Light at 5:30 p.m.

 Earlier this week I bopped out the back door to go take care of some outside chore when I realized it was way past 5 p.m. and it was still light out. 

I had to stop and admire the still-lit sky for a few moments, before running in to the house and grabbing my phone so I could take photos. 

For so long, it felt, that the darkness at 5 p.m. was going to last forever. 

In the busyness of January I did not notice that the days were slowly getting longer. 

It felt wonderful when I realized the days were indeed getting longer. 

Then I walked up to the back door and noticed foot prints in the snow.

At some point the ladies, aka the chickens, decided to come up on the deck and check things out. 

Their foot prints always look so much bigger than their feet are. 

This past week was indeed a busy week. When I wrote on Monday I said the day didn't go quite the way I thought it would, and that I felt the entire week would be busy.  

I sort of nailed it. It was a busy week and by the time it was done I was *so* tired. 

Tuesday I had a doctor appointment. The waiting room at the clinic has an amazing view of Lake Superior. 

I took three photos to show the view.  It's really amazing. 

When I looked down at the lake, and saw all those chunks of ice, I swear I could see them swaying in the water, and I felt a little motion sick. 

On my way back to the skywalk I was admiring the art pieces along the way. This one in particular caught my eye. 

Yes I took the skywalk to and from the parking ramp. Normally I just go down to street level and cross the street to the clinic. It was cold out and I decided I didn't want to be in it, so I took the skywalk and it probably added at least three-fourths of a mile to the trip each way. 

A quick shot of downtown Duluth. 

I wouldn't say I ended up wasting a day on the doctor appointment, but waiting around for prescriptions to be sent to the pharmacy sure wasted a lot of time. 

By the time I got home it was time to start supper. 

I turned on Youtube and started watching Corrina, and was tickled to see that we were both making pizza. How funny is that? 

My pizza turned out good. 

After I was ready to settle down in for the evening I started a new project. I'm doing a stitch along with my friend Patty, for her birthday. 

I got a respectable start going. 

Thursday and Friday are a bit of a blur.  I was knee deep in work during the day, and I did some crafting at night. I was so tired in the evenings, though, I didn't get much done. 

When I signed off for work on Friday I was almost giddy. 

This weekend has been nice.  Quiet. I think I caught up on sleep. 

The sky Saturday morning. It was beautiful. 

Saturday I decided to do something I haven't really done for a while, despite what I may have done last weekend.  I spent the morning baking.  I was trying out new-to-me keto "bread" recipes. 

I'm not going to bother sharing this recipe.  It flopped. 

This recipe is one a friend shared with me. It's like biscuits.  Good, but not quit hitting the spot. 

The best recipe of the day? It's a recipe I've made before and it's SO easy. 

I think it's called 90-second bread. It's the round piece below the bread knife. An egg, almond flour and butter. Oh, and some sort of leavening agent. Best bread texture out of everything I've made so far for a bread replacement. 

Today was a pleasant one. Ran to town early in the a.m. and got that all out of the way.  Took care of some stuff when I got home, and then sat down and stitched. 

When I finished stitching "Portrait of a Snapping Turtle," (Yes, you read that right -- it's done!) I did some stitching on my February cat stitch.  And watched some Fr. Brown.  It's been ages since I've watched Fr. Brown. 

After Fr. Brown was done I decided to throw on an episode of Supernatural. 

Okay, a few blog posts ago I mentioned Supernatural and one of their cases being in Hibbing, Minnesota.  Since then I've noticed the Winchester Brothers spend a LOT of time in Minnesota and Wisconsin.  The episode that was playing decided to have them in Duluth, Minnesota. 

That hit close to home, literally and figuratively. ... 

In the episode I was watching, Dean was trying to get the GPS on Sam's phone turned on, and saw he was in Duluth, I guess. 

This is a photo I took of the tv screen. I been in or through all the towns shown on the screen. 

I guess that was the high points of the last week. This next week is looking to be a busy one, too, but hopefully not as busy and I'll have time to record a flosstube and some things in order. 

