Whirlwind Weekend

Steve and I are home, watching the closing ceremonies after our quick trip to Blacksburg.

We drove out (it takes 5 hours) on Saturday, went to dinner with M2 and her boyfriend, then watched some of the Olympics before going to bed. Steve and I went out for coffee this morning while waiting for her to get up, then took her and her roommate out to brunch,
and then we headed back. Lots of knitting time! It was really pretty out there; it was snowing very, very lightly most of the time.



It's kind of cool that I was able to watch the Olympics with M1 last weekend and with M2 this weekend, despite the fact they both live elsewhere.



Saw this recipe over at Make It Do and can't wait to make it. I love this kind of salad and I think I have most of the ingredients in the cupboard already. If I could just stay home once in awhile, I might be able to do it.

February Friday

After the tough day I had the other day, the rest of the week went really well. One thing that is constant about middle-schoolers' moods is that they change at the speed of light. Much like mine!

Here at home things are looking ugly. This is pretty much what our kitchen sink and counter has been looking like this month. (I don't recommend enlarging this photo, it'll only get uglier.) Between Steve and I working ten to twelve hour days during the week and going out of town three weekends out of four, we're having trouble keeping up.

The bleach and laundry detergent are from our run to the laundromat last night. Yes, the washer is now out of service, so we had to go to the laundromat. Why I walked past the laundry room to set those down there is probably part of the reason the counter looks the way it does. There's also the birdseed jar from when I filled the feeder on my way out the door this morning. And a few random dishes, both clean and dirty. Yuck.

Oh well, on to more important things. This is the swiffer cover I finished for M1. It would have been nice to take it with me last weekend, but getting things in the mail is nice too. All I have to do is add the buttons.
And although I haven't been knitting on my sweater as much as I'd like, I am making some progress. I'm so happy with this project, I can't wait to see how it turns out. I'm thinking I'll have a lot more time to work on it this weekend though, since we'll be in the truck for five hours on Saturday and five hours on Sunday.

We're heading out in the morning to take M2 the thrifted chest of drawers we got her at Christmas. Plus a "few" things she didn't have room to take with her when she went back. On the one hand I'd really like to stay home and rest (and maybe clean the kitchen!), but on the other hand, I'm looking forward to seeing her. And even though the drive is so long, it's always a great opportunity for Steve and I to have some uninterrupted quality time.

Hope you have a happy weekend, whatever you're doing.

Mean Girls

Thank you to everyone who wished me happy birthday (you were right, the anticipation/fear was worse than actually being fifty).

I really enjoy blogging about my trips; it's a way to share but it's also a really nice way for me to reflect upon what I'm doing. I like that I can slow it down long enough to record it so everything doesn't slip away, like our days do. Although my digital camera skills are at the beginner level, I love photographing so many moments. If I didn't blog, so many of those photos would just sit on my hard drive, unexamined.

Speaking of examining things, I had a tough day yesterday with a few "mean girls" in my class. You remember mean girls from junior high, don't you? Well let me tell you, I do. There were a few girls when I was in eighth grade that would make life miserable for their victim of the week. Now that I teach eighth grade, I get to deal with them all over again. There are four such girls in one of my classes right now that have chosen me the past week or so to focus on. It's very hard to address because they are right on the edge of disrespect without overtly crossing over it. The worst thing is that if I'm not careful, I stoop to their level when I respond to them, which is never a good thing. And yesterday was really ugly. So this morning on my way to work I was thinking about the situation and it occurred to me that I spend more time with at least one of these girls than her mother does. And that some, if not all, of her behavior is about her rebelling against a surrogate mother, who just happens to be me. Identifying it doesn't make the problem go away, but it does help, if only just a little.

Back Home

I had a lovely time with my daughter this past weekend. She had given me directions to her new campus, and I met her there Friday morning, just as she was getting out of class. Isn't this building pretty? I'm not sure which one it is, but it's part of the campus.

We had thought it would time out right but it was still pretty cool how well it actually did. I even got to see Dr. Michio Kaku, a famous physicist who teaches there. Of course I didn't know who he was, but my husband and my daughter sure do. I texted Steve immediately; he was disappointed I wasn't able to get a picture, but I only feel comfortable bugging knitting stars!

