It's That Time of Year

The boys made their own t-shirt decorations.

They started out with solar systems and it morphed into mountains and train yards. Still, they look very cute and the boys are very happy with the results.

Comfort Food

The weather dipped and I roasted a chicken last night for dinner.

Today, I made chicken soup.

Oh, I wish you could smell it.

I am going to run over to the Uncommon Market and grab a loaf of Mancini's Bread and spoil my brood to the hilt!!

I never make soup the same way twice, but it always starts with olive oil and sauteeing onion and carrot and celery. I had some red pepper today, too. Chicken broth and garlic and bay leaf go in, too. But today, I also put in Herbs de Provence. *sigh* So good. I will add some frozen peas just before dinner and it may very well be my best soup, yet.

Don't You Have Two Kids?

Uh, yeah.
Eldest is at school all day and then he comes storming into the house demanding and bossing. Honestly he hasn't done much that I would tell anyone about, lately.
But this morning, he was sitting out on the back porch listening to the radio on his little MP3 player that Aunt Melissa gave him for his birthday. He looked so grown up. Bopping to the tune in his head not knowing that I was watching and lamenting his advancement through time.
And really, it is ok. I know that this is what they are supposed to do.

Oh, and the Mister said NO *gasp* to acquiring a top-load wash machine from the pennysaver so that I can felt my bag. Good thing there is a voice of reason around here.

And lastly, we took the boys to Penn's Colony last weekend and watched the celtic group Highland Reign perform while we were there. So, the boys have been marching around the house singing, "I am Angus, the highway man! Trying to make a living any way I can." Imagine it with a marching beat and thick brogue. MMMmhmmm. Cute, but I am wondering if I will get a call home from school.

One more last thing. This weekend at Penn's Colony the are having a fleece to shawl event. They aren't shearing the sheep because it is all period. As you can imagine, it would take a good bit longer to shear the sheep with non-electric shears. It is a nice festival, you should go.

Bedtime Conversation

INBA has been full of interesting conversation and observation lately.

"Why is green so popular?" I guess no one told him that nobody likes green ;)
"Maybe because it is the color of all the plants and leaves of trees."
"No, not all. We have a red maple." pause, "And we have a sugar-free maple, so we can make our own sugar-free maple syrup!!"
"I don't think that is the way to get sugar-free syrup."
"I think so."

Good night.

Oh, Goodies!

Triple-Layer Pumpkin Spice Piefor some reason, this recipe isn't on their website. Since I picked it up at the grocery store, I am going to type it out for you.

Jell-o has a new flavor pudding... Pumpkin Spice. OMG, girls.

So here it is:

Ingredients:

2 Cups cold Milk

2pkg (4 serving size each) Jell-o Pumpkin Spice Flavor Instant Pudding and Pie Filling

1/4 tsp. ground Cinnamon

1 tub (8oz) Cool Whip, thawed

1 Honey Maid Graham Pie Crust (6oz)

1/2 c pecan halves

1Tbsp honey

Method:

Beat milk, dry pudding mixes and cinnamon with a wire whisk until well blended. Spread 1 1/2 cups onto bottom of crust.

Add 1 1/2 cups of whipped topping to remaining pudding mixture; stir gently. Spoon over layer in crust; top with remaining whipped topping.

Refrigerate 1 hour. meanwhile, cook pecans and honey in skillet on medium-low heat 2-4 minutes or until pecans are carmelized, stirring frequently. Spread onto sheet of wax paper separating larger clusters. cool. sprinkle over pie just before serving. store leftovers in refrigerator.

Makes 10 servings, one slice each.

I didn't bother carmelizing the pecans because I knew that it wasn't going to get eaten up right away and I find that carmelized nuts don't like to be kept in the fridge very long.

The Mister gave this pie very high marks.

"Better than pumpkin pie." I believe is what he said.

I should mention, he doesn't like Nutmeg. This is heavy on cinnamon. That contributes. I usually make pumpkin pie with Mace in place of the Nutmeg. It tastes the same to me, but it tastes better to him. Whatever.

Either way, this pie was ridiculously simple and super tasty.

knitting...

I finished my sister's blue socks. And I am working on another blue pair for a gift. These are of the yarn that I bought in Traverse City. It is an Opal Rainforest color. I haven't knit with Opal before (I don't think) but I like it a lot! The colors are awesome, I don't mind that it is blue (so much.) Part of the fun is that I am doing this pair on Magic Loop with Addi Turbos. Hard not to like the knitting with good tools and ingredients.

