Tag Archives: Knitting

Unknown's avatar

Another Day, Another Pie

by

The house is rather a mess but I feel quite a sense of accomplishment nonetheless.  I spent most of the day working on finishing up Emily’s sweater, and I should have pics of the final product before too long.  I’ve been calling it the “Gingetbread Sweater” since I started adding the color bands, since it’s a combination now of chocolate (or gingerbread) brown, pink and cream.  I hope she’ll like it as much as she likes the handknit socks.

It was a bit tough at one point working on it – Oona took a nice long nap today (she has a bit of a cold and a cough, so I guess she doesn’t feel so well) and the cats decided it was time to bombard me with attention.  At first I thought perhaps they decided for once they’d show their love and keep me company out of the goodness of their little kitty witty hearts, but no.  Nothing quite so cute and cuddly.  They were bugging me, as it turns out, because their food bowl had gone empty.  Brats.  But at least I got to take advantage of some Milo lap time.

more-lap-milo

He stayed long wnough for me to complete a couple of rounds of color and watch about an episode and a half of recorded Ghost Hunters before he decided I wasn’t going to give up the goods and he didn’t need any more snuggles.  He took up a post with Sushi in the hallway instead.

hall-pass

At least they didn’t puke in the doorway again.  It’s always fun stumbling in the darkness at 6:15 am to wake up your children for school and have your foot find a nice mushy cold pile of puke.  And what a lovely segue that makes to my evening accomplishment: the pie.

harvest-pie

I’m full of pumpkin-y goodness here.  Oona’s fallen off early so I think I will grab myself a slice, cozy up on the couch, put in something non – children – y, and tie up the loose ends on that sweater.  But before I go, have another pie picture.  This one’s a cutie pie.

easel-oona

Unknown's avatar

It’s Fall and I’m in Love

by

I can’t believe we’re into November already!  Autumn is my favorite time of the year and it seems to pass me by so quickly, especially when I have so much on my plate.  Sometimes I have to remind myself to pause and enjoy the leaves and the cooler air.  So while dinner was grilling on the back deck I walked aorund the yard a bit with Oona, who love love loves being outside.  There’s a lot more color this year around the house than there’s been the last few falls and we were out at twilight, making it even more dramatic against the setting sun.

fall-driveway

I love that my driveway is long enough and that our house is set back enough that you can’t see the road from the front.  We’ve helped that a bit by planting some nice flowering trees along either side of the driveway, and hopefully they will continue to grow and thrive and look beautiful.

yellow-deck-leaf

Yesterday was a nearly perfect day for me.  It was a bit on the soggy side, but that just happens to be ideal “sit by the fireplace and knit” weather.  Oona and I went out early and voted (no lines, either – don’t tell me there’s not advantages to living way out in the country), got our groceries, got some cleaning done and she laid down for a nap – all before noon.  I couldn’t quite believe my luck!  The rest of the afternoon was given over to baking cookies for a neighbor who expressed a taste for them at the block party, and who also has done a few favors involving my children, so the way I see it I owe them a bit.  Then we had a nice exciting – yet – somehow – relaxing evening watching the election.  The girls played while I knitted in front of the tv.  I’ve made quite a bit of headway on Emily’s sweater, though I am way off my projected completion time of several days ago.  It is, however, fun to knit and I am excitedly getting ready to start the yoke and the faux fair isle coloring.  It’s so close!!!

pre-yoke-dt-sweater

Unknown's avatar

Finally Some Dirt

by

Well we finally got around to yanking everything out of the overgrown weedy front garden and filled it in with new dirt.  It took quite a few hours and was mercifully accomplished in the rain so as to avoid heat stroke.  We did manage to turn the front lawn into a mud slick with the bobcat, but since it was less “lawn” and more “dried up ugly brown patch” anyway, it’s ok.  We reseeded and maybe we’ll actually get grass now.

The verbena and lavender are no longer being choked out by weeds, the lemon balm has been wrangled back into a manageable size, and the japanese maple is in its permanent home.  I just need more pansiess and to finish putting in the bulbs.  Once that’s done it’ll all get a nice layer of lava rocks.

