Posted on by Cosmicknitter-ReginaMary

It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times, It Was the Best of Times.

In my last post I shared the drama that was unfolding in my back yard birdhouse. It began with a chickadee who found himself dueling it out with a bluebird. Who would prevail? Honestly, I would be happy with either. Enter the plot twist. This guy:

This is a European Starling; we’ll call him…Mr. Big Stuff for now. He showed up at the birdhouse, sticking his beak where it doesn’t belong. For days there was no sign of activity at the birdhouse and I thought all hope of a sweet tenant was lost. Fast forward one week. As I sat on the deck, I noticed flurry of activity. Pulling out my binoculars, which every knitter keeps in their project bag, I watched as two house wrens worked to decorate their new home! Yes! It’s true!! Have you ever seen wrens as they build a nest? Wrens are tiny birds, about 4″ long. They carry twigs twice their size in their beaks and attempt to cram them through the small openings of the house. It is wonderful to watch. They are so skilled at turning the twig in such a way that it fits it through the hole and the building continues.

While I was thrilled at the prospect of hosting a chickadee or bluebird, knowing that wrens are nesting makes me so happy. These were my daddy’s favorite bird.

Such a big voice for such a little fella!

He hung houses all around the property with hand carved and painted signs boasting clever sayings like “House for Wrent, Real Cheep”. Nothing makes me happier than having wrens for tenants. So there you have it. It was the best of times and they all lived happily ever after.

While we are on the subject of birds…I had an Oriole at my feeder! An Oriole! I spent the first few seconds yelling to my husband “what do I do…what do I do!!!” His advice? Just enjoy him. I have never seen one in the wild, not to mention at my feeder! They are stunning. In other bird shenanigans, my most frequent customers (yes, plural) have been Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks (again, emphasis on the plural). I thought I had one family, but I have a confirmed three. The male is colorful while the female is muted and understated. When it comes to seed consumption, they are equals. Regardless, they are both striking visitors.

  • Well hello gorgeous!
  • Show off

So it is May! May is a busy month. It is the month of the BVM (Blessed Virgin Mary), it is the month when my oldest son Benjamin is born, it is the month of Mother’s Day, and my anniversary (more on that in a bit). I hope everyone had a blessed Mother’s Day. I don’t really celebrate; every day is Mother’s Day for me. My oldest son was born on the 13th and being separated from him is a foreign and unwelcome experience. We zoomed. He looked handsome. He has COVID hair; I like it. I miss hugging him and holding his face in my hands like Italian mamas do just minus the cheek pinch.

My youngest son, Alex, gets me. He remembered seeing me borrowing books by this author from the library maybe 15 years ago. (and you think they aren’t paying attention)

This is the complete collection of “Too Much Coffee Man”. What? You have never heard of TMCM? Well, to quote Wikipedia, “Too Much Coffee Man (TMCM) is an American satirical superhero created by cartoonist Shannon Wheeler. Too Much Coffee Man wears what appears to be a spandex version of old-fashioned red “long johns” with a large mug attached atop his head. He is an anxious Everyman who broods about the state of the world, from politics to people, exchanging thoughts with friends and readers.” So, to sum it up, this is 600+ pages of cranky, neurotic and caffeinated bliss. Well, aren’t you an odd one, Regina.

As I mentioned earlier, we are celebrating our 5th anniversary. We had a small wedding and spent our honeymoon in Italy. The photo on my home page is from Frances’ Lodge in Siena. Please visit their website. The Inn is so beautiful and the hospitality truly special! Robert created the playlist for the wedding reception. Robert has the most eclectic taste in music and a very expansive collection. Music : Robert = Knitting : Regina. If it is good, he knows about it and most likely owns it in his HUGE music library. Except for that one song by Babyface, listening to the play list had me falling in love all over again. In case you were wondering, I did add some songs as well. I’ll share a few at the end of the blog. It was such a fabulous day!

