Adamas Progress

I'm fairly flying along with the Adamas shawl. I can't believe I have found a lace pattern that I can work on while watching telly, or talking to friends. Amazing stuff!

I stuck in a lifeline and pulled it off the needles this afternoon to figure out roughly how much more I need to knit. My gauge is MUCH looser than the designer's intent. Here's what 9 repeats looks like, spread out but not stretched, with 5-year-old child for scale. I am thinking 3 more repeats, plus the edging (approximately another repeat in length), should do it nicely. The shawl pattern calls for 14 repeats and I think 12 in my looser gauge is more than enough. What do YOU think, Gentle Readers?

Calendars

My friend Lynn is holding a Blogiversary Contest (go wish her well - it's been TWO years!!) and pictures of your calendar(s) are the entry requirement.

These are mine - the top is a knitting page-a-day calendar (I am saving about half the patterns as "might knit possibly") and below is my planner, without which I do not exist. If I don't have the Blue Book of Doom, I have no idea what I need to do.


No wall calendars, as we don't have a good spot in the kitchen to post one.



So Lynn, that's my entry, and congratulations on two years of fun posts to you!



In other news, I spent waaaaay too much time doing laundry on base today, as many folk had the same idea. Fortunately, I popped the wet stuff in baskets/car and took a break to have lunch with my honey while the dryers were all full.


Said honey found me a swift! For a pound! At a boot sale! I am SO happy about that. I want to blog it but I'll need to wait for the sunshine. It's a vintage three-armed wooden wool winder, called a "Nitta Wool Winder," and it even came in the original box.

Such a nifty gadget. I have already used it to wind my skein of Hunt Valley 2-ply laceweight cashmere that has been ripening in stash for over ten years. That skein is now 5 repeats worth of the Adamas shawl, and growing. See the pic below.


Quick review - Adamas pattern? VERY simple and satisfying to knit for a lace pattern. Addi Lace needles? Awesome...they slip along so quickly but the wool? Does. Not. Slide. Off. Ends. It's truly a lace-knitter's miracle.

The Game - Have you seen it?

Edited to add: I have explained my own "answer pics" below, since they are a little hard to decipher unless you're....me!

This is a meme I have seen on several blogs now. Curious, I clicked the link to find out more. In a nutshell, you answer the following questions in picture form and post your mosaic. Very cool, indeed.

The Questions:

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name

Here's mine. By the by, the celebrity crush is Phil Harding (IloveyouTimeTeam!).

Answers to The Questions:

1. What is your first name? Susan

2. What is your favorite food? Mnay but I chose Salmon skin hand roll sushi

. What high school did you go to? Kent School in CT - that's a pic of the back of the chapel there.

4. What is your favorite color? Green

5. Who is your celebrity crush? Phil Harding or all of Time Team

6. Favorite drink? Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper...do they even MAKE it any more?

7. Dream vacation? Corfu in Greece

8. Favorite dessert? Banoffee pie

9. What you want to be when you grow up? an archeologist, not a sock monkey

10. What do you love most in life? my family

11. One Word to describe you. Loving

12. Your flickr name: susieknits

Car, and Week, Update

The car? Martin the mechanic guy came round, and it was merely flooded. He was very good at not making me feel ridiculous, and checked several things and ran it around the block a bit as well. All is well :)

Yesterday, we hopped into the car and took a friend and her daughter along to Norwich Castle Museum. Much fun for kids, all packaged in a 900-year-old castle.

Today, it's the morning social for squadron spouses. I need to get the crockpot crocking, me dressed, and laundry added to my carload o' stuff so we can get down there to set up!!

Best-laid Plans and All That.

We've had a really nice, quiet weekend here. Enjoyed the first day and a half of sunshine and outdoor grilling. Sunday and Monday were pretty grim and rainy, but we hung out and enjoyed the break.

Today brought a screeching halt to the rest of this week's mild plans for half-term fun, however. Lily's friend is over for a playdate, and because it's raining, my idea was to head to a local indoor play place.

Bad news? As I started out the driveway, the car just...died. There's no re-starting it.

Good news? It happened literally 10 feet from the driveway entrance so we could all easily return home.

Bad news? No idea what's wrong and the car is actually IN the road, although far enough to the left that cars can get around easily.

Good news? Our little lane is VERY lightly trafficked.

Bad news? I have car-inclusive plans for tomorrow AND Thursday.

Good news? The mechanic can come here and have a look today.

Bad news? Not until later...much later.

Good news? Kids are still happy to stay home and make/eat cupcakes and play.

Bad news? No more really. Just have to stay tuned and see what the problem is, and hope for the best...

Lovely Views

This is a pheasant's nest that Simon, the gardener, found. He's leaving that flowerbed unweeded until the eggs hatch. I saw the mother pheasant nesting this morning, but she must be off hunting for food now, so I got this shot. Aren't those eggs a lovely shade of blue?

And here's a view from the nest, across the garden. Check out that table and chairs...cute, no? Did I mention that I am blogging from that table at this moment? The wireless reaches outside...whoo hoo!!

Yarn Money

American economic stimulus package = yarn money. Right?? Kris at Sonny and Shear (my fave on-line yarn store) is very convincing about it. Here's her note, and a code to save 20% on your purchases from the shop until midnight on Friday:

In honor of our little economic stimulus checks that we’re all receiving here in the states, we’ve decided to have a little sale. If you’re anything like me, the first thing that came to mind when you heard about our stimulus package was “yarn money”. Therefore, what could be more perfect than a yarn sale??!!!?

For the next few days you can save 20% on all of your yarn purchases at Sonny & Shear by entering the code GeorgeGaveMeYarnMoney at checkout. The coupon expires at midnight on Friday, May 23, 2008.

Feel free to share the code with your friends, your Ravelry groups, your blog readers, your cat, whoever. The sale is open to everyone and anyone. Enjoy your “economic stimulus” yarn.

Things That Make Me Happy Today..

A post in pictures (and some words, too)...

First, no picture, but the knife grinder came back through town. He sharpened my short branch loppers and long ones (secateurs?), and showed off his lovely spaniels. All five of them. What yummy dogs... I didn't take a picture because it seemed rude, somehow.

This morning, after the school run, I went to the car wash. Parking under the horse chestnut tree provides wonderful shade, and protection from rain, but the down side is poop. Lots and lots of bird poop. You might as well paint a huge target on the car...it was encrusted with nonprecious gems. One Deluxe Wash later, it looks like this:

Those of you who've been here may note that Little Blue Pogo is parked off to the side, NOT under the tree. I think I will keep that up for a few days at least!

