If I Baked You a Cake, It Would Look Like This

Just vanilla cake with vanilla icing.  Nothing fancy or crazy like, say, a COUCH or a kitty litter box!  But it would come from my heart.

T.

If you were here, and I gave you this cake, we would eat big squares of it and wash it down with several cups of tea.  We might laugh, and half-chewed up pieces of cake would spray out of our mouths and hit the wall.  After we were done stuffing our faces with cake, we would retire to my couches that are not made of cake, and we would get out our sticks and string and make clickety-clack sorts of sounds for hours.  I would play some croony and swoony songs on my laptop, and eventually the Bumblebee would interrupt us and request some Ke$ha, and we would feel obliged because she has a dimple on her left cheek that is super sweet when she smiles.   We might look down and see our feet tapping to 'tik tok', but we wouldn't make fun of each other, and no one else would ever need to know.  The Bumblebee would also want some balloons blown up, and she would volley one around the room, and eventually it would pop so loud, we'd poop in our pants, and you would get up quickly and insist you leave immediately.   I'd agree because I would also need a change of clothes, and I'd fetch your coat, and the party would be over.

It would have been a blast.  Really.  Happy birthday, my friend! 

Be on the lookout for unexpected loud noises all year.

N

Happy Fr'Aidez

I now have two sleeves and the left front of my Aidez cardigan complete.  This project is moving along nicely thanks to the bulky yarn.  Have I mentioned that it feels like dryer lint?  Someone needs to spin that shizzle and make themselves bazillionaires 'cause I'd buy it.  Dryer lint is gold to touch.  I'm always sad to throw it away.  I should collect it and stuff pillows with it or sumpin'- sumpin'.  I'm sure if I googled ways to recycle your dryer lint, I'd come up with a mountain of ideas.  Oh dear.  I was right.   Apparently you could stuff your bra amongst 21,000 other links.

Just some stuff to get you thinking on this super freezy Friday.

N

Boo

That kid found the Halloween box that I unsuccessfully hid last year.  Dang.

N

Some Fun on a Monday

Yesterday we had some 'work' to do.  While the eldest volunteered at a craft station, the littlest and I took pictures.   Well, I snapped away while she played.  I admit I did some colouring too.  We had a lot of fun despite the Bee having a crick in her neck.  When we got home, I heated up one of the ol' rice socks, and she wore it around her neck to bed.  I felt so badly for her, but she didn't once complain.   And that outfit?   Oh boy, does she ever get lots of remarks, but she's got a 14-year old sister!  We've been noticing a trend around here of some slight copying with a little 8-year old jazz sprinkled throughout.   And we are big advocates of allowing our children to choose their own clothes except when they're 14 dressed like they're 18.  Besides, I'm nowhere near her at school, so it's not bothering me if she wears short over leggings with several different stripes. :)   And she loves scarves - this one in particular is made more special because it is El's scarf that was kindly lent to her for just the evening.   The Bee also does her own hair.  I love that she packs her fashion design book in her school knapsack because she's always thinking up new styles, and you never know when inspiration will strike.  Y'all best keep your eye out for this one!  I'm seeing snowflake tank tops and skirts made of streamers in the near future.

N

Promise Kept

The Bumblebee was as sad as she can be (which isn't very sad at all) when her end-of-year school trip was cancelled in June.  I pinky-swore that I would set aside one day this summer to take her myself.   She didn't let me forget for a moment!   So with the summer coming to an end, I took a day off work, and we spent the day at one of her favourite places.  We packed a picnic and her swimming suit, and she ran around excitedly for five hours.  Then we came home and flopped down and rested a bit.  Good times.

I love that she held on to Humpty Dumpty's hand.   It did occur to me while I followed her around and snapped pictures, that this little one is growing quickly, and sooner than I'd like to think about it, it will be me dragging her along rather than her dragging me along on adventures.  Oh dear.  That broke my heart a little.  I'd like her to stay this age forever.  Her birthday is a week away.  Maybe she'll forget.

