Binge Watching, Running is Back and Mini Mandala Wall

Hey There.  I have three things to talk to you about today.

1.  Binge Watching.  Do you do it?  I do - and it's my favorite way to watch.  I've always hated being married to a TV show - having to run home and watch when a weekly show is broadcast.  Now, if you have all the modern TV equipment, you no longer have to do this - you can DVR or TIVO (is that still around?) your show, watch it online, on demand or even on Hulu or Netflix.  There are so many ways to watch TV series these days and I'm certainly happy about it.

I used to almost avoid TV because I didn't want to have to wait a week between episodes, watch ads and be ready to view at one certain time - I'm too impatient.

But, when I discovered binge watching it was a whole new way for me - and my husband too.  It's something we could do together, or on our own, or switch that up even and watch separately when we had the time and together when we were caught up to the same place.  It's a way we can enjoy shows we want to watch usually without advertisements and at whatever hour it suits us.  A night by the fire with episode after episode going while I sit and crochet - what a nice night in!

So I have learned to binge watch and I love it.  Here are some of the things I've recently watched - let me know if you binge watch any of these and if you have other recommendations:

Downton Abbey (first 2 seasons were binged watched by hubby and me in only a few nights - after that we were all caught up and had to wait weekly for the next two seasons like everyone else!) - I think I watched this on pbs.org by hooking up my computer to our TV.



Call the Midwife - watched this on pbs.org on my computer - LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE - and if you do watch it - can you get enough of Chummy? - she is AWESOME!



Orphan Black (watched this on recommendation from my MOM no less) - really talented main character as she plays like 8 different roles!  Watched this on demand with Verizon Fios through BBC-America



House of Cards (just made it to season 2) - This one is a Netflix original.  Really well done.  Doesn't say much good about the American government.  Wait, is that a surprise? (no comment, I don't like to get political).



Orange is the New Black - This one is also a Netflix original.  Really gripping - had to watch and watch and watch and got through all of season 1 and 2 in no time!


The Paradise - from the BBC.  Season 1 came to BBC-America, couldn't get season 2 though I heard that a second season did air in the UK.  I loved this series too!  I think I heard that a 3rd season would not happen.


Land Girls - I've watched 3 of these and haven't managed to really love it.  It's from BBC. I'm still watching.


Vikings - this show came thru from the History Channel.  I started it one season behind so I got to watch season 1 and 2 almost back to back.


Restoration Home (just starting to watch these on YouTube from this recommendation) - it comes from the BBC.  There are a ton of them to keep me occupied.


Masters of Sex - watched this week by week on demand.  Now waiting for the second season set to air on Showtime Channel in a few weeks.


When all else fails to entertain me, I just put on Sense and Sensibility which I have watched hundreds of times and never tire of!  I love the 1995 version directed by Ang Lee.  It's a movie not a series and I can almost repeat it line for line.  You should hear the groans and comments by my family when they see I am enjoying it ONCE AGAIN.



So there you have it - and oh, can you tell I love British shows? And my fave actors? Liam Neeson, Maggie Smith, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman (did you see him in CBGBs? such an awesome movie about the Punk Rock music scene), Colin Firth - others..., they all seem to be Brits. I'm very predictable.

2.  Running Back - I am back to running.  I haven't run since Feb 11th.  After 2 years of menopause complications which resulted in a very low blood iron level despite the pound of kale and batch of eggs I eat each week, I finally had to stop running for a while - I just couldn't keep up with my running group and felt I was always on the verge of fainting.  I've continued to do strength classes with my running coach 2 times per week for an hour each - I'm pretty strong so I'm better at the weights than the running.

Me and July (my dog) at the end of a very hot run!

But today - I started back up and will run/walk my way to a solid 3 mile run by September.  My hope is four runs per week.  Week 1 is: Walk 3 mins, Run 3 mins - intervals.  Today I complete DAY 1 of WEEK 1.  It was hot even at 7am this morning and it is a VERY humid day (I hate humidity) but nonetheless, it felt good. The dog was thrilled to tag along, at least I have willing company on all my runs and she doesn't comment on my speed or my heavy breathing or my technique.  A perfect running partner!