After that excitement, we headed over to Knitty City where I bought a set of needles and a cute little coin purse. Believe it or not, I didn't buy yarn there because I knew we had a couple more stores on our list and I was trying to pace myself.

The next stop was Purl, as we wanted to see it one more time before they move to their new location. We got there about twenty minutes before they opened, but luckily there is a cute little cafe next door called Once Upon a Tart, so we ate a little lunch and had some coffee and tea. Delicious.

Purl was open by then, so we went in and I bought some yarn. Surprise! M helped me pick out some Manos Silk Wool, matching it up to a skein of Kidsilk Haze, so I can make a modified Purl scarf. I've tried to match yarn two times prior to this and I just didn't seem to be able to come up with a pleasing combination. I know it's not that hard for most folks but I couldn't master it. I also bought a skein of Koigu that was 40% off, even though I have no plan for it at all yet. Maybe something for a baby gift?

Last but not least, we finally made it to Brooklyn General. Such a nice store, roomy and comfortable and lots of cool stuff. Good prices too. I bought two skeins of Spud & Chloe Fine sock yarn in a lovely aqua color. I think I'll use it to try a fancier sock pattern than the plain version I always make. I also bought a skein of Noro Silk Garden in a manly shade of brown and tan, and a skein of Noro Chirimen in the same color family, to use as the striping in some hats for Steve. He likes the look of Noro in his hats but balks if the colors don't look "manly" enough.

By the time we stopped for another coffee/tea break, I was wiped out. Taking as many subway trains as we did (a lot of stairs while dragging my rolly suitcase along), walking with my bum foot, and general out-of-shape-ness, took it out of me. So we headed back to Grand Central to take the train to Stamford. But first I took a quick run into the New York Public Library to pick up a bookmark for Steve. We ran to catch the express train, ate Thai food for dinner, and then collapsed on the couch to knit and watch the Olympics.

Saturday was mostly about hanging out, knitting, napping, and talking. So nice. On Sunday, after a leisurely morning, we drove into the city to go to the Strand bookstore. An overwhelming four floors, but I did snag a signed copy of AlterKnits Felt, a book I've been wanting for awhile, and at a great price too. And another bookmark for Steve. We ate a late brunch at Max Brenner's, a restaurant the kids said has been on the Food Network. It was sort of like being in a Willy Wonka restaurant but the food was really good. A little more walking, this time around the NYU campus, and then it was time to head for the airport. Amazingly I only had a one hour delay, my shortest one yet from LaGuardia. It's such a bittersweet thing, seeing M as the young woman she is today and also seeing all the reminders of who she was as my little girl. I'm so proud of her and yet I miss her.

And as for the sweater knitting, it's coming along just great. I've just finished my second skein of yarn and I feel like I'm understanding the pattern. I've already divided for the sleeves (a first for me) and I've done two repeats of the cable. I'm so excited! I'll photograph it in the morning so I can show it off. I'm really, really happy with my personal challenge. As I said at the beginning, I'm not expecting to finish it during the Olympics; just starting it and committing to finishing it was challenge enough for me.

Now I need to get back to the sweater knitting and the Olympic games. I can't believe I missed so many exciting events this weekend!!

Taking Off

After a fast three day work week, I'm flying up to NYC tomorrow to meet up with my oldest daughter. She's going to show me around her campus and then we're going on a yarn crawl. I've got some birthday present money to spend, even though I obviously don't need anything. I just finished packing my carry-on bag and I'm hoping the Olympic sweater project passes security. I checked the TSA website and it looks okay. I normally don't try to take metal circulars but I don't want to pass up the chance to work on my sweater. A sock project is in my purse just in case I run into a problem. I can't imagine what it would be like if I had nothing to knit.



Steve and I have been watching the Olympics; loved the women's skiing and the speed skating, don't get snowboarding so much. Although you gotta love Shawn White's exuberance.



I'll fly back on Sunday night. Hope you have a good weekend!

