perigee moon

picture from nasa of the moon rising above the Lincoln Memorial I use this because my own picture isn't that good and it was later and not nearly as large.

Tonight our great friends came for dinner... Manicotti (or canneloni) with homemade crepe shells some with vodka sauce, others with puttanesca sauce and some with cheese and spinach filling with alfredo sauce. For dessert just see the pics below. To say I'm stuffed is an understatement.

alfajores











ricotta pie






tiramisu

After it was all said and done and everyone (well almost everyone) had gone to bed, the middle child and I spent some time writing notes to each other. Then we spent another hour talking. I wonder how long he'll put up with doing that with his old fart mother.

This is my pathetic shot of the moon last night...



A local photographer Hub Willson has a WONDERFUL photo that he took last night with a 900mm lens... breathtaking

what the day brings

well today was kind of a a poopy day at work... I'm blaming it on the time change. My percussion student was absent, my clarinet make-up didn't have his horn.... AGAIN!! and my students well lets just say it wasn't their best foot forward today. I'll add to the fact that I could have been a little crabby with the time change... seriously all it does is make the day shorter. I leave in the dark and now practically come home in it.

DD had chorus after school today, so I sent Prince Charming to pick up the boys from school and I did the grocery store chore before picking her highness up. While there I found this most interesting romanesco broccoli. The shape intrigued me, so I had to bring one home. THere has to be some kind of fibonacci series in those points! I'll make it on Wed with dinner.. supposedly more tender than cauliflower!


When I went to load the groceries in the car I looked to the northeast and saw this:

Not the most brilliant but still a promise of better days. There was a brilliant double one on Friday that I missed. A friend caught it on film and shared it on facebook, so I was able to appreciate it albeit vicariously!

After I grabbed DD from her rehearsal, we stepped out of the school and looked west to a GORGEOUS sunset. The iPhone truly did NOT capture its beauty. There were many purple hues that were lost in this photo.

WE came home to a yummo dinner of spinach quiche (a family fave) and mashed potatos (whites and yams mixed), the latter being much needed comfort food after the day.

So even if you think the day is rotten, look for the many blessings bestowed upon you. They're there, you just need to open your mind, eyes and heart!


oh on a knitting note... I finished the Möbius winter bag and it's felted :) And I finished another little buttonhole clutch yesterday... so i felted them all together.. Pictures to be posted after they're lined...(which could take a bit of time) But will be worth it!

Now to decide what to put on the needles next......

humidity..........

it's really really humid.. which makes it feel even hotter. Just wish it would rain already.

Just got back from a 4 mile walk... and along the towpath, we met Yertle

the snapping turtle. Eventually we backtracked and he had meandered off to the river... you could see the trail from his tail.

almost finished the increases on the clapotis... this one is going faster and I really love this knit!

Happy Thursday.

nature's lace

The blocks on LR are together.. now to seam the columns and learn to crochet!

Clapotis is coming along nicely. Although I was knitting last night while watching a streaming school board meeting on the internet (a 4 hour very heated meeting) and forgot to drop in the repeat... went on another 14 rows before I noticed... so in went the lifeline and back I ripped... it's ok... no worries, it's summer!

The kids started swim lessons yesterday. So I get some sun while they swim.

This morning I walked 4 miles with a buddy. We left at 6AM... felt great. Gonna make it a daily activity. That's the time I can escape the house without anyone caring.

Tonight, my own district's board meeting (as in employer). Hot topic...uniforms. I could care either way but some folks have some very strong opinions against it. Personally, I think if they can't enforce the guidelines they have now, they're mistaken that a uniform code will make a difference... those who want to dress inappropriately will find a way no matter what....

doing the congo line

These are the cicada shells we found at the kids' school on Tuesday... kind of puts them in a cute light, no?

Yesterday I popped to the thrift store. It wasn't a very fibery day but I was lucky enough to find myself some nice pants on the cheap. $10 for 3 pairs of lined pants... linen Ralph Lauren, recycled wool Eddie Bauer and wool the Limited.... oh happy day
Also I got a banana republic wool/silk/cotton/cashmere blend sweater for me and a couple of sweaters to frog.

