2022 Project 365 – Week Twelve

There are no pictures of faces or crochet this week – I know you’ll be glad of the break. This week is all about flora and fauna – it’s spring in North Carolina!
Sunday, March 20^th      
The phlox has just been gorgeous this year.
 

Monday, March 21^st   
No photo.
Tuesday, March 22^nd    
My view on my way to work. It was amazing!
 

These cows showed up in Dr. M’s memories today & he sent them to me to post for Nance. Enjoy!
 

Wednesday, March 23^rd        
Today’s view on my way to work was NOT as nice as the day before.
 

But it was a good day for ducks and geese!
 

Thursday, March 24^th    
Another commute photo – a bit foggy today.
 

I knocked my little plant head dude over the other day which gave it bangs. I don’t even know if it’s still alive, but I faithfully spritz it with water every week.
 

Friday, March 25^th     
Spring!!
 

Chicken noodle (orzo) soup for dinner – it was so good ya’ll!
 

Saturday, March 26^th       
I had big plans for Saturday, but this was my view for most of the day – I watched baseball (then basketball, then hockey) & crocheted.
 

I’m feeling a little remorse for my lack of work yesterday. And since I have a strict policy of no housework during the week, I guess I’ll just have to add them to next weekend’s list. Or maybe I’ll get up from here and vacuum. What? It could happen! Let’s take a poll:

2022 Project 365 – Week Eleven

There is a lot of crochet this week. And photos of my face. Fortunately, Dr. M was out & about so there are pictures of other things too.
Sunday, March 13^th      
On the days that I believe, I spend Sunday morning praying for Ukraine & all the other war-torn places in the world. Lord have mercy (Christ have mercy).
 

I finally did a photo shoot of this shawl that I made as a gift for someone. I’m demonstrating some of the ways you could wear it.
 

Giveaway! I have two scarves that need a new home. The first one is a smaller version of the #kbbshawl that I made for myself. It’s the exact same colors, but the black yarn I used was super fine instead of fine, which made the shawl into more of a scarf. It’s really soft & (I think) fun. The other item can be worn as a scarf or a cowl. I love it, but it turns out it doesn’t really match anything I wear. If you want either or both of these let me know. I’m going to do a drawing on Friday.
 

Monday, March 14^th  
This is the only photo from this day and I wish I could tell you why I took it & what it’s about.

Tuesday, March 15^th   
Dr. M says: Ya know, I’ve seen Wild Turkey 101 a few times, but I’ve never seen 101 wild turkeys. On Tuesday I might have come close!
 

Wednesday, March 16^th       
Ms. Pinky & Miss Rita got to go outside! They were grumbling a bit because it was rainy.
 

I went to my dad’s during lunch & did a photo shoot of a completed puzzle. Then we started this cute round one.
 

Thursday, March 17^th    
I met a friend for lunch and it was GLORIOUS! So glad I decided to walk to the diner.
 

Meanwhile, Dr. M was also enjoying the day – and he found sheep!
 

Friday, March 18^th     
My dad had already finished the puzzle we started on Wednesday. We started another one and I’ve already started calling it the devil.
 

Saturday, March 19^th       
Dr. M spent some time hanging out with his Pop.
 

I’ve started a commissioned historical temperature blanket. This is through about February 10^th. These colors aren’t really true, but I was too lazy to take it outside for a natural light photo.
 

I started blocking the squares for my new blanket & I found a genius place to store them! Please ignore the geranium debris in the tub – I’ll get it cleaned up after my squares are dry.
 

Although I’m a big proponent for daylight savings time I have to admit that the older I get the harder it is to adjust. It’s 8:20 at night & I’m ready for bed – but I still have a lot of things to do. I get fooled by the light lasting so long & think I have all the time in the world. Ah well – it will still be there tomorrow or next weekend. How are you doing with the change? I know it’s not likely to pass the house, but what are your thoughts about the senate vote to keep DST year round?

Book Reviews – the February Edition

Woo hoo! It’s not even the last week of March & I’m doing my February book reviews! Go me!
 

