Quotidities

Every day happenings at our house . . .



You know Christmas is over when the seed catalogs begin arriving. We got our first shortly after Christmas Day. It's funny, but as soon as Christmas is over, I begin hankering for spring just a little. Christmas is a mental turning point for me; before that the snow and cold are just part of the season and part of life, but after the Christmas tree comes down, I involuntarily begin looking ahead to spring. I actually like this time of year. The quiet weeks after the Christmas festivities are welcome. School has found its groove and is humming along nicely, there's no gardening or yardwork, and hunkering down with a good book or movie or my sewing machine is a pleasure. We practically ignore Valentine's Day around here, though we do have two birthdays in February. It's the quietest time of the year, and I like it. But behind it all I'm thinking about spring. It won't be here for quite awhile yet, but I will be subconsciously looking for its signs~~the first snowdrops and crocuses, the scent of warmer air, the sun creeping higher in the sky. But I'll be reminding myself to look for the beauties of this time and to be content.

Last Friday was bottling day for Man of the House. He's been brewing beer for several years now. After it sits in a big bucket in a corner of the kitchen for a couple weeks, the beer must be moved to bottles to carbonate. Then the bottles get put in boxes to sit near the fire in the dining room, not my place of choice but right for the process of carbonating. Besides, it's only for a few weeks. After that it's ready to be drunk. Man of the House never is. ;-) I've never even seen him tipsy. lol






(We recycle!)



I made this skirt for Girl of the House. It's the third skirt I've made using this pattern, and I'm getting pretty fast. Yes, you heard me~~I used a pattern! Successfully! Oh, wait. That's probably because the pattern has only one piece, unlike the Christmas stockings that employed three pieces each and instructions that assumed a lot. The skirt pattern is the simplest pattern I've ever used. Indeed, I don't think it's possible to get any simpler. This version is made up in a very soft baby corduroy in black. Remember, all you accomplished seamstresses out there, I'm just learning. And I'm teaching myself, so be proud of me. ;-) The sweater is new from Lands End clearance (we bought a royal blue one just like it), so Girl 2 sported a new outfit to church this morning. I will not bore you with the travails of getting this child into a store and finding anything worthy of trying on let alone buying. So for her to have a new skirt and new sweater without even setting a toenail into a store . . . well, let's just say we are both pleased.