After the car wash, I had a quick wander through town and bought the cheap-o garden set that I thought about all last summer and saw again this past Saturday. It's plastic, but pretty, and for 29 pounds, I won't find anything nicer. Two chairs and a little table, perfect for mornings out in the front garden or afternoons in the main garden. It may have been plastic, but schlepping the box back to the parking garage from QS was a major pain! I should have brought my shopper to balance the box on.

Here's a chair, before assembly. Hmmmmm:

Now, here's the chair, after. Nice, I think...

Critical Mass

Be careful how you boast about your immunity to this season's allergen. Why? Because when the pollen count then skyrockets to One MILLION the next day, you will be the sheepish, drippy-nosed, sneezing fool.

Rapeseed - it's gorgeous, but deadly....

Mud Is Good

Today is the May bank holiday here in the UK, meaning the kids and I are home but David had to work. Originally, I thought of heading to Ely to see the cathedral and the haunted Pizza Express (Nell Gwynn, I believe) but it is sooo glorious out that we chose the beach instead. We drove over to Snettisham, which is the closest beach, since traffic was getting heavy. It's a bit stony, the tide was waaaaaaay out, and the black flies were incredibly heavy.

At first, I thought we'd have to turn right around, because Lily's Crocs caught some sand and gave her a blister and then she was flipping out about the flies. However, after she had some snuggle time with me on the blanket, she was ready to check out the mud flats where David was busily digging.

We had some snacks, lots and lots of mud walking, and an ice cream to finish up. The kids had a glorious muddy day!

Now that we're home, I filled a huge Rubbermaid container with soapy water so they could play and rinse off the last dried mud.

Too bad I didn't bring my camera!

A Pleasant Sunday, After All

As the song says, "Always look on the bright side of life..." OK. Lots of times, it's not what I do, despite my reputation for cheery thinking. Sometimes, I get wrapped up in the negatives and can't find the positives for my disappointment. Many times, though, looking at the good can make the rest of a day not so bad.

It's not that today WAS a bad day, as such, really. Kids got bathed and dressed, we went to church, the sun was shining. It was just little disappointments, like not really "feeling the love" for church today, not getting much personally from the messages, not having David there with us. Then, at home, he was feeling under the weather (allergies kicking butt around here, with both Davids, actually) and neither of us were at our best.

But lunch happened, D soaked in the tub awhile, and small D took an allergy pill (which zonked him so much that he's now gone up for a nap at 4:30 PM and may be done for the day, I'll bet).

And then we all went for a walk-about in the village. We stopped at Linda's and had some cake, then passed the newly shorn sheep and the big pigs on one of the footpaths. We found some "archeology" as Time Team call their finds - little shards of old blue and white ware. Then we looked for, and I think we found, the circle you can see on Google Earth in a local field - maybe it's a Roman remain! Then it was up, past the cricket pitch and the cricketers, to the bigger footpath. By this time, small D was very drowsy and rather cranky, but we still saw some interesting flowers and things and even answered a call from Grandma Doe!

Being outside, and being together as a whole family, just recolored my day in the nicest way. I'm so glad for it.

If the Queen Were in Charge...

No, I don't mean Me, the Queen. I received this tidbit in an e-mail from my blogless friend Carolyn, and it tickled me greatly. I think we Americans could learn a lot from this!

From Her Majesty The Queen


Just received this communique, FYI:
To the citizens of the United States of America

From Her Majesty the Queen of England

In light of your failure in recent years to nominate competent candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, I hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately.

Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except Kansas, which she does not fancy).

Your new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.

To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:

1. You should look up 'revocation' in the Oxford English Dictionary. Then look up aluminium, and check the pronunciation guide. Count how many 'i's there are and start to pronounce it correctly.
2. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'colour', 'favour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without omitting half the letters, and the suffix '-ize' will be replaced by the suffix'-ise'. Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up 'vocabulary').

3. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as 'like' and 'you know' is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as American English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take account of the reinstated letter 'u' and the elimination of -ize.

4. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.

5. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not adult enough to be independent. Guns should only be handled by adults. If you're not adult enough to sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist, then you're not grown up enough to handle a gun.

6. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. A permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.

7. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.

8. The former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you will cease to call gasoline) - approximately $9 per US gallon. Get used to it.

9. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.

10. The cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as lager. South African beer is also acceptable, as they are pound for pound the greatest sporting nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of the British Commonwealth - see what it did for them. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.

11. Hollywood will be required only to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English dialogue in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater.

12. You will cease playing American football. There is only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full Kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies). Don't try rugby - the South Africans and Kiwis will thrash you, like they regularly thrash us.

13. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware that there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the South Africans first to take the sting out of their deliveries.

14. You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad.

15. An internal revenue agent (i.e., tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).

16. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 pm with proper cups, with saucers, and never mugs, with high-quality biscuits (you must cease referring to them as cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream) when in season.

God save the Queen.

Guilty...

I'm feeling very guilty for neglecting this poor little blog and its faithful readers (reader? Heh). It's been a bit of a crazy week, with Lily's party (21 kids and a good time had by all, but exhausting), heading down to base a couple of times, hanging out at a craft morning, David's mom landing in the hospital (very worrying, but in the end a good thing as they fixed a misdiagnosis and are getting her back to fighting form), hosting a morning social today for some of the spouses of people in D's unit, and various other stuff. Somewhere in there, I attended the preschool's annual general meeting and agreed to chair the committee again this year. That's added a lot of little items to tick off my list as well.

I have pictures from the trip that I need to post or email to Susie (Other Susie) . I have fourteen gabillion blogs to catch up on. Our wedding anniversary is coming up tomorrow (12 years, amazing!) and I haven't even gotten a CARD for D. yet. I did book the restaurant reservation, though.

I miss you guys, and I hope to be a bit more scintillating next week. Maybe even with pictures!

Whoa...

Sorry for the incredibly long hiatus but David's return, combined with Susie's visit, has kept me happily overoccupied. Susie was here for almost exactly 2 weeks, and it was a complete joy to be able to hang out with her and talk to our hearts' content, and tour till our feet fell off. What a trip. What a friend!

The main event of her trip was my baptism on the 4th. She even spoke at the service, and I wish she were here to talk every week. Susie, you're a gifted speaker! Here I am, with Elder Anderson, who performed the baptism, right beforehand. The children were deeply amused by the immersion thing, apparently. It was a very moving moment for me, and I was overwhelmed by the emotions I felt afterward.

