Saturday Sky

What does your Saturday Sky look like?

thanks for stopping by!
love & blessings
~*~

fire in the sky...

Sunsets are hard to see from my little home and even harder to capture on film, too many buildings.

But sometimes, the sky just lights up with an extra dose of beauty. 

I stood outside for a long time just watching the sky change and taking loads of photos.  These were my favorites, though.

I woke extra early this morning to pouring rain and decided I would skip my daily walk.  I piddled around the house, reading, painting and playing words with friends with my mum.  Shortly after lunch I realized that it had stopped raining for a while and decided I needed to get outside.  I ended up walking 2.26 miles.  I think that is my longest so far.

I never understand why it hurts more each time I go.  I would think the more I do it and the stronger I get, the easier it would be.  It's funny though, the pain I get when I walk, is an enjoyable kind of pain.  Does that make sense?  It's like I hurt, but I know that it is for a good reason.  Unfortunately, it doesn't take away the head pain and in fact makes them worse.  Somehow, I'm okay with that.

After I returned home and rested a little (to try to let that extra head pain subside) I went back into the studio.  I'd been working on the painting from yesterday and have started another.  I took your words to heart, but I just couldn't get past that peach snow.  So, I took it in another direction.  

I'll be honest, I'm not happy with it.  That is supposed to be a black bear snuggling a pillow in his cave.  Since I couldn't get the winter theme to work I decided to go with spring, and it would be time for him to wake.  I've already decided to move it to the "to be covered" pile.  :-)   

I don't mind.  Each painting helps me to learn and grow.  So, I'll keep making art (even if it is bad) and hopefully one day the good art will come more easily.  

thanks for stopping by!
love & blessings
~*~

busy little bee...

 I've been staying pretty busy lately.  Lots of knitting and studio play.

 My Steelers Scoreboard KAL.  I've the first game and part of the second on the needles.  They don't play again until a week from Monday, so I'm hoping to be caught up.  I knit pretty slowly and my stitches get tight if I'm not paying attention.  It has taken me about seven hours of knitting to get that far.  Because of how slow I am and all the other things I'm doing, I've decided to hold off on the Heels scoreboard I was going to knit.  

 I found these little cork top bottles at Target the other day.  They were $1 each so I bought several.  I've already put two to use and I have plans for these two.

 My Halloween mantle decorations.  I'm pretty happy with it.  I tend to move things around and rearrange a lot during the season so we'll see if this gets tweaked.

 My new shoes!  I saw them used as a decoration at Mary's blog and fell in love with them.  The last time I was this crazy over a pair of shoes, I was never able to find them. So, I went on a mission.  I found these on sale at Kohl's website, plus I had coupons so they were pretty reasonable.  I never order shoes online.  I have a hard time finding shoes that fit comfortably, so I'm always afraid to go that route.  But I just had to have these, so I took a chance.  They came today and I tried them on right off.  They fit!  Plus they make me about 4 inches taller (which is great when you are as vertically challenged as I am!).   I also found a cream colored pair which I really, really want and am fighting with myself about ordering.

I've spent quite a bit of time in my studio the past several days.  I've played with paint, feathers, tulle, wood, glitter and clay.  I've been wanting to get my hands in clay for over a year.  Finally!  It felt really good.  I have several small things drying.  I am looking forward to being able to paint them and see how they turn out.

That girl up there.  I think she's finished.  The paint is still drying and I may put a sealant on it, but I think she's done.  (The picture is just a small portion of the piece.)  She's one of my faceless girls.  I've done a few things like that, where I leave the face blank.  She could be anyone or everyone.  I'll show her full picture soon.

It's still raining here.  Well, not right this second, but it has been raining every day.  I woke yesterday with aches and pains and was freezing.  I decided to keep myself home.  Today was even colder and I'm congested and my throat hurts.  Maybe walking in the rain is not such a good idea.  I hope to get back to walking tomorrow.

Well, I'm off to work on that scoreboard kal.  How's your weather?  Have you decorated for Halloween?

thanks for stopping by, 
love & blessings
~*~

winter wishing

winter is not over yet. we're under a winter weather warning for tomorrow and saturday. they say we could get from 5 to 8 inches of snow and possibly more. i'm very happy about this.

i took care of grocers this evening, so tomorrow i only have to get gas for the car and dog food. then i'll be ready to hunker down for the weekend, watching the snow, some movies and maybe do some cleaning and knitting.

i've been feeling compelled to keep my head covered for some reason. i have a kerchief that i put on as soon as i walk in the door and leave it on except while i sleep. it isn't nice enough to be able to wear to work, so the calorimetry listed in the side bar should do the trick for wearing at work. must get knitting...

i also hope to do some baking this weekend. i still haven't broken in my beautiful kitchen aid. i've felt so poorly since the holidays that i haven't used any of my gifts really (except the scrap pail).

well, i'm off to take my meds then snuggle down in the bed to read for a bit. i just have one more day of work and hope that i can feel up to going in the morning. i'm still waiting to hear when the mri and sleep study will be, but hopefully they will call with those appointment times tomorrow.

