by Kat | Jan 6, 2025 | General, Welcome
JANUARY,
The first month of the year,
A perfect time to start all over again,
Changing energies and deserting old moods,
New beginnings, new attitudes
― Charmaine J Forde
And perhaps even knowing what actual day it is! Yes, hello, January!
Yes, I have spent the last two weeks in a “haze of days” where every day felt like a weekend. There were odd amounts of Monday’s as well, with each week having more than one… or so it felt!
But yesterday when I sat down to turn the page in my calendar to “peek into” this week… it felt very Sundayish and I am now ready to welcome a new month!
One that is not creeping in slowly, despite my “what day is it” confusion!
Already, I have accomplished BIG things… My new stitching is set up and I have even stitched every day!
Last year’s stitch pages have been washed and are now dry… ready for me to put them together.
And I have found a new rhythm with my Marled Scarf… I have just 3 color changes to go to completion!
So with all that already under my belt… what possibly else can this month hold?
Here are the other things I’d like to find space for this month:
- The Great Closet Clean Out! Yes, cold weather has finally set in so I need to put away the lingering “warmer weather” clothes and do a good sorting.
- The Great Pantry Clean Out! My pantry is the very bane of my existence, but I am determined to “start fresh” this month and bring some semblance of order to its shelves!
- The Great Desk Clean OFF! Ugh, really… just a huge ugh to this one. I want to find some “organizing accessories” to help me keep my space uncluttered, inviting, a space where I can write, read some poetry, and begin my day in a more orderly fashion… versus the absolute chaos it is right now!
And it is not just the “doing” of these things… it is the combination of doing them and keeping Frankie amused! Wish me luck!
Six days in… with a list that looks short but is really overly full! What about you? What do you hope to accomplish this month?
I will see you all back here on Wednesday with some unraveling!
Header photo by AS Photography
by Kat | Dec 2, 2024 | General, Welcome
It is December, and nobody asked if I was ready. — Sarah Kay
Hello December,
How are you here already?! I mean, I swear it was just July! I know that I might have silently wished for a cool December breeze on one of the many hot July afternoons… but really, it was just a passing thought!
And I for sure was not ready for you to come roaring in like a much colder and incredibly windier version of a March Lion!
I asked all my kids for “lists” … or ideas… early in November. I am still list-less on all fronts so I think a bit of Nagging Mother needs to be released into the Text-World.
Also… of course I did not get all my bulbs in during the mild November days. I still have 50 varied hyacinths to plant. I am hoping for a bit of a warm up this week, but I think nature has other plans for me because our forecast is full of bitterly cold, well below freezing days. Sigh.
Franklin gets his final puppy shots this morning… and I am hoping to get his “snip” surgery scheduled for January. I have also reached the point of really hoping for him to be done having to go out in the middle of the night. Things I did not consider before beginning this Puppy Adventure: Steve’s unwillingness to get up *even on the weekends* with Franklin. I am feeling very depleted…
This December will be the first in my life that I have not put up the Christmas tree. But I really did not want another task to tackle by myself and I think that in this rambunctious stage of puppy life, putting a tree up is inviting disaster. However, we purchased two small birch trees for the mantle that I hope to get “spread out” and incorporated with the fairy lights before this week is over.
AND… the first day without a single digit windchill, I will take Frankie out with me to get the outside lights up!
The ONLY other things on my December list are to savor the joy of Gnome Knitting as Gnana’s story unfolds. And, perhaps more pressing, I do have a bit of “homework” to accomplish before Felix’s BuJo class on the 6th… I need to ask myself the following question: “What DID I do in January?!” The answer is what I need to “get myself started”… I am hoping for a bit of time this week to look back and think about it!
And that is about all the brain bandwidth I have for things I want to accomplish this month. What about you? What do you hope this month holds?
I will be back on Wednesday and I hope you will too!
Header photo by Luna Lovegood
by Kat | Nov 4, 2024 | General, Welcome
The thinnest yellow light of November is more warming and exhilarating than any wine they tell of. The mite which November contributes becomes equal in value to the bounty of July. — Henry David Thoreau
I love November light especially in the early mornings at sunrise, which have been so lovely recently, I just love the glow the sun gives to the trees that still have leaves!
I also enjoy all that November holds in her days: Election Day – tomorrow (if you haven’t voted, please go vote), Veterans Day – next week, and Thanksgiving Day – later this month! These are some of the best parts of November and I will also celebrate a beloved son-in-law’s birthday this month as well.
Those things aside, I do have some things I need to accomplish this month! It is a short list, but that does not mean it will be simple to accomplish!
Lotsa bulbs… oy.
- Plant this box of bulbs. The daffodils and alliums will be the easiest things to get done… but I have 50 grape hyacinth bulbs, which are supposed to bloom over several months, that I want to plant in a “challenging” area in my yard. My hope is that this plethora of hyacinths will fill a dull area with some color once the snowdrops are done!
- Figure out how to get back to my daily painting practice. I have not picked up a brush since Franklin arrived and I miss it terribly.
- Catch up my Autumn Pages… I am woefully behind. Stitching + Franklin might be the greatest challenge of the month, but I know what I want to do! I just need to pull the fabrics and get them cut out and stitched down. My last pages turned out wonderfully but they are still not done!! I need to add some leaves to the “moon tree” and the date and time. Small bits, but I need to figure out a way to work this into the schedule!
