Gratitude Sunday: Beginnings and Green Things

Joining Taryn today at Wooly Moss Roots blog for Gratitude Sunday-a chance to look back at the week that was and reflect with gratitude.

Feeling grateful this week for:
::a body aching from a few hours of hard work. I raked the leaves off the veggie garden this afternoon, dug new paths and planted lettuce, radishes and onions.
::warm sun and wind to dry my laundry.
::2+ hours, 3 days a week all to myself to blog, read, research and knit
::being forced to walk to work on Friday. I'm always trying to cram as much as I can into the time before I go to work that I usually drive rather than walk. What I need to do is walk for the fresh air and exercise
::the wisdom to go for a run with my daughter this week. I remind myself that as long as she's still asking to do things together we're alright and it's my job to say yes as often as I can.
::sleeping with the window open
::the silence in the evening when I am the only awake, the house is dark and peaceful and I can hear myself think.
::being aware of the anticipation, the pause next door as my neighbours await the birth of their second child. It's a special time and I remember the watching and waiting and knowing that the time alone with our son before our daughter was born was coming to an end.

My Saturday To Do List

And last but not least, fall into bed, exhausted at the end of a busy day.

Yarnalong: Be Simple & Raising a Wild Child

Joining Ginny today at Small Things blog for Yarnalong:

 Reading: I found How to Raise a Wild Child by Scott Sampson last week at the library. It sort of follows in the footsteps of Richard Louv's Last Child in the Woods & The Nature Principle. It's meant to be a practical guide to getting your kids and therefore yourself outside. Thus far it's an easy read with many of the same statistics and ideas I found in Louv's books. I haven't gotten very far into it yet to give it a fair review but it's a topic that interests me greatly so I'll keep you posted.

 Knitting: Still working on my Be Simple Shawl. I think I'm getting close to being done. It's finally starting to look like a shawl as opposed to a strange triangle thing. I'm onto the 3rd of 4 balls of wool so it's going to have to be done soon! It's finished with a picot bind-off which will use a ton of wool and I'm saving the last ball for that. What a nice, easy knit though. Perfect for mindless knitting-at work (if you are so lucky), road-trips and hands-off parenting moments when you need to look like you're not micro-managing what's going on but really you are ;)

Gratitude Sunday: Time Away

Joining Taryn today at Wooly Moss Roots blog for Gratitude Sunday.

 The view from our hotel room. Georgian Bay in the background and a little pond in the foreground.

 Georgian Bay taken from the point in Collingwood, ON

The view from the top of the Niagara Escarpment and the ski hill at Blue Mountain. That's Georgian Bay in the middle ground. Can you believe the colour of that water?

Feeling grateful this week for:
::a weekend away with my husband to the Blue Mountains, Collingwood and Thornbury. A long car ride with coffee in hand,  2 days without kids, fantastic weather and a gorgeous room. So very grateful!
::having something out of the ordinary to look forward to. The anticipation is almost as good as the event
::my camera to capture these shots.
::Lindt chocolate with sea salt
::small town bakeries that sell fruit scones, sticky knots and chelsea buns
::warm days this week and the wisdom to walk to work rather than drive to enjoy the weather
::hanging my laundry out to dry, then having time to bring it in BEFORE it rained
::spending the PA day with my kids.
::Batik fabric at $4/yard. It's sitting on my table wanting to become happy pants for everyday wear.
::good food and plenty of it

Fridays of Mayhem and Madness

Today is a day of mayhem and madness. Being Friday you'd think I'd be all giddy and light with the weekend so close but alas no. The kids have a PD day, I didn't have a good sleep last night and The Em-ster woke up on the wrong side of the bed. To add to that-back to back eye doctor appointments for the kids this morning. Added to that, the city has shut off our water, filled our little crescent up with all manner of work trucks and dug a huge hole in our neighbour's front lawn. Lots of excitement!
I still need to run to the bank and the hardware store and clean the house before we go away for the weekend. The only reason I'm bothering with that last chore is because the kids are staying here with their Oma and may or may not be sleeping at our house. Can't have spittle-covered mirrors with my mother in law staying in the house.
Why is it when you go away for a weekend to relax you spend the day before rushing around like a crazy person so you spend your relaxation time recovering from all the work it took just to go away in the first place??!! Dunno but I'm still pretty excited about being kid-free for the weekend with my husband.
I'm planning on bringing along the Em-ster's sweater to work on. I'm knitting sleeves and it's not very exciting. Hopefully knitting sleeves in another place will make it better and go faster too. Also, I'll bring along my Be Simple Shawl. Such great car knitting. Maybe by the time I get home I can start a new knitting project! Oh the possibilities!
Wishing you a somewhat calmer, less chaotic Friday and subsequent weekend :)

