December 24, 2011

Long time...I know.  Definitely ready for a new year.  Hard times this past year.  No need to re-hash, but my wonderful husband got me through.   Still coveting yarn, not cooking as much as my son's allergies have gotten bettter, and still reading, although I couldn't tell you what.  DH traveling so much.  Tween and Teen have to be at different schools at the same time.  Have to get up at 5 AM.  Not a a morning person. No busing in our town.  Cold weather coming...And 2012 is the year, I am going to become a pro at putting pictures on my blog.  Yep, that, and to continue my goal of thinking about doing something yoga -ish every day

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy New Year.

Photo take nearly one year ago.  Feel the Love.

GREAT BOOK and GREAT QUOTE

You. Must. Read.  - in general, but especially Mitch Albom's Have a Little Faith.  It's a little book with a lot of heart.  You have to love a book that makes you smile and feel good after you have read it.  It does not matter what religion you practice.  At least I don't think so.

Recently had a quote mentioned to me a couple of times by a couple of people under different circumstances.  The more educated will know it.  I didn't.  Winston Churchill said "If you are going through hell, keep going."  I love that!   He was, of course, referring to Great Britain's participation in WWII, which makes my reasons for liking the quote seem insignificant.  But not to me.

MOVING ON UP!

The kiddos are changing schools this year.  The whole K-12 experience is going too fast.  Today ( before next week, certainly), I am going to buy a real camera, and carry it around with me.  I am tired of taking pics with my camera phone, since I really think a camera and a phone should be 2 separate things.  It'll be convenient to take a quick shot of something from my phone, but a camera is better for me.  And I don't have an iPhone, so I don't know if that combo is as good.  One son is man size and I have to document that.  The other one is still boys size but breaking away from me in hyper-speed, I guess as he should.  But I miss the random hugs.  End of school year is so busy... cuppa almost gone which means the day is almost started.

WHERE ARE MY PICTURES?

On this Mac, but I think you've seen them all.  And they are all at least a year old.
On our other Mac, which recently bit the dust and husband/geek has not had time to save its innards, which has recent pics.
On my husband's phones (x infinity).  He works for a cell phone co.  He has many, many, many phones.  Also many, many recent photos.
On one or two of my phones.  See comment above.

Another project.  Another 1000 pictures!  Can't wait.

Nearly 10 years ago...adoration, love, possibilities...

Time takes its toll.  About a year ago.  This is part of the college fund.

IF IT'S POSSIBLE...

That first hour after the kids get off to school and the hot coffee is calling is one of my favorite parts of life. Quiet coffee in the AM.  That's one of those small moments we are supposed to enjoy, right?  Well, I do.

It's Not Chili, After All

It is very hard to make chili when you just don't have all the ingredients.  And chili is pretty flex as far as ingredients go. So you make what you can with the ingredients you do have.
Hamburger
Beef Broth
Flour
Canned Corn
Canned Dark Red Kidney Beans
Canned Cannelini beans

And it is quite good.  I attempt here and there to write down some of my more ridiculous meals that start out as one thing but end up another.  And I love to name them.  This recipe is called "It's Not Chili, After All!"

SO WHAT?

So what if the free background I had disappeared?
So what if I have no idea how to download pictures?
So what if I am not even sure I want to use Blogger?
So what if this list goes on and on?  And it does.

I am not waiting to make this blog look perfect; I am going to write all along and watch the mistakes, the progress, and the evolution of not just the aesthetics, but of my grammar!

DEAR DRIVER

Dear Driver,

Tonight, I was just about to go through a green light when I heard an ambulance.  I slowed safely and stopped as I couldn't see where the emergency vehicle was.  YOU honked your horn at me, with quite a great deal of urgency, if I might add.  It's simple.  The rule is you safely stop and wait for the emergency vehicle screeching at you passes.  I just wish people would relax, and not think the law applies to everyone but them.

And I am not saying where this happened.  The drivers in this particular region of the US, known for their impatience and rudeness, deserve their privacy.

COMMITMENT

I commit to making this blog as beautiful and fun and (sometimes)  as informative as so many of the blogs I follow.  Soon.  Mostly because I have no idea why my blog looks like this.  But there are so many questions to answer in the world today, I am not going to worry about it.

My 2nd BLOG

I started a new blog.  Middle of the night madness, I guess.  Hoping to chronicle our house's facelift, and well, we'll see, won't we?  It's name is I NEVER IRON WRINKLED LINEN.  It's a mouthful, but true.  And it definitely represents my "style."  Its URL is even worse. http://ineverironlinen.blogspot.com/.
I'm open to suggestions....

