'TWAS THE MONTH AFTER CHRISTMAS

 

We are “as well as usual,” blessed phrase! The snow is about 15 inches deep and drifted. The trees are beautiful with it and we have magnificent effects at sunrise and set. – Ina Dobson, January 1935

Mike and I have not been as well as usual. We were concerned that we might have the dreaded Covid, so Mike went for a home test kit. The test was negative. We just have the plain old flu with congestion. “’Nuf sed.”

Some things don’t change. Grandma Ina’s words about the snowy landscape might have been written today. Here in town, we have 3-4 inches of new snow on top of the 8-10 inches we already had, and I expect there’s a good 15 inches at the farm, where the effects at sunrise and set would be breathtaking. Wish I could be there to see it. The effects are not so outstanding from our town house, but the snowy hills ARE beautiful in the winter sunlight – when we have any sunlight, that is. The long-range forecast is for warmer temps, so we expect days of slush.

I took our artificial “pencil” tree down New Year’s Day. I didn’t exactly plan to do it, but there I was – packing the ornaments and carrying the tree to the storage shed. Now its corner looks bare. Certain holiday / winter displays remain, and I will put those away gradually. I especially enjoy candles during the dark months.

I have already made my list of projects to finish in 2022. Notice I say “finish.” I have plenty of projects in progress, so the only starts I will allow are doll clothes and projects using fabrics from my stash that I can finish in a timely manner. And my project list is private. Better to say what I did than what I’m going to do, but a list does help to focus my efforts.

In the craft genres I follow through social media, the bombardment of project ideas is relentless. Do people really join those sew-alongs, crochet-alongs, block-of-the-month clubs, etc.? Do people really need ideas? I have enough ideas to last forever.

And how about the contests? I’m amazed that contests seem to work as a promotional tool. “Enter to win,” they say. One person will win. The rest of us won’t win. It plays to a false hope.

My shopping interests lie mainly in fabric, yarn, and patterns, and if I didn’t have sales resistance, we’d be broke. Of course, Mike would reign me in well before that happened, plus I’d run out of places to store it all. I admit to being a collector, but I stop short of saying that I’m a hoarder. Still, I like new things, and I’m determined to use up fabric and yarn on some simple projects because I WANT MORE! KW

[The photos on this post were taken at the Julian and Ina Dobson Homestead in the 1920s and '30s.]