Well, Hello

Hello from Summer Living, where we're running around living life and not blogging about it!  It's late July already, and we've done so much stuff this summer already.

The boys spent a week with their grandparents in PA, enjoying the things that campground life has to offer.  Stuff like arcade games, swimming pools and riding in the golf cart.  Mom and Dad, having to work back at home for the week, did NOT enjoy going out to eat at non-kid-friendly restaurants, nor getting ice cream almost every night at a different place each time.  No, no they didn't.  :)

Then we took the kids for a week in Williamsburg, VA.  And man, we did it ALL.  If Williamsburg offered it, we took it up.  Busch Gardens (twice), Water Country, Colonial Williamsburg.....and had a lovely time.  It was a heavy-walking vacation, I logged 17,400 steps on my Fitbit one of the days.  We'd been four years ago so we knew the area and Will could relax quickly being somewhere familar.  Sean, our resident daredevil, went on every single wild ride that he was tall enough for, which this year was a lot!

After that, camp started.  And now we're in kind of a groove, routine-wise.  Enjoying the dog days of summer, doing day trips to things like the Maker's Fair in Boston, and heading to Six Flags this weekend.  School will be here again before we know it.

"Legendary Stash"

I've officially crossed into "SABLE" status in terms of my yarn stash.  (Stash Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy.)  I can hear my husband's eyes rolling as he's reading this, and probably nodding enthusiastically in agreement.  I finally put away all of my yarn from the Webs Tent Sale earlier in the month and made the mistake of telling him how many yarns I have stashed in Ravelry.  (Answer:  triple digits.)  He did some quick calculations to see how much I spent on all of it and almost fell off the couch.  Dude, don't do the numbers.  We don't wanna know.

This year's Tent Sale was on May 14th and was fantastic as usual!  A gorgeous day, not a whole ton of people the second we got there and a small group to boot.  I had been squirreling cash from yard sale items and things for quite a while and was pretty proud that I covered all but $10.00 of my yarn with it.  We had a fantastic lunch at Northampton Brewery and then Maureen and I headed home to get our knit on.  We've also picked out a new KAL project, "The Joker and the Thief."   (Photo courtesy of Melanie Berg, on Ravelry.)  mine will also have grey as a base color, but then varying shades of turquoise and purple.  Fitting, right?  :)

Anyway, I wish I could say that I'm going to go cold sheep (no yarn purchases until a set amount of time/stash is used) but I know that I don't have the willpower for that.  Especially since I'm making my first trip to the Maine Fiber Frolic with Maureen and Cindy this weekend!  AND Mom and I are trying to make plans to go to Rhinebeck in October.  Yep.  The stash will continue to grow, though no exponentially.

Hey, Big Spender!

Literary Character Day

We got a notice from Sean's school that November 9th was "Dress Like Your Favorite Literary Character Day."  Sean was completely apathetic over the whole thing, stating that he wasn't interested and didn't want to dress up.  And I was on board with that, I wasn't going to make him put on a costume and be miserable for the day.

 Then we see a picture of his best friend on Facebook.  Best friend is dressed as Skippyjon Jones.  Suddenly, Sean is very interested.  Naturally, it's  5pm on Sunday (the day before the event) and after I had been at the New England Fiber Festival for the day, So, since he doesn't really have a "favorite" character and I have no time to shop and am too tired to be really creative, he went as MY favorite literary character....Harry Potter!  The one caveat--Sean doesn't really LIKE HP.  He's a little scared by it, which I can understand because of his age.

Dress-up was a snap, using Will's old Halloween costume.  The morning of the event, Sean's too scared of makeup application to let me draw a scar on his forehead with eyeliner, so I left him alone.  He boarded the bus in his Hogwarts Robe and the scarf that I had knit, and was surprisingly cool about the whole thing.

And for the kid that didn't want to participate?  He was still wearing the costume at the afterschool program, running around and playing in the gym.  He told me that him and his friends were coming up with their own spells that didn't need wands, since I didn't give him a wand to take to school.

