Ten Ten

First Tomato

2009-07-18T16:48:00.002-04:00

We planted the plants on Mother's Day and our first fruit came today:

Summer's really here now!

Need more good news? That's Petunia in the background - she's finally out of her box by herself! Not laying yet, but having much more fun hanging with her peeps.

Rock On!

2009-07-09T17:15:00.005-04:00

My son's Webelos Geology achievement badge was completed today with a trip to the Lucky Lake Gem Mine in fabulous McKinney, Virginia:

When I say fabulous, I really mean fabulously far away. Almost 2 hours, which was long for me.

I was worried that we'd get there and it just wouldn't be what we were hoping for (details are skinny on the website). We were very pleasantly surprised!

For starters, we got to dig ourselves:

There is an option to buy buckets of material (soil and rock and planted goodies) and sluice away at the giant sluicing area, but my son really wanted to dig.

Lots of muck and rocks to dig up and plop in a sieve. Once washed clean in the creek, the treasures start to show up:

I dug one spadeful - and struck it "rich" immediately:

Here's my daughter's haul for the day:

One of the best parts of the place is that a gemologist sits own with you when you're done to explain what each rock you have is:

My daughter was in sorting heaven!

Not sure how great this pic is, but this turned out to be my favorite rock from my daughter's haul. Naturally, we've already forgotten the name and forgot to get a copy of the handout, so now I'm not really sure why I'm posting this:

except that is looks like hay running through a crystal and is sometime known as Aphrodite's Hair. Cool!

My son found a Dalmatian Stone:

and you can tell why I had a hard time with Geology class in college. Cannot remember the real names to save my hide. Oh well, the common names are usually much more fun!

The trip was a culmination of a mini-unit study on geology at our house. After studying lots of rock books this week, we were excited to think that we might have found some petrified wood:

Turned out to be a piece of burnt wood (thus the charcoal marks on the picnic table) and a special type of rock.

Despite the long drive, the gem mine was a great trip. Not only were cool rocks in abundance, but to have someone handy for identification really made the education level worthwhile. The setting with the shade and picnic tables made for a comfortable place to spend a day and the staff couldn't have been more helpful.

No field trip is complete (at least for my group) without treats! McKinney seems to be completely frozen in time 50 years ago. Couldn't you see this place on and episode of "Happy Days"?

Once home, we tried out my son's gift shop purchase, a crack-by-yourself geode.

The chickens got wind of it all and decided to check it out ("No ladies, that's not an egg!").

And here's what we found inside:

Not as high-tech spectacular as could be, but more than expected and better than most. Just like our field trip!

Kaboom!

2009-07-06T08:57:00.003-04:00

We had a fabulous time on the fourth, just hanging out at home as a family.

Of course, there were required items:

Big, honking box of fireworks:

Check!

Patriotic decorations:

Check!

Good seats to watch the fireworks show:

Check!

Chickens?

Check and check!

Pyromaniac 10-year old:

Check!

Kaboom!!

Broody Business

2009-07-06T08:18:00.002-04:00

Petunia is persisting in her quest to become a mama chicken and won't get out of the nesting box without force. We're gathering eggs more often and taking her out a couple times a day to help. She will wander about with the other ladies for a bit, only to return to her box. Yesterday, I found her sitting sadly in the coop run (in the rain) and was happy she was out, but when I checked the nesting box I saw Chick Pea doing her thing and realized that Petunia was just pushed aside momentarily. She's got it so bad that we're calling her Looney Tunie. She's not a happy chicken.

Another distressing effect of her broodiness is that she isn't laying. I wasn't sure how to confirm this, but informal egg polls seem to indicate that we are getting fewer of the bigger eggs that Marigold and Petunia are known for. She even looks different - not only is she even bigger (all that snacking and no exercise - as if I needed another visual reminder!) - but her comb has changed color. That confirms it - she's no longer laying.

Here is Petunia on the 4th of July:

And here is Marigold:

Can you see how Marigold's comb is a much brighter red? My very smart father-in-law pointed out that trait to me.

I was trying to get a picture of them together to illustrate the difference and I thought that the feeder was a good focal point. Just look at Marigold's comb shoved up in the feeder:

Petunia is on the right, but it's not so easy to tell the difference in the comb colors.

And here's another attempt:

It just looks like they are posing for the chicken equivalent of Town & Country. Petunia is in the front and Marigold is the rear. Chick Pea is just butting in to be a ham. Beats being BBQ!

And this concludes comb class...

Baby Bird

2009-07-04T16:33:00.003-04:00

About a month ago (already?) a friend stopped by and noticed a bit of a fuzz ball in our red twigged dogwoods. Could that be....?

a baby bird!

How's that for a handsome close-up? I have never seen a bird this age up so close. He was perching as pretty as can be on the twig, obviously staying off the ground. I wanted to bring the chickens up for a tutorial.

I also noticed that there was a beautiful adult tanager about that day and finally put the two together. The mama/daddy bird was watching out for junior! I kept an eye on the little guy off and on that day and he stayed in the shrub, moving up and down his branch.

I'd love to tell you that there was a spectacular ending, but there was a booming thunder downpour that night. Next morning - no baby bird. But also no adult bird. I keep hoping that somehow they encouraged junior to get his hopping/flying on and got him to a safer spot in time. At least that's what I keep telling myself.

Long May It Wiggle!

2009-07-04T15:44:00.003-04:00

I think I was born in the wrong decade. I LOVE Jello and could have seriously excelled at the gelatin arts had I been a 1950's June Clever. As it is, I only get to break bad for special occasions. Because, you know, not everyone has Jello love in their hearts and may think that I've lost it.

But today is just such an occasion here in the U.S.A. Independence Day means two things around here - fireworks (my son is becoming quite a pyromaniac, but don't all boys at 10?) and the Jello United States!

In a proud, passing-of-the-torch moment, my darling daughter took the helm for all the mixing and pouring to create this masterpiece (and no, I don't use the word lightly!). The kids chose to sing "God Bless America" for the unveiling. What a hoot! Maybe some year we'll get a platter that is more fitting for our favorite form.

But 'til then: hope you all have a fantastic Fourth!

Beach Bound

2009-07-04T14:35:00.002-04:00

We had a chance to slip off to Virginia Beach for 1 night, so we jumped at the chance to use Daddy's free conference hotel room.

I packed lightly and we hit the beach hard.

I snapped photos:

My daughter really enjoyed the waves (when did she stop being the toddler afraid of waves bigger than her feet?):

Lots of sand castles and pit digging occurred:

Here's the other boogie boarder:

After our "relaxing" mini vacation, I drive home with my daughter only to get a call from my husband AFTER I passed through the tunnel that I had his car keys and had to turn around and go BACK through the tunnel. On a Friday afternoon. After at least a half-hour of stop-and-go congestion on the way back, I see this sign:

Glad some one's on top of the situation! In case you're wondering, it took almost 2 1/2 hours to drive from the beach through the tunnel twice and back to the beach. Longer than it "should" take to get home. But all ended well and we got home the long, scenic way.

I'm not sure that you get to call it a vacation when you spend more time in the car than on the sand...

Blast From the Past

2009-07-04T07:36:00.005-04:00

If visiting Winchester wasn't a walk down memory lane, visiting with a good friend from high school sure was! A. and I have been good friends since middle school, but we have always have had a pattern of years going by between visits. We just pick up where we left off. Love that kind of friend.

How we became good friends is a testament to how kind and fun she is. We were complete opposites as kids and now have parallel lives. Kids do that to you (see below). I was the "good" girl and she liked to have a lot of fun. I'd even take a fake hall pass and get her and her boyfriend out of class by saying they were "called them to the office". Needless to say, they never made it to the office and I had a blast exploiting my nerd persona. Great laughs. Can you even imagine that happening now?

My son snapped this photo while we were visiting at her farm in Summit Point, WV:

She usually has some interesting animal to visit (like emus one visit):

and chickens and a few dogs (Rip and Lucy):

One advantage of visiting infrequently is that there is always something to new to see. My friend is a antiquing/junk store/estate sale/thrift shop kind of gal, and scores the most striking, large scale finds, which she has no problems displaying proudly. Here's one of the sheds out back:

And here are the corn cribs she asked a farmer friend for, set by another friend over existing junipers with a crane, to house her chickens:

And in the middle of it all in the back yard are swings and rings everywhere. It started looking a little like a circus:

Did I mention that this was a friend who tried out for American Gladiator at her kids' request (and flew through the physical screening tests)?

My little girl got into the act, too:

And the really fun part was how two friends can have some many people attached to them now:

Her daughter came to my wedding in utero, her son followed, then mine, and then another bookend daughter. And Lucy. All but the dog even used the same crib.

Despite the years, the kids, and our "real" lives, we're still the kids in high school looking for fun, doing it our way, and having a blast. After seeing all the impromptu home renovation projects (My husband went hunting for two weeks so I built an addition! Then he went on another trip and I ripped out the bathroom!) and hearing how hard she's working on her new career as a pharmacist, I am amazed at how far we've come. Can't wait to see what the rest of the trip has in store!

Winchester

2009-07-01T11:15:00.006-04:00

We wrapped up staycation by leaving town. A fitting finale, don't you think?

The kids and I headed to Winchester to visit with my parents and a friend of mine from high school. We stayed at a hotel to have more time to explore on our own time. My parents are just not into leaving the house unless it involves a packaged bus tour. And I'm pretty sure they wouldn't want to hang out "downtown", so the kids and I made an adventure of it one morning. It was like returning to my old stomping grounds.

I lived all summer at the Handley Library. Dad would give me a ride into town at some point in the day and pick me up after work. I think that I read every book in the kids' biography section. It was fun to show my kids the building, but once inside, everything was different. And I couldn't really tell what was different and what was my faulty memories - must be what Alzheimer's feels like setting in.

But the library was beautiful. Lots of curves and round shapes in the original part, like these stairs:

Here's the stained glass dome from inside (how could I now remember that!):

And the entrance and view of the original building:

And don't you know that Winchester is the (self-proclaimed) Apple Capitol of the World? Here's the proof, that my daughter is trying to eat:

And a fancy one showing famous locals such as James Wood (founder? and namesake of my high school - Go Colonels!) and Stonewall Jackson (who headquartered there one winter):

We even made it to Stonewall Jackson's Headquarters and discovered that canon barrels are the same diameter as a child's arm:

and unearthed Mary Tyler Moore's connection to the HQ - her great x ? grandfather was the owner of the home and while he was recuperating from a Civil War injury elsewhere, offered his home to Jackson for use as a winter headquarters. So there. It's not really a vacation until momma makes you go through a museum.

All that walking made us hungry, so we hit the downtown pedestrian mall (which used to be filled when I was a kid with mentally ill adults and general riff-raff shopping at the five-and-dime and the liquor store):

to check out the Snow White:

They've installed a pick-up window and added outdoor seating, so we were in seventh heaven. Listen developers and planners: if you want to revitalize a pedestrian mall - add outdoor seating and plenty of restaurants. It's that simple. And cut down on the crazy bums. That helps, too.

Look at all that love on some greasy paper:

And tots! They had tater tots:

Who says you can't go back home?

Staycation Day ?

2009-06-30T15:22:00.002-04:00

I totally lost track of our staycation plans, but I'm pretty sure that this is Day3 - and luckily for you, the last day before the kids headed off to Great Wolf and I went to the homeschool conference - all without a camera.

We started the day with a bike ride through Deep Run park. Here is the fam after a particularly steep part:

And what's an active summer outing without a stop for ice cream?

