This and That

I've been sweating away here in Saint Paul, without much to say lately.

We've been busy meeting nature where she lives -

going to the park,

the woods,

the zoo

and generally enjoying ourselves.

(Since it was the last day of soccer this week, the parents played a game. Yes, I made a triumphal return to soccer 22 years after my last game in gym class in 8th grade. My skills were just as good now as then, which is to say that I hung out by the goal and cowered whenever I saw the ball coming at my head. Sorry there weren't any photos of that for you out there, loyal readers)

We're deep in the laid-back sleepy days of summer.

I hope you are all enjoying your summers as well.

Yarn Along

Whew! I had a busy couple of weeks there.

Here it is, Wednesday again, time for another Yarn Along with Ginny.

I just started a new project today, the Aeneas sweater from the new booklet from Norah Gaughan.

When I saw this pattern I knew I had to have it.

I made my first cable sweater about 10 years ago, and it certainly looked like my first cable sweater. It didn't quite fit, there were multiple dye lots, the fronts were knitted in strange pieces, it was kind of a mess.

I ripped out that sweater, washed and dried the yarn and this afternoon I cast on the collar for Aeneas.
The pattern is really lovely, and I can't wait to see how it all works up.

I haven't really been reading lately, but I grabbed my copy of Giant yesterday from the bookshelf, and I am again thoroughly enjoying it.

It feels great to be back here, and knitting.

What are you reading and knitting lately?

Yarn Along

This week was full of knitting.

I finished Peasy, the buttons are sewn on and now it's sitting, waiting patiently for fall.

I mentioned the other day that I have been watching a lot of tv lately, in the evenings we have been catching up on HBO shows, and I have been doing a lot of knitting all the while.

The blue above is the Mystic Pullover from New England Knits.

It's very satisfying to knit on 10s after a long time on size 4 and 6 needles.

The white is a hat to send along to Ginny (our Yarn Along Hostess). She's collecting hats to send to Japan for tsunami victims. It's not too late to get a hat made and sent off by the Friday deadline! (update: Ginny says that it is too late to send them to her. She wanted the hats by Friday, so if you email her she'll give you another address to send the hats directly to the woman who will be distributing them.)

The book needs no introduction.

I am excited to see the final Harry Potter film this weekend and I wanted to re-immerse myself in that world beforehand.

What are you reading and knitting these days?

Thanks, Mom and Dad

I bought myself a tripod with my birthday money this year and the Elder has been having no end of fun playing with it.

There's a preview of my Yarn Along post in among these portraits, see if you can spot it tomorrow.

A Symphony of Red

The past few days have been highlighted by many occurrences of the color red.

These first couple are understandable, we were at the strawberry field, after all.

But as I was looking through the photos from this week there were so many more glimmers of red.

The tow truck that came and helped me with my flat tire

(call me a fancy lady if you must, but we have road-side assistance and I use it when I need to)

This playground that sported a xylophone piano (clearly a favorite with the Elder)

And, yesterday, Dada bought himself a sweet new ride.

Top this all off with the fact that we're catching up on True Blood,

and it's been nothing but red red red all the time around here.

Yarn Along

This week I have been clicking along on my Peasy, and I finished the knitting tonight.

The next big step is choosing buttons.

I am really happy with it. Just the right shade of green, the lace is delicate without being difficult, the weight of it is just right.

The only downside of finishing it right now is that it's 85 degrees during the day and I won't need to wear it for quite some time.

But, since fall/winter/spring cold weather lasts about 9 months, I shouldn't malign the nice weather while we have it.

I had a recommendation from a friend many months ago that The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane was a good read.

When we were at Half Price Books today I saw a copy and scooped it up.

The Elder and I devoured it this afternoon, despite the length, and I openly wept as I read it to her while sitting on our backyard swing.

I am quite sure the neighbors thought I was a little crazy.

This story is filled with loss, love, sadness and joy. The main character is a china rabbit toy who becomes lost and has some great and some difficult adventures.

Some parts of it were on the edge of what I like to expose my children to - a little girl dies, a boy is slapped by his father who drinks - but the whole thing is just so beautiful that I would absolutely recommend it to you out there in Yarn Along land, and it will surely become a favorite in our home.

I don't know what it is about rabbit stories, I seriously had trouble continuing to read this book through the tears and it's the same with The Velveteen Rabbit. Every time I read that one, even though I have known the story since my early childhood, I can't help falling apart when the bunny becomes real at the end.

And so, my soggy installment of Yarn Along comes to an end.

Head on over to Ginny's for more knitting and great books.

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Today is my birthday, and I was able to pack as much good stuff into it as possible.

I was awakened in the early morn with a birthday song serenade out my window by my parents who came bearing a giant bouquet.

Then after a little time at work I came home, had a nap, and my hubby and the Elder and Younger and I went out for a little Five Guys and a walk through the park.

We saw trees,

sculpture

walked a labyrinth

and took a paddleboat ride.

The Elder was in charge of avian documentation both through photography

and illustration.

Since I worked today, I didn't have time to make myself a birthday cake, so we hopped on over to the Mississippi Market to pick up some vegan chocolate cake and had our dessert out on the patio. (this photo features the aforementioned giant bouquet)

A pretty great day all around.

Have a safe and happy 4th of July weekend everybody!

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