Sunday. NOT a Typical Day of Rest (for me).

The pain was bad enough yesterday that not a lot got accomplished around this house. There was a frost when we went out for our morning stroll. The sun has already burned off all ice crystals within its reach.

There are three partially painted eggs and seven more blank eggs waiting to be completed. Hopefully today will see at least three put in the finished carton.

Hastiness yesterday led to a blow-out of turquoise paint on the palate. Two eggs and a birdhouse gourd benefited. In line with the motto, "There are no mistakes in painting.", the blow-out has been renamed a Happy Accident and the paints were put away for the day.

Have been using tube acrylics by Artists Loft. Their bushes aren't all that great, but the pigmentation of the tube paint is excellent. Notice the tiny drops of paint on the palate. A little bit goes a long way. Am not great at mixing, so bottle acrylics fill in the palate. Still nice to have that kind of rich density on only one coat.

Here's hoping your Sunday is filled with blessings. If you can't see one: be one.

Busy, Busy, Busy.

Most of my time prior to the Easter holiday was spent painting Easter eggs to give some friends and family. Spent time with a close friend. Luckily, she's crafty too and we spent our time listening to Bob Ross, painting and laughing at stupid stuff. Was lucky enough to spend some time with family as well. Time shared with family is always precious. People change so much over the years. It was great to get away even though it was only a couple days.

Back home and back to reality with another dozen or so blank eggs waiting for paint. While I do that, here are some of the finished eggs that weren't given away.

Can you believe a full dozen eggs were gifted?

Speaking of given away... Would you like one of these hand painted Easter eggs? Comment on this post with the number of your favorite egg. CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES ONLY!! Winner will be selected at random on Sunday the 23rd.

Good luck!

#1 - Purple Flowers

#2 - Blue Flowers

#3 - Pink Dogwood

#4 - Purple and Cobalt Flowers

#5 - Pansies

#6 - Mixed Flowers

#7 - White Tole Flowers on Red

#8 - Blue Tole Flowers on Cream

#9 - Orange and Yellow Flowers

#10 - Tole Flowers (Side 1)

#10 - Tole Flowers (Side 2)

#11 - Red and White on Cream

Freezing Friday.

Sheesh-kabob. I scoffed when a friend spoke of snow in the weather forecast. Sure enough, a light, white blanket carpeted the grass as witnessed by our sleepy eyes this morning. Not enough to make driving hazardous. The cold breeze that came with the snow was bone chilling. Still, it's good to see how much the grass has grown since the days began to be longer and brighter.

Too cold to do anything outside. Had a friend help me with some Spring cleaning. Took down all the knick-knacks on top of the kitchen cupboards, cleaned them, put down fresh shelf paper and put them back up -- rearranged, don't cha know. Was nice to have someone to help hand stuff up and down. Would have taken me days to do by myself.

Here are a few ornaments that are ready to go (except for a border around the black one).

Of course, more are in the making. Gifts for friends and family this Easter. Hope I have enough made by the time I see everyone. Only really have this weekend then the visiting will start. Looking forward to some good times spent with good people.

Back to work for a while. Wheel of Fortune and next Jeopardy. The background music for a single life.

May your evening be restful and tomorrow filled with joy.

Blessed be.

Thoroughly Thursday.

No photo today folks. The morning and afternoon were spent on errands and chores.

Rain. Rain. Rain. Even our evening walk was in the rain. Poor puppy dog.

Painting has begun. Unfortunately, there were a few mishaps.

One of the eggs (a nice green one) magically sprouted a second hole. Painting the shells with regular acrylic was more trouble than it was worth. Three layers and still not a uniform depth. Streaky. A switch to acrylic enamel solved that particular problem, but added to the dry time. An experiment painting on top of a base coat of pysanky ink was a total waste of time. Another experiment -- one of those 'DUH' moments -- we'll call it, "I wonder what it will look like if I do this..." Yeah. DUH. One egg that is probably beyond recovery, but I'll try to save it if at all possible. For now it's in the reject pile.

Finally, three eggs are finished. Except for the sealant. Simply too tired to do much more.

