Yarn Along

I apologize for the blurry picture. It's a gray, foggy day out & a little someone also wanted to "help" me take the picture!

I wrote yesterday about the pink mittens; today I'm showing the white blob that will turn into my February Lady Sweater. I'm at the point of separating the sleeves but need to do it when it's quite so I count right. This will hopefully be my Easter sweater. I've picked out yarn & a pattern for Ree's Easter sweater but I haven't cast on yet.

Along with the other reading I've been doing, I began The Weird Sisters. My sister gave it to me for my birthday & I'm enjoying it. It has made me think about my relationship with my own sisters. Not at all like the sisters in the book (I don't think anyways. They may have their own ideas about that!) I'm thankful we all live close to each other & see each other at least once a week if not more. We used to fight like sisters tend to, but now they are my best friends & I am their biggest champion as they are mine. And from time to time we certainly could be considered weird! 

Pink Mittens

It's been so cold here & I've been thinking for awhile that Ree needed more mittens. She's in the habit of taking them off in the car but then forgetting them there. Then crying when I put them back on that they are too cold after spending the night in the car.

So this weekend I finally knit her the pink mittens she's been asking for. I wasn't able to have any "second mitten syndrome" as Saturday afternoon she kept dancing around me asking "did you finish my mittens yet? Are they done? Can I wear them?" I finished them just before bedtime & she wore them with her pajamas until it was time to go upstairs.

I know she must like them because she wanted me to take pictures of her wearing them. Lately she runs to hide when I bring out the camera!

Some reading

A few things I've been reading lately.

First off Amanda's new magazine Kindred. It's beautiful! This first issue's theme is Home. There are beautiful essays & pictures inside that talk about the places we all call home. I love reading the words that have been written that describe what home means to everyone. It's not the physical building but the feeling of where we are comfortable & who we are with. It has certainly made me view my own home differently.

I took out all my winter editions of Taste of Home the other day. I'm in a food rut and am tired of cooking the same meals over & over. I got lots of inspiration & my grocery list is very long now! I'm hoping to start making some new recipes soon.

For "light" reading I've just finished The Light Between Oceans. That's the bottom book there with Ree's mitten on it. A good read, but difficult at the same time. A couple who tend to the lighthouse in the middle of the Ocean have three miscarriages. One day a boat is washed ashore with a newborn. Rather then try to find her mother they take her as her own. Years later that decision comes back to haunt them and they have to face the consequences of their actions.

I've been reading quite a bit more lately since I went more unplugged from the computer. I now have a HUGE stack of books from the library waiting for me. Between knitting, reading, and cooking (plus all the regular Momma stuff) I've been very busy. It's a cozy time of year & aside from a few winter doldrums we're enjoying it!

Right now it's snowing outside & Ree is bouncing up and down wanting to go outside. Since they say it's going to turn to icy rain later tonight we'd better get out there before it's a mess!

Weekending

We've had frigid temperatures for over a week now. Yesterday was a stay at home in sweats, under as many blankets as we could find. Momma coming down with a cold; daddy has a pinched nerve in his back; Ree is sad that I won't let her go out to play in the snow. But it's way too cold outside.

Instead we stayed in and cooked & baked. The top photo is of my breakfast. Hard boiled eggs on an english muffin with a mayo/mustard/vinegar dressing. Despite the way it looks it was very good!

Ree & I made pumpkin bread. I made calzones for supper. There was a lot of knitting going on. So much so that I finished a pair of mittens for her. A very happy little girl with her new pink mittens!

Today dawned cold but not quite as cold as it's been. We are promised a warm up this week. A temporary one but I'll take it. Ree WILL get outside. She needs to burn off lots & lots of energy. 

Thankfully we'll go visiting later this afternoon so she'll get out of the house for a little bit. I should clean a little bit around here but I don't think that'll happen. Maybe some more knitting. I've decided to knit myself & Ree a sweater for Easter. And to sew her Easter dress. I've got the yarn all picked out. Now it's onto focusing! 

Linking up with Amanda at The Habit of Being

Unplugged

I didn't make any big resolutions at the New Year. Probably because I was fighting a cold & we were mourning the loss of a sweet baby boy. Also I tend to make good resolutions that I forget about by mid-January. 

But a few weeks ago different posts were popping up about going unplugged. From the internet; from the tv; from the iphone. I had started to notice a new "habit" of mine that I couldn't go a half hour without checking in on social networks sites on my iphone. No matter where I was or who I was with. Never mind that most times NOTHING had changed on those sites since the last time I had checked!

