A Curse on Berkeley

Dear Berkeley,

I love dogs but I don't like you. At the dog park, I put my knitting down for a second to pick up poop (would you have brought it with you?) and you decided it would look better at the other side of the park. You grabbed it and ran while the skein it was attached to went bop bop bopping along behind you through the dirt and sand. Not just any dirt and sand-dog park dirt and sand. Your owner stopped you and yet you tried again and jumped up on me and grabbed my hand knitted-in-progress-sweater and I yelled. I'll admit it, a little too loud. "NOOOOOOO!"

Your owner shocked me. Not that I expected him to say, "Is that Merino?" Or, "Let me buy you some replacement yarn, I am so sorry." But when all he said was, "It does kinda look like a toy." I was silent and stunned. Not because I agreed but because I was giving him the Mom Face that I give my almost 4 year old: the Incredulous Face.

Exhibit A.

It still feels dirty when I touch it and I had dirt falling out of my knitting bag for days. DAYS!

I will remember, there are no bad dogs. Only bad owners. Berkeley's dad, my new Dog Park Nemesis.

Lazy Sunday

The kids and I made popovers from a Mollie Katzen recipe book for preschoolers (love her!). Easy recipe-paint butter on a muffin tin. Whisk 2 eggs, a cup of milk, a cup of flour and some salt. Bake for 30 mins. They were a hit. The kids also made 'soup' in the sink. A wild concoction of Italian seasoning, soap and toothpicks.

Tinker Toys ended up in my coffee. I didn't even blink, just kept drinking. Luckily, they were plastic and not the wood ones. Next to my favorite cup is my Bog Jacket I'm working on. It's too big for traveling at this point and I need to start a smaller project, this will stay in the house from now on.

We had a lazy day; cleaning and cooking, visiting the library and playing in boxes. Kids always ended playing with the box! Ice cubes in the bath tub are also cheap and easy! Can you tell I've been cutting corners lately? Every good mom needs a library card, sprinkles or chocolate chips in the pantry and band aids in your purse!

At the knitting night I used to go to, I once spoke at length with a librarian about children's education. She told me the best way to help kids succeed-read to them. It's no secrete and it's simple, she told me. We read to both kids, individually, at bedtime and I often grab books throughout the day. This is about the third time DH read this book to Butters! DH suggested trying a different one, Butters replied, "But I LOVE this one." You can't argue with that! Note: the expert Tinker Toy Wall-E robot in the corner and crazy hair on the boy!

Snow Day

Afternoon play started with a swing. I know, I know, she looks like the kid from Christmas Story but it was beginning to dip below 30!

Had a lovely walk along the river and ponds at the base of our street.

The kids held hands and Butters told E he loved her. She beams when he holds her hand and stares up at him. If he ran, she ran. She also did her own thing-collecting rocks and picking up sticks. They grow up so fast. We identified tracks in the snow and made many of our own.

Here is Butters watching the birds in the trees.

We came home after over an hour of walking, the sun was setting, our noses were red and dinner was ready thanks to a busy Daddy!

In Like a Lion

We got around 5 inches of snow today! We had friends over to swing in the snow, make a snowperson and eat the snow (but not the yellow stuff).

Butters also entertains himself by spinning his cars at high speeds on the 'wood' floor.

The baby sometimes cheers him on.

I entertained myself with knitting a brioche hat - in the round! Some used to think this couldn't be done. It's a wonderfully addictive stitch to learn. I saw Liane's hat and made one for my husband. He loves it! Frog Tree Merino, the softest wool you can buy. I was so proud of my little family everyone had a hand knitted hat to keep them warm. This year, I'll work on mittens for all of us.

Making funny faces is also a good past time.

Sunshine and Rain

Some sunshine, in case you are getting snow in March like we did today! It didn't stick and we are having amazing light right now, gray clouds with bright sunlight shining on the valley, illuminating the trees.

We had a great week, Butters has been busy making Tinker Toy robots and everyday is a happy one for E, she's getting a 13th tooth, her left top canine.

Ups and Downs

We've been having a few rough patches with all the illnesses and grouchiness, but it's worth celebrating that February, the longest short month is over and we are welcoming the spring and summer. My kids bring me joy and laughter every day but sometimes (too much lately) they can bring out the worst in me. Still, it's more up than down. Oh sh*t, I think I might be the Rush Limbaugh of Moms! At least they'll know my craziness and not a stranger's.

These pics are ones Daddy took, making Baby E laugh. They aren't the most becoming photos of her, but they sure make me smile. The year between age one and two is truly magical. She's such a hoot!

Madrona-Holy Mohair

Warning, this post is all about yarn and knitting, if you like to skim the knitted parts of the blog, you can stop reading now.

My Christmas present to myself-a weekend at Madrona. Two years ago I tried to go and took a class with the Yarn Harlot. I ended up getting knocked up and drove an hour and a half by myself at 7 am with no caffeine and morning sickness. This year, I spent months thinking about it, got my classes, did my homework-and I got the flu. I was miserable but I made it. I also won a door prize and got to pick from a bin of yarn, patterns, books, and other booty. I grabbed the handspun Mongolian cashmere that retails for $165 (60 yards) quicker than you can yell, "Holy Mohair!"

The drive allowed me to finish up a sweater for Butters. He picked the colors. This is a Zimmermann pullover with color work I saw and tried to re-create. I won't make him wear the hat and sweater together. The hat barely fits and the sweater will be perfect next year, which is good as today it was nearly 60 out. He was excited when I showed him, he watched me knit it but I saved the final product for a special day. He wanted to wear it to school. He put it on and said, "It itches." We took it off.

I purchased yarn at Madrona as well. They have an amazing market place with local stuff and yarn you can't get anywhere else. I was given an amount to spend. I may have gone a tad over budget. Pictured is a ball of wide stripping sock yarn, the cashmere, some hand painted local loot from Lopez Island.....

.... and some amazing fiber from Blue Moon. Coordinating sock yarn and a merino/silk blend called LSS-a handpainted blend and a solid. I'm thinking a V neck sweater but I probably won't be brave enough to wear matching hand knitted socks. Teal is my new purple for knitting. It's veeeeeery soft.

I think I have enough yarn now. If I added up the time to knit all the yarn I have and calculate how much time I actually have to knit, I'm probably set for my retirement, which is more than most can say right now in this country.