3.  I've decided to make myself a mini mandala wall - in Yarndale fashion.  I've been loving all the mandala inspiration which is ALL OVER the crochet blog world thanks to Lucy at Attic24.  My own mandala has made it across the Atlantic and I found it posted on the pinterst board so I know it arrived.  I'm excited to have my little piece of crochet lovely hanging there with all the others from around the world.  You can find my mandala here in this blog post and also here on this pinterest board.

Last night I needed to make a mandala - yes NEEDED.  So I made this one.  I found these wicker plate holders at the thrift store a few months ago for literally pennies, so I bought a few and plan to install a mandala in each of them and hang them on my sewing room wall.

Do you like it?  I used a pattern from the lovely blog: Color N Cream - one of my favorite and probably my hands down fave for color inspiration.  Do you follow it - AHHH it's so lovely.

So that LONG post is all for today - tomorrow I want to share with you the two books I have just recently read.  Stay Tuned, TaTa - Sher

Hearts aBrewin' amidst the Snows

 Woke up Sunday to find this little curled up fur ball in my bed - she snuck in when no one was looking and was very still and quiet.

Ran some errands Sunday afternoon just as the first few snowflakes began to fall.  We were expecting an inch or less.  The sidewalks and streets coated up pretty fast with the cold temperatures (it's been well over a week since we've seen temperatures over the FREEZING mark aka 32F).

Headed out in slippered feet to check the progress - yep, just a coating.  Off to bed.

6am - awoke to find more than a coating had fallen over night.  Instead it was 3-4 inches.  Fortunately no school delay or cancellation.  I didn't even bother to get out of my pjs, just started a pot of coffee, made a school lunch, popped a pair of boots on my rainbow sleep socks and headed out at 6:40am to shovel.

I was not alone, a few other neighbors were out, clearing away - again.

By 7:20am hubby and son had headed off to work/school and I was clearing the snow from the final car, preparing for my own departure for BE Fit exercise class.  I hadn't been to class in over a week so after an hour of shoveling my own property and the neighbor and the driveways, sidewalks and cars, I wondered how my muscles would cooperate for the class!

Climbing out of the car after exercise class I gazed up at the brilliant blue sky and dark green pines and delighted in the cotton balls that hung from every branch.  This had been a light and fluffy snow, just enough to cover the grey ice with white fluff and make it look all pretty again.  The sun was out and I was warm from the class (a great class which I did manage to get through quite well).  Added some color to my cheeks...

Treated myself to some citrus water.  I love my new (scavenged and free!) citrus juicer.  I've been doing lemon, lime and clementine and adding the mixture to my ice water - very refreshing after a workout and it feels so summery!

Tho still below freezing, the sun was really doing its work on the sidewalks and the streets were almost back to black!

The tulips and daffodils on the mantel were blooming with flourish - enjoying the warmth of the house and the sun.

And OH MY LUNCH.  YUM. YUM. YUM.  toasted taco shells with refried beans, sharp cheddar from the farmer's market, shredded spinach and cabbage (way easier to keep fresh and crisp than lettuce), topped with some homemade guacamole - delish.  YES!  I ate it ALL and wanted more.

This morning (Tuesday) I headed off to running group.  It had been two weeks since I'd run - for a variety of reasons and only one of those reasons being the weather.  I wasn't sure how I'd do.  I was slow, there were hills, it was cold but I did it.  Three miles, slow - mighty slow.  But hey, I was out there.  When I returned home I saw two things... clear streets and more sunshine!!!  

Checked my weather app after the run and saw it was 20F degrees!  That's 12 degrees below freezing on the Fahrenheit scale.  It was a cold run but by the time it was over I was well thawed out and sweaty even!  Hmmmm what's that little red exclamation point, I think I'll click on it and see.  Yesterday, the weather report said we had 2 inches of snow coming Wednesday night.  OH MY!