Then Heather at Beauty that Moves wrote about breaking up with your iphone. I nodded while reading.  I had been thinking about breaking up with my own iphone for awhile now. Two days later I went to the cell phone store where I found out I could "downgrade" to a regular talk/text only phone. I did it. And I haven't looked back since. 

I am still able to use my iphone as long as it's connected to wifi. At first I thought that would be bad. After all this means I could use it in all the places I hadn't wanted to! So I stuck it upstairs in my bureau and tried to forget about it. But then I noticed that my picture taking had dwindled down to nothing. (As you can tell my the lack of posts lately). I like my camera but it was always with my phone that I captured the pictures I loved the most. Plus with instagram I could instantly upload them to flickr rather then the extra step of loading them to the computer from the camera. I'm lazy.

I finally brought it back downstairs yesterday. I deleted all the apps on it except for instagram & flickr. Now it's just another camera. I'm happy with that.

Next up came my time on the computer. Ours is situated right in the kitchen. I am on it ALL. THE. TIME. It became another time stealer. Every time I passed through the kitchen I decided to check e-mail, facebook, twitter. Then got sucked into checking other things. Every time Ree came to find me my face was looking at the computer screen.

I started to feel guilty about that. After all, getting rid of the iphone meant more time really WITH Ree rather then looking at the phone screen while she played next to me. My sister then posted that she had written a blog post about being a more connected mom. I again nodded all through reading her words. I want to be more connected with Ree too. There both physically and mentally while she plays.

So I've started shutting the computer down when she gets up in the morning. I turn it on again at nap time. For awhile I was setting a timer & shutting it back off in order to not waste time doing nothing after catching up from the morning. I've stopped that & this past week have found myself aimlessly surfing the net. I need to re-focus.

I'm not saying technology is bad. I love the connections I've made & the people I've "met" through the on-line communities I've joined. I just need to step back for myself for awhile. So that I am a more present Momma & wife. 

Ever since drastically cutting back my screen time both Ree & I have seemed more happier. Less temper tantrums (from both of us). We've done more crafts; played with her fairies; read so many more books. I've even read more books myself & have knit more. Reducing my time on the computer has made the time I DO spend on-line more productive. 

Yarn Along

My yarn along this week is pretty boring. Unless you consider that beautiful rainbow yarn sitting there!

That was my birthday present from Ree. My husband said anytime he asked her what she wanted to get me for my birthday she said "yarn" in a matter of fact voice. And then she picked out the brightest pink yarn in the store & told me I needed to make both she & I a pair of socks with it. So that's what I plan!

In the bottom left hand corner you can see a little of my February Lady Sweater. That's not really far enough along to take a picture of & be able to tell what it is. Maybe next week. I need to work on it for it to take shape though!

I finished The Rhythm of Memory over the weekend. A very good book. A little disturbing at times. It's about a couple living in Chile during the 1973 coup. Due to the husband's public hatred of the General who took over, the wife suffers horribly. But the story of how they make it through is beautiful.

I want to make bread this winter so I got Artisan Bread in Five Minutes from the library the other day. I've read through the basic recipe & even have all the ingredients. But the past few times I've tried making bread it hasn't come out well at all. So I'm stalling on that.

Up next to read is The Weird Sisters. A birthday present from my sister. I can't wait to start it!

Weekending

The weekend started off slow. Morning coffee & reading. Ree & I went to the craft store and to Panera for tea & a coffee roll. She got ready to go spend the night at my parents house. We got ready to go to my husband's work holiday party.

A fun party at a local hotel. Yummy food; nice people; okay music. A wonderful time to end my 30th year.

Sunday morning dawned sunny & warm although very windy! Coffee in bed to welcome in my 31st year. A quiet morning. 

We finally headed down to my parent's where Ree was waiting to yell "SURPRISE" and throw a present at me. Which she then proceeded to open for me! A quiet day relaxing. The evening was lots of fun with my sisters & little one's running around. Homemade pictures for my birthday; flowers; a scrumptious meal made by my mom; everyone happy & together. The perfect end to a birthday! (We won't talk about the end of the football game).

Today has been a continuation of the weekend. My husband took the day off. We were going to go off to do some things. Instead Ree & I are still in our pajamas. We all are cuddling under blankets watching the Inauguration. As the news people keep pointing out, we are so blessed to live in a country where the passing (or continuing) of power happens without any violence. 

Now we are waiting for snow that they say is coming. Ree is looking forward to it being a lot to make another snowman. We shall see!!

Linking up with Amanda at The Habit of Being

Yarn Along

For Christmas, Ree & I gave my husband the Granny Square Sampler Afghan we'd been working on all summer & fall. He loved it! I told him it wasn't quite done as I wanted to add a few more rows on the border.

