Finding the Simple

I am at the end of the first month of the new year and

I find myself obsessed with eliminating clutter.

CLUTTER:

chaos, confusion, disorder, jumble, muddle, rummage

Clutter both surrounds and pervades me.

What happens when the clutter is gone?

When I take care of it all?

What is my goal in DECLUTTERING?

I realize I'm after a simple life.

SIMPLE:

plain, quiet, straightforward, uncomplicated

With each bit of sorting and donating I feel free

and closer to the simple.

I gave up my job recently and again I feel free:

the pace of our life has slowed.

Amazing how a less stressed mommy makes for happier little people.

Happier little people make everything easier!

Time once again to focus on nurturing family and building friendships.

I've been busy finding the simple through my decluttering efforts and

making room to dive back into my hobbies guilt free!

I look forward to again enjoying the process of each project,

rather than focusing on the end result, only to rush to the next thing!

Happy Hobbies!

Winter Inside & Out...

Keeping my eyes on the snow that continues to fall and temperatures that continue to dip below zero, I pulled out the winter decorations last week to bring winter inside.

I keep the candles lit and it is oh so cozy...

All of these painted items are thing my mom painted for me over the years.

The wall hanging is a gift from Auntie Z from several Christmases ago.
Happy Hobbies!

Please welcome...

my gal pal Ali to blogland!

She made an appearance here on my blog in November of 2007!

Please visit her at A Project to Do to see what she's up to!

Happy Hobbies!

Book Club

Simple Mom is offering a practical book club featuring six practical books for 2009 and I'm quite happy to be participating. Check out the current selection YOUR MONEY OR YOUR LIFE.

Happy Hobbies!

More knits...

Another set of Fetching Gloves to be exact...

I'm using Rialto Aran from Debbie Bliss.

Happy Hobbies!

Christmas knits...

for the little people...

Pink Alpaca for Little Miss!

I gave it to her and then she saw the book, Knit One, Embellish Too, that Auntie B. gave me for Christmas! Little Miss decided she needed a snow flake and a tassel just like page 72! What could I do, but try something new? This great book includes great ideas for the embellishment challenged like me. I'm sure I'll be sharing more of these projects soon!

Little Mister loves his hat with the self-striping yarn and he informed me later that he was thinking he needed a new hat to match his brown coat. He has since requested a scarf to match!

Happy Hobbies!

Secret Santa Christmas Swap

I received my swap package in the mail several weeks before Christmas and patiently waited until Christmas morning. My Secret Santa painted me a lovely plate and also included some fun Christmas decorations and chocolate ornaments. I'm posting my 'not so great' photo below, but you can see a much better picture by going HERE! Neither photo does the plate justice!

Thank you so much Trashalou for the lovely gifts and being my partner!

Thank you Chookyblue for hosting this fun swap!

Happy Hobbies!

***UPDATE***

My gal pal Ali asked what I sent for the swap... it completely slipped my mind to post that, so I"m giving you the link to the gift. It is the same as the note taker I previously gave as a birthday gift... see MONDAY BITS from November. A little birdy told me!!

Happy Hobbies!