the mid-December gasp

So, erm... yeah.
It's the middle of December. Life is flying by as fast as usual.

Not much else to say, really. I'm living in denial, but making Christmas presents anyhow, just in case the Christmas fairies forget to show up at my house in the next couple of days. The next thing I need to do is to start planning Christmas dinner, since apparently it'll be happening at my house this year...

a glorious sunrise in my rear-view mirror.

frosting.

the perpetually-blooming rosebush.

Ellie's ballet recital.

saturday sky.

At this time of the year, the evening light is simply magical. It glows like at no other time.

The big problem? When it's at its most glorious, I'm usually in the kitchen, looking longingly out the window.

So, this evening, I decided that sometimes life has to take second place to art... I asked my family if they really needed dinner right away, or if they could wait an hour or so. They sweetly decided to humour me, so I grabbed the camera and headed out. It was worth it!!

sun.

Today I'm being deliberate... intentional... about enjoying this sky. I must not take for granted what I will rarely see in the next few months.
Soon autumn will be here, and with it comes months of greyness and rain. It's hard to believe, on those days, that the sky is blue and the sun is shining.
So today, I revel in this blue. This warmth.

picture this

 The light this evening was simply, unutterably perfect.

iron craft 6

Do you know how hard it is to think up a winter-themed project when the trees are starting to bud outside? Spring is just around the corner, people!

Well, at least, it is here in my corner of the world...

I do realize that there are still many places where the country is in the middle of winter still. I both feel sorry for you, and am envious of you, all at the same time. I really love winter. And snow. And having four distinct seasons. That's what I grew up with. And now, I live in a place that gets winter for a week or two every second or third year. Sigh.

And of course, I can't forget about those of you on the southern half of the world, where fall is just approaching. Lucky you! I love autumn.

But, lucky for me, I also really love spring, and I'm so happy that it's almost here!

Back to winter, though. It wasn't easy to tear my thoughts away from the new haze of bright green that is starting to blanket the world here, and think of something winter-themed. But I did eventually manage to do it.





Snowflakes.

Cold shiny silver.

Glittery ice-clear facets.

A necklace fit for the Snow Queen herself. (I'll be sure to give it to her, the next time I see her.)

just a photo

I'm still playing and experimenting with post-processing. There's so much to learn.

picture day

Today I spent part of Ellie's ballet class time wandering through the hazel farm on which the studio is located. The snow makes everything look so different and mysterious.

After I got sufficiently chilled, I spent the rest of the time indoors working on a new sweater... knit in an alpaca blend, it should keep me warm. I sure do hope so!

iron craft 1

You may have noticed a new button on the side of my blog... I've joined Iron Craft - a weekly themed crafting challenge. This week is all about lights.

I made a knit-and-felted tealight holder... goes without saying that this one (as with all lighted candles) should not be left unattended; however, wool is naturally flame-resistant - it's actually self-extinguishing. Cool, hey?

The combination of knit and flame is the perfect antidote to the wet cold gloom outside my windows.

6 days... and a winner!

Seriously? Six days til Christmas??? Soooo not ready.

But that's irrelevant right now... here's what the random number generator says:

Congrats, Meadow! I hope you enjoy the purse!

frost on the rosebuds

morning

mystery and promise.

there's no telling where a day will end up.

will the mist clear to reveal a shiny day, or will it grow and spread and obscure everything?

november day

These colours are SOOC*.

I love days like this.

And I'm always surprised by them at this time of year.

It startles me.

I forget that I don't need a jacket. Or sweater. Or long sleeves.

I had to shed several layers before we got back to the car.

*straight out of camera.

ie, no futzing about with enhancements or anything.