Stuck in Illinois

Sweets for Belle

2012-01-05T13:32:00.004-06:00

You know your kid is horse crazy when they beg you to go to the barn to see and brush the horses on a non-riding day.

And we brought along some left over candy canes that Belle quickly gobbled up!

We did it

2012-01-03T20:05:00.002-06:00

Four days of drinking only fresh fruit and veggie juice is finally over. We juiced carrots,kale,parsley,tomatoes,red peppers,jalapeno peppers,spinach,limes,lemons,apples,pears,leeks,cabbage,swiss chard,grapefruit,cranberries,celery,oranges,kiwi,pineapple,blueberries,black berries, and even a sweet potato!!
I thankfully didn't have any digestion issues but my blood sugar was all over the place. One minute I felt fine and the next I was sweating and shaking. I felt like I was in a fog the entire detox and couldn't think clearly.
The only plus was losing 8 pounds but I wasn't doing it for the weight loss. I will never, ever try this again.
I will definitely add fresh juice as a supplement to my diet as it's a great way to get extra veggies.
I planned a whole week of vegan dinners with recipes from my new cookbook,Appetite for Reduction.
Tonight's dinner of Mango BBQ beans over brown rice with corn and scallion cornbread was a hit with the whole clan.
2012 is off to a healthy start!!

Day 1

2011-12-30T08:30:00.004-06:00

About a month ago I watched two documentaries,Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead and Forks Over Knives.
Husband and I decided to start our new year with four day juice only fast.
Our Juicer is ready.

All the veggies and fruits are ready.

"Recipes" have been chosen.

Ready or not here we go.......

Too many

2011-03-21T12:14:00.005-05:00

Shawls? I just completed knitting shawl #32. And there are so many more patterns and yarn I'd like to knit into shawls.
I've given away 12 of the 32 but 20 still seems to be too many for one person to wear.
I dug out all the shawls I've kept and lined them up outside today.

I need to replace the red colored shawl I gave away and then I'll have a complete "rainbow" of shawls.

Nope. I could never have too many. I just need to "gift" more of them away.

Cold and Snowy

2011-02-03T12:49:00.003-06:00

I am a bit of a homebody when severe weather hits. We stayed warm and cozy inside while Blizzard 2011 hit Northern Illinois Tuesday night. When it was over we tackled the task of digging out.

Wow-What a Year

2010-12-29T12:03:00.011-06:00

2010 flew by.
This past year I tried new things.
First, there was my attempt at downhill skiing in February.

Then I decided to get my motorcycle license.

And I rediscovered my love of horses and riding.

After waiting for 20 years I finally explored Northern California and had an unforgettable cross country train trip.

And then there was my knitting. I managed to knit almost 15,000 yards. That's 8.5 miles of yarn. I fell in love with knitting shawls as I was able to start and finish 17 of them during 2010. It's hard to pick my favorite so here are my top two.
My Haruni shawl was knit in tandem with the winter Olympics. The yarn sparkles like winter snow.

My latest stole-Seascape, was knit in a delicate laceweight 100% cashmere. The color and the story behind acquiring the yarn makes me smile every time I see it.

Here's hoping for a healthy and happy 2011.

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-24T23:38:00.001-06:00

Making a Difference

2010-11-20T20:18:00.004-06:00

With so much need in our community, country, and world it's hard for me to believe that I will ever be able to make any kind of difference.
Today we volunteered to pack vegetarian meals for starving children all around the world through Feed My Starving Children.This is our third time working with them but the first time working at a mobile packing site.
In our 2 hour shift with a group of 200 volunteers we were able to pack over 72,000 meals. Enough to feed almost 200 kids for an entire year. Seeing all those boxes filled with meals made me feel like today I did make a difference.

Busy October

2010-10-18T11:44:00.008-05:00

October is one busy month in our abode. We made it to another Broadway in Chicago show this year. This time-Rock of Ages. It was fun and we all enjoyed an afternoon in Chicago.

Then it was time to celebrate Chance's birthday. You can't tell by the pick of his birthday theme but he's growing up into quite an independent young man.

About a week later it was time to celebrate the other son's birthday.

This past Saturday was homecoming and it's always a good time. This year the weather was perfect with blue skies and 70 degrees.

We've been super busy out at the horse barn this month too. First with the fun show.

Then yesterday with a parade.

Cruising California

2010-09-23T16:35:00.011-05:00

It all started back in March when I decided we should take the train from Chicago to San Francisco.
We've been on several trains to Texas, to New York City/Washington DC/Boston, and to Los Angeles but this train, the California Zephyr, was by far the most scenic. We went through the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevadas in places only accessible by train. For over two days I sat in the lounge car watching this beautiful country roll by. It was so relaxing.

When we hit San Francisco I had 4 days until I hit Orange County(my husband's destination) and we packed as much as we could into those 4 days.
We rode trolley's all around the city.

We biked the Golden Gate Bridge.

Took a boat to Alcatraz and toured the prison.

On Monday I picked up a rental car and headed down the infamous Lombard Street(crookedest street in town) before heading south on Highway 1. Breathtaking views for a hundred miles!

I talked my family into a horseback ride on the beach. We finally took a family ride where we could move faster than a walk.

We stayed in hostels in Monterrey and Santa Barbara which were an adventure all to themselves.
We hiked through the red woods in Big Sur, walked the boardwalk in Santa Cruz and Santa Monica, and took in all the weird at Venice Beach.
Then we hit Orange County and visited with in-laws for the next week. They've been experiencing an extremely cold summer in southern California and this continued for our visit. There were 3 hours a day of sunshine where we hit the beaches. I had plenty of time available to start and finish a shawl.

Life is better when you're on vacation!

Perfect Summer Weekend

2010-08-16T16:20:00.006-05:00

Saturday morning Finn took to the skies and went flying in a little aircraft over our town.

If you have kids 8-17 years old check into this program. They sure do make the kids feel special and you can't beat the price(it's FREE).

Then I headed South with a friend to go trail riding. It was her first time ever riding a horse and she even thought our speed was incredibly SLOW. But it was still nice to be outside. We even went on a short hike to the nearby gorges after our trail ride.

Sunday I viewed my first cowboy mounted shooting competition. They ended up having 31 competitors which was good(lots of variety in skill level) and bad(it took a long time to set up between riders). The two riders we went to support ended up taking first and third place so that was awesome!

It was a perfect summer weekend.

Weekend Road Trip

2010-08-04T09:50:00.007-05:00

Last weekend we headed out on a road trip to visit my family in southern Ohio. I love road trips because they are affordable in our little hybrid car but there are a few things I realized I hate about road trips too. The 1000 miles(round-trip) of bumper to bumper traffic, trying to stay awake while driving at 3am, and the very uncomfortable seats in the fuel efficient car.
We managed to pack our four day weekend with tons of activities.
Saturday we headed to a little town for their festival's "Grand Finale" concert with Kenny Rogers and fireworks. "You've got to know when to hold 'em. Know when to fold 'em. Know when to walk away and know when to run." Yep, The Gambler was stuck in my head for a good 3 days.
On Sunday we headed south to Lake Hope which was the perfect spot for my youngest child to finally try out fishing.

Later in the day we headed over to a State Forest to trail ride. It was so beautiful despite being in the midst of horse fly season. Seriously these things were the size of hummingbirds!!

Then on Monday we headed to the capital for the Ohio State Fair. It was HOT but we managed to take as much of the fair in as we could manage. The lumberjack show, the pig races, the animal buildings, and the cow made of butter.

Eldest child was determined to try one of the deep fried options(cheese burgers, pizza, PB & J sandwiches, Snickers, Milky way, Oreos, Twinkies). He ended up with a deep fried strawberry Pop Tart.

And we had a great time hanging out with family we don't get to see very often. My niece was inseparable from her cousin the entire weekend. Sometimes my child can be so sweet and patient with little kids!

Biker Chick

2010-07-25T22:11:00.003-05:00

It's something I've been wanting to learn for over 20 years. How to ride a motorcycle. When I heard about FREE motorcycle rider training classes offered through the state of Illinois I signed up. It's an intense 22 hour course over 3 days but I've never had so much fun in all of my 38 years! And I passed my written and riding portions so I'm officially legal to ride on the road now.

Another year older

2010-07-12T17:33:00.005-05:00

Like it or not it happens every year-another birthday!