winter blessings!
~*~

here

persevere

the word has stuck with me, every moment since i found it

every time i start to falter, to give up, to look the other way or take the easy way out, i remember that word and i remember the promise i made to myself

i sit at home now, after a long night (well, early morning) of purging my stomach. i don't know if i caught a bug, or ate something bad, but i could tell after a few hours of sicking up that there was more to come and it wouldn't do to take myself off to work. i mean really, it's bad enough to have to hang over your own toilet, much less a semi-public one. ewww

i feel horrible and so let down that i didn't make it in to work today. i'd made it a game you see, of how long i could go without missing a day. four whole weeks i made it, until today. well... i'll just start my game again tomorrow and this time make it even longer

this past week has been such a roller coaster and i am so not a fan. who knows, maybe it was just the turmoil that finally had to find a way out of my system that caused the sickening.

i'm always so emotionally sensitive about things. missing children cases, murders, they all get to me but this... this catastrophe that is Haiti, just destroyed me. from the first news, i was sucked in, i think i saw more of CNN than i'd seen in all my life. the horror of those people, trapped, starving, losing limbs in order to be rescued from collapsed buildings, only to die later from not having medical attention to stop up the wounds. it just shatters my heart.

not being able to be there personally, i've tried to do what i can in some small way to help... a few small donations, attending a prayer vigil to send healing energy, lots of prayers and candles lit. i intend to send a larger donation (as much as i can) to attempt to help a specific person in Haiti. He's a very dear man that I met when i took that trip to New Orleans a few years ago. It took four days from the time of the earthquake, but we found out that he is okay. It was a small miracle to me, those three words that came in the form of a text. He is okay.

well



we've had a few days of warmth, the kind of days that make you wish for spring. only, i don't. i'm not ready for spring, the flowers, the weeding, the planting. i'm still in the planning stages. wishing for more snow, wishing for cold so that i can hide here in my cozy little cottage, with a good book (or more likely my blog list) and hunker down.

i did sit outside for a few minutes a little while ago. i sat in the sun, watching the beastie sniff around the yard and listening to the birds as they scrounge around hunting up their next meal, absorbing a little warmth.

dearest gods and goddesses of weather, it is only the mid of January, much too early to be walking barefoot out of doors. please send us another bout of cold temperatures and lots of snow would be an especially nice bonus.
your servant always,
the spiritwitch :)

blessings
~*~

winter

Lookie what we got. I think the grand total came in around 5.5 inches. I love winter.


Dylan loves winter too. I let him out yesterday afternoon, while the heaviest snow was falling, and it took half an hour to get him to come back in.

This is my holiday baking weekend. Today I made two of the six things I plan to make...

there are peanut butter crackers under that chocolate...

and


There's more to do tomorrow. I hope I get it all done. I'll need to get an earlier start, if it is going to happen. :)

Does anyone know what type of plant this is?


Someone gave some out at work yesterday, but one person didn't want theirs and offered it to me. Never one to turn down a free plant, I took it. Now I just need to figure out what it is.

I'm off to bag up the pretzels and read some before bed.

blessings
~*~

need a ticket out of migraineville

Yep, I'm living in migraineville this week and it is not a pleasant town. I missed work and most everything else on Monday and Tuesday, forced myself to go in on Wednesday and barely made it there today. Last night was a cupcake bake-fest for a work luncheon today. I made 40 cupcakes to take to work and spent 5 hours in the kitchen. When I was finally done, I walked away and left the mess (which I'm still working on cleaning up).

There is excitement in the air around here today as we are under a winter weather watch. It started with a forecast of 1-2 inches. Around 2pm today a look at the forecast had us in the 6-12 inch range (WHAT?!?) and then 20 minutes later, we were back in the 2-4 range which seems to be where the weather people are staying.

I am excited for the possibility of snow. I'll be more excited when/if it actually happens. The weather people down here have a history of false alarms when it comes to snow. I can always dream...

A few months ago, when I was going through a serious downswing, a friend of mine suggested I do an uncrossing. It took me a while to get the things that I needed. I also put it off because I didn't think it would help based on my "symptoms". But tonight I decided I needed to do it.

So I pulled out my supplies and started the process...



working my mojo

I'll pray every day as I light this candle. Once it's finished burning, I'll do a reversal and then see how things feel. You know, I really don't do enough magically/spiritually. I need to focus again.

Anywho, I need to make a list of supplies I need for some holiday baking I want to do this weekend. If the weather does turn, I'll run to the store tomorrow on my way home and get my supplies. Then I'll be all set for being snowed in. If it doesn't, and we only get rain I'll wait and go to Mum's on Saturday to let her help me with the baking.

blessings
~*~

As I wrote this I found we have been moved to a winter weather warning and with projected 3-5 inches. I'll believe it when I see it.

magic

To me, winter is a magical time. Everything goes dormant, quiet and hunkered down in whatever cocoon we can find to keep us warm and toasty. A cup of tea or hot chocolate..our favorite book... the smell of wood burning in someones fireplace... these are things that to me... make winter days magical...

