1-27-2016 Early Bird B-day Party

 Big sister wrapped the presents

and made and decorated cupcakes

for little sister's birthday party!

The birthday girl holding her "lovee"

and wearing her dragon slippers!

1-26-2016 "The Doodler" Progress

Finally got the rest of my green yarn

and finished the cable at the top of my "Doodler" shawl.

Now I'm ready to start the scalloped edge at the bottom.

1-25-2016 Dragons Guarding their Treasures

 Oma,

these dragons 

are guarding their treasure!

Fun with Oma's Mah Jongg tiles!

1-24-2016 Swedish Slippers

Finished these Swedish slippers for my DD today.

Hope they fit her!

1-23-2016 Cabin Fever

Since the outdoor temps

got out of the subzero range

and up into the 20*F range today

with only 5 mph winds,

DH & I decided to go for a walk outside

along the Illinois River...

along with a gazillion other people

who had the same idea!

The trail led to a beautiful frozen waterfall.

 Icicles and fractals  at the waterfall...

Hmmm...I see zentangles in this rock cliff too!

1-22-2016 Bumps and Shadows

There's GOT to be 

a Zentangle pattern in here somewhere!

1-21-2016 My Girls

1-20-2015 Kitty Puzzle Focus

Our 3-year-old GD

sat and worked a 50 piece KITTY puzzle today!

It took her about 45 minutes

and I thought she would give up after

the first 5 minutes, but no.

I was amazed by her focus.

After she finished the puzzle,

she took off all the edge pieces

and did the edge again.

Wasn't ready for this fun activity to end!

I told her that mommy used to do this puzzle

when she was a little girl.

Meanwhile,

little sister rolled play dough.

1-19-2016 Kombucha

My favorite new drink:

Kombucha !

I may have to learn how to make this at home!

http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-kombucha-tea

-at-home-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-173858

1-18-2016 Mellow Yellow

1-17-2016 A Cold Start

A cold start to the day

as we head to church this morning!

 After church,

hubby took me to a local coffee chop

for some hot coffee...and...

...a BBQ braised pork crepe for brunch

from the Crepe Guy waving in the upper left.

Mmmmmm!

Then, in the afternoon

since outdoor temps only made it up to -2*F

we decided to do something indoors

and attended a hilarious play at the local barn.

Ended the evening with some Wendy's chili,

and knitting while watching football playoff games.

What a wonderful Sunday!

1-16-2016 Icestravaganza

We went downtown to see the Icestravaganza

ice sculpture of eagles this morning.

1-15-2016 Slippers

The subzero outdoor temps

are making OMa's house a bit chilly,

and since the girls play in the basement

on a (cold) concrete floor

I thought it might be a good idea

to make them some house slippers!

I let each girl go thru my stash and pick out 2 colors

of yarn for their slippers.

The oldest GD picked out pink and 'rainbow'.

The younger GD picked out 2 yellows

(she has always seemed partial to yellows), 

and they are still on the needles.

1-14-2016 Coloring

I'm in a coloring state of mind...

1-13-2016 Progress Comes to a Halt

Work has come to a halt on my "The Doodler" shawl...

I've run out of the green yarn while working the cable across the top.

Fortunately, the store from which I bought it

still has some on the shelf

so was able to order some more!

Whew!

I must say...

this is one FUN knit!

Loving it!

And I can't wait to wear it!

1-12-2016 Good Day to Stay In

1-11-2016 Marvelous Mah Jongg

DH & I have started playing games

during the long winter evenings.

It is so much fun to have the Mah Jongg set out again!

We usually play with the cards from the

National Mah Jongg League,

but I ordered some Marvelous Mah Jongg cards...

so much fun to do some new hands!

We've also been playing Cribbage, 

and plan to do some puzzles as well.

1-10-2016 Christmas Stockings

While reading a library book

about Christmas Stockings,

GD decided she wanted to WEAR

the Christmas Stockings I knitted.

1-9-2016 Scoreboard Scarf

 My Green Bay Packers scarf 

from the "2015-16 Scoreboard KAL" is finished.

I did not include the preseason or the playoffs...just the regular season.

I could tell the Packers had a winning season because I bought the same 

number of dark green (for the Packer's scores) 

and yellow (for the opponents' scores)

skeins of yarn, and almost ran out of green yarn

but had lots of yellow left. Go Packers!

The scarf tends to photograph black and gold

but it is really yellow and dark green.

1-8-2016 Brrrrr

1-7-2015 The Doodler

I've finished Clue !

(the main body of the shawl)

and am ready to start the cable across the top!

I LOVE the 'organic' nature of the shawl...

it will look like a sea shell when completed!

1-6-2016 Current Zentangle

 Here's the current prayer zentangle I'm drawing...

I've been thinking a lot about time and space lately...

how they are a woven fabric...

and decided to use only tangles that are based on a grid

for this card.

1-5-2016 Balance

 DH crafted a simple balance beam

for the GDs ...

they loved it!

They kept re-arranging the boards

into different configurations

and making paths and bridges.

1-4-2016 Strolling

DH strolling in the mall

with our dear GSs...

as we visit Chicago to celebrate

our son's birthday!

1-3-2016 Cream Puffs

DS is getting Cream Puffs for his birthday...

Mmmmmm....

1-2-2015 Embroidered Knitting

Embroidered Knitting is all the rage right now

and I have never done it

so thought I would join this Mystery Sock Knit-a-Long

that employs the embroidered knitting technique

to try it out on something small.

I'm knitting these socks mirror image,

cuff down, TAAT, on two circs.

1-1-2016 Happy New Year!!!

My New Year's resolution...

do a little Zentangle each day!

I find it a wonderful, meditative prayer time.

When I saw this pix on Pinterest,

I thought it would be the perfect way to practice

a new pentangle each day!