Monday, January 5, 2026
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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.
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.
Wednesday, December 3, 2025
It doesn't feel like a Wednesday...
The snow continues in its soft, silent falling. They promised us 4 inches in the Springs, and it's already deeper. The soup continues its slow simmer. I have no plans to leave the house, but if I need to go to the garage, I will certainly wear my shoes. I'll probably work on the current crochet project but for now I am watching the faux fireplace and VICTORIA, currently available on Netflix. I've been waiting some time for its return, before another season begins. Pixiechops seems to have... Sign in to see full entry.
Monday, December 1, 2025
Long week, long read...
So much going on in the last week of November! Between getting ready for Thanksgiving, and for the weekend's vendor show, and medical issues arising--Charlie's cat having kidney symptoms earlier in the week, things were not going to plan. Wednesday we took Sokka to my vet, a small business, not his usual vet, a big organization that couldn't see him before Monday. Of course it took an unexpected chunk out of prep time for Thanksgiving and for the weekend show. We kept Thanksgiving simple, one... Sign in to see full entry.