Spread a Little Love

Yesterday I sorted through my basket of projects and discovered that I now have 35 crocheted dishcloths.

More than enough to start the gift giving.

I'm still working on my pay it forward gifts.

And I've joined an "I Love Hearts Swap" hosted by Shelley at all4meggymoo.

She's accepting participants until the 14th if you are interested.

So now I've moved on to making sweet little hearts.

Maaike at Creajjion posted an open publishing magazine

Gatherings: The White Issue which is where you can find the heart pattern (p. 126).

And since February will be here before you know it, mark your calendars for the 1st through the 14th.

Nancy at Sugar Lump Studios will be posting a daily "heartfelt" project idea to get you in the mood for Valentine's Day.

Wishing you a lovely, love-filled day!

Happy at Home

The little knitted snowman on the right was given to me by Maureen when we were in Dubai last month.

He's too cute to put away so will keep my little crocheted snowperson company throughout the year.

Our weekend has begun and I have happily spent the evening crocheting up these simple little washcloths.

(Pattern can be found here.)

 A fifth one is on the hook.

Happy hands, happy heart.

Changing Weather and the Busting Begins

Monday morning was nice and clear and colorful.

But by Tuesday morning, dust had moved in making for a very dreary day.

More of the same this morning (yes, that's the sun), but thankfully signs of clearing by late afternoon.

The weather folk are saying it is going to get very cold within the next few days.

I've decided that my first order of stash busting business will be to make wash cloths.

My plan is to buy a nice bar of soap and gift them to the kids' teachers.

Will be an easy project to work on over the weekend.

Hope you are having a great day!

The Stash Busting Challenge

I only took pictures of 6 baskets filled with yarn.

I can think of 6 other baskets; 2 cupboards; and 4 totes that are overflowing.

There's likely more.

So I've decided to join the stash busting challenge proposed by

Linda at Linda's Crafty Corner

and

Ana at Lanas de Ana.

If you'd like to participate, then head on over to either one of their blogs to learn more.

Best wishes,

I Did It

Inspired by Sherry's post to just go for it.

And Alessandra's post about a craft a day.

I stopped my procrastinating ways and just went for it.

My very first crocheted matrioska doll using this pattern.

It's supposed to be a bookmark but turned out kinda big so I will definitely be tweaking the pattern.

But I'm very pleased with my first attempt.

Have a great week!

First Day Back

It was a wonderful surprise to find cards on my desk when I arrived to school this morning.

Thanks Jan and Val.

Made this simple soup for lunch!  Served with a dollop of yogurt and spicy pita chips on the side.  Delicious!

Red Lentil Soup with Spinach & Lemon

 And just finished baking Christmas m&m's (milk chocolate and mint flavored) cookies using this recipe.

Now it's time for bed.

This day went by so fast!

Hope you are having a lovely weekend.

Celebration and Transformation

Yesterday was Sam's 54th birthday.

He was in good company as Mariette's Papa celebrated his 92nd birthday.

And Sandra (a/k/a Sam) turned 64.

 We had beautiful weather for an early morning walk.

 A walk that lasted an hour and 20 minutes.

 We met friends at Tang Chao for Chinese.

 Where there were still signs of Christmas.

 I snagged a couple of these rocks outside the restaurant.

Is it stealing if they are just sitting there covering a grate?

 We then headed to our friends' place for coffee and Indian sweets.

The one on the left is made from a flaky pastry and lentils.  Very interesting.

 And in the evening, our friend, Ali, came by for coffee.

He works here, but his wife, one of my very best friends, lives in Lebanon with their boys.  He just returned from there and she sent along this lovely cross-stitched Christmas pillow just for me.

The rocks I picked up yesterday and from my walk the other day have now been transformed with yarn.

Today's walk has already been taken and now it is time to prepare myself for reality.

Back to school tomorrow.

That will certainly be a shock to the system.

Have a great weekend.

Granola Making and More Walking

Since March, when Melanie posted her homemade granola recipe, I've wanted to try it.

Well, 9 months later, and I finally did just that.

 So easy and really yummy!  I had some today with Greek yogurt and my favorite Green Tea Chai.

I even gifted some to a friend in an upcycled peanut butter jar.

 Day 3 of the new year and Sam and I have taken our third walk.

We are fortunate to have 2 walking paths near our home.

One is 1.5 kms long (we usually do this one about 3 times).

 And the other one is 1 km long (which we do 2 or 3 times).

Including the walk to and from our house, I figure we are walking 5 miles or so.

The Arabic writing on the right is "annihaya" which means "the end".

A man is not rightly conditioned until he is a happy, healthy, and prosperous being; and happiness, health, and prosperity are the result of a harmonious adjustment of the inner with the outer of the man with his surroundings.

James Allen

I came home with two more rocks for crochet and a pretty little wildflower that reminded me of an image I printed out a while back.

Wishing you a healthy, happy day!

Tradition and Intention

Southern folklore has it that cabbage and blackeyed peas eaten on the first day of the new year will bring health, wealth and good fortune.

I'm not a superstitious person, but I am a southern girl, so I stuck with tradition.

It's also tradition for people to make resolutions at the beginning of the new year.

But today I read an article that talked about resolutions versus intentions.

Simply put, a resolution is something you have to figure out, whereas an intention is a purpose held in mind.

Our intention creates our reality.
Wayne Dyer

It is my intention to eat healthy, to walk as often as possible,

and to focus on peace, balance and simplicity every day.

Wishing you a healthy, happy, peaceful day.

Happy New Year

We will open the book.

Its pages are blank.

We are going to put words on them ourselves.

The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day. 

~Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Every man should be born again on the first day of January.

Start with a fresh page.

Take up one hole more in the buckle if necessary,

or let down one, according to circumstances;

but on the first of January let every man gird himself once more,

with his face to the front, and take no interest in the things that were and are past.

~Henry Ward Beecher

Sam and I decided to start the new year off right by heading out for a 9:00 a.m. walk.

We may even take another one this afternoon.

No plans for the day, no rushing around.

Just a quiet, peaceful start to the year.

Happy 2013!