After the Decorations Come Down

 The decorations and trees are put away now. The house feels simpler, a little quieter, and to be honest, empty. Not in a negative way..just less.

This is usually the part of winter where I pause and ask myself what I want to do next, not in a big, sweeping way, but in the small, everyday sense. What do I feel pulled toward? What do I miss when I don't make time for it? 

I have so many things I love. Writing. Storytelling with pictures and words. Documenting the ordinary before it slips past unnoticed. Reading. Knitting. Making something with my hands just because I can. Sometimes the wanting of all of it makes me feel momentarily still, like I'm waiting for the right order or the right mood before beginning. 

This year, my one little word is Release, and I'm starting to understand it less as letting go of things I love and more as releasing the pressure around how I love them. Releasing the need to do everything at once. Releasing the idea that there's a correct way to tell my story. Releasing the feelings of being scattered and stuck. Those feelings are a result of the pressure I put on myself when it comes to time. Not time management, as I have none of that. Instead of choosing one creative outlet at a time, I'm trying to hold them all at once, instead of giving myself permission to choose and pace myself. 

Easing into it feels like the easiest place to begin. No perfection. No setup. Just noticing and letting the story unfold as it is, not as I think it should be.

Today I have an appointment with my rheumatologist because my right hand is swollen and I'm in a lot of pain. Not sure why, but I'm attributing it to cutting and knitting. I made my friends and their spouses, bowl cozies for Christmas and since each one has 2 pieces of material, 2 pieces of batting and I made 8 total, I  cut out 32 squares and didn't really give any thought to arthritis. 

 My hand was not bothering me at all until Christmas day, when it was slightly painful. At first I thought it might be because I made a December Daily page and I did A LOT of cutting. What I wanted to use my Cricut and Canva for, turned into a muddle mess and stressed me out since I'm not an expert in either of those tools. My page was about the Jacquie Lawson Advent Calendar I get every year and day 15, Licorice Allsorts was a big part of the calendar which happens to be a big part of my childhood.

I cut each photos and each tag both inside and out. 

So, it felt good to play with paper again but my hand didn't appreciate it at all. Plus, I've been trying to finish Elliott's sweater, which I only have the collar to do now. 

Ensley trying on Elliott's sweater. She was fascinated with the knitting needles. 

So, this is me in the after. After December. After the decorations. Making space for creativity and storytelling by releasing the standstill and choosing gentle forward motion instead. More thoughts, more noticing and more releasing the pressure I put on myself to either do it all or nothing mentality. 

As always, thanks for stopping by. 

Hello again,

 I've been quiet here for a while, not because my life has been empty, but because it's been full in ways I needed to rethink how I share.

Over the years, this space has held so many pieces of my story. Lately, I've been learning how to tell that story a little differently, more carefully, more intentionally, and with deeper respect for the privacy of the people I love most.

Some of the moments that shape my days are no longer mine to show visually, and I'm honoring that. The experience of those moments; the feelings, the lessons, the quiet joy, the way they change me, all still belong to me. And that's what I want to return to here. 

This blog is shifting toward words, (hello One Little Word,) reflection, small and big adventures, and my inner life that keeps unfolding. It will be less about documenting everything and more about noticing what stays with me. The in-between moments. The growth. The letting go and the holding close.

I don't know exactly what this next version of my blog will look like yet, and that feels okay. For now, it's enough to say, I'm still here, I'm still paying attention and I still am wanting to tell my story. 

Thank you for being here too 😊

December Daily, knitting etc.

 Hello,

As I plug along with my Story Album (still working chronologically 😏) I also decided to work on my December Daily, especially since this years goodies from Ali Edwards were released recently. You can find the info here: Ali Edward's DD

Day 5

Here's a link to my previous pages from December Daily 2023 DD Days 1-4 etc.

Little miss Ensley turned 2 yesterday!! My how time is flying by! Not kidding! 

Paul got a really cool video of a cicada chirping. He said he's never seen one in action so to speak so this is pretty awesome, although I hate the sound they make..sounds like an invasion of some sort 😖. Make sure to have the sound on. 

Usually when I go upstairs to play in my craft room, I give Oreo a little treat, a chewy that will take a little while to consume to keep him busy. This time in his treat jar, the only chewy left was this. Anyway, he treated it like a REAL BONE. He took it outside to bury it, tried to bury it in several places all over the house. The final straw was when he chose it to take to bed (he always goes in his toy-box and brings a stuffy or toy to bed) and kept trying to bury it under the covers and then put it in his mouth and just sat at the bottom of the bed in a quandary. I really think it was stressing him out, so I took it and exchanged it for a stuffy and the next day when he finally wasn't paying attention to it, I tossed it. 

