Good-bye 2020!

Looking forward to 2021!

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE!!!

 Finally - the end of a very long year of challenges and changes. I can't say I'll miss it any.  My daughter and her fiancé had to cancel their wedding, my best friend passed away and we had to cancel our trip to see my daughter over Christmas. Actually, many other of our plans were cancelled because of the virus. The lockdowns and restrictions certainly put a damper on things! Hopefully the coming year will be better.

I had a lot of changes here at home. One of the biggest was dealing with hubby and son both working from home. There was no longer any ME time. I loved the quiet day, and now there is none. That's OK, though. There are other advantages to having someone home all the time. 

Even with everyone underfoot, I did OK in the crafting department. I had some finishes and learned some new things. I am thrilled to have tried and succeeded at beadweaving, designing my own crocheted top, completed both a short sleeved and a long sleeved cardigan and made 2 different types of ponchos. I learned some new stitches and got a nice amount of items to donate finished. I also finished 17 items off my project list - many of which were added from the previous year. Not bad, overall!

In other areas, I took a few classes on herbology and aromatherapy as well as class on CS Lewis that is not completed yet. My reading goals suffered as I was studying and reading lots of class materials, so I didn't really feel like reading a pleasure book most times. 

I will be posting my goals for next year tomorrow. I've been planning them for the last couple of weeks. Some are quite ambitious - so we'll just see how it goes. Like every other year, if I don't make all the goals, no biggie. It's more like a bucket list than a list of resolutions, so I don't feel guilty if I don't do them. I'll roll them over to the next year's list IF they are still relevant. 

It’s A State of Mind

Beautiful autumn colors

Here I sit after having an epiphany. Something so simple, but to me, something so profound. You see, I have come to terms with realizing that I’ve had almost everything I’ve ever wanted at my fingertips.

You see, I grew up in a tiny town surrounded by mountains. It was not my favorite place by a long shot. There was no sunrise or sunset and the neighbors were way to close for my taste. On weekends and summer, I’d go to my grandparent’s farm and stay. I was a country girl, through and through. The farm was my love, my sanctuary. I spent almost all my time outside, with the animals, in the fields, and in the woods. Those were the times of happiness throughout my childhood.

When I grew up, I wanted a farm. More than anything in the world, I wanted a place in the country. Farm loans were not possible, since I really didn’t grow up on a farm, nor did my husband, so the bank wasn’t interested in lending us a dime. We’d try to save and every time raise time came around, the prices around us went up, too.

Long story short, no homestead. No dream would come true. No fulfillment – and some underlying sadness/depression. Then hubby got hurt – and definitely, definitely in no shape or form would we get any type of country place to retire on. End of story.

So, where is the epiphany? It hit me one day that I can do all the things I wanted to do, except raise livestock and have no close neighbors. Do I really need livestock? NO! Do I really need no neighbors? NO! We have almost an acre of land and can do quite a bit with that little bit of land.

New raised beds being installed.

At our age, we went the raised bed route for gardening. This makes things more manageable and I’m less likely to grow a garden that is too big to take care of. There’s only 2 of us now, so putting away food is not the chore it used to be. Hubby made me some new frames out of cement. He cast them himself and the first 2 were installed this fall. They are beautifully made and look so much better than the wood frames behind them. He’s done a total of 4, but the last two many not make it in before the winter weather sets in. I now have garlic planted in the one pictured.

Relaxing by a the fire with family

We have a nice little area where we can have a fire. Our property is surrounded totally on 2 sides by trees in an “L” shape, so at the corner, we have a very nice and private area where we have a relaxing area with a fire ring. Every time family and friends visit, we seem to gravitate to that area. Everyone seems to love sitting around the fire and there have been many late nights and stories told. We are blessed to have such a lovely area to call our own.

