Homemade 4/52

Strawberries are in season, so this past week I decided to make my first attempt at homemade jam. I was supprised by how well it went and that all of my jars sealed on the first attempt.

Jam is deceivingly simple: fruit, sugar, pectin and a little water boiled up into deliciousness. If I were to do this again though, I might add more pectin than 1 packet as the jam is a little thinner than I was expecting.

And of course when I had completed the canning process, I had to snap a picture. I just love mason jars!

Blue Mountain 3/52

On the way back from North Carolina, hubby and I took a detour to drive a section of the beautiful Blue Mountain Parkway in Virginia. Although it made our drive back long, it was well worth it for the stunning views!

Relaxing 2/52

Despite being on vacation last week, I took very few photographs and did not blog at all. We visited friends in North Carolina last weekend and I snapped this one of their dog, relaxing while we all enjoyed catching up.

52 Weeks in Photographs: My Morning Ritual 1/52

I love the idea of the 365 days in photographs that I have seen on many blogs as a way to improve your photography skills and look for creative subjects. Perhaps my photo foray to Tyler Arboretum this weekend has inspired me. However, I know that a photograph every day is just not feasible for me. On my days off this is not a problem, but I work 12+ hour shifts and on those days it is tough to muster enough energy to feed myself, let alone find a suitable photography subject.

It then dawned on me that I might have an alternative that would serve the same purpose, but not be quite as time consuming and demanding.

What if I did one photograph per week? This would give me flexibility to shoot on my days off, but still give me the benefits of improving my skills.

So here is the first of what I hope will be a year in pictures.

I thought I would start off with one of my favorite times of day: my morning cup of coffee. I love coffee, and having a cup in the morning is in my opinion the best part of the day. I love the smell, the taste, the caffeine. I am both a coffee snob and a coffee junkie. I prefer freshly ground whole bean, and luckily have a machine that does all the steps for me (grind, brew). But given a tight spot, I will drink almost any coffee.

Spring Photo Foray

Yesterday was the Spring Photo Foray at Tyler Arboretum. I thought I would share a few of my photos with you. It was nice to be out with others who linger to get a good shot. The hubby doesn't appreciate it in the same way.

Its often hard to believe such a beautiful place is right around the corner!

In preparation for summer....

I have started Lotus Blossom Tank, a pattern from The Best of Interweave Knits: Our Favorite Designs from the First Ten Years .

I am using yarn I bought from my LYS, Slip Knot that I got on sale and couldn't pass up. It is Cliche by Artful Yarns.

I only have 7 skeins of the yarn, and after completing almost 1 repeat, I am a little worried it may not be enough. A Ravelry search for yardage used by other knitters put me at ease a bit, but I am also planning to do the modifications described by Licketyknit, which includes adding lace repeats and length to the stockinette portion.

We will see. I am hoping the switch after Row 9 to smaller needles will eat up less yarn.