A Good Review!

So excited to find out that The Crocheter's Design Companion got a 4-star review from AllFreeCrochet.com:  http://www.allfreecrochet.com/Crochet-Reviews/The-Crocheters-Design-Companion and they are going to be having a free giveaway of a copy of the book in about a month or two, so I will definitely keep you all posted about that.

Other than that, hard to believe it's only 5 days til Christmas!  I'm almost done with the holiday cards, and we're taking it easy on the shopping this year.  There's talk of a little snow, but nothing like what we had last year around this time (the first of Snowmaggedon!)  So hard to believe a year has passed so fast....

I will try to post again before Christmas and New Year's, but let me just send right now a Happy and Healthy 2011 wish to you all!!

Snowtastrophy!

Or Snowmaggedon, or Snowpocalyps -- pick your preferred name, but any way you look at it, we've had A LOT of snow.  It definitely is different from the storm in December; this one is much denser, icier, just more, more, more.  Went walking around a bit, and it's getting colder too, which is definitely not going to help the icy parts.  But, it is all very beautiful...

It's been a good crochet day, Mom's Vest now has a back to it and one side.  I'm hoping to get the other side done tonight, then it's time for her to try it on again. 

I've also been doing a little bit of online shopping.  I have to chuckle when I think about how hesitant I was to shop at Amazon when they first got started, I mean, seriously, they were collecting information about me, how shocking.  Now, heck, I let them keep my credit card numbers on file so I can one-click order!  Besides a couple of new crochet books and some Pyrex glass containers (I'm really try to eliminate using plastic as much as possible), the really exciting purchase I made was a USB microphone that's supposed to be appropriate for podcasting -- I think I am going to take the plunge!

Today's Thought:  Food Rule # 26 - Drink the Spinach Water.  Mr. Pollan explains that the water in which fresh vegetables are cooked is rich in vitamins and other vegetable compounds, so you should keep that water to use in making soups and sauces.  So, I kept the water in which I cooked a bunch of beets and actually drank it straight!  I have to say, maybe it's psychological to an extent, but I always feel better after taking a swig or two of the beet water ;-)

Let It SNOW!

Argh, I'm feeling like I'm back in upstate New York but without the clean-up!  We've had so much snow here in DC, and it's beautiful and all, but really, people around here can't handle it, and I'm starting to get cabin fever.  Another big snow is predicted for this weekend, so most likely, another weekend of postponing errands.  Well, the upside definitely has been the chance to snuggle up and crochet!  Full steam ahead with Mom's Vest, that project remains numero uno priority.  I've also got another heart pattern that I've been doublechecking and hopefully will have out in time for Valentine's Day; otherwise, I'll make you all wait til next year ;-)

Nothing on the techie front to report either, though I'm still determined to get my actual website up and running.  It has slid in priority, though, since I've been discovering ways to make the blog more interactive and have really been concentrating on developing the crochet tips content.  I'm still toying with getting a podcast going as well, but believe me, you don't want to hear my voice right now with the lingering congestion!  So, we'll see...  baby steps!!

Today's Thought:  Food Rule # 58 -- Do all of your eating at a table.  And, no, a desk doesn't count.  Mr. Pollan rightly points out that, when we eat while we're working or driving or watching TV, we tend to eat mindlessly and without attention.  So, we end up eating much more than if we were at the dining room table without distractions.  So, last night, dinner was served at the dining room table, with no TV or radio on in the background.  As a result, we had a nice meal and good conversation (we talked about how in the world humans ever discovered how to make bread!)

Technology Can Be So Overwhelming!

So, I was thinking about the monthly newsletter that Helen and I send out each month for Many Creative Gifts and what changes, if any, we might want to make to it for the new year.  I was also thinking about how to make more people aware of it and make it easy for them to sign up and how to make back issues available.  So, I decided to do a search of "how to add email subscriptions to a blog".  The result?!  I think I've yet signed away even more of my life to Google!  Google Feedburner provides a free email subscription service (you can see it to the left) -- if you sign up, you will get my latest posts by email!  I will also add you to our monthly newsletter email distribution list.

For those of you wondering if you want to sign up for yet another newsletter, let me tell you a little bit about ours.  It comes out monthly, usually around the 15th of the month, and basically has 4 sections:  mind, body, spirit, and... crochet!  Each section tries to give a useful tip for the month, and we try to include some free recipes and crochet patterns as well.  We try hard to make it interesting and helpful, so if you would like to check it out and keep up with our blogging, then please sign up!

Today's Thought:  Amazing how white, fluffy, frozen water can bring the kid out in just about anyone!  Hope all of you on the East Coast are enjoying the blizzard (don't think about the aftermath just yet!)

Memories of the Inauguration

So, just published my article on the inauguration on Associated Content! And I've actually gotten 2 recommends :-) Look for it over in the left column.

And, last night was my first crochet class! Three lovely women signed up for my Introduction to Crochet class, and I think it went well. They were pretty fast learners, so it was actually pretty easy. I think it helped that all three had had some knitting experience, but it is quite different. I can relate to their stress because I'm the same way when I'm trying to knit. Anyway, I really enjoyed and I hope they did too. I'm going to check on them later in the week because I'm afraid they're going to forget everything we went over (I packed a lot into the 2-hour class!). I've got to figure out a way to help reinforce the class lesson. Mmmm, maybe I'll create my own videos -- yeah, right. Actually, I really don't need to, the ones on www.nexstitch.com are really good. Ok, now off to work!

Today's Thought: It's snowing here in DC! So, if it's snowing where you are, take the time to play!