Olympic Update

It may be hard to see, but I joined the fronts together last night during the men's figure skating!
I'm so excited by this sweater; it's challenging enough for me, yet easy enough that my confidence is growing. No frustration, just fun.

Off to work now, so knitting will resume after the "break". (Isn't that what they say during commercials?)

Happy Birthday To Me!

Yep, it's finally here! The half-century mark. I thought I'd be devastated, but you know what? Since I'm one of the luckiest women alive, it would be downright churlish of me not to celebrate my life.

So Happy Birthday to me!!!

The Knitting Portion of Our Trip

Watching the Olympic Medal Ceremony right now; what a nice young man Alex seems to be.


And speaking of the Olympics, I am so excited about my knitting challenge. This is the progress on my sweater, and wonder of wonders, I understand the directions. Even though I was stumped at a couple of places, I thought it out and wrote it out, and it's making sense! Fun!!! The trip to Annapolis was wonderful. We had beautiful weather, cold and crisp and clear, and Steve and I had a lovely, lovely time. I took tons of photos but I'm mostly posting about the knitting for this one.

This is one of the sidewalks and that's the knitting bag I carried with me on all our walks. We walked on Saturday after we got there and we walked all day on Sunday, stopping at bookstores, coffee shops, and pubs whenever I got too cold or wanted a rest. And I knit every time we stopped. A perfect weekend.

Isn't the snow so pretty?

Here are my new Noro mittens, finished just in time for the trip. They are so warm and I love the colors. And that beautiful bracelet is my Valentine gift from Steve. Amethysts and silver. A lovely surprise.

Here's Steve waiting patiently at Fibre Space, the great new yarn shop in Alexandria. He enjoyed talking to the young woman who was sitting on the couch knitting while I wandered around the store. I love that he has on a hat and scarf that I knitted for him, so I took a photo of him.

Here I am outside of the storefront.

And my hobby of "stalking" celebrity knitters continues. The very gracious Wendy agreed to a photograph. She was so nice and friendly and even gave me a magnet with Lucy's photo on it. I meant to take her book with me to be autographed but I forgot.

She's actually the reason we stopped there, even though I've been wanting to visit the store since it opened last summer. It's a great place, lots of beautiful yarn, a funky decor, and a very friendly staff, even though they were slammed with customers due to their super sale. I bought two skeins of tweed to make a slouch hat, and two skeins of yarn to make Steve a hat in the GT colors. I could have easily bought more as the prices were so great, but since I'm going to New York this Friday and will do a yarn crawl with M1, plus the fact that I'm committed to the sweater, I decided to exercise a little self-control.

Olympic Knitting

The opening ceremonies were lovely. I can't wait to visit Canada. Steve and I are supposed to go to Montreal this summer and Vancouver next spring.

I cast on for the Mondo Cable Pullover and completed seven rows. I had forgotten that I bought the pullover pattern and not the cardigan pattern, hoping for many rows of circular knitting.

Now Steve and I are off to Annapolis for the Valentine's Day/My Birthday celebration. We went there for our first Valentine's Day and I loved it so that's where I picked for this year too. There's a dusting of snow on the ground here (again!) but the roads are clear and the forecast up there looks good, so fingers crossed.

We're due back on Monday. I'm hoping to stop at Fibre Space in Alexandria on the way back home to see Wendy! Steve is such a patient man.

Hope your weekend is lovely.

Thrifting and Knitting, or Two of My Favorite Things.

I've had a good nap since I came home from work early. I really don't like the antibiotic I'm on though; I feel like the doctor prescribed a bomb when a bullet would have worked. (Where did those violent, war-like images come from? My drug-addled brain.)

I went to the thrift store the other day after work and bought this "tablecloth". It may have been a repurposed sheet, but I liked the blue swirls.

Now I'm wondering if it looks like there's a sheet on the table. Hmm. I also bought this fabric for fifty cents. I'm thinking of making some of those napkins I saw the other day, even though I have to cut the fabric. Or, a bath mat, ala SouleMama's pattern from her second book.

Finished the Noro mittens last night and I love them. Love them I tell you.

