Smells Good

I baked bread today. It seemed like a good thing to do to go with the soup I took out of the freezer to have for dinner tonight. Homemade bread sure makes the house smell good! I haven't cut into the loaf yet to taste and see how it turned out. I'll wait and do that with dinner.

I got the recipe from MyRecipes.com and only changed the flour to be one third whole wheat. It sure made a pretty loaf!

We watched to State of the Union address last night. It is something Jim and I tend to do no matter who the President is because we think it is important.

Knitting for Me

I got a lovely yarn while on our Alaskan cruise a while back. It is a very fine, pretty hand dyed yarn from Raven Frog Fibers of Sitka, Alaska. I am making a crescent shaped scarf with it. I tried and frogged a couple lace patterns with this yarn. I haven't ever knit at such a fine gauge and old eyes had trouble keeping track of the stitches and the pattern, so simple garter it is. The blue, white and gray will go nicely with so much of what I wear.

I would also like to note that I love the way blogger can use the pictures on my phone. This feature may have been around awhile if you have an Android phone but I just discovered it this week. Gotta love the Google!

My First Daybook

For years I meant to take part in this blogging idea and this is the time. A Simple Woman's Daybook has a series of prompts meant to guide you through a post exploring your life and thoughts. Here goes my first attempt.

For Today... 

I am being slow and thoughtful. Not much going on as I process what I want from this year.

Outside my window...

Snow is falling. I can look through the branches of the tree in the front yard and see up the mountain to the Snow King Resort.

I am thinking...
Lots of jumbled thoughts. What should I make? What's for dinner? What can I do to improve my Etsy shop to keep me comfortable in yarn money?

I am thankful...
....to have woken up in a small safe town in a house that is cozy and warm. Today it is just that simple.

I am wearing...
I am not wearing anything special, just my winter uniform of jeans and a sweater with cozy socks on my feet.

I am creating...
I have been exploring sock patterns. I have never knit a pair before and I want to make some for myself.

I am going...
I am going to have to get myself to the grocery store sometime this week. The freezer and the pantry are getting bare. I always put this chore off for as long as possible.

I am wondering...
I am wondering how the grandkids are doing at their first days back to school after Christmas break. I will call them soon to find out.

I am reading...
Twilight in the Desert by Matthew R. Simmons
I have a lot of books (8 in fact) on the shelf above my computer that I have read last year and want to blog about but didn't. I plan to fix that in the coming weeks. I do a lot of reading on planes and when we travel.

I am hoping...
A bit of very personal stuff here. As a mother who hurts when her kids struggle I am hoping to find serenity, acceptance, courage and wisdom as a son attempts to find sanity and sobriety. 

I am learning...
I am learning more and more every day about the making and construction of hand knit socks. I have settled on toe up construction since it makes the most sense to me. Thanks to all the folks on Ravelry who are such a great source of information and inspiration.

In my garden...
Is a layer of snow protecting the flowering plants I will share with you later this year. Inside for color I have some African Violets that cheer me up.

Pink

  White

Purple

In my kitchen... In my kitchen is a pan of brownies with a few missing that I baked yesterday for Jim's birthday.

A favorite quote for today...
If not now, when?

A peek into one of my days...
Not much to see here. A simple housewife's day. A few chores, dinner planned, some creative time, some online time, the pleasure of a hot cup of tea and Netflix in the background.

One of my favorite things...
...... is a group of friendly ladies I am part of who call ourselves Group2020. We share promotions of our shops and bits about ourselves on our bulletin board. I look forward to a bit of chatter with them everyday.

From the board room...



This board shows some of the great things handmade by the friends in Group2020 that I mentioned before.

 
Post Script* 
There you have it. My first attempt at a Simple Woman's Daybook post. There will be more. The link here will lead you to the page where you can find others doing the same as I did today. Go there to read or join in.

Back here again soon. Promise.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Well there's an original title for the first post in a new year. LOL. I do hope you are all full of grand plans and happy events in your future though.

Today is Jim's birthday. Like mine in June it is one of the 0 birthdays. We are both 60 now. Rather strange to think about being this age. I made him some brownies this morning to have as a treat this evening after work since he likes those better than cake.

This photo is from our trip to Hawaii last winter. I know he has in mind a trip to some place warm again in the next few months.

My shops on Etsy and Zibbet are reopened after being in vacation mode since Thanksgiving. I spent all that time away from home in Salt Lake. Some of that time was full of joy and laughter, some not so good, hellish at times in fact but let's just not go there okay.

That's all I have for you all today. I'll be back again soon, promise.