change

change is weird.

and usually uncomfortable.

but it can be exciting too!

for quite a while I have been feeling the need

to stretch my artistic wings,

to separate the professional from the personal

in order to build a strong foundation

on which an art business could grow.

so I started an art blog,

an exciting change.

it's called LadyLyn, creative adventuring.

I also have a brand new Facebook artist page.

and I've revamped my shop.

I love this space.

and value the friendships I've made here

more than I could express.

I plan on keeping up

on the more personal side of blogging here.

but I will probably be more active in my new space.

I would be so honored if you choose to follow me there as well.

monday menu

I really like planning nutritious, exciting menus for my family. I love searching for tantalizing recipes and organizing them into weeks of delicious meals. I like trying new recipes and remaking old favorites. And I really like how planning our dinners ahead of time saves me time, money, and sanity during the week. However, my life is a little bit like living in a three ring circus on a merry-go-round right now, and menu planning was falling through the cracks. I found myself making more emergency trips to the grocery store and takeout restaurants, stressed at the end of the day because I had no meat thawed, scrambling to create a back-up plan on the go.

Enter emeals. *cue trumpet fanfare*
I was skeptical when I first heard of emeals, but after hearing glowing reports from multiple friends, I decided to give it a try. I've been using it for about a month now, and I'm happy to report that while it's not a perfect solution (I have to do a fair amount of tweaking to make the meal plans work with the produce we get in our Bountiful Basket, and some weeks they go overboard on the cumin love) it has dramatically reduced my stress and our eating out.

We are using the clean eating plan, but there are 13 different plans (plus breakfast, lunch, and dessert add-on plans) to accommodate a wide variety of eating habits. Every week I receive an email containing that week's menu. The recipes are simple, quick, and tasty (even my picky tw0-year-old has been asking for seconds!). I love how the recipes are clearly labeled by category (slow cooker, marinate ahead, super-fast, etc.) to make planning the week even simpler, and they even include a shopping list of the weeks' ingredients! Emeals has a simple, well planned system that is making my life a lot easier. I would heartily recommend their service.

(And just so you know, Groupon is offering a voucher for a 12 month emeals subscription for $29 instead of the usual $58--that's 50% off!)

Disclaimer: If you sign up for emeals using one of the links above, I will receive an extra month of meal plans for free. (YAY! If you do decide to go for it, please use one of my links.) Bountiful Baskets and Groupon have no idea who I am and are giving me nothing for mentioning them; I just think their products are great and want to share with you. And of course, the opinions stated in this post are my own. No one is twisting my arm to say untrue nice things about them.

knit. drink tea. repeat.

In the beginning of October I had a surgery.

It wasn't really major, but the recovery was still long and painful.

I entertained myself by working on a couple of e-courses,

filling up an art journal, and kitting.

And now, even though I've healed,

the ridiculous cold temperatures lend themselves

to cozy curling on the couch with some yarn and a cup of hot tea,

so I've continued knitting.

These are the projects I've completed in the past few months:

Lucy Hat

A beautiful, elegant pattern.

(I learned how to make short rows!)
This hat was an instant favorite,

well-worth the price for the pattern.

Sweet Life fingerless gloves

I was using up leftover yarn from the Lucy hat,

so these are shorter than the pattern recommends.
This was a fun pattern;

I enjoyed learning the mock honey comb stitch.

Irish Hiking Mitts

Once again, these are short (and have funky colorblocked thumbs)

because I was using up scraps of yarn.

The mitts are stretchy and comfortable.

I gave them to my Mum for her to wear at work

because her office is quite chilly in the winter.

Lotus Hat

This is not really a complicated pattern,

but I had the hardest time not messing up my counting.

So much unraveling...

Lizzy Lid
This was really not the yarn to use for this pattern;

neither the lovely stitch patterns nor the striping in the yarn

is showcased in this combination.

Live and learn...

cable baby

This darling baby hat is very stretchy to grow with baby

and makes the perfect little gift.

I'll definitely be making more of these.

I am always amazed at the variety and quality

of free knitting patterns available.
Thank you, you lovely people

who share your patterns with such generosity!

happy thanksgiving

I hope you've had a peaceful holiday

and that the rest of your weekend is excellent as well!

art retreat

Last September we went to the Oregon coast

for a quiet family vacation.

(More on that later.)

While we were there,

my sweet husband gifted me

the opportunity to attend one of Alisa Burke's art retreats.

I can't think of a better word than amazing

to describe my experience.

Alisa welcomed twelve artists of all skill levels

into her beautiful studio.

We were greeted on the first day with

carefully arranged pails of art supplies,

fresh flowers at our work spaces,

and delicious scones from a local bakery.

After some preliminary instruction on sketching,

we headed out to dodge a storm

and sketch on the beach.

We drew and painted and made new friends

for two and a half blissful days,

taking breaks to do some crafting (like stamp making!)

and eat amazing local food.

It was...wonderful.

I'm already trying to figure out how to make it happen again. :)

[photos 1, 9, 10, 13, 14, and 16 by Alisa Burke]

today

 This morning I woke up inexplicably depressed.
Like, you-are-my-child-and-I-love-you-more-than-life-itself-

and-so-I-will-get-up-and-feed-you-breakfast-

but-then-I'm-going-to-go-back-to-bed-

and-pull-the-covers-over-my-head depressed.

And then late morning there was a knock on my door.
Apparently the local fruit stand guy has had to resort

to peddling his wares door to door.
He had some apples that were deeply discounted

because he'd had them for over a week.

Suddenly I realized that the sun was shining

and that at that moment more than anything else in the world

I wanted to make apple butter.

So I bought a quarter of a bushel of apples,

ignored the laundry and dishes,

and made apple butter with Brother instead.

It was perfect.

no preamble

I'm back!
My blogging hiatus has been good and necessary,

but I'm feeling ready to jump back in.
I've missed this space.
And I've missed you, my lovely readers.
I can't wait to reconnect.

drained

My life is crazy right now.

Lots of hard things. Lots of good things.

And then more hard things on top.

I feel like my strength is being tested to its very limits.

I have tons of stuff that I could blog about.

I have even been able to complete several projects.

But when I sit down to work on

the calligraphies I have been commissioned to make,

the contribution I am making to Made,

the posts I have planned to write here,
or even to play in my art journal,

I feel drained.
Paralyzed.

Dry.

Completely used up and exhausted.
Like my life has crashed down around my ears
and my will is seeping out through the cracks.

I am trying to be gentle with myself.

I tell myself:
everything that needs to get done
will happen in good time.

But it's hard.

Hard.

dawn

the sky is the color of deep indigo ink.

the chilly is air heavy with the scent of vegetation,

wet with the dew of the night.

the earth is reverently hushed.

and then the sky is paler blue,

the mountains show in dark silhouette.

the green of the valley becomes more intense.

a glow of pink blooms in the east.

the dark water ripples,

ethereal mist rises and blows in my face.

the silence is shattered: ho-onk? asks a goose.

his fellows answer, rising on powerful wings.

the birdsong crescendos, the breeze lifts my hair.

colors become more distinct.

i can almost pinpoint the moment

the sky changes to blue from its pearly pre-dawn hue.

suddenly the sun leaps above the mountains,

pulsing in the glory of fiery coral sunrise.

it continues to climb, reaching down to the earth,

offering warmth and pure gold light.

and so, another day begins.

monday (lack of) menu

[uncooked pink rice]

I've been having something of a menu crisis lately

because I pretty much hate cooking
during these hot summer months.

What are your favorite hot-weather meal solutions?