The Ciel Show

By Ciel - About Me - E-mail this page - Add to My Favorites - Add to Blog List - See other blogs in Journal

Friday, January 9, 2026

Things not going as planned...

That 1-3 inch snowfall is now closer to 10 inches which makes this a proper snow day. Glad I had no plans for going out today! And the crochet project... a cowl that takes about 10 hours to make, is a bust as I pulled a problem thread and messed up the first row in a way I have no idea how to fix. So... starting over, reworking the same yarn, unraveling as I go. At least I'm going to improve the technique of joining the ends of the first row to begin the spiral upwards. It wouldn't bother me so... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 7:42 AM | add or view comments (7) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Thursday, January 8, 2026

Grey Wednesday

The snow has started--tiny cold flakes--but we only expect 3 inches or so over the next day, and it won't last because temps are going up again by Sunday. Yesterday I finished the next two China trip books--one of the tea garden we went to several times, the other of the Forbidden City. As I do these, I wish we could go back again, there were so many pictures I missed! But just now is not the best time to be visiting China. And I'm not the traveler I was what with the aches and pains of age... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 1:13 PM | add or view comments (6) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Monday, January 5, 2026

Going Bookish

Well, the holidays are over, we're back to the regularly scheduled programming, and the chaos out of DC continues... Saturday I decided to take advantage of a good deal from Snapfish for making photo books and pulled up the images from our 2019 trip to China. Charlie and I went to Beijing for a week, and we packed in as much as we could, and you know I took pictures! The Beijing Zoo, the Forbidden City... One of the grandest things was taking a walk on the Great Wall. And now, the best pictures... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 8:45 PM | add or view comments (6) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Friday, January 2, 2026

Getting off to a good start

Today was busy and started early compared to most days when I wait for Charlie to get himself ready to go. I was prepared to go out on my own, but this time he did want to get things done, so he hurried himself to meet my schedule. I finally mailed off the packages that were not ready to send early enough to get them to Maryland where the rest of the family was doing Christmas, before Grandpa flew back to Seattle and the Bell family flew back to the UK. It would have been a lot less expensive if... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 4:01 PM | add or view comments (9) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Wednesday, December 31, 2025

It's the little things...

How suddenly the days arrive that seemed so far away just yesterday...! I've been thinking about something to write, a particular idea that has recurred several times, so this time seems like a timely time to write it and invite you to think about it in your own life, too. Through the course of my life, there have been moments that have stayed with me, that give me warmth to remember, brief experiences that are a special kind of wealth in a life. They are not the big things, those usually are... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 11:58 AM | add or view comments (7) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Saturday, December 27, 2025

Keeping it simple...

That was the theme for this year's Yule! Most of the family gathered at the house in Maryland, Grandpa coming from Seattle in his shiny new neck brace and the Bell family--parents and kids, 7 and 9--from England. So any gifts to him and to them have to fit in the luggage. So I sent the whole gang a massive amount of assorted cheeses, and gave the girls elephants. Well, that was the plan: I had their mom show them the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust rescue site and let them each choose an elephant to... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 7:42 AM | add or view comments (7) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Friday, December 26, 2025

The Day Before and The Day After

It took me until Tuesday night, waking after midnight, to decide what to do about bring Christmas into the house. I decided there needed to be a place to put the presents besides just any old where around the room. I got up, cleaned up this and that, and shifted the dining room table a few degrees, and went back to bed. Wednesday, Charlie brought up the little group of 3 snowy alpine fir trees and set them up on the table now backed into a corner and jutting out into the room diagonally. Late... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 3:38 PM | add or view comments (6) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

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posted by Ciel at 3:22 PM | add or view comments (0) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Tuesday, December 23, 2025

We did it!

At the last minute--about two weeks ago or maybe 10 days--Charlie and I had the idea of offering a Twilight Market at the workshop/gallery. We settled on four dates, last Monday, Wednesday, Saturday and this Monday, to be open from 6-10pm. We dug out an OPEN sign that hangs vertically and lights up green and purple, and hung it in the front window. We designed and printed up some 8.5 x 11 posters and spread a few of them around town. Charlie did a mighty clean-up of the workshop, I dusted the... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 7:23 AM | add or view comments (9) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Thursday, December 18, 2025

Checking in...

Weather has been wild everywhere these past couple of weeks! Mostly, here in the Springs, we've eased on through while deep cold, catastrophic rains, and crazy winds have swept the continent. Add in the emotional ups and downs of the family holidays season, and the lengthening darkness that affects the heart and soul while commercialism inundates the mind! And all of this, in this current social atmosphere of chaos and outrage--I just hang out here, on my own amidst all the stuff flowing from... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 8:36 AM | add or view comments (4) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

January 2026
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About this Blog

I'm doubtful the events of my life will be of great general interest, but I'd like to share a little more of me to the several of you on Blogit I've come to feel are real friends, and the many I imagine are potentially real friends. We'll see how it works out. ______________________ all my words and images posted on Blogit are copyright 2005-present, all rights reserved.

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