The "Open" blinked on just as we pulled into the parking spot:

Now, that's staycation! - in a cone:

My son didn't believe me that you could/should turn your Blizzard upside down, but skeptically tried it for the staycation cam (insert the I-told-you-so dance here!):

We headed home for quick showers and then off to a new movie theater that opened in downtown Richmond, Cinemaland at the Bowtie Theater:

The owners renovated an old train stop (warehouse, depot yard?) and left lots of the industrial feel. Old pipes and wires are turned into lighting and lots of brick everywhere. The concession stand had lots of goodies like nachos that made me wish we came for lunch.

But the best part was that we came to see "Up" - in 3D!

Great movie!

Huge hallways and big, clean bathrooms (with our favorite - the Dyson hand driers!) made the place a hit with me.

I just wish I knew who these poor, unfortunate children belonged to...

Our family's staycation assessment: great idea. We all had lots of fun, got to do things we wanted to try, and had lots of time with Daddy. My husband and I liked the low cost. If I could have made the laundry and dishes disappear, it would have been perfect!

Postcards from Staycation - Day 2

2009-06-07T19:14:00.004-04:00

After church and lots of mowing and weeding ("But you don't MOW on staycation!" came the wail), Daddy took the littles to the traditional fun spot of our every vacation - mini-golf!

The siblings battled it out:

The littlest little came up with the only hole-in-one of the afternoon:

Daddy shows them how it is done:

A summer craft perfect for a rainy day at the beach, friendship bracelets:

I woke up this morning possessed by the idea of making these. I showed my daughter how to make the striped one and I made the "manly" red, white, and blue one for my son. I see a lot more in our future...

More hanging out planned for the rest of the day - and LOTS of Super Mario Cart!

Postcards from Staycation - Day 1

2009-06-06T21:20:00.006-04:00

Our first full staycation day!

After swim practice (just like Club Med!), we hit the Goochland County Farmers' Market to see all the goings on and to visit my favorite jeweler/crafter/crocheter/knitter/overall cool person.

I snapped this photo of the rainbow swiss chard (doesn't it LOOK like it should taste like rainbow sherbet?!), but my lovely daughter took the photos of the other equally yummy-looking veggies (ahem: native flora and fauna):

Had to snap up a hosta - could you resist such a line up?

This one is named "Ice Cream". It looks just like a "Guacamole" I had seen and coveted at a friend's garden, but is smaller. (Love the names - maybe all I really needed was a snack.) A perfect "travel souvenir" don't you think? And no bothersome security or customs to smuggle it past.

The throng (no kidding!) at my friend's booth finally died down, so we stopped in for a quick visit. I wonder if my husband will ever realize how lucky he is that I really dig jewelry made of string and cool beads. Here's one that got away:

But I did manage to snag another souvenir! And more lovelies to ogle:

It is so cool to have cool friends. Maybe it will rub off someday?

Daddy then wowed the littles with a splurge on Super Mario Cart - and and afternoon of indulgent game playing.

Our last event of the day was my son's Cub Scout advancement ceremony. He's now a Webelo II - next year this time he'll be a real Boy Scout.

Here's he's getting his face paint from his Den leader, while her husband, the Cubmaster, gets to wear the cool hat:

Here's the grin that makes all these crazy activities worth it:

I'm off to Coconut Mall before my husband gets all the high scores!

Postcards from Staycation

2009-06-05T18:10:00.002-04:00

My husband is taking off an entire week next week, and though we're still trying to decide what to do, we've declared it a staycation. Only fun local jaunts allowed. Maybe we'll even have fun (gasp!) at home. I'll try to send postcards from our favorite stops.

We had a soggy start to staycation Friday afternoon.

Rain, rain and more rain:

But luckily, we re-upped with Netflix, so the kids had a fun kick-off:

The weather is here, wish you were nice!

Special Forces

2009-06-05T17:33:00.004-04:00

My boy came home from Special Forces camp this week, looking like a warrior. The face paint!

"So, can I get a picture?" I asked. "Sure, mom!" came the reply.

Now that's much better:

Hoo-rah!

Beautiful Lengths

2009-06-05T16:59:00.005-04:00

My daughter has been growing her hair for a l-o-n-g time and it was time for a change. I asked her to consider donating her hair, so she grew it a little longer. So, with ballet buns behind us for another year, Tuesday was the day.

We had planned a quick trip to the dermatologist and then off to have our nails done while big brother was battling it out at Special Forces camp. Real girl stuff! But along the way, Erin wound up with a case of poison ivy on her hands and miserable afternoon from the doctor, so we called an audible and decided to go ahead and chop off her hair right then and there.

We rolled into the Hair Cuttery and came out much lighter.

We're sending the ponytail to Beautiful Lengths - program sponsored by Pantene. It's much like Locks for Love, but the length requirement is a friendlier 8 inches.

She looks so cute with short hair again. And after a trip to my real stylist this morning to undo the Hair Cuttery chopping, she looks really cute!

Being totally biased, I have to say that I LOVE her hair color. A light brown, or "cinnamon honey", I like to call it. And it just started getting lighter from the pool time and sun. Sigh.

But the good news (besides cancer patients getting good looking wigs) is that summer just got a lot cooler!

Lemon Shrimp with RIce

2009-05-31T06:21:00.003-04:00

Ever make a recipe for dinner and like it so much you can't wait for the leftovers?

Can't say that mine looks as pretty as Martha's, but take a look at the recipe here. It actually tastes pretty good hot or cold, so I think this one will see some heavy rotation this summer.

Bon appetite!

Scenes from the End of Season

2009-05-30T18:51:00.005-04:00

This weekend marked my daughter's last regular-season softball game. We'll miss:

rainbow-colored helmets lined up for at-bats:

hanging with Daddy on first base:

gloves in pink!

getting the stats right - even in U8, the coach needs the facts:

softball = hot weather + concession stands = snow cones!

hanging with the team at the break between the double-header:

It's been a great season!

Ka-Boom

2009-05-30T07:31:00.003-04:00

My daughter has had a collision week. You know that week when everything possible overlaps and collides? Swim team, ballet, softball, Brownies, and school - BOOM!

I wonder what the heck I was thinking when I signed up for these things, but then I see how much she is digging her activities and remember that we signed up for the fun, not the collisions. I don't think that we could avoid them even if we tried. So school has been scaled back mightily and we've slept in and kept ourselves rested and fed. We're buckled in and enjoying the ride. So all that's left to do is have fun:

Her face in this shot cracked me up! We were on our way to her first recital performance of the weekend and I had to snap a few pictures of her Woodland Sprite costume. I loved this one best. She's really stretching out and flying high, but there's still a little girl in there.

I'm really enjoying the ride!

Hawk Man

2009-05-30T06:46:00.004-04:00

We had our field trip experience at home today. Our friend, Mr. Andy, brought his red-tailed hawk to show the kids. We invited a few families to see and had a great afternoon of it.

Here's Mr. Andy and Dart (or is it Dash?):

Tubby particularly enjoyed the attention from everyone (after he jumped in Mr. Andy's car and generally made the hawk nervous):

We learned lots of tidbits about hawks. For instance, it's the talons and not the beak that do the attacking.

We learned lots of names of all the hawk gear (which quickly "flew" out of my head). We even learned why this red-tailed hawk has no red tail (not mature yet).

Just being so close to a bird that only see soaring or perched far away was pretty stunning. He was gorgeous. Mr. Andy has permits to capture and train wild birds, which he then lets go at about age 3 when they become mature males. The details of the capturing and care of the birds was fascinating.

The hawk didn't fly for us as it is the wrong time of year for him (Mr. Andy explained that he's just too fat now to do much but perch on a shady limb) and the kids couldn't pet the bird (see talons above), but they were fascinated by the gear, including the glove (which also has a name!).

It was a great field trip - at home!

Craftman

2009-05-27T19:15:00.004-04:00

My son is working through his Webelos activity badges for Cub Scouts. One of the assignments was to create a display for awards. I was thinking shadow box; four pieces and you're done. He, of course, had constructed the Taj Mahal in his mind. It was time for a reckoning.

We headed to the salvage/scrap store in hopes of Cool Things, but managed to get some neat rusty bolts and some trim. Not quite enough. So next we headed to the hardware store and wound up with brass tubing, metal faucet handles, and a miter saw. But it was worth it:

Not quite the Taj, but he was quite proud of constructing it. It'll will look nice if his mom ever gets around to helping him hang it in his room.

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-27T12:27:00.003-04:00

I'd like to say that we spent the weekend being good Americans and remembering the reason for our holiday, but I'd be lying. We spent the weekend thinking only of ourselves. Lots of relaxing, playing for HOURS and seeing the kids' cousins.

We spent time blowing these:

I kept getting distracted by this all weekend:

The kids practiced their synchronized swimming:

and being daredevils:

but mostly just having fun with each other:

Thanks to the fallen ones who secured our "pursuit of happiness".

No More Teachers' Dirty Looks

2009-05-27T09:26:00.002-04:00

Woohooo!! We finished our year-end testing!

Time for hula-hooping (who says you need a hoop to hula!):

And an end-of-year-test celebratory visit to the new Dave and Buster's:

Yes, it is a giant, adult Chuck E. Cheese.

My daughter pretended the moles were her brother:

And my son demonstrates that wonderful phase where sticking your tongue out = cool.

And the teacher had an afternoon off - now that's something to celebrate!!

Chasing Cars

2009-05-27T08:17:00.003-04:00

Richmond hosts a NASCAR race twice each year, and it wouldn't seem like spring without seeing a few demo cars out and about. When the kids were really small, it seemed that every race event (especially the May race) would mean lots of demo cars in our local area as there was always a grocery store opening or a strip mall opening. I remember one store in particular opened with 5 straight days of cars and driver signings (for the truly loony) and lots of samples and give-aways. But now, we have to range a bit farther for our "filed trips" and I'm guessing the economy is to blame for the end of free tacky hats.

Mind you, we don't really follow NASCAR. But when in Rome!

My brother was the instigator this time. He follows this car and wanted a picture with the kids by it. We were happy to spend a sunny morning out among the faithful.

My daughter really liked the oven mitt on the hauler:

There is no way my son is getting the car keys anytime soon!

This one's for you, Uncle Bryan!

Birthday Dress

2009-05-27T07:57:00.005-04:00

No birthdays here, but the loveliest pattern from Oliver+s tempted me oh so much that I had to report on my f.o. They're finally making patterns in the conceivable size-range of my "little" girl. After much measuring, I opted for the size 7 with a size 8 length. Unfortunately, it fit her for 7 minutes, during which we took this shot. If you look closely, you can actually see her grow out of it!

Oh well, it was great fun to make. There is little else to swell the heart of this mama than to go fabric shopping with my daughter. And we both loved these prints. The oliver + s pattern was well done (did you see the fun tab on the front?!), but I just don't think I can get my girl into them, so I can't even say I'll try it again. Isn't it funny how when you have cute babies, toddlers, and pre-schoolers around you don't have the time to sew, but when they get older and you can string together a few more minutes, the cute patterns are too small?

Bring on the grandkids!

Softball

2009-04-24T07:09:00.003-04:00

My daughter is trying her hand at softball this season. What a steep learning curve it has been! Never mind all the equipment she needed, it's just that she never really spent anytime batting or playing catch, so she's been working hard.

Their first game was this past weekend and it was so exciting to don the red uniforms of the Rockville Thunder! She got to play pitcher (which for machine-pitch is standing by the machine and fielding ground balls), so she had a lot of activity. Unfortunately, the team she played against was really good. Really, really good. So the outcome wasn't quite what she wanted.

