The Fabertids Come To Town!

A pictorial summary of a wonderful visit from the Fabertids (and the Faber-adults, too)!

The Autumnal Equinox (belated)

Last week was the Autumnal Equinox, the point where the number of daylight and nighttime hours are exactly equal. It just so happened that the Harvest Moon also occurred on the same day (a fairly rare thing). If I were still living in Connecticut I would have gone for a walk out at Bluff Point or Barn Island. But since I live in Savannah, I decided to take a leisurely stroll around Forsyth Park and see what autumn looked like. As I walked, this little haiku bounced around in my head:

Today the daylight

is just as long as the dark

A change of season

I loved the soft, feathery look of this dune grass bloom against the linear blades.

Prep work was in progress for the weekend's 29th Annual Savannah Jazz Festival.


I have no idea what kind of tree this is, but the lantern-like seed pods were so pretty.


The setting sun cast this lovely pink glow in the Spanish Moss.

And, of course, there was the moon. The full, swollen, glorious, bright and full moon. I know the photo doesn't show the same clarity I had when I was viewing it, but you still get the idea. The smaller, bright dot just below the moon was Jupiter, the second brightest heavenly body that night.

Doing Fun Stuff in Savannah

It's been a fun and busy weekend here in Savannah! On Thursday night SCAD presented "Back to the Future" in Forsyth Park and on Friday night they showed "Up." They put a huge inflatable screen inside the bandshell and set up speakers around the green. Overall it was well done, but I certainly missed the orderly aisles that Wilcox Park arranged. Maybe next time they'll make an effort to leave walking areas open so you don't have to climb over people.

Saturday was the Annual Sidewalk Festival. I don't remember why, but I missed it last year. So this year I was sure to walk around and enjoy the awesome drawings. I brought Harley and she was surprisingly well behaved considering how many other dogs were around. Below are some of my favorite entries for your viewing pleasure (I would have taken more pictures, but my batteries have a habit of dying at inopportune times...).

Random Mid-November Updates

So what do you do when you realize that there is a new yarn shop in town that you're dying to visit but you already have an insane stash of yarn?


First, frantically start planning quick, simple projects that will eat up huge chunks of the stash. Current ideas include very long striped scarves and simple shrugs.


Second, you use your new friend's novice-crafter status as a perfect excuse to visit aforementioned yarn shop, but pinkie swear not to buy anything! I absolutely LOVED walking into Unwind! It reminded me very much of KnitWits in Westerly, which I dearly miss. The layout and displays were tasteful and inspiring and the selections were just delicious.


Most exciting, and most dangerous, is the fact that Unwind carries both Galway and Cascade, two of my favorite wools! Must....ration.....purchases........





I am still trying to adjust to the fact that it is the middle of November and there are plants that not only still have green leaves, but are in fact blooming! There are several rose bushes that have new flowers on them as well as these beautiful azaleas. It just feels...wrong. How am I supposed to get into the holiday mood when it looks and feels like spring?



On a somewhat unrelated note, if I haven't mentioned it yet, I'll tell you now: I've started working out again. For the past three weeks I have been doing Windsor Pilates six days a week, and I'm loving it! I have so much more energy now and just feel better overall, physically and mentally. In order to accommodate a morning workout (which is easier to stick to, since I often have evening classes to teach), I've also been working on getting up a little earlier each day. Much to my surprise, I actually enjoy starting my morning walk before the sun is peeking out from behind the horizon, and getting to hear the birds waking up as Harley and I circle the park to warm up before hitting the mat.
I thought I would struggle with these adjustments, but that's not the case at all. And a pleasant, though completely unexpected, benefit has been a sense of gratitude that seems to break on me with the dawning sun and stay with me throughout my hectic days. I am starting to feel like life is not just richer, but also fuller, than I've ever known it to be. Who knew?

What did your last weekend in October look like?

As I may have mentioned to some of you, last week was national Protect Your Identity Week. I planned three community shred events and felt that, overall, they went really well. It was a learning experience for me, since I hadn't done anything on this scale before. Luckily we had wonderful weather all three days, and decent turnouts for the events in Savannah (South Carolina was a disappointment in attendance, but the guys from Advanced Document Shredding and the Port Royal Police Department were good sports).
Speaking of wonderful weather, this past weekend felt more like August than the end of October! Sunday was so perfect that Harley and I grabbed a blanket and laid out in Forsyth for a while. We got there just in time to watch folks pack up from the Jewish Food Festival, Shalom ya'll. What a great name!

An ant's-eye view of the live oaks with draping spanish moss. It felt so good to just be outside and relaxing: this kind of day was made for jeans, t-shirts and barefeet in the grass.

