Will We Have School Through The Summer?

Well, we've used all our snow days, leaving nothing left for the weather that has caused mini disasters around here.  School is back on tomorrow... except for the elementary school.  There are too many downed trees on the road to the school.  The youngest member of our family is one happy kid.

If A Tree Falls In A Suburb, And Everyone Hears It, Will It Take Out Your House, Car, or Electricity?

When I moved to England in 2000, everybody here (TX, where I was living at the time, and MA, where my family was living) told me the weather in England was going to be terrible, rainy and cold and I'd be miserable.  My very literal son told me later he was surprised at how gentle the rain was and how often the sun came out.  He literally expected it to rain from dark clouds every day and was very unnerved at the prospect.  Many people also told me the food would be awful too, but that's another post.

In the four years I lived there, I could tell you what the weather was going to be nearly every day, with a few exceptions.  Sure, snow lightly dusted our backyard one day.  Another time I remember flooding rains that kept me from a very important appointment.  But other than that, it was either sunny or overcast, light rain, and rarely, heavy rains for limited times.  No great variations to have to plan around.  

Granted weather cycles have changed considerably.  And Southern England has been hit by great variations of weather.  But in my first year of living in NJ five years ago, I experienced 4 major snowstorms during the month of March, several flooding rains during Spring (great housewarming present since we had just bought the house that flooded 4 weeks after we moved in.)  Totally new and severe allergies for my son.  A particularly bad heat wave during the summer,  and Fall allergies, which were terrible and we had never experienced before.  And multiple electricity losses. And all that was our first year!  But we live outside of NYC, and that should make everything ok!  Grumble.

Knot A Pretty Picture

Sometimes a badly rolled ball of yarn (sometimes called a cupcake - when it is rolled well)  comes apart while you are knitting your project.  So I started a shawl.  Not a warm, old, granny shawl, but one that can be whipped around my neck creating a chic display of yarntastic ability.   But I had to put the shawl down to tend to the knots.  This is just part of knitting....

This is the start of the shawl, it will get somewhat lacy in the end.  IF I ever get through all the knots!

Update on Corny Post

4th grade boy just told me that the average sized ear of corn has about 500 niblets on it.  So, I must correct my earlier number of niblets.  Evidently there were approximately 6,000 corn niblets in that pan.  I never was good at math.  I asked him how he could possibly know that.  There actually is a very simple, logical and reasonable explanation.  But I am not going to tell you what it is.  Isn't niblet a funny word?  Or am I just that immature.

The Day Riley Learned Some New Words. And Paper Towels Was Not Among Them.

I'm baaaaack!

Since my last post was at Thanksgiving, I think I can safely use the holidays, and the start of the new year as a reasonable excuse for not adding to my blog.  Then, when that excuse ran out, I started thinking that I needed to rethink my blog, it's purpose, do I want to try to widen the audience, should I try to focus on one thing only, should I try to make some pittance of money from it, should I change the name, should I have my own domain, should I take a digital photography class, should I take a remedial grammar course (I know the answer to that one) ...so many questions that I didn't have any answers to, so I just picked up my knitting and put my blog on my lovely imaginary shelf.  Finally ready to pick it up again, I could not access my account!  Quite simply, I forgot my username and my password.  And gmail (not my regular email) needs you know know one or the other.  I just figured out how to figure it out, and I am back!

Lots of ridiculous and wonderful things have happened.  We might enter a time warp here and there and I have noted some that I wanted to share, but did not get to it.

That is it for now.  I am just so happy to finally know how to get to my blog.  The answers to the above questions will eventually find their way to me, and in the meantime, I hope I don't bore you.

This Is A Corny Post

Because we all know I have learned to cook for real in the last couple of years, I wanted to share the my latest and greatest discovery.  Sure it has been discovered before me.  But this is my blog, so I am not going to write some corny history of my groundbreaking way (to me anyway) of making...corn.

Our nutritionist told me I could buy Del Monte canned corn and it is safe from cross contamination.  Good for the boy.  But all the boys love the taste of fresh corn, and two of the boys always have loose teeth now.  So on Thanksgiving morning I went to Whole Foods to buy ALL the ingredients for Thanksgiving dinner. Yes, I waited until the day of and no it really wasn't stressful.  I was only cooking for us and everyone helped.  Anyway, I bought 12 (!) ears of corn and W. schucked them.  He did a great job even though he didn't like how "gross" the "thready stuff" on the inside felt.  I sauteed onions, threw the corn in with a little oil and salt and it was delicious.  Now my kids only want corn that way.  Easy enough, but sometimes you just don't have those extra 10 minutes.  Oh well, another problem for another day.

