made in the shade.

spent some time under here today with henry and bea. just us and the laundry. hanging out.

i was working in the garden trying to prep it for fall planting (which probably should have been done at least a week ago). it's hard to think about a fall/winter garden when it's still in the 90's.

so there i was moving dirt around with two batman's running rampant around the yard when one collided with the clothesline pole. she needed some love and i was lured away from my task. she wasn't really hurt, she just really likes to be snuggled. so we set up camp for a bit under the laundry and enjoyed the privacy and the shade. and i enjoyed the company and conversation.

the garden can wait.

all in a day.

today was the kind of day i needed.
busy - yet laid back. my favorite combination. i haven't picked up a stitch of knitting, sewn a single seam, or read a single chapter of my new book (all of those being things i really would like to do).

but i did start my day with the sweetest snuggles from a sleepy bea and that was a good sign. it was the kind of day where i didn't feel guilty about letting henry play games on pbskids.org for an hour while i played domestic goddess and spied bea sitting in a chair looking at books and 'reading' to herself. this was followed by some sibling interaction and bed jumping. them, not me.



then it was time to head out doors. the sun was shining but it was pleasingly cool. i had grand hopes of getting the garden ready for planting and tidying up the back deck. neither task was completed, but that was okay. i pushed littles on the swings, watched them transfer dirt from one planter to another, take countless trips down the slide, jump through the hula hoop, and torment each other here and there.

i did get the basil, parsley, and cilantro put in. i bought new gardening gloves, though i seem to use my bare hands more often than not. i watched henry find a tree to climb (his favorite part of his day), eat mint right from the plant, and move rocks. i watched bea push a rocket all over the yard, get dirt caked under her nails, and witnessed her being completely content in what she was doing.



i watched the littles follow matt around the yard when he got home, show off for him, tell him about their day, and 'help' him chop down a scraggly, dead tree. i made turkey burgers on the grill, did the dishes, spent time on the computer, listened to some great new (to me) music that was recommended by a virtual friend.

i left the front and back doors open. we listened to the birds. i saw a pileated woodpecker while i sat eating my dinner.
i was grateful to savor the little things that really aren't so little when you look at the bigger picture.

a cap for me.

so, now that some of those ducks are lining up (or the laundry pile is temporarily diminishing, a few emails have been replied to), i can steal a few moments to share a finished object. yes! of the knitting variety (sometimes i think i need to remove the word knits from my blog title).

way way back in october i started this little ditty. come november amidst all the stockings i had knit, i finished it. come february, i finally photographed it! lets just say i knew it would snow and was awaiting the right conditions.

she was a quick and easy knit done up in berroco vintage sloe berry. i was grateful because i thought maybe i was losing my mind trying to knit something up for myself with the holidays approaching. turns out this was the perfect thing. i mean i was in need of a hat. and respite from the stockings i had going (not that the stockings themselves were bad, but the repetition could get to me).

i'm not really a hat person, but i have sensitive little ears. when they get cold they burn! so this was the perfect year to have a decent head cover since it has been so much colder and windier than normal. like i said, possibly i just knew the right conditions were coming. or maybe it was just the years of wishful thinking!

***my cute little niece, amaya, was the most willing model. and she was just perfect!***

the last stocking (for this year)

i took up knitting sometime in late 2003. my gramma had knit everyone's christmas stockings in our family. starting with her seven children, their spouses or significant others, then their children, and even some of their children. i wanted this tradition to continue. so i bought a book thinking that the written/illustrated directions would be all i needed to get started, except for the basket of yarn and needles gramma gave me. well . . .

learning to knit from text + drawings was not enough. while i would have loved for gramma to have taught me how to knit it was not geographically possible. so, i signed on for a knitting class at a big box craft store. the classes were cheap and i could just pay as i went. i think i went to 4 classes. as many classes as it took me to learn to cast on, knit, and purl. from there i just practiced on scarves. (everyone got a scarf that year).

