Reflections of 2013

My good friend Kelly, over at Byzantium's Shores, has a tradition of answering an end-of-year questionnaire every New Year's Eve. I always post my Best Of/Worst Of, but it just doesn't seem to be pertinent this year. I hope Kelly won't mind my pinching his questionnaire from him, then paring it down to just those questions that apply to life as I now live it, and editing some of those...

Made it Through Another, Barely

With each year I feel more relief when Christmas is over. Now, don't go calling me Scrooge, or Grinch. I really love Christmas, but every year it gets harder to keep up with it...

Did Beethoven Do the Dishes?

Here's how my mind works... I want to spend today writing, right? I'm sitting here in my bed, enjoying my morning coffee and harping at Nigel to quit whining (he's having one of those days—already), and I think, "Wow, I'm feeling the urge to write!" Then it all starts to pile up...

2014 - The Short List

All in all, 2013 was a pretty good year at Bookends Cottage. I've certainly survived worse, most notably 2004 and 2010. I never want to experience years like those again! The best years were 2000 and 2012, but 2013 is not far behind. So what's in store for 2014...

Feckin' Resolutions

I know it's a bit early to start blogging about New Year's resolutions, but this came to me uninvited. You know how epiphanies are...

Warm and Cozy

Icy Solstice

What better way to welcome winter today than with an ice storm and snow? Warm and snug indoors, I've set to my holiday baking while the rest of he family shop, relax with Windham Hill seasonal music, and play with the dog...

Through Other Eyes

Digital take on Escher. 

These days I'm seeing life around me through different sets of eyes. Through different dimensions, if you will. Perhaps it's due to the inevitable dimming of my physical eyesight due to aging and illness—as one sense decreases others increase—I don't know, but some new possibilities are opening up. New ways of seeing, perceiving, imagining...

The Wolf is Chasing the Sheep

"Wolf! Wolf!"

I'm boycotting the Weather Channel. I've had enough of their tabloid-like, fear mongering headlines and alerts. Enough of their shouting, flailing "meteorologists", enough of their all-caps headlines and bylines. If it isn't a supposed snowpocalypse, it's something that has nothing at all to do with the weather. Take today's little collection, for instance...

Wearing Bibs Like a Boss

Rocking the bibs

No one ever did (and no one ever will) rock a pair of denim bibs the way George Harrison did. Beatle fan that I was, I'd never even paid him much notice until he struck out on his Dark Horse Tour wearing these much-embellished overalls. I liked them so much, in fact, I went out and got a pair for myself and dutifully embroidered a red OM on the front pocket...

Until That Time Comes

Was it really like this back then?

Let me get this right out in the open. I strongly dislike shopping. What's more, I especially dislike Christmas shopping. Especially strongly dislike. But there is that one day every December when I enjoy it. It has to be accompanied by some strong incentive, however...

I Don't Need a Cell Phone

Vintage style

I've had a cell phone off-and-on, since, well, since my first one back in 1997 or '98. I didn't use it all that much then, either. Sometimes I go days without even remembering to turn my phone on. Almost all of my communication is done through either email or Facebook, so my phone gets used only when I'm out, which is seldom, anyway. I'm kind of a homebody these days...

Unofficially Winter

Big Red returns

We've spent the entire weekend in the most beautiful snow. I haven't even minded the cold, really, except when I went out last evening to get a bottle of sauvinon blanc and the ingredients for a cheese fondue. But the cottage stays warm and we have enough tea and hot chocolate to last the entire season...

Maybe I Will Be the Next Grandma Moses

Bookends Cottage by SK Waller

Not hardly, but I have to say I'm chuffed with my first stab at watercolors. The piece took me about three hours; I found the sketching part a breeze, and even the painting wasn't too difficult once I got over my anal-retention about detail and non-impressionistic accuracy. It was mixing the colors that took some work. Some little bits came out muddier than I would like... and those trees... and that crooked door... and, well, I have a lot to learn, but I think it's a fair first try...

The Audacious Autodidact

Springer Spaniel by Ron Krajewski

I took a little longer break from blogging than I intended, but I should caution you to get used to that between now and the new year. We're all busier at this time so I know you understand. Meanwhile, I'm trying my hand at something new. It has been a few years since I autodidcted myself (yes, I just invented that word). I think the last thing was CSS markup in 2006, so I'm way overdue. This is what I've headed into. Watercolors...

The Warmth From Within

The warmth from within

In these days of limited energy and reduced physical agility, I hardly decorate the exterior of the house anymore. Whether it's a spooky front porch tableau for Halloween, or a mass of lights and holiday yard art for Christmas, I just can't do it. It's regrettable too, because this cottage could really pull that sort of thing off well...