So, while we were in Alaska, of course I had to buy yarn in every town/city we went to. I love creating things with authentic yarn spun or hand dyed in other places. Even if it's in the US. Anyway, I started some socks with some yarn I bought in Sitka. 

I think this was the only yarn I didn't get a picture of me holding outside the yarn shop..damn! 

I joined the Summer Lee's Cuff Club #2. This is Augusts' and I'm actually past the heel and onto the leg. I'm excited to start the cabled cuff!! Cuff Club #2

I have to brag on my hubby. We've wanted landscape lighting for a while now and checked into having it done. LOTS of choices and price ranges. Started at a couple grand. So, Paul looked into it and found on Amazon he could buy all the lighting and transformers for a fraction of the cost and he thought it didn't look too difficult to install. So he did!! I'm beyond proud of him! 

 

Seriously, doesn't it look amazing?

One last thing. I subscribed to a knitting newspaper called Knit Nation. It's a monthly print and it's wonderful to sit down on a Sunday morning with a cup of coffee and look through. One month they had a contest for people to submit a photo of themselves reading it outdoors. I had Jenn take my picture and submitted it. They announce the winner-the woman in the kayak, but then when the next issue came out, there I was!! LOL! 

I'm famous!!! 

Well, I've babbled enough. Thanks for reading and as always...

thanks for stopping by. 

"The Lady of Shalott"

Hi and welcome back to my blog. Today I'm going to share a love of mine. 

My love of the English painter, John William Waterhouse has never wained.  It must have been 25 years ago or so when I discovered him. When I saw the painting "The Lady of Shalott" I immediately had to find out the story behind it. 

The story was written by Lord Tennyson in 1832. It's about a beautiful but stricken woman dying as she floats down a river. The woman, Elaine, is cursed and forbidden to look outside her tower. She can only see the world through a mirror, but when she catches sight of Sir Lancelot, her curse takes hold. 

One Christmas (when Paul and I bought gifts for each other), he had purchased a painting of "The Lady of Shalott" for me. I cried when I opened it.  I hung it in our bedroom. To me it had such a romantic feeling to it. Actually, all of John William Waterhouse's paintings do. They are of women from both ancient Greek mythology and Arthurian legend. He painted the Lady of Shalott in 1888. 

Here it is on the wall on Curtis Drive about 25 years ago. 

Here it is today. Actually a better picture. 

I had lots of items on my bucket list and one was to see the original painting in the Tate Museum in London. It was kind of a funny wish because to me, bucket list items aren't something that really happen. One of my bucket list items was to drive around the country in an RV. Now that I'm 68, I don't see that ever happening. 

BUT! I did get to London and I did see the painting in the Tate Museum!! Paul and I made the trip in 2015. Most of the trip I cried. My dad was born in London and my mom was born in Rhyl,  Northern Wales. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would ever get to walk the same beach as my mom did as a little girl. Or the same pier my dad did as a young lad. Those are stories for another time. 

Here I am outside the Tate Museum.

And here I am inside the museum next to the original Lady of Shalott!! 

I was so excited to be here in this spot!! 

Recently I looking for some roses to plant in the front flower bed and I can't believe I found a rose named "The Lady of Shalott"!!! It's a David Austin rose and we bought some early this year. 

It's now blooming and that made me think of the painting I have and our trip to London. Here she is in bloom.

They make beautiful cut flowers too. 

My hope is that the rose bushes love it here and eventually we'll get some bigger blooms. They smell delightful and the color is gorgeous!! 

And that's my little story of "The Lady of Shalott". I am now looking for a Waterhouse painting for above my bed 😊.

As always, thanks for stopping by. 

This, That and Everything In Between

Hello,

I'm back again..and so soon! This time since I'm going to add April and May. Next time will be June and possibly July although July might be a post by itself since we went to Alaska. 

I was doing laundry and zoning out when I walked past Oreo's crate and saw Arya in it, asleep, again. Now Oreo hasn't been in his crate for about a year now but Arya? She thinks it's her place to hang. 

One of my Instagram accounts is 1_catshortofcrazy. Even though I do consider myself a crazy cat lady, it's mainly because I have 2 cats that ARE crazy!

Arya may have been chasing a fly. Or not 😂

Now Katniss on the other hand is crazy in an other sort of way. She likes to "hunt" toys in the basement. No joke! She goes down there in the kid's play area and brings up all sorts of stuff. 