It looks way better without all the overgrowth.  I need to tame those roses a bit still, I think.

Also, I think I need a better camera.  Or I need to learn how to properly use the one I have.  But I think a new camera sounds better!

WIsh me luck _ I am speeding along on Emily’s Drive – Thru sweater and hope to have it finished by next week, despite the lack of a working satellite.  Don’t get me started on that.

Unknown's avatar

Knit Like You Mean It, and Hotel in Pictures

by

With apologies to all my friends and family that are no doubt feeling neglected and ignored lately. I’ve been increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress I continue to make on everything. Having the older girls gone at school during the day has switched the motivation button in me to the “on” position, and though I am still frustrated in my attempts by a very mobile Oona, I am determined to get some stuff done by the end of the year, dammit. And to give you an idea what I am up against, I have started a small list of my projects.

First is this small corner of my knitting backup:

Each of these lovely yarn bundles represents days, if not weeks, of knitting to do. And remember, this is but a small slice of what’s in my yarn cabinet.

Then there’s quilt #1 for the play room.

You see that? I am hand quilting it. That small area inside the hoop took all week. And I have at least 3 more quilts to do after this one (I stopped using the machine because I like the control I get with doing it by hand better).

I still have to refinish Emily’s dresser and paint her room, I am way behind with the paintings I have outlined, and don’t even ask where I am with scrapbooking and picture archiving. Oona’s baby book? Yeah right. Yard work? So not been seen to in weeks. It’s all avalanching on me. Weekends are the worst because the older girls are home and I am still on baby duty without a break.

So all of you not hearing from me? Don’t take it personal. I’m just trying to gain back some modest amount of control over my life.

The good news around these parts is that my hotel was indeed purchased and my grandmother has even met with the new owners. Apparently it is a lawyer from Long Island and his family who bought it sight unseen hoping to use it as a vacation home. (!!!!!) But, now that they have seen it and realize it’s a commercial property they have begun to get work done on it and have plans to get it open for the spring season. It’s so exciting! I couldn’t be happier that the Genesee Falls Inn is getting a second chance at life, though I must admit it is still weird to see it owned by someone else – it’ll be hard to see it looking different than what I grew up with. And speaking of, I scanned some pictures to share. Some of them are old and were taken with a crappy camera, so bear with me!

The Genesee Falls Inn – Portageville, NY

Front view, in winter. The hotel was closed in the winter, but the bar was open all year.

Portageville from above. Yup. That’s pretty much the whole town. Notice the Genesee River behind the hotel? We spent a lot of time out there, catching crayfish and walking down to the falls in the park.

My grandparents, out front, circa 1980 something.

My brother and I playing on the stairs

Room 4, which was usually where I stayed, since it had no bathroom of its own and wasn’t as desirable for renting to guests (the place was built in 1870, so…….)

Room 3 was my favorite room. I thought it was very pretty and feminine. It was also one of the few rooms that didn’t require a walk down the creepy hallway where most of the other rooms were. My grandfather always said it was nonsense, but I swear that place is haunted.

Room 5, another great room with a beautiful brass bed. My grandparents did a great job keeping up with the Victorian look and feel of the hotel.

Wish I had a better picture of the formal dining room- it has red and gold velvet wallpaper and the same mosaic tile floor that is in the lobby. This was taken after it had been “abandoned” by the man who bought it from my grandparents. My aunt had her wedding reception here.

Me washing dishes, about age 14.

This was from the last Thanksgiving that was held at the hotel. I feel incredibly fortunate to have been there for it – I think it also may have been the ONLY Thanksgiving I was there. Both my aunt Patty and my grandfather have since passed away.

Looking toward the front door, the last time I was there. It had been emptied of all its belongings (I always thought the antique furniture and other trappings belonged to the hotel, and should never have been taken out). It was a depressing site, to be sure. Hopefully the new owners will breathe new life into it.

