Each day I go into the woods and walk a mile in and a mile out. Last month autumn olive sweetened the trails and now its wild roses. I see turtles, frogs, and snakes, chipmunks, rabbits, and birds of all kinds. I know exactly where three different chipmunks live and leave them peanuts and sunflower seeds to find. These little woodland creatures and I have grown familiar . . . like family.

Some yarn I ordered arrived in the mail today. Five balls of Knitpicks Comfy Sport. You'll never guess what I'm going to make with it, and I'm not going to tell you. It is a surpise! The postman also brought me a new book of patterns inspired by the Anne of Green Gables stories. Right away, I have marked two items that I want to make this summer: Diana's Hat (a very pretty slouchy style) and Rachel's Tablerunner. The lovely deep gold skein is from a yarn shop in upstate New York. It's Periwinkle Sheep "Watercolors" sock yarn, a superwash merino and nylon blend by indie dyer Karin Maag-Tanchak who is based in Albany. The color is "chai"--I love it. I'm not sure if it's going to become socks or something else. Maybe it will become a cute little something for my neighbor's new baby boy. A pebble vest and booties set? Hmmm. The thing is, at some point it's going to warm up outside (I hope). Today it's rainy and cool. Again.

For ten dollars you can have a lot of fun at a flea market. For ten dollars you can become rich with treasures. The fact that someone else loved these items first makes them even more special to me--like heirlooms. On a recent trip to the market I found an elegant, English bone china coffee mug by Roy Kirkham & Co. It was just the thing for my sixteen year old daughter who loves cat things. I also found some lovely, old, hand-appliqued and embroidered cloths and a linen tea towel stamped front and back with an old-fashioned, New England covered-bridge scene. I plan on turning these into lined, drawstring project bags. And, I nearly swooned when I found this blue and white porcelain teapot and cat creamer. They're not a set, but aren't they grand together?

Wishing you a lovely weekend, friends. . : )