The Harry Potter fangirl inside of me is smiling and jumping for joy.  Perhaps there's hope for Sean to be a fan after all!

The Woman, The Legend, The Yarn Harlot

Poking around online a few weeks ago I saw that Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, aka "The Yarn Harlot," was coming for a lecture series in Massachusetts!  And I was pretty excited, I've read most of her books and followed her blog for years.  She is a professional knitter, teacher and writer.  And to knit and yarn enthusiasts, somewhat of a rockstar!  She had come out to Webs last year but the tickets were ridiculously expensive.  (though I admit it I was still tempted!)  Plus the weekend that she was coming to Boston was already chock-full of activity:  my husband's birthday, a 5K that he was running, my nephew's first birthday....etc etc.  Sigh.....next time I guess.

Then I got a text from my friend Jenny, asking if I wanted to go with her.  Wheels started turning in my head....and then she told me the tickets were $20 apiece.  Yeah, I was sold!  We signed up for the Sunday morning lecture at 9am in Dorchester.  I was "gonna make it work."

Sunday morning I head into the city, and discovered one of the nicest yarn stores I had ever been to!  The Stitch House in Dorchester is decent sized, has wonderfully helpful staff and a great selection of yarn.  And more importantly....they hosted the Yarn Harlot.

Let me tell you, Stephanie is every bit helpful, gracious and funny that I had thought, and more!  She talked for three hours (while we all knitted, of course) about the importance of blocking, how to pick out yarn for sweaters instead of just the "OOOOHHHHHH SO SOFT" that many of us use.  (Guilty.)  Not only that, she named names when she was talking about yarn that's bad for sweaters, and she went over all of her tools in her knitting toolbag.  Needless to say, I've got a Christmas and birthday list going.  And the first item on it is a Wanda.  

This woman makes me feel like knitting anything is possible.  I left ready to take on charts and to buy enough yarn to start a really good sweater.  (I'm on sweater hiatus though, at least for myself.  I'm still working on losing more weight and there's no way I want to put all that time into a sweater that will be too big)

Afterwards she was signing books and I was thrilled that I remembered to bring my copy of "Knitting Rules!"  She was also kind to let Jenny take my picture with her, and here it is!

And I Didn't Cry....Much

The big yellow bus came today and took my boys to school.  My younger one for the first time.  And I didn't cry.  He was a bit apprehensive and needed a "Go ahead!  You've got this."  for encouragement.   He was excited right up til that point.  The big kid, well....he was anxious to start a new school but was taking solace in the fact that it's a new school for EVERY kid there because last year it was a middle school and not elementary.

 Here they are, and yes, if Big Bro is wearing a Minecraft shirt then you can be sure the Little Bro is wearing one as well!

Right after the kids got on the bus and we walked home, Hubby grabbed his bags and headed for a work conference in Texas.  There may have been a couple of tears.  And they MAY have been that I don't have my own ticket on the plane, and am running the show this week.  Nah....I'll miss him.  That's the first reason.  The second is jealousy of his nice hotel room all on his own.  I had my turn in Vermont last May, though.

So it's "Friday Night Fun Club:  The Extended Edition" until (you guessed it) Friday.  There will be lots of pasta, school fundraiser, karate class, etc etc.  Oh, and that pesky thing called Work.

Our Two Ninjas

Saturday was summer graduation for karate school.  This graduation was a big one, because A. it was Sean's first and B.  Will did his black dragon testing!!

We are so incredibly proud of Will and Sean!  Sean learned so much this summer and he looks like he's having a lot of fun out there.  I'm still a bit surprised how much he learned in eight weeks of camp, but he had it down.

