Very Short Post for T

 

My plan had been to go on writing about our winter trip to the Southwest, but instead of telling you about Christmas at Bryce Canyon I can only write a very short post. My Etsy shop has become very busy - with cooler temperatures people want warm socks, hats and mitts. I'm currently knitting up a storm to fulfill all these orders. 

My business is a true one-woman business. I do everything myself - the tags with care instructions, little handwitten thank you notes that go with the purchase, packaging and shipping - and of course the knitting. I need to keep stock of business cards, tissue paper for wrapping the items, twine and shipping materials. It's a lot of work and the months leading up to Christmas are always particularly crazy.

This is what my items look like when they are wrapped, right before going in the recycled paper envelopes (like thin cardboard) and brought to the UPS store. Recently, the post office had replaced the old mailboxes with new ones that only have a small slit for regular letters, so I can't put bigger envelopes in there anymore. Thankfully UPS accepts USPS packages and the closest UPS store is in walking distance and I don't have to drive to the post office. The little cards on the packages are my Moo business cards made from my photos.

Since this is a post for Bleubeard and Elizabeth's T Tuesday I'm sharing a photo from last Saturday when our friends Bim and Patti and we went to "our" winery for a pick up party. We were very lucky with the weather  and were able to sit on their patio. The wine and food pairing was excellent, but the company was even better. We had such a good time together.

And we have a new dinner guest! This little opossum appeared sometime last week and since then has devoured Kibeau's night portion every evening (Kibeau is not amused). They are really loud eaters, I can even hear her/him chew when I'm upstairs. But s/he is so super cute!

The 366 Project: September

 

September had hardly begun when it was already over - at least that's how it felt. It was a busy month.

My friend Kris and I went on some beautiful walks in our regional parks where we saw the first signs of autumn.

At the lake we discovered a huge hornet nest.

Look at that intricate work! Isn't it impressive?

I love to be at the lake early when the water steams and is backlit by the morning sun. Such a beautiful and slightly mystical mood.

It also was a busy month in regards to knitting. I was often sitting in the garden knitting up hats and socks, often with Kibeau as my reliable but mostly sleeping companion.

At the farmers market I could still get peaches and made buttermilk peach cobbler. Next time I will not make it in the cast iron pan because it was a bit of a pain to clean out the baked-on parts, even though my pan is well seasoned and it shouldn't be a problem.

We were very excited that the Mourning Doves came back to their nest and had another brood. I'm happy to say that they raised both babies and about a week ago I saw them taking off. I still see the little ones occasionally in our big tree. The other excitement was that I noticed a bird in my garden that I hadn't seen before. After consulting Merlin and my Sibley and confirming with David, I now know that this is a Black-headed Grosbeak. This little guy is very camera shy.

And of course we're getting closer to the election. Campaing signs have turned up in our neighborhood. I love the cat ones, but I love the handmade signs by children even more. I asked one of my little neighborhood girls whether she would make one for me, and we now proudly display it right next to our frontdoor.

Unfortunately, there was also this:

I have no idea what people who steal campaign signs want to achieve with that. Do they think people would change their mind? Hardly. This behaviour makes me mad, and I would be just as mad if this would have happened with Trump/Vance signs. I wish we would return to respect and civility.

Together with other neighbors we were busy writing letters to voters in states with voter suppression laws to let them know how they can get heir voter ID. That there even are voter suppression laws in a country that boasts about its democracy is shameful.

Last but not least, September is a special month for the Geek and I. 28 years ago we had our first kiss on top of the tower of Stiftskirche in Tübingen. You can see the tower here - taken on a cold but clear and sunny winter day. It was warmer back then on that day in September, but there was a constant drizzle - which didn't prevent us from kissing.

For us it's a reason to celebrate and open a bottle of bubbly. Cheers, my friends!

With all these faces, I'm linking up with Nicole's Friday Face Off.

A Slow Sunday

 

One of my bird mugs for Bleubeard and Elizabeth's T Tuesday

Yesterday brought an atmospheric river to our region, and this time it rightly was called like that. The torrential downpours started Saturday night at 11:00 pm and wouldn't stop until Sunday night, except for very short breaks. But worse than the rain was the gusty wind that was near hurricane force and only started to lose strength on Sunday night. We kept inside the entire day, spending a very slow Sunday and every now and then watching the rain and wind playing wildly in the garden. Thankfully we didn't lose anything, but there were several fallen trees across the county and also some flooding that closed roads. We also didn't lose power as so many others did.

Our primary election will be on March 5th (Super Tuesday), so after breakfast I thoroughly read our Voters Information Guide and learned more about the candidates for State Assembly and the Superior Court Office. There are also propositions and measures to consider. I had already made up my mind about the presidential candidate and the candidate for the US Senate.

The evening before I had made a dough for a whole wheat bread that proved overnight and was ready to be put into the oven. This is our go-to bread when I bake because it's easy to make, and I always enjoy the warmth and the scent of freshly baked bread spreading throughout the house.

The day before I had recevied an order for baby socks in my Etsy shop, so I packed them up, ready for shipping. My goal is plastic-free packaging - used tissue paper, baker's twine, cardboard envelopes. I always include a little stamped and handwritten thank you card and a small Moo business card with my photography.

Sometime last year I took some of the taster lessons - I can't remember whether this one was for Kaleidoscope or Life Book. Anyway, this was a lesson by Melanie Rivers whose style I like very much. I never finished what I had started and completely forgot what she was doing even though I had jotted down a couple notes. So I just did my own thing which is more fun after all. I experimented with watercolor on a textured gessoed background and liked the result. The dark background color I mixed with Phthalo Blue and Burnt Umber. I need to put down a second layer because it looks a bit chaotic, but I really like this rich color.