What A Mess

My house, my wardrobe, and worst of all -- MY BLOG.  Looking forward to fixing it up very soon!

What Happened!

Good grief!  What has happened to my blog?  That background is gone.  I think I only got it there by accident originally.  Time to figure out how to do this thing.  Stay tuned please.  Thanks.

CRINGE!

It is 7:52 AM and I am listening to men put some of my new kitchen counter top in.  I am hearing lots of banging and a few "uh -oh's." Some people might think I should be in there, but I find I get more of what I want - in the end - if I give them their space, pop in occasionally, offer them coffee and then ask about the big dent in my wall.  Just kidding.  These guys have done a great job thus far.  Working extra hard to leave my sink and dishwasher for the few days they took to make the counter.   If I really thought they were wrecking instead of creating, I'd be in there in a flash.  But it sure is noisy.   Coffee.  Need.  More.  Coffee.

2011

Happy and Healthy 2011 to all!

Just about to knit my first stitch of 2011.  Very, very exciting.

Random Photos From A Random Year

December

 

January/February 

Sorry.  These two months don't deserve photos.  Too cold.  Too snowy.

March

Hiking weather. 

April

Vacation in Florida

We had a great house.  So light and bright.

May

June

July in Massachusetts

I found some very hard to find yarn.

August, and a new backyard toy!

September

School starts : ))))

There is a method to the madness.  Picking out a blue for the cabinets.  Finished pics much later.

Finally adding some privacy.  Should be nicely filled in - in about 25 years.  Sure...we'll still be in this house!

My son surpasses me in height, by a lot!  But not Dad, yet.

I just think double pointed needles are so cool.  Never quite got to knitting the sock.  But this is an impressive cast on.

October 

That's Will.

November

Chachki, cousin to Roscoe and Riley 

Sons frantically re-reading Harry Potter #7

Thanksgiving at Susan's.  This is only part of our table.  But not the kiddie table.

December

The guys saw Spiderman on Broadway.  There were no injuries at this performance.  

...And to all a goodnight.

DH got very ill on Tuesday. He has eaten toast with margarine, and an egg. Today is a big day. He is having a dinner that consists of creamy brown rice, another applesauce and two tylenol.

Doesn't it look yum!!!!!

The Day After The Day After Christmas

Definitely NOT after Christmas.  But the tree looked prettier with wrapped presents under it.

My younger guy still enjoys making homemade gifts.  Out of playdoh modeling clay he created a rose and a violet.  He put sugar in a bag, and found a picture of me around the house (one that was taken 22 years ago!) He wrote out the poem:

Rose are red

Violets are Blue

Sugar is sweet

And so are you

How loving is he?!

My cool teen has been getting me books as of late.  He knows what I like.  Last holiday (birthday) he bought me a knitting book.  This book is about Mom's finding time for themselves.  It is very thoughtful of him to think of books and think of what I would like to read.

 "What is this cracked bowl?"  You might be wondering.  Really, it is very obvious from the picture.  DH found this on www.etsy.com.  It is a great website for artisans to sell their crafts, and other handmade items.  Many of them professional.  You can search by subject.  He obviously searched knitting and came up with this very original bowl designed to hold the yarn (so it doesn't roll away) and even has a zig zag thingy to hold the yarn.  Cool and cool!

More homemade goodies from dear son #2.  A pen and pencil holder for Dad.  Hard to see, but a baseball holds a pencil and the cup has sports equipments on it.  He loves being creative.

There were other thoughtful gifts, but these were the best.

No e-Reader Can Make You Feel This

It has been a very busy Fall.  My usual trips to our library have fallen far by the wayside. I owed what I imagined to be our kid's college funds in late fees.  I always have late fees; that's a given.  Every time I go to pay them, some of the librarians gasp audibly and announce in their loudest voices the dollar amount I owe.  I am not easily embarrassed.  But this embarrasses me.  They ask (again, loudly) if I have internet access because then I could keep track.  Such as simple task- returning a book (or books in my case).  Yet, my inability to do so on such a regular basis and for such long periods of time clearly indicate a deficiency in my character.  Or at least my organizational skills.  I've never mentioned my organizational skills before.  There is a reason for that.  This particular fine was going to be extraordinary, and so kept putting it off.  Yes, I know, thereby extending the problem.  I guess that says something more about me.

Since our family needs a constant supply of books.  We went to many bookstores throughout September, October, November and even in early December. After considering the money we were spending on the purchase of books, I decided to face my embarrassment and go to the library and own up.  I got so lucky - two librarians, one who knows me.  She seemed genuinely happy to see me.  I knew it would be okay, and started to relax.  After I paid my fine, renewed my card (they let me!), chatted with the lovely librarians, I turned around to explore.  And then it hit me.

The feeling of warmth, contentment and exhilaration overwhelmed me.  It had been months since I went to our library.  I immediately remembered the hours and hours my boys and I spent there when we first moved here and they were little.  Many witching hours were spent in the library.  It was a treat to go.  So many books, so many words, so many pictures, so many times the library calmed the kids (and me) down when the day wasn't over yet, but we were all done anyway.

We would walk in empty-handed and walked out barely able to carry the books we had checked out.  And then when we got home, we read some more.  We read together or separately, but we all read at the same time.  There is a feeling to that.  It is not easily described, but you know it when you feel it.  And it feels good.

I love libraries (and ours in particular is a wonderful one).  I love everything about them.  Every time I walk in I am met by a visual feast and so many choices!  I can ponder a memoir, a biography, knitting books, historical fiction, chick lit, travel guides (which I did constantly during our first year here; I guess I thought escaping to a new place would make me not have to work to make this my home).  Yet, there is no pressure to read any one thing before it disappears (a la Macy's), no pressure to think about budget, no pressure to read a book I checked out and read it before I have to return it.  I can check it out again, when I am ready to read it.   And, of course, the most basic reason of all.  The library is a place I can safely get lost and know when I get back, I'll have grown in some way.

A long time ago.  2004.  But this is not a posed picture.  I sent them outside to run off their energy and this is how I found them when I checked on them.

I Need A Memory

It's been very cold as of late, and snow is definitely in the forecast.  Time for a memory...

Photos like these sustain me through the cold, snowy, winters.  Summer 2004.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

I am forever sighing at the forever gone cute, cuddly, fat cheeked, toddling, a hug and a kiss can fix everything stage of my kids lives.

Today, however, hubby and I slept until 7 AM, at which point my 13 yr. old entered our bedroom, said "Merry Christmas; it's 7:00," (indicating, obviously, a very civilized time to rise and shine).  He woke our awesome sleeper and we all went downstairs and opened presents.

There are clearly advantages to kids growing up!!!

Twas The Day Before Christmas

...and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a Mom.  (I've never seen a mouse here, thank goodness).

Yet, here I sit, having coffee, knowing full well I have a bit more shopping to do, a whole bunch of wrapping.  The grocery store awaits, and well, I'd like a tidy background for all those fabulous photos we'll be taking.  So the house needs to be picked up.  And, we have to leave in 15 minutes so the kids can get their flu vaccines.  Yes, late on that one too.

Yet, here I sit.

Every year, even though life gets busier and more complicated, I have to insist that I sit and relax, breathe and not care one bit about the imperfections.  It's hard to concentrate on good things when there is a great number of things to worry about.  But here I go.

Younger, diet-challenged boy asked for Shepherd's Pie for Christmas dinner, because of "you know, all the shepherds at the first Christmas."  A Christmas miracle!  I don't have to fret over making a complicated, fancy dinner.  Oh, and yeah, my kid showed his unique and wonderful way he has of looking at things.  Shepherd's Pie for Christmas dinner...it means someone has spent time thinking of the actual reason we celebrate Christmas.  I will forever smile at the thought of Shepherd's Pie.

My older son remains just 13, but continues to morph into a man, rather, into a guy.  Let's be real here.  Nearly 6' of body does not make one an adult.  Although it does make him think he is an adult.  But today I think good thoughts.  Watching this happen really is amazing, and I'll focus on the good way.  Kids are supposed to grow up and he is doing a fine job of it.  And I just have to look at the clumsily wrapped present for me from him under the tree to smile, and be reminded that he is still my boy.

.....12 hours later!  The day is done, the shopping finished, the presents wrapped (except for that one I bought way back in October and cannot find).

I think I hear Rudolph and the other reindeer coming ...

Books You Might Never Have Known I Read, But Now You Will

Seems so simple, and yet it is not!  All I want to do is add and update a list of books as I read them.  I've done everything blogger tells me to, and yet I still fail.  I might have to stop trying for the time being.  One of these days...I will really and truly learn how to blog.

Update:  three seconds later...I figured it out.

