Saturday was such a gloomy day that had me feeling the need to just stay in the house with my diffuser going along with some gentle meditation spa radio that I enjoy listening to when I have different things to contemplate.  

I also spent a very big chunk of the day working on my sweater.  I just have a few more inches on the last sleeve and it will be ready to wear.
It's going to be a super cozy sweater!

Of course we did our usual Saturday night snacks and watched the football game.
Oof…that was a painful game to watch.  Patriot fans can't complain, we have had a crazy, wonderful run, but I'm sure some big changes are coming along.  I think we have something like 20 players that will be free agents.
Like the rest of us, Tom is getting older, hopefully he will stay or retire…but who knows.

The payoff for that gloomy weather all day Saturday and Saturday night was the beautiful new snowfall.  Not so much as to be a headache, but just enough to make everything look so beautiful.  
Even though I was sorely tempted to just sit and finish my sweater, we decided to toss the snow shoes in the car and go for a hike in the woods.
This week it was a little easier than the week before….of course we hadn't eaten a bunch of Chinese food the night before and for breakfast that day…ha!

I think I've eaten all of the things that I wanted to eat….you know the deluge before the purge..ha!  I'm not getting any younger either and it's time to start taking better care of myself.  One of my good friends from long ago is very sick, needing a liver transplant that probably won't happen.  It makes me so sad, but also makes me realize that no one else is going to take better care of me than me.
I'm working with a group that I think will help.  It's not about dieting at all, but rather self care.

We also squeezed in a trip to the movie theater to see Little Women last night. We were trying to remember the last time Ken actually went to a movie and seriously it was 2003 when we saw the last Lord of The Rings movie (and he fell asleep..ha)
I'm not sure how I felt about Little Women.  I loved the characters, but I didn't like the going forward and then back again.  It was hard to tell at times because the girls looked the same as children and adults, but it was still wonderful.  It was one of my most loved books as a girl.
….and just like that, the weekend is over.
~ and I was able to share some beautiful pictures of my corner of the world with you..~

To start off the New Year on a more positive note than last year, Ken and I scooped up our snowshoes to trek around the Tin Mountain Conservation Center nearby.  It's one of our favorite spots to snowshoe because you rarely see other people there, it's incredibly quiet and peaceful…and so many of my little winter bird friends live here.

Winter is not my favorite season, but somehow being able to get out enjoy the nature that surrounds us in the beautiful mountains of NH makes it a bit easier.  I used to love to hike and be in the woods in the warmer months, but with the tick borne diseases today, I prefer to be out in the woods in the winter when they are traveling under the snow and not up my legs!

I'm not going to lie, it was a little bit of a workout (ahem..for both of us), even though this is a fairly easy trail.
A few extra pounds and very little activity last year due to my foot surgeries made for a semi-challenging trek for both of us, even though we took it easy and didn't push it too hard.
One of my goals this year is to get stronger.  I've given up the "thin thing", but I want to work on getting stronger in my core, my legs and my arms…and I want to work on strengthening my immune system.
A good goal for a new decade!

Listen to the gentle quietness of water flowing underneath the freshly fallen snow…
So understated and so beautiful..

This year I want to listen more and speak less.
~

This is the moment of embarking.
All auspicious signs are in place.
In the beginning, all things are hopeful.  We prepare ourselves to start anew.  Though we may be intent on the magnificent journey ahead, all things are contained in this first moment; our optimism, our faith, our resolution, our innocence.
 Deng Ming~Dao

 

Thanksgiving is always a time for us to reflect on how fortunate that we are to have such a large, wonderful and kind family who all really enjoy each other's company…right down to the littlest ones.
My youngest granddaughter just stole my heart yesterday.  She has the sweetest little voice, is such a little love and a very feisty girl all wrapped up into one package.

 

I didn't get too many still pictures because we were busy spending time enjoying each other's company and the few that I snapped off had everyone's eyes closed..ha!

This year only half of my kids were here.  The younger ones were visiting with their husband's and significant other's families and while we missed them all very much, it was nice to be able to fit everyone at one table instead of coming up with the creative seating that Ken has to figure out.
We may just continue to do this alternating years, so that everyone's families have the chance to enjoy spending time with family members, instead of one house being crazy busy and other's being unusually quiet.

This year I took a leap of faith and decided to make a Pumpkin Roll that I saw on Ina Garten's instagram page. 
Now once upon a time ago I tried to make a Chocolate Jelly roll and it was a HUGE flop..haha!  Kim, being Kim, didn't read the part where it says to roll the cake in a towel AS SOON as it comes out of the over.  Yes, it cracked all over the place when I tried to roll it when it cooled down.
This time around I was very happy with how it came out.  Filled with yummy marscapone cheese mixed with confectionary sugar and crystallized ginger.
Finley, the birthday boy (Nov.22) LOVED it!

 

The picture quality is not the best and I need to remember to turn the camera horizontally when making videos….but seriously how cute is she?

I hope that you have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving in your corner of the world!
Here we had many things to be truly thankful for.

~

 

I am working on a wall of photographs to embrace the large family that I get to call my own.
 I have SO many pictures that I have taken over the years and wading through the large box of pictures to find my favorites has been a challenge because there are so many.  
Each time I dive into this big box so many them brings back a moment in time that I will forever treasure.
Life goes by so quickly, doesn't it?

The pictures above are a small group of pictures that I printed out today for the wall that I have semi completed for Thanksgiving.  It gives me an idea of who I may have to corner over the holidays for some pictures to complete the empty spots..LOL.