That's all for tonight, ou. I'm off to dreamland. May your dreams be happy and you rise in the morning refreshed and ready to start the day.

Counting blessings. Wynken, Blynken and Nod. Here I come.

Wednesday Worktable.

It must be Easter...

Getting ready to paint some Easter eggs.

Thankful Thoughts on a Tuesday.

Grandmother used to say "April showers bring May flowers." It's a song, don't cha know 😊

Already the Spring rains have sprouted some early flowers. These pretty purple crocus are right in our front yard. The daffodils along the back sidewalk are about six inches so far and a few have blossoms growing.

Today I'm thankful for:

• Spring Peeper frogs
• Grass turning green
• Friends and family
• Kitty-cats that curl up in your lap and fall asleep purring
• Puppy dogs that play nice with kitties
• Windows open to the fresh air
• Sunshine breaking through rain clouds
• Final chemo treatments
• Remission
• Ibuprofen
• Sit-coms
• Word games

Sweet dreams, friend. May you have many blessings to count as you fall to sleep.

Monday Mini-Project. Owl Ornaments.

 Yesterdays walk was rather pleasant. We went to the local reservoir and did the mile loop. Simply stepping out the the car and smelling the hemlocks along the shore was refreshing.

Unusually quiet there. A few hikers checking out spots along the edge to fish from. Nice to see young folks getting out and about. A few folks fishing along the shore. They'd do better to follow the streams. Trout like it cold.

Time to pick up my fishing license.  Season opened on April 1st.

Come to think of it, the game commission was out stocking local streams about a week ago. Will have to scan the paper to see where it was. Dang. Those babies will hit on about anything... Canned corn used to work pretty good back when Grandfather still walked the earth. We used to go to his brothers hatchery (Uncle Ralph - RIP) and do a little fishing - with permission, of course. All you really had to do was stick your line in the water and wait. Those ponds were full of some really nice, fat fish. The first one I pulled from the water was a nine inch Brook Trout. Many, many moons ago.

Will be finishing up those little owl ornaments today. Three more to go, then the painting can begin again.

Chores first. Then it's project time.

Y'all have a productive, satisfying day.  Remember to count your blessings.

Sunday Funday.

Doodling possible Christmas ornament designs while sipping coffee and waiting for the first load of wash to finish so the hot water tank can recover enough to take a shower before heading out on the trail.

(How's THAT for a run-on sentence, Grammar Police? LOL)

Going to be a gorgeous day. Bright sunshine outside and already up to thirty-four (34) degrees with an anticipated high of fifty-seven. A nice Spring day in Northwestern PA.

Here's hoping your Sunday is full of sunshine and smiles!

Saturday Scatterday.

Seems like all I've been doing lately is sleeping. Perhaps because of the rainy weather we've been having. Perhaps because I'm bored with making small items.

Here are three of nine felt owl ornaments. Shown without their hanging ribbons. From start to finish, it takes around an hour to an hour and a half to make each one. Incredible for something only about three and a half inches high. Too much time for the $5 that folks will pay for them.

Another three owls. Obviously.

Live and learn.

These aren't hard to make. Simply tedious. The hardest part is sewing the blanket stitch around the cotton wings that have been ironed onto the felt using fusible web. So far the fusible web has worked well to stop the cotton from fraying.  


Saw some retro-camper felt ornaments online for $14.99 each. How do those shop owners sell their items for so much? Must be a better market than ours.

Four of these little elephants were cut out. This is the first completed. He's about four inches tall and five and a half inches from trunk to tail. Makes up in about an hour. Hoping the customers in this area will pay $7.50 for them.

Believe it or not, the hardest part of this project was stuffing them.

With more daylight hours, the acrylics and watercolors are calling my name. Time to wrap up all these small sewing projects and paint again. Have several different projects in mind - non-traditional canvas mandala type. "Hippie Art". We'll see how it goes. Wish I knew how to mat watercolor paintings.

Until next time, may your laughter be plentiful and your troubles be few.

Throwback Thursday.

