Pink Moons and Pink Flamingos

This is a picture, granted, not a very successful picture, taken from the car window on our way home from the airport, following our trip to Britain.  The evening we arrived home was the March full moon.  (I took a picture the evening before of the 'almost' full moon over St. Pancras Station in London which I think was a bit more successful.  I love a full moon and keep trying to take a picture of one.  It's a very challenging picture to capture.) 

 

 At any rate, we arrived back in the US during the March full moon.  Tonight (April 7) will be the April full moon.  It is actually going to be a Supermoon, the biggest of 2020 and it is also the Pink moon.  That is because it coincides with the blooming of Pink Phlox, not because the moon will turn pink tonight.  (but wouldn't that be special!)  I will try once again to get my picture.

It would be an understatement to say "what a difference a month makes!"  Our house has actually been "locked down" since we returned last month.  With all this time on my hands I figured I would just be burning through the old stash.  But the reality has been quite different and unexpected. I have done some sewing, but not nearly as much as I thought I would.  Most of my sewing time has been devoted to some Threads Magazine assignments and I am grateful to have those as a distraction and a way to get me into my sewing room.  

So then, how have I been spending my time, what have I been up to these past 30 days, what is keeping me going and mostly sane?

WELL, of course we did the obligatory stocking up...

           

For those of you not familiar with British tea time, you are looking at PG Tips and Digestive Biscuits, better known as the mainstays of my husband's childhood!  Tea and cookies!

Like many of you I'm sure, I have spent time making masks.  My ASG chapter sent out the call and provided patterns and we all piled through our boxes of cotton and got to work.  I wasn't sure if I could or wanted to make masks.  I was still in the "ignore it and it will go away" phase and making masks made it seem too real.  I did finally haul out my bias binding foot and have been making ties like crazy!  The binding foot is a really slick way to finish the edges of the masks and add the ties all in one go.  

          

For some unexplained reason I have felt the urge to bake!  If you know me, you know that baking is not my thing.  My kids were under strict orders in grade school to never, under any circumstances, volunteer to bring cupcakes...to anything!!!!!  So why now?  Who knows?  But, for Pi Day, March 14th I made lovely chicken potpies...

I had a huge bag of lemons and 3 dozen eggs (a bit too much stocking up?) so that of course called for a lemon meringue pie.  My husband was thrilled to finally have a reason to fire up the kitchen torch he found at TJMaxx several years ago.

I didn't have any graham crackers so I used ginger snaps. That's a keeper! (if I ever make another lemon meringue pie!)

                 

I also roasted a whole chicken! I don't know where that came from either....

In a bit more familiar territory, I finished some knitting projects.  I have been really into single row stripes.  I started an alpaca sweater using a gray yarn and a hand spun caramel colored yarn before I left for Florida.  I was running low on yarn so it ended up with 3/4 length sleeves, but I think I like it better than if I had been able to knit it with full length sleeves.

          

The second project was one that I started while I was in Florida.  I found two different color ways of a variegated cotton yarn at the local yarn shop.  They had gotten them as samples and were the only two balls they had.  I liked them and for some unknown reason, I liked them together.  I knew I wasn't going to make anything very big, so I started striping again and ended up with a little tank-ish top.  I like the way the colors moved up the sweater.  It was fun to knit and see it unfold.

(me trying to fold up into a selfie!)

          

We are now onto jigsaw puzzle number 2.  It is a really difficult one....

My London son adopted a "pandemicat" and we are getting lots of cute kitten pics....

          

My family participated in an online challenge to recreate famous artworks....this was my rendition of Audubon's #46 Great Flamingo...

                    

So before we digress any farther, suffice it to say, that as the days wear on the challenge gets tougher.  I am trying to enjoy the coming of spring, and hoping that with the warmer weather and flowers comes a lift to my spirit.  Please stay safe and sane and enjoy the Pink moon tonight!