Sunday Happy

We are into it, the deep winter of the north and I cannot be happier about it. Sure it is freaking cold but you know what? I love it. I love the cold, I love the light , I love the snow. This is my time of year. Are you into it too?

The week started off good. I went on a couple of really good super snowy hikes, one with just the mr and another one with Megan, Barb, Alex, and So. Both hikes were just all sorts of amazing with all the snow. One thing that can always make this lady smile is a good hike thorugh a snow covered forest. You can’t beat it.

Besides being outside ad much as I could be, I did a far amount of glazing in the beginning of the week. I also started on some new designs for mugs which I am kind of obsessed with but I should really see how they come out of the kiln before I get too excited.

And then Wednesday things suddenly just felt lighter. You feel it too? After listening to the news all day we had the littles and Barb come over for a good sledding session. Bundles up to the nines we headed over to the park, ran up the hill, and flew out butts down. The snow was just right for some serious speed. Even little Coco was flying down the hill (which scared the shit out of me). Then back to the house for hot chocolate and food and heat cause we were all pretty frozen by then. It was a great first sled of the year!

After that it was my birthday. It came and went which was a day and that was it. I forgot to pick up farm share. I can’t even with myself so now I am back to eating all the frozen green beans and broccoli until next week. ( I still can’t believe I forgot to pick it up.) The week ended with more work at the studio and I don’t know. I feel like more happened that I am forgetting but I guess it wasn’t that exciting if I have already forgot, HA.

Today is up in the air. I am not entirely sure of the plan but I hope to get out of the house for a little while. I know it is suppose to be stupid cold but you know what? I don’t really care. I have all the layers and yesterday I even made myself a fleece face covering so my mouth and cheeks don’t freeze off when I am running. (Good call on me!) So yeah, gonna let the day do it’s thing.

Internet from the week.

-Bernie Sanders And His Mittens Win The Inauguration Day Meme Game. Ah Bernie. If this is not a shinning example of a Vermonter (practical clothing, heavy mittens, and a trip the post office while you are out), well then I don’t know what is.

-There’s a right and wrong way to be bored. Jeez. Now you need two be bored a certain way.

-Don’t ask me why I am looking, I just am. AGA cookers. Maybe someday?

-Don’t get mad at your postal workers, it is not their fault! 'There's No End In Sight': Mail Delivery Delays Continue Across The Country

-The Practical Magic of Vermont’s Witch Windows—and Why Every House Could Use One. Again, Vermont being practical.

-You know you want to know even if you don’t know you want to know. Wait — Kim Owns the Land and Kanye Owns the House? Rich people problems…

-I Get Enough Sleep, but Why Am I Yawning So Much? Experts Explain. Contagious yawns are crazy real. I yawned just thinking about it.

-I just bought a toaster for the mr but I really wish I could have bought THIS TOASTER. I am in love.

-Science Says Camp Sleep Is Good for You. Oh how I miss camp sleep and camping in general. A couple more months and we will be back out there (I would go camping now but the mr would have none of it.)

-I want a room that is all windows! INSTAGRAM WORTHY: @VALDIROSE.

Pictures fro the week.

-C

Sunday Happy

Well we did it, made it to a new year. And now here we go!

The week between Christmas and New Years is always a weird one. I think I need to start treating the time as time off and not time I need to feel crazy and try and do as much shit as I can. So next year I’ll do that. Anyway it was a busy but good The mr and I did a lot of house projects like shelf building in the basement and linen closet and cleaning light fixtures .The mr started a new bathroom remodel job and I have been setting myself up to get a bunch of pots done in the next few weeks (All the hearts for Valentines Day!) all the while trying not to bug out much over that fact that with a new year comes new taxes. Why the heck can’t I stop thinking about them!?! I really just want to get that shit done and out of my head sooner then later. I am trying to be organized and think ahead like a good, responsible adult. BLAH. But what I did do which only took like a year was, we FINALLY bought new phones! It got to the point that the mr’s phone completely broke and he was interacting with people through his email on the iPad. So I did it, just bought them. He immediately stuck his sim into it and has been rocking it out. Me, well mine is still wrapped in plastic in the box because I am lame like that. Plus I am waiting for the case to come in the mail. But mostly I don’t care enough yet. (Although it will be nice to use the camera. The camera on my phone now is busted and won’t focus. if you can tell.)

Besides all of that we also had the littles over for a little birthday party for Judah (HAPPY 11th BIRTHDAY!). He and the mr played with his new tools, engaged In some games of chess with Coco while Miley completely ignored us all and I made French fries, salad, and an ice cream cake. His mother brought the sushi (I don’t mess around with raw fish)! And we finished it all off with some wiggle dancing with Barb because what is a party without some wiggle dancing?

