Wool and Oranges

Dan’s needle felting business has been keeping him pretty busy for some time, but I am happy to report that he has been able to find a little time for spinning again. He has been using it a bit like a meditation I think, 15 minutes with his coffee in the morning, before the world wakes up. Here is his first skein of the year.

Handspun Yarn

I love these little daily practices, and I had a good one last year that I’ll show you in another post. I haven’t found one for 2015 yet. I have some ideas, nothing has solidified yet.

Kieran Foley Test Knit

I have been knitting a lot of scarves/shawls lately. At the moment I’m having a blast test knitting this fun one for Kieran Foley (pictured above). I finally finished this one I started back in October. There is some secret knitting going on as well, stay tuned!

Handknit Shawl

This weekend brought a bit of a winter thaw to our corner of the world, but mostly January has been so cold all we have wanted to do is stay in, cook soups and other comfort foods and stay warm. I hope you are staying warm and finding pleasure in the season, at least the citrus fruit has been great, hasn’t it?

Winter Citrus

Rainbows for All

Wouldn’t it be great if we didn’t have to have conversations about who gets to do what and who is entitled to such and such? That the sorts of things enjoyed by some people, would be available to all people? Instead, we live in a world, though full of creative and loving people, is also full of hate and fear. Instead of embracing the differences that make us individuals, we respect only those that make people most like ourselves.

I’ve tried not to be too divisive on this blog, or have rants of any sort, but this sort of thing shouldn’t even be an issue. And, this year seems to be a good year to make a statement, especially for states that could potentially have discrimination being written into their constitutions.

The owls know what I’m talking about. They’re lightyears ahead of us humans.

Owl Couple

Weeks 19 & 20 in Review

Week in Review - 19

Some good transitions happened over the last two weeks. The happiest being warmer temperatures, allowing for nice long walks after work, as well as, the first bike ride of the season (albeit on rain-soaked trails).

Week in Review - 20

The garden continues to provide our yard with color and variety. Virginia decided to keep track of the number of cut flowers (specifically tulips and daffodils) that we’ve been able to enjoy inside our home: so far, 20 dozen daffodils and 16 dozen tulips (spread out through the last several weeks). Our hard work throughout the various autumns is really starting to yield some spectacular results. More amazing, you can barely tell that many stems have been harvested. The more we play with our yard, the more likely it seems that we’ll be staying in this house for many a year.

Tulips

But, that’s the best part of building a home.

Weeks 17 & 18 in Review

I cheated a little bit these last two weeks. Some of the photos (you’ll be able to tell) are from the same day. I had some catching up to do, and once you get behind with this project that’s all you can do.

Week in Review - 17

(Yes, we sometimes do get out of the house and out on the town, and figured it would be a good opportunity to get a shot of the two of us cleaned up a bit.)

Week in Review - 18

With Spring in full swing, our tulip garden is producing some lovely fields of color. And, what better way to say Happy Mother’s Day (Mom, that’s for you when you read this) than with a bright cheery bouquet (even if it’s virtual and 1,000 miles away).