Day 61 of 2026

Eight taco shells nest nicely in a full circle

 but four is trickier. 

To avoid letting the last shell collapse

 making it nearly impossible to fill, 

I've arranged these like a Girl Scout friendship knot 

or cardboard box flaps.

The configuration was successful.

 

Day 60 of 2026

The moon.

98% waxing gibbous.

 

Day 59 of 2026

We were out today near the Old House and decided to walk by

 and see how it was doing. 

We were shocked to see how inhospitable it was. 

I am so sad to see such a great house give off such a vibe. 

I cannot know what Great Grandpa H's reaction would be

 if he were still here to see this, 

but I imagine it would include both sadness and anger.

Click here to see the Old House in 2023. 

You can also click the Old House label in the left sidebar

 on the blog page for some pictures of the beautiful interior.

 

Day 58 of 2026

Sunshine, shadows and chimes.

 

Day 57 of 2026

One Big Adventure tonight was a Pacers game. 

It was fun even if they didn't win.

 

Day 56 of 2026

Here is another quilt top I just acquired. 

This one is very well made although maybe not quite square.

 It doesn't surprise me

 as the quilt is all on the bias before the borders. 

It measures approximately 86 x 90 inches.

Day 55 of 2026

I recently found a few quilt tops. 

This one has 31 different embroidered flowers. 

I can see lines under some of the stitches. 

I can't tell if they were printed on the fabric

 or traced by the maker. 

Either way, this one will be fun to quilt up.

 

Day 54 of 2026

It was a happy mail day. 

M sent me a new sticker for my water bottle. 

The sentiment is so accurate.

 

Day 53 of 2026

GB#5 asked me to play a game today. 

I said yes.

Right after you win, you are instructed

 to flip the spinner over to the mirror side 

and smile at that Pretty Pretty Princess. 

GB#5 followed instructions.

 

Day 52 of 2026

From what history I can find about this business, 

it began as a general store around 1929. 

It's pretty famous around here. 

Once at a local museum, I even saw magnets of this sign for sale.

 

Day 51 0f 2026

The sky is trying really hard to be pink.

 

Day 50 of 2026

The sky is full of birds a lot lately.

 

Day 49 of 2026

In general, today was a pretty productive day.

With regards photos and the blog, not so much.

I took some pictures I was really excited about early in the day 

that turned out unusable due to focus issues. 

These issues were absolutely user error. 

That lead me to give you a sock update instead. 

My electronics sometimes take longer

 than I think they should to talk to each other. 

The result is a Picture of the Day 

that has an incorrect date for a post title. 

So to be clear, this picture was taken on 

Wednesday, February 18, 2026.

 

Day 48 of 2026

Well, here's something I haven't done since 1969.

 

Day 47 of 2026

Back before I started this blog, 

I made this quilt for T-bone for his high school graduation. 

I only backed it with flannel because the top was also flannel. 

I did not tie or quilt it.

Through the years it has come apart. 

I guess that's what the actual quilting is for- to keep it together. 

I have washed it gently and hung it over several folding chairs to air dry. 

I'll put it in my queue so I can begin to do repairs and quilt it properly. 

Pictures will surely be posted as work progresses.

 

Day 46 of 2026

Sometimes I peek into the china cabinet

 to see what's happening there. 

Today I spied my snowman who lives inside. 

He seems to be happy that it's still winter. 

Personally, I will be glad when the temperatures

 are consistently warmer.

 

Day 45 of 2026

Fireball and I had the pleasure of watching GB#2 

perform with her show choir again today.

 

Day 44 of 2026

I'm steeping my evening tea in one of my Valentine mugs.

 

Day 43 of 2026

We have a new trash and recycling provider. 

Not only is the truck huge but it is so loud when it is compacting, 

which it did in front of my house 

before collecting the recycling from my bin. 

So far they have not thrown our bin to the ground on its side. 

 

Day 42 of 2026

The book I folded for Fireball a few years back has flattened out a bit,

 but it's back on the mantel for at least February.

