the scarlet letter

A sad story, but not unbearably so. I liked it.

I purchased a copy of The Scarlet Letter (the same one I just read, even) towards the end of the summer before my senior year of high school. I read a few chapters. Within a week of school starting, my English teacher assigned us to read the same book. At that point I put it down and did not pick it up again until a few weeks ago. (Well to read, anyway. Technically I picked it up each time we moved. I always had the intention of reading it ... someday.) Sometimes I wonder what on earth I was thinking back then.

*edit to add*
I feel I should mention that there is one small part at the end of the book that I wished had been different. It tugs at my heart a little, though considering also that it is a novel, not a whole lot. Other than that, I very much enjoyed it.

a little doll dress

I made this little set for my eight-year-old's friend over the summer. I just remembered I hadn't shared it here in blogland. I believe the dress was made from elements of other dresses but the bonnet just sort of came into being.

It was crocheted with acrylic yarn using, I think, a J hook. It didn't take long to create, maybe a day or two.

there is something about a sunflower

...that I simply cannot resist. It is a little surprising because I don't remember being particularly drawn to them earlier in life, but now, I love them. And I love to photograph them.

I went with my mom to pick up their dogs from the groomer last week. Behind the store there is this wonderful little pathway, hidden from the surrounding city. Upon their release from what may as well be doggie prison, we walked "the girls" (as they are known) down the path. And I saw these. It was like some unseen force pulled me to them and required a few pictures before releasing its hold on me. This second one is my new desktop on the computer.

I do (however vaguely) remember that this is supposed to be a knitting (and at the very least, crafting) blog so I will try to get some of that up here soon. I have made a little lion and am working on a lamb. I am also knitting slippers as well as crocheting an afghan for my oldest daughter. I've decided to make one for each of them, starting with my little bird.

autumn pictures

These were taken in front of my parents' home, the house in which I grew up. When I leave their neighborhood each time, I sigh. What can I say? It still feels like it's my home too.

the anti-logic

I had to go grocery shopping. We were dangerously low on milk and other essentials. So, imagine my joy when I happened upon these in the "manager specials" area:

for only:


That made it only $2.50 a gallon for organic milk! Needless to say I purchased all that they had. And it turned out to be a lot, more than I had realized. I never did count, but when I got home and saw them all there in the fridge my mind wondered if, indeed, the girls would be able to consume this much milk before the Oct. 25 date.

I went through in my head the ways we could quickly use up the milk. The one that first popped up was to go buy cereal. The girls like cereal. I went to the store. Again. (I had forgotten food for the dog anyhow, so another trip was not only warrented but also necessary.)

I noticed some of the girls' favorite cereals on special. And one of my childhood favorites as well:


And as I was loading this second batch of groceries into the car it struck me. I bought boxes upon boxes of crappy cereal to get my children to use up the organic milk before the expiration date. Anti-logic. In my defense I also got one somewhat redeeming (I think anyway) cereal:

So the moral of the story? Keep the inner-child firmly IN while grocery shopping.

I like it

I had a little bird model it for me :-)

thanks for the suggestions! I'm pleased with how it turned out. (it's hard to tell in this picture, but there is a pom-pom on each triangle end)

2.5 Scarves

I first heard about the Special Olympics Scarf project from Woolwinder, but have since noticed a group on Ravelry dedicated soley to the scarves and also received an email from my friend Michelle who neither blogs nor has an account on ravelry (I've been trying for forever to get her to blog but, alas and alack, I've just about given up. She makes amazing things though. What she does with a sewing machine in particular leaves me flabbergasted and in awe).

I purchased yarn from Walmart (I was unable to find the delft blue anywhere else) and after several failed attempts (I just couldn't get the yarn to do what I wanted it to do) I defaulted to granny squares. Those are simple enough. I suspect that I'll only be able to get three scarves total from my two skeins of yarn.

On this 0.5 scarf, I'm unsure how to finish it off (don't worry, I realize that it is still way too short, hence it's title of 0.5 scarf - I will add more squares). I don't know if I want to do an edge. I think so, but I'm not sure. Then there is the question of what kind of stitch for the border if I do add one. DC? HDC? SC? What say ye? border: yay? nay? If so, stitch: skinny? medium? not skinny? Help!

**Kathleen's comment reminded me of the other question I had but forgot to post. border color: blue or white?**

my favorite pet

swimming up to say hello

I felt like little Alice deserved a mention. I know I've talked about both the dog and the cat. I like them, really I do. The dog keeps me company while the kids are at school and the cat snuggles with me at night. They are good pets. The dog barks when anyone even so much as looks in our direction (and considering we got him mainly for security, we're pleased about that) and the cat has kept rodents away for years, while other houses in our neighborhood have struggled with them (she did stop leaving us "presents" when we got the pup, her nemesis, and kept them for herself but secretly that's how I prefer it anyway).