But she looked good!

There is nothing cuter than an 8 year-old girl all suited up for softball. Go pink helmets!

I also learned that if the batter on the other team has her name spray painted on her helmet with hearts and flowers, get ready because the girl can PLAY. And if the team knows all the chants and keeps it rocking on the bench their entire at-bat - it'll be a tough game. Also, tie dye socks, sleeveless shirts and visors are yet another way to tell softball from baseball.

My daughter's favorite part was learning hand games from the other girls during their at-bat:

I'm thinking that they don't do this in baseball either.

2009-04-22T20:08:00.005-04:00

We've been doing a bi-weekly class at Pocahontas State Park in Chesterfield called outdoor living skills. Led by ranger Kristen Miller, the class has been a great class on all the things that I wish we covered in scouting.

Here Kristen gives a run-down of what we are looking for in our most recent Animal Tracks class.

The nature room is packed with stuffed real) animals, live snakes and turtles, and lots of hands-on furs and skulls.

On our hike out to find animal tracks, we stopped to admire the waterfall.

It's man-made, but Kristen was telling us that the beavers like to help when the water is low by bringing more logs in and helping to build it up.

I also admired the beech tree buds starting to let loose. It had been a month since we last visited, and the difference in the woods was astounding. During our last visit we could still admire the birches and their coppery leaves that the hold all winter scattered through the forest, but on this visit, we admired all the budding trees and the blooming dogwoods.

Now, here's where the action is:

More signs of beaver life:

And a very resilient little stump that would not give up:

Along the trail back we saw this odd stuff. It looked like black asphalt chunks stuck in the trees:

Turns out it is sooty moss. Aphids collect on the undersides of the birch trees, eating. Honeydew collects on their bodies and drips down on the branches below where sooty moss develops. Underneath all of that, there are usually ants that feed off the honeydew.

Here is the whole ecosystem:

The irony doesn't escape me that I drive almost an hour each way to walk through the woods when we live in an area surrounded by woods. However, it is the perspective of our ranger that makes all the difference. She can tell us in seconds what it might take us hours to research - that is if we even noticed. She has a great way of pointing things out to the kids and expanding on their questions to connect and bring a whole new world to life.

Lots of learning, lots of birches and lots of walking in the woods. It was well worth the drive.

Happy Birthday, Mary!

2009-04-18T15:58:00.002-04:00

In celebration of her birthday this week, I finally handed off a f.o. to a very dear friend:

That impish grin was what made me think that this pattern would look so cute on her. I think that I was right!

The pattern is Sideways Hat from Knit Picks using their Wool of the Andes Bulky (which is much softer that its finer-weight namesake) from their Cool Peruvian Wool Sampler (which, sadly, seems to be discontinued).

Happy Birthday!!

Long Overdue

2009-04-18T15:34:00.003-04:00

A long overdue THANKS is in order to a dear friend who has been looking out for me. Arriving from England were:

the cutest linen towel, chicken serviettes (paper napkins) and a henkeeping book, along with a great big, long catch-up letter and a cup of tea with which to enjoy it all. Fun! What an indulgent afternoon all that turned into.

THANKS again! Girlfriends are the best, aren't they?

Egg Hunt

2009-04-12T18:48:00.001-04:00

Last week marked the umpti-umpth annual egg hunt. We've had one for ages - different folks, different locations - but always FUN!

After spending hours stuffing the eggs, I'm always amazed at how quickly they are found. We had over 600 eggs this year - but it was hard to tell by how quickly they were found. Maybe it was the fast start:

This little one had serious swagga hauling her loot to show her mom:

Love the colors of the eco-unfriendly plastic eggs against the green grass:

Everyone was really good about turning in the empty eggs. Lots of swapping and sharing - and a hopeful yellow dog:

The best part? My good friend brought me one of her long-coveted Lenten Roses - and planted it!

Hope you all had a very happy Easter.

More Painting Fun

2009-03-30T18:57:00.002-04:00

When we moved to our house two years ago, we knew that the kids rooms were in desperate need of painting - even the baseboards. My daughter figured out what she wanted pretty quickly and we had a high ol' time painting her room bright pinks and greens, complete with polka dots.

My son, however, had an idea in his head and we just couldn't make it work. The "perfect" rug didn't fit or the "perfect" bedspread never materialized. Slowly, over the past year, we've be refining what he could do and finally his vision and reality are on the same plane. He really likes bright, bold colors - and wanted them everywhere. We settled on a main, less crazy color for the walls with lots of colorful accents.

His wall color choice "Resolute Blue" seems to fit him. We finally got to putting it on the walls this past week. Luckily, no oil paint was involved, so we haven't had to power wash anything, but the ceilings get pretty tall in his room:

Did I say really, really tall? Pretty, but tall:

Brendan was very concerned about doing the actual painting. I had him work on the corners and some of the baseboards while I did the rest of the cutting. Plenty of time for fun messages:

He moved on to the actually rolling and did a great job. He started with the small roller and took it nice and easy. No paint on the floor! He even got a chance to use the larger roller and the extension rod. And here he is, hard at the touch-ups.

The paint looks great, but we just couldn't get the really tall parts and professional help is coming in to save my bacon (and the porch, too). So after the paint is finished and we get all the fun IKEA things that we picked up for his room (over 2 years ago - just before we realized we were moving), he'll have a swank little pad.

Now, who's going to decorate my room?

Who's a Bad Chicken?

2009-03-30T14:18:00.002-04:00

The chickens are getting a bit bold as of late.

While they remain awfully fun to hang with:

We have discovered that they have a little secret. Actually several of them. As my daughter and I were clearing downed trees this weekend, we thought it was sweet that Dandelion wanted to hang out with us. Then my daughter discovered why Dandelion was hanging so close - seems that there was a little stash of eggs under one of the hemlocks. Turned out there were SEVEN eggs under there - and we never noticed.

And then my husband discovered this:

An egg - ON THE TRAMPOLINE. Technically it's on the surround, but still.

And then they had the nerve to do this:

I hear a knocking noise and go to the front door to investigate. The girls were all on the porch pecking away at the wood. Petunia even managed to knock over the pot of dead pansies you see in the background.

I think it's time to look into some fencing...

Socialization

2009-03-30T14:00:00.004-04:00

I get a kick out of the inevitable question asked of anyone who finds out that we home school: "What about socialization?"

It's sort of hard to not be around other kids. Between scouts, church, sports, and friends - we get a little too much socialization some days.

But today's activity was what I think of as a great benefit of home schooling. The kids have been working with some friends on staging a play and today was a day to gather, play, and practice. This has all been self-directed and has transpired between kids who are 11, 10, 9, 8, and 7. different ages, different genders, different families. All "socializing".

Can you imagine a better day for rehearsals?

F.O. Report - Orange Hat

2009-03-30T13:33:00.002-04:00

I made the mistake of introducing my kids to Malabrigo, and now nothing else quite compares for a good, warm hat. I don't mind buying it and love knitting with it, but I don't like it so much when they accidentally wind up in the wash (= toddler felted cap). So imagine my delight when I finally made it the Yarn Lounge to pick up some yarn for myself (gasp!) and saw Malabrigo in my son's favorite color!

Hats are SO fun to knit. This Ann Norling pattern is just such a simple classic, fits infants to adults and covers lots of gauges - I loved it so much after seeing a sample at the Yarn Lounge that I bought two copies by mistake. (If anyone needs a good pattern - leave a comment this week and I'll randomly select the winner!

Still talking, that boy is. I had to answer a question the other day with "Honey - I don't know - I stopped listening 10 minutes ago". The mother-of-the-year award is still open, isn't it?

Happy Day!

2009-03-30T13:20:00.002-04:00

A very belated Happy Birthday to my wonderful friend:

Look! I broke out the stampin' supplies!! And four tea bags. But I knew that you'd appreciate it!

Best of the best in this new decade!

A Weekend at the Beach

2009-03-22T18:27:00.001-04:00

My son and husband entered to run the 8K and half-marathon at Virginia Beach this weekend. After registering, we realized that they were on separate days, so that meant two nights in Virginia Beach. It turned into a fun family weekend away. A little odd to be there not in the summer. It was pretty cold (30-35) in the mornings, but aren't beaches always pretty?

Here's the scene from our room on Saturday morning while my son got dressed to run his first 8K:

We were SO close to everything! Standing on our balcony we could see the finish line and the celebration tent:

My son was very relaxed before the race, which was good. However, when I saw this before the first mile, I thought maybe he's TOO relaxed (that's him in the green on the left):

But boy, howdy, did he look good in the lead pack:

Oh wait - that's someone else's kid.

But he finished - with a time of 44:00. He was hoping for 40:00, but he still finished something like 1,300th out of 7,000 runners.

This was the scene on the course about a half hour after he finished. Lots of folks still going strong:

We were high-tailing it over to Pocahontas Pancakes, for a much-deserved breakfast. After breakfast, we swam in the pool (kids), knitted (me), and hit a fun arcade filled with retro games like all of the Pac-Mans, Frogger, Galaga, and Centipede. And ka-pow and skee-ball. I can honestly say I can't tell who had more fun, the kids or the adults!

Here my daughter is cashing in her tickets:

We also walked around the shops. My sneaky goal was to get my daughter interested in hermit crabs again as a bribe to keep her room clean. The plan back fired when she showed no interest in them. (note to self #1: bribes have never worked on your kids).

My darling husband found this plaque:

Not sure why he was showing it to me... (note #2 to self: if others in your group are running lots, you can't eat like you've been running, too).

We also took in sights on the beach:

HOW many runners are in this thing?

Then it was early to bed to get ready for Dad's race on Sunday. He was out the door at 6 and my daughter was dragged out of her coma at 7:45, so we missed the start. But we were there at the finish line!

Way to go, Daddy!

He broke his personal record/goal of a sub-2 hour 1/2 marathon and came in at 1:55. Not so bad for a fellow celebrating yet another birthday this week. So it was off to the celebration tent, with beer tickets in hand:

Wow - that was a lot of people.

Bottoms up, Daddy - you deserve it!

Uugghhh!

2009-03-18T12:44:00.003-04:00

I was so proud of myself last week for getting a monumental painting job done. We hired a wonderful contractor to replace the screens on our porch and he recommended repainting the trim. So he ripped and I painted. I did all I could to squeeze in that time in two days to paint and almost pranced to the phone last week to call him and let him know that I was finally good to go.

So while my pencil was poised above the box to check this project off of my list, he asks me to come look at something. He then showed me how all of my paint was peeling off in sheets. I almost threw up! All that work! Apparently you really can't put latex over oil (curses to the Duron man!), so it all has to come off, be primed, and repainted. Ack!

Luckily, his stomach was heartier than mine, and he immediately started devising ways to remove the paint. Scrapers came out, and then the big gun: the power washer.

Here's my man-with-a-plan (no comments on how I had to hire one!):

All those white bits are my dream of finishing being broken into little scattered pieces (and no, I'm not being over dramatic!):

Sigh. Time to get back to work - at something!

The Ugly Side of Homeschooling

2009-03-18T08:01:00.004-04:00

I get the impression from people that they think that homeschooling is a free and easy existence, alternating between painted little desks in a row and roaming through fields and forests. I think it really is somewhere in the middle. And it is also incredibly fulfilling and enjoyable (on most days!). But what most folks don't know is the tremendous amount of time it takes to plan for our "seamless" days and how much material we accumulate. So when one year is winding down, it's time to plan the next - and that's when all the books and supplies get a once-over. Once we chart a course for the new year, all non-essential supplies get the heave-ho. So while trying hard to acquire the things we need in the most economical manner, we have lots of tried-and-true items (as well as near misses) that need new homes.

