Breaking News!

 

We have a house! After a year of waiting, we have finally been assigned quarters on base! When we transferred here a year ago, we were told our wait for housing would be 6-8 months, but it has taken an entire year. While we were very grateful to have found this rental we're in (in a very challenging market), it's been hard not feeling completely settled, knowing there was another move to endure. Two moves in 12 months is definitely not ideal. We have been active duty for almost 20 years and have never had to wait for quarters. Anyway, we get the house 4 May, so the next six weeks will be busy busy.

More headlines from our house!

Marigold Learns to Use Windows

We have been working on window manners and she has finally figured out that what's outside is much more interesting than the blinds and curtains. Butterfly hasn't quite gotten this yet.

Butterfly Shows Off Her Fancy Eyes

Back in this post I tried to get some shots of the babies' dichroic eyes. This one is pretty good.

Bonus: Butterfly Practices Her Window Manners

Free Giggles

 

Brought to you by Marigold! Have a wonderful week, y'all!

Winter Sampler: Ice Skate

 

Stitching away on my Winter Sampler (available here) and so far I'm on track for one or two blocks a month, in hopes of finishing this by the end of my Year of Winter. That may seem like a pretty low bar, but most of my stitching time is being taken up by this year's mega Christmas Open House, and when I can, I squeeze in my other Year of Winter projects. It's only March, but I'm loving just stitching winter. I think next year I'll really be ready for spring and fall projects, but this year is definitely therapy stitching for me, as I learn to adjust to living without winter. This sampler is a really fun stitch and it motivates me to finish the companion piece I started ever so long ago, Autumn Sampler.

A Year of Winter: Snowy Wren

 

My latest finish in my Year of Winter is Snowy Wren, from the February issue of Just Cross Stitch magazine. It's been ages since I bought a copy of that magazine, but I had to stitch this sweet little bird. I love the look of early darkness on a winter day, and the warm light from the cabin spilling out onto the snow. Stitched with the recommended DMC on 28 ct. Bridesmaid evenweave. 

This design is currently available to purchase as a PDF on the Annie's website, but I think they change availability frequently, so if you want it you probably shouldn't delay.

Big Girls

 

Babies have hit seven pounds! They have just recently started to shed a little. I noticed last weekend that I was having to pick tiny black fibers out of my stitching and I couldn't figure out where they were coming from. Finally realized it's baby fuzz! I think we have a while to go yet before their adult coats come in, but their britches are getting very floofy. 

Bonus wee ear floof!

Saturday Sampler: Colors and Critters Edition

 

Winter Sampler: Snow Angel

 

I am proud to say that I made a snow angel most recently in January of 2021, at the ripe old age of 48. Mr. Wonderful and I had been out sledding on a hill in our neighborhood one evening (yep) and I made one on the way home. I had wiped out while sledding, and was returning home cold, wet, banged up, with a busted lip... and thoroughly happy. It was glorious.

I spent most of February working on my first project for this year's big Christmas Open House. I finished it last week and wanted to try to squeeze in a block or two of my Winter Sampler before the month is over. Two down, 14 to go!

Baby Update: Floof Report

 

Babies are nearly six months old and both are over six pounds. They're losing their baby teeth but have not yet started shedding their baby coats. 

However. 

We are on Floof Watch and we do have signs of things to come. In addition to Magnificent Ear Floof, we also have what Mr. Wonderful calls "werewolf paws." 

We even have floof poking up between toes.

And tail floof is progressing.

Super soft, glossy baby coats. Butterfly had a lot of dark grey in her coat when she was tiny, but that has darkened to black. She still has her blonde patch.

Marigold has always been very red.

So that's how they're doing. They have very sweet temperments, are very snuggly (when they've burned off some energy), and purr almost constantly. They are really beginning to look like adult cats.

Long Things

 

Chocolate Chip Bread baked in my tea loaf pan. I much prefer this long pan to a 9 x 5 loaf pan. Thick batters bake more evenly and the slices are small and cute. 

Another long thing.

Blog Book & Baby Update

 

My 2022 blog book has arrived, the smallest yet, and I have mixed feelings about it. I'm always glad to get a hard copy of my blog into my hands, but this was my last with Tiger Lily in it, and that's so hard. 

As always, she graces the back cover, one last time.

Next year's back cover will be the babies, although by then, they'll be all grown up. But I think because they were so tiny and fragile when we got them, no matter how old they are or how big they get, we'll always think of them as "the babies".

Baby update: Five months old! Marigold has reached 6 lbs, Butterfly is almost there. It's starting to get a little awkward to pick them up and hold them at the same time... almost 12 pounds of kitty! Hard to believe when they came home we could carry both of them in one hand! Marigold has joined her sister in learning to fetch. They both give kisses, and we're working on our household manners. Learning stitching manners is going to be a challenge for later. They are so very, very "helpful" with everything, and they have to learn not to "help" with stitching. We'll get there eventually (I keep telling myself)!

A Year of Winter: Winter's Rest

First finish in my Year of Winter stitching! This is Winter's Rest by Calico Confectionery stitched with the recommended DMC on some kind of 28 ct. rustic mystery evenweave. I love the charming retro look of this design. It reminds me of the design style back in the 80's, when I really got into stitching as a teenager. When I was about six years old, my mom taught me to stitch by having me make "x's" on a piece of gingham fabric stretched in a hoop, one "x" on each colored square. It wasn't until I was about 15 and discovered the double blessing of a stitching friend and a great local shop that I really got going. This design reminds me of that happy time. I chose the rustic fabric (rustic = bits of stuff in it) in tribute to the Fiddler's Lite (or oatmeal) aida that was so popular at the time. 

I know it's only January and I've only finished one project, but I am really enjoying this Year of Winter plan. I've assembled a little collection of winter projects that I love and am anxious to stitch. I'm also working on a big Christmas Open House for 2023, the tenth anniversary of that tradition. 

Hope you're all well and off to a great start on your stitching year!

A Long Sought Treasure

 

When I was a little girl, this was my favorite book and I checked it out of the library over and over and over. I have hunted for this book, off and on, for most of my adult life. It was published in 1964 and has been out of print for ever so long. But I knew I'd find it one day. And I did. I'm not sure exactly what a very small me loved so much about this book, but throughout my adulthood, when I thought of it, what I remembered so vividly were the colors and the illustrations. Black, white, blue, green, and purple. And of course the story is lovely, and feels as relevant today as it did when it was published almost 60 years ago, and television was still new. 

Just a sampling, so you get a sense of the story:

""It was a long time since she had seen moonlight on the water,

on account of watching television."

Indeed.