Between Susie and me, we took over 700 pictures during her visit. Kid ya not. There was much touristic goodness happening. Thanks to David's comp. time and some leave, Susie and I were able to do two trips, one for 2 days down to Salisbury/Stonehenge and then London, and a second trip to London for some additional sightseeing the day before she flew back.

Highlights of the touring? Hmmmmm...Castle Rising castle, Sandringham, Salisbury Cathedral, STONEHENGE, Parliament/Big Ben/Westminster Abbey/Trafalgar Square/Buckingham Palace/Piccadilly Circus, Tower of London, Globe Theatre, Covent Garden...I'm sure I missed some there. Oh yes....and we got to see Les Miserables in the West End. SWEET! We took some Traveling Socks along, and got some terrific pictures at SockHenge, Sockingham Palace, and even one of a beefeater holding my sock at the Tower of London. I'm not sure if I am allowed to publish that one :) - he was quite bemused, and amused, however.

Susie is blogging the trip, complete with pictures, but I am SO overwhelmed by how many photos there are, I'll just post this one of Susie, on a double decker bus in London, with that trademark awesome smile. I have so many pictures now of this smile, on this face. What a gift for both of us this trip was!! Thanks, Susie, from the bottom of my heart.

After Susie left for home, David still had several days of leave, and it was outstanding to be able to just... hang out together, recovering a bit from the kids' term holiday, the festival of touring, and everything. I'm so very, very glad he's home again. My evenings are filled with grownup conversation and time with my sweetie. It's like going from black and white to Technicolor. Very sweet indeed.

In other news, sort of caught up in the madness, Miss Lily turned FIVE yesterday! She celebrated with cupcakes at school and a cake last night, but the big party is this Saturday, so I will be sure to blog more then. She told me, "I'm a bit puzzled. I don't feel any different."

I'm Here

I'm here, but totally busy in a good way with returned husband and visiting friend. Pics will follow at some point soon!

Travel Plans: The Update

Well, as of right now, David's rebooked onto a flight that lands tomorrow afternoon. Heathrow cancelled 20% of flights today and who knows how well things will be running tomorrow? We shall see. We have the ride lined up for him, and he hopes to be home by dinnertime.

Me, I will be hitting the road around 2:30 AM here with kids and their pillows, to head to Gatwick to meet Susie's 6 AM flight tomorrow morning.

Directions are downloaded, car is gassed up and cleared out, guest room is ready, and the rest of the house is its usual self. Which is to say, pretty tidy, actually.

I'll be hitting the hay very early tonight, so I can be a spunky, sparky driver on the M25 in those pre-dawn hours. Wheeeee!!

T

Dominoes Falling...

So. David is due to fly into Heathrow's new Terminal 5 tomorrow night at 10:15. We've booked a car service pick-up so I don't have to schlep the kids to the airport in the middle of the night. Susie is due in just before 6 AM at Gatwick (other side of London) on Saturday morning. This means D. will arrive home around 2 AM, and I will leave around 2:30 to head to Gatwick. Yeah. Crazy welcome home, but we had it planned out, and it will all work.

At least....we THOUGHT it would. Duh duh DUH. Did anyone see the monkey wrench in that last paragraph? If you guessed Terminal 5, you win the prize. The brand spanking new international terminal at Heathrow opened today in utter chaos. Apparently, their spandy new baggage-handling system is completely nonfunctioning. Arriving passengers are waiting up to 2.5 hours for the bags. As of 5 this evening, departing passengers are not even allowed to check any baggage. It's carry-on only, or go find another way to get where you are going.

They promise things will be smoothed out "really soon" but meanwhile, we're all prepared for probable major delays. That'll mean David getting home Heaven knows when, me taking off 15 minutes after Heaven knows when, and Susie cooling her jets at Gatwick for a possible good long time. There's the domino effect. Good thing she's got her tunes and her knitting and her cheerful outlook on life to keep her company. Right, Susie?

How Could I Have Forgotten??

How did I forget to mention this?! That's right, 6 September in London it's "I Knit Day," starring the Yarn Harlot and workshops and vendors and knitters galore. I have my ticket, and I'm ever so very excited about it. Anyone else here in the UK going?

In other news, my head cold is heading (heh heh...) south to my chest. I'm now starting to sport a lovely cough. Hoping to nip it in the bud with positive thinking and vitamins, and an early night tonight.

Roooooooaaawr!

Today we headed to the Dinosaur Adventure Park with some friends. It was a wonderful day out, although it was mighty cold.

The silver lining there is that not many other people thought it was a good day to play outside, so we had the park pretty much to ourselves. The mini-golf, the go-karts, the dinosaur trail, the maze, trampolines, basket swings, giant climbing dinosaur, and all the climbing gear, all of it was ours for the playing.

The kids ran around nonstop for about 5 hours, and boy am I tired! How does that work?

Peep Art

One more thing, before I amble back to bed. This slideshow from the Washington Post is utterly fantastic. Whether you love or hate the lowly Peep, the creativity of the people who did these dioramas is worthy of admiration. Some are not entirely appropriate for kids' viewing, but all are great!!

Groan and Moan

I'b got a code id by head. Many thanks to Lily, who always manages to bring home a bug on the last day or two of term. She's feeling sparky now, if a little stuffy, but I have been producing way too much oogy stuff and using way too many tissues.

I even took a nap in the middle of the day. With two kids home. And no other grownup around. I told them to play quietly and come get me if they needed anything. After the second story that Lily asked me to make up for her book she drew, I invited her to nap with me. That got her back downstairs in a hurry! The house didn't burn down, and I managed to survive the rest of the day until bedtime, so that rocks.

Here's to Twinings' Lemon and Ginger Infusion, or whatever it's called. Perfect for stuffy heads.

Famous Kidz!

D. asked me to email in some snow pictures to Newsround (kids' news programme on CBBC). I did, and they called to get permission to post them. Fame, at least in the eyes of a 9-year-old...

Go See the Snow!

Check out the family website (usually sadly neglected) for some terrific Easter pictures.

May you have a wonderful Easter, wherever you are, Gentle Readers!

OK....Just One More. Really.

I had to share this picture I took today, during our crazy weather. Check out the difference from the summery photo that titles the blog. The kids were highly miffed that the hail was not snow, but they did venture out to pick up some bowls of it to do experiments.

Eggs, Eggs, Eggs...

Aren't we glad I found the camera? Come on, now..you know you are. Maybe I will even wait a few hours before posting MORE pictures!

Check out the finished eggs...Grandma Doe told us how to get stripes of non-colored area using rubber bands. Came out really well. I wish we'd done more of them that way, but all the eggs are nicely gaudy. Just right for tomorrow's egg hunt!

