I Heart Veggies

We have another storm coming- this one will be mostly ice. I had to make the obligatory stop at the grocery store on the way home to prepare. (I actually did need toilet paper.) I was out of fruits and veggies too and my newly adopted oh so healthy lifestyle needs fresh fruits and veggies. Plus I got a really cute new grocery bag. No, I did not need it. I've never met a bag I didn't have to have. It's a sickness I tell you. But look at how cute it is:

Look at my bounty from Whole Foods- amazing fruits and veggies:

I read a healthy eating tip that said if you put healthy snacks at eye level in your fridge you will be more likely to stick to the healthy eating program. I put a lazy susan in my fridge and I love the results:

Now that I've taken the photo I can put the heavy cream back! :) I do have a small carton of heavy cream. It's left over from something I made at Christmas. I'm not using it, but it hasn't expired. I can't throw it out until it expires. That will make sense only to some of you. 

So, I am prepared with rutabagas, sweet potatoes, cauliflower and lots of other veggies. I have honeycrisp apples and navel oranges that cost more than a prime rib used to cost. I have green bananas that will be ready to eat some time next week. I have chicken, hanger steak and salmon. And I pray that we don't lose power. If we do, I will have nothing but a mess. 

There's something intrinsically satisfying about stocking up on "whatever" in preparation for a storm. It fulfills some sort of nesting instinct I've always had. I love the idea of my home being my sanctuary. It's a safe place to rest, relax, create and learn. It's the most comfortable place on earth. How many times have you been on a fabulous vacation, but nothing feels better than when you get home and sleep in your own bed?  And now I am going to go crawl under the covers of my own bed, read a book and watch the weather. Tomorrow is another day for more organizing and putting more sanctuary-ness in place. 

Observation: I do feel like my home is my sanctuary, until I open some of my closet doors. Yikes. 

Evil Red Dot

Two years ago this coming Mother's Day my girls gave me my kitty, Juli. One of my daughters found her starving, freezing, wet, dirty and lost. Juli makes sure none of those conditions ever describe her now.

Under the glass coffee table looking at things that aren't there. 

She got a toy for Christmas that is the equivalent of a baby swing for cats. It's a lazer light that makes an evil red dot dart around the room all by itself.

She loves it. She wants to get that red dot! And she cries to have me turn the toy on. All. Day. Long.
I officially have a two year old again.

That's all for now. I have to go turn on Juli's toy. 

Washington DC Will Be Closed Until Further Notice

We got smacked with a snow storm today. Freezing rain followed by 8" of heavy, wet snow that fell really fast has paralyzed the area. People are stranded everywhere. Many people have been trying to get home for 6 or more hours.

The trees are weighed down with the heavy snow. Lots of people have lost power. Luckily, we haven't.

Yes, this amount of snow can cripple the DC area. Actually, we had Thunder Snow. In all my years in lots of snow storms in Michigan I've never heard of Thunder Snow. 

 I'm soooo grateful to be home. It's after 11 at night and people are still stuck in their cars. There are women with babies, elderly people and pregnant women. The snow has stopped and hopefully the plows will be able to get through the gridlock and take care of the roads. 

It's time to get to bed and say a little prayer for those still stuck in this mess. And a little prayer that we don't lose power. And a little prayer that we don't get more snow on Friday.

Observation: When I learned to drive in Michigan I was taught how to rock myself slowly and easily out of snow. People in Maryland, for the most part, don't do that. They spin tires. And spin. And make nice icy spots under their tires. 

Cooking Forward

One of my main goals for this year (and for my life) is to eat healthy 99% of the time. A girl has to have decadent chocolate stuff once in a while!

I've never been good at menu planning, and that is a key part of the whole healthy eating thing. When you are on your way home from a hectic day at work and deal with an hour or more of bumper cars on the Beltway and you have a choice between an expired can of cream of mushroom soup or a hard boiled egg your car automatically gets in line at a drive through.  You end up hitting the jackpot for calories, fat, sodium. Not conducive to a healthy lifestyle.

