Daffodils from the garden at FDR’s Hyde Park home.

And a tulip, too. It’s a two-fer Eye Candy Friday.

Have a great weekend!

It may take me a few days to share all the places we went in New York last week so I hope you will stick with me through all these posts and photos. If I play it right I should be able to drag this out for a while . . .

Anyway, the whole reason I wanted to go to this part of New York was to visit Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s home in Hyde Park. I’ve driven by it every year going back and forth to Rhinebeck and last year I read Jean Edward Smith’s lengthy biography on FDR and that made me even more determined to visit his home. As an added bonus, last week was National Park Service Week and admission was free. We still had to pay to visit his library and museum because that is run by the National Archives but still, free admission to the mansion was a very nice surprise.

The place did not disappoint. The grounds are beautiful. And the mansion is mansion-y.

Our tour guide, a local college student doing an internship, was entertaining and did a great job explaining things about FDR and ER and their time in Hyde Park. I knew a lot of it already (did I mention the biography I read was long?) but it was a nice refresher on all things FDR.

President Roosevelt and Mrs. Roosevelt are buried on the grounds and the tomb is surrounded by a beautiful garden. I imagine it’s truly spectacular in the summer when the roses are in bloom.

The library is the only presidential library actually used by a sitting president. His office is still intact, there are lots of photos, and there are relics of his life.

Like this Silver Buffalo from the Boy Scouts of America. I don’t know much about this award but Dale was impressed and asked me to take a picture of it for his dad.

And Eleanor Roosevelt’s knitting needles. I had to take a picture and show you, of course. The card says that she knit a lot during meetings. Smart woman, that ER.

Aside from the mansion and the library, the grounds are lovely. The view behind the house to the Hudson River is spectacular and it’s easy to see why FDR loved spending time here.

As you can see, Dale enjoyed our visit, too.

I think FDR was a great president in a very difficult time in our country’s history. Truly, the more I learn about him (and I learned a lot because [did I say this already?] that book was long) the more I admire him.

I have a secret about last week. All those posts about knitting and finished knits and stuff were written in advance because I was actually away on vacation. I didn’t want to leave you all in the lurch but I also didn’t want to worry about blogging while on vacation because sometimes, well, blogging feels a little too much like work. So I saved up some FOs and I pre-wrote that whole week.

Now that I’m home I can fill you in on our fun four days away.  We rented a beautiful converted barn in the Catskills, just outside of Woodstock, NY. I found the place on Trip Advisor and it did not disappoint us at all.

It was basically one large room with a bed in one corner and a living area in the opposite corner.

There was a spiral staircase to an upstairs loft that had another bed.

There were windows all around so it basically felt like being outside without actually being outside.

There was a hot tub.

And beautiful gardens.

And a whimsical sculpture that I just loved.

It was the perfect place to relax and recharge and hang out together. We played games and cards, we took advantage of the hot tub every night, we cooked and drank wine and just enjoyed being together.

It wasn’t all about hanging out at the house, though. Come back tomorrow and I’ll show you the sights!

I know that the price of food has been increasing for quite some time but it seems (to me, at least) that the prices have skyrocketed lately. My favorite cheddar cheese now costs almost eight bucks a pound and that just seems ridiculous to me! I have never been one to scrimp on food, though, and if I want steak or lobster or expensive cheese I’ve always just bought it and figured I’m worth it. If I’m going to be able to continue that sort of shopping I think I’ll need to make some adjustments wherever possible and that brings me to this week’s topic 10 Ways to Save At the Grocery Store.

The irony of showing a box of truffles that cost $9 in a post about saving money on food is not lost on me, but that’s just the way we roll here at Carole Knits.

1. Use coupons. I used to be very good about this but I haven’t done it in ages. Perhaps it’s time to start again.
2. Consult the weekly sale flyer. I almost always choose my meats and vegetables based on what’s on sale.
3. Buy store brands when possible. I won’t buy store sugar or flour but I do buy store brand vegetables and juices and milk. I’m pretty sure no one can tell the difference.
4. Shop from a list and don’t buy things that aren’t on the list. Impulse buying is hard to resist and those purchases definitely add up.
5. Add inexpensive ingredients like beans and rice to your meals to stretch your food dollars.
6. Bake your own cookies and bread. A package of cookies is $4 but you can make 5 dozen cookies for a lot less than that. They taste better, too.
7. Shop alone. If I have Dale with me I wind up spending $20 more with all the extras he throws in the shopping cart.
8. Don’t shop hungry. This is as much for health reasons as for financial ones. If I shop when I’m hungry I wind up buying lots of junk that I don’t need to have in the house.
9. Watch the scanner for errors. I’m pretty good about this and I rarely find mistakes but I know they happen and it’s a good idea to keep an eye out for it.
10. Don’t pay for conveniences like pre-shredded cheese and pre-packaged processed food. Do it yourself and you’ll save quite a bit.