The Prodigal Camera, She Has Returned...

Aren't we lucky? Now I can inundate you with knits, and later on, with Easter egg coloring pictures. It's a very strange sort of day, weatherwise, with lots of wind and hail/snow/rain alternating. Nothing's sticking, but it's really miserably cold outside.

OK, for full deets on the Big Booga Bag, see my projects on http://www.ravelry.com/ (I'm susieknits there). If you're not a Raveller, but you're DYING to know the yarns, stitch count, etc, just comment and I will dig it all out for ya. It's going to be a largish tote once felted, I hope.

Here's a shot from the first couple of days of knitting, and then one from this morning. You can't really see it, but I carried a strand of olive yarn along with the multi yarn for the bottom half, and I've just switched to a double strand of the mult in the last 20 rows or so. This should make the top half brighter, while still toning with the bottom bit.

...and I've Never Been to Boston in the Fall!!!

Today, I took the kiddoes to see The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything, a full-length movie very vaguely inspired by this Silly Song from Veggie Tales. it was a very cute movie, and the kids thought it was awesome. Me, I preferred the first VT movie, Jonah, but I liked this one too.

{You'll get the title reference if you've heard the Silly Song.}

And...has anyone seen my camera?! It's fallen into a black hole, and I need it for knitting progress pictures. And Easter pics. Maybe not in that order...

Oh, and my niece, Clarke? She is a most clever lady, and even getting kudos to reflect that at school. Cheering wildly from here.

That's all from me today. No posting of my deeper thoughts or current worries about friends, etc. I'll keep those for my own, and just say to you, Gentle Reader, have a wonderful Easter weekend!

Randomness

The kids finished up the winter term today, and highly enjoyed their Easter Disco (a fundraiser) this evening. Children's discos in the UK are an interesting phenomenon. There's music, and dancing around, but really the DJ is the games ringleader. The first 90 minutes was for the 4-7-year-old set; the last half was for the 7-11 crowd. Lucky me, I got to be there for both, with one child in each camp. Fortunately, the other two small children who stayed for round two were friends of Lily's so they played happily in a corner of the hall.

We were all whipped when we got home, and I hope against hope that the kids will sleep in tomorrow.

If you like space stuff, then this site (Google Mars) is absolutely astounding. Check out the detail on these maps.

I brought the Booga Bag along tonight, and knit a little bit. It's really going quickly, but I can't find the freaking camera to take progress pictures. I have absolutely no idea where I stashed it, which is very frustrating indeed.

Wheels Turning

Isn't this an amazing mandala? It's like fractals and stained glass. (The image is from this site.) I've put this picture up as wallpaper on my laptop, for use as a focal point during meditation and prayer.

Today's been a very quiet sort of day - Lily spiked a little fever so both of us hung out at home today. By this afternoon, she was feeling pretty sparky again, so I am hoping she'll be up for school in the morning.

Television to Knit By

I have been making some serious progress on the Booga Bag. I'm using lots of stash yarn to extend the multicoloured wool I have, and I think it's going to be a pretty cool bag. I'm going big, and with luck, after felting, this will be a good-sized tote. So far I have about 10 inches of the body done. It will be at least 20 inches deep pre-felting. I haven't decided how much bigger than that, though.

The best thing about this project: miles of mindless stockinette on large needles. How is that good, you ask? Well, it makes for great TV-watching time.




I'm combining my knitting with watching The Palace on my laptop, and it's a match made in heaven. This is an ITV show that just aired in the last two months. Imagine a combination of The West Wing and Dallas or Dynasty. Great stuff! All eight episodes are still available online , for another two weeks, if you live in the UK. Or you can buy the UK DVD already - who knew?

Odds and Ends

I've got nuthin' of great import today for you. Visited the dermatologist today for a close look at some moles on the Small D-man. One will be removed and biopsied next week - "These look fine! Except this one's kinda rough, and big, and weird-shaped. Let's take it off and have a look. It's fine! [Hearty laughter.]" A little nervous-making, but not too bad. OK, sort of stressful to think about, actually.

Lily Bean had another friend over tonight, for the first time, and it was a great success.

My younger niece is definitely coming to visit for a while this summer, and that makes us all pretty dang happy. I can't wait to do some field-trippin' with her...

Kids are asleep, I'm fried and avoiding kitchen clean-up, and this lace-weight wool is pretty drool-worthy. Such lovely colours.

See, I told you it was Odds and Ends, gentle reader!

More of the Frivolous...

One of my little vices is Go Fug Yourself - a catty, funny blog about celebrity fashions. They've been right on top of Lohan LeggingWatch 2008 lately. (Check it out - Lindsay Lohan is quite the fan of the leggings, apparently. So was I, in 1993.)

Just wait until the Go Fug Yourself ladies get a load of this article. Our Miss Leggings-Lohan is going to be a designer. Of leggings. Imagine!!

Anyone Remember These?

When I was really little, there were at least two years, maybe more, that we had these eggs at Easter. In my memory, they were the most intricate things, with a little world inside each egg. Later, as an adult, I loved looking at the Faberge eggs in the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore. They reminded me of the sugar eggs, done on an incredibly luxurious scale.

I wonder if I can find a couple of these here, for the kids' Easter baskets? You can't go home again, but I'd love to pass on that memory of amazement to them.

The picture comes from this website. Cool stuff!

Huh?

On what planet is this man??

"I must say, I'm a little envious. If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed. It must be exciting for you...in some ways romantic, in some ways, you know, confronting danger."-- George W. Bush, during a video conference with military briefers in Afghanistan

All Over the Place

I've had a lovely morning all to myself, with no commitments, unexpectedly, and it's a nice feeling.

The one-row scarf? She is DONE!! I took a few pictures to post on Ravelry but it doesn't look any different from the scarf-in-progress shots last month. Just longer. I used two skeins of Wendy Fusion and size 6 needles. Loved the color changes in the yarn and grew VERY tired of the pattern before the end. That's just me struggling with project monogamy, however. I think the finished scarf is quite classy looking.

Now, on to a new project (skipping wildly around room). Looking at the wool I have set aside for the felted bag project, I realized that I haven't got enough for a French Market Bag, but I could make a Booga Bag (picture below is from designer's web site). I like this handle style a bit better, anyway. I think I will try to make it somewhat bigger than the finished bag as written. Several people on Ravelry have made modifications to get a bigger bag. I'm going to use tweed-flecked black wool from my stash (Tivoli Tweed DK, I think) for the base, to get more mileage out of the multicolored wool I have. Pictures of my own bag-in-progress will follow soon as there's enough to photograph.

