as cozy as spring

Saturday Morning Book Post

Hello friends!  When the weather heats up my thoughts turn to camping and pretty much nothing but camping.  I invest a ridiculous amount of time and energy into camp logistics.  I'm very proud of my tent skills.  So I'll be chatting about camp themed picture books today.

 

S is for S'mores This books touches on so much of what we love about camping.  It's beautifully done and my favorite of all I'm listing today.

 

 

The same author wrote E is for Enchantment which is charming because our favorite camping spot is in New Mexico, a place we've been visiting since I was maybe 12?  (Can't remember. Dad, do you know?) In my homeschool fantasies, I have all of the state books, but I wouldn't be without this one.

 

 

Maisy Goes Camping - High literature, y'all.  The nuance! The poetry!  It's a Maisy book!  We love Maisy.  It's probably not a must have, nor much of an instructional manual, but it's cute for younger children.

 

We also enjoy Mountain Dance and John Muir: America's Naturalist by Thomas Locker.  They are nice additions to our library, if a bit flowery for my tastes.

I actually don't have any how-to camping books like Laurie Carlson's Kids Camp.  I just peeked at the table of contents and it might be something my daughter would enjoy.  I don't really find that we need ideas to fill the time while we camp.  If there is some down time around the tent, we're blissfully happy just to sit and watch the ducks.  For hours, if need be.  Though, OK this is hilarious, we did try to play some games 'round the campfire last year.  We thought "Guess what number?" would be easy enough for everyone.  But my son would inevitably say, "Pick a number between 1 and 20." And after half an hour of guessing he would tell us the number was 74 or something.  He could not grasp how to play the game and seemed to think we were all very dim witted that we could never guess his number.  It was so funny (but probably only to me and I'm sorry for boring you with that story).

Other book notes: My daughter is reading The Wizard of Oz for a book club.  I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't know it was a book.  She's very much enjoying it and I'm not having to hassle her to finish.

Happy summer reading!

Reunited

My husband was out of town this week.  I was weirdly excited about it because, of course, being a single mother had to be easier!  I wouldn't have to make dinner. I could have a big slumber party with the children. I could stay up knitting and have the television all to myself.

What lunacy, I tell you.  I did have to make a proper dinner every night because I had to feed the children all by myself.  I am so happy that we garden as I completely ran out of produce and had to go rooting around in the dirt for vegetables.  We did have a big slumber party and consequently, no one slept well and my son took a dive off the bed in the middle of the night.  Knitting?  I cast on for a cardigan five minutes before he walked back in the door this afternoon.  I was too tired from managing everything to watch any television.

And then!  The children.  Oh my.  I love them and I love spending every minute of every day with them, but they just talk all the time. There was no one else in the house to absorb any of that conversation.  It was all directed at my poor, tired, grumpy ears.  

In summary: I love my husband.  I do I do I do I do.

Pattern: Staccato in Quince & Co. Lark, a proper knit for my son in colors he chose himself.  Side Note: Quince & Co. has the world's best customer service and the yarn is dreamy and  I'm not being compensated to say so.  They seem to be very understanding about dopey knitters who aren't exactly sure how much yarn they need.

My darling is on the couch right now (le sigh!) listening to the children chatter.  It sounds like my son is trying to see how loud he can burp.  I don't really care as long as he doesn't accidently make himself barf on my nice living room rug.

I'll be back tomorrow to talk books!  

June Coneflowers

Not my garden

We're planting a few more native plants in our garden.  When done correctly, this can be gorgeous.  I've always fought the climate but, with a few exceptions, it is a losing battle. I'm planting coneflowers just a few at a time, until it becomes a happy mass of lavender.

Knitting Fail

I wanted to use up some leftover yarn.  I started knitting a blanket.  I realized fairly early on that I did not have enough yarn.  I refused to order more yarn because that completely defeated the purpose of a stash busting project.  I also refused to just quit.

My son is now the owner of some sort of half blanket, man shawl thing.  I would rant about what a giant waste of time it was to knit something so utterly useless and how it would have been better just to throw the leftover yarn away but he's really, really happy about his new "blanket".  He can keep his shoulders warm.  He can use it as a superhero  cape.  He can cuddle with it at bedtime.  He's in love with what I consider to be a monumental knitting failure just because his mommy made it.  I may find this charming some day, but today I'm still mildly (or boldly) annoyed about my insistence on making the most of my yarn scraps.  

