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!