this moment

Inspired by SouleMama

My buddy Rosamunde

As November comes to a close and the Christmas decorations come up, I turn to my one of my favorite books of all time.I read Winter Solstice every year. Each year something strikes me in a different way. And although I know the story by heart, I always get a little thrill at the end. Five lonely and slightly battered people meander their way to a Scottish fishing village for Christmas and of course a bit of redemption. The characters are true and interesting. The issues are modern enough although the story is tucked in an idyllic setting. And the happiness is genuine and not at all forced. The language is fluid and lovely, which helps set it apart from so many formulaic Christmas novels. It's the kind of book that you want to climb into. Every year I wish to move to Creagan. I want to have dinner with the characters, or just sit for tea and listen to the Aga purr. I'm not a romance reader, at all and there's some romance here. But it is quiet and subtle, in that understated British way. Another reason that this story stays fresh for me, is that I've started listening to the audio book. This way I can listen and daydream while I bake or decorate. I can even bring it to work and listen on the commute. It frosts boring everyday moments with the Christmas sparkle. So if you're looking for a beautiful cozy Christmas read, check it out. And please share your Holiday favorite!

Memory knitting

I am a big fan of the sock yarn blankie because I can look at it as a scrap book. This block is the yarn from my Camp Kip knitalong shawl. And this is from my first Socks that Rock kit. Oh, and remember this one, the sock that ended up in the garbage disposal? ( I wish I was kidding about that one) This type of craft that weaves in memories really floats my boat. So I am very pleased to tell you about a new one I just found, the Sky scarf. The more I read about Conceptual knitting the more I love it. I guess I really am a process knitter. I also love how open to interpretation this pattern is. A quick trip through Ravelry showed me myriad interpretations, and now I am really hooked. I love the idea of adding a ripple pattern, but the thing that has me fascinated is the swing knitting. My mind reals at the possibilities. How else can I document my life in knitting? What kind of special piece can I make to document the munchkin growing up? I bet you can guess how I will spending my day.... with my sketch book in hand.

Literary Slumming

I admit to being a bit of a literary snob. I was an English major, I can't help it. If I read a romance there needs to be some meat to it, like Diana Gabaldon's Outlander Series, or Deborah Harkness's All Soul's Trilogy. So you wouldn't be surprised that I said I would not read The Fifty Shades books. I was duped into reading Twilight and still haven't forgiven myself. (To be fair I read half of it under serious sedation)

However after a rather painful discussion, I ended up with the first book Fifty Shades of Grey. sigh I groaned and rolled my eyes through the first few chapters. The heroine is ridiculous and completely unbelievable. But about halfway, you get to know Mr. Grey. And minus the tremendous wealth, I've dated a few versions of him.... So I kept with it. By the end I still hated the heroine, maybe even more than before, but I had to know what happened to Mr. Grey. It was a cliffhanger.

And now that I've finished the second book, I am ashamed of myself. How did these make the NYT bestseller list? If it's the Mommy-Porn angle I need to pop that bubble. It's not that spicy. In fact the second one is a real disappointment in that department. And it's swiftly coming around to full on fairy tale nonsense. Ugh! I know I only have myself to blame. And of course I'll have to read the last one, because I'm like that. But really? This is what the American public can't get enough of? It's like reading bad wine. Cloyingly sweet and not quite alcoholic enough...... but you keep drinking it hoping for at least a buzz, as the flavor gets worse. Then you're looking for another bottle because it leaves you thirsty, no because you particularly like it.

So moral of this post..... if the salacious reputation is keeping you from the Fifty Shades trilogy, go buy it. But don't' say I didn't warn you when you get a tooth ache and feel empty at the end. Pardon me as I return to a really good book..... American Dervish.

Fashionistas

I have a weak spot for fashion. I'm not a fashionista, but I love Project Runway, Vogue magazine, and sewing my own knock offs. So is it any wonder that I got sucked into Jane by Design last night? I set up the laptop on my sewing table for Netflix to run in the background, planning on Dr. Who, but got sucked into "Jane" instead.

This is the perfect combination of Prety in Pink and The Devil Wears Prada. You have all the social nonsense of high school cliches and the back stabbing fervor of the fashion industry, not to mention awesome cameos of real designers. I may have actually squeeled when Patrica Field showed up. And I have to say it was the perfect level of entertainment to sew along with. I could look up and keep in step with it, but not have to be glued to screen. I wouldn't say it's earth shattering television, but it sure is fun. So if you have that teenage-fashion intereseted part of you looking for a little attention, give it a shot!

