How to stay sane in the long, cold, and snowy winters of upstate NY

For some reason, 

when my ancestors arrived in Canada and the USA

in the early 1900s

 (my maternal grandfather on the far right,

 from a town in Russia, now in Belarus)

they chose to live in climates similar to the ones they grew up in...

(my paternal grandmother on the far right, born in NYC, 

her parents from a city which is now in Belarus)

And for some reason, 

Mr. U and I chose to perpetuate that absurd decision!!!

Yes, it is still winter in upstate NY ...

much to my chagrin....

It is getting very old!

It has been long, cold, and snowy!

Mr. U tells me that he thinks that our last cold snap is about to be over for the season.

I hope he is right.

Not being much of cold weather gal,

I have been hunkering down inside

(anything to maintain my sanity!)

Luckily, there are a lot of birds in upstate NY

who enjoy being here in the cold

(what is up with that?!)

and so I watch them on Nature Boy's homemade bird feeder

right by our kitchen table

and I take lots of photos. 

There is even a lunchroom bully!

and lately,

some non-birds!!

When I am not sitting at the kitchen table...

I am at the gym before the sun rises

(so my muscles don't atrophy from being inside so much)

....spending endless hours on the telephone

with our newest health insurance plan

trying to secure much-needed diabetic supplies for Sugarbaby...

(my recommendation: write a letter about your dissatisfaction to the CEO,

that seems to get things going... with a direct line to their executive office

that I can now use anytime I have problems! but I suspect those have now been ironed out!)

knitting!!!

socks for me!

socks for Mr. U!

and a wrap for me!

trying to stay caught up with Life Book 2014...

but for kicks, 

and always in search of the ultimate journal/diary project...

(and in an effort to make yet another huge mess in my studio)

I added another project!!!

The Documented Life...

which I need to catch up on!

I have also been sewing

but that project is ...

sorry!

So like those hibernating bears...

I will emerge when Spring comes!

Coming up for air!!!

I keep thinking that I must blog!!! 

Clearly, thinking and doing are two very separate actions!!!!

I have been so busy lately

that I barely have time to breathe!!!

Where to start?!!!

Well, after I snow dyed some fabric, 

I decided to use this piece.... 

for the Mosaic Tiles Quilt Along...

(I think there is a shadow from the dried up remains of our hosta plants... but I didn't dare venture out further into the snow!)

I haven't made a pillow for sooooo long and like so many of my projects,

 it is not for me,

 but rather for a special friend. 

Then....I have also been working on Life Book 2014...

learning some wonderful drawing techniques 

and having so much fun!

(hmmmm... this one has a copyright on it! How did I do that?)

I also made a birthday post card for my mother's birthday

with machine applique/free motion stitching, stamping,

and a little photo editing printed on fabric...

But I am not always at home!!!

Nature Boy and I went to our local art museum

to see a wonderful exhibit...

Ansel Adams "Early Works"-

gorgeous photography!!!

There was also an exhibit of "Photo Secession"-

a technique used by photographers at the turn of the 20th century

to make their photographs look like paintings.

And...

I am knitting my second pair of socks...

(these are for Mr. U)

As for the rest of my waking hours....

well, Sugar Baby decided a week ago

to return to public school after 4 1/2  years of homeschooling...

So what have I been doing with my newly acquired 

free time (Nature Boy doesn't require too much of my time)???!!

Cleaning the house!!!! 

Seriously???!

(well it's either spring cleaning a lot late or a little early)

 My cousin thinks our house looks Brady Bunch like..

not surprising, since this is a 1970s kitchen that still looks like the 1970s!

I am still going to the gym before the sun rises...

and when I have a minute,

sitting in my clean kitchen

I  enjoy watching the birds share meals at the bird feeder...

(handmade by Nature Boy)

and finally, when Mother Nature dumps on us,

I have been known to pick up a shovel... 

So you see, I may not have blogged...

but I have managed fill my waking hours with enough stuff to make blogging worthwhile!!!

Now, I'll just take a deep breath and off I go....!

I'm back in the saddle again!

I have actually blogged a few times already this year and it doesn't feel so foreign any more!

Winter in upstate NY never ceases to surprise us...

In the past week, we have had frigid temperatures

mixed in some warmer temperatures and pouring rain...

and a wee bit of snow too!

Today, we saw the sun and it melted more snow!

So I am glad that I did my snow dyeing when I did 

and the results were spectacular, if I say so myself!!!

I am not sure what I will do with these fabrics...

Mr. U would like to frame one of them!

Besides the dyeing,

I managed to complete my week 2 Life Book activity...

hosted by Micki Wilde.

So far, I am keeping up (as one of my big fears is falling behind!)

And finally,

our Tangled Textiles blog group has finished yet another themed challenge!

After months and months of deliberation over the theme "music"

I created this quiltie...

I am thinking that I might add some embellishments in the form of beading

and I started on the "i"

but I will have to pour over my beading books and 

search online for some ideas!!!

YEEEHAW!!!

I am off to play.... giddy-up!

brrrrr-ing in the new year!

Like most of the continent of North America, our little corner of upstate NY encountered some interesting weather in the first week of 2014...

 a foot of snow..frigid temperatures.. warm up and pouring rain,.. and back to frigid weather....

So, I have been hunkering down in my cleaned up studio and creating!!!

I don't create resolutions but after a pretty moody, rollercoaster ride last year, 

I have resolved to let go of those paralyzing feelings and embrace...

(created with my hand dyed fabrics)
Inspired by Victoria.

I also hope to blog more (I miss the blogging world!)

This year, I joined Life Book 2014

and as part of our first day's warm up..

we had a meditation 

in which my word for the year appeared!!!

and then we had a lesson with Tam in which we tried our hands at creating our angel/guardian.

I am doing my work on individual sheets of watercolor paper

and will bind them together at the end of the year.

I haven't finished this week's activity which was facilitated by Micki Wilde but will post it later this week (I hope.)

In the meantime, I am finishing up my latest challenge 

with my online group, Tangled Textiles....

and Janet chose

so I am trying to finish this project by Sunday,
when it is due (after we all agreed on an extension.)

Of course,
I waited until the last minute to begin my piece
and it looks nothing like my original plan!
I tend to get an idea in my head
and I let my brain cells kick around the concept for awhile
(I rarely create a sketch or two)
and usually, the end product is
completely dissimilar from the original plan.
This time is no exception!

I might have a second piece in the works as well,

depending on whether my vision can be translated to fabric.

And whether I just run of time or steam.

Stay warm!!!