Laowai

This week has been nice and quiet. Brian is in Chicago for the week.

Now that the Christmas decorations are put away I need a little plant life to brighten up the dark days. I made a new fabric bucket to hold these grape hyacinths.

We’ve been getting lots of snow. In the evening when it’s quiet I can hear the tinkling of the bells on the sheep and I look out and see that they often have a dusting of snow on their backs.

After the festive season is over I rely on candles and citrus and plants and hot drinks to keep me happy. After I cut up an orange I put the ends on the radiator to dry. They add a bit of scent to the air and then I scatter them around and enjoy the little jolt of sunny color. When I went out to buy firewood on New Year’s Eve – the hardware store was giving away free mini oxalis plants. It’s still looking healthy. Delightful!

I’ve gotten back into my sewing room this week. I’m trying to decide what to do with these snowball blocks. I’m thinking of my Grandma Dice lately. I thought of how she always made nine-patch blocks and used sashing between them. So maybe I’ll add sashing – something I’ve never done before. But what color…

I’m looking forward to having Brian home this weekend and I really hope the snow sticks around for a while.