Morning Glory Studio

tgif | 12.20.19 …

Published on December 20, 2019 by Honoré10 Comments

~day is done, gone the sun~

thinking… the month has really flown by, as has the year. Hard to believe that there are just 11 days left in the month and the decade! by golly, just this time 10 years ago I was preparing to retire…and wondering what would be next? how was I going to fill my time? realizing I’m still pondering that question…some things never change …

grateful … that we’ve not had to brave much cold weather this week, despite 20 degrees at the start of this day. Temps today made it to 40 degrees, and we’ve been greeted with sunny skies, thankfully …

intending … to brave the shopping crowds tomorrow and maybe look for twinkling lights that hang vertically in a window… still no decision on the tree (and soon it won’t matter – shhh). When I was a child, we did all the tree buying/trimming/decorating on Christmas Eve day…guess a part of me still operates on that clock … I recall that the year my sister’s son – my nephew – was just weeks away from his first birthday, she and I were traveling the streets of Toledo, well after midnight, looking for an open tree lot…which we found!

finishing … Just think, in a little over 19 hours, Fall will have been superseded by Winter. Do you have shopping yet to do? Have a great weekend.

Cheers~

unraveled wednesday | 12.18.19

Published on December 18, 2019 by Honoré10 Comments

~a friend is a present you give yourself~

Is unwrapping the same as unraveling? Of course not, silly. Today, Pat, my longtime friend of 33 years and I met for a long overdue lunch and reconnection. We’d not seen one another for nearly three months! We had a lot of catching up to do…and we did. We also celebrated my birthday (Nov); the lovely journal – despite the light’s glare – a gift from Pat, is made by an artist who lives in Oregon. After lunch, we stopped at a delightful store that sells all sorts of art supplies… I needed to replenish ink for my LAMY pen. And we both had our creative juices stirred a bit by some gorgeous iridescent watercolor paints; for sure, we’re coming back in 2020, just around the corner!

After two days of rain, today was sunny, lovely and cold! Perfect for spending quality friend time. Tho’ I have not included any knitting or other fun craft update in this post nor nary a word about this past week’s reads, I encourage you to join Kat and others for Unraveled Wednesday… lotsa good books and fun knitting projects are shared there!

Cheers~

sometimes mondays | 12.16.19…

Published on December 16, 2019 by Honoré10 Comments

… are cold, wet – both rain and snow; a great jammies day; and rest and relaxation -especially since I’m plumb tuckered out from yesterday’s Christmas make-n-take tree ornaments’ party with 5 kiddies, 4 boys and 1 girl, ages 7, 5, 3, 2 and 1! This is the back story:

When Dolly was 5 – 33 years ago – I had a similar party for her and three other little girls so their mamas could do a little unencumbered holiday shopping and have a few moments of peace ;-)). My mom was alive then and the two of us had a grand time planning, preparing and playing with the little girls – who also had a grand time making the crafts and being five! One of the crafts they made was a cloth angel (in center of photo) stuffed with cotton and simply tied with package-wrap ribbon. I still have the angel…and Dolly has the memories.

Fast forward to now: Dolly wanted to have a similar party (for Chris, Elias and her very. best friend’s three kids) and asked if I would host it; of course, I said yes and yes, I’d provide the craft experience and supplies. Top of the list: cloth angels.Yesterday was the party. And to that, we (Chris – my niece – and I ) also helped (made) elf ornaments.

The two older boys, Din (7) and Chris (5), made angels and elves with the help of their moms and me… tho’ Din spent a goodly amount of time coloring a picture he drew on newsprint with magic marker crayons. The 3 year old and Elias, 2 years, played, mais oui, and the littlest, the girl who just had her first birthday Nov 16, mostly sat on her dad’s lap. The two moms, nieces Chris and Kayla and I were run ragged by the two younger boys; that Elias is a mover and strong. Norman, my sister and the best.friend’s husband solved all the world’s problems…

All good things come to an end as did this day. Time for the kiddies to go home for bed and the adults, to collapse. I’m sure we all will remember the day with fond memories and who knows, maybe the little girl will recreate the day when she’s all grown with children or grands, too.