Somedays I wish that I could stop Father Time, but time ticks on doesn't it? These special photographs are the testimonies to the stories that belong to my remarkable family. 

Kicking a pebble by the side of the road,
Watching it tumble pell-mell.
Chance and randomness become order.
Deng Ming~Dao

Ok, so it's clear that I flunked the November daily blogging..LOL.
 It's ok though because it has really put me back in the mindset of blogging and staying in touch with some of my favorite people.

So, how are you guys all feeling with social media these days?  Me? I find that I get completely overwhelmed with it lately and have been avoiding it more and more, especially with all of the politics on FB and all of the endless advertising on Instagram.
The sad part about avoiding it though is I do miss seeing what my friends and family are doing until sometimes days later when it might appear on my feed.
It used to be so easy to keep up with people, but not so much any longer.

So I have found that occupying my time with knitting has been an enjoyable break both from the brain drain on learning a new job and social media.
This sock I am knitting is a modified version of the original Honey Bee Dance sock by Helen Stewart.
I love the full lace version as well and may knit another pair down the road, but I find that I find a fully knit foot a bit more comfortable to wear in a shoe sometimes.
The yarn is Harmony in Rustic Rose.

I have also been working on the beautiful Elorie Sweater by Elizabeth Doherty.
I LOVE this hot chocolate colored brown!  I have been a little more dedicated lately to this knit because I am looking forward to wearing it before the winter is over. (yes, I am a slow knitter..)

Elizabeth's designs are always such a treat to knit.  Her design thought process is just so different than more traditional patterns.  Sometimes it can be a bit challenging to think outside of the box, but her instructions are always top notch which makes the challenge that much more fun.  Love it!

This yarn is WW Kashmir in Truffle.

How are you spending Saturday in your corner of the world?

 

Whoops…I did it again.  I missed another day, but the way I look at it is you have heard a lot more from me this month than in almost a year..LOL.

So, remember that word "Organizing" from another post?  The word "Organize" is going to be my word for 2020.

 I wasn't going to do a word this year because they have challenged me in ways that I didn't expect, much like this month of blogging.  I loved my "Sparkle" year, but the last few have been harder in different ways.

Recently, I helped my oldest daughter's family move into a much smaller space and watched her struggle with downsizing, what to keep and what to let go of.  As I have mentioned in the past, we hope to move to the coast in a few years to a smaller space as well.
I am going to take this year to start wading through 24 years of living in this big old house with 5 children.  The kids are all on their own now and have been very good about taking the things that they wanted with them and let us take care of what they didn't want.

 Now I have the task of cleaning out the closets and corners of this house and the BIGGER task of downsizing my studio.  I have 2 floors of a very big barn that we refinished and as you can imagine, it's super easy to tuck a good amount of yarn, fiber, fabric and tools in this large space.

Those huge bags above.  I'm getting a jump start on the new year.  Those huge bags are filled with clothes some of which go back to my dog showing suits that have been donated to those who can use them.
 I'm feeling lighter already. 🙂

I used a random number generator to pick a winner.  Because I had entries in 3 places, here on the blog, Facebook and on Instagram, I assigned everyone a number to make it easy and number 8 is……..ta da!

Congratulations Lee!!
If you could privately email me your mailing address I will get this out to you this week.
I hope you enjoy the Filofax system!

Sundays are a day for time away from work both at home and at work, right?
I love that I have a large family and get to enjoy spending time with them now and then.
Any time I get to spend time with my tribe it always makes me very happy!

Recently my oldest daughter, Stacey moved to a house not too far away and knowing that my middle daughter, Ashley was coming home for a visit with her dear little Cullen to spend time with us we decided to take a short trip to see Stacey's new place now that they have settled in.  
Stacey's husband, Jeff made us a delicious lunch and the 2 little boys had SO much fun together!
Little boys….are just so blessed cute in their boundless energy!

Ashley being a Junior High School English teach couldn't resist spending time reading to Asher…and then Asher read to her.

It made a mother's heart smile to spend this time with the people I love.

 

She withdrew into herself,
First writing just for one,
Then touching thousands.
She incarnated ghosts, hurt, and joy
Into paper-and-ink stories of wonder.
Deng Ming~Dao

Whoops, I missed yesterday.  I have to be honest as I mentioned in my last post my brain has just been worn out at the end of each day, however, yesterday was the first day I finally felt like I had my head wrapped around the different processes, so from here going forward I think it will become easier.

Over the years I have tried various notebooks, in fact, I LOVE notebooks, but I have not yet found one that I really loved enough to keep up with them. Once I have torn out a number of pages it looses it's appeal and just sits there looking at me.  
I know that sounds so odd doesn't it?

Well…I think I have found the perfect one!  It's called TUL and I love that you can remove the pages easily and even move them to different sections or different notebooks.  There are a number of different types of refill papers and you can purchase a punch machine to add other things to the notebooks.  It feels good in the hand and opens up with ease.
I may have one or two more heading this way…just sayin'

Years ago I tried the Filofax system, but it just wasn't for me.  I am fussy about how things feel when I am working with it.
(I know it sounds pretty silly doesn't it?)

This is the book I have with these various papers that go with it, along with the punch, so if you think you would like it, just leave a comment here and I will draw a name if more than one person comments..ha!  I know that a lot of people really love this Filofax system as well.

Happy Saturday!!
PS….there is more to that word "Organizing" coming soon.