 

Day 41 of 2026

These hearts are usually hanging above my kitchen sink. 

I took them down in order to hang snowflakes in December.

 The snowflakes have been put away with the other holiday decorations, 

but I just noticed the hearts today in a neat little bowl in the kitchen. 

I think I'll hang them back up tomorrow.

 

Day 40 of 2026

White popcorn in my blue bowl.

I also fixed my Crock-Pot lid with a new handle 

which makes it better than new, 

but that picture wasn't as colorful as this one.

 

Day 39 of 2026

Happy mail. 

Actually not mail, but a delivery none the less.

 

Day 38 of 2026

GB#3 has come to spend the night. 

To wind down before bed 

we decided to watch some ice dance pairs competition. 

To my surprise, he was quite engrossed.

 

Day 37 of 2026

Is anyone else going to try to catch some of the 

Olympic Winter Games?

 

Day 36 of 2026

Years ago my quilting group made felted wool pincushions. 

I have many scraps from that time.

When shapes are cut from a larger piece

 it is no longer a neat piece.

 There are always these weird shapes sticking out

 that make the wool quite messy.

I recently found a bag of felted wool pieces. 

I decided to trim them up and cut as many little shapes

 as I could from the messy bits. 

These will go in a separate place for future appliqué projects.

 

Day 35 of 2026

The cuffs of both socks of my next pair are finished, 

marked and ready for the leg pattern to begin. 

If you remember this post, I can tell you that this is much closer

 to the actual color of the yarn and I am really loving the combo. 

I did the research I talked about in that post

 but ultimately decided not to change

 what I have already been doing on my socks.

 

Day 34 of 2026

There was a school function tonight. 

We left home right after Fireball got home from work. 

We arrived just in time.

 We were not the only ones. 

There was no parking. 

It was a very cold walk from our car. 

At least the sky was fabulous...

and the event was good.

 

Day 33 of 2026

Oops! 

I was just trying to put my crock pot away 

and the lid handle shattered. 

Now I am charged with research and phone calls 

to see what my replacement options are. 

Hopefully it will involve a new handle, 

but I suspect a new lid might be my only option.

 

Day 32 of 2026

My mother and my mother-in-law passed away 

seven and four years ago, respectively. 

It has been very hard to summon the courage

 to go through their purses. 

I'm not talking about their checkbooks and wallets 

or other time sensitive items. 

Those were dealt with right away.

I'm talking about the pens and notebooks, 

phone numbers and nail files, 

mending kits and mirrors, 

and one plastic rain bonnet. 

I finally did go through the two purses 

and kept just a few meaningful items. 

I am discovering that as time passes 

and I look through things again, 

I always find some things I can let go of 

that I previously thought I needed to keep. 

Progress is slow, but progress is progress.

 

Day 31 of 2026

We got to see GB#2 perform with her show choir today 

to start off the spring competition season. 

 

Day 30 of 2026

I have successfully ripped this back

 to a plain purl row prior to my mess. 

Since this picture was taken I have 

put the stitches on my needle, 

oriented them correctly, 

figured out where I actually am in the pattern

 and knitted a few rows. 

My center line has stayed in the center, one of my former problems.

 

Day 29 of 2026

There is a lot to say about this piece of knitting, 

but most of it will have to be for another day. 

Today I will only say that tomorrow 

I will need to see if I can successfully rip it back

 to a preferred spot without a lifeline. 

Wish me luck.

 

Day 28 of 2026

 

Today's sort through was a box labeled "Old Books."

I have reduced the number of books I'm keeping

 to about one quarter of what I started with. 

It seems it was common to write one's name and the year in books. 

This one was my grandfather's. 

He saw fit to write all the pertinent information on the cover. 

What struck me most though 

was that the year of his high school graduation 

was one hundred years ago.

 
 

Day 27 of 2026

These are the adorable crocheted items I told you about on Saturday. 