But Alice is still my favorite. They say these painted turtles don't much like interaction with people but Alice is social. She often swims up to the tank to see me and comes when she hears my voice. She likes me but doesn't ever demand much, beyond clean water in her tank when it needs it and food to eat. And she likes me to hold her occasionally too. At the beginning of the summer Pepper (dog) got her and poor little Alice needed turtle surgery. But she is worth it. I love her.

Caught disobeying

She was supposed to be doing her chores and then homework. But I suppose if I had to pick a form of rebellion, this one would definitely be at the top of the list.

This Little Piggy

My husband said a friend of his at work has a nine-year-old daughter who really likes pigs. I decided that was as good of an excuse as any to make one. This friend helped my husband take a load of stuff to the neighborhood clean-up thing on Friday so this morning, as a sort of a thank you, I sent a piggy (complete with a curly tail, even) off to work.

I'm thinking the same idea could be used to make dogs and cats too (I'm envisioning a three little piggies set as well, with a wolf). Stocking stuffers. Yeppers.

Oh, and speaking of those (stocking stuffers) I'm ahead of that game already. My eight-year-old loved the penguin, so I made another. I followed the basic instructions I jotted down while making the first and came up with a similar (but not the same) bird. There's a reason I don't write patterns.

it snowed overnight

stapler

The other day my five-year-old came to me and asked:

"Mommy, where is that stamp thing that you put papers together and then (clapped her hands) puts a bullet in it?"

some things I like this time of year

colorful autumn leaves
pumpkins
apple cider and chili
glazed donuts
crisp air
leisurely bike rides
or walks
the world, settling down
to rest

Penguin

I know a little boy who loves penguins. So, when this little bird popped into my head it was impossible to resist the urge to pull out the yarn and get to work. I started by crocheting the oval center then outlined it in black and proceeded to make the head and body, attaching it to the sides of the oval. I added eyes, beak and wings, stuffed him with a pouch of plastic filler bead thingies and some stuffing to fill him in around the edges, closed the bottom, attached feet and voila! The best part? Today I'm having lunch with the little boy's mom (my sister!) so I'll get to see him and deliver it in person!

but look, it has my name in it

While at my sister's house recently she showed me some books she had rescued from a box at Mom's house that was destined for the thrift store. The memories and warm fuzzies came flooding back.


Among those books was one titled "The Berenstain Bears and the Missing Dinosaur Bone." I remembered enjoying the mystery of the story very much. Brother and Sister peaking in the window. Wondering if the bone would be found on time. It was great.

My sister Jennifer turned to the front
of the book to show me her favorite part:

Wasn't I nice? Poor Jenny.

Perhaps it's time to consider getting a life.

Last night was one of our favorite nights of the school year. Math night.

2007-2008 was our first year having children in public school at all, let alone this particular school so last year, not knowing what to expect, I took them at their request. I was nervous, I'll admit. Math was never my strong point and I doubted it could ever be considered fun despite my dad and husband both reading math books or working problems for entertainment (I think they could probably get treatment for that). But the evening ended up being loads of fun. This year I looked forward to it and was excited to see the flyer come home in my little one's backpack.

Many of the teachers prepare math-based games. There are tables set up in the cafeteria and hallway. We go, we play, we have a great time. Last night we enjoyed Fraction Tic-Tac-Toe and a shape puzzle game in which you try to fit your geometric piece on a grid hopeful that when the time comes that no more pieces will fit, your opponent will be the one left holding the out of place shape (this one was Tessa's favorite, probably because she almost always won - stinker). We also played a dice game where you try to get totals as close as you can to 1,000 without going over. And a crowd favorite: measuring treats like pretzels, marshmallows, raisins, m&m's and fruit loops into a baggie to make your own trail mix.

Anyway, so math night; lots of fun. But last night was Thursday and in order to go I had to miss the new episode of the office. No matter how fuzzy my antenna reception, I still felt a little of a tug at not being able to watch. Lame, huh? I figured I could watch it online this morning - in peace, even. So, I got the girls off to school, almost giddy with anticipation. I came home fixed my tea and a plate of gorilla cookies (can't they be breakfast? they contain oats, peanut butter, milk, they are good for me!). I sat here at my computer and loaded hulu, my preferred online tv source. No new episode (insert sad face). Ok. Breathe. I can handle this! Really! I headed over to nbc to check there. Nothing. Now what should I do?

This is probably some kind of sign. It's time to get a life.


***a wee bit of an update: I betcha Woolwinder is right - it wasn't on because of the debate, not positive, but it makes sense. I store politics and entertainment in separate places of my head, so obviously I hadn't put the conflicting times together.***

a visitor in my garden

I am posting these pictures especially for Sarah. I took them the same day as the others, but felt they deserved their own blog entry.

can you spot who I found hiding there in my sunflower?
and (apparently), she brought a friend: