as cozy as spring

Summer Sun

It looks like it's dancing, doesn't it?  Jazz hands?

P.S. I had to put in word verification, temporarily I hope, because I had a little spam problem over the weekend.  

Weekend list

This may be a really boring post to read, but I'm pretty happy about everything I accomplished this weekend.  

• Almost finished up 200 yards or so of my pickle yarn.  I have just a few more yards to ply this morning.
• Painted one wall of my bedroom.  I'm hoping to do one wall per day, neatly, until it is done.  The color is called "Cool Morning".  Bedrooms are for dreaming!
• Ordered a larger print from our favorite hike to put up in the bedroom.  See: dreaming.
• Ordered a swimsuit from Land's End.  Hello sale prices!  
• Knit 3/4 of a sock for my son during Harry Potter weekend.
• Mowed the lawn
• Purchased birthday presents for my little boy who will turn seven this week.  Among them: The Backyard Birdsong Guide: Western North America.  I had no idea this one existed!  The other two are among his most treasured possessions.  I can't wait to see his face when he opens this!
• Cleaned the linen closet and started preparing for a garage sale.  
• Sold my minivan.  This was traumatic for reasons I thought I might write about... but not now.  For now, I'm happy that I have a car that suits our family's needs, however small.

This week is one of our few obligation-free summer weeks.  I hope to print out calendars and get our lesson plans together.  Order books, set up files, and start looking forward.

Poolside Knitting

After three weeks of swimming lessons I have two things to show.

1) Children that swim (great big sigh of relief)

2) A hooded sweater for my son.

I've wanted to knit a sweater like this for ages. I love the pattern. I love the yarn.  I love that my son chose the colors all by himself and did such a great job.  I love that he loves his woolly cardigan so much that we wants to wear it when it is 102 degrees outside.

I spend hours just waiting by the pool.  I'm so happy to have something tangible to show for it! And to be clear, I can knit without looking at my work, so I was able to keep my eyes on my little sweethearts while keeping my hands busy.

More details on my Ravelry projects page.  I'm couldn't be happier with this project!

Hot Stuff

The zinnias and the sunflowers we planted from seed are thriving. I'm having a love-the-one-you're-with year in the garden.  I've fought this hot, dry climate for years and lost.  I much prefer cool blue alpine flowers to these prairie natives, but the garden is much more beautiful if bend to what it wants instead of what I want.  There's a life lesson in there somewhere, but I haven't stopped long enough to think on it.

I'll tell you what I love about the hot, dry climate.  I'm back to spinning again simply because I longed for the sight of freshly spun wool hanging to dry in the back yard.  I'm working on a merino/silk blend right now.  It's not my favorite to spin - too wispy - but the finished product is gorgeous.

This is about a hundred yards of two ply fingering weight yarn.  It was more of a warm up and I wasn't fussing over evenness but I think it's still usable.  I'm not so sure about the color.  I like it in theory but after staring at it for months, I still think it looks like pickles.  Or maybe turtles.  

OK, speaking of hot, I've got to go pack the swim bag.  Happy Thursday!

Le Weekend

If I am to judge by my Google Reader, we are supposed to be writing holiday wrap-ups this morning.  I shall do the same.  I was thinking about writing a post entitled 'Anthony Weiner ruined the fireworks for me this year.'  But that's a bit out of character for as cozy as spring.  So here are some pretty, harmless photos from our weekend.

Not pictured: Both my children, swimming.  In the water.  I never thought this day would come.  I have photos, naturally, but I forgot to take any faceless photos for the blog.  All of them feature big, happy smiles.  Oh, this has been a great life lesson.  My children (one in particular) learned that years of hard work and perseverance can bring success where no natural ability exists.  I learned just the right way to motivate and that is priceless in going forward as a home educator.  

I also learned that I do enjoy the fireworks after all (Anthony Weiner aside).  If only for the company.  I do not enjoy them enough to bother learning how to take a proper fireworks photos.  The one above captured just what I wanted anyway.