And Will....ridiculously proud.  He's kind of a perfectionist and one of the things that the Dragons had to work on this cycle was accepting criticism.  NOT one of his strong suits.  If you watch the video though, in his second form he started doing the wrong one.  He was corrected and quickly jumped into the correct form, without a fuss.  This is something that he worked really hard on, practicing his forms EVERYWHERE:  our bathroom, in the yard, at Target, at a birthday party.....everywhere.  His dedication is admirable.

Now Will moves up into an older group of kids and has three or four buddies moving up with him.  You've got this, Buddy!

The Drunken Starfish

This is a very busy knitting time of year.  Birthday gifts, some friends and family are having babies, and of course, the start of the Christmas Box.

I'm working on a gift for a friend.  The pattern is called "Fractal Danger" and it's from one of my favorite designers.  I've made a few of her patterns before and she has a definite style that I like a lot.  I've liked her patterns so much that I've made two of her patterns more than once, one for me and others for gifts.  Usually the patterns go very well, and I love the item that I've made at the end.  So much, actually, that I usually cast one on for myself immediately.

This one isn't working out as planned.

See, it's a skinny, triangular shawl with eyelets.  Here's a photo from the pattern:

Mine is not coming out like that.  At all.  I've followed the instructions to the letter I believe and honestly, I think it more resembles a drunken starfish.

Looking at other people's notes, I'm not seeing anyone else with a drunken starfish so I know that it's not the pattern.  Maybe I've been concentrating too hard on the Netflix lately....the third season of "Once Upon a Time" has been great and I just LOVED the first season of "The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt."  (You should check it out.)

My head tells me to keep going, to trust the pattern and perhaps a (very) aggressive blocking can fix it.  My heart says that despite being halfway done, this is a goner and to frog and save the pretty red yarn.

I'm not sure which direction I'm going to head in.  On one hand, the yarn is gorgeous and tis' a pity to have it become something unwearable.  But then again, nobody's wearing a "drunken starfish." For once in my life, I could be a trendsetter.

My Two Ninjas

Look out World....there's a new karate student in town!

Sean is enrolled in Karate camp with his big brother this summer.  So far he loves it!  The only drawback is that it feels like his growing up has hit warp-speed.  I think it comes with hanging out with all the older kids.  He's the youngest in camp, and kids kind of fawn all over him.  And who can blame them, this kid is adorable.  (And I'm not just saying that because he's mine!)  Will's been happy to have someone at home to practice with, and even play "instructor."  

We're past the halfway mark on Summer, and soon the next karate graduation.  Will's going to try for Black Dragon, which is a special designation.  We're very proud of him!  

I like the sound that deadlines make....

Ever had a knitting project that feels like it's never going to end?  I've got one of those right now.  I'm working on a GORGEOUS cabled baby blanket for a new niece or nephew due in August.  It's bulky-weight cream-colored yarn and I'm loving how it's turning out.  (No pics yet.)  The only thing is....the shower is on June 20th and I just reached the halfway point!  I also am about to run out of yarn....I did find a website to order some more but seriously....not what I need on a deadline.  In the zone.....

Also, staying up late last night working on it while watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows #2 seemed like a good idea at the time.  For the most part, I don't sleep well on Sunday nights anyway.  Today, my brain is screaming at me while I'm processing the usual beginning-of-the-month stuff.  I'd like to say that I've learned my lesson, but I doubt it.  :)

Friday Fun

The boys and I are usually together on Friday nights, while their dad plays volleyball.  They have "Guys Night" on Wednesdays so on Fridays we have the "Friday Night Fun Club."  Corny I know, but they enjoy it.  Some nights we put on elaborate stuffed animal scenes.   Some nights we snuggle in my bed and read from The Hobbit or Pokémon or perhaps the "Field Guide of Marvel Superheroes."  Tonight was a movie and Mom's choice.   So we went with an old classic:  Home Alone.  Some observations:

-Sean had the cop (Joe Pesci) pegged as the villian right away.

-the boys wonder why the bandits don't give up on chasing little Kevin after all the traps.  Still, they think it's great fun, and laugh like hyenas every time someone falls down the stairs or gets hit in the head with a paint can. 

