Pumpkin Sunrise

  This weekend was slow and easy. I'm still not feeling the best which makes canceling our travel plans to visit our grandson in Indiana the right decision. Our son face-timed me when our grandson had his first birthday cake. I was happy to witness his messy messy eating!! I am grateful for modern technology and being connected to those who live far away. Over the weekend, I did some mixed media art that is in the first photo and I did some watercoloring in the bottom photo. I've had weeks where I don't 'feel' like creating art. I've just accepted that it was a phase and I would want to get back to it eventually. Well this weekend was the weekend to feel excitement sitting with my papers and paints.  We did drop in a local art store as well on Saturday and I snapped that street art. My husband and I bought a few things then headed home. Over all the weekend was lots of resting and recovering. How was your weekend?

  This morning my husband and I were planning a trip to Indiana to attend our sweet grandson's first birthday party. I wasn't feeling that great last week and early this week went to urgent care for a salivary gland infection and am on meds. The healing has been slow-going (I'm extremely impatient!). I'm seeing a specialist next week thankfully. Anyways, whenever we travel my dry eye and dry mouth symptoms (due to Sjogren's syndrome) are worse. I can only guess it's something to do with the long car ride and the dry air circulation in the car. Besides not feeling the best, I knew the car ride would not help me continue to recover. So we canceled. I haven't done much of anything this week except drink lots of water, finish reading a book or two and of course put in a few rows of knitting here and there. 

  Good morning! How are you doing? Do you have snow? We are supposed to get some but so far nothing is happening.  I finished this lovely hat in mid-January and enjoyed every row and every blessed stitch. I am still trying to decide if I want a pom pom on it or not. I'm wearing it pom-pom-less and seeing if I like the way it looks and feels. If I do go for a pom pom it will be a removable one for hand-washing the hat. What are you working on this week?

  Good morning! How was your weekend? After last week mentioning the endless rain, I'm happy to report our weather switched to snow. It's pretty to look at and it's a nice change.  My weekend was a socializing one. My husband and I attended our grand-nephew's second birthday. He was sweet to watch with a room full of people celebrating his big day. Of course there was cake and tons of family to catch up with.  Afterwards some family came to our house to continue the socializing. We had pizza and played a board game. Seeing family on a regular basis is one of the reasons I moved here. Sunday afternoon I had an art date with my sister and I started on some Valentine Cards. We drank tea and painted - these watercoloring sessions filled my creative heart.  During the entire weekend I feverishly read (but did not finish) Stephen King's book Fairytale . I'm over half way through and it's captivating. I also worked on the scarf that is getting closer and closer to...

  Day after day has been cloudy, dreary and rainy . Yesterday the sun peeked out briefly which had us scrambling outside for a walk and to soak up the sunbeams. A few hours later, the clouds were back. Today there were teeny tiny snowflakes. So goes January. How are you? How's your weather? How's your January? My grand-nephew will be celebrating his second birthday this weekend, I'm excited to gather with family and enjoy the festivities. Our grandson will be one year old in February! Crazy how time flies by. I've been chipping away at the scarf in the evenings while reading books during the day. I have maybe 2-3 repeats remaining on the scarf and then it will be done. I'm still not sure whether I have enough gray yarn or not and I'm at knitting peace with the dilemma. I will either fudge it with another similar gray color or just end the scarf. I'm resolved to not buy more yarn.

  Finally I can tell you all about the 'super secret project'. I was on a walk with my sister before Christmas and I was commenting on how warm my mittens were. My sister said she'd like a pair for her birthday which is in mid-January then added well maybe the next year since it was so close. Being the knitter that I am, I went home dug around my 'stash' of yarn and immediately started the mitts . Right before my son and his family arrived for a six day visit, I realized I did not have enough white yarn (I wasn't using full skeins). So I ordered more and waited for yarn to arrive and entertained family. Our family left on January 4th and that is when I picked up the project and knitted like a demon. Last weekend, we celebrated her birthday and she was somewhat surprised with the gift! She reads my blog and when I even mentioned 'super secret knitting' she was guessing in the right direction.

  Good morning, this post is brought to you today from the glorious moon shot I snapped yesterday morning. I wish you were there because it is better in real person. How are you? My weekend was pretty okay.  Yesterday, Miss Holly the cat who likes to create mayhem decided to bite her way into the bottom of our loveseat (we blocked her a month or so ago from the 'burrow' she made in the couch). So after Mass, we drove to Joann Fabrics to buy cloth that is densely woven. Apparently this is a cat 'thing'. The cashier and the fabric cutter have heard stories of cats doing this.... I bet this behavior keeps Joann Fabrics in business. After lunch we staple-gunned the new fabric over the old and now she has been thwarted once again. ha ha. I am satisfied I out smart a cat. Frodo has been doing really well since it's been a week after his teeth cleaning and a week of preventative antibiotic which I believe upsets his stomach a tiny bit. He and I are thrilled the medicine is...

