Shopped the House

As one year comes to a close and a new one is on the horizon, I'm reflecting on the opportunity we have in front of us for 2026 to be a year of positive and dramatic change for the country - if we stay focused. Pete Buttigieg

I shopped the house and found the perfect chair for my Crafter Creature from Clarke 

I think she will be quite comfortable and happy on my puzzle table helping me ring in the new year! 

But I do think she needs a name....any suggestions?

To love a country, as to love a person, it to love a flawed and exquisite creation, to see what is best in it, to be angry when it is not what it could be, precisely because you have seen glimmers of its greatness. Pete Buttigieg

As you may have figured out by the quotes....the guy keeping an eye on things in my kitchen is Pete Buttigieg...one of the most articulate political voices out there today. Paul spied Mayor Pete in a vintage shop in Portland when we were shopping with Langston....and I knew instantly that he needed to come home with me. He gives me hope for 2026!

Hope is the consequence of action more than the cause. Pete Buttigeig

Inside Winter Joy

It's cold and very windy today. We had to be out in it for a bit....but mostly we stayed tucked in where's it was warm and cozy. Sometimes I romanticize winter better from the inside.

I've started to tidy up the studio a bit as I ease back into some art play....but today I'm celebrating a few inside winter joy moments.

This is my favorite snowman that my friend Jane made. It's painted cloth...so very stiff and sturdy. I love the stick arms with the vintage quilt wired stars. I always save it until after Christmas so it can be showcased. Doesn't it just ooze inside winter JOY!

My Christmas cactus has been blooming for a few days. There are three or four full blooms now...and three or four buds coming. Inside winter joy!

I was just telling Paul as we were sitting in a waiting room looking at a very large photograph of a lupin field that it's hard to imagine a field of flowers when it's so cold outside. 

Just like when we are looking at a field of lupin and it's hard to imagine it covered in snow. 

These inside blooms brighten up the winter! Colorful glass balls help too! 

Speaking of inside blooms....one of my pencil plants has tiny yellow buds. I don't think I've ever had blooms before...or at least I never noticed them.

Years ago I got a split when I was visiting my sister Nancy and her husband Craig in Minneapolis. It has grown into several plant splits...and I've shared a a few with others. 

I thought this little split was struggling...but low and behold it's the one with the buds. 

And I just planted up another gifted amaryllis bulb from Colleen...our realtor. It clearly wanted to be out of the box...but it will bounce back. And UP!

And you can see the budding pencil plant right behind it...and another one in the window sill. 

Do you see the guy in the background? Bonus points for anyone who can guess who it is. He's one of my heros! 

No prize...just bonus points. 😉

Romanticizing Winter

We had a delightful visit with Ann and Nariman yesterday, two dear friends from Lexington. So today feels like the actual day after the holiday celebrations and visits. What a wonderful stretch of joy it was!

I've started to put some of the decorations away....the Santas and more Christmasy things....but I'm still celebrating winter. I read somewhere this morning that we should romantice winter once Christmas was over. I like that the sound of that!

I'm going to keep the lights and the wintery things for a while and I've pulled out my snowmen. I always enjoy the little minis on my window sill.

Kelly gave me an tiny 50 piece puzzle featuring Kandinsky Circles. It's adorable.

It was the perfect little puzzle moment within a puzzle over Christmas.

I just finished this Twinkle Town puzzle for the 2nd or 3rd time....

and my little snow scene looks right at home on the table.

I'll stick the romanticizing winter theme...and re-do this Merry Moonlight Skaters next. All is calm and bright with a puzzle on my table.

Clarke's Creature Christmas!

Today I'm celebrating Clarke...an artist I admire! Settle in for a wild and wooly ride!

Those of you who have been following along for a while may know that Clarke is my niece...and the reason this blog can even exists. 

She helped me figure out the technical parts that are not in my wheelhouse...and has continued to be my tech support even though she lives in Chicago. She's amazing!

Clarke is also a self taught accomplished knitter....and she's been busy for months on what she has called Clarke's Creature Christmas. 

On the day after the day after family gathering....the Shupes opened up all of our frog creatures...and the personalized details and accessories are amazing. 

Mine is The Crafter...complete with a fabulous sweater and a set of colored pencils. Sam's is The Cyclist...with an amazing hat complete with a tiny pom pom. Don't you just love the high top sneakers!! Paul's is The Pastor dressed in a robe and stole...holding a bible. And Nate's is The Hit Maker at the keyboard. His hoodie is amazing with an actual pouch for his tiny frog hands. These are all Clarke's photographs that she has featured on the Ravelry site where she shared details about making each one.

These are the frogs and other creatures for friends and family.

Clarke sent me these photos months ago when she was just getting started. They show a bit of the process and the pieces and parts. She used patterns from Ravelry...but did some her own customization and ordered the accessories from Etsy. She's a clever one...that Clarke!

I am blown away by her talent!

Clarke had fun with this project...and says she will probably be making personalized frogs for the rest of her life. Here they all are in downtown Chicago!  What an accomplishment! Well done Clarke!

It seemed fitting that Lynn sent me an article called Weapons of Mass Construction: the US 'craftivist' using yarn to fight back against Trump. 

It shares how knitters and stitchers all over the country are using their art to protest and share acts of kindness and show normalcy in places and spaces that feel anything but normal. 

JOY is an act of resistance.

Resist

We had a fabulous evening last night with the boys and Kelly. There was good food....engaging conversation and lots of belly laughs. Sam brought packs of vintage 1990 Topps baseball cards for everyone. A highlight of the evening was when everyone tried to stump Paul with his vintage baseball knowledge....and he nailed almost every question. He even got guessed a player's daughter's name right.

I've got something else fun to report....but it has to wait because it deserves a post all its own.

