spooky

Happy Halloween to you all!!

irish hiking scarf

The other day I decided I needed a break from the big craft projects and start a small, accomplishable piece. And so, we have the "Irish Hiking Scarf." I've got this wool that is nice and warm and fun to do more traditional sorts of patterns with... Perfect for a cabled scarf! I just feel like I need to work on something that I can finish!

sunday activities

This is how the day started off...

Well, that's after a 0300 and 0630 wake-up, courtesy of the puppy.

It's good though. I had time to clean the apartment from head to toe (except I didn't dust, I need a duster).

Beulah and I also hit up the local farmer's market. We got fresh-baked bread, sweet potatoes, ear-rings, and flowers. Lots of flowers. And the sunflowers from last week are still good. And I only have one big vase and one little vase. Looks like when I'm out with Esther this afternoon I'll be acquiring another one!

The best part of the farmer's market is that Beulah gets to play with other dogs and get petted by everyone. She is exhausted when we get home! Right now she's curled at my feet sleeping while Petunia (who napped the entire time we were gone) is roaming around trying to decide what to do with her day.

This might just be the perfect Sunday.

schweepy puppy

sunday morning

Beulah and I had a ball at the farmers' market today! I have recently started purchasing all (or at least most) of my veggies at the farmers' market right down the road from me. It doesn't cost me any more and I feel like my money is going to real people. Also, it's a great way to spend a Sunday morning!

Unfortunately, I lost my camera at the market. I have no idea how. No clue. However, see this picture? Imagine a bunch of sunflowers just like these on my "dining room" table. So pretty! $5 for 8 of them and the gentleman who was selling the flowers also gave me roses and a carnation and even a little flower for Beulah's leash. I also picked up fresh bread, home grown sweet potatoes and some amethyst ear rings. Made myself walk away from the rest of the veggies, as I still have some to use up from last week.

Beulah made friends at every single stop. There was a guy there with a BIG St. Bernard who tolerated Beulah hanging from his ears and nipping at his toes. She has a new trick... she immediately stops whenever anyone is within, say, ten feet of her and then rolls over on her back for a belly rub. It's a crowd pleaser!

Now, we're home. Petunia is out running around, Beulah is asleep by my feet and I am knitting away on ERG's birthday gift. What a nice day so far!

life list

In the process of embarking on this new chapter in life I have found myself really putting a lot of thought into what kind of life I want to live and the kind of person I want to be. I really think that you have a choice and therefore, you choose how you live your life. Seems a life list (thank you Robyn of Minimalist Knitter for the inspiration!) would be a good thing to kind of get me heading in a more goal-oriented direction.

So, here we go. This is a starter list, due to change at any time.

1. Get a dog - check

a. Train dog (working on it)

b. Take dog everywhere with me (doing it)

2. Get a job doing PAO stuff - starts tomorrow

a. Start at $40,000 annually (done and bettered so far)

b. Make myself indispensable

c. Be a team leader in a year

3. Live with less stuff - started the process

a. Get rid of any clothes I don't wear and only buy clothes I will wear (in progress)

b. Only purchase things that I truly love and will keep

c. Make my home as comfortable as my parent's home has always been

d. Purchase my own home in two years. One with a yard and a porch and a fireplace and hardwood floors.

4. Knit beautiful things

a. Knit in colors I love to use

b. Knit patterns I love all the way through

c. Knit my way though the Folk Shawls book

d. Learn to knit Fair Isle

5. Grow my hair

a. Once a year donate to "Locks for Love"

b. No more coloring

c. No more fighting the curls/frizz

6. Have a child

a. Only after marrying a good man :)

7. Grow a garden

8. Travel more

a. 2x annual trips to Germany

b. Spain

c. A nice country in the middle east

d. South America

e. The Netherlands

9. Cook more

a. Use more organic produce and less meat

b. Shop at farmers' markets

c. Try one new thing a week

Well, it's a start anyhow.

minimalist by default

When I began the latest version of my "minimalist/simple living" journey, I never realized the roads it would take me down. Granted, my latest conundrum is not necessarily something I would have come to all on my own, but it counts!

Here's the deal, I live in an apartment complex right? Yeah. Well, I cheaped out and got the smallest (most minimal, thankyouverymuch) apartment in the complex thinking hey, I can do my laundry in the public space. Less cost/energy waste. Well, little did I know the communal laundry space is in another building. But, that isn't what irritates me. What irritates me is that is costs me $2 to wash 1 load and $2 to dry 1 load. AND THERES NO CHANGE MACHINE! Who the heck has a minimum of $4 in quarters a week these days??? NOBODY THATS WHO. I currently must go to the laundrymat to change my dollar bills to get quarters to use in the laundry room in a different building in my apartment complex. Talk about a hassle.

And so, time to downsize/simplify!

I started with clothes. No longer will I own white/light colored clothing. From here on out all my clothes need to fit into one load, which means they all need to be dark.

And now, I contemplate things like how many towels does one person need?? Sure, they're useful, but if you have to wash them and dry them all in one load.... too many towels take more than $2 to dry.... And so, I'm thinking two towels for me/guests use and 1 for puppy use. That's it buddy.

Huh. I laugh/scoff at those people trying to "downsize" who don't just have to because they have to!