Month: September 2023

a fool-proof plum cake, a new audiobook, and my falcon’s shawl

I love Marin in September. The mornings slowly get darker and the air crisper, but the afternoons are still warm. Late summer fruits and vegetables are also at their peak and their fall successors are getting ready to be harvested — just look at the grapes I spotted in my neighbor’s front yard on a recent walk! (It was so hard not to take one and try it. I didn’t. I couldn’t.) After admiring my neighbor’s gorgeous grapes, a couple more minutes into my walk, I saw a plum tree growing on the side of the road. This is the main road that leads to downtown. The tree was full of plums, and this time I couldn’t resist the urge to taste one. The tree was so full of fruit that the branches were hanging a bit low. This tree wasn’t planted in anyone’s yard, it was planted outside a fence on a hill that seemed like public land, at least that’s what I hoped! So I ignored the cars driving past me and what …

westknits 2023 mystery shawl kal launches tomorrow! are you ready?

I never imagined I’d be considering joining my second WestKnits mystery shawl knit along, but I am! This year’s pattern is called the Geogradient and as usual, the goal is to knit the shawl in a period of four weeks in the month of October — that is if we can keep up with all the speedy knitters out there! I still don’t know if I will buy my yarn locally, or order one of the kits that will be on sale starting tomorrow morning. Last year was my first-ever MKAL, which I knit using very bright pink colors. This year I’m leaning towards blues and greens, but the pinks have a way of calling my name! (I’m looking at you, “Flamingo” & “Miracle” gradients! 🤩) One of my favorite kits going on sale tomorrow is the “Wave Gradient” shown below. Aren’t those blues gorgeous? Blue is a super safe color, I think, especially for me, since you’ll often find me wearing jeans and white tops. But doesn’t everything go well with jeans and white? Green …