I am not a huge giver of a shit when it comes to New Years so NYE we just did whatever. I did try to watch a movie with the mr, but I just ended up falling asleep and was in bed by 930. New Years Day we took the day and went for a nice long drive out to the NEK and just spent time not doing. That was nice.

And then it was Saturday and it snowed and I was happy. Like really happy. I was even so happy to shovel out the driveway and smiled while I scrapped the ice of the car windshield because I really just like a cold snowy winter. You know? And then I started on my cleaning binge, took little breaks of snow time walks, went into the woods with the mr and Barb so they could get some snow time, and started packing up the Christmas decorations. It is all down except for the tree. All the ornaments are packed away but I left the lights up. One or two more days. I just love having a light wrapped tree in the house! (It is finally starting to drop needles so it won’t last long)

Today is day 2 of a weekend cleaning binge. First off though, me and Barb are going to go for a nice snowy hike and then maybe hit up a grocery store for food. But after that I am thinking today is the day I clear out my closet and just get rid of everything! (I really don’t have a lot of clothes but I stopped folding things and just started shoving things into the shelves few months back and now it looks a hot mess and I have basically not changed from the same 3 outfits for the past couple months). I need to remember what clothes I have and maybe even wear some of them! That and I might finally pull out the winter comforter but don’t tell the mr! I don’t want him to get his hopes up just incase I change my mind. (I hate the heavy comforter but he LOVES IT and I am trying to be nice.)

And that is it.

Happy New Year!

Internet from the week.

-Wow, what a trip to do this. Should I? Nope, It enough for me to just look at random pictures of myself and think how freaking young I was. The Photographer Who Set Out to Watch Herself Age.

-10 Things Nobody Tells You About Clutter (and How to Get Rid of It). Clutter sucks ad that we all know.

-I am not one for trends but I am on board with most of these. 21 Kitchen Design Trends We Predict Will Be Huge for 2021

-Liking this, especially the see through roof part. This Prefab Cabin Is Like Three Houses In One

-The only real way to detox your body. Water, but read for yourself.

-I have learned over there years that taking the time to organize and pack things nicely really is huge for when it comes time to pull it out again next year…. And ALWAYS wrap your lights! ORGANIZE AND STORE YOUR CHRISTMAS DECOR LIKE A PRO!

-The Weirdest Lies We Told as Children. I used to tell people my Dad was the drummer in the Beatles. More a misunderstanding then a lie though because he looked like George Harrison, played the drums in a band, and they covered a few Beatles songs..

-So cool.Sleeping Whales: Photographer Reveals What Whales Look Like When They Snooze

-Elementary School Kids Design the Christmas Lights in This Scottish Town. All towns should have their kids d this. I love it so much.

-Yurts, Igloos And Pop-Up Domes: How Safe Is 'Outside' Restaurant Dining This Winter?. I wonder. It seems like people thing if they eat inside of an outside structure, that it is not inside? The logic confuses me a bit.

And some pictures from the week.

-C

Sunday Happy

To the last week of the year. Can you even? It’s like all the things happened and at the same time, nothing. Almost like a time warp that I still have yet to wrap my head but I think I am done trying and am just going to move forward from here. A new year. 2021! It’s gonna be good!

The week started off a little hectic. I was finishing up pottery things and dropping of pots all over town. Then grocery shopping ….I had a few things I needed to pick up to get through the week and when I Went out it was a freaking shit show. I think it was more crazy this year cause people were stocking up to spend times at home (quarantining) so yeah, it traumatized me a bit. Then Barb came over and we baked like mad women. So many cookies and muffins and we made them tiny so it looked like a million cookies! After that is was basically just trying to wrap my head around the fact that is is the end of the year, that Christmas was a days away, and that all the snow melted. That pissed me off more then anything.

Then it was Christmas which was weird but good. First off, it was SO freaking HOT. I think it go to like 65 degrees. There was no snow, lots of rain, and it was just not good. My morning run turned into a mud run and I looked like I fell into the pond. But what are you gonna do? I embraced it and wore sandals for the day and walked around the neighborhood taking selfies with all the lawn blowup Christmas things and sent them to my siblings… IT was freaking hilarious. So up until couple weeks ago the family was not going to see each other but I had the greatest idea to all meet at a big parking lot on Christmas. Because it was so freaking darn hot out, we ended up at a park, no jackets or hats, all huddled under a awning because it was kind of raining. But whatever, we made it work and for what it was, it was fantastic. I brought all the cookies to share, we exchanged secret Santa gifts, and the littles ran around burning off their sugar highs. Again, it was weird, and nothing like our usual Christmases but kind of exactly the same. It was the first time we all have been together since like March so it was great. And next Christmas everyone will come back to my house and trash it and I will be missing a park Christmas! HA! Oh, and before I forget HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CAMERON who didn't want to get out of bed to come so I didn’t get to see him..anyways.

