Lest I Forget

We just got back from visiting my family last night. It was wonderful. I'm popping in briefly to say that I hope everyone had the merriest Christmas and wondering what this weekend holds! How will you ring in the new year? I am asking because I need ideas.

Excited that I could possibly finish Olivia's pair of fingerless gloves this past weekend, I left my knitting on the couch, which in hindsight was not the best idea. Therese, being 15 months old, thought it looked awfully interesting and started to play with my knitting. Quickly, I grabbed up the glove and yarn and moved it on top of the mantle. Later that night, I put on the fireplace, got all cozy in my favorite chair and prepared to finish the last few rows. Only the fifth needle was missing. Guessing that it fell between the couch cushions, yet not wanting to leave my cozy spot, I asked Olivia to check. She triumphantly lifted half of a needle in the air as I heard a tiny cracking sound. The other end had caught in the fabric and it snapped right in half!  I am awaiting a replacement set of needles from Knitpicks. Meanwhile, I made a little something for someone's stocking. Sometimes she reads over my shoulder while I am typing, so that is all I can reveal for now. ...

This morning started out like any other. Tousle-headed and in great need of a haircut, Jack shuffled into our room just as I was waking up. I had been hearing Olivia getting ready for a while, but laid there for a little bit, asking for God's guidance this day and relishing the warmth of the blankets. I took Jack's hand and we walked down the steps together to the kitchen and each had a glass of orange juice. From above came the coos and giggles of Therese in her crib. Those are some of the sweetest sounds, by the way. I peeked in her room and saw her sticking her foot out between the slats of the crib. I snuck in and tickled those little toes. She gave me a big grin and I scooped her up and hugged her tight. Back down the steps we went and looked at books while she sat on her potty. No success in that department, I put a nice fresh diaper on her and went to the kitchen again to start breakfast. Anna wandered in about this time. After I got them all fed, I sat down to check my...

Several years ago, I first heard the story of Juan Diego and how Our Lady appeared to him. Ever since, I have had a special place in my heart for Our Lady of Guadalupe. Her image is so beautiful, so serene and gentle. Today, along with two other families, we celebrated her feast day. I found all the ideas for our tea here.  We began our morning with a reading of this book.  It was so nice to have the kids all gathered together, while I sat in the cozy chair and read the story. I will admit it is very hard to read upside down! How else can the children all see the pictures though? Then we moved into the kitchen to have our tea. The kids all loved the sombreros. OK, so this might be a stretch, but they were gobbled up and more were made! The ham roses in the tortilla 'tilma' was so cute. I was amazed that most of the kids actually drank tea! Only the littlest ones had apple juice.  Our 'sombreros'. Pringles and string cheese.  The table as I was ...

If I had any talent as a blogger, I would set up 2 columns, side by side so you could easily see how I make changes to our recipes, to accommodate two people who are dairy and soy intolerant. Jack is almost 5 now, and can tolerate some dairy, just not every day, and it is best if it is baked into something and not straight up dairy. Therese, who is 15 months, is still much more sensitive, and I have to be very careful. I found a recipe on foodgawker a while back that looked yummy, but was filled with forbidden ingredients, so I kept putting off making it, till tonight. It was easy to fix and the results were most delicious. I will note that I doubled the ingredients since this said it only served 2, and made some collard greens as a side. Sweet Corn, Bacon & Tomato Tart Crust 2/3 c. all-purpose flour 1/8 tsp. salt 4T. cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks 1T. + 1t (or more) cold water [Here I made a batch of my biscuit dough instead. The ingredients are simply: 1 cup ...

For once, there are multiple projects on my needles. The sock yarn was calling to me when I saw it in the store. I still am not sure I am using it for its intended purpose, but we shall see. I am trying to make a scarf, but it is rolling something awful and I don't have much hope that blocking will tame it. Olivia's second glove is taking shape and none too soon, for those last glorious warm days have disappeared until spring, I'm afraid. I finished "I Capture the Castle" at lunch today, and oh how I will miss Cassandra! I am reading "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" to the kids. I can't help but recall my local theatre's rendition of this when 'local' meant Manchester, Tennessee.  Thank you Ginny for hosting, as always!

