Every year, when grey overtakes Seattle’s skies, I struggle to keep my mood upbeat. I feel weary and blue. Luckily, I pull out of these doldrums and get back to my normal self. It just takes time. One thing that’s helping right now is the way this house smells. I’ve started cooking for our Thanksgiving feast and the scents emanating from the kitchen are divine. I’ve got whole grain bread dough rising, a graham cracker pastry crust baking (for pumpkin cheesecake!) and some experimental gravy containing apple cider and brandy simmering on the stovetop.

I wish Thanksgiving were today!

Speaking of holidays, I’ve made one Christmas present for my daughter already.

This is the Little Flirty Skirty Apron from Threaded Pear Studio. The original design had a lot more ruffles and ric-rac on it, which seemed like overkill to me. I used bias binding as an alternative design element and like how it came out. Since Claire has been writing about baking with me in her school journal (I went to her parent-teacher conference today), I think she’ll be particularly excited about this gift.

I also managed to squeeze in a little selfish sewing:

This is a Very Easy Very Vogue pattern, number 8597, and it’s just that: easy. I had this top sewn up in about 90 minutes flat. If I had spent a little more time on fitting the shoulder area, it would have been better, but I’m happy enough with it as-is. I’ve worn it half a dozen times already. The fabric is a something I found at my local fabric shop. I love the graphic print and how there’s a very subtle shimmer to the grey/silver area.

I’ve got two more tops queued up and a pair of pants. This is going to be a busy few weeks for me!

My niece once mistakenly referred to my migraines as “migrations.” I think that’s the first time I ever *really* laughed about these awful, debilitating headaches. Luckily, I haven’t had a migration in months and was feeling cocky. Wouldn’t you know it, though, one took hold last week and I am only now starting to feel better. Consequently, I’ve been spending the day catching up on my chores, like laundry and dishes, and haven’t had much time for the fun stuff.

I did, however, venture into the kitchen last night and made a roast beef. It looked and smelled divine.

The vegetables were divine. The meat was tough and stringy. A major disappointment!

While I was spending so much time propped up in my favorite armchair, I decided to work on a secret project for my mother. A couple of years ago, she had fallen in love with a sweater she saw at one of my local yarn shops. It’s a Norwegian design (Dale Tiur 11103), but I can’t find a picture of the finished item anywhere on the internet. It’s fairly traditional. It’s covered with eight-point stars and a pair of stags strut across the front of the cardi. Here’s the tiny bit I’ve done so far:

It’s going to be a MAJOR challenge for me. All that color knitting on tiny needles, cutting steeks… My tension is uneven around the hem, but I just can’t bring myself to unravel it all and start over, so I’m forging onward. I’m getting better at it with every round I knit. By the end of this project, I’ll be (a) totally insane and (b) a much better color knitter.

It’s hard to feel too terribly grumpy when the sun finally breaks through what once seemed like an impenetrable wall of grey clouds. The sun is what saved Robert from a battery of guilt trips after he confessed he had forgotten my birthday–and that he had promised to go out with some friends tonight. Ordinarily, that would have gotten my ire up, but wonderful golden light is keeping my spirits buoyant.

Robert promised to make it up to me on Friday. He’s going to get a babysitter and make reservations at a nice restaurant. I’m looking forward to that! I can’t remember when we last went out sans kids.

Today, though, I’m spending the day doing things I like to do. The laundry and all other unpleasant chores are going to remain undone.

I started by cutting apart the “hospital gown” so I could fashion them into pants for Claire. The sewing shouldn’t take too long, but I thought it would be fun to add an applique bird.

I then read a little bit from one of the books I picked up recently from the library, Sophie Kinsella’s Can You Keep a Secret?? It is hilarious! It reminds me a lot of Bridget Jones’s Diary (movie tie-in). The main character’s inner monologue is so real and crazy–well, you’ll just have to read it for yourself. It’s a treat!

Finally, I started baking a cake for myself.

I’m using an old family recipe for a layer cake with walnuts and mocha frosting/glaze. No one seems to know its origin, but it’s been our standard birthday cake for years and years and years. I’ll post the recipe and a photo of the finished cake tomorrow.

ETA: The sun only made a brief appearance today. I started feeling bluer the greyer it got outside. This is the first time getting older really bothered me–and, to be honest, I’m not sure it’s aging that’s getting to me or the lack of fanfare that’s surrounded the occasion. It could also be the fact that Claire’s bird pants do not fit her comfortably. I swear, some of those Simplicity patterns are cut for space aliens, not humans!

Claire mangled the cake while it was cooling on the wire rack. It’s now a big heap of crumbs covered with lots of chocolate frosting. It’s far beyond being photogenic, lol! However, I’m sure it will taste good!

I apologize for the tenor of this post. I want to keep things positive here, but sometimes I just need to talk through things–and you know what? I already feel better for having done so.