October 17th sunset and moonrise were at 6:34PM in Erie, PA
And there you have my November intentions! Wish me luck fulfilling them!
What about you? What do you hope your November holds?
Header photo by Anton Atanasov
by Kat | Oct 4, 2024 | General, Welcome
In October, a maple tree before your window lights up your room like a great lamp. Even on cloudy days, its presence helps to dispel the gloom. — John Burroughs
It is the month I eagerly anticipate all year… my most favorite of all!
Although, it feels very off to be delighting in these days as my neighbors to the south are struggling mightily. But we sent off a donation or two… it seems so inadequate to just send off money but I know that all these donations will make a big difference. And despite the enormity of this disaster, there are bright spots that shine brighter than the trees will… stories of people helping each other. That gives me hope… and I hope it brings hope to those affected as well.
My October List of things is short this month:
- We head to Erie next week (and I am so very ready for it!)
- Then… once our Erie Time has finished, we will go pick up our new puppy!
Perhaps that is exactly how it should be to allow for maximum reveling in October days because just 4 days in and I have been doing LOTS of reveling!! The weather has turned nicely this week. We got some rain (we could use more, but I am not complaining!) and the past couple of mornings have been quite chilly! Yesterday morning, I watched the fog roll in (literally, I could watch it roll down the hills behind our house!) and it was incredible to watch! I have pulled out a couple of lopapeysa’s to wear… and they are the perfect woolly layer! Might a Mr. Heater have been nice? Yes… it would. But I have not “done” anything about making that a reality. (Done, as in tell Steve to order something! Ha!)
After taking August and September off from baking sour dough bread, I feared my starter (which, for those wondering, is nameless) would be dead. Not at all! It just needed a bit of “reviving” and 36 hours later was raring to go so I baked bread yesterday and was happy to have a fresh loaf of bread to go with the tomato soup I made!
Now I am off to do a bit of garden clean up on this amazingly gorgeous morning! Happy October everyone!
See you all back here on Monday!
by Kat | Sep 2, 2024 | General, Welcome
September is the other January. — Gretchen Rubin
Hello Sweet September! You are one of my favorite months and have been for as long as I can remember! I love every thing you bring from the return “normal” schedules to the changes that happen with the weather!
So what do I mean by normal? Well, the kids are back at school and I do love watching the neighborhood kids head to the bus stop in the mornings and head home in the late afternoons. There is delight in sitting on my porch in the morning and I confess to eavesdropping on conversations as they wait for the bus. “Kid Banter” about sports… hockey and soccer are big in my neighborhood but sometimes there is a bit of “Dad Advice” to the waiting charges. Dad Advice can be really quite eye-opening… the “make sure you pay attention and listen” talk from last week will be most memorable because I think the squirrel and birds were the only ones listening!
I have noted the shortening of days as August raced through, a shortening that becomes more pronounced in September. I gave in last night and turned on lights in the living room after dinner… sigh. I have softened the blow of the waning light by turning on the fairy lights on the mantel and in the Gnome Hutch but yesterday’s clouds required a bit more light. I am not complaining though because those clouds brought some much needed rain!
September mornings have the most glorious light… it just glows and I am going to savor every morning I can on my porch! Yes, I am not giving up my “outside office” yet… after all, I have an abundance of sweaters to pull on to ward off the morning chill.
I have only one thing on my “list” this month… to make every effort to get that blasted sweater done! (Stay tuned for an update on my woes on Wednesday.) Sometimes sweater knitting is not for the faint of heart… sigh.
Welcome September! I hope you are bringing all the sweater knitting juju my way!
What about you? What are your plans for September?
The above photo by Plato Terentev
by Kat | Aug 5, 2024 | General, Welcome
August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time. — Sylvia Plath
Hello August and Hello Gentle Readers!
It is my hope that August holds some (more) rain this month…we’ve had some but we need quite a bit more in my neighborhood!
Welcome to the last full month of summer. The month where the tomato plants are supposed to explode with an abundance of fruit. Mine? Well… there will be some cherry tomatoes… though likely not enough to share and my big tomato plants were a bust this year. Not a single tomato blossom ever appeared. So a less than stellar summer for tomatoes.
So what can an August without tomatoes hold for me?
Some poetry for what ails me!
Well… thank goodness for poetry. I am reading poetry every day (especially poets who understand grief… Ada Limón and Ocean Vuong, I am loving my time with you!) The Sealey Challenge talks about reading one book of poetry a day… and some days I might read an entire little book of poetry. But most days, I have found that just sitting and lingering with a few poems are my sweet spot. (For my fellow Rilke lovers… Mark Burrows has a new translation of Rilke’s Sonnets to Orpheus)
A deeper dive into Time, thanks to the latest Emergence Magazine publication! It is chock full of good things!
To fuel my creative soul… I signed up for a MDK class with Cecelia Campochiaro. I have my “kit” and I am itching to begin “micro-swatching” with a color way kit that channels Carole… The Dahlia Color Set:
I love these colors and I am really excited to see how they marl!
There you have my hopes for August… what about you? What do you hope this month holds for you?
Header photo by Fauzan Fitria who had the perfect image for today’s date!