So here it is - the ugly side of homeschool:

One room has been sacrificed for the effort - containing all the extras culled from the school room. And here are stacks awaiting sale on Amazon and eBay:

Most will go to the a used curriculum sale that happens in June.

Luckily, a lot of homeschoolers go through this late winter/early spring ritual and the for-sale items get a lot of attention online. It's just a matter of sifting through the piles, figuring out which items would be most desirable, finding where they can be sold, and then posting away. Later will come all the fun of packaging, mailing, and transferring funds from PayPal (instead of to it). But right now, I have a lot of work to do. Oh yeah, and we have school to do to...

T-Shirt Weather

2009-03-17T17:44:00.003-04:00

It was warm enough to wear t-shirts last week, so my daughter got to premiere her custom-made shirt:

Look a like closer. Recognize anyone?

It's Tubby! Here he is posing with his likeness:

See all that pretty trim in the background? Keep it in mind for my next post!

The idea is ala Martha and has been percolating in my mind since seeing a guest demo the idea on her show. I wish I could find a link to the show that I saw, but I can't seem to find the magic search words.

But, take heart! If you plan to make your own, it's SO easy. Just take a digital picture of your subject and fill the frame with the image (you want a good silhouette, too). Print it in b/w on your printer with regular paper. Outline the subject with a Sharpie. Trace that image onto the back of Wonder Under. Cut out the Wonder Under shape larger than the outline. Iron the shape to the back of your desired fabric. Trim right on the outline, remove the paper backing, and iron it onto your shirt. Run a little zig-zag stitch around the outline to make it out-live washings and you have your own fan t-shirt.

Can't wait to try it with Marigold! Of whom/what are you the biggest fan?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2009-03-17T15:58:00.004-04:00

The last of my washcloth binge, knitted and quickly passed off to a favorite leprechaun.

Have a wonderfully, green day!

Sew Much Fun!

2009-03-12T11:34:00.005-04:00

My daughter asked for a sewing machine for her birthday (be still my heart!), so a sewing machine she got:

Naturally, there has been a sewing explosion around here. I made this nightshirt for her out of fleece and then we made one together for her doll, Jewel:

And when a friend of hers had an American Girl birthday party, we made two identical jumpers; one for her friend's doll and one for Jewel. The applique heart was made with Chenille By the Inch - very fun to make it puff up and get fuzzy. I even found a fun heart stitch on my Bernina to add to the hem.

Both Jewel and my daughter enjoyed the party.

And last in the pageant, is the Lazy Day Skirt ( a freebie from Oliver + S - why can't they make bigger kids patterns?!), the first garment my daughter created entirely on her machine:

A quick, simple skirt, perfect for when the weather warms up this summer.

Making clothes is "sew" much fun!

Dirty Birds

2009-03-12T10:58:00.007-04:00

The chickens never cease to amuse me. I've been painting our porch trim this week, so have been outside more watching them do their thing. They often come up to check on the progress, but mostly stay down in their field. I actually heard one warn the others of a hawk flying by for closer look and saw them take cover under a small tree.

Another fun thing that they do is run (hilarious!) to the car whenever we come home. Often, my daughter, the chickherd, gets out to pick one or another up or give them a treat. It is almost impossible to drive home and escape their notice.

So when drove home last week and saw this:

I was alarmed. What was wrong with my ladies? Were they injured or sick?

Then I saw this:

A dust bath! Chickens do this to clean themselves and rid themselves of any scritchy bugs. They are supposed to really like it, but I had never seen them so it. So funny to see the dirt flying. They were giving Tubby a run for his money.

Now if I could just get them to bring up the daily paper...

Chili Cook-Off

2009-03-12T10:16:00.004-04:00

We had the delight to participate in our church's third annual chili cook-off this weekend.

A little history: my son loves chili and tried his hand at an entry last year. His Root-Beer Braised Bacon Bonanza didn't quite get him on the medal stand, but fun was had by all. I took home the "Hottest Chili" award to reside with my "People's Choice" and "First Place" from the first year of the cook-off. Brendan's favorite part of the event: the pie eating contest. He won the last two years. So the stakes were high this year!

Here's the newest cook in the house with his Meat and Bean Whirlwind creation. (The names!)

All the entries lined up on the judges station. The closest is my son's and mine is right beside his. We had an unusually warm day, so my entree was "Tropical Chili" (or "It's 70 degrees outside Chili" or Cilantro Rice topped with Tropical Chili and garnished with Pineapple Salsa"). There was no award for most confusing entree.

While the judges "chewed" over their decisions. it was time for pie eating!

My son had to relinquish his reigning champ status when he came in second. Things weren't starting out too well.

But then it was time to announce the chili winners. Here was the result for our table, but who got "People's Choice" and who got "First Place"?

My son beat me in my own kitchen!

I will never live this down!

Life Imitates Art

2009-03-10T07:48:00.005-04:00

This post is either a sad state of affairs of a testament to my fine artistic eye.

I've been enjoying dishcloth replenishment and stash reduction by knitting these fun little cloths. Could it be that I've been avoiding the tedious second thumb of the Mitt-A-Long Mittens by cranking out satisfyingly quick projects?

When Martha's Everyday Foods arrived in the mail last week - I couldn't help but think that it matched my newly-knitted Lobby Dishcloth (check out the 10 December post if you follow that link):

And in a fit of self-indulgence, I swooped up a copy of the new Debbie Bliss Knitting Magazine, but couldn't help notice that it matched my new Heart Dishcloth:

The final straw came when my son came to the kitchen for breakfast matching our new ball-band dishcloth:

I can't tell if I've lost it or I've finally gotten it...

Winter Wrestling

2009-03-06T21:16:00.000-05:00

One source of busy around here this season has been wrestling. My son discovered the sport last year and it was love at first smack on the mat. His excitement and energy around wrestling makes all the practice and meet times worth it. It never ceases to amaze me how much of a time drain it is when practices of anything are twice a week. That one extra evening shapes the rest of the week. But this is one area where we wallow in the busyness of it all!

Here's what a Sunday afternoon looks like for us:

Mats are seething with shiny-attired boys (and a few girls), ready for the weekly round-robin meets. Our matches have been at Tucker High School this year - an original "old school". This week was the big end-of-regular-season tournament.

Brendan (on top) started off with a bang by pinning his opponent in the second period. That's the referee to the left signaling the pin. Check out the arc on the other kid's back:

Horrible shot again, I know, but a symbol of Brendan's new-found offensive game this year. He's been trying all sort of moves - sometimes even on me (in slow-motion).

After winning the first two matches, he went to the gold-medal round - and won! Here he is on the top of the podium holding the schedule of his bracket that he won.

The closer to the top, the more smiles.

And no, the kid who came in second is not his twin! It was a little difficult watching them wrestle together as the are so similar in appearance, but the not-mine has much redder hair and is a bit taller. Other than that, it was two very white skinny boys going at team mates.

And here's the Wheaties box cover:

SO proud - both of us!

Montpelier - the House

2009-03-06T20:27:00.002-05:00

Last month, we were studying American presidents for a speech presentation with fellow homeschoolers. My daughter asked "Are there any lady presidents?". My heart fell with a thud, but I tried to recover with the only (lame) thought I had. "Not yet", I replied "but there are lots of interesting First Ladies". I hope my daughter doesn't have to have this conversation with her daughter.

I tried to rally with Dolley Madison, wife of our fifth president, James Madison. As a reward for all of our individual and joint research efforts, we headed off to Montpelier - home of James and Dolley - to see what there lives might have been like. After a week of having a bad cold, and a forecast of a beautiful sunny day (I neglected to notice that the temperatures didn't move much), we headed off for a romp in the countryside.

Our first hurdle was to figure out where to find Montpelier. My kids thought that it must be really close as there is a town next to us by the same name. But we weren't that lucky. Orange County, Virginia was our destination and Mapquest got us there with no problems.

The home was breathtaking, but oddly unfamiliar. I knew I had never been there, but from pictures, I was not expecting the brick manse we encountered. It wasn't until we were well into the tour that we discovered that the home had been owned by the DuPonts from the 1930s and tripled in size and stuccoed (with pink stucco!). It has only recently (as of September, 2008) been restored to the home that the Madisons would have returned to after the presidency. Amazingly, the DuPonts frugality preserved much of the original structure and reconstruction of some features was as easy as looking in the basement for missing mantles.

Here is the view from the front porch entrance:

And from the outside looking in:

No photography is allowed in the house, but not much is in there. They are just now in the process of locating and reproducing period furnishings. While the house was not the walk back through the time of an important person, like Monticello is, it was a fascinating display of restoration techniques. We didn't learn as much about Dolley as we'd have liked, but we were able to answer the guide's questions (and even catch an inconsistency!), and learned my daughter's favorite fact about Dolley - her favorite ice cream flavor was oyster.

Here's my daughter paying respects at the Madisons' graves. James' is in the forefront, and Dolley's smaller obelisk is in the rear. The grounds would have been much more fun on a warmer, less windy day, as there are loads of walking trails with recorded interpretative guides to add more information. As my cold was wiping me out, we cut out early to enjoy a late lunch at Jean's Family Cooking before heading home. What a fun trip.

More Mammouth Mittens

2009-03-06T20:14:00.004-05:00

I'm a sucker for alliteration!

I had such fun with my big mittens, that I had to share. My daughter's ballet teacher is so sweet and must get inundated with end-of-year remembrances, so I thought that we'd remember her for Valentines' Day. Here is the pair I knit for her, looking sweet and demure, like Ms. Mary (and remarkably similar to mine!).

Can you read the little tag?

It says "Cold Hands, Warm Heart". I was trying to connect cold hands needing warm mittens to the current holiday and her sweetness with the girls. Not so poetic, but Ms. Mary's a knitter and she liked them. She even brought in a hat she knit for her husband out of the same color-way of yarn (but a thankfully more reasonable gauge).

So funny how knitters lurk everywhere in the "real" world.

Busy Times

2009-03-06T07:28:00.004-05:00

I looked up from the chaos of our life recently and the titles of my daughter's readers caught my eye:

So if we're not busy enough now, there's more ahead! Our schedule is jam-packed with the fun and the ordinary, working on school and life, and just enjoying this hectic season of life. Most of our commitments will be winding down by April, so we're at the tail-end of it all.

In the meantime, I'll try (really hard!) to update you with all the goings on around here. I have lots of pictures at the ready. So keep your fingers crossed that the computer doesn't freak out anymore, that the snows don't block the Internet satellite, and that I slow down long enough to let you see what we've been up to.

"See" you soon!

Sn-oatmeal

2009-02-01T16:10:00.005-05:00

Let's ignore that this is two snows ago (sounds like American Indian timekeeping) - and remember that I am trying really hard to catch up, shall we?

Sometimes the silliest things become "family traditions". When the kids were very little I would scoop up a little snow on their oatmeal and call it snow oatmeal or sn-oatmeal. Mind you, we don't get much snow around here, so it is a rare breakfast treat.

