Half-term Ate My Brain, or I'm Still Here...

Sorry, Gentle Readers! I didn't mean to go silent for so long, but the children had half-term holiday last week, and we kept pretty busy. Playdates, a cinema outing (Bolt wasn't half-bad), errands and a couple of days in London.

This week's been back to normal, if by normal you mean I am out of the house all day on various missions! I did go for my mammogram on Tuesday, which I had been dreading (four dear friends of my own age have been diagnosed with breast cancer already). However, avoiding one's mammogram is NOT the rational response. So that is done, over, and I hope shows all clear for another year.

David was thrilled to get to go to the Mart this year (local fun fair - see this page toward the bottom). I'd told him that I thought he'd have to miss it since Daddy is away, and I shuddered at the thought of dragging Lily around a loud carnival with lots of rides that are too big for her. Luckily, his friend Sam really wanted him to come along, so they got to ride all the good stuff on Tuesday, which was also Shrove Tuesday.

Lily and I had our Shrove Tuesday pancakes at home (topped with lemon and sugar, or chocolate spread - nom).

Anyway, back to our London mini-trip. We went down by train, and headed straight to Covent Garden in time for lunch (excellent savoury crepes) and some good street entertainment. Nothing like watching someone do a comedy routine while balanced on a ladder and juggling knives....good stuff!

The kiddies also wanted to visit Build-a-Bear, which we have avoided since we got here. They were thrilled, and didn't much mind waiting in line with all the other over-excited half-term children for their turn to push the buttons and turn the cranks to stuff their very own bears.


Lily chose a basic, and very soft, brown bear, which she named Talitha after a little girl we know. David went for the koala, and chose a leprechaun outfit for him. The koala was dubbed Sydney O'Beary. Both bears travelled the rest of the trip peeking out from the kids' backpacks.

Backpacks - my personal secret for overnight trips to London. Everyone gets a backpack, with their pajamas, next day's clothes and toiletries. Mine's a bit bigger, so I carry the snacks and paper/crayons/book/camera. We keep it light by wearing our jeans twice, bringing light PJs. I also cleverly made everyone wear old socks and underwear on day one, so we could trash it in the morning, rather than packing it up again.


Day two of the trip was spent entirely at the London Zoo, and sadly I have no pictures. We were too busy watching the animals to take many pictures, and none have people in them. Trust me when I say we had a great day. We enjoyed the monkeys the most, but the Komodo dragon exhibit was pretty neat, as was the butterfly house.

For my friends who are or have been in Omaha, got to say...the Henry Doorly Zoo is better. Seriously. The London Zoo is nice, but the Omaha Zoo is NIIIIICE.

I'll leave you with a few more pictures.

Lily spied this wonderful plant near Covent Garden:



David and Sydney O'Beary - we decided Sydney looks sort of like a tidy Einstein:

This Victorian postbox has been painted orange and is used for Zoo donations.

Valentine's Weekend

 Happy Sunday, everyone!

We had a quiet but good Valentine's Day here.  Kiddies got a little bit of chocolate and Red Noses, and I enjoyed some chocolate from David (a little Green and Black's Butterscotch bar).  We also got a special call from our far-away Valentine, and he sent red roses, too.  Aren't they pretty? 

'Cause he's  a sweetie like that.  I know how lucky I am.  [Thanks, baby!! I hope your Valentine's chocolate wasn't too melty...]

Snow?!

Wow, just when I thought I was getting to know the cycles of East Anglian weather, it went and started snowing. Again!  This is our second substantial snow in a week, if by substantial you mean 3 inches or more...

David's scheduled playdate with James here has turned into an impromptu sleepover, thanks to the white roads.  PJs and a spare toothbrush have been doled out, and today's clothes are in the washing machine, ready to wear again tomorrow.  I think the odds of school being in session are pretty good, but if not, they will have a BLAST playing in the snow again.

Me, I'm happy that the kids are happy, I'm happy that the snow is so pretty, I'm happy the visa paperwork got turned in today before all the snow arrived, and I'm happy to put my feet up and drink a cuppa.

Snow days...

A Lovely Day

It's been a busy week here at Casa Knitfarm. We saw off David on Monday morning and he's now safely arrived in the Hot Place.  This time around, he'll be missing Valentine's Day, Lily's birthday, and my birthday, which happens to be today. 

Despite that fact, it's been a really nice day so far.  The goodness started early, with a phone call from David.  He even sang Happy Birthday, although he was in a crowd of other people.  My sweetie...

