Day 42 - There's more to life than....

There's more to life than things, money, work, etc., etc. Today was a nice day of spending time together. We had errands to run and such but we all did it together. Meag and I got new hair cuts; the boys got new sneakers! And tonight while Meag and I had a crying good time watching Love Happens (highly recommend that one) and the boys had a Columbo marathon, I finished the February square for Sean's afghan! It was an easy pattern and fun to knit. I really have to figure out the picture thing soon and will post both January and February squares tomorrow!

St. Paddy's Day pics 1

 
 
 
 

Here's a link to the rest of the loot! http://picasaweb.google.com/108707202991900345053/StPatrickSDayRavelrySwap2010#

A wonderful day and wonderful gifts!

Imagine a day that's wrought with the worries of teacher cuts, and worries about injured children, and all the things that can add stress to the day. All of this in foggy, rainy weather. Now imagine finding a box (the mail in a plastic bag, was found in a corner of the kitchen) addressed to you from a complete stranger, with shamrocks and leprechauns all over it! That's what happened to me and can I tell you the feeling is overwhelming! I was so excited as the anticipation this St. Paddy's Day swap has induced is intoxicating!

The kids were pretty impressed that someone actually sent me something and frankly, they were wishing it was for them! Here are some pictures of what we found.

Apparently they will be coming in several posts as I can't seem to see more that one or two at a time!

Day 42 - The Darkness Cometh

So, we're in a funk of multiple proportions. Sean's choice of black for his afghan is definitely adding to the funk as every time I make a mistake, it takes forever for me to see it. Also, I have to find really good light to knit in but there is none around here!

As if foreshadowing upcoming events, tonight Sean hit the wall at the soccer game pretty hard. Hard enough to look like he was out cold for a second and perhaps he was. (Thank you to the little jerk who helped make this happen) Anyway, we've put our foot down and he is no longer allowed to play without wearing a mouth guard. With the number of injuries and the drive he continues to play with we are not taking any chances.

Can't wait to finish the black square and get on to the gold one next!

Day 41 - Knitting for relief tonight

Wow! I'm writing quickly because I am determined to get an hour of knitting in tonight! I need that! Today was back to work and then home to drop stuff off, to the rink to miss Meag's lesson. Then to the food store for dinner stuff. Luckily I thought to get stuff for tomorrow too! Then back to pick Meag up at the rink and home. Once home it was time to bake peanut butter criss cross cookies in order for Dan. Today marks two years since we lost Noreen and they were always her favorites so tonight we said 'we love you and miss you" with cookies!

Then I had to cook dinner and now the olympics have started and I'm signing off to go watch, relax and knit. Then it's early lights out because there's work again tomorrow! Yuck!

Day 40 - Embracing the unknown

I finally found time to begin a new project! I know, I know, I should NOT be starting something new when I've not finished what I promised myself I would do, but I really wanted to do the Block-A-Month Afghan and most of the knitters are already finishing February's block and I'd not even started.

Yesterday, on the way to game day, we stopped at a shop along the way and I picked up some black and yellow/gold yarn to begin this project. I also printed the entire project and gave it to my sister-in-law so that maybe we could do this together! She loved it! So, back to the yarn....I decided that I'd make this for my 16 hear old son. I've started sweaters for him but never finished and frankly, it's easier to knit for me or my daughter and I really want to have something just for him. He has his heart set on getting into Wake Forest and so he chose black and gold! I hate knitting in black since it's so hard to see any mistakes and is already proving difficult. Oh, well!

After one evening, I'm halfway done the January block and can't wait to finish and get at the February. Then maybe I can enjoy the process. I don't knit well with deadlines so I'll need to really allow myself an entire month for the future blocks!

Lesson this week: Learn to feel the process. Too much thinking lead to second guessing and when you're knitting with black yarn, that can be dangerous!

Day 39 - Game Day - precious time together

So yesterday was a great day of fun games at my brother's house. Dan and I went with the kids and John and Glo and the girls were there as was Grandma and Jill's boyfriend. It was amazing to see that here were were two families with teenagers and college students enjoying each other's company all day and evening. We played lots of new (to us) board games, had a lovely dinner, and played some more. It was great!

My brother has loved board games as far back as I can remember and he's got quite the collection now. I'm not talking about Monopoly or Life, but games of intrigue, strategy, and thoughtful plotting against your opponents! It's really quite fun! My family has become hooked on several of these and it really nice to have something that brings us together that is not electronic! I've even found some of these games online so I can try to get better at them before the next beating; I mean gathering!

On another note, today is officially the last day of vacation and that makes me very sad. A friend of mine joked about my week of cooking, knitting and baking and said "the women's movement wants a word with me." (or something to that effect!) The truth of the matter is, of all the jobs I have had, I love this one the most! I get the most fulfillment out of doing and caring for my family. Does that make me weird? Does it make me some kind of sub-par female? I don't believe it does. There are plenty of us out there who prefer that role to those we've had to take to make ends meet or to try to secure our future financial status, or even our children's' futures.

