New Stairs

This is my friend, Ron.

He is an amazing artist, along with being a superior craftsman and a really great person.  He took our ugly stairs, landing and hallway with the carpet that was two days older than Methuselah

here you can see the nasty carpet with Sophy-the-cat being excessively cute

and transformed them into a work of art.

good-bye, yucky carpet!

laying out a pattern...

the upstairs hallway

the upstairs hallway, finished

laying of the carpet and the landing

Everyone approves!

Not only is Ron an amazing interior designer, but he does incredible artwork.  If you are in the Las Vegas area and are interested in having him do any work for you, let me know and I'll put you in touch with him.

Hurray! This was a BIG thing to cross off my 101 Things in 1001 Days list...

Knitting with Sputnik...

That's what it feels like whenever I try to knit with double pointed needles.  After wrestling with this at my favorite yarn shop last night, I have gotten this far:

This is the beginning of my first mitten.  I am determined to learn to make mittens (because God knows we need them in Las Vegas at this time of year) and to knit them on dpns (because there's just not enough stress in my life).  And also because mittens are on my 101 Things to Do in 1,001 Days list.  Watch for updates...

Janus

Janus is the Roman god of thresholds, gateways, beginnings, endings, transitions, and time.  It was high time that I finished this plaque (begun about three years ago) and put it in its place of honor outside our front door.

101 Things in 1001 Days

You know how everybody starts planning out their New Year's Resolutions right around now?  And how they're forgotten, ignored, swept under the couch with the dust bunnies by the second week of January?  Well, this year, I'm not doing that.  This year, I've made a list of 101 Things I Want to Accomplish in 1001 Days.  I learned about it from Lynda at The Holistic Knitter's Blog.  Seems there's a website, Day Zero Project where lots of other folks are creating their own lists of 101 things to do.  I like the idea so well that I'm creating a journal to keep track of it all.  I love this journal because I made it from old magazines that I bound together and covered with a Trader Joe's shopping bag.  Here are the first two pages:

Of course, after I began using it, I found things I didn't like (the spaces are too small, for one thing).  So now I'm revising the calendar pages into a two-page spread.  I'll add more pictures over time.  I'm also in the process of creating a page on this blog with my list of 101 Things, which I'll edit as I make progress on/complete items.  To be continued...