rainy days

It's gray and rainy today - but that's a lot better than wind and snow.  I was out poking around in my garden, but all of my perennial beds are still quiet. I expect I'll see some green buds poking through the soil in the upcoming weeks. We have to devise some sort of barrier to keep Bree out of our garden beds until the plants have been able to assert themselves. She didn't do much damage to the garden last year, but we adopted her in June and everything for the most part was established.

We got a bunch of bulbs from my husband's cousin last fall and I can't wait to see how they do. We planted them in such a rush, that I can't really remember what we planted where. It should be a surprising spring.

Socks on the knitting needles again. I've made this pattern three or four times. Easy and fun. I have a backlog of knitting projects that are "waiting in the wings" that I want to make this spring. I think that's how all we knitters are though - the next project is usually started before the current is cast off the needles. Never a dull moment.

What's cooking? I'm making another batch of beef bone broth this weekend. I'm going to make Pho soup later this week and the other dish is a new recipe that I started making this winter: chicken tartiflette. It's so good!

Jillian xoxo

faith on our journey

We have been busy these past weeks, traveling to make some connections for our adoption and then scrambling to catch up with work when we returned. Our journey took us to the eastern United States and I'm feeling very hopeful that it is where we may finally catch a break and find the baby that we have been earnestly hoping and praying for - for three long years.

It's been a difficult journey. Hope and faith are lifelines. But sometimes it really is hard to keep the faith alive. I think I read somewhere that faith kicks in when hope has started to fade. Faith takes a lot of strength. Some days I'm good at it, other days I stumble.

Faith is enduring.

Before our trip I made a big batch of chicken noodle soup. I think this recipe has kept me from falling ill all winter (knock on wood) I hope my immune system holds out as it seems that a new batch of the flu bug has broken out at work. Seriously, I don't know why some people won't just stay home when they are oozing symptoms, but such was the state of my office last week.

I will be traveling for work again this week. This is the third of four travel sessions that I will have to take for this particular project. I can't wait for this phase to be over. The days are grueling and it really wears you out.

Finished the little sweater. I'm tucking this one away in a drawer scented with lavender that holds other precious baby things. (Faith and hope again.)

I hope you are all well and starting to thaw after this grueling winter we experienced in the Northern Hemisphere.

Jillian xoxo

warmth

Banana bread and chicken noodle soup.  G had to leave early today to go to work, so I got up and started my day with some knitting and cleaning. Before noon I had already done the grocery shopping and three loads of laundry. It's the weekend: time to catch up on cleaning and crafting.

I'm hunting for the perfect buttons for the little sweater I'm making. I think I've found them. The weather is mild here and what little snow cover we have is melting away.

I went to the library while I was out and about today, so I have a nice stack of books to keep me busy all afternoon. The house smells like banana bread.

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Jillian

just golden

My impulse is always to try to cram a week into a weekend. Do you know what I mean? A week of knitting, crafting, cooking and relaxing. For me it's all about recharging my creative well so that I can get through the work week at the office.

I'm traveling this week, so it's going to be a long one.

But enough about that, I've been staying up late these last few nights, drinking herbal tea and either knitting or reading. I feel like a school kid. The little golden sweater above is my latest obsession. I love the cables and the garter stitch edges. This is a new pattern for me. I had to tear it out four times before I finally got my stitch count right and was able to get the cable pattern in place. I'd forgotten how stressful a new knitting pattern can be. I've been sticking with my tried and true "old friends" - patterns that I've knit a dozen times at least, but it does feel good to try something new.

I'm currently reading this book for my book club. It's really engaging and I'm learning a lot about fossils. 

More knitting to come.

XOXO

Jill