I started off the day out at the barn doing chores. And sharing some sweet apples with the ponies.

Then we headed out into the beautiful summer weather to go biking.

We ended our ride at a cafe for a nice, relaxing lunch.

Trail Ride Time

2010-06-27T09:30:00.005-05:00

The farm I volunteer for decided to treat us with a trail ride on Friday afternoon. It was one of those moments you wish could last forever. We had the park to ourselves.

We took a break halfway through our ride to eat dinner then headed back out on the trails.

The three of us volunteers had such a great time hanging out with each other and with our ponies.

Thank you Abbie and Ryan for taking us out!

Keeping Busy

2010-06-23T14:58:00.006-05:00

Summertime means time for camp for the kiddos.
This weekend was the youngest son's theater camp finale. He did a fantastic job as "Grandpa Wolf" and had a great time memorizing his lines and learning songs and dances over his 2 week camp.

We went to the ballpark on Father's Day which was fun but really HOT!!

The kids decided at the beginning of June to move into separate bedrooms. For the last 4 years I've been spoiled with a room for all my schooling/sewing/crafting/practicing and was really sad to give it up. With a new tenant also meant new paint. I spent yesterday switching the walls from a bright green color to a light blue(youngest son's pick). It's never as easy as the home shows make it look but he's happy to have his own color and own space.

My little buckaroo

2010-06-15T16:06:00.004-05:00

Youngest child has wanted to get up on a horse for over 2 years. Last week he finally started some riding/horsemanship lessons.

Little dude is super excited(as am I).

Fieldtrip

2010-06-04T10:33:00.005-05:00

It seems we're always on a field-trip but hey that's where you learn the most, right? From "real-world" experiences? Yesterday we headed into Chicago to see a couple of Chicago's museums and take advantage of free admission day.
The first stop-The Field Museum. This place is so large it would take several(hundred) visits to take it all in.

Eldest child has been dying to see the new modern wing of the Art Institute so we headed over there. What a beautiful space. Even the lions are decked out in Blackhawk pride.

It was a perfect summer night in Chicago so we grabbed dinner and headed to Millennium Park to hear some live music. The skyline looked magical.

Yeee Hawww

2010-06-02T15:33:00.002-05:00

Memorial Day turned out to be rainy with thunderstorms so we postponed our horseback riding adventure until Tuesday.

Look out dude ranch here we come.

Drive In Knitting

2010-05-30T20:18:00.005-05:00

We've been having a streak of summer-like temps here and the kids have been in the pool for over a week.

Last night after a day of swimming we headed to the corn field for the drive in movies. Good times!

Coming up for tomorrow-trail riding. Yes, on horses. I can't believe my family has agreed to participate. I think watching me ride has given everyone the itch to try it out. Should be interesting.

Will Work to Ride

2010-05-24T20:11:00.006-05:00

I answered a wanted ad a couple of weeks ago to get back in the barns. I miss the open space of the country and this gets me out of the city and doing what I love.

The next part of my plan involves getting my family addicted to the country too.

May Mojo

2010-05-20T10:19:00.003-05:00

Or lack of knitting mojo? I worked on one project the past 20 days. It's a beautiful laceweight shawl(Icarus Shawl) but it sucked my knitting mojo this month.

For 3 days I haven't touched my knitting needles because I don't know what to start. A cardigan, another shawl, a simple discloth? Maybe I'll sit out the rest of May and start something new in June?
Last night I entered all my projects into knitmeter.com to see how many yards of yarn I've knit this year so far. During 2010 I've knit 9 shawls and knit close to 4.5 miles(@7000 yards) of yarn.

Wow, no wonder I feel like giving knitting a short break.

Smile

2010-05-07T07:18:00.002-05:00

To all the Moms out there-Happy Mother's Day.

Take some time this weekend to smile!!

My Lagoon

2010-04-28T10:45:00.003-05:00

Also known as the big black hole, the money pit, or the reflecting pond. As much as my husband says he LOVES this "swimming pool" after 8 years of cleaning and endless maintenance time and costs I can't find anything to LOVE about this darned thing.

May 1st is this Saturday which means it's time to start preparing for what I hope is a sunny and hot summer season filled with endless days by the crystal clear swimming hole.

(As hard as I try to stay positive about the big hole in the ground, sometimes I can't help but daydream what a fantastic garden plot this space would be if I could get a few truckloads of dirt to fill in this pit.)

Radical Homemaker

2010-04-27T10:05:00.003-05:00

I rarely purchase a book site unseen but last week I ordered a book that is exactly what I needed. It's called Radical Homemakers:Reclaiming Domesticity from a Consumer Culture.

I skipped the first half of the book, the "why", and went to the second half of the book, the "how". She interviewed 20 individuals and families that are living a home-centered, more sustainable life. They are young and old, men and women, single and married, with and without children. All these people "do not see their homes as a refuge from the world. Rather, each home was the center for social change, the starting point from which a better life would ripple out for everyone."

"If you ever considered quitting a job to plant tomatoes, read to a child, pursue creative work, can green beans and heal the planet, this is your book."

Almost there

2010-04-19T13:32:00.004-05:00

We are on week 34 of 36 for our school year. We are very ready for the end of the semester!
Last week my youngest son had the finale concert for his Children's Choir. The kids sounded great and looked so professional.

The weather was perfect last week for our field trip to learn archery. We had a blast learning a new skill and hanging out with friends.

Ready or Not

2010-04-14T14:58:00.006-05:00

Life seems to be on fast forward lately. Ready or not here it comes whether I'm ready for it or not. Another home schooled Mom recently tried to help me out by telling me to focus on what is going good instead of what is most challenging. We've had an extremely challenging past couple of months. But I'm going to try to stay focused on what is going really well and hope that in the future things will continue to look up.
Today eldest son had his "finale" in his mock trail class. He nailed his opening statement and questioned the witnesses like a pro. My Jr. defense attorney did an outstanding job with his team today. I'm a proud Mom!

In like a Lion

2010-03-26T18:41:00.006-05:00

...out like a lion? I've had a horrible March so I am ready to see this month leave. On with the warmer weather already!
I've been struck with extreme fatigue since the beginning of March so last weekend I decided to start a new eating plan. It all started with a trip to the bookstore Saturday...

It's simple:
1.Add 5 habits(Eat breakfast, eat more veggies and fruits, eat whole grains, eat healthy fats, and move/walk at least 30 minutes per day)
2. Break 5 habits (No TV while eating, No sugar, No snacks, moderate meat, and no eating at restaurants)

The no sugar was really hard the first couple of days. No table sugar, brown sugar, honey, jam, jelly, desserts or sodas. I had to go out and buy a new box of cereal because I didn't have any cereal without added sugar.

I love the new veggie cookbook. This week we tried out several new recipes for dinners. We had Teriyaki Tofu, Veggie Chow Mein, Seitan meat and potatoes, Tortilla soup, and Black Bean Sofrito.

Hopefully this new healthy eating plan can help kick-start me into a new month where I have lots of energy.

Olympic Knitting Wrapup

2010-03-02T12:23:00.003-06:00

For the past two weeks, each evening we gathered around the flat screen and watched skiing, snowboarding, and ice skating. All while I knitted on my shawl.
This pattern, Haruni, was easy to follow, easy to modify(I added more repeats to Chart A) and I already have plans to to knit it again. I love how this yarn sparkles in the sun with the added silver thread and would love to knit it in a blue(with silver) yarn.

How did your Olympic knitting project(s) turn out?

Fun in the Snow

2010-02-26T06:14:00.006-06:00

We finally took advantage of cold, snowy, Northern Illinois yesterday and went skiing.
It was a BEAUTIFUL day.
We had the place to ourselves. No lines at the lifts. A weekday package for $30 that included rentals, a 2 hour lesson, and all day lift tickets.
And yes, I participated and had fun.

This was our first skiing attempt and it went really well. Chance took off and tackled the bigger runs after a few times down the beginner slope.

Finn and I stayed on " Rookies Ridge" but he still got out there and tried it.

Today we are tired, sore, and have sunburned faces. But we had so much fun we're going back next season. Maybe we'll out try snowboarding next year?

Shh the pups are sleeping

2010-02-24T13:50:00.004-06:00

Things are so much more peaceful around here when the babies, I mean dogs, are sleeping. I have one big dog who loves to tear things apart. (This morning it was a new bar of soap). I have one little dog who likes to ingest anything tore up by the big dog. They are perfect for each other.

