cherry tomato

tis the season for the flu

Well, I'm still sick! We're coming up on two weeks now, and it's beyond old at this point. Now it appears I've shared the joy with Eric, and we're quite a sight, I tell ya. Fortunately we're well stocked with chicken soup (we made our second giant pot), tea, nyquil (for Eric, I can't stand the stuff), vitamins, tissue, etc. I feel like the holiday season has been stolen from us. I'm so far behind on everything that it looks like everyone will be receiving their gifts late this year. There are worse things though, and I realize things aren't so bad when I see this and this. We are so fortunate that the only problem we had with the storm last week was a few shingles that flew away and a missing garbage lid. I just would not have been able to deal with losing heat on top of being so ill.

We invited some of our good friends over to decorate sugar cookies on Sunday. Even though I felt terrible, I forced myself to do it, and we ended up having a wonderful evening. I made my first gluten free cookies, and they tasted fine, but they were extremely fragile. I made a second batch of dough that I modified a bit. I'm hoping these will be a bit sturdier, although I don't really care too much. I'm just happy to be able to eat some cookies! I went to a local cake decorating shop that is filled with everything you can imagine for baking cakes manufactured from about 1960 on. I could have spent hours in there discovering all the wonderful sprinkles, toppers, sugar flowers, cellophane bags, etc., but I was one a tight schedule. I did manage to gather and array of sprinkles, and it made for a delightful evening.

However, by 8:00 I felt like I had been awake for two days, and I just had to crash. I just can't seem to get enough sleep, and I feel like I'm sleeping right through my favorite time of year!

Tomorrow I HAVE to do some shopping (hopefully the last bit) and get out the last of the packages. Then, I get to focus on my favorite part. No, the shopping is not my favorite: it's the wrapping. I realize I'm a freak, but I am bonkers for fine wrapping paper, and I LOVE, yes, love, gift wrapping. When I was in college, I got a job working at a department store one year where I pre-wrapped perfume for 8 hours every shift. You would think that would lead me to loathe wrapping, but, to the contrary, it gave me an appreciation for the art of gift wrapping, and now I spend to much time and too much money wrapping gifts that I know most don't even notice. No matter though. It makes me happy, and if someone notices and appreciates it, then all the better.

I hope all you fellow Seattlites get heat/electricity as soon as possible.

crazy birds and chicken soup

Hmm, I'm getting pretty tired of being sick. I think I caught the flu last week when we went out to celebrate Eric's birthday. I was already feeling pretty icky, so I didn't stay out very long, but by Thursday night, I knew I was sick. I had to miss my grandmother's 80th birthday celebration on Saturday because I didn't want to go and make anyone sick. My grandmother understood, but I felt terrible about having to miss it.

Since I've been sick, I really haven't been productive. There never seems to be enough time to get everything done. Or maybe I just want to do too much with the time I have. Or maybe I procrastinate too much, then try to cram too much into the time I have left. I think it's probably a little bit of both.

The dark circles under my eyes say it all.

We're supposed to have a big windstorm in Seattle tonight, so I'm getting out all the candles and preparing for whatever may happen. We've had some crazy weather here, lately, and we haven't even made it to winter.

Whoa, the strangest thing just happened: I just saw about 100 birds all fly into the front yard en masse, peck at the ground a bit and fly away. Very odd. I tried to snap a photo, but they were gone before I could capture them.  They're still outside chirping away, but they're out of sight. Maybe they know a storm is on the way?  I find it interesting that animals are able to intuitively know when something is going to happen: storm, earthquake, etc.

Well, I'm off. I have some chicken soup calling my name...

as promised...shop update

I hope everyone had a great weekend. I spent the weekend resting since I appear to have the flu. I spent last week working on some items to add to my etsy shop, and I'm happy to tell you I've just updated the shop. there are some new aprons, some flower brooches and screen-printed gift tags. here is a sampling of some of the items available:

brooches:

gift tags:

If I feel well enough this week, I'll probably add a couple more aprons this week.