Imagine my surprise when we had a little dusting a few weeks back and my daughter hurries into the kitchen asking breathlessly "Can we have sn-oatmeal?". Well - yes you can! And here it is - in all its frozen, gray glory:

And since it had finally "snowed", we even scrounged up a few marshmallows to add to steaming mugs of hot chocolate:

And what do all knitters think of when it snows - knitting! I had just finished working on a pair of mittens for myself and thought the snow was a perfect backdrop. Here they are in their frigid, gray glory:

This pattern was posted on Jimmy Beans newsletter and linked to the pattern from Pure and Simple. I used Rowan Biggie Print from JBW. After being chilled to the core for most of the winter, I really wanted thick, sturdy mittens to tend to outdoor chores, like chicken arc mucking. The yarn was supposed to more about shades of brown, but the actual yarn came out to be more like gray, white, and red. Prettier, indeed. And so easy! The pair took less than 3 hours on size #10 dpns. The short wrists are perfect with a coat and the thickness makes them super warm. I loved the proportions - not too long in the hand or the thumb. Very wearable.

A word of caution about this pattern - be careful with your yarn. Each skein makes one mitten, and this is what I had left - after both mittens!

Inauguration

2009-01-20T13:28:00.004-05:00

Since being there in person wasn't going to happen, the inauguration was celebrated as the holiday it should be around here. Actually we sort of celebrated Martin Luther King-Inauguration-President's Day.

We watched the coverage closely and indulged in cherry pie

and red and white striped pizza.

What's a holiday without the food? God bless America!

New Year's Eve

2009-01-09T15:22:00.008-05:00

We celebrated Christmas with family out of town between Christmas and New Years and came home to a kid-friendly blow out. Big fun. Here are a few glimpses of the end of our 2008.

Cousins celebrating at Grandma's:

My daughter snapped this pic at the Nutcracker after party:

Feeding the chickens their Christmas feed:

Nothing says the holidays quite like taking out the mountain of gift wrap trash:

Really, the kids had fun on New Year's Eve:

My favorite present also sported my favorite wrapping paper:

Out with the old and in with the goofy:

Happy belated New Year!

Really, I Do Still Knit

2009-01-09T15:09:00.005-05:00

It's true - I still knit! Just way slower and with more distractions (like re-reading the Sue Grafton Alphabet mystery series - seemed like a fun idea this summer, but man has it cut into my evening knitting time).

Carpal tunneling went well, so I am trying to pick back up where I left off with some oldies, but goodies. The best of the best is the Mitt-A-Long:

How long ago did we start this, Pam? A year at least. Anyway, Pam has discovered the secret to life by way of fair isle and we've both gotten re-energized. I think that I am almost half-way done on the first mitten? I've found tons of mistakes, but I am looking at this as a technical practice piece. If I get a wearable mitten out of it, great; but if all else fails, they'll make a fun Christmas decoration.

Now that I've posted all of this, I'd better take less than another year to finish!

So Sweet!

2009-01-09T14:49:00.006-05:00

We made a trip to check out Two Sweet today. As soon as I walked in, I felt like I was in an "after" makeover on Peter Perfect, but with less sideburns. The store is gorgeous! As were all the individual domed cake plates featuring the day's cupcake menu. While sorely tempted by the Key Lime, I went for the Chocolate Chocolate. The kids opted for Fluffernutter and our friend wound up with the White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Cupcake. Check out the menu descriptions under their menu listing if you want to start drooling on your keyboard!

What a delicious assortment. That's it - for every birthday, anniversary, or holiday, THIS is what I want to see:

The cupcakes are large, but mostly due to the mound of icing.

Our friend had no problems chowing down.

What a sweet Friday!

Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night

2008-12-24T19:25:00.002-05:00

From my family to yours (l to r: daughter with buttons, plaid dad, santa mom, wrestling singlet son, center: red Tubby):

a very Merry Christmas and wonderful 2009!

Chilly Morning

2008-12-23T08:44:00.005-05:00

You know it's a chilly morning when you see this in the egg box:

This must have been one of yesterday's uncollected eggs, caught by Old Man Winter, frozen solid and busting out of the shell. Tubby will enjoy it for dinner once it thaws out.

I'm sure people with tons of snow will find this post funny, but a hard freeze really isn't a common occurrence around here in central Virginia. The frost made for beautiful pictures, though.

Here are the chickens' stockings, hung with some care, dusted with frost, in hopes of that Santa will bring popcorn:

Dandelion didn't appreciate the beauty of the frost:

In fact, the ladies were alternating which leg to stand on to keep warm. They looked very pretty with their feathers all fluffed up for warmth. Luckily, the sun was just clearing the trees and streaming into their field as I was taking stock of the morning, so warmth is on the way.

Another pretty shot of frost, on a landscape timber beam, with Tubby's little toes in the background:

When I was little, I thought that frozen grass looked just like frozen pizza cheese:

only much prettier.

Hope you have a hand-knit wrapped kind of day!

Crafting Central

2008-12-22T16:54:00.003-05:00

Having a large island in the kitchen makes it a perfect place for crafts, school, and even meals; you're right in the middle (literally) of all that is going on around so projects take on a festive, communal flair (unless you're working on math!). This week, I wanted to have time and space for the kids to delve into some Christmas crafting, so I set out this tray this morning:

And here is my inspiration:

My mother's mother was a crafter and seamstress and she used whatever was at hand. Here she cannibalized a box of Cheerios to make a pattern for a folded 8-sided ornament. You've seen a million of them. I'm sure some 20-something Oregonian just discovered a stack of these at a thrift store and has already started a Flickr pool somewhere using "vintage" 1980's Christmas card. Well this one is definitely an original. Check out the free stickers - for the Bionic Man. Very groovy. I think in my nana's time they made them from old greeting cards (another pattern has a card from the 60's with "Keep Christ in Christmas", a movement I had no idea was so old), but we're using cardstock and decorating it with glue, tape, glitter, beads, and sequins. Fun!

Of course, now my island looks like this:

but what would Christmas be without glitter stuck to the soles of your feet!

Looking A Lot Like Christmas

2008-12-17T11:47:00.005-05:00

Eureka! The Internet issues have been resolved and I now have home access again (after 6 l-o-n-g months). So I hope to be able to get back to blogging again and let you see what we're up to around here.

Right now, we are in full Christmas production mode. Actually, we are starting the wind down as gifts are going out and the whirlwind of activity is wrapping up to give us time to enjoy the season. So here's what we're making (and enjoying ourselves!):

The kids made Peppermint Stripe soap ala Martha:

I cranked out 11 gift bags for my husband's office folks (each with Spiced Peanut Brittle, Reindeer Chow, and Cheese Things). Good snacking!

Here are two little gifts waiting for delivery to Pamela and Amy:

I forgot to take pictures, so can you help?

And here are the favors for my annual cookie swap on Saturday day, Spiced Chai Tea Latte spoons:

Loved the tags that my daughter helped to make:

She also helped with these for Dad's work:

And all of these are left to give (or eat!):

Filled with Reindeer Chow:

Cheese Things:

Spritz Cookies:

Spiced Peanut Brittle:

and Pecan Snowballs (my absolute favorite!):

Hope you all find something sweet in your stockings soon!

Chicken Morning

2008-11-26T12:58:00.005-05:00

Now that the ladies are getting so big, we've been letting them free range in our front field. This morning I stopped to snap a few pictures on a chilly morning.

Here Dandelion is enjoying a little hug:

While the other chickens think (once again) that my shoes are something tasty:

Not so much.

Here is a good shot of Petunia (on the left) and Marigold (on the right). Marigold's beak is darker (as befits her temperament). Petunia is also known by her prodigious appetite and willingness to ignore all else in favor of food.

And here are all the girls together (Dandelion can just be seen behind Chick Pea on the right):

It has been so nice to know that Tubby the dog couldn't really care less about the chickens. He never chases or bothers them. They don't even fight over the pears that drop from our trees, favorites of all our animals. Tubby really does like their chicken feed, so I need to be careful to buy the crumbles rather than the pellets so that he is less likely to think it is dog food.

And speaking of chicken chow, the girls love when the roof of their house is open because it is the best of both worlds: free ranging, but all the chicken chow you can muster. Here Dandelion takes her favorite face-down position (Petunia would try this is she weren't so, well, plump):

Petunia and Marigold notice the "Open" sign flashing on the feeder:

And before I know it, all four are stuffing their little feathery faces:

(Love those feathery ruffled bloomers!) I had to pull Dandelion off (twice) and rescue Marigold before closing the roof. Sure enough, Chick Pea and Petunia chose to come out and join the Fearsome Feathered Four for their morning walk about.

Hope no one thinks they are turkeys for tomorrow!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Graduation

2008-07-21T15:54:00.003-04:00

We had a graduate at our house this June - a furry one with four legs. Tubby graduated obedience class!

Here he is with his proud co-trainers getting used to his mortarboard:

He can be quite dashing when he cooperates:

And a little dickens when he doesn't:

His final exam was a little rough, but he made the cut! Here he is with his very patient teacher, Ms. Morgan. I honestly can't remember in recent history being so nervous about someone taking a test. Tubby was a completely different animal at PetSmart - absolutely distracted by every smell, so much so he wasn't motivated by snacks. Gasp! So you can imagine the challenges we were up against.

But you did it, Tub Man! Congratulations!!

Golden Rule of Basil

2008-07-21T15:19:00.004-04:00

The golden rule of scrapbooking is to start where you are. Don't go trying to catch up your child's album starting with a baby book if he's twelve. Put in the pictures from this year, week, month - anything to get started. Then work backward to where you left off. Well, I feel like my blog is turning into a teen and I'm working on the first birthday photos!

So (without Internet availability moans and groans) let me just start where we are:

Beneath the enormous mound of basil (and a few zinnias on the side) is a really big bowl that I thought was too big to take down to the garden to harvest basil for pesto. I only took it because I am always surprised by the bounty of the garden, so I guess that made be surprised at being surprised.

But, oh, those zinnias!

Once more with the basil:

And another surprised-at-being-surprised moment: all that basil netted less than two ice-cube trays of pesto. I tried Martha's lighter version, but still put in more basil and less oil.

Yum.

So that's where we are!

Chicken Salad Recipe

2008-05-26T15:52:00.004-04:00

By popular demand, here's the latest on the chick(ens).

The girls are enjoying their new waterer - don't they remind you of co-workers visiting around the water cooler?

I haven't suspended it yet because I can never sneak up on them while they are upstairs. They love the run so much they always seem to be down below.

Dandelion looks longingly at the nearly by field:

Marigold is making a perimeter check:

We introduced the chickens to grapes this afternoon. The chickens introduced us to their new game - steal the grape. See the grape in Petunia's mouth?

So funny to watch. They look like little clowns with bulb noses. I am so not telling them how good grapes are in chicken salad!

It Started with a Baked Potato

2008-05-24T18:29:00.005-04:00

Fun Friday lived up to its name this week. My son was invited to attend the unveiling of the winners of a design competition at the Library of Virginia.

To accompany the exhibit "Never Built Virginia" featuring models and plans of buildings that were never completed, the Library hosted a youth competition to design a building to fill a narrow, vacant city lot.

Here's my son with his design of a "Sky Lab":

And here's why we came - he placed second and his design will be a part of the Library of Virginia's archives!

One of the highlights of the event was to spend time with Mr. Haigh Jamgochian. He was the architect that had several models in the exhibit. His design for "Tree House" inspired the youth competition.

Here my son posed for a picture of Mr. Jamgochian with a Cub Scout denmate who also happened to be a contest winner:

Mr. Jamgochian discussed how he got started with architecture. He talked of how quickly time goes by, making it important to engage the opportunities that come by each of us. He also talked about how inspiration can come from all around you. One example he gave was seeing a baked potato wrapped in foil. He thought it would make a good siding material for a building. His resulting design is the Markel Building and is now a historical landmark in Richmond, Virginia:

Even the entrance speaks of Mr. Jamgochian's design: groovy circles, curves upon curves, an almost lunar quality.