What better way to begin this Advent season than to begin a novena to Mary as the Immaculate Conception? Join me and many others, won't you? Boy, did you notice I am full of questions today? Here is the link to follow: http://www.praymorenovenas.com/

Our time with Sophie home was all too short. She and Tony are on their way back to college, stopping in to check on my mother-in-law tonight. Before they left, we headed over to Fort Eustis to have a little fun. The weather was gorgeous. There was a miniature golf course, go-carts, and a batting cage. I thought for sure that Jack would want to ride the go-carts, but he said he only wanted to play golf. We did not know until we arrived that they only accept cash. While we were discussing who was going to go to get some cash, the employee on duty asked if we were only golfing. We were. He then let us play for free! The kids ran to the shed where the supplies were kept, most excited to start playing.  score keeper  I believe that was about 20 strokes!  Can you tell I am having fun with the manual setting? It was time to leave when Jack changed his mind about the go-carts. Anna wanted to try it too. Even though it was $6 per c...

In preparation to celebrate Thanksgiving, I travelled to Steubenville, Ohio to pick up my college girl. She usually is able to find a ride home, but not this time. Hindsight being what it is, I should have bought her a plane ticket. Still, I am thankful for a safe journey there and back and all the stuff in between. Back in September, I told you my grandmother turned 100 years old. What I did not mention is that my other grandmother is 97. She lives in West Virginia and it was only a slight detour to go see her. We got a nice early start Tuesday morning, me and the three littlest kids. Tony had to work and Olivia had school. So I plugged Nana's address in the GPS, filled the tank with gas, and we were off. As we neared the town of Front Royal, a warning bell sounded and all the lights on the dash went out. They came back on but were flickering. Thankful that we were near a largish town, I pulled off the highway to see Wal-Mart's automotive sign from the road. I pulle...

This afternoon, instead of doing what I should have been doing, I pulled out my camera to capture the fun my kids were having. The weather was an amazing 73 degrees! I know it won't last, so I snatched up the chance for some photos. I will say this: I know nothing about photography. I wish I did. I love taking pictures and looking at pictures. There is something so wonderful about capturing a moment just as you see it. So, mustering up some courage, I moved the little dial thingy from "auto" to "manual" and started shooting and changing settings.  This was on the auto setting. The colors were washed out and dull. Still on auto setting. Dull, dull, dull.  Look at the difference! I can't tell you what I set it to. I just moved the dial until it looked like what I saw with my eyes. Then I accidentally found this! I took about 50 pictures just so I could get one this good. I love this one so much. Back inside, I experimented...

We attended a wedding today. I just love weddings. Tony always whispers his vows again in my ear when the groom says his. He gets very romantic at weddings. At the reception, Jack was hungry. Hungry for cake, not the food. I told him that he had to wait for the bride and groom to cut the cake. To which he replied, "That's OK, I've got a knife. I can cut it myself." I tried to explain that it is a tradition for the couple to cut the cake together and then everyone can have a piece. He then said, "Then why did they give me a knife?" I knew at that moment that it was going to be an interesting evening! Oh, I almost forgot! Anna was the flower girl. She loved getting her hair curled, her nails painted, the fancy dress, a kiss of lip gloss, tossing the flower petals....she loved it all!

One trip to the craft store and $10 dollars lighter, I returned home with some new yarn and many project ideas. A dear friend has recently started her own baking business and asked if I might want to make some dish clothes for her shop. This is my first attempt. I have seen many "owl" projects out there and really wanted to try my hand at making a cute little owl. I am really happy with the result. A skein of a soft, chunky weight yarn in a creamy shade was bought for a dual purpose. I am making one more hat for the little one with cancer. It should keep her little head very warm as the weather becomes cold. When I am finished with the hat, Anna will receive the rest of that yarn to add on to her scarf. I also bought some self-striping sock yarn. I am not sure what it will become, but it is fun deciding. I am still reading "I Capture the Castle". Slowly, very slowly. Thanks, Ginny, for hosting.

Who says silverware is necessary?  The one-hand approach  The two-hand bowl hold Hmm.  The concerted effort  The slurp  The lip  "I think I lost one up here somewhere" "That was fun!"