Hello

Hello! Happy New Year!

Christmas was slow for us, I got a bad cold and couldn't really taste anything, but made the effort to cook the breakfast, opened presents, and prepared lightly dinner for everyone. Although, I was mostly blowing my nose and caught, caught, caught and felt my body weighted over a ton, but the cold is over now ( thank goodness).  S loved her gifts that she found under the tree. Just like every year, she would get up extra early in the morning and still excited about opening gifts. I secretly hope when she moves on in her adulthood she would still be home for the Christmas and watch same Christmas movies over and over.

I actually couldn't wait for December, 31st to come sooner, I thought that I would stay till midnight, just like everyone else, cheering for the new decade, but the truth is I was asleep by 11:30 p.m.  I knew the phone was buzzing with all the Happy New Year texts, but I couldn't open my eyes or even made the effort to reach out to the phone. I was out, completely, from the cold, busy at work, and the new neighbor noises. That was probably the best snooze for the longest time! But yet, I was up by 6 a.m. The body alarm was set; even I tried to go back to the cozy and warm bed.
Oh.. but here we are into a new decade.

So, the staycation started for me! I have had all the things plan out that I like to work on.  The tree has been put away, I carefully stored away the ornaments. I love friends who sent their handmade ornaments and cards in the mail every year. I appreciated them not forgetting about me, since I have been busy in life and hardly able to do much.  I miss the old days when S and I crafted in our little dinning table and she would make extra ornaments for selling during the holiday time. I miss Julie who got the tree for us in October 2007 and gifted us ornaments every year. It was a memory lane drive for me.

While the washer was running in the kitchen, I started cutting more penny square for the quilt.  The quilt is slow slow slow in process.  I plan on finish all the nine patch blocks before adding them together, so the colors can be balance as a whole. This is going to be a big quilt, a queen size.  I love the colors, cream background and contrast with floral prints, only. It is an intentional idea. I knew that in the past I used to use much modern vibrate colors. But for this quilt, the mix-match backgrounds with nice floral prints that I have been saved for years just seem special to me; time to let these prints shine!

I am feeling so rest with the self-time, the most needed self time. I used to be home alone a lot, but things just have changed. After four years of city life; I have semi-adapted the lifestyle, but the inner me, is so not! I have not been to a real fabric store for a long time! The store that with lots quilts hang on the walls, ladies that walking in the store with handful of fabric bolts, fat quarters and they are talking in quilting languages. Oh, I hope my quilting language still fluent since it has been awhile!

On my last trip oversea, I bought some Hakka floral prints. My dear friend Erin has always talked about these prints. So when we met last time, we spent all day in Taipei, DiHua District.  I got some prints and though making them into drawstring bags for her would be nice. Erin and I met when we were 16, she has always though that she was a year older than me, then years later, maybe after college. We found out that we were 4 months part. I was born in the Fall, so I was held a year back before entering elementary school; yes, so not fair! Because I was always the older kid in the class at the time.  I will put these drawstring bags in the mail for her, so just in time for her lunar new year travel.

When all the sewing bits and bobs are happening in the studio. The kitchen stove was busy, too. I made another big pot of chicken broth and chicken pot pie last night. I always love to saved up the roasted chicken from bone to skin. These are the best ingredients for the homemade chicken soup.  A dozen of the Blueberry Lemon Muffins for the Saturday morning can't go wrong!  Tomorrow I plan on making a pound cake, so we have some breakfast for the next few days.

For this year, I feel the need for staying authentic and original. I would like to make time for myself, so I could be more fulfilled. I would like to go back where I was before cook and prepare fresh food for the family, so we can dine out less ( Life gets out of control when it is busy). I would also hope that things calm down a bit more as we are settled in more now. These are simple goals, but somewhat the it gets challenge to enforce these in life.  I stay positively about the challenges and changes and I cried when there is frustrations, but after all it is all going to work out!

Meanwhile, for the last two days off, I shall use most of it! Sewing, cooking and a bit of movie watching before Monday arrives!

Wish you the best new year!

xxc