NYE Top Nine

Hello Friends! 

I set a goal to post every day this month and only missed 2 days, so I'm calling it a win.  My posts most of the year were sporadic, so hopefully this is the incentive I needed to be a better blogger in the new year.

Over on Instagram, I generated and posted my top nine photos of 2020.  Turns out cats, crochet and cross-stitch are very popular.

It's been 5 months since Jingles died and I still get very teary-eyed every single time I say or even just type her name.  Bottom right is Rusty, our outside kitty who unfortunately was chased off by a new tomcat who moved in.  We hadn't seen him in awhile, but he showed up the day after Jingles died looking for food and brought a smile to my face. Sadly I haven't seen him since.  The middle picture is the cross-stitch I worked on in the days after Jingles died as I cried my eyes out.

I bought what I thought was a picture frame from Daiso last week.

Turns out it was actually a memo board and doesn't have a glass front, but it is the exact size I needed for the kitty cross-stitch.

I used double-sided tape to stick it in.

I hope that you are finding joy in whatever you are doing this last day of  2020.

Happy New Years Eve!

Trashy Tuesday and the Scrawny One

Plalking:  Picking up litter while walking.

Pandemic pollution everywhere.

Garbage that sits for weeks on end.

I don't pick up everything I come across.

Seeing so much garbage makes me sad and mad.

So I do what I can, when I can.

... the care of the earth is our most ancient and most worthy and, after all, our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it, and to foster its renewal, is our only legitimate hope.

(Wendell Berry, The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays)

I tried to get a picture of the scrawny one on the wonky blanket today, but it's difficult because she constantly wants to twirl around my legs.  Looking at these photos, I see that I need to clean more than just her face. 

She's got some mighty dirty ears.

A fun find in a pile of garbage.

Brought it home to see if I can find a way to fix the broken bits.

Have a terrific Tuesday.

Wonky Winter Warmth and Today's Wandering

 Some of you may remember my days of volunteering at The Secret Garden Project and the yarnbombing event I organized one year.  I had taken down the crochet pieces from the trees and benches and brought them home to wash, intending to put them back up again, but then the project ended.  That was 2 years ago and the squares have just been sitting here ever since.

A scrawny little white kitty showed up downstairs in our parking area on Friday.  No idea where he came from, but he wasn't looking very well so I've taken to cleaning his face every day, giving him wet food and making sure he has a warm place to sleep.  That's where the wonky blanket comes in.  Many of the squares needed mending, but I just tied loose bits together, joined them as best I could, and then did some double crochet on the sides to try to square things up a bit.  It doesn't matter what it looks like, just that it is serving a purpose.  I think kitty is definitely enjoying the comfort.

I haven't been wandering as much lately, so decided to walk a different route today and I'm so glad I did because I came across a beautiful patch of sunflowers in different stages of bloom.

Such a cheerful sight to see.

December's full moon is in a couple of days but it's already making a bright appearance in the late afternoon sky.

Had another headache today and am wondering if it is weather related.  I don't get them often but when I do, they are pretty intense.  Will be heading to bed pretty soon.

Hope you are having a good start to this new week, the last days of this crazy, chaotic, uncertain year.

Take care.

Missed a Day

 Hello Friends!

Didn't post yesterday because I had a terrible headache all afternoon and wound up going to bed early.

I had walked to the park several times because one of my favorite kitties there wasn't feeling well and he couldn't eat the hard food I usually carry with me, so I went home to get canned food and a little antibiotic.  Then went back another time because I had forgotten the wet cloth that I wanted to clean his face with.

I went back today with more soft food and to spend some time with him.  Hoping that he can get over whatever is wrong if I give him extra food and attention.

I wish there was more concern for the welfare of all these homeless kitties, many of which have been abandoned by irresponsible pet owners.

Was working on something most of this evening and now it's already bedtime so will share more tomorrow

Have a good Sunday.

X-mas Greetings

The best Christmas gift is to realize how much you already have. 

Found an old cross-stitch kit stored away in a tin with other bits and bobs, so pulled it out and decided it was high time to stitch it up.  I started yesterday and finished this morning.

