A Bit Chilly

...is one way to describe the weather this week.

Yesterday we woke up to ice on the windows and an outdoor thermometer reading of 25 below zero.

Brrr!

The wind chill has been brutal, topping out at -52º on Wednesday. Area schools are closed, mail delivery is suspended, and even our bank is keeping reduced hours. (That's a first in my memory.)

Tomorrow we should get back on the right side of zero, and weekend temperatures are forecast to reach the 40s. Winter in Wisconsin is a delightful thing. :)

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Cold weather is crochet weather. Here's what the Micawber hook has been producing:

Cable swatches for The Book

Mitt samples for upcoming pattern release

There has also been much drinking of tea and snuggling under blankets. Weather like this makes us realise how rich we are in shelter, food, and comfort.

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I've been doing a little jewelry-designing at work, and will be teaching classes on these projects over the next month or two:

I think I've mentioned before that I love my job. :)

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Can you believe it's the end of January already, and winter half over? The sun has been creeping ever-so-slightly northwards, and staying up a little later each day. Spring may seem but a distant dream, but it'll be here before we know it.

How's winter treating you?

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Cheerful Mementoes

(Is it just me, or does "mementoes" look funny? Mementos. Mementoes. Perhaps we should just say memorabilia and be done with it.)

All winter long, we've been linking up with Planet Penny for Reasons to be Cheerful. Penny (who started this weekly review-of-all-things-happy mainly to get us through the dark days of the chilly season) has announced that next week will be the last Cheerful linky party for a while. So I'd like to start off by thanking Penny for this pleasant tradition. It's given me something to look forward to each week, and, more importantly, has helped me to look for (and appreciate) moments of joy - even when life seemed bleak. (I guess that makes you my first Reason this week, Penny.)

Of great comfort and cheer in the last two weeks have been the loving and thoughtful comments left here, by readers and friends around the world, in response to my posts about my Mom's death. Thank you all, so very much, for your prayers and kind thoughts during this difficult time.

All of my other Reasons came from my parents' house, and travelled home with me from California a few days ago. In the general clearout that accompanied my mom's transfer to a nursing home (and her unexpected passing away a few days later), I fell heir to some wonderful little treasures which give me great joy:

First, my mom's old juicer. I don't know where she got it, but I love the size and the heavy green milk glass - and the "Sunkist" inscription on the side. Part of my California childhood, now transplanted to Wisconsin, it will be used often and lovingly. (I suppose an electric juicer would be more efficient, but Mr. M and I like to use hand tools as much as possible.)

Next, Mom's darning egg. Family legend has it that once upon a time Mom used to knit sweaters and argyle socks for Dad. I never saw her knit anything, or darn anything for that matter, but this darning egg was always in her sewing basket and always fascinated me. Now it has passed to me, and who knows? Perhaps it will inspire me to knit a pair of socks (if only for the pleasure of learning to darn them with the help of this charming tool).

And here's a very useful item: my Mom's old rolling pin. This has been part of her kitchen equipment for as long as I can remember. As a child I learned to roll out cookie dough and pastry with this wooden behemoth, and now it will find a new life in my kitchen. (I actually needed a new rolling pin and had almost ordered one from Amazon. I'm so glad I waited.) I love the peeling red paint on the handles.

Then there's a beautiful little square plate covered with happy roses. (I'm a sucker for square plates.) No one in the family knows where this plate came from, or how old it is - I suspect it to be a memento from one of Mom's relatives. But it's pretty and cheerful and will remind me of Mom whenever I use it.

(Not pictured is a lovely soft grey cashmere cardigan from Mom's closet. Dad told all the female family members to help themselves to any of Mom's clothing they liked, as the rest would be given to charity. I wore Mom's sweater the day I flew home and felt just a little closer to her each time I looked down at it.)

Not a great inheritance by the standards of some; just a few useful, beautiful items that remind me of my childhood and my Mom. They make me cheerful.