A Fresh Start, For Real This Time

So much has happened since my last post. And I'm not a little ashamed of how long it's been. We've had a good deal of medical issues within my family. These have led to a very different lifestyle than I had expected. I spend at least half of my weekends up in the woods at my Parent's place. And this has taken a toll. I've also changed jobs which is a glorious thing! I am now at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, only ten minutes away from the Munchkin's school. I can't tell you how excited I am to be able to take her to Gymnastics after school. Previously, working in another city (and later hours)meant missing out on a lot of the "Mom" duties and I felt like a crappy Mommy. Not to mention the hubby was getting a little burned out. But I am back on top of things now, even got the iphone app so I have no excuse not to post. And after a little photo shoot tonight I will have some FO pics to share. I've also been sailing through books so I plan to post a few books reviews of my faves this week as well. I hope you like the background changes, and come back for more changes and posts to come!

Another Year Brings More Changes

It's been so long. And so much as happened. I've finally found a job. It's not my dream job, but in this economy, I'll take anything that I can actually use my brain for. I'm working for Cisco in the service contract center. I had to learn a whole new language, but it was exactly what I was looking for. Since graduation in December, I have been in a mindless job and a bit of a funk. So now I feel shiny new. And I have a new zest for my real passion, writing. I hope the writer's block is gone. And to help the juices flow I have decided to change my school related blog Omro Cosmopolitan into a writing based blog that I will update through out the week during my new found "writing time." So check it out. I will be posting fiction and essays. But I'll still post here about my creative endeavors which will soon include spinning.

A Schedule

So I've been graduated (if that's even a word) for three months now. And I live in Unemployment Valley (otherwise know as a the Fox Valley). So I need a strategy. When I switched my major and minor around my goal was to be writer. So I gotta write. Hence I am formulating a writing schedule. I don't lack ideas and I have a lot of desire. But I get stuck with What-should-I-do-first. So to that end I present to you my schedule:

Monday: WIPS and weekend wrap up
Wednesday: Munchkin Tales
Friday: Reviews, mostly books but recipes and yarns as well

Tuesdays and Thursdays will be allotted for Freelance work and Submissions. I am hopeful that this schedule will give me the direction that I am looking for and help me to juggle the various ideas and material that plays hopscotch in mind. So stay tuned. Later tonight I'll post my first review... here's a hint... It's a book.

Craft as Therapy

I know there are many people out there that are offended at the idea of knitting as the new yoga. And while it has been known to calm me down, I've never gotten the post-workout buzz from knitting. However, in the winter dulldrums, so prevalant in Wisconsin, there's nothing wrong with a little color therapy. Traditional at this time of year I reach the grassiest green sock yarn I can find, and knit away on a lacy new sock. The green soothes my need for grass and puts me in the mood for St. Patrick's Day. But this year I'm doing something different. I'm going to sew my winter blues away.

The best part of having a little girl, a very girly little girl, is that you have an excuse to use the most profanely, tooth achingly sweet fabric out there. And I haven't even cut out the Easter dress yet! I had the day off, because she had a day off from school yesterday. So we went to the library, and had lunch out (Pumpkin scones and all). Then I started digging in my sewing room.


This will be a play apron. It's the leftovers from a dress I made earlier in the season. She wore the dress out to dinner with Nana,who said: Wow, you're Mommy made this pretty dress? You are so lucky. Needless to say that me feel pretty good.


This will be a pillowcase dress for Summer Camp.

This is actually flannel, for a play shirt to take her into Spring.

And this is what's coming next. Along with Easter dresses..... With this much color and patter who could be glum, right? And I want to give a quick shout out for the book I'm using Carefree Clothes for Girls by Junko Okawa. I obviously choosing a different color pallet than she intended, but I'm really inspired by this book. I really enjoyed tracing the pattern pieces and adding seam allowances. It made me feel more a part of the process. I feel like I have more creative control. I'm even going so far as to take sleeves from one dress and adding them to different top. We'll see how it turns out. Stay tuned!

Dinner Time Deception

When the Munchkin was brand new, I watched every step of development with wonder and awe. I firmly believed that I would never lie to her. I planned to explain every decision, vowing to never use the hated phrase: Because I said so. And in the beginning it was easy to hold these ideals. She simply didn’t argue with me. She ate what I gave her and watched me with wide attentive eyes.

And then we fell down the other side of the mountain. Her willful side kicked into high gear and life got exponentially more difficult. My little Munchkin does everything in her own time. She refuses to be swayed by even largest show of force. So where did that leave me? I found my way into the world of subterfuge.