I am thinking of some more Holiday knitting. Um, don't mention the Mister's sweater, 'k? I know that I haven't touched it in weeks and could have been done by now. shhhhh.

The point is that I am getting ready to spread knitterly love and holiday cheer all around- not just in my house.

Oh, and I am getting close to finishing a bag (check out this gallery!)that needs to be felted... any volunteers for helping me with that? I am seriously contemplating asking the Mister to buy me a top loading wash machine out of the pennysaver just so I can felt. But that would be a smidge silly, don't you think?

I'm a Little Worried

INBA gets funny about his hair. Quite particular, actually. Today is school picture day. He had a lump at the crown that I was trying to flaten. Then, I brushed him a little to the side and he freaked out.

"NO, NO! Straight down and in!"

"To a point?"

"Yeah, that is how I always look."

"um, No."

I am afraid to think that they will let the kindergarteners arrange their own hair. Would a school picture person really think that I send him out with an Eddie Munster-esque coiffe?

I cannot think about it.

I guess we will find out in a few weeks...

In Praise of Tinking

Here is the current state of MS3. You cannot see very well because the short rows won't let me lay it out flat. About half of what I have done on the wing is folded under and obviously, it is suppose to be squared off up at the top. I did have to tink about 5 rows. I messed something up, although I still do not know what. Tinking actually gave me the opportunity to see what the stitches are really doing and how that double decrease is laying. I was confused and it probably led to the errors. So I am re-knitting, now and, hopefully, will have no further problems... oh, and I have sternly relegated this project to super-wide-awake status. That should help.
I was deeply concerned about my fancy toe socks walking off, again.
So I completed them.
Incredibly pleased with these girls. I started on these while the fancy toe socks were touring Pittsburgh.
These are Trekking XXL in blue multi. They are for the mother of the neice that wanted blue socks, 'cuz she wanted blue socks, too.

Busted.

Is that not classic?

The ultimate mud pie factory... a 6ft x 6ft sand box full of water.

And really, we get what we deserve for making the boys watch PBS.

We have been getting the series "Building Big" from Netflix and the boys are inspired. This is just the natural flow from building dams to flooding the sandbox.

It is good to be a kid.

It doesn't last long enough (for him, at least:)

The Weirdest Thing Happened...

I have been wandering through links lately. Just to see what's up out there and because, like me, my favorites have been posting less frequently. I wandered onto this blog and low and behold... I am in her links!
It weirds me out a little when I realize that other people lurk around my blog. I lurk most of the time, too. So, this is irrational, of course, because I toss (part of) my life out there into public, of course it is going to be seen... still. So, HI to all y'all that I don't know are there.

Wow, three people read my blog.

Oh, and if the Mister stops by, I put in a sudoku game for you to play with down the bottom, over there... you need to scroll down... below INBA'a dog.

Eldest just blew in... peace and quiet are over rated.

Can This Much Dust Settle?

Whew. Mayhem has kicked up some dust around here. I foolishly thought that with both boys off to school that the world would suddenly be smooth and peaceful. Oh, I guess I forgot to factor in volunteering, cub scouts, meetings, appointments, cleaning, grocery shopping... for some reason I think that I need to do an entire day's worth of work in 4 hours and then still have energy to be Mom and do family work all afternoon and evening.

I am waiting for the dust to settle, but I am afraid that we have kicked up too much.

So now, I am off to grab the mail on my way to pick up INBA from school so that we can have lunch and not be late for the appointment I have this afternoon because I couldn't fit it into my already spoken for mornings.

Breathe. yes. #7 on the to do list for today.

The Sock Came Back!

The sock came back the very (almost) next day. We thought it was a goner, but the sock came back 'cuz it couldn't stay away!

Ok, so I appropriated a 6th grade camp song.

But the Sock came back, Thanks to lovely Ms. A and her charming children.

I didn't even realize that I had dropped it at KnitOne until I received her message.

Of course, I thought, "That cannot be MY sock!" Oh, but it was.

But it is home, safe and sound.

These Sock Are Made for Walkin'.

Somebody stop me! So what am I suppose to do when my sock is on vacation without me?

Finish some stuff.

