Transitions

Hi everyone, welcome to January and the new year. The holidays went by too fast, but though small , were spent with loved ones, good memories made. Now we face the long darkness of winter, seven months til summer, except for lucky readers in the southern hemi. Below, a Brambly Hedge drawing from IG, books my mother and I loved even as adults [maybe more as adults!]. Don't we just want to snuggle in and hibernate!

Mo votes a big Yes! Zzzzzz

I didn't decorate much so everything Christmassy is more or less put away. I love the look of red and white and was thinking of doing a month or two of "vintage Swedish winter" in the style of artist Carl Larsson here [not hygge/ chippy barren white!]. 

edit switched to lbue today, w bright touches. Can't wait to put down my new indigo rag rug in a few minutes. It is also a
gift and from the Springfield flea.

For some reason I just adore this red and white Snowman checks tablecloth! I'd probably love it in July. [from my mom]. It's so cute because it's Italian restaurant/ pizzeria red checks---but not.

But then the red sofa pillows are a Santa toile, sooooo--out came the blues.

Here showcasing the adorable feedsack animals from my brother and SIL. I had seen these soft sculptures on IG, a maker at the Springfield OH flea markets, and my B & SIL kindly sent these to me. I love them so much

Then I pulled colorful random quilts, just for fun. Another Mushroom print too.

Sometimes non-seasonal, non specific quilts get overlooked and unused. This is their chance to shine.

The wooden bowl has pine cones and ancient dried pomanders, oranges and lemons studded with cloves. 

I found vintage ticking on eBay for hearts and small pillows production, though very expensive. Any interest? Lavender filling optional.

The pine bench is in transition, and soon will be the growing space for my winter bulbs.

And so---January!

All about new calendars, so I added my Sara Sporrer Months in the Country quilt. I'll hang it when I clear its space of Amazon boxes destined to be recycled. It's the only quilt I ever hang on my walls.

Spaking of calendars, a fun January chore is always setting up the new calendars after writing in all pertinent dates. Of course I use my phone calendar but I still love a real wall calendar too. Helps me plan the months, orient the days etc.

The Pugs, a gift, is for pretty, hung in the kitchen; the freebie town calendar is hung in inside a cabinet , used to scrawl on and also has info like taxes due and trash collection dates. Town phone numbers too. Last year I got this beautiful small agenda from the now-defunct French Quiltmania publisher; not available this year. [It has so many pics of beautiful inspiring quilts, a different look from American quilts, lighter, brighter, less serious. Lots of charm. A keeper.] In it I write things like dogwalkers' schedules, who was where and when. It stays in my table basket with my checkbook, pens, Rxs on the breakfast table.

This year I ordered the Marjolein Bastin agenda. It's lovely but much too big and cumbersome. Still searching for a small pretty agenda, not readily available, it seems.

 It's been very windy here and still so dark. We do have 20 more minutes of sunlight so that is hopeful. I have had to keep Mo in because the blowing sand has hurt his eyes and he is struggling with chronic eye and ear infections. He is puzzled when we only do indoor playtimes. though as he likes to wear a little sweater and sit out on the frigid but sunny deck late mornings. edit: the wind dropped to 13 mph, wind chill 11; I bundled us both up and we had the most delightful afternoon walk. Such fresh air and sunshine. I was smiling. It's all about dressing warm and walking briskly.

The other night I looked up from my computer desk and looking back through the living room, I noticed brilliant lights out at sea. 

It was the ocean liner Queen Mary 2. So beautiful and exciting to see it. 

It is much bigger than it may look, being designed to harken back to the golden era of Art Deco ocean liners. It is almost as long as the Empire State Building is tall. Apparently it leaves NYC Harbor with the tides to fit safely under the Verrazano Bridge---and I am imagining the guests all so excited to get underway. But then it waits here, ''on the roads''--shipping lanes, til dawn before setting off for England. 

Remember this ship is 8 to ten miles out to sea. It was quite spectacular. To the left is a cargo ship and a trawler. Lights are very different, though trawlers too use brilliant white spotlights sometimes.

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Yesterday I made corn chowder with leeks and diced potatoes. One issue with stocking up emergency supplies is that they must be rotated into use or they go past their expiration dates and must be discarded. Usually I don't use canned goods as a regular ingredient. So my soup was very make do/ canned goods: can of chicken broth, can of Niblets corn, can of generic diced potatoes, half a bag of dried potatoes. For the leeks I used scallions instead, two big bunches including 6 " of the green tops. Sauteed in butter, then add water and potatoes, cook a bit til the potatoes [1/4"diced/ can] are soft. Add everything else plus some half and half r milk, whatevr. Lots of black pepper, tarragon, parsley. Maybe more water as it simmers. I had it for dinner with a slice of buttered ciabatta bread. Oh so warm in one's tummy. Froze half of leftovers, some for tonight.

I'll be back soon with some quilting content: what got made, if anything! in 2024. What's next, etc. Also catching up on my nature drawings. Watercolor is so slow, no wonder I see reels of people using hairdryers to move things along, lol.

Have a wonderful week.

love

lizzy

gone to the beach................