...so we headed to the sledding hill...
...made some ramps...
...and apparently aimed for a friend at the bottom...
...just so we could crash...
...good times...so, how are you enjoying the winter?...do you have snow?...
Friday, December 31, 2010
...Snow Play...
...we're between winter storms right now...there's another blizzard on its way this evening...so we'll have a nice quiet New Years celebration...
...so we headed to the sledding hill...
...made some ramps...
...and apparently aimed for a friend at the bottom...
...just so we could crash...
...good times...so, how are you enjoying the winter?...do you have snow?...
...so we headed to the sledding hill...
...made some ramps...
...and apparently aimed for a friend at the bottom...
...just so we could crash...
...good times...so, how are you enjoying the winter?...do you have snow?...
Thursday, December 30, 2010
...Now...How'd that happen...
...look what I found in the bottom of my knitting bag...they must have gotten stepped on or sat on - or had something thrown on top of them...who knows...
...they're a set of old knitting needles that I bought at a thrift store some time ago (for probably a quarter) - so they really have no sentimental value - unlike my old size 5 ones that belonged to Nanny - and that I learned to knit on...They're the cream coloured ones you can see to the right of this picture - I take pretty good care of those...
...but still...I wanted them fixed - so I superglued the pieces back together - and set them in a cup to dry...
...then I just sanded the little bump of glue with some fine grit sandpaper...
...and they're as good as new - no snags at all...
...would you have saved these needles or just thrown them away?...
...they're a set of old knitting needles that I bought at a thrift store some time ago (for probably a quarter) - so they really have no sentimental value - unlike my old size 5 ones that belonged to Nanny - and that I learned to knit on...They're the cream coloured ones you can see to the right of this picture - I take pretty good care of those...
...but still...I wanted them fixed - so I superglued the pieces back together - and set them in a cup to dry...
...then I just sanded the little bump of glue with some fine grit sandpaper...
...and they're as good as new - no snags at all...
...would you have saved these needles or just thrown them away?...
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Christmas Dinner
We tried some new Julia Child recipes for our Christmas Dinner...
The first course was POTAGE VELOUTÉ AUX CHAMPIGNONS - this was without a doubt the very best mushroom soup I've ever had...
...then we followed that up with Caneton à l'Orange or Duck with Orange Sauce - made with my very first homemade yuba - a very interesting process well documented at The Vegan Version - so hop over there and have a look...
...I had ordered the goose specifically for Christmas Dinner (all of the Scrooge stories have goose for Christmas)...but when I got out my MtAoFC on Christmas I found that I had not planned very well as I didn't have all of the ingredients needed for the goose dinner - maybe we'll have that for Easter...or maybe I'll check the date and let it languish in the freezer until next Christmas...
...anywhoo...our 'duck' was delicious...what did you have for Christmas Dinner?...
The first course was POTAGE VELOUTÉ AUX CHAMPIGNONS - this was without a doubt the very best mushroom soup I've ever had...
...then we followed that up with Caneton à l'Orange or Duck with Orange Sauce - made with my very first homemade yuba - a very interesting process well documented at The Vegan Version - so hop over there and have a look...
...I had ordered the goose specifically for Christmas Dinner (all of the Scrooge stories have goose for Christmas)...but when I got out my MtAoFC on Christmas I found that I had not planned very well as I didn't have all of the ingredients needed for the goose dinner - maybe we'll have that for Easter...or maybe I'll check the date and let it languish in the freezer until next Christmas...
...anywhoo...our 'duck' was delicious...what did you have for Christmas Dinner?...
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Ornament Swap
...here's an ornament from a swap with Regina at Creative Kismet that I meant to share with you earlier...
...see - I actually received it before I sent out my Christmas cards...
...it's so very pretty and I'm so thankful that Regina swaps an ornament with me...
...I put it on the tree right away...we love the Wizard of Oz...and the quote...
...see - I actually received it before I sent out my Christmas cards...
...it's so very pretty and I'm so thankful that Regina swaps an ornament with me...
...I put it on the tree right away...we love the Wizard of Oz...and the quote...
Monday, December 27, 2010
...Very White and Very Merry...
...they even had a White Christmas in NC (we always have one in ND)...it snowed on Christmas Eve the year Scout was born in NC...but Mom said it hadn't snowed on Christmas Day since 1983...