What's making you cheerful this week? Share the joy by leaving a comment below. And don't forget to hop over to Planet Penny - where you may see her beautiful Valentine's bouquet and a cunning little Alice doll, and find links to other Cheerful posts.

A happy weekend to all.

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More Reasons to be Cheerful in January

This week has gone by in a blur. Overtime at work and a head cold took center stage, leaving very little room for cheerfulness (or cooking or housework or blog-reading). But today the sun shone, the work week came to an end (O happy day!), and the cold is on the mend. All of which has put me in a much better frame of mind for linking up with Planet Penny's Reasons to be Cheerful.

What's chirking me up at the moment:

1. The days are getting longer. My geranium, which has slept through December and most of January, is awake and blooming again. Hooray for more daylight hours!

And an osteospermum, which I couldn't bear to throw away after it somehow survived several frosts and a snowfall outside last autumn, is also sending out blossomy hints. (This plant is an annual, but it seemed so tenacious of life that I brought it in for overwintering, just to see how it would do.)

2. This smiling face, which belongs to J, one of my "honorary" kids from my babysitting years (I have no children of my own). J and his brother spent their early years in our home and are like family to us. Although J no longer needs a babysitter, he and his brother still visit regularly, and his mom and dad keep us involved in their lives.

Today is J's birthday, and since he's not my own child, I can say outright that he's a talented artist, a gifted Lego designer, and a cheerful, friendly, good-looking, intelligent guy. I should add that he loves crafts of every kind and is a true kindred spirit (in the picture he's holding a project we worked on when he and his brother came to visit in December - the Twiggy Star, courtesy of  Flowers & Home). Happy birthday, J! I'm so glad you're part of my life.

3. The sinus headache which has plagued me for days is finally GONE! I feel like a new woman. (Headaches destroy me, I'm sorry to say. They render me helpless and whiny. Just ask Mr. M.) As a cheerful corollary, the cold I caught from my co-worker is not nearly as bad as it might have been. I seem to have escaped the worst symptoms. (Grapeseed extract to the rescue.)

What's making you happy this week? Feel free to leave a cheerful comment here or at Planet Penny, or write a happy post of your own and link it up there.

A cheerful weekend to you all.

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A Cheerful New Year

How is the New Year going for you? Quite Cheerfully, I hope, now that the Christmastide rush and rumble have faded away.

Speaking of Cheer, it's time to pick up where we left off in December, and link up with Planet Penny for her weekly Reasons to be Cheerful. Here are some of the things that brightened my week:

1. Sleep. SLEEP! Glorious, long nights of it, with no visions of sugarplums or other Christmassy things-to-be-done dancing in my head. I do love sleep, and this week I've been getting a-plenty. (I'm also very grateful that I never have trouble sleeping.)

2. Ideas. The tide of creativity, at extremely low ebb in December (with what little there was diverted into Christmas channels), has come roaring back in a flood. The Micawber head is seething with yarny thoughts which I only hope the Micawber hands can successfully execute. Speaking of hands, here's a glimpse of one of the aforesaid ideas, peeking out from under my sleeve:

Pattern to be posted this week

3. This glorious sunset.

A sky like this fills my heart with quiet gladness that only deepens with the colours of the clouds. The trees in lacy silhouette are the perfect, delicate counterpoint to the wild, rich tones of the sky.

For more Cheerfulness, hop over to Planet Penny's. Be sure to leave a comment there or, better yet, write a Cheerful post of your own and join the gladsome crowd.

Here's to a joyful end-of-week for all, and a happy and productive New Year.

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Reasons to be Cheerful #2

Wow. Is it Wednesday already? That's a reason in itself to be cheerful. But not one of today's official reasons. Linking up again with Planet Penny's excellent cheerfulness party, I give you this week's dose of Micawber merriness.

1. Winter curtains. Several years ago I realized that our everyday muslin curtains, while letting in a lot of light, and providing an admirably neutral background for the riot of quilts on the walls, did not help to warm the frosty nights, nor did they add any cosiness to our drafty apartment when once the mercury dropped.

