Here are some of the projects I’ve been working on this week.
I’m nearly finished with Smiling Turtle, my friend named him Crush.
Oops. The needle is pointing to some weird stitches, so I frogged these toes and started again.
I’m caught back up to where I left off.
I had enough watermelon yarn to make another pair. This yarn is easier to work with than those above.
There was leftover yarn from my brother’s socks to try another pair.
Here are a few of the songs I’m enjoying lately.
They are Beau Soir, God Bless The Child, Going Home, Over the Rainbow, Ave Maria, and Just the Way You Are.
Beau Soir is a leftover from my voice lessons with Alis Clausen in the 1990s. And because it showed up now while I’m playing with the Duolingo French language, I decided to start doing my vocal warmups and challenge myself to learn to play and sing the song. A few others I’m playing are fun to sing, too.
Check out how Beau Soir is supposed to sound. You can see why I love it.
Please visit June’s blog to read her posts and say hello. And follow her while you’re there if you’re not already. Your prompt for JusJoJan January 24th, 2025 is “hobbies.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!
One of my hobbies is diamond painting. My ‘smiling turtle’ is coming along. I’d say about halfway.
Because crochet has been hurting my thumb, elbow, and shoulder, I went back to loom knitting. The ribbing is two-by-two knit/purl. I am not a fan of e-wrapping. It seems too bulky. But it’ll be warm for someone out there. I’ll make a top-knot puff to finish it.
My second loom knit hat is a basket weave. I only e-wrapped the cast-on. I’m using the green, 36-peg loom. The weave look is three knits, three purls, and alternating the order every three rows. This one needs a top-knot, too.
My brother’s socks are coming along. I hope he likes the ribbed arch like I do. Once the arch is done, the rest of the sock seems to come along quickly. Hopefully, they will be done soon.
My other hobbies are musical in nature. Having gotten back to piano this past summer, starting at one song or five minutes, only as long as it was fun. Now I can go as long as an hour but seem to average half an hour to 5 minutes.
After summer and fall, working on classical, suddenly winter brought some fun carols. I loved some of the more modern rhythms. So when I had to put them away, I made a bit of a resolution or goal to learn more modern beats. I want to be able to improvise and even compose my own music. So I started working through a few books like
Much of it is elementary. I assume I am of intermediate level. But my rhythm is horrid. Especially modern beats, blues, or jazz.
I pulled out another book and started at the beginning with the song, Just the Way You Are, from this book:
Version 1.0.0
It seems easy enough, but it sounded nothing like the beloved Billy Joel’s golden hit when I started. But gradually, the beat is growing in my soul.
I was trying other instruments to get back into music. Recorder, soprano, alto, and tenor. Ukulele. And finally, a violin. When my thumb, elbow, and shoulder started hurting, these also had to go by the wayside. I miss them, but the piano doesn’t hurt my arms or hands. My back, yes. But I am working on posture and yoga to help with that. Hence the shorter sessions.
I love being 75. Retired. Older than my piano teacher was when I was 12, older than my mother, who never got to play for fun. I’m trying to play for them now. And my inner sprites and muses.
Working on my series: Haven.
Doodler (zendoodle.com)
Music major: voice and piano
Mom of four great adults
Reiki II practitioner
I have been on disability/retired for 10 years now from depression, anxiety and fibromyalgia.
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