Good Morning, Beautiful

Spring rains perk up the garden. With the rise in temps, the tulips are fading - especially the dark purples. The irises are early bloomers in my garden and the peony has set buds. I stay up way too late these days knitting and arting. They both occupy my dreams.

The clematis are in full bloom and every year I wish I had a color other than white. This year I bought a boysenberry plant and a golden raspberry. I'd rather have food. It supports our habit of eating.

This is the piece that keep my attention last night. The hardest part is walking away without wondering. I love it as it is, yet wouldn't some gold, sparkle, layers, lettering, etc, make it pop? Do I want pop?

I hold my ideas in check. I would buy stationary with this design. It becomes part of the Take Flight Series.

I finished the Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief with modifications. It was an easy knit with yarn I found for a song at the local thrift store. I am committed to knitting a shawl a month. This is my second for April.


We are learning different painting techniques. This is finger painting and a prompt from Creativity Reignited art class. When I remember art is about feeling, I am free from the criticism of comparison.

I follow both knitting and art posts. It is important to appreciate and learn, rather than attempt to emulate.



I opened this post early in the day and now another hour has passed. My days are occupied with a three year old. Running and dressing, dancing and celebrating. Ta-da! occurs more often than one can imagine.

Life is good.
All the time.

All the time;
Lie is good.

Predicting the Future

During the interview, they ask me, "Where do you see yourself in five years?" Or some variation on that theme. The last time I answered, I covered the rest of my life. There comes a moment when we have to get clear on why we are here and what we are going to do about it. By now, I call the years previous to now, former lives as they are that distinct and varying from each other.

How do I see myself in five years? Happier than I am today. I came to this answer during my shift from doing what I loved every day. I was taking a job specifically for the benefits - health insurance. That decision worked on me - physically and emotionally. Once those two went, I was mental. I stayed. I made a commitment. I got sick. I was sad. Crying at my desk, I knew it was time to leave. This became my next indicator of when to let go.

Many jobs later, happily moving along (because I am on the path of happiness), I learned to stay and chart a leaving course. That was the birth of this blog. Today I stay at my job because it serves me. It allows me to do what I love - knit, crochet, read, art, and spend time with my grand-daughters. This is happiness.

I do what brings me joy, daily. Predicting the future is easy. Focus on happiness. Stay on that path and sing its praises.

Motherwort Dreams and Art Journal

Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it. Salvador Dali

Take Flight

 I woke this morning from a dream journey. Years of chronic insomnia have offered a myriad solutions, most with crap results. While I wait for my homemade sleep/relax concoction to extract - still five weeks to go - I bought motherwort herb. This is new to me and I began sipping tea yesterday. I knitted through the evening leaving my tea to steep in another room. So ended the night (meaning after midnight) with my tea at the bedside. I completed my routine and the last I remember it was 1:16 AM.

I dreamt another world. Here I was the original and many clones which wore out and disintegrated. Then another plucked off. Much of the dream has faded, but I remember sitting a the table asking (or realizing) I was the original.

I have opened a new process - art journaling. I watch videos about finishing in one sitting, like a page a day. That hasn't happened for me; however, this morning I decided to let go of the journal cover. The photo doesn't do it justice. From a distance, even I am impressed.

Multi-media page

Still holding to this page. It's all about the process and that I am enjoying. All acts of love and pleasure...

Add some glitter to your day.

Putting Winter to Bed

The cold was short and unpredictable.  Still is. Eighty degrees on day and 36 the next night. All the calendar celebrations around the world will not control the weather. What are you going to do?

Knit, create art, and ferment.

Collage pages for art journals.

The girls work on craft projects.

First set of pages finished.

Splatter painting. Stage one of something.

No Purls Allowed Shawl - Ravelry

No Purls Allowed - Ravelry

Ribbed Cowl - occupying time

That's good for a couple thousand words.

I'm still pulling my 40 hours on the weekend gig, and have begun to rethink the decision. Re-think. I just remembered I have a plan to hang in here until school is out. That means June. Whew! Some days...

The work is fine. It's my constant need to adjust my attitude that is the problem. That's always the problem. I spend 34 of the 40 hours each weekend working on letting go and finding a way to not give a f---. So, God grant me the serenity and all.

No pictures of the ferments, but I have been constant in my management of my ginger bug. Friday Ferments include a couple quarts of sauerkraut and a second ferment of juice or tea with ginger bug. My next adventure is water kefir. Several people in town have water kefir grains, but seem to have abandoned them in the back of their fridge. My home is still too cool to care for the grains so I reckon when I am ready I will find some, locally.

Let's talk about money for a minute. I am still all about saving; however, I have recently (in the last year) incurred two large debts. I am thankful I had the resources to cover the need, but in surrendering my funds, I reconsidered how I have done without (though only in the most luxurious ways). I decided that if I have the money to support others, I have the money to enjoy my life as I choose. Today that means yarn. Nice yarn. Wool, soy silk, and their blends. While I have quite the storage bins/chest/trunk full, one can never have too much - yarn.

Here's to saving where you can and splurging when you want.

M 

Give Out!

That's a knit and crochet donation from the fall. Knitting is my new passion. I learned to knit in May this year and pick my needles up daily to create beauty and ease my mind.

I've been working this 40 hour weekend gig and keeping my grand-daughters Monday - Thursday. It is busy. Busier than I ever wanted to be. I take frequent down moments, but as much as I want to claim I let go, the truth is I hold on tight.

Over the past two months I have been so intense, uptight, and bent out of shape that my back gave out. I thought I was working on it. By the time the pain started I was steeped in the pissoffedness of the situation(s). Finally, Friday, I could not get out of bed.

A visit to the chiropractor granted we the weekend off and bed rest with ice. I can't remember the last time I had so much time to myself for myself. Thank you G!d.

I'm going back next weekend. I was working on a new attitude. It is even more important now. This is all about me. The following weekend I will be on vacation. We have great movement plans - lots of walking in the city. Urban cardio...

As I lay on my pilates table, I realized my pelvis has tightened into a forward tilt, effectively spilling my energy out. My focus will be to bring my mind, body, and spirit back into balance. To set the bowl upright again. I have over shared. I am give out. These days at home are time for me to reassess my choices of how and when I give.

Here are some of the pretties I knit since May -