Contentment

We used to have chickens years ago. We originally had them for eggs and meat but our daughter decided to name them all and turn them into pets. Well, at least we had lots of eggs! I guess you could say we still had lots of “livestock”. The kids had rabbits, hamsters, cats and a dog. We still have 2 cats. My daughter had to leave her cat behind. She moved to the other coast and her cat was too old to travel that far. It was a hard decision for her, but was the right one. Her cat is almost 19. The other cat decided to adopt us. He was haunting our compost pile and I thought he was just the neighbor’s cat. He wandered down to the house and has been here ever since. I tried to find his owner, had him scanned for a chip and posted everywhere, but no one claimed him. He’s now part of our family.

My conclusion – It’s all a state of mind. One can be content anywhere as long as they decide to be. I’ve marked most things of my bucket list – things that I wanted to learn to do one the homestead. I still can’t go out and wildcraft on my own place, but I can do almost everything else. Life is what we make it, and I finally chose to find contentment and happiness here. I wasted a lot of time living for a dream instead of living in the moment.

Cherry Blossom Earrings

One of my favorite places to find tutorials is at Potomac Beads. They have very detailed videos that will walk you step-by-step on how to make all different types of projects. There are hundreds of videos on their YouTube channel.

While browsing the different channels, I came across an earlier subscription box that had the pattern for the Cherry Blossom Earrings. I was absolutely fascinated by them and really wanted to learn how to make them. I went to their site and found that they had a video tutorial, list of all the materials needed, so I immediately ordered the petal beads to make them. I love the options for these earrings – besides the tutorial, they also have kits, a written pattern as well as the past bead box all for purchase.

As soon as the beads arrived (they are really quick to ship!), I dropped everything and beaded my little heart out. In no time at all, I had a new pair of earrings!

Materials used: 

• 8x7mm Czech Rose Petals “Metallic Mix” 
• 11/0 Miyuki Seed Beads – unknown – mint colorway 
• 15/0 Miyuki Seed Beads – unknown – Potomic Beads #77060 
• 6mm flat earring posts 
• .006 Wildfire white thread 
• Beading Needle size 12 

The seed beads came from the July Best Bead Box XL from Potomac Beads. They were the leftovers from the Bonnet Bracelet “kit” that was included in the box. The earrings were quite easy, but a little fussy when putting the first petals on and trying to keep the post, petals and beads all together. It gets easier after the first 2-3 petals. I love that there’s no glue or anything except thread, beads and posts. So cool!!!

Trinket Earrings

I finished the earrings and am quite pleased. I did have some problems with the second one. I ended up accidentally wrapping the thread around the earring and ended up having to pull some of it apart. After doing that, I couldn’t get the bottom bead point to sit as nicely as the first. Of course, I didn’t notice it until after I had finished and I wasn’t pulling it back out again. It isn’t perfect, but I’ll wear them just the same.

I’m finding that I’ll have to pull out the camera instead of using my phone to get a more clear and true photo. I had an awful time trying to get pictures of the earrings. The phone kept adjusting and making them silver and turning my black background to a grey color.

These earrings are so much prettier in person. They really sparkle and the picture just doesn’t do it justice! I had to put them on and see how they looked. They are a little more true to color here, but Monday’s post is probably the most accurate of all of the photos. I do like these earrings and will be making them in more colors combinations to practice putting colors together. I think I need a course on color theory – actually I need a brain that can actually put things together like my daughter does!

If you want to make your own or see what else Deb has available, you can find the pattern along with many others here: https://www.aroundthebeadingtable.com/index.html

Trinket Earrings On Hold

I accidentally stumbled across a FANTASTIC blog that has tons of free beading patterns. I was so thrilled with what I found, that I had to start reading her blog from the beginner. If you're interested in beading or just seeing gorgeous jewelry, you really need to visit Linda's Crafty Inspirations! She has posted so many lovely projects - and not just beading. It really is worth the visit. 

While on Linda's blog, she had shared a project she had made using a free pattern from another website called Deb Roberti's Around the Beading Table. Oh my! This is another source for free as well as paid beading patterns and another place that has a wealth of information. I spent another few hours on Deb's site and found many patterns I want to make. Unfortunately, with just starting out, I don't have a lot of beads yet, so I combed through the site looking for something I could make.

