I ended up printing out some cards yesterday that I finished up ahead of the larger batch I'll be working on today. I couldn't stand seeing the partial stacks of cards I still had on the table. The store in Greenfield wants 6 cards per design and these needed just a few more each. All good.

I experimented with movement while working on the cards. Most of the time I need to hold fairly still of course, like when I'm actually folding and cutting. But some of the process I can manage a gentle forward/back or side-to-side rocking motion from one foot to the other so that I'm not staying in a static position for long periods of time. Definitely helps.

I worked out these motions years ago, after the car accident, but usually reserve it for standing conversations. Years ago I was standing talking with a friend of mine who'd also had a car accident and we were side-rocking together while talking. Would have been fine except a third friend was having trouble dealing with us moving toward and then away from her -- claimed it was making her a little seasick :D

Humans are like cats, we tend to compensate rather than fix things. Altho' it could be argued that sometimes at least, compensating is the best that can be done.

Along the lines of "Go Small and Show Up", made a partial delivery of cards to Elmer's Store this morning.
The three definitively winter holiday cards are now off the rack, I have a copy of the current inventory, and a list of more cards I need to print and deliver.

Completed printing and cutting for a delivery of 50 cards to the farm.

Still have to finish the rest of the printing for the store in Greenfield, but considering I was aiming for printing 100 cards yesterday and made it to nearly 200, not too shabby.

And now, breakfast.

Mostly-but-not-all a copy/paste of one of my FB posts. I'm trying to get used to posting in more than one place.

***

No painting yesterday. Realized that (a) I've been pushing myself pretty hard the past few days and (b) I was running out of primer paint. Turns out what I thought was more primer paint is ceiling paint...that paint is now in the upstairs bathroom, waiting for us to paint the ceiling in there.

So we went shopping for more primer, as well as the finish paint for the walls and trim for the library. That was an experience in itself :D But we have it now, and I may try to put on more primer today.

Then we decided we were just too worn for more work of any sort and went to the movies and saw Spiderman: Far From Home. Very enjoyable, stayed through the credits and saw both easter eggs.

***

This morning, we got a call from Delta -- some folks dropped off some wool with her last week, which she has plans for -- and then brought by _more_ today, which she didn't have plans for :D

So I have a few bags to go through, and we'll see what other folks might like as well. I'll do the initial sort immediately, as those folks will supposedly also be dropping off linen in the near future.

***

Hm, what else? Oh, I'm working on making a candle holder from a little wall-mount plant holder. I'm using one of my glass antique insulators in the pot-holding hoop It isn't a perfect fit, so I made a macrame holder for it, with some beads incorporated at the top edge to make the opening smaller. Just adding some embellishments and then I'll find a place to hang it.

***

I made a poncho of sorts? It isn't as long as I've seen them be, but it's long enough to throw over whatever tee or tank top I'm wearing if I'm not wearing a bra and need to go to town. Complicated back/shoulder/neck issues mean that, at least for now, I don't wear bras much because they make everything worse. I made it from a table runner and some lace scraps leftover from someone making their wedding dress. I embellished the lace edges with some pearl beads (mix of new and re-used), and the front has a random design of some of my mother's collection of buttons. I may need to put some buttons on the back for counter-weight, but for the most part it works quite well!

I'll have to take some photos and post those.

Well, I did just great on posting last year, eh?

As brief a re-cap as I can manage... Seven items, first one is the longest.

(1)
Greenhouse is up on its foundations, raised beds on west and south sides work great! Put in rain barrels (water to stabilize temp swings), didn't have time to finish the outer door, the shed on the north side (storage and insulation), or the connecting wall/doorway onto the porch. Lyle put up a temporary plywood wall at the west end (future external door).

This made winter interesting, to say the least. Tried lots of things, including insulated boxes and buckets of hot water (lidded to retain heat longer), insulated the north, east, and most of the west wall, hanging clear plastic like a tent roof overhead to reduce the amount of space to keep warm, etc. - and eventually gave in and potted all the tender plants and brought them inside. Another crowded winter, making it harder to organize everything else.

The lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard (and apparently bok choi) stayed there, being more cold tolerant. I left the insulated boxes up, except opening the one directly south of the greens during the day so they could get more sunlight. I also moved some bins of stuff that'd been stored elsewhere into the other end of the greenhouse and covered them with a big tarp, further reducing the space to keep above freezing.

