how to hold the heat in

I cannot burn candles any more; you've seen what happens. We have a reed diffuser, but the scent is only vague, not enough to fill up our home. And our dear friends the Urtels always kept a wonderful-smelling home. I found out their secret: they boil their own potpourri. Slices of lemon, slices of orange, cinnamon sticks, cloves, etc. We know how cooking scents can fill a home.

Of course, as I boiled it this morning, Husband decided he wanted some popcorn.


It's so cold here. My fingers are numb. It's so so cold here.

And my sister lives in Austin. It's so not cold there. But she's gorgeous and has good taste, and I love making and giving. So I knit up these two headbands--my first two finished objects for 2008--and they're plopping into the mail soon, a little random gift from me. I'm now addicted to making them: I simply cast on four, stockinette stitch (makes a nice rope, which is the only thing I've found myself not frustrated with in regards to st st) and pick a random pattern from this stitch dictionary. The one on the left is the chevron seed stitch and the one on the right is simple garter (I figured with the color, I'd see what it looked like patternless--now I'm trying the little arrow stitch with the same yarn).



I am thinking a lot about the way things take shape from a distance, the way a myriad of little things, a collection of our life, can make a picture. I think it is from all the blogs I've been reading recently, of artists, of appreciators of art: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.

Aesthetic + color: milk, brown eggshells, small water-worn stones, mav's table, fog, charcoal, winter sky, birds on a wire, cream, Irish wool (with the flecks of grass stain green), leather, sparrows, warm chai, cinnamon, moss, brick, sea urchins, the ocean, iron, houseplants, gauzy curtains, wooden spoons, pinecones, rain, bread, soup, rosemary, the lake, pubs, gingerbread, snowstorms, asparagus, soot & ash, brie cheese, organic cotton, tea, glass jars.

This afternoon was the first day of our book club, but we didn't talk about the book much. It was good to be around good girl friends, nice to sit in the afternoon light (sunlight! blue skies!), talk about little fluttery in Kelly's belly, talk about Chris's bird who likes to peck at toes and sing songs. And I fell back in love with hummus; I had forgotten how perfect this food is.

Currently:

- discovering this adorable shop: the barn swallow (check it out!)
- being so sad about sculptures stolen for scrap metal
- having a crush on this art