View from Inspiration Point, Letchworth State Park, “right around the corner” from the hotel. We spent a whole lot of time in the park. You can barely make out the train bridge in the background. It’s about 200 or so feet up off the river over the gorge. We took walks over it quite often. My grandparents most evenings would cross the river behind the hotel, take the path through the woods that led to this bridge, cross the trestle and walk back to the hotel through the park. Then they’d return for the dinner rush.

Hope you enjoyed these. I have been thinking about my grandfather a lot lately and how much I miss him. I also need to call my grandmother more often. And I have also just decided I am making buffalo wings for dinner, because seeing the pictured brings back all the memories and smells of the place, like the aroma of wings cooking in the kitchen. And peeps, let me tell you. My grandmother had the authentic Buffalo Wing recipe. (Well, the hotel is not far from Buffalo, so of course!) Yummy!

Unknown's avatar

It’s Late And I’m Feeling A Bit Punchy

by

Poor Oona just wants to be held. She’s not fully awake but not asleep……probably won’t be for awhile. And it got me thinking how grateful I am to not be working a regular job. I have no one here to help out so if I were up all night I’d be SOL and very tired at work. Yay for being a totally broke SAHM!!!!

And that got me thinking about my last job and the people I worked with and how some of them I really miss seeing on a daily basis. There’s the occasional run – in at Target or what have you, but it’s not the same. Of course, I also had some unpleasant times as well, and that soured the whole darn experience, unfortunately. It’s sad, really. I left because I was pregnant with Oona and my salary barely covered daycare and after care for 2; there’s no way I’d make ends meet with 3. Still, had things been working better I might have found a way to stay. But I had two bosses, and though one was a phenomenal woman I will always look up to, one was, well…..not. So bad that I still have nightmares because my brain has clearly not come to terms with all the times I couldn’t properly defend myself to false accusations and repeated requests for things I had done like 45 times already! You can’t scream It’s attached in 3 emails to you and in several copies in your inbox – open your damn eyes! to someone in a superior position. You can’t call them out on unprofessional behavior when it’s non quantifiable and hard to prove. I don’t know why she didn’t like me, and I asked around to many other co-workers if I was really that unprofessional and bad at my job. Had anyone of them agreed with that woman, I’d have done my level best to improve. But I had no complaints. In fact my team was always very complimentary. But, that is way work is sometimes. There are some people you just can’t work with if you don’ mesh well. Like my spouse. We live together, that’s enough. We’d kill each other if we worked together, married or not!!!!

I guess what I am thinking here is that yes, it can be frustrating to be broke and be low on art supplies and bogged down with kids. But even so it’s late here and I am not worried because tomorrow I can get my older girls to the bus stop in my jammies. I can even nap with Oona after lunch! And I can find enough here to keep me inspired and energized and ready to create and design whatever I want. That’s what keeps me happy and sane and glad to be where I am. Plus I am an introvert, which as Crazy Aunt Pearl correctly points out, means that I get my energy and happiness from time spent in solitude (no, I’m not anti-social!!! I just need my alone time is all!!!)

And the yarn. oooooooo the yarn! I went a bit overboard buying yarn last year and I still have enough for several projects I haven’t yet started, nevermind everything that is OTN right now. All I need is a fabric budget to put to work what’s in my head and I’ll be all set!!!!

As a side note, it would also be great if Oona didn’t insist on biting me with her 7 very sharp teeth at every turn. Here I am thinking she’s nursing herself into a peaceful sleep when CHOMP!!!!

Unknown's avatar

The Ick Strikes Again

by

We survived the first day of school. Emily really likes her teacher so far and has been coming home happy every day. Neve’s first day was likewise a success. She said she didn’t want to come home! She was so cute in the morning in the dress I made her and her sweater and backpack.

She loved riding the bus and waved happily goodbye as it took her off to start a new chapter in her life.

As for me it has been wonderfully relaxing! Oona is so easy and when it’s just us two I feel like I can be more productive. It was almost luxurious. Even the cat was lounging about with impunity, no big kids to manhandle or chase her. I had agreeable purry company all day. It’s been quite awhile since that has happened!

Unfortunately we’ve all been slammed with the Ick. Runny, stuffy noses, scratchy throats, achiness……….it stinks. And this week of all weeks! Poor kids.