Remember This?

Remember my drooling post? Guess whose lovely, lovely, wonderful husband has ordered one of these as a belated birthday gift? (He was in the desert for my birthday.) I love that man. Can't wait to see how much bouncier my hair looks, and how much knitting I will finish, and how well I can bake bread once it's in my hands. Heh.

Seriously, I have unexpected free time this morning (not heading to base today after all), so I will FINISH my long one-row scarf. Then I can move on to swatching for the felted French Market Bag. Finally...

Quiet...

...TOO quiet. No, not really. I don't think there is such a thing as "too quiet."However, Lily is at a friend's house for play and teatime, so it's just the Younger David and me. We don't make a lot of noise, I'm finding. Heh. I'm kind of liking that. We'll also seize the day and have pesto with our ravioli, like crazy gourmet people who eat sauces on their pasta.

Lynn's comment to yesterday's post inspired me to check out some photo-processing places on line. Why, yes, that picture would look neat on a note card, as shown by their example picture here. I never considered putting anything but photos on that sort of card. Obviously, I need to think a tad further outside the box...

Watercolour Class - Last One of Term

So, I missed two weeks of class because of various kiddie medical appointments, and returned last week. We started our Giverny Garden pictures then, and finished them off this week. A little bit of a change from Week One, that's certain.

I've signed up for the next class, which begins in mid-April, and am really looking forward to it. I've learned so much. Sometimes it feels intuitive, and sometimes it's really difficult to grasp why something works in paint the way it does, but all the time, I love it!

Mom Would Have Loved This

Check out this article - a man in Scotland built this house for 4,000 pounds, or about 8,000 dollars. More pictures of the building process are here.

Mom loved reading about homesteading, straw bale houses, log cabins, and inexpensive/ecological housing in general. We call little teensy houses "Grandma Houses" in our family. This is definitely a Grandma House.

Did I Miss a Day Somewhere?

I think I didn't blog yesterday (cue ominous music). That's because I was deeply dull.

Today is really blustery, wet, windy and awful. It's the sort of day when something like this post about bread baking looks deeply appealing. I made a batter bread a couple of weeks ago that was great for instant gratification, but there's something richer and more satisfying about a yeasty loaf.

Uncle Walter

David's Uncle Walter passed away today. He had been in poor health for quite a while, but took a really bad turn for the worse these past two weeks, truly struggling for every breath. Walter was a lovely man, I was glad to know him, and I am glad he is not suffering any longer.

Sweet Friday

How I love you, Friday...

Not much excitement around here today, just a dental appointment for Lily (x-rays and cleaning), massive amounts of laundry in the big machines on base, and random errand-running.

I'm feeling a tad sleep-deprived this week so I will be heading to bed early. I know the clocks jump ahead in the states this weekend, but not until March 30th in the UK (just had to look that up).

If the fates allow, I shall sleep in tomorrow morning. [For "fates," please read "charming children."]

Simon's Cat

You've probably seen the video (hilarious) where the cat wants to wake up its owner. Apparently, the animator has made another one. Watch kitty plead to be let in.

I know this cat. I've lived with this cat. Heh.

Thanks to Glenna of Knitting to Stay Sane for leading me to that chuckle. That's the Glenna who designed Ivy for Knitty and Basic Black for MagKnits - she totally rocks.

Why, yes...this post IS very linkalicious. Thank yew.

Hair Cuts and Pictures

Today I got my hair cut. It looks fantabulous, if I do say so myself. However, documentary proof? Not so easy. I tried the ole Mirror Shot trick and the flash went crazy, but when I chose "no flash" I could NOT get a non-blurry shot. I guess I have shaky hands. I had small D take a few pictures but those too were blurry.

I'll have to try in broad daylight with the mirror, but trust me. It's a good haircut. We got rigd of the shag in the back, and the stylist gave me a modified bob with lots of layers in it. Very grown-up looking, and short without looking "short."

Amazing Days

If you read yesterday's post, and Susie's comment, she's referring to the best thing to come my way in a long time. I will be baptized soon, and David and Susie will both be there to witness the day. How wonderful is THAT?! Very, actually.

I've been attending church locally, and the more I learn, the more I pray, the happier I am to be there. I feel a centering in my life that I have longed for, and I am truly grateful for that, more than anything else, today.

Good things

I'm thankful today.

Thankful for my sweetie husband, and the fact that he found a phone that will take a phone card so we could talk, and listen, to one another more than 5 minutes without fear of bankruptcy.

Thankful for Twining's fruity something or other tea, which is totally pink and quite tasty.

Thankful for Aleve and how it made my tooth/headache go away.

Thankful that one of my picky children has expanded the foods he eats to include pesto and olives, so two of the three of us ate something colorful for dinner tonight.

Thankful for good news from my mother-in-law, about David's uncle, who's been quite ill.

Thankful for my mother-in-law, who loves me maybe as much as I love her!

Thankful that I have a haircut appointment Wednesday so I will be able to see through this shaggy mane. I'm definitely going shorter this time.

Thankful for audio available on line so I can "read" and knit at the same time.

And thankful for you, Gentle Reader, for bothering to read my blathering.

Mothering Sunday

Today is Mothering Sunday here in England, or, as I like to think of it, my extra Mother's Day. I was gifted with handmade cards from both kiddoes, a lovely cake from small D decorated with every sort of chocolate known to man (because D's teacher? She is brilliant and knows what mothers love.), and even little flower corsages. I am so lucky.

Maybe the nicest thing was the 2-hour nap the kids let me take this afternoon while they played nicely together. Not maybe. Definitely the nicest thing.

On the other hand, it was also fun putting together David's planetarium despite the forty-eleven tabs that needed to be glued. It took us hours to get that thing into a globe shape, but it was gratifying in the end.

If you're a mother, you have a virtual hug from me today. I hope your day is/was lovely.

Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit

Do any of you have that tradition? On the first of the month, as soon as you wake up, you should say "rabbit rabbit rabbit" for good luck. I think it was my fourth grade teacher who told me that one. The kids find it amusing, though.

Knitting - some progress. I moved the eternal one-row scarf into my purse this afternoon, when I drove David to a birthday party. But I didn't actually do any knitting.

Here's to a more scintillating week ahead. I've "lost my [blogging] mojo" lately, and would love to get it going again. Maybe it's somewhere with the knitting mojo...

A Completely Frivolous Post

In honor of Leap Day, when I don't "have to" post a thing, I will reveal that I am a shallow and covetous person.