On the knitting front, I am starting another pair of socks. I wanted to do a toe-up sock using Judy’s Magic Cast-On, but after 5 attempts at left and right leaning increases for the toe, I finally gave up. What do all you toe-up sock knitters use for toe increases? Of course, it did not help that I was using a deep purple yarn on black dpns. I am knitting these socks with the Perth I purchased on the Long Island Yarn Crawl. It will make a stunning pair of socks, assuming I get beyond the cast on.

Very subtle color changes. Can you see them?

I cast on for a cardigan but you’ll have to take my word, it is not photo ready.

A follow up to the ‘soup isn’t a meal’ revelation of an earlier post. Apparently in order to make soup “meal-worthy” you need to add meat, or pasta. Better yet, add both. Thanks Alex.

My favorite garment these days is my kitchen apron. If you see me on any given day at any given time, I am wearing an apron. Yes, I am wearing it over my clothes, I save the other look for zoom meetings. Hey, I got such a fresh F2T box this week, there was a snail in my lettuce. I gave it to the birds.

I hope you all are well. I really appreciate having a chance to catch up with you. I feel like this post is a bit scattered, and I must confess it took me waaaay too long to write. That’s ok, right?

So I’ll end with the usual.

Saint of the Day: I’m going dedicate this post to The Blessed Mother. Why not? It’s my blog and it is May. “Oh Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you”

As promised, here are a few of the goofy love songs I added to our wedding playlist. I hope you enjoy.

Thunderstruck – AC/DC

Back In the New York Groove – Ace Frehley

Dancing Queen – ABBA, in memory of my Daddy.

It was such a great day. Happy Anniversary, sweetheart!

This one goes out to the Starling: Mr. Big Stuff

Love you all!

ReginaMary

33 Replies to “It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times, It Was the Best of Times.”

  4. Love your bird pictures. Our wrens are much smaller but still utterly charming. We see lots of them on our walks – but never for very long.

    We have a ‘meeting anniversary’ this month – 12 years now and my goodness we’ve never looked back. Honeymoon in Italy sounds just bliss.

    Splendid title too – it certainly fits the current situation perfectly. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. At first I was afraid the starlings had taken over…good job little wrens! Our neighborhood bullies are the grackles…I almost hate them…I want to see the finches, wrens and even the blue jays instead. I’ve never done a toe up sock, but I can tell you that I always have to flip my decreases. Evidently I learned to knit opposite of everyone else, so my decreases (and probably increases) face the wrong way. I learned in Norway, but the videos I’ve seen of Norwegian or continental purling look nothing like what I do! It is a mystery. Happy Anniversary! I have a May baby, and she is actually here for two weeks or so, so we will have a birthday with her, the first time since she was 18!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. I think I saw your daughter’s baby photos in an earlier post, right? May is a beautiful month. I used to call the Blue Jays the bird feeder bullies, but these starlings are real jerks. It doesn’t help that we watched “The Birds” last weekend. sheesh.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  8. I honor the Blessed Mother as well, all of May. I better bring some flowers in for her. My mother and grandmother instilled a deep tradition of faith in the Blessed Mother . My mom used to pray, that she would “wrap her arms around us” when we needed it most.
    As for your question about social fabric right now, it is making me think. Often someone is texting me, and they leave it open ended…
    Are you free to talk?

    Too often I Fall into the trap and say yes without knowing what their need from me , is going to be. Yesterday, a long time friend, texted this. I said yes you can call me. And that led to a monologue about her sister’s husband having an inoperable brain tumor. And it was gloomy and rainy here and It bummed me out. I take on others emotions and I need to check this. I thought, afterwards, why did she call me?

    Often I am initiating some contact , too. .Mostly, I keep a short hello to a few friends who I know live alone. I’ve been sending some cards in the mail.

    I text a friend , Karen, nearly daily.
    My kids and my pal Kath I will always pick up the phone for.