… are a great day for memories.

Cheers~

unraveled wednesday|12.11.19…

Published on December 11, 2019 by Honoré11 Comments

Earlier today I wrote a draft post; imagine my surprise when I discovered it had been unraveled: MIA; gone; kaput! Oh well! Be that as it may, I have no tales of unraveled knitting – I’ve not done so over the past week – or reading; I’ve been dipping in a couple books, none have captured my attention nor time. And, as I rewrite, I am still puzzled : where is that post?

Time out: I decided to look on my phone for the errant post; no such luck. So, then I went to my iPad that I’d used to write the draft – and by golly, there it was and now, here t’is:

Today finds me sitting at Panera, having finished lunch and enjoying a cuppa tea. I had an early appointment on our first snowy morning of the season. The sun shines, the first snow – just enough to coat flat surfaces and bring a smile – is gone and the air’s filled with the chill. My meal served both breakfast and lunch meals so I’m satiated. Soon, I’ll pack up and walk to Barnes & Noble, stopping along the way to window shop…my first foray among the holiday shoppers.

Today I completed a very. big. item on my 19 in 2019 list…(and if I could find the list, I might be able to check off other completes)… doing so almost has me ready to turn a somersault – hah! WHO am I kidding? Despite the huge check mark/cross out on my list, my days, since last Wednesday, have been very full and I’ve not knit or sewn a stitch or barely read a word – for the latter, I exaggerate …

It’s 8:43 PM; time for me to wrap up shop this evening and turn my attention to the news being made in Congress. Perhaps I’ll get some knitting done. Joining Kat and friends for Unraveled Wednesday.

Cheers~

sometimes mondays | 12.9.19…

Published on December 9, 2019December 9, 2019 by Honoré9 Comments

… come around sooner than expected…hmmm, let me see, last Monday, the last day I blogged, I noted the weather was cold and windy; today it is cold, windy and wet! I wondered what the week was to bring; it was busy!

I pulled out Christmas stuff and decorated the living room except for the tree. We need a new one… and we need to have a meeting of the minds: I want real. Need I say more?
Saturday’s house tour was fun. Most of the 7 houses on the list were owned by young couples, with one or two preschoolers. It’s always interesting to see current trends and how people decorate their homes. Horizontal chandeliers (with 3-5 individual lamps) and beaucoup (5-8 ) pillows on the bed seemed to be the décor of the day.
I only attended one concert – yesterday – Handel’s Messiah. Superb!

Today was my quilting group’s annual holiday potluck luncheon; everything was good. Entertainment consisted of our singing two songs about quilting – one sung to Let It Snow and the other, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer – and solving the holiday word scramble (pictured above). Have fun!

This photo was taken at one of the houses; of course I couldn’t resist!

sometimes mondays | 12.2.19 …

Published on December 2, 2019December 2, 2019 by Honoré11 Comments

… are super quiet, primarily because it’s so durn cold out. Despite a 42° F temperature, clouds, 78% humidity and winds NW 10 mph make it feel more like 36° F… I’m glad I had no reason to go out… and I didn’t, not even to my regular Monday quilting meeting.*

I have used most of this cold and quiet day purging paper: old receipts; statements; notes written on any available piece of paper (that was before I began to make a conscious effort to eliminate that bad habit ), etc. And taking time out to reflect on some of the things on this day for which I am grateful:

tea this morning in my Scotty dog Christmas mug – given to me by a friend of many decades, many decades ago;
the scent of my morning candle;
the luscious color of this week’s bouquet of alstroemeria: a deep red;
the warmth of the hearth and the fact that I didn’t need to go out;
tackling the looong overdue paper purge job.

This week is shaping up to be quite busy: two concerts, a house tour plus the added activity of preparing for Christmas…and, other than the Scotty dog mug, not a single bit of Christmas has been pulled out of storage. So, to my list above, I add a big

gratitude to Mother Nature. Today’s weather gave me the space to take a deep breath and tackle a project that’s been on the agenda for way too long. I am energized.