I've gotten tons of birthday wishes/cards/calls, and even lovely gifties like sock wool, chocolate, roses, and the sweetest pale blue and white teapot just for me. I had a lovely morning chat with Afton and Ali, two friends from church; I bought a gorgeous brownie chocolate cake for my birthday cake; and I topped that all off by meeting up with my friend Ruth at Sandringham for some gorgeous cocoa and a large flapjack (which I cut into bits so that the calories would fall out).

Lily's at a friend's for playdate and tea, David is sitting next to me making up heraldic shields (his latest enthusiasm), and all's mellow in my part of the world.

The Day After...

All the lovely snow is turning to slush, and it's raining pretty hard right now. I ran to Tesco after school drop-off and got some groceries (the traditional pizza for the kids for our date night tonight - they demand Tesco pizza for tea when they are being babysat...it's quite amusing). The lines for the tills were incredible! You'd have thought we'd all been snowed in for a week, the way people were stocking up.

The high point of my Tesco run was finding some redbush CHAI tea. I've just made a cup now, and it smells and tastes heavenly.... lovely for the cold day.

Date night tonight, if the weather holds, will be Nando's for peri-peri grilled chicken dinner and then Slumdog Millionaire, which has finally made its way to our neck of the woods.

Here's to the weekend, everyone!

p.s. Picture from this site.

Crazy Long Picture-heavy Snow Day Post

Lily and I enjoying the snowy goodness of the garden. I was very grateful for DH's special wool socks with microfleece liners, I will tell you!!

Here David is getting started on his snowman...I really love this picture.

Here's the finished product: a snow pirate with cutlass, hook hand, peg leg, eye patch, hat AND shoulder parrot.  Trust me, they're all there.

Lily giving David a bit of assistance.

Lily and her own snowman, who is named Bob. Really.

I like this shot of the house, and the very snowy lane...

I'm Baaaack! Plus Picturey Goodness of Contest Winnings

I know you all have been simply pining away for lack of posts on my part,but fear not. I have returned!!

 The laptop is still awaiting its new power supply (on order), but we seized the moment to update me to a new teensy laptop (10.2-inch screen) with three times the hard drive space of the old one.  D. and I had been talking about it for a while, and when he saw one on sale, I was sold.  The old one will become backup and be cleaned up and set up for kiddie games, as well

I've been getting used to my new "wheels" for a few days now - the hardest part  has been getting accustomed to the British layout keyboard.  It's only ever so slightly different, but that's enough to create constant typos for me.

Everyone's fine, although my head feels stuffed with cotton wool. No exciting knitting news, although I did start some purple lace (Spinner's Lace shawl in deep purple Artesano Alpaca). When it's more than 20 rows, I will get a picture.

I do have some gorgeousness to show off, however.  I was fortunate enough to be quite a winner in Liz's (that would be Liz at Knitting on the Green) blog contest, and the prizes arrived this morning.  Oh. Wow. Isn't the velvet project bag stunning?  I want to wear it, even if it could only be a glove.  But wait...check out the two skeins of hand-dyed wool - Liz's own handiwork. I am SO impressed at the depth and richness of the colors.  This photo is pretty accurate for color but not perfect. [Click on photo to embiggen] Isn't it awesome?  Any suggestions for the perfect project?  There are 440 yards total, I believe.

Stoopid laptop...

My laptop cord/power source problem returned and so I am temporarily computerless.  Thank heaven for my lovely, lovely phone, which allows me to read blogs and send email. However, blogging from the phone...not so much yet.

Stay tuned for scintillating posts after the weekend, I hope!

A Little Knittin' Content

Greetings, fellow readers.  David seems to have beaten the laptop cord into temporary submission, so I can once again email/blog/read blogs.  Whoo hoo!

I did get a little knitting mojo going this past week. I found out Tuesday that someone I know delivered her daughter early, over New Year's.  Very early - she is in the hospital and growing away, but has a long way to go, little princess.  I checked out some preemie patterns and made two teensy hats for her, which fit snugly on my fist.  One was a pale pink with lace edging and the other a pale peach ribbed number. Unfortunately,  I don't have any pictures as I couldn't find the camera and wanted to get them to the mum right away.  I hope they will warm this little girl, and that she will oh-so-quickly be in need of much bigger hats.

After that, I eyed my stash a bit (thanks, Lynn, for the tip) and started some Fawkes socks (sort of a flame pattern) in a rust wool that my friend Jill gifted me.  I'm thinking it may not be the right pattern though. The ankle ribbing is just right for me, but the patterned leg is looking pretty baggy.  I can't do much to alter it as there's no fudge room in the pattern and I'm already using size 0 (US) needles.  Sigh.

We'll see.  Maybe Lily's legwarmers, after all!