And since things are lighter on the moon, my son could easily support the Markel building:

And to think it all started with a baked potato.

200

2008-05-20T12:08:00.006-04:00

I can't believe that this is post #200 for TenTen. All these words and I still haven't said anything!!

But it is a good time to reassess. Internet issues plague me and my posting abilities, making blogging more work and less fun. My knitting is on the side line in an attempt to repair a lingering case of tennis elbow. So I am moving toward using this as a glimpse of our whole family life. As is the case in my real life, my private endeavors seldom stay that way. They are inseparable from my family.

Case in point: strawberry picking. The kids are finally old enough to pick more than they eat and they really helped in the kitchen making the jam. So this wasn't my venture to the fields and the ensuing canning activities - it was OUR story.

Having kids gives me a different perspective of life. I wouldn't have noticed this toad, let alone spent 20 minutes hunting and losing and re-hunting him:

Child labor (yes, my children are really that pale!):

My son hunts for strawberries with the same gusto as he searches for archeology finds:

It's good to pick with friends. Lots of friends.

Evidence of a hard morning's work:

And quick - one more family portrait (with a bigger me!):

And what was the end result?

Luscious strawberry jam!

My absolute favorite part is when you have to skim off the hot jam foam before ladling it into jars. We made 3 batches, so we had a nice little bowl full of strawberry fluff. Delightful!

We packed this jar with State Fair intentions, so I'll keep you posted.

I'm one step along on my resolution to can more this year. It is awfully fun in May when the weather is gorgeous. I'll let you know how August goes!

Mother's Day

2008-05-19T16:16:00.007-04:00

We had a cool Mother's Day weekend - literally! I packed for our weekend at the River as if it were July and discovered it was more like March. (Don't ask why it has taken so long to get these up.)

The kids were entirely nonplussed with the temperature and spent hours playing on the "beach":

Daddy found time to sharpen the lawn mower blades he thought to bring from home:

I lazed around as much as possible (with children close to water and insufficiently dressed!). Mother's Day morning was a bit of deja vu. As a toddler, my son liked to wake early and I'd quickly shuffle out the door with him to allow everyone else a bit more sleep. We explored our old haunts like the crab pots on the dock:

Mud puddles are still a big draw:

And just when I thought that we'd run out of adventures, we spied the cavalry coming after us:

Special delivery of Mother's Day loot:

My favorite - coupons! They are for "Lunch", "Dirty Dishes" (unloading the dishwasher), "Wash the Car", "Day Off" (woohoo!), "Whateveryouwant" (double woohoo!), "For One Week: Feed Tubby and Feed Chickens" (complete with "buck, buck"). These are the reasons for Mother's Day!

And there was more:

My son's card has three plain circles and then a fancy Spirograph creation with the caption "You are Unique!" (SO sweet!). The kids gave me a copy of Martha's Cookies book and my daughter crafted a sleeping bed for Tiny (who I need to introduce you to) and a sewing "kit" for me:

I'm supposed to sew on the hearts myself to make a pillow. I think I might frame them instead!

I'm in My Cups

2008-05-07T14:05:00.002-04:00

I laughed when I saw my coffee cup the other morning. Is it telling that this was taken around 1 p.m.? Each time I got interrupted or paused to get something, I noticed that a little ring was left behind. Can you see how many rings this day had? Kind of like a tree, telling about its life by the story it leaves behind. This story is all about learning to read, figuring out math problems, internet research, catching up with friends, getting bills paid - just a regular life, but with lots of "rings".

Chickens Grow FAST

2008-05-07T13:48:00.004-04:00

Just a little trip down memory lane.

We brought home Petunia and Marigold on April 10th:

Here they are 8 days later with their new sisters Dandelion and Chick Pea:

And here they were this weekend (28 days after arriving home):

That's some potent chick feed they're eating!

Welcome Home

2008-05-07T13:28:00.004-04:00

We have been spending. every. single. minute. for the past week getting the chicken coop built. I would never have imagined the sweat and the toil for a "chook shack". But we finished today and moved the girls into their new digs.

Here the kids are performing their forced labor for the day - coop transport. The idea was that this coop would be mobile, but it is SO heavy that mobile will mean moving only a few feet to fresh grass. Americans call it a chicken tractor, but I like the British name of chicken ark.

We ran into a bit of a speed bump coming across the bridge:

The kids added the bedding to the roost area (my daughter even patted in all out as if making a bed):

And tended to the laying boxes (which I tied to explain wouldn't get much traffic 'til later):

The did SO much of the work and thinking about the project. They found sticks for the roosts, helped figure out how to make the doors and latches work, and did a great job with painting. SO their last decision was how to get the chickens into their new home. They wound up with two going below and two up top.

Here are Petunia and Marigold enjoying the grass:

and Dandelion and Chick Pea wondering what the nesting box is all about:

I'm a little worried about releasing my little girls into the big bad world, but I've tried everything I could to create a home that's safe and comfortable for them. Not having any idea about what I am doing is probably not helping. Rain is forecast tomorrow, so that will be the real test of the ark. And did you notice how Tubby is in most of the pictures? He is very interested in these little fluffs that keep changing and growing and getting more and more animated. He's slowly creeping over to the predator list at this point. I'm sure that the hawks and foxes are already into what's been in the works. Let's hope they stay safe long enough to enjoy their new home!

Ashland Feed and Seed

2008-04-24T12:09:00.004-04:00

Here's another peek at our new favorite store. They have so much in there that we always discover something new. The employees must think that I am a crazy person as I am always wandering down an aisle calling out "Well, look at that" to the kids. It doesn't help if you also take photos of buckets and shelves.

Here's the storefront:

I still haven't found out where you are "supposed" to park. It's a bit of a free-for-all by the side of the building and I've been known to circle the block a few times to get in, but get in we do.

Especially for sights like this:

That's not just a charming modern-county-gone-faux display - that's seed by the ounce. Really! Look closely:

Names, prices by the weight, and a helpful employee hovering somewhere to scoop and weigh. I picked up onion sets, blue seed potatoes (who says these guys are hip and with it?), and horseradish. I have little idea how to plant these, but isn't that the fun of gardening?

Chicken Reload

2008-04-24T11:51:00.003-04:00

It's been a week ago already, but we went back to Ashland Feed and Seed for more chickens.

The Rhode Island Reds weren't in yet on our last visit.

The sign out front has a BIG cute factor:

Here are a box of little ladies that they used to restock the pens out in the store. They were quick to assure me that they don't keep them like this in the back, they just use the box for moving purposes. I was tickled by the sight of wall-to-wall fuzz:

Tubby's adjusting very well to having chickens around. I don't think that he wants to eat them, but he REALLY wants to play with them. We had them out in the yard (before the monsoons set it) and he almost rolled over on one.

He's almost the same color as one of the new girls.

So cute!

Carmel Church Quarry

2008-04-18T06:47:00.006-04:00

We had glorious weather for a field trip to the Carmel Church quarry. Led by Dr. Dooley from the Virginia Museum of Natural History, we were allowed access to an active archaeological dig being conducted by the museum.

This site is "one of the most significant fossil deposits on the Virginia Coastal Plain. The Carmel Church Quarry is one of the richest vertebrate fossil sites east of the Mississippi. The 14 million-year-old Calvert Formation deposits at Carmel Church contain at least five species of whales and two dozen shark species, as well as manatees, crocodiles, turtles, birds, and bony fish".

The site itself wasn't overly large - perfect for a group of enthusiastic diggers:

Previous diggers had burrowed into the hillside leaving little "caves". The small piles at the base of the hillside are the remnants of past digs. While the piles had no fossils, small sharks' teeth were found in them.

Here's my littlest rock hound prying through the crumbly layers with a screw driver:

My son was really into it - literally!

Our find for the day - a partial shark's tooth:

Other's found more sharks' teeth and fossilized whale parts (technical term). One person even found something "museum worthy" that was taken by Dr. Dooley for further evaluation.

The only down-side of the day was the family that coordinated the trip was unable to attend, so I felt a little guilty about enjoying ourselves so much. They were sorely missed!!

The Eagles Have Landed

2008-04-11T08:33:00.003-04:00

Our new babies have arrived! This time with much less fuss than the two unfeathered ones.

Here the kids are holding our two new Plymouth Barred Rocks:

We picked them up at the Ashland Feed and Seed. We wanted to get Rhode Island Reds also, but they won't be in until next week. By then we'll be professionals!

They had so many little chicks out in holding pens, and lots of folks just stopping in to ogle them. The 90-year-old gentleman helping us deftly cut air holes in a box with his pen knife and scooped up some shavings and two little layers and off we went. So cute and fuzzy:

Here they are warming up under a heat lamp in their box full of shavings:

One of their cuter features is that they have little pale yellow bottoms:

And their own little mama:

My daughter is going to wear those little ladies out! But she and Tubby are trying to be gentle. We'll see if it works.

Next up - the quest for the perfect coop.

The Grand Finale: Ode to the Dames Family

2008-04-07T21:56:00.003-04:00

Thank you guys for hosting us, showing us around, and, most of all, being such wonderful friends. And thanks for sharing your neck of the woods with us. We wanted to show you what we saw of your own "backyard".

The lovely street that we walked to get to the tube station was a wonderful way to start the day and great welcome home from scurrying about the city. And you can't beat the delivery service:

Even the side streets are pretty vignettes:

I've never seen florists so lovely:

Or flowers so fresh and abundant:

And then to come home to a beautiful building:

I can't imagine how frustrating the 4-hour per load washer/dryer must be. I wouldn't want to try to get on a bus during rush hour in the rain. I can't imagine trying to drive on the wrong side of the road. But, boy howdy, do you live in a beautiful city. How enchanting. Thanks for sharing it all with us!

Day Six

2008-04-07T21:07:00.005-04:00

Our last day proved to be our easiest. We knew where we wanted to go. We knew how to get there. We knew we had to be up at 5 a.m. (and their time changed that night, too). We knew we had to get home to get to bed early.

We finally got to use one of the cool mail boxes:

This one was right outside our friends' apartment (across the street, on the corner). You can see it from their living room, a fact that my friend does not think is as cool as I do.

We decided to sleep in a bit and then hang out at Portobello Road - a giant outdoor market with stalls selling everything under the sun. We knew it must be a humdinger when there was a solid wall of humans marching from the tube station straight to the market area. Solid. wall. Really.

And it didn't let up once the shopping began:

I was so overwhelmed that I finally called it quits so we could go look for lunch. After a bite at Pret a Manger, we went for a surprise tube ride. The surprise for the kids was that they didn't know where we were going. The surprise for me was that I couldn't find it. But we finally made it to King's Cross Train Station to find the most famous platform of all:

Then it was time for "Revenge of the Babies". Let me explain. My husband went out on his birthday eve with our host to have a pint. Our friend introduced him to "Casque Ale" which is beer, but not really carbonated (is that right?). There is some kind of pump system that is part of the experience. Unfortunately, pubs that had casque ale didn't allow children and those that allowed children had no casque ale (or so it seemed to us). While at Portobello Road, we saw a sign advertising the ale, so we knew what to look for. And on Day ?, we stopped in one to be yelled at (good naturedly) by the bar keep with "No babies!". Well, at King's Crossing, the planets finally aligned and casque ale was being poured at a pub that allowed kids. The kids enjoyed their lemonade and let mama have a quiet pint. Revenge of the babies!

