Starving for Color and Other Stuff

It's such early days of winter to be tired of snow already or at least the whiteness of it everywhere. I know underneath all the snow blanketing our yard are tiny shoots and roots that will weave their way up through the wet, dark soil in the spring but I need to see some colour now. So I viewed some of my photos of spring and summer flowers. It was a much needed lift.

The house inside is full of colour and sparkle this time of year but as gardening and especially planting flowers is such a pleasure of mine it's hard to wait until the frozen earth let's go it's chilly, frigid fingers so we gardeners can get our hands dirty again. This is a good time of year to read up on all the new gardening books that I don't have time to read in the summer however so I'll be sorting through those.

I do have a lot of house plants which need my tender care but the violets aren't blooming right now, just the red leafed shamrock is giving me some blooms. I love my jade plant but alas it doesn't flower either. My deep rose Christmas cactus went bust this year but my new white one from last year is blooming away and I'd love another pink one but where to put it? There just isn't enough room for all the plants I'd like to keep inside.

As the snow falls outside again today and the wind howls around the trees in the evenings I try and keep busy by knitting or doing some crochet work. Trouble is I have more than one project on the go. So I'm making a vow to myself that I will finish up all "unfinished" work before tackling yet another project. On the go I have an afghan I'm crocheting for our couch, a lovely cotton throw I'm knitting and knitting those cotton dishcloths for Christmas gifts. I learned to crochet when I was twelve, my Nana taught me so I'm better at that than knitting. I want to learn to be a better knitter so have a friend who is willing to help me over the tough spots. But she nearly gave up last night. (wait until I ask her to teach me to knit socks!).

I was trying to tackle for the first time knitting on an extra stitch each row making the dish cloths. For some reason my brain wouldn't compute doing it after watching my friend. I tore it out time after time, she finally laughed, walked away and said she just couldn't watch anymore! One thing about me, I'm stubborn. I don't like to fail. I ripped it out again after she left for home and voila, it worked! I have one nearly finished. I find it so much nicer while watching tv to have something in my hands to do. It gives me something to look at when someone is getting murdered or falling off a cliff or something. I usuually just ask my husband what happens after the screaming subsides. Even better is trying not to watch those kind of shows at bedtime. Thankfully there are lots of Christmas shows and movies this time of year if I can find one I haven't seen a hundred times.

Most winters I get out for walks three or four times a week but this year when I open the door and the cold draft hits me, I tend to shut the door again and hibernate inside. It's not like I don't have a lot to keep me busy..I'm also tackling making the curtains for our bedroom I promised my husband a few ....... I won't say how long ago I promised but he had a look of amazement on his face when I said I was doing that next. I also have a crocheted tea cosy that only needs the flowers sewn on to be finished and a scarf I knit which needs the pockets I also knit sewn on..Perhaps I'll feel much better after I finish all these odds and ends before tackling yet another new project like crocheting some rag rugs. Now where did I put that material?