Stooopid computer

My laptop power cord is NOT working and it also seems to be sucking the charge right back out of the computer, so my time online is very limited.  David promises to take it to the computer dudes on Saturday but meanwhile, sorry I am not around.

Knitting mojo - got a little bit back and will post about that soon.

Love y'all!

Birthday Wishes and Jane Austen

First things first...happy birthday to my fantastico sweetie pie. I love you, babe. Thank you for all the happiness you bring to our lives.  May 2009 bring YOU much happiness.

There will be cake, and steak, tonight.  Let the revels begin!!

Now, on to lesser things.  This seems to be my season of Austen.  I so enjoyed listening to Pride and Prejudice on DVD a while back.  This past month, I've been sloooowly working my way through Emma, which is just as funny.  I do get distracted by other things, like being really ill, but I think I'll finish it this month. I can't just sit and plow through Miss Austen's books, however.  Nineteenth century authors are a real challenge to me, even though I define myself as A Reader. I have to take it a chapter at a time.  I'm also reading a biography of Jane Austen - will have to go dig out the title on that one  - which is dense, but interesting. 

All that is preface to a Funny Thing I found last night - what if Pride and Prejudice were a series of Facebook posts?  Check out Austenbook.  [Unlike real Facebook, the entries read from top to bottom, for ease...]  Enjoy!!

Brilliance

I have recently discovered Zen Habits, a blog about simplicity. Today's post is perfection. If you read nothing else this year, read this post.

Here's the money quote, but the entire post is so worthy.

Stop waiting for happiness. Happiness is right here, right now.

I have spent a lot of time saying to my nieces, and now to my own children, "Live in the now." We laugh when I say it, but I mean: stop thinking about what's coming next; enjoy where you are right now. For all the times I say it to the kids, however, I seldom remind myself.

Let's all live in the now this year. That doesn't mean stop paying your bills and making plans, it just means savor each day, savor the people with whom you interact every day. I'll be working on it!

My Other Love

My not-so-secret celebrity crush is back - yes, Time Team's 2009 season has begun!!

Knitting Mojo - I Haz None

Or, as Austin Powers would say, "I've lost my mojo!"

I feel the itch to knit, yet I can't think of a thing I WANT to knit. So very strange. I haven't really wanted to pick up the needles since before I had the flu, and now that I do, I feel all whiney and "I don't knooooow what  I want." Annoying.

I do think my reluctance to knit before now has a little to do with the Mystery Socks. I'm so sad to say it, but the patterning along the foot just does not agree with me, even when I ripped it back and tried simple ribbing. Just...meh. I am a plain foot girl, I suppose.  I have decided that's OK, however.

I do have some absolutely gorgeous pink/purple merino sock yarn I bought at John Lewis in December, but it is also hand-wash only, and I just can't decide whether I am up for hand-wash socks. It's so pretty, maybe it should become a scarf or something more visible, but it's also very strongly variegated.

Hmmm. I thought briefly tonight about some legwarmers for Lily out of some yarn she loves. I call it "pink vomit." Got it in a Lucky Dip at IKnitLondon in September. Check out this website - it's the large skein pictured.  I can't think of a better use than Lily legwarmers, can you?

I shall call you .... Jane.

Today Lily got her Christmas fishies. Because it's a small tank, she's limited to 1 goldfish or 4 minnows, plus a butterfly plecostomus (awfully pretty name for a rock-like, scum-sucking catfish thingie). Today we got the minnows. We'll have to wait a month or two for the plecostomus so we can build up some scum.

Much fun was had deciding what to name the minnows. I liked the idea of Ip, Dip, Sky, and Blue (sort of a Brit eenie, meenie, minie, mo), but Lily didn't. Now, three shall be named Rainbow Shark, Sallerina, and Ella. And one is Minnow To Be Named Later, I suppose.

Myself, I like a collective name for the fish. And so, I shall call them Jane. Jane Austen.

Thanks to Flickr for the image...

New Year's Eve

I wish you all a wonderful New Year's Eve, and a fantastic new year to come. I'm feeling like 2009 will be a good year, and a productive one.

I am so thrilled to be feeling better, finally. This flu completely kicked my butt. I commented to David today, as we had stir-fry for lunch, "It is so nice to have the energy to cook something from scratch again." I even made a start today on the MOUNTAINS of laundry that built up over two weeks of sickness. Three loads down, and six to go.

Our New Year's Eve is going to be lovely and low-key. Lots of nibbly party finger foods, the Looney Tunes DVD set to help us stay awake (small David's idea, after enjoying it so much last year), and then fireworks on the BBC on the big telly. Good times...