Here's a better use for leftover yarn: kindling.  Seriously knitters, does anything bug you more than scraps?

Saturday Morning Book Post

Good morning friends!  Here's what we've been reading this week:

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place - I haven't finished it yet, but it is an excellent read aloud.  The style is pleasant and elevated.  The characters are likable and interesting.  One of the best new books I've read in awhile.  We rotate this with These Happy Golden Years.  Yes, we are reading the Little House books over again.  I think we read the entire series every single winter.  I also think these will be some of our happiest collective memories.  

Confession: This is going to make me sound a wee bit crazy.  I cannot stand to read the description of the what-not in By the Shores of Silver Lake.  I loathe the description of the what-not.  So much so that every other time it pops up in the books I roll my eyes and squirm.  My dislike of the what-not extends to Mrs. Boast herself because she brought it into my life.

OK then, moving on!

We wrapped up the second to last book in A History of US.  It's been pleasant and probably right on grade level for my daughter.  We've had some thoughtful discussions following each chapter.

My son is wrapping up the Faith and Freedom Reader, This is our Family.  He's reading fluidly now and I'm happy with the progress he's made in his first official school year.  

He's so seriously into the bird books.  Can I ask for some suggestions?  His birthday is coming up and I would love to add some more birdy books to our lineup.  Any favorites?

I'm not reading anything at all, I don't think.  I've regained my enthusiasm for knitting (it disappeared in April) and that's how I'm spending my free time these days.

Cucumbers.  Nothing to do with anything, but aren't they pretty?  I hope you all have a beautiful weekend!

'round the web

This blanket -The colors, the cables.  I shake my head in wonder.

KC's costumes - She is so talented.

Peppermint in the Country - I want to walk into those photos.  Can't you feel the cool water?

I meant to link to this on Memorial Day but I didn't. It's not a new piece, but one I return to now and then.  It's one of the most poignant pieces I've read about the price of war. 

Two things that are funny.  I just commented at Lissa's that I didn't like long posts full of links and here I am writing long posts full of links.  And I also rarely catch the Google Reader shared items box, but one that I check daily is Elizabeth's because she shares the best stuff.  One I found this week was this piece on happiness.  "Perfect is the enemy of good".  This passage really got me moving this week and it's excellent to keep in mind as I begin my month of planning next year's studies.  

Summer Fun Day 5: Flip Flops, bubbles, cartwheel competition, slip and slide and The Sound of Music.  My daughter loved it. Yay!  My son played with Legos.

Summer Fun Days

Day 1: Slip and Slide (and sunburn).  It is inadvisable to set the children up on the slip and slide and then take a nap, trusting that one's husband will tend to their sunscreen needs.

Day 2: Family barbecue at my parent's home.  

Day 3: (um, OK.  I just caught up on paperwork that day)

Day 4: Ice cream and sprinkler in the backyard.  This was rather forced on my part.  I just kind of wanted the children out of the house so I could clean but at the last minute, I threw a little snack together and sat out there with them (knitting).  The hours I spend just sitting in the backyard with my babies are among the happiest I know. 

Today: Decorating flip flops and The Sound of Music!

Summer Hat Knitting

I first learned to knit in the summer of 2002.  My two year old daughter was in need of a warm hat for our first family camping trip.  My sister had recently taught herself to knit, I believe, using the instructions found in the very first Martha Stewart Baby magazine.  She then agreed to teach me.  What a tremendous blessing.  I will never stop being grateful.

This is the second hat I knit for that trip.  They are both tremendously ugly and still roaming around the house somewhere.  I still have that pattern - the paper is soft and wrinkled from overuse.  It is a good pattern.

The camping hat for summer 2011 will be knit in Spud and Chloe 'Lake'.  This is my first time using this yarn.  I have added it to my shopping cart more times than I can count, only to chicken out when I see my subtotal.  I had to order this skein very quickly and with squinty eyes.  I wish I didn't like it so much.  I've been disappointed with wool/cotton blends before.  This one is wonderfully soft and the colors are so summertime dreamy.  Seriously dreamy.  Look at that blue!  The yarn does really stick to the needles and I wish, for perhaps the first time ever, I was working on metal.

I'm not really working off a pattern, just knitting it top down with a seed stitch edge.  We considered cables but sometimes simple is best.  Especially if I'm going to try to fit in a campfire sweater for my son in the same yarn.  

Voice-over: Will she be able to place that order?  Stay tuned....