Cuties to Brighten the Day

 While my friend, Susanna, was traveling for the summer, I babysat her plants and an orchid (which sadly did not fare well in my care) and just this morning, belatedly, returned them to her.  We then headed to our regular cafe spot for chatting and crafting.

Muka Muka, the cafe kitty, was quite the star today with his sweet sleeping positions.  I think nearly everyone who came in wound up taking a photo of him.

It was a nice morning, although we both had rather melancholic moods for many different reasons.  And then, to top it off, when I got home could not find my house key anywhere.  I called Susanna to see if it might have fallen into one of the bags I had returned her plants in; I searched my tote bag and car several times, but finally had to call my husband who came home to let me in.  This evening he changed the lock on the door.  Very frustrating as I always usually put my key in the pocket of my tote after I lock the door so I have no idea what happened

Anyways, thankfully it was an easy fix.

I'll leave you with a photo of my at home cutie, Miss Rosie, enjoying the sunshine.

Have a good day.

A Fall Story

 Three weeks ago I walked to my neighborhood park -- took some photos of a recently finished granny square blanket, read some of my book, and spent time with kitties.

Susanna brought the book back for me from her summer travels, along with a bookmark and cute cat sticker.

Definitely recommend reading.

Next I headed over to the walking path where I spotted a parakeet that either escaped or was released.

And, as always happens, found a bag on the ground so picked up trash as I walked along, making my way towards home ... and then BAM, that's when it happened

Tote bag on the left shoulder while adjusting the bag of trash in my right hand so I could toss it in the garbage bin when I suddenly let out a yelp and hit the ground.  I didn't know at the time what I had tripped over or how I even fell.  I just immediately righted myself, brushed off the dirt and continued on ... but it turned out that my ribs had taken the brunt of the fall.  I have often rolled an ankle and fallen down, but this was completely different and all I can figure is I must have arched somehow upon landing, wanting to protect my head and face.   Anyways, turns out I had tripped on a bent metal pipe sticking out of the ground.  There was immense pain for weeks but thankfully I'm feeling better.  It's mostly the upper left side of my ribs still giving me problems and finding a good sleeping position has been difficult since I have never been able to sleep on my back.

Thankfully I did not break anything.  I just have to remind myself to really pay attention to the ground in front of me when I am walking,  And with better weather arriving, I will definitely be walking a lot more.

Take care.

A Month of Crafty Moments

 Well, my last post was September 29th.

Time flies, even when you might not be having fun or in the best frame of mind.

But between my bi-weekly craft group gatherings and mid-week meet-ups with a friend, there's been lots of craft therapy taking place all through October, right up until today, the first day of a new month.

Thank goodness for hobbies and crafty friends.

November blessings to you all.

Monday Meet-up

 Susanna has been back from the States for several weeks now and instead of Tuesday, we are curently meeting on a Monday.  At least we have for the past 2 weeks.

I'm just about always working on scrap yarn granny squares and she is slowly seed stitching on patchwork fabric that she plans to turn into a pouch or makeup bag.

Once again, our projects seem to be color matching.

Taking photos is still a habit after 16 years of blogging, but I often forget to look at them in my camera roll or to even post here to my blog, but here I am again, trying.

Have a good week.

From Light to Dark

 Had no idea there was a lunar eclipse tonight until my husband came home at 8:00 p.m. and told me to go out on the balcony to have a look.

8:01 p.m.

8:25 p.m.

8:33 p.m.

8:58 p.m.

There is a serene beauty in the duality of an eclipse,

where light succumbs to darkness only to triumph again.

(Anonymous)

Crafturday

 A lovely Saturday morning with my craft group plus the added bonus of welcoming two newcomers to the country who found us on Instagram.

Two of the ladies were looking for gifts for acquaintances so I was quite happy to offer up some of my granny square blankets.  :)

There is much joy in crocheting and sharing.

Have a blessed day.

Silent Sunday Stroll

 

Sheepy Things

 On July 19th my craft friend, Alifiya, and I went to a pop-up at a mall in the city for Soof, a local wool producer that opened this year in association with Sadu House, which I've posted about many times before.  I'll add a link here to a post so you can read a little more about this cultural center.  Soof is the first sustainable wool mill in the Gulf Countries.  They conduct tours of their facility but I've not yet been though a few ladies in my craft group have gone.

I previously bought some of the wool at Sadu House so didn't need to get any more, but I was intrigued by the pellets they've created as plant fertilizer.

They definitely smell like sheep but thankfully when you press them into the soil there is no odor.

Another craft friend, Nisrin, said she had seen them when she did the factory tour but didn't want to buy such a big bag so I poured some into one of the many jars I've saved and as an added personal touch did a little cross-stitch on fabric ribbon.

Rosie, of course, had to check things out.

The tiny little sheep is from a pattern by Melisa at Pinker n Punkin Quilting & Stitching.  Melisa designs the sweetest cross-stitch patterns and on August 14th, she did a Parade of Stamps ... you can check out that post here.

Nisrin has invited a few of us for breakfast tomorrow at her place so I will be giving her the wool pellets then.

Have a good weekend.

GSQDay

Granny Square Day is celebrated each year on the 15th of August.and is hosted by Simply Crochet Magazine on Instagram.   

Last year my craft group decided to make shrugs for the day ... 

and this year we decided on mitered vests (though Johra chose to get extra creative and make a tote bag which turned out absolutely gorgeous).

We met for breakfast and braved 45 C heat (113 F) to take photos.

Also finished off a small granny square blanket in the afternoon by adding a simple sc border.

We had a few days stretch of dry heat but the humidity came back in full force last night.  Ugh!

Have a good weekend.