A walk with Mouse.

For the first half of the year I walked Mouse to school everyday. Most days I would walk to pick him up. When Butterfly started violin lessons I started picking Mouse up less, sending Beaver to get him, so that I could take Butterfly to her lessons, it became a habit.  When I got so sick in December, I started driving him to school, not wanting to get chilled when I was sick, this also became habit.

Yesterday, we had so much snow dumped on us, but no more expected and the road crews were trying hard to clean everything up. Schools in our community did not close while most of the rest of this corner of the state did. I got the van briefly stuck while dropping off Butterfly (they currently go to separate school, Badger was accepted to Butterfly's school for next year, but Mouse is still on the wait list - fingers crossed) so I decided to walk Mouse to school. We trudged through the knee deep - on him - snow, chanting SNOW, Snow, SNOW, hand in hand.

This morning I expected to drive him, he expected our walk. I said, ok but we have to hurry. We got out side and his gloved hand slipped into mine, "I've missed our time and our walks, Momma."  So have I baby. Off to school we walked. On our walk we saw some interesting footprints.

Two different sizes of dog.

I think this is the woodchuck that is living in the culvert at the end of our driveway.

Bunny Rabbit.

This is evidence of Mouse and me.

 I walked to pick him up too. 

Yarn along - is that light

Joining Ginny at Small Things for the Yarn Along! 

 I am in an Anne McCaffrey mood I guess, I love how detailed and rich her stories are. How in one story some little or big thing is referred to or reacted to and then in another book you see that event from a different perspective or as a great event.  This week is The Dragonriders series.

On the knitting front I spent a great deal of time knitting and watching syfy channel destroying the earth in various silly ways. I am now above the armpit and no longer knitting a rectangle. I can see light at the end of this tunnel. I really am enjoying the texture and the look of this project but as the Mouse just hit a growth spurt, I am beginning to wonder if I will get it done while it still fits him!

Giveaway:
I have not done one yet so here goes. In hopes of spring knits I have made up these knitting stitch markers. They are sets of three with one being coordinating rather than matching.

Set one

Set two

Set three. 

 So here is how to enter.
Comment on this post for one entry.
Follow the blog for a second entry.

I will be selecting the winner randomly next Tuesday and posting it on the Next Yarn Along!  Good luck.

These are my roses, they are hoping for spring too!  ~ Julia

Yarn Along - and the sweater goes on

Joining Ginny at Small Things for the Yarn Along.

I keep setting this sweater for Mouse aside to work on other things.  He has been very patience and I really want to get it done - while it still fits him! I am a bit longer than 15 inches so soon we will have to think about armholes and that sort of thing.

As to reading, My husband is away on a business trip, and with him not here I have more to do, less concentration, and less sleep. So I have been reading a lot but not finishing much. That said, I finished  a wonderful series this weekend. Anne Mccaffery's Dinosaur Planet, Dinosaur Planet Survivor, The Death of Sleep, Sassinak, and Generation Warriors. Such a great series, with a little bit of overlap as the point of view changes. Really what I want to read is more of this.

Happy knitting.

been so long

 Life has been racing by so here is a view from my car window - Beaver took the shot - as we drove down to grandma's.  I recent weeks so much has been amazing, tiring, inspiring, disappointing, joyous, and draining. I did not lose my voice but spent a long time thinking about what this space brings to my life.  During that I thought about the great wide blogosphere version of you and also the individual you - who I view as a friend. I find myself recommitting to a lot of projects and programs, hopefully this time I took for myself and my family will allow me to return to them refreshed and re-energized. I did a two fauna analysis workshop that reaffirmed my scientist's  heart followed immediately by a three day crafting retreat.  I love both and aside from a brief moment of panic looking at the bone thinking - you want me to add glitter? - and an acknowledged tendency to be as concerned with the planning and system producing the art than the art, I found my balance again.  I am looking into taking the master spinner course from Olds College - next year - and plan to dedicate more time to crafting and perhaps begin to sell some of my stuff - advice would be most welcome.

 These are coddled eggs.  Milk, cream, spices, bacon if you have some, and eggs. Baked in the oven. This, some toast and a cup of tea can make you believe anything is possible. I got sick over all of December and accidentally gave up caffeine and soda. My husband had read that some people with bright red bumpy checks like mine saw improvement from cutting caffeine from their diet. When he told me that I laughed - never gonna happen - but since I had already started... So it has been 9 weeks now.  I honestly did not really think it was working, maybe a little less bumpy, and truthfully I did not want it to work. I have had 2 decaf cappucinos with no problems in that time, but when I got a large cup of decaf coffee (loved it), later that night I had a red bump raise on my cheek and it hurt so badly. I suddenly realized that the change had not removed the redness but I had no bumps and no pain other than this one spot. So what started as an experiment seems to be staying. Soda tastes weird and I have no desire to go back to that - aside from it's convenience - but I truly miss my coffee.  Decaf chai is good but not the same. I also suspect that it is something in coffee that I am having trouble with, not necessarily caffeine, but I think I give my body a rest before testing that theory.
 

 Current knitting project.  One of the disappointing things is that my crafting store will be closing. She has been struggling for a while now, and while she is an amazing crafter and one of those people that naturally works well with people, her business skills needed help. Worry and stress have driven her under and I truly believe she is making the best decision for her family, but it is a loss to my community and to me. She is hoping to run beading, knitting, and spinning parties from her home for extra income, as she can't legally open a shop there.  I hope it works.

 Please excuse the terrible picture I will try again in better light. I have been spinning up quite a lot.
This is wool from the Sheep Shed.

 I am working on thinner and thinner yarn. This is polworth and tussah silk.

Black homespun, a strand of mary maxium wool that I strung beads on then plyed together.