I did no crafting today

 I know.  Crazy talk. It happens once in a while. 

My whole day went not the way I was hoping it would.  I thought I'd record a flosstube during my lunch hour.  I ended up working through my lunch hour instead. 

The next issue will be a special issue and I wound up knee deep in paperwork for ads. Which is great -- we need ads. It was getting a little confusing and I had to think of a system that helped ensure I didn't lose anyone. I was sending emails back and forth all the way up til almost 5 today. 

And then I had a mess of things to take care of after work. So, no crafting.  It's probably good to give my hands a rest anyways.  I suppose I did enough crafting last week. 

Speaking of last week ... When I sat down to start writing (which seems really weird to say "write" when I'm typing) I realized I didn't do a mid-week update last week. I must have just thought the update. 

A few photos because I can't remember the daily-doings ... 

Bright sun mid-morning. It was still pretty chilly out there. Probably still down around zero degrees Fahrenheit. 

I'm still cranking out the crochet squares for my Battenberg blanket. I was cozied up under one of my blankets. 

Saturday I decided homemade french baguettes sounded *really* good.  So I made some, with the help of a breadmaker. 

They turned out so good, and were delish!

Earlier in the week I was working on bowl cozies. My sister-in-law reached out to me, asking if I'd make her some.  I said sure! I'm going to keep the fabric a secret for now, just in case she reads the blog. I want her to be surprised. 

Kitting up a cross stitch project using my new handy-dandy floss winder.  I also made up some floss drops. I'm going to be doing a Farmyard Friends cross stitch start-along with Alison, over at MrsAZFamilyZoo.  We are still deciding on a date to start. The Fat Quarter Shop is doing a stitch-along for this chart, but not until April. When April comes along, I'll probably be busy with gardening stuff. 

I broke down and purchased an external hard drive for the Macbook. It has made ripping audiobooks to our iphones SO much easier.  Why didn't I do this sooner? 

And yes, I'm still cruising along on my "Portrait of a Snapping Turtle," by Mudpuppy Stitchery.  

 If I'm a very good girl and spend all my time stitching it, I may be done with it by Sunday.  Or, 200 stitches a day, at the very least. 

I'm trying to be more frequent in my writing.  It hasn't been easy when I've been so in my own head lately, thanks to the cold weather and lack of outdoor chores. 

It will soon change, though. ... garden season is soon upon us. 

I follow a Canadian gardener/influencer because she's basically in the same growing zone I am. 

Last month she put this out on her socials:

I am happy to say that I got a few things checked off that list. I purchased my first seeds of the garden season.  My seed starting station is set up and I'm reading up on some how-tos for starting some new-to-me seeds.  

Over the weekend she popped up a new task list. 

I still need to go through the seed collection and see if there is anything else I need to purchase.  For the most part I think I'm ready to do. 

Looking ahead to the rest of the week and I suspect it is going to be a busy one. And then maybe because I said that, it will be very quiet. 

One can never know. Especially when the universe laughs when you attempt to make plans. Am I right? Or am I left? Ha!

Ep 39 - What I've been up to in January 2026 (1/19/26)

 

Thank you for watching! If you like what you see, and want to see more,  please subscribe and click the notification bell. Thank you so much for sharing your day with me! 

Email: AmniconStudio at gmail.com

Instagram: AmniconStudio

Blog: AmniconStudio.blogspot.com

My free Patreon for project cards   / amniconstudio  

In this video I discuss a few things I've been working on during January. 

An FFO that was re-FFoed

Fat Quarter Shop Cross Stitch University

https://blog.fatquartershop.com/cross-stitch-university/

Cross Stitch

"Mother’s Garden" by Blackbird Designs

"Portrait of a Snapping Turtle," by @mudpuppystitchery 

Crochet

Battenberg blanket by Sandra Paul

https://www.cherryheart.co.uk/2018/12/battenberg-blanket.html

A CAL with my friend Leann  @leann.stitches 

Maeve crochet blanket-along 

https://www.madamestitch.com/maeve-granny-square-crochet-pattern/

A CAL with my friend Kat @StitchinWiththeGriffin 

Other people mentioned:

Patty @StitchingWithMyKitties-xe8qz 

I'm doing a stitch along with Patty, starting Feb. 3 for her birthday.