Halfway Mark

2010-02-20T09:39:00.004-06:00

The Olympics are halfway through. I was cruising right along on the Haruni pattern until my yarn ran out.

I ordered some more yarn this morning which means I will now rip back to the first chart, add some more repeats, then continue to the second chart and edging. It doesn't look good for me being able to finish this project by the closing ceremonies.

With all this Olympic spirit I decided to have the kids track the medals and countries.

It's very homemade but it's still fun to see who is leading in the medal count.

On Thursday I took the kid's ice skating. It was their first time ever trying out this sport and they've already asked to go back and try it again. It really helped them appreciate the Olympic skating events even more.

Up next this coming week---our first ever attempt at skiing and snowboarding.

Happy Fat Tuesday

2010-02-16T14:22:00.003-06:00

Laissez le bon temps rouler!

Knitting Olympics

2010-02-11T08:52:00.007-06:00

They're back.
Those crazy knitters who pick a project, cast on during the Opening ceremonies, and complete the knitting during the next 17 days of the Olympic games.
I was there(via internet) to cast on during the 2006 games in Italy. Wow I can't believe I've been knitting for 4 years now.
This time around I have my yarn(Dream in Color Starry) and pattern(Haruni shawl)ready.

What do you plan on knitting during these Olympic games?

More New Things

2010-02-03T13:15:00.005-06:00

There are a couple of other new things in our lives this semester.
The eldest child is taking a "Mock Trial" class with other home schooled teens.

"The trial is an actual murder case that happened in South Carolina. The students will become the prosecution and defense for the accused. The case will be presented in a real courtroom in front of a real judge."

It will be fun to see them present the case at the end of the semester in the county courthouse.

The youngest child started singing a few weeks ago with a Children's choir. The instructor is super enthusiastic about teaching choir. Our house is now filled with lots of singing along with piano playing. I love it!

One last new thing for the New Year-eldest son had braces put on his teeth.
Something else to cause him to be even more cranky. Fantastic!

Happy New Year

2010-01-29T16:25:00.008-06:00

Now that we're already finished with the first month of a new decade I suppose I should wish everyone a Happy New Year.
Things have been moving at lightning speed whether I'm ready or not.
We started a homeschool coop on Fridays to give the kids more opportunity to interact with kids their own ages.
They love it. This semester I let them pick 3 classes each. They are enjoying Gym, Art, Volleyball, drama, and field trips(post office,newspaper,etc). They have a nice big gym for them to work out their cabin fever.

On the knitting front I signed on to knit 10 shawls in 2010. I completed two shawls in January and have about half knit on a third. I LOVE to knit shawls.

Shawl #1-Northern Lights Shawl. Ravelry Link HERE.

Shawl #2-Springtime Bandit. Ravelry link to the pattern HERE.

It's been miserably cold here so everyone seems a bit grumpier than usual. We're all looking forward to the next couple of months flying by as fast as January just did.
Even the dogs are ready for warmer days and longer walks.

Knit your bit

2009-12-29T08:24:00.003-06:00

Last week I read the YA book Hattie Big Sky. It's set in 1918 and the main character in the book tries to "do her part" by knitting socks for the soldiers.
I thought wow, it's a good thing we don't have to do that anymore. Then I read a post asking for helmet liners for our soldiers in Afghanistan. "30,000 service men and women will be deploying to Afghanistan and they need hand-knitted helmet liners because the ones they are issued with are not close fitting and warm enough."

Today, December 29, is designated Local Yarn Store National Helmet Liner Day. Most stores are collecting throughout the month of January so there is still time to knit your bit.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T22:37:00.004-06:00

Road Trip

2009-12-22T08:34:00.014-06:00

We came back home last night after a very long road trip. Over the last week we traveled through 10 states and 3500 miles. If we make it through all these miles without getting H1N1 it will be a miracle.
I realized on this trip I am in love with seeing different landmarks and landscapes.
The welcome sign to Alabama...

I completely agree that Alabama(at least the Northern part we drove through) is beautiful with all the mountains and beautiful farms dotting the landscape. I could see us with a nice little farm there. (I felt this way about Tennessee too.)
The weather was grey and rainy for the rest of the drive down South and it may have influenced my opinion about Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas.

Tons of refineries dotted the landscape through these 3 states.
The goal was to get my parent's winter home set up by the 19th. On the 17th we moved their RV to their winter spot by the beach.

We brought the grey and rain from Illinois with us. This part of Texas never has this much rain for so many consecutive days.

On Friday the kids took advantage of a beautiful, sunny day to ride bikes down the beach.

I could park myself on a chair listening to the surf for the rest of the winter and not miss a bit of the Illinois winter.

Everything is Texas is Texas sized.
We drove past this big squirrel in Sinton,TX outside of a praline store..

We ate lunch at Lulu's Bakery and Cafe where they have 3 pound cinnamon rolls.

On Saturday we headed to San Antonio to catch our train back home. The rail is a great way to see the USA and the kids love it. The train went past the new Dallas stadium, the Colorado River in Austin, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, and the Mississippi River. The best part about the train is the ability to get up and walk around and the views from the observation car.

The kids and I may become hermits for a couple of weeks and recover from all the crowds of people we encountered on our trip home. Our train was overbooked by 5 people but we made it home safely and right on schedule.
Thanks to my wonderful husband we came home last night to a clean house, presents wrapped, and a Christmas tree all set up and ready to decorate. Thanks babe, I couldn't do it without you!

Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2009-12-11T09:42:00.002-06:00

The dog may think differently but he'll do just about anything for a treat.

Red Scarf Project

2009-12-03T12:29:00.003-06:00

The Red Scarf Project is in need of more scarves ASAP!
There is lots more info on who gets the scarves if you follow the link above.
As of last week, the OFA has just barely 1300 scarves. They need 3000 for the Red Scarf Project, to send in care packages to college students formerly in foster care, who are going it on their own.
The students truly appreciate what you are doing, knitting something by hand for them. Not only is it likely to be the only handknit they receive, it will likely be the only care package.
If you need more motivation to knit for this project there are a couple of groups on Ravelry with more information.

Weekend Wrapup

2009-11-30T12:39:00.006-06:00

Did you all have a restful Thanksgiving weekend?

For the first time in 20 years of living on my own we had a traditional dinner for Thanksgiving. Youngest child expressed concern that he would never, ever know what a real turkey tasted like. My husband took over the oven and cooked them a bird.

It was gross and I didn't enjoy any minute of dinner but now they can't say we never made an effort to give them a "normal" Thanksgiving dinner.

Husband and I stayed up all night after dinner and started our Christmas shopping at 2:30am. We were finished by 7am and found some really good deals(at least 50% off) on items we needed.

In my knitting world the current shawl in progress is inching along at turtle speed. The edging instructions involves an 8 row repeat 114 times. I'm about halfway through the edging and hope to finish it up by New Year's Eve.

On Saturday I went to pick out a "new to me" fiddle(on the right).

I went with a specific color and make in mind(a nice dark reddish brown and German made)but I ended up not finding exactly what I wanted. I am going to borrow this one for a few months. It ended up looking very similar to my violin(on the left) but the sound is very different. I love the warm sound this one produces. I'm looking forward to gathering in front of the fireplace and playing lots of festive tunes during December.

Thankful

2009-11-26T09:37:00.004-06:00

for my three crazy guys.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Art Class

2009-11-19T15:58:00.009-06:00

We can call every crafting adventure an art class here at our house of homeschooling. The past couple of days we've been busy making ornaments for a tree at a local museum.
A knitting friend passed along some recycled cards and instructions.
We punched lots of circles, and folded all of them...

We were able to glue together 8 ornaments from all the cards.

We also made about 3 dozen dough ornaments. Hey, anything that can bring a smile to the teen is a winner of a project to me.

Of course my favorite ornaments they painted were wearing hand knits.

Tis the Season

2009-11-11T10:29:00.004-06:00

I delivered my first Christmas gift yesterday.
A goat milking stand.....

It's been 20 years since I've made anything with tools other than knitting needles and a sewing machine. With help from some awesome online plans I was able to build this in a couple of hours. I think it took me longer to gather the supplies and materials than it did to put it all together. Mama goat, Callie, is due in March so this present arrived in plenty of time.