...we had put the Christmas Tree in the dining room this year...so first thing...Scout (with some help from Jack) moved all the presents into the living room...
...there were stockings...
...with a big candy cane (sent by Grandma...er...um...I mean Santa)...of course...
...a Star Wars Wii game...
...gift cards...
...and cards stuffed with money...
...mama-made presents...but you've already seen those...
...an astrology game called 'Good Heavens'...
...books of Who - When - and How...
...Scooby Doo for the Wii...
...and the Mammoth Hunt Game...
...and the very last present of all...started ringing in his hands...imagine that...what could it be...a cel phone no doubt...
...his first call...from his Papa...
...his first text...to his Grandma...
and...A very Merry Christmas to you all...
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Lessons and Carols...
The service on the first Sunday after Christmas is called Lessons and Carols... I love it - we read the lessons starting with the prophesies about Jesus' birth - the Annunciation - Jesus' birth - the Magi - the flight to Egypt - and ending with John 1...
...I love this service...
...I love this service...
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
Last minute elving...
...I've been spending some time in my secret workshop...AKA...the laundry room...er...um...ironing...if you know what I mean...
Scout has a cousin serving in Afghanistan...and he wanted an ARMY Sweatshirt...
...so I went online and downloaded a military font and printed out some big letters...
...acquired a generic grey hooded sweatshirt...
..carefully cut out the letters with an exacto knife - through the printed paper and the freezer paper - not difficult but the most time consuming part...
...Oooops - I should have put some space between the two sets of letters to allow for the zipper...so I just covered the zipper with a strip of freezer paper and then cut the template in half...
...spounced on some bright yellow paint...
...let it dry - just to the touch - if you let it dry too much it makes it kinda hard to remove the paper...
...then peeled off the freezer paper - to reveal the perfect crisp letters...
..so, one little Mama-made present under the tree...
...somehow - between last winter and this one...Scout lost his gaiter...so he needed a new one...
...I just knit a tube over 80 stitches on size 10 needles...about 65 rows I think...
...I don't often mix sewing machine sewing and hand knits - but this gaiter would be too thin and breezy without a liner...so I stitched a tube of stretchy cotton (actually left over in the stash from the Alien Costume - wow that was a long time ago - such a little guy) - to the end of the knitted tube - with right sides together...
...then turned it back to the right side and stuffed it into the tube with the wrong sides together...
...and stitched around the bottom on the machine...
...it made a kind of neat rolled edge effect that I wasn't really expecting...but I like it...
...I'm really not very good with the bathroom mirror shots - but this gives you an idea of how it works - he can wear a toboggan and goggles and basically have no exposed skin - that's the goal when it's 40 below (which interestingly is 40 below Celsius too)...
...I'm hoping you get all your last minute elving done and have a very Merry Christmas!
Scout has a cousin serving in Afghanistan...and he wanted an ARMY Sweatshirt...
...so I went online and downloaded a military font and printed out some big letters...
...acquired a generic grey hooded sweatshirt...
..carefully cut out the letters with an exacto knife - through the printed paper and the freezer paper - not difficult but the most time consuming part...
...Oooops - I should have put some space between the two sets of letters to allow for the zipper...so I just covered the zipper with a strip of freezer paper and then cut the template in half...
...spounced on some bright yellow paint...
...let it dry - just to the touch - if you let it dry too much it makes it kinda hard to remove the paper...
...then peeled off the freezer paper - to reveal the perfect crisp letters...
..so, one little Mama-made present under the tree...
...somehow - between last winter and this one...Scout lost his gaiter...so he needed a new one...
...I just knit a tube over 80 stitches on size 10 needles...about 65 rows I think...
...I don't often mix sewing machine sewing and hand knits - but this gaiter would be too thin and breezy without a liner...so I stitched a tube of stretchy cotton (actually left over in the stash from the Alien Costume - wow that was a long time ago - such a little guy) - to the end of the knitted tube - with right sides together...
...then turned it back to the right side and stuffed it into the tube with the wrong sides together...
...and stitched around the bottom on the machine...
...it made a kind of neat rolled edge effect that I wasn't really expecting...but I like it...
