three weeks of family and gallivanting

I am back in Houston house after three weeks of gallivanting and family.  At the beginning of this time, was my Grandmother's funeral.  Lots of family was involved and we stayed with the Tall Short Person for that bit of the travels because she lives fairly close to where my Grandmother was interned and the memorial services where held.  

We went from there to the mountain for a few days.  The weather was a bit overcast and slightly damp.  It was a nice change from the heat of Texas.  It was also nice to have a break before we traveled more.  Koda Bear, my Beloved, my parents, and myself had a pirate ship to board for more gallivanting.  We could not convince Koda Bear it was not a pirate ship.  I could be a continuous traveler if I had a way to cook my own food.  Hotel rooms without a kitchen are not my cup of tea.

I miss the mountain.  I miss the gallivanting.  I have did come back with a cold so my head is not on very straight yet.  I actually thought about not writing today because it feels like my head is on that crooked.  Personally, I would love to be on the mountain healing but instead I am dealing with work and the emotions around layoffs.  It is what it is.

healing weekend

I am moving slowly this weekend.  I have been under the weather all week.  Not so that I would stay home from work but such that eating made my stomach upset.  That riding my bicycle to and from work meant I needed a two and half hour nap to feel well enough to make dinner.  I was building pillow forts in the bed to help keep me warm even after I was under an afghan.  I need to heal before we travel for three weeks.

I am working on the binding of this quilt.  I need to make yarn for the sweater I am working on.  And yarn for other sweaters!  When the quilt is finished, I have more sewing.  I should spend time in the garden but that is too much for today.  Maybe tomorrow.  Being under the weather means I get the work done that makes pennies but not the work that feeds my soul and brings me joy. 

There will be a bit of baking this weekend.  Whole wheat oatmeal dough which will be cinnamon rolls or bread and cinnamon rolls.   An experiment as well.  My only worry about being gone for three weeks is how to feed us the food we like best.  There will be my Grandmother's funeral  We will also be traveling for two weeks in Alaska with my parents and Koda Bear so that will be very different.  I have not traveled with my parents since I was a child.  Many changes since then!  I will take some baking with us.  Oatmeal scotchies were a hit last time for traveling so a batch of those will be made for driving.

I expect naps this weekend.  I will need to get my energy back.  Otherwise, quiet things. 

hoping for a quiet weekend

I think the title of this post says it all.  I am hoping for a quiet weekend.  So far so good.  I spent time in the garden this morning and found lots of seedlings.  We had a lot of heat with little rain most of August and then started to get rain.  This has been a lovely surprise.  It does mean that my weeding does not seem to make as much as a dent because I am much more careful but it does mean that I might get more flowers this autumn.  I was lamenting to myself that I did not get as many flowers as last year.  It looks like I may.  I also ordered seeds for my winter garden yesterday.  Much brassicia.  Now if I can get something started before we leave for Alaska.

The rest of the day I have been working on this sweater.  I am making the sweater up as I go so I took out the back and started it again.  I also finished spinning the rest of the fiber into yarn for it.  I have had such a lovely time at my spinning wheel that I picked up more fiber to spin instead of working on the sweater.  It all has to get done. 

There are other tasks I can do in my rocking chair this weekend that mean projects get done.  It may just be time to sit at my spinning wheel.  I do know the grocery store and the library are errands I have to run.  But that is just part of life.

Hopefully you are having the weekend you hope for.

bits and pieces (mostly a quilt top is pieced!)

This weekend was trying to get caught up a bit after traveling.  Especially since there is about a month before we travel to Sitka.  It is where I wanted to go and I made it happen.  Koda Bear and my parents are going to go with me so it should be interesting. 

I finished mending one of my work sweaters that became a bumming around in sweater.  I had a cashmere cardign that had gone to lace due to holes but I decided to take some of the yarn I made and make the patch.  That was in Montana, in July, over the fourth of July.  I just got it stitched on.  My Dad would now say my elbow is sick again because it cannot be out.  Stupid old jokes and puns.  But I have a mended sweater to bum around in.  Under my waterproof, it will work well in Sitka.

I also got the next quilt top pieced.  I am so pleased.  And I took the easy way out and put the back together.  There was still some stitching involved but not so much piecing.  I am looking forward to the quilting.  Just the rhythm, the meditation.

I have been spinning a bit two, but pictures of my spinning wheel and the yarn are boring.  I will take a picture of the sweater in progress soon.  I am still making the yarn for it!

Just bits of my weekend.  With much tea and books.  A bit of gardening that messed up my hands again.  The gloves I used this time were worn out so I got blisters.  The next pair, a bit too small.  I have not found a pair I like that fits recently.  That is life.

things I do to destress

Layoffs are happening at work.  Whether the situation is handled well or poorly, there is a lot of stress.  This is not the first time that I have been through a layoff situation but this is the most drown out.  Actual bits of information are coming out this week but they are only bits.  There is not truly enough bits of real information except to cause more speculation which causes more stress.

I am clenching my jaw.  Which causes my head to hurt.  And the stress makes me tired.

I have come home this week, put the kettle on for hot tea even though the afternoon temperatures are over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and worked with my hands.  Usually with an audible book playing.

There was a quilt that needed binding.  There is yarn to be made.  There is dough to shape and bake.  There is yogurt to start.  There is another quilt top to start to stitch.

I have shirts to cut out.  I am plotting on putting embroidery on some of the shirts I am making so I am researching designs.

I do feel better. The stress is less.  I am better prepared for tomorrow.  I am glad I do not have much planned for this weekend yet.  I will enjoy the quiet.