So, I know that planning is key. I've scoured the internet for ideas on menu planning and have come up with the following:

1.  Keep a running inventory of what you have in your fridge / pantry / freezer.
Many bags of spoiled salad, cucumbers and other produce will attest to the fact that once I put something away it is out of my mind. Unless it is chocolate. I will always remember that there is chocolate lurking somewhere in my kitchen.

2.  Have a few rotating meals. Breakfast for instance. I could rotate oatmeal / yogurt & fruit / Kashi bar and fruit.  OK- that takes some of the pressure off.

3.  Ditto with rotating lunches and snacks.

Another thing that works really well for me is cooking ahead. I love to take a Sunday afternoon and roast a bunch of veggies for the week. Maybe make some soup and / or a Crock Pot meal.  Again, this takes planning. If all that's in my house is that questionable can of soup or a hard boiled egg - not a whole lot of cooking for the future can take place.

So this all boils down to two things: planning and cooking ahead when possible.

I often buy the frozen steel cut oatmeal at Trader Joe's. It's very good- but has a lot of sugar in it and is very expensive for 2 servings of oatmeal. It comes in a shrink wrapped plastic thing and is shaped somewhat like a muffin.

I love steel cut oatmeal and it is sooooo good for you. But it takes about 35 minutes to cook. No matter how much I plan, I will not be cooking anything for 35 minutes in the morning.

An idea popped into my head. Why not make up several servings of the oatmeal, put it in a muffin pan and freeze it?

It was a good plan, however,  the muffin tin wouldn't fit in my freezer. But after a night in the fridge they were formed enough to take out and put in a container and freeze.  I'll give a full report later on the success of this experiment.

More cooking ahead:

r






Skinless chicken breasts baked in the oven for lunches and protein snacks this week.

Maybe meal planning and cooking ahead will become second nature to me.
Maybe I'll cut down my grocery bills.
Maybe I'll eat more fruits and veggies rather than letting them rot in the produce drawer.
Maybe there is one more square of Godiva dark chocolate left in my pantry.

An observation:  Oatmeal is NOT photogenic!

Fabric Shopping Day Trip

Today my daughter and I packed some fruit and crackers w/ peanut butter and headed to Thurmont, MD. Thurmont is a small country town near Camp David, the president's retreat in the Catoctin Mountains. The town is sleepy and quiet unless the prez is in residence at Camp David. Then the place is crawling with press.

Our destination was Discount Fabrics, USA. This is a warehouse full of home decorating fabric at really good prices. The photos are a bit fuzzy, but you'll get the idea:

I thought I'd taken a lot more photos of the fabric. I think I got waylaid by Gracie and her brother. Two beautiful Samoyed dogs. Gracie needed lots of tummy rubs. Great dogs. I love people who bring their dogs to work.

My daughter got some wonderful fabric to recover her sofa and I got tons of ideas for my bedroom. I saw lots of fabrics that I could be happy with. I really need to narrow down the color scheme I want. There are about 4 schemes floating around my imagination right now.

My cousin came over today and did some much needed furniture repair for me. The leg on my dresser broke off when my dresser was moved a few months ago. We did a temporary fix, but it's better than it was.

I love when I (or a relative) can fix something myself and save a repair bill. I'm impressed that my daughter has researched upholstery and is going to do her own chairs and sofa.


Sometimes this "I can do anything myself" can be carried too far.

My ex husband had the DIY bug even worse than I do. We used to live in a home where the sewer would back up into the basement from time to time. He would go to the rental place and rent a - ummmm....I don't even know what to call the machine. It was a 2 person job and I was person #2 (no pun intended). And it was disgusting! And then I found out that a company called Roto Rooter (or any plumber) comes equipped with that same machine. At the time they charged $60 to clean a sewer line. (It was the 80's and plumber fees hadn't reached the bank account draining level that they are today.) We paid $25 to rent the machine. Believe me, it was NOT worth saving $35 to do this job ourselves.

Ahhhh, good times.

It's bitter cold tonight. I'm going to get into flannel jammies, get my book and get under a blanket. Tomorrow will be some office work in the morning. Some personal paperwork in the afternoon and a belated Christmas with my neighbor.

