March and Knitting

 

Hello friends!  I'm finally here and it's already March, the blowing month!  We began our March with snow (finally!) I was beginning to feel like I was NOT getting a winter and I really LOVE winter for the most part.  I'm praying for some good spring snows up ahead.  Kelli, Bryan and I went up to Washington to see my dear mama and we enjoyed some valley views. It's not quite tulip time yet but the gardens did have some tulips for sale.  

 

 

I finished some socks for Christie, my sister in law Judy and now I am knitting a pair for Scott our son in law.  I also made a flamingo for my baby niece.   

I finally finished this blue sweater and I gave it to Jenny.  I look very sleepy in the photo below. Oh, and I knit a little gray hat for a two year old we know who is undergoing cancer treatment.
 

 

 

I found a bunny cup and a bowl on Etsy.  When I was a child we each had a bunny cup but something happened to mine so when I saw this one and the thick bowl, I ordered it.  I have new bunny dishes, but I wanted old ones, too.  Soon (in the next few years) I should weed out many of my dishes.  Have you done that?  It's amazing how many dishes we have.

Are you doing any kind of special something for Lent?  I'm sometimes listening to an app and sometimes reading Lent writings.  Maybe I'll make some sort of countdown thing so I can eagerly anticipate Easter like I want to.

When we were at my mom's I found an old cookbook from the Josephine Sunset Home.  Many church people had contributed recipes. I found a sourdough starter recipe and I shall mix some up today.  

I like going for neighborhood walks when I have some books to deposit in the Little Library up by the park, so because I have two good books to drop there, I shall go for a walk now.

Are you excited about March? Why?

I hope you are well and peaceful.  

Good January

Hello friends and happy January!  I am simmering rosemary, lemons, and vanilla on the stove and it really does smell like Williams-Sonoma (the kitchen store where you can buy all kinds of really expensive kitchen ware).  I don't like too much rosemary on my food but I do like the way it looks and smells.

Remember I said I would show you my napping nest?  I got the fuzzy big blanket for Christmas but it was delayed so it came yesterday.  Woo hoo!  I have my nest all ready for myself.  Later this afternoon I will try to take a good nap.  

We've had very sunny and warm weather (snow is supposed to come tomorrow) but we've still eaten chili.  Yummy!

I baked almond flour bread from a mix.  It was very tasty!

I wake up at around this time at night quite often (I go to bed very early) and sometimes it takes me a long time to get back to sleep.  The best thing to do is to get up and make relaxing tea, but sometimes I just stay put and pray for people.  Do you?

 Kelli has given me four cute mice.  I decided to hang them in a bunting-like manner.  Isn't this little lady cute?  Do you like her purse?

I've been painting (like a child- I don't know much about the correct way of watercolor painting).  I love art supplies so much.  Today might be the day when I move all my art supplies to a big surface and simply leave them there so that I can dabble in creative endeavors when the mood strikes.  It will take me a while to fill a sketch book, but that's okay,

This is where Tim sometimes naps.  There is a heating pad under the quilt and he stays nice and snug.  

It took me days and days to remove all of the Christmas decor but it was enjoyable.  I hung different curtains and moved quilts around.  I found new slipcovers for my old tattered wing chairs.  I decided to keep the tree decor up in the dining room because the trees are winter-y and cute.  So, everything looks cheerful and bright.

What are you up to?  How are you filling your days?  Any different than say, five years ago?

Bill and I were talking this morning about how when we try to create heaven on earth we are really just longing for our heavenly HOME.  Do you agree?  Jesus told us that in the world we would have trouble but HE has overcome the world. So, even though I get pretty consumed with my physical surroundings I want to remember that the best is yet to come.

Let's be still.

Festive Stuff

The winds here have been mighty and amazing!  We don't have snow so we cannot jump in our sleighs with our friends and glide through the drifts.

Have you made candy and cookies? Do you have candy canes on your tree?

I made a hat for my dear friend Sondra!  I have two pair of socks that are almost off the needles.  I really want to snuggle into my hobbit hole and knit, knit, knit.  

Kelli and the girls and another friend and her daughter went to the castle at Glen Eyrie where the Navigators headquarters  lives.  We had tea in the castle.  The most interesting feature of the tea experience was the green tea/green pea soup!  It was very tasty.  The tea tray offerings were different, too.  No cookies, just funky little tarts and other bite size somethings. 