N

No Signal Detected

I need to edit my photos more.  I am normally too lazy to touch them up, but I really should.  I found this in my photo archives, and it had to be taken early on in the summer.  I had to put that blanket on the white sofa because the cat was leaving an obvious fur blanket all over it.  The hazy 70's-look to the photo must have been an experiment with some photo editor, but I have no idea which one I used.  I'm going to have to add that to my sleuthing list.

The To-Sleuth List

• What the heck was that yarn I used to knit the spiral hats?
• What photo editor application made my fur-covered sofa look so dang cool?
• When will all the teen emo drama end?
• Why does the soccer ball always go to the opposing team when I kick it?
• What was I thinking when I cast on for a cardigan with lace-weight yarn?
• How do I find an oompa loompa to do my yard work?

Off to find some clues . . .

N

Family Game Night

The girls made a board game, and the littlest insisted on a Family Game Night.  She's always scheduling family activities because secretly I think she's in love with us.  I also think she has a future in event organization.  One thing with having children far apart in ages is that it can be a challenge to find common ground.  At the same time, the benefit is that they complement each other when teaming up on a project like this.  The littlest loves drawing and cutting, and the eldest loves writing and organizing.  Surprisingly we didn't have to drag the teenager out of her bedroom when it came time to play.  Thank goodness, too!  She was the only one who knew the answers to the green cards!   Playing this game was a buttload of fun. We all laughed and joked and smiled for an hour.   I wish that when my children grow up that these are the times they remember, and not the times mummy was mean and said 'no' to soda pop. (I realize that I've probably been 'meaner' than this, but honestly this is the stuff that really bothers them.)

In regards to my natural shampoo trial, I lasted exactly four days.  First day, I immediately noticed and appreciated the healthy amount of natural oils that had returned to my hair.  It felt great and crazy healthy.  Second day, my hair was put up in a pony tail.  Third day, I washed it, and this time, my hair felt thick and heavy.  Weird, but okay, I guess.  Fourth day, I felt the back of my head, and it was so oily.  I curled my hair around my hand, and it STAYED.  Um, cool if I was having it styled professionally, not cool to leave a stain on my pillow.   So, if I was to make a recommendation on this particular recipe, I would say it would be great used maybe once a week.  It's a bit frustrating, but I am not ready to admit defeat yet.  I will keep my eyes peeled and see what I can find.

Happy Winds-day!
N

EZ #6

A friend of mine told me she was pregnant a couple of weeks ago, so it only made sense that my next EZ knit be a February Baby Sweater.   I love this pattern to infinity and beyond.   I could knit 100 of these and never tire of it.  Seriously.  Black *.  I'm thinking it will fit a newborn perfectly.

I used about two-thirds of a hank of Misti Alpaca Pima Cotton Silk DK in a straw colour.  I picked this up at Shall We Knit in February, and it was sitting in the stash ready to be a February Baby Sweater since.  It feels so warm and buttery and soft all at the same time.  Like petting the belly of a well-brushed kitten.  Yes.  That's what it feels like.

So that brings me up to six out of twelve Elizabeth Zimmermann patterns so far.  I think I'm pacing myself quite nicely.  I still have to steek something as it's on my list of to-do's, but I'm confident that I can finish another six projects before year-end.  Absolutely

N. 

* When someone is caught saying 'seriously' in my immediate family, it is ALWAYS followed by another person saying 'black'.   It was funny once, and oddly enough, still sends us into uncontrollable fits of giggles.  I think it's a Harry Potter thing.

Hillbilly Tooth

Oh my dear lord!  My sweet little love has had a tooth ferociously jutting out for weeks now.  I've politely requested that she push it back into place, but she insists that it is quite impossible.   I'm certain I shriek a little inside each time she smiles my way.  And the irony is not missed on me that next week she has a dentist appointment.  There was a tooth hanging by a string at the last visit, and the dentist offered to gently tug it out but to no avail.  That tooth managed to hang on for several more weeks.  I give up.  But this too shall pass. :)

N