Whole Lotta Whole Foods

I love Whole Foods. I shopped last night. Normally I don't really like grocery shopping. But shopping at Whole Foods is more of a sensory experience than grocery shopping. The produce section is amazing. Here are some of the healthy choices I made:

Individual servings of brussels sprouts and rutabagas for roasting. A mixture of Greek olives and peppers. Some of these olives will be going on top of a piece of salmon.

A vegetable mixture destined for a frittata.

Pomegranate seeds to sprinkle on a salad and in oatmeal. Pomegranates take me back to my childhood in Los Angeles. I remember the first one I ate and I was hooked. We  picked them from a neighbor's tree. The idea of buying a small amount of seeds at about a zillion dollars a pound was unheard of.

We had wonderful produce when I was growing up. Much of it came from the back yard. We had a huge avocado tree. One of my favorite sandwiches as a child was a little mayo, avocados sliced and sprinkled with lemon juice with salt and pepper. I still love it!

We had rhubarb that grew wild. I was cautioned not to eat the leaves. My mother said they were poisonous. But I loved to pick a red stalk and chew on it after carefully removing the leaves.  I haven't tasted it in years. I wonder if I still like it? And, of course, there were the random orange and lemon trees.

In later years my father, at age 78, used to pull a step ladder up to the back fence at his house so he could stand on the tip top step and lean waaaaayyyyyyy over and pick grapefruits from the tree that grew wild in the vacant lot next door.  They were delicious!

Notice there are no photos of the fabulous sweets available at Whole Foods. I looked, but did not buy. I was apparently filled with discipline and will power yesterday.

And, here's a sneak peak of some finished knitting. It's a gift for someone who reads this blog, so I am only showing a bit of it. It really came out pretty if I do say so myself. I'll post of photo of the whole thing once it can go public. It is made with yarn from Yarn Hollow. Rita, the owner, hand dyes the most amazing yarn. She is located in Michigan and her stall is always a favorite stop when I go to the Northern Michigan Lamb and Wool Festival every September.

Tonight it's early to bed with a good book on my Kindle and a cup of herbal tea. Life is good. 

A few observations:

Why do weekend days go by so much faster than week days? 

Why do cats need tons of attention when you are busy and act like they don't know you when you have time to pet them?

Slip Slidin' Away

Yesterday we had freezing rain. I knew enough to stay in the house where I belonged. I worked at home and got a lot done. This morning I checked the weather. Clear. I checked my front porch. Wet, but not icy.  I got myself dressed for work, bundled up and ready to start my day. The step at the top of my stairs outside looked wet. I took one step and the world went topsy turvy. Apparently it was icy. I ended up down the steps in a not so graceful way and sprawled on the sidewalk. Lovely.

But on to more pleasant things.

Smoothie for breakfast. Almond Breeze, Berries, Protein powder,  Frozen Broccoli (you can't taste it in a smoothie) a little honey. YUMMY!

Love The Weekend

I love weekends. Today was one of those days where it just feels good to have nothing to do. I slept late, got a manicure and then came home and relaxed and knit.

I ate a healthy dinner of salmon, roasted butternut squash and spinach salad.  Dessert was one square of dark chocolate. The only this missing was a bubble bath! 

I'll be going to bed early with a good book and tomorrow I have to do some marathon knitting. (More on that later.) 

I'm pretty boring today. And after the few weeks I've had, being bored is a blessing. In fact it's wonderful. 

Miss Juli approved of our lazy day. 

A few observations:

I could knit every day for 5 years from the yarn I already have and still have yarn. Clearly I am a yarn hoarder. And I'm ok with that. 

Eternity Is Here

When a scarf has the name Eternity in it, it seems like it might take a long time to knit. Nope, The Eternity Scarf is completed, blocked and has been worn a few times.

It can be worn long or doubled up. I love the doubled up version. It comes all up around my face and it warms up the air that I breath. This is helpful since cold air seems to get into my lungs and does a coughing conga line. 

