by Kat | Jan 25, 2019 | General, In This Moment
No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. – Hal Borland
This week marked a visible increase in daylight arriving earlier and lingering well after 5PM so this quote seemed most appropriate for today. And then I saw something that made me really smile! Only 35 57 days until spring!! (Thanks, Karen for bursting my bubble! LOL)
You are welcome.
Thinking About – Insomnia and how many of us struggle with it. There is a part of me that wonders if men suffered from this same issue for the same reasons (I am looking at you, menopause – in all your various stages) you know there would be some amazing solutions that actually would work.
Grateful For – Welcoming in the last weekend of January!! It has been a long month but by this time next week the brighter and much shorter February will be upon us! Oh, and yes there only 35 57 days until spring!!
Inspired To – Do more sewing this weekend – specifically I am going to work on a Thea Rachelle Raglan. I have been looking at images that some very creative people have made, and I think I have the direction I want to go in my mind – I especially like the idea of a shirt that I can layer under and over things! Now, I just need to get the pattern cut out and marked so that the sewing can begin!
Fascinated By – My red Amaryllis – two stalks of blooms – one with 4 buds, one with 5 buds! And, that color!!
That’s all I have for this week! Have a good weekend every and Happy Friday!
by Kat | Jan 18, 2019 | General, In This Moment
Even though it feels like January is moving at a snail’s pace – it is Friday again! And, perhaps this weekend I might even be motivated (i.e. feel good enough) to get more things done. Last weekend it took me all weekend, but I cleaned and organized my Craft Room/Office! I might have even made a note to myself that I have enough single skeins of sock yarn to knit socks until I live to be 150 years old – at least! But, as Mary pointed out yesterday – I have no SQ of sock yarn – so there is that! This week’s TGIF is full of lots of good things so let’s get started!
Thinking About – In some ways, January’s slowness has been a very good thing for thinking! And, one thing I have been thinking about lots is this blog and what I want it to be versus what it has become. One thing that has perked to the top is that this blog has been doing a bit of controlling me, rather than me controlling it. So, you might have noted some changes this week – changes that revolve around posting frequency. This is a bit of a work in progress as I find a balance that feels good. Thank you Mary and Honoré for being open and honest in our blog discussion this week!
Grateful for – So many who are doing the “heavy lifting” in the ongoing conversation about the fiber community becoming more inclusive for everyone – I am daily learning much and have found some really amazing and new-to-me fiber artists that I am now following. They bring amazing things to my IG feed and I am profoundly grateful for them!
Inspired By – As always, Courtney from Be More With Less. She shared a beautiful post about being “the priority of your own life” this week and it moved me – especially this quote by Rudy Francisco: Perhaps we should love ourselves so fiercely, that when others see us, they know exactly how it should be done. This especially hit home for me, because I believe that as moms/partners/wives/etc. our focus is on everyone else and if we have a scrap of time or energy left at the end of the day, we might use it on ourselves. This has certainly been true for me and the list in her post is full of lots of somethings you can do for you. I have added a few of these to my weekly planner through the end of February to not forget myself!
Focused On – My Word! Yes, indeed – and in such a very good way. I have been making a list of so many things that I am currently “doing” just because I have always done them and, more importantly…I am thinking about the why for each of them. This is causing lots of shake ups (see above) as I ponder, meditate, and yes… focus on life. This might be the best word ever because the impact this word is having on me is just crazy!
One final thing… I have not posted any tempting links in ages but the teasers this week for Tina Tse’s Home Sweet Home Formula pushed me right over the top! Impulse purchase FTW! Oh, and a bonus – today is her birthday
That is all I have for this week! And, my Amaryllis update is most showy this week – four huge blooms on bulb #1 with a fifth opening this morning! I have been sitting and sipping coffee in the morning and appreciating its beauty! Now, if only it will last as long as January feels like it is! Have a good weekend all!
by Kat | Jan 11, 2019 | General, In This Moment
This week, I am seeing the promise of blooms on my Amaryllis watch!
I am also seeing the reduction in coughing – which is a very good thing!
One more thing I am very happy about – it’s Friday and the weekend is here! Make it a good one, everyone!
by Kat | Jan 4, 2019 | General, In This Moment
I am so happy that it is Friday and the end of the last two mixed up crazy weeks. Not one single day felt like it should have thanks to the two holidays! Sadly, New Year’s Day brought with it the Mother of All Colds to my house which has not helped at all but I am happy to say that despite a cold-fogged brain, I have made some progress on my daughter’s birthday gift and last night I started on the second color! Also, the cowl I made for Steve’s Mom for Christmas was such a hit, his dad would like one as well and I hope to get something cast on for him over the weekend.
