I can't believe I am even contemplating this but....

I think it's officially time to go on a yarn diet. If I didn't get distracted, I could probably knit till this time next year and finally put a noticeable dent in the yarn amount I currently have. I know this is not an attainable goal for me. I am quite easily distracted, particularly by pretties. For right now, a good short term goal is about three months, with the potential to stick with it for six if I somehow manage a massive feat of willpower.
Sadly, this will force me to do one of my least favorite chores, clean my closet. Why should there be mass produced socks with holes in them taking up space if there are hand knit ones waiting to be worn?

Happy Mother's Day!

Any excuse to play dress up right? The dress is a recent purchase from ModCloth. I love this dress. It seemed appropriate attire for going out to lunch today. Quite honestly, it was an ego boost to wear and I wish I had five more in different colors.
I think all Moms(my definition is anyone who cares for children as their own, age and who gave birth to them does not figure in) should be allowed to play dress up. It makes for happier Mommies, thus happier children.
Love, blessings, respect and commiseration to all Moms out there. Not just today either, every day!

So glad April is over!

It rarely fails. My birth month insists on having at least one nasty surprise for me every year. Usually it is a physical issue; illness, injury or similar that puts a damper on the month. Those tend to be the good years compared to some of the other things that have occurred.
This year was no exception with the physical double whammy of burnt feet for my birthday paired with the week of flu as zing on the way out.
Which is why it is with great joy, my brain finally realized it was May! Time to re-integrate raw food back into my daily life. Time to plot birthday presents for all the upcoming birthdays. Time to really get off the ground all those things that were a good idea in April, but never quite took off the way they were expected to.
Today, the black pansies I planted from seed earlier this year were actually in bloom. The dress I ordered online because I thought it was so absolutely perfect arrived and was as wonderful as I expected. Leading me to realize, I could happily dress that way all the time, despite any opinions otherwise from...well, anyone really.
Here's to hoping that May continues to be better than expected!

Oh Gods did that suck! Or...

Why I crawled into bed Tuesday night and didn't leave my room again till Sunday.
I had the flu. It sounds so anti-climatic, but was a rather big deal to me. I hadn't had a major bout of flu for the better part of ten years. I do not remember whimpering in my sleep every time I turned over in bed. I watched cheesy television shows as I fell in and out of sleep. I tried to wind a ball of pretty new yarn, and only got about five minutes into it and had to put it down. That's how sick I was. There was no yarn time.
The good news is that the fever finally broke, the aches and other nastiness went away. Too bad I am still so tired. I am thinking lots of time with a plain sock and afternoon naps may be in order for at least a few days.

Digging in the dirt

The weather has been lovely the last couple of days, making it a perfect time for one of my favorite pastimes, playing in the dirt. A trip to the store yesterday yielded: alyssum, lobelia, petunias, dianthus, snapdragons, and stocks. I am personally pleased with the resultant bed. It adds color and warmth to an otherwise rather bland and rocky landscape.
It may be the season, but I seem to have an overwhelming urge to landscape my yards and re-decorate my entire house. This urge complicates things as I am already up to my eyeballs in things I am supposed to be doing.
I guess I will do what I am supposed to do, just with paint on my pants and dirt under my nails!

Pretend this was posted in time for Easter

The octopus bottle stopper was one of those things that I fell in love with in the store, (don't ask I just like octopi), and made the "it's the day before my birthday do I really have to put it back?" face, so he came home with us.
The cinnamon roll sheep was really my birthday cake this year. I thought it blended Easter and things that make me happy rather well. A cute woolly themed, holiday honoring, yummy tasting, silly thing to take pictures of, that was enjoyed by all. The sheep was actually inspired by a memory of one my mother made, many years ago, from, I think, a Sunset magazine recipe.

The kids both came down with head colds Easter Sunday, which they kindly shared. So this last week has been our Spring Break, as we were all in need of some recovery time. Which means I will have another summer top finished up shortly, because in between coughing and blowing my nose, there has been much knitting.

I do love my henna!

It isn't pretty to look at. It's horribly messy to play in. It takes longer than a standard bottle of chemical dye to prepare and use. There is no eye-watering smell. As for results, the proof in in the picture, taken in full sunlight the day I hennaed my hair and after it had dried. The color has darkened some, to something less carrot and more copper colored.
I have tried a lot of chemical dyes, henna still gives me the most authentic color. I use a mix of half henna, half cassia, bought from Mehandi , found courtesy of Wendy . I think using henna is worth the time spent, especially with complements about my beautiful hair and how wonderful the color is. No one need know I'm a blond in disguise, right?

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

My son was made a flying ninja monkey yesterday. It seemed only natural to fly said flying monkey next to one of the more entertaining signs in my house.
My daughter was the force behind making sure we had chocolate chip cookie dough, to be baked today, in a rather amazing shade of green.
I personally was insistent on there being Irish soda bread and that dinner must include potatoes and bacon. I also made sure all my finger and toe nails were bright metallic green
And in case you were wondering, yes we are all wearing green as well.
We have to celebrate our heritage somehow don't we?

Working on it

Things are slowly getting themselves back into order. We are back to one cat. The plotting of a cinnamon roll sheep for Easter(yes Mom, I remember) is in the works. Preparations for a full Spring Cleaning and Clearing are also starting. I made awesome banana bread with my great-grandmother's streusel topping, making sure an extra loaf was made for a friend who just got the keys to her first house. I thought a loaf of homemade bread and a little baggie of gray sea salt made a nice little package for a new house blessing.
There's the fretting over presents for other people and knowing that the planned gifts will be late.
The pondering of current definitions of good and evil while sorting through what to get rid of and what to keep.
Enjoying a perfect Spring day with the windows open and seedlings peaking through dark earth.
Still feeling emotionally drained, but trying to move forward nonetheless.

Do not try and re-adjust your monitor

Yes, this knitted item is really pink. Yes, I intend to wear it, as it fits beautifully. It also knit up super fast, so made a nice diversion from some of the more complex pieces I am currently working on. The pattern is Ophelia
This is my first true foray back into the realm of pink in many years. I was convinced to give it another go by one of my Darlings and now will likely be making a hat out of the leftovers.
It is the first of many summer tops that is not black, green or red. Those colors will not be left out, they just won't make up my entire wardrobe selection. I feel so daring. ;-)

Now that Valentine's Day is over

Happy New Year? This is the lovely display that greeted us at the Natural History Museum out here that we visited while my in-laws were out. Back at the end of December.

January just kind of bowled me over. There was too much to process with no real transition to the new year. It just kept coming. Some was personal, some was like the earthquake in Haiti. For this reason, I decided to skip January all together. Acknowledge what happened, fixed what I could, helped what little I could, but refuse to accept the past month as the start of, what in my science fiction consuming little brain, should be some sort of fantastically, amazing year. Not a re-do, rather more like a delay of game.

I've gone through two and a half books in the last month. I have my father in law to thank for the introduction to Christopher Moore. Lamb entertained my husband and I so much, we went out and bought one of almost every title he has out.
I've finished two sweaters, cast on for two more and have been knitting on a lace project that makes me go cross-eyed. There's also a hat with matching mitts and half of a pair of anklets in there somewhere.

Can we celebrate New Year's at the beginning of March? I should be ready by then. ;-)