Today at the spouses' get-together, someone was carrying a Reisenthel market bag. I don't think any of us had seen one before, and it got LOTS of attention, not all from me. They are about the size of a supermarket shopping basket, and absolutely groovy gorgeous. Just my opinion. Suzie's bag was tan with neat black or brown scrollwork patterns.

Tonight, browsing on line, I found this one. My dream market basket. I am absolutely convinced that if I owned it, my hair would be bouncier, my jeans would be chic-er, and I would look effortlessly pulled together as well as environmentally conscious. Also 15 pounds lighter.

Did I mention that I would also finish all my knitting projects, return my library books on time, and bake my own bread? And learn Russian in my spare time? And sing beautifully?

OK. So I am dreaming a little bit. Truly, though, it's a nifty basket.

Hi, y'all.

I got email from blog365 today, reminding me NOT to blog tomorrow. Leap Day is our day of rest. Maybe I'll be saucy and blog anyway.

Traffic court went well - I got my fine and my 3 points, apologized, and moved on. To the tea room in the village. Where I had a pot of tea and a massive slab of very good chocolate cake.

And then I felt much better.

I also scored two nice pairs of blue jeans in the charity shops, which is a little bonus. Last year's Monsoon sale jeans, which have been my go-to dressier jeans, have developed visible holes and it's time to retire them to gardening pants.

I'm being all permissive and letting the kids stay up late to watch one of the Best of Loony Tunes DVDs while I catch up on my blog reading.

Still no knitting around here, but I'm thinking about knitting. Does that count at all?

So. Tired.

It's 8:30 and I am shattered. This is just crazy. Part of it is dread, though...I have my day in court tomorrow, to pay my traffic citation and repent.

Part of it is mental exhaustion and a brain whirling like a hamster on amphetamines. David's car flunked its MOT (annual inspection) rather spectacularly, so our friend/mechanic will be looking out for a new (to us) diesel car for him.

I gave smaller David a hug tonight, remembered when he was a baby, and just burst into tears. Very odd.

And we had an earthquake last night. The world - it is a strange place for me today.

Not much going on tonight. I'm worn out from the run to base - fine doctor's appointment, cancelled dental appointment, and various errands - and it's time to get the kiddies to bed, after which I'll probably read for a while, and then crash.

But I leave you with this image. If I had to head back to the Cube Farms tomorrow, wouldn't this be a sweet spot to work? Check out this article for more cube ideas, some quite amusing.

I Got Nuthin'

Nuthin' to see here...move along.

Seriously, it was a very slow Monday. I spent it doing laundry/dishes and reading, and waiting for the car to be ready. Car? It has a lovely new starter, sounds great and starts like a dream, and is happy to be back.

My evening's been a tad more hectic. Dropped David at Cubs at 6:30 and took advantage of the 90-minute wait to go to Tesco and get some groceries with Lily. Poor Lily - Mondays are really tough because she ends up going to bed 90 minutes later than usual. Once Dadster is home, one of us can stay home putting her to bed when the other is running David up to Cubs.

Tomorrow is a run-around day, with doctor and dentist appointments for David. I'll bring my knitting :)

Still No Knitting

If you're popping in to see what's on my needles, my apologies. My one-row scarf languishes on a side table. I haven't picked it up for even one of those rows since before David came home.

And now he's gone again. He left before dawn today, and has arrived safely in Germany. We'll have him back a week after Easter. Sigh.

Car troubles: the update. A wonderful mechanic (not my usual, but D's new one, an acquaintance of ours who does a lot of work on Peugeots) has taken the non-starter away and will be working on it first thing in the AM. Kids have rides to school lined up, and with luck, everything will be back to normal by afternoon.

We had a quiet day at home, being carless, and now the kids are abed, and I am catching up on blogs. I think it will be an early night for me as well.

Here's to some knitting in the week to come!

Pheh.

David home - wheeee! Lovely day out today with the family - wheeee! Dinner out as well - wheeee!!

Starter dying on motor? Pheh.

AA Roadside Assistance? Priceless.

Fortunately, the airport car service is booked to take David to Heathrow (in 8 hours) anyway.

Unfortunately, replacing a starter on a Sunday here? Near impossible.

Keepin' It Random, since 2005

Heh. Seriously, we're all wrapped up in having David around till dawn on Sunday so not a lot of blog time, but does anyone here play or remember playing Farkle? My sister and her friends used to play it a lot, and I thought it was a gas, but it completely left my mind until this morning, when, for some odd reason, all I could think about was Farkle.

The game is only played with six dice and paper/pencil to keep score, but the rules seemed very convoluted to me. But hey, Bunco confuses me. Seriously...

You can even play Farkle on the computer now. Who knew?

My Cup Runneth Over...

My baby is back. Ignore the utter dorkiness of the picture and focus on those smiles. [Confidential to Chrissie - you're right about the shag cut. I'm going short next month.]

MIscellany in Picture Form

Who guessed that I downloaded the pictures from my camera today? Points to you. Here are a few various shots. First are the lovely birthday flowers my friend Susie sent me, because she's a doll and did I mention she's wonderful? One week later they still look great - all the blooms have opened up now and are so pretty. Next we have David As Figurehead. He was noodling around in the playground at Sandringham back when we had sunshine. When was that? I forget, it's been foggy for so long. The hundreds of clay figures are a display at the British Museum. They are hosting an exhibition of the Qin dynasty terracotta army figures, and some school children made these in connection with the exhibit. They're great - click to get a close-up. And the last shot - that's Lily on the train to London with one of her tiny Madame Alexander dolls. Mom and I collected a bunch of these when they were a McDonald's premium. Such lovely little dolls, jointed, with rooted hair and eyes that open and close...almost as cute as the owner pictured here.

Thankful

I'm thankful for the dentist, my lovely wonderful dentist, who performed miracles on my back molar today.

I'm thankful for the friend who picked Lily up from school and took her to ballet for me, while I was with said wonderful dentist.

I'm thankful that David got a place in the Craft Club for the second half of term, because he has so much fun with it.

I'm thankful that David the elder will be home 48 hours from now, if all goes according to plan.

I'm not thankful for fog, although freezing fog? On trees? Gorgeous...

No watercolour class today because of the dental appointment...so we'll all have to wait until next Tuesday to see what fun stuff I learn.

Meh.

So...unproductive...today. Must...get...motivated. Sigh. Three sleeps until David is home, as the kiddies put it. I hoped to accomplish more around the house today, this being the first day of school after the half-term break and all. Unfortunately, the bed wrapped itself around me for several hours midday, and the only thing I got done from my list was laundry. We did have a nice dinner out at some new friends', though, and that was great!