Almost done with a Swifty for M1 per her request. She said the previous tenants of her apartment left a Swiffer and she would like to use this instead of the disposable cloths. I made one for her sister last year but still don't have one for me. Maybe later. It's usually more fun to knit for others. Except in the case of my mittens. Did I mention how much I love them?

This one has me in a quandry. I like the colors but the solid, unknown yarn is kind of scratchy. Not sure it's the best yarn for a scarf. Someone asked me how the swatch of it washed up......ha, ha, ha. No swatching was done, so no idea, although it does seem like a reasonable plan now that I think of it.

The shawl hasn't been worked on in a week, but I'm working on it this weekend. And I'm casting on for the Mondo Cable Pullover or the Eyelet Cardi. I have set my standards pretty low and may even be out of compliance with the Olympic Knitting Rules, which, I think, expect you to complete a project. The way I look at it is that my personal challenge is to start a sweater and make decent progress on it. So that's what I'm doing.

Light the torch please!

I Don't Like This

I don't like this antibiotic, it makes me feel weird.

So That's What Was Wrong. Maybe.

Well, after I wrote last night's post, I ate dinner and ended up feeling evil and cranky which morphed into a crying jag. I figured it was hormones and stress, my frequent companions.

Well, lo and behold, when I went to the doctor today for my checkup, he told me that the sore throat I thought was just sinus drainage was actually an infection and that it was drifting down to my lungs again. Good grief, no wonder I was feeling so low last night. I'm on a whopper of an antibiotic and coughing like a seal again, so I guess it was just in time. It's like when the girls were little and would get super cranky and then the next day I'd find they had a fever. The lightbulb moment.

Anyway, I finished the day at school, came home, took a hot bath and I'm in my pajamas ready for a little relaxing on the couch. Which includes knitting. Photos tomorrow I hope.

Swirling Snow and School

We saw swirling snow around here this morning, giving us hope (the teachers not the kids) that we'd be sent home early from school, but it stopped by noon so we were stuck there all day. And since our field trip to Richmond was cancelled due to the snow, it meant we had ninety-five high spirited and disappointed 8th graders to contend with for the day and none of them had brought their notebooks or supplies to school, per our instructions. Talk about scrambling for a plan. We decided to show the movie The Boy in the Striped Pajamas after lunch, which related to the Holocaust unit. What a powerful movie; when you have that many kids enthralled and focused, you know it made an impact. If you haven't seen it, you should. I actually had meant to see it when it was at the Naro a year or so ago but missed it, so I at least I got to see it today.

I did a quick mini-lab during my shortened science bells, so all was well after all. On days like this, you have to make up your mind to let a lot go or you lose your mind and/or your temper. Luckily, I lost neither one. Today.

I need to make up my mind about my Winter Olympic knitting, instead of starting any more little projects. Right now I have my Noro socks, a Noro scarf, a Manos scarf, a thumb left on my Noro mittens, and the Saroyan shawl. Hmm, feeling the Noro I see. I think I may just do the WIP event? Especially since I'm supposed to go to Annapolis this weekend and New York/Stamford next weekend. Of course with all this snow, I may miss one or both of those trips. That would make me so sad.

Now I need to figure out what's for dinner. Something from a bag I'm guessing. Maybe I'll just knit awhile.

Are You Sure It's Not Friday?

What a day! At least four of my students had a meltdown today. Over my attitude. Seriously. That was their explanation, that I had an attitude. Adolescent girls are at the mercy of their hormones; sounds like another demographic group, like, I don't know, maybe menopausal women? Thank goodness I was on the mellow side today. It can get pretty hairy when we're all on the crazy train together. Tomorrow we're supposed to go on a field trip to Richmond, but I don't know how that's going to work if they get the snow storm that's predicted. I don't relish the idea of being stranded with ninety 8th graders. I will have knitting. And medication. Plenty of both.



In keeping with my birthday-palooza, I made little heart magnets from the felt scraps for my teammates and paired them with Dove chocolate hearts today. I didn't do a thing but cut out the hearts and put a stick on magnet on one side, but they're cute enough. I think they mostly enjoyed the chocolate.



