The small things

Lately I have been relishing more than ever the small moments of joy that add up to make this life amazing. Here are a few of them:

1. My little man galloping around the living room with a kitchen towel tucked into the back of his pants (because he is a horse and it is his tail).

2. Charlotte showing us her new ballet moves.

3. Banana bread fresh from the oven.

4. My quilt laying in my lap as I sew the binding by hand.

5. Max sitting next to me as I sew chatting my ear off.

6. The pug curled up and snoring at my feet.

7. Making new friends at coffee shops.

8. Being near my 2 out of 3 of my sisters again.

9. Alan's work keeping him close to home for a couple of weeks.

10. My grandparents getting their new furnace a day ahead of schedule.

Cheaters never prosper

I have been cheating on knitting with sewing.

(first quilt top all done)

But just a little, if by a little you mean a lot and all the time. I have had a knitting project tucked into my bag that I do continue to work on at night after I have put some mileage on the treadmill (running inside blows). Thankfully we have netflix so I keep the good times running by watching movies that do not involve cartoon characters or moral building story lines. The other night I watched a movie called Purple Violets. I am not recommending this movie by any means. In fact, on the blow scale (from 1-10, 1 being not blowing at all and 10 being a really stinker) this movie scores an 11. I only rented it because I have a thing for Patrick Wilson who may be the only blonde that I am ever attracted too. Even though the movie was a bomb I found another reason to keep watching. Knitwear. The movie had the most amazing sweaters in it. So amazing that I found myself knitting fervidly. Then I started sketching and making notes in my journal concerning said knitwear. This girl's glass is half full. Crap movie, but overflowing with inspiration.

A handmade Christmas

For too many years now I have had a Christmas to do list that has been haunting me. On it were the aspirations of a semi-crafty lady. I think the original list was made somewhere around 2003. So 7 years later I finally got my tush in gear (and now own a sewing machine which was one of the players needed that was missing earlier on). The goals were to sew our own stockings and to make a tree skirt.

These little things were made important to me because many, many years ago my Grandmother made stockings for each one of my sisters and I. Those stockings are still hung every year at my parents house even though we have moved away. They are there like little stand-ins of Christmas joy, beacons that hold memories and hope. I wanted to weave that same love into my own family's holiday.

So finally and abruptly (which is how I start most things) I tore into our garage on Monday and found the box that contained our sad little store bought felt stockings. 15 minutes and my handy dandy seam ripper later I had my pattern. I decided to not use Christmas colors mostly because I am not a huge fan of red and green, sure I like a sprinkling of them here and there but was excited to do this stocking thing on my own terms. So Max's stocking is made of a combination of colors that make me thing of my little boy; browns, butterscotch and a little teal. Max has always appeared to me as a little brown bear, so my color choices for him usually reflect that.

For Charlotte's I dove into some scraps that I brought home from a recent trip to Washington and some scavenging that I did around my mother's sewing table. She is making a beautiful quilt for Charlotte which meant that I came home with some gorgeous fabric scraps. Sewn together they look like this:
Unfortunately (or rather fortunately for me) my little girl was not completely in love with her stocking. Her exact words were, "Mommy that is really pretty but when I dreamed about my stocking it had some red in it." Ok back to the drawing table.

Now I just have to find some fabric for Alan's stocking and a bit more fabric for the tree skirt pattern that I found. Then my "to do" list will be a "done list," and those are the best lists to have around.

I am no Caroline Wilder

Charlotte and I have been reading "The Little House on the Prairie." I love reading to my little Bug just before bed. I decided last summer that she was ready for longer more involved books. Our first big girl read was, "Because of Winn-Dixie." It was cute and I was just as excited as Charlotte to watch the movie when we were done because the beautiful and talented Dave Matthews is in it.

The next book that caught my eye was our current selection by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I picked it up with excitement at an used book store and was immediately reminded of how much I had loved the series as a child. So it came home with me and two weeks ago we dove in.