These were each brought upstairs by Katniss on separate days for about a week. Each morning we would find a new toy either on the floor of the living room or the kitchen counter. 

How did I know it was Katniss? We've seen her quite a few times run through the house with a toy in her mouth making weird noises. Crazy cat! 

Since I have 2 cats who shed like crazy, I put plastic on the kids' beds. That way when they sleep here and I take the plastic off, they have a clean, fur-free place to sleep. 

Really Katniss? Really? 

Since I showed Paul how to make hardboiled eggs in the Instant Pot, he's an egg making pro! I love the fact that I don't have to do it anymore and the eggs turn out perfect! Here's quick recipe if you have an Instant Pot:

They call it a 5-5-5 recipe.

Add a cup of water to the instant pot.

Next add your eggs. You can use the stand that came with it. We use this Egg stand in ours. 

Close the lid and make sure it's set to "seal". 

Set the pressure to cook on high for 5 minutes. 

It will take about 5 minutes to heat up and come to pressure. Once it's done, let the pot slow release for 5 minutes. Then release.

While the eggs cook, make a cold bath in a large bowl just using plain cold water. You can a couple of ice cubes if you like. 

Pull the eggs out and put in the cold water for a few minutes then transfer to an egg cart. Easy!! 

I ordered a couple of things from Jenn's new Etsy shop, Willow Root Design...

One of the items was this shirt! I love it!

I went to Jenn's to help her transplant some plants. It was difficult for her since she was recuperating from shoulder surgery. When I got to her house she had on the same shirt!! LOL.

Another item I purchased was a bathroom sign. I saw one but it wasn't "beachy" themed so Jenn designed this one. I think it came out so cute!! And it's true. You cannot go to the bathroom without one of my cats trying to get in. 

LOL!

April: 

We went to Williamsburg. We celebrated Logan's birthday and did some touring of Williamsburg, and Jamestown. Paul's sister Sue and her hubby Bob came with us. It's was a really fun time. And educational!! 

Since I found these cool birthday candles, I try to give them to family whenever I get the chance. Logan loved his!! 

Emmy got to spend a day with us. What a treat!! 

Watching the glass blowing was a highlight for me. They try to replicate different aspects of colonial times. 

It was nice to spend time with Eric & Ange. That's an understatement. 

Thank you to Sue for the photos of Pocahontas.

What we perceived Pocahontas was like. 

What Pocahontas was actually. 

I hope to make my first travel album using our Williamsburg adventure. 

The annual Easter Egg hunt was another success this year. Ensley got her first try at it and it didn't take long for her to catch on. 

Elliott

Ethan

April flowers are gorgeous this year!!

Doesn't even look like a tulip, does it? 

I got my very 1st colorwork socks done. I'm pretty pleased with myself. 

We had an eagle in the field in our backyard!!!!!! 

This was the day I decided to set up my DSLR in the breakfast room on a tripod. I think I could have gotten some awesome shots with it. 

A couple more highlights of April: Elliott turned 6 and she got her white belt in marshal arts. We had a fun day when Jenn & the kids came over and played on the stilts and pogo stick! 

May: 

I got fed up with the dark color in the living room and convinced Paul we needed it painted. Of course I couldn't pick a color before we left for Williamsburg but we did stop by and visit with Nicole and family. I bring this up because they finished their basement and when we saw it, the first thing I noticed was the wall color! I decided was what I wanted my living room to be. So we got it painted in Agreeable Gray and I love it!! 

The wall with paint sample on it. 

Our painter Steve

We decided to paint the hall and foyer ourselves since the ceiling wasn't too high in those areas.

It's now August and I'm seriously considering NOT filling the bird feeders in the backyard anymore. I know it sounds callous but the birds that are attracted are ugly. House finches and wrens. Plus it's costing me a fortune since we are the only house on the block who has trees and bird feeders. 

I have to say though, early May when I put out the Oriole feeder and mealworms, I got some pretty sweet birds!! 

An Oriole visits..

Some bluebirds visit:

The sad thing is, the wind is so horrible here, I had to stop putting out the mealworms because the whole feeder full got blown away 😒. 

Even though I put out a hummingbird feeder with fresh water every other day, I never saw one hummingbird. 

Goldfinches came and they are beautiful. 

The irises Paul has bloomed and they were amazing!! 

Avon Lake colors!! 

My Easter Cactus bloomed profusely!! 

Check out those buds!! 

Another highlight of May, Elliott graduated from kindergarten. Time flies!! She came over and we baked some Dolly Parton cupcakes. The kiddos came over for some fun in the sprinkler. 

As always..thanks for stopping by!