Perfect Weekend Day #2

Water fights, knitting outside, Enzo's naked croquet, a visit from Grandma, Cobb salad, and long walk in the dark.

Cemetery Knitting

Today my No-Kids knitting group was cancelled. A bummer, but whatever. The weather was gorgeous today- the first day when you can go out and leave the sweatshirt at home.

I got a take-out lunch (and a coffee) and headed to Swan Point Cemetery. I parked myself under a tree and tackled a new knitting project.

After less than an hour, two older women wandered over. They (of course) were knitters, and one of them ran a knitting guild for 30 years. We chatted for a while, and they told me all about the graves they visit- people they actually knew, and people who have interesting headstones. They referred to it as "visiting our friends".

When I got home, we were down to one kid. My husband Vince Flynn and I spent some "quiet" time reading in the backyard with EnzoChenzo.




As for the "sticks" aspect- this will eventually be these cabled arm warmers. I've been eyeing this lone hank of Berroco Ultra Alpaca since last summer, and I'm glad to get it out of my yarn basket. I spent last week in a knitting funk, but I'm excited to finish these, even if I can't wear them for six months.



Tomorrow's a beach day. I'm sure everyone else in RI will be there as well.

Pt. Judith

The beginning of today was terrible- the house was a mess, the kids were fighting, and I was at the end of my rope.

I decided that we needed the beach, and miraculously, less than an hour later everyone was bathed and fed and we were off.

I had this fantasy of sitting and knitting while the children frolicked, but I forgot about DangerBoy.

It was a lovely afternoon (even without the knitting) and I hope to do that more often. That first glimpse of ocean at Rt 138 makes me really happy.

Happy Earth Day!

Enzo

He is constantly in motion. It's a miracle he's gotten to 2.5 without breaking a bone. He is also the King of Mischief. At least twice a week Chris fills our Keurig Rack with coffee pods, and he arranges them just so. Enzo's right on top of that. He rearranges them to his liking.




He also has this habit of disappearing. I'll be folding laundry or emptying the dishwasher, and he sees this as his opportunity to Do The Things He Knows He Shouldn't Do. Today's disappearance was hilarious. I opened Hannah's door and found a big lump under her blankets. The lump did not respond to my calls, but it did suspiciously crackle like a candy wrapper.





Eldest child needs to get a little more inventive with her Easter Candy hiding.

Traditions

Every year we have a little party for Hannah's birthday. It's usually a weekend-long event, because my friend Ben and his kids spend the night. This year was great- it was a smaller party that ended on the early side, and a chill night with my favorite people.

This morning was lovely. I had my favorite bagels, some coffee, the Sunday paper, and then we went outside to sit in the sunshine. I couldn't ask for more.


Every year I wax nostalgic, and this year is especially significant because Hannah's turning ten. Ten years ago, Hannah was a wee 9 pound bundle of yummy baby. Now she's this creative and independent pre-teen. Sometimes I see her from behind and I'm reminded that in a few years she's going to look more like an adult than a child.

So yeah, Birthday weekend. I look forward to Hannah's birthday more than I look forward to my own. It's a birthday for both of us, in a sense.

Thrifty Yarn

I live 2 minutes away from a Savers, so I tend to stop in frequently. I have a circuit- first the books (specifically knitting books), then kitchen ware (vintage Tupperware and Pyrex), then men's sweaters and ties (cashmere and Vineyard vines), then to blankets (I'm waiting for a pink Hudson's Bay). The knitting/sewing/craft stuff is next, and then I make a run through the linens and cross my fingers in hopes of a Viking Husqvarna.



Today I scored, both in the Pyrex and knitting category. There's some Malabrigo and Blue Sky Cotton, some Peace Fleece worsted, an unidentified tweed, a handpainted sock yarn, and Lamb's Pride Cotton Fleece. I also got two (more) cashmere sweaters, both for about 6 bucks each and a sweater that resembles Buttony in my favorite shade of brown.

Sad sad sad

I had the best of intentions when I started this blog. I thought I would update it rather frequently and have a nice little linear pictorial/account of the knitting and the kiddos.

hah.

I think this is my fourth or fifth entry. This is partly because I am entirely unfamiliar with the Blogger layout, partly because I get lazy and post on LJ instead, and partly because of my camera situation.

My (crappy) digital point-and-shoot disappeared recently, and I think Enzo may have thrown it out (good riddance). Chris has one really nice camera left, and I'll use it every now and then, but then I have no patience when it comes to begging him to process the raw files.

So I'm going to re-resolve to use this blog more frequently. Tonight I thought to ask if it was even possible for Chris' camera to use a card I could read on my computer. It does! Once the battery is charged, I'll make a go of it.

Since last time...

A bunch of things

First off, it's January 20th, 2009. I remember when Bush began his second term. Hannah was 5 and I thought, "oh my gosh, Hannah will be nine when we get a new President". And while I voted for Gore and Kerry, I was never truly excited about them as candidates. So here we are, on inauguration day, and for once, I am really truly excited to watch Obama be sworn in.

On to less important but still exciting things.... I am knitting my first sweater for myself. I've knit a few for the kids, but knitting an adult-sized sweater seemed like a huge undertaking. I've never knit a proper swatch, where I cast on more than 4" and knit for more than 4" and then washed and blocked. However, I figured that if I'm going to spend hours and hours on a project, I do not want it to fit poorly or not at all, or to blossom after the first wash.

So here goes, my first sweater, still in progress...


So I'm still working on it, and I think I'll be done by the end of the week. Then I have to find a shop that carries the buttons I have in my mind. Ha!

Chris and I really need some time for us. We pretty much spend NO time alone, with the exception of some events we've needed to attend without kids and a very few dinners together. Early on in our relationship we spent a weekend on the Cape, where I vomited in every toilet in Falmouth. It was nice though, in the moments I wasn't puking. We were going to spend the night of Chris' swearing-in in a hotel room in Providence, but I just couldn't see spending $200 to sleep 15 minutes away from our bedroom.

So we've been talking about going away for our fifth wedding anniversary. It's not going to happen any time around our actual anniversary, which is in early June, when House sessions are going to be crazy long. Maine, the Cape, New York, and DC were all mentioned, but we decided on Newport. We both just want to have a few nice meals, spend some time reading on the beach, and do some RI touristy stuff- downtown Newport, the mansions, Ocean Drive, etc...

I'm really excited, even though this is a LONG ways away.

Merry Kissmas!

So for Christmas this year, I wanted to go a little more handmade. In past years, I've made a late November declaration that I'm doing an entirely handmade Holiday. Then my friend Beth reminds me that I say that every year and then I go shopping when it doesn't work out.

This year though, we took it easy on the shopping. Chris made the little ones a play kitchen and I made some clothing for the girls' dolls. I also knit for my mom, my mother-in-law, and my sister-in-law. We gave a lot of pictures, and really made an effort to give one special gift instead of a lot of unspecial gifts.

For Felicity and Mia, the American girl dolls, I improvised my first sweater pattern. This was really easy because they're so little that screwing up doesn't require much ripping out. I was a good knitter though- I knit a "swatch" and did my math. The pattern is very loosely based on the miniature sweater ornaments in Last Minute Knitted Gifts.

Hannah's been asking for a guitar for like 6 months or so. Pretty much all of her homeschooled friends play guitar, so I relented and she got a 3/4 size classical guitar. She was super excited.
Last but not least, the greatest Christmas feat Chris pulled off this year- Making a wooden kitchen 4 days before Christmas. The sink still needs a faucet and the oven still needs its window, but it's already gotten a ton of play. I think they'll need a fridge next, because we suddenly have a lot of play food.