The first watercolor I ever sold. Still wet.

Silly me. I miss it.

Perhaps I'll paint another soon.

Wednesday Worktable.

Daughter and I had a chat the other day about becoming more productive. She shared an idea about assigning a different type of craft for each day of the week. For example, crochet on Monday, quilting on Tuesday, knitting on Wednesday...

You get the idea.

I let that idea percolate through my little brain for a while. Last night while watching TV, the idea finished "brewing". Today's worktable is the result.

Now, I really enjoy crafting. What I don't enjoy is cutting stuff out. It has to happen though. Like many unpleasant chores, the easiest way to get through it is simply to get through it.

Fast forward to the worktable.

Between getting a haircut and having a wisdom tooth removed (ouch!), I only had time to cut out ten owl ornaments and four elephants before chores called me back to reality. However, two additional patterns - a bunny and a giraffe - were also cut out. Perhaps tomorrow will yield more fabric cut and ready for sewing.

Until then...

May you find happiness in the simple joys of life.

Sweet dreams, my friend.

Monday Not-So-Mini Project.

Here is a picture of the project I've been working on for the last four days. Had I known how long it would take...

Unless a loved one requests one of these and twists my arms, this is the only one I will ever make.

It's cute enough. Simply way too labor intensive.

If you'd like to try the pattern yourself, here is a link to the good folks at Squishy Cute Designs who created the pattern. You'll have to sign up for their newsletter in order to get the pattern. They have some other very nice designs for sale too.

Saturday. Where Did the Time Go?

Here's something pretty to brighten your day.

In the spirit of "if you don't have anything nice to say", this post is going to be short. The crafting hasn't gone well the last few days. Hours spent - wasted time. Time to take a break from it and find something else to do. The something else turned out to be reading poetry. Don't tell anyone, but sometimes I read it aloud. It sounds different that way.

Today's selections were "selected and introduced by" Caroline Kennedy. The book is called "she walks in beauty". One of my favorites is "You Can't Have It All", by Barbara Ras. Seems no matter where I randomly open the book, one or more gems appear before me.

Worth a read if you enjoy that art form.

Time to go back to it.

Y'all have a good evening.

Throwback Thursday.

This photo is from five years ago.

It's hard to believe this little guy with the radar ears grew so big.

He's still a very loving dog.

My pal, Bandit.

Wednesday Worktable. Elephants.

This was my morning worktable. I had such high hopes to complete a few of these today. All the supplies ready and waiting.

Looked up how to do the blanket stitch on YouTube to make sure I'm doing it correctly.

Usually, the first time you make (or do) something is the hardest. Knowing that, the first elephant was cut out.

Eye placement marked. Safety eyes attached. Right sides pinned together.

The first problem reared its ugly head at the sewing machine. The eyes did not allow the fabric to move freely around the presser foot. Easily rectified by raising the needle and moving on. The area around the eyes was seamed by hand.

The second problem came when turning the cloth right-side-out. Thank goodness there were some bamboo kabob skewers in the cupboard.

Once it was right-side out, it was apparent that the eyes were too large for the toy.

Nonetheless, stuffing proceeded... and proceeded... and proceeded... It would have taken forever without that bamboo skewer!

The tail was attached. The last opening closed.

Ears pinned to the body. Crud. They're a bit large.

In for a penny, in for a pound.

This was the first effort. It took about an hour and a half - yes, ninety minutes! - to complete this little thing to this almost finished stage. Simply couldn't bring myself to do BOTH ears. What is most upsetting was that I had wasted this pretty fabric... it's almost gone!

Switched gears for a while and took the bonehead for a walk. Didn't even make a mile, but the simple act of walking cleared my head. The snowdrifts are bad enough (and the terrain uneven enough) that I had to concentrate on walking. Thankfully, that allowed me to focus on the beauty of the drifts and the blue sky. The wind was howling through the trees kicking up little 'snow devils' in the fields. No other tracks on the trail besides ours and the oil maintenance truck.

Birds have been at the feeders. I feel bad for the Robins; hard to feed with eight inches of snow on the ground.