I'd say, "There's always tomorrow," but not so much. I have a dental appointment down at the base, the timing of which makes doing anything else pretty much impossible.

There's always Wednesday, however. Right?

Can you guess what sort of weather we're having today, and have been having of an evening lately? It's mighty cold right now, and all I want to do is curl up under a down comforter and eat rice pudding. What can I say?

I did make some inroads into the kitchen and laundry that awaited me after yesterday's London trip, so that's good. Now that the kids are abed, however, I've run out of energy.

Four more nights until David's home. Not that I'm keeping count or anything like that...

I promise to attempt some scintillation in tomorrow's post. Sorry, Gentle Readers, I'm fresh out tonight.

A Long Day

I took the kidlets into London today for a dip into the waters of the British Museum. Among other things, we enjoyed the Assyrian bits, some Mayan/Olmec/Aztec artifacts, and the non-mummy portion of the Egyptian stuff. We just wandered where our fancies took us, and I think another 10 trips might begin to cover it. Heh. I took a couple of pictures, and have to get them off the camera tomorrow.

Then we walked over to Covent Garden to hang about a bit, and have some early dinner. It was a gorgeous blue day, although very nippy at the start.

The ride home was crowded - lots of Chelsea football fans (they won) and shoppers meant I stood until Cambridge (45 minutes), but the kids got seats and Lily fell instantly asleep.

I'm overly tired, now, and there's a leftover kitchen mess and some laundry waiting for me, but it will have to wait another day. The bed takes priority!!

How's your weekend going?

Empty

I feel empty this evening. Nothing much to natter about. Everything seems awfully trivial today, somehow. The half-term holiday is coming to an end, and I am taking the kids into London tomorrow to Covent Garden and the British Museum. Early bedtime tonight for Miss Lily, getting back into the routine, but David stayed up to watch Ghostbusters II with me, and enjoyed it highly.

However you're heading into the weekend, I hope it will be a lovely one for you. Six days until my sweetness comes home, and counting.

Just for You

My valentine to you, Gentle Reader(s)! You're the greatest...




(Thanks, Jill, for pointing me to these at this site.)

Treasure....

Aaaaarrrr, me hearties. There be treasure maps galore in this house. David started the trend a little while ago, and is now drying his tea-stained treasure. Lily and her friend Lydia caught the bug and they're working on their own maps, too.

Wednesday, Hump Day, 8 days to go until David gets back Day, the day goes by many names. I'm feeling a bit wrung-out today, but OK. Maybe a long hot bath this evening. That sounds very nice.

Night Out!!

Thanks to my wonderful friend, Ruth, who is able to come babysit tonight, I will be enjoying an evening with the squadron spouses' group. I think it's important to participate in the group functions when I can, but with David away, it's been impossible to make the night events.

Think of it! A chance to see some folks I rarely get to see, who know what it's like when your partner's deployed/TDY, who are funny, interesting, and like chocolate. Pretty much a perfect evening, I think.

Not much else going on today...we got a late start, and I need to put away some laundry, pick up a little around the house, and write some notes for Ruth about bedtime, etc.

Feelin' Pretty Special

Today is my birthday, and it's been a grand one! Thank you, everyone, for the calls, the e-cards, the e-mails, the flowers, and unexpected gifts. I'm also grateful to my kids, who gave the gifts of patience and good cheer all day long on a day full of dentist, errands, late meals, and the world's smallest cake. What good people they are.

Now that bedtime is over (much later than usual because of a delayed dinner and an after-dinner game of Doctor Who trivia), I'm settled in to read a new-to-me novel and enjoy the quiet. Ahhhhhhhh...

Hello, Mister Sun!

Hello, Mister Sun, hello, hello. Hello, Mister Sun, hello. Shine down, shine down, and make our apples grow!

That tune (a little ditty from Lily's reception class) has been running through my head all weekend. I'm just beside myself at two glorious sunny days in a row, when we can be outside, without parkas, walking or running or sniffing the air, or what have you. Fantastic to know that spring is in the air.

The kids have some little sniffles, but I think it's just a reaction to all this fresh air. They're pretty happy, too!

Hope your weekend is wonderful, wherever you are.

Remember the Meme!

Or is it Remember the Maine? Heh.

Annalea over at The Passionate Mind has done the Seven Things About Me meme, and has such thoughtful answers I feel like a total slacker. I've been tagged, so see this post for my seven things, because as number 7 on that list says, I'm laaaaazy!! Thanks for the tag, Annalea. It was neat to read your seven. Anyone who wants to do the meme, rock on, and shout out in the comments so I can come read yours, too.

I've also been tagged for the You Make My Day award, and thanks a gabillion to Lynn and...ack, I'm blanking!! Who else tagged me?

In any event, you all make my days - I love reading your comments here, and I love your blogs. So, thank you.

A Little Telly

Keepin' it light here, on this gorgeous, sunny day. We head into half-term break next week. Wish me luck and fun times. I have a few activities squirreled away for the kids, and some day destination possibilities, so I think the week will go quickly.

Meanwhile, my oh-so-very-beloved Life on Mars is not airing any more, but the sequel program premiered last night. Ashes to Ashes. Got it downloaded from the BBC to watch this evening. (Check out their free iPlayer if you are in the UK, might I just say. It rawks.) I shall always miss my lovely Sam Tyler - a compelling character if ever there was one - but it's nice to have the other boys back in town.

The Princess Bride

Oh, how I love this movie. The joy of it never gets old for me. And David? As yoooooooou wiiiiiiiish!

Two Weeks.....

Two looong weeks to go, and David will be home. We're both hitting the "Man I Miss You So Much I Want to Throw Things and Snipe at People" stage. Too bad he won't be home for Valentine's Day, but I am sure we can work a delayed version out. Heh.

Otherwise, all is well. Gorgeous day weatherwise today. Had a playdate/dinner guest again, and that went well. I'm ready for the kids to go to bed now, though. I need some alone time.

Sorry I'm not more scintillating. Maybe tomorrow will bring a tad of excitement...who knows?

Watercolours: Week Four

Today we finished up our Hunstanton Cliffs pictures. Check out the before and after shots below.


At one point, the instructor used my picture to demonstrate some things on the left of the page [circled in bottom picture]. He used much stronger colours to pick out details and add contrast, even using straight red on the cliffs at one point (yes, I gasped a bit). It makes so much more of an impact.


I added in reflections, deepened tones and added details every old where, and sketched in little figures in the background. Ehhh on the boats, etc. But I see what they can do for a picture, adding depth and drawing the eye in.