Yesterday some of us in our Bible study met together at my favorite chapel and read and sang together.  It was very cold in the chapel but our raised voices of song and words of scripture were lovely!  What a sweet Advent blessing!

My friend Kim taught me how to make candles and told me where to get the supplies.  I made soap and candles for my Bible study friends. They were a bit messy but next time I will do better!

I am rich in lemons.  My sweet comrade sent me lovely California fruit!  

And here is the bird gumdrop tree.  You can buy gumdrop trees with more branches and gumdrops do look like sugar plums when they are on a tree.

Yesterday I did not feel as festive as I would like, but today I do. I think I will buy some branches at the grocery store this morning, give them a fresh clip and place them around the house.  Yesterday I put fresh rosemary, a lemon, and vanilla in a pan and brought them to a simmer. It smelled very sweet.  I must bake cookies for my book group tonight.  I will put chocolate chip cookie dough in small muffin tins and when they come out of the oven I will place a small Reese's Peanut Butter cup in the middle of each one. I have made sugar cookies once and I'll make them again before Christmas Eve.  

I am waiting for my new pink eyeglasses to come.  They are taking forever!  

Thank you for checking on me!  Big HUG!

 

Curtains All Around the House

Yay for the first of December 💓 It's cheerful around here with lots of red and white.  Do you change your mind regarding Christmas decorations from year to year? 

We had a yummy Thanksgiving meal.  Kelli made the gravy and it was perfect.  Soph's husband carved the turkey and helped serve pie.  

I have been tired for five days.  Today after an eye appointment (new glasses - pink!) I came home and had leftover turkey for lunch and ice cream for dessert.  I think I'll make mac and cheese for dinner.  I was watching a YouTube vlog and the vlogger mentioned that thing in Norway (and probably Sweden) when you make 8 kinds of cookies (or is it 7 kinds?) and I thought that sounded like a nice idea.  I need more organic flour though.  I did what Granny Marigold suggested and took my French bread dough out of the bread maker before it baked.  It was very moist and floppy but it was very tasty, so that's what I will do from now on.  Anyway, will you make 8 kinds of Christmas cookies?  

This is my hot water bottle holder. It's very nice and warming.

 I found my red checked garage curtains in my Christmas boxes.  They are very faded on the side that faced the sun but the other side looks good so I hung them around the house.  I like to use tension rods and put curtains everywhere. It seems very forest-y to me, cozy.

More Christmas curtains and a quilt for a tablecloth!

I moved the weird yellow rocking chair into the kitchen.  Do you have a chair in your kitchen?

On Small Business Saturday I HAD to go to the yarn store because I don't want them to EVER close their doors.  I might make a yellow hat so I can wear sunshine on my head.

Last night Jeff's family came for Advent. We sang and read scripture.  Prayed.  It was good.  I did pull out my Advent books today and I might read them tonight if I can keep my eyes open👵

I ordered gumdrops for my gumdrop tree.  Last year I neglected to put the drops on the tree.  I am not buying lots of poinsettias this year.  I was going to, because I always do, but I don't want them after Christmas, so it seems wasteful.  

This December I want to think about how glad I am that I believe in Jesus, the Savior of the world.  I can't imagine life without Him.

I hope your December is off to a peaceful start.  

Thank you for popping in!

A Few Holiday Feelings

 Jenny learned to crochet!  Isn't this octopus adorable? 

Hello to you!  November is almost over and tomorrow is Bill's birthday!  It's a big birthday so I am excited to celebrate him!  The only sad thing is that he is not a fan of birthday cake.  Boo.  I never did get around to making myself a birthday cake, so I would like to partake of cake on HIS birthday, but I may have to settle for a restaurant dessert.

I have been knitting for my niece's baby and my brother (shawl and hat for baby, socks for the grandpa).  I am not a speedy knitter, I guess.  It seems to take FOREVER for me to finish projects, even small ones.  

