I hate hiking, but I like caterpillars.

Over Memorial Day Weekend, I joined some friends on a hike. We climbed Sugarloaf Mountain in Maryland, and I hated it. It would seem that hiking is just not the thing for me! After two miles of me bringing up the rear, murderously silent, we came upon a wee copse with some delightful rock piles and wild creatures. It turned my mood around, and I managed to enjoy the rest of our hike, so I feel obligated to give thanks to that which aided me in my time of need!

Trying out mindfulness with Calm.com

I discovered this website Calm.com on one of my absolute favorite blogs, Swiss-miss. (I will dedicate a post entirely to Swiss-miss and its creator Tina Roth Eisenberg in the near future because it is that awesome.) This was a perfect introduction to mindfulness for me - it is portable, flexible and simple. I've used the app on my phone when I need to take a small break, and also set it up from my laptop in a conference room at work so my department can take a few minutes to recharge.

The website has a very simple design, and is super easy to use. There are just two sets of controls - one down the left that allows you to select what type of session to have, and another set on the bottom right that control the music and imagery.

I've taken a few screenshots from the web version so that I can walk through its features.

There are options for how many minutes you would like your meditation session to last, and whether you would like a guided mediation with a "narrator" or if you would simply like a timer for you to do the exercise on your own with some soothing music in the background.

At the bottom right, there are additional controls that allow you to change the image on the screen and also the music / ambient sounds. You can choose whether you would like music and imagery together, just music or just images.  If you opt to keep the sounds,  you have the option to loop them on repeat.

There are tons of options!

I encourage you to try it out! It is an easy way to take a break during the day, and a great introduction to the ideas of mindfulness. 

Rainy Night - water and light in the city

One of the themes of this year-long project that I was most excited by at the outset was creativity - how we can create and build and make in our everyday lives. I could blame it on the holiday season, or on any other number of things, but the reality is that I haven't explored this idea too deeply yet, so I was excited to feel the inspiration come over me Friday night on my walk home from work.

It has been so cold this week, that the high of 39 degrees we had yesterday felt outright balmy and I thought it would be nice to walk instead of taking the bus. When I left work, it was drizzling slightly and I was fumbling around trying to adjust my headphones/hood/gloves/umbrella etc when I noticed sparks flying from the upper levels of a building that is currently under construction.

I was so struck by the brightness and the movement of the sparks that I stopped on the sidewalk and started taking pictures on my phone.

I am so glad that I noticed the sparks falling from that building, because by stopping to capture that small moment, I found that I was able to slow down and notice how beautiful the city was in its foggy, rainy state. The sidewalks and streets became bright and the faces of people walking by were lit from below from the reflection of headlights. The foggy air softened the neon lights and made the night seem cozy instead of harsh. I had a delightful time jaywalking to snap a few shots of a something I had walked past many times before but was seeing in a new way on this particular (and admittedly manic) trip home.

Below are a handful of photos I thought came out the best.

Thanksgiving

We made pie!

Mom in action

pre-crust

pie pie pie

Ta da!! How beautiful is that golden crust?? The secret is to whisk heavy cream and eggs together to make your egg wash. Based on the awesome caramel-y color, my guess is that the sugar in the cream does in fact, caramelize.

Oh, and we also a made a pumpkin pie :P

Gobble gobble, everyone!

Granny Stripe Blanket

A few weeks ago, my roommate and I went to check out our local yarn shop, Looped. If you live in the DC area, you gotta check this place out. It's totally awesome. Even if you aren't a knitter/crochet-er. Such a calm, cozy place!

I had been wanting to take on a bigger project for a while, and so before our trek to buy yarn, I picked out this blanket pattern from Purl Soho:

You can find the pattern at Purl Bee by Purl Soho. I modified it a bit because I didn't want to spend the dough on the merino wool, but I bet it would be so deliciously soft! Instead, I opted for a thicker yarn I could use with my size J crochet hook, and am delighted how well the oatmeal and bright blue go together.

I haven't made much progress yet, but I'm very proud of myself for getting through the difficult process (for me at least!) of chaining 203 loops and setting up my first four rows. Once I get about halfway through, I'll take a few more pictures. Stay tuned!