52 Weeks of Happy - Week 13

My week's happy things (probably horrible English usage) started with the return of season 4 of The Voice on Monday.  I wasn't sure how I would like the two new judges, Usher and Shakira, but I think they are great additions and the banter back and forth between the judges was very funny.

Tuesday brought a great new book release.  I have been a fan of JR Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series for quite a while and on Tuesday, her latest was released.  I borrowed the image from Amazon because I have this on my Kindle which is the old B&W version and I couldn't get a good image.  The main romantic story line was about two guys and I think the author did a really great job of writing their love story that made for a very compelling read.  I love this series and the writing quality has stayed consistent through this book which I think is #11 - hard to say for most authors.  I hope she will continue to move forward with the storylines as there was a sense of more to come.

Next up is knitting related.  I had been planning to start a new knit project as I mentioned in previous posts but when I went into my craft room to put together a project bag, I came across two UFO sock projects, one of which was this sock that was supposed to be a gift for my sister's birthday - last March.  I have picked it up and it has made me happy to work on it this week.

And finally, a wonderful dinner with some girlfriends.  I of course forgot to pull out my camera but the company, the food and the libations were a really happy way to end a busy week.  I'm sharing a photo of where we ate from the restaurants website.  I can recommend going to anyone in the area!

I hope you had some happy events in your week this week.  I still need to post my WIPocolypse update which I will do separately tomorrow. 

52 Weeks of Happy - Week 12

Yesterday, I traveled to Boston to visit one of my nieces who goes to school in the city.  My happy things for the week are centered around my visit.  I took the train down and it was very grey when I got on which had me worried but as I got farther south, the sun showed the clouds it was boss and we had some lovely sunshine. 

After many trips into Boston over the years and walking by the Boston Public Library, I finally got to see the John Singer Sargent murals.  If you are interested in their history, you can read about them here.
The library building is fabulous with the most amazing mosaic ceilings in the main entrance hall and this really cool ceiling in one of the rooms off the 2nd floor.

After seeing the murals, we had lunch at PF Changs in the Prudential Center and then walked around the shops. 

Coming out of Lord & Taylor to cross back to get to California Pizza Kitchen, we saw this gorgeous old building surrounded by the more modern skyline.  The sunlight on the bricks and the black wrought iron was stunning.

Spending time with my nieces always makes me happy but when I can combine it with a piece of the Red Velvet cake served at California Pizza Kitchen, I'm over the moon happy.  I have yet to have a better piece of Red Velvet and it's worth the train trip down to Boston!  I must see if they sell this online.....

So much for Spring....

It's been snowing since last night and the photo of bare grass I showed in my Saturday Happy post has been totally buried under snow.  And it's still coming down.   That old saying for the month of March, "in like a lion" is particularly apropos today.

I did not get a lot of stitching done for this weekend's IHSW but I did make progress on the letter L block which is for Lion.  As you can see I have finished K and am moving along on L. 

I hope to finish this block before the end of the month and then I will need to make a decision as to whether or not I want to continue on with this piece or choose something else from my WIPocolypse list.  Or maybe even start something new!

March TUSAL

I'm a bit late in posting this since the TUSAL date this month was the 11th. 

There's a lot of Kreinik braid at the top as a result of my focusing on my Nora Corbet Halloween Fairy.  While I didn't do as much stitching this past week as I'd hoped to, I did add a few threads from by CHS Alphabets while stitching for this months IHSW.  I hope to get a few more stitches in and share my progress tomorrow. 

Thank you so much for visiting.  I hope to get around a lot more this week to see what everyone else is up to.

52 Weeks of Happy - Week 11

I can't believe I did not update my blog at all this week - it's been busy.  I only have two happy photos to share this week but I am sharing four happy things as usual.

First up is a little bit of spring cleaning I started last Sunday. Must have been that extra hour of daylight that got me moving in that direction.  The kitchen got a good scrubbing including removing everything from the drawers, washing them down and reorganizing them.  Not sure how long they will stay this neat but it makes me happy every time I open the drawer.

