While Miz Kittling Knits: Sea Patrol & Penguin Bloom

 

It didn't take me long to become accustomed to Denis's retirement, and my knitting mojo has come back with a vengeance. It's meant some changes to the times of day that I get my needles and yarn out, but that's no biggie, and it's even got me wondering about trying to listen to an audiobook while I'm knitting. I know that I can't "rest my eyes" and listen to one, but perhaps I could be successful if I had my hands and eyes occupied at the time? It's not something that I intend to find out right away, but it is percolating at the back of my mind. Sooner or later, I'll give it a shot and see what happens. 

 

 

My latest afghan is from my go-to book, Leisure Arts' Big Book of Quick Knit Afghans. The pattern is called "Serene" and was done using size 17 circular needles and a double strand of Red Heart Super Saver Jumbo worsted weight acrylic yarn in a color named Bright Yellow. (Finally-- a color name that makes sense!) The huge skeins of yarn meant that I used less than three skeins for the entire afghan, and since I have enough for another one, something tells me Bright Yellow will be in my future once more.

 

Here are a couple of photos of the completed afghan.

I've been too lazy to put the afghan in a clear zipper bag and had simply tossed it onto the chair as you can see in the second photo. Denis saw the afghan there and, with a big grin on his face, he went over and sat down on it, telling me, "It's mine now. I've imprinted on it." Sheesh-- Give the man his own afghan and now he wants them all!

What have I been watching while I've kept my needles clacking? Denis and I have been watching some Australian television.

 

One is a movie called Penguin Bloom that we both enjoyed on Netflix. Here's the storyline from IMDb:

 

"Based on the best-selling book of the same name, the film tells the story of Sam Bloom (Academy Award® nominated Naomi Watts) a young mother whose world is turned upside down after a shocking, near-fatal accident leaves her paralyzed. Sam's husband, (Andrew Lincoln), her three young boys and her mother (Academy Award® nominated Jacki Weaver), are struggling to adjust to their new situation when an unlikely ally enters their world in the form of an injured baby magpie they name Penguin. The bird's arrival is a welcome distraction for the Bloom family, eventually making a profound difference on Sam's life, teaching her how to live again."
 

We've also been enjoying an Australian television series courtesy of Tubi called Sea Patrol, and we'll be sad to come to the end of it. Here's the storyline, also from IMDb:

"Everyday life on board an Australian Navy patrol ship is never boring: they have to deal with all sorts of criminals at sea as well with the politically unstable island in the neighbourhood. Friendship between shipmates leads to love among the ship's crew."

Denis and I enjoy this series for the Navy aspect as well as the scenery, the stories, and the characters. Sea Patrol is a little bit soap opera, a little bit shoot-em-up, a little bit drama, and a little bit comedy. In other words, something for everyone, although I will say that my daydream of hiring a yacht to slowly cruise the waters of the South Pacific has been a bit tarnished by all the shenanigans the crooks get up to down there!