Unraveling

April 24, 2019 By Carole

No unraveling here this week but no real knitting progress either. This is (still) sock number 1 of my Disco Superfly socks. It’s all good but I find it interesting that I brought another skein of sock yarn with me to New York City to start a new pair in anticipation of finishing these on our trip. The reality? I didn’t knit a single stitch. In fact, I never even took them out of my bag! I spent my time on the train reading and really didn’t have any down time while in the city. Sure, it would have been cool to knit in Central Park or on the subway, but I was only carrying a very small cross body bag while we traipsed around and there wasn’t room for my knitting in that bag. If I was being honest about my habits I could have predicted this but a knitter is nothing if not hopeful and we always want to have a back up project.

The same goes for reading, honestly, which is why I love my kindle. I thought I’d finish The Great Believers on our trip and if I was carrying real books I’d have brought a back up. Or two. With my kindle that’s never a concern since I’ve generally got my maximum allowed number of check outs from Overdrive at all times. I did finish The Great Believers right after we got back and I’m now reading When They Call You a Terrorist, which is as heartbreaking and powerful as you might expect.

And that’s it for me this week. I’ll be sharing this post over at Kat’s to join with my fellow unravelers but I still want to know . . . what are you knitting and reading right now?

Our Visit to The Color Factory

April 23, 2019 By Carole

One of the first things we did on our trip to New York City last week was visit The Color Factory. Tickets are timed and must be purchased in advance so I bought us tickets for Monday afternoon. The timing worked out perfectly – we were able to check in to our hotel room early, navigate the subway to SoHo successfully, get some lunch at City Winery, and then go to this fabulous pop up museum at 3:30.

You start with a group of 15 of so people but there are 16 different exhibits/rooms that you move through at your own pace. It was busy but not overly crowded and we were given mochi ice cream to try while we waited.

These strips of color paper hang in the lobby. They are stunning.

Each room is unique and full of . . . color! The exhibits encourage you to play and explore your relationship with color and consider how color influences your daily life. There are plenty of treats throughout the show, including these beautiful macarons.

It’s visually stunning and stimulating. We danced, we drew portraits (badly, I might add), we ate candy, we tossed helium balloons around, and we laughed.

Our favorite part, by far, was the giant ball pit! Dale, of course, plunged right in because he’s a big kid who has never lost his ability to play. Hannah and I were a bit squeamish for a second (all those balls and all those germs) but we only hesitated for a second or two and then we jumped in as well.

And then we played. And laughed. And took a whole bunch of fun photos.

It was the perfect start to our vacation!

Sometimes Mondays

April 22, 2019 By Carole

Are all about memories. Specifically, memories of a whirlwind trip to New York City.

Here’s a quick look at our vacation in 1.5 second snippets thanks to 1SE.

There will be more to share but for now just know that we had an utterly fabulous time!

Eye Candy Friday

April 12, 2019 By Carole

While the white amaryllis continues to bloom (I’m now on blossoms 3,4,5 & 6!), Rosalie is now also in bloom. I adore the pale pink petals and vibrant green center of this variety. It’s delicate and lovely and perfect for spring.

And speaking of spring . . . it’s spring break! Dale and Hannah are both off from school next week and I’m taking a few days off as well. We’ll be enjoying what I think is our first ever vacation with just the tree of us. New York City here we come! Our plans include Hamilton, To Kill a Mockingbird, the Tenement Museum, Color Factory and whatever else inspires us. I won’t be blogging but I encourage you to follow our adventures on Instagram if you’re so inclined.

I’ll be back before you know it!

Three On Thursday

April 11, 2019 By Carole

I’m truly enjoying Postcrossing and today I’m going to give you 3 reasons why I think you should give it a try.

But first, a photo of the 3 postcards I received on Tuesday because it’s the perfect segue into reason number 1:

You will receive gorgeous postcards. Just look at those! The tulips made me swoon and the note on the back is about Women’s Day in Russia and how tulips are everywhere. The one from Italy is full of fun facts about the country and the one with the embroidery is also from Russia and the sender loves to embroider. I have also received handmade postcards (not my favorite, I will admit), oversized postcards, pictures of scenery from all over the world, and lovely notes.
It gives you a good excuse to buy and collect postcards. When I signed up for Postcrossing I bought a pack of Greetings from Massachusetts postcards on Amazon but since then I have visited New York City as well as a few special areas of Massachusetts and I have had so much fun selecting and purchasing postcards with the thought of sending them to another country. Many postcrossers ask for specific types of photos and now that I am amassing a small collection it’s getting easier to match the postcards I have to the interests of the person I am sending them to. I’m also now getting my own collection of cards from other countries. My initial thought was to put them in a journal but then I realized I wouldn’t be able to enjoy both the picture on the front and the words on the back so I gave up on that idea. Right now I just have them in a stack on the bookcase in our den but I need another plan and I’m open to suggestions.
Your world view will grow in a quick and easy way. I’m not interested in having a pen pal or sending long letters to anyone but a postcard is so easy! The space is limited and there’s no commitment to extended communication with the person you send it to – it’s a one and done exchange. The return on sending a postcard, though, is that you will then get a postcard back and it will be from somewhere other than your own country. I have only received 8 postcards so far but I have learned about Germany, Russia, Hong Kong, Italy, Canada and the Netherlands. And when I say I have learned about those countries what I really mean is that I have learned a small thing about a person who lives there. I think that’s an incredible way to connect with another culture and to also see how much we truly all have in common. I have heard from crafters and readers, mothers and grandmothers, and I think it’s amazing that we have common interests.

I tried Postcrossing because of Kym and Margene and I’m hoping maybe my experience will inspire you to start, too.

If you wrote a post for today please include your link below and thanks, as always, for joining us.