For Sandy

A while back while browsing through the blogs I found that Sandy had posted about knitting a lovely scarf called Windrows fromFoxfire Fibers that she purchased at Rhinebeck.

I had purchased the same kit at Rhinebeck and was working on my scarf (well, muffler) and was happy to learn that her scarf was looking much like mine. That meant I was knitting it correctly. Or at least the same as Sandy was.

Anyway, Sandy posted a lovely self-portrait with scarf on her blog and I couldn't wait to finish mine, so I could post a duplicate self-portrait.

It's not as easy as it looks to take a picture of one's self.

However, just in time for the latest cold snap, I present Mary with Windrows.

That Little Scarf

Please excuse the dark pictures. I'm still figuring out my new camera. This is a project that I've been working on for several weeks now. It's That Little Scarf a pattern from Anne Hansen. I love it. It took awhile to get rolling on the pattern, but Vicki (the genius) suggested using stitch markers for the repeats on one of her lace projects and once I did that, the pattern made sense. It was like magic. Thanks Vicki!



I'm quite pleased with my progress. It is very satisfying to see the pattern emerge, row by row, and to get to the end of each row with the right amount of stitches for each one.



The yarn is Opulence from The Woolen Rabbit and it is the most luscious color of periwinkle blue. There's such depth to it, and it shows the pattern off well I think.

I can't wait to finish this and wear it!

Happy Valentine's Day

Bought these tulips last Sunday, because tulips make me happy. And they offer the hope of Spring!


"Keep your faith in beautiful things;
in the sun when it is hidden,
in the Spring when it is gone."
- Roy Gibson

B is for Belated

belated |biˈlātid| adjective coming or happening later than should have been the case : a belated apology. DERIVATIVES belatedly adverb belatedness noun ORIGIN early 17th cent.(in the sense [overtaken by darkness] ): past participle of obsolete belate [delay] (see be- , late ).


I thought belated was appropriate for my B entry in the ABC along, as I am behind schedule. Belated is something I am a lot of the time. I try so hard to stay on schedule, but then one thing will happen that slows me down slightly and then another thing will happen to push me further off my timeline and before I know it, I'm late again.

It used to frustrate me so much when I was knocked off schedule. In order to stay on time I had lists and precisely timed routes and a mantra I would repeat of "10 minutes for the grocery store, 15 minutes to get to ballet lessons, 20 minutes from there to the high school, and if there's no traffic, I'll be getting dinner started by 7." It was all thought out to the last minute. And woe to anyone who got in my way.

Overtaken by darkness.

I really liked this part of the definition, because that is exactly what it feels like if I get too far behind in my schedule. It happens less often these days as my time is more my own and I am not trying to keep to others' schedules.

But with age comes grace, hopefully, and I find I am more forgiving of my tendency to procrastinate. Now if I can learn to forgive myself for loving chocolate so much.

Next up: An easy scarf that is driving me nuts!

"It sifts from Leaden Sieves" Emily Dickinson

It sifts from Leaden Sieves —
It powders all the Wood.
It fills with Alabaster Wool
The Wrinkles of the Road —

It makes an Even Face
Of Mountain, and of Plain —
Unbroken Forehead from the East
Unto the East again —

It reaches to the Fence —
It wraps it Rail by Rail
Till it is lost in Fleeces —
It deals Celestial Vail



To Stump, and Stack — and Stem —
A Summer's empty Room —
Acres of Joints, where Harvests were,
Recordless, but for them—

It Ruffles Wrists of Posts
As Ankles of a Queen —
Then stills its Artisans — like Ghosts —
Denying they have been —



I have been taking a poetry appreciation class for a couple of years now through BCAE, Boston Community Adult Education. Many of the members of the class have been with the instructor for years. In the two years I've been in the group, we've studied Theodore Roethke, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Dylan Thomas, and now, Emily Dickinson.
I enjoy reading the poems and discussing them in a group, because everyone brings so much to the discussion. I learn far more than I ever would reading the poems on my own.




The Emily poem posted here seemed appropriate to me for this time of year. She certainly was familiar with Massachusetts winters, living in Amherst and leaving it only a couple of times in her life.

The language of the poem is so perfectly chosen to describe a snowstorm, and yet it enhances the description of snow as well. I find it lovely.

There are two versions of this poem. The one below is the one she submitted for publication. You might find other versions in older publications, as she would often have other words written out to the side of the poems. One version has Juggler's Flowers instead of Figures.

Here is the second version:

It sifts from Leaden Sieves -
It powders all the Wood -
It fills with Alabaster Wool
The Wrinkles of the Road -

It scatters like the Birds -
Condenses like a Flock -
Like Juggler's Figures situates
Upon a baseless Arc -

It traverses yet halts -
Disperses as it stays -
Then curls itself in Capricorn -
Denying that it was -

These are some photos that I took during the last big storm and the one of the footprints through my backyard was from last Sunday.

Happy 3rd annual silent poetry reading day!