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  6 to 10 MORE inches, with a layer of sleet in the middle, heavy, icy, branch breaking, power killing ice between the bouts of snow.  OH MY.  Coming tomorrow night and sticking around all day and night on Thursday.  UGH.

Well today I will just enjoy the sunshine filtering thru the windows and the flowers popping open with power!

OH... and a bit of something red pink and heart-ish happening on the hook.  I have a plan, for Valentine's Day - which is not only Valentine's Day but my 25th ANNIVERSARY!!!!  I hope the roads are clear and the power is on and the public transportation is running on Friday cuz Hubby and I have some plans.

Oh yeah, one more little thing happened last night - I went to my last ever swim meet.  Child #4 of 4 competed in his last diving meet - and the whole dive team even did a swim relay just for fun - they didn't do half bad.  It was a fun meet and certainly an end of an era for the Jenkins clan.

senior posters

son Sawyer w/ girlfriend and her sister

senior Sawyer send off with parents

the seniors and their coaches.

TATA - stay warm.  Sher

More Blanket Progress and Icy Weather

Last night, I watched a wacky Australian flick called Griff.  Of course that meant I added a few rows to the stripe-y rainbow blanket that's been in progress the past few weeks.

It looks like this:

I've finished creating the entire pattern and now it's just repeat, repeat, repeat.  Well, that is with exception of the border - which it will have.

So a bit about the yarn and colors.  Here's what I'm using:

It's cold today - again.

16F degrees now, but it was even colder this morning when I went into the bathroom and looked out the window and saw this:

Although tomorrow is slated to be warmer (high of 32F degrees - up to the freezing point wow), we are also supposed to get a few more inches of snow.

Running group meets OUTSIDE at 7:30am.  It will be 19F degrees at that time with a 4F degree wind chill feeling.  I will be hunting down my warmest running apparatus tonight!  I'm dreading it but the big payoff will be that by 9am when the snow begins, I will be back at home drinking coffee after logging 3 miles in the out of doors.  I'm out for dinner with friends tomorrow night at a Mexican place and that means MARGARITAS!  OOOOH I love me some margaritas.  Coffee and margaritas, coffee and margaritas.  That will have to be my mantra as I run up hills in the below freezy weather!

Yesterday I visited my neighborhood salon to make the bits of grey disappear from my hair..  As it was WAY to cold to leave with wet curls (my natural albeit lazy hairdo), I had Alexandra blow my hair dry and straight.  It's fun to have straight hair every now and again.  I'd probably do it more if I had my own personal hair stylist as I WAY don't have the patience to go on about my hair for 20 minute sessions of blow drying.

Here's how I looked when I left the salon:

What do you think? I'm super terrible about taking selfies.

And just in case you were counting, it's officially ONE WEEK from today and I will turn FIFTY!!!!  My middle son's 20th birthday is today but he's 5 hours away at college, so I sent him a package full of munchies and gift cards and that will have to do.

Happy Day - it's off to do some long overdue photo work today!  Sher

Running in the Fog and the "Lucy Chair."

The January mini-session of my running group began today.  It was supposed to begin last Saturday but if you've been reading my recent weather posts, you'll understand why it began a week late!

I don't particularly like to run, nor am I very good at it but I'm consistent and at the end of most every run, I'm happy that I'm doing it.  Yes, the end of the run, as in when I can go home and drink coffee and crochet!

hot day in August - Runstrong Running Group

I love my running group - the gals are awesome, my coach is fabulous.  I would be hard pressed not to participate.  I've been with the group for about 4 years - I'm typically the slowest in the group and if not the slowest, very near the back of the pack.  At times this has been frustrating, at times I really don't care.

