Pumpkin Sunrise

  Around here there is a lot of snow - I love it so! Today there is a fresh dusting to soften all of the landscape. We managed to go for a walk yesterday after almost a week of not walking due to the weather. It was either too cold or a snow event was happening. On the days I cannot walk, I try to exercise in the house, it's not the same but it's better than not exercising at all. Around here the haiku challenge is chugging along. I've been having fun thinking and writing. I decided to do some sketching or artwork on each entry. My sister is doing this haiku-a-day challenge with me as well, it's nice to have company. Around here whenever my husband or I have a zoom meeting in the studio room, Miss Holly loves to attend as well. I don't think she knows there are real people on the zoom. She doesn't like people and yet she gets so excited when the voices are talking. She either sits and stares (like the photo below) or she struts in front of the the computer just

  I know some of you are wishing for spring, my husband is wishing for summer! I, on the other hand, am in my winter glory. I love everything about winter. I sleep better, knit better and enjoy the days fully. Soon enough I will be yearning for some light jacket wearing but for now I am in my element.  The above photo is my art journal spread. I try to create one a week and then journal. The journalling is private but the layout is not. I used Tombow markers to create the dark gray background then used a white pen.  Yesterday I had three inches cut off the length of my hair. It was a long time coming. I kept the length for the wedding updo. Shoulder length is the best length for my hair and I am loving the cut. The sun was out and I almost was grumpy from the squinting. I caught myself and stopped the grump. Sunshine is limited in the winter! On the way home, I drove in silence just enjoying the light playing on the hills, trees and roadside buildings. I managed to pull out the noteboo

  In another universe I would be telling you I finished the second sleeve last night.  However, I was shy two rows before the cast off and I just had to quit for the evening. If I am tired, errors abound! So today after the dishwasher repairman comes to look at my one year old dishwasher (yes, so true), I will be blissfully finishing the sweater then soaking and blocking. Phew!  While I still have a shawl and a hat on my needles, I'm thinking of the next cast on project. I know that Kat  has cast on a heartwarmer cowl  which I have made twice before ( one for me and one was a gift ). My sister gifted me some lovely yarn during the holidays that will make a perfect cowl for me since this winter that seems to be what I wear the most.  There was someone else in our blog community that mentioned they were knitting this cowl pattern but I cannot remember who - please let me know in the comments! I've been squeezing in more reading time during the day. The holidays and the wedding g

  Good morning!  My it's good to be back on a Friday posting. How was your first full week of the new year? I have been blissfully enjoying being home and going nowhere day after day after day. Yesterday the sun came out and we took a brisk walk, even though it was cold it was so good to be outside. Holly has been up to new adventures this week. She sneaks into the family room where I am sitting and knitting and ever so slowly creeps up to spy on Frodo sleeping.  He is snoring away so he doesn't know she is gazing at him lovingly. So far she has done this twice, the first time she had a look of concern, the second time (the above photo) she seemed curious. I know many of you choose a word for the year and I love to read about how you came about choosing your meaningful words. I've been thinking of themes for my 2021.  Mindfulness I've been reading about mindfulness and meditation for about two months as well as doing meditation twice a day. So far, I find that this prac

  Well we received about 15 inches of snow and it took my husband half a day to clear the driveway and a spot for Frodo.  I am thankful that the electricity stayed on, they weather forecasters were predicting high winds and for us that did not occur.  Phew! I've been busy knitting and reading as well as listening to podcasts.  I continue to meditate daily managing my stress.  I consider the meditating a way to fill my 'bucket'.   I've also been sketching out how I want my Christmas day to look like since its a simplified Christmas without family or friends. We usually watch many Christmas movies leading up to the big day but this year we are thinking of doing a Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter  movie marathon.  Something different and non-sentimental.  What are your plans? I continue to make progress on the baby blanket and my sweater.  Both are thoroughly enjoyable and I love how I am 'in the moment' whenever I work on either one.  I cannot imagine my life wi

