warmth and unusual rest

it's my third day off from work this week! monday was a holiday, wednesday and today were due to weather (snow!). it's been a BLESSING especially because all these days were graced with plentiful sunshine despite the fact that we are dripping our kitchen faucets so they won't freeze up (one did anyway but we got it to thaw) and i've been knitting for literally HOURS on each of these bonus days. i currently have three projects on the needles -- two shawls and a cowl. On sunday i had worked to clean the house top to bottom which included dragging the christmas tree out to the porch and boxing up all the decorations for the year. the above photo is my bedroom, which i cleaned and dusted to make like a real sanctuary. it's so peaceful in there. it's part of the Hibernate workshop I've been so enjoying these past two weeks. I feel so very rested and balanced and I realize I could definitely stay home full-time. I'm so not ready for that yet, though. Must keep stashing away money at every opportunity. I'm putting myself out there to try a couple of yarn commissions this year. If you are interested do get in touch. (mskarenannfuller@gmail.com)

this is the honey cowl, a free pattern by Madeline Tosh on Ravelry. It's for a blog friend....

I've been enjoying the Simple Abundance book and have started a gratitude journal. Each night before bed I write down five things I was grateful for that day. It promises to transform my life. We'll see .... :-) 

I have a busy February coming up with a bunch of travel involved. Part of some behind-the-scenes things in motion here that I will be ready to talk about one day on here. I've been feeling grounded by the menu plans I'm creating while I am here at home. I think for the next one I'll focus on things like bean soup with roasted vegetables on the side. Simple, hearty/rustic meals that keep the budget low. Eating WELL can be so expensive. You'd probably fall over if you saw what I spend each month. So sometimes i try to remember that less is more so the more expensive stock-up type/try new recipe weeks are balanced by old favorites like tacos (we're currently loving TVP "meat"). Being frugal in this area is HARD. When we move again at some point we are inheriting my mother-in-law's stand-alone freezer. I can't wait. I rely on the freezer so much for semi "fast" food :-) Currently in there i have homemade Indian food, chickpea-spinach soup, pecan-pumpkin bread, cherry bars for special treats, and banana-chocolate-oat "healthy" cookies that work well as pre-workout or after-school snacks. I also stash homemade pizza dough and sauce and leftover meat/veggie sausages which we throw on top. And then there are bagels, frozen fruit and veg, well... you get the picture. That thing gets stuffed full!! 

I'm going to work on some laundry and e-mails and then I have a HUGE charles dickens novel to do some reading on!! Hope you are warm where you are .... 

blessings - 

k.