By the way, meet Antoinette, my dress form / model. She is hoping for something a little more glamorous to model next time. 

Gingerbread for dinner. (No, not exactly on my healthy eating plan. I am exhausted and a piece of warm gingerbread and a cup of tea are just what the doctor ordered.)

Then early to bed. This was my 3rd day back to work after being sick and I am still missing my naps! 

Perfection

I work in the new home industry, so spend a good amount of time in model homes. I've never gotten used to the feeling I get when I walk into a model home. They are perfect. You fall in love with color schemes you didn't think you liked. You want to recreate this feeling in your real life. It's a great idea, but perfection is impossible to achieve. What you can achieve is the feeling of cozy and clever and pulled together.

In my quest to bring cozy into my life, it's time to address my bedroom.

I keep trying to get it right, but it either looks too stark, or too fussy.

Look at this bed from on of my model homes:

I love this room. It's feminine without being over the top. It's neutral, it looks serene and pulled together. Not much of my life seems serene and pulled together right now, so maybe this is a good place to start. 

There's no reason I can't recreate this or something close to it. There are some basic good ideas that I can follow. The trouble with model homes is they portray perfection. You never see the tissues on the night stand, the loose change on the dresser or the hair brush that you forgot to put away. Living like this is not possible, at least not in my life. But living with coziness and serenity is possible. 

Stay tuned for my real imperfect bedroom changes. 

A few observations:

My real bed will not have a tray with a bowl of plastic fruit on it. It will more likely be covered in cat hair.

I like cats way better than I like plastic fruit. 

How do you get gravy on the ceiling?

23 years ago tonight, or perhaps early on the morning of January 10th my dad left this earth. I can only imagine the party and shenanigans that have taken place in heaven since that day.

He had the most eclectic of resumes. In the 1940's he worked as a chef on the Union Pacific Railroad. He spoke of the postage stamp sized kitchen where gourmet meals were daily fare. Rail travel was elegant in those days, and no shortcuts were taken in the kitchen. Everything was made from scratch, even mayonnaise. He was a wonderful chef and delighted friends and family all his life with his exquisite cooking. 

His food was renowned, and so were the disastrous kitchen messes he left in his wake. Not a kitchen ceiling in the family was free of his signature gravy stains. How do you get gravy on the ceiling? I don't know! He loved pots and pans and bowls and knives. And he put each and every utensil to work to create a meal. Everything started with his dramatic knife sharpening and then the onion chopping began. When I was a little girl I thought all recipes began with "first, chop an onion". It's a rule I still pretty much stick to today.

Betty Grable walking by the kitchen car:

After serving in the Navy during WWII he returned to Los Angeles where he became an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department.  He worked his way from patrol officer to sergeant detective in the Burglary Division at Parker Center. He loved the LAPD, loved his work. He was nick named "Buddy" by his fellow detectives because he befriended and tried to help many of the people he arrested. He worked with them to find jobs and get on the right path. I heard him say more than once "I arrested the nicest guy today". 

Here's a photo from Friday, September 6, 1946 Los Angeles Examiner's front page. The woman my dad is escorting had been on the 10th floor ledge of a downtown LA hotel. She said she "the taste of blood haunted her" and was going to leap to her death. My father crawled out on the ledge and brought her back in. 

Here's a photo from the 1940's showing my dad going into Johnson's Lake in LA to retrieve some evidence. The story reads, " Police yesterday recovered more than $30,000 in waterlogged accounts receivables from the muddy bottom of Johnson Lake. They were dumped there yesterday morning by a burglar who had chosen the banks of the lake to open a safe stolen from Tatum-Iden, Inc. The burglar, apparently irked because he found no money, hurled three metal file cabinets into the lake. Diving hero yesterday was Detective Joseph M Oaks of the Los Angeles burglary division. Clad in bahing trunks but with no diving equiplent he brought up the cabinets and the papers from their resting place five feet below the surface."

In 1965 my father retired from the LAPD and went to work for the US State Department at the Agency For International Development. He served in Vietnam for several years during the war.