I had hoped that Steve would be excited to sit down and work on our 19 in 2019 list… ha! However, I have not forgotten, and I started working on it without him – and it just might be the best “honey-do” list ever created. Haha!
Thinking About – My morning routine – deeply thinking about it. It should be the high point of the day, and I am spending too much time on things that are a distraction from that. I have been “trying out” some new ideas and I believe that I have come up with the perfect solution. Part of this solution includes a new way of planning my day out. I had been using the same basic system for years and have continued to use the same thought process as when I was working – however, I did not accommodate for the changes that would happen in my schedule – I do not need a list to remind me when to do laundry, or dust (okay, maybe I need this on a list somewhere! Haha!) I spent a good deal of time in December thinking about what I need from my planner and what I don’t need! January 1 brought the implementation of that new process which already feels smoother with less internal struggling! Cold aside, this has truly helped me enjoy a more focused morning to get myself off to a better start of the day! I still need to make a list that incorporates all the important dates of the year, but I will work on creating that page later today. I have not been one to be “artistic” in my planner, but this will allow me the freedom to be creative if I want to be! Four days in to the New Year and this already feels more comfortable and my mornings have been much improved!
Grateful For – Puffs Plus Lotion and hot tea!
Inspired By – How diverse and, yes, female, the new congress is! Women won more than 60% of the seats that were flipped last November! The NYTimes posted this great interactive article that allows you to go deeper into those elected! This gives me great hope and yes, inspires me greatly! We are finally moving toward a body of elected officials that look like the people of this great nation! And, yes, with Hakeem Jeffries, I am down with NDP!
Fascinated By – Everyone’s words this year! I am entirely fascinated in the choices, the process of how they were selected, and I am really looking forward to seeing how they unfold for you this year. It is not too late to join us, Juliann will be hosting on the last Tuesday of each month.
That is all I have for this week! Have a great weekend and I will see you all back here on Monday!
Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels
by Kat | Dec 28, 2018 | General, Words
How is it possible that we find ourselves on the last Friday of the year? Please tell me it is not just me feeling that 2018 had the speed of a Bullet Train! Honestly, it truly seems like last week I was in Michigan visiting my kids enjoying some pretty amazing fall days and it seems so surreal that Christmas is over, and 2019 is almost here! As I scramble through these last days of 2018, the following things are filling my mind…
Thinking About – The past few days I have spent quite a bit of time reviewing 2018 – the good as well as the not so good. I am hoping this honest review will help me set some meaningful intentions for 2019. Yes, intentions – not resolutions! I think I have my word for 2019 as well! And, I am also thinking about goals for 2019 – reading goals, knitting goals, sewing goals, and yes – exercise goals. It seems I need little incentive to fall off the exercise band wagon and once off, it is all too easy to stay off. However, I don’t need incentive to read, or knit, or sew… so I am thinking about a rewards system for myself… stay tuned!
Grateful For – So very much, but this week I am especially grateful for all of you! I do not say this enough – but the fact that you all come here and read the trivial things I share here is profoundly moving. I cannot thank you all enough and I truly love this little community and I love reading your blogs as well – you all make my days fuller and more joyful! Thank you!
Inspired By – The latest newsletter that Courtney from Be More with Less! While I am not ready to do a full-scale Wardrobe Defrag with her Project 333, I am ready to try something different! I am going to try some of her tips on reducing the closet chaos! I am also going to revamp my morning routine – which ties directly in with what I have been thinking about and Courtney has shared some wonderful inspiration with simple little things!
Fun, fun, fun – Steve has Monday and Tuesday off next week, so another nice long weekend is in order! On tap for the weekend…loads of fun starting with Christmas decorations! That’s right by Sunday it will all be carefully packed away for another year to make a clean slate for the New Year! We have no big plans, just a nice quiet evening at home where we will be working on The List of Things that I we want to get done in 2019. This will be amazing, because Steve is not a List Person at all, but in all things – nagging persistence pays off! Haha! So, as you can see it will be all fun, all weekend long around here!
That is all I have for this final Friday in 2018, and I even managed to include a picture of how my Amaryllis Watch is progressing! As you can see, we have growth and then some! Have a great weekend and I will see you all back here on Monday!
