flying

This month of January is already flying by so quickly that I can hardly stand it. The promises I made to myself to step back and slow down even more have been difficult to hold to, but thus far we've persevered. :-)

It is easier to do so in our new Homestead, where life in the country has a naturally slower pace. Where our daily schedule follows those of our new neighbors---morning tea coincides with the AM rush at the birdfeeders; the rosy glow in the lounge window means it is time to start building the evening fire. I LOVE living here. Just as my loft apartment in the city was the perfect spot for me in my twenties, so is the Homestead for me two decades later. :-)

So how have we been spending the first days of this glorious new year? Mostly at home, in the quiet, playing games, cooking, and enjoying the company of visiting friends. We continue our commitment to healthy, homecooked (and tastier) foods, and long walks in the woods are a treat, feeling not a bit like the dreaded exercise. There has also been a fair bit of reading, writing, baking, and talking. Oh, and napping. :-)

There has not been as much knitting or other crafty making going on---I think my hands needed a bit of a break after the mad rush to finish the family's Christmas presents. I will be starting the gift making way earlier this year, but even with the crazy knitting crunch during the holidays, I am so glad we decided to go homemade this year. :-)

I also have dusted off the yoga mat and started the 21-day yoga challenge sponsored by Yoga Journal yesterday. Yoga has been a part of my life now for at least 12 years. Sometimes it is a more regular companion than others, but I always return to the mat because it feels like home to me, no matter where in the world I happen to be. :-)

I have made only a handful of goals for myself for 2012 because I've learned not to fall into the trap of trying to accomplish EVERYTHING in just one year. The biggest challenge I've set for myself is to eliminate much of the global media/Internet surfing/mindless distractions from my life and only allow myself to focus on local news and community events. It's not that I don't care what is going on in the rest of the world. I have come to find it all so overwhelming to bear at times, especially when there is very little one can do to change a situation or eliminate the suffering; thus, I want instead to channel my energies to problems and projects that are relevant to our neighborhood and home township and the people who live here. I am curious to see how my life will be affected by this change in the coming months.

I have also committed to a Photo 365 (366) challenge specifically for iPhones. I still love my Canon, but truthfully when I am out and about, I prefer to use my iPhone than lug around a heavy equipment bag. The vintage photo apps are tremendously fun to explore (and reasonably priced too), and I simply love the looks of the photos I've been taking (like all seen in recent entries). Most importantly, though, iPhoneography has revitalized my interest in picture taking/making, which of course forces us to pause and step back to have another look at the world around us. And THAT is never a bad thing. :-)

week in review

I hope that this first full week of 2011 has treated you well. I confess by Friday I was quite tired and definitely ready for the weekend! :-)

Overall, though, I'm pleased with all I accomplished and the progress I made with my various projects. The sweater I am making for my husband's birthday---January 29th---is coming along. The back is done, and I have finished about one third of the front. This is the first sweater---or anything!---I've made for him, so I chose a supersimple pattern. It's free and you can get the pattern here. The yarn I'm using is Debbie Bliss cashmerino chunky in dark chocolate. I've never used this yarn before, and I love it so far. :-)

In my future project file, this week I've added this free download to print out and make a Moravian star. I went to university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, so I am very familiar with Moravian stars. Therefore, I happily jumped when I saw this posting. :-)

Let's see, in the kitchen I've been busy, too. I have some tempeh that I've been wanting to use, and this morning I found the perfect recipe to also satisfy a craving I've had of late. When I still ate meat, I used to say that I could become a vegetarian if it weren't for sausage. Alas, I became a vegetarian anyway, and yes I do miss an herbed patty with my eggs and pancakes. I have tried the commercially available veggie alternatives here, and they're ok, but I eat so little processed foods that when I do, I find them a bit salty. So when I finish this post, I'm heading straight to the kitchen to make these tempeh soysages. :-) I will post a review of how they turned out next week!

Also, January is National Soup Month, and in honor of my winter salad in a bowl, I am declaring this coming week Soup Week at Rachel Making Happy. I'll post a favorite soup recipe every day to help you celebrate this yummy holiday. :-)

My other creative project, which you can follow along at Rachel's 365 Project, is also going well so far. It seemed like I hardly took any pictures last year, so I thought signing for this challenge would be a good reason to dust off the old Canon. In my "Week in Review" posts, I'll be posting my favorite photo from the previous week. This is my selection for week #1:

I also took some well-focused shots of the same, but I liked this blurry one best. This could be why I'll never be a great photographer, but never mind. The subject, by the way, is a ceiling lamp we bought in Tangier eight years ago.

My other plans for the day are to give my office a bit of a reorg and tidy up---I always like to start a new editing project with a freshened workspace. :-) Also, I am also taking time this month to clean up my storage hard drives and my multiple backups, which have become unwieldy of late. It IS possible to have too many backup copies, trust me.

Off to make a cup of tea and get started on my soysages. Hope you are enjoying your Sunday = Funday wherever you are. And see you back tomorrow to talk soup! :-D

projects past and future

One of my aims for the new year is to spend at least thirty minutes a day during some sort of hand work---knitting, sewing, etc. So yesterday in preparation I organized my supply cupboard and inventoried my yarn, much to the frustration of a certain kitty who wanted nothing more than to "help."

My current project is to finish a sweater for my husband before his birthday later this month. It seems over the years I've always been knitting gifts for others that I never got around to making anything for him. Time to right that wrong! :-)

But once that sweater is done, I am turning back to an old cross-stitch that I started last winter and never finished. The project was given to me when my grandmother died two years ago, and I have a feeling she had it for many years too, possibly from back when my great-grandmother embroidered this tea towel.

I think one of the reasons I find this work so rewarding is its connection to the past, to my past. But it's also satisfying to create something beautiful and functional that will keep my special people warm or brighten their day. Best of both worlds. :-)