No class next week, as it's half-term. I will miss it. I haven't done any painting on my own yet, but I think I will, rather than go into withdrawal...

Spring in the Air, and Winter....

Today's been all over the map, weatherwise. The morning started out windy and bright, the wind died down a bit and the sun stuck around to make walking a sheer pleasure, and then, as I waited for the kids in the playground this afternoon, the skies opened up. It poured rain for about 20 minutes, and now it's clear and fresh again. Ahh, England, you do like to surprise me all day long.

You would think by now I'd have smartened up about carrying more layers of various kinds, but not so much... Ideally, I need a heavy coat, a light jacket, a cardigan, a scarf and gloves. Maybe a hat, too. Just for one day's worth of weather. I was overdressed in a parka this morning, but didn't have a scarf with me(borrowed one!) which was more necessary. For school run time, I switched to a light trenchcoat (AND my own scarf) but forgot the umbrella. Heh.

Maybe I just need a wardrobe cube in the boot of the car. I have spare clothes for the kidlets, as well as cleaning supplies, after the last carsickness episode. Don't know ... if I add much more, I won't have room for anything else, like groceries.

Tomorrow is Super Tuesday in the US. If you're registered in one of the 24 states having primaries, I hope you'll vote. Already sent my absentee ballot in last month. It's going to be very interesting to watch. I'll probably stay up far too late to wait for returns. I always do...

Awestruck.

This morning, David was in the (packed) West Newton church with some other schoolmates for the Queen's visit there. Lily and I were waiting outside with the other onlookers. We brought snowdrops from our garden for the Queen, who stopped to take them from Lily and spoke to her. She smiled, and in her lovely voice, she asked Lily, "Did you pick these yourself?" Lily was awestruck. And dumbstruck. What a moment!

Decluttering - A Small Update

You might recall when David and I decluttered his bookshelves and tidied his room. I followed that up by tidying Lily's room and toy shelves. Well, she did a pretty fair job of keeping things neat, but a couple of weeks ago, as promised, I went in to de-toyify. After an hour and a half, I'd removed two bin bags full of soft toys and things, and two more bin bags full of junky toys and no-longer-loved toys.



Here's the final result of the Toy Shelves Purge. The key - everything has a place now. Special dolls go in cubbies; the tea party set has its own cubby, as does the play house. Bins have specific things in each one: princess and fairy dolls in one; Mr Potato Head and family in another, Playmobil in another, puppets and ponies in another (it cracks me up that so many of the preferred toys begin with P). The bottom row of bins contains soft dolls, and soft toys that ARE played with. See how much neater the shelves are?


Each time we've cleaned up, even after playdates, it's taken lmuch less than 5 minutes, and Lily has taken the mantra up too - "it's easy to tidy because... everything has a place!" Now, if I can achieve this with my OWN junk!

On a rather blustery evening, I'm huddled in the living room, thinking of random things for which I'm thankful:

A working furnace.

A pretty room to spend time in.

A REALLY BIG mug for hot drinks.

A wonderful husband who "talks" to me as much as he can by email, even when cut cables in the Middle East mean no morale calls and no unofficial email accounts are getting through.

A wonderful husband, period.

Tesco Light Choices ready meals.

Children who want to talk to me and play games with me.

Children who are cuddly and affectionate.

Children who have early bedtimes, which minimizes their hours of meanness.

My watercolour class.

Extra brushes and paint so I can spend some time painting with the kids tomorrow.

Good friends who care about me.

Yarn to pet.

Down comforters.

And you, Gentle Reader.

I hope your days are good ones, wherever you are as you read this.

(Image courtesy of this art studio website.)

Oh, Nerts!

I missed a day. Sorry about that.

A Meme; No Tagging Necessary

Just out of curiosity, I had to try this meme, when Lynn posted it.

1. Go to the current book you're reading.
2. Go to Page 161.
3. Copy down the 5th sentence.

The family, rather taken aback, agreed, and then, somewhat suspiciously, asked me what I wanted.

That's from My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell. I'm reading the Corfu Trilogy right now, which is a collection of all three books he wrote about his family's years in Corfu. Wonderful, wonderful books.

The sentence is from passage where clever Gerry has worked out a way to get exactly the boy-naturalist supplies he wants for his birthday by targeting the wish lists.

Saint Wanda, and Watercolour Class: Week Three

First, note that my streak of daily blogging lives on (I did blog yesterday at the HealthSpa blog).

Second, I am indebted to my new hero, Wanda of the California Department of Motor Vehicles. In the space of 8 minutes of the phone, she noted my lost license in case of identity theft, took all my details, and generated a replacement license thingie (photoless but legal) that is mailing out today, and is good until 2012. Hey, a photoless license is bound to look better anyway.

She totally rocked my world, and potentially saved my bacon because I must appear in court (with a license of some sort) at the end of February to face my speeding charge. I, Maria Andretti of the Leaden Foot, was caught in a speed trap on the way to base. Sigh. I was wrong. So wrong. Seriously, I've been pretty darn careful about speeding since I have been here.

Moving on to item the third, we began a Norfolk landscape today. Working from photos of the Hunstanton cliffs at low tide, I produced this. We will work on them more next week, adding details and finishing various things, like the rocky gravelly bit along the bottom of the cliffs.

What I like about this picture so far: the sky came out really well and I think the tops of the cliffs (chalky part) are going to really be good. The sand is a good color mix, and I think the carrstone boulders look nice and seaweedy.

What I don't like: The horrible, horrible shade of blue I used in my little pools (and the patch of ocean, for that matter). I think the water is really blotchy as well. I am really not pleased with the carrstone portion of the cliffs - it should be paler, almost a reddish pink and brown. I can't make it lighter now that it's on.

It's an interesting scene to work on and I think if I paint it again (and again), I'll get the coloring better.

Back, and Back in Action...

Our trip to Cadbury World couldn't have gone better. We had an awesome time, spending about 5 hours there, and the trip home was as smooth as the trip out, which is to say...like buttah!

Yes, chocolate was consumed. No, I did not rip my head off for ease of pouring candy down my gullet. I did take some pics of the kids at various points, but a few fun areas were off limits for photos. I will post them once they're uploaded, but for now, I'm just patting myself on the back for a road trip well done, and for unpacking the very same evening we returned. Whoo hoo!

Quick Post

In case I don't get back online today, we're headed for the Wonderful World of Chocolate here. Should be fun, and I am pretty sure I can restrain myself from inhaling the entire place. Pretty sure.