-having a different perspective now that I'm an adult, I wonder just how in the hell these guys aren't dead, much less chasing down the kid!

And lastly....how in the hell is this movie 25 years old????  I remember going with my friends and sniggering at every mishap like it was yesterday!

A Gateway

With "March Madness" going on there hasn't been a lot of new television for me to watch while knitting.  So I've been reading a little bit more.  And I got to thinking:  I love it when books lead to more books.

For example, I read a book two years ago called "The House at the End of Hope Street," by Menna Van Praag. It was a total random find at the library, and I loved it so very much that I recommended it to all of my friends. Now I'm about halfway through her newest "The Dress Shop of Dreams" and I'm finding her sophomore effort spellbinding as well.  Books don't often suck me in and make me late to work anymore.  That was the case today, though and I totally didn't mind.

Another recent random library find:  "My Year with Eleanor" by Noelle Hancock.  Not the best book on the planet, but I did like it.  And without it I never would've picked up Eleanor Roosevelt's autobiography.  What a fascinating woman!

"Pioneer Girl"

I got an email from Amazon the other day and literally squealed with joy....my copy of "Pioneer Girl:  The Annotated Biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder" is on its way!!!!

This book was published just last year and the first printing went like hotcakes. I'll bet the second printing goes quickly, too.

I've been a fan of Little House on the Prairie (the books, not the TV show) for as long as I can remember.  I've read and re-read them so many times in childhood and adulthood that I know a lot of the material by heart.  I have all of my books and the only time I'm "sad" that I have two boys is when I'm reminded that they have no interest in reading them with me.  (That's what grand-daughters will be for someday, I hope!)  I've read many an article about the "story behind the story," whether Laura and Almanzo's daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, "ghost-wrote" the books, etc.  I've even checked out the cookbook from the library to see if I was interested in making the "vanity cakes" from Little House on Plum Creek or the apples n onions from Farmer Boy.  Probably the only thing I haven't done is someday plan a vacation around the U.S., seeing the "Laura Sites" in Mansfield, Missouri, De Smet North Dakota and Lake Pepin, Minnesota.  (there are others but the names are escaping me.)  But for now, I'm going to bask in my "All Things Laura" fandom geekiness and stalk my mailbox.  Woohoo!

Handmade with Love

Here it is.....the post you've all been waiting for......:)

I make a lot of Christmas gifts and this year was no exception.  I also was able to stay sane and not make myself crazy in getting them done in a timely fashion, starting early.  I did however, have to abandon two projects that I knew wouldn't get done in time.  I'll work on them in the next month, possibly making them the first finished items of 2015.

 Babylegs for my nephew, Jacob.  Essentially they're leggings, but the pattern is called "Babylegs."  He's going to look adorable in these!

 Yes yes, Brown Dog (oops, I'm supposed to be calling him Brownie now....but he'll always be "Brown Doggie" to me!) finally got his blanket.  Hint:  it's a dishcloth!

 A cowl for my sister-in-law, Kim.  It's folded here, but basically it's an infinity scarf that she can double around her neck.  Very fashionable.  :)

The next three things are shawls from my favorite designer, Martina Behm.  She is a German designer that favors simple garter stitches that turn them into something really elegant.  Two of them are the same, "Hitchhiker", the one with the pointy edge, for my mom and my aunt.  The other is Martina's "Trillian."  Mom complimented the green Trillian that I made for my friend's birthday last year and so I knit this up, in FEBRUARY.  I felt so accomplished!

 Next up is a trio of hats for my niece, Abby.  She ADORES hats and immediately started putting them on.  

And last but not least, are "Howlcats" for the boys.  Howlcats are awesome, because they can be a cowl or a hat. I picked this pattern for the boys based on how cold it was last winter.  (Which was NOT to be seen on Christmas day, it was in the sixties.)    Here's Sean wearing his as a cowl, playing a game that the boys invented called "Bandit."

