Sep 16, 2015 | DIY, Family, Homeschool, Knitting, Yarn Along |
*Joining Ginny
Tuesday started out looking like it was going to be a pretty good day. The kids woke up in great moods and Sam was excited to make new friends at the first pre-school homeschool co-op meeting (My, that’s a long title, isn’t it?) we were attending that morning. The meeting went well, and we finalized days, times, and a bare-bones curriculum. It seems to be a like-minded group of moms who are interested in creating a fun, active and (very) lightly-structured learning environment for their kids, which is exactly what I want at this point. I don’t plan on introducing Latin anytime soon. He’s only three, after all.
After the meeting, everything went downhill. The kids started whining pretty heavily and I had to leave because once the crying started I couldn’t seem to console them. On the car ride home, I developed a pounding headache and knowing I wouldn’t be in the mood to make them lunch, I pullled into a drive through and bought the kids some junky food. Once we got home, I discovered both kids had fevers, and after a few bites of lunch they went down for naps and I ended up eating said junky food and taking a long nap myself. When I woke up my headache was still there and I had two very cranky babies. I couldn’t find any time to knit and to top it all off, my computer starting acting funny and I have a feeling it’s going to pass on to the great beyond any day now. It certainly wasn’t a horrible day; I’ve had much worse. But it definitely did not end the way it began. I’m hoping the kids will feel better in a few days and everything will go back to normal.
I’m not sure I can say the same for my laptop.
After making a few pattern adjustments, I finished the first sleeve of my Inland. I have one more sleeve and two pockets to knit and then I am done. I ordered my buttons but I’m not going to show those off until I am finished with the sweater. It’s going to look so good!
Sep 14, 2015 | Family, Farm |
The kids took late afternoon naps the other day, and Gabe and I decided to take them for a walk in an attempt to wear them out before dinner and bath time (hint: it didn’t work). We strolled through our woods and then circled back on the easement road that runs through the far West end of our property. The trees provided a lot of cover from the sun and my camera had a hard time picking up enough light to take clear photos. I hate using the flash, so after a while I just gave up. The photos shown were taken in more well lit areas, but some of them are still kind of fuzzy.
Last summer Gabe found a bear cub that had died. Of what, we don’t know, but by the time Gabe found it, the local predators had already done quite a bit of scavenging. Gabe picked up the skull, cleaned it and hung it in our barn. After that, we sort of forgot about it. This was the first time we went back to the spot where he found the skeleton, and all that was left were a few rib bones and part of the spine. Sam wanted to take it home with him, but there was no way I was going to traipse through the forest with a dead bear cub spine in my jacket pocket, so we convinced him to leave it where it was. Boys.
Speaking of boys, Sam was recently gifted (by us) his very own chainsaw as a potty training reward. He carries it with him everywhere and is always “cutting” something. I typically shy away from toys that make noise or require batteries, but bribery seemed to be the only motivation he had for getting himself out of diapers and we were desperate. I have to admit, he looks adorable using it.
Sep 11, 2015 | Family, Farm, Knitting |
Because I did my last round of canning this week, I thought I would include a photo to commemorate the moment. They are called Dilly Beans, and you can find the recipe in this book.
Well, the deadline has since passed, and I still have a sleeve and pockets to knit on my Inland but I’m glad I participated in this KAL. I finished the first sleeve and I don’t know how it happened, but my sleeve was about two inches longer than it should have been and I haven’t even made the cuff yet. I’m going to try it on tonight and see if I need to reknit the sleeves or if I can make some modifications and just continue on. Instead of facing this problem head-on, I’ve been knitting a basic pair of socks and trying to avoid looking at the half finished sweater sitting on my bookshelf. Denial is a powerful thing.
It was a beautiful day on Thursday; sunny and warm with a cool breeze. After the kids’ afternoon nap we went outside and played. The weather was so nice I let them eat on the back deck. I have to admit, I would have loved a cold rainy day just as much, if not more. I should be grateful: in two months I’m going to be craving some sun and praying for a respite from the rain. But I’m just so ready to spend the winter curled up on the couch, knitting and a watching a new season of something on Netflix. (Because in my fantasy there are no children clawing at the doors to get outside and whining for my attention…there’s that denial again.)
Gabe has the weekend off, and we are looking forward to spending some family time together. Sam was gifted a balance bike for his birthday this summer and we are going to take him to a paved trail and practice riding. Should be entertaining to say the least.