We went out for lunch and had a surprise visitor come around with bell ringing and a ho-ho-ho to hand out candy.

Here's hoping your day is merry and bright.

Sending holidays wishes your way.

A sign of the times.

Merry Christmas!

Just Another Day

Morning clouds and puddles of water were the telltale signs of the rain we had overnight.

 I finally went to the grocery story yesterday and got a nice, crusty baguette.  I toasted it under the broiler with some coconut oil, then slathered it with the homemade strawberry jam I received as a gift the other day.

It was really delicious!

Finished up the cross-stitch I was working on for Aruna and had a frame on hand that it fit in perfectly.  I used to always put my initials and the date on my stitchings but stopped doing it at some point.  Maybe because it's kinda hard to fit on most of the little projects I work on now.  But it's nice to put it on something a little bigger.  I have many framed pieces around here that I can look at, see the date, and remember what was going on when I made them.

Day 2 of my Moo Free calendar was a tiny chocolate with tiny stars.

You can see in the background the little stars I've crocheted.  I used some leftover cotton yarn that wouldn't have been enough for much else.

Pretty much an uneventful day here.  No one to see and nowhere to go.

I hope your are having an enjoyable Christmas Eve whatever it is you are up to.

Take care,

Door Number One

 I did not grow up celebrating Advent or counting down the days til Christmas.  While this has been a longstanding tradition for many that has been practiced in many different ways, the actual Advent calendar with doors was only created in the early 1900's.  Behind each door would be a Bible message or image, but that little idea obviously evolved and now there's all sorts of Advent calendars and other creative ways in which to countdown the days.

I found this cute calendar today at the grocery store that has dairy free chocolate so decided to buy it.   Even if Advent season is just about over, I can still open it every evening and enjoy a little chocolatey treat.

A tiny little elephant chocolate was behind door number 1, which I had with Green tea in a Santa mug.

I committed to blogging every day this month and so far so good.  Can't believe Christmas Eve is tomorrow.

Thank you for taking the time to visit me and leave comments.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Short and Sweet

I'm sure everyone is busy with holiday plans even if things look a lot different this year than usual.

If you saw yesterday's post, then you know the dilemma my friend, Melissa, was in when she arrived in Doha, Qatar only to find that her flight to Kuwait was cancelled due to a sudden government decision to close the airport until the new year.

After talking with her family, she decided to return to the States since there was just too much uncertainty.  5 hours into her flight back, the government decided to open the airport for 24 hours so that anyone who wanted to come or go could do so before the actual shut down.  If only they had done that in the first place, she wouldn't have been forced to make the decision to go back.

We were able to message each other during her flight and she said she didn't know whether to laugh or cry upon hearing the news.

I've not been out to the grocery store to buy bread and don't have enough flour to make my own so this morning I put the strawberry jam I received as a gift on my pancakes and it was pretty darn delicious.

My day was spent doing some cleaning and more decorating.

Sending warm wishes your way for the happiest of holidays.

Golden Yellow and Light

Monday morning mug.

Today marks the winter solstice and though it is actually winter here, the mild weather means it's our planting season since not much really wants to sprout and grow during 120 degree summer heat.

I snap a lot of photos when I'm out walking and most of them get deleted, but sometimes there's a surprise waiting for me when I get home and have a chance to see what I captured.

Joy doubled when I saw this shot.

These ginormous sunflowers just around the block have already seen their heyday but still look beautiful.

There was a glorious golden sunset to mark the end of the shortest day of the year.

Really hoping for brighter days.

Unfortunately we just got notice tonight that the airport and shipping port are closed from 11 p.m. until the new year.  A friend was midair on a flight from New York bound for Qatar when the announcement was made and her flight here has been canceled.   I just got a message from her that they are sending her back to the States but she's trying to figure out if there's an alternative.

Many parts of the UK have also gone back into lockdown.

I keep thinking things are going to get better, but seems the uncertainty is going to be with us for quite awhile longer.

Take care.

Be safe.