I was lucky enough to find a career that allows me to explore and submerse myself in something I'm passionate about (music), but truthfully, I get more out of being a good mom and wife. (and no, Tim, I am not a Stepford or my house would be clean and tidy!)

So although tomorrow I will go back to work and try to teach and inspire my students, and my family life will become confused and chaotic with skating, soccer and a number of other things interfering with the day, today I will embrace this last day of precious time and cook a comforting meal, bake and awesome bread, make some rich and decadent dessert and find time to knit and snuggle my family!

Day 38 - Baking bread from scratch???? What were they thinking?

I had a very busy day today and did not knit a stitch! What have I learned from the knitting today? I have learned that there are many things I love to do and doing for my family wins out! I got a really early start today to see Dan off and purged recipes into a nice and organized binder. I have a nice and easy way to plan for the upcoming weeks ahead.

I picked up Meag's friend and ran some errands and began to prepare for the onslaught of kids that never cam! Apparently there was a change of plans. Oh, well! I'd already decided to make the ribs and the cottage bread and so that's what I did.

The cottage bread was crazy! The recipe is simple but too big to put into the bread machine, thus the home-made attempt. Who knew that it was so difficult! And who's to say what's elastic or not! By the time it got in the oven and began to cook, I was exhausted. I'd already driven friend home, and driven Meag to a party. Mom was coming for dinner and with still 10 minutes to go, the bread was a medium golden and hollow sounding so I took it out. Wrong move as when I cut into it (after it was cooled), it was definitely not cooked in the middle! Back into the now cold oven! Well, dinner turned out okay all in all and the bread was mostly edible and not bad! We threw out the mushy parts!

I finally sat down at 10:15pm just in time to catch the figure skating! I am so tired! Yea Even L! He was great to watch!

Tomorrow, I hope to finish my song and finish my felting project.

Day 37 - Kitting, cooking, baking and loving every minute of it....who wants to clean?

So, today was a REALLY productive day! Here's the rundown. I joined a new group on Ravely for writers and was so inspired by the prospect that I took the weekly assignment and wrote a song. Now it's not perfect or even finished but it's on its way. This is really the first time I'll willingly share my music with others. We'll see where it goes - vulnerability is really hard, but necessary for growth.

So after much deliberating, I picked out recipes for dinner tonight. I began prepping as Meag got ready for skating lessons only to find out that I was missing ingredients again! This time for the entre, the back-up entre and the dessert! Not to be deterred or derailed, I pressed on and changed gears. I ran to the local Super-Walmart and found everything I needed for both meals. Look at me planning ahead! I truly am a work in progress! Sadly, the 25 minute wait in line to check out made it really hard to keep my cool! By the time I got home, I had just enough time to bring the groceries in, throw them on the counter and run out again to take Meag to the rink.

Okay, so I regrouped and drove right back home to make the cake. Sean was all geared up to help! Have I said that I've got awesome kids? Well, I do! I don't know of many others who can say "yup, my 16 year old son offered to help in the kitchen!" We got all of the ingredients out, or rather, moved them around so we could at least see them in the mess of groceries and began. I sprayed the new pretty bundt pan, creamed the softened butter, sugar and eggs...WAIT, What????? Softened butter????? Where'd that come from? So into the microwave it went for too long and into the mixer. Sean made the Earl-Grey tea and let that steep and while that was working, I gave him instructions as to how to melt the chocolate over the make-shift double boiler and he happily set about the task. I even explained to him that he'd never want to sneak a bite of that chocolate as it's completely unsweetened and totally gross!

I finished mixing the butter, sugar and eggs and realized that I needed that chocolate that wasn't ready yet. I got the dry ingredients ready and then added, everything else, threw it in the pan. I threw the pan in the oven and ran back out to the rink to pick Meag up. She'd made plans to have friends over in less than an hour and then they were going to the movies!

When we returned, I began the Julia Child's dinner I'd watched her cook on tv that looked so delicious. It really was just burgers and rice but done so differently. I thought it would be safe to begin my new cooking adventure with this meal. I began the soubise and although it was over cooked a bit, it was pretty good. I cooked the most yummy burgers I'd ever had although they sound better as "Biftek hache, saute nature!" The burgers were served over the rice and I even made a mustard and herb sauce to pour over the top!

I actually deglazed a pan for the first time in my life! Wahoo! I'm really cooking now! Tomorrow, Sean's having his new friends over for the first time and I'm cooking some home made bread, barbeque ribs and another Earl-Grey-Chocolate cake. I'll serve it with the spinach risotto and hopefully they'll eat well and be happy.

And tonight, I will sit here and knit and relax and be happy!

What are you cooking for dinner?