We've seen a significant increase in snow melt this week - thank goodness!  I took this photo of my back yard - a section totally free of snow!

My next happy thing is getting my federal and state tax returns deposited in my back account this week.  I'm not sharing a photo of my back account but it makes me happy to have a little cushion in my savings account.

And finally, I volunteered a couple of hours today to man the phones for a local non-profit organization's telethon.  This is the second year I've been asked and it makes me incredibly happy to be able to support the organization in a small way.  They provide a wide array of services for the developmentally challenged from young children all the way to adults.  The whole town seems to draw together to support this organization and the good they do for so many families and that really makes me happy!

I hope you had a week full of happy things this week.

52 Weeks of Happy - Week 10

I can't believe we're already through week 10 of the new year - only 42 more to go people!!!

My week started off with these lovely bits of sunshine in the form of the first daffodils found at the grocery store.  I so love the fragrance of them and it will still be quite a while before we actually see the real thing springing up around here unfortunately. 

I needed to replenish some makeup items so I decided to make an appointment for a color refresh and came home with some new items.  I've been using MAC makeup for quite a while now and I love their products.  Getting new things to play with makes me very happy.  I love makeup!

Towards the end of the week, I managed to pick up a little stomach bug and while I was not happy about that, I was happy that I had a stash of chicken noodle soup on hand.  It really is a miracle cure and I am feeling much better today.

And my final happy for the week was the anticipation of a new project start.  I've had this yarn and the project for about a year or so and have been looking forward to making my first pair of wristlets/gauntlets.

I can't wait to get going on these.  I do hope you had a plethora of happy moments in your week, both the one just ended and the one to come!

Slow Progress

It's been a busy week without much time for crafting in the evenings so what I have to show you today is actually done on Sunday. 

I hope to finish up this block by the weekend so I can move onto the next one.  Hope you've had a good week with more crafting time than I have had.

52 Weeks of Happy-Week 9

Sunday we had lots of heavy wet snow and I figured that my neighbor behind me (shared driveway) would be wanting to get out to go to church so I cleared away the mess from the plow at the end of the driveway so her little red VW Beetle could make it out without getting stuck.  She kindly rewarded me with a carton of fresh strawberries and this very yummy chocolate dipping sauce.  This kind gesture made me very happy!

Next up this week was my finish of a several years old WIPocolypse project.  Once I picked this piece up again, it was finished within a few weeks which always makes me wonder why I put them down and they languish for so long.  I smile every time I look at this photo.  While she's not my usual stitching style, I think she'll look gorgeous on display this coming Halloween.

As I was taking this photo I realized that many of the things that make me happy are food related and I'm not sure what to think about that.  I confess, I'm a person who lives to eat rather than one who eats to live.  My Girl Scout cookies came in this week and I bought some of my favorites - Thin Mints and Trefoils.  They are already snugged away in the freezer waiting for a cup of afternoon coffee.  I like mine cold rather than room temperature.  Plus I think I eat less when they're cold!  LOL

The final happy is not one I have a photo of because it's sound related.  On our morning walks this week, I've been amazed at the loud chorus of birdsong that has regularly been heard.  That joyful chorus signals spring to me and if the woodpeckers are out and knocking for bugs and cardinals and others are singing happy songs, spring can't be far behind.  Someone told me they saw 3 robins this week so that's a hopeful sign too.

New Month-New Focus

Thank you everyone for your nice comments about my finish.  It feels so good to have that piece done.  I really did enjoy working on it - even the braid.

With that project completed, I did a rummage through the various project bags stashed around my craft room to contemplate what to work on next.  I did consider a new start and I may do that soon but when I opened the bag that contained my CHS alphabet charts I was once again captivated by the smallness of the over one and the bright colors.  So guess what my focus will be for March?

Here is where I started on Wednesday evening

and where I finished up last night.  I hope to veg in front of the TV and watch some Law & Order SVU reruns and start on the block for K.  I do love how these blocks look in over one.  So cute!

 

TGIF!!!