Daylight (Atlee Pine #3) and Mercy (Atlee Pine #4) ★★★★ each, by David Baldacci. The thrilling conclusion of the Atlee Pine saga! Atlee solves the mystery of her sister and her parents in these two installments. I really enjoyed the third book because it was a John Puller crossover, but the fourth book was pretty darned good too. You do have to suspend reality quite a bit – but that’s what reading is for, right?  

 

Old Music for New People ★★★★★, by David Biddle.  I started following Jesse Biddle (former Atlanta Braves relief pitcher) on Instagram, and he shared some things that his dad posted which I liked so I started following him too. And lo and behold he is an author! I absolutely loved this novel, which is about a summer in the life of Ivy Scattergood and her family. They are spending the summer in Maine as they always do. This year they have an unexpected guest: her cousin Robert. Except that on the flight from California Robert transformed into Rita. It’s a summer of self-discovery for almost all the Scattergoods as they try to figure out what they think about their transgender cousin and it is just fabulous. I wasn’t even annoyed that the main character was a teenage girl (they are usually Very Annoying to me).

 

The Very Good Gospel: How Everything Wrong Can Be Made Right  ★★★★★, by Lisa Sharon Harper. This book is an exploration of what it might look like to bring shalom to the world (actual shalom). From the Goodreads blurb:

 A Vision of Hope for a Broken World

Shalom is what God declared. Shalom is what the Kingdom of God looks like.
Shalom is when all people have enough.
It’s when families are healed.
It’s when churches, schools, and public policies protect human dignity.
Shalom is when the image of God is recognized in every single human.
Shalom is our calling as followers of Jesus’s gospel. It is the vision God set forth in the Garden and the restoration God desires for every relationship.

Doesn’t that sound amazing? This is what it would look like if we quit using scripture for our own ends and actually did what Jesus would do. 

I’ve finished three books so far in March. It’s looking like I’ll get another couple finished by the end of the month so I’m just trucking along this year. Unless something crazy happens I might actually meet my book reading goal. What fabulous things are you reading?

 

2022 Project 365 – Week Ten

Ukraine has been breaking my heart. Our landlady’s parents and sister are there. Her parents are in Mariupol. She has heard from (or about) all of them and they are still there and alive. But it’s so scary. So although this looks like an ordinary week in the life, there’s an undercurrent of rage and sadness. (Note: I just read a post on FB where she was able to talk to her sister – they were able to evacuate – yay!)
Sunday, March 6^th      
I took this series of photos to show that I don’t always make my food weird. (Although maybe some people would think the taco sauce is weird?)
 

Dr. M’s brother died three years ago today. It is still really hard. But the daffies are pretty.
 

I went to my dad’s house. We finished the round puzzle (note our method of moving pieces around). I also took a photo of the last puzzle we worked. These have been a lot of fun!
 

Even though I had birthday eclairs and birthday Phish Food, I decided that I needed actual birthday cake. As you can see, I couldn’t even wait to take a photo before digging in. It was good!
 

Monday, March 7^th  
Oooo – a yarn delivery! I didn’t break my vow of not ordering more yarn – this is a commission piece! I started working on it on Saturday, but I’ll wait to take a picture.

Tuesday, March 8^th   
Rainy dreary day, but Dr. M found some things to make him smile… (Note: I keep threatening to make Heather D. Sheep a coat, but I never have gotten around to it.)
 

Wednesday, March 9^th       
I told Dr. M that I think there is actual hay in this yarn & that that might be why I think I’m allergic to it. He said that one might even say that I have hay fever. Which made me cackle.
 

Thursday, March 10^th    
This is what love looks like. I (who as you know doesn’t really cook) volunteer to take food to a family. Dr. M spends the afternoon making pot roast. Bonus: he made enough for us to have for dinner. It was GOOD. (P.S. thanks to Nance for help with the parenthetical because I was wanting to pair “I” and “don’t” completely forgetting about “who.”)
 

Friday, March 11^th     
Went to visit Daddy & Sue and apparently had a guard cat on my car when I left. It’s the neighbor’s cat, but it likes their house.
 