I learned a lot though, even so. And thank goodness Lyle was able to build some things and help with a lot of stuff, like when we were lugging buckets of water every night -- sometimes more than once...Most everything is still alive, and I was finally able to re-open a tiny bed for the spinach and a few Swiss chard that were stuck in pots over the winter, _and_ we've eaten greens from the garden several times now.

The porch, which connects the greenhouse to the house! The South wall of the porch has a door and windows! The West side is a kluge of partially done and insulated wall and partially just insulation board and tape. (East and North sides are the house itself)

(2)
Got Fitbits, still using essential oils, exercising more, building endurance, more or less getting healthier. Lost a little over 20 lbs. Still can't go back to kung fu because my knees and shoulders won't go for that yet...but I can start practicing again at home.

(3)
Some crafting and making of things has happened. More than the previous year I suspect, but not nearly as much as I'd like.

I'll try to put it up here as well as elseweb in the future. Among other things, I repaired and refurbished an old wool mantle, primarily for Lord of the Rings Ranger-type thing but first opp to wear it was at a faerie-Ren faire. Among other things, I went full Ranger one of the days at the faire -- sorry, didn't take a picture. I was just pleased it was all comfortable :D

(4)
Went to Steampunk VT last September and Faeriecon in MD in November. Likely going to Watch City in Waltham MA in May...need to make hotel reservations. Lyle's doing a lot better these days, but events are better when he doesn't have to drive on the same day.

(5)
We ran craft classes at the kung fu school's summer camp last year and will be doing so again this year.

(6)
Our neighbor J has carpentry skills and has been helping things to happen faster, at a reasonable neighborly-rate. He helped with the porch last fall/winter. He's currently working on turning the carriage house/partially open back half of the barn into an enclosed space. It's complicated...a lot of material had to be removed as rotten or eaten by powder post beetles. Spraying to happen soon, if it ever stops snowing...

I did most of the prep for that, moving things out and cleaning where I could. Lyle's job is pretty insane these days, with a lot of hours per week and sometimes odd hours (yay international company). He helps when he can, but the company keeps him busy -- that and all the other things he has to do. So yay for help! This renovation is going to provide a home for our books -- yes, we're building a library.

(7)
Despite all, I have managed to better organize a few things and even got rid of some stuff. Just delivered a box of fabric, etc. for a volunteer sewing thing happening on Sunday, in fact (I'm at demo that day). Doing better at opening up space to work in, too. Doesn't stay open, but it's possible. Going to keep pushing that organizing and reducing (as needed), because I have Things to Make.

Yesterday was a good day. Got the maps out to several places then home to finish getting the place ready. I don't know about the other sites but we didn't get any visitors here. A lot going on this weekend including right in town, so not a lot of surprise there. But there were two of us artists, the weather was beautiful, and L kept on working on things so the place is looking really good right now.

As regards the remainder of my congestion, I'm going to say I'm 95% of the way to being done with it. L might be another week or so I think, but doing better regardless.

As regards the art...looks like I can draw :)

No, I'm not sharing the picture right now; still working on the tree. Plus there's all of its surroundings to work on still, but my fellow artist was impressed I'd gotten as much done as I had -- pen illustration can be a bit on the detailed side, and I did draw a lot of leaves! But I think I captured the personality and silhouette of the tree, so I'm pretty happy with it, and feeling more confident that I can pull off the rest. It's been a long time since I've really drawn...

I love the work of the other artist, Walter C. He's a great water colorist. Professionally he's a landscape architect but he has a lovely feel for landscapes and nature. Interestingly, this was his first time painting a tree from life. He's observed their shapes and lines for years in his work as an architect but all his paintings have been from his minds' eye (much like birch illustrations I've done). So, a new experience for him :)

A successful day for artists and trees.

When we had our housewarming last spring, we set up the rug loom so that folks coming to the party could help make a rug for our home. Most of the work was done then, but of course not everyone could make it, so we left the rug on the loom for other occasions. It was fun for folks to try out the loom; for many it was a first time weaving, and it inspired a couple of folks to get back to their own looms.

But it was time to clear the loom for new projects, so off it came. L took pics, one of which I'm finally putting up here. The tassels still need trimming in the pic, but we love the rug! It came out exactly the right length to fit in the hallway, with no planning on our part. I'm not generally partial to random design color-wise, but I think this came out perfectly, and I don't even mind the uneven edges. Goodness knows our house isn't a paragon of square corners and level floors, and it shows the individuality of our friends and family, while coming together to create something wonderful.