since then i have been a knitter on and off. i'm pretty sure i took a couple years off of knitting. not sure why that happened. maybe it was fear of moving beyond knitting long rectangles, i don't know. anyway, i vowed that would never, never happen again. i did take a summer break from knitting, but i was trying to become better at sewing. and i think i did. now i haven't touched the sewing machine (except for when i moved it to it's new home in my bedroom) for all the knitting i have been doing. there may be a seasonal cycle here. this winter i have chosen small, simple projects and have been very pleased with the amount of knitting i have accomplished. of course it helps that wee bea is growing and entertaining herself for longer stretches of time and i can squeeze in a few rows here and there with children underfoot. i surprised myself by getting 3 stockings done well before the holidays set in! many late nights and all 3 seasons of 30 rock on netflix were involved in that outcome though.



bea's stocking was knit a little out of pattern because i knit hers last. i ran out of red and my lys had run out too (and you know i wasn't going to wait until it came back in stock!). i decided to use some of that berroco that i have so much of. i was a little hesitant about using the mustard yellow even though it complimented the green so nicely. with matt's encouragement i kept going and i am very happy with the result. it gives the stocking a nice vintage look i think and i also like the earthy tones.

one of the things i love most about knitting these stockings is that except for one pattern all the patterns were the ones my gramma used. everyone's names are charted out right there on the pattern. i know who has what stocking. i like being able to add names to the charts. many of them are taped together because they have become so worn and i now keep them in plastic sleeves.

now all the stockings are hung by the fire and i don't have to take out of focus pictures of the mantle like last year so bea won't know she didn't have a handknit stocking. now her stocking is there, right where it should be. and i must say it looks perfect hanging there!

gratitude

these 3 people. make my heart all mushy. make me laugh harder than i ever have or ever will. make me feel things that are near indescribable, but i know you what i mean because your family makes you feel the exact same way. make me feel loved. make me happy.

now back to our irregularly scheduled blogging . . .

so, really i left off with us leaving for our big road trip.
we've just now really settled back into our non-routine routine (though the icebox could use a good restocking!).
i'll start with a few highlights from our trip and a few pictures. you can bypass all of this if you just want to see the pictures by going here (that's really just a sampling - i couldn't bring myself to upload all of them to flickr).

we left on a saturday, of course later than we wanted to, but that was and always is expected. please keep this in mind if we are ever traveling your way. things started to go downhill not even 2 hours from home. bad traffic in chattanooga. bad bad traffic. as in it took over 2 hours to go 4 miles. yes. that bad. and bea was not a happy camper. once through that fine city all was good. the trick was to keep moving. and move we did. straight to saint louis.

saint louis was one of our favorite stops on the way to the rockies. our friend's tim and tara, whom we have only seen one other time (on another road trip) since our wedding 7 years ago, live there. we got there very, very late and stayed up even later once we got talking. the next morning we had a delicious breakfast, some frolicking/wrestling out on the lawn, and then headed over to the missouri botanical garden . we barely touched the surface there, mainly spending our time in the children's area, which was really fun and henry had a blast. it was the perfect pit stop sandwiched between two long days of driving. we can't wait to get back to saint louis!


the next morning we headed out towards the mountains. we stopped in kansas city (mo), for lunch and a visit with a friends family. they adopted our wild beast of a dog willie when they bought their 40 acres and we are forever grateful. he has found the perfect home and is fat and happy!
we all experienced kansas for the first time (and wind farms) and i have to say i thought it would be a dull drive. instead, i thought it was beautiful and peaceful. it was hillier than i anticipated and the greens were so vibrant against that blue sky. really beautiful.
we made it into colorado at night. we had no peek at the mountains until we were weaving through them just north of denver. holy moly. it was surreal. especially to be driving through them at night. crazy. we got to our friend's the murhpy's (scott, suzie (+1), and caleb) in the middle of the night. they had work the next day and we had just driven 14+ hours. we chatted for a little bit, and even though we hadn't seen them since our wedding, we were all tired. so, we hit the hay. then this is the view we woke up to