...I'm really not very good with the bathroom mirror shots - but this gives you an idea of how it works - he can wear a toboggan and goggles and basically have no exposed skin - that's the goal when it's 40 below (which interestingly is 40 below Celsius too)...
...I'm hoping you get all your last minute elving done and have a very Merry Christmas!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Fried Okra for Breakfast...
...so I asked our southern boy what he wanted for breakfast on his first day of Christmas vacation...
...expecting the somewhat familiar breakfast items of waffles or pancakes...
...but our sweet Scout asked if he could please have some fried okra...so I rummaged in the freezer and found a bag...it's one of the items that our grocer stocks just for us...
...so Scout had his special okra breakfast...
...we do serve okra as a proper side dish as well, but here he's eating it out of hand like popcorn...
...what's the strangest thing you've ever eaten for breakfast?...
...expecting the somewhat familiar breakfast items of waffles or pancakes...
...but our sweet Scout asked if he could please have some fried okra...so I rummaged in the freezer and found a bag...it's one of the items that our grocer stocks just for us...
...so Scout had his special okra breakfast...
...we do serve okra as a proper side dish as well, but here he's eating it out of hand like popcorn...
...what's the strangest thing you've ever eaten for breakfast?...
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
...Making Merry...
...there's not much going on here...we've been making very Merry - with several Christmas parties to attend this week...
...packages keep arriving...
...these are from my Mom and my sister...chock full of goodies...both of them...just so there's no shortage of treats...
...plans for the week include some cookie baking and a new Narnia movie...lots of Wii...and some quiet time too...I've still got a little bit of elving to do as well...more on that later...
....so how are you managing as the clock ticks down to Christmas...
...packages keep arriving...
...these are from my Mom and my sister...chock full of goodies...both of them...just so there's no shortage of treats...
...plans for the week include some cookie baking and a new Narnia movie...lots of Wii...and some quiet time too...I've still got a little bit of elving to do as well...more on that later...
....so how are you managing as the clock ticks down to Christmas...
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
...an Heirloom Baptismal Gown...
...Every December 20th finds us watching the same old video...
...it's the anniversary of Scout's Baptism...
...it seems so long ago...and yet it seems like it was yesterday...
...he was such a good baby...
...so alert and interested in everything around him...you can even tell that he already loved books...
...he was so intently watching the water...
...and fascinated by the candle...which, by the way, I guess I didn't realize the implications twelve years ago, of lighting that candle every year on the anniversary...oh well - it'll be brief...
...as the Pastor introduced him to the congregation - he only had eyes for the video camera...
...anywhooo...you can see that he's wearing a hand knit baptism gown...and somewhere I have a professional portrait of him wearing it as well...
...of course I started knitting this when I was pregnant...
...and I finished it the week of the baptism...
...it's from a pattern in an old McCall's Needlework Magazine...
...it had three different sections...
...but by the time I was finishing the back - I did the bottom fan section and then switched to simple stockinette stitch - which I could do while nursing - I spent a lot of time nursing...
...oh...and there were beads as well...I had never worked with beads before...
...but I loved all of the detail and that this baptismal gown will become an heirloom and be used by Scout's children and their children...and so on...
...it's the anniversary of Scout's Baptism...
...it seems so long ago...and yet it seems like it was yesterday...
...he was such a good baby...
...so alert and interested in everything around him...you can even tell that he already loved books...
...he was so intently watching the water...
...and fascinated by the candle...which, by the way, I guess I didn't realize the implications twelve years ago, of lighting that candle every year on the anniversary...oh well - it'll be brief...
...as the Pastor introduced him to the congregation - he only had eyes for the video camera...
...anywhooo...you can see that he's wearing a hand knit baptism gown...and somewhere I have a professional portrait of him wearing it as well...
...of course I started knitting this when I was pregnant...
...and I finished it the week of the baptism...
...it's from a pattern in an old McCall's Needlework Magazine...
...it had three different sections...
...but by the time I was finishing the back - I did the bottom fan section and then switched to simple stockinette stitch - which I could do while nursing - I spent a lot of time nursing...
...oh...and there were beads as well...I had never worked with beads before...
...but I loved all of the detail and that this baptismal gown will become an heirloom and be used by Scout's children and their children...and so on...
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