Stitches in Play

it feels like monday or the winners are...

Oh my, I said I would announce the giveaway winners on Monday... but for some reason I keep on forgetting that with my kiddos home nearly every Monday, Tuesday has become my new Monday.  Thanks so much to all of you who entered - I really enjoyed reading all of your sweet and clever comments.  I couldn't choose just two winners so I chose three:

comment #5 - annri

comment #26 - miri

comment #32 Laura (no blog link)    Ladies, send me your addresses!

In the meantime:

We enjoyed a wonderful three-day weekend full of playing, house cleaning and organizing, and a trip here to see this.  Each of these will receive its own post sometime this week.  I'm off to read with some first graders and pick up a whole bunch of kiddo artwork from the art teacher that will be turned into mugs and totes for our next fundraiser - hoping to raise enough money so that we can have school on Mondays again!

On the home front:

Abigail's sweater is all done,

this quilt top is almost complete,

these ladies are enjoying their morning constitutional,

this kitty is in search of a warm and sunny perch,

and this girly is ready to reveal her new cardi.

Wishing you all a fabulous Tuesday!  (although it sure does feel like a Monday around here!)

 

inspiration at home

Working to finish up works in progress... and, of course, couldn't keep myself from starting a new project.  Not much to share just yet so with a little inspiration from my afternoon pick-me-up - delish coffee ice cream - I went in search of the color brown.  Here goes...

May you find much inspiration this weekend.

"Without inspiration the best powers of the mind remain dormant.  There is a fuel in us which needs to be ignited with sparks."  Johann Gottfried Von Herder

snow days

This Sunday the snow came down. A whole foot of it!

In the morning I took photos out the window.

But once the wiggles set in and i had three stir crazy kiddos on my hands we took the show - and the camera - outdoors.

  

Then the sun came out and we set forth to explore...

in the veggie garden:

with the girls: who refused to let their feet touch the snow and remained "cooped up" (pun intended) for two whole days.

 

with icicles picked off the roof:

All that play can be exhausting so we took a break.

Then back inside for a snack.

I have been making Ina Garten's Cherry Granola for a while now but when Soulemama posted her granola recipe i decided to combine the two into what turned out to be the best granola EVER!

We just mixed all the ingredients leftover from making holiday gifts for the teachers and we got this half gallon jar + one quart jar full of yummy, healthy, hearty goodness.

We couldn't stop munching on it right out of the jar...

 

But around here everyone enjoys granola best over a bowl of plain yogurt, generously drizzled with honey.

Happy New Year to you! 

celebrating each day

I did not mean to be away this long.  I have been busy with all that comes along with this holiday season, both at home and at my kiddos' school.  Seems like we just celebrated halloween and now Thanksgiving is only days away and Hanukkah is a week later on December 1st and all teacher's holiday gifts need to be wrapped and ready by december 16th.  I'm slowly working on several gifts that I'll share soon but mainly I've been unusually calm this year. I'm taking one day at a time and focusing on being present with my family. 

I especially love that Ezra arrives home an hour before his brother and sister this year - at 2:30 I drop everything so that I can spend this precious hour with him. We talk about his day while we walk the dogs, get the mail, check on our chickens and share a snack.  This has become our daily ritual and I cherish every moment that my pre-teen wants to share his concerns and his joys with his mama.

Abigail has been busy decorating our home for the holidays. 

We still had fall pumpkins and gourds on the table when we added bowls of halloween candy.  Over the weekend she placed Hanukkah "gelt" (chocolate coins) right over the leftover candy.  Just as it became nearly impossible to tell which holiday we were celebrating....

Abigail added this strawberry corn and declared us "ready for Thanksgiving!"  While I'm not sure which holiday we are prepared for, we are giggling a lot at all the silliness around here.

And for the past week all of our baked goods have been arranged in a giant latke platter that the girly insists sit in the center of our kitchen table.  This has resulted in nearly daily baking because a dozen muffins disappear quickly when stored in plain sight like this.  (These muffins were made from Trader Joe's Triple Berry Bran muffin mix - yummy and healthy.  I substitute buttermilk for the water and add vanilla extract and semi-sweet chocolate chips. I am not a purist when it comes to baking and often doctor up a boxed mix because my kids don't care - they just want baked goods that are warm out of the oven. Bonus - these muffins each have 7 grams of fiber.)

While we're keeping an eye on the calendar and all that needs to get done, we must not forget that our hens need tending each and every day. 

