Thankfulness

A coworker left these beautiful orange persimmons on my desk. I'm grateful to have such good friends.

My New Apron

Aprons are generally associated with women's work - I view the apron as a woman's version of the work shirt. Women traditionally have donned aprons when doing all manners of work - cooking, cleaning, gardening, hanging out the laundry....I wear mine proudly as I do the work I enjoy...and it keeps the stains from my "good" clothes....

Roanoke Warehouses, etc.

I pass this building each morning on my way to work. Tucked close to the bridge crossing over the reailroad tracks , this vacant stable is likely not seen by most.


I hope to stop by another day for more photos but for now this grainy photo looking into the stables will do.

One of the many barred over windows...


Also along the railroad less than half a mile away, the vacant warehouse of a Roanoke based department story lost to the big boxes still stands.

A little further away on my drive home I spot this apple warehouse - again alongside the railroads so important to Roanoke's early development. In the new year I plan to be a diligent student of photography and think exploration of the warehouses dotted the railroad landscape will make an interesting study.

Apron swap

I learned to sew about the same time I learned to knit. My first project was a sack dress I sewed by hand for a 4-H project in the 4th grade. A few years later I received a sewing machine and I have sewn simple projects ever since. One of my daily reads is the blog down to earth. The beautiful author of this blog discusses simple, mindful living and the joy of finding pride in everyday household responsibilities. This month she coordinated an apron swap and guess what - I was paired up with a fellow vegetarian who is also strives toward veganism! Anyway, today is the deadline for posting the aprons and here's mine- If you're interested in the pattern go here...


Along with the apron I included a knitted dishcloth I made from cotton string used to tie together the linen bundles at the hospital where I work. One of the housekeepers found a bag of this string beside one of the linen bins and I am having great fun tying the string together and knitting up dishcloths. I'm taking pictures of the dishcloths posing with the many pieces of hospital memorabilia I've acquired over the years. I love forward to hearing her response and seeing the other aprons as pictures are posted.
Yes, I am exercising - mostly riding my exercise bike for 30 minutes each day and taking the stairs at work...there is also the annual charity 5k I plan to run next weekend.

Along the Way...

Late Autumn colors....

24 Hour Rule

I once worked with someone who told me about the 24 hour rule - simply put - when dealing with the emotions surrounding a personal event that did not turn out as you wanted give yourself 24 hours to dwell in your sadness and despair - after the 24 hours pass you then need to reconfigure your plans. I'm on about hour 18 dealing with a professional disappointment...

Knitting and Exploring Staunton Va

I spent last weekend in beautiful foggy, cold Staunton Virginia attending a two day knitting workshop with the my knitting idol Annie Modesitt. Even though I live less than two hours south of Staunton and attended college "just across the mountain" I never explored the town. Grand, old churches are scattered around the perimeter of the charming downtown area...

During my walk to the yarn shop I spotted this local diner and just had to snap a photo...
On the Lamb occupies the downstairs of a wonderfully rustic home - Joe, the owner, lives upstairs....oh, to be so close to all that beautiful yarn....

Continuing on my walk .....Autumn leaves sprinkled with dew ....

Close up of tile work depicting a....

Coca-Cola bottle....

Chicken statuary.....

Oh, yeah, I learned how to work with mitered squares.....

And a challenging backyard leaves scarf....

Another grand brick home....

More autumn leaves....

Love the striped awning at the American Red Cross office....

Local caterer that did a great job of putting together box lunched for the group both days..... I had free time in the evening to explore dinner options. Friday night I had dinner at L'Italia - situated in a multistory house I walked up and up and up to a lovely dining room complete with a fireplace and pepper mills on the table (I love fresh coarsely ground pepper). I dined on a salad of baby greens, gorgonzola,pears, walnuts and grape tomatoes with a tangy raspberry vinaigrette. The eggplant parmigiana was thinly sliced with a fresh, simple tomato sauce. Tasty but not spectacular......Oh, my Saturday night - Staunton Grocery was recommended to me by one of the local knitters at the shop, my, oh my! After a challenging day of knitting I was ready for a good leisurely meal. Completely accommodating to my vegetarian style, I feasted on a baby beet salad and house made fettuccine with wild mushrooms, broccoli rabe and meyer lemon comfit. Portions were tiny and exquisitely presented....certainly one of the absolute best and most expensive vegetarian meals I've ever had! Yum - I will return........yes, I walked a lot while in Staunton to and from the yarn shop both days and to the dinner restaurants both nights....