Summer curtains

So I made a set of red curtains for winter, and every November I put them up. The winter curtains are warm and bright and extremely cosy-looking by lamplight. Plus they make a great backdrop for Christmas decorations. They make me feel cheerful!

It's curtains for you, winter!

2. A woodworking husband. Looking at my living room photos makes me realize how much of his handiwork surrounds us. Mr. M designed and built all our bookshelves. He made the little wooden footstool (which, alas! is covered with magazines and yarn, leaving no room for feet), and the table top for the treadle machine (also covered with yarn, I'm afraid). He framed most of our pictures. He built the little bistro table we keep in the porch, and which provides the backdrop to many of my photos. He made this stunning cutting board 25 years ago:

As you can see, it still gets regular use. Look at those joints! (They're holding up better than mine.)

I'm so grateful for his talented craftiness.

3. The scent of those organic Gala apples sitting on the cutting board above. I opened a bag of them yesterday, and the golden-tinged, apple-cheeked, freckle-faced beauties smelled just like roses. Mmmmm.

Here's wishing you an upbeat end-of-week. To find more Reasons to be Cheerful, head on over to Planet Penny. And while you're there, if the blithe spirit so moves you, share some cheerfulness of your own.

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Reasons to be Cheerful

In response to shortening days, darkening skies, and general doom and gloom in the news and elsewhere,  Penny over at Planet Penny has started what I think is a lovely tradition: a "Reasons to Be Cheerful" linky party. Readers are invited to contribute, via comment or blog post, three Reasons to Be Cheerful every week. (The party is open from Thursday to Sunday.)

I was planning to use this weekend's ride, with its 3 Great Things, as my contribution - but the riding season is nearly over, and I can't be sure I'll even get on the road this weekend, after Wednesday's heavy snow. (But I am keeping my fingers crossed and my tyres pumped. What, Blogger, you don't like the way I spelt "tyres"? Or even "spelt"? Haven't you ever heard of the Queen's English? Hmmm - future post idea there. But I digress.)

So in deference to the dodgy state of Wisconsin weather, I will make no assumptions about a possible bike ride tomorrow or Sunday, and instead will write a dedicated post of "Reasons to Be Cheerful" this week.

Reason #1: After sitting tepidly in the porch all summer, doing nothing more than drop leaves and drink water, my geranium, which I brought inside about 2 weeks ago, has rewarded me with a burst of cheerful bloom. (Perhaps if I fed it occasionally it would bloom even more.)

Look at the delicate shadows made by the pistils ...

... and the light shining through the petals, and the fuzzy stems.

So beautiful. So cheerful!

Reason #2: The perfect marriage of yarn and stitch. How rarely does it occur, yet it happened to me this week. I fell in love with this yarn:

A humble acrylic yarn, of modest price, but its colours cried out "Christmas!" and I simply had to buy it. I envisioned mini bunting, or perhaps a throw pillow cover. But variegated yarn can be awkward to work with - the tints that look so beautiful all swirled together in the skein so often look bizarre when knitted or crocheted.

So after a few hours of pleasurable but fruitless messing about with yarn and hook, a flash of crochet inspiration came: Tunisian simple stitch! And it was perfect.

In no time at all I had not only a stitch, but an entire slipper (the pattern for which I will share next month). This is really a double Reason to Be Cheerful, as Tunisian crochet was new for me - I've learned something.

Reason #3: You. A little over eight months ago, in fear and trepidation, I wrote my first blog post, not knowing if anyone would ever care to read what I had to say. And now I have friends all around the world. I can't tell you how precious that is to me, or how grateful I am for all of you who read this blog and leave kind and thoughtful and funny and helpful comments.

It seems that simply thinking of Reasons to Be Cheerful causes them to multiply. So hop on over to Penny's blog sometime between now and midnight Sunday (UK time), and add some cheerfulness to the list. Thanks Penny!

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