This is their idea of revengefulness. I just think that the lemonade it kicking in!

Luckily it wore off in time to fall into bed in their travel togs, ready to face the long trek home.

Just enough time for one more Cadbury fill up!

Day Five

2008-04-07T15:18:00.005-04:00

It is a sad state of our Internet affairs that I can have our vacation photos printed and in an album before I can get my blog updated. Rain and satellite Internet service just don't mix.

We started Day Five with the goal of seeing the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. On the way from the tube station to the palace, we had a lovely stroll through Green Park. When I tried to take a picture of the serene beauty, here's what I wound up with:

Amazing what a good night's sleep will do for a kid!

When we arrived at Buckingham Palace at 10:15, folks were already 2 deep at the fences (for the 11:30 ceremony start) and it looked like it was going to rain buckets at any minute. Since the Queen neglected to come out and welcome us:

we opted for a walk through St. James' Park:

As we were leaving the park, we saw the horses arriving at the Horse Guard Palace:

My daughter got her daddy and horse fix all in one:

Before we left for London, we made a giant list of sites we might like to see. On my personal top five list was the Rosetta Stone. One of those things that I've heard about forever and have never seen. I just had to see it in person. And today was that day:

My friend was not kidding about knowing where it is in the museum because of all of the people. Indeed! When we had patiently pushed our way to the front, I snapped an awful picture of the kids with the Stone, and then I snapped this one. I almost deleted it before I realized that my son's reflection and hand are in it. Kind of cool. My kids still don't understand what the big deal was about seeing it. But isn't making your kids do things because you think they're neat the responsibility of parents? Didn't want to disappoint! But they were good sports:

And as a special treat, we hit the Tesco on the way home to stock up on junk-food souvenirs.

What's a Tesco? I have no idea. I think it is a grocery store chain, but the "Express" is like my idea of heaven. Lots of junk food with just enough milk and bread thrown in to make you feel like you are actually buying food. I was ready to fill out my customer loyalty card by the time we were ready to leave for home.

Day Four

2008-04-02T11:16:00.005-04:00

We were rolling early on Day Four to get to the Tower of London by opening at 9. We did a great job, but unfortunately a funeral held up opening time 'til 10:30. We used the time for a snack at Eat (toffee waffles!) and to walk along the Thames. Here we posed for a quick pic at the Tower Bridge (look closely - it's my blog pictorial debut!).

We were able to see Traitor's Gate at the side of the Tower of London. Out of all the reading that we had done about the place and this gate in particular, I'd swear it never mentioned that it was a water entry. Even the kids were surprised. A nice reminder that I seldom know what I am talking about. Here is my daughter as a defiant traitor:

Finally, they let us (and a thousand others) in for a tour. I don't think that the former inhabitants smiled this much when entering:

The White Tower was the first part of the complex and was begun by William the Conqueror in 1075. That's as in almost a thousand years ago. Thousand. With a "th".

After an unexpectedly long visit at the Tower, we scrapped plans to take in Greenwich and made our way to the shopping mecca of Harrods. Dinner, souvenir shopping, and Princess Di/Dodi memorials galore later, we limped home with full bellies and full shopping bags.

And my husband wanted a relaxing vacation!

Day Three

2008-04-02T10:23:00.002-04:00

Day Three was our first day to fend for ourselves and a milestone birthday for Team Take the Lead's leader. We started the day with a "flight" on the London Eye. Here's the birthday boy as we set off with the Parliment buildings behind him.

Then it was off to Trafalger Square for prime pigeon chasing and statue climbing. Here is the clan chilling on the base of Nelson's Column:

After lunch in Chinatown, the birthday boy spotted cakes:

but we opted to skip dessert and head for the now-open St. Paul's Cathedral. Good thing we did, because I felt every one of the 434 steps to reach the top. But we made it! Here are the kids celebrating while mom cringed against the stone walls.

To round out the day, we had another wonderful snack from the Paul cafe beside the cathedral. But first, we had 433 more steps down:

Day Two

2008-04-01T18:19:00.003-04:00

Day Two's highlight was spending the entire day with our friends and learning about how to navigate around their wonderful city.

This is the view we had when exiting the Underground station - wow!

And a couple of blocks later - my son at the entrance to Westminster Abbey:

We made it to Tate Modern for lunch where the kids explored the Shibboleth exhibit " a long, snaking crack across the vast length" of the concrete floor.

Next up - a stroll across the Millennium bridge to St. Paul's. Unfortunately, we missed the last admission time by 25 minutes, so we headed home "early".

Can you tell from this picture that my daughter loved being on her Daddy's team (Team Takes the Lead). My son and I made up Team Walks A Lot - and we all lived up to that name!

Not bad for the first full day for four folks still trying to figure what time it was.

Day One

2008-04-01T18:04:00.003-04:00

The only way to try to share over 400 photos with you all is to select the best of the best from each day. Sound good? Then here we go:

My son was delighted to find a Cadbury machine in the airport immediately upon arrival:

And here's the main reason for the trip - reuniting friends (adults, too!):

The kids all together:

Can you tell how excited we were? Such a fun trip - can't wait to share the other 397 pics!

Re-Entry

2008-04-01T16:48:00.002-04:00

We made it back from London in one piece and I am trying to figure out which end is up.

Here are a few pictures to keep you distracted from my fuzzy-headedness:

Now that is some knittin'! Can you see the skirt? I'm sure she has a project in that bag. I was just happy she didn't notice me hurrying up behind her to snap this photo and whack me with it.

My wonderful friend scoped out a knitting stop for me. A whole knitting department in a multi-floor department store! Attention Macy's: get a clue! These samples were set out in such a cute display. Unfortunately, the yarns seemed mostly the same as home, but at twice the price due to the exchange rate, so I left all the lovely yarn on the shelves.

And speaking of shelves: check out the selection here:

Just PART of the giant wall of Rowan. I have never seen so much Rowan in one location. The color selection for each type of yarn just blew me away.

And now I'm off to figure out what meal we should be eating...

London Bound

2008-03-21T07:40:00.003-04:00

We're headed back to the mother land next week and we've been busy getting ready. Recent activities have helped get us in the mood.

My daughter and her daddy tripped the light fantastic at the annual Girl Scout Father Daughter Dance. The theme: British Invasion! We continued on our do-it-yourself theme by creating a punk rock costume. Here Erin had pulled the painter's tape off of her hand-painted t-shirt to reveal the Union Jack:

All we had to add was a couple of dog collars and a surly look:

And don't forget the crazy hair:

I think we're ready! (Don't worry, Kelly, this all washes out!)

And in case we need help getting there, we found some local directions at Agecroft Hall:

Wheels up in two days!

Welcome Spring!

2008-03-20T17:46:00.004-04:00

I hope you are enjoying the first day of Spring! My daughter is especially happy about the warming weather that brings all things budding and blooming. She constantly creates collages out of found loveliness and brings them to me at any time of the day.

Here a part of a turtle shell is adorned with periwinkle blooms and hemlock branchlets.

And if I receive one of these creations earlier on in the day, it is bound to be added to or altered as subsequent finds bend her artistic vision. Notice the addition of the found egg shell, which later became stuffed with tiny pink flower buds:

Or maybe she's just bored and piles up stuff to get a smile out of me. Either way, they warm my heart and I just love them.

And I thought you might like them too.

Workin' It

2008-02-15T07:06:00.004-05:00

My poor husband is perpetually cold. And is intent on losing every hat I knit for him. So when I saw a skein of Lion Brand Chunky in the clearance bin at Hancock, I knew he was worth the $1.50.

Here is my husband in his native habitat (his office):

I'm grooving on the reverse stockingnette highlighting the decreases on hats. Here I decreased the whole way and really like the rippliness, especially with such a bulky yarn.

Now THAT is a substantial hat. Work it, baby!

I Heart Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T16:07:00.004-05:00

I thought I'd share a few sweet hearts from my daughter's recent party to celebrate today.

Heart-shaped pizza crusts:

Heart-shaped cake:

Exhuberantly decorated heart cookies:

And one last view before the party started (see the purses in the background?):

Have you ever seen Sandra Lee of Semi-Homemade Cooking on Food TV? She is a model-perfect perky woman who always decorates her kitchen to match the theme of her menu. Are you kidding me? Who decorates their kitchens to match a menu? (See the heart garland in the window?)

Maybe I'll start growing tall, thin, and blond next?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Sweetheart Bags

2008-02-11T13:38:00.000-05:00

My daughter's birthday combined with my destashing efforts led me to think up felted purses for the girls' goodie bags. Since our theme was "Sweetheart Party", I started with a heart motif knit on straight needles. After two, I realized I needed to switch to circulars to make my deadline. I deleted the heart and hoped to find an embellishment later. I used Lion Brand's Felted Trick or Treat Bag as a starting point and added a striped bottom and a self-charted heart motif.

After eight bags, many ribbon handle auditions, and a bit of painting by my daughter, I give you the Sweetheart Eight. And yes, I'm making you look at every. last. one.

This is the back of one of the hearts - she made faces for her friends, each as different as the bags and girls they were going to.

All ready for the party!

Such a fun project!

Baby Love

2008-02-11T13:00:00.000-05:00

I've been working on culling my stash of old projects. Either they are getting done or are getting out of line, you know?

Long ago I spotted this very cute baby t-shirt at the Target dollar spot. Cute gift idea with a little something else, I thought. The clearance price of $0.25 decided it for me.

Soon after, I picked up a ball of Patons Astra (A for 100% acrylic) that I thought almost exactly matched the stripes in the heart (and was also on clearance). Once I got home, I realized that all of the baby sock patterns that I had were sock weight and this was worsed. I didn't want to make a hat because I didn't think that a baby would wear a hat with a t-shirt. And frankly, I was too lazy to figure out a solution. So, it got pushed to the bottom of the bin.

Finally, I got hold of a pattern in the right gauge and out came the yarn. Desperate to avoid the fair isle mittens that are torturing me, I knocked out two little socks in no time. They were so fun to knit and I was so taken with the wrong side with all the fun stripes. So instead of returning to the mittens, I designed a fun hat that showed the wrong side and would use up more yarn. Here is Big Baby modeling the ensemble. She's a newborn size and I aas aiming for 3 mo. size, so I think I got pretty close.

For the hat, I cast on 68 sts and knit 1 inch of 2x2 rib. I then increased to 70 sts and knit for a total height of about 3 3/4 inches before decreasing. For the decreases, I repeated P8, p2tog for the first row, purled a row, repeated p7, p2tog, then purled a row, etc. until the p1, p2tog; and p2tog which were done without plain purl rows between to make a flatter top. Love how it came out.

When I was thinking of making the "wrong" side show I wasn't interested in purling all of it, so I made the hat inside out with knit rows, then did the decreases in purl. I like how the decreases show up a little more on the crown.

The socks are knit like a tube sock with pointed toes. Would probably look even better on a real baby.

Not a bad effort to preserve my 25 cent investment. Now, really, I'm heading back to the mittens.

Comfort Food

2008-01-29T15:03:00.000-05:00

I'm a little under the weather here today, so when I saw Thimble's Chocolate Pudding Cake recipe today, I was hungry for comfort food.

The thick brownie-like cake batter is covered with a cocoa/brown sugar mixture, then hot water is poured over the whole thing. Very dubiously, I slid it in the oven and returned to the couch.