Yarnalong: Be Simple Shawl & The Promise

Joining Ginny this week at Small Things blog for Yarnalong:

This week I've been working on easy things. My brain needs a break from serious reading and I wanted a simple, mind-less knit that I could pick up and put down quickly. The season for wool-chucking has begun and I'm sure my neighbours were wondering what in the heck I was doing this morning. But the light was so soft and there was green! I was going to go into the backyard but my neighbour has been standing in his sunroom for the past 15 mins in only his boxer briefs and I was pretty sure me out there with a camera and knitting was going to get awkward for one of us.

I found the Be Simple Shawl on Pinterest and began it using this soft, origin-unknown, Chinese wool. I took the little tag into work and asked my friend to translate it. She didn't have a lot to say but could tell me it was 30% animal and 70% something else. I suspect based on it's fuzziness it's something like angora but not wool. It's got that sparkle to it so I'm guessing it's 70% acrylic. It at least gives me some idea as to how to wash it (in cold, lay flat to dry, don't agitate it!)

The pattern is so easy and I am loving the nubby, simplicity of garter stitch. It gets finished off with a picot bind off that adds a bit of a fancy touch.

I finished The Nature Principle last week and quickly grabbed Robyn Carr's The Promise at the library on Saturday. It's about a small town in Oregon and a Physician's Assistant who takes a job there to recover from a broken relationship. It's an easy read with believable characters, a little romance and a happy ending. I love books like that. 

Ah, green and light. Spring has shown up here and I am doing my best to soak it up. Have a great week!

Weekending with Quilting/Knitting/Granola

These are the photos I was planning to use for a post on Saturday but between a dead camera battery, sheer time and energy and lack of creative juices it didn't happen. Do you ever have those blue funk days where you kind of feel like a cranky 3 year old that needs a nap but has outgrown naps and you just want to stomp your foot down and say "No and you can't make me!" I felt a bit like that over the weekend. I'm finally learning to listen to my inner cranky 3 year old and do what soothes my soul when I need to. Instead I read a book and went to bed early. I also went for a run on Saturday after dinner and that did me a world of good. Why is it so hard for mums to say this is what I need right now and you'll be fine until I'm done doing that thing? Instead we keep on and keep on.
It had been a lovely weekend here in southern Ontario with temps kissing 20C and lots of sunshine. I began on The Em-ster's quilt finally. I had cut most of the pieces out ages ago and the Spirit finally moved me to begin sewing them into a quilt. I'm starting with 9-patch squares because that seems manageable and when I have a bunch I'll start arranging them and sewing them together.
I have rules about everything including quilting and my big rule with quilting is that apart from batting, backing and thread they aren't allowed to cost me money. Pioneer women didn't run out to the local Fabricland to find coordinating fabric for the Irish Chain quilt they were making, they made do with what they had and the results were still amazing. Anything that involves that much stitching and sheer WORK is beautiful and amazing in my eyes. (Disclaimer: this is more a reflection on the state of our finances and not in any way meant to imply that I think less of quilters who go out and buy fabric and assemble breath-taking, heirloom-masterpieces. Do you hear the envy there?!)
I had to rip out the Lady Kina sweater I had been knitting with this mystery Chinese wool because it was so thick and so hard on my hands. Instead I found a simple shawl pattern and began on that. I'll post more about it on Wednesday for Yarnalong.
I also made granola (which is mostly gone and it's only Monday! Must've been a good batch) I love it sprinkled on yogurt although my stomach would disagree. It would seem that I am lactose intolerant and more's the pity. I love milk in all it's forms. Granola also works in almond milk and I fortunately enjoy it almost as much.
Laundry was hung outside the last 3 days-snowpants and mittens on Saturday then regular clothes yesterday and today. You have no idea how much joy I get out of hanging laundry on the line. I feel like I am channelling my inner homesteader. Don't even get me started on baking bread!!
I hope your weekend was restful and relaxing, productive as well as creative :)

Yarnalong: Knitting and Dreaming

Joining Ginny at Small Things blog for Yarnalong:

Knitting: That Weasley Girl sweater in Paton's Classic Wool, currant colour using 4.5mm circs.
I finished the body last night. I wish I had done just one more increase. The sweater fits fine but I was hoping it would have more width so she could wear it longer but c'est la vie. I'm not ripping it out a second time and it just means I'll have to knit faster so she can have it sooner!