There are so many events and facets to my father's life. It's almost tempting to go into a bullet point list mode of things about him.  He spoke fluent Spanish. He loved animals. He made his own good time wherever he went. He was a fabulous writer. He could tell a joke like nobody else. He was generous to a fault. He never met a stranger. Oh, and he was a character of the highest order.

January 1, 1969 my father took me to the Rose Bowl. His beloved USC was playing Ohio State. OJ Simpson ran an 80 yard touchdown, and my father jumped up and yelled "Take that Woody you old son of a bitch!!". He was undaunted by the fact that our seats were in the Ohio State section. 

So I can only imagine that in some heavenly place tonight the joint is rocking with classical music, onions are being chopped and now God only knows how in the world you get gravy on a ceiling. 

QVC

I've never been a QVC watcher, but for some reason when I was in the hospital last week it was all I watched. I can see how people get addicted to it. I wanted to have everything I saw! One thing was a hair product.  A curling iron / flat iron with a spinning barrel that promises sleek, shiny hair. We'll see about that.

The other thing I *had* to have was a small electric skillet. They were touting how it's the perfect size for one or two and it wiggled its little way into my resolve for healthy meals, smaller portions. It seemed to be the perfect answer to preparing healthier meals.

I absolutely love this thing! Today I made a frittata with tons of broccoli, one egg and one egg white, sun dried tomatoes and onions. What an outstanding, filling, healthy meal.

Teeny skillet. 8" across. Perfect!!

Delicious. 

2 Down, 33 To Go

I'm on a quest to make all the corners of my home cozy, clutter free and today I completed one wall in my den. One wall ='s 2 corners. I'm not crazy about that math. Soon I will develop new math that makes that 33 to go number decrease quicker. I'm thinking just cleaning my fridge all scrubby, shiny clean should count for at least 7 corners. (See, this is why I have a clutter problem.)

My bookcase now:

The flag on the top is from my dad's military funeral several years ago. It's something I cherish.

I've got a box for photos that need to be scanned and preserved.

Family photos.

Some books, old opera glasses that belonged to Hannie, Mannie or Nora.  A big plaster plate thing that I got out of one of the model homes I've worked at. All bookcases at model homes have big plaster things on them.
A vase of yarn. I'm trying to be artsy. I'll probably get moths.

A couple of things painted by my friend Sue (those are in the cherish category as well.) Book ends that were a favorite gift.

A home for my daily planner.

And finally, some books.

It's just a cheapy Ikea book case. But it holds some things I care about. Here you can see a close up of my Uncle John as well as a photo of me with him at his son's wedding in the 80's. Next to that is a photo of my grandmother and grandfather in the 1950's in Los Angeles.

The mail shredder does not belong in my cozy book case corner. I didn't even realize it was there until I looked at these photos. I wonder what the proper fung shui placement for a paper shredder is? 

A New Quilt

A quilt is being born at my home (she says as if that happens every day). I'm not a great quilter. That could be because I've only made one real quilt in my life. It's hard to be great at something you haven't really ever done. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. I have discovered that the real traditional quilts with blocks that have names kind of bore me. Oh, they're gorgeous, but something about the idea of making them depresses me. BUT- give me a more contemporary quilt with some of the trendy color combinations and it sings to me. Weird, because I'm not really a contemporary furnishing type of person.

So, the fabric is chosen and the strips are cut.

The strips are sewn:

And some blocks are cut:

Now I just have to do that about 45 more times! Look at that old ironing board. It's the same one I got as a wedding gift in 1971. It's a different cover- but wow. Old! And who gives an ironing board as a wedding gift? 

On the cozy front I've made a bit of headway. I've fixed up one corner of my den to be warm and inviting. You can see a bookcase peeking at the left side of the photo. It is NOT warm and inviting. It is chaos and full and tomorrow it is going to meet my inner decorator. Dust bunnies are running and old books are trying to hide. Please pay no attention to the roll up shades. They will be morphing into beautiful drapery panels any day now. Tomorrow I'll show you how nice it looks with the drawers closed. 

