Thrift Store Finds

I may or may not have done a little dance in the thrift store when I came across a rack of natural yarns. (okay, the dance was only in my head).

I did refrain myself to buying only two, but I will probably go back later this week to see if the others are still there.

Just look at these beauties! This one is 100% baby alpaca. The color is Tide Pool. I think this would make a lovely lace shrug. I was looking for a pattern yesterday but couldn't find one I liked. Perhaps this will be the project where I dare to design my own pattern?

These two are 100% Merino Wool. On the label it says it is a sock yarn so I am guessing that it will self-stripe, which will make a fun pair of socks. Now who to make them for?

Happy Knitting! 

Waking Up

Springtime. 

It is a beautiful time of year.

The ground is turning green.

The breeze is cool. 

The trees are starting to bud.

The birds are singing.

The kids are all outside playing. 

It feels like the world is waking up.

   In Colorado, we are having almost summer like weather. Today the temperature is 76 degrees. And the forecast is pretty similar for the next 10 days. The gardening bug has bitten me hard this year and I am dying to get out and play in the soil. I know that there is still a pretty high chance that we will get more snow and frosts in April and possibly May, so I must content myself with simply reading and planning for my garden.

Springtime is also the time when bears wake up from hibernation. 

Bears can cause a lot of havoc in a garden and not everyone looks forward to them waking up.

   My friendly little bears, however, are waking up to bring comfort to kids on the other side of the world. 

   Meet Teddy, my first finished teddy bear that will get to travel to Africa to bring comfort and joy to a little kid. 

Teddy before he had a face

A very hungry bear that needs some stuffing before they can wake up

The beginning of another bear
(on top of my gardening notebook!)

   These bears are my new favorite thing to knit! They are easy to knit up in a few hours with lots of ways to customize the pattern. My goal is to have another 499 bears follow Teddy to Africa in the next couple of years. I already have another 6 bears knit so I just need to fill them and sew on their faces. It never ceases to amaze me what a simple skein of yarn can turn into. In this case, the skein of yarn is turning into a friend that will bring smiles to kids. I love it!

   Spring, you can take you time. I will patiently wait (or try too!) for you while keeping myself busy with reading, planning, and knitting.

Gardening Season = Weeding Season

I have been so excited to start working in my community garden plot again this year! I have glorious images in my head of what my plot will look like in a few months (none of which are likely to come true!). This quote helped me to stop and enjoy the beauty of this moment, with my bare garden, covered in fresh dirt. The beauty of a blank slate. The beauty of possibilities. 

 Last weekend I helped move a pile of dirt amendment into all the plots (in the cold, windy rain!). Last night I went down after work and pulled all the weeds that got a jump start on the season and then spread my amendment over the plot. Today I go to turn the soil and then plant! 

When I think of gardening I think of watching the seedlings break through the ground, slowly grow upwards toward the sun, and finally blossoming into mature plants. I do not think of all the weeds I will have to pull during this process. Last night was a rude awakening to the truth. I will have a lot of weeds to pull this year. Some of the weeds I pulled yesterday were already full-blown plants, some with roots that were 1/2 inch thick! The ground is still thawing out...how is that possible!

I recently got a letter from my grammie telling me about her garden and her battle with weeds. She is in a much warmer climate than I am so has a big jump on the season. She made this comment at the end of the letter: 

"I'd rather be out there than doing spring cleaning!!" 

I have to agree. I may not be a fan of weeding, but I would rather be weeding than cleaning the bathroom! 

So off I go to get my hands dirty! 

Winter Walk

March came in like a Lion in Colorado! I have been inside all morning and decided I needed to get out. Won't you join me for a Winter Walk?

The Eye of the Storm

This cup represents "The Eye of the Storm" for me. It was a crazy busy and stressful week at work. I felt like I was fighting against the winds and rain of a hurricane most of the time. I had to regularly remind myself to take a few minutes to breath. Make a warm cup of tea, slowly enjoying it. I knew it was just a temporary reprieve from the growing paperwork tsunami on the horizon, but it was enough to give me the strength to push on.

It is so easy to get caught in the undercurrent of "Now". If I am not careful, I can get quickly swept away with the tide.

Take a few minutes to breath. Breathing is more important than "Now".

How do you keep from being caught in the undercurrent? What are your favorite small de-stress acts?

Perfectionism?

So I have been slacking off here a bit, haven't I? August was my last post. Why is it so hard to get around to posting? I have certainly had some great things to share since August!

Is it my old frienemy Perfectionism rearing its head again?

Is it my need for visuals and my lack of taking pictures?

Is it my fear of being judged?
or
Is it just plain laziness?

That is in the past however. It is time to move forward. I have been struggling with how to restart this. I wanted to return with a clever bang, but since no brainstorms have come yet (again, there is Perfectionism), I am just forcing myself to start.

So I am simply dropping by to leave this quick note. And since I am a visual person, this favorite picture from my Christmas vacation.

  

Creepy Crawlers (and corn)

In one of my previous posts I shared a picture of a beautiful butterfly that accompanied me for an afternoon. I have shared my garden time with this butterfly once more. The rest of the time, I have shared my time with some less....um....let's say less "pretty" companions.

A not very pretty bee, but still a pleasure to see it "working" in the garden.

 Ok, this one is pretty! You can't see it very well in the picture but this little guy's back glistens blue in the sunlight! 

The one creepy crawler that I do not have a picture of (I refuse to grant it that honor) is also the reason this is my first corn harvest:

I have several ears that are probably ready for harvest, but I am scared to pick them.

I have seen earwigs crawling down inside them! 

Now, I have an irrational fear of earwigs. Don't ask me to explain it. Its irrational. 

I can handle most spiders and other common insects, but earwigs? Ha!

Most people see this:

I see this:

Ok, maybe not, but you kind of get the picture. 

So I have been too scared to pick the corn. The one I picked today was practically falling off the stalk, so I figured I better brave it. So far, I have gotten it home. We'll see if I ever get brave enough to husk it!