Reading: The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron.
Trying to find the time to complete the tasks for week one is proving to be challenging. I've been making an effort to get up a bit earlier to write morning pages (3 pages of stream of consciousness writing, no judging or editing allowing) and that's been good to dump all the static out of my head before I begin my day.
I finished The Nature Principle last night. What a great book full of ideas and inspiration and useful facts to fuel my opinion that it's a good thing to spend time outside. An idea I had was to create a blog centred around helping people get outside more. I would offer a weekly or monthly challenge for people to do, an e-book with simple ideas, maybe an e-course to help people overcome their resistance to going outside. I have lots of ideas swirling around my head.

We've got freezing rain here today. It's one of those miserable spring days where you wonder if this is really better than winter and if it will ever be warm and sunny. On the upside, it's a good day to be curled up on the couch knitting...or reading.

Gratitude Sunday: Hamburgers, Homemade & Easter

Joining Taryn today at Wooly Moss Roots blog for Gratitude Sunday. A chance to look back at the week that was and reflect with gratitude.

Watching the kids play yesterday after visiting my Grandma.

A cool burl in a tree in the park. I am told this bump makes amazing wooden bowls.

Games and knitting after dinner tonight.

Feeling grateful this week for:
::a visit with my Grandma. I called her up a few days beforehand and asked her what she's been missing, what she'd really like to eat and she asked for a Harvey's hamburger and pop. So, we all got hamburgers and pops and had a picnic on the floor of her room complete with a checked picnic blanket. I'm sure the workers at the home were cringing when they saw our bags and I'm pretty sure my aunts would not be too happy with me! The poor woman is 90, wheelchair-bound due to arthritis and living alone in a nursing home. If she wants a hamburger, she should have a hamburger once in awhile!! But I digress.
::a visit with the pediatrician to help us sort out The Em-ster's issues. While she was rather abrupt, she did have a few suggestions on some things we could do to make things better in the mean time.
::Easter chocolate :)
::ending Lent with a homemade bun I baked yesterday and saved especially for the end of my 40 days without wheat. So good!
::warm days this week
::a few hours at home alone yesterday. I spent the time finishing some overdue mending, cleaning up and cleaning out, reading and knitting.
::almost done The Em-ster's sweater body. She's beginning to get excited. It's an at-home project now as it's become rather unwieldy to be taking places. You know what THAT means!!??  A new project.
::checking out Ravelry and Knitty for a new project to travel with me. I got stuck in the progress of the Lady Kina when I didn't have the right circular needles and as it's not in the budget to buy new ones right now I'm checking to see what else I can knit from my stash.
::being reminded of the abundance in our life. The universe has been conspiring to point out all the goodness we already have. Money comes from unexpected places, things I need suddenly appear or I notice them sitting in storage waiting to be repurposed. Amazing.
::the first run of the season. I'm going to hurt tomorrow but it was so worth it.

Yarnalong: And Now for Something Completely Different...

Joining Ginny at Small Things blog for Yarnalong:

 I haven't had much time this week for my beautiful Lorelei scarf and besides I was getting tired of posting the same knitting and the same book week after week. I'm still working on both but they've moved to the back-burner in favour of this knitting and reading.
This is The Em-ster's "That Weasley Girl" sweater. My very first post on this blog was about this sweater. I knitted it to about this point, tried it on her and tragically it was way too small. I started re-knitting it about a month ago at work mostly and now I'm about 4" from finishing the body. It was easier to knit sweaters when my kids were little!!
The Em-ster had no interest in modelling for me this morning so her contribution is the lucky elephant she found at school one day. Not a button I'm thinking of adding, more of a talisman of greeting and good luck.

 The wool is Paton's Classic Wool in the colourway of Currant. The top of the sweater is done is moss stitch with increases for the raglan sleeves worked into the pattern. The rest is supposed to be knit in reverse stockinette stitch but that seemed morally wrong to me and I just couldn't knit a sweater inside out so I'm knitting it in normal stockinette.

The Artist's Way has been calling to me for the last 2 weeks. I've worked through it before and find a certain comfort in it's pages. I should just go and buy this book already and maybe I will this afternoon. I'm still reading The Nature Principle but feel less excited about it at the moment.
Do you ever find certain books just call you? It's strange but it's always just the thing I need at that time.
The Artist's Way, if you're not familiar with it, is a 12 week program to help people connect with their creative side. The author has a list of tasks to complete each week and throughout the 12 weeks you start each day by writing 3 pages of stream of consciousness thinking. It's not hard stuff but it's amazing what comes of it. I love how she includes quotes in the side columns and lots of space to write notes...if you own the book!