I'm still figuring out this photography thing, and to start, I'm figuring out my camera. I was playing around with some settings the other day, and I ended up with this photo, which I liked.
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
The Big Reveal: Janey Beth's Flower Blanket
I finally finished Jane's flower blanket!
I have little doubt she will love it, considering that any time I
happened to leave a square or two out, she'd clasp it to her chest and
say, "Oh, Mommy! Will you make me a blanket like this, please please please?" And I'd just smile and say, "Oh, maybe one day, Janey."
The colors will suit her perfectly. Girlish and childlike, simple and sweet.
It'll be a merry Christmas for my Jane to receive it and a very merry one for me to give it.
Flower:
-Ch 4, sl st to join.
-Ch 1, 9 sc in center of loop, join with sl st.
-*Ch 3, skip sc, sc in following sc* four times. Ch 3, skip sc, sl st in final stitch.
-{If joining new color for petals, bind off, then with new color, sl st in ch. 3 sp.}
-*Sc in ch 3 space. Ch 3. 4 dc. Ch 3, sc in same ch 3 space (one petal made).* five times, once in each ch 3 space. Sc in first ch 3 space to join round.
-*Ch 5. Carry chain behind petal, sc in the sc between the petals* five times.
-*Sc in ch 5 space. Ch 3. 8 dc. Ch 3, sc* five times, once in each chain. Second round of petals made. Sc in first ch 5 space to join round.
-*Ch 5. Carry chain behind petal, sc in the sc between the petals* five times.
-Bind off.
Square:
Round 1:
-With color for square, join yarn with sl st in any ch 5 sp. Ch 3.
-In first ch 5 sp: 4 dc, ch 2, 3 dc.
-In second ch 5 sp: 7 dc, ch 2, 1 dc.
-In third ch 5 sp: 8 dc.
-In fourth ch 5 sp: 1 dc, ch 2, 7 dc.
-In fifth ch 5 sp: 3 dc, ch 2, 5 dc.
-Join with sl st in 3rd ch of very first ch 3 of the round.
Round 2:
-Ch 3. *Dc in each stitch to corner. In corner, dc, ch 3, dc* four times.
-Dc in each sp to finish round. Sl st in 3rd ch of first ch 3. (Each side should have 12 dc.)
Round 3:
-Ch. 1. *Sc in each st to corner. In corner, sc, ch 3, sc* four times. Sc in each sp to finish round. Sl st in first ch 1. Bind off.
Round 4:
-With contrasting color, join with sl st in any sc. Ch 1. *Sc in each st to corner. In corner, sc, ch 3, sc* four times. Sc in each sp to finish round. Sl st in first ch 1. Bind off.
Stitch squares together with a tapestry needle, first making the rows, then joining the rows together.
Edging:
Round 1: Join edging yarn with sl st in any sc. *Sc to corner. 5 sc in corner* four times. Sc in remaining stitches to finish round. Join with sl st to first ch 1.
Monday, August 12, 2013
When it's Hot
When you live in Houston and you go on a picnic when it's 100 degrees outside, and all of a sudden you see a fountain, well . . .
I mean, what option do you have, really?
Soaked to the skin and so happy!
Sunday, August 11, 2013
A Southern Summer Memory
There's been a point in my life when I regularly carried chickens by their feet.
Surprised?
It's not something I've done in a very long time. The years and newer (and very different) experiences make that memory feel far removed sometimes. But although I have never not been bookish, I also had a country cousin who made sure I spent only so much time indoors every summer.
When I was a child, my family took an annual summer journey to rural southern Mississippi, where my grandparents lived. We had family upon family upon family there; cousin upon cousin. And since they were outdoorsy, we spent a lot of time outdoors with them. I have memories of hide and seek games lasting long into the night, "cooking" with the overripe and unusable veggies from the garden, swimming in the pool, hiking through the cow pasture and fishing in the cow pond, playing with the puppies and kittens which were always present, and so on.
One summer, my cousin and constant companion, Stacie, and I spent a lot of time in the goat pen. The goat pen was situated on the side of a gently sloping hill near everyone's houses (conveniently so--it's awfully handy to throw your leftovers and scraps over the fence behind your house and be gratified that someone will thoroughly enjoy them). The grass had been so thoroughly devoured by the animals over the years that it was now nonexistent, and the hill was just composed of red dirt with the occasional crack running down its entire length.
Stacie and I started out trying to catch a chicken that had gotten loose in the goat pen, I believe. That is not an easy task, let me tell you. Even harder is trying to catch a goat who doesn't want to be caught. We eventually got the chicken, but we gave up on the goat. And we got our light blue jeans sufficiently stained with red dirt in the process.
The next day, Stacie got the idea to place a hose at the top of one of the cracks of the earth. We put on our swimsuits and Keds and had a marvelous time lazing the day away playing in our girl-made creek. Sinking our feet into the cool mud, experimenting with how we could divert the water to our liking, making tributaries that branched off of the main downhill crack, building little houses for ants and frogs. A couple of tweens making mud pies is what it would have looked like, but that would be a very sad and inept description of our fun.