My mother sent me a copy of Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. This book has been around for a while now, but just in case you haven’t come across it, I explain. The idea is that you make fruit and vegetable purees, and store them in the freezer. Then you add them into your kids’ favorite recipes to sneak in extra vitamins and nutrients. My first experiment was with banana bread, the recipes called for cauliflower puree. The Hubbie said “Mmmmm this good. New recipe?” I laughed so hard I nearly fell over. Well I never said I was a good spy. The jig was up with him. He became my co-conspirator.

Over the last two years I’ve added squash puree into Mac and Cheese, carrot puree into meatloaf, summer squash into “plain” buttered noodles. However my daughter’s favorite dish is something she calls pink pancakes. Can you guess what makes them pink? It’s beets, a vegetable she won’t touch in its original form. This particular recipe also uses ricotta cheese so she’s unknowingly getting protein and vegetables. It’s a real powerhouse. And when I pull the beet puree out of the fridge she calls it the “bag of pink.”

As I progress through motherhood I find issues that shouldn’t be avoided or ignored as well as little moments, like these, where nutrition is more important. I’ve even gotten her to eat baked eggs with cauliflower puree because I called them puffs and she got her own little cup. In this case it’s not so much deception as artful presentation.

They can't contain me!

That's sounds better than I'm a pathetic week yarn hussy, right? Needless to say, I'm not getting gold in this year's Olympics. My plan: to knit The Trellis scarf. This was a big goal for me because I have never finished a lace weight project. I've started many and I always get lost in the pattern and tink back more than I finish. So I figured a scarf is smaller than a shawl and the pattern just keeps repeating over and over. These were good thoughts, and had life not erupted in the middle I might have been okay. But as it stands I had to tink back three times and got so angry with the cobwebby cashmere that I put it aside and sought solace in sock knitting. The soothing repetition and familiar structure was soothing that I started two new pairs. One for the hubby and one for the munchkin. This is why I am a dirty dirty yarn slut. I can't seem to stay monogamous for anything. But I think I'm in good company. I've heard a few podcasters and bloggers say that knitting is a creative release for them and that Olympic goals don't support that process. Well that's my story and I'm sticking to it. And it's true really. We had a very emotional week at work, ending with a funeral, and my sock knitting was the best way for me to deal with it.

But the future looks bright for this knitter. My house is sparkling clean (Thanks for the help Hubby) and my meals are planned for the week. There are steak and potatoes in the crock pot and the snow is fluttering out my window like a snow globe, but not sticking to the pavement. The restful quality of Sunday has fallen upon my house and I plan to soak it all up and look forward. And I'll try to remember to not sign up for crazy challenges anymore. I have enough stress in my real life. I just don't need it in my knitting life.

I did it!

That's right ladies and gentlemen, I am a college graduate.

And this is my little cutie, wearing the hat. when the speeches wore down and the grads started walking across the stage the Munchkin caught on that people in the stands were cheering for their friends/family. So she says to her God Mother: We can be louder than those guys. Yup! That's my kid. I clapped and screamed for her, when the Chancelor asked spouses and immediate family members to stand and be honored for the sacrificing they did to make the day possible.



It was a very emotional day that ended with cocktails and a nap on the couch. Honestly as soon as the adrenalaine wore off, the week of no sleep and too much stress caught up to me.


And here's the shameless shot of my big graduation present, my very own Manolo Blahniks. It's the pair that Carrie gets married in in the Sex and the City Movie. Quite appropriate don't you think? I did even trip when I walked across the stage.

I also got a nice surprise this morning, the new Knitty is up. So I'll be on Ravelry later updating the queue that just keeps getting bigger. I'm sorry for my lack up updating (Courtney) but I will be around much more now that I don't have classes anymore. That was hte Munchkin's response when I explained graduating.... No more Night classes! Yeah, I hate night classes Mommy! She's such a smart kid!

My Problem with the Plunge

Don't get me wrong. It's not the Plunge's fault. I am a fickle woman. The grass is always greener near someone else's project. You see when I signed up for the 52 Pair Plunge, I didn't want to knit anything but socks. And now that I'm, what, three months in I can't seem to finish a pair. It's not even a case of second sock syndrome. I can't seem to finish the first one. So far I have a number of socks on the needles, all unfinished:
*Leyburns
*Broadripple
*Leefilng
*Hedera
*Monkeys
*Coupling
*Coiriolis
*Esther
*Moss stitch for Zoe
*Embossed Leaves

So what have I been doing instead? Sweater, and scarves.

