As A Passenger.

Here's a fun fact; I've never been able to drive.  My parents never had a car when I was growing up and the town I lived in in England was a place where you could walk everywhere.  I used to walk to and from work, into town and home again, to the supermarket and back.  Not that my town was little as such, but it was small enough that needing a car wasn't really necessary and I loved it.

Moving to America and being in a town so much bigger, having a car is a given.  You need one to get places, if you want to go to a different town or state and sometimes even getting to the supermarket needs a car.  It's a weird concept for me, as not only can I not drive (I have no driver's license in England or America) but I've never spent quite as much time in a car as I have since moving.  I'm getting used to it, slowly, and I'm actually quite enjoying being a passenger as it means I get to gaze out of the window and enjoy the scenery.  Here are some of the pictures I've taken in my time as a front seat passenger.

I really need to convince S to take me to see the Crayola Attractions - has anyone been?  Every time we drive past this sign I say 'We're going to go there one day!'.  Being someone who's a bit of a stationery junkie, the idea of going somewhere dedicated to Crayola is so exciting!

Do you drive or do you walk everywhere?  I love how convenient a car is but I absolutely love going for a long walk too and I don't want to become too reliant on being driven around.  I hope you are having a great week and have exciting things planned for your weekend!

Love, K.

It Snowed. Again.

See that?  With the howling winds and the powdery fine snow, our deck is covered in a whole foot of it!  I've never seen snow this deep before, especially two lots so close to one another!  I hear that there might be even more snow next week, due to another polar vortex.  That sounds like it should be a movie on the SciFi channel.

So when it's ridiculously cold outside and there is snow everywhere, what to do?  Personally, my two favourite things to do to keep me toasty are baking and crafting and I did both of those things today!

I saw this great post over on Beks' blog and I just had to bake a loaf of bread.  I baked rolls last year and I figured it was time to give a proper loaf a go.  I haven't baked bread from scratch in years, not since I was in school.  I followed this recipe and adjusted it so that I'd be making one loaf, waited impatiently for my dough to rise and excitedly pulled it out of the oven, hoping against hope that it hadn't burned on the bottom.

It turned out beautifully!  I love that little 'knock knock' on the bottom, the hollow sound that tells you it's properly cooked.  I'm letting it cool a little before slicing it and I'll wait until S gets home from work to serve it toasted with lots of butter, yum!

I also finally finished the throw/blanket/big crocheted circle I've been working on for ages!  I noticed last night when I was in bed that even though the heating was on, I still felt a little bit chilly (I'm not used to this cold weather, I need me some sunshine and heat!) so I thought that today I'd get it all done and snuggle up under it tonight!

I'm so pleased that I got it finished and that it actually turned out pretty well!  I'm also jazzed that it's so big; the stars at the left of the picture mark the bottom of our bed and the stars on the right are where our pillows are.  It very almost is the same width as our bed too, so I know that it's going to be a nice, warm, cosy extra layer while we battle through the super cold nights.  It doesn't match anything else in our house and I love it!  And since it's all finished, I can officially say that one of my 'home crafts' for the year is complete!  Woo!

Is it snowing where you are?  What's the weather like?  I'd love to know what you've been up to this week!

Love, K.

Easy Days.

With the little "heatwave" over, the weather sure has turned cold again in this part of the world.  The wind is biting, cutting through the million layers I wear when I go out and the skies are grey.  While it's not so good for getting around, running errands or taking trips out, this weather is good for staying inside, cosied up with a good read and snuggled under a warm blanket.

My first book for this year just had to be 'Beowulf and the Finnesburg Fragment'.  When I was at university, I tried to take a huge variety of courses, wanting to immerse myself in all different writing styles and cultures.  I took both Greek and Norse mythology in my second year and it was fascinating to read such intricate, vivid literature.  One of the required texts was 'Beowulf' and I absolutely love the edition I bought to accompany the course.  It has that wonderful 'old book' smell and while it's a little battered, it's certainly well-loved.

A good read has to be enjoyed with a good snack and I found these completely adorable skull and bones candies.  They were so much fun to munch on as I followed the adventures of Beowulf and all his famous battles.  If you haven't read it, I'd highly recommend doing so, as the animated movie doesn't do the story justice.  It's a really rich, beautiful work.

I've also been doing really well keeping up with my goal of 3 hours of exercise per week and while I enjoy a bit of Just Dance to get my heart pumping, I've rediscovered a lost love for yoga.  I find that it doesn't matter what time of day I do it, I feel refreshed and energised and so at peace after a session, especially when I practice it for half an hour or so.

Have you been enjoying some rest and relaxation?  Do you enjoy mythology from other cultures?  Do you have any suggestions for my next read?  I hope you're having a wonderful day and you've got awesome plans for this week!

Love, K.