Sisu is the Finnish word for tenacity (sometimes also described as stubbornness).  It is a characteristic shared by Finns — passed on via both nature and nurture, as far as I can see — and flows in our blood along… Continue reading

So, today is Mother's Day and tomorrow is my birthday — which means that for these 48 hours I can do pretty much anything I want (within the bounds of decency and as long as I use my own money)… Continue reading

I have a tremendous to-do list today — things that have been piling up and really must get done soon.  So I have been playing "Lesser Evils/May As Well/What If You…." It goes like this. First I look at the… Continue reading

Yesterday, I was hunting through my yarn stash for my Claudia hand-painted linen (poppy color – for a design project) and I ran across two projects I had set aside in the fall when Christmas knitting became priority.  The King… Continue reading

I love December days.  I have that nice buzzy purposefulness going on inside my head – and all around me is the cool gray peace of the natural world at rest.  A solitary crow flying across the clouded sky and… Continue reading

Even if the weather (which is gorgeous – hot in the sun & cool in the shade) and the light (golden in the afternoon and absolutely poignant near evening) and the trees (rattling their dry and yellowing leaves) did not… Continue reading

Next time someone gives me a hard time about the size of my yarn stash, I am going to say:  Hey, I know a man who has 7000 cast iron pots.   It’s true.  He is a friend of my… Continue reading