  Lately it seems that each day that comes and goes is just like the previous one. How have you been? Have you been able to make the days feel different? Today I am planning on wrapping some Christmas gifts and I'm toying with decorating the house this weekend which would be a week early, just because I can. I hope to have a walk after dinner and take advantage of the milder weather. The local radio station said they will start playing holiday tunes, that was a bright beacon of delight to hear! When I was in high school, I loved Christmas and the days leading up to it. I would wear jingle bells tied to my shoes and I'm amazed that the teachers and Sisters at my Catholic high school allowed this. Maybe they liked the 'jingle jangle' or maybe they had great restraint at being annoyed.  I upgraded my phone after waiting since March to do so. Unfortunately I lost October and November photos due to a rookie mistake. I was so consumed with making sure my husband's photos

  How was your weekend? Mine was okay - I focused on lots of down time and keeping myself busy with reading, knitting and journaling. Our upcoming holidays look like we will be 'home sweet home', just the two of us. Already I am brainstorming what to make for dinner without a lot of effort since I would rather be reading or knitting. I'll let you know what I come up with, takeout is in the running but I'm not sure they would be opened for a major holiday. We walked on Saturday in brilliant sunshine and I wore lots of wool, it's nice to be in the fall leading to winter seasons where I can showcase my knits. On Sunday, the weather was down right miserable. The day was dark and dreary and in the evening the wind was howling away. Luckily we did not lose power, always a reality when you live in the country. Frodo has been extra snuggly since it's been chilly. Even Miss Holly is sitting on the kitchen table watching me write in my journal in the morning. She is my mo

  I've been trying to come up with outings for the two of us that are socially distant. So far walking and hiking have been my brilliant idea. The weather was unusually warm last week and yesterday was quite chilly. We picked up some bagel sandwiches for lunch and valiantly tried to eat them outside. We gave up and went to the car.  We are discovering trails that are new to us in our community. It won't be long before the weather will be too cold for outdoor adventures. I confess I loved wearing my favorite winter hat that I made so long ago . I remember buying the wool with my sister at an indoor fiber festival. This green hat is the first hat that I loved to wear and commenced a flurry of hat knitting. I painted a thank you card this week. Ever so slowly I've been pulling out the paints and dabbling a bit here and there. I'm amused at how I go into and out of creative spells. Right now I am into art journalling with ink. The journal paper can take a wee bit of waterco

  Good morning to all of you! How have you been? I've been focusing on my knitting and my relaxation techniques which includes daily meditations. I am also trying my best to NOT multitask. This is quite the challenge since I love to be doing two things at the same time. Apparently multitasking increases stress levels, who knew! I have two projects on the needles, another pair of holiday knitting socks (number 3 out of 4) and a hat for me that is of my own design.  I haven't made a project page for the hat as of yet. I'm enjoying both projects immensely and while working on them I think about a knit for me. In other news we woke up to a 'bear' incident yesterday morning. The little stinker got into our garbage and threw that around as well as broke into the fenced in area and tried to walk on the pool cover.  We think it's a cub based on the footprints below. This is one huge disadvantage of being surrounded by woods in a rural area.

  How was your weekend? Mine was a mixed bag of sorts. Just so you know, Blogger insists on uploading my photos in the wrong order and I've given up fixing them.  Does it matter? I'm not sure! I've contacted them numerous times and I don't think they care or it isn't a high priority for them. Also free is free, you get what you pay for. Anyways, Saturday was a beautiful day, we drove to a neighboring town via back roads and drank in the fall foliage that is slowly emerging. I don't want to miss it!  We had the best bagel sandwiches ever for lunch outside while the weather permits. I think hunger makes everything taste good these days. We walked around the town and then headed home. Yesterday was stressful. Frodo started a cough Saturday night and coughed the whole night through. I just don't know how I did babies-toddlers-preschoolers back in the day. I was extremely exhausted yesterday morning! Anyways we took him the a 24/7 emergency vet hospital who said

  My weekend is still going on since it's Labor Day weekend, however I decided to pop in here and do a quick posting.  How are you?  We've been pretty good.  This weekend has been ultra chill filled with morning walks now that the heat and humidity have ebbed away.  It's been nice to be out and about feeling cold my only whimper is the fall allergies! On Saturday morning I heard the Canadian geese for the first time, they honk to tell me of things to come.   After my first week of September, I've managed to stay mostly on task with my creative goals.  Knitting and reading always happen daily no matter what. The sketching and watercoloring are currently set at three times a week (I'd like more often than that).   the moon this morning Since the weekend  is still going strong, we might take a country drive.  He wants to show me his local bike routes on secondary roads that take you up and down some hills (mountains) to places I've never been.  I'm all for it!