I packaged up my first box for Halos of Hope charity this morning. I was able to knit 5 hats and sew up 4 bandannas.

It feels good to have two gifts finished before Thanksgiving.

In the Name of Science

2009-11-05T10:24:00.005-06:00

This morning was Science experiment time. We were learning about one of the properties of Boron by making floam.
It started out a little messing with the grating of Styrofoam. This stuff sticks to EVERYTHING, including dog whiskers!

Of course they just had to create a "scene" with army men before all the foam disappeared.

After mixing up our concoction we ended up with a couple globs of floam. It was a bit messy but having both kids get along for 30 minutes was worth the mess.

Legos Plus Rockband

2009-11-04T20:06:00.004-06:00

I picked up the Lego Rockband game tonight. It's a ton of fun and we get to play 45 new songs. And I get to have green hair!

Pumpkin Week

2009-11-02T07:35:00.009-06:00

Last week was filled with Fall activities.
I hate crowds so we skipped the big Pumpkinfest last weekend but still went to see the display of pumpkins after the fest was over. We traveled down the road to view the pumpkins on the courthouse lawn on Tuesday. My favorite was a Lego themed pumpkin.

On Wednesday we gathered with a group of home schooling friends at the orchard for a mud filled corn maze.

The kids didn't care so much about the maze but loved playing tag on top of the huge hay bales.

On Friday I took the kids to a special Halloween concert. They aren't huge fans of classical music and would rather play metal on Rockband but they loved the concert.
Especially Vader conducting the Imperial March with his light saber.

Saturday was pumpkin carving

and time for dressing like a soldier(at least the kids did). Thanks to a local Army Surplus store this was the cheapest Halloween yet. The kids were excited to get authentic hats/clothes/patches and even their own dog tags.

Add to all that a full week of school and it's no wonder why I was so tired yesterday.
I hope you all had a great Halloween weekend too!

Making a Difference

2009-10-23T15:42:00.003-05:00

With so many problems in our world it's hard to realize exactly what you as an individual could do to make a difference.
Today the kids and I headed to pack meals for a non-profit organization, Feed My Starving Children. They distribute these vegetarian meals to places with the greatest numbers of starving children. They have sent food to more than 60 countries. "The United States does not have that level of hunger on a widespread basis. In the past they have supplied food to an Indian reservation in South Dakota and to those affected by Hurricane Katrina."
We packed enough food in an hour and a half to provide 45,000 meals . That's enough to feed 41 children for a year.
I also signed us up to volunteer with our local Salvation Army for their holiday rush period. Hopefully we will be able to help serve Thanksgiving dinner to those who need it right in our own neighborhood.
I am trying to knit and sew for Halos of Hope, a Chicago land organization who provide hats and scarves to those undergoing cancer treatment.
There are so many people right in your own community who could use some of your time and talent too.
Maybe for you it is a forest preserve cleanup or a visit to the local nursing home. Could it be donating food, clothing, or toys to a local organization helping those less fortunate?
This weekend go Make a Difference.

This Weekend

2009-10-18T19:24:00.006-05:00

Yesterday I headed to YarnCon in Chicago as a vendor. Carolyn of Stitchcandy and I spent the day taking our respective Etsy shops to the knitters.

I got a kick out of how many people recognized my name from Etsy. Thanks to everyone who came up and said hi. It was nice to meet so many customers face to face. Thanks to all those who purchased items too.
There were lots of people wearing beautiful knitwear. I even received a one on one lesson on glove knitting from a very helpful knitter.

Today we headed outside to enjoy our beautiful fall colors. We headed down to Starved Rock, along with half of Chicago apparently. We tried to ignore the huge crowd of people and enjoyed some beautiful hiking weather.

The dogs enjoyed getting some exercise too.

8 is Great

2009-10-11T20:04:00.002-05:00

My youngest turned another year older today.
Happy Rockin' 8th birthday Finn!

Etsy Purchases

2009-10-05T10:10:00.004-05:00

I have been staring at different shawl pins over on Etsy for about 6 months. Last week I finally took the plunge and ordered two from Nicolas and Felice, a fantastic Etsy shop. They had so many sizes and styles to choose from. I picked out a treble clef that is the perfect size for my smaller shawls.

And a Celtic double swirls pin that is big enough to hold my huge Aeolian shawl in place.

They are both really lightweight aluminum and all the edges are smooth so they won't catch on my shawls.

NIU Football

2009-10-04T07:01:00.004-05:00

Despite the cold and rainy weather yesterday we headed over to the NIU homecoming game.

It's never a bad day for football when the team you're cheering for wins 38 to 3!

Happy Birthday

2009-10-02T10:38:00.003-05:00

October 2, 1996 we were welcoming our first son into our family.

Time flies! Today he turns 13.
Happy Birthday Chance!

Fall Shawls

2009-10-01T10:54:00.005-05:00

I finished another shawl last week.

The pattern was the Swallowtail Shawl. It's a much loved pattern on Ravelry. There are over 5300 Swallowtail shawls over on Ravelry. I still hate to knit nupps but I like the way they look in the completed shawl.

It was a very easy pattern to knit, only takes a skein of sock yarn, and is a much more manageable size than my Aeolian Shawl.

Up next, Anne Hanson's Irtfa'a faroese lace shawl. I've been waiting until I had more shawl pattern reading experience before starting this project. With our local library's celebration of everything Poe this month I figured it was time to cast on my Raven shawl.

In the woods

2009-09-25T20:42:00.006-05:00

Today we headed up to Severson Dells for a "school" fieldtrip. I think it must be our fourth year to the same nature center with a group. The kids learn something new each time and they beg me to sign them up each fall.
I let the kids go off with their own groups and had a nice peaceful hike through the woods.
After spending a busy week schooling it was nice to have a nature break.

Like a box of chocolates

2009-09-23T09:06:00.009-05:00

When my parents come into town I never know what to expect. We did more activities in four days than we've done in the past four months.
Friday we visited a corn maze. It was a sunny and warm day that felt more like summer than fall. The kids thought it was super easy to navigate. Without them I would most likely still be looking for my way out.

The landscape out in the cornfields is changing very fast. On the other side of the orchard are a couple of the proposed 133 wind turbines being installed over the next few weeks. I have seen these from afar before but wow when you get close to them, they are huge. Did you know each blade weighs over 14,000 pounds!

On Saturday I took my parents and my teenager to see Jersey Boys in Chicago.

On Monday the kids and I headed back into Chicago to accompany my Dad on the Chicago Architecture River Cruise. It was a typical grey Chicago day but we learned alot about architecture and the view of Chicago from the river was spectacular.

Of course my youngest was very happy to visit the Lego store on Michigan Ave.

Real Music

2009-09-16T13:43:00.004-05:00

I was determined to show my family that playing instruments isn't as easy as what Rockband makes it seem.

We're lucky to live in a college town with a few places that sell used instruments. A few weeks ago we purchased a guitar and a bass.

So much fun! The guitar has a fancy amp with loads of presets the kids think are great. "You don't have to really know how to play to make it sound cool, Mom." The neighbors haven't complained yet either.

Beagle Approved

2009-09-09T16:59:00.001-05:00

Claustrophobic

2009-09-03T14:10:00.008-05:00

I am a country girl stuck not only in Illinois but in the city. While I've gotten used to all the conveniences of being so close to everything, I doubt I'll ever get used to how closed in city life sometime makes me feel.
Fall is in the air and there are a few apple orchards close by we could visit. They have all become quite the "tourist traps" for the suburbanites to frequent on the weekends so we don't visit often. They are nice if you are looking for entertainment with a bakery, wagon rides, a variety of novelty farm animals, the "pick your own" berries and apples that cost more than you'd ever thought you would spend considering you are providing the labor.
I decided to check out a place today that has no extra frills just really good raspberries for your picking pleasure.
It's down a dirt road....

My kids even thought it was cool and they didn't freak out over the thousands of bees buzzing around.
It was hard not to pick too many as the bushes were loaded with ripe berries.

No automatic scanners at the checkout. Just a mailbox with a sign that read "Honor Box". It was exactly the field-trip I needed. Nice, open country space with acres of farmland and not a person in sight.

What the

2009-09-01T11:48:00.004-05:00

...heck was I thinking when I picked out the Aeolian Shawl pattern?

