Friday, November 23, 2018

I didn't buy a single thing

If you tackled Black Friday shopping, more power to ya. The only time I left the property was when I rode Lance down the gravel road late this afternoon when it stopped raining. I had leftovers (spicy roasted sweet potatoes and a crescent roll) for late breakfast, leftover apple pie (from my MIL, sweetened with apple juice concentrate) for late lunch; the most productive I got was making a late lunch for three guys (Brian had a friend over to target-shoot) and knitting on this:

I haven't knit anything in months, and it feels good to have something on the needles again. This is practically dessert-knitting. Bunny-soft acrylic yarn in pretty periwinkle is becoming an Owl Hat for the co-worker who bought the pattern last year so I could knit it for her. She was going to choose yarn she liked but never did; I sure hope she likes this! However, another co-worker saw and loved the pattern, bought some yarn, and I knit her two Owl Hats from the skein – one for her and one for her granddaughter. She told me she wore it on her daily walks last winter; unfortunately, she didn't live to utilize it another cold season:

Speaking of co-workers past and present, the artist below is one of the former. On Monday we went as a group from the office to see her latest show, and I may have ordered a couple signed prints. But that was on Monday, not Black Friday. ;-)

The show at home is winding down after three days of wind and rain:

(You can see the same scene in earlier posts if you scroll down.) That Japanese maple on the right, in front of the house, is much more multi-colored than that photo shows. Here is a close-up that shows it better:

It is too big for that spot now, the root stock sending up multiple fast-growing trunks after the grafted top was broken off years ago. Rick wants to rip it out but I can't bear to lose this seasonal show; I keep pruning it but you can't tell. Sigh....

On my ride this afternoon, the sun came out and highlighted a distant blueberry field and golden trees (sucky iPhone distance shot, and a better one of a closer subject).


Time for a hot drink and some more knitting. Have a great weekend!

That's it for now from . . .

8 comments:

Michelle said...

Remembering to leave the first comment this time.

Fiberjoy said...

Your day sounds just right. The calm before a very busy month.

Leigh said...

Sounds like the perfect day, Michelle, not the least bit black at all! I was out of Chaffhaye so I had to go to the feed store. Lo and behold, they were having a Black Friday sale too! Both parking areas were packed with pick-ups and trailers, and people were parking along the road to wait to get a place. I couldn't believe it. People were buying minerals and feed by the pallet-load. Then there was a very long wait before they could load me because there were so many orders to fill. The Chaffhaye wasn't on sale, but I got some excellent prices on chicken feed, scratch, and sunflower seeds. Worth the wait I suppose, but I'll plan better next year. Aldi, on the other hand, was practically empty.

Theresa said...

I stayed home too, did one small gift purchase on Etsy and worked on some weaving. I am so far behind...
I'm sorry your friend won't be enjoying her hat again this year. Hugs. Hopefully it will keep another head warm and filled with sweet memories.
Today though is small business Saturday and I do turn out for some of our local stores.
My favorite of course, the Web-sters, but there are a couple of others too.

Florida Farm Girl said...

Your landscape looks pretty much like ours, but you have more green. Wind blew like crazy yesterday and last night and our trees are nearing bare. We have a red umbrella shaped Japanese maple that is planted in the wrong place and it keeps encroaching onto the stairs. DH wants to rip it out too but I keep refusing. Glad you had a good day yesterday. I joined you in NO SHOPPING at all. I don't care for shopping on a good day and won't face that kind of barrage to do it.

Michelle said...

Wanda, I should probably feel guilty for doing so little, as Friday is usually my housecleaning day, but I don't!

Leigh, our local chain feed store was having Black Friday sales but there was nothing I needed bad enough to brave the crowds. Glad you picked up some good deals, though!

Theresa, I don't shop on Saturdays, so more money saved! Hope you scored some prizes, though.

FFG, if you have the equipment Japanese maples tolerate transplanting well; our biggest one in the island bed was transplanted when we built our house. But this one would probably necessitate removing the sidewalk....

Jeanne said...

I'm with you! I don't like to shop on Black Friday - or Cyber Monday either, for that matter! It's just too crazy!!

I too, love Japanese Maples, also Sweet Gums. When we moved here, my sister gave us a little twig of a Lace Leaf Maple, about two feet tall. You ought to see it now, after 24 years! It's HUGE! But as you know, they don't get the lovely varied colors that yours has. It's just a dark red.

Where can I find that hat pattern?? I'm sure our daughter would love to knit that! I'm sorry about your friend...

Michelle said...

Jeannie, I have several varieties of Japanese maple and the "broken one" has the most amazing variegation! I posted a link to the hat pattern on Ravelry in the comments of the post titled "I'm soft."