Knitting for toasty toes...

Here's a project from yesterday.  The bodies of the slippers have been finished for a while, but I finally got around to sewing them together and making pom poms for them.  Super-quick slippers...if you ever get around to the finishing touches!

Gloomy Sunday

I love Sundays...especially when I have no big plans.  Today is going to be filled with puttering, movie watching... Ides of March, knitting, necklace crafting, and of course, laundry and getting ready for the upcoming week.  There's a roast in the crockpot, plenty of loose tea to be brewed, and maybe the promise of a small cake to be baked from a recipe from Miette.  Tea and cake while watching Downton Abbey...sounds delightful!

And here's the cake!

Yellow cake filled with Tangerine Ginger Curd, frosted with 7 Minute Frosting, topped with coconut.  Yum!

71 Days...the countdown begins

Woke up again this morning thinking "Spring"...the weather has been so nice for the past several days...so un-January like.  I know that there are 71 days until Spring...but looking out the window at that gorgeous sunshine makes me crave what I think Spring should be. 

 Photo:  via Miss Bee's Haven/Facebook

I saw this picture this morning on Facebook and absolutely fell in love with this boxcar/gypsy wagon.  Wouldn't it be great to step out into your backyard and have this?  What a nice little getaway!  Since the boxcar is wider than my backyard, I don't think it would work...and where would I find a boxcar to re-do?  It is charming though.

Photo:  Unknown source

Another bit of my Spring-thinking is garden related crafts for library programs.  Hypertufa, anyone?  I think we're going to be elbow-deep in Portland Cement, peat moss, and vermiculite. 

It's a whole new year...

It's a clean slate...a new year to accomplish our goals, fulfill our dreams, and just enjoy life! 



Have a very merry...

Christmas!

A "room" of her own...

via junkaholic

How fabulous is this little crafting shed?  Usually when I think of a "studio", I think of a much larger space...there are lots of spacious craft/art rooms to be viewed on Pinterest, or just while blog-hopping, but I'm always attracted to tiny, well-thought out spaces.  This is one of my favorites, and more importantly, it seems quite do-able in my home.  Looks to be about the same size as my enclosed back porch.  Even in the dead of winter, if the sun shines the temperature is quite moderate in the little room.  Maybe this could turn into my new project for one of my favorite weeks of the year...the week between Christmas and New Years...but only if it's sunny!


I've had lots of ideas for projects lately...that's what happens when my brain overloads with other things to think about and do.  I can be sitting at a stoplight and have a gigantic flash of inspiration, yet when I have time to do creative things, I always seem to be disinclined...why?  Choices...clean the house/sit and knit? iron/read a book? mop the floor/take a nap?  I always seem to go for the less active choice...after all, an unmopped floor will be there until I do something about it, but that urge for an afternoon nap is fleeting.  Problem is, I now have lots of chores stacked up to do and it's interfering with my playtime. After all...wouldn't it be nice to be clean and organized all the time so that making those "hard" choices wouldn't so significant.  Something more to think about today...

Holiday Week Monday

via Channel House Tours

This is the beginning of a busy week...not busy at work, but busy at home.  Last Friday was the start of a vacation week.  I played around on Friday, got a haircut (and boy, did I get my money's worth on this one...a little too short!), and had lunch with a friend on Saturday, then went to the movies with Megan yesterday to see Breaking Dawn.  I'm not a fan of the vampire/werewolf genre...unless we trip back in time to Dark Shadows on tv...but since she wanted me to go, I did.  I guess what I don't like about the Twilight series is that everyone seems to be so tortured...way too much angst.

I'm looking forward to seeing the top of my dining room table by day's end...and maybe a little floor space surrounding the table.  It's a good day to clean...gloomy and rainy outside...time to make a pot of tea and get started.