Once back in the house the project was viewed with different eyes. It was such a pain to sew on the machine, that I decided to try hand-sewing.

Here's the result... Much better.

Yup. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

Y'all have a great evening, folks.

p.s. (Good news. There was just enough of that pretty fabric to make one more elephant. Shown below in progress. The smaller eyes work much better, eh?)

Thankful Tuesday. The Third Owl.

This is the third little owl I talked about in yesterday's post.

His eyes are kinda cool. At least, I think so.

The anticipated snow storm didn't amount to much - yet. The snow has been coming down off and on all day, but as of 9 PM we only had about six inches. It's still snowing, tho. UGH!

Today I'm thankful for:
Pinterest
Free patterns
Friendly neighbors
Poetry
Leftover pot roast that makes into beef stew (yum)
Neoprene face masks
Naproxen

Goodnight. Sweet dreams. Until we meet again.

Monday Mini-Project.

This little owl comes to you from an unknown source. Not original to me (or the website where instructions were found), but their website offered it freely.

Shown here using two different finishing methods.

A third is on the worktable for tomorrow that will be finished in a different way.

Which do you like better?

I kinda like the pink bellied one, but I don't have any more of those type of eyes (and no funds to purchase more... hence, using the supplies on hand).

Big storm headed our way. Twelve to fourteen inches of snow anticipated. Downstate is predicted to bear the brunt, getting upwards of two feet in places.

March sure has been a lion with the weather. Winter's final hurrah is shaping up to be a doozie.

Wherever you are tonight, here's hoping you are warm, well-fed, and had at least one moment today that made you smile or laugh.

Sweet dreams, friends.

Sumptuous Sunday. Daylight Savings Time Begins.

In spite of the time change, the day began well enough with Sir Elton John's Tiny Dancer as an earworm. A quick trip to YouTube made that a reality and we listened to some of his more popular songs until well after breakfast.

Truthfully, the time change won't mean much for us. We've been getting up around 5:30 a.m. every day. Now it will simply be a more reasonable hour: 6:30 a.m. ... The cat and dog rarely let me sleep later. What's going to be weird for me is staying up past 10. Is there any good TV on at that hour?
Speaking of cats...

The female calico, Sophie, was captured and taken to the SPCA on Tuesday. This neighborhood doesn't need another batch of kittens.
 
The orange Maine coon, Ginger, was brought in the house and cleaned up a bit. (Tigger-Tiger was NOT impressed. He hissed and growled the whole time Ginger was inside.) Got his ticks removed, hair brushed, and the worst of the matted hair cut out. A quick once-over revealed that he's ill. The illness is just an infection, folks; he'll be okay after a course of antibiotics. He was taken in to the SPCA on Thursday where he'll get the veterinary attention he deserves.

The local SPCA is a low-kill shelter. They will put an animal down only if it is seriously ill. Anyway, when I dropped Ginger off, they let me know that the calico is doing well and that she's a really sweet cat. Hope someone adopts them both soon.

I've considered bringing Ginger back here to be an outside cat, but him being on the property while Tigger and Bandit are inside is agitating them. They both want to be outside with him.

The little black cat I've been calling Cleo is still here in the house. I've made up a "Is This Your Cat?" flyer to hang up in the Post Office. We don't have mail delivery here, so all the locals have to go to the PO at one point or another. Cleo's in much too good shape to have been outside for very long. Hopefully, someone will step forward and claim him.

He's a really sweet kitty and I'd love to keep him. (Heck, I'd love to keep them all.) However, my older cat is having a little trouble adjusting to his presence. He plays well with the dog, too. *sigh* Very loving. Climbs up into my lap; rubs his head against me. Plays with Reggie's old toys. Is litter trained.

In other news...

This house smelled wonderful this afternoon. Pot roast baking in the oven until it fell apart. Made the same way Dad always made it. Simply delicious. One meal tonight, two TV dinners in the freezer, and broth and over two pounds of beef waiting to be made into either stew or pot pie. Good eating all week long and then some. Yum. Yum. Yum.

