Category Archives: New Year

Reflections on 2020

We made it!  2020 is gone.  Woohoo.  Everyone is glad to see it go.  And I am with them on that for the most part as far as the virus goes.  But I challenged myself to look back on this year and look for the positive.   And there were a number of good things to reflect back on.

With travel being eliminated, we had much more time to work in and enjoy our gardens.   We grew more veggies, herbs and flowers, many different than what we usually grew because of what was or was not available online.   We are actually getting our list ready now to get our order in early this year.

TV was even more of a vast wasteland than usual so I turned to books to occupy myself in the evenings and I must say that even though I have always enjoyed reading,  spending more time delving into the content on my bookshelves, kindle and downloads from the library renewed my love of the pastime.

I also did some exploring of podcasts to listen to and You Tube channels to check out and I came across one called The Last Homely House.  It is a lady named Kate in Northumberland  in the UK.   She has such a soft, calming way of speaking.  It is like my Mr. Rogers.  She shares about her life on her little plot of land with her cats, her hens, her sewing and crafting.   It’s quite a different lifestyle than mine is and I feel as if I have taken a little trip across the pond each time I watch one of her videos.   Take a little trip of your own and check it out here.

Grocery shopping was one of the biggest challenges at the beginning of this crazy time.  I am eternally grateful to family and friends who made sure that we were able to stay safely at home and not venture out to the grocery stores.    And after Instacart deliveries became a lot more accessible, there was still the challenge of not being able to get just want you would choose if you were doing the shopping.  That did make meal prep different but it led to us trying new recipes and using different ingredients in our regular menu items.   We discovered new ways of making old favorites and therefore expanding our meal choices.   And we did a lot more meal prep together and we both really enjoyed that.

When we had days of nice weather and once summer set in, we did a lot more walking around the neighborhood,  spent time walking on the boardwalk and on really warm days, just relaxing on the beach. We discovered some new, wonderful places where social distancing could be achieved that were perfect for taking nice walks.   I was very grateful that we were able to get out and about and get some exercise and fresh air.  I know it helped keep us in good health….. both physically and mentally. 

I spent a good deal of time in my sewing room.  Of course, a very large portion of that time was spent in making masks.  But while I wish that the situation didn’t make it necessary to wear these new fashion accessories,  I was very happy to have something helpful and useful to contribute.

Overall, this was a year of slowing down.   And, yes, it cannot be denied that it was a year of great pain and loss for so many.   While I would not want to live through this type of year again, I will go forward into 2021 taking the lessons I learned with me.   I urge you all to take time reflect back on this very unexpected year and pack up the positives that came out of it and take them with you as you journey into this new year.  And if you are so inclined, share one or two down in the comments.  There may be some things that you have packed in your bag of positives that I have overlooked that I can add to mine.

And so as we head into this next year, here is a toast to Health, Happiness and Peace for all of us.

Oh, one more thing before I go…….  Just a little reminder 

Just 358 days ’til Christmas

Be well.  Stay safe.  Bye for now.

Ginny

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Reflections on 2019

Happy New Year!  Here we are at the start of a new year.  I was thinking about all that 2019 included for us and Wow!!,  what a year.    We began the year with the birth of our granddaughter, Tessa.

At the end of January,  my son, daughter-in-law and grandson Zeke arrived from California for a visit.  And boy, was it cold when they arrived.  Zeke enjoyed adventuring out when the weather warmed up enough to warrant a bit of time outdoors to get the wiggles out.  And we got to Zeke’s first hockey game  … it actually was my first as well.

The beginning of April found hubby and I in Connecticut staying at our favorite Inn.  And I finally found a treadle machine at an antique mall up there that said “Take me Home”.

wp-1578330425719.jpg       And so I did.

                                   

Later that month,  I worked on getting the baskets all made and ready for grandkids on Easter.  And Max turned 9 years old!   

On that trip, we also had the opportunity to visit Yosemite.  Absolutely awesome!         

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June and most of July was spent getting our flower and vegetable gardens all set for the season, working in the sewing room on products for craft fairs that would be happening later in the year,  trips to the beach and enjoying evenings doing some porch sitting.

The end of July was here and we were off to California again to celebrate my son’s 40th birthday.  That is when they revealed what the new grandbaby arriving in December would be.

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                                    It’s a girl!!!

August was a busy time of prepping for the three craft fairs we would be doing in the following three months as well as taking a road trip to Vermont with a stop off in Massachusetts on the way back to visit the Norman Rockwell museum and a couple of stops on the way home to visit with family.  It was a wonderful trip.

September had arrived and with that, our first craft fair of the fall season was here. 

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  We had great weather in October for our second craft fair,  some help from Max getting our vegetable beds ready for winter and also for Lily’s 4th birthday. 

 

We had another trip to Connecticut and this time we finally got to take the Essex Steam Train and Boat excursion on the Connecticut river. We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day for the trip.

