Oil rigs, scarves and anniversaries

My husband has been working an insane amount of hours lately because of the Kulluk, an oil rig that went aground in Kodiak. He's working at one of the hotels that very occupied with the people overseeing and fixing the problem. They were on winter hours for the employees, and he knew he'd have to work on New Year's Day, and planned to take a different day off. Since it happened New Year's Eve, it's going to be at least another week before he'll get a day off probably.

So we didn't get to celebrate our anniversary the way we wanted, but it still happened. 17 years together! A few days before that he told me that he's more in love with me now than ever before. Because now we know each other so much better, there is so much more to love. I feel the same way towards him. The more I know him, the more history we share, the more I love him. Someone asked me what the trick to being very in love after 17 years is, and I'm not sure there's a trick. There is honesty, communication, shared experiences, a shared life. A dedication to the idea of our partnership and being conscious of it in how we talk and relate to each other and how we face the world.

Currently I'm working on a crocheted scarf. It's a very simple pattern, and I'll be posting it probably tomorrow. Ran short of yarn last night so need to go out and pick up some more. It's done in a very chunky yarn with a great big plastic hook so it works up fairly fast. It's January, and generally we get a cold snap in February that's just frigid. The yarn chosen is Michaels Loops and Threads Cozy Wool yarn. If you've never worked with it before it's a 50/50 wool/acrylic blend with a bit of the shine of acrylic and a nice even spin in a lofty, cushy yarn. My daughter took a scrap yesterday and tied it around her wrist as a bracelet because it's very, very soft. Since Loops and Threads yarn goes on sale frequently, this might be a new favorite for winter and chunky effects with lots of stitch definition. The wool will provide the warmth necessary for our cold winters. Because TG likes it so much, I'm also going to pick her up a couple balls tonight.

Yesterday I splurged with some of my winnings from the Duck Tape contest to buy my husband a new laptop. His is older and having all sorts of issues. After careful consideration, we decided on this one.


 The reason we picked this one was because there are a few things he needs in a laptop, a reasonable graphics card- the one in this computer is a mid-range card that's fairly fast. It won't handle huge graphic intensive games with a real high frame rate, but for the Dungeons and Dragons Online that he plays, it will be more then sufficient, a large hard drive, a good amount of ram and good build quality. He also didn't want anything too expensive, this wound up being a bit more than he wanted to spend. Not too much more, but for that extra 100 dollars, it's the better machine for how he'll use it. He's pretty excited about it, and it will be arriving Wednesday.

January Birthstone and Flower Mandala

Last June, on a whim, I did a birthstone/birth flower mandala with roses and pearls. At the time I thought monthly mandalas would be brilliant, but decided to start in January. So for the first mandala of this year to color, it's January's birthstone- Garnets surrounding a stylized carnation!
Carnations have petals in multiples of 5, with some few species having 40 petals, so this one has 40 petals. It's colored pink which stands for a mother's love. But by no means feel limited by conventional color choices. One of my favorite things is when people contact me on Facebook to show all the wonderful and creative ways they color these in.
I picked the oval faceted on the recommendation of my friend Rosemary who says it's her favorite shape for garnets.

Happy Birthday to all the people born in January!

I hope you enjoy this mandala to color. Click on the images for larger versions.

Small JPG version:

Large transparent PNG version:

Printable Kindness Quote

Unicumque homo est, ibi beneficio locus est. -Seneca

(Whereever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for kindness.)

I hope you enjoy today's printable quote. It's one of my favorites. The striped background was inspired by all the stripes that are showing up in fashion lately, but done in a graphic style.

Another one in black and white. Last week I won a Twitter giveaway from Astrobrights. Since I love Astrobrights for printing copies of black and white quotes for myself, it's very exciting!

Click the image for the larger printable version. The small version above is available on FB to share from either Shala's Beadwork and Printables or from Don't Eat the Paste Quotes.

 

No nonsense tights and leggings- an essential for Alaska!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of No nonsense for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Alaska is cold. I'm pretty sure that's not a newsflash to anyone. We have gorgeous summer weather which inspires people from Florida to wear lightweight jackets. We can be stubborn about what is shorts weather. If it's 45 degrees, you will see people in shorts. Even if it's an unexpected "heat wave" in January. 

No nonsense tights and leggings

My daughter and I wear leggings a lot, generally with sweaters or even under skirts or dresses that are just a little too short to be comfortable. No nonsense leggings are inexpensive, come in a lot of colors, and are really easy to find in food and drug stores as well as big retail stores. My daughter likes bright colors, I prefer basic black because it's easy to grab and go in the morning. 

I got black No nonsense leggings to write about for this post. I like the softness, the fit and the ease of having them in my wardrobe. They are true to size with a nice stretchy comfort that bounces back well in the wash.

Here in Anchorage, this would be a typical outfit for going out shopping. The styles and colors suit me, my daughter dresses almost the same even though she would deny it. Just updates the look with brighter colors and patterns.

 

 

 

Tights- The No nonsense tights are also affordable, widely available and available in different colors and textures. A great way to add a pop of color to an outfit, but I also use them for dressy occasions that my husband and I do for his job. Because they are professional appearances I like to cover the tattoo on my leg. Opaque black No nonsense tights do a great job with any dark colored dress. They also fit well, wash well and are a favorite.

 

 

 

 

Adding more color to my wardrobe and brightening it would be easy with No nonsense leggings and tights, and it's something I've been considering. Maybe if I start with darker colors?

 

No nonsense has teamed up with Jill Martin, and since Jill is known for being stylish AND practical, I'm looking forward to some great tips from her about adding more color to my wardrobe. Practical, easy and comfortable are what I'm looking for in a wardrobe so it's something I can go for a short hike in, and still looks good enough to go out to dinner with friends afterwards. 

Like No nonsense on Facebook and follow No nonsense on Twitter for great ideas!