Zoe's Haiku

This one's called 198 yards of Heaven. I found it on Ravelry and I'm finally using the Ming I bout in San Fransisco three years ago. It really is Heaven to work with. I can't wait to drape it around my neck. It's getting cold enough around here to do that. Maybe that's my problem I'm working seasonally.... But that would make socks a smart choice.... So here's my new goal. I will do my best to finish two pairs of socks before I work on the munchkins next cardigan. Oh yeah did I mention I cast on for another one. And I've been working on my Minimalist Cardigan too. I love sweaters but I've never been so excited to knit them. Maybe my hormones are just out whack. It's as logical as any other excuse.

For the Indiana Girls here are some pictures from the first day of school:

Another Year Brings More Changes

That's my birthday girl. She's four now, and a self proclaimed big girl. She's attending 4K and loving it! In fact she becomes very maudlin on the weekends because there is no school. I know this will change so I'm trying to enjoy while I can. She is desperate to write everyone's name and read by herself. She started to sound out words on her own the other day. It really freaks me out that she's growing up so fast. But everybody goes through that right?

This school year is also very exciting because I will be graduating in December. After 16 years of "on and off again" schooling I will finally be graduating. I almost don't believe it yet. Life without homework and papers, I just can't imagine. Well I can actually because this summer was blissful. I felt like I didn't get anything done, but I also avoided migraines, so I'll take it. But I just had to share my little princess. That is her goal in the life, by the way. She wants to be a princess when she grows up. What a girl!

This weekend I'll post about my 52 Pair plunge drama, so stick around!

Happy June!

If you haven't looked yet, hop on over to Twist Collective for the new summer issue. I will be making the vest for DH and I especially love Franklin Habit's spread.

June is also the beginning of The new 52 Pair Plunge and I'm just crazy enough to sign up. That's right, in a vain attempt to knit more socks for my daughter and DH I'm taking the plunge. I don't know if I'll actually make 52 but I bet I'll knit more than I would have on my own. Zoe really needs some knee socks for playing in the snow. My first fresh Plunge project is The Crystalline Lattice Sock made in Panda Wool colorway red cinnamon. Pictures will follow, but it's too little to take a shot now.

I've also made a couple Neckwarmers for Christmas presents. It's a fun cable, and knits up fast. I'm using random stash yarn and buttons form my big glass button yarns. Zoe loved playing with them. She didn't believe me when I said "We're going to dump them all out."

In un-knitting news, my new vegetable patch is coming along. And for you Indiana readers, it's bigger than the raised beds from Muncie. :)

I will find the camera cord tonight tonight and get pictures loaded after work. Included will be pictures from The Dragonfly in Amber Swap. I've been so bad about getting my pictures up. And it's shame because I got an awesome sporran!

Finals time treat

So I was doing some research on Robert Browning and came across this. Don't ask how it's a convoluted train. But this is so funny I had to share. So unitl my finals are over and my four papers are turned in.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwbB6B0cQs4

March in Wisconsin

Please allow me a moment to whine. I forgot what March in Wisconsin was like. I know that March is messy everywhere, but Wisconsin takes that mess to a level of artistry. Sunday we had a blizzard, which I had to drive through for work. It was the kind of snow that stick to the outer walls of houses, due to the wind. It started as icy rain, so under the foot of snow blanketing my car I had a nice layer of ice to chip off. I continued to snow until the wee hours, so the morning commute was ugly. Worse though was the fact that it warmed up over night so the un-plowed roads were compounded by a dense bright fog. As the fog burned off the sun started it's dangerous work of melting. So the streets became a bog of slush and undigested snow chunks. By the time I got home last night and got into the tub, it was raining. That's right, because we just didn't have enough precipitation. They're calling for thunderstorms through out the day, 70% chance. And then we'll be in the 20's for a high tomorrow.

Now it's important to note that I love Wisconsin. I wanted to move back. The summer is much more comfortable and the fall is beautiful. I love to drive the back roads on fall evenings and watch the threshers working with their lights on. But March is the labor pain that we all have to forget in order to propagate the species. If anyone of thought about March as a deciding factor towards where we live, I think we'd all move. So there is my little rant. I really shouldn't complain because we're off to New York in a few days, and barring freezing rain, I'll be happy with whatever weather comes my way.

The Big Read

I found this on And She Knits Too and I think it's a cool idea. As Stephanie says, it's just one list, but as an English major I feel a responsibility to promote reading in all it's forms. I've got 35, how about you?