Sunny Saturday

Today was the most perfect fall day...sunny, crisp, and beautiful.  After attending a morning meeting at the library, I drove to Newburgh to visit The Village Knitter.  Last week I peeked into their darkened display windows and spotted some chunky yarn I thought I needed.  Chunky yarn is not what I purchased though...I fell in love with the braided Madelinetosh Parchment Merino and had to have it.  I also needed some really small needles for it...size 2.  I started knitting as soon as I got home--I'm fond of wearing scarves indoors and out all winter long, so that's what I'm making.

It's been a busy weekend (I was also off yesterday)...I painted two walls in my living room, rearranged furniture, and worked on a few items for my long-bare Etsy shop. 

Delicious

While perusing Pinterest a month or so ago, I came across this pin from The High Heeled Hostess...a redo of Starbucks' Spiced Apple.  It tastes like the very best apple pie in a beverage!  After the Ghost Walk Saturday evening, we stopped at the local Starbucks...pretty rare, as we usually frequent the local coffee houses rather than the big chain.  While in line for a coffee (I had the almost sinful Salted Caramel Mocha), I remembered this apple drink I wanted to try at home.  I purchased a bottle of the Starbucks Dolce Sugar-free Cinnamon syrup from the barista...she asked if I had a pump for the bottle, and included one in my bag when I said I didn't have one.  Anyway...after sitting in their comfy leather chairs and chatting for a while, one of the employees came around with a tray of sample drinks...it was the Spiced Apple!  Delicious--and now I had the original to compare to my soon-to-be whipped up "home edition."  I stopped at the grocery on the way home to purchase apple juice, fat-free RediWhip, and fat-free caramel.  Decided I needed all fat-free products since I blew it on the Salted Caramel Mocha (!!).  Early Sunday afternoon I put the High Heeled Hostess version together:

8 oz. apple juice (warmed in the microwave)

2 pumps of Dolce Cinnamon Syrup

Whipped Cream

Drizzle of Caramel

Totally delicious, not too bad in the calorie/fat/sugar category, and way less expensive than the Starbucks brew.  This is going to be my official beverage for fall...and maybe winter!  Go visit the High Heeled Hostess for other amazing recipes.

P.S.  I thought cinnamon syrup would taste like liquid Red Hots...and I was so wrong!  The Dolce version tastes buttery and rich (and zero calories).  Definitely worth a trip to Starbucks.



Historic Newburgh Ghost Walk

After work, I'm meeting a few friends in historic downtown Newburgh...we're going to go on a Ghost Walk.  Newburgh has been doing these tours for quite a while...there are two different tours;  the State Street Tour, and the Water Street Tour.  It's been quite a while since I've done the Water St. Tour,  but I lived on that street for several years  when we first moved to Indiana.

                               Plum + Water = Plumwater Cottage!

                                          

 I miss Newburgh...most of my friends live there, and I really enjoy the {generally}quiet little community on the river.

This should be big fun!

It's a chilly morning here...a killing frost is expected early tomorrow morning.  Lots to do to get ready for winter!  One of my priorities early this morning was to snip some hydrangea.  The colors are so pretty;  they are not the beautiful dark blues and lavenders of summer, but rich burgundies and greens to complement autumn.

I've been a hermit the past few months...staying inside, working on a few projects (I should say plans for projects), and feeling a bit isolated.  It was getting to the point where I could almost not see out of my left eye and the right one was following at a slower pace.  In 2007 I had cataract surgery on both eyes and in recent months they started clouding up.  Monday morning I had a YAG Capsulotomy on both eyes.  I can SEE again!  They computer type is crisp black instead of faded grey, and all is now well in my little world.  The downside---I see dirt, dust, and cobwebs everywhere! 

Lots to do today;  cleaning is definitely at the top of the list, followed by a little sewing on Megan's Halloween attire...she's going to be Rainbow Fish.  Lots of scales to sew!

New interests include art journaling; we're having a wonderful class at my library branch facilitated by Lynda Heines (edited to add the link to her blogpost about this class) Everyone is having a great time!