Was it the 2200 beads that needed to be individually placed throughout the entire project?
Was it the keeping track of which one of the 6 charts I was on while also working on a completely different charted "mystery shawl" project?

I knit on this shawl over 2 months without ever considering how huge this project was becoming. It never dawned on me that I had knit all 1300 yards of sock weight yarn until I was binding off yesterday.

I didn't even have a space with no dogs, no kids, no husband that I could block it out properly last night.

Here she is....my Aeolian Shawl.

It is about 8 feet of wingspan and has a length at the center back of 4 feet. It is the largest project I have ever knit. Not so sure if this is even wearable.

Oh well, it did keep me occupied for all of July and August. I already wound yarn today to start another shawl. Seriously! Eldest son says my shawls are perfect if I was an old woman. He hates it when I wear them out of the house. With all the shawls lying around the house I really wish I liked knitting socks. They would be so much easier to store.

Dog Days

2009-08-09T13:43:00.009-05:00

August is here and so it the hot and humid.

I know we just visited Cantigny twice in July but when I heard they were hosting the first ever dog days I had to check it out.
They had a huge section set up as an off leash play area for all the pooches. The kids loved watching the Frisbee dog demos. Eleanor Beagle was a perfect dog the entire time and she was pretty tired by the time we headed home too.

The contractors for our house project went ahead and installed the 20 windows. They'll be able to switch out the upper sashes once they arrive. It's so nice to finally have windows that open. Of course this weekend it's hot enough to have to run the air conditioning so they are closed for the moment.

Next up for house projects this week is new siding.

Waiting

2009-08-06T07:27:00.004-05:00

We've been waiting 2 months for contractors to rip windows out of our 68 year old house.
Twenty new windows finally arrived this week but there are a couple of problems...

#1- They are still waiting in my garage to be installed.

#2- These aren't the windows we ordered. The top grill pattern is way too cluttered. They are "special order" windows. Maybe that is why it took so long to get them? Where are my "regular" windows?

We wait while the contractor figures out how to acquire the correct windows.

In dog news Eleanor has fit right into our daily grind. They play/run around like crazy. This means they have no trouble wearing each other out.

A Day of History

2009-07-30T20:15:00.006-05:00

When we visited Cantigny Park earlier in the month I promised the kids we would come back for the birthday celebration. Well today we spent the day soaking up all kinds of history.

We started our day at the McCormick Museum with a guided architectural tour.

Then we were led on a one hour tour of the inside of this beautiful mansion. It contains 35 rooms, 13 bathrooms, a movie theater, and a formal dining room with walls covered with hand painted rice paper wallpaper from China. The three of us agreed the most impressive item in the mansion for us was the collection of over 5,000 first edition books of which the majority are signed by their respective authors.

Next up was the First Division Museum.
They had tons of artifacts(vehicles, tents, clothing) from WWI, WWII, and the Korean and Vietnam Wars set up for today's open house.

Then we took an artillery tour. Our guide wore authentic WWI attire and explained the history of the different cannons located on the grounds.

On the grounds they also had vintage 1890's children's games set up, a neat display of vintage farm implements and free ice cream and birthday cake.

Summer Vacation

2009-07-27T08:11:00.010-05:00

We spent a fantastic week in Ithaca,NY.

With over 100 gorges and waterfalls within 10 miles of downtown we sometimes question why we ever moved to the cornfields of Illinois.

It's hard to believe it has been 15 years since graduation. It sure doesn't feel like it's been that long.

The kids spent the week at summer camp up on Cornell's campus.

Husband and I spent the week hiking the gorges and relaxing beside some beautiful waterfalls.

The hardest part of the trip was making the drive. It's almost 1500 miles round-trip. I love the mpg in our Prius but it's not the most comfortable car. Especially with 2 adults, 2 kids, a week worth's of clothes/stuff, and a new furry family member.
Meet Eleanor(we call her Ellie).

We've been looking to adopt another dog for about 8 months. I was looking for a yellow lab but after meeting with several and being realistic about the space available in our abode Ellie seemed like the perfect fit. She is a year old and weighs about 20 lbs. She has been living with my Aunt for the past year but she puts in long hours at her job and she wanted Ellie to be able to enjoy life outside a crate. Baxter seems to think having another playmate is fantastic too.

Another Year Older

2009-07-12T15:57:00.008-05:00

Yep, Another year has flown by and that means another birthday is upon me. My sweetie planned out a day adventure in Chicago to help me celebrate. Our first stop was a music shop to pick out a new violin. Unfortunately I didn't find anything I wanted to purchase. Not too far away was a music festival we went to check out.

We were just in time to hear the play offs for the Midwest Fiddle Championship.

Next up was lunch at at a Costa Rican restaraunt-Irazu. The food tasted fresh and delicious!

If you're going to celebrate a birthday you need cake so the next stop was a yummy bakery.

He planned to take me to a bunch of fabric and yarn stops along the way but we ran out of time and they were all closed by the time we made our way around the traffic. We stopped at another music store on our way home and spent a couple of hours tinkering on guitar's and bass's. Now I have a mandolin, guitar, bass, and violin to add to my wish list. My neighbors are going to love me!

Summer is flying by!

2009-07-04T10:16:00.008-05:00

Wow-It's July. Where did June go?

Both of my kids attended separate theater camps during June. The month was filled with carting kids to different places at different hours of the day. It was the first full length musical for my eldest. He had a fantastic time with 60 other young thespians putting together Miss Saigon with only 2 weeks of rehearsals.

I found out about a very unique 500 acre park only 40 miles from our home so we went to check it out. There are two history-rich museums in the park: the Robert R. McCormick Museum and the Cantigny First Division Museum. The First Division Museum contains over 10,000 items from every war and conflict from the Revolutionary War to Desert Storm. It's like having a Smithsonian in our backyard. Surrounding the First Division Museum they have 10 tanks on display. It's no surprise as to which part of the park were my kid's favorite.

I fell in love with the gardens. A little bit of "peace" on earth after touring the war history museum.

We are headed back to this park at the end of July for their birthday celebration. Complete with cake and ice cream, 19th century games, farm animals and period farming equipment, and the kid's favorite-backyard ballistics.

A Sheep in the City

2009-06-15T10:40:00.004-05:00

What do I do if life is getting too serious?

Knit up a sheep and make him drive a tractor.

A bit Scattered

2009-06-09T16:39:00.013-05:00

I have way too many hobbies going on at once. That's what happens when school is out for summer and I can dabble with whatever strikes my mood on a particular day.
First up is my sewing obsession. It has taken on the form of my knitting projects. I have way too many started at once so there are no completed projects to report.

I have a summer dress, 2 skirts, and a Kindle tote in progress. It sure is fun to pick out patterns and fabric!

A couple of weekends ago I went to a class with a friend to make goat milk cheese. We made chevre, fromagina, ricotta, mozarella, feta, and queso blanco.

The goats that provided the milk were right outside the "classroom" so that was neat. Cocoa was very patient with the first time milkers.

I think I've been away from eating animal products too long as it was very hard for me to taste the end results. Now I have the urge to make goat milk soap. The ingredients are proving to be a bit expensive though.

Summer is here and June came sooner than I expected. I started a new "workout" via wii and it's kicking my butt.

It's just like having a personal trainer right in my own living room. I am halfway through my 30 day challenge. If you have a wii and you're looking for a good workout Active is the way to go.

This past weekend we headed North to WI for our first camping/biking adventure in 3 years.

"In 1965 the Chicago-North Western Railroad removed the tracks and sold the right of way to the Wisconsin Conservation Department. The trail is considered to be the first rails to trails hiking and biking trail in the nation."
The best part about this trail is trekking trough the 3 tunnels.

There were so few people along the trail we had the campground and trail to ourselves. We had a great time despite the rainy/cold weather.

I have music and knitting adventures too but I'll have to save the details for another post.

Summertime

2009-05-20T08:07:00.005-05:00

Summer officially begins at our house when the first person jumps in the backyard pool. Yesterday the pool proved to be very inviting and the kids couldn't resist getting in despite a water temperature of 67.

Last night the kids and I headed up to a class on owls. They were able to try to determine what an owl ate by dissecting a pellet. For a couple of squeamish kids they dug right in trying to separate and classify all the bones.

It was a perfect, clear, night sky too. They were amazed how dark it is in the country away from the city lights. We were able to see shooting stars, the planet Saturn, tons of constellations, and we spotted a couple of man made satellites moving across the sky. We headed home after 11pm and the kids were exhausted(so was I).

