The Gypsy Caravan 2023

Monday, January 31, 2022

Revisiting Old Photos....The Nature Collection

One of my fussy projects this winter has been to go through old albums and digitally save the photos I want and send the originals to those in them. In the course of filing the scans, I revisited my digital photo files and have been dumping a lot of those as well. I also rediscovered many from past years that, if they were ever shared here at all, were shared long ago. (Photo purging is a great thing to do on a frigid day!)


Friday, January 28, 2022

Two Recipes to Make Your Valentine Swoon

If you're looking for some fun, easy desserts to share with your Valentine -- anyone from your beloved to your neighbor to your best friend -- here are a couple that are sure to melt their hearts!

Fabulous Fudge Bars

 

I didn't add nuts or fleur de sel to the top -- but you can!

Tuesday, January 25, 2022

Checking In

Touching base on a sunny, cold day! The birds are back at their feeding frenzy. Lizzie alternates between sleeping and watching! I alternate between baking, painting, reading, watching and blogging!


Saturday, January 22, 2022

Gathering Our Inner Resources

There are times all during life when we need the inner resources to keep ourselves busy and productive all by ourselves.

         ~ Fred (Mister) Rogers 

How are you doing with Omicron? Are you hanging in there? Self-isolating and going out only when necessary? Living with abandon?

New Years, 2018. Those were the good old days! More abandon then!

Wednesday, January 19, 2022

Winter is a Grand Time to Bake!

Sunday morning I awoke to 6 degrees F. Although it did warm up some later in the day, I knew from the time I got up that today would be a good day to bake. 

Monday, January 17, 2022

On Being Alive

"It is a serious thing
just to be alive
on this fresh morning
in this broken world.”
-Mary Oliver

Sometimes Mary Oliver speaks to the heart better than anyone. (No. Most of the time Mary Oliver speaks to the heart better than anyone.)


Friday, January 14, 2022

Winter in the House

I have an awkward relationship with January. It's fresh, a clean slate, time to get on the stick and do something! It's also cold, there's stuff to clean up and put away, and I just want to chill out -- without being chilled!


Truth is, my friend Kate captured my mood exactly in her January calendar offering. For that matter, she captured Lizzie's mood perfectly too!

Monday, January 10, 2022

Starting the New Year Right!

Well, we are full into January now, with cold days here in the north and enough white stuff on the ground that Rick is into cross country ski mode. I'm into nesting mode! Santas, out. Snowfolk, in.


Friday, January 7, 2022

A Blue and White Season: Winter at the Ditch

We've had our first real snow (not all that deep -- only about four or five inches) but it was enough to look pretty at the ditch.


Pretty cold, that is!

Monday, January 3, 2022

The Year in Books

In a recent article in the New York Times, Julie Lasky quoted author Reid Byers on home libraries: "Entering our library should feel like easing into a hot tub, strolling into a magic store, emerging into the orchestra pit or entertain a chamber of curiosities, the club, the circus, our cabin on an outbound yacht, the house of an old friend. It is setting forth and it is coming back to center."

Saturday, January 1, 2022

2021 in Pictures

Happy New Year, everyone! I love going back through photo files at the end of the year and the images remind me of the highlights -- and sometimes, low lights -- of the year. Here are a few.