Thursday, February 7, 2013

Spring is Coming




Every year the crocuses push up from the ground.  It is always a source of delight.


10 My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
11 For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;
12 The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;
13 The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

Song of Solomon 2: 10-13 


Join in with Skywatch Friday here. Thanks to Alan of Yogi's Den for agreeing to take over hosting duties for this wonderful meme!

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Solutions

Hi dear friends,

I hope you are all doing great! It is still cloudy and raining where I live but in a few days we are expecting sunshine for a few days. Last weekend the weather report was also for sunshine for two days and though it did stop raining it didn't really shine all that much. I hope they are right this time!

I continue to nurse my leg. It is really up and down with the pain levels. On my good days I get outside for some errands. Those days aren't as often as I'd like but today the leg is feeling better and I can walk straighter than usual without a side to side gait. I am trying out this new-to-me infrared heating pad.These pads are very pricey but I got it on a significant discount.  I still had to think twice before buying it but the free shipping was the clincher. This one is on a trial basis for a few weeks.  It had many good testimonials from arthritic pain sufferers but for my knee it didn't seem to do much. Last night I also had an aching back and sciatic pain from sitting so much. I decided to use the heating pad on my back and neck before I went to sleep. Boy did it work like a charm. Today I have far less pain in my back and muscles than I did yesterday. I will try it again tonight.

It's a little hard to see the heating pad as it is black against my brown footstool.

While I've been doing all this sitting I have managed to get a lot of knitting done.  I take a break here and there for laundry, tidying, cooking, etc. I'm knitting the same pattern over and over and I'm not tired of it yet.  I expect that I will be ready to move on from this in a few days when I expect my cotton yarn will be used up as well.  Knitting for so many hours leads to some issues with the balls of yarn which can roll all over the place.  I made myself a yarn holder which saved me a good deal of money.  The cost of yarn holders varies as does what they are made of, but I saw one medium sized plastic model which cost approximately $15.00 Canadian.

I poked a hole in the top of this plastic container and it works great. I would recommend you place a piece of masking tape over the centre of the lid where you want to make the hold. Use a drill with a larger size bit if you want to make this otherwise you may crack the lid in places you don't want (like I did).  I used a sharp pointed object and it made several cracks in the lid. The yarn will get stuck in the cracks and fray if you are not careful.

My yarn holder cost me nothing and saved the container from the garbage pile. I saved about $15.00 and it holds several small, rolled cotton balls. I keep 2 or 3 in the plastic jar. Just the ones I'm using for the project I'm knitting.


I have a question for any of you avid crafters out there. I have a lot of negatives from the old days before digital cameras. I was going to throw them out but lately have been thinking it would be good to use them in a creative project if I can find the right project.  These are negatives of a lot of photos I no longer want to keep so I don't want to highlight them in something like a lamp, nor do I want to make a tote bag out of them. If any of you have some ideas as to what I can use them for please let me know.

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Joy

From the Meriam Webster Dictionary

1joy

noun \ˈji\

Definition of JOY

1
a : the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires : delight
b : the expression or exhibition of such emotion : gaiety
2
: a state of happiness or felicity : bliss
3
: a source or cause of delight
joy·less adjective
joy·less·ly adverb
joy·less·ness noun

Saturday, February 2, 2013

A Busy Week at Home

What I'm working on....

Using up my cotton yarn stash. Lots more to go. These always make great gifts and I go through a lot of them myself.
 What I'm reading.....


Winner of the Booker Prize, this book is an easy read.  Something I call "fluff" reading after the lengthy books I've recently finished and all the dates and details they included, this book is easy on the brain.

I picked this book up last year at a second hand shop. I am decluttering again and that means going through my books to get rid of what I won't read. this was going to go in the pile to give away but I started reading it instead and I'm enjoying it. When I read I try to keep track of new vocabulary in the open book with page marker. I learned to do this from Linda. Visit her blog by clicking the link to "Grandma's Letters" in the African Blog Love widget (sidebar).

What I'm decluttering...

Kitchen stuff in a big wicker basket.

Books!  I've still got a lot of books so I have plenty of reading material.

Bathroom products. These seem to accumulate so easily. It also seems they are a popular item for freecycling.


As you can see, I've been busy and making progress despite limited mobility. I've still got too much of a lot of things. I will get rid of more as I see what needs to go. I have found success in giving things away through my local chapter of Freecycle.

I hope you've all had a busy and productive, or fun week too.

Friday, February 1, 2013

One Sunny Day

A cloudy day is no match for a sunny disposition. ~ 
William Arthur Ward 

The weather report was for SUNNY skies today and tomorrow. 

As you can see from the photos it wasn't exactly sunny but I'll take it over the rain!







See the weather in the skies all around the world by joining Sky Watch Friday here. Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for visiting.

A Few Days in March ~ Skywatch Friday

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