Saturday, March 12^th       
I spent a lot of the day crocheting again & finished another square. I have these panels from a wall hanging project that I never completed & I was thinking of incorporating them into the blanket. We’ll see – I need to get some more squares made before I can really see what it would look like.
 

I am so behind on reading things – books, blogs, email newsletters, Instagram posts… I’m feeling overwhelmed by it all which means that I will probably crochet all afternoon because when the going gets tough the Bug retreats into handicrafts. How about you? Do you Just Do It, or are you like me?

2022 Project 365 – Week Nine

This week was all about my birthday. And Lent. And a couple of more black women. And behind the scenes we’re still bracing for WWIII.
Sunday, February 27^th      
New Facebook profile pic (taken while getting gas after church), and cover photo (today’s hymn which I found very apropos).
 

I was meant to be working on last week’s P365 post, but my yarn had taken over the laptop.
 

(Continuing my Black History Month project…) Meet Austin Channing Brown!
 
Monday, February 28^th  
I did a recap of my Black History Month posts on March 1^st, but I took the picture for it today, so I’m posting the caption today. Black History Month Recap! I hope you’ve enjoyed following along as I highlighted some of the fabulous black women that I follow. February is too short – I didn’t have enough days to cover everyone. So here is a list of other women you should check out. Who do you follow that I should add to the list? Also, do you know what is missing from this list? Black women that I know personally. I’m not someone who makes in real life friends easily, and my real life is a vast sea of whiteness. I joke that I can’t change that because I don’t like to leave my house or make plans or do things. But you know what? If I want to make that vast sea more interesting I am going to have to be intentional. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I try to move out of my comfort zone. It’s probably not ok to just walk up to a person of color & tell them that I need more diversity in my life so I’ve picked them…

 Meet Morgan Harper Nichols!

Tuesday, March 1^st   
For the first time I went with a coworker during my lunch hour to the workout center that is FREE to City employees (I've only been there three years). I just used the treadmill this time, but from now on I’m planning on using the weight equipment (I have a treadmill at home). I have got to add some strength training to my routine (and by routine I mean the one that I have yet to actually establish).
 

Wednesday, March 2^nd      
Lent. The service was very cool because we wrote down challenges that we were planning to face during this season and then put the paper into this bowl of water where it just dissolved.
 

Thursday, March 3^rd.   
Birthday flowers from my sweetie (he’s the best). My birthday is always during Lent, so maybe that’s why it’s my favorite part of the church year. I struggle with belief because sometimes the Christian faith seems like a lot of hooey. But on the days that I believe, I am drawn to the quietness of this time of contemplation and self examination. I’ve signed up for (I think) four different Lenten meditations. By Easter I’ll be in full belief mode which will last until Christmas. Then I’ll just shake my head at all the folderol until Lent comes around again.
 

Things I did on my birthday: Sat outside & crocheted on the deck, wound some yarn, read a book, ate a big ole bowl of fruit, went to dinner with daddy & Dr. M (Sue was feeling poorly), had a birthday eclair & worked a puzzle. Not pictured: watched what purported to be a hockey game. It was a good day!
 

Friday, March 4^th     
Went on a mini ramble with Dr. M. It was a beautiful day! Also, it’s too bad that henbit isn’t a cash crop because it sure is pretty.
 

Dr. M made butternut squash soup from scratch & it was DELICIOUS!
 

Saturday, March 5^th      

I took Thursday & Friday off of work and spent a good bit of that time, and Saturday, crocheting. I’ll bet you know what these squares represent – another Moogly crochet along blanket! This will be my 12^th (I think – I’ve lost track). I’m using up a big ole bin of Irish wool that was given to me so the colors will be funky. We shall see. Also, these squares haven’t been blocked yet (I need to get some actual wool soak of some kind because the wool feels like it still has lanolin in it).

 

I’m a little annoyed that I have to go back to work tomorrow. However, my crochet hand will be glad of the reprieve. Also, I spent a lot of time on the deck and my body has been reminding me that I have spring allergies so it will be good to spend most of the day inside my office. These are the stories I’m telling myself. What stories do you tell yourself to get pumped up for the week ahead?