Trinket Earrings progress

I came across a lovely pair of earrings called Trinket Earrings that I wanted to try and had beads I thought would be appropriate to substitute since I didn't have any 4mm pearls. I thought I had everything as I had jump rings, the fish hooks, thread and needle as well as beads I picked out to test to see if I could truly substitute different colors and beads and make them look good together. I was beading along when I went to put the jump ring on and found that I didn't have any 4mm jump rings! UGH!!! So I had to set the earrings aside and order some from Michael's. We have to run to town tomorrow, so we'll do a curbside pick-up then. 

I'm using:

• Black Wildfire .006 thread
• Size 12 needle
• 11/0 Miyuki Seed Beads - Gold
• 4mm Cryistal bicone beads - Marine Blue Iris
• 4mm Faceted Glass beads - Aqua

This is a very simple pattern and I was really enjoying it. Sadly, I had to stop. I really can't wait to finish these. I think they will turn out nicely - even with my own color choices!!

Life Got In the Way!

Look! All my ducks are in a row!

Wow! It's been forever since I sat down to write. This year has been crazy busy and full of unforeseen events. If you had told me what had been in store for us, I would have laughed at you and said you were nuts! 

January brought a serious back problem for my husband. He was hospitalized for 10 days, home health care and therapy for a few weeks then physical therapy for a few months. In fact, he just wrapped up his physical therapy a couple of weeks ago. He was off work for a couple of months, started working part-time from home, then just got the OK to go back to work at the University when the Covid-19 shutdown happened. He has not been physically to work since

January 17th! He's been telecommuting every since and he loves it! 

I've had a bunch of adjusting to do. Not only is hubby working from home, but so is our son. Our son was looking for an apartment when this all hit. That came to a halt when the shutdown happened and now, with working from home with his job from the University, he's putting more time in than he'd be doing physically at work, which seriously limits his time to look for any housing - besides the issues with social distancing and the instability of the future. 

My daughter lives on the other coast and was supposed to fly out and stay out here for 2 weeks. I was hearing rumors of a shutdown and quarantine for those that travel, so gave her a heads up. We were watching things closely, and just before she was scheduled to leave, shutdown happened. She had to cancel so many things that was planned for here, including her wedding. She was coming out here to finishing arranging things for the wedding that was to take place this year, when everything went haywire. She and her fiance decided it was best to cancel and wait this mess all out and then do a wedding out there, close to home. 

Another heartbreaking thing happened was my best friend, Val, died. She was one of the most amazing people I had ever encountered in life. She always made me laugh and was there for me when I needed someone. She would drag me around to places that I would have never have know about. She introduced me to so many things and added so much to my life. She was not only my friend, but a friend of the family and was like another family member - especially to my son. Val didn't have children, so she "adopted" him. She died during lockdown, so there was no public funeral for her. I never got to say goodbye. Goodbye, Val. I miss you so much...

It's been a huge adjustment for all of us. With a wedding cancelled and a best friend gone, lockdown with freedom taken away and having to get used to having two very independent males underfoot all the time, it has been an emotional challenge. Mostly emotional because there was no one to grieve with. There were a few days I just shut down, but I guess I needed to.

However, even after all that,  I can honestly say I'm enjoying the forced proximal closeness of family. I hear all the negatives about the shutdown/lockdown and not really any positives. For me, there are a few negatives, but overall I'm enjoying home life.  I'm shopping more because most is being done online. I have large, heavy things like kitty litter delivered now, but I started that in January when hubby had his back issue. It is so nice not having to put a 35 pound bucket of litter in my cart, take it out and put it in the car, then take it out of the car and lug it in. Now, I just have to lug it in, and that's really wonderful for an older woman like me! LOL Yes, I still have to get fresh, frozen and refrigerated items at a physical store, but that's about it. I have some physical issues with wearing a mask, so I limit my time out in one.

