Ten little things to love this Valentine's Day...

    Happy Valentine's Day! In the spirit of the day, here are ten little things I'm loving this winter-- maybe you'll love them, too! I'm not flying to Paris for dinner, looking at roses in a British country estate's greenhouse, or buying chocolates in Switzerland-- just blessed with the ability to recognize every day joys close to home.

1. Ryan Rose Horse Training Videos

     Did you know I always wanted/still want a horse? This is something my best friends might not know, but apparently YouTube has guessed-- one of my suggestions a couple of months ago was “Ryan Rose” horse training videos. I watch, thinking the information will come in handy when I eventually get my horse! In the meantime, it's occurred to me that many of the techniques used to retrain problem horses can also be used on people. For instance, if your horse refuses to load into a trailer, the minute it starts backing out, “help it” back out by pushing it back quite a long ways--- it will soon realize it’s easier just to to get in the trailer! Does hubby "balk" at the fabric store door? Make him walk over to grocery shop instead-- he'll soon catch on that the fabric store is cheaper these days!

2. Jackie and Shadow

     More YouTube! I promise, I am not glued to it all day, but if you haven't discovered the endless entertainment awaiting you from everyday people and places, you deserve to keep being disappointed by TV shows. 

     I forget how I discovered Jackie and Shadow-- it may have been on a Facebook post a year ago, but they are everywhere now and have hundreds of thousands of followers. Jackie and Shadow are two bald eagles nesting in front of a live camera on you Tube somewhere in California. (No, the camera doesn't bother them in any way.) Most of the year, they aren't even on the nest, but about two weeks ago, Jackie laid three eggs! I check in on them every day-- the tender scenes of them looking at their eggs, and readjusting sticks for the nest--Jackie has the final say--are both touching and comical. This could get hard, though-- it is extremely difficult for eagles to fledge three eaglets--in fact, last year, their eggs didn't even hatch. The disappointment they went through, then abandoning the eggs, was real. At the present moment, Jackie is currently buried under a snowstorm, and I get anxiety when the eggs are left unattended for a few moments. If nature gets too cruel, I may have to stop watching altogether! "Pip" watch-- (baby eagles) begins February 29th. Hoping for the best, Jackie and Shadow!

3. Walking on Water

     Now, just to prove I am not in front of a screen all day, we will move outdoors. There is no mention of temperature when Christ performed his miracle in the gospels-- but this feat is easily accomplished in Maine when the lake freezes in winter. Here's our usual view-- that’s a secret island over there and there's even a bald eagle that loves to sit on the top of a dead tree, all out of reach. 

     We tried to take the boat over to explore the island this summer, but discovered there’s no solid shoreline and couldn't get past the reeds-- the whole thing may be a marsh. It took a while, but after temps in the 20s all week, Mr. SFO, Eagle Scout, declared it safe to walk over there. We were rewarded with these beautiful mountain views-- and I do believe we even found the island's secret treasure-- our own eagle's nest!

4. Burpee Seed Catalog

     Brrrr... back inside! This 150 page beauty is the best read all winter. It used to come out very shortly after January 1st-- this year, we got ours before Christmas. If you’ve ordered from Burpee before, you probably have one-- if not, I’m sure you could request one online.

      Paging through all the veggies and flowers is a sure fire way to beat the cold weather blahs, even if you never intend to plant as much as one seed. I had my personal best garden last year and have even bigger plans this year. Because I'm trying to pay attention to the little things I like and do for this blog post, I noticed, as an artist,  I am drawn to all the most colorful veggies--- carnival peppers, kaleidoscope carrots, rainbow tomatoes. You can bet I’ll be serving "Ultraviolet Hybrid" corn on the Fourth this year. Are you down for that?

5. Christmas Stitching

     Gardening is still months away-- thank goodness we all share a hobby that can be enjoyed anytime of year! Yup, long after the big day, I really enjoy working on projects for this favorite of all holidays. The weather outside is frightful-- and still, oh, so appropriate for snowflakes and reindeer. Best of all, I have a fireplace to snuggle in front of! Even after Valentine's Day, I believe I could continue on with my jolly sewing-- I’m thinking of doing a Christmas stitch on the 25th of each month as I've seen some cross stitchers do on Instagram. Lori Holt has an upcoming Vintage Christmas quilt reprise coming up with Fat Quarter Shop in July of all times-- can I resist? Just look at that puppy and pink skate!   

