Resting Time

It has been unseasonably cold here for a long stretch. We still have hummingbirds (the Anna's is a year 'round resident) and we had taken to bringing a fresh feeder of food out every morning and bringing the previous day's food in (it was a solid block of ice after being out all night). The little guys would hover and chirp in anticipation of their breakfast. Here is a picture that our friend, Dick Logan, took of a male staying warm. I took one of our little guy, but my camera is a wimp compared to Dick's! Now it is warm and raining, and the hummers are happy again.

I have been very busy with BCharmer, sewing and packaging and shipping for the holiday season. I feel so grateful for all of my wonderful customers, who have kept me busy all year. I have now closed both of my shops so that I can pay attention to my poor neglected family. I will re-open in 2010! I hope to have fresh inventory and a couple of new designs to show off. I recently purchased some new fabric from Joel Dewberry's "Deer Valley" line, and I'm smitten. Here are a couple of examples of items that I've made with it so far:

I wish you all a happy, safe, and healthy holiday. I'll see you in 2010!

Cool Thoughts

Because it has been SO hot here, I am actually dreaming of winter *gasp*! That's what lets me know that the summer has been truly satisfying: when I begin to long for the change of the season. I was thinking about school, and sharpened pencils, and the smell of new notebook paper, and pumpkins.... I have been making these little zippered pouches lately. They are small and cute, and perfect for holding pencils or knitting needles, or whatever other small things you might want to stash. Here is one that I made in a lovely arctic hue. It's available in both of my shops: Etsy and Artfire.

Have a beautiful day, my friends!

Solstice

Today is the solstice, the longest day of the year and the first day of winter. When I walk outside, it's difficult not to agree that, in fact, it is winter. But to me, this is actually the last day of of that coldest season. Tomorrow, there will be just a little more light and the day after tomorrow, a little more still. Is that not the quietest and most powerful indication that Spring is on its way? Today, I enjoy winter to the fullest, because I know that it will soon be gone.

Wonderland

We are knee-deep in snow this week. It's so beautiful and sparkly and quiet! Yesterday, my husband and I drove our daughter up north to a Children's Hospital for some tests. Everything came back normal, so that was great, but it took us over 4 hours to get home because the roads were so bad. Today I feel great being able to stay home and walk if I want to go somewhere.

Diligence

This past couple of weeks my daughter has been sick with a nasty cold. And then I got sick. And it was really rainy outside. We laid on the couch together and sipped tea. It sounds so idyllic and wonderful when I put it that way, but we were snorkling snot, coughing, and moaning. We got little sleep. We were cranky and frankly, we got tired of each other. FINALLY we're feeling better, and yesterday the sun was out. We went for a long long walk, and I noticed that my daffodils are not only up, they're trying to bloom! It's almost December up here in the Pacific Northwest. What the heck?? But it was a nice little spiritual reckoning for me, seeing those tender bittys standing up tall and ripening their buds. Maybe I'll have daffodils on my Thanksgiving table this year; that would be a first!