Little things that glow

I decided to share with all you cyber friends out there a few pictures of the little enjoyable moments of life that make me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Eating healthy! I never ate healthy before moving to Europe and now all of those veggies and fruities look so delectable. Not to mention how a mug of warm soup on a cold snowy day makes your belly feel cozy.
Buttons! My supervisor's wife decided to give me a huge tin full of buttons left at their Austrian home by an old Oma who passed away. Some of the buttons are extremely antique, detailed, and beautiful. I look through them quite often and dream of all the creative projects waiting to be complete with the addition of a few of these treasures.
Socks! Slippers! Long Johns! Well, actually I'm mostly excited about the socks. My Austrian friend Michi overheard a mentioning of cold feet and decided to bless yours truly. Her Grandma is an avid knitter and whips up a pair of socks for Michi for every holiday or basically any opportunity to give gifts. I am thankful for these warm additions to my feet.
Long tree-lined paths to stroll down on a cool winter day in the small village of Stockerau, Austria. I am aware of the importance of cherishing every one of these moments in my short three months that still remain.
For Christmas my mom made this remarkable feather covered bag for me. I am awfully fond of it and have decided to use it as my 'knitting bag' for storage of yarn and needles.

Soak in today. It only happens once!

Satisfying

As I mentioned earlier, I recently re-learned how to knit. As soon as I discovered that this was something I actually enjoyed doing, my brain began to create a very long list of people to make things for before I fly across the big blue Atlantic.
My first project was to make a scarf for my friend Ferdinand who I met at the homeless dinners. He recently acquired a fairly large sum of money and no longer has to make his bed under a bridge. Not only that, but he has bought his plane ticket to move to Russia this week! So, I ended up burning the midnight oil last night to finish his scarf in time for sleep and then a breakfast final farewell this morning.
Here are some pictures of me trying to see if the scarf was the right length, and then the finished product hanging out on my bed next to my sheep skin.
The exciting/satisfying part happened this morning when I gave it to Ferdinand and he loved it! It was such a good feeling to be able to create something and then see someone appreciate your creation. Here he is.
Here's to more long days of knitting creations!

Fork in the road

Yesterday I waved goodbye to my dear friends Ryan and Noelle as they departed for their internship in Central Asia. Their next adventure started last night as they boarded a graffiti-covered sleeper train headed towards Istanbul Turkey. I can only imagine the adventures they are about to have.
It was really wonderful to have two close friends visit for an extended period of time. There's just something so comforting about being with friends who you can completely be yourself around. We had lots of long conversations, explored Vienna, enjoyed a large snowball fight and a campfire, and relaxed. There were a few unique changes in our friendship though. Noelle and I spent a considerable amount of time knitting, cooking, and cleaning together :) I thought that was a funny turn from how we were back on our Bethany Campus.We also witnessed what Vienna is like during New Years Eve. It was definitely wild. Many people who had a bit too much to drink were shooting off heavy duty fire works all throughout the city. It sort of felt like a war zone.Now, it's time to let life slide back into the way it was. I look forward to when my path will cross with the Peters' down the road.