Gratitude Sunday

I am joining Taryn of Wooly Moss Roots in celebrating a few things that I am so very thankful for.

This week I am thankful for....

- The cold winter weather with occasional snow showers. It has made me appreciate snuggly wooly warm things, hot tea, and steel cut oats in new ways. The snow is so pretty too!!!

- Speaking of steel cut oats, I found some organic quick cook ones that are perfect for taking to work for fresh, warm, yummy breakfast. While I don't mind cooking and making them ahead they taste so much better freshly cooked. 

- Time with my knitting group last night. It has been months since we got together because our schedules were all over the place. It was so much to hang out, knit, and enjoy a little wine too. 

- A wonderful sweater series class where I finally mastered SSK!!! 

- Waking up in the middle of the cold night under layers of blankets being snuggled by the husband and the cat. So nice. 

- A few reminders that I CAN reach my financial goals and WILL eventually be able to work for just me in service to others in a different way.... 

- That despite it's age our heater continues to keep our house warm. 

- Lush's Charity Pot lotion. It has been keeping my hands well moisturized despite all the cold outside temperatures and inside dry heat. 

What are you thankful for this week? 

Just Clicking Away....

Almost two weeks ago now was my first class in the "Perfect Sweater Series" I am taking at my favorite local yarn shop. Our assignment in the two weeks between classes was to finish the back piece. I have had a few false starts including one that is a direct result of my fear of ribbing but I am now clicking along and making fair progress despite a late start, false starts, and a long enough week last week at work that I didn't feel like knitting at all on one night. 

Here is a bit of progress as reported to my peeps on the facebook from Sunday. I have come a good amount further but I won't entirely finish the back by tomorrow's second class. Thankfully, there is some wiggle room built into the schedule. 

That is also why I have been a somewhat terrible blogger this week...alas... 

What pretty things are going on in your world? 

Gratitude Sunday

I am joining Taryn of Wooly Moss Roots in celebrating a few things that I am so very thankful for.

Monterey Bay, California - November 2013

This week I am thankful for....

- All of the beautiful snow and the snow day it provided! Thankfully, our power stayed on, our heat kept the house warm, and we had plenty of food. Once I did go to work the roads were a frozen mess because of the subzero temperatures but Shane was able to work from home and I got to and from work safely.

- I had lots of time to knit and started and finished my Katniss Cowl (which I will share more about later...), made progress on the long hibernating "linen top", and today I cast on my "Perfect Sweater"....

- ... I started a sweater series of classes at my favorite local yarn shop and cast on my "Perfect Sweater". I am excited and nervous all at the same time. The first class was a lot of measuring, gauge swatching, and math to get everything ready to start the back piece.

- Lots of kitty and Shaney snuggles provided by the extra time off.

- The beginning of getting back to some kind of routine with work, teaching, and home stuff. I love the holidays but I am also a creature of habit and so getting back to some kind of routine even if it did include an extra hour to get to work.

- SO MUCH Tea!!! I felt like I was constantly drinking it to help stay warm because, well, it's delicious!!!

- I would like to say a Colts win against the Patriots last night but it was a great season for the team and now I can focus my sports love on the Olympics!!! :)

- Friends and loved ones that "get me" and all of my nutty interests and that support me in enjoying them!

What are you thankful for this week?

Yay! A Sweater!

For anyone that knows me or has been reading my blog for a while knows,  I SO want to knit a real, live, adult sweater, that keeps me warm and I keep failing.... I blame this on my not so great finishing skills. I have knit many a baby sweater and have attempted sweaters for myself in the past but for one reason or another it hasn't worked out. So, I am taking matters into my own hands and am starting a sweater series of classes at my favorite local yarn shop tomorrow night. My "school" bag is packed and ready to go with paper, pen, a sweater that I like the fit of, and tea (yarn is included in the class and I will be buying the right needles for the project at the shop because who doesn't need more needles, right?!). 

I am SOOO excited! Can't you tell? I am also scared to death! I SO want my own hand knit sweater!

Gratitude Sunday

I am joining Taryn of Wooly Moss Roots in celebrating a few things that I am so very thankful for.

As I type this the snow is continuing to fall (11+ inches and counting), the power is flickering, and we have been out twice to shovel the walk and drive before the record setting sub zero temperatures freeze it all solid. For some of you this may be nothing new but while we get some rough winters in Indiana this is pretty bad. So bad, that I have heard a few folks tossing around, "not since the blizzard of '78" which is the standard by which all winter weather events are measured in the midwest. With that, I have an abundance to be thankful for (even if I did gripe some earlier today... it is a journey, right?). 

 I am thankful.... 

- That we have a warm, safe, solid house that (currently) has electricity. 

- That we have a stockpile of food and water if we need it.

- That both Shane and my offices have been closed tomorrow so that we can stay home and stay safe. 

- That as far as we know our loved ones are warm and safe too! 

- That despite my alternator going out and costing me a ton of money during the first round of snow this week it was able to be fixed and my car is ready when I do have to go back out for work. 

- For the adorableness that was Macabean out in the snow this afternoon. He is a Maine Coon that has lived indoors and is generally very spoiled but when we get a good snow we tend to put him out in it for a a few minutes. He pats around and then runs back in. Today was no exception but I think it's probably the deepest snow he has been in. 

- Hot tea! I have a stash of full caffeine and no caffeine for all my tea needs. In fact,  I have lost track of the cups I have enjoyed today. 

- An abundance of knitting to enjoy working on!

- The absolute beauty of the snow on everything! The way the air smells and feels! The way the wind sways the trees.... Snow is my favorite! 

I hope you are all warm, safe, and enjoying the beauty that is world around you! What are you thankful for? 

Happy New Year!

To say that I have been a bad blogger is a a total understatement. I mean, no posts since late September?!

While I am not a fan of new year's resolutions, I do use it as a chance to refocus on my personal goals. One of my goals is to focus more on those every day gifts and celebrate my gratitudes. So in addition to my weekly Gratitude Sunday posts I am going to try and use this space to share some of my day to day gratitudes in addition to all the "usual stuff". So that means you should be hearing from me more and learning all about the silly things that I am thankful for on a day to day basis. 

Today, on this first day of the new year, I am thankful for the fact that I have the day off work, that I have an abundance of yarn and hot tea , and that in a few short hours I will be watching the NHL Winter Classic! (Let's face it, sometimes, I am grateful for some petty and/or weird stuff). 

Soo.... Happy 2014!!!! I hope this is a blessed and beautiful year for you and yours! 

Gratitude Sunday

I am joining Taryn of Wooly Moss Roots in celebrating a few things that I am so very thankful for.

This week I am so very thankful for... 

- this wonderfully rainy, cool, and cozy weather. Waking up to the sounds of rain this morning was an absolute blessing in every way! Fall is coming (finally)!!!!

- hot tea on these cool mornings. It somehow tastes better... 

- Chats with my mom and my sister. 

- My Shaney... I absolutely have the best husband ever!

- A surprise luffa growing and growing in my garden. It was near death when I transplanted it way back in the early spring but over the past few weeks it has given way to a luffa about the size of a large banana and it keeps growing. I hope that I can harvest and use it. I have learned so much and hope for more success next year.

- Chocolate almond milk... such a delightful healthy treat!

- The opportunity to click my needles and make progress on my knitting projects. 

- Only one more week of waiting until the Jack Johnson concert!!

- Amazingly supportive friends and family. I really have the best people to share the world with. 

- The gradual change in routine as the seasons change. 

- Have I mentioned the cool rain?!!!! 

What are you thankful for this week?