Rain,Rain Go Away

2009-04-27T14:13:00.010-05:00

My better half took Friday off from work to hang out in the summery weather. We headed off to go biking again along the Fox River trail for a short 10 mile ride from Batavia to St. Charles.

This sculpture always greets us on the way through Pottawatomie Park in St. Charles. Meet Foxcycle, he's made entirely from recycled bicycle parts.

We were lucky to have such a nice, sunny day on Friday. The kid's earned free tickets to a Kane County Cougars game on Saturday but we didn't get to see a game played as the rain and thunderstorms blanketed the area.
On Saturday my eldest participated in his first piano competition. He ended up with a silver medal for second place. He was surprised he placed as he has only been playing for a bit over a year now.

He says now he's inclined to enter next year to strive for first place with a cash prize. It is amazing what this child can do when he motivates himself toward a goal.

A New Love

2009-04-22T10:02:00.004-05:00

It started with a triangle shawl, the forest canopy shawl. I knit this in a beautiful green colorway from numma numma yarns at the end of February. Then I moved to a rectangle stole, the Woodland Shawl. It was in a bright, orange colorway from Fearless Fibers that brightened my dark March days.
My love for knitting lace on these two shawls brought me to Girasole. A circular shawl pattern with 7 different lace charts, a cast-on I've never tried, and a border that looked like it would take me a year to complete. I picked another colorway from numma numma yarns and cast on a couple of weeks ago. I finished blocking it over the weekend and it hasn't left my shoulders since.

I was able to impress the man and boys of my house with this project.

This lace knitting is addictive. I'm taking a break from lace for my next project, a cute, top down cardigan. But I've already printed out my next lace chart. It's a blanket pattern in bulky cotton yarn and I can't wait to cast on.

Fantastic Friday

2009-04-17T16:56:00.005-05:00

Today's weather was so nice we decided to spend the day along the Fox River. It was our first biking trip of the year.

We packed our lunches. We each took a book along so we were able to lounge beside the beautiful landscape nature provided. What a fabulous way to spend a day!

We made it back into town in time for the kid's to get together and recite poetry. The kids did a great job presenting their poems.

I'm off to start dinner on the BBQ for the first time this season too. Wish me luck.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Back on the farm

2009-04-14T08:06:00.006-05:00

You can take the girl off the farm but you can't take the farm out of the girl.
I've been following a local CSA farm online for a couple of years. We recently watched a DVD of the history of this farm and it convinced me to go visit. On Saturday I took the family to an open house to visit the goats

and chickens.

My kids had fun collecting eggs and seeing happy baby goats. I'm headed back to this farm next month to take a "class" at their learning center with a friend of mine who now lives on a farmette.
For now I only have one furry head to spoil. Our dog,Baxter turns a year old this month. We couldn't decide on a specific date for a birthday so April is birthday month for crazy pup.

The End of Winter

2009-03-19T08:46:00.007-05:00

Today is the last full day of winter according to the calendar. Once again it lasted way too long for this beach loving crew.
I've been away from the blog so long it's hard to know where to start on updates.
The kid's had their winter piano recitals and they sounded great.

After 2 years of hard work, my eldest son tested and received his black belt in TaeKwonDo.

We attended a home school conference a couple of weeks ago. There is another "crafter" in the house as my eldest is now obsessed with creating chain maille.

I knit my first triangular shawl, the forest canopy shawl. I finished knitting and blocking it just in time to wear it for St. Patrick's day.

I enjoyed knitting it so much the next day I cast on for another shawl, the woodland shawl. It's hard to love the bunched up mess that lace knitting evolves into but I think it will block out nicely and become another one of my favorite knitted items.

Planning for summer

2009-02-11T07:46:00.003-06:00

This winter seems incredibly long and cold. Last year we finally got around to getting our passports for Spring Break 2009. We were planning on traveling down to Costa Rica in March but had to cancel our trip. Someday(hopefully before the kids leave) we'll vacation outside the United States.

A few days ago I booked our first summer "outing". The kids loved Cornell camp so much last year we decided to travel to upstate New York again for a week this summer. The kids will be busy all day long with their groups and husband and I will hike, swim, and relax all week long. Perfect!!

Yesterday the weather was gorgeous here in Northern Illinois. The kids and I went for a long hike down a nature trail in our town. It felt like spring.

After such a nice day of sun and warm temperatures it's hard to go back to February weather today.

1000

2009-02-05T15:08:00.005-06:00

I reached another "magical" number sold in my Etsy shop over this past weekend. I reached 1000 bags sold. When I started my shop a year and a half ago I had no idea how many little bags I'd be sewing and sending out to crocheters and knitters all around the world.
In celebration I purchased yarn through another Etsy shop. Numma numma also sell their yarns online over at the Loopy Ewe.

It's a beautiful, squishy, soft, Merino destined to become a shawl.

Thanks so very much to all my customers for making my dream of working from home a reality!

Sleeping Beauty

2009-01-23T10:51:00.003-06:00

A tired, sleeping pup makes Mom very happy!

Hope

2009-01-20T07:40:00.004-06:00

With determination, hope, and courage anything is possible.

What an amazing day for America!

My unfinished year

2008-12-30T13:44:00.008-06:00

In my knitting world, 2008 is the year of unfinished projects. I have 3 sweaters started and abandoned.

I have 2 other sweaters where I have no more yarn to finish the sleeves.

Then there are 2 scarves that are waiting for more yarn to be purchased so they can be completed.

On Sunday I cast on for Clapotis #3. I'm pretty sure I'll run out of the Malabrigo Silky. I only have 4 skeins and I'm just about ready to join the third skein.

I'm not one to make a long list of resolutions but I'd like to finish up all these projects in the first part of the new year. For a couple of these, "finishing" may mean ripping them out and starting over with a new plan for that particular yarn. This time maybe I'll plan better for the yardage I actually have.

I took a picture this morning that is truly priceless. Nothing is more peaceful than seeing my eldest child relaxing under the Christmas tree with his dog.

I hope everyone has a Happy New Year!!

Yarn Harlot Bucks

2008-12-25T09:45:00.005-06:00

When I opened my gift this morning I thought,"Why would my husband give me a set of checks?"

They're coupons he printed up for me to "spend" on knitting purchases only.
That's so cool!

I hope you all have a great Christmas!

Fa La La

2008-12-11T09:12:00.005-06:00

The men in my house gathered a tree Sunday night. It was covered with ice and snow so it sat in the basement defrosting before it was brought upstairs on the hardwood floors.

The dog has only eaten two branches. I thought he would have the entire tree mulched within 12 hours. As long as we keep him busy with a kong for the next three weeks the lights and ornaments may make it to next year too.

As a kid I would beg my Dad to buy the "spray snow" for our windows. He agreed as long as I cleaned it up after the holidays. This stuff was next to impossible to remove. I noticed the other day some of my windows frost "naturally".

1941 windows definitely are not energy star compliant but they sure are pretty!

Seat For Sale

2008-12-09T14:09:00.003-06:00

Is it really that difficult to elect an Illinois governor who's not corrupt?

Plastic or Real

2008-12-04T14:28:00.004-06:00

It's December! It's time for most Christians to decorate their house with a Christmas tree. This year I almost convinced husband to buy a fake tree. Both of us have never had anything but a once living tree so this was a huge step. Things I hate about a real tree-EVERYTHING! I can anticipate a month of sneezing and wheezing due to the pollen. I can't have any part of it touch my skin or I'll break out in a rash. The constant monitoring of the water level. The dropping of needles and having them stick into the sole of your feet. Each swipe of the dog's tail ends up causing hundreds of needles to fall so it's an endless battle.
This year I could finally unbox our tree instead of hauling in a once living fir. That is until I read an article on "how to minimize the environmental impact of my tree purchase--and enjoy the beauty and smell of a real Christmas tree while knowing you’ve done your part to protect the planet." Oh no-they had me at doing my part to protect the planet.

Point #1:While there are admittedly some chemical inputs used in tree production, the amount pales in comparison to the volume that’s used to produce a typical plastic tree.
Point #2:Real trees help support the U.S. economy.Real Christmas trees create jobs right here in the United States. More than 80 percent of artificial trees sold here are manufactured in China.
Point #3: Support local farms.You’ll minimize the amount of fossil-fuel burned getting the tree from the farm to your house.
Point #4: Real Christmas trees are a natural product that’s easy to recycle. After Christmas is over your real tree is chipped up and turned into mulch.