The Big Read (http://www.neabigread.org/) said that, on average, adults have only read six books on this list. So ... copy this list, remove my yeses and nos, and add your comments (favourable or otherwise) about the ones you have read. Don't forget to include a total.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen - One of my favorites!
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien – No, but I've been meaning to give it another try, now that I'm older.
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte - Yes
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling – YES
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee - YES
6 The Bible – Yes, much more interesting if read as literature, rather than "The Word."
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte - No but it's been on my list for a awhile now.
8 1984 - George Orwell - YES
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman - No
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens - No, I have a Dickens block, maybe I'll work on that this summer.
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott - YES
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy – I started but never finished it.
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller – No
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare – I've read most of it, but not in it's entirity.
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier - No
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien - No
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks - No
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger - YES
19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger - Yes
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot- No
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell - YES
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald - On my list, intended to read it this last summer.
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens-No
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy - Started once, but didn't get very far.
25 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams - No, but it's on my list.
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh - No
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky - Not yet
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll - Reading that this semester, actually
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame - Of course
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy - No
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens - No
33 The Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis - Tried it in middle school, but it didn't grab me. I would like to try it again though.
34 Emma - Jane Austen - YES
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen - YES
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - No
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini - No
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres- No
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden - Yes
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne – Yes
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell -YES
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown - Yes
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez - On my list
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving - No
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins - No
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery - Of course, most of the series, in fact.
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy - No
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood - YES, I love Atwood!
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding - YES
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan - YES
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel - No
52 Dune - Frank Herbert- No
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons - Started but never finished it.
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen - YES
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth - No
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon - No
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens - No
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley - YES, my break through into Sci-Fi. Loved It!
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon - No
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez - No
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck – No
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov - Yes, I actually really liked this one.
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt - Yes, loved it!
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold – Yes
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas - No
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac - No, but I do need to give it a chance.
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy - No
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding - YES
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie -No
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville - No
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens - No
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker - YES
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett - Yes
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson - No
75 Ulysses - James Joyce - No
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath - Yes
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome - No
78 Germinal - Emile Zola - No
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray - Yes
80 Possession - AS Byatt- No
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens - Of course.
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell - No
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker -No
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro - Yes
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert - No
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry - No
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White - YES
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom - No, and I may never read this one.
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - No
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton – No
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad - YES
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupe – No
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks - No
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams -Started but never finished
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole - No
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute - No
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas - No
98 Hamlet – Shakespeare – YES
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl - No
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo -Started but never finished it, maybe another summer project.

The Barking Seal

Life has been a little too unreal around these lately. DH has been traveling a lot. And the munchkin celebrated the break in her four day fever streak, by bashing her head into her head board. No kidding she had skull x-rays to make sure she didn't break her orbital socket. See:

But eventually my planned pampering break time was drawing near. I was scheduled to get a cut and color at my favorite Aveda salon, complete with yummy hot tea. But then the barking started. Wednesday morning I took a breathing treatment before leaving for class, and had to call in to work just before my class started, because I could not breathe. I rested and went to my night class, where it seemed that the tight knot in my lungs was finally loosening. I went to class on Thursday feeling a little chipper. But within two hours at work, my co-workers were throwing me out. Thanks Linda, by the way! So I barked my way home and took an other treatment. Well that sent me into such a fit that my legs were curling into my chest all on their own as I coughed, no really it was barking. Luckily DH was home and he drove to the doctor in the snow and ice, where I barked for a couple hours more. So the verdict, you ask? No haircut, no school, no work, no moving really. I have been banished to my bed with a harem of disgusting medicine. DH won't even let me cook, or make my own tea. And I'm still barking as I type this. But I have gotten a lot done while in bed.... see.....




Maybe tonight I should actually do some home work, but at this rate I may not even be in school this week. So maybe I'll go back to the knitting it's much more soothing.

Brighten Up

We've been dealing with the plague here at Casa del Filak. So what better way to cheer up than with flowers. At least that's how i feel about it.

A


The munchkin and I did a truck load of baking as well. The Amish friendship bread starter was ready so we made a lot of muffins, in mini form. They are in the freezer waitign for school lunches.




That's right, she's off to pre-school in February, and very excited about it. We're also planning a Valentine's Party. She lost her little mind at the Factory Card Outlet, yesterday. I had to limit the amount of party favors and fancy plates. I did promise that we would go back, since I haven't ordered balloons yet. But maybe I can do that on my own. She has no control in that store.