Here's a photo of the goodies I sent to each of the girls. Mostly Trader Joe stuff. The wrapped gifts contain lip balm, a large Toblerone chocolate bar, hot chocolate mix, and Reese's peanut butter hearts.



And in case you're looking for a reason to buy some of those fat quarter fabric bundles, this is a very cute and practical idea. I got the link from bean&noodle's blog. I'm always tempted by the fabric in those bundles but never had a reason to buy them---now I do. I've used cloth napkins for years, although I usually buy them from thrift store. I keep them in a picnic basket (also a thrift store purchase) on top of the refrigerator, for easy access. Now I can add some new ones to the mix!

And speaking of blogs, this one is hilarious!!

Hearts

Here are the felt hearts I made; didn't stuff them, didn't embellish them, but will send them in the care packages anyway. It's the thought that counts.

My treat for the day.

No Whining Here

Despite an overlong meeting after work today, it wasn't a bad day after all.

Despite waking at 3:30 a.m. with a sore throat, going to the kitchen for a drink, hearing the washing machine running and finding the laundry room flooded, it wasn't a bad day.

I don't know why, but it just wasn't.

I did a great reading strategy with my AVID bell, then did a pH lab with my science classes that worked well, so that was nice.

I put the girls' Valentine's Day packages together after dinner and Steve is going to mail them for me tomorrow. I even made felt heart magnets and despite the fact that they look like they were made by a pre-schooler, I'm happy with them. And I think the girls will appreciate them anyway. I'm waiting till morning to photograph them. I even stuffed the cat toy with catnip so I can include it in M1's package.

Now for some knitting. And soon, bed.

I Don't Wanna Work.....

Or in my case, knit!

Not that I'm looking for sympathy, but I have to work a whole week this week, with a couple of late nights!! This will be my theme song for the week.

Super Bowl Sunday

I don't know what's going on here in the Mid-Atlantic, but we're seeing an awful lot of snow. (An awful lot to us means multiple times more than actual amount.) And I'm loving it. While last weekend's snow was dry and fine, yesterday's was the wet, fluffy kind that makes the trees look as if they've been dusted with flour or confectioner's sugar. So pretty.

I saw the movie Crazy Heart this past Wednesday. It was the last snow day so I got to go to a matinee showing, which always feels kind of decadent to me. The movie was really good, but then I'm a sucker for scruffy looking musicians and I grew up listening to country music. I found it intriguing that Jeff Bridges could look as unflattering as he did and yet still exude a certain sexiness. Although I could have done with less vomit scenes.

Steve and I watched three episodes of Mad Men last night too. I know it's received a ton of positive reviews and I also know that a lot of people really enjoy it, but Steve and I felt it was kind of depressing. It's really interesting, it touched on a lot of themes I've forgotten were prevalent at that time, but I don't know if we'll continue watching it. I guess I'm not a fan of bleakness, or maybe just not in the winter. All I know is that after we'd finished, I wished we had spent our time playing Scrabble or reading.

I need to get the Valentine's Day care packages ready to go; I just saw this and want to add it to S's box, as she love chai! Wonder if I can use powdered milk instead so it's easier to ship and store? Also, I bought the felt, floss, magnets, and stuffing to make the heart magnets. I found this tutorial to refresh my memory about blanket stitching. Kind of looking forward to some hand sewing.

Steve and I are heading over to a friend's house for a Super Bowl party; we're only staying till half-time. Why does it start so late on a Sunday? Did it always? Anyway, even though I've got a number of projects on the needles, I think I'm going to start another scarf while I'm there. The mittens are almost done and won't last long enough to take, I'm almost finished with the Swiffer cover that M1 requested, I can't take the shawl as it requires too much of my attention, so this will do. I have plenty of Noro to choose from, so that's what I'm using.

Oh and the dog sweater was finally tweaked enough with the last details (she wanted me to add back leg straps) to suit my mom's specifications on Friday night and on Saturday she let the dog play in the snow with my niece's insanely active pugs and the sweater is now destroyed. She called me with the bad news this morning. Her words? "You're so talented, I'm sure you can fix it, but one side is pretty shredded." Shredded??? You can't fix shredded!! Holy cow.