Today was a hit though. to frog: 3 100% cashmere, 1 cashmere blend and 1 100% wool
To wear for me Sebastian Cooper cotton/cashmere blend v neck, Express silk/cashmere blend crew neck, Talbots 100% merino turtleneck, JCrew lambswool funky sweater
for DH: Old Navy linen/cotton vest
for DD: banana republic turtleneck silk.nylon/viscose/cotton/wool/cashmere/lycra blend

All of this $40....

katydid or didn't??

we came home last night to find this guarding the back door:

DD found it intriguing and it was high enough that she wasn't scared so I did a bit of a photo shoot on it.

Today when we were leaving the open house at the kids' school we found cicada shells... tmrw I have a date with the camera for them... quite interesting.


I actually have knitting pictures to post... old knitting but knitting nonetheless

DHs father's day socks:


Pattern: Herringbone Rib Socks by Kristi Schueler Interweave Knits, Winter 2008
Knitting Daily Free Patterns
Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Sockotta Stripes effect
Colorway: 605
Needle: US2
Made for: DH Father's Day 2009
I started thes on the way to the airport and finished them about 2 weeks later with only a few meters to spare of yarn. I was very nervous about having enough to finish these.

Two lizard ridge blocks:

and



I've also done a few more squares on the way afghan... actually I think I have 1 complete and 1 partial to go... now on to blocking


We had some fun in the kitchen with a book that my SIL's mother sent to the kids Snack Art: eat what you create published by teacher Created Materials. Written by Elizabeth Meahl (is that a pun?) illustrated by Barb Lorseydl... Thank you Betty if you're reading this. I owe you lots of news!

The olive ant







and a healthy skateboard. This was a HUGE hit... I think we'll be using this book LOTS :-)


DD went with me to school on Monday to help me set up my rooms. She cut letters with the diecutter and helped with the bulletin boards. It was really a fun day for both of us. I can't believe they start school tmrw! Where did the summer go????

It's late, I'm tired and have a big day ahead of me!

Hopefully more very soon!

full moon

tonight is the biggest of the year! It was a beauty earlier this evening... right now, it's impossible to see because of the cloud cover from the snow that has just started to fall or I'd snap a photo to share. Instead I snatched this



from here where you can learn some more facts about tonights moon. Run out to see it in your neck of the woods

arachnids

Halloween is around the corner so I thought I'd share our resident spiders found outside the house and I hate to disturb nature, but thought someone might be able to ID them
Found on the front porch with prey spun up:



Found hanging out at the boys window (It looks like an orb weaver, but doesn't eat its web):


with flash for details:

I'm thinking that this is an Araneus diadematus more commonly known as one of the orb weaver spiders or European Garden spider (even though we're not in Europe)

la tour de France fleece

silly me... what do I know about bike riding, except that I used to do it all the time in my youth. Well I've actually spent quite a bit of time watching the tour while spinning myself... not on 2 wheels though only on one and only using 1 foot. And here's what I have to show for it so far:

2 bobbins(started the third) of single ply BFL. I admit to cheating a bit on this, as it had been started before the race, but it's mostly what I'll be spinning this month.






and 408 yard of navajo plied Finn. This was taking up a bobbin and seeing that I only had one bobbin, I decided to practice navajo plying. (took me forever to do all 400 yards) It's my first attempt at this type of ply so it's not too bad. I'll probably dye this and make socks for myself :-)

I did a bit of spindle spinning early (as in 2 AM) Monday to try to finish off the Licoln fleece that I have. There's only about a pound left and I'd like to get it all spun. Have no clue what it will become... and also return P's Ashford spindle. I prefer the top whorl to the bottom whorl, but want to finish all this yarn the same.


Monday, we went to the DaVinci Science Center DD has been bugging me to go for months. Finally I found a place where I wasn't the only dalfujensia in the family :-) (I'm not sure I spelled that correctly.. I'll ask DH in the morning). It's like a please touch museum of all things science. DS2 wasn't impressed but found some things that he was attracted to. I'm sure we'll be back to visit again, especially since it's only about 15 minutes from home! Afterwards we went to the nearby Perkins for a late lunch (we were all starving). As we were almost ready to leave an older woman came up to me to remark how beautiful our children were. And how patient we were as parents (you talkin' 'bout me?????) Actually the kids were having a good day. And were in a particulary snuggly mimos mood. Anyway, that really warmed the cockles of my heart, so thanks ma'am!

