Tag: challenge

Travel

Red Redux

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cake frosted like the Swiss flag with the German greeting beautiful 1 August

On the eve of Swiss National Day and as a final post in BeckyB’s #SimplyRed Squares challenge, I am reposting a picture of what I am sure was a delectable, delicious holiday treat.  My Swiss cousin Franz sent this in greeting on August 1, 2023, along with his warm regards following his family’s visit to Wisconsin. 

It has been a colorful #SimplyRed July and I am looking forward to Becky’s next Squares challenge.

And, just in time for tomorrow – Happy Swiss National Day! Or, more Appropriately- Alles Gute zum Schweizer Nationalfeiertag!

Gardening

First picking

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small basket filled with cherry tomatoes with a sprig of basil

This handful of just harvested summer favor will be perfect for personal pan pizzas enjoyed on the porch tonight. The challenge when picking these Sweet Hearts of the Patio, is to keep enough for toppings as they go easily from plant to hand to taste buds.

Another celebration of #SimplyRed Squares with BeckyB.

Travel

Jardin botanique de Montréal

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red and white rose with greenery in the background

Whether following a frenetic F1 race weekend or simply enjoying several days of international sightseeing, the Jardin botanique de Montréal is always on my itinerary when visiting this beautiful city.

With dozens of thematic gardens showcasing everything from fragile alpine flowers to monastic medicinal plants even including an opportunity to discovery Indigenous knowledge in the First Nations Garden, the colors and fragrances are ever changing. A stroll through the rose garden offers riotous hues as displayed by this variegated beauty; perfect for this week’s #SimplyRed Squares contribution. The Jardin botanique de Montréal Rose Garden was created in 1976 to mark the Olympic Games and features over 7,000 roses, representing more than 900 species and cultivars.

Check out the #SimplyRed offerings from BeckyB and others participating in this Squares challenge.

Knitting

Simply Red

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handknit red sweater with front cable design hanging from a purple ribbon

A swift scroll through years of digital photos revealed a varied selection of pictures suitable for this month’s square challenge #SimplyRed! (Not to be confused with the former English soul and pop band of the same name.)

Becky B. hosts this quarterly themed challenge. While participants are encouraged to post daily, the only real requirement for this fun blogging exercise is that the themed photo must be square. Her previous themes ranged from BrightSquares to GeometricJanuary to TreeSquares. With five Tuesdays, I have set a weekly goal for #SimplyRed! and, as this is mostly a knitting journal, I will start by highlighting a sweater knit for a new great-great nephew.

Featuring my favorite design element – cables, the Waterfall pattern by Marie Greene, offers assorted sizes from newborn (0-6 months) to seven years. Knowing little ones grow quickly, I hope this size 2-4 might keep our new great-great nephew warm on future chilly Indiana days. Knit in his older brother’s favorite color, red, the yarn is a blend of cotton, bamboo, and silk which knits up nicely with the advantage of being machine washable for busy parents.

#SimplyRed!

New House

Stairs: A bane of elder life

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Geometric January: Square Challenge #5

Through the efficiency of eSignatures, we signed with a realtor last week making it official that we are house hunting. This final GeometricJanuary post reveals just one of the barriers necessitating this life changing move from our multi-story, 100-year-old house to a step-free environment, boasting all the modern-day amenities on one floor. The turning parquet stairs with four angular steps to-and-from the back door is the shortest of the house’s staircases. While geometrically appealing, these steps are, at times, difficult to maneuver. In addition, there are other interior steps between some of the rooms and the exterior approach up the berm to the front door has two runs of steps. The quirks of our old house on a small lot with insufficient space to ramp would provide a significant challenge even for This Old House thus making our decision to move the reasonable choice.

A shout of appreciation to BeckyB for hosting this month’s photo challenge featuring square geometric images. I am looking forward to her next quarterly square challenge.

Other items of interest

Geometric Lines: Niagara’s Rigging

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looking skyward up a main mast into the rigging of a tall ship

Geometric January: Square Challenge #4

Sailing terminology is a coded mystery when one has only sailed twice (once on Lake Pepin and once on Tampa Bay with the St. Petersburg skyline in constant view). At first glance the rigging of the S.S.V. Niagara resembles an M.C. Escher lithograph – a tangled maze of confusion. But, when touring this tall ship in the Duluth harbor, we were assured that each Coast Guard trainee understood the complexity of the interconnecting boom, mast, and line.

Another offering for BeckyB’s GeometricJanuary square challenge. Here is the S.S.V. Niagara (Sailing School Vessel) as part of the tall ship regatta in July 2013.

Other items of interest · Travel

Geometric Secrets in King’s Chapel

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stacks of gray slate roof tiles set against old stone wall

Geometric January: Square Challenge #3

Access to otherwise restricted areas is an advantage of sightseeing in a large, organized group. During the 2018 pilgrimage to Massachusetts, our time in King’s Chapel was not limited to the sanctuary. While that beautiful space is so full of history as to be a worthy destination all by itself, our talented guide gave us more. In the bell tower we touched the last bell ever cast and hung by Paul Revere. And, we ventured into the crypt where family names of the historically prominent were carved in the lintels. It was there that I snapped this photo for today’s GeometricJanuary challenge hosted by BeckyB revealing a supply of somewhat dusty slate roof tiles safely tucked away for future repairs.

Other items of interest · Travel

Travel Memories: Geometric Art in Switzerland

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artistic colorful posts set against a forest background with tarmac road in foreground

Geometric January: Square Challenge #2

On a gray day amidst sporadic rain showers, a flash of color appeared as we traveled up the Bürgenstock for late afternoon hot chocolate and delectable desserts while overlooking Lake Lucerne at the Bürgenstock Resort.

Visits from Swiss cousins in July and October led to reminiscing about that earlier grand tour to Amsterdam, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. Their arrival brought a bit of international flair even as a trek to Holcombe, Wisconsin for Thanksgiving was our furthest away destination in 2024. That 2018 adventure is the source of this second GeometricJanuary square as I join BeckyB for a month of geometry with the thematic requirement that the header photo must be a square.

Photo details: Bürgenstock Resort, Canton of Nidwalden, Switzerland, September 2, 2018.

Knitting · Travel

Swiss Holiday Mail and Fiber Arts Inspiration

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handpainted holiday images on card and envelope with Swiss postage stamps

Mail arrived from Switzerland just as Knit Camp’s virtual Traveler’s Club begins its three-month (January – March) exploration of Swiss fiber arts. The beautiful, handcrafted card offered family news, as well as memories from the summer of 2023 and time spent with Kuster cousins. This holiday greeting will serve as inspiration when I stash dive for yarn to knit this month’s themed pattern, the Interlaken Headband which features interlocking two-color mosaic stitches, just like the lakes for which the design is named.

Plus, the hand painted Christmas imagery also qualifies for this month’s geometric squares with BeckyB!

Happy Knitting! Or, more appropriately, Viel Spaß beim Stricken!