Monthly Re-Cap 2021-01

 January has been wet... and dry... and COLD...

and yet, unseasonably warm...

Typical weather here in the south...

 Our New Year started with a parking lot picnic [outside - and it was COLD] with friends that we've celebrated New Year's with for too many years to count... we sure missed ShoGun!

 There's just something about cold wintry days that makes me want my mama's good hearty breakfast! So when I saw a tin of shortening in the pantry [it was pushed to the back since I rarely use it] I had to give biscuits from scratch a try. Mmmm. Deelish.

 

I've set a goal to walk the Beaver Dam Boardwalk 

at least once a month in 2021.

It was a rainy, slick day...

but still so eerily beautiful...

 

We have surely enjoyed the sunny days...

Craig's been fishing several times... 

and I've enjoyed being outside, reading / eating lunch 

with Dobby and Bernard...

We've even been to eat AT A RESTAURANT a couple of times

- outside [with outdoor heaters!]

 

As we've shared with friends... 

it's just so nice to have someone re-fill our glass. 

Ha. Good times...

And no coincidence that both meals were Mexican...

 

We also enjoyed our family cookie decorating party ...

on zoom, after one cookie kit FINALLY made it to NYC...

 

Remember how slow the mail was a few weeks back? 

It sat in B'ham for two weeks - 

I think the USPS finally issued a statement that 

they had a lot staff down there out due to the virus... 

 

Our party was a lot of fun!
And y'all know I love seeing how everyone 

does their own thing with anything artsy. 

 And with zoom we were able to share 

and visit while we were decorating! 

 [Almost like being together in one room...]

And okay, I'll admit that I gave up on trying to make that giftie look real... and it kind of turned into a box of fries. HA.

I had a few projects on my list this month - 

One: I finally painted the trim and mirror in our bathroom that was renovated LAST January. Oh. My.

TWO: Craig helped* me re-purpose our old shower door into a cold frame. We've wanted a cold frame for several years now 

and I just couldn't throw away our vintage mid-century shower door with the fish on it. HA. [I'll admit, I might be a bit of a hoarder too.]

So I pulled it out of the attic where it's been for the past year... 

*And when I say Craig helped, I mean HE BUILT IT.

He's awesome like that!

Always willing to make my plans come to life... 

THIRD: I found a way to HIDE the litter box that's been in my studio since closing KittyLou off from the playroom back in the summer... we replaced the futon [SO BIG!] with this smaller couch [Thrift store -$40 - and we s old the futon for $75, so I actually MADE $$ - HA] and put the litter box on the end [under a box I'm using as an end table - ha]

 

This is what it looks like today - because you know most [of my] household projects morph into cleaning out, organizing, finding treasures, etc. 

[And okay, project FIVE: replacing worn-out light bulbs!]

Speaking of treasures.. I did FINALLY find my old Canon AE-1 [film] camera that I've been searching the house for these past ten years...lol...

And organizing: I've moved these paper trays from the playroom where I now have easier access to extra scrapbook papers filed by ROYGBIV... and I've got my favorite bags displayed where I can enjoy them [and use them.]

Also, while cleaning out a bit I found these treasures - a paper my mom wrote in high school about her life and dreams of the future..

Y'all know I LOVE that it is in her own handwriting!

And also this!

Vacation Bible School in 1943.

I feel blessed by my spiritual heritage... 

 

And I found this photo of us with our pop-up camper from back in the day - I want to do a little book with photos with all of our campers in it so I'm happy to have this one from a fall break trip with friends... 

 

FOURTH: I organized my scrapbook layouts [which led to organizing my desk, crafty space, storage, ETC.ETC.ETC.

 

Seriously, though - I'm loving having my scrapbook layouts in this format... Non-chronological [except for my travel books] -- it's SO MUCH easier to find a photo or page without having to remember what year it happened. HA. 

 

And honestly, that was all done so that I could print ALL the photos for 2019 in preparation to attend a zoom crop that was SO FUN.

KittyLou enjoyed it too! 

[Truthfully she was annoyed that I was using 'her' chair for so long.]

Other happenings this month: We shopped for Craig's mother a couple of times - so thankful we are close enough to be able to help her out with that - we continue to wear our masks except when we share a meal at opposite ends of her kitchen island...

And

THIS IS NOT MY PHOTO

 

But this did happen one Sunday morning...

and sadly, we were asleep and thought the noise we heard was the #elfstriketeam throwing a toy around...

Bernard is just too inquisitive ...

[His little head was COMPLETELY inside the [plastic] glass.]

Thankfully Craig was able to pull it off easily.

I hope he's learned THAT lesson... 

So, there you go...

Looking forward to February...

I think my #1 project is going to be a complete clean-out of the pantry.

There's NO TELLING what treasures I will find there!