Puzzle-mania

What's more fun on a cold January day than a jigsaw puzzle?? Michael decided that having done one at his grandparent's house over the holidays, he needed to go to Target and buy another that he could put together at my house. He picked out one with a Thomas Kincaid picture and 1000 pieces! Now, I used to do a lot of jigsaw puzzles as a kid, but I never did one with that many pieces and it was a challenge! Of course, Michael did 90% of it, but Mike and I did help a little!

Here's the finished puzzle; only Michael would think to try picking it up to display it for a photo! One piece did fall off the edge but was quickly grabbed from the floor before the cats could capture and eat it.

Jack (one of the thwarted cats) decided to show his displeasure in another way:

Actually, I think Jack is showing how much he LIKES jigsaw puzzles!

We had a good time with the puzzle, especially Michael, who I think may have stayed up pretty late a couple of nights. I may have to buy a few more!

My friend, Judy, mentioned awhile back that she does jigsaw puzzles on-line so (and here's the danger of the internet!) I went and googled "on-line jigsaw puzzles." Holy smokes, there's tons of websites offering jigsaw puzzles that you can do on-line! I'm going to try a few out, but I do hate to get caught up in yet another addictive behavior because I'm very prone to them!

I was also talking to my sister, Karen, on the phone today and she mentioned a website that she's currently addicted to called ravelry.com. It's for knitters and crocheters and you can upload photos of your needlework projects, keep track of progress on them, share patterns and tips, look at other people's work, etc., etc., etc. I tried to "join" but got put on a waiting list! That's a first. But as soon as I get my "invitation" to join I will be uploading a photo of my now infamous purple and green socks. And then I'll go and look at all the stuff Karen has uploaded. She says you can even post photos of your stash - you know, all that yarn you have stashed away but haven't done anything with yet....!

Judy, you need to check out ravelry.com and try to wean yourself off of those jigsaw puzzles! Or...should I be sending Karen to the jigsaw puzzle sites....????

Two Finished Projects

THE SOCKS ARE DONE!!!

Yep, there are now TWO finished socks and they are almost the same size! I've even carefully hand-washed them and blocked them and they are now ready to wear. I had a good time knitting these socks and will definitely make another pair . . . uh, after I finish a few MORE of my unfinished projects.

Here is another project I just finished. It's a cross-stitch piece of an orange tabby cat (of course!) with a mockingbird perched on his head helping himself to a few bits of fur to use in building his nest. I love the look on the cat's face! I have watched my own cats being dive-bombed by mockingbirds so this particular pattern was very enjoyable to stitch.
Finally, here's a photo of a snowy egret that my friend Susan and I saw during our walk at the Benicia Marina this morning. Gotta love those yellow feet!
Big storms are on their way to us here in northern California; the temp is already dropping and heavy rain is predicted. Other than a trip to the Oakland airport tomorrow evening I should be able to hunker down here at home. Times like this make me very grateful that I'm self-employed and have the ability to work from home.

Happy New Year!!!

From our house to yours! Here's a photo of hubby Mike reading in front of the fireplace on New Year's Eve. That's our little girl tabby, Scout, in the catbed. We had all three of our cats in front of the fire all evening. It was a nice quiet New Year's . . . we relaxed in front of the fire and t.v. until midnight when we opened the back door so that we could hear the neighbors banging on pots and pans, shooting off firecrackers, and yelling "Happy new year!!" It was great! Jack and Scout didn't think so, though, and ran under our bed to escape the noise. Bo didn't even notice because he's pretty much deaf!

Today we slept late (ok, the cats and I did - Mike was up early) and are spending the day inside where it's warm. I have had a cold so am not at all inclined to go anywhere today. I'm so happy it's January because that's my favorite month of the year. It's a time for new beginnings, but it's also a time to do a little hibernating, putter around the house in slippers, pull out old needlework projects and finish them, handwash a few delicate things, take naps, bake bread or cookies (or both!) and stir up a big pot of tapioca pudding with extra vanilla. It's the quiet after the storm of the holidays.

I'm also dreaming about spring, and what kinds of flowers I'll plant in my garden this year, and wondering when the first buds will appear on our fruit trees. Living in California, we don't have a brutal winter like so many other parts of the country, but we certainly have our share of cold, wet, and dreary days. It's partly cloudy today, and there's a cold wind shaking the last of the leaves off the trees and outside in the cat's garden the first of the daffodils has come up! Brave little yellow faces, I think of them as being the first sign of spring . . . but it's only January First! I wonder if that means an early, early spring this year? Or perhaps a long, slow, and gentle awakening. . .

I'm ambivalent about making new year's resolutions this year . . . it's always frustrating to make them and then not keep them. Last year I resolved to buy only American-made products for a year. That lasted about two days! Have you ever tried to buy anything (besides food) that wasn't made in China, or another asian country? Try it -- it's really eye-opening.

This year I'll need to come up with something easier. I'm thinking I will simply resolve to finish whatever I start without getting sidetracked onto something else. Actually, that might not be easy at all . . . as anyone who has ever watched me clean house can attest. Instead of working methodically through the house one room at a time I operate more like a ball in a pinball machine bouncing from one room to the next with no logical plan. I can tell you this is not at all condusive to getting the house cleaning done; it takes a lot longer, and usually I end up with all the rooms sorta clean but none of them completely clean and then finally I pick up a book to put it away and instead I sit down on the couch and read. Well, but at least reading takes my mind off the dirty house!

A happy and prosperous New Year's to all, whether or not your house is clean!