Even though it is not yet winter, in my area, we have had winter temperatures for quite a while now. As I leave the house each morning for work, the air is brisk and nippy, chilling my face and hands and making me wish for my warm, cozy bed.

Early this morning, I awoke to find that the sky outside was just a tad different than it should have been in November in my neck of the woods. In fact, I groggily thought that it almost looked like a night filled with snow. (Yes, I said the S word!) I chided myself as I made my sleepy way to the window, that there was no way it could have actually snowed. My neighbor must have her outside lights on, I thought, that is why the night looks so ... well... light.

Imagine my surprise, when I peeked through the blinds... to find...



Yes... it really did snow!

Of course, when I made this discovery, it was three something in the morning and much darker. I took the photo above just before leaving for work, around 6:45 this morning. I also took this one...



...pansies slumbering under a blanket of snow...trying to keep freezing their pretty little petals off...

the moon on this snowy morning was very pretty as well...

there is so much magic in a snowy moonlit fall morning... and winter is still to come!

Blessings,
~*~

Autumn is here...

It has finally turned cooler here. Yesterday I woke up to 36 degree temps outside and not much warmer inside as I did not realize it was to be so cold and had left all my windows open. It was very difficult to get out of bed. :-)

I've been wearing sweaters and sweatshirts the past few days which is wonderful to me. I love the cold! I haven't done much in the garden the past few weeks. I need to take advantage of the cool weather and get out there and get the old stuff pulled up and get it weeded and mulched for the winter. I keep wanting to plant winter vegetables, but never actually do it. Maybe next year...

I'll leave you with a picture of another picture like my banner. I took several trying to get different views. Don't you just love autumn colors? I adore them and white pumpkins!


Blessings,
~*~

Heat Wave

Isn't this October? Isn't it the middle of October? Yep, just looked at the calendar and it is, indeed, the middle of October. Then why is it so freakin HOT!?! It is 83 degrees. That is way too hot for October! Ugh! It feels like summer outside. Supposedly, we will drop from 84 on Thursday to 67 on Friday and then will be back to our regularly scheduled weather pattern. Whew... I sure hope so. I'm melting here! :-)

I'm still working on setting up this blog the way I want it. I need it to be my happy side. I tend to get morose and depressing if I stay in the dark for too long, but the other blog just screams dark to me and it needs to be. :-)

I'll be back later with some photos.

Blessings
~*~

More late posts...

Saturday Sky post that I missed...

...they were calling for snow flurries yesterday morning, but I never saw any.

...and today is Green Thumb Sunday...


Today when I arrived home I found this beautiful Lace Cap Hydrangea on my doorstep. (A gift from my dad and stepmother).

The cold temperatures and fierce winds have kept me from working in the garden this weekend. I had hopes of getting the vegetable patch ready for planting, but I suppose it will have to wait. I now must focus on getting taxes finished and also on getting ready for the yard sale I'm having this coming weekend.

Blessings,
~*~

Snow to sleet to bleh...

We started out with snow this morning, but we are now down to sleet and freezing rain. The snow was so pretty and I really wish it had stayed. I ended up coming home early from work because well...there just wasn't anything to do and I really didn't want to be there.

In knitting news, I finished the first sleeve of my sweater and am now stuck...again. The cast off of the sleeve came at the end of the first skein and now I'm supposed to knit on the back. Do I just tie the next skein onto the needle and start or do I tie it onto the first stitch of the row I'm going to start on? The teacher is at the shop tomorrow so I'll probably stop by there tomorrow to see what to do to get started on the next step. I hate to wait until Tuesday because I should have some time this weekend to work on it.

Tomorrow night is a circle event that I'm going to for Imbolc. I'm not sure how I feel about it because I don't like big groups and I hear there will be a lot of people. I feel like I'm never home anymore. It seems like there is something going on every night. Oh well...better to have stuff to do than to have nothing to do.

Blessings,
~*~

I am just not getting it...

So I went to class last night very excited about the progress I'd made on my sweater, only to have confirmed for me that I was doing it wrong. I spent the two hours of class undoing more than doing the knitting. I am still not quite sure I'm getting the whole yarn over thing. I think the problem is the row of purl between the last row of yarn over and I can't quite recognize the seam stitch. Ugh... of course when I got home I had to finish reading the book for the book club and couldn't work on it. I read until about 10:30 (I did finish the book) and then went to sleep. I was very tired.

I hope tonight after the book club meeting that I'll get to work on my knitting and try to get the hang of it before next Tuesday night's class.

On a weather note, it has finally gotten cold here and I am thrilled. The current temp is at 32 degrees and they are calling for a light wintry mix here tomorrow. I am hoping very much that they are wrong and we get an amazing amount of snow. That would just make me so very happy.

Anyway, work is very busy today so I must get to it. I missed about an hour earlier due to an appointment with the vampires and am now playing catch-up. Guess I'll have lunch in again (I've been doing really well on that front and saving loads of money by not eating lunch out every day) and then I need to leave a little early for the book club meeting as I must get home and take care of the beasties first.

Blessings,
~*~