I'm ready to wait another week to decide even if it's making the kids antsy!

I received yarn in the mail today. This is from the Sundara December 2008 Artist’s Choice Sock Collection(Mixed Palette). I think I'll try to sell all of them as I don't see myself wearing $30/pair socks anytime soon.

It was fun to have a surprise waiting by the mailbox on this chilly December day!

Our Weekend in Chicago

2008-11-18T18:46:00.008-06:00

This past weekend we headed to Chicago. My Aunt was in town for a few days to attend a conference so it was a nice way to catch up and hit some great sites at the same time.
Walking from the train station we came across a few congratulatory signs.

We stayed Saturday night in a hotel located on the magnificent mile. Our room was on the 34th floor with a great view of the city and Lake Michigan. It was a fantastic spot to sit, knit, and start a new project.

We stopped by Macy's Christmas windows and the grand tree in the Walnut Room on our trek to Loopy Yarns.

I didn't realize how long of a walk it would be and ended up missing our intended train back to the burbs. I enjoyed seeing and touching the new Malabrigo sock yarn. They also claim to have every color of Cascade 220. It's so pretty I stood in front of the cubbies for a picture.

Late Sunday night, on our way back to the train station, the snow started falling and capped off a great weekend visit to the city.

Gorgeous Galena

2008-11-14T14:14:00.008-06:00

We tagged along with husband to a conference this week held in Galena,Il. Galena is a 2.5 hour roadtrip from us. The town is so adorable with tons of kitchy shops.

The view from our room overlooked a pretty lake.

The weather didn't cooperate and it was very wet and cold. Between raindrops we went to visit the alpacas again. The alpaca's were super friendly and came running up to see the kids.

The last night of the conference was a fancy(for us)dinner.

We're off again for a weekend in Chicago. I'm hoping to make a detour into Loopy Yarns to see their new location. I need something to take my mind off the bitter cold wind and snow expected downtown tomorrow!

Good Karma

2008-11-09T13:25:00.004-06:00

In October I knit a few hats for the 7Long project, a Stash an Burn Charity effort.

Last week I received a skein of yarn and a gift certificate to the Loopy Ewe. I had been one of the raffle winners.

How cool is that? Thanks so much to Jenny, Nicole, and the raffle donors!!

My dysfunctional family

2008-11-06T08:08:00.011-06:00

Sometimes families are weird. Do you ever have certain moments in your life when you question if you are really related to these people?
We took a loooooong road trip this past weekend for a reunion of sorts. The goal was to have the kids spend time with Grandma and Grandpa. We only had 3 days but I think everyone had a good time hiking, trick or treating, and hanging around the campfire. The weather was spectacular and it provided us plenty of opportunity to explore the many trails of the Hocking Hills area.

I feel exhausted! When I pulled the kids from school 3 years ago I felt it was the only way to insure the best education possible. I didn't fully realize how difficult it would be to coordinate everything. I have to be a daughter, wife, mom, and teacher. I guess I'm having a hard time enjoying any of these "roles" as I'm struggling to do any of them very well. When we have school going well then housework suffers and dinners are lacking. When I get to the housework and shop for meals to make then I don't have sanity for schooling. There's doctors appointments to keep, bills to pay, piano lessons and piano practicing, taekwondo classes, and a puppy to exercise. I've had a headache every night for the past week thinking about how much more I have left to do that will have to wait until another day.
As the holidays are fast approaching I need to take more time to breathe. We added read alouds to our after dinner time. Last night we finished up Twenty-One Balloons by DuBois. It's nice to sit around as a family and listen to a good book. (I like it because husband relieves me of the read aloud duty!)
I need to remind myself often that kids grow up fast. The time I spend with them watching them learn is truly priceless and I'm so thankful to be able to put "work" on a rear burner.

Enjoying Fall

2008-10-17T06:51:00.011-05:00

We've had beautiful weather the past couple of weeks here in Northern Illinois. Two weeks ago we went hiking along the Illinois River. Perfect blue sky, temperatures in the high 70's, and stunning scenery.

On Friday of this past week we headed to another forest preserve in Rockford and enjoyed a couple of hours hiking through changing colored leaves.

I entered a contest last week to win NIU football tickets. I ended up winning tickets to Saturday's homecoming game. We stopped by to see the decorated Huskie pups before the game.

The weather was perfect and it always helps when the home team wins!

One busy week.

2008-10-05T16:04:00.012-05:00

I'm not sure how we fit all of our past four day events into our schedule.
On Wednesday we headed to Chicago to see Wicked.

It was the first time any of us had seen a professional group perform live on stage. We were in awe of the entire production and hope to hit a show in Chicago(unless my plan to move out of Illinois succeeds) once per year until the kids are out of the house.

On Thursday my eldest turned 12. Wow, Just a year away from being a teenager. Time flies!

Friday the kids and I headed to Legoland in Schaumburg. We agreed the best part was the "mini" Chicago. Having just walked around town they were excited to see the same buildings recreated in Legos.

Every few minutes the scenery turns to nighttime and the fountains and buildings light up, the passengers at Navy Pier even have flashes go off on their Lego cameras.

We enjoyed the little details including the batman at the top of the Sears Tower.

Then on Saturday, we headed back to Chicago for Yarn Con. It was great to meet with Franklin Habit, Jen from Piddleloop, local DeKalb Etsyian Beth, and even had both Mason Dixon Knitting books signed by Ann.

When we arrived back home we met up with a potential furry buddy for our dog Baxter. The new dog had just arrived into the States from Puerto Rico and was a bit scared of our crazy pup. I was too afraid that Baxter would end up playing too rough with the little guy so I decided to keep looking for a better match.

It will be a breath of fresh air to stay local this week after our adventures. It sure is nice to have so many opportunities of the "big" city just a train ride away!

My future goat herd.

2008-10-03T09:09:00.004-05:00

Do you care about the impact you're making on the Earth's resources but fell asleep watching An Inconvenient Truth? I just may have a book that will get you thinking how you can reduce your carbon footprint and laugh along with the author at the same time. My husband and I really enjoyed Doug Fine's book, Farewell, My Subaru: An Epic Adventure in Local Living.
Both my husband and I are city dwellers and after reading his book we'd like to smuggle a couple of goats into our backyard shed, rig up some solar panels on our house, and fill in our pool to have a huge garden. Ok I would like to fill in the pool not the husband but that's just my practical side kicking in.
Doug Fine has a blog with updates on how his experiment on local living is progressing. Check it out, it just may have you converting your Ridiculously Oversized American Truck(R.O.A.T.) to vegetable oil too!

In Need of a Sick Day

2008-09-30T12:50:00.006-05:00

I've been sick for over 2 weeks. I thought I'd get better by taking some over the counter chemicals but I just kept feeling worse. It's such a hassle to drag myself to the doctor. Yesterday, I finally went in and 4 hours later I had a prescription for antibiotics to kick this nasty bug.
The month of September flew by. Over the weekend I took the family to meet a local alpaca farmer.

On the way home we stopped at an apple orchard to see more animals.

I love Fall!
We're headed into Chicago 3 out of the next 4 days. Both of my kids have birthdays over the next 2 weeks. I really hope these antibiotics kick in soon and I'm back to full speed.

Arrr...

2008-09-19T20:12:00.000-05:00

My pirate name is:

Dirty Anne Bonney

You're the pirate everyone else wants to throw in the ocean -- not to get rid of you, you understand; just to get rid of the smell. You can be a little bit unpredictable, but a pirate's life is far from full of certainties, so that fits in pretty well. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

Just a little bit of anxiety.

2008-09-18T13:25:00.005-05:00

I've been poisoning my family? This is just one of many statements I've pondered this week. Let's start with the plastic "bottle" issue first. In my quest to become less taxing on the environment I switched to using reusable plastic drinking containers this year. This week I read an article about how these reusable bottles were potentially leaching a harmful chemical,bisphenol A into the water we filled them with. That's fantastic! Here's our stack headed to the landfill today. So much for that plan.