Time to kick back and watch a movie as the weekend winds down.

May your thoughts all be pleasant as you drift off to sleep tonight and you wake completely refreshed and ready for the day.

Snowy Saturday.

So much for the Spring-like weather we've been experiencing.

It's been snowing off and on all day. Not quite as much as this picture, but for those of us longing for Spring...

The drop in temperature is hard. Had to put on a neoprene face mask to walk comfortably. Yes, I'm a wimp when it comes to cold weather.

Work continues on the denim quilt. Two designs have been drafted. Looks like there are sixteen eight-inch squares. Unless the heavy cotton is used, it's going to take a long time to make this quilt.

Wherever the day finds you, may you be safe and warm.

Blessed be.

Fiddlesticks Friday.

Wednesday's post was about the denim quilt on the worktable. After sorting the cut-up jeans by color and setting them on the table to cut, I realized the plan called for 12 inch squares. However, the largest square possible with the available material is 8 inches. It looks like the majority of the squares will be six inches. To do the planned design will take many, many squares.

The final size will be roughly 48 x 60. Four feet by five feet.

So... it's back to the drawing board for the denim quilt.

Spent some time ironing and cutting out squares. Nothing dulls a rotary cutter quite like denim. *sigh* (ack - listen to me whine. fiddlesticks!)

Found some heavy blue cotton that could be used for some of the larger squares on the original design. Thinking about using it; let's call it Plan B. First I'll try to work out a visually pleasing pattern using only denim.

Pictured above is a very rough drawing of a Seattle Streets quilt pattern using batiks, water colors and hand-dyed muslin. All but the hand-dyed muslin is shown here.

Perhaps enough fabric for two stained glass quilts.

Perhaps. What a powerful word.

Another powerful word is perchance. I mention it because it's "bedtime for bunnies" and this old Grandma.

To sleep, perchance to dream.  ~ Hamlet by Shakespeare

Thursday Thankful Thoughts.

Today on our walk we saw the first flowers of Spring: Coltsfoot. Mother Nature can't seem to make up its mind this year. One day is Spring; the next is Winter. But the sight of the coltsfoot was a breath of fresh air.

Some of the willows have sprouted and dropped their new growth. Rather, the new growth of catkins were blown from their branches. The wind has been brutal the last few days. Regardless of the temperatures.

The lilacs down the road are sprouting their leaves. The yellow-green makes a nice contrast against the grey storm clouds.

Once again, Snowdrops speckle the neighbors yard.

Tonight there is a dusting of snow on the ground. The winds blew in a cold front. Tonight's mantra is Spring is almost here.

Today, and many other days, I'm thankful for:

Daughters
Best friends
Puppy dogs
Kitty cats
The SPCA
The smell of fresh basil and garlic simmering in butter
100 calorie Granola Bars
Youtube
Drops Design
Tin Can Knits
Kind healthcare workers
Old movies/Cult Classics ( Coneheads is showing on IFC. lol )
The "educational" section of the newspaper
Good music
Sunrises and Sunsets
SparkPeople Recipes
A roof over my head
Food in my belly
My children and grandchildren safe and healthy
Happy Memories

With that, dear friends, I bid you goodnight, sweet dreams, and share a memory.

When I was a child and was being tucked in bed, we had a ritual. Grandmother would say, "Goodnight. Sleep tight. Don't let the bedbugs bite." And I would say, "If they bite me I'll bite them back!".

Wednesday Worktable. Denim.

After looking on Pinterest for denim quilt designs, I decided to adapt one of the stained glass quilts for my purposes.

Here's the design I came up with. The denim needs to be sorted into like shades of blue and then cut, but once both the denim and the black fabric are cut the work should proceed rather quickly.

Until next time...

Y'all have a great evening!

Monday Mini-Project. Pocket Kitties.

When it comes to needlework, I'm not all that creative (painting is my gift). That's probably why one of my favorite searches on Pinterest is free patterns. And let's face it, who doesn't love FREE?

