Busy Bee

"Busy" is the perfect word to describe my life these days. Two jobs, graduate school online, a house to take care of, cats to feed, errands to run, not to mention taking care of my own health (which use to include simply eating well and vague promises of a trip to the gym before I was diagnosed with PCOS). I have always found it interesting house easily procrastination comes to the person with too much to do. And once it hits, well, he likes to hold on tight. So, I took a step back and evaluated what was the most important right now. For the time being, I have decided to let my dreams of the little cottage garden I have so wanted around my house to fall to the back burner. I hope that one day I will have time to make a little Jane Austen space for myself, but as of right now I neither have the time nor the money to devote to it. Still, I hope to have a summer vegetable garden this coming year, but we will see how things go. Mostly, I try to think of it as one day at a time, one thing checked off a never ending list. My mom had a mug when I was little, a Mary Engelbreit mug with the quote: "A man may work from sun to sun, but a woman's work is never done." Even as a young child I saw the logic in this little sentence, but was not until I bought my house that I realized truer words were never spoken; and it made me tired! One day at a time…

What with the cold weather settling in, I feel more at ease. Comfortable in my small, cozy little home. I even bought a Christmas tree as I just couldn't help myself. It is real, and even still has it's root ball, so I don't have any trouble with pesky dropping pine needles. I would have posted a picture of it, but I have not finished decorating it yet. I hope to get this accomplished over the weekend, and post a picture of it then. My only challenge is to keep Annie, my youngest, from digging in it! Another thing I like about the weather is being able to comfortably use my kitchen. Tonight I made lasagna for mom and dad, and I found it very pleasant, even though I was running about the house. I rarely have any guests at my house, too much trouble I guess, and so I think we all found the novelty of eating together once again very enjoyable. Also, I know they rarely eat at home anymore, so I'm sure they were happy for a home cooked meal. I'm actually surprised it turned out as well as it did. All in all, I am very pleased with the evening's meal and company. I should have taken photos of the homey table, dressed with simple dishes and linens, but in the rush I completely forgot. I think my domestic skills get an A+ tonight.

As for my stitching, I did indeed begin a new project over the weekend.
It's called "The Pedigree of Honey".

A sweet little sampler from one of my cross stitch magazines, it has a quote from Emily Dickinson, and simple, soft colors. I have found it such a joy already and I have only finished the bee hive!

 It is fairly fast work, so who knows, I may even be done by Christmas!

Hot Chocolate and Cross Stitch

     Lately the cold has set in here and time has been slipping away. I get nervous about all the things that must be done. Work in the garden, school work unfinished, the house slowly becoming dirty again. And, what with the shorter, colder days ahead…well, let's just say I am looking forward to the finish of school. At least that will be one less thing off my plate! While my mind likes to ramble incessantly during the day, at night, I tend to calm down and be at peace with my mild procrastination. Tonight "Gone with the Wind" is on the television, and I couldn't help but tune in. I have really loved this movie since middle school, and I each time I watch it I gain a deeper and deeper understanding of the characters and their own unique situations. I have yet to read the book, but I do own it. I hope to get to it someday. There is nothing so pleasant as sitting under a warm blanket, cross stitching while watching classic movies. It is really THE perfect winter-time activity (although, I could make a case for cross stitching being the perfect activity at any time of the year!). Something about the rhythmic up and down of the needle gives me peace. Which, honestly, is something I could really use at this time. Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and if your family it like mine, there is a lot of cooking done by only one or two dedicated persons. In this case, the dedicated person is my mother. I am dedicated to her, so in a way I am de facto dedicated to the Thanksgiving preparations, although I really cannot stand the whole family gathering for too long. I guess it is the noise of it all that is so wearing. Still, I will admit that it is nice to see everyone and catch up with their lives. What I can tell you is that the Holidays are never a time of relaxation for me and my mother. While the men drink and smoke on the patio (as is the southern way) and the women sit and discuss inside, my mother and I will be cleaning for the rest of the day and then, the following morning, taking down all of the Thanksgiving decor and setting out all of the Christmas bits. I will just leave you with the fact that my mother has a whole storage unit full of decorations and it ain't small…