that's right. at the murphy residence you don't look up at the mountains, you look out at the mountains. i forget their elevation, but i believe it was over 9000 ft.
we also got to visit with postman and chuck (high school friends of matt's). we stayed at postman's (and his wife christine) house and chuck flew from minnesota to hang with us for the weekend too! these guys had henry climbing the walls (and matt too)!
while all the fun stuff was going on, there was work to be done. thursday through sunday much of our time was spent at the show. it was beyond our expectations! such a large show and an array of talent. it was fun, but exhausting, especially for matt. by sunday he was ready to shut it down as were all the 250+ sculptors that were there. that show was broken down in record speed i bet. sadly, matt did not sell anything. at least we can say that the only thing that would have made this trip better was if there had been a profit made. instead, we made great contacts and matt got his name out there and met some great artists that we hope to see at future shows. we still hope to make it an annual or at least biannual trip. how can we not, when it offers us the chance to reconnect with so many friends and family?

we even got to see another friend we haven't seen since our wedding. weiner and his girlfriend, natalie. they're a pair i tell you. i cannot even explain it. there's no one like weiner and it just makes since that his girl hoops with fire. she's a professional hooper. and she gave us a show. and hoop to bring home. i had no idea how hard it is to hoop. they like to say "hooping makes you happy". i think if you did it enough it would give you great abs.

good times : )
we got to experience a lot in colorado though our main goal was to visit and reconnect. there must be something about that place, we know a few who have made their home there. so grateful to have gotten the opportunity to visit them! but after a week+ it was time to start the trek back home.
but first, a few more stops along the way . . .
we left the rockies and headed towards iowa. stopped in for a brief rest at my family's house there then headed to central illinois. bea got to meet grandma bea (matt's grandma).
(they look alike don't they?)
henry had an early birthday party with the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins there.
he went tubing and loved it.

he went fishing with grandma. slept outside in a tent with uncle george and aunt jess.
and had a good relaxing time with family before really heading home.


this was such an experience it has taken us (okay, me) weeks to recover. but in a good way. we all experienced so many firsts on this almost cross country trek. first views, first foods, first introductions, etc. andi can truly say that my kids are travelers. it amazes me how well they do. i knew it about henry, but bea! she had to ride backwards the whole way! she had her moments definitely (chattanooga was rough), but i've learned that if you are willing to take your time and stop often enough it goes so much smoother than being in a rush and being tense. kudos to my little troopers! i'm hoping that by traveling distances with them while they are young will have pay offs when they're a bit older : )
and they did great at the show too. some people thought matt was crazy for "dragging" us with him, but i wouldn't have had it any other way. it really was a family affair. we went to set up with him, spent a lot of time at the show over the weekend and we were there for the breakdown. we kept matt company, manned the booth, and drove him a little crazy too.

we really did take the circus on the road.
and it was worth every moment of it.



***and congratulations to the murphy family on the arrival of isaac dylan!!***

7 years ago today

really?
7 years!?!
and 7 years before that, we became misplaced midwesterners.
soon i'll be able to say we've been together for more than half of my life. amazing.

happy anniversary! i love you.

going coastal

this past weekend we had the pleasure of mixing business with pleasure and headed to the coast.
matt had a sculpture show (his first!) in summerville, sc. a town that appeared to be full of beautiful, restored, hundred + year old homes. the night before the set up we drove a little ways past summerville and stopped in charleston to visit with one of matt's old college buddies, jon. we actually lived with jon way back in 1995 when we moved to savannah and had no place to live yet. we had jobs, but no place to rent, so we drove back and forth over the state lines for a couple of weeks.
anyway, jon lives on a great piece of property right on a river that heads into the deep water. his house was a little ramshackle when he first moved in. i didn't see it then, but from what matt was telling me before we got there i was a bit nervous.

and then we get there. late. really late. midnight, maybe. and it is dark. very dark. the house sits at the end of a dirt road, no street lights, nothing. we know we are in the right place because jon told matt he bought an old city bus to revamp into an rv and it is the first thing we see. next we see the sweetest little greenhouse (made from found windows) all lit up. then jon comes strolling up. we tour the green house first. full of lemon tree seedlings, herbs, and tomatoes. it smelled so good in there!


we move on to the house and enter in through the kitchen. the first thing that greets us is the plants. they are everywhere. that and the orange walls.  

then you meet the most amazing found-in-the-woods sink (almost everything in jon's house was found/thrifted/salvaged). i actually miss the sink. it was a beauty.

