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| The Wolf Moon |
The time of Long Nights is slipping away. Now we enter the time of cold. Remember the old adage, "As the days lengthen, the nights strengthen.".
We'll address the weather first since many of you have heard reports about New York and may be wondering.
At our house, we've only had about 3" of snow. We have had many days of strong winds (sometimes gusting to 50 mph), and below zero windchills. Those subzero wind chills have interfered with our daily walks. Our route is far too exposed to be safe in this weather.
My hometown at the eastern edge of Lake Ontario has gotten hammered. Some of you are sitting amid the snowbanks right now. Try to stay warm and enjoy the forced confinement.
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| Holiday trees |
We enjoyed a quiet and restful Solstice and Yuletide. Evening fires in the woodstove to counteract the cold winds, reading and a few special treats to eat.
Projects have kept us busy this month.
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| Footstool project begins |
Bob bought an old footstool at a charity garage sale. The top fabric and cushioning needed to be replaced.
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| New padding goes on |
He removed the old materials and cut out new padding from some old wool blankets.
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| New padding all on |
After securing the padding, he cut a new top out of some heavy duck fabric.
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| New fabric all on |
The recovered top was reattached to the base and now we have a footstool large enough for both of us to share. All of these materials were in my stash.
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| Finished product |
Last year's beans have all been threshed out. There are fewer beans than usual, but I'm sure we'll get by with all of the leftovers from last year.
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| Total 2025 crop |
Yesterday I ordered the seeds we need for this year's garden. We didn't need too many.
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| Choosing seeds |
This year I'm going to try another pole habit drying bean. It's a black bean reportedly from the Narragansett tribe of Rhode Island. I'm excited to see how this one turns out.
Last year's trial bean, 5,000-Year-Old Cave Bean, turned out to be quite good. I'll plant that one again this year.
Bob's annual sweater was finished this morning!
Model strikes a pose
I often knit this pattern for him, varying the colors and patterns, because it fits his slim build very well.
In our season of rest, we've spent a good deal of time reading, each having finished several books already.
Generally, our evenings are spent reading aloud while sitting in front of the fire. We recently finished The Outermost House by Henry Beston.
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| A good read |
Mr. Beston wrote of the year that he spent living on the Outer Beach of Cape Cod. He sought the seclusion of the beach in an effort to recover from the trauma of his World War I service. We found it to be very interesting.
Now we are reading The Slabsides Book . This book is about the woodland cabin of naturalist John Burroughs. We found this, as well as four volumes of Burroughs nature writings at the local library book sale. We plan to read all of them soon.
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| Who's at the feeder? |
Our reading area looks out on our bird feeders, so we get great opportunities for watching the birds from the comfort of our living room.
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| Phase 1 complete |
Work continues (slowly) on my hardanger piece. The project has three distinct phases: surface embroidery, cutting and lacework and counted cross stitch embellishments.
This week I finished phase 1. Now I begin with phase 2, which involves cutting into the piece and stitching in lacework. There's a ton of that to do.
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| A great find |
On an unrelated note, we found this queen sized, handmade quilt in the thrift shop for $5.99. Yes, the decimal point is in the correct place! The craftsmanship, or perhaps craftspersons-ship, is very good. I brought it home to recognize and honor the creator's effort and spirit.
We hope that you have enjoyed any holiday which you may celebrate, and that you have eluded the flu and other illnesses. There's still time to relax and renew before the season of rebirth and growth. We hope you will take advantage of the time.
We'll be here; by the fire reading, or crafting, or playing games. Continuing to enjoy this golden period.
Till next time,
Kathleen and Bob
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| Warming the kitty-cicle |
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| "Whose woods these are..." |