I've decided to take a survey. I love to cook but with skating M/W/F and basketball games T/F and practices in between, I've found it impossible to do so! I need to plan ahead more and think game-plan for the upcoming week. Like millions of others, I was inspired by Julie and Julia but I'm no where near as ambitious and know my own limitations...and that of my husband and children's pallet!

I did however recently watch a Julia Child's show on PBS where she made hamburgers, rice and crepes for desert. She made it look easy, and fun, and most important doable! I found the cookbook on line and know have it on my counter.

I am going to try to make that meal tonight!

What's everyone else cooking? I'd love to hear what inspires you and what works in your family kitchen.

Day 34 - Valentine's Day

What a great day! We were supposed to go to the Museum of Science to see the Harry Potter Exhibit with Laurie and Rachel, but we discovered it was sold out till after 6pm! We decided to take the kids to see Avatar at Imax instead only to find that they were sold out everywhere. After settling for 3D, which was really cool, we headed out to Natick/Framingham and bopped around the Natick Mall for an hour while we waited.

Laurie and I got some really yummy braising sauces at William Sanoma and I'm eager to try them out this week. The movie was long but I loved it! I was frankly expecting to hate it and was really surprised. Yeah James Cameron!

After a wonderful day, we ate a great meal at Vinny Testa's in Shrewsbury. Now, I've finally found a little time to knit while enjoying the Winter Olympics. All in all, a great day today!

Day 33 - Valentine's Eve - a busy day!

So, I thought that I'd get to enjoy my love of fiber today, but as life would have it, I spent the day of in search of the gifts that would make my loved ones happy! This journey took me the Providence Place Mall and then out to Bristol, RI to find the perfect gift for Dan.

I'd been searching for a trinity knot pendant, but apparently they don't make 'manly' versions of those! While I was there I was browsing the jewelry cases and found it. I knew right when I saw it that it was the perfect symbol of what I feel for Dan. It was a beautiful claddagh ring. We'd thought about getting them as wedding bands but I'd already had the opal one Dan had given me (sadly I lost that at school two years ago) and it would not have worked with the engagement ring he'd given me.

I don't know why it didn't seem at all strange that he would be replacing the ring I'd placed on his finger 17+ years ago, but this just felt right! It may need to be sized, but it looks wonderful and he loves it! I am so happy and I hope that when he looks at it, he remembers how much I adore him!

Needless to say, I've done NO knitting today! How is it that I cannot make time for that anymore? It's vacation! What's up with that?

Day 32 - Vacation....Finally!

So here we are; the beginning of February vacation. There are many schools that don't have it anymore and at the high school level, I could do without it as we have shortened day schedules in March due to CAPT testing and it feels like we're losing so much teaching time. I am, however, intending to enjoy every minute of it. With no show choir commitments this year, my vacations are actually just that again! I can now plan outings with my own children and family without worrying about long choreography rehearsals. I'm sure there are many parents out there thinking the same thing. Although we really miss it, there are some up sides!

This has been a crazy and demanding work-week and I feel complete and total mental exhaustion. I am headed out to my son's last basketball game tonight and then I am going to come home to relax, drink a nice glass of wine and knit. I hope to finish the base of the felted project for my swappee and shrink it tomorrow. It's the needle felting I love to do. This part is pretty tedious to be honest. I guess many of life's tasks are. It's a little like parenting, you have to just keep at it an hope that it turns out beautiful when it's time to let it stand on its own!

I am really hoping to figure out how to insert pictures in this blog over vacation too! I think my page is really boring and maybe that's why no one comments? We shall see!

Day 31 - second guessing my design

So I've gone back to counting days as far as days I actually do this experiment, not counting days I miss. Does that make more sense? I am finding it really hard to find or take one hour a day to knit. It's beginning to feel like something I 'have to do' rather than something I love and want to do. Anyway, this is me struggling to figure out how to keep the love alive!

So what I 'am' working on is a gift for my swap partner and it's something I've never made before. I'm felting something that I'll then needle felt something on...can't go into detail in case she reads this! Anyway, you know how they always say to swatch everything? Well, I should have but I didn't. I am trying to quickly finish the base up so that I can shrink it and see if I like it. If not, then I'm going to have to start over so now I feel pressure to finish this stage quickly. 'sigh' I hope this works, although I think I should have used a double strand. We shall see.

So the lesson this weekend is to think your design all the way through. It doesn't always pay to jump right in and frankly, you'll be happier if you're able to enjoy the process, knowing that it will work as it should with each and every stitch!

Mulbury silk merino

What a luscious feel this yarn has! It's so wonderful. I can't believe how soft this is! I hope my swap partner loves it like I do.

Day 35 - Life without knitting

Life without knitting is:
busy, chaotic, sad, cold, mundane, grey, boring, uninviting. Still trying to catch up from all that fell behind during the flu-ey weeks. Seems like I'll never get there; but this weekend it's back to what I love! One hour a day devoted to making those fabulous knots with my needles. I need a fix!!!!!!!!