I've also found our family has grown closer. There aren't really any arguments - maybe an occasional tiff, but even they aren't really happening. In fact, I can't tell you when the last time was that we had a disagreement of any sort. Hmmmm....  And out house is small - only a tiny bit over 1000 square feet, so it's not like we can really run away from each other! 

We've all been looking into hobbies - my son has started concentrating on woodworking more. Hubby putters around more but is still physically limited and not able to do what he used to. He's had to refocus and give up some things. His has been more of a mental challenge - having to give up things he loves to do and finding new things.

Me - well, I'm always learning and trying new things. This year, I've been wanting to make my own things. I've been focusing on handmade items to see how many things I can make or repurpose and not have to depend on trying to find the "right" fit of clothes, style, etc. I've taken a few online classes, made my first cardigan, designed my first crocheted top, dehydrating new foods, experimenting with growning unusual (to me) plants, solar cooking and making my own jewelry. I'm sure there's more that I'm not mentioning.

So that's 2020 up to July in a nutshell for me. Life is different - and I'm enjoying it. I'll be sad to see the guys go back to work when this is all over. I'll miss them.

One Second After - Preparedness

I love preserving food and am always looking for interesting ways to put up our bounty or new ways to cut out processed/packaged foods from the grocery store. I am always watching something on YouTube or combing through the groups I'm a part of on Facebook. One of the things that I've been hearing about throughout these communities is a book called "One Second After" by William R. Forstchen. 

I was curious, so I borrowed it from the library. Talk about a captivating read!! The premise of the book is what happens after an electromatic pulse (EMP) has gone off. There is a foward by Newt Gingrich and an afterword by Captain Bill Sanders of the U.S. Navy, both stating this scenario could truly happen. The story was fast paced and well written. It was very thought provoking and made me think of what could happen and how we would or would not handle the situation. 

I'm not a prepper, but one who puts away a little food because I don't care for the taste of most processed/prepackaged items that I've tried at the grocery store. I do a small batch of soups, etc. and my pantry looks like everyone else's except that my food is in jars instead of cans. Not a lot, and certainly not enough to get me through something like this disaster. 

This book should be added to everyone's reading list. If nothing else, it's an entertaining and informative read.  "One Second After" is my first finish of 2020.

Another first for 2020 - actually for the first time ever... we didn't have pork and sauerkraut for New Year's Day, yesterday. Pork was quite high at the store, so I purchased a ham instead. I figured I could use some of the left over ham for ham and bean soup. Well, that certainly didn't turn out well. I sliced open the packaging around the ham and my knife came out with a long string of slime hanging from it! It was horribly gross. I pulled the plastic back some from the ham and it was covered in a thick slimy mucous that was certainly not appealing nor should it be there. It appears we had purchased a spoiled ham! That goes back to Walmart today. We ended up having hamburger soup instead. I guess we'll find out if eating pork and sauerkraut on New Year's truly brings luck and good fortune!

2020: New Year - New Decade

The new year arrived quietly under a bed of white for us. Our son's plans changed, and instead of chancing the weather, he spent the evening with us. I treasure the time we can spend with our children, because they will soon have families of their own and lives of their own.

I am looking forward to this year. Our daughter will be getting married in the fall and our son has started a new job that is much more suited to him compared to his last job. Hubby and I are planning on planting a larger garden which will be nice. We have many ideas we are tossing around between us. It will soon be time to start planting seeds and seeing the miracle of those tiny embryos turn into plants and food for our family.

I have a few personal goals set:

1. Lose 10% of my body weight
2. Read through Paul's books of the Bible 12x
3. Complete at least one online course
4. Remove processed foods and most sugars from my diet
5. Try making cheese
6. Read 33 books including:

• 10 classics
• 10 of the 1001 Books You Should Read Before You Die

7. Complete a few knit and crochet projects off my list
8. Turn the basement into a nice usable area
9. Make a craft area in the basement
10. Weed out unused/unnecessary things

I'm sure the list will grow longer as time goes on. I have so many things I want to complete or try.

That's my year's plan in a nutshell.