hiatus

Hello Dear Friends:

I have been on hiatus from the blog - a first in the six years that I have been posting, but the break was much needed. Over the past few months I've resumed my crafting, cooking and creative explorations, so the need for outreach and sharing - this blog - was an inevitable conclusion.

How else would I be able to keep track of how the garden looked, what the goofy dog was doing and what had found it's way on and off my knitting needles?

Life has been very good to my husband and I in the months that I have been quiet. We are pregnant and I'm 20 weeks along! It feels like a fairytale and a dream - something I don't quite think we ever believed could happen after all that we had been through. 

My knitting projects are now geared very much toward baby. I've finally got the chance to try out all of those patterns that I'd been collecting. This little pattern is called sweet baby cap. I'm making it out of some 2 ply hand spun that I made in 2013. I only had about 150 yards left over from a pair of socks I knit at that time and I was waiting for a very special project.

I will try to catch up with you all now that I am back in form (though it is expanding day by day!)

God has truly taught me how to hope and blessed us beyond belief!

Ever hopeful, 

Jill xo

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

happy feet

The weekend has been filled with relaxing days spent riffling through my studio/office as I look for a new project to start now that my socks are finished. I had just enough yarn left over from the socks to make a square for the baby blanket that I've been working on for years.

Every time I let Bree out the back door she spins out like a Tasmanian devil and barks in all four directions. This barking usually abates after about thirty seconds. She was especially amusing this morning. I tiptoed onto the frigid back porch to open the door for her and she immediately sprung out and picked up one of her favorite throw toys and started barking. Of course she couldn't really bark with the toy in her mouth, but she wouldn't drop the toy. Funny and cute. I'm sure the neighbors were relieved.

I made my husband takes pictures of my new socks this morning and Bree had a lot to say about that too. Oh, the joy of having a sheltie.

Hope you have a lovely weekend.

XOXO

Jill

post valentines

Post Valentine's weekend and it's been a busy week around here. The sub ((sub)) zero weather has kept me tucked in tight either at the office or at home. Over the weekend I made a wonderful pho soup that warmed us up through and through. I started with a bone broth base that I simmered for over twenty-four hours, then I added the fresh veggies, herbs and rice pasta. Recipes can be found here and here.

I love a big bowl of fragrant noodles.

The orange roses have kept me cheerful all week. My orchids finally dropped all of their blossoms, so it's nice to see a friendly (blossoming) face. We're gearing up toward the weekend. Hot on our list is filing our taxes and snuggling in for another chilly stretch of February nights. I'm reading a good book right now:  Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald. The 1920's settings in New York, Paris and St. Paul, MN have got me enthralled.

I got the fabric samples from my work. I'm not sure if I can sew them into anything, all of the pieces have different tensions and weaves and I'm not sure how the finish piece would lay out, but I'm going to give something a try. Maybe a dog bed for our puppy? I love the colors. 

Friday tomorrow! Hang in there, everyone.

XXXO

Jillian