The Unexpected

Three days ago it was warm enough to wear short sleeves, then yesterday morning as I put my breakfast dishes by the sink, I happened to look up a the window above the blinds in our living room.  To my surprise the roof was white and snow was falling.

 

Large clumps of flakes were falling, making for a lovely sight.  

As you can see, it was falling quite heavily

 

 

It continued on through the morning and into the afternoon, and just when I thought it was over, another heavy snow began to fall.

 

 

By late afternoon we had a lovely white landscape.

On Keeping a Clean House

Since all my latest projects are in progress, I thought I would use this post to talk a little about what I do with the rest of my time.  I am a career homemaker, and I love my job.  No, I don't get a thrill from scrubbing toilets or dusting shelves, but I do enjoy keeping our home in order.  Homemaking has gotten a bad rap the past several decades and I am sorry for that.  In the midst of recognizing that women have the ability to do many things outside the home, it is a shame that the energy, intelligence, and skill that goes into homemaking was not appreciated as well.  

I have always loved domesticity, even as a child.  When our children came along, and especially when we started home schooling, I discovered that I also love organizing.  There is a certain satisfaction that comes from taking a disordered space and making it functional and attractive.  To me, that is what housework is all about--making a home function well for whatever particular activities a family has, and making it a welcoming space not only for the family, but also for all who come to visit.  When people first come into my home, they usually do comment that our home is clean or organized, but after that it fades into the background which is just as it should be.  

One of the negative comments about housework is that it is mindless activity.  I have two thoughts on that:  What job doesn't have mindless, tedious parts to it?  And just because a task doesn't require thought, it doesn't mean the mind has to be idle.  House work affords me opportunity to listen to music or podcasts (while dusting or cleaning), watch a movie (while ironing), or just to think about things I have read or heard (while vacuuming).  I plan letters or this blog post, make phone calls while folding laundry, and sometimes I pray while I work.  

I have always been so thankful that my husband has valued my work at home.  He works very hard to take care of us, and I see it as an honor to take good care of him.  He in turn encourages me in my creative endeavors.  

I may not make any money in my career, but it certainly has its own rewards.

 

This post actually belongs in January, but a minor software glitch kept me from being able to upload my photos from my camera.  That problem is now resolved, so here is my belated tale.  While on a weekend trip to see our extended family, my daughter-in-law and I took time to make a visit to our favorite yarn shop.  It is bit of a drive, so we have opportunity for some good conversation along with happy fiber indulgence.  Here are the treasures I found on this expedition:

 

This lovely specimen is a wool-cotton blend that my daughter-in-law had also used to make a very comfy and pretty hat.  If imitation is truly the best form of flattery, then I must blame holding said hat in the presence of said yarn and yielding to the call.  Since hats are small projects, they make a good opportunity to get to know a new yarn, so these skeins are destined for hathood.  

 

 

It is hard to tell from the photo, but this yarn is a lovely green version of a yarn I had previously purchased and used to make a shawl.  Being an acrylic-wool blend, I was initially skeptical of using a yarn that acrylic in it.  However, I was very pleasantly surprised at the nice feel and drape of the fabric it made, so another shawl project is on the to do list.

 

Finally, this gorgeous, scrumptious skein is a new line in one of my favorite yarn brands, and yes, those are little sparkles of silver in the yarn.  This will also be a shawl, for shawls are my favorite thing to knit and my favorite way to wear my knitting.  

And just so no one get the idea that I am all yarn and no knitting, here is a picture of my latest, guess what?  A shawl, of course.