But reading the book as a grown woman has brought out different emotions in me. Like this one for example, "Why the hell did Caroline allow her husband to drag them so far away from everyone that she held dear into dangerous territory?" or more recently "I think that I would have told Pa to shove it." Of course I have not been sharing my thoughts with Charlotte but I am afraid that my modern feminist sensibilities are getting in the way of my pleasure in the story.

I think I am more Anne of Green Gables (yes I realize that she was a fictional character) than Caroline Wilder. My husband pointed out that it is likely that Caroline did not have any choice in the matter of her families migration west, which is true. Or perhaps she found Pa's wanderlust and shenanigans endearing? Whatever the matter, I think I may have to go dye my hair red and walk the ridge-pole of a roof. Has anyone seen Diana Barry?

Tis' the season

This time last year I was knitting my little fingers to the bone. I had set lofty goals and wanted to knit about 6 gifts. This turned into the two darkest knitting months that I hope to ever experience. This year I am learning from the mistakes of my past. No knitted Christmas gifts. Period. I have decided that knitting gifts are going to be used for birthdays and general wishes of good will. So this year I am finishing a cardigan for a friend's little girl, and then casting on a cowl (for whom I have not yet decided). In the sea of holiday craziness knitting is going to remain my quiet sea of calm.

Now if I could only talk myself out of the crazy 48 hour bakeapalooza that I do every year. Small steps, right?

About me

1. I LOVE LISTS. I have been caught making a list of lists to make. Seriously, it runs that deep.

2. Dave Matthews Band is my most favorite band of all time. The obsession began in the ninth grade when my Dad played "Satellite," for me.

3. Becoming a mom is by far the best choice I ever made.

4.. I love to cook. I am forever looking for new recipes and I promise to share some of my favorites here. Such as this one, perfect for fall or winter- Roasted Tomato Basil Soup (it is heaven!).

5. My BFF is my Grandma. She and I are like two peas in a pod, well not really, but we accept eachother nevertheless.

6. I am a raging Liberal. This can make living in Idaho a bit annoying at times but I am proud to say that all of my friends know my political beliefs and that I am willing to engage in an intelligent conversation at any given time.

7. My husband and I are currently obsessed with the show Dexter.

8. I believe with my whole heart in God but not so much with organized religion.

9. My favorite exercise besides running is the practice of Bikram Yoga. I like my yoga hot and really hard, anything less is just boring.

10. I not so secretly want to be Anne of Green Gables. I met my Gilbert in the 5th grade and married him when I was 23.

11. Our dream is to have a farm house on some property.

12. I want to raise Chickens on said property.

13. My favorite cake is Red Velvet.

14. I love being an ICU nurse. I thought forever that I wanted to be a labor/delivery nurse but have realized that I really enjoy taking care of elderly people.

15.I am a ridiculously fast knitter. I may be an idiot savant where knitting is concerned.

16. I have three beautiful, smart sisters. They are the reason that I do not accumulate too many friends. God already gave me 3 that are stuck with me for the rest of their lives!

17. I love Sex and the City but thought the second movie was CRAP!

18. I can swear like a sailor, but am really trying hard to curb this habit.

19. I LOVE clothes. Love them.

20. I have a hate/hate relationship with my straight brown hair. Really hoping to accept it one day.

21. I love to read. Am trying to decide if I am for or against this Kindle thing. Might miss the smell of books too much.

22. I started blogging because I was inspired by all of the amazing bloggers out there. Haven't decided yet if I need to be one of them, decided to tinker with it while I make up my mind.

23. I have run out of semi-interesting things to say.

Running

Last weekend I ran a half marathon with two of my sisters, and it was amazing. Not only do I get the privilege of sharing the same gene pool with these two beautiful women but I also got to cross a finish line with them.

What does one think about while they are out running for nearly 2 hours? Everything. My mind tends to wander into the strangest places while I am running. I am pretty sure that I discovered the solution for world peace while I was out there....at the very least I remembered that I can do ANYTHING that I want to. ANYTHING. And so can you.