November was a jam-packed with our final craft fair,  orders received from the fairs, birthday celebrations — including a surprise one for hubby and me — and, of course Thanksgiving and the beginning of holiday shopping. 

 Thanksgiving was celebrated a bit early since I would be heading out to California on Thanksgiving Day which was the baby’s due date.  Aviendha waited  a few days past that and made her entrance on December 3.

                               Welcome Aviendha!                Zeke getting to know his little sis.

There were a few other fun and exciting things that happened this year including a day spent in the city with my sis culminating with a Hugh Jackman concert….. he was fabulous by the way…… and going to a Yankee playoff game.     

That brings us to January 2020.  What will this year bring?  Last year was certainly an eventful one.  Will this one be too?  Right now,  the calendar is a fairly blank slate but I am sure that will change.  There are spring craft fairs to be chosen,  new items to be researched,  lots of family events to enjoy,  a few trips to be decided on and projects around the house and gardens to be tackled.  January is a sort of quiet month that I like to use for planning and dreaming.

What are your plans and dreams for the new year?     Oh, and just a little reminder from my snowpeople friends: Countdown

Just 12 more months until Christmas!   

Bye for now.  Be well.  Happy New Year.

Ginny

 

 

How have you been?

Happy New Year!  Yes, I know, it’s been a long time since I’ve posted here.  No, I haven’t dropped off the face of the earth and no, I haven’t stopped making things.   I have kept very busy doing that.    Life did throw a few extra things into the mix that kept me occupied elsewhere.   I am back here now and getting back into the swing of things.

One of the biggest things that happened was that I retired from my full time job last summer.  I took some time to just adjust to my new “normal”,  took a trip out to the Denver area in September and had a wonderful time at a wedding we attended and also a terrific visit with my brother and sister-in-law.  Then, poof, it was “get ready for the holidays” time and now here we are in the second month of 2019.

I am working on getting a website up and running as well as  business Pinterest and Facebook pages so stay tuned.   I will post here when each of them have gone live.  There are a couple of new things I have added to my product lines.  Just click on the tabs above to see what has been added.   I have enjoyed being able to spend more time in my studio since retiring and I am looking forward to being able to share my work with a larger audience.

Bye for now.   I’ll be back soon.  I promise.  Enjoy your day.

Ginny

 

The New Year has begun

And winter has arrived for a short visit.  Boy did we get spoiled with that warm weather in December.  As cold goes, I suppose it really wasn’t all that awful but it sure was a shock to the body for the last couple days. But, fear not, warmer temps are making a comeback and we will be in the 40’s again tomorrow.  However, I really want some snow!  We can’t have snow if it’s in the 40’s.

I have been getting my sewing room back into some semblance of order over the last few days and will be getting back to work in there soon.  I have a list of things that need to get done.  The list isn’t as long as it was a couple months ago but I do see it growing again.  Of course, my sewing machines need some TLC too before they get back into the swing of things.

Stay cozy and warm everyone.  See you soon.

Ginny

 

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

christmas-border-clip-art-christmas-clipart-free-downloads-christmasWhat a great time of the year.  It has been so very busy with shopping, wrapping, baking and wonderful family visits! I haven’t had any time to pop in here and wish you all Seasons Greetings. I hope you all have had a great few weeks from Thanksgiving on.  Mine was very busy indeed and I truly was quite tired by the time we got to the Christmas weekend but it was all well worth it.  I even fit in another craft fair.  I was a very busy elf. Elf    A few things that made their way from my cutting table to the sewing machine and out the door to new homes were:      Notebook holder open (August)  Some notebook holders.  These hold a medium notepad (5″ x 7″) and I am constantly using mine.

A friend had requested some Christmas kitchen curtains and I had a bit of leftover material so I surprised him with this tablerunner :Christmas Tablerunner for Ray  I really liked the way it came out and I hope to be able to make one for myself before next Christmas.

And then there were these adorable baby blocks for the new little princess in the family:     Lily's Blocks

So now, what will the new year bring?   We can only guess and hope and work towards what we would like to happen in 2016.  Time for setting goals — I don’t call them resolutions.   Time to take stock of what 2015 brought to our lives.  There will be good and there will be bad for sure but now it’s time to take what we have learned and head into the brand new year with renewed hope, renewed resolve and increased wisdom.   I will be cleaning up my sewing studio and starting work on some orders.  I will start planning what I’d like to make for the Spring craft fair and yes, I will even start planning out our vegetable and flower beds for the spring and summer.   We had a great garden and “farm” last year and the craft fairs and sales went well this year but I will try to use the “increased wisdom” that I garnered through the year and figure out what will work and also what will not work in both the craft fairs and the gardens and hopefully increase my success in both areas.

So many things I’d like to accomplish or at least work towards in the coming months but that is for another post.  For now I would like to wish you all the very best for 2016.  Health and happiness and a peaceful heart.

Happy New Year

See you in 2016

Ginny