Linda D. sent me this photo a week or so ago....and it made me chuckle.

I thought it spot on....but it's also the perfect segue into into the theme of this post. 

Yes...we have to continue the RESISTance to save democracy...but this post is about another kind of resist.

Did you know that you can use anything with foil accents as a stencil on the gelli plate? The foil acts as a resist....and I'll explain how it's done.

Kelly and Sam gave us an Aura digital photo frame...and it was wrapped in this gorgeous foiled snowflake paper. The frame is fun...and we've already loaded a bunch of family photos. 

I carefully unwrapped the box because I wanted to save every inch of the paper...and I used a piece of it to make this print.

For the first print I rolled aqua blue on the plate. Then I placed the paper with the foil side down and pressed it into the plate pretty well.

You can see that the wrapping paper is covered with the blue paint...but the foil resisted some of the paint leaving an imprint on the plate.

Once the blue snowflakes were dry...I rolled white paint on the plate. The fresh wet paint will pick up the dried paint.

 I pressed a piece of copy paper down ...and let it sit about 30 seconds then pulled the print.

It turned out pretty well.

I wanted to see if I could use the same piece foil paper a second print...and yes I could. This time I rolled white paint on the plate first to make the imprint.

You can see that the foiled paper is now completely covered up with paint...so a third print was not possible. I know because I tried.

  

Once the white snowflakes were dry...I rolled bright blue paint on the plate and pulled the print. I love this one even more.

I sacrificed on small swatch of the paper and got two pretty prints. 

 

I'm certainly going to try this resist technique with other foiled papers. 

I used part of the prints to make a thank you card and envelope liner!

Making art...is an act of resistance.

The Day After

Subtitle: The Day Before the Day After

I've always loved the day after Christmas. I actually enjoy the day after any big event. There is a calmness in the air as we bask in the glow of the event....and there is also freedom in knowing that anything might be possible now.

And this particular week that is sandwiched between Christmas and New Years is the best. 

But today is actually the day before the day after for our family. Paul and I spent yesterday afternoon with Kelly and Sam at their apartment. What a delight it was to have them host us for a Christmas lunch...and we all got to put together Lego Christmas ornaments after. How fun is that! 

And on this day before the day after....Nate will join us all at the condo this evening for a full family gathering. My heart is full. I hope yours is too.

A Little Bit More

"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store. 
Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more." Dr. Seuss

White Christmas

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

I was dreaming of a white Christmas!

Love is a Verb

I'm lucky enough to have a husband who shows his love for me on a daily basis. He's become more of a love is a verb kind of guy. 

When Paul retired he made a conscious decision that he wanted to do the things around the house that had a clear beginning and end. He always pitched in...but most of the household tasks were more in my wheelhouse in the early years.

But now....Paul does almost all the cooking including cleaning up the kitchen...and he often sings to the radio while he works. He gets most of the groceries and is always willing to do an errand....especially when he can do it on his bike. He keeps the car filled up with gas and oh yes...and he does the laundry too. 

He has always ground the coffee...but now he grinds mine separate from his because I prefer 1/2 regular and 1/2 decaf. When he hears me stirring in the morning (he's already been up for an hour or two) he starts the coffee maker so it's fresh and ready when I am. And if it's not ready in time...he brings it to me.

And don't even get me started on found objects. Just today...he handed me his most recent find....this adorable little squirrel. He will be joining the crew on my puzzle table after Christmas.

Yes....Paul has become a love is verb kind of guy. 

There was a time when love was expressed more in words.....and I wrote about one such time in this post titled The Letters. Paul and I had to live apart for several months back in 2007....and he wrote me a hand written letter every single day for 121 days straight.

I still have all the letters....and I even won an online "Expressions of Love" contest when I shared our story.

Of course I still like to hear the words....and I know the feeling of love is still there. But as we've gotten older....I really appreciate this love is a verb guy of mine. 

I love you Paul! Happy Advent week of Love!

Heartwarming

Subtitle: Hartmans

I watched a heartwarming segment on the Sunday Morning News program (it was a week old) about two lifelong friends working together helping people they may never meet for an organization called Steps of Faith. It was an uplifting story of the power of friendship and love.

You can watch the actual Sunday Morning segment here on this Instagram Post. You may recognize one of the guys from Ted Lasso, Jason Sudeikis. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/DSQNx7fEwuf/

To do something you love with the people you love to help people you may never meet...I wish it on everyone. Jason Sudeikis

I have a little heartwarming story in this week I'm celebrating love.

It started with a silly question from Patty: do you have green felt? Of course I have green felt!

As I was delivering the felt to Patty down the street yesterday....I enjoyed the view of her oversized wreath on the front of her condo peaking through the dried winter grass. Which...by the way...was a split from my front yard. The wreath....with the birds and the big bow is somehow more beautiful with this whimsical overlay.

Patty's son Phil went by his middle name Hartman when he was young....so that was the name on his family stocking made by his grandmother Mamoo. Phil got married this summer...and he and his wife Lindsay both took the name Hartman as their new last name....so they are now known as the Hartmans. Got all that?

Patty wanted to update Phil's stocking by adding an S to the end so it would be for the Hartmans. She was tickled with her idea and my green felt was nearly a perfect match.

Patty's plan was to cut out an S and glue it on. But I noticed that all the other letters were hand stitched on by Mamoo...and I knew in that very moment that the stocking needed to come home with me.

Do what you love with the people you love....for someone you may never meet. 

At first I thought I could just put my hand inside to make sure my stitches didn't go through the other side of the stocking and stitch the toe closed. But that didn't work as well as I thought it would. 

So instead....I put a wooden spoon inside so the needle would have something to push against while I stitched around the S....and it worked perfectly. I think it looks like it's always been there.

A heartwarming task...for the Hartmans....who I may never meet.