I’ve been making sock progress.

I hope to at least turn the heel on this today. I won’t be doing much else since I’m not feeling well. Even Oona’s been grumpy with it. I keep having to use the nasal aspirator on her to suck out all the gunk and she HATES it. But she can’t blow her nose and with all that thick crap in there she’s not breathing well, so it’s got to be done. That’s made her very cranky. But you wouldn’t have known it yesterday in her cute stripey outfit and ultrasonic crawling speed.

Right now she’s all crusty nosed asleep on my lap, making the prospects of a foray into the kitchen for a second cup of coffee dim. So instead I’ll leave you with the “impossible”. A picture of Emily touching her tongue to her elbow.

And they said it couldn’t be done!

Unknown's avatar

Vacation, Summed Up (lots of pictures)

by

First let me say that vacations always fly by way too quickly.  Even still it seemed like last week came and went in nothing more than a short blur, despite having done so much.  It was a mixed bag, both in terms of what we did and how it all went, and I did learn some important lessons about traveling with my family (hint – there’s a reason to only do it once a year).

The week started off by taking the girls (Maddie included – she agreed to put up with a lot of tense moments in order to join us for this trip) to Knickerson Beach on the South Shore of Long Island.  It was a great day for the beach – sunny but not too bright, and very breezy by the water.  That meant I could hang back in a beach chair and enjoy the sound and smell of the beach without having to go into the water and still be comfortable.  The girls ventured into the waves accompanied by my sister – in – law (she totally gets props for making this trip worthwhile for me and the kids – thanks L!!!!).  By the time we were ready to head out it was getting very windy and we all got pretty well sandblasted.

We also all got a lot more sun than I would have liked.  I’ll be taking my sister in law’s advice and buying some L’Oreal Ombrelle, a Canadian sunscreen that you can’t get here, but works a whole lot better than the crap we have here in the US.

The next day we headed to NYC to see the Museum of Natural History.  The subway was an interesting experience with all the kids – Oona kept wanting to grab and put her mouth on the poles (YUCK!!!) and Maddie looked a little freaked out by all the various creaky noises the train makes as it rockets from stop to stop.  However, with only one minor hiccup we made it to where we were going easily (thanks again to my enterprising SIL!!) and got right into the museum.  Unfortunately, it was tough getting Emily and Neve interested in the displays.  They seemed somewhat fascinated by the fact that the animals were taxidermy and therefore had once been alive, but we had some minor meltdowns until we decided to break for lunch in the cafeteria.  Neve did however seem to really like the bones:

We brought yummy sandwiches and bottled water but upon entering the cafeteria my husband made a beeline to the food counter, thanks to a sign that read No Outside Food Allowed. And even though the rest of us were willing to risk it, he made some snarky comment about our lack of preparation and bought possibly the most expensive chicken nuggets and fries on the planet.  Neve ate part of what must have been like a $10 burger and we packed up and tried to do as much of the rest of the museum as we could before the girls completely fell apart.

The girls liked the giant clamshell.

We made sure to see the big dinosaurs and the Easter Island head from Night at the Museum but by then it was late afternoon and clearly my children had had enough.  SO we navigated the NYC bus system (very nice buses!!! It felt good to be on a transit vehicle again.  And I might add that just about everyone offered me their seat since I was holding Oona.  New Yorkers rock) and found our way to Jeckyll & Hyde, a creepy theme restaurant on 7th Ave.  This was a definite highlight of the whole week for the kids.  It was very dark, there was a lot of entertaining talking statues, and there were actors mingling with diners.  Emily and Neve were greatly amused by the butler who kept talking to them and dusting everyone.  Maddie and EMily and I wandered around to check the place out and get a better view of the band on stage, which our table was seated next to:

Clearly she was in her element.

Then it was off to Connecticut the next morning.  We had plans to meet up with my brother and have lunch and tour Gillette Castle in East Haddam before heading up to Mystic Seaport.  My brother looked great, as you can plainly see.

The castle (and the drive to it) was beautiful.

