Martin Luther King Jr Day

Today we honor Martin Luther King Jr.

Schools are closed. Post offices are closed. Office buildings are closed. But thankfully, our minds are not closed.

Fortunately for me, I'm able to honor it at home so I don't have to step outside in our extremely cold, 11 degrees BELOW zero temperature. I'm one of those lucky Americans who gets the day off work.

I'm going to take some time today and ponder this awesome Martin Luther King Jr quote.

In Love

I am in love with a new blog called Heather Spriggs. I can't believe I've never found it before but am so glad I finally did.

It is such a wonderful mix of loveliness and creativity that I can hardly stand it. You know.....when you get so excited about something that you can hardly stand to look at it. Your insides start to churn and your mind starts to whirl. In a good way.

Well, I highly encourage you to check it out. I have yet to look at every corner of the site - but I'm already head-over-heels about the new "white issue".

Clara Settles In

It was just over a month ago that I took in my stray buddy, Clara. She's really settled in nicely and seems to enjoy her new life.

She snuggles with me every night, wakes me up with head-rubbing-loving every morning, and gives me welcome home hugs when I drag back home after work.

Oh - and did I mention that she loves to keep the sofa nice and warm for me? What a good helper.

Fun Fingerless Gloves (FFG)

A couple weeks ago I decided that I have really missed knitting and crocheting. I checked around the internet for a simple, yet cute pattern for fingerless gloves (free pattern here).

It was an easy knit pattern and helped used up scraps of yarn from other projects.

What makes the pattern so darn easy is that is in knit flat and then simply stitched up the side - leaving a hole where you want your thumb.

It was fun getting the knitting needles moving again.

A Savings Plan

I've been out of commission again for awhile - I came down with the nasty flu bug that is running rampant here in the midwest. I still am not up to my normal self - but I'm feeling much better than I was a week ago.

I ran across this on Facebook the other day. Wish a new year upon us, it seemed like a pretty cool and somewhat do-able way to save a few dollars over the course of a year. I might just give it a try!

Meet Clara A.

Last Friday, I arrived home from work to find a cat hollering to me from the crawl space under my house. It was cold, snowy, and nearing the evening dark.

As I knelt down to talk to her, she immediately came to me and started purring. I knew I had to take her inside where it was warm. After she was safe inside, I started knocking on neighborhood doors to see if anyone had lost their little love. No one knew of any lost cats.

I've always been a "dog person" and anticipated getting another after losing my sweet baby, Charlotte, this summer - but this cat was so loving and cozy. I warmed up to her immediately. I knew if no one claimed her, she'd have to stay with me. I decided to keep her safe over the weekend, and if no one came for her in that time, I would take her to the vet for a check-up on Monday. Also, Sunday evening we (the cat and I) had a discussion about her name. We determined that it would be Clara A. ("A" as in Angel). And, IF she were not a Clara, it would be Clarence.

Well, I'm happy to report that Clara IS Clara and is doing well. She had her vet visit yesterday afternoon. She's healthy, spayed (previously), vaccinated, and estimated to be about 2 1/2 years old.

Of course, if her "original" family still ends up finding her, I'll have to let her go - but in the meantime, we're a happy new pair - just in time for Christmas.

Homemade Hot Chocolate

I just finished putting together gift jars of homemade hot chocolate mix. I found the recipe here. I LOVE it - it's such a yummy mix - and mixes up so smoothly.

After making the mix, I packaged it in clean (new) canning jars, wrapped with string, added a little bag of mini marshmallows, and wrote on a small tag so the recipients would know how much mix to use for  that perfect cup of chocolaty warmth!

In addition to the gift jars, I had to make sure I had some still left for myself. If you taste it yourself - I think you'll know why I turned seasonally selfish on this one!

Snow Bird

Last weekend we were given a December snow day. I'm still not sure what our total snowfall was for the day. I've heard many different amounts - anywhere from 14 inches to 24 inches! At any rate, let's just say it was "a lot".

The next day, I looked out my back door at this sweet little bird - sitting cozily in the snow covered bird feeder. At first I thought he might be injured because he sat there for well over an hour. But, thankfully, he was just fine. He must have just needed a rest (like all of us) after the big snow fall.

 

A Holiday Chandelier

Many moons ago, I purchased this wooden chandelier at a thrift store. In typical me-fashion, I promptly grabbed the can of spray paint and provided it with a lovely fresh antique white coating.

During the Thanksgiving holiday, I simply propped some lovely fall gourds on it's different petals and placed it in the center of our table. I also sprinkled some hand-cut felted recycled wool leaves. (Note: To my surprise, when left on the center of the table while eating, the wool leaves provided extra hot-pad protection for our casserole dishes!)

Now for Christmas-time, I've decided to move the chandelier to my kitchen table and sprinkle the petals with miniature vintage tree ornaments. I'm enjoying their shinny simplicity. And who doesn't love vintage?

I can't wait until Valentine's Day to see what awaits this fun thirft store find!

Autumn Joy

A sweet friend of mine brought by these home-grown gourds and baby pumpkins the other day.

I love how they look all together on my kitchen table. They scream (in a good way!) autumn joy to me every time I pass by!

Happiness Walking

I'm trying to get better at being active and now is such a beautiful time of year to get walking.

I have a standard walking path that gets me moving for 1 1/2 miles.

It's a lovely walk with great fall foliage, cozy homes, and wonderful black labs that come bouncing out to greet me.

Here. Take a little walk with me.



Until tomorrow....or until the snow flies!

Achieving Unhappiness

Hmmm.....well said, I believe.

Not a Hill. Not a Mountain. But a Bluff

Last weekend I visited my sister and brother-in-law's. We had a big yard sale. (What? Is this still the year-to-clear?)

After we closed the sale on Saturday afternoon, the whole family (minus my son, who couldn't make it) took a little drive to nearby LaCrosse (WI) to Granddad's Bluff.

What fun. What a view. What a family.

BFF Cowls

Isn't this the cutest? (The look is great - and I love the color combo and textures as well.)

You knit a flat cowl, swap with a friend, then unite them together for the funnest look!

Check it out!

National Cheeseburger Day

Well, who knew? Today is National Cheeseburger Day!

Had I know earlier, I would have paid proper tribute to the day by eating a cheeseburger at lunch or supper, but I didn't find out this fantastically fun fact until after supper.

Thank goodness there's next year. In the meantime, sink your teeth into this...

Put a Pin in It

Here's a little peek at a mini pin cushion I made years ago. Its base is made with a recycled bottle cap and the top with....of course, recycled wool. I made multiple ones for Christmas gifts one year - probably over 30 of them! They are quite fun and addicting. I enjoy the detailed stitching and beadwork on them.

Start with this...

And finish with this...

I used a self-adhesive velcro dot to attach my little pin cushion to my sewing machine. It's quite handy there.