I'm not only poisoning my kids but I unknowingly contributed to my Basset's death? Let me explain how I arrived at this conclusion.
A couple of weeks ago our pup started losing his fur and had some patches of bald spots. The vet checked for mites but found nothing so I did a bit of Google searching for pet food allergies. That's when I stumbled upon many articles of dogs poisoned by aflatoxin. "Aflatoxin is a naturally occurring toxic chemical that comes from a fungus found on corn and other grains that causes severe liver damage in animals." My poor Basset had exactly the symptoms listed for this poisoning and not once did the vet ask about his food. So our pup is now on a dog food that doesn't contain any corn. He seems to be feeling and looking better thank goodness. I didn't want to loose 2 dogs in a year due to toxic food.
For you pet owners, there is currently a recall on several brands of pet food produced by Mars. Here is the website to check if the food you're feeding your pet is included in this current recall.

Then there is the ECONOMY. I've banned myself from my favorite NPR show Marketplace for the rest of this week. We are in one of the worst financial crises since the Great Depression and Bush is just now today stating "He's concerned about the economy."

I need to unplug myself from Google news until November 5th. I fear my head will explode trying to remain calm while constantly checking the latest polls.

My 2 year plan

2008-09-09T07:14:00.009-05:00

Back in April I decided to create a journey for my knitting by purchasing Amtrak tickets for my boys and I to California. We traveled over 4,300 miles in a week. It gave me plenty of time to knit and listen to hours of podcasts. I started my gathered pullover(Ravelry link)

and my Noro top-down raglan cardigan(another Ravelry link).

When we finally arrived in sunny Southern CA, life was good.

We went to the beach every day and my Illinois boys loved every minute of it.

On one of our outings I came across a yarn shop,Alamitos Bay Yarn Company. This store has an annex where knitters can hang out on really comfy sofas and recliners, make a cup of tea and feel like they're at someone's house. Sweet!

Our week went by way too fast as do most vacations. It really made us question why we were traveling back across the country to go home to a location where the weather makes us all grumpy. The cost of living is lower in Northern Illinois than in Southern CA but I think we may be ready to start planning our escape plan.

Hanging on to summer....

2008-08-15T07:15:00.008-05:00

Summer flew by and we're already finishing up the 3rd week of our new "school" year. I started early because I love finishing up in the early part of May when the weather is starting to feel nice again. Oh, and we're off on another adventure next week and won't be back until September!
This morning I'm trying to decide which knitting project will become my next work in progress. It looks like the Gathered Pullover from IK Winter 2007 may be the one. Or maybe a Noro top down raglan cardigan. This may be way too hot to work on during my week stay in Southern California.
I started another Clapotis on Saturday thinking I could probably finish it up in time to wear it on my traveling adventure.

I'm not so sure I can find enough knitting time to finish it up in the next week. I forgot how long it took me to finish up the last one.
I acquired the yarn from Brooks Farm at the Midwest Fiber and Folk Fair. This fest was a fabulous way to spend a Saturday.
I finished sewing up a portable shopping bag and think these would make great gifts.

I'd also like to introduce you to our newest member of our family. This is Baxter.....

I had been searching through Petfinder.org at the end of July when I found Baxter. He was was rescued from a kill shelter in Southern Illinois that was going to euthanize the whole litter. He was 12 weeks old when we adopted him on July 28th. He's a Boxer/Shepherd mix so he'll probably be a pretty large dog when he's an adult. It's been kind of like adding to your human family. The first couple of days with pup was kind of like "What the hell was I thinking!" A puppy is so much work with the no manners/no house breaking/chewing everything in sight. Then he settled into our family and he's such a good pup. We haven't had a "mess" in the house for 2 weeks and he fits right into our routine. It feels so good to have a furry head in the house again.

Far above Cayuga's waters

2008-07-19T18:53:00.011-05:00

It's hard to get back into the swing of things after such a fabulous vacation.
On the way out east we headed to Canada for July 4th.
The kid's were able to get their first stamp on their passports.

Niagara Falls was beautiful

but VERY crowded with summer tourists.

After two days we were ready to head to a town less populated for the rest of our vacation.
It was our third trip back to Ithaca since I graduated 14 years ago. I feel incredibly lucky that we were able to live here for 4 years. There's not words to describe the natural beauty of the gorges.
Here's the view from the upper trail at Taughannock Falls:

Here's a view of Ithaca Falls:

A couple of days we relaxed at the swimming hole out at Treman Park:

Husband and kids let me sit and knit at the start of their hike here too.

The kids were at day camp for a week up at Cornell and they loved every minute of it. They were sad to have to come back home too as they instantly fell in love with campus and all the "field trips" they took with their groups.
I could spend a week every summer in Ithaca where organic food is in abundance, vegetarian entrees on the menus is commonplace and waterfalls are only a few blocks away.

Going Green

2008-07-14T16:49:00.006-05:00

I returned very late on Saturday(another birthday spent on the road) from a week in upstate New York. I have lots of great photos to share of the many beautiful gorges but it will be in another post.
I thought I had been bombarded by "greenness" until I stepped foot in Ithaca. Here is a sign announcing their zero waste zone at their weekly Farmers' market.

Here's another sign explaining which bin to toss your "trash" into.

All the utensils and food packaging is completely compostable because it's made of corn. Pretty dang cool. Imagine if every city set up waste containers like this how much less waste would be in our already overstuffed landfills.

At the beginning of the year I came across a site called Morsbags. As it states on the site "Morsbags are fully recycled, fun and easy to make(download instructions), hygienic(washable), Portable, foldable, unique, cheap, biodegradable and reusable." Here's my first Morsbag

The fabric was on the clearance rack for $1 a yard and it took me all of 20 minutes to put together. I've prevented the use of lots of plastic throw away bags by using it on a daily basis.

There are many more sites with different styles of bags. Like here, and here, and here. The last site features a "groceries bag with it's own bag cozy or stuff sack so you can pop the groceries bag into your handbag and never be without!" I may have to sew up one of these so I always have a fabric tote with me.
Each reusable bag has the potential to eliminate 100's of plastic bags over its' lifetime.
Hopefully you can find a bag style/pattern that works best for you and get sewing.

In Recovery

2008-06-26T13:15:00.005-05:00

Well I made it through another horrible hospital experience. Exactly 2 weeks ago I spent 3 hours in the operating room. Thankfully I was able to come home the next evening. I've taken it easy and feel so much better than I did a couple of weeks ago.
These two weeks have been quite an adjustment as I'm so used to doing everything for my family. Thankfully my parents came into town and helped me with the groceries and carting the kids for the first week. This week I was blessed by a fellow homeschooling Mom who carted my kids everyday to a day camp at NIU. My husband has taken many hours away from work to help with other things as well and I'm so thankful for all his help.
I've been able to complete a couple of knitting projects since I won't be sewing for a while.
My orange Gable turned out ok. This isn't one of my favorites despite the multiple times I tried it on as I went, modifying the pattern to my liking. The top "lace panel" was rolling a lot so I crocheted an edging around the neck which helped. I used Lion Brand Cotton Ease and love the way this yarn knits up.

I completed my second Tomato Top. I used the new KnitPicks Comfy yarn. It's a really soft, inexpensive, non-wool yarn. I still have to block it but I think I'll wear it as often as my "green" Tomato Top.

Back in the spring I couldn't wait to go on vacation. It has been 16 months since I've taken a trip outside this Northern Illinois area. In March I planned a trip for the first week in July to upstate New York to hike and enjoy the beautiful Finger Lake region. I never expected to be recovering from surgery but here I am. Instead of hiking I'm parking my chair near a beautiful waterfall and enjoying every minute away from these flat corn fields. My road trip is 1527 miles. I bought a special lumbar seat cover equipped with massage and heat and I'm packing tons of cushioning pillows. I'm taking a detour on the way out to show my kids and husband Niagara Falls. As a kid my parents would take us up there a few times a year and it took my breath away every time.
My husband says I'm crazy for wanting to follow through with our trip. I say life is too short to sit around wishing we took more time off. At the end of my life I'm not going to be saying "Man I wish I had spent more time working away from my family."
I'm so thankful for every friend and family member who sent me well wishes for a fast recovery. Just knowing I had you all thinking and praying for me got me through the past two weeks.
Many thanks to all of you!

Good Times

2008-06-08T17:05:00.004-05:00

We made it through a double feature(Kung Fu Panda and Indiana Jones 4) at a drive in last night. The theater was packed with families and we had a great time despite arriving back home at 2 am.