The best part was having my brother there.  It helped displace some of the inner family tension that was going on and it led to some fantastically funny Neve moments.  You see, on the way to the castle she had found the neck pillow that Paul had brought along.  In fact, here’s a picture of her wearing it:

So we’re in the van and Neve puts this thing on and says, You know what uncle KB?  I’m all grown up now and these are my boobs! and she grabs onto the pillow for emphasis.  And all the way to the castle, we’re hearing about how she has boobs now, and when we get there and get out of the van, Paul tells her to leave her “boobs” behind.  I can’t, papa.  They’re REAL!

But wait!  It gets better!

We start off to tour the castle, and Neve keeps mentioning how her “boobs” are hurting her neck, and how she needs to “feed” someone, which inevitably (at least in my family, I guess) leads to her saying Where’s the baby?  It’s boobie – sucking time!  Who’s hungry??? All of which of course gets her some big uncomfortable laughs, which just goads her on more.  And then came the best moment of all.  There we all were, having a rest on a beautiful little bench in the shade, facing the castle.  It’s peaceful and there’s a gentle breeze.  A little old lady is sitting on the bench next to us, and I can see her smiling at the girls.  But at one point she decides to butt in to the conversation by looking at Neve, and with a not quite polite but not quite rude tone of voice and says What is around your neck????

NO sooner did Neve’s mouth open up when Maddie’s hand went over it and my brother said, trying not to laugh, It’s a decorative pillow.

I’m feeling like this poor woman must think we’re all crazy because we’re all chortling with suppressed laughter.  And then Neve says But uncle KB don’t you mean those are my boobies??????

And then we ran for the van.  Good times, good times.

It was great seeing my bro – he’s fun to be around and my kids clearly love him to tears.  It was tough to leave, but Mystic awaited.  And let me tell you – that was my one true day of vacation.  The one and only day I was happily enjoying time with my family and not feeling bad.  It was paradise for me, and how could it not be?  It was my slice of New England for the summer.

Unfortunately it rained on us all day.  But not before we got to tour the big old fishing and whaling ships and take a ride on a horse drawn carriage.  The girls were mostly interested in the zillions of jellyfish.

Seriously.  I have never seen so many jellyfish so far north before.  Tons.

As for the rest of the stuff at Mystic……well, this pretty well sums it up for my  kids:

It didn’t matter.  I loved it and dragged them to everything with me.  Like the cool old house, where Maddie spied some old school knitting!!!!!

And the children’s area where Neve conjured up Deadliest Catch for me:

And of course the goofy photo – op:

We capped off the day by having a girls – only swim at the hotel pool (Paul doesn’t swim, so he stayed with a sleepy Oona) and a room service dinner.  I was very, very sad to leave Connecticut, and it was even harder when the GPS showed that from our hotel in Mystic it was only about 70 miles to the Martha’s Vineyard ferry at Wood’s Hole, MA.  So sad!!!

The last two days we stayed on Long Island, and again it was dear Sister in Law to the rescue!  We did a girls only trip to the mall (insert huge 13 year old Maddie smile here – we even tried on wedding dresses at the Jessica McClintock store!) and a girls only trip to see Old Westbury gardens, which were stunning!  We saw 3 wedding parties while we were there and lots of geese and little bunnies.  Emily loved it.  Neve was ambivalent, but cooperative anyway.  She mentioned to one of the brides maids that we passed by that she saw a “real” bride.  To which the girl replied without missing a beat: So where’s the fake one?

Just lovely.  If you’re ever out the Island, I totally recommend checking it out!

So there you are – our week in short.  I have about 300 pictures and wish I could go back to New England right this second!  But school starts in 2 weeks (absolutely ridiculous!) and now I must focus on getting everyone and everything school ready and ready for fall.  Yes, I said it.  F-A-L-L.  It’s coming sooner than you think.  And I want to be ready for it this year.  This house needs a major organization re-do.  But I’ll still be in New England in my mind anyway.

Cheers!

Unknown's avatar

When Life Hands You Lemons…..

by

…you try not to smother your spouse in his sleep.