I have a feeling a lot of our lists will be very similar this week but I’m still hoping to pick up some tips on saving money. These days we can all use all the help we can get.

Saturday was our 6th annual Frank Harlow Day and the first thing I need to do is thank you all for your thoughts and wishes in keeping the rain away. The afternoon was a deluge but the morning was dry and that’s what we really needed.

The reason we needed the morning to be dry was because Dale decided that this year’s Frank Harlow Day would be an excellent way to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. His idea was to reenact the mustering in of the men from East Bridgewater who joined the Union Army.

To that end we invited our reenactor friends along with any men and boys from town to join us on the Common and be sworn in as a soldier in the 29th Massachusetts. Each individual was given enlistment papers with the name of an actual soldier from that time and they then participated in a drill on the Common.

By the time they formed up as a unit they looked pretty good. The reenactors were interspersed with Boy Scouts and volunteers for a total of about 50 men. It wasn’t the 100 Dale had hoped for but the weather kept many away, I’m sure.

Once they assembled they marched around the Common to the Civil War monument and Dale read the roll call of all who had enlisted. I have to tell you, it was quite touching to hear each name called and have someone answer as that person.  Some of the men were killed, of course, and when Dale read those names he told the individual portraying that person their fate. It made for a very somber experience and I think it was a wonderful tribute to those men that their names were spoken aloud and, for just a brief moment, they were thought of again.

The group then left the Common and proceeded to march to Sachem Rock Farm, the site of our reenactment each year. Our Police Chief volunteered to help with traffic and he assembled our local constables to help as well. We so appreciated everyone’s cooperation in getting our little parade up the street.

By the time the soldiers reached Sachem Rock it had started to rain in earnest and the rest of the day was spent trying to stay warm and dry. The boys did organize a little skirmish with some wandering Confederates and we were all treated to some great music from our friends in the Rocky Run Band but the downpours and wind kept things to a minimum.

Nevertheless I would call the day a success. We’re planning on doing the muster again next year and every year until 2015, the final year of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. Our goal is to have every soldier who served the Union be represented that year. I bet we can do it, too.

You may recognize this picture from last year’s Civil War reenactment in our town. You may also notice those blue skies in the background. Well, tomorrow is the date for our annual Frank Harlow Day and the weather forecast is not particularly promising. I’m asking for some knitterly love here and hoping that you’ll all think blue skies for us again this year, despite the predictions of showers, heavy rain, and wind.

Thanks! And I owe you!

Spring in New England, as many of you know, means warm-ish days and cool-ish nights. It’s  the perfect time of year for a nice pair of new armwarmers.

The pattern is loosely based on the Albina Armwarmers except that I made them much longer than the pattern calls for and I did not include the button section at the top.

Basically I knit a gauge swatch and then figured out how many stitches to cast on based on that. I knit a bit of twisted rib at the top and then switched to stockinette and kept going. And going. I actually didn’t plan to make them quite this long but I was working on them at a Town Meeting and the meeting went on and on and so did my stockinette portion of the mitts. Good thing I’m flexible about stuff like that.

The yarn is some of my handspun – I think it’s Spunky Eclectic in the color Tulips but I’m honestly not sure because it’s from back in the day when I wasn’t very good about labeling my handspun. I actually thought, back then, that I would remember it all. How ridiculous! Perhaps Manise, the keeper of all fiber clubs and colorways, will identify it.

The colors remind me of a campfire and they would be perfect to wear around a campfire – hence the name.

They are pretty and soft and just the right thing for this time of year. I love ‘em!

My sock knitting goal for the year is one pair of socks per month. When I went to SPA in February I was a bit ahead of that goal and was just starting my March socks. The yarn I chose, in keeping with the spirit of SPA, was Sophie’s Toes in the color Just A Small Gathering of Friends. This yarn was Emily’s entry into the Dye for Glory contest for Sock Summit and I thought it was the perfect choice to take with me for my own gathering of friends.

