Sunday, June 14, 2020

A Rambly Update

Hi everyone, it's been a bit. I've been thinking about restarting this blog for awhile now. I miss sharing what I'm up too and I miss planning and writing posts. I don't miss trying to fit into a niche though and so I've decided that this blog is going to be a ramble, just like the blog title suggests, of all my interests. And I have a few!

So I think what I'll do for this first post of 2020 is share 10 things I'm all into lately...

1. Running/Fitness: I'm still running 3-4 times a week although I have nothing to train for this year (thanks Covid-19 for all the race cancellations). I've been running with a friend in the mornings and it's been great. I've always been a solo runner but I'm loving the chatty hour runs we've been doing, it's seriously helped a ton dealing with all the uncertainty this year has brought. This spring has been the windiest I've ever experienced, it makes getting out for a run a bit of a slog some days. I keep having to remind myself that there are no mosquitoes and the wind is better than hill training! Also our little hometown gym is not opening up anytime soon due to the restrictions our province has placed in phase 3. I'm hoping phase 4 eases those and I can get back to doing some weights. All in all, I haven't been a sloth during this pandemic but I'm not as active as I'd like to be either.

Got new shoes in May, Saucony Feedom 3's. My feet are so happy!


2. Cross Stitch: Wow did I get all into this lately! I bought a ton of fabric and floss and patterns during the lockdown (for me this was about 7 weeks starting the end of March and back to work the second week of May). I also participated in #stitchmaynia (Instagram link to the hashtag), and loved it. I finished some projects and started a few more, including my first HAED. I plan on writing a few posts about all of this in the coming weeks. My love affair with needle and thread is pretty intense right now so don't be surprised if you see lots of cross-stitch posts!

3. Sewing/Quilting: I feel like I'm just getting my sewing bug back. It's been a long time since I've felt a pull from my machine. This weekend I've been really happy puttering away in my fabric stash. It's shocking how much fabric I have for someone who sews so seldomnly. I've also wasted whiled away many hours on Pinterest looking at quilt projects. I have plans to finish my red and white quilt top and then start a scrappy log cabin quilt for my niece. I've also started making project bags for my cross-stitch projects. I'm still very much a novice but I'm enjoying the process.

4. The Garden: Well this has been the worst season for wind my poor garden has ever seen. I was so excited about this year too! My husband and son made me a grow shelf and during lockdown I started about 40 tomato plants. They look pretty sad right now. I hope they're just going to root deep and produce amazing tomatoes in a few months but I'm also crossing my fingers. There hasn't been much rain this spring and farmers are feeling it. So is my lawn and garden... I planted a bunch of pots of petunias and they at least are looking amazing...

They look even better, this picture is a few weeks old, I went with red and white as a theme this year


5. Camping/Adventuring: Not so much planned so far. As I said our province is in phase 3 of reopening after a 6 week shutdown due to the Corona Virus. We haven't booked any camping trips right now but I'm hoping we'll get out a few times this summer. I bought roof racks for my car for the kayak and I'd love to get out on the water but the wind! Such a bummer. I also haven't done much hiking yet. I'd like to get out to Echo Provincial Park to do some trail running soon and really should just make a plan and get to it.

6. Knitting: Not much happening here although I have a pair of socks for B that just need heels put in and yarn to make some socks for Beth. I have a great sweater on the needles that I started back in March with really lovely yarn but I put it down when I started to cross-stitch and I haven't picked it back up. I really should. I haven't been buying much yarn in the past few years and tend to knit my stash. I still have a few projects on the needles that I'd like to finish so I should make a plan for them too.

7. Crafting in General: I have so many different projects on the go from bracelet making to dreamcatchers to rug twining. I have a ton of supplies and no desire to do it right now... I'll get back to them I'm sure but my craft room is looking a little full lately...

8. Cooking: I tried my hand at starting sour dough starter like many people during lockdown and just failed miserably at it. It was kind of funny for awhile how sad my loaves were... I'm thinking I should try again now that it's warmer but it takes such a long time to make sourdough bread and I'm not sure I have it in me to stick with it. I've been cooking so much at home due to everything being closed that I'm pretty sick of it honestly... I'm looking at getting a new cookbook to test out this summer and try to spice things up again. If you have some favourites shoot me a comment, I'd love some suggestions...

9. House Plants: Are they all the rage right now or what? I've always had house plants. Some I've had for 20 years, others bite the dust if they can't take a week or 2 of neglect... Lately though my daughter has gotten all into house plants and she's been buying them for me too so now I feel obligated not to kill them... Anyway, they're fun and I'm learning that it takes more than water and the occasional bit of fertilizer to make them happy...

I'm in love with this Monstera


10. Family/Home: B and the kids and the gsp pup Josie are all doing well and are healthy in spite of this virus. I'll post some pictures of them all soon... We did a partial kitchen reno last year and I've still got the island and counters to do. It looks so good though and I love our white kitchen. There are still more projects than time or money in this old house but I feel like it's coming along and now we are finally getting to the fun part. I like designing and dreaming and making the Pinterest boards come to life so I guess I'm grateful for big old houses.

Corona sister haircut

Thanks for giving this long catch up post a read. Let me know what you've been up to in the comments below. Places to find me outside the blog: I'm most active on Instagram and you can find me on Ravelry too. I track my running and fitness on Strava, love that platform so much, and I'm on Pinterest of course!

Stay safe and healthy!
Cheers,
Jill


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