Christmas was good - I was still sick then, and slept much of the day, but the kids really enjoyed their presents and David made a lovely ham for Christmas dinner. Kid David's 10th birthday was low-key but nice. He requested Pizza Express for his birthday meal, and we were happy to comply. I cannot believe he is into two digits now. After birthday dinner, we looked at newborn David pictures and squeezed him a lot. He's also grown half an inch this month, as has Lily.

Sick

Sick, sick, sick. I spoke too soon. After I posted Weds. afternoon, the symptoms came back with a vengeance, and I have been laid out on the couch, shivering and acheing and miserable, coughing. Add to that tossing my cookies violently, after trying to take cough medicine.

Small ones are coughing but fever-free. Both have been angels, and very good about getting their own food, etc. David came home Thursday coughing and shivering, and seems to be 24 hours behind me in symptoms, but without fever. Of course, he got a flu vaccine through work, so we think maybe that has lessened the impact.

Right now, I feel stuffy and achey and nauseous, but that is pretty great compared to before. Thanks to my angel neighbor, who dropped off AlkaSeltzer Cold and Flu on the doorstep after she called this morning to see how we were because I didn't make the school run. I cried tears of joy when David brought me the medicine. I'm not kidding.

Easy Christmas Elves for Knitters

The lurgy's on me with a vengeance, but had to struggle up off the couch to share this post with you. Check it out. Wouldn't those make the CUTEST Christmas elves ever?

Also, I totally love my husband, who wrangled dinner and managed to find one of the last two Christmas gifts to be got for kids, in between picking up new uniform items and a ton of other errands. Even as I type, he is upstairs putting Lily to bed so I can moan, cough and blow my nose in comfort. He does it all, not because I ask, but because he's the dad. And a very, very good guy.

Derailed...

This lovely photograph is not icicles. It's the flu virus. Who knew something so lethal could be so beautiful

As the title says, I've been derailed. Yesterday morning, I was fine. Yesterday afternoon, I coughed once or twice. By 5 PM, I was starting to feel shivery. It all went downhill from there. I shivered under 3 blankets, with a lovely fever, aches, and chills. Did I mention chills? Fortunately, by this morning, the fever and its friends were gone, except for a brutal razorlike cough and headache. I don't think it's flu because it's moved so quickly through the stages, to be honest. It sure felt like flu, though. Maybe it's Super(Rapid) Flu...

Sounds like the day's back on track. Right? Not so fast. Small D. complained of feeling cold and tired last night, and went to bed voluntarily at 6:30 PM. He was a bit warm last night when I made it up to bed, but at 7 this morning, he had a good ole fever and a massive headache. I got Lily (still healthy, but for how long?) to school and dosed up David (still wan, in bed) with some Calpol. He complained that his legs were "dizzy" when he got up to use the bathroom, so I've moved him into our bed. Dizzy legs and a loft bed are a dangerous combo. He's feeling less headachey now, but is still happily in bed as of 11:15 so you KNOW he's not feeling well.

So. I have sympathy for him. Believe me, I do, especially after how miserable I felt last night. However, I'm wondering where I will find an extra day in my calendar... I have had to cancel my drop-in at craft morning for Christmas festivity, the meet-up with my girl Chrissie to exchange presents, and the mailroom run to mail off "New Year's" packages (little somethings for my sis and family, etc.). And the purchasing of the last bits (paper goods, snacks, soda) for Saturday's Christmas party at the chapel. And the purchasing of the last presents for David and Lily with money from Grandma and Grandpa (I have put David on the case there, though - we'll get it done!). And the mini-commissary run. And I am sure there are 50 other things to be done.

Instead, I'm here at home curled around a mug of herbal tea, and adding sneezes to my repertoire. All things considered, I'm probably better off here than breathing on friends and the public, but I feel like such a slacker. I could sort and wrap the 30 Santa presents for Monday's Santa event at the squadron, but I don't want to risk David seeing them, even though he "knows" about Santa. There are also, of course, the kids' own Christmas presents still to be wrapped, but the same applies there.

At least I have a festive environment in which to sit and be miserable. I have warm things to drink, blankets to wrap up in, and heat to savor. I have a beautiful Christmas tree to look at, and a stunning evergreen/floral arrangement to dote upon (thanks to the three lovely ladies who will remain anonymous). I must download the pictures I took, so you can all see how pretty it makes the living room.

Christmas Cards for Bloggers

Because you know the three wise men were bloggin' dudes. This card absolutely cracks me up.

Go here to see all 11 great geek Christmas cards.

p.s. Twelve days of Christmas gifty update.  Day 1 was icicle ornaments, day 2 was a dozen mini-candy canes, and day 3 (today) was a set of Cadbury milk chocolate ornaments.  How sad will it be if they don't even make it as far as the tree?  YUM!