Transitions, Knitted Socks and Pixie Cuts

The Boy returned home to us yesterday from 4 days at his grandparents' house in the woods. He helped Grandpa fix a roof, went on a 2 hour cruise of Georgian Bay and learned that too much coffee feels really bad. 13 is an interesting age.

Today was a day of transition for him. We met with the school guidance counsellor as we do every year before school begins to go over who his teachers will be, how his schedule will look and to answer any questions he has. Mostly it will be much the same as last year as far as schedule and teachers go. The difference being this is Grade 8 and everybody is focussed on getting him ready for high school next year. Deep breath...here we go.

At home he is trying to deal with transitioning from summer to school time. It's been a difficult day with lots of acting up in the form of provoking his sister and angry outbursts directed at me. We got through it though. I've learned not to react to this behaviour and to maintain an even keel as much as possible.
The Em-ster had her hair cut at an actual hair dressers today. I've cut her hair myself since the beginning but this time she wanted a pixie cut and there was no way I was going to attempt that! It was the best $20 I spent all day. The cut looks great and she's happy. I admire her courage to let someone cut off all her hair and to look like someone completely different. She has hutzspah that's for sure!

I finished knitting the 2nd little sock to match the pair I wrote about the other day. So cute! I have to redo the Kitchner stitch I used to close the toe on the first one and then it's done. I also finished knitting another pair of animal mittens. I'm hoping to get some knitting time in this weekend to knit up some ears for the mouse mittens and find a pattern for bear ears. I'll post pics as soon as I have a pair done.

Yarnalong: Knitting baby socks & Beyond Sibling Rivalry

Joining Ginny today at Small Things blog for Yarnalong::

Knitting: teeny tiny baby socks, pattern from Zoe Mellor's 50 Baby Booties to Knit called Heel and Toe socks. The yarn is Paton's Astra I had left over from a quilt I tied.
Friends of ours had a baby 2 weeks ago and as we all know, all babies need knitted things and being a thrifty knitter I decided whatever I made had to come from the stash. I didn't think our friends would be overjoyed at being gifted a knitted baby thing they had to wash carefully so I figured I'd better go with some good acrylic yarn. I don't love acrylic yarn (at least not the stuff I've used in the past anyway) so I don't keep great quantities of it around except the odd ball to tie a quilt with so finding something suitable for a knitted baby thing was not easy. I found these 2 balls lurking at the bottom of my good yarn stash and knew they would come together nicely to make practical, easy to wash, warm baby socks. Besides, who doesn't love a pair of heel and toe socks?!

I remember when The Boy was a Small Boy we didn't have much money, it was the end of winter and he'd grown out of his winter boots but it was still too cold for rubber boots. I found a pair of hand-knitted little heel and toe socks at the farmer's market, bought them and used them inside his rubber boots until winter and the cold part of the spring was over. I love useful gifts and even if these won't be soft and squishy they'll be warm and cosy for those wee little baby feet.
Reading: Beyond Sibling Rivalry by Peter Goldenthal. Something's gotta give with all the fighting going on in this house!! I know part of this is end-of-summer boredom and anxiety about a new school year starting but I need all this arguing and one-up-manship and whatnot to stop already. I found this at our library and I'm hoping for great things. I think we need a parenting tune up and some new ideas. I've been researching ways to induce peace in this house for awhile and it is getting better (I think). I'm understanding my kids' needs better, slowly. For example my loud, sociable daughter is actually an introvert underneath and needs down time to get her energy back. She also doesn't handle any transition well. Period. So whenever we can we leave her behind for unnecessary car trips and it gives her and her Oma time together.
What about you? What are you knitting and reading? (and what do you do to induce peace in your house??)

Gratitude Sunday-truthfully and honestly

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

Some Sundays I love showing up here to write about all the great things going on in my life and those Gratitude Sundays are easy. And some Sundays I resist writing this post. I think I have nothing to be grateful for-the kids are always fighting, dinner sucked, I'm stuck in my knitting trying to fix a mistake I made, blah, blah, blah. But I know that I need to be here and I know I need to make this list so I can put last week behind me and start anew this week. There is a verse in the bible somewhere that says "In all things give thanks". The writer doesn't say "In the really great things in your life give thanks", he says in ALL things. I struggle with this but I find when I do give thanks for the crummy stuff I see how they get turned around to reveal the good behind the crummy. So in that vein, I will take a deep breath and here goes:

::I am thankful that my daughter returned safe and sound from her trip to Germany and France with many great memories and souvenirs. The girl that left 2 weeks ago is not the same girl who returned home to us. There is a new level of maturity I am seeing these past few days.

