Couldn't resist

I had to take another picture of the stapelia--found out what it was by doing a search of succulent blossoms--with the petals fully opened.  The flower is lasting, and it looks like it's sort of copying the design on our antique cook stove.

After three days of clouds, snow, sleet, and just generally gray weather, the sun came out.  Hallelujah!  I much prefer my snow accompanied with sunshine.  The heat stove ran almost non-stop without our solar gain!

Sophie has inspired me to pick up and work on the tea towel challenge I started long after the challenge was over last time.  A friend found this quirky, old, Japanese tea towel, and then gifted it to me.  It reminds me of Dr. Seuss characters...maybe someone had a few too many.  I started it and then abandoned it after deciding it needed hand stitching in the tea towel panel.  (It always seems like a good idea, except for the actual doing of it.  I never hand quilt enough to get any better at it!)

 Maybe recuperating after my knee will be a good time to develop some hand quilting skills.  Remains to be seen!