Have a party this weekend
So, just in case, I jot down ideas for the second month of the year.
Fact is, I’m often in my pajamas typing my posts. There’s clutter stations around me that move like the tides; and sometimes, like wind storms (when I don’t tidy up after a project).
I’m not going to make a photogenic breakfast. There will be globs of pancake mix on the counter. Next to the kitchen, there’s birdseed on the floor by the patio door, (pre vacuuming). Hanging off the chair is a trim removal from a stained vintage embroidered tablecloth project. The embroidery that can be reused will go on a tee shirt. I’ve hunted for the thread to pull off all the trim, but have yet to find that thread.
It is hilarious to me to think how we really are versus our blog persona.
Oh, there’s birdseed on the carpet tracked in on my slippers.
P.S.
Day three, zero visits to my first poem of 2026 at Coffee Frappes & Seashells
Ironically, the higher prices make library book sales even more attractive as they limit the titles they accept for donation to not older than 2010. The book I’m reading was published in 2008 bought at a thrift store.
If a book is ragged, very low value , not a first edition, then I might use it for crafting making. I believe around 1939 printers stopped using lead in ink. One of my projects is a redo of circa 1950s metal office cabinets that I use for art supplies, by decoupaging a 1936 second reprint of Walter D. Edmonds book, Drums Along the Mohawk.
Reading e-books has changed the great landscape of book publishing that is a rich part of our history. A great part of our human heritage is discarded in favor of technology. What about bookshelves? What will they be for? Shoe racks?
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| Reading the Birdseed |
The atmospheric pressure must be at work along with the tension the snow storm brings because today I have a feeling of being out from under a dark cloud. I feel lighter, more energetic, creative.
Adding. I’ve been on a journey to diversify the YouTube channels I watch. Craft shows are replacing comfy camping videos.
I watched about ten minutes of hands making a gift box out of cardboard. Did I learn anything? Yes. Is it useful? Yes. I gained a few tips, and, saw an example of the hands only style video filmed well. Not all videos of that style are that good. A hand dance going from scissors to paper to glue is lovely.
What else I notice in my journey is the status of my own creativity. Watching people make things is inspiring. Instead of multiple camp set ups, I see craft materials going together.
I hope y’all put effort into regularly viewing creative shows, when your time allows. I believe it can help lift your spirits like it has mine.
The sun just came out. Still, the snow won’t melt in the cold temperatures. That is all right with me because the melt that freezes when the thermometer digits go down in the evening is not a happy event. Nobody likes ice on the roads.
And the winds blowing around a massive amount of powder snow will create iffy roads. A big snow drift suddenly ahead is also not a happy event.
Drive Safe
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| Out my window today |
Vermont is a 322 mile long state from the Canadian border in the north to Massachusetts in the south. Upstate New York, and 107 miles of Lake Champlain, is our western border. New Hampshire is our eastern border. Vermont has cool borders.
My area on the upper left of the map, on a screen, is a few miles from Lake Champlain and 22 miles south of Burlington along Route 7.
I think it is fair to say I live in Upper Left Vermont because the majority of communicating that I engage in, is on an LCD screen, flat like a paper map.
Also, I have been brainstorming names for my YouTube channel since last summer. The name has changed once or twice. I have finally found a title I like that, I feel, fits the format.
Really. Putting together a YouTube channel takes a lot of time in planning. At the development stage, I’ve gone through as many formats as I have names. Words that may help, (as it has me) are: don’t force it.
Have brainstorming sessions, think about it, and then let it stay or fade. The format/style I’ve chosen was created that way. Now, so has the name, Upper Left Vermont.
With no date selected for when my YouTube channel starts, it will be interesting to see if the name changes. Hm? Maybe I should add from, From Upper Valley Vermont. 😎
Guessing here, maybe too many marshmallows in my hot chocolate earlier brought on a sugar crash nap. I did not plan on sleeping that early.
So, I turn on the TV to watch YouTube videos of craft making, furniture restoration, travel, thrifting, camping, art and some documentaries. I think I dozed off watching a frame upcycle video.
The best creator channels for me, are those that balance talking with footage; and, only add what personal details are relevant to the content. I watch the experience performance. I don’t need to know all about the person’s life to appreciate their content.
For traveling shows, I feel, it is good to diversify watching what is out there because, for example, the RV (recreational vehicle) life has a scary side. I recently watched enough different channels about the good and bad to grasp a camper reality balance.
The scariest element of camping, I believe, is the danger people pose over wild animals, snakes and nasty bugs.
As good an experience camping life is, if I were ever to RV out in the wild or a campground, then I would travel with a male companion fully trained in firearms, survival, and physical combat. I’d want a bullet proof camper running on one main power source with a reliable backup system that can do just about every thing but fly off like a chopper.
Over done and as silly as that may sound, the freedom of going into Nature has a path right through the people gaunlet that has no property line, no city limit, no gates, no borders.
I now have zero (0) dreams of camping alone anywhere. Same goes for hiking alone.
Oh! And as for bushcrafting tent camping in bad weather, rain, thunderstorms and snow storms…No. I am an umbrella person. An anti shiver in the cold person. A don’t want heat stroke, hypothermia, frost bite or even frost nip person. I love the outdoors in context.😎
Freezing cold weather is serious. Read up on how to prepare and protect during Arctic blasts.
ready.gov is a good resource.
Have a Safe, Warm & Cozy Weekend
The weather forecast is 95% chance of snow. It is a good idea to stock up to prepare for a significant amount of snow of 7 inches or more.
In Vermont, we know snow. However, travel on Monday doesn’t feel safe to me. Rescheduling an important appointment also doesn’t feel good. Better safe than sorry, I believe, is the right idea. I may get to where I need to be, but I also might get stuck there with no way safely home.
How much snow is the answer we all want to know. The last snowfall, (nice powder), in my area was more than I expected. The snow starting this weekend will be different. Is there a chance the inches will be less? I don’t know. I also don’t know how I felt the first time I saw snow.
Speculating here, it doesn’t matter. The forecast is reliable enough to prepare well.
Stay Safe