Imagine my surprise 45 minutes later when this molten, chocolaty goo-laced cake came out of the oven. The magic pudding layer was bubbling out from underneath the cake. (Can I say it - the proof was in the pudding!)

I think that I might cut back a bit on the sugar and increase the cocoa a tad, but overall, this was just what the doctor ordered for today.

As you can see, I had no problems completing this prescription. Now, I wonder what this would taste like with some ice cream on top....

Snow Day

2008-01-28T10:41:00.000-05:00

We FINALLY had snow a couple of weeks ago and I FINALLY got to see the house in the snow. Thought you'd like to see it, too. When we first saw the house, I thought that it would look neat in the snow, so it was nice to see in person. The blue of the porch roof sort of glowed, but the contrast with the red roof wasn't very obvious from this spot, but looked pretty neat from farther away.

It was also our first sort-of-real snow with Tubby. If he is almost 3 like the vet thinks, I don't think that he has seen much snow. He kept dipping his nose down and scooping up a snow snack. But despite the distraction, he was still the first across the bridge.

Secret Island looks very regal in its winter mantle.

Another clue that Tubby hadn't spent much time in the snow - he kept shaking his head as if to clear his vision.

That face kills me!

The snow was very pretty, but only lasted a couple of hours before being rained out. No snowballs or snowmen to report, much to the kids' chagrin. I'm a little tired of all of this not-quite-winter: here's hoping for spring coming soon!

Homemade Gifts

2008-01-05T13:34:00.000-05:00

I really would like to make an extra effort this year to make more gifts throughout the year, not just at Christmas time. Well, not really an effort as these projects are things I like to do and I want to make things I have to do and things I want to do coincide more. Make sense?

My first opportunity came with an unexpected birthday invitation for my daughter. Her friend is turning 7 and here's what we put together for her party today:

A crafty, drawing tote! This little girl is not very frilly, but she likes art, so I thought that a pencil roll would fit the bill.

To personalize the tote, I sketched a letter "j" and fused it on with Wonder Under and a bit of zig zag stitching.

For the roll, I used a yard piece of crazy, tie-dye fabric (a favorite of the recipient), quilted the fabric with flat, cotton batting and crazy-colored thread, and turned up the edge for a self-made pocket. I left the batting out of the pocket area to make it less bulky and we tucked in a set a colored pencils.

Erin added a custom label on the sketch pad and a fun picture of the birthday girl (or is it Abraham Lincoln?) and we're ready to go!

2008-01-01T14:44:00.000-05:00

It's been a day of housekeeping here today, both real and virtual, mostly centered around getting 2007 tucked away. The cleaning elves are hard at work and I've cleverly stalled tax prep and file maintenance by focusing on getting our pictures from 2007 organized.

I've double checked my digital photos and completed uploading the year to Snapfish. We have a back-up drive we use, but I like that Snapfish is our back-up back up. We have photos from back to 2000 there and if anything ever happens to our negatives of hard drives, I'm covered. Somehow I managed to skip August and November this year, but after catching everything up, I ordered the remaining prints from 2007. Now I'm ready for any emergency scrapbooking retreats!

I also double-checked my completed project photos and finished uploading them to my Flickr Finished Objects albums. I started this blog to help me remember what projects I've done and what I used to get there. More of my "real" life has crept in - along with the kids - but I still like to think of this as my knitting and crafting blog. And since Flickr is all photos, it is a great way to capture the year.

Check out what I've been up to with my Finished Objects 2007 photo album. And if that link actually worked, you can also check out Finished Object 2006.

One discovery I've made is that several projects have scooted out the door without being photographed. I see a new year's resolution in the making...

Sending Off 2007

2008-01-01T12:56:00.000-05:00

What a fantastic time we had last night sending off 2007 in style!

A total of 9 kids and 8 adults gathered to eat, craft, run around in the dark, parade, make noise and burn things.

We had the kiddie count-down early (at 7:30) so we could all enjoy ourselves and not have to put up with cranky kids on New Year's Day. And here they are all assembled and bedecked with 2008 glasses for the count-down parade.:

And here is the parade kicking off. They paraded down to the dads warming themselves by the fire pit.

10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...Happy New Year! And the confetti went flying:

We wound down with roasting marshmallows and just warming by the fire:

Thank goodness for good friends - what a wonderful way to celebrate a Happy New Year!

Dirt Knitting

2008-01-01T12:22:00.000-05:00

Christmas knitting is finally finished!

Here are the convertible fingerless gloves/mittens for my Dad:

And the socks for my Mom (two - a whole pair!):

And while I was on a roll, I knocked out another Kim's Hat from Last Minute Knitted Gifts out of the spare Christmas knitting Manos for my husband:

It fits nice and tight, just what he wanted and it a reverse color-way of his brother's Dirt Hat. I couldn't help notice that there is a drab colorway going on in my current knitting projects. In fact, this hat matches the mud that is half of our front yard.

Mud is everywhere as the garage continues to limp along toward completion. It is everywhere and on everything. It shouldn't be a surprise that it has invaded my knitting.

And see that skein of Lion Suede - another dirt-colored project. I hope I can cast out all the mud and dirt out of my house when I cast off with this last dirt knitting project.

Christmas Wishes

2007-12-24T13:52:00.000-05:00

Santa has been visited ...

The crafts have been crafted ...

All the decorations are just right ...

And the sweets are ready to eat ...

Now it is time to rest, relax, and wait.

All the best of Christmas to you and a happy, blog-filled 2008!

Holiday Traditions Exchange

2007-12-24T13:24:00.000-05:00

With all the Christmas knitting and stomach flu going around our house, I've been a bad blogger. A week ago I received a marvelous box from my Holiday Traditions Exchange partner, Sara. What a wonderful box of goodies we received! Even the wrapping was fun - bits of Christmas-colored fleece remnants. Genius idea.

The kids' ornaments were so nice and are on the kids' tree now. I LOVE my felt wreath - just the kind of sweetness I was hoping for. And look at her son's precious recipe card!

How did she know our shared affection for Tasha Tudor? She even included a copy of A Doll's Christmas, a book I had been hoping to add to our holiday book collection. The extra recipes were also a nice surprise.

And do you see that red scroll tucked in the box?

What a wonderful letter she included sharing her family's holiday traditions and explaining a bit of what was in the box. I was sorry to have run out of time before we got to make the cookie tree - but it is so on the list for next year!

Thanks so much, Sara - and Merry Christmas!

Calling it Quits for Christmas Knitting

2007-12-24T12:53:00.000-05:00

I made most of my goals this year, so it time to call it quits for Christmas knitting. I finished Mom's pair of socks, and I'm only short one and a bit of dad's convertible fingerless mittens, but have been given an official pardon from the 'rents. When I tried to excuse my tardiness by accusing them of not being very ramped up for Christmas, Dad got a little defensive. So I asked "Do you have a tree?". "Sure" he says. Ceramic trees don't count, Dad! In fact, I let him know that you are officially "old" when you only have a ceramic tree up. Is it any wonder I don't get invited home very often!

But I did get the last of the presents completed for Tim's family. Here is the hat I made for his brother. It's Kim's Hat from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts, knitted on size 7 circulars and dpns out of the recommended Manos de Uruguay.

I ran a bit short, so I swung by Unraveled to pick up a coordinating color. They helped find the perfect color - sort of looks like soil layers - but I really don't like how they have all the yarn organized by color. I came in looking for Manos and needed professional help just to figure out what they had in the store.

I tightened up the gauge to make the hat fit the recipient (the final dimensions seemed big), but didn't really think about adjusting the inches of height. I knitted the men's size, but got the women's dimension for the circumference. Perhaps I should have knitted the women's height as well. I have the same head dimension as my brother-in-law and it is comfortably snug. The men's size at gauge would have floated on his head.

On my daughter it looks very much like a top at, don't you think?

It's not so bad in person, a little funky edge to a ski hat design. And by getting extra yarn, I have just the amount for another hat for my perpetually cold husband. Win-win for everyone - except my Dad!

Dirty Little Secret

2007-12-14T17:36:00.000-05:00

It seems that there is a bit of a secret among rural dwelling folks. We all love to burn things. What a bonding moment occurs when you bring up the subject of bonfires or burn piles. Ignition techniques are assessed, types and quantity of burn material is discussed, and injuries are compared.

When the burn and was lifted after the summer draught, we had quite a burn piles amassed. Brush cleared from the woods, more cleared logs, and a load of construction scrap wood made for a huge pile.

I was in charge of starting it and discovered the beauty of dried corn stalks for igniting a ripping fire.

This fire was SO hot. I started pulling off pallets and plywood to try to keep from burning down the whole place. Luckily, I kept hold of both eyebrows this time.

Fire is kind of pretty, isn't it? The brilliant tangerine color was so hard to capture, but fascinating to watch.

I wasn't the only one to be captivated. Brendan was stalking the fire the whole time. At one point the wind picked up and was wrapping over like a wave. Looking through it made it seem like Brendan was surfing the flames.

Momma was a big chicken and was hiding from the heat behind one of the many pieces of construction equipment laying about our field.

And when you're standing around for hours watching things burn, your mind starts to wander. And lo, and behold, this is what a pumpkin looks like on a smokin' hot pile of embers.

We are SO having a New Year's Eve bonfire! Pumpkins optional.

Christmas Knitting in Full Swing

2007-12-14T16:44:00.000-05:00

The elves have been slaving away over the knitting needles around here. Ha! Don't I wish! My daughter told me that Mrs. Claus should bring me knitting needles that knit by themselves. Oh, please. Oh, please. Just like Mrs. Weasley! But instead, I've made some impossible goals for myself and now it is time to pay the fiddler (anyone else out there reading Johnny Tremain?).

Task #1: Child's Rainbow Scarf for my dear sister in law - DONE!

This pattern from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts has been tempting me since I first saw the book and saw Brooklyn Tweed's post. This is a fun project, so I know the recipient will love it (or at least have the grace to fake it convincingly!). I used 2 different skeins of Noro Silk Garden on #6s in a "fake rib pattern" in 2x2. Very reversible and not as drawn in as a traditional 2x2.

Here it is in its full-length glory:

And bundled like a little yummy cake of love that it is:

Knitting this was so entertaining as the colors continued changing. This is my favorite stretch:

The scarf's real-life colors are even richer than this photo shows. Truly yummy. A very satisfying knit all around.

Task #2: Junior-Sized Buttonhole Bags for two dear nieces - DONE!

The fun of felting never fails to amuse me. I just need to do when there is more light for photos! That's a "gingerbread" tree - made with a sugar ice cream cone - added for scale.

This is the Mason Dixon Knitting pattern, with 30 instead of 40 garter ridges on the bottom and 24 instead of 30 stitches picked up around. I also increased the straight section by 8 rows. Can you tell why it is called the "unpattern"? I used two shades of Cascade 220 double-stranded on 10.5 circulars. I actually knit these both in one day - woohoo, continental stitch! - and felted them today.

When we bought our front-loading washer this summer, my only concern was about whether or not I could felt. I assumed I'd have to trek over to friends' houses to make their laundry areas smell like bad perms. Well, I ran into a Girl Scouting friend who was knitting in public and she revealed that she regularly felts in her front loader. Eureka! I almost ran home to try it. I used the regular cycle with warm water in a load of laundry and one trip through was not enough. Two worked fine. I think another trip through could have happened. See what good things happen when you knit in public?

Next up - the Kim Hat (also from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts - my holiday handbook) for my brother in law. And finishing those socks for Mom. And those gloves for Dad. And a stocking for Tubby. And new hand warmers for me. And a doll for Erin. And...