It’s been pretty stormy outside the last, well, month, so it’s been hard to get outside and run some energy out of these kids.  And my garden…..well it has exploded, between the squash and the weeds, I just can’t keep up.

We’ve been stuck inside for what feels like the whole summer so far, and I feel bad because school starts up again in 5 weeks.  !!!!!  I can’t believe it’s possible.  We did get a brief respite  – if not from the rain then from the monotony – on the 4th when we spent the day with friends.  I even made the girls festive shirred dresses:

I’m pretty proud.  It took me awhile to finish them because the tensioner on my bobbin casing is missing a screw so I can’t get proper tension on the elastic thread.  I had to zig zag with the machine and then hand thread the elastic through all 12 rows of shirring on both dresses.  But it wasn’t so bad….and it came out well and they were pleased.  (The fabric is called “Red, White and Bold” and it is made by Moda)

The 4th was fun, as I was saying.  We spent the day with our friends, whose children happen to be the same ages as mine and they love playing together.  I planted my face into some horribly- bad – for – you dip (Velveeta plus salsa plus black beans all melted together) and I swear I could have licked the darn bowl.  It rained pretty much all day but the babies fell asleep at the same time and the men folk were in the garage doing men stuff so us gals drank a bottle of wine and got to talk smack for awhile.  It was lovely! ANd even though we got rained on, we still managed to see the fireworks.  I think we found our new 4th of July tradition!

But on to lemons.

After our fab 4th we had Sunday dinner here with my family.  My uncle and grandmother are visiting (my hotel got sold!!!!  For $69k!!!!!!!!  I am so happy that someone is going to do something with it!!!!!!!) so we invited everyone to come over and I fed them some beef & broccoli lo mein and egg rolls.  I made the lo mein, but ordered the rolls.  And I made a yummy lime chiffon cake.  mmmmmmmm.  But I digress.  A good time was had by all, and I look forward to spending more time with the family before grandma heads back north.  Maddie’s back with us again, trying to help me stay sane.  And I need all the help I can get right now!!!  Gas prices, as you all know, still suck.  The economy still sucks.  So we’re stuck home.  And it’s rainy.  And stormy.  And my children are restless. And the worst part of all…….NO TV.  Yes, you read that right.  We are without tv right now.  Oh sure, we get a few crappy local stations that play nothing any of us ever watches.  Otherwise, nada. No Discovery Channel, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network. Oh yeah, we’re suffering.  I think Maddie may be re-thinking the whole “staying here” thing.

I’ve got art projects to keep the kids distracted.  It works, but only to a point.  It’s also messy and hard to supervise when you’ve got a grouchy teething wriggly baby who wants to get into everything.  Point is, we’re doing what we can, but it’s awfully quiet and grumpy around here.  Tv is a crutch, no doubt about it.  I’ve realized that we don’t actually watch it all day, but if it’s not on for background noise and distraction then things can get real uneasy real fast.  Maybe it’s just that it’s our routine and we rely on that routine to keep us structured and productive.  Without it we feel rather aimless and without anchor.  Amazing what a difference a noisy box with pictures can make!  I can’t even seem to get into a good knitting rhythm when it’s so quiet.  Even so, I managed this:

Emily’s socks are done, and I have already gotten about an inch into the next pair I am working on.  These ones are for me (good thing, too, what with all the frustrated energy I am knitting into them!) and they are going to be another pair of the Jaywalkers socks by Grumperina in Socks That Rock, in a colorway called “Little Bunny Foo Foo”.  It’s a chocolate and pink mix.  Hooray!

Unknown's avatar

Trying Out A New Shade of Happy

by

It’s been pretty busy around these parts lately.  School ended May 30, and Neve turned 5!!!  We had a big party for her on the 31st and invited all of her friends (and some of ours) over to play on the big inflatable waterslide and have ice cream cake (mmmm Carvel!).  I can’t believe how big my middle baby has gotten!