 And then here's Will with his as a double-knit hat.

And new for a little knitting geekery for New Year's...

In 2014, I started 59 projects, and actually finished 51 of them.   My final tally for yarn used is 11.7 miles.  Whew!  No wonder why my arms and hands are a little tired.

Happy Heart

Last Friday was the annual Hook and Needler holiday get-together, which was held at my house.  It was a little different this year because not only did we have our ornament swap, we also had taken part in a group-wide charity project knitting winter items for the women and children of a local homeless shelter.  When I first announced the idea at the end of the summer, I never expected such an overwhelming response!  Between all of us there was:

75 hats
6 cowls
5 scarves
15 pairs of mittens
3 blankets
1 pair of socks

And one child will be the lucky recipient of a handmade stuffed elephant.

Thank you my knit and crochet friends.  This is one of my favorite reasons to be part of this group!

Happy Birthday, Will!

As with every October 21st...I greet the day with happiness and just a hint of sadness.
It's my older son's 8th birthday, and I'm thrilled that "his day" has arrived.

I love the person that he is becoming.  He loves learning about things, and has a ridiculously strong memory like his  Mom.  He's really creative, and loves to draw and build things.  He is curious about how things "work" and loves conversations with Dad about these things.   He's a voracious reader, now that he's discovered a genre of books focusing on magic and fantasy.  He has a great sense of humor, and some of the things that he comes up with leave me in stitches for days.  He is a kind soul and really goes out of his way for his friends and family.  Although there is definitely some of that "brotherly love" present and they bicker sometimes, he really includes his brother when playing with friends and loves to hang out with him.

The sadness for his birthday is what all Moms face.  My baby, my first-born, is growing up.  Which is of course what I want, but it's hard.  He's still affectionate, still gives bone-crushing hugs and isn't (yet) afraid to be seen in public with his old Mom.

Tonight my parents are coming over for his favorite dinner (cheese ravioli!) followed by chocolate cake and presents.  We're having a Pokemon-themed birthday party this weekend.

Happiest of Birthdays, Bubby.  Your dad and I, plus Sean, love you to the moon and back.

Harry Potter Happiness

In the weeks before our trip, Universal Studios started running ads for their new Harry Potter attraction.  We hadn't made plans to go to Universal, because it was expensive and having been there nine years ago, didn't think they had much to offer then.

But then, there was an hour-long TV special on Diagon Alley, at Universal Studios.  Will and I watched together, amazed.  I said to Brian, "Now I'm dying to go!"  Because he's so wonderful, he said "Not like we're going to Orlando all the time.  Since Sean and I won't get anything out of it, why don't I drop the two of you off one day?"  :)

And so we went!

Hogsmeade, the Magical Village.  We got to try butterbeer here!  It's delicious and tastes like butterscotch.

Trying to pull off a selfie in front of Hogsmeade.  

Look!  It's one of Hagrid's "Monster books."  This was creepy-looking up close and actually growled.

Hogwarts!  The ride "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey" is inside, and you walk all through Hogwarts to get to it.  We went through some passages that had talking portraits just like in the books.  In one area, the portraits of the four founders of Hogwarts argue with each other...it was incredible.  I had to beg/convince Will to go on the ride with me, it wasn't easy.  Afterwards when I asked what he thought of it, he said "Uh....it had it's ups and downs.  I liked the quidditch flying but was scared of the dementors."

Bought him his very own wand.  One of the COOLEST features of the Harry Potter Wizarding World is that there were wand prompts everywhere, and they were interactive with the wands.  Standing in front of Honeydukes, if you made a particular movement with your wand arm and repeated the spell written on the ground, a big box of chocolate frogs would open in the window and start ribbitting.

Bertie Botts every flavour beans!  We brought some home and are afraid to try them.....you would be too with flavours like earthworm, earwax and ugh....VOMIT.

