On the Banks of Nettle Creek: December 2019

I started this hooked piece of hares dancing in the moonlight in January. I didn't do a lot of rug hooking this year but I did finish it in December!

The hares are dancing in joy over the nativity. I hope that's not sacrilege. Or heresy.

I took four classes at Esther's Place Fibers in Big Rock, IL this year. One of them was making a wet felted wool cat cave. It was hard physical labor but worth it in the end. Whit likes his cave. He hides there when the littlest grandson visits. This huge ball of wool roving is what you start with.

This is the hard work part. And man, what a mess.

Arm muscles are definitely required to roll it over and over in all directions. This is to felt the fibers together.

Nearing completion. Still doesn't look like much!

The finished and occupied product.

Second class of the year was a needle felted rabbit. This was really fun.

Working in the garden and yard I am always losing my cell phone and never have pockets to hold seed packets, string, scissors, pruners, etc. I cut up an old shirt of Pete's and added pockets with buttons so I can keep things from falling out and keep it all NEAR ME. It won't win any fashion awards but it sure did solve some problems!

I made a second one for Becca.

This is a pincushion and thread catcher I made for a friend. It was a really fun project once I got the hang of it.

My third class at Esther's Place was learning to knit this bee skep tea cozy. I enjoy knitting but it's so long between projects that it's good to have a class or project to motivate me again. I needle felted the bees to decorate it.

My fourth and final class at Esther's Place was this wet felted wool scarf with winter night in the woods motif. I loved this class!

Goodness, that doesn't seem like much to show for the year. But I have plans for next year and am having fun thinking about what to tackle next. Sewing, knitting, rug hooking, felting. I love them all.

Right now we're looking forward to Christmas and the quiet week between the year. Winter usually brings some peaceful days at the start of the new year, too. Time to reflect on the past year, think about plans and pray for wisdom for the year ahead. As we get older we recognize the need to steward our strength and invest well in those we love. Here's a quick recap of some of the things we invested in this past year and the adventures we had.

Three times a week we are at the gym for Rock Steady boxing with our Silver Gloves class.

Sheep-shearing definitely qualifies as an adventure!

We built 11 raised garden beds for our daughter at her new home. She had an amazing garden this year but getting those beds filled with soil was NO JOKE!

Pete and I attended an apple grafting workshop at Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah, Iowa. We grafted 6 heirloom trees there and then 5 more when we got home with our new skills. We had a good success rate and are getting the old orchard repopulated.

We had the annual Easter Egg hunt on the farm for the grandsons.

It was Joshie's first egg hunt and he was very enthusiastic about it.

Auntie MiMi excels at hiding eggs.

Late April and May saw Pete and me heading to Maine and Prince Edward Island. That is a loooooong drive but it was a long-time wish fulfilled.

My bridge phobia....ugh. But I made it over and back.

Farm life: Chicken butchering day at a friend's house. Now that's commitment for someone who doesn't eat meat! It's part of life in a farm community.

We attended a Parkinson's Disease Victory Summit in Indianapolis. Always on the quest to network and learn new things.

Social events from church and the neighborhood. A great part of life in a great community.

A HUGE social event at the farm - K-Fit Farm Fest! 120 people for a potluck to end potlucks and a great evening on the farm. And praise God the weather was great! PHEW.

Family birthday celebrations are so important! Lucas turned 9 and Micah turned 12. Oma can still turn out a respectable birthday cake to mark the milestones.

Anne and I had our annual Labor Day Getaway, this time in Cedarburg, Wisconsin.

How many hydrangea plants can you fit in a Prius??? We always come home from these getaways with treasures of some kind. This time it was thrift store, garage sale and plant nursery finds. The car was STUFFED.

We started a monthly Parkinson's Support Group this year and it's been a huge encouragement to all involved.

I entered hooked rug pieces in the Sandwich Fair for the very first time.

We had to celebrate winning prizes with pie at the Methodist Church pavilion.

Day 2 of the fair: Joshie loved the petting zoo and the train ride.

Annual Senior Citizen Luncheon at church - a big job to organize and carry out but a good time for everyone involved.

Harvest time on the farm and Joshie's first combine ride, thanks to Farmer Steve.

Throughout the fall Pete made four trips of varying length to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN to help my brother who is having serious health problems. One more trip is scheduled before Christmas and I'm going along this time. It's a lovely drive across Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Lunch at the Walnut Room with Anne and Kenji and a failed trip to the Christkindlmarkt in Chicago (closed due to high winds the day we were there). We always make a day for a downtown Chicago adventure sometime during Advent to see the lights and decorations.

A beautiful Thanksgiving celebration (and believe it or not, except for the turkey for the carnivores among us everything was PLANT-BASED! And DELICIOUS!) Kenji was super proud of his vegan pecan pies.