"February Cat" by Happiness is Heartmade. Can be purchased here: https://123stitch.com/item/Happiness-Is-Heartmade-February-Cat-Valentine-Cross-Stitch-Pattern/25-1107 if you choose to join in.  If you do, tag us on social media. 

Sewing 

Thread beds

Project bag and coordinating pieces

Tutorials 

Elizabeth Ann Can Stitch - Vinyl bag

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZTtpO6gXeQ

Primrose cottage works - snap basket

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hne6koyJnko

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Remember when we used to have blog circles? This is the same, but with YouTube Channels. You should check out these fun channels!

Alison    @Mrs.AZfamilyzooStitchesAlison 

Cathy   @craftycatstitcher6658 

Mair   @sincity_crossstitcher 

Ashley and Gianne @Westitchandweknowthings 

CoggieTM @Thehighfiberdiet 

Jessica @LumiStitch 

Etsy shops and other shops you should check out

Forbidden Fiber Co. https://www.forbiddenfiberco.com/

AZ Family Zoo https://www.etsy.com/shop/azfamilyzoo

Mudpuppy Stitchery https://www.etsy.com/shop/MudpuppyStitchery

Lumi Stitch https://www.etsy.com/shop/LumiStitch

https://ko-fi.com/lumiselenedesigns/shop

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SamBrie Stitches https://www.etsy.com/shop/SamBrieStitches

Sweet Autumn Stitch https://www.etsy.com/shop/SweetAutumnStitch

Stormy Blue https://www.etsy.com/shop/StormyBlue

Northwoods Stitcher https://www.ebay.com/usr/northwoodsstitcher

Milka https://www.etsy.com/shop/milkasrealm

Thank you so much for being here. Happy crafting!

We survived!

 We survived the weather event. I'm not sure what to call it.  It got cold.  Real cold. 

This is what I woke up to on Saturday. Note the time stamp. 

A little bit later ... 

Crazy, right? 

The wind wasn't blowing much, thankfully. Otherwise I think it would have been really miserable out there. 

When my son was little we listened to a LOT of Frog and Toad.  This image seems so appropriate right now. 

I'll complain about the snow, the ice, and just about everything else, but I don't much complain about cold.  Why? Years and years ago I listened to a podcast where a WW2 vet was interviewed, and he spoke about the coldest December of his life, when he was serving, and his group/regiment spent at least 30 days outside in the cold. Hearing someone speak of their experience puts things in perspective, and how good we have it now. 

Saturday we went to town, partly because we didn't have anything pressing to do at home, and I had a grocery list of things to get. 

I decided to take some photos on the way. 

The ore dock in Allouez. 

The Richard Bong Heritage Center

The S.S. Meteor Whaleback ship.  The last one in the world. Can you see the haze in the background? That's fog coming up off the lake. 

Then we got up on the Highbridge This is overlooking Superior, mostly industrial. 

Still on the Highbridge. I was trying to get a better shot of the fog/mist coming off Lake Superior. The strip of land you see is Park Point. 

Now we are over in Minnesota. Part of the whole "Where rail meets sail" bit. 

We stopped at Sam's, Fleet Farm and a few other stores, before heading back home. 

Nothing really exciting happened on Saturday afternoon/evening.  I tidied things a bit, and made supper. Then I did some knitting and some cross stitching.  I was feeling a bit crappy so I didn't have much motivation to do anything if I didn't have to. 

Sunday we woke up to temps below zero again.  This time I didn't bother doing a screen grab of the current temp and real feel.  No one needs to see those low numbers again and again. ... I was feeling a bit better so I had the energy to make some chocolate chip cookies.  It wasn't until I had half the batch already cooked that I realized I forgot to put the baking powder in. *facepalm* The texture was off, but the flavor was still good. 

My son still ate them. 

What it looked like outside when you looked out the kitchen window. 