Cold day in the fall - Runstrong Running Group

I took off the month of December.  I think I ran the first week a few times, but after that I bombed out - there were too many holiday things to do - the weather wasn't cooperative and I just plain needed a break.  I ran a 10K on the Ben Franklin bridge and around Camden, NJ.  The Ben Franklin bridge crosses the river between Philadelphia and New Jersey.  Races make me a nervous wreck and tho. most of the girls in my group LOVE to race, I do not.  I did however both survive and somewhat like the bridge run.

After the Ben Franklin Bridge Run - Runstrong Running Group

In the fall session of 2013 there were 42 girls in my running group!  Crazy - yes.  It's so funny to see the stares we get on Saturdays when we all cross a highway together and the cars wonder what the heck is happening with 42 women running across the street.  The group also does RNOs (Runner Nights Out) about once per month.  In December we had a holiday dinner and book swap.

When we go out, we don't recognize each other cuz we are usually in pony tails and running clothes!

We run 2 times per week as a group and 1-2 times a week on our own.  We run together at 7:30am on Saturdays (puts a curtail on any Friday night drinks) and there are two group sessions on Tuesdays.  On Tuesdays, the full time working gals run at 5:30am.  I run at the less insane hour of 9am.  I run on my own on Thursdays and I participate in two hour long strength and fitness classes where 2-4 of us are trained for an hour by my running coach in her basement.  I'm much better at the strength classes than the running.  Once February comes, I have decided to add one afternoon elliptical session on Wednesdays to my working out routine.

So this morning, at 7am I got a group text message from my coach - "WEAR REFLECTIVE GEAR."  It was so foggy when I left the house that I could barely see 10 feet in front of me in my car.  Fortunately, it was very warm - 47F.  Yes, two days ago it was a high of 21F and one of the pipes leading to our den heat system is apparently still frozen.  Fortunately, I own a bright yellow reflective vest - from Ikea.  Fortunately I remembered where I put it after I bought it a year ago!  Today it was necessary.

There are about 20 women in the January mini-session running group.  Most of us trudged out through the fog to attend this morning's run.  I was in the 3.25mile group (about 5K).  Rarely do I run less than 5K.  I managed to run the whole time without stopping and didn't feel too bad.  My pace was as usual slow, but not as slow as I expected after a month without running - thank goodness for that.  By the second half of my run it had started to rain - not quite pour but almost.  I don't mind running in the rain, I wore a baseball cap to keep the rain off my face and by then I was pretty warm.

So that's my running in the fog story.  I know, it was a long story.  And it has nothing to do with crafts or crochet.  So let's move on to the Lucy chair.

I was inspired by this photo from Lucy at the Attic24 blog.  



I showed the photo to my husband and told him I wanted to look for a second hand wicker chair for my sewing/craft room (aka my oldest daughters bedroom that has been transformed since she doesn't live here anymore).  A few months ago, we found one. It was EXACTLY what I wanted and I talked the man down from $60US to $40US.  The chair was white and the paint was fading in places.  I told my husband I wanted to paint it blue.  Why he asked?  Because I want it blue - that's the only color I want.  Into the shed went the chair to wait until the weather cooperated with outdoor spraypainting.  Bye chair - see you in the spring.

BUT... lo and behold.  On Christmas day there was a giant present wrapped in a bed sheet sitting near the tree and a sign was on it saying "The Lucy."  I will have to hunt to see if I took a photo.  My hubby had found a warm day opportunity to paint, unbeknownst to me and found the perfect shade of blue and the chair was ready on Christmas day -  I LOVE THIS CHAIR.

It now sits in my sewing room and regardless of the fact that I have not yet made a cushion or a pillow or a blanket to cozy it up - it is wonderful and comfy, and it sits by a window and a radiator so it's bright and warm and cozy.

I have been sitting in this chair and designing a new little bunting for Valentines Day that has been in my head for over a year.  I plan to share the pattern with you when it's done.  Here's a sneak peek.

Did you make any New Year's resolutions that included new eating or exercise or crafting plans and goals?  Share them with me, I'd love to hear.

Cheers, Sher