Cheers~

* I fell asleep last night watching Hallmark Christmas movies and awoke about 1:20 am – then went to bed!

sunrise and naked trees…

Published on November 29, 2019 by Honoré9 Comments

~today, 29 november, 6:55 am~

I often forget to look out the windows at the front of the house, especially in the morning. When I do, I see a totally different view of sunrise than when I step out on the deck. I happened to glance out the window this morning and saw the sky with its varying shades of pink, blue and a translucent grey/white? I quickly threw a coat on over my robe, exchanged my slippers for shoes and grabbed my iPhone and keys. Out the door I went – for sunrises change with every passing second. Click, Click, Click.

I have long had a fascination with naked trees. This photo reminds me of an oil painting I did when I was in high school. I often tell myself I should try my hand at recreating it. In fact, I’ve been thinking about doing a series of naked trees against the sky and sunrises/sunsets for quite a while now. Quite a while… By golly, I think I’m adding doing so to my “20 for 2020” list.* Never too early to start thinking about that. I also want to thank Bonny for her post today that reminded me of this morning’s sunrise treat.

Have a grand weekend.

Cheers~

*and quiet as it’s kept, there’ll undoubtedly be some carryover from 2019, 2018.

PS. In case you missed this: starting Monday, Michelle GD is hosting Just Five Things – Holiday 2019 edition. It’s probably not to late to register.

it’s wednesday | 11.27.19 …

Published on November 27, 2019November 27, 2019 by Honoré7 Comments

Joining Juliann for 2019 One Little Word Update and Kat for Unraveled Wednesday.

Both raveling and reading over the past few days have been sporadic, preempted by assorted other activities- just life! I finished Forest Bathing Retreat (shared last week)- really like that book – and have begun the lovely book, pictured, that my friend Laura gifted to me; the card is from my quilting association.

My 2019 word Habit finds me at the half-way point – still working on eliminating some, revising others and creating new ones. I think that’s the way it works. I’ve come to conclude that the hardest habits to get a firm grip on are those I most want to change-up or eliminate. Many are the result of influential (at the time) circumstances; I have no idea as to when/why and how created, evolved or simply showed up. They are just there and require my intention as well as my attention! So, as is my habit – pun intended – I seek and experiment with all sorts of tricks, novel ideas, etc to make changes … I have been making progress, for the most part, in writing one-off notes in one place.*

The best news of all: Today, Elias is TWO! and grown enough to fit in big brother Chris’ coat. We celebrate tomorrow!

Wishing you the best Thanksgiving ever.

Cheers~

*This requires concerted effort but I sense it is on the verge of becoming a desired new habit! However, looking at my desk, currently, one might question…I do! The name of the game: If you don’t succeed, try, try again!

ode to my mug …

Published on November 25, 2019 by Honoré12 Comments

~11 may 2014~

All good things come to an end and this morning, my beloved ceramic tea mug* bit the dust. I’d washed the cup in the dishwasher and emptying said, picked up the mug, out of the top rack, by its silicone sleeve whereby the mug slid out, landing on the granite counter – of course! Result: the rim of the cup chipped on two sides – opposite, mais oui! – thereby rendering the cup useless.

A quick web search this morning yielded many replacements but none quite measure up. A while back, I bought a similar mug from IKEA and it seems to come closest to the real thing! With Christmas coming – just 30 days away – I will soon be using my fave Scotty Dog mug – best for hot tea and hot chocolate – until I find a suitable replacement or Santa brings a new mug.

191125_project-life-64B0BA

In every cloud, there is indeed a silver lining; a post for today plus a zillion – I exaggerate a wee bit – mug shots (pun intended) above, taken over the years, through all seasons, morning, noon, and night. Seldom has my mug been beyond arm’s reach. I suspect the mug is still serviceable as a pen/pencil holder. I’ll consider.

Cheers~

*gifted to me by my dear friend Linda in Oregon, May 2014.