Grey Skies

However mean your life is, meet it and live it; do not shun it and call it hard names. It is not so bad as you are. It looks poorest when you are richest. The fault-finder will find faults even in paradise. --Henry David Thoreau

I had a rough week last week. Between work stuff and family stuff, there was a lot going on in my head that just wouldn't let up, and with relentless rain falling all over this part of the world, I was not in the best shape by the end of the week. I was very glad to get to the weekend, however damp it ended up being.

Still... it's pretty:

One of the better things about rainy days is that it's a nice time to fire up the oven to do some baking. I had no interest in doing anything particularly complicated, but pita is always a winner for a rainy day. Of all the bread that I make, I feel like it's the simplest, and possibly the most gratifying: only one rise, only three minutes to bake, and afterwards you feel like a frigging magician:

Weirdly, this is the time of year when this flower blooms. What kind of flower blooms in January?? Well, this Hellebore does. I had never seen it before we moved to this house, and I found it a couple of years ago peeking out amongst the detritus in the shrubs. I decided to dig it out last year to put it in a pot since it seemed to be getting chewed up by insects in there. It was just a pot of green leaves for most of the year, but this week, when all was in muck and mire and chaos, it bloomed. Maybe it's to tell me that life goes on, even when stuff is hard. Or maybe it's just a weird plant:

Yesterday was a surprise dry day, so we pack up Seymour and headed out for a walk along one of the trails in a nearby town. While we were there, I decided it would be a good time to treat myself to a wander around the antique shop. My eyes were just searching and searching for something to put a smile on my face... and then, tucked away in a dark corner I found this vintage Batik stamp:

I have had a fascination with these stamps ever since I learned about Batik printing for fabrics. They are still used in parts of India, but finding this in amongst all of the other treasures brightened me up. I have a lot of ideas for printing some fabric with some natural dyes I have squirreled away in the cupboard. Maybe I'll print on some old pillowcases or some old sheets... Many a thing will be printed, mark my words!

And while I was there, I walked past these pretties twice... I looked at them the first time, sighed, then walked away. Then, I did another lap around the shop to see if I still loved them when I came back. Turns out I did. I love old refrigerator containers. They are so much more elegant than ye olde Tupperware. I can't wait to use them. Bring on the sauces and leftovers!

Since I was so tired this week, I didn't get nearly as much finished on my current knitting project as I would have liked, but I am very pleased with how it is all working out thus far. I was worried that knitting the pieces on the bias would end up with a misshapen garment, but it all fell into place magically when I seamed up the shoulders and the sides:

I am currently working on knitting some funky bell sleeves onto it, and I will also finish up the collar with the gold yarn as well. I know... that sleeve looks a bit like a tired elephant trunk, but it does look nice when I put it on! I promise!

Anyway, tomorrow is another day, and I already have a few obstacles I need to work through before it even begins. For now, I'll just settle in with my knitting and do several reassuring rounds of ribbing. There's something very comforting about just making those stitches over and over and over again. At least I have some idea of how it will all turn out.

Have a good week... or at least try to.