Behold, Ruffled scarf (thank you, Laurie)

and Steelers gloves- supposedly size 6 years but with fingers that are far to skinny for any little kid that I know. One of those moments that make you recognize the difference in proportions between little people and big people. First DING for the Handy Book of Patterns and for Me for making something other than Mittens for a 5 year old.

So, how exactly did I drop that sock?

Well, this is what KnitOne looked like on Saturday.

A fashion show of knitted up yarn from the shop.

This is what it felt like.

Disorganized, crowded, too long for what it was.

But, I brought out my socks and to support the Celtic Queen.

That Lady behind me, she knit the scarf from the cover of the Anniversary Edition of Vogue Knitting... beautiful and a hundred bucks worth of silk. Yowzers.
Laurie modeled her shrug.
The Celtic Queen modeled her Fibonachi Mobius.

And her Mystery Stole 3 in SeaSilk.

See, this was the problem. This is the look that people got at the objects. Not enough to really appreciate. CQ didn't win best of show. But I voted for you! And really, you know that everyone had done a wonderful job... next time we just need to stack the audience a little more. Maybe we could rent a bus. :)

OOps! I forgot to take a picture of MS3, too! I finished clue 4!! Now remains the wing, but I feel that it is, indeed about to take flight and blocking is no longer a dream.

I will post a picture, soon.

Now, I am off to get the boy off the bus. The dust seems to be settling. The house is clean and calendar is filling up with things to do, places to be, people to see. I don't know how some people manage to have a paying job, too!

'Til next time. Peace be with you.

Kindergarten!!

It is official, my baby is on the bus headed for Kindergarten.

I almost cried. He was so happy and smiling and I was so happy and smiling.

It was great.Now, I am going to go have a cupppa joe with my friend that just dropped her little one off at Kindergarten, too!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2nd Grade

YIPPEE!!! It's the First Day of School!!

Eldest is off.

The bus comes at 7 minutes past 8.

He had his shoes on at 7:10, stood at the door at 7:45 chanting, "C'mon, MOM!" Sat on the top step of the walk until 8. Walked down to the bus stop and tried to get on the bus without his bag of school supplies (the ones that don't fit in the backpack, paper towels, kleenex, etc.)

I don't know what I would do if I had to drag him to school.

I hope he likes school forever... So, now I am lonely.

INBA had a big kid all-by-himself sleepover with Grandma last night. The Parent's Kindergarten Orientation is this morning.

I cleaned the house (and it is still clean:) and made some pepperoni rolls. And now I don't quite know what to do.

I have a whole list of things I want to get done. I just don't know where to start.

Oh well, I better go figure it out!

Ouch

Owie. and it looks so much better here than it did.

But he still has his beautiful eyes and 7 year old attitude.

He wanted me to make sure to inclued the knee. Of all the wounds, this is the one that hurts him the most.

The pictures are from Monday. His knee is going to be gross fro a while, but his face mostly healed. I think we will live, hopefully, a lesson was learned.

Tomorrow:

Back to School, at last.

No Pictures, Please!

I cannot post a picture today of the event of the weekend, Eldest won't let me photograph him. What? Eldest doesn't want to be photographed?!?!

Let's just say that Daddy was in charge. Yes, the Mister took the boys out for a bike ride in South Park. It was an asphalt trail, they were going downhill (what isn't in Pittsburgh?) and the combination of Eldest not believing in using the brakes and the unexplained transition to gravel at the bottom of the hill led to the (you saw it coming) crash and subsequent stitches, abrasions and bruises.

Yes, my poor baby had 4 stitches in the small space between his nose and upper lip, the swelling has gone down on that lip so that it is only half as large as his head and he is scuffed from one end to the other. He limps because he took such a large chunk out of his knee. Oh, and he knocked out ANOTHER tooth. Baby tooth and it was, indeed, loose previous to the fall, but he did knock out a tooth. He scratched up his glasses (that he got last week) and did have on a helmet. Thank God. His face would have been total hamburger if he hadn't. So he survives, but has not allowed a photograph.

To make it worse, we went to a birthday party today and the birthday boy covered his eyes and ran the other direction when ever he caught a glimpse of his stitches. Poor kid... both of them.

Otherwise, Happy Labor Day, my fellow Americans. Be glad you (or the one who supports you) have a job and ,hopefully, get an honest wage for an honest day's work.