“Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine.”
Anthony J. D’Angelo

As a boy scout leader years ago, there was a phrase that was repeated time and again on rainy campouts that always made me smile. They called it “liquid sunshine”. Funny that I’m thinking of that on a beautiful sunny day, but I just came across this quote and it sent me back to those wonderful camping weekends when it didn’t matter what Mother Nature sent our way. It might be 10 below or pouring rain with knee deep mud all around, or (rarely) sunny and warm. What mattered was the good company and the knowledge that fun can be had any where and in any weather. You just have to make it yourself. No video games, no books or television, just your imagination, some good friends and a big dose of whimsy.  Oh and a nice warm campfire to gather around at the end of the day never hurts!

This small wall hanging will be in my etsy shop soon.

These are my party snowmen for January.

For February I created a small intimate party for two.

This one is for sale at my etsy shop

Stay tuned for the March installment of the Great Snowman Challenge.

Colorful pieces of my everyday life.

I spent so many years of my life planning for what I’d do when I retired. Well, I’ve been retired for one year and three months now and I’ve been working on all those plans I made. I decided to start using a schedule about 6 months ago. I am one of those “if it isn’t written down, it doesn’t get done” sort of people. So, I used WordPad to make up a schedule. Since my business is on the computer, one of the first things I do in the morning is check my email and online shops. This way I can just bring up the schedule and start to plan my day. At the top of the page I have an overall schedule that looks something like this.
1 hour exercise
1/2 to 1 hour housework
1/2 to 1 hour computer work (usually longer)
at least 4 hours creative work
enjoy life:)
This leaves me a lot of free time, which is the subject for other posts.
Then every evening I set out tasks that I want to accomplish the next day, including the things I didn’t do today. For instance today’s schedule says:

————————–Wednesday
houses quilt/
season’s quilt/
casserole set/
blog about schedule/

I put a / after each item I  worked on and then add what I didn’t do to the next day’s schedule, At the end of a week, I simply erase what I’ve done, but to keep track of my progress, I will write something like this:

1/23-1/29 ok, curtains, dogs, bday, charity quilt
1/31-2/5  successful, finished 2 shower curtains, listed stuff, had fun

That way, I know the schedule is working without having to sift through it all every day.

At the bottom of my schedule are two sections I call  “soon”  for things I’d like to get to within a week or two and “for another day”.  This is where I keep all of the ideas that I can’t possibly accomplish right now, but I want to remember for later.
This schedule has worked well for me so far. Here are the lessons I’ve learned along the way, not just in this scheduling project, but in a life full of juggling family and work.

1.   Don’t plan more than you can handle. You only guarantee failure that way. Be honest with yourself about what you can and cannot accomplish in a given time period. This is probably my biggest struggle.
2.    Allow for  interruptions. Accept that schedules are not written in stone. This was very important when I had children to care for. It seemed like nothing ever got done on some days. Again, plan what you can handle. Accept the fact that some days, just caring for your family is all that you can do. Make that your schedule. Put the rest in the “for another day” file. Have faith, “another day” will come along sooner than you want it to.
3.   Be flexible, but not too much. Keep adding a task to tomorrow if it’s an important one. I capitalize mine, once I’ve put it off for more than two days, to get my attention.  If you keep adding it and it doesn’t get done,  rethink whether you really want to do it, or add it to the “for another day” file.
4.    Last, but not least, enjoy your day, every day. Don’t worry about what does or doesn’t get done. Your peace of mind, family, the people around you, they’re what come first. The doing should happen around that, not in spite of it.

Now this snowman by Quiltsalad is in trouble. How is he going to deliver those presents?

I love this bright red afghan by Beccasgarden.

Dragonflyrealm made this pretty holiday table runner.

Stitchoftime crocheted this adorable guy.

Blueridge4sisters already sold this pretty wall hanging. She has many more beautiful things in her shop, as do all of these incredible artists.

Having three sons, I can’t help but love the picture on this stocking by Quiltwear.

Rackinjean makes these adorable custom embroidered towels.

The snowman parading on this table runner by LLGquilts make me smile.

Here’s my contribution to the challenge. I made a big one like this with worsted weight yarn a few years ago and I wanted to see what he’d look like in crochet thread. Very fussy work, but he makes a wonderful ornament.

Christmas Eve was a night of song that wrapped itself about you like a shawl. But it warmed more than your body. It warmed your heart… filled it, too, with a melody that would last forever.
Bess Streeter Aldrich

These recycled earrings by A Green Dress are made with soda bottles.

I always put candy canes and ornaments in my sons’ stockings. With this pretty ornament from Beccas Garden

I love these handmade pens from Mad Moravian.

A pretty red flower by Lolly Loo Boutique.