52 Lists, Week 20

Happy Monday! Welcome to my 52 Lists Project, wherein I feature one list every week for 2015. To join in with your own list, scroll down to the link at the bottom, print out your own list, and then share it however you wish!

Week 20: List Your Summer Goals
I don't usually make summer goals because I don't get tons of time off in the summer to do stuff (I wish!), but I'm thinking it might be nice to have some concrete things to work on/get accomplished this summer.

• start walking in the evenings again (train for Santiago!) - solo or with a buddy
•  spend more time outside - go to Mom and Dad's pool on my lunch break
• go rollerskating with my sisters on Wednesday night at least 3 times
• continue improving ye olde blog
• catch up on incomes and expenses at work - get stuff entered into the Neat database and keep up with it!
• get things at work that need to be shredded organized and shredded
• get on top of new/abandoned case files and get them finished
• go up to Salem at least once
• meet my summer savings goals for Santiago
• start saving for Europe next summer
• renew my passport
• read at least 5 new books from my list
• get my desk and vanity organized
• pick patterns and yarn, and cast on, for Lila and Talia's Hanukkah sweaters

Challenge: This week, I will prep for summer by...
clearing off my desk in my bedroom to make more productive use of the space.

So there you have it! What about you? Got any splendid summer to-do's? Know of any killer beach reads I should add to my summer reading list? Let me know in comments or with a list of your own!

Love,

Willow


P.S. I'm now officially on Instagram! Follow me HERE.

For more fun with 52 Lists, click down on "52 Lists" in the little categories section at the bottom of the post, and go over to Moorea Seal's site to see more!

Check out Moorea Seal's entire project at her blog below:
http://www.moorea-seal.com/p/52-lists.html  


 

52 Lists, Week 10

Happy Monday! Welcome to my 52 Lists Project, wherein I feature one list every week for 2015. To join in with your own list, scroll down to the link at the bottom, print out your own list, and then share it however you wish!

Week 10: List the Ways You Can Cleanse for Spring
Spring is in the air!!! It's actually quite chilly here, to be honest, but it's the chill of early early spring before it gets warm and the entire world bursts into bloom. It's nearing my favorite time of year and I'm definitely ready to throw open the windows and shake out my whole house. Here are some of the ways I plan to do some spring cleaning:

• deep clean in nooks and crannies (no cobwebs allowed!)
• wipe all of the blinds with vinegar and water
• clean out my bedroom and closet and only keep things I use/wear
• get all the windows professionally cleaned (we really need this because there was a storm back in early February that left some weird gunk on the outside of the upstairs windows and I can't clean those on my own)
• get help to clean out the rain gutters
• vacuum the back of the piano (it's dusty and cobwebby back there)
• finish reorganizing the bookcases and make room for the new roommates books (two English majors under one roof - yikes!)
• clean out the freezer and the pantry
• start having green smoothies for breakfast again
• start going for walks in the evening with my neighbor, Sarah
• get up early and soak in some sunshine - get that vitamin D!

So that's my list! It doesn't look like a lot on paper but the cleaning out my bedroom is going to be a big, ugly project. It's scary in there.

What about you? What are the ways you clean for spring? Are you all about cleaning out and simplify or are you more into disinfecting everything in sight? Let me know in comments or with a list of your own!


Love,

Willow

For more fun with 52 Lists, click down on "52 Lists" in the little categories section at the bottom of the post, and go over to Moorea Seal's site to see more!

Check out Moorea Seal's entire project at her blog below:
http://www.moorea-seal.com/p/52-lists.html  

Yarn Along - Snowflakes Checked Slouch

Linking up (for the first time!) with Ginny over at Small Things for her weekly Yarn Along. I figure I should start sharing all the knitting I've been doing and there's no time like the present! Head on over to Ginny's to see what everyone else is up to. 

Last week I started working on Christmas knits! I know it sounds crazy, but there are only 15 weeks until Christmas and I basically stop all Christmas knitting after the first week of December because I'm busy making Christmas decorations and other crafts in preparation for probably my favorite holiday. We'll talk more on Christmas later.

Ravelry Page

ANYway, the only people I really knit things for anymore are my sisters and a couple of my cousins (and babies - always knit for babies). So my sisters and my girl cousin get hand knits this Christmas. I was thinking of my sisters and how much I love the checked slouch I made for my friend R--- and our cousin Charlotte and Snowflakes was born. My youngest sister M loves pretty shades of blue and the blue yarns I chose against the white look kind of like snowflakes. I hope she likes it even though it rarely gets cold enough to warrant a woolen hat this cozy here in SoCal.

In books lately, I'm slogging through The Other Typist. I only say slogging because I keep putting off picking it up. When I do pick it up I can read 3 chapters before bed and be perfectly satisfied. The trouble is, I really don't like the main character/protagonist/narrator. She's just not likeable. I know, main characters don't necessarily need to be likeable, but there's a difference between someone who is believably flawed and unreliable as a narrator and someone who is just plain boring in order to showcase someone far more interesting. I'm not joking when I say that the antagonist is fascinating, but there are quite a few things about this book I would change if I had my way. I'll do a full write up on it when I finish. If I finish. Yikes.

That's it for me today. What have you been knitting and reading lately? Let me know in comments and then head over to Ginny's to see what everyone else is up to!

Love,

Willow


*Author's Note: The Yarn Along button in this post is property of Ginny Sheller and is used with permission. All other images used in this post as well as text are (c)Whitney Miller and may be used only with my express permission. See my About Page for details.*

Write One Leaf: Rain

I think it might rain later. The fog and mist have rolled off the ocean and crept onto campus. The wind bears the promise of a change in the weather and the palm trees sway their testimonial agreement.

Speaking of palm trees, I've noticed something curious about them. They tend to grow best in dry places, but when the wind brushes through their branches, the whisper of it sounds like water. A few weeks ago I was sitting on the Bluff and looked around thinking there was rain coming or a water feature I had yet to discover, only to find it was simply the palm trees being loved by the breeze. It was a magical sound.

I don't love the rain the way I used to. I still love it, though. Maybe it's a sign of maturity? Growing up? Perhaps. I used to love the concept of the sky crying. Now I'm more enamored with the cleansing aspect of rain. The air, the streets - everything is cleaner after the rain.

There's also jumping in puddles, warm pots of tea, reading by the window... Going to the movies or having a movie marathon is a great rainy day pastime. So are good conversations.

Oh, my. I just looked out the windo and the wind has kicked up and one can actually observe the mist being blown about, ushered into every space available on campus. Eery and beautiful.

What do you do when it rains?

"Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby."
~Langston Hughes

Peace,
Willow