These girls haven't heard about Thanksgiving or Hanukkah or Christmas or New Year's.  They just provide us with the most delicious (and beautiful) eggs ever - each and every day.  The kiddos have named all of our hens and each time I present a baked good or an egg dish they ask which hen laid the eggs they are eating.   And it's not uncommon to hear,"I'll have one of Rusty's eggs - sunny side up."  I had no idea the joy and laughter and nourishment that these hens would bring us when I mail ordered day old chicks last May on a whim.

 

And while we're on the subject of staying calm and present during this holiday season I'll share that while I finished the jacket I was knitting - loosely based on the featherweight cardi - I could not figure out what possessed me to knit a garter stitch collar.  It is now ripped and i'm knitting a 1x1 rib instead.  I was watching this film when I made the dreaded decision to use garter stitch and so I am tempted to blame Coco Chanel for this atrocity - but just thinking about that makes me laugh out loud so I will assume all blame, savor the process, and re-knit the collar. 

The above photo was taken by Abigail who is six and it is not cropped at all.  After we finished reading her book I asked her to take a picture of my sweater - and she stood so close that she managed to frame it perfectly.  The wool used is Peruvia Quick by Berroco in shade #9137.

May you find a reason to celebrate today.

i sewed a table runner

This Sunday Dad and the boys went to a nearby field to meet up with some other boys and fly their remote controlled planes.  While they were away the girls set the table in anticipation of the yummy Chinese food that said boys would bring home upon their return.

But setting the table for such a feast is no simple task.  First mama and the girl had the clean up the Monopoly game that was occupying the entire table.  They joked about how it had become their favorite game since the girl learned to count money, give change, and purchase the properties that had eluded her brothers so that she could sell those same properties back to them for far more than their true worth.  They then fetched the "chicken plates" that they purchased at tjmaxx over the summer.  (Mama and the girl are aware that these plates do, in fact, depict roosters but around here it's all about the girls and hence they are referred to as the chicken plates.)  Then the girl set out the John Derian insect tumblers that she insisted mama get the moment she spied them at target.  Because she was convinced that simple milk and juice would taste magical when consumed from a cup bearing the image of a ladybug and butterfly. This proved to be true.

Once the table was set, mama and the girl felt it was a bit bear.  So they sewed a table runner.  Out of some fun fabric that mama has had on a shelf for a year - maybe two.  And they made it reversible because the girl found that the yellow fabric would compliment the gourds and mini pumpkins on the table that she loved to arrange and rearrange over and over until they were just so.

The girl also thought that some felt leaves would add the perfect touch to the fall table awaiting Chinese food.  So she and mama cut leaf shapes out of felt and the girl arranged them on the runner, just as she had her pumpkins.  Mama considered sewing down the leaves but decided that doing so would make the table runner more difficult to launder.  And in the world of accidents, spills and mishaps in which this mama resides, easy laundering is of utmost importance. 

After all, beauty is in the simple things.  And in quick projects, crafted with eager kiddos that create lasting memories.  And that is why I sewed a table runner. 

18 weeks

For nearly 18 weeks we have cared for, loved, played with, petted, named, and been amused by our hens. 

Who knew their feathers would feel so silky soft,

that their dispositions would be so sweet,

that they would come to us so eagerly,

that they would ask to go home each time they flew out of their enclosure,

that that they would look us in the eyes when they "spoke"? 

Oh my, were are so happily surprised by how well these girls fit into our family.

So imagine how excited we were when, several days ago, we found this in the nesting box!

Our very first egg!  It was small, but ever so perfect.

The girly quickly ran to retrieve one of the dozen or so egg cartons that she has so thoughtfully collected for just this moment.

Our first egg was teeny compared to the large organic eggs we get at the store.

But we loved it nonetheless.

 

And now each morning (and afternoon - and sometimes in the evening) we check the coop for more eggs.

Sometimes we need to check again just moments later - just in case.

So imagine excited we were this morning when we opened the coop and found these three perfect teensy eggs.  Like little gifts wrapped in the most precious of packaging. 

Who knew how incredibly exciting it would be to lift this hinged door?

growing

 

Summertime has always been synonymous with "growing".  And there's been lots of growing going on around here.  The chicks are now ten weeks old. 

They have done an enormous amount of growing.  Because at the start of summer these three week old girls looked like this.

 

 

 

Lots of growing going on in the garden.  

