Full of February

I started keeping a household journal lately, of projects, appointments, phone numbers, blog post ideas, or just daily observations.  There is probably an app for my phone that does the same thing, but I enjoy making notes in my little book. Looking back on the entries, I see there is a lot going on, but nothing is finished as yet. February has been a full month so far.
I'm still piecing my Liberty patchwork, quilting the economy block quilt and slowly adding to a growing pile of scrappy half square triangle blocks. That vintage pattern shown up there will hopefully be turned into some cotton frocks with deep pockets for collecting eggs and veggies from the garden. I'm obsessed with smock/apron/dresses right now. I want a whole closet full like these. 

My Nordic shawl is halfway done, but the picture doesn't look much different from the last time I posted it, so I'm sharing my knitting swatches instead.  This is actually taking up a lot of my time.  I remember learning how to crochet a few years ago.  I spent hours practicing, watching you-tube videos and reading books before I managed a completed shawl. So it goes with knitting.
I did make a trip to the yarn shop yesterday, just to soak up some knitting atmosphere and pet all the yarn.  I left with two hanks of Berocco Flicker, knitting needles, and some motivation. There are so many pretty knitting patterns, blogs, pins on Pinterest, posts on Ravelry, that my head is full and excited at the same time. The last thing I need is another craft, but I really want to make this work for me.

Out in the yard, we are re-configuring the garden, making new raised beds and cleaning out the shed.  Before I can bring new chicks home, we need to repair the chicken coop and paint.  Might as well take advantage of the nice weather and get a jump on some of these chores. Here in California, spring is handing winter his hat and coat and pushing him out the door.
With help from my sister, I have started a weight lifting program at the gym. I hate that I'm so sore after working in the yard, and I think this should make a difference.
I'm also deep into the book The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert.  The first few chapters were iffy, I put it down and then picked it up again, without too much enthusiasm.  But everything changed in part two and now we're getting somewhere.  I'm glad I kept going.
As I'm typing, the U.S. women's hockey team is playing Canada for the gold medal. My sisters and I are texting each other madly back and forth.  They are tied 2-2 in the last few seconds of regulation time, and will be going into overtime. As a Canadian living in the U.S., I'm actually a bit torn regarding the winner.  I guess either way I can't lose.