I haven't added anything to it yet & the longest time he's used it was probably on Christmas morning. That is because Ree & I have kind of taken over. Anytime she's on the couch she cuddles up with it. And the same for me! 

I do have plans in the works for one for Ree but haven't started it yet. She has told me though that I will need to make my own as she wants hers "just for me".

I am almost finished with The Snow Child. Karen has been reading it for the past few weeks and I picked it up at the library last week. I LOVE IT. The story is captivating and fairytail-ish and I love the little pieces of Alaskan homesteading that is in it. I could have finished last night but I am sad that I am almost at the end and wanted it to go on a little longer so saved it to finish today. I haven't read a book this good in quite some time. I hope the author plans to write more as this was her first novel!

Spring in January

This morning started out gray & rainy. Again. Ree & I were resigned to staying in the house playing legos & buttons.

But by late morning it looked like this outside:

We put sweaters on (because it was in the high 50's and WARM), put out boots on and headed outside for some much needed fresh air.

Ree found all the puddles in the driveway and had a blast stomping through them all. She rode her tricycle, ran through the few small piles of snow left, she raced through the yard and we took down the outside Christmas lights.

 

We both soaked up as much sun as we could. Vitamin D is a wonderful thing! 

We finally came in for lunch with plans to head back outside when we were done eating. Instead we were met with this:

The gray skies had returned & brought with it a chilly breeze. 

This was the oddest January day I think I've ever experienced. It was wonderful to get outside for a few hours though. The fresh air did us both good! 

Weekending

Our weekend began Friday evening with me wanting chocolate chip cookies.

Thankfully I had all the ingredients so after supper Ree & I got to baking. When you are 3 waiting for the cookies to bake is like waiting for YEARS.

Finally they were ready so we had a picnic. Cookies & knitting. A good way to begin the weekend.

Saturday dawned gray & foggy. We all stayed in our pajamas until I decided I had better go grocery shopping if we wanted to eat. Ree stayed home with her Daddy so they could watch a Tinkerbell movie. 

When the groceries were put away we had a tea party (and more cookies). A trip to the mall to play with a little friend for a bit. Pizza for supper & an early bedtime for a little one who hadn't had a nap.

Sunday again dawned gray & foggy. The sun is trying to peak through the mist but it's a losing battle.

A slow Sunday. Supper is made & ready to be brought visiting. Where we will watch the Patriots hopefully advance on!

Linking up with Amanda at The Habit of Being

The Sky

Pinterest is telling me that over a year ago I pinned the idea of the Sky Scarf.

The idea is to knit one row on the scarf each day in the corresponding color of the sky. I love the idea! But I wasn't sure if I wanted a scarf so I never started it. I had been trying to think of a photo project to do for 2013. Last year I posted my "This Moment" posts each Friday. Now I want to turn those into a photo book. But I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue it through this year. I wanted something different.

I decided on January 1st to take a picture each morning of the sky as I open the living room curtains. As you can see, I can't decide which window I want to use! But I have kept it up so far for 11 days! (Well if you don't count the 1 day I forgot!)

I haven't started knitting anything yet as I'm still not sure I want to knit a scarf. I'm thinking of knitting up squares in each color and making a blanket. There is a flickr pool of people who have done many different things with this idea. I figure I'll get the pictures taken so I can look back. Maybe my 2014 project will be knitting it all up!

Yarn Along

Where did the first week of 2013 go?

I've been trying to limit my computer time & so far it's working pretty well. My incessant checking of social media has almost completely stopped except for a few check-in's a couple times during the day. Blog reading has slowed down too, although I've missed that & commenting so I'm planning on starting that again. I think I just needed a screen break. We've also had the tv off more then on during the day and that has helped Ree's imagination, mood, & our craft time!

We have been making plans for the New Year, cleaning out old papers, cleaning all the dust bunnies out of the house, organizing books, etc. All the things that come with a new year. And there's been some knitting!

I made myself a pair of Toasty. I knit them a little longer in the arms & hands so that they almost cover the tips of my fingers, yet I can still push them down if I need to. 

And this is Calorimetry. My hair is getting so long that when it is all bunched up under my hat, it pushes the hat up & off my ears. It's no fun to be outside trying to have fun in the snow with a hat that won't cover ears! Enter Calorimetry. This is like the "half-hat" that I used to have when I was little. It covers the top of the head & ears with a perfect opening for my ponytail/bun. My ears stay warm and I'm happy. Ree is too & has stopped yelling at me to wear my hat!