ashamed to admit that I tried to convince him to learn the line dance and teach it to the fans of Dale and the Duds. Let me say it right here: I’m sorry, honey.
4. Cotton Eye Joe by Rednex. Perhaps I have a line dance problem?
5. My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion. Yeah, I really do like this one and I can’t believe I’m admitting it.
6. And while we’re admitting to liking Celine Dion songs how about It’s All Coming Back to Me and Because You Loved Me. Sheesh.
7. Ultimate by Lindsay Lohan. It was from the movie Freaky Friday and I loved the movie and somehow wound up liking the song, too.
8. The Boy I’m Gonna Marry by Darlene Love. Bring on the Phil Spector wall of sound!
9. Tired of Toein’ The Line by Rocky Burnette. This one is on here just for Dale – it’s his favorite and it is total bubble gum music.
10. And finally, let’s end this on a truly spectacular, horrible note: Hero by Enrique Iglesias

And now I will just say: you are welcome for all the ear worms!

I powered through and I finished my Chevron Love Mittens last Friday. I have never been so happy to see a project come to completion!

Working with 8 little balls of yarn was challenging and I actually screwed up the thumb gusset on the first mitten. I didn’t realize it until I started the gusset on mitten number 2 but once I did realize it, I just had to go back and rip the first one out and fix it. It was much easier once I was doing it right. Ahem.

The thumbs were fiddly and took longer than mitten thumbs usually do – due to the color changes, no doubt. But they lined up nicely and I’m glad I made myself just.do.it.

The braid at the cast on edge looks impressive but was actually very simple to do – it’s just a matter of putting yarn in front of or behind the various stitches. I always think it’s neat when simple things have great results.

The final verdict: I love them! Julia did a wonderful job with the pattern and the kits she put together are fantastic. This one is called “Tulip Garden” and the colors really do remind me of tulips. And I love that they will keep me warm until the tulips bloom.