RUG UPDATE AND GETTING TOO OLD FOR ...

I've hooked a wee bit last night again until I ran out of the dark green and I dyed some wool today and it's drying, hanging from the ceiling in my husband den by the heat of the wood stove. I've ripped and redesigned to make the vignettes fit but it wasn't easy because of the limited space. If I ever make another similar rug, I'll try to only draw the idea as I go and only pin the rough sketch on the backing to get an overall picture of the rug. It's a learning experience.

The little girl on the rock is me fishing in the little brook, only there's not much room for my brook and that pig is too darned closed to my head for comfort and will have to be ripped out. I knew he was trouble from the start. I had to redraw the legs as they were too closed to my dad's head and that wasn't proper either... I feel like I've  boxed myself in on this rug, lol...

The dude in the red shirt is my dad preserving  mackerel in a salt brine in a wooden barrel. This was a yearly event. He brined pork and herring and sometime mackerel. The kids helped of course but I didn't had room to fit anyone in there.

I've been feeling rather unproductive these last couple of days as far as Christmas preparations are concerned. All I want to do is do nothing or at least as little as possible. I don't want to go shopping for Christmas because I'm already tired of all the flyers that are bombarding me since October.  I don't want to bake, bake, bake because there's no one to eat all the fatty stuff and we  want to eat healthy.  Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas and I don't mind giving, my family knows that...
 I've addressed a total of 6 Christmas cards so far  and have lot  more to do but just not in the mood...

I don't like to buy things for people that are not needed and will only clutter. Everyone already have too much stuff,  including me and my husband. I'm at a lost as to what to buy.  I've gone shopping and come home empty handed. It must be that I'm getting old. There's way too much stimulus out there for me with all the electronics and games, toys and this and that. I feel overwhelmed with too much stuff and want to go home.

 I love decorating for Christmas because it brightens the house at a time of year when we're indoors more.  Everything I bought to decorate with were bought very cheap or I would not have bought it.
I've added Christmas lights in my vine plants in the sunroom and I've got lights everywhere, on my tree, on my village, on the banister.  I never got my outdoor lights on this year.  I was too lazy on days that I had the chance.

 Christmastime is a time to slow down and receive the gift of our Redeemer, Jesus and everyone is rushing like mad. It's just not right.

My husband and I have been way too busy with farm work  to entertain  and we even declined several Christmas parties as we rather stay home.  We must be getting old.

 I'm planning on a very small turkey dinner with all the trimming because we love  to have leftover turkey and chunky cranberry sauce with orange zest and juice. It will be a quiet Christmas but next year will be different.


I've been playing with my camera at night taking photos on two different settings.

This picture taken on the Automatic setting at night with no extra light

This one was taken with the flash disabled to get a warm glow but it would be better if I had a tripod as any shake makes the picture a little blurry. The shutter speed is slowed down.

With flash disabled and no additional light, giving a warm ambiance.  I like it better.

This one taken on the automatic setting with no other lighting except the flash, again at night

I added some lights to my vines and it lights up the sunroom at night with a warm glow. Picture taken again on the disabled flash. I'm having fun.

Thanks for putting up with my eccentricity. Have a great weekend and if things gets just too hectic for you, go play with your camera.
Thanks for visiting my blog.
JB

I'M STILL ALIVE

Time to show signs of life... I'm still alive. I spent the whole day at a calf seminar in a beautiful little town about an hour drive from here yesterday. It was nice getting away from barn chores for a change while my son did my chores for me.

Calves keep coming and this morning got my 8th bulls in a row. I should be playing 8 Balls Billiard.

My house is dusty but  most of my yard work is done except for two large beds.
Christmas can't be too far away because my Christmas cactuses are blooming.

I'm only showing one of the first  Christmas Cactus to bloom.   The others are just waiting to open

Same here, only a sample of my poinsettias to start to show their colored bracts. I tyhink that they need some TLC and fertilizer.

An update on my Childhood Memories rug. I'm at a stall right now because I have to decide how I'll proceed to my next step. Last evening I sorted through a pile of wool worm that got all mixed up and put them all in the proper drawers so I have a clean place to start hooking my next memory. I'm slower than some of my hooker friends for sure. So far I did this last section without dying any wool, just using the worms I got in my stash, from #3 , 4, 5 and 6 cuts.

A closer shot of my little outhouse with it's weathered boards for lack of the desired wool color.. Don't miss  that little outhouse at all... lol... Glad it's only a memory.

Thanks for visiting and keep smiling, it looks good on you.
JB