Sky & Yarn

After weeks and weeks of rain, gray skies and even snow, the skies parted and shed a little light and colour. These sky photos were taken several days ago.

It started raining heavily again yesterday.  It was also cold and windy last night on my way home from a spa treatment. Rather than stop for coffee which I often do when I go out, I came directly home preferring to warm up in the comfort of my own home.

Today the temperature was quite warm. I even left my patio doors open for a long time and let in some much needed fresh air. I haven't done that for awhile!  I  remember well how (before) I never could go a day without letting in the fresh air. However, these days I can't handle the chill and mostly keep the doors and windows closed.

After being cooped up so much this month, I managed to make it to my knitting group tonight. It is a group of ladies that get together and chit chat and have tea while they work on knitting and crochet projects. I signed up long ago and finally made it for my first session today.  The ladies were very friendly and I hope to join up with them again soon.

The lime green project in the foreground is mine. I'm making a pair of matching dishcloths.  Since I've been using knitted dishcloths, I would find it hard to go back to using cloth ones. The other women around the table are working on baby blankets, fingerless gloves, a neck wrap/scarf, socks and toques (warm winter hat). If I'm around these ladies for awhile I will no doubt be inspired to create many things besides dishcloths...but I really like knitting dishcloths, lol. It is very relaxing and satisfying since you can see a finished, useful project in a short amount of time.

Tomorrow  I attend my writing group.

I hope you are all having a lovely weekend.

For more sky photos click here and join the fun!

Yummy Berry Smoothie

It is late night and I feel thirsty and in need of a sweet drink. I indulged yesterday in something not good for me so today I had to make up for it.

I decided to make a wonderful, refreshing, tasty and healthy drink that is also filling.

Ingredients

• 8 to 10 medium size strawberries
• 1/2 cup of plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 1 tsp. of vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup of frozen berries or 4-6 crushed ice cubes
• 2 tsp. of ground flax seeds

Method

Wash and chop or quarter the strawberries.  Add strawberries, plain yogurt, milk, vanilla extract, frozen berries or ice cubes and flax seeds to the blender and blend until smooth. Garnish with a fresh strawberry or other berries.

You can omit the vanilla extract and flax seeds if you like. The extract is for added flavour and the flax seeds are for health benefits. This seed is filled with B vitamins, Omega 3 EFAs (good for fighting inflammation) and fiber (good for lowering cholesterol, blood sugar and for promoting regularity).

I add ground flax seeds to my oatmeal and to my smoothies which I don't make very often.