Happy Birthday Mom!

We have snow again, just in time for my mom's birthday! Here she is in the yard with the decorations my dad ordered for her as a surprise.



I can't believe how good she looks at seventy and hope the gene pool extends to me.



And here's the new bird feeder I just put out before we got more snow. We already have visitors!

I've decided to celebrate my birthday every day this month in order to wrap my mind around the fact that I'm turning fifty. Thursday morning I bought myself two large bouquets of flowers to take to school and gave a stem to each of my team teachers. Thursday night I bought myself the birdfeeder, and Friday morning I made cranberry muffins, wrapped and tied them up with some raspberry colored yarn and gave them to my team teachers and the tutors who come to my AVID class three times a week. Going to my mom's for her birthday was today's treat, plus I'm going to enjoy some quality knitting time tonight. Sounds like a great plan, doesn't it?

High Five

Thanks to Rudee for tagging me for the High Five meme. If I understand it correctly, I am to list the highpoints of 2009?

For some reason, I feel a little performance anxiety over this. Is my list a good one? Are my highpoints too self-congratulatory? Too hokey? Etc., etc. So here goes.

1. I'll start with M1 going back to school ,although I have to also include M2 for being a successful college junior and S for having a great first semester as a freshman. But M1 going back makes me so happy because she has been on hiatus for about four years now, after dropping out at the end of her third year, back in 2005. And we all know how hard it is to go back.

2. Rhinebeck--I know this sounds weird but the spur of the moment trip with M1 to THE knitting mecca was fabulous. Not the least because of this photo:

Meeting Ann at the Metropolitan Art Museum, seeing Ann, Kay, and Bonne on the grounds at Rhinebeck, and sharing the whole experience with my daughter; well, saying it was a great time seems a little understated.

3. My parents' 50th anniversary party. If Steve hadn't gotten the ball rolling, it never would have happened, but we're all so very glad he did. It was wonderful having so many friends and family be a part of celebrating that very happy milestone.

4. I'm also proud of passing the English Praxis to add to my teaching license. Again, Steve encouraged me in this and it was a good experience. And you never know when it may come in handy.

5. Finally, I'm happy that I'm still blogging, after my brief setback in November. As Rudee mentioned, I'm at a new location, with a new name, and I love it. Blogging has opened so many doors for me; it's given me a reason to take pictures, write, read, and think about the many small, good things in my daily life. It reminds me of all the things I am grateful for and introduces me to new ideas and new people. I appreciate the encouragement I get from the people who leave comments, and I enjoy seeing the myriad of ways that I can cultivate creativity in my life. I can't imagine not doing it.

So, there you are. What's on your high five list?

Another Day Off

I can't believe it, but we got another day off from school today. We really should have done a two-hour delay, but who am I to argue?





Didn't do much yesterday besides read the book, The Gift of An Ordinary Day by Katrina Kenison. I got it from the library based on Chinaberry Book's recommendation but kind of put off reading it cause it looked like one of those cheesy books, sort of a Chicken Soup for The Soul-ish (and if you like those, I apologize in advance). Anyway, turns out the author is the woman who edited the Houghton Mifflin Best American Short Stories series for sixteen years. In other words, she can write. I really enjoyed it, and wished I had read it about five or six years ago. (Of course, since it wasn't published until 2009, that would have been impossible, but you know what I mean.) She tackles the subject of redefining yourself as your children are preparing to leave home and I think she does a great job of it. I added one of the quotes she used under my blog title so I can see it on a daily basis. Here are a couple more I need to keep in focus:

You can either practice being right, or practice being kind. (Anne Lamott)

Perhaps we write towards what we will become from where we are. (May Sarton)

There are many, many more great quotes in the book, but those three really struck me. Speaking of Anne Lamott, you should read some of her books, especially if you are interested in unconventional spirituality. As for the Sarton quote, isn't that a part of what blogging fulfills for many of us? A place to write so as to discover what is important to us? I've never actually read any of Sarton's work other than as quotes in other books; I really must check some of her books out from the library for myself.




