Lest I Forget

First things first. Yarn and knitting and reading. I finished Anna's little mouse. I think she turned out cute, but there were a few learning moments I thought I would pass along. 1. Not all worsted yarn is the same. Anna liked this skein of yarn I scored for free from Knit Picks. It is a pretty color, but it is acrylic. It is much, much thicker than the Knit Picks washable wool worsted yarn I used for the dress. I would have changed yarns, except that Anna asked me to use it. 2. Working with thick yarn on tiny needles may cause the needle to snap. 3. In the end, if the recipient is happy, that is all that really matters. And she is. Waiting for her dress to be made. Taking a peek outside. It looks much warmer indoors! Ahh, that's more like it. A dress! All dressed up with a little sparkly touch for when you need to feel special! I thought I'd share my little knitting spot. My ipad has my patterns on it, the coffee is very essential, and I l...

We decided to try out the local ice skating rink this afternoon. I learned a lot. For instance: Believe the lady when she tells you the two year old is too young.  We could have saved some money and missed out on aching back muscles. Four year olds are too young too. Especially whiny ones who probably needed a nap, not an outing. Just because you knew how to skate twenty years ago does not mean that you do now. Eight and ten year olds will have the time of their life and want to go back soon. Husbands who never have skated will not be able to help other non skaters. Next time, plan a different activity for the little ones. Wear thick socks. Remember to put the memory card back in your camera. Ibuprofen will be required for all those over forty. Crepes filled with Nutella are yummy. So, in my humble opinion, ice skating with young children is not a great family activity. We do much better at the bowling alley.

One day, Tony came home with a bag full of yarn that someone at the band hall was giving away. There were mostly small bits left over from projects, but with making all the little animals, I could put them to good use. There was one giant ball of yarn. And I mean huge! It was very, very crayola blue. And Therese loved it. She hugged it tight and let it be known that she expected a sweater from this very yarn for Christmas. She and I looked through patterns on Ravelry and she picked Ginny's Sunday Sweater pattern. It is well-written and I love how it fits her.   Well, Jack had already requested a bunny for Christmas and Anna had requested a mouse. Thankfully, Peter doesn't know how to request things yet. My sweet Anna saw that long list and kindly said that I could knit hers after Christmas. I plan to start on that this week. I also plan to start a baby gift for my niece. As for reading, I have not done much personal reading lately. I need a good book. Joining Ginny as a...

It said, rain mixed with snow. Possible accumulations less than one inch in the higher elevations. Two inches of snow in the same number of hours and I am beginning to think they know not what they are talking about! My plans are foiled, but the kids are slightly elated. Oh, Anna. You look too grown up here! I loved watching them work together to make it fun for their brother. He never stopped moving, so he was hard to photograph. He seems to have changed his mind about not liking the snow. asking to come in for hot chocolate