No, that interpretation would have been to put a productive adult's filter on our summer fun. To see spending a day in the goat pen as insignificant, unimportant, perhaps even foolish activity. But I'm glad that the adults did not come outside and say, "You need to come in now," or "We need to run to the store; come get cleaned up!" No, they just let us play in the mud all day. Which was anything but frivolous. Nope, it was what childhood play should be all about.
Surprised?
It's not something I've done in a very long time. The years and newer (and very different) experiences make that memory feel far removed sometimes. But although I have never not been bookish, I also had a country cousin who made sure I spent only so much time indoors every summer.
When I was a child, my family took an annual summer journey to rural southern Mississippi, where my grandparents lived. We had family upon family upon family there; cousin upon cousin. And since they were outdoorsy, we spent a lot of time outdoors with them. I have memories of hide and seek games lasting long into the night, "cooking" with the overripe and unusable veggies from the garden, swimming in the pool, hiking through the cow pasture and fishing in the cow pond, playing with the puppies and kittens which were always present, and so on.
One summer, my cousin and constant companion, Stacie, and I spent a lot of time in the goat pen. The goat pen was situated on the side of a gently sloping hill near everyone's houses (conveniently so--it's awfully handy to throw your leftovers and scraps over the fence behind your house and be gratified that someone will thoroughly enjoy them). The grass had been so thoroughly devoured by the animals over the years that it was now nonexistent, and the hill was just composed of red dirt with the occasional crack running down its entire length.
Stacie and I started out trying to catch a chicken that had gotten loose in the goat pen, I believe. That is not an easy task, let me tell you. Even harder is trying to catch a goat who doesn't want to be caught. We eventually got the chicken, but we gave up on the goat. And we got our light blue jeans sufficiently stained with red dirt in the process.
The next day, Stacie got the idea to place a hose at the top of one of the cracks of the earth. We put on our swimsuits and Keds and had a marvelous time lazing the day away playing in our girl-made creek. Sinking our feet into the cool mud, experimenting with how we could divert the water to our liking, making tributaries that branched off of the main downhill crack, building little houses for ants and frogs. A couple of tweens making mud pies is what it would have looked like, but that would be a very sad and inept description of our fun.
No, that interpretation would have been to put a productive adult's filter on our summer fun. To see spending a day in the goat pen as insignificant, unimportant, perhaps even foolish activity. But I'm glad that the adults did not come outside and say, "You need to come in now," or "We need to run to the store; come get cleaned up!" No, they just let us play in the mud all day. Which was anything but frivolous. Nope, it was what childhood play should be all about.
Friday, August 9, 2013
Awry
How does a free outing turn into an expensive outing?
This is how:
You go to the museum on the free day. "Thursdays, 3-6pm," they say on the website, "come and enjoy all the exhibits for free!" What they don't say is that half of Houston shows up at 2:55pm, and that you should not expect to find a parking spot.
So, because your son has been looking forward to this museum visit for WEEKS and has especially been excited about it all day today, he cries and cries that he will not get to go, regardless of the fact that you promise that you'll cough up the admission fee and take him in the morning. So you take all the kids to get frozen yogurt as a consolation prize.
Then, you go home and look up the cost of admission, which turns out to be more than you expect. A museum membership for the year will pay for itself in two visits, so it makes more sense to get that.
How did my plans go that wrong??!?
Well, you know, at least they are super adorable. (Especially when they get frozen yogurt.)
This is how:
You go to the museum on the free day. "Thursdays, 3-6pm," they say on the website, "come and enjoy all the exhibits for free!" What they don't say is that half of Houston shows up at 2:55pm, and that you should not expect to find a parking spot.
So, because your son has been looking forward to this museum visit for WEEKS and has especially been excited about it all day today, he cries and cries that he will not get to go, regardless of the fact that you promise that you'll cough up the admission fee and take him in the morning. So you take all the kids to get frozen yogurt as a consolation prize.
Then, you go home and look up the cost of admission, which turns out to be more than you expect. A museum membership for the year will pay for itself in two visits, so it makes more sense to get that.
FREE---------------------->EXPENSIVE
How did my plans go that wrong??!?
Well, you know, at least they are super adorable. (Especially when they get frozen yogurt.)
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Cozy Spots
Jane is an expert at coziness.
She makes truly cozy looking nests for her stuffed animals and dolls.
Her bed is the comfiest in the house, I'm always telling her.
And she knows a cozy bed when she sees one:
She loves Mom and Dad's new bedding. "Mommy, please can I go to sleep under your blanket, and Daddy can carry me to my bed later?"
Sweet sleeper. :)
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
11 Months Old
Clara is 11 months old today!
She is a precious little thing. I've really enjoyed her babyhood, and I'll be sorry to see her turn one!
She has learned to wave, and she loves the fact that we love it. She gets quite a reaction--lots of coos and encouragement and enthusiastic waving back at her.
Clara loves to eat. She pretty much eats almost all finger foods now, especially blueberry waffles, toast, peas and broccoli and sweet potatoes and other veggies, all types of fruit, crackers, and cereal bars. She's also been lucky enough to run across a bite of chocolate chip pancake that her sister obligingly dropped on the floor. And yogurt. Oh, yes, she loves yogurt. This is her face every day when she realizes her most delicious yogurt has all been eaten:
Such despair! Did you see the tear?
Thank goodness there are some good things in life other than yogurt.
For example, these girls love each other.
A fact which makes me happy. :)
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