April Showers, Birds and Hikes

It's been a busy time here at Willow's Cottage and this is the first post I've written all week.  Time to catch up and think about the good parts of the week.  Friday Fave Fives really helps me do that.  Susanne at Living to Tell the Story leads us in choosing five things from our week that have helped us to be thankful and notice gratitude.  Here are mine:

1.  Encouraging words from friends concerning a difficult situation.  I meet weekly via zoom with friends.  We call ourselves the Art Girls (you can guess why).  Because I was stressed about something, they encouraged me and really helped me focus on the right way to handle things.

2.  The birds are back in force at my bird feeder.  I love watching them snack on the seeds I provide for them.  Birds make life happier and make me smile.

3.  More hikes.  It really is spring!  On Tuesday evening, the Trail Life troop hiked in a local preserve again.  Although it had been raining quite a bit this past week and the creek was up, we ventured through the mud and water, up and down the banks of the stream and had a great time.  (I'm the honorary grandma who hikes with them)  The best part?  Tall Boy was very solicitous for my safety as we crossed creek beds on rocks and climbed up slick and muddy edges, even holding my arm and escorting me along in front of his buddies.  Then we also had a fun hike at the local arboretum again.  Almost three miles.

4.  I guess I should be thankful for all the rain we are having.  April showers bring May flowers.  I need to just focus on being thankful that we aren't in drought.

5.  The spinning wheel is out and I've been working on some merino and silk fiber.  No photos yet.  But hopefully, in the next day or two I will have finished a skein of it.

Now I am off to watch my older daughter (she who is a rocket scientist) dance in the local production of Swan Lake.  Happy Happy Friday to you all.

Friday Fave Fives, Another November Week

 Since November is Thanksgiving month in the US, people tend to mention their gratitude more.  But gratitude should be weekly, daily, moment by moment. Sometimes, I forget.  Friday Fave Fives helps remind me to 'give thanks always'.  Thanks to Susanne who has hosted us for YEARS! (follow the link to join in)

1.  I just finished a zoom meeting a few minutes ago with friends-- we call ourselves the Art Girls because we started years ago as five of us who love making art and meeting together.  Watercolor painting, weaving, knitting, sewing, spinning, acrylics.  Since then three of us have moved away from our hometown, but we still keep in constant contact.  I am so thankful for my Art Girls.

2.  Our weather has turned.  Winter has arrived.  I am thankful for a warm house, warm clothes and cuddly blankets.

3.  Earlier this week I was doing some research on aran sweater patterns (aran is cabled knit designs).  Well, that led me to flip through some old Interweave Knit magazines I own.  And that led me to a new fascinating project.  Miniature mittens.   These will adorn a wreath or garland soon.  I'm loving this!

4.  An unexpected piece of mail.  And what was in that package?  SEEDS!  Nikkipolani knows my love language!  Calendula seeds for next spring!

5.  The Christmas tree is up and glowing.  No decorations yet.  I am thankful that my son Dr. Mike carried it up from the basement and The Professor put it together.

These are just five things in this week for which I am thankful.  There were many more like our weekly meet up with T and S, encouraging discussions with friends, the beauty of transitioning seasons.

I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Cold and Snowy Faves

Hello from a white and icy Willow's Cottage!  In a zoom call this week with my Art Girls group, one of us mentioned her focus phrase for 2024-- JOY, no matter what.  YES!  That is what Friday Fave Fives is all about.  Finding and focusing on the blessings, no matter what else is happening.  Here are my Friday Fave Fives for this frigid week. (follow the link to Susanne's blog to join and read more)

This has been a week of rest, coffee, and books.   I didn't plan my week to be like that, but with our below freezing temperatures all day and night and now the snow which is falling, I haven't been out much and I haven't had much energy, either.  I truly am thankful for all the downtime.

We did make two expeditions out in the cold.  One trip was to have our annual eye exams.  Results were all good.  No changes, no new lenses, no new frames.  Our optometrist is wonderful and personable and professional.  It was a joy and a blessing to have that visit.

The other trip took us to the medical center for my m--m-gram.  Again, all good.  On the same trip, we did our big shopping trips to Costco and TJ's and added in REI and LLBean.  These stores are thirty minutes plus from us, so we group them together and do the trip once or twice a month.  Again, I am thankful that the medical visit is done and all the shopping is, too.

The Professor and I had a fun and relaxing coffee time with Mia, Younger Daughter, on one of her days off.  We enjoye our coffee in a sweet shop in a nearby town.  Ragamuffins Coffee is definitely a favorite.  While we were there, two people who work for our county's park district came in and grabbed their coffee.  A quick conversation about our knitting projects cemented the woman's name in my mind (I'm not usually good with names, so this was unusual).

Much to our surprise, we met that Park District lady at our eye doctor's office as she arrived for her appointment.  I remembered her name!  Then she told us about a volunteer program the park district has for people interested in helping keep the trails in good condition, and she invited us to join.  We'll definitely be looking into that since we walk the trails all the time, anyway.  I love those serendipitous meetings.

Extra:  update on the Fair Isle vest...  in rummaging around in my extensive yarn stash, I pulled out a bunch of yarn that came as a combination of five different colors in small skeins with a couple of the colors in larger skeins.  Perfect for me to make a 'practice' vest!  So that's what I have been knitting this week.  If all goes well, I should have it finished by next week.  Here's a quick glimpse to entice you...