Friday, July 29, 2011

{this moment} Sister Laughter

{this moment} - A Friday ritual inspired by Amanda, aka Soule Mama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.



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In gratitude this week for:



*A birthday girl - WOW 14 I can't believe it


*A family trip to the Drive-In


*More wild blueberries


*End of the heat wave



Wishing you all a glorious weekend!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Yarn Along

Joining Ginny in her weekly Yarn Along. In her words:



~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a single photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! ~



My first little project is this cute little rabbit finger puppet. The pattern is by the incredibly talented Linda over at Natural Suburbia. My little one just loves it. I am hoping to knit up an entire family of little rabbits. And I may even try my hand at a few other animals. Using these little puppets to tell stories during her circle time come fall will be a special treat. She is so excited to have her own "school" time. At four it really isn't going to be school, but more of a Waldorf early kindergarten year. (more on that later)




It's hard to believe the year is half over. And that means it is time to start thinking about Christmas gifts, especially the ones I plan on making. This scarf is one such gift. It is the Kudo Wave Scarf . The pattern is quick and simple. this is the second one I've knit and I still love the pattern.



This yarn just arrived in the mail this week. Hopefully it will become a purple version of Seamless Blue for Bekah for Christmas. My only concern is I have to increase the size on the pattern. Wish me luck. I'm still not really comfortable adjust patterns too much.


As for reading, most of it has been related to the soon approaching school year. I have most of my ducks in a row, just a little tweaking. We have a lot planned for this year. Lots of new! Lots of fun! I can't wait to get started even if the girls are trying to squeak every drop out of summer. Hopefully I have some school items to share soon.


So what are you knitting and reading? I'm always so inspired by the weekly yarn along. My project and reading list just keep growing. So I'm off to check out some of the other yarn along participants. I highly recommend you visit some of them too.

Friday, July 22, 2011

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual inspired by Amanda, aka Soule Mama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.


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In gratitude this week for:




  • wild berries


  • days at the river keeping cool


  • vacation days for hubby


  • lots of treats from the kitchen


  • a few new knitting projects

Wishing all of you a glorious weekend!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Wild Berries Galore!

While Maine is know for their wild blueberries, New Hampshire sure has their fair share. Last week my good friends and I headed up the mountain to check on how the wild blueberries were coming. Of course we brought bowls with us just in case there were some ready. You can imagine our delight when right as the trail ended at the top of the mountain all around us was a sea of blueberries. We got right to picking and before we knit it this is what we had. About 17 cups each! of the sweetest blueberries you ever did taste.


And to top off the evening of picking and chatting, we were greeted by a gorgeous full moon! It was magical! And if the bugs weren't beginning to feast on us we probably would have stayed and watched take its place in the sky. Good thing we didn't stay too long, the hike back down through the forest was a little dark.



Just a few days later the girls and I were out for a walk and came across a large patch of wild black raspberries. Of course we had to run home for a bowl and some long sleeves and pants. The prickers can be nasty.




It didn't take long to have about eight cups of the delicious little berries.





Lots of wild berries in the house has meant lots of baking and such. We of course had to make blueberry jam and pancakes. Then there is this divine double berry bread which was actually triple berry(wild blueberries, red raspberries and black raspberries) bread this time. The recipe makes two loaves, but one was gone before I could get my camera out. We also make this fabulous strawberry rhubarb cobbler! My husband declared that this was as good if not better than apple crisp. A huge compliment considering apple crisp is his all time favorite. I know we will be making it again. I may try to come up with a peach & blueberry version using the topping recipe.





I am still wanting to put up a bunch of blueberries and some black raspberry jam, and of course the girls are begging for blueberry muffins and more double berry bread, so you can bet we will be heading back up the mountain soon and peeking at the black raspberry patch each time we walk by.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Yarn Along - Slippers and Fermenting

Joining Ginny in her weekly Yarn Along. In her words:



~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a single photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! ~




Well I finished the knitting and sewing up of my Duffers. All that is left is to felt them. Unfortunately, I have a front loader and felting just really doesn't go well in it. So I am waiting until I visit a friend you kindly offered to let me use her top loading washer. My fingers are crossed that they will fit after felting. If so I will be making a bunch of these. All the girls thought they were really great. I can see Christmas gifts on the horizon. And in case you were wondering about the two different colors, I didn't have enough of the original teal to make the second slipper. (I was trying to use up stashed yarn, in case this project was a total disaster I didn't want a lot of money tied up in it). Anyway, I think the teal and green go well, and I am planning on embellishing each with the opposite color to make more of a pair. And of course they are slippers that no one will really see except my family. And they already know that mama's a little off. The mis-matched actually fits me quite well I think.


As for reading, the above mentioned friend lent me her copy of Wild Fermentation. I just finished my last read and am now ready to dive into this one. Hoping to learn lots and give some of the recipes a try. I would love some fermented dill pickles and sauerkraut. Putting up summer food to have through the winter months is always a lot of work. However, there is nothing like a pantry full of summer goodness when the temps fall way below freezing.


So what are knitting and reading? I love visiting the other participants of Ginny's Yarn Along. I'm always so inspired. And of course my reading list is WAY to long. If you are visiting from the Yarn Along thanks for stopping by. And for those of you who cam another route, if you are knitters or readers you really should stop by the Yarn Along. You wont be sorry.

Friday, July 15, 2011

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual inspired by Amanda, aka Soule Mama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.


~~~~



~~~~~


In gratitude this week for:


~Days at the river with friends


~Cook outs and camp fires


~Decluttering, organizing, and cleaning a bit


~Happy girls in their "new" bedrooms. Amazing what a little furniture reorganization can do


Wishing all of you a glorious weekend!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Yarn Along~ Simplicity & Slippers

Joining Ginny in her weekly Yarn Along. In her words:


~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a single photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! ~




I'm a slipper kind of gal. I rarely go barefoot and I hate wearing out socks. So slippers are just the thing for a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom. I have been wanting to knit and felt some slippers for myself for a while now, but most of the patterns I came across were just a little beyond my understanding or cost a little more than I wanted to spend. so when I came across this post over at Mousy Brown's House I knew I had to give these a try. I mean 19 rows per slipper. I knew I could do that. And if your on Ravelry you really need to check out all the Duffers out there. Some of them are just too cute for words. At this point I'm just hoping mine fit after the felting. If they do, I may end up with slippers in all the colors of the rainbow. Or lots of people on my Christmas list may be getting Duffers of their own.



As for reading I'm back to Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne. I started it a while ago, but it was a little to heavy and the library due date came before I finished. Well, over the last few months the idea of simplifying my children's lives has been nagging at me, especially as I began to prepare for the new school year. Then I was lucky enough to hear Donna Ashton's introduction to her Simplicity Parenting seminar. My interest in the book was peaked again. So with a great deal at Borders I now own a copy. And it must be karma because one our local library's is offering two free seminars on the book in the up coming weeks. I guess I should listen, read the book and simplify. I'll let you know how it goes.