Bracing for the Cold!

Hi, friends. It's been quite a while since I posted an update. Sorry about that! I thought I did one at the end of December, but I suppose not. Anyway, here are a few snippets of life lately.

I knitted this "rainbow" scarf for one of my grandson's for Christmas. He asked for it.

We did travel to Chattanooga for Christmas and got to visit with kids and grandkids. They were so sweet to shop and prepare for our arrival. Isn't their tree lovely? The grandkids were great and so much fun!

There are 3 grandkids we did not get to see this Christmas, which is sad. But we can't see everyone every year; we live too far apart.

I've been spinning and knitting in January. This is some wool (many various breeds) that I prepared (some from raw fleece), naturally dyed with plants that I picked here on the farm (like lichens, goldenrod, dandelions), spun on my spinning wheel, and now it is ready to make something with. But what? That's always the big decision!

Leo has found a sweet spot in my studio to snooze. Cats are skilled at finding the comfy, sunny, soft spots in the house.

Leo and Adam are becoming good friends. In the evening when it's time for TV watching, Adam calls, "Lee-Ohh!" and Leo comes trotting in and snuggles there by Adam's right arm.

I'm trying so hard to finish knitting this sweater. I have only the bottoms of the sleeves to complete. It's a bit wonky (as most of my knitting is!), but I think it will be very warm, cozy, and wearable. The right sleeve is now nearly done.

 And that's where we are right now. I'm sitting on the couch, waiting for cold weather and snow this week, and knitting away with brown wool. We will probably only get 2-4 inches of snow, but in the South, that's a lot, especially here on the coast. Adam will almost certainly have no school on Wednesday (hooray!) Now ... if we can only keep the house warm!

I hope all of you are warm, content, peaceful, and thankful right now. In the midst of life's sorrows and trials, it's often a Herculean effort to keep inner peace. May God, with his Holy Spirit, help us all to keep that peace.