All In A Day's Work (actually, All In Three Hours)

     No I am knot (get the knitting pun?) going give a blow by blow description.  But some highlights might be interesting if you can relate them to your life.  Then they become comical, and I can stop crying.  
     Wednesday night was a doozy.  After a late afternoon commitment, both sons and I headed for Wendy's  drive through.  (By the way, why isn't "drive through" an official food group already?)  B was in charge of holding the ice cream drinks and the food.  I told him to roll the bag top down so if they fall, the fries won't fall out.  This has happened to him a few times and to me a thousand times.  But as with any teen, my advice was met with resistance, and since there is so very much my teen and I can fight about, I decided to let it go that he ignored me.  (Ever notice that ignore and ignorance sound a lot alike?)  While driving I had to stop a little short and, yes, smart readers, the bag went flying to the floor and the fries spilled all over the floor.  W said "Uh oh" in his "watch out, it's gonna blow" voice.  B did indeed "blow."
     Well, I don't have to go into any details of the tone the rest of the evening had taken.  Teenagers!  Can't live with 'em, can't throw them out on the street.  
     When we arrived home, Ri had thrown up and pee'd in his crate and was a stinky, disgusting mess.  He was curled in a corner looking sad, forlorn, and shamed.  Riley threw up 6 times that day in total, and two times the evening before, so my theory that he ate something bad outside, flew out the window.  He was sick.  
     But like an ER, I had to triage.  W needed dinner.  His allergies prevent him from eating the fast food.  He was starving and it was only an hour from his bedtime.  I guiltily left Riley in his sad corner, and made W a very quick and easy dinner.  Pasta with sauce.   Bored with it though he was, he knew not to complain.
     After we were all upstairs,  W was getting ready for bed, B was doing his homework on the PC, and I was running a bath for Riley.  I was about to give Riley his long overdue bath and I was seeing the light at the end of the tunnel when...
     Something went a little haywire on the PC and it "told" us that a new user had logged in at a time when no one was home.  B decided we were being hacked or the victim of a virus.   B started telling stories of the kinds of things computer criminals can do and in the process freaking out himself and W.  W asked for me to hang with him in his room while he read.  
     I looked at him and I said "Honey there is only one of me, and right now I need to convince B our identities have not been stolen, but you come before the dog.  Okay?"  And somehow, after making a positively ridiculous statement like that.  I found some clarity.  


     I told B that high tech in movies and books these days are the monsters and zombies of my day.  If they become too real for you, it's time to pick another genre.  I gave him our other PC, and left his room. 
     Next to W.  I made sure he had a funny book to read and told him to read it.  And then I left the room.
     And when I finally had Ri in the bath, W came up to me and said "Wow, this is a lot tonight, huh?"  All in a day's work my son.  And then when I kissed him goodnight I said "Well a lot of excitement tonight for no real reason at all, huh?"  He told me that I described it perfectly.  
     After all was said and done and lights were out, I went downstairs to a dirty sink,  I cleared the food but decided the plates could stay until morning.  I had my Wendy's Twisty Vanilla Oreo Cookie drink for dinner.  And another day was done!   

Have Fun

Here is a great website if you like to look at well-dressed homes.  http://hookedonhouses.net/

My new favorite.

NOT ONE COMMENT ABOUT QUANTITY OF YARN

Please?

YARN, GLORIOUS YARN

I've been organizing and cataloging the yarn I have accumulated over the last few years.  Some people love shoes and handbags.  I love yarn.

Three Irish Girls Hand Dyed Yarn.  It's a catch.

Yarn I bought to support Breast Cancer Awareness.

I have tons more of this workhorse of yarn in lots of blues. This color will be a nice complement, when I actually knit something with it all. 

Beautiful Blue and Black (ish) Malabrigo.  Another find.

Tweed.  I have to knit something in tweed.

Wool, silk, and angora.  Yum.

Same

Same

Same

Same

Noro Furisode.  Multiple self striping colors.  

Dream in Color Classy in Some Summer Sky.  Another good find.

All 100% linen.  1 color each will make a small shawlette.  Eventually.

Rowan Summer Tweed

Sock Yarn.  For a shawlette.

Dream in Color Starry in Cocoa Kiss.  Will make a gorgeous scarf or shawl.  I can't wait to make something with it, but I'll need a lot of support from my local yarn store.  No room for mistakes in this yarn.

Berroco Foliage.  Self striping.  Soft and yummy,

They are SO SO SO happy for me.

And my family jumps for joy when I am happy.  Ben is jumping from joy for me too.  He is just avoiding the camera these days.