Christmas night the mr and I went home, exchanged our stockings (he made me the best most beautiful huge cutting board that I am going to have hard time using cause it is so pretty) and I made him a ceramic slice of pizza and got him old man vitamins that are in the form of candy so he will take them. Then I basically passed out and that was that.

Then Saturday we went and said hi to Anthony because it was his birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY Anthony!) and then I spent the rest of the day in a foggy weirdness that was the day after Christmas.

Today the mr and I are starting on one of the Christmas presents he gave me… Shelving in the basement and in the linen closet!!! He set up all the tools, got the wood, we measured it all out, and now all that it needs is to be cut and put together! This is the best present ever!. (Every year I ask for shelves of some kind. It has turned into a thing) After that I Am sure I will spend the rest of the day organizing what is going on the shelves (a lot o f camping stuff) and cleaning up the mess that is sure to come from the mr going in and out the back door to cut wood. And I don’t even care cause SHELVES!

Internet from the week

-No New New Years' Resolutions. Are people even doing that anymore?

-This Foldable, $23K Tiny Cabin Pops Up in Less Than 3 Hours And it actually seems like legit.

-This is me Most people would be happy to never shake your hand again

-I just explained this to the littles the other day. What is a solstice? And other questions about the shortest day of the year, answered

-The Great Bicycle Boom of 2020. I couldn’t find a bike this summer and I even got my old shitty bike stolen so yeah, people are riding bikes which is pretty cool. (Stolen bike is not cool)

-The Absolute Best Way to Make Peanut Butter

-2020 In The Kitchen: The Year We Spent Making, Baking, Frying And Trying. It was all about the kitchen!

-A house that knows my soul. Lovely, Dark, and Deep: An 1800s Victorian House in Nebraska, Restored Down to the Doorknobs

-I need new shoes that are not running shoes or sandals and I miss my clogs. Maybe if these go on sale..

And a few pictures from the week..

Sunday Happy

Where did all the snow go? It was so lovely for a good part of the week and then bam, woke up and it was gone. And way to freaking warm. BOOOO. That was even worse then no snow. It just needs to snow and stay put and stop being warm. I hate global warming. So. Much.

The week was good, if not a bit hectic. Started off with the mr and I going over to the loft and having Christmas craft time and decorated her tree. I brought her all of my old ornaments and we made yarn garland and listen to Christmas music and it was just the best. And now Gigi has a brand new tree full of all the toys she could possible want to climb and destroy. She was chewing on the lights even before they were on the tree so yeah, not worries at all…

After that it was a good few days of me being busy busy, trying to finishing up some pots and dropping pieces off to people who bought them. I am getting ready for the last little push before Christmas and am trying to not let it stress me out.

Thursday, December 10th. One of my favorite days of the year because it is the day the mr was born. HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOVE! Because of COVID we didn’t do his traditional grilled cheese party which was sad (next year its on!) but we did have a lovely day. He woke up to strong man and a balloon (plus all his favorite breakfast things). Then after a lazy morning we drove to a little mountain and climbed it in the snow. After that he went off to do some plant stuff while I made a cake and lasagna. Barb and him then came home and we had dinner, cake to the tune of KPOP singers singing happy birthday in Korean, and ended the day watching Home Alone and me falling asleep on the couch. All in all, I think he had a good day.

And that is it. Not much else other then us trying to finish and get the last of the Christmas cards made and out in the mail. That and I bit a hole in my tongue (it was brutal) and have developed a very curious, if not concerning squeak in my big toe. Feels and sounds like walking on snow…. Yup. And that is that. Just busy busy and maybe a little boring. And old? Haha, a little.

Today involves a mad dash to the studio to glaze the for the last time before Christmas. After that, the mr and I are going to go for a drive/hike somewhere and then maybe come home and finally put the decorations on the tree. We have been slacking hard on tree decoctions this year. The rest of the house looks A+, but there is something so magical about a tree with just lights so I haven’t felt the need to decorate it. But I finally want to so tonight, we will, maybe.

Internet things from the week.

-The Danger of Assuming That Family Time Is Dispensable. Because it is not. Damn, I miss my family, but we need keep each other safe. And think of how awesome the next safe family gathering will be… We might even all be nice to each other or a while. HA, yeah right.

