Cozy reading

I'm still collecting cozy pictures, and most of them show animals reading books, and most of those animals are rabbits.

Mice are also popular.

I picked up stacks of books yesterday at our Friends of the Library sale, where you could fill a bag for only $10. I got all of these for $10, and I could've fit more in the bag but it was getting too heavy and I had a long walk to the car. I'm looking forward to reading them after I get cozy in bed or curled up on the couch in the evening in front of the fireplace.

I thought today might be one of those days because rain and chilly temps were predicted, but it turned out to be a sunny (but chilly) day so I spent it mostly outside.

Here is my sky right after sunrise this morning with the full moon. The next picture shows the mountains by my neighborhood. The clouds hinted at rain but never delivered.

Have a cozy day

Still stitching and walking

I'm working on my fourth little Christmas tree, and the weather is nice enough to stitch outside. Here's the view in my backyard from the lounge chair.

I start by sewing every element down with an invisible stitch using one strand of embroidery floss. Then I do the embroidery and beading.

It's also been gorgeous walking weather, so this morning I walked through my neighborhood and down to the park. It was 64 and sunny, with the brilliant blue sky that comes from our dry air. The top photo is Pusch Ridge, visible from our neighborhood, and the next photo is the park. The mural says, "Dream it, then do it!"

Our neighborhood yards are bursting with color, like the Texas ranger above and my lantana below. Lantana thrives on neglect, so mine are doing great!

Have a colorful day

Sew, hike, read, recoup

Like many of you, I'm still reeling from the election, still unable to wrap my head around so many of my fellow Americans voting for such a disgraceful, lying, racist, misogynistic, foul-mouthed, self-centered man who admires and befriends dictators and threatens to take our country in that direction. A convicted felon, a rapist ... is this really the best the GOP had to offer? Really?

As a felon, he can't even enter Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom among other countries! It'll be interesting to see how that goes, since he owns a golf course in Scotland.

 

Like a lot of you, I'm trying to heal by stitching, stitching, and more stitching until my hands ache.

I've been working on my little Christmas trees, taking joy in the colors and meditative stitching.

I'm diverging from the pattern by substituting beads and my own stitches for a lot of the stitches used by Sue Spargo.

I love how these green drop beads glow on the velvet rick-rack.

There are a LOT of little wool circles on these trees, so I'm glad I have my hole punch. I can whack out dozens of tiny circles in minutes. These purple ones are a quarter inch in diameter, which I can't fathom cutting out with scissors.

I'm also seeking solace in the desert. Nature always heals, and I'm so grateful to live right on the edge of  so many desert mountain trails. Today Barb and I hiked the Linda Vista Trail, only half a mile from my house, and two days ago we hiked at Catalina State Park.

In the evenings I've been reading instead of watching the news.

I just finished "Rules of Civility" by Amor Towles, for which I was on the library's waiting list three months. It was excellent but bittersweet.

I just started "City of Girls" for book club and I'm totally engrossed. It's by Elizabeth Gilbert, the "Eat, Pray, Love" author. Interestingly, both books focus on young single women living and working in New York in the early part of the 20th century.

My little Juniper loves books, which makes me happy.

I've also started collecting images that I find comforting, and I realized that many of them include books.

So, I'll continue my sew, hike, read prescription for healing and recouping for whatever lies ahead.

Have a colorful day

After the election

The day after the election I walked, and walked, and walked in the desert, trying to make sense of the senseless and seeking solace in Nature.

For now, I'll look to Juniper for some joy.

Have a colorful day

Election Day plan

 "It feels like the whole country 

is waiting to get the results 

of a biopsy."

    -- Jimmy Kimmel

"Tomorrow is Election Day 

and 'Late Night' is officially endorsing

 Xanax 0.5 milligrams, 

twice a day as needed."

     -- Seth Myers

It's not just me. I think the whole country -- or at least those paying attention to the election -- is on edge today. But I have a plan!

I have my favorite frozen pizza ready to help get me through the coverage after the returns start coming in. If I could drink I would have chocolate martinis and white Russians, but I've developed an allergy to alcohol so I'll have iced tea. If things start looking grim I'll bake brownies.

I'm going to get some exercise! The weather is beautiful outside my window, so I'll go for a nice, brisk walk soon.

I'll sew. Here is an apron I just made from a tea towel to give as a Christmas gift. I saw the idea about 30 years ago at the International Quilt Festival-Houston, and I'm finally getting around to doing it.

And if the election stress makes someone behave badly, I'll heed this advice that just popped up on Facebook today.

I voted weeks ago when the staffed ballot drop box opened at our library, but my son and daughter-in-law in Madison, WI, voted first thing this morning at the polls dressed in blue and sent this picture.

And now we wait.

Have a colorful day

Christmas finishes

I finished Juniper's stocking! I was going to stitch sparkly beads to the cuff, then I realized that she might pull them off and put them in her mouth. Instead, I stitched little snowflakes (or stars) in a silver thread.

I also made a few of these paper-pieced ornaments from a pattern in an old magazine. Every year I make a different type of ornament to give to family.

If you've never paper pieced, this is what you're looking at as you sew, above, and the bottom photo shows the right side before the extra fabric is trimmed off. You have to think upside down, which is a little confusing at first.

And yes, this triple chocolate cake IS connected to quilting. Nancy and I went on a little shop hop yesterday and had the cake for dessert after lunch. It was delicious!

Have a colorful day