winter

I've spent so many years away from you
Just catching rare glimpses here and there,
And now you are in my life once more
But I am still caught unaware

I mean not to be ungrateful
For your refreshing gusts of wind,
Your showers of rain and biting cold
And the change in temperature you bring

The sniffles and coughs and other ills
Do often get me down,
As does the limited warm sunshine
Whenever you're in town

But then, I get to indulge a bit more
In soups and various hot drinks,
Creamy custards and piping-hot puddings
And lemons, oranges and mandarins

Cozy crocheted blankets and various hand-knits,
I love, as they really are the best -
Thing about you being here and
Make you a welcomed guest!

Chrea National Park - the snow up there, brought us a whole load of cold down here!

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now

After seeing the taking stock post on Meet Me At Mikes, I thought a quick capture of where I am right now would be fun (and a nice way of getting back in to blogging). I've used some of Pip's prompts but not all, so if you'd like to take part, check out her post for the full list.

Making: things to keep little ones warm

Cooking: stuffed peppers with tomato sauce

Drinking: herbal tea - This is really good!

Reading: Daring Greatly by Brene Brown - an eye-opener to say the least

Trawling: paleo sites - no matter how far I stray, I love going back!

Wanting: to get everything done

Looking: forward

Deciding: on which way to go

Wishing: peace to all

Enjoying: Sherlock 

Waiting: for things to pan out

Liking: bullet journaling 

Wondering: when the water company will turn the water back on :(

Loving: The Year Compass 

Watching: my baby take dramatics to another level!

Marvelling: at my friend's stairs

Needing: more hours in the day?

Smelling: a scented candle from a beautiful friend

Wearing: hand-knit socks 

Noticing: composition - for a little photography club I've joined

Knowing: that I don't know what's best for my family ... only Allah (God) does 

Admiring: the efforts of so many regarding the Syrian crisis

Celebrating: community and friendship

Embracing: winter - well, trying to!

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ugly

There is a lot of ugliness in the world. And one might argue that as with beauty, everyone has a different opinion of what is truly ugly. But I think "ugly" is a strong word. Yes, tastes vary and I see that more so here, in Algeria where tastes in clothes, make-up, home decor, even cake designs are generally quite different to mine. I appreciate the work that goes in to a handmade clay pot, a hand-embroidered bedspread or an intricately decorated cake. Even if I find it a bit tacky and not pleasing to my eye, I could never say it's ugly. What is ugly though? Rudeness, oppression, exploitation, disrespect, arrogance. There is a lot of ugliness in the world.    

Here in Algeria, when you tell someone that they look nice or "shebba", they reply with "oyoonik shebbeen"or "your eyes are nice/beautiful" meaning: Your eyes are beautiful to have seen the beauty in me. With whatever ugliness there is around us, I think it's nice to seek out beauty in it, be it a situation, a relationship or an incident. Sometimes the beauty just springs up, as if from nowhere.

My "ugly", scrap yarn, crochet!

Are you seeing any beauty in the "ugly" around you?

This post is a part of the "Love Your Blog Challenge". Click on the image below to see posts by others that are participating.

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beginnings ...

... can be frightening! 

Stepping out in to the unknown. New challenges and adventures await. 

I question myself. Will it work? Do I have the energy and motivation to see it through to the end?

Those first steps are the hardest. Sometimes I crave the familiarity of people and things that are no longer in my life. Sometimes it's lonely and I need to know that I'm not alone. 

Beginnings can be difficult but I need to start. I need to give my graphic design work a push and I want to finally list some things in that Etsy shop of mine! 

Are you beginning things? Do you tend to look back at the experiences you've had or do you look ahead more towards your goals? 

This post is a part of the love your blog challenge. You can see posts by others that are taking part here.

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a 2012 round up ...

... kind of. Because not everything can be documented in a blog. Life happens and some things are not "captured", and rightly so. But here's an attempt at rounding up some of those things because it's great to look back, with some positivity, with some lessons learnt, some memories and then to move forward with more determination in sha Allah. 

I tried some new things ...

like holding crochet classes with the hopes of more crafty sessions

and having a craft stall at a bazaar 

and homeschooling, which forced me to get more creative with my children (and to get to know what makes them tick, much better!)

and changing the way I eat, which has helped me to get to know myself better (and started me on a road to a healthier me)

I got more involved in the community ...

with the TROCHET project (the major work-in-progress which was mentioned here, here and here and has it's own space here)

and taking part in a craft auction

a pay it forward

the third knit and crochet blog week

a tea wallet swap

the handmade joy swap

Geekfest Jeddah

signing up to the usual link party, one for the first time, not being able to commit to some as much as I'd like and not being able to contribute at all. This may carry on in to the next year!

There were some highs:

flowers

sweets were sent over

Helen's giveaway

Elena made a video tutorial of one of my patterns ... in Italian!

the children got creative in the kitchen

And there were some lows ...

Saying goodbye to so many expat friends but the hardest goodbye was to my parents 

Some projects were finished ...

a shrug/bolero in a panic

a shalom cardigan

a beret

a dress for a new niece

a something pretty bag

an order of crocheted goodies for a bridal shower!

large orders of crocheted arabic coffee cup covers (that had me questioning taking orders!)

another beret

a throw for my parents

 a knitted shawl

and more cards

Needless to say a lot of projects were started!

A few places were visited ...

Yanbu

Makkah

an istiraha

Thuwal

Madinah

Some baking was done too (but not as much of the fancy stuff this year)

Khoubz El Dar

Well, there you have it. Some of what we were up to. I feel that a lot of lessons were learnt this Gregorian year. I just hope I can keep it all in mind. I also feel that there are changes to be made bi idhnillahi ta'aala.

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