This project comes from artisan Stephanie Woodson at SwoodsonSays and is called a Pocket Kitty.  She's so creative! If you have little ones or like quick projects, check out the other projects and patterns she has available. There's a real cute tutorial for DIY Jeans Patches that's worth a look -- especially if you have children or grandchildren and like to save money.

I think they'd make a great child's birthday party favor. Grandmas and Grandpas might want to keep one on hand as a little something special for that special little one(s) in their lives.

I'm glad Pinterest pointed me to this -- I've actually added her blog to my reading list. Very well put together! Simply a great find all around.

Anyway, I liked this little felt kitty so much I decided to make several. You can click on the link above for the instructions and free pattern.

I made two copies of the pattern so I could have a good reference for the embroidery placement. For durability, the paper pattern was stabilized by gluing it to some cardboard before cutting it out.

Here you see the famous, fearless Tigger-Tiger on top of the morning worktable. Getting ready to lend me a hand sewing these little ones together.

He's been with me for almost five years now and is very precious.

Here's a photo of the kitties I've made so far. Until next time, y'all have a fabulous day!

Thankful Thursday on a Friday.

To Grandma's House

*sigh* Yesterday felt like a Friday to me for some reason. Not that that's a bad thing. After all, the day is what we make of it.

Had I known it was only Thursday...

We have snow on the ground again. A bit heavier than a dusting, just enough to cover the icy patches above the potholed roads. Temps here have been Spring-like. Dropping from the 50s and 60s down to a high daytime temperature of 25 is quite shocking to the system. Tonight's projected low is a whopping 14 degrees.

Sheesh!

Here we sit bundled up in long johns and layered up simply to keep warm.

Tonight I'm thankful for:

Warm blankets
A roof over my head
Food in my belly
Sweet, loving daughters
Aunties
Friends that call or text
Public libraries
Free Community Resources (that we all use and take for granted)
Knit Knuts
Remote controls
Control of the remote (lol)

Sweet dreams, friends. Until we meet again.

Friday Foolishness.

Remember how I decided to adopt one of the neighborhood stray cats on Valentine's Day? Well, it turned out to be more than one stray.

The first one to show up is an orange Maine Coon. Male. Very, very skinny; you can feel all of the bones protruding along its spine. He's full of ticks and his fur is in really bad shape - dirty and matted. A sweet boy who is friendly as all get out. He doesn't have the prettiest face, but he's still kinda cute. I've named him Ginger and he comes running when he sees me outside - even when I have Bandit with me.

Then there's a small black cat. Not sure if it's male or female. A little skittish of other cats, but doesn't seem to mind the dog. He has a little white star on his chest and the cutest little face. Until the cats started coming up to me (a few days ago) I was calling him Skitty Kitty. After seeing him/her/it up close, I've decided he's more of a Cleo - as in Cleopatra. Seriously, he's a pretty cat.

I've pulled ticks off Ginger. Cleo only had one tick. He may be someone's kitty or fairly new to being a stray.

Then there's the long-hair cat Bandit and I have seen several times on the trail. It's grey and white like BootZee (the cat I had to put down at Thanksgiving-time). Today it found the food set out for Ginger and Cleo. It hasn't seen me enough yet to know I mean it no harm

Anyway, after watching Cleo slinking across the yard tonight and knowing the outside temp tonight is going to drop to 17 degrees, I brought him inside.

Tigger-Tiger is not happy about it.

Will put it back out tomorrow and work on a different shelter for it, but for now...

Hopefully it won't have an "accident" inside before morning.

Y'all have a good night. Sweet dreams.

Wednesday Worktable. Spring Cleaning: Closet Number One.

This Spring-like weather led to Spring Cleaning. One closet at a time. *sigh*

The first thing closet number one yielded was a huge bag of soft, worn bluejeans.

Four hours were spent cutting the jeans below the crotch (jeans purses) and ripping out side seams, into the washer it all went. Once clean and dry, the pieces were sorted by size.

While the fabric was being laundered, I logged into the rabbit hole many call Pinterest and searched for Denim Quilts to see what everyone else is making these days.

Which design was picked? That's a post for another day.

