Thursday, January 20th, 2022 In olden times I would have taken 'pen in hand', (in really olden times I would have sharpened the quill) - but currently I am right up to date so I will start tapping the keyboard and bring 'Daybyday" up to date as well...... Well, what's to say about the weather, except winter clings to January and last night there was a fresh snowfall, although it contained a lot of moisture and today's above zero thermometer reading is fast turning it into puddles.... Still, it hasn't reached the stage where I feel that I have "family permission" to go out and poke around the beds and see what is as anxious as I am for spring to come. Rather than getting fresh air and spending my time looking for little red stubs pushing through the earth I am feeding my need to create by spending time at the loom and using up all the bobbins I have wound, so I can wind more and cut off a scarf, or a towel, or whatever comes from the loom. So far I am in the middle of a woollen scarf, and I am having misgivings about it being a little scratchy, - I even thought I might line it with silk - all sorts of thoughts pass through my head when I am throwing the shuttle!!! We have a saying in the family that gives us comfort whatever happens - "Praise What Comes" - this will apply to whatever the loom creates, - scratchy or not.... The weather is mild today, but the sun shineth not!! Spring is still a long way off, and her habit of dawdling along the way must always be taken into account whenever a spring-like day pops up in January or February. Be not fooled!! Even here in southern British Columbia where warm weather encourages the garden and the gardener, even here March can be fickle and the odd spring-like day is not to be taken seriously..... Mornings these days find me at the loom, but afternoons are for an easy chair and entertaining book. I am re-reading Chris Arthur's Irish Nocturnes - I have got to the chapter entitle Ne Obliviscaris - probably not something one in their nineties should absorb (when so many of our near and dear have gone forward from this life), and still remain cheerful and optomistic. It is a great essay, - as are all his writings "full of information, fact and personal observation" I have had lunch - kindly prepared by youngest son, and now it is time to maybe open the door to the front verandah and get a little fresh air before I settle down with "the book". I would like to go down the stairs and open the back door, leading to the garden, and have a little stroll around, a little digging here and there, - but this (sigh, sigh) is not allowed, and probably with good reason. There are things you cannot do when you are still a young 'un, and things that are frowned upon, verily, by children, when you get old and responsibility is passed from you to them.....I think I have already referred to this, in so many words..... So I will send these few lines to the Publisher that lives up in the corner of my screen and go and put my feet up and improve my mind!!!

Monday, January 17th, 2022 A dreary day, - the clouds envolope the mountain that rises across the valley. Move along, move along, - nothing much to see here except a little of the sturdy green ankles that indicate something towers above them.... Somewhere up above the January sun shines brightly, but well hidden from valley dwellers, - a trip to Penticton might take one over the top where the sun speaks of spring coming. Or am I being overly confident, - sometimes even the Pass is hidden by mist and clouds and to be truthful January is not known for its sunny days.... I understand that the early early, early spring bulbs are showing some sign of life, pushing their little scarlet stubs through the earth, but snow still clings to the hills and along the sides of the roads. In order not to upset the dear and caring wardens I have not ventured outside where I could evaluate the situation properly!!!! Mothers in their nineties are confined t0 kitchen duty, or loom work, or reading. Reading is good!!! I have a little stack of half a dozen books to inveigle me into spending time in the easy chair, underneath the lamplight..... Occasionally I press the button that raises the feet and settle back to read, - but then there is always the danger of falling asleep!!! I am in the midst of Clare Hunter's "Threads of Life" (a Sunday Times bestseller.) "An eloquent blend of history and memoir" as it says on the back cover of the book.... I was expecially interested to read in it about the Bayeux Tapestry. I spent time studying this magnificent piece while in France - but not as much as I would have liked to, as I was in the company of others. This book, in describing the tapestry and remarking on its history, was not terribly kind as to the quality of the embroidery work involved, but I didn't figure that I had the qualifications to make any judgement!!!!