Guess I need to think of something for Tuesday! The in-laws leave for home Wednesday evening. I don't know if we're all going to the airport or just DH... probably the latter. It's such a long trip to drag the kids on, plus the van is still in the shop.

Speaking of..... the shop called today. Apparently it's all related to the alternator. When the alternator goes wacky, so does the computer and all the misbehavior is related. I had DH mention to the mechanic about DS2 thinking that the cassette player was piggybank last summer. (Oddly enough a woman called in to car talk about this very thing last week) Carlos, the mechanic, said "oh.... that's not good" meaning that it could also be related. So we may be shopping in the junk yards for a new radio/tape/CD component to install (click and clack's suggestion as well) Maybe it's unrelated, but for a while the radio would turn itself on and off depending on how the coins were in the tape deck. I retrieved quite a number of them, but some are impossible to reach and I'm sure have worked their way in even farther. He was an equal opportunity depositor... any denomination worked as long as it was a coin! Even pesos, bridge and chucky cheese tokens. That's my boy... an investor!

OK... now for some knitting news. I've started Lizard Ridge square 12 with my new LM needles. I think that they are cursed. I've had to rip back 3 times now and each time I was on the last wave repeat..... it's ok, I'm method with this one. no rush to finish!

But these are finished:

Pattern: Charade by Sandra Park
Yarn: ColorMe
Color: Regal
Needle: KnitPicks Harmony dpns US2 (3 mm)
For: ME!!

Love the stitch pattern. Wish that this yarn didn't flash but oh well.... this is a great stitch pattern for a guys sock as well and super easy to memorize. I'll probably make DH a pair in a solid (black, blue, brown, or tan... you know a boring color) But they will definitely be on my feet as soon as the weather cools a bit. (I wore them to spin last night hehehe) I'm really loving the sock thing right now. It's become my new obsession (pushed dishcloths right out of the running... but they'll be back) I have a few skeins of sock yarn to use... then I have an excuse to buy more :-D


In nature news, we have 4 painted lady chrysalis now. One fell off the little paper that it was suppose to attach to and is laying at the bottom of the butterfly garden. Hope that doesn't damage the metamorphosis process. I tried to take pictures but they don't do them justice. They're kind of a brown with these shiny gold dots on them. and only about an inch long, much smaller than the black swallowtail that we did last summer. I think about 10 days we'll have butterflies. I learned when we were at the butterfly house that black swallowtails will not voluntarily feed when in captivity. You need to uncurl the proboscis onto the nectar.... which explains why our guy was not interested at all in the watermelon pieces we gave him. Had I known... at any rate he was released in plently of time to eat and mate (which after all is what they're supposed to do) I'm excited for the kids to see the process again. DD will be studying about growth this year as one of the units of inquiry and they concentrate on butterflies.


Well I'm off to spin some more before retiring...

happy crafting

nature discovered

I cut some Queen Anne's before DH mowed the yard the other day. I wanted to put it in some colored water for the flowers to take up the dye. I have some now that are pink and some that are light blue. I was checking on the flowers last night when low and behold I found a caterpillar on the stem of one of the flowers. I hadn't even noticed it when I cut them. I googled caterpillar to find out what kind it is and discovered that it's a Black Swallowtail. Since I have a friend who is known in the area as the 'butterfly lady', I wrote to her to ask her what to do so that the kids might watch the metamorphosis process. She told me how to make a bug box from a cereal box and what to do with it to make a cozy environment for the 'cat'. They like to eat leaves of plants in the parsley family (Apiaceae) including, carrot, celery and dill and ..... Queen Anne's lace flowers. This morning DD and I went on a hunt for flowers to keep this guy munching away happily. We hit the motherlode down along the canal towpath and as I type, our newest member of the family is filling its belly on the scrumptious buds! The DC who seems most interested is my 2 almost 3 YO DS He's thrilled just to watch it move. I'm thrilled to turn my kids on to God's beautiful creation! I hope we can successfully help it become a butterfly

Some FO's to post:

TriOminoes Bag
Pattern: See Below
Yarn: Sugar and Cream
Color: Beige
Needle Size: 7

TriOminoes Bag:

Materials needed: Worsted Weight yarn
Size 7 DPNS (set of 5) or long circular if using magic loop
• cast on 60 stitches
• join in the round being careful not to twist stitches, placing marker
•knit 2 rounds.
• *K1, YO, repeat from * until end of round
• *KI, drop YO, repeat from * until end of round
• knit 2 more rounds

Now begins the stitch pattern based on Tweed Mock Rib from 365 Knitting Stitches a Year Perpetual Calendar February 21

•Odd Rows: K1, *sl 1 purlwise, K1, YO, psso the K1 and YO repeat from *

•Even Rows: Knit

Repeat these two rows until you reach desired length
I added a couple of knit rows at the end to make it easier for me to kitchner.

•Divide the stitches in half, place each on it's on DPN and kitchner.

For drawstring, either knit an i-cord or more easily take 3 lengths of cotton yarn about a yard each. Tied them in a little knot and braid them until reaching the ends.Thread darning needle with these and pull the drawstring through the holes made for them from dropped YOs. Put a knot in the unknotted end when finished, pull and tie a bow!


Fill with your choice of goodies and enjoy!

This is free for your use only. If you want to share this pattern, please link to this page. Remember copying and pasting is stealing.
Thanks so much :-)


Pattern: The Lucy Bag
Yarn: Mauch Chunky by Kraemer Yarns
Color: Petunia
Needle Size: 10.5

I didn't use the yarn the pattern calls for, but my substitute met gauge. Having said that, I didn't use as many rows for the bag, or it would have been ginormous. It's bigger than I wanted but good for taking along an extra set of clothing for DS2 should he have a potty accident plus my wallet, glasses and a knitting project. I think I'll make the small ball later. I forgot to take a picture before felting, but DS2 could easily stand inside the bag and it came up to his chest..... really big!


Pattern: Lucky Warm Fuzzies
Yarn: Red Heart MacIntosh 50g skein 122 yards
70 Acrylic/30 Wool
Color: 1377 Dublin
Needle: Size 5 dpns

Once again I failed to use the yarn the pattern was written for. The woman I made these for works as a secretary at my school and she is ALWAYS cold.I promised them to her at the end of the year, but my dad took precedence with his felted slipper request. She wanted something machine washable, so I chose this yarn at ACMoore on sale for $1.50 per skein. It took less than one skein and I bought 3, so I think I'll be making some for teachers gifts! They are soft and cozy warm. I'll put buttons on them if I can find ones I like. Need. to. check. button. stash. Hope S likes them! BTW... there are other great patterns on this site, great knit fiction, wonderful charity knitting and firefly's blog is superbly written...


I found my long lost sock needles. They were hiding in my chair. I had looked there at first, but I think they were stuck way down deep. We had to move the furniture to the center of the room when the new windows were installed, so in moving it all back and cleaning, the lost 'lambs' returned. So of course, they were begging to be used. I've cast on another pair of socks. This time I'm using 2x2 ribbing the whole way and Sockotta yarn in black, white, blue and purple. I'm making it up as I go!

I also joined the Love2Knit dishcloth fall exchange. We send a dishcloth and an item of knitted food. I have no clue what to make my pal... couldn't tell here anyway ;-) I'll post a picture after I finish and mail it!

The boys' room is all painted Tango Blue (Valspar brand) with white trim. We're looking for a bed as I think IKEA discontinued the one I had posted about before. We're thinking L shaped bunks that have a dresser under them. Perhaps we'll go for this one but in the light maple finish. I saw it IRL and DS2 was with me and loved it! We're talking about refinishing their floor first though. The poor kids won't make it in there before school starts in 10 days!

DD's room is getting a makeover as well, from yellow to pink and we will most likely buy her a new bed too... downsize to a twin so mom can't sleep there ;-) the only problem is HOW to arrange what furniture would be there. It's a small room. We're thinking Captain's bed to save some room... she's growing up so fast!

School starts next Wednesday for my DC and myself.. I'm trying to get permission to come in late and stay late so I can put DD and DS1 on the bus. It's his first day of KDG after all! He's so ready... and excited. And we found out he'll have the same teacher DD had last year (they cycle with the same teacher for 2 years)

Well I have much to do and little time... I don't even want to think about how far behind I am on Christmas gifts!!!