January was a bit of a rough month for getting things done/made, between a brain fog that required vitamin D and daily sitting in the sun to clear up, followed by all of us getting COVID (get boosted, ya'll, it helps!), and then my partner having back surgery and requiring lots of aftercare. Making pretty things is soothing to me, but also requires the ability (and the time) to concentrate. So I made this little macramé bracelet from a Bella Vita kit that I had stashed... ... and a pair of commission gloves (same pattern I was using last month , but she chose a lovely green for the liners that this photo really is not doing justice to). I also did a Sulina shawl  for Kandy as a shop sample - no finished photo because she requested that I return it without binding off. Since it was a crescent with a significant number of stitches by the end, I didn't argue. It wasn't necessarily anything I would make or use for myself, but the pattern was engaging and the Woolfolk Luft yarn ...

No cabin fever yet, and indeed when I attempted to take a child with me on a drive-through errand after we'd all been in quarantine for a week (so the Bigs missed ballet and ninja gymnastics) there was a meltdown over the prospect of leaving, so I'd say we've all adjusted pretty well to being home most of the time. Perhaps a little too well. Less has been done than I hoped, but rest has also been possible since the things I wanted to do were pretty rather than essential. I have read a sizable stack of books, and one aloud to the Bigs (The Borrowers, and then we watched The Secret World of Arrietty). I've journaled with some regularity, finished a couple of commissions, and started several projects for myself. I've also taken a lot of naps, sat in the sun, taken a surprising number of walks for January (some in short sleeves), and cared for a house full of sick people (including myself). The massive clean out/organizing project I hoped to complete has not even been s...

I mentioned at beginning of the month that I'm planning on hibernating through the winter. So far, I haven't found any downsides to this. It's required a bit more forethought with grocery shopping to ensure that everything can be gotten in one go (arranging my pick ups so that what the first store doesn't have I can get at the second store) and without having to make midweek trips to get items I forgot or ran out of sooner than anticipated, but that's also been good in that the kids have learned if they insist on eating the entire economy sized box of fruit snacks in one day, they will not be having fruit snacks until next week. A minor loophole I've found is asking my partner to get iced coffee for me on his way home from work, but given that my main objective was to keep everyone healthy and also to rest and not to drink less coffee, I don't see a problem with it. One thing that's surprised me has been how quickly we all adapted to it. There's a M...

The calendar says that it's winter, and Day has begun its slow crawl back toward spring, although here in the US south there are still plenty of days that I can open the windows. Even so, I've decided to try something new this year: hibernating. I noticed last year with all the staying home that we didn't get the Yearly Ick, that thing children love to share that they contract once a month and takes three weeks to properly get over before beginning again. I'm not sure why I had accepted it as inevitable, but having once escaped it I'm not eager to go back. So, until the kids are older, we're staying home in the winter. Especially the little one. Stir crazy as I become when I'm stuck at home due to weather or car trouble or other external circumstances, I am actually looking forward to this - probably because it's voluntary and planned. I have a stash of brightly colored knitting projects, and enough books to read one myself and one aloud to the kids each...