TGIF - Last Friday of 2022

The morning began with a frosty overcast sky but now the sun is shining. The fox just went by on his morning run and a red-bellied woodpecker is climbing the birch trunk. His bright coloring shows beautifully against a blue sky. 

Thinking about the red-bellied woodpecker and his name. His breast is hard to see but honestly it looks creamy white. Since the color on his head is the dominant feature, the name seems off-kilter to me. Perhaps the red-headed woodpecker had already been named and someone thought an orange-headed woodpecker would be confusing or redundant. An internet photo of the bird shows the brighter colored breast. Once more, google to the rescue. 

Grateful for my family, near and far. Although we weren't with our kids in person, we talked to them via Face Time on the Christmas weekend. My husband's brother and wife invited us to have Christmas dinner with their family and it was nice to be included. This past Wednesday we had a lovely sweet day with my sister and her husband, my niece, and little great-niece. My sister made a delicious soup and served it with cornbread and fruit. We had a few cookies for dessert. This simple celebration warmed our hearts. They gave us this special gift. 

When we were girls, these two pieces of needlepoint hung in my grandparents' home. We think Grama made them from a kit. She did all kinds of needlework and sewing. She taught both of us to sew and me to knit. Anyway, I hadn't seen them for years and didn't even know my sister had kept them. She took the pieces out of frames that were falling apart and gently cleaned the needlepoint. My brother-in-law made new frames out of some pine he reclaimed from his Dad's work bench. The wood grain lines up beautifully. This is a gift that comes from the heart and hand. What a treasure. After I put away the Christmas decor, we will find them a special place for them. 

Inspired by the reading done by friends both locally and in this little blogging community. My local book group met earlier in December and chose books for the coming year. It's a varied and interesting list. As always, there are a couple of books I would never read on my own but that is one of the benefits of a book group. I have enjoyed the Erdrich-Along organized by Mary. In the past Erdrich's books felt almost too heavy to read but I enjoyed discussing them with this group and we have two more to go. It's been interesting to see how Erdrich expands the characters as well as themes, particularly in the justice trilogy. 

Fun. This morning I talked to Jonah and Norah as they painted snowmen with watercolors. Jonah was quite careful using watercolor pencils to add special buttons and mittens. Norah painted a rose-colored snowman with enthusiasm. Then we read The Mitten Tree and Wake up Bear, It's Christmas. This week I cast on a Christmas sock with yarn from my stash. Next to turning the heel, the other part of sock knitting I enjoy is knitting enough cuff to see how the yarn is going to look in the pattern. The yarn is Holly and Pine by Fibernymph Dyeworks. The pattern is Impossible Girl. 

And so, onward we go into 2023. This afternoon I'm going to take a walk and put most of the Christmas decor away. I am ready to mop up the dust and generally tidy the house as the new year begins. This evening I will finish the Advent Scarf. 

Happy New Year.