SOME DAYS

Only you can 
control your future.

~ Dr.Seuss

 Some days, some hours
and even some minutes
are hard,

and when my world becomes
a little too much for me to
handle I step back, exhale,
and try to find the quiet.

 I walk my land
and soak in all
the goodness that
surrounds me.

My Mike celebrated his
53rd trip round the sun
this past weekend. With
the passing of his mama
his days have been hard,
but he always manages
to smile.

I baked his favorite
cake, German Chocolate,
from scratch that I only
bake once a year.

 While Mike had lawyerly stuff
to do in town I slipped away and
spent a few hours at my LYS,

 And now have a new pair of
socks on the needles,

 and yarn for another pair.
Andi, I found pink yarn ;)

 I've spent some time playing
with the camera and trying
to capture Miss Bette Davis's
eyes, aren't they pretty?

My sweet Twinkie even
had a few photos taken.

 I have so much to learn about
the photography thing, but it's
fun practicing each day.

My daughter Erin, son in love John,
and my favorite girl Emerson are in
Barcelona, Spain for spring break,
staying on a boat and taking in the
sights, I love this photo so much
and wanted to share it with you.

Have a most beautiful weekend my
friends,

Much love,
Tracey
XO

GRATEFUL

"If you must look back, do so forgivingly.
If you must look forward, do so prayerfully.
However, the wisest thing you can do is be
present in the present...gratefully."

~ Maya Angelou.

 Now that the rain has moved on
we are starting to slowly dry out,

and it is fun seeing all the
mushrooms that are springing
up.

 The drive is still a wee
bit soggy, but the sun
is shining and I have
managed to get my walk
in each day.

 I have a plan for when I
'must' visit the market and
that is to try at least one new
thing. I get tired of eating/
drinking the same thing over
and over, I need to try new
foods, it helps keep my world
interesting. This week I tried Suja
Juice and have plans to buy
more, it was quite good. Have
you tried it?

 Along with celebrating Veterans
Day, this week was also the 240th
birthday of the Marine Corp.
Since I am the daughter of a
career Marine and live in a
town that trains recruits this
was a really big deal in my world.
I am so grateful to all the service
members for their sacrifice.

 It was a great mail week,
I received a package of
handmade bookmarks
after winning a giveaway
hosted by A butterfly in my hair.
Thank you so much V, I love them.

I am finally finished with
my chunky [cheater:Karen;)]
knitting, I had a few requests
for chunky knits, but I am
now thrilled to be knitting
with needles that don't feel
like logs in my hands.

Emerson had her 2nd grade school
photos taken and I will admit to a
few tears, she is so beautiful and getting
so big!

Enjoy the most wonderful weekend
my friends. We are going from a
high today of 80F to 63F and maybe
I will see the first frost of the season,
fingers crossed.

Much love,
Tracey
XO

APPROPRIATE FOR MY SOUL

I let go. I accept my life as it is. I do not judge,
I do not dramatize. I let life's events come freely
and I welcome the lessons they convey. I stop
struggling now. I let go and know that God
always gives me that which is the most
appropriate for my soul.

~ Pinterest

I was thrilled to turn the calendar
this morning, October...Yes!
Right now the rain is falling and
the Weather Channel is predicting
epic flooding, but there is nothing
I can accomplish by worrying so
I'm not.

My week has been filled with foggy
mornings, spider webs decorating the
sides of the road where I walk, mushrooms
springing up everywhere, I love the red
ones, but the chanterelles  we can eat! Missing
the eclipse due to clouds [every single time],
marveling at how high the tide has been,
very unusual.

I've given up trying to keep Miss Bette
Davis Cat off my bed, every time I look
she is stretched out on my side. Can a
cat be trained? I am at a loss.

I have been busy in the kitchen, baking
soothes my soul just as much as knitting
does. Apple hand pies were enjoyed, as
was a lemon-blueberry jam cake. I found
myself enjoying these treats right along
with my guys and then woke up the other
morning feeling terrible, I just can't eat
sweet treats like this and feel good.
Now I am back on my plan and today
feeling much better.