A few observations:

I don't know if anybody will ever really read this blog. It doesn't matter. I've discovered having a blog makes me want to do projects so that I can photograph things for the blog. Let me just do a little more...then I can take a photo. Let me go close those desk drawers and take another photo! 

The Ruby Gene

My paternal grandmother Ruby Elizabeth Newton Oaks and her twin, Gertrude Newton were born 127 years ago today in Meadeville, PA.

We all have characters in our family. Ruby's name was certainly appropriate, as she was a true jewel in a family treasure chest of characters. When I was a little girl, time spent with her was unlike any other. She lived in a magical home with a secret garden in Alhambra, California. When I stayed with her, one day of my visit was always dedicated to putting on our white gloves and hats and taking the bus to downtown LA for a bit of girl time. We shopped and the day ended with tea at the May Company Tearoom.  Her sense of style and design were amazing. She could take something as simple as a ho hum arm chair, recover it in purple velvet and it looked like it was out of a magazine. She made amazing pie- her specialty "Creme d'-Menthe" a la the 1950's cooking trend. She created Christmas trees that were works of art complete with color themes. So very ahead of her time!

The May Company, Los Angeles, 1955

She was a tad on the eccentric side. She used to drive my father crazy with her scattered ways. He always said she'd drop everything to go to a dog fight. (Not true- she was an avid animal lover- but you get the gist.)  Truth was, she'd drop everything for an adventure- and to Ruby, everything was an adventure.

Ruby and her twin were separated during their childhood. They each had to go live with relatives when their mother contracted tuberculosis.

At parties Ruby "smoked" using a cigarette holder. But it was just for show.  (No inhaling- she just thought it was cool.) She imbibed a bit. She played bridge, loved classical music and her family. She lost things, she forgot things, and she was so much fun.

In our family when someone does something crazy, loses car keys, forgets where they parked; we call it "The Ruby Gene". I have it. Other family members have it. In today's scientific world with acronyms and meds for everything, we now know it as ADD. Ruby was the ADD poster child.

But I prefer to think of it with love and fondnace as simply "The Ruby Gene". My Grandma Ruby was a strong and competent woman. I am very proud to be blessed to carry any of her genes!

Gertrude Newton (left); Ruby Newton Oaks (right).

I'm Such A Crazy Aunt Purl Wanna Be!

Crazy Aunt Purl is one of my go to blogs. She makes me laugh, she makes me think, she makes me knit. Today she made me cook. She's raved about this kale and chickpea soup several times. Now this is not a dish that would attract me, but if Crazy Aunt Purl says it's yummy- I'm game. Something about kale is a little sceeeeery to me. I love veggies, but kale looks like something that's left on the plate after you've licked off all the fat grams. However, 2011 is the year of more veggies, healthier eating and all that good stuff that everybody talks about the first few weeks of January. 

It's not gorgeous, but it is wonderful!!!!!

Speaking of veggies- Whole Foods has really stepped up with a new marketing strategy. They have small packages of veggies as well as cut up veggies ready to scoop up and take home. What a smart thing for people like me who get all overwhelmed by huge heads and clumps of things. I can scoop up an appropriate amount with a little bit of variety for the next few days. Yay Whole Foods. 

A few observations:

• If you go to Whole Foods and come home with 4 bags of groceries and you drop just one of the bags, it will contain the one and only breakable item in your order. It will be the large jar of honey and it will seep everywhere. It's some sort of universal law.

Cozy In 2011

If I could pick one word that encompasses what I love in life it's "cozy". I have a goal to bring more cozy experiences into my life in 2011.

I'm pretty sure  what cozy is not. Cozy is not clutter. Cozy is not lots of stuff. Cozy does not careen around at 100 miles per hour and add things to your "to do list". 

So, as this year unwinds I will be looking for ways to incorporate this somewhat elusive element into my life. 

Reading "cozy" fiction is one way. No, it's not War & Peace. And that's ok! 

Knitting quietly- total cozy trip!

What other things can I add to this list?  What do you do to create a cozy experience in your day?

This is food for thought for me. I think my first step must be to create some cozy spaces in my home that invite relaxation. 