This is where we picked up the new Hogwarts Express Train and took it to the other side of the park, to Diagon Alley.  Diagon Alley was simply incredible.  You step out onto what looks like the streets of London, and have to go looking for Diagon Alley because obviously there's no signs.  And then suddenly, there you are!  It was absolutely crowded, but you couldn't hear the people in Diagon Alley from the street.  I don't know how they do that!

Weasley's Wizardly Wheezes.

I can't say enough good things about this experience.  I love how Universal Employees really get into it.  We were in a shop and looking at hats and gloves with "Gryffindor" markings and an employee said "Professor Trelawney warned me to expect this....need to restock the gloves!"  I was paying for a Christmas ornament in the same shop and when it came time to sign the receipt the cashier said "Your signature for the Ministry, please."  They did such a great job bringing the pages of the book alive!

p.s.  the only thing I feel that we missed out on was not getting to ride "Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts."  Brian dropped us off really early, soon after the park opened.  We went to the Hogsmeade Side first and by the time we made it to the Diagon Alley side the ride had a 300 minute wait.  Yeah.....that's five hours.  FIVE HOURS.  There's no way a seven year old can stand in a hot line for 5 hours....and I promised no more wild rides after the last one!  There's always next time.  :)

Hello, Disney!

We just got back on Saturday from Orlando.  Whew!  I cannot put it all in one post, but in a word, I can tell you that the trip was FANTASTIC.  And after that....I can tell you most of it in pictures.  Day One:  Magic Kingdom

 The boys' first flight was great.  They loved it, especially Sean. 

 Mom and I arriving at the Magic Kingdom.

 My parents and Will on Main Street USA, with a glipse of the Castle in the back.  Sean is currently going through a phase where he doesn't like his picture being taken.

 Everyone told me that it would be hot in July in Orlando, but it wasn't unbearable.  The parks had lots of cooling stations and splash features for kids.  Here's the boys, cooling off.  

Oh, and those great tie-dye shirts that we did?  Yeah......I didn't "cure" them so they stained all over everything.  Bummer!

 Happy Seanie....take him to Disney World and he's happiest playing in a puddle.

More pictures, more posts, COMING UP!

Fourth of July Weekend!

These are all the things that made for a special Fourth weekend.  We tie-dyed shirts (and I'm still washing dye off my fingers, and oddly, two left toes.)  The next picture is of my mom at my SIL's annual family picnic in RI, showing off her homemade pie skills.  (It was just as delicious as it looks here)  The last one is of my boys playing with the BALL that comes out at the picnic each year!  It was the first time that the picnic was held on the fifth of July, due to rain/thunderstorms/Hurricane Arthur.  It was a gorgeous day for it, though.

But the biggest part was finally letting the cat out of the bag to the kids....We're not going to the Cape for vacation as promised....we're going to ORLANDO!!!  At first they were a little skeptical, now they're totally excited!  And making lists and schedules of what we're going to see, Will watching the TV special of "The Making of Diagon Alley" the newest Harry Potter attraction at Universal Studios....etc etc.  We're all so excited!

Ice Cream Festival!!

 Mom and Dad are taking us to the Ice Cream Festival in Worcester!  Even though one of us doesn't like ice cream, we're still pretty psyched!

 Mom and Dad are pretty psyched too.  After all, it's not every day that there's all-you-can-eat ice cream, AND you get to benefit a local organization.  :)

Mr. "Ice Cream is too cold for me" changed his mind and tried some raspberry chocolate chip.  He liked it so much he requested it the second time we went under the ice cream tent.

 Mom with her goofy kids.  Love the hats and the sunglasses.

 Horsing around with Dad in the park....taking a break from the bounce house and the ice cream.

 Daddy is the best tickler in the world.  And I think Will's hungry again.  

And let's end the day with a train ride.  This just keeps getting better.  :)

This was a ridiculous amount of fun, on a lovely Saturday.  We've already put the "Big Dipper Ice Cream Festival" on the calendar for next summer.