Again, I didn't spent more time outside than I had to. 

I spent some time in the morning watching flosstube videos and gardening videos. 

It was so nice to see some green, after seeing snow for the last couple of months. 

I worked on my Armande Cardigan, mostly, during the day, when I was sitting long enough to knit. 

I suspect I may have goofed on the pockets. Ope. If I did, no biggy. Depending on how bad they look will determine if I rip out, or keep going.  I'm not on a deadline or have a timeline for this project. 

In the evenings I worked on my snapping turtle. To paraquote a movie line, I just can't quit it. I want to keep working on it until it's complete. 

This photo is actually from Friday. I'm too lazy to take an updated photo right now. 

It looks like this may be it for the subzero temperatures.  At least for a while. 

And I just realized I didn't write show notes yet for my last flosstube. ... *sigh* 

How do these brats know it's safe to be seen during the day now?  And they are all flocked together. 

Every year it still marvels me. 

The coldest day of the year, more to follow, and some pretty sky shots

 Yesterday was the coldest day of the year. If I remember correctly the temperature never got above zero degrees F.

This was a screen shot I grabbed yesterday, after being roused before my alarm and being told the Northern Lights were going. 

My gosh, they were SO pretty. There were flashes in the sky, like lightening.

When they weren't dancing across the sky. 

If it wasn't so bitterly cold I would have been out there longer than the two to three minutes I was.  It took a bit to warm back up once I stepped back in to the house. My husband shot these photos. 

Today was better, temperature-wise.

Today was also my first day back to work after taking a week off.  In what has become a recurring theme, I was using up vacation time before I lose it. Next month is my work anniversary.  This year will mark my 23rd year at the paper. 

Not much to say about work.  Work was work. Though there were more emails than I was expecting.

I checked the book of faces just a bit ago.  This is one of the local news sites. 

Yes, the blasted cold (no pun intended.) I had heard the digital whispers about the cold arriving this week. I didn't want to think about it just yet.  Then someone messaged me, asking if I was in the area where there is the "exploding trees" warning.  

Turns out I *am* in that area. I've heard trees pop from the severe cold, when I'm out in the back 20, sitting in a hunting blind.  It does catch you by surprise.  To see them write "Exploding trees," however, paints a different picture in my mind's eye, and it does give me a bit of concern about just how quick the temperature is supposed to drop tonite. 

But, as I told a coworker today, I'd rather the cold than more snow. You don't have to move cold. The last round of having to move snow made some muscles very unhappy and I'm just now starting to feel better. 

Earlier in the month Becca of SambrieStitches held a giveaway over on her Instagram account. I won and the prizes were received in the mail yesterday. 

It was so much fun to win these from Becca.  She included some stickers and you know me and stickers.  I saw the one and thought "Hmmm, I wonder if that will fit in to a cabochon."

It almost did. I did have to trim a part off the image, which was a bummer. 

Now when I work on one of the charts I have from her I will have a thread charm (Floss bling? I can never remember) to go on the floss ring. 

The light is hitting it in such a way that it looks like a spill on there.  I promise that is not what it looks like in real life. 

Recently I started watching "Supernatural." I'm moving through the series pretty slow. I'm still in season one. 

Tonite I saw an episode and had to pause the show and look it up.  The storyline was about a family and the whole vibe reminded me of that one X-files episode with the mom and the sons.  You know the one. If it was like that then I was going to stop watching this particular episode.

Anywho, the family wasn't like that.  They just *really* liked hunting. A lot. ... 

But what really got me was the wikipedia description of that episode. 

Set in contemporary Hibbing, Minnesota? Are you freaking kidding me? Nu uh.  Nope.  That is false information. If that is what they think Hibbing is like, they haven't been there. 

Ahem. ... and that is my rant for the day. 

I don't know what the rest of these week will hold.  Probably not much, since we'll be bracing for cold and exploding trees. 

Somehow, I feel that since we are expecting trees to be exploding all over the place it won't happen. 

I'll just keep working on my snapping turtle project. I took a break from the shell section and decided to work on the tail a bit.