This morning I finished another book, Single Wife, one I bought used from one of the library booksales. It's funny, I had started reading it awhile ago, thought it was dumb, but held onto it, and this time when I pulled it off the shelf, I enjoyed it. Isn't it interesting how books can work for you one time and not another?



And I've put the shawl down for a bit while I work on a pair of mittens for myself. Despite my desire to make it for my mom's birthday, she really wouldn't like it. She's not a scarf person, and she'd probably think a shawl would be a reference to her age, so I'm taking the Yarn Harlot's advice on this and keeping it for myself. I can't remember exactly what she said but it's something along the lines of recognizing when other people don't love and/or respect the knitting and how we must respect that and not force knitting upon them.

Anyway, I love the way these mittens are looking and I can't quit working on them. Every few rows I hold them up to admire them. (Steve said I do this with everything I knit but I don't believe him.)

I'm using the Noro Kuryeon that I was using for a pair of Maine Morning Mitts I frogged the other day, paired with some Noro Silk Garden. Originally I thought I'd do the only the cuffs in stripes and use the Kuryeon for the hand, but it looked weird, so I ripped back and put the stripes in throughout. I used #5 needles for the cuff and #6 for the hand section, which is making quite a dense fabric; they should be plenty warm. I plan on finishing them so I can wear them on my trips to Annapolis and New York. I think they're perfect for February, don't you?

Maybe Just a Little ADD Here

I made homemade baked macaroni and cheese for my lunch today, using some of the bread I made the other day as croutons. Oh my, it was delicious.

I also baked another batch of bread today since I was home again. This time I made plain white bread, and I'm taking a loaf to our neighbors/friends down the street while it's still warm. I used a Bread book I've had for about twenty-five years, back when I was a card-carrying LaLeche League Earth Mother with two little girls at home. Brings back memories.

I'm liking the contrast of dark Kuryeon and light Silk Garden in these mittens.

I'm using an old favorite, Warmest Mittens, by Kris Percival. It's from a boxed set of project cards, one of my early knitting purchases. Today must be a day for revisiting the past.

I'm thinking about this shrug, (even though I haven't even started the Mondo Cable Cardi that I've talked about.) Is it too "young" looking for me I wonder?

I didn't get the sewing machine out today, but since school's out again tomorrow (icy roads, our area doesn't have much in the way of snow/ice equipment), maybe I'll get to it then.

This looks like a great idea, although I'm not sure I'd do the patchwork thing. Still, it might be a good way to ease into quilting type sewing.

And this is really interesting; making a clipboard artsy.

I'm never doing this, cute as it is, but you might.

And I don't crochet, but I just might give it a go after seeing these. Hearts, of course.

Wow, this post really is all over the place.

February 1

Because I couldn't resist posting more snow photos, here's one of our rosemary plants looking all pretty.

And this is our beach access walkway, with snow drifts and shadows, from our walk yesterday.

I'm home alone today; Steve had to make the trek into work on the icy roads. He said I looked awfully happy to see him go.

Now I'm just relaxing around the house, doing a lot of nothing much.

First off, I decided to work on my mom's dog sweater since it didn't fit as well as I'd hoped. So I decided to add a turtle neck section to it and a strap at the back end. Now it's ready for another fitting. Good grief, this has been ridiculously fiddly. One good thing though is that I realize I do have a better understanding of my skills. For instance, the knowledge that all I had to do to add the neck was pick up stitches and do a k2, p2 ribbing. And I also know that if it's too tight or too short, I can rip it out and do it over. No sweat.



I also ripped out a pair of Maine Morning Mitts I had started awhile back but quit halfway through the second when I realized I was going to run out of yarn. So while Steve and I were playing Scrabble last night, I decided I would use the yarn to make a pair of mittens instead. And I'm incorporating the idea of Jared's Flood Noro scarf by striping the dark Noro Kureyon with some pinkish Noro Silk Garden, at least for the wrist cuffs. That should insure I have enough yarn, plus it gives it an interesting look. Again, breaking a little new ground for me. Semi-designing going on over here.

And because I must be addicted, more heart shaped love.