  Oh my, we are knee deep in ordinary days. I might be one of the few people who love January. I love the cold weather and the restive schedule that envelops me since the holidays are over. I've been enjoying my bird feeder and watching the birds who are making quite the mess. They delight me. Through my back yard, through the woods, at an adjoining business development exists a private preschool. Every day I listen to the children play (squeal) outside during their recess while I am outside walking Frodo. Another delight. January has a slew of family birthdays, I wake up and text/call each family member wishing them a wonderful day. This week I've chipped away at all of my works in progress in my knitting bag. I finished a hat and now I'm working on my scarf. When this scarf is finished I'd like to whip up two pairs of fingerless mitts for me and for my husband.  I am delighted that you visit, read and sometimes comment on this space. How wonderful to have a like minde...

  My super secret project is finished, well within the deadline and I'll talk more about the project with details next week. All will be revealed. This week I've been mainly knitting my Motta Hat which I adore working on. I could have manically worked on this project so that it was done for today's post but I'm enjoying and savoring the slow knitting along with the slow January days. I'm respecting the 'no goal' knitting vibe that is decadent (except for the super secret knitting project, that was manic and frantic!). Next up is the good things scarf . The knitting has been minimal but the thinking has been non-stop. I do not have enough of the gray wool to keep the pattern going as I had initially planned. However yesterday I thought more about it and there's a chance I have enough if I end the scarf with gray. I'm still thinking about it. I have rushed out and bought mini skeins here and there and do not want to rush out and buy a whole skein of g...

  Good morning! How are you all doing on this fine Monday morning? All is well here in the land of ordinary time. After all the festivities that Christmas and New Year's Day brings, I'm welcoming the ordinary. I'm basking in the ordinary. Overall my weekend was restive and restorative. On Saturday morning, my sister and I did a long walk in the neighborhood with our dogs. Sunday morning was Mass then laundry (not too much laundry since the grandson had me doing loads mid week).  The whole weekend was filled with lots and lots of knitting and reading. Below is a little stack of current reads. I'm also reading Fairytale by Stephen King on my kindle which is not in the photo. The Walden book is a long term reading project, I try to read a page or so a day. His writings are not easily breezed through and each sentence is dense. After weeks of dreary cloudy days the sun was out yesterday! Sunshine instantly makes me happy! 

  I don't usually chose a word for the year but this year I have a theme. Since September when all the new planners were coming out and I was envying most of them I decided to purchase a Hobonichi Techo. I will use it for daily journaling about my gratitudes and abundance in my ordinary life.  In previous years, I journaled each morning about the day before (and I am continuing doing this in another notebook) and ended the entry with a list of gratitudes. For 2023 I separated the two and now will be writing daily what I am grateful for and why. My days easily get caught up with perceived minor stresses and I wanted a way to refocus, regroup and bask in all the wonderfulness in my day. There is so much goodness in a day! I want to magnify the ordinary abundance. For example: being able to walk daily, having fun outings with my husband, overall good health, etc.  Also for 2023 I am back at reading the bible through in a year after a two year break. I have other little daily...

  Hello! How are you all doing? We had such a great time babysitting our grandson. We are exhausted, ha ha. I definitely used muscles I haven't used since I babysat the toddler girl a few years ago. So glad that I do all that exercising! Anyways, I am working on a super secret project that doesn't have a photo or a project page. I ran out of yarn and am waiting for the new yarn to arrive. Once my secret is over, I'll share it with you, I promise. Above is my hat which I am working on in bits. I love this pattern and the quince yarn. I'm not a fan of bobbles but these bobbles are endearing!  What are you working on this week?  I hope to be visiting you all today and tomorrow :)

  I'm dropping in for a quick hello and to wish all of you a Happy New Year! May 2023 bring you lots of health, luck and happiness.  I have my grandson visiting with his parents and it's been full of diaper changing, bottle feeding and baby snuggles (off and on as he adjusts to us). I'll be catching up with your blogs later on this week or early next week. We've been spending time together, eating meals together, visiting family and going out for a bit a shopping. I have not knit one single stitch since they arrived! Happy New Year everyone!!