Author: aaronknits

Good morning and happy Monday! Yes, happy Monday. It is possible.

It has been a rough couple of weeks as I dealt with my seemingly seasonal insomnia. As the days get longer, I have trouble getting to sleep at night and staying asleep early in the morning as it starts to get light and birds start singing. I hit my breaking point Thursday night/Friday morning and slept all day on Friday. The rest of the weekend and last night were pretty ‘normal’ as far as sleep goes for me, and I feel fantastic now. Continue reading “On this day…”

Good morning and happy Saturday! Yes, Saturday. I know what day it is today. That is not necessarily true for much of the last month or so, especially week/work days. They are mostly all a blur.

Today is a special Saturday too. Registration for the third North East Men’s Fall Knitting Retreat opens this morning at 10:00 AM. It is hard not to be nervous about this event considering the Covid-19 pandemic required us to cancel the spring retreat which should be taking place next weekend. Continue reading “Fall retreat news and sweater progress”

Good afternoon and happy Sunday! I meant to publish this on Saturday morning but I was struggling with formatting and adding photos. I dislike The new WordPress editor I am forced to use now.

 

Our long, cold, and dark winter is coming to an end. While the calendar may say spring is still a couple of weeks away, the clock change this weekend is my benchmark. That our weather forecast for the next week has so many days in the 50’s and 60’s is a bonus. Continue reading “My Winter Hiatus”

Good morning and Merry Christmas!

December has been a busy month for us, as it is for pretty much everyone. Because of commitments to dog shows and singing with the Albany Gay Men’s Chorus, I had to skip playing Santa for our Pet Pictures With Santa fundraiser for Italian Greyhound Rescue this year. This is the first time I’ve completely misssed this event since I started doing it about 17 years ago. Maybe more. I don’t remember if we were still living in Rensselaer when I started or if we were in the house that we are still living in today. There have been a couple of years that Santa duties were split with someone else, but I still had at least one full weekend of donning the suit. I’m bummed that I misssed it entirely this year, and I hope I will be ble to do at least one weekend next year. Continue reading “December to remember”

Good morning and happy Saturday! Did you go to the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival? I only went on Saturday and primarily for the Men’s Knitting Retreat meetup. In the past I’d have news and updates about the spring and fall retreats at Easton Mountain and that was one of the original reasons for having these meetups. They’ve become less about retreat info and more about the socializing and reconnecting with guys who we may not see at every retreat. Continue reading “Rhinebeck recap, new spinning project, and fun with a pharaoh puppy”

Good evening, and happy Sunday!

This past weekend’s Men’s Knitting Retreat was the best yet. At least I think it was, and during our feedback session at the end of the retreat, I heard similar sentiments from some of the retreat regulars. It was a perfect combination of great weather, a great venue, but most of all, great guys.

On Thursday afternoon, the very first day of the retreat, and before it had even officially started, most of the guys had already arrived and had gathered in the main room of the lodge. We had a great mix of retreat veterans including some who were new to this retreat, as well as a few who had never been to any men’s knitting retreat before.
Continue reading “Life after the retreat”

Good evening and happy Autumn! Summer is officially over and I am ready to say goodbye to it. The pool has been closed for a couple of weeks now. It got used a lot this season. We spent a lot of time in the back yard, most of it watching our newest addition, Jade, grow from the cute, floppy, bitey, puppy we brought home in June to the absolutely gorgeous young girl she is today. Continue reading “Wrapping it all up”

Good morning and happy Saturday! In less than seven weeks, a total of thirty six guys will converge at Easton Mountain for the second North East Men’s Fall Knitting Retreat. We filled all the remaining spots, the agendas and personal information for all of the attendees is being finalized, roster, name tags, and bag buttons printed, and the Saturday field trip to the Adirondack Wool and Arts Festival is set.

It may seem like too far off to even think about packing. For most of the guys attending the retreat, that would be true. For myself and Joe Wilcox, who put together this and the spring retreat, the packing started long ago, or maybe it never ends. I’m not sure which. Continue reading “Preparing for the fall retreat”