From the small pot on the right the "succulents" pull out and become coasters. 

 

Day 26 of 2026

Now that the snow is on the ground, 

the temperatures are going to stay very low for a while. 

The positive side of that is the beautiful frost on the windows.

 

Day 25 of 2026

Final result tonight after it finally stopped snowing. 

9 1/2 inches on the patio table on the deck in the back yard. 

Everything is shut down tomorrow. 

 

Day 24 of 2026

Fireball and I went to the Home Show today before the snow started. 

This is a new featured exhibit I didn't expect. 

There were many tables set up in a specific area, 

each occupied by a young person selling their hand crafted items. 

We bought a couple of adorable, very well-made 

crocheted items from one of them. 

 

Day 23 of 2026

Back on Wednesday when I cleaned out the hall closet, 

I decided to move the box on the top shelf to another location

 so I could keep all our luggage together. 

I moved the box today and put it in its proposed new spot. 

Unfortunately, it won't work there but also can't go back where it was. 

I have stopped trying to figure that out today 

but will come up with a solution soon. 

What's in the box, you say? 

It's my wedding gown which my mom made for me. 

I know you cannot see it all here, 

but it is a long dress with short puffed sleeves

 and a separate lace pinafore. 

Mom did the embroidery on the neckline 

and more secret stitching on the inside portion of the hem. 

I did not unseal the box so I can't tell you exactly 

what is stitched there but I do know that 

our wedding date is part of it. 

If you've been here for a while, 

you've probably seen the dress in a post. 

Here is the link to the photo. 

Use it for general shape and design. 

The details don't show in this picture.

 

Day 22 of 2026

My candy canes from Christmas are almost gone

 so I am savoring my peppermint hot chocolates while I can.

 

Day 21 of 2026

Do any of you remember when silk ribbon embroidery was a big deal? 

I took a class in which we learned how to embellish a jacket. 

While decluttering a closet today, I found my jacket from that lesson. 

I still love it even though I haven't worn it in a long time. 

I'm not ready to part with it yet so it will go back into the closet. 

Maybe at some point I will take lots of detailed pictures of it 

and let it go, 

but not today. 

Plenty of other items did leave.

 

Day 20 of 2026

I have changed the dishes. 

I've skipped right by my preferred winter colors

 to make sure I didn't get busy or distracted

 and forget to change them for Valentine's Day. 

Colors used: 

Peony, Flamingo, Linen, Sky, Scarlet, White

 

Day 19 of 2026

Indiana University wins the CFP National Championship! 

Cignetti smiles!

 

Day 18 of 2026

The last of the holiday cards will go out tomorrow. 

On to other things.

 

Day 17 of 2026

I have done a lot of sorting

 through the holiday decor and ornaments this season. 

I am finally packing it all up to put away 

and now have at least three empty containers

 due to the reduced amount I have kept. 

I have also reduced the total number of containers

 and boxes going back into storage even more

 by putting some of the boxes into existing containers

 that now have more room.

These two boxes are no longer needed but contain lots of memories

 so a photo was in order before they go into the recycling bin.

 

Day 16 of 2026

Where am I? What is it? 

It appears I am about 3 or 4 behind 

on answering the Where am I? and What is it? questions.

 I'll wait until the end of the weekend to give you some time to answer 

and then I will answer all of them 

and link back to the original questions.

 

Day 15 of 2026

Another January evening sky.

(photo taken 1-15-2026)

 

Day 14 of 2026

I have selected the yarn for my next sock project. 

That didn't take long.

Unfortunately, by the time I got the yarn wound

 it was dark outside so the color is not true. 

As soon as I cast on and knit a bit of each color, 

I'll take a picture in the daylight

 for a better representation of the actual color. 

I wanted to cast on tonight, 

but I have been researching stretchier cast ons instead. 

I think it's a good investment of time to learn something new

 that may result in a better product in the end.

 

Day 13 of 2026

Morning walk with a friend.