-Welcome to Our Museum of Smells. Do you have a specific smell? I have so many but top of my head is nag champa incense.. The mr had stuffed a giant box in his closet in his dorm room so all his closes smell like it. Now I associate that smell to him. That a saw dust. Ha.

-Handy when you are shit out _____. A Quick Guide to Ingredient Substitutions

-Canada’s little known Emerald Isle. As so as I read this, I starting planning a trip. (Next year maybe?)

-Utah Wanted All the Tourists. Then It Got Them. I have defiantly noticed how many more people are everywhere outside when just last year there was nobody. And I do worry about all the parks, state and national. It can be a lot of wear and tear and then you have the assholes who trash the places… Don’t be an asshole.

-I’m So Over Brands. And sexy Colonial Sanders.. WTF?

-More info on outdoor socialization How To Retain Your Heat And Stay Upbeat While Socializing In Winter

-Simple and beautiful and I want to live here. A Young Couple’s DIY, Totally Off-the-Grid Cabin in the New Hampshire Woods

-Drake Is About to Launch a Candle Company. Of course he is.

-Oh how I loved the Ikea catalogs..Sad but it’s ok, its better for the environment. 'Emotional But Rational': Ikea Discontinues Its Long-Running Catalog

Pictures from the week.

-C



Sunday Happy

Two things that really worth noting for me this week. First, the mr and I went and cut down our Christmas tree!!! Always one of the best days of the year. Into the Green Mountain National Forest we hiked, found our tree, cut it down, and dragged it out. Well the mr actually carried it on he shoulder for about 1.5 miles. (He didi’t want help.) We got the tree home, immediately put it up and wrapped it in lights and I just sat there, with the tree smelling all tree like and I was so happy.

Second, I realized that I like Taylor Swift. Like really love her new album. So that happened.

Now it is safe to say my week was better then the last. How could it not be when you have a freaking tree covered in lights in your living room. I got a lot of stuff done that I have been needing to, I glazed some pots, sold some pots, and organized then trashed my studio(yes in that order). I am slightly freaking out about getting all the “things” done before Christmas as usual but I guess it wouldn’t feel like Christmas if I wasn’t low key bugging about something. And honestly I’m actually less buggy then most years so progress!

Some other good things From the week included a few Christmas light drives which I must say are oh so excellent this year. People really stepping up their light game fr sure. I made So her birthday cake and then Barb, the mr and I went over to Megans and we all stood outside, sang her happy birthday, and did the cake thing on the front porch because well Covid and all. She was surprised and so cute and it was great. Eight years old, I can barely believe it. It was also Justins Birthday but adults just don’t matter as much but happy birthday to him too. Haha. And what else. Oh, not my news, but the mr took barb to cut down her very first Christmas tree in an undisclosed location (like the side of the road, but I was told it was all good and so on and so forth) and then he found her and took her to buy a car. FINALLY!!! Now the mr doesn’t have to drive her ass around anymore and she can go get groceries and not starve to death.

And that is all I can recall because honestly this week I have spent as much time as I could just reading. I went to the library and took out like 15 books. Things might be shutting down again and I do not, can not, go without something to read at all times. It makes me agitated and cranky. So I stocked up and that is my truth.

Back to Sunday. Start of a new week. Today the mr and I are going for a drive to drop some pots off, maybe take a hike while we are out, and I have a few things I need to finish up at the studio.. Other then that, not much. I might make a few more paper snowflakes to hang from the ceiling and I need to get my crafting basket ready for tomorrow when I go to Barbs and help her decorate the loft and tree, but yeah, thats it. Now if it would just freaking snow a shit ton, that would be great.

What I looked at on the world wide web.

-Winter blues? Listen to Oprah, she knows best. How to Be Happier in January Than in July

-Also check out Martha. She was (and is) one bad ass lady. Living Just Turned 30, But Martha's Reach Remains Limitless

-Staying safe this winter means a lot of time outside. Here’s how to stay warm. Frost bite is not fun.

-Not that you need an excuse, but This Is Your Brain On Holiday Rom-Coms. It’s good for you.

-Why is it so hard to predict the weather? Live in VT. No one ever really knows what the weather is going to do, even while it is happening.

-A theory that can help explain why time seems to move slowly

-I ever back to these yearly book lists all the time. NPR’s Book Concierge

-Do you have a clutter room? I do not and would bash my head on the wall if there was a room of clutter. IT hurts to just think about it, but that is me. Don’t Worry, You’re Not the Only One With a Clutter Room In Your Home

-Imagine A World Without Movie Theaters… How do you feel about this? Personally, I haven’t been to a theater in years. I hate them, but it still seems sad.

Pictures from the week.

-C