On Chapel Hill Chapter 2

Push yourself because no one else is going to do it for you.

The dust still has not settled from the fantastic virtual New Jersey Sheep and Wool Festival.  We were so excited to debut “Duets” a skein each of cobblestone and mohair interwound and matched in a wonderful kit.  We were especially thrilled to launch some new colors to the Chelsea Luxe line.  “Camouflage,” “Leopard,” and “On Chapel Hill” appeared to be a success! It’s funny how the inspiration for these new colors happens.  Sometimes it’s something seen in nature, sometimes it’s art, sometimes it’s just a feeling.  This time it was a pair of pants that led to “Camouflage” and we were off and running! We are diligently shipping each day to get the orders out from the event and won’t slow down until we get them all in the mail.  A big, heartfelt thank you to everyone for supporting us and the event.  

Pattern Material Girl by Shaina Bilow available on Ravelry. Shown in Dk weight using our Chelsea Luxe Duets available here. 

The Knit Owl (Vincent) designed Tassels in the Sky see photo below using 1 Chelsea Luxe Duet in color way Leopard. 

 Chelsea Luxe Duets from left, pumpkin spice latte, Buttercream, On Chapel Hill, Leopard and Camouflage. 

Big news on the chicken front………. roughly 7pm on September 17, 2020 we were greeted with two small, bouncing baby eggs!  We were expecting some action at any time so it wasn’t a total surprise but it sure was an exciting moment.  We got our hens first week of May as brand spanking new chicks so according to all the chicken experts we were now in the lift off zone.  We are not sure which hen it was but will now start paying closer attention to try and figure out which eggs are whose.  Fun, fun, fun.  We are on our last bin of chick feed so once this is done we are moving on to Layer feed.  Our girls are growing up.  Just like with kids, it happens too fast!  Speaking of chicken feed, they eat like Olympic champions.  We bring treats every day such as fresh corn on the cob, fresh herbs, lettuce, arugula, cottage cheese, oatmeal and the remains of sourdough bread.  They LOVE blueberries.  They do not like strawberries.  Bugs…..fuggetaboutit.  We absolutely enjoy and appreciate all the communication regarding chickens from everyone.  Whether and expert teaching us the finer points, a beginner asking questions or just an interested spectator we LOVE talking about our fine, feathered friends.  

Red Bank Mike has been frantically working on, baking, tinkering and making large messes with his sourdough ventures.  We have fresh bread pretty much all the time and have begun adding sourdough crust to our Friday night tradition of home made pizza.  He has experimented by adding fresh oregano and rosemary to the dough, a little dash of chili pepper or some parmesan.  There is something truly special about the sourdough crust, which we bake on a stone on our outdoor grill.  It’s crispy, chewy, flavorful and the perfect foil for some creative toppings.   One of RBM’s secrets is he uses NYC water.  Nana brings it out when she visits and we have it stored in a shelf.  Makes sense. NYC is a bagel/pizza paradise.  Many say it’s the water.  We cannot disagree.

Our son challenged us about a month ago to do a "Couch to 5K" running program.  It starts out very easy, very short runs with a lot of walking.  We have diligently stuck with the program and are now doing some 20+ minute runs.  It's fun and a nice way to end our day, running and walking through the back roads of Middletown, NJ.  We are no threat to break any speed records but feel like champions after we complete each "run."  We aim to do our own 5K at some point in October.  Keep on truckin'!