Here's hoping you have a great evening and an even better tomorrow!

Try Something Different Tuesday. Counting Calories.

Don't you just love it when products you've never tried go on sale?

Our local TOPS supermarket is simply amazing. They may be small, but they carry a good variety of products. Their sales are pretty darn good too! If their pet supply and paper products were less expensive, all our grocery shopping would be done there.

A few weeks back, TOPS had a sale on Asian cuisine supplies. What you're looking at is Sweet and Sour Chicken using bottled sauce by Asian Gourmet. (It looked better before I stirred it up.) Easy enough to make. Fresh carrots, peppers and onions were sauteed. Canned chicken and sauce added and heated through long enough to allow the flavors to meld. Served over rice. The whole process took less than half an hour.

This Sweet and Sour Chicken would be a quick (and tasty) company meal. As for us making it again - it's a possibility. More than likely a from-scratch version will make it into the monthly rotation. Less sodium, additives, and preservatives that way. 

Speaking of the monthly meal rotation...

Be advised: We're dieting here. The next few weeks, or months as the case may be, the food posts will be good tasting diet food.

Monday's Mini Project. Paloma Pony.

Monday's mini-project was completing another pony for the herd. One more to go, then they'll be three. In years past, biographies were included with each animal. Not sure if that's going to happen again.

Each pony takes a full day to craft -- for me at least. The instructions are easy to follow. The finishing touches are the most difficult to complete. Embroidering the face and eyes, stuffing each piece and sewing everything together becomes a bit tedious after you've put together ten or fifteen of these. In spite of all that, it truly is a fun, easy (mindless) project. The supplies don't cost much (about $3 a skein) and you can get two ponies per skein.

This is a perfect gift for friends who need their spirits lifted.  This silly face is enough to make the soggiest person crack a smile.

Here's a link to the pattern from Red Heart (the yarn people): Amigurumi Ponies. If you compare the original pattern picture with my version, you'll notice the eye lids have been omitted on this pony and more yarn was used for the mane and tale. 

Hope your Monday had at least one positive interaction that you can reflect upon as you fall asleep. Rest well, friends.

Sunday Fun Day.

Good morning, y'all! Happy Sunday!

For the past week, daytime temperatures have ranged from the mid-50s to 70 degrees. All sorts of high temperature records for February in Pennsylvania were broken.

Except for the mountaintops and a few shady areas, most of the snow melted. Neighbors were out and about working in their flower beds and walking the streets and trails. A few of the willows sprouted soft, grey kitty toes.

The birds came back to the feeders. Quite a bit of time throughout the week was spent at the kitchen window simply watching them feed. The feeders seemed to draw in a dozen or so black capped chickadees, a tufted titmouse and a beautiful, iridescent headed grackle (thinking the bronze race, but haven't seen it since it saw me, so can't be sure).

The transition from Winter to Spring can be devastating to our fine feathered friends. Many times they have to travel long distances with little forage. Keeping the feeders stocked and a suet cake available seems a small price to pay for all the enjoyment they provide. Waking to birdsong is on my list of favorite things in life.

Back to reality.

Yesterday the snow began anew. Tiny little pellets about the size of a glass-head pin top. This morning the flakes are the size of goose down.

The warmth was nice while it lasted. We took advantage by getting a bit of fresh air. Amazing how restorative sunshine and warmth in the great outdoors can be after a month of being cold.

Work continues on the Brown Bag Challenge quilt. All but one of the hand-quilted blocks was ripped out. Six of the twenty holly and berry blocks have been embroidered. Am hoping to complete the quilt by the end of March, but a painting project is due in two weeks and another (easier) quilt project is beckoning. (More on that later this week.)

We spent this past week running from Physical Therapy to the Doctor. Back to Physical Therapy. TOPS, Walmart, and getting the Jeep ready for inspection. Doesn't sound like much, but add crafting, chores and a physical disability...

Folks, we're just plumb worn out. Today is truly a day of rest. 

Where ever you are and whatever you choose to do: May you find something to laugh and smile about as you go about your day. Look for the good and chances are you'll find it!