Oh!  Do you like my new flannel sheets?  I like cartoon-y prints on my bedding.  I have been thinking about decorating for Christmas but I shall wait until after Thanksgiving.  I bought the turkey but that is all I have done to prepare.  I wish I could go real slow and savor all the preparations.  I wish I could take my time creating appetizers and pie, but somehow I feel a bit rushy when it comes to preparing the meal.  I am praying for successful gravy.

I decided not to overdo when it comes to Advent books, because for quite a few years I have purchased new books and guides and then not been that attracted to them.  Weird. I'm going to switch things up this year.  (I just paused for a minute and turned on Andy Williams Christmas!) I really am going to try to think of very creative fun.  One thing we'll do is go to the chapel and sing with my Bible study friends.  I will go to see my Plum Cake in Nutcracker. I am going to a candlelight dinner with Jenny and a fun Christmas tea with Kelli.  Maybe I'll pack a lunch and go for a holiday walk, partaking in hot chocolate and a peanut butter sandwich.

I've been making bread with my bread machine.  It's been kind of dry but I toast it.  Have you heard of the wheat grinders that people are buying?  Do you want to grind your own wheat? I don't think we eat enough bread to justify a wheat grinder.   

Are there any friendly places you like to frequent in your city or town?  The library?  A coffee shop?  A neighbor's home? Your church?  I like all of the clerks at the grocery store but sometimes they seem weary even though they are always pleasant.  Maybe I will put a stash of small goodies in my bag and give little gifts to them each time I shop.  

In my reading group we are going to read a book about Saint Nicholas for our December meeting.  I might buy my book clubbers chocolate Santas.

Have you heard of the Examen?  It's an Ignatian prayer where you practice self reflection in God's presence.  It can be as simple as asking yourself what you are most thankful for at the end of the day and what you are not particularly thankful for.  It's nice to light a candle while you reflect.  I certainly am reminded of God's good faithfulness when I practice this. 

 

In what way are you going to add a thing or two to your Christmas decor?  I ordered a reindeer print quilt to use as a tablecloth, some ruffled gingham (green) shams for the sofa, and two pink Christmas print throws to hang as curtains in my hobbit hole.  I'll take a photo when they come.  I did buy a little gingerbread doll from Target quite a few weeks ago. I'll show you where I decide to place her.

Today I was dreaming of fixing up a good napping spot in the guest room.  It's right here by my hobbit hole and sometimes when I can't settle on what to do next, I think I am tired and in need a short nap, so it would be fun to have a furry little nest on the guest room bed.  I'm planning it.  Timothy would probably adopt it but we can share.

I hope you are doing well.  What's on your mind today?  What kind of holiday plans instill hope in your sweet heart?

Well, thank you for popping by and saying hello!  (BIG HUG!) 

 

Yay for October!

Hello October!  As you can see some of the pumpkins in the Pom Pom pumpkin patch are a bit wonky.  Are you supposed to go out to the patch and rotate them so they don't get flat on one side? They are a beeeeyoootiful shade of orange.

Fall is gorgeous right now!  The leaves are changing and the sky is blue, blue, blue!  A friend on on my prayer call asked what we love about fall but we got sidetracked and didn't answer.  I think I like pumpkins, apple juice, leaves, and crickets.  I found a cricket in my washing machine (no laundry inside) and I took him outside to the garage, just in case he was an indoor cricket.  

I am a year older and I had a lovely birthday. Mostly it involved eating.  LOL.  I had a cinnamon roll, some pasta and a bit of Chinese food.  I really celebrated for over a week.  Guess what?  We are now great grandparents because our oldest grand and her husband welcomed their first baby!  He is beautiful and healthy!  I would show a photo but I'm not sure if they want their son on the web, so I will refrain.  We're so thrilled!  

I really feel as if the holiday season has begun.  Do you?  I am not going to cook up big Advent plans this year.  I am going to roll with whatever the Lord brings.  I might finish my knitted Nativity.  Mary and Joseph are cute and I am working on baby Jesus. 

My kind mama sent me tulips for my birthday and they are dying now but I enjoyed them so much.  Do you love tulips?

I've been reading, knitting, and praying.  Is there something I can pray for that is dear to your heart?  

I am going to go make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for breakfast and we're going to meet Kelli for lunch.  

I might bake some sugar cookies today.

What are you up to?  

Thank you for clicking by!  You're so kind to do so.  xoxo