Juli has no problem creating coziness wherever she goes!
 She looks huge here. She's actually a very small cat with LOTS O' Fur.

A few observations:

• I can't believe that the song "What About Love" from the 80's is now a Swiffer commercial!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Chaos

I ventured into my little "studio" tonight for the first time since I got sick. Yikes! Now, calling my crafting / sewing / painting / creative area a "studio" is like calling Cheese Whiz fine dining. In my dreams this space is going to morph into a wonderful Martha Stewart-ish creative space where artful objects are going to come spewing abundantly forth. Yeah, stay tuned for that one! I have a lot of nerve even putting this photo up here. But I do have some goals for my creative space, and the first step is looking at what is. Like I said, Yikes!

During my Christmas frenzy I decided that I must (and I mean must) paint a watercolor that depicted the season in a fun and colorful way. Then I had to frame it. And hang it on the wall. And now, there it is in all its glory and I kind of like it. It's not gorgeous, but it's fun. I'm not sure it deserves wall space, but this stubborn little painting has claimed the space and who am I to argue? 

My knitting on the Eternity Scarf is coming right along. It's a quiet, methodical knit. It doesn't take lots of thinking, and that is a very good thing~ I'm using Knit Picks Andean Silk. I love the yarn. 

A few observations:

• Prednisone really screws with your sleep patterns. It's 1:15 AM and I need to sleep. I'd rather research everything there is to research on the internet. 
• I love that Oprah has her own network. I love touchy, feeling TV For Women. I remember being pregnant and watching Phil Donahue back in the 70's. Those were some good shows!
• Tomorrow I am working at home. I love that I have a job I can do from home if I need to. I still feel like I was hit by a truck- but I can actually do my job from under the wheels of a truck. I am very grateful. 

Christmas Musings

Christmas is all kind of a blur. From the photographs, it looks like it was a good one! Juli, my very spoiled, very sweet Calico Kitty got lots of toys. She loves her toys but the very favorite is a box. A box! It is HER box and she stands in it, sits in it and curls up and sleeps with it. The box was the wrapping on an electric fondue pot. Juli says throw out the fondue pot and keep the box!

 Some other Christmas recap-

I found it necessary to make my own gift tags. I know, it may seem silly to spend a lot of time doing this much work for something that will probably be thrown out. But it was so much fun. And so relaxing. I brought out all my old scrap booking supplies and just had a ball.








I've discovered that I can't just "plan" something like this. I have to start playing around with the paper and supplies and all of a sudden I am off on some uncharted path and most of the time I end up
with something I love. Usually.











And there was some wrapping......

I absolutely love wrapping gifts with a little pizzaz. My mother was the queen of the beautifully wrapped gifts. Choosing little inexpensive embellishments to go with the ribbon, the paper and even what the gift is makes me feel connected to Christmas past and to a part of my mother that brings up happy memories. I used to watch her create gorgeous gifts and think "Oh I could never do that." Oh yes, I could.





And there was a little baking.....





Truth be told, I did too much. Truth be told, I loved every minute of it. But- the bottom line is, I didn't get enough sleep. I didn't get enough treadmill time. I ate too much sugar. But that was then, this is now.

I'm not much for New Year's Resolutions. I have some things I want to incorporate into my life in a real, lasting way in 2011. Some things are ideas, waiting to be born. Some things are concrete. More to follow.




And finally, today. Today was a really wonderful day. I watched Eat, Pray, Love. It was a pure chick flick, not as meaningful and deep as the book, but very enjoyable. And I began knitting The Eternity Scarf.  I love this knitting project. It is flying through my fingers and each meditative stitch strengthens me, calms me and reminds me of how good a day can really be.


A few observations:

• Watching Hoarders makes me feel like having a few extra loads of laundry to do isn't all that bad. (Not to make light of hoarding disorder, I'm just sayin' - it kind of puts things in perspective.
• I don't know how to arrange these pages on Blogger yet. I'll figure it out. After I do my laundry.
• I don't really want to do my laundry! I'll think about it tomorrow.