:: I am thankful for the 2 days a week I still go to work because they help to keep food on our table and allow me to be at home the other days of the week.

:: I am thankful for the cooler temperatures that remind me that summer is fleeting and fall is on its way (whether I like it or not!)

:: I am thankful for the rain that fell last night during the wedding dinner we attended. It meant we stayed at our table in the tent and had great conversations with the people sharing our table and laughed so hard at times. I am thankful for the generosity and authenticity of the bride and groom. It might be the nicest, most down-to-earth wedding I have ever attended.

:: I am thankful my kids have been fighting constantly the last 2 days (I am laughing writing this because it just sounds so ridiculous and insincere) I am looking hard for the sunshine behind this cloud and I guess it came at dinner when I made everyone say something nice about each person at the table. The things my kids came up with for each other surprised me and this one activity seemed to have helped everyone move past the wrongs of the day. There. How's that?

:: I am thankful for the cupcake sitting in my fridge right now that I was given last night from the wedding. I have been saving it all day to eat once the kids are tucked away in bed.

Yarnning Along with Gratitude and socks...still

Joining Ginny today at Small Things blog for Yarnalong:

I turned the heel on this crazy sock the other day and the knitting got crazier. It went from that chevron thing to more of a variegated situation. I know it would drive other knitters nuts, this change in pattern but it satisfies the wild child deep within and I know come the dark days of winter I will appreciate it very much. OR in a fit of mid-winter blues I'll rip it out and start again. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
I picked up Debbie Macomber's One Simple Act the other day when we were visiting Stratford. A little bookshop was going out of business and it was 99 cents. I wasn't going to buy it but every time I turned around there it was, gently calling to me. Either that it or it was very good product placement by the owners. Doesn't matter. I picked it up and it was balm to the soul. The book's theme is generosity and how one simple act of kindness can lead to many unexpected things. Debbie begins the book with a lesson in gratitude. You have to be grateful, appreciating what you have in life, in order to be generous. It's full of short anecdotes and things to think about it and quotes from the bible. I'm glad it called to me and I'm more glad that I listened and bought it.

In my Garden

I thought I'd take you for a walk in my backyard tonight with pictures I took last week. It's raining cats and dogs here in Waterloo and I didn't get a chance to putter around the yard after work and I'm missing that meditative outside time right now.

This jumble is my vegetable garden. From left to right I have potatoes, red leaf lettuce, carrots (cleverly hidden by the overly-enthusiastic, self-seeding-from-last-year dillweed) and beans. In the top of the picture is my friend's plot and you can see some green cabbage, lots of hot peppers and kale. (Don't tell but I've been nipping her kale and adding it to lunch and dinner for a while now)
If I could get out there now I would try to do something with the bolting, falling-over lettuce and weed around the carrots.

A LOT of green onions. I've added them to everything I can think of and I feel like I've barely made a dent. This photo was taken last week and some of them are now the size of small cooking onions. A friend suggested I freeze them for use in the winter. I'm thinking that's what I'll do with the green tops and use the white bottoms now in cooking.

Isn't that kale beautiful? I'm feeling pretty hopeful for these green tomatoes. Just need some hot weather...

This is my herb bed. The tarragon is going crazy. I have thyme blooming in the background and hiding underneath are oregano, basil, sage, parsley and chives. At our last house I made the mistake of planting mint in a bed. After it spread everywhere I decided that here I would plant it in a planter and save myself the dirty looks from the neighbours.

My perennial bed. It stretches most of the length of my backyard and has orange lilies, sedum, peonies, irises, asters and some low green stuff that I don't know the name of but the foliage smells nice.

Our toad house. One of the kids made it at pottery camp and I thought it made such a great garden ornament. It lives underneath the grapevine behind a plant The Boy gave me for Mother's Day a few years ago. I don't know if any toads have taken shelter in it but I love the sight of it peeking out unexpectedly.
That was fun! Although the rain has stopped, night has fallen now and it's time for me to crawl into bed with a book and maybe I'll even go to sleep early tonight. G'night.