If you've read earlier posts, you know I am a food/knitting blogger wanna be.  I've posted a couple of links to show you what real one's look like.  But for now, I think the corn in its original state and then while cooking looked kind of cool.  Such bright yellow.  The colorist in the house agreed.  That's all I needed to hear.

                                BTW, there were 12,875 corn niblets.

The Birth of a Blankie

Yes, another one.  I know the sock yarn blanket looks like it should take up all of my time, but a knitter has to have options.  Sometimes you're up for a challenge, sometimes you need something portable, sometimes you see and buy the most beautiful yarn you've ever seen and must knit with it right away, and sometimes your sister asks for a blanket for her 30th wedding anniversary.  Knowing how long it'll take to knit a blanket - which will probably end up more the size of a throw - I have to start now, so it'll be finished in two years.  Even though I have a few other things going on.  But that's all I am going to knit for now.   Really.

Except for the scarf I promised Steven (to be knit with the most delicious alpaca I bought at a fiber festival recently).  And then that's it for a while.  Really.

Update:  Delicious alpaca going to be made into a throw for master bedroom.  It feels so wonderful.  Now I have to buy more alpaca and buy different yarn for the now abandoned scarf for Steve.

                

Doggie Jail

Fourth Grade Isn't What It Used To Be

Fourth graders are now encouraged to hand in typed work.  They don't even know how to type, but they can create spreadsheets to chart the weather, change format and font to match the tone of their story,  and know all sorts of secrets about the PC that I don't.  Thankfully, I am not in grade school anymore!

9 year old using Word better than I do.

The Monster Blanket

Looks so smooshy, doesn't it?  Not done yet.  It's hibernating for now, while I work on other things.

Photo taking skills

I need to take a digital photography class or two.

Knitting Noro

Finally, some yarn and a few stitches on the blog.  The yarn store near my family carries a kind of yarn I don't have near me.  So I bought some and started knitting immediately upon returning back to my mother's home.  it is hand dyed and creates the most unique striping effect, without having to change yarns (my favorite part). The scarf is more than half done and it will be mine, all mine!

Riley Again

Okay, I know I am going overboard with the dog pics.  But he is really like a stuffed animal.  Such a baby and so cuddly and cute.  He follows Roscoe around and just licks his face.

Yarn or Riley - A Tough Choice

Riley discovered a wee piece of yarn.  Roscoe never cared much for my yarn.  But Ri looks for it!

Ri is very self conscious of how his tears - yes we must beat him - make is fur red and yucky.  He hates it when I photograph him.  The tears come when he is in his crate and Roscoe is not.  Sometimes it just has to happen, until he can let us know....

Fallen Leaves

Our leaves had been blown and gathered for the lawn collection the day before a big rainstorm.  You could see the lawn!  What a difference a day makes.

Okay, don't laugh. This is the amateur version of food blog recipe sharing. I love food blogs. I started looking for allergen free recipes, but then got sidetracked into some professional food blogs. Two of my favorites are http://www.101cookbooks.com/ and http://chocolateandzucchini.com/. Check them out, and you will see gorgeous pictures of food in various stages of preparation and presentation. Sort of like the above. Okay, not. However, I am proud of my re-invention of the rice crispy treat. We just call them marshmallow squares since I rarely us rice puffs. Above I used Cinnamon Life and then added chocolate chips to the top and pushed down. A few hours later, the boy enjoys his homemade treat.

SPOOKY!

Just before trick or treating. Almost over. Thank goodness!

A Talent I Don't Have

Aren't these pretty? They lived in our living room where I grew up for probably more than 30 years. The living room was the room in our house we never went in to. Never thought much about these pillows until my mother said she didn't want them anymore. My sister, who knows my penchant for hanging onto old and/or handmade things, saved them for me. My Great Aunt Ruth made them for my parents. Beautiful handiwork. There is only one problem - my boys saw more flower motif things entering the house and asked where they were going, and were they going to have to use them? Telling the boys that they aren't even allowed to touch them made them only mildly more interested in them. But, they'll stay away. Next two I have to worry about are the dog brothers.

It's Not Even Halloween Yet

Sure enough, Boy 2 needed help going to sleep tonight. Lots of costumes all over the place. At the school parade, on television...commercials are the worst. I don't want to embarrass him but he finally fell asleep in my bed, next to an already snoring Daddy. Mom's and Dad's bed is always the best. Lots and lots of noise coming from a Halloween Party down the street. Keeping me awake. Have I mentioned I don't like Halloween. And then there is tomorrow, the actual day. Ugh!