 

Growing berries for breakfast.

 

Picked fresh by a girly still in her pajamas.

And this eleven year old kiddo is growing up way too quickly.  I snapped this photo of him around 7pm the other night as I was preparing to send off the fundraising packets for their school.  Abigail was dancing to some not-so-quiet music and David was complaining about the fact that we were out of muffins.  Ezra made himself a sandwich and quietly stepped outside to eat it.  I watched out the window as he took deep breaths and savored the quiet - interrupted only by the sound of frogs croaking and an occasional bat flying over the pool to catch a mosquito.  I don't know how many years I have left in which this kiddo will want to talk to, and cook with, and give hugs to, and share what he's read with his mama. 

But I know he will never grow too big to love and care for his pets.  Years ago I taught our doggies to take walks off leash but these days they listen best to this boy.

 

And watching our sweet hens grow is giving us yet another chance to learn and grow and laugh together.

I have a feeling that these sweet girls will be providing our family with a lot more than just yummy eggs.  They are giving us hours of bonding time and many giggles.

How (or what) did you grow this week? 

the (it's almost summer) weekend update

I realize that Monday is nearly over but I spent the day cleaning the house and restocking supplies (read grocery shopping).

The Bad:  The weather was either hot and humid or pouring rain

The Good:  so much of the weekend was spent in the pool.

The Good:  Abigail floating in the pool without a care in the world

The Bad:  while the boy refills his super soaker water shooter. 

(I do have a photo of what transpired next but I like to keep this blog a happy space - that way when I read over it years from now all the screaming and fighting will appear to be just a figment of my imagination.)

 

Most Clever:  Here's Remmy lounging under a tree canopy where he's safe from both intense heat and pouring rain.
 

The Best Alternative Use: mason jars make beautiful chick waterers. 
 

The Girls:  I'm in love with these twelve-day-old girls who are now able to fly right out of their brooder.  They grow so fast! I only have sixteen left and I am going to have major trouble giving the last batch to their people.
 

The Verdict:  The only green part left of the smoothies around here are the straws.  The kiddos didn't care for the spinach and really it wasn't enough to make a difference.  I find that if I wilt it down with a bit of olive oil and garlic they'll eat a whole bowl full of greens so we're back to these banana, frozen strawberry, watermelon and yogurt smoothies - a definite hit.
 

The Making:  I started the spicy fitted tee from this book.  I'm not sure why I chose to knit a summer tee in black using a thick wool but the pattern is simple and interesting and at the rate I'm knitting it'll be fall by the time i'm done.  Maybe I should knit long sleeves...
 

The Shade:  I spent a bit of time knitting under our Mimosa tree which is flowering right now with these awesome silky pink flowers.  I love the lacy shade canopy that this tree provides but is can get messy once hundreds of these blooms fall to the ground.

We also ate a ton of food (mainly outdoors and using our fingers), read many books, and flew lots of paper airplanes.   Seven school days remaining but it definitely feels like summer.

thankful on memorial day

Feeling so very thankful for the chain of events that brought these girls into our family. 

 

 

We ordered 30 day-old chicks to split with two other people.  One passed hours after arrival last Thursday and the other 29 are in two brooders in my laundry room.  I absolutely adore having them and playing with them and caring for them and just plain watching them grow - and these girls grow quickly.  They are seven days old and already testing out their wings!  We love our pets around here and we can already tell that these girls are going to fit in beautifully.
 

A big thank you to Abi Gayle of SpiderWomanKnits for all the wonderful information and advice on selecting chicks and constructing a brooder.  Blogger friends are the best!

And thank you so much to Kristyn for these awesome handmade + personalized note cards.  I love them.

Our taste buds are thankful for the garden that provides us with fresh green onions and dill to serve on  buttered potatoes at dinner.  (These are the green tops of our onion plants because I couldn't find chives this year.)
 

And grateful for bits of sewing time here and there that allowed me to finish up this large 6' x 6' quilt top.  I'll share more once I get some pictures of the completed quilt.

It goes without saying (however saying is often important) but I am most thankful for my family and friends and my home and dinner time with my family.  My favorite part of the day is during dinner when we go around the table and ask each of the kiddos to tell "What was the best part of your day?" and "What was the worst part of your day?"  Their answers often spark wonderful family discussions and other times we all laugh at how good we have it because the "worst part" wasn't that bad all.  Yes, I am very thankful for dinner time.

What are you thankful for this week?