For my friends in the chilly northern climates, I can almost guarantee that you do not have morning glory blooms right now. Yet, here in sunny Savannah, they look as fresh as the first of spring.

Attack of the Incredibly Cute Craft Projects!

Consider yourself fore-warned: I have been working on several VERY cute projects lately.

My first attempt from the awesome book "Amigurumi Knits" was a simple starfish. I didn't use the Cascade Yarn that was suggested (mainly because I didn't have any and cannot buy yarn until I use/trade some of the current stash) so I knit the starfish with some worsted, homespun from Mom's stash. It was a lot easier than I expected, and I learned three new techniques. In my world, that means the book already paid for itself!

While I was visiting with the Dover's I started knitting this little garlic. The first chapter in the book is stuff from the garden, and I did have some off-white Plymouth wool left over from the candy corn slippers, so tah-dah!

As fun as the starfish was, and as cute as the garlic is, I was ready to move onto an Intermediate level project: the Octopus. I am SO excited with how he turned out!! I put pipe cleaners in the legs to make them pose-able and learned a few more new techniques. What I like most is that he looks like a real octopus, not a cartoon version.

I think what got me started on the idea of mini-knits, were these adorable mini sweater patterns that I found last year. I wanted to make them for Christmas ornaments, but never got a chance. Maybe this year...

I also finally tapped into the stash of patterns and designer upholstery fabric that I bought last fall when the Fabric Place was going out of business. Here is a purse I made using a pattern by Hillary Duff (don't laugh, it is a pretty respectable pattern).

I was beginning to think that maybe I had missed the Crepe Myrtle blooming. Maybe they bloomed in February before I moved down here? Nope, they are in full glory now! I was especially excited to see a bunch of honey bees buzzing around the flowers.

One very busy Saturday

Saturday, April 18, 2009

1:14 AM - Wake up to the cell phone ringing. Panic with the expectation that no good news comes at 1:14 AM. Get very frustrated when the called ID shows Ian's number but no one is on the line. Go back to sleep.

6:48 AM - Finally drag myself out of bed.

6:52 AM - Convince Harley that she must go potty in the backyard. Feel very guilty when she looks disappointed that we aren't taking our morning walk.

7:12 AM - Inhale an egg and cheese sandwich and hope I have enough time to digest before I start the 5K.

7:32 AM - Answer the phone. Find out that the 1:14 AM call was Pumpkin stepping on Ian's phone. Curse the furry devil and thank my lucky stars that Harley is so sweet.

7:42 AM - Head out the door to the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure!

8:18 AM - Start the race!

8:54 AM - Cross the finish line in 36 minutes and 8 seconds! If I remember correctly, that's almost 10 minutes better than the Penguin Run/Walk in October!

After the race I did some grocery shopping and picked up a few essentials at Target. Then I walked over to Forsyth Park for the Earth Day Celebration. There were a bunch of interesting booths and vendors. I enjoyed a very yummy cherry Italian ice and picked up some informational brochures (neighbor gardens, kayaking, emergency response training).

A walking recycle bin. Savannah just recently began curbside recycling within the city limits (yippie!). Now we're working to extend the program to the rural areas.

I'm not quite sure if "Mr. Nas T Butts" is supposed to discourage people from smoking or just from throwing their butts on the ground... There was also a walking toilet, I think to encourage folks to check for leaky faucets...

It's not as charming as the labyrinth on Block Island, but it was still heartening to see this children's labyrinth on the lawn. On my way home I stopped by Brighter Day to pick up some Quorn for lunch this week. Yum!

No busy day would be complete without some relaxing time spent in the garden. It's not much to look at (yet) but this little patch will hopefully fill out as the weather warms. Most of the various items that create the border were unearthed while I was turning over the soil: I found whole glass bottles, metal pipes, iron stakes, bricks and stones and lots of broken glass. I planted two types of tomatoes (sweet 100 cherry hybrids and some type of larger, sandwich sized ones), red peppers, green squash, basil, parsley, and chives. Behind the garden, close to the fence, I planted 5 different types of sunflowers in the hopes of having a wall of flowers to attract butterflies and humming birds.

Inside the fence I planted Gladiolus and Caladium bulbs in these awesome Mexican pots that I got for $5 each from Well Traveled Imports. Because the back yard is in shade most of the day, there is very little ground cover. I am trying to transplant a bunch of the ivy from the side of the house to the ground around my pots. This will hopefully prevent the soil from turning to mud every time it rains. Like most gardening adventures, I'll have to wait and see!