Enjoy your weekend, I will be trying
to stay dry and knitting! :)
Much love,
Tracey
XO

Lemon-Blueberry Jam Cake

Your favorite yellow cake batter
[I use the Sunshine cake recipe from
a 1950's Better Homes & Garden
cookbook]

Jam of your choice
[I used some homemade blueberry-
lemon honey jam, about 1/3 cup]

Spoon jam around batter of cake and
gentle swirl. Bake

Top with confectioner's sugar mixed
with the juice of one big lemon.

MAKING EACH DAY COUNT

Make today count,
you'll never get it
back.

                                                             {Photo Credit: Erin, Emerson's mommy]

Well, it's now the middle of August
and I am noticing a slight change
in the temperature, the light, the
smell in the air, and while it's still
warm outside I can feel autumn in
the not so distant future, I'm ready!

This week I've spent getting ready for
the new school year, my last! I had
planned to begin formal lessons after
Labor Day, but Alex is excited to begin
so begin we will. I think we are in for
a fun year, but I am not looking forward
to Linear Algebra; mathematics is 
a subject I was not wired for ;)and
it's kind of hard being a beach bum 
when papers need to be written.

My dishcloth knitting is moving right
along, cast on 44 stitches, garter stitch
for 9 inches, bind off, simple and easy.

I won a giveaway and you can too. 
Wacoal Bras is giving away 30
$80.00 gift cards each week until
December.  Check it out, you can
enter once a day.

My kitchen is beginning to see
a little more activity which makes
my guys very happy. I have been
on a yogurt kick and have made
it twice this week and I even turned
my oven on and baked blueberry
muffins.

My fall garden spot has been disked
so I am hoping to get my hands 
dirty this weekend. It will be me
against the deer and squirrels, but
I have high hopes.

I gave up reading The Vacationers,
thank you for agreeing, and found
a new book that looks pretty promising,
I will keep you posted.

The best thing this week was a phone
call from my daughter and getting to
talk with Emerson. The Army finally
has them a place to live so they will
be moving out of the hotel and into
an apartment this weekend. Next week
when they get internet set up we will
finally be able to Skype which will
ease my heart some. I got a great photo
of Emerson at the grocery store.
They sell yarn at the grocery stores
in Germany? American markets should
take some tips! 

Happy weekending my friends.

Love,
Tracey
XO

PLEASE SLOW DOWN

'Time has a way of showing
us what really matters."

I do wish my days, my LIFE would
slow down a wee bit because while
I always try to be present, it is going
by too fast!

Thank you for all the comments to
my last post, Emerson was thrilled
to be in this space and to learn to
knit.  I hope when she is in Germany
she keeps it up.

Besides time with yarn and sticks,
we have been busy putting together
puzzles, reading and painting numerous
masterpieces to hang on my walls.

I did some playing in the kitchen
and prepared quinoa patties with
lots of garlic, broccoli and cheddar
cheese, oh my

My bread came out okay, but it really
must be toasted, and toasted well or
it has a funny texture. I have been
eating it along with my smoothie
in the mornings and it does help
keep me full until lunch.

The heat and humidity remain a constant
here, along with huge thunderstorms
every afternoon. I am ready for winter!

I finished the hat I was test knitting
for Ginny and today cast on a newborn
hat in the same pattern. This hat will
be donated, along with some other
items, to my local women's shelter.
Right now it's warm, but before long
winter will be here and most often
women and children arrive at the shelter
with just the clothes they are wearing.
Every little item helps.

Porter is now two months old!

On Saturday my baby Alex will turn 18
and as a special treat he, along with my
daughter, son in love and Emerson left
at 3:00 a.m. and are now in NYC for a
few days to play tourists.  While I already
miss them all I know they are having a
grand time.  Emerson took her knitting
basket along!

Do you have special plans for the
weekend? On Saturday I will
have Porter here again for the day
and then on Sunday Mike and I hope
to be on the beach at sunrise; the logger-
head turtles are hatching and we would
like to witness the miracle.

Much love,
Tracey
XO