Oh, I am becoming exhausted just thinking about all the work ahead! So, let me stray away from the topic at hand. Tonight, while enjoying my movie and cross stitch, I also whipped up some Peppermint Hot Chocolate complete with old fashioned marshmallow and chocolate covered peppermint swirly stick. You can get the trio from Williams Sonoma, but it will cost you a pretty penny! Still, it is very much worth the dough. It's not too sweet and it is not too like (like some european drinking chocolate I have had). It is the perfect thing to sooth the soul and lift the spirits. The weather outside may be bitter, tomorrow may hold some unpleasantness, but for now I am thoroughly entranced by the solicitude around me.

     This is will be a "free-style" sampler. Basically, I couldn't decide which of my patterns to start on, so I took an old piece of linen from my mom's old cross stitch collection and began stitching various alphabet fonts. The British Cross Stitch magazine I subscribe too always gives a new chart in each magazine of the alphabet in a different font, and I decided to stitch them all so I would have a little reference piece. I have no idea what kind of floss I used as it was on an old and unlabeled bobbin, but it was the prettiest color of hand died blue (the color variation is normal). And what better way to use up unknown floss than in a sampler of my own creation. Now, that I have finished this alphabet, I think I will move on to another project, but I am excited to have this because now every time I become bored or stressed for time, I can do a little stitching on this. I will let you know when I choose my next pattern.

     Because this is mostly just for practice I wanted to work on neat stitching. While the front appears neat, if you look on the back...

     ….you will see that the top three rows are slightly more messy than the bottom two. I really tried to be conscious here about "sewing in" the tails of old and new floss so there was less mess and lumps creeping through my work. While I think it would have been neatest to cut the floss after the completion of every letter, I think It worked out well enough this time. Compared with some of the items I made when I first began stitching, I think this is neatness at it's finest. I am planning on taking my needlework to mom's tomorrow, that way I will have sometime to focus me if the television and people get a little too zealous.

A Feast of Rubies

I have always found it amazing how memories can come rushing back to you with the slightest influence. I bought a pomegranate last week at the grocery store on a whim. Unfortunately, as is what happens with most all of the fresh produce I buy, it was left on the kitchen counter for almost a week before I thought of it again. I look forward to the days when my life will be more predictable, and stable, but for now, what with school and two jobs, my life is stressed at best. But, back to my story. I thought about the pomegranate this morning after my alarm went off. I cannot even tell you why I started thinking of it. However, I knew it would be going bad soon, if it wasn't already, and decided to take the time to cut it up while making my usually morning tea. The second my knife slid into the juicy flesh it all come back to me. A shabby sofa, the whirr of an old white fan lazy rotating in the warm summer heat, and a little girl named Monet. I had never seen a girl with such red hair before in my life. She was fair skinned, curly haired and I was instantly intrigued by her. How we met, I don't remember, but what I do remember, is that she introduced me to the ruby goodness of the pomegranate. I had no idea what it was, but as we lounged about her living room she offered me a section of the most interesting fruit I had ever seen. Her mother worked at the local Albertson's and I guess had more knowledge of the limited speciality bits they received. She showed me how to eat it, and I hesitantly put a little kernel of fruit in my mouth. Thinking back on it now, I must have been very enamored by her because I have never been adventurous when it comes to food, and yet I remember eating it as if it was nothing. I was surprised by a tarty sweet burst of liquid in my mouth, and I remember being curious by the fact that I had to in fact eat another kernel, that the enjoyment was so fleeting. So, I popped the seedy center out of my mouth and reached for another piece. To this day I cannot see a pomegranate without thinking about Monet. What happened to her? Why didn't we remain friends? I cannot say. My memories of her are so few and yet so happy. We were just kids having fun during the summertime. Walking to each other's houses, having lunch together, playing with her pet hamster, who I believe would stay perched on your shoulder for hours on end. So, as I sit here on this quiet grey afternoon, I think about pretty Monet with the red curly hair and pale pale skin and smile.