New Blog Look --

Ok, last night I spent a little time messing with the blog.  I tried on some of the backgrounds from other places -- some worked, some didn't, some were just frustrating so I came back to the standard ones on Blogger.  I have always liked this one -- a little bit more than just "plain" but not overwhelming.  Some blog pages I see are so busy that I tend to look at the page and not read the content.  They are lovely, to be sure, and definitely catch my eye but again, I am there to read content.  So, I decided on this one so I could add my own photos.

Speaking of photos, I decided to remove the Christmas photo -- nice as it was -- and put up something a bit more wintery.  This is a photo of our back garden during the recent ice storm.  Looks cold and dreary, right?  Well, that is because it was.  Fortunately we didn't lose power which was wonderful.  Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt and it wasn't fun.  Anyway, the patio doesn't look like this right now but we are in for another cold snap beginning this afternoon so who knows what might happen.  I am hoping for nothing!

I also added some new lists to the blog.  I am only subscribing to one official reading challenge this year -- the 2014 Goodreads Reading Challenge -- but I have a few personal goals.  I love reading books in a series.  There are two series that I am particularly enjoying right now -- The Elm Creek Quilt series and the Aunt Dimity mystery series.  My goal is to finish these two series this year so making a list on here makes sense as I can see at a glance what I have read.  I also added a list for the Nancy Drew series.  I have no plans to finish this series this year as there are many, many books in the series.  I might stop at the original books and not progress through the more modern writings.  However, since I am enjoying that series as well I would like to keep a tab of what I have read. 

In addition to all the reading, I am pursuing a new quilting technique -- well, new to me but it is quite old in reality.  I have explored English Paper Piecing in the past -- in fact, I just ran across sixteen "flowers" that I made a while back.  I started again and am having great fun both sewing and reading blogs about technique, finishing and such.  Apparently EPP is to quilters what knitting is to knitters -- portable, relaxing and addictive.

Not sure how I am going to finish these -- whether I am going to link them all together and make a quilt top -- applique them down and make quilt squares or put them together and make cushion covers or link them together and make a Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt.  I have a couple of other projects to finish before I get too involved with this but it is really nice to sit in front of the fire (and tv) and stitch away.  I have always loved hand sewing from quilting to embroidery and cross stitch.  I would like knitting and crocheting but apparently I was out of the room when that gene was passed on.

I will be starting a new blog on Wednesday -- well, Tuesday night probably.  It is devoted to gratitude and will be heavy on the spiritual side.  I am doing it as a personal discipline and I thought about keeping it very private but then I decided that it would be a good opportunity to encourage others to count their blessings and maybe see life from another perspective.  Anybody who is interested is certainly welcome to visit me there but if that isn't your "thing" feel free to visit me here -- the two blogs will not be linked -- both have different purposes and will probably have different audiences. 

So, there you have it -- blog overhaul, dreary photo, and goals for a New Year!