Oh hai

Has it really been that long since I last posted? I've been in a knitting fog, working on a number of designs that will appear in various places later in the year.  I have noticed over the years that when I am intensely working on one thing, I find it hard to do other creativity-sucking endeavors until I am done. I guess writing blog posts sometimes fall by the wayside too.

We've also been inundated with end-of-the-year activities, like this

Piano recital for Elvis & Little Miss

and this

Boy Twin's presentation on Morse Code

and this

French award presentation

and this.

We babysat Sandi the guinea pig again

We even got Nana to come this past weekend:

I will try to get back into posting more regularly now that I'm finishing up some of the sample garments I've been knitting. I'm hoping to mail out two more tomorrow, which is a big help. I haven't dyed in a while and I owe you about forty-thousand book reviews, too....so there's lots to do here.

Pumpkins, picking and petting (zoo)

Yesterday was Columbus Day in the U.S. (Happy (belated) Thanksgiving, Canadians!) and the kids had no school. The chill in the air made it a perfect day to go to the pumpkin patch.


We started out by picking apples; only Granny Smith were left, but that's okay since they're good cooking apples.


The most popular aspect of the apple-picking was the stick with a claw on the end of it, to get the ones on the highest branches.


Then it was over to Pumpkinland, a massive display of pumpkins and other gourds,



as well as various Halloween decorations ranging from the typical


(there is a comment to be made about my daughter appearing as a witch, but I am not the one to make it) to the terrifying (Dr. Mel, say it isn't you!):



After we picked up some small pumpkins for decorating,



we walked through the petting zoo, and saw sheep



and goaties (obligatory goateh shot for Mindeh)


and - is it an emu? or an ostrich?


We then spent some time on the large playground, and returned home happy.




P.S. Among the decorated pumpkins, we saw this:



Do you think it's an omen?

Please, no peeps, peeps

Each year, around this time, I like to help spread the word that although bunnies are truly wonderful pets -- affectionate, and smart, and fun, and interactive, and God, they wrote the book on Teh Cute -- they are NOT wonderful gifts to be given to other people. Now, I suspect that most of my readers do not need to be reminded how bad an idea it is to give baby bunnies or chicks to children at Easter, but in case you were thinking about it: DON'T. Tons of bunnies and chicks end up in animal shelters each year around this time when chuckleheads present them to people who aren't ready or willing to take proper care of them. If you're thinking about adopting a bun, wait until after Easter, and make sure you check out the links at Make Mine Chocolate. They will give you the practical information you need to decide if a bunny will make a good addition to your family.

Linking to Make Mine Chocolate seems to go hand-in-hand with egg-dyeing. Today, the three kids, home from school all week (thwacks head against table)



produced these:



(Well, they dyed them; they didn't lay them.)

There's a road trip in our near future, so my next report will be (internet connection willing) from somewhere else. And upon my return? A brand-new No-Bull Book Review.

Whirlwind weekend

After arriving home from Franklin's booksigning at Loop Friday night, I could barely sleep, I was so vibrating with excitement. The day had been a whirlwind of activity: the airport run (I saw a hilarious sticker on the escalator that said "God has a plan -- to kill me."), a quick stop at the house to drop off his things (Franklin's, not God's), we hit the elementary school for a sneek peak of Elvis' debut in the school musical:




we grabbed a late lunch and then it was off to Loop.

Not surprisingly, people turned out in droves to meet Franklin (or see him again, as the case may be), including the fearless Anne Marie and the lovely button creator Regina,



and then Regina (hmm, can it be that Regina is a ham? well, if my hair were that pretty, I would be too) posed with His Nibs himself:


A Franklin fangrrl came wearing this beautiful Bohus sweater (from a kit direct from Sweden):




I was thrilled to meet meet blogreaders Kim and Mary Ellen (thanks for introducing yourself! comment once in a while, willya?) and I was also very excited to meet Heather Ross, author of Weekend Knitting, who was appearing next door at Spool. While there, I got to meet the famous (and infamous) Jay McCarroll of Project Runway fame, who grew up just a few miles from where I did, and I had the great fortune of going out to dinner after the signing with Heather, and her publicist, and Craig, and pals Laura G. and Jim, and Craig's delightful partner Mark, and Spool co-owner Laura, and the charming Tom (not my Tom, though, another charming Tom).

Now, Heather is one of those people who would fill me with an inferiority complex (she's gorgeous! she's blonde! she's talented! she's funny! she is an excellent raconteur! she's taped a Martha Stewart episode!) except she's so nice and warm that she makes you feel right at home. I also became very fond of her sidekick Leslie (how'd that booty call go, Leslie?) who was also funny and smart and fun. So thanks to Craig for inviting me along and for bringing Franklin to Philadelphia.



I had barely dropped Franklin off at Loop so he could teach his lace class, when I had to rush back home to prepare to attend the last two performances of Cinderella (the Rodgers & Hammerstein production), with Elvis as the Herald. It was astonishing that a bunch of nine-, ten- and eleven-year olds could put on such a wonderful show.



(I'm very proud of those three red costumes on the right, above -- I made them!)



Elvis' brother



and sister



were very proud, too. (Would Miss Thang give up the chance to assume what she views as her rightful place, i.e., a throne?)

It was a busy and extremely fun weekend, and it was a nice break from my frantic knitting-on-a-deadline. Come back soon, Franklin! Your Philly fans miss you already!

Happy birthday, Twins!

Yep, seven years ago today, that clever (and rather attractive, I might say) surgeon cut on the dotted line and brought forth the twins.

Happy birthday, dear ones -- and many, many more.

Happy 4th of July!

As has become tradition, the kids decorated their scooters and we marched in the Garrett Hill/Rosemont parade.




And in honor of the American holiday, I leave you with this knitting-related bit of history:

In Philadelphia, “Mom” Rinker was a tavern keeper whose work put her in the company of British soldiers. She was also a spy. Rinker often spent her days in a town park where she sat up on a high rock, knitting copious numbers of garments. As she knit, she concealed messages in balls of yarn and then dropped them to American couriers below.

Link.