Happy 2019! New Year. New Beginning.

Today a barberry candle is scenting the house with it's sweet, pine-like fragrance in remembrance of past family traditions. Scent is so often linked to memory. I close my eyes and can see the dining room of THE BIG HOUSE with its worn linoleum floor, peeling wallpaper and pink-painted cabinets. Memories both good and bad.

So many people make resolutions at this time of new beginnings. To lose weight, eat healthier, exercise more, get right with God...

To that end, this year I'm going to practice kindness until I get it right. Including being kind to myself. 

On other matters...

This is a painting begun Easter of 2014. I was happy with the hills, barn and foreground. However, the apple trees were not good - to say the least. I walked away from it for a couple years.

When I came back to it, I added fall foliage to the hills in the background and goldenrod and Queen Anne's Lace to the foreground. Then I walked away from it for a couple years. 

Was watching watercolor tutorials on YouTube and finally decided how to finish the painting so the apple trees look real. Started roughing in the general shapes a couple weeks before Christmas and work on it a bit at a time. Although the painting is far from finished, it finally looks more like what I had in mind from the beginning.  What do you think?

Magical Monday.

Welcome to the second day of 2017!

Has everyone recovered from their New Year's celebration?

Our family traditionally burns bayberry candles on New Year's Eve, carry a piece of silver in our pockets and have pork and sauerkraut for dinner. Does your family have any traditions like that?

Yesterday was a beautiful day. Sunshine. Blue skies. A daytime temperature above 32 degrees. Simply fabulous!

We're excited to begin a whole new year with several projects in the works.

Currently, I'm working on a Bernat Baby Hoodie and it seems to be taking forever. It's not the pattern, which is simply a half-double crochet with increases and decreases in the appropriate spots. I'm making a size 12 Months - which is much larger than I normally make (3-6 months). The project was begun on the afternoon of December 30th. So far the left front, right front and back are completed. One sleeve is begun. Am hoping to complete it by the end of the week.


The Doctors tell me that soon I'll be able to begin lifting things heavier than a pound soon and a shortly thereafter driving. For now I'm thankful that I don't have to drive in the snow. Thank God for Uber drivers! (Just kidding - I'm blessed to live in the sticks. There's not even a taxi service here. lol)

In the meantime, I'm working on little projects to keep me from going insane.

I made this little felt birdie around Thanksgiving time. It was hard to embroider with the limited use of my right hand, but I got it done. Am going to make a few different styles. Here's a link to some of them on my Pinterest board. (Scroll about half-way down the page.) Don't they look like a lot of fun?!

Am off to work on a personal project. Hope y'all have a great day.

p.s. (For those of you wondering, "Why 'Magical Monday'?" Well... Why not?)