   

up a few steps and you are in the living room. perfectly worn walls, more plants, found artifacts, a beautiful old piano, guitar after guitar, and just the most cozy room i've been in in a long time.

 

this room was the original room to the house. everything else was added on later. (not by jon, except for the 2 decks). in all there are 4 rooms, not counting the bathroom. this house exuded charm, coziness, and calm. mixed with the rest of the property, which included the greenhouse, a chicken coop, garden, outdoor sleeping tent, exercise area, hammock, and a fire pit, i felt like i was on vacation, it was so relaxing and peaceful. i was not surprised when jon's girlfriend amy said they rarely left their home. i don't think i would either.




come back later, and i'll give you more details about the trip and matt's show.

merry christmas

wishing you all a holiday filled with love and joy!



*** taking a break for a week or so to visit the in-laws. looking forward to reconnecting with you in the new year! ***

tis the season (now get to work)

i feel very neglectful of this space and that i am hurriedly putting posts up here just to be posting. i think some days will just be hit or miss as things are getting busier and busier around here (as i am sure it is with you also). i have much knitting and creating to do. henry is very interested and curious about christmas this year, so i want to take things slow and enjoy this season with him and experience it a little more through his eyes and get him involved.
so if you are wondering what i am up to i am doing a lot of knitting (i always start my holiday knitting in november),

cutting, gluing, painting (assisting henry really)
and baking (inspired by diane and her study plan i am baking all of our bread).

sporadically putting up the holiday decorations as i find them or make them. listening to holiday music and enjoying some evenings by the fire. having a few cups of hot chocolate or maybe a glass of wine. and always. always. wishing for snow (and for someone to clean my windows).




*and if you like that star made from sticks and jute, head over to a foothill home companion for better pictures and a tutorial. (henry loves helping with this one, he is a master stick gatherer)!

back from the feast

we are back from the great's and it was a great start to the holiday season. i don't know about you, but our thanksgivings are never a quiet affair. there are too many of us. it's always loud and its always good. i wish it happened more than once a year.
i hope all of you enjoyed your time with your family as much we enjoyed ours.

why i didn't even touch my camera today

i had the full intention of posting here today about our dilemma regarding henry and dinner time.

but to be honest, i don't have it in me tonight. i didn't have it in me today. i was almost defeated today. i had a boy who was testing my patience more than he has in a long time and it took all i had to get through the day without tears.  at one point i was so frustrated with henry and i believe the feeling was mutual, that i just sat and hugged him till we both had calmed down. it took a few minutes. by that time, i had already raised my voice more than i care to admit, and had finally realized that much of my frustration was due to my being tired. i switched gears after that, we did an easy impromptu craft with cut paper, fabric, glue and then we had an early lunch. then i did the best thing i could have done for all of us. 

i took a nap, snuggled between bea and henry. some days naps are magical (and completely necessary). 

while the rest of my day did not go perfectly, i was much better equipped to handle it. 

we even accomplished baking cookies together and that helped sweeten our evening.

afternoon in the woods (a pictorial)

sunday we spent a few hours out in the woods and walking next to the lake.
we were hoping to head into north georgia to enjoy what is left of the fall leaves, but we just didn't make it there. so, we stayed close to home and headed to red top mountain which is only about 10 minutes or so from our house.

sunday morning

lazy morning.



got up and made this yumminess for all of us. we didn't have chocolate chips so i improvised with chocolate syrup. henry was pretty darn excited to have 'warm' hot chocolate for the first time. i hope he doesn't expect it every morning now.


had snuggle time on the couch. i could almost fill my days with this right now.



watched jurassic fight club, while doing all of the above.


it was a good morning.