I started knitting and was honestly not loving the way the colors looked knitted up. I kept at it, though, because I was determined and, hell, I had started and that was enough for me.

I was delighted – absolutely delighted – Saturday night when Kim reached over and fondled them and commented on how much she loved the colors. I instantly offered to knit them for her.

Kim is such a sweet person and a wonderful friend and I was just thrilled with the chance to do something special for her in the way of hand knit socks.

I finished them up on April 2nd (slightly behind schedule) and made a pretty sock label for them (tutorial here because I know someone will ask) and finally mailed them North last week.

I hope Kim loves them as much as I love her!

Easter is coming up and Passover starts today and that means that many of us will be spending time with our families. I will be the first to admit that sometimes family can be challenging. I also think, though, that family can be pretty amazing. And that leads me to today’s Ten on Tuesday topic: Ten Things You Love About Your Family.

1. Love. I love my family and my family loves me. With the kids it’s unconditional and I’m pretty sure it’s (mostly) that way with Dale, too. Sure, I may not like everything they do and every choice they make but the love is always there and that’s the bottom line.
2. Loyalty. My family has my back. They may not always agree with me but they will defend me fiercely anyway.
3. Laughter. We laugh a lot when we are together. We are silly and we tease each other. We tell jokes (Dale’s are bad) and we reminisce. And through it all we laugh.
4. Fun. This goes hand in hand with laughter but we have fun together. We go to the beach, we fish, we camp, we hang out  and we have fun doing it all.
5. Holidays. It’s great to have an instant gathering when it comes to holidays. Some of you know that my 23 year old brother died in a motorcycle accident when I was 17. Shortly after that my grandparents died. Nothing is more depressing on Thanksgiving than realizing your family is dwindling. Dale’s family is large and I love gathering with all of them on holidays, birthdays, and other special occasions.
6. Support. If I’m having a bad day or a need a hand with something or I just want to bounce an idea off someone I’ve got a bunch of people I can call. That is a great feeling.
7. Companionship. I am never alone unless I want to be alone. Seriously, if I need someone to hang out with I’ve got some great people to choose from.
8. Values. I will say right up front that I have had some heated political discussions with some of my family members. But we still share the same values. We respect the outdoors and the earth, we put family above all else, we work and contribute and take care of one another. We share values and that’s so important.
9. Traditions. It’s my family that remembers that we have Swedish meatballs on Christmas Eve and Swedish Cardamom bread on Christmas morning. Sharing those traditions (and so many others) is one of the ways we bond and that’s a really great thing.
10. Longevity. My family is with me for the long haul and that’s something truly special considering that the only one in that photo up there that has known me for more than 14 years is Hannah.

I love that writing this post made me really think about what my family means to me. I hope it did the same for all of you.

You may recall that when I went to WEBS I purchased enough Berkshire Bulky to knit Hannah a Vivian Sweater. She instructed me that she wanted a neutral color that would go with everything and, despite my protests, pretty much insisted on natural. Don’t get me wrong, I love an off-white sweater, especially one with a lot of cables. I’m just not sure my slob of a child will wear it more than once without permanently staining it. Did I ever tell you about how she would knock over her glass of milk at the dinner table every night? Truly. Every night. But I digress.

Despite my misgivings, I purchased the color she wanted and a couple of weeks ago I started knitting away. The sweater is knit in one piece from the bottom up so it starts with a lot of cast on stitches. That’s not a problem, I just use a stitch marker every 50 stitches or so to mark my numbers. The sweater has some lovely cabling. That’s not a problem either, as I overcame my fear of cables ages ago. The sweater also has a fair amount of seed stitch. That, apparently, is a problem.

I forgot to read my charts from right-to-left on the right side and from left-to-right on the wrong side so the large cable/seedstitch section on either side of the front of the sweater wound up being ribbing rather than seedstitch. You would think a knitter with as much experience as I have would notice this right away. Sadly, I had about 15 rows done before I saw my error. That’s 15 rows at 180 stiches per row.

Sigh.

Rip.

Restart.

I’m beyond where I was when I had to start over, which is always a good feeling. I’m using stitch markers to mark certain places in the pattern and I think I’m finally feeling comfortable with the pattern.

You know that means I’m about to screw up again, right?