Dorothy wrote a post on her blog The Frog & PenguInn about loneliness in which she mentioned the organisation Letters Against Isolation. Here, volunteers write letters or cards to seniors who live in Assisted Living or Nursing Homes or are served by Meals on Wheels. LAI was started by two sisters during the pandemic when seniors were very much isolated and couldn't receive any visitors. After reading Dorothy's post I went to LAI's website to learn more. Now I have signed up to participate in writing letters/cards to seniors and on this slow Sunday I prepared my first cards for this. Thank you, Dorothy, for writing about this important organisation.

Finally, after having made a cup of hot chocolate for both the Geek and myself in the afternoon, I settled on our couch and continued knitting this bird hat. Last fall I had a good number of them in different color combinations in the shop, but they completely sold out before Christmas and I didn't have the time to knit more until now. The color stranding looks challenging, but isn't that difficult at all. 

Do you sometimes have slow Sundays (or any other day of the week) and do you enjoy them? I loved our slow Sunday and felt very relaxed and happy at the end of it.

Zwischen den Jahren - Between the Years

 

Looking for the new year...

In German we call the time between Christmas and New Year "zwischen den Jahren" - between the years. It's one of my favorite weeks in the year.

This time we spent that week extremely slow and lazy. The weather - rainy, chilly and even stormy - supported our lazyness and was a great excuse to stay home. We used the car only once, because I needed to get to my PT appointment.

We did a lot of reading, puttering around the house and even some cleaning. I baked my "seastar" bread, a hearty whole-wheat bread that has a hint of sage, and I cooked tasty dinners, like this teriyaki chicken with broccoli, green onion and rice (cooked in the wok).

On two afternoons I worked on classroom Valentines for my Etsy shop. When Kaefer went to kindergarten and the first two or three years of elementary school I used to create the little Valentines that each kid could bring for the classroom Valentine's party because I never fancied the cheap and quite dreadful Valentines you could buy. From this the idea was born that I could actually offer different sets of classroom Valentines in the store and it has become a great seller. I'm down to three different styles and I also think this might be the last year of classroom Valentines in my store. 

In the middle of the week a storm approached the West Coast and the ocean reacted with some very huge waves that were pounding the shore. We didn't go there because as someone who lives close to the coast we know how dangerous the Pacific Ocean can get in those conditions. I admit that I would have loved to see such big waves, but the reasonable side in me that every now and then takes the upper hand kept me at home. A good decision as we later found out, because there were so many people at the coast and the stupidity of some (mainly tourists) didn't know any limits.

Up to almost the last day of the week I didn't get any orders and finally was able to knit my poncho-style sweater again. I had started knitting it last spring, but then the "knitting year" became so busy that I had to put it aside. The yarn is bulky weight, 100% Peruvian Highland wool - "Wool of the Andes" from Knit Picks. The color is a warm terracotta that my camera unfortunately can't represent accurately.

The Geek and I "celebrated" New Year's Eve with a good dinner and a glass (or two) of bubbly. We didn't make it to midnight - he was already fast asleep while I was still reading my book (I love reading in bed and do that every evening; it's my way of getting ready for sleep). The bubbly is for Bleubeard and Elizabeth's T Tuesday and with it I wish all of you joy, laughter and good health for 2024.

The Last Two Weeks

 

I wish I could come up with something exciting this week, but I don't. Two weeks ago I started PT for my left knee and the sciatica on the right side; I go twice a week and do my exercises religiously because I really want an end to the pain and most of all, I want to take long walks again. While I see some improvement when it comes to the sciatica, I unfortunately cannot say the same for the knee. Some days are okay, but there were moments when I had just started my walk down the street to the mailbox when I had to turn around after only 50 meters or so because the pain was so bad that I knew I wouldn't get to the mailbox (a 12 minute walk one way), not to mention back home. It's frustrating, but I'm determined not to let these things get me down.

Despite the evil knee, I was able to do a few short walks - I walked at the lake (please note that I wrote "at", not "around" because that's not possible right now) on a cloudy morning and enjoyed the view of the still water and the leaves in the parking lot.

I especially liked the stunning color of these oak leaves as well as the beautiful seeds of the Horse Weed (Conyza bonariensis).

In my neighborhood I enjoyed a few leaves withstanding the autumn winds while others swirled through the air, sometimes doing crazy somersaults.

The Japanese Maple in front of my kitchen window radiated in beautiful autumn colors and I loved the reflection in the bird bath.

My native California vine "Roger's Red" (Vitis californica x 'Roger's Red') was twisting along my clothesline. Soon I will have to cut it back, when all the leaves will be gone.

My Pineapple Guava (Feijoa sellowiana) was heavy with fruit this year, so I decided to share with the neighborhood.

In my opinion, winter sunrises and sunsets are more spectacular than the ones in summer. Maybe it's because the sun is so much lower in the sky or the air is colder - I don't know. This was the sunrise seen from my bedroom window a few days ago, followed below by pink clouds at sunset.

The nightsky during a full moon was pretty dramatic as well.

We had some rain - always welcome - and also some pretty frosty nights. Perfect for staying inside and knitting some cat and bird ornaments for our German School's winter fundraiser.

While knitting, reading, grading papers and preparing classes I enjoyed my café au lait out of this wolf mug that I bought years ago in Yellowstone (still one of my most favorite places on earth).

This, of course, is for Bleubeard and Elizabeth's T Tuesday - grab a drink and join us!