But little peanut or no, she’s going to kindergarten in the fall, and let me tell you how happy that makes me!  With all 3 kids at home all day now there’s a lot of referee action on my part, and when she’s here, Maddie’s.  But it was a fun day either way, and I now have to remember to get the thank yous out to everyone.  And then there’s the obligatory “sad doggy” picture.  Pippa was sequestered to avoid puppy induced insanity, and when we let her out after everyone had left, she lay forlornly under the table, snout strategically placed next to a tootsie roll.  In fact, I found that little tootsie roll later (I apparently forgot to move it after snapping the picture) and found two fang marks in it.

Just look at those puppy dog eyes.  She wants it bad.

Anyway, craziness aside, I’ve been pretty happy lately.  Happier than I’ve ever been, I think.  There’s a certain contentment that has settled in lately.  There’s a combination of things helping that to happen, I think.  Maddie’s been around a lot to help out with Oona so I don’t feel so totally overwhelmed every day.  I’ve been able to keep the house fairly decent lately.  About 2 notches above absolute pigsty, which is a huge improvement over my former 8 notches below “should be condemned”.

Also, I got Wii Fit, and I have been practicing the yoga, aerobics, and etc. that it entails.  I basically have my own virtual personal trainer, and thanks to Mads once again, I have been able to work out for 30 minutes every day.  It’s given me a lot more energy and I feel pretty good.  Thanks to that extra energy I’ve been able to stay up past Oona’s bedtime and work on some projects.  I am this close to being done with Em’s socks.  I also have been sewing a lot.  I made Emily a nice skirt and scarf:

Please ignore her scraggly hair and the fact that she’s wearing Maddie’s flip flops which are WAY too big.

I made Neve a dress for her birthday party, and I made Oona a cute little dress and bloomers set.  I have a bunch more projects in mind…..and knowing that I took steps which have greatly added to my happy state of mind.  I re-did the play room, and it is now half play space, half my “studio”.  I can’t even tell you how much I am loving it.  I even got a nice shade of fuschia for the walls that I am love love loving.

So, I have my own space, my veggies in my raised beds are growing by leaps and bounds, and we’ve been eating fresh blueberry gateau.  How can you not be happy?  Even with the day I had today:

1.  Couldn’t get any A/C people out to the house until tomorrow.  Playroom is literally 850 degrees.  I may hurl.

2.  Went to Lowe’s with Oona to buy heat blocking window tint for playroom.  Went to open van’s sliding door, and it broke.  Will.  Not.  Open.

3.  Lowe’s didn’t have exactly what I needed.  Bought only 2 boxes left, and after getting home found that one had been cut already.

4.  Spent $20 to take kids to the pool.  Swam for 5 minutes, then they blew the whistle and made us get out for a 15 minute “rest break”.  After 15 minutes we swam for 10 minutes.  THen they blew the whistle and said we all had to get out because they heard thunder and the pool was therefore now closed.  I drove home with some very unhappy children.  Most expensive 15 minutes I’ve had in a while.

5.  Tried to apply window tint.  Decided after one pane that I’d rather pull all of my toe nails off with pliers than continue.  Will wait for husband to complete the job.

But I am not complaining.  I will instead eat the last piece of this:

White chocolate raspberry tart with chocolate crust.  Yum!!!!

Unknown's avatar

Finally A Finished Pair!

by

I’m happy to report that the Vincenzo Socks are done. It took a small threat of imminent mental breakdown but I got a most- of – the – day break from the baby on Monday and knit my little hands off. The socks are done and I felt a bit better at the end of the day. They are a Debbie Bliss pattern in Baby Cashmerino. I love knitting these little socks!

And it’s a good thing Monday was relaxing, because yesterday wasn’t. At least not most of the day. I did manage to pass out on the couch after morning bus stop and woke up, mouth hanging open, drooling. I must’ve really needed that nap.

Then the dog pooped on the bedroom floor. And again on the driveway, twice. Then the neighbor’s dog paid us a visit and tore open the garbage bags that were awaiting pick-up, and it was very windy out, so I spent a good long while chasing it all down and rebagging it. Nothing like old food and dirty diapers all over the muddy, rain – soaked ground.

And I didn’t care. Because a new Deadliest Catch was on last night, and there was no one home to complain about me watching it.

*Smile*