6. String Lights

     No remote controlled fireplace in your home? Me, neither- ours requires a lot of hauling of wood!  Consider this. I noticed at Michaels before Christmas, they had all manner of battery operated string lights. I snagged a few sets at 40% off, mostly for the purpose of photographing machine embroidery sets. The star set pictured above has three settings-- on all the time, flashing, and sort of glowing, on and off, on and off. It's super relaxing and cozy to put them on my coffee table and watch them glow at night-- no TV allowed-- books or hand stitch only are invited. It sounds very silly trying to explain it-- but it's the essence of a simple joy for me. 

7. Sourdough Bread

     Here's the most self-serving gift I've ever bought and I don't feel a moment's guilt over it. A year ago, I got the DD a "sourdough" starter kit from King Arthur flour. I do remember my mother-in-law had something in the fridge which she took out occasionally, FED, and offered me a jar of-- I was disgusted. With age comes wisdom-- I know now that this bacteria filled goo is the foundation of all types of yummy baked goods. Even better, the DD has made some sort of religion out of it-- rising early in the day, kneading, baking at certain times... I rarely have to buy bread now. If you've ever been curious about sourdough starter-- I'd highly encourage you to buy it and start a new religious experience-- or better yet, buy it for someone who lives with you.

8.Yazy and Match 3D 

     Back to screens. I used to look down my nose at adults playing games like Angry Birds on their phones-- then I read it actually gives you a nice mental health break and increases focus. But the first time Mr. SFO caught me playing this, by the look on his face, I'm sure he thought I had a secret online gambling addiction! 

     This is "Yazy,"  -- it's just an app version of the old Yahtzee dice game. I’m the only game player in this house, so it’s pretty much my only option! For five minutes a day, it’s become a guilty pleasure. "Match 3D" is also fun-- you match up pairs of toys in a virtual toy box in a certain amount of time. As a graphic designer, the cute shapes are extremely appealing and the game also has a nostalgic vibe for me of what my floor looked like when the kids were little. This game's on a timer and is hard to win. I’ve had to limit myself-- this one is STRESSFUL!

9. Marden's

     I mentioned this Surplus and Salvage store, exclusive to Maine, in the past couple of posts. They have a fabric department. It's become a weekly run.

     They have all the designer collections with the highest price being $6.99/yd-- some are $2.99. This is last weekend's haul-- I got 3yds. of the cute Tula Pink teacups for a potential backing fabric. The oranges are because my sister lives in Florida. And the chickens, well, one of them looks like Buttercup. I promised myself I would only buy fabric that I had a reason for. So there you go!

10. A Little Poem on Facebook                                                                                                                                                                               Beware what you click on social media-- I was offered a video on YouTube about someone who got stuck in a cave and watched 2 seconds of it until I realized if I continued, claustrophobia would plague me for the rest of my life. Since then, all kinds of murder and mayhem is now showing up on my home screen. Luckily, on Facebook, I appear to be making better decisions-- literature is coming up frequently, especially poetry. I did not even know I liked poetry until AI pointed it out to me. Thank you, AI! So this beauty came up one evening--

     It reminded me of my mom who we lost last year-- she had the cottage by the sea, the kettle-- she probably would have had foxgloves, not sunflowers, in the little garden between her kitchen window and the sidewalk, but that doesn't matter. I just had a really warm and peaceful moment when I read it-- does it remind you of anyone? And I am totally confident I will find her in the future. I love and miss you, Mom. Happy Valentine's Day, with Dad, in heaven. <3

    So that's it for Valentine's Day! It's also Mr. SFO's birthday, and while you're reading this, I am probably baking a cake-- a very chocolate-y cake, his favorite-- and preparing a fabulous dinner. Wishing you a beautiful day, surrounded by all the people and things you love!

xox

Carol