papaya's sweater

this is papaya's Christmas sweater

even though it wasn't ready for Christmas or even in our house

i had a little bit of difficulty finishing it off

this is an ella rae pattern and i used kathmandu aran yarn

i was happy with both until i needed to finish it

the pattern instructed to have a moss stitch border

which i made and re-made three times

once on the sweater it made the final project bulky and it wouldn't lay flat

i was really frustrated given the self-imposed time crunch

however, oma came to the rescue

i mailed the sweater to a big prairie city

once the border was pulled off, she used her crochet skills to give it a nice unbulky finished edge

thanks oma!

here is oma's finishing touches

hats

these hats i knit last winter as i began to be intrigued by knitting
i wasn't very confident and kept projects small
the first hat is papaya's
i used patons sws (soy wool stripes)
and edith's hat pattern on circular needles
this hat was knit with the same yarn and pattern
it was originally made and worn by me
however, i semi-felted it by accident (another story)
and it then it fit bugsy like it was made for her
she has a lime green winter jacket that it looks fabolous with

new chapter

today at coffeebreak the intro speaker
challenged us to look at 2009
not as another year
but another chapter
how many of us have unfulfilled resolutions
that never work much past january 1?
how about thinking of each day
maybe each hour, possibly each minute
as the writing in this chapter of our life?
yesterday when i was in a moment of self-defeat
a friend reminded me that tomorrow is a new day

i think the two may go well together

wips

here is one of my wips (works in progress)

i am nearing the end of this one...yay!

had to put the socks away for a while

so that i could finish papaya's sweater, will post on that later

i love making socks!

bugsy is the photographer in this post

winter glory

this afternoon i got some time away

while the big cheese took the kids for a ski

it was a beautiful afternoon and a friend and i went for a hike

it made us realize anew the benefits of where we live

even though it sometimes feels like the middle of no where

as we walked we found this red mitt on a stick

it made us smile, a bright beacon among the white

backyard beauty

might sound impressive

after all my complaining last night

supper this evening actually came together alright

prepped and ready i have

bacon wrapped beef tenderloin

aspargus with bernaise sauce

rice

now, before you start thinking this is a regular meal

sorry...it is not!

we get our beef from a local farmer

and whether it is tenderloin, t-bone or ground beef

it all costs the same

the only difference is I get 50 pkgs of ground beef

and one package of tenderloin

so i guess we can live high class, or at least sound like it,

once a year!

dinner dilema

oh! so painful
i simply couldn't motivate myself to make supper
i wanted to be saved
rotten ronnie's or 1-800-THE-PIZZA sounded really good
so i asked big cheese what he wanted for supper
as he hemmed and hawed
papaya came up with a suggestion
and boo-boo offered her help
she was pretty serious too
she got an apron on, pulled up her chair
and asked "what can i do?"
well....we started making supper, at first i was still pretty cranky
but then we worked together, got it made and enjoyed the time
she was very proud of her efforts, amazing what a 4-year-old can do
as we sat down to a homemade three course dinner
i was truly thankful for the hands that helped to prepare the meal
and that it wasn't take-out

just a day

at least one of our children was having fun outside

all by herself, until her sisters joined her

what a clown!

mia

feel a little like i have been missing in action

we took a few days to get away

went to a hotel for one night, stayed with friends for another two

the change from home was actually quite nice

especially since during the holidays we spent alot of time relaxing around home

now we are back at it

homeschool, book-keeping, laundry, baking

however, when the big cheese reappears we may go for a family ski

as i head into the new year,

i realize that i am not a person for resolutions

they don't work, usually add more frustration then they are worth

but i really feel like i have a heartfelt, unwritten desire to

reduce internal clutter

what does that mean?

not entirely sure...but some things i think are:

pass on things that aren't being used

say "no" when needed

finish projects on the go

spend time in my bible

get sleep

sit, have a chai, chat with a friend

stitch more, knit often

listen to children's stories, laugh

play a game, build a snowman

go to the beach

slow down, i don't want to miss all the beauty around me

beauty in my children, husband and world

beauty and blessing of each day