Well, I'm going to get back to resting. Fortunately, it's blustery outside, and I'd much rather be inside anyway. We made a huge pot of chili and gluten free cornbread last night, and it's the perfect meal for days like today where you need something to warm you to the bone.

Have a great Monday! xo

balance

Yesterday was a rough day. With the sad news about James Kim, it was difficult to transition to celebration-mode. Yesterday was not only Eric's birthday but also my dad's. An eventful day, indeed. I actually thing that the sad news helped to make their birthday's more poignant, and although I was never able to really make it to the "celebration" mindset, I was grateful and happy to be able to share the special day with my husband.

Above is the organic, gluten-free, vegan cardamom chai cake I got for Eric's birthday. I made a gluten-free, vegan pizza with caramelized shallots and peppers for dinner. It was my first successful gluten-free baking experience, and we were both pleasantly surprised to actually enjoy the pizza. I didn't dare attempt to bake a cake, so I got this from a local bakery. It's so nice to live somewhere where options like this are available.

I have had a bit of a setback with my health, and I realize I wasn't being quite as vigilant about what I was eating as I needed to be. We (I) have now placed a moratorium on all gluten in the house. I didn't realize I needed to be so concerned about cross-contamination, or that I can't really "cheat" and eat a piece of bread. This is still all so new to me, and there is so much to learn.

I won't bore you with any more details about my illness. Instead, I'll show you some of the things I've been working on this week. I've made a couple more stockings:

And we're nearly finished with decorating for the season. My great aunt gave me a beautiful Christmas village last weekend, and I was thrilled to get it set up in our living room:

I've also strung up the garland I made last year. I had to do a bit of adjusting and divide it into two garlands instead of one long one.

I STOL want to make a wreath for the front door with some of the greens I collected last weekend. I've been busy getting ready for the sale this weekend, so I haven't really had the time. It looks like the wreath will have to wait until this Sunday.

Be well everyone.

a sad day

i'm typing this through tears. james kim was found today, and unfortunately, he was not able to survive the harsh elements in oregon. i don't think i had actually realized how much hope i had for him until the seconds leading up to today's press conference.

i wish his friends and family peace. i know they are surrounded by people who love them, and that can be some comfort in this difficult time.

o christmas tree...

I spent the past weekend knitting stockings and working on my studio. I spent the majority of September at our cabin on a lake, and I took most of my fabric, and most importantly, my sewing machine out there with me. I left everything there because I knew I would be moving, and I didn't want to have to continually haul everything around with me. We've been in our house now for over a month, and it's been killing me not to have these things at home. Since moving in, we've spent every weekend just getting unpacked and doing little projects around the house. This weekend was the first time we even had an opportunity to get out of town, so we took advantage of it.

We decided to get our Christmas tree while we were out there. My grandparents own several lots around the lake, and they plant trees out there so use for Christmas trees.  It was the first time I  had been out there to get my tree, and the addition of the snow just made it that much more fun.

There were several inches of snow still there, and it was so fun to go tromping through in search of the perfect tree for our home. There were so many beautiful trees still holding on to their dark green leaves or needles, and still balancing some snow.

There were also some who couldn't hold on to their leaves, and some that looked like they didn't make it. I loved this contrast of the dead gray with the red trunk.

We ultimately found our tree, and it turned out to be the perfect size for our little cottage.

I didn't get finished in the studio, but I made a lot of progress and should finally be finished with it this week. I can't express to you how much I need to get the studio finished. I have realized how much I need to have crafting in my life, and I have felt incomplete in the past couple of months because I haven't had my things at home.  I just can't wait to get to the point when I  can go into  my studio and just be productive.

Speaking of productive, I've added some aprons to the shop, and I'll be adding some other things this week. I'm planning to add some holiday gift tags and probably some ornaments, and I'll let you know when they've been added.

Have a wonderful day!!