    My husband, of note, has about 4 friends, that he calls once every few weeks. We are quite different in that regard.

    It is something i need to think about some more. If I was at the barn, for 6 hours twice a week, I would be socializing with people . I don’t know when the barn will reopen. I’m stuck between finding a new way to contribute to society and just staying the course and using that time to cycle. For my health.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. I am much better interacting in person. Texting easily frustrates me. My husband has a policy. If it takes more than three texts, pick up the phone. I really don’t enjoy conversations via text. I would rather email. I think the notification sounds make texting seem like an intrusion. READ ME NOW! Were as every other means is taken in time.
      What would we do without the Blessed Mother? Now that I think of it, it is almost noon. Time for the Regina Coeli! I’ll pray for your health.

      Like

      Reply

  9. Thank you all for the anniversary good wishes. I don’t even need them with my wife. Regina is such an amazing woman she defies description….. but I can try… sentimental, motherly, kind, compassionate, caring, loving, funny as can heckin* can be, unselfish, wicked smart, humble, loving, loving, loving…..

    Would anyone except me like her to do a webcast???? I love her so much but I need to share the wonder that IS Regina.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I liked the cast on, but wasn’t pleased with the increases at the toe. I really like the neat look of the decreases when knitting cuff down and I am not getting the same results with the m1l and m1r.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Hmmm I’ll have to try it out and see what I think. This might just be the impetus I needed to get the third baby booties done so I can start some socks!

        Liked by 2 people

  14. “Pulling out my binoculars, which every knitter keeps in their project bag, ” Awesome! I’ve watched a mini series worthy “battle of the birds” in my yard as well as on my nature walks. Birds are bad *ss! Happy anniversary! (Oh and the memes are hysterical, I love The Far Side?Gary Lawson!)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  15. Loved your post Regina.. and socks I have never yet attempted.. Though my cardigan is slowly taking shape.. the back and one front done the other front nearly finished.. I pick up rarely as the weather here in the UK has been gorgeous… 24C today and yesterday … Rare this time of year.. Dry too..
    Which has meant watering in earnest on the plot..
    So loved your garden birds.. European Starlings I know all about.. They can be quite aggressive and VERY greedy.. I don’t get as many as I used to in our garden.. But we have had a pair only this week bring their couple of fledglings to feed on the feeders and they tip every other bird off..
    Wrens.. I adore… again they visit rarely these days, but one did land on the redcurrent bush in the allotment the other day and sang as sweet as can be… Pure magic..
    Your other garden birds are very colourful… We get bluetits and coaltits.. My daughter who lives more near some woods gets a Jay.. and foxes and squirrels 🙂 Love your photos, and the colour of your yarn.. 🙂
    Sending LOVE your way Regina.. ❤

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment

Handknit Harmonies

Knitting Blog By: Keisha Knits

In the Words of Walt Whitman

Quimper Hittys

PDXKnitterati

Michele plays with yarn, food, and music in Portland

bonnyknits

MeadowTree Style

Welcome to My Hybrid Blog: I Write About Sewing, knitting, Style, and Art

DawnGillDesigns

Jewellery - and my general obsession with craft

The Snail of Happiness

small steps to a kinder world

Wool in my Coffee

The blog of a coffee obsessed spinner who knits!

jmn

Creative Endeavours

Kninja Knitter

Fiber enthusiast at home, abroad, and anywhere in between!

Yarn Twirls and Big Curls

Solving problems one skein at a time

The Erratic Ramblings of an Extraordinarily Ordinary Person

Random thoughts on everything.

The Mouse Army Knitting Co.

your one word

choose a word...change your life

alifewithwoolblog.wordpress.com/

My online journal of knitting, spinning, and more.

Klamath Basin Wool Works

Weaving, knitting, spinning & natural dyeing

The Crafty Yarnster

If I sits, I knits

The Knit Guru

Knitting projects, patterns and inspiration

Fruity Knitting

Knitting inspiration from around the world.