greetings from spring break

{Rainer's morning ritual of warming himself by the heater vent}

Hello! We are having a lovely and simple spring break so far. My friend Carrie from Kansas is visiting and we are loving our time together. Some scenes from today:

{fascinated by the fish section in the River Cottage Family Cookbook}

{Rainer's hair catches the light}

{treating myself to a row of knitting}

{my first postcard going out for Postcrossing}

{found used today}

{full of Charlie Harper illustrations}

{Carrie reading to the boys}

{ready to make burritos}

I hope you are having just as delightful a week.

what I've been knitting lately

Springtime colors . . .
knit into pretty springtime dishcloths.
These are so fun to knit and they totally hold my interest, with the bright colors, variegated yarns, and the fact that they are knit from corner to corner--you start by casting on only 4 stitches, increase until you reach the size you want, then start to decrease. The whole time you watch it either growing or shrinking--so fun!
And I love that they have a little "border"--very exciting for a beginning knitter. This is the "Company Dishcloth" from Knitting Pretty. I can see myself knitting up a whole stack in time for Christmas giving--it's never to early to think about that!

randomness

I'm officially on Spring Break! Woo hoo! I love my job, but how nice is it to have a week and a day off?? Love it. I'll be taking Faith out to breakfast in the morning then dropping her at school.

Randomly on my mind this week:
:: I'm getting into knitting so much since I started knitting cotton washcloths. They are so fun! I do want to progress to other things too, though. I have the pattern and yarn for this shawl but am having trouble getting started. So tomorrow on my free day I'm heading down to the yarn store to ask for some help or to book another lesson. I'm determined to make that shawl! (It has a lot of purling and I think that is my problem . . .)
:: I've been dieting for the last couple weeks and the weight is not melting off as magically as I'd hoped! I do feel good and healthy, though, so I'm pressing on. Maybe now that I'm older it's just going to be harder (they say the metabolism slows down as we age . . . so sad). Here's my best dieting tip: healthy, homemade soup for lunch, followed by some cut-up fresh pineapple for "dessert." So simple, satisfying, and low-cal.
:: Faith and I "played hooky" Sunday night from the usual end-of-the-weekend chores to drive down to Ventura and check out the Liberty of London for Target line. It's hard to find convenient pockets of time for her and I to do such things (especially since I commute to my job so we're not in close proximity after school) so we just decided to make a time. We had fun, we liked the prints, and we bought a few things. Rainer went along too, and was very funny the way he crossed his arms and scowled in the cart (but did not throw a tantrum). He was not impressed by Liberty of London one bit!
:: Took Jacob out for a smoothie today, just as I did with him on Thursday afternoons all through his high school years. Afterwards, we browsed at Barnes and Noble. I noticed some interesting cookbooks. I wonder if I had this one and this one if I could part with my stacks and stacks of Everyday Food magazines. It would certainly reduce some of my paper clutter! I might put those on my wishlist for future.

Some awesome thoughts here on A Friend to Knit With. Good stuff.

Happy Spring Break!

a peek inside our spring book basket

This weekend we switched the book basket over to spring. I'm totally inspired by the drawings Dieter has been doing lately. I did the little tree in the corner but everything else is of his own creation. The life cycle of the butterfly is along the bottom--love!
So, we put away all the winter offerings (which we love, but which aren't terribly applicable to our Southern California experience) and gathered spring-like books together from our shelf. Lots of bunny themed books here.
Some of these are old, some are new. Make Way for Duckings is a real old favorite. How the Groundhog's Garden Grew is a new favorite.
I adore Pele's New Suit.
Max's Chocolate Chicken is a favorite with the boys year round.
And this is the best for last. We've been enjoying The Children of Noisy Village so much, I checked out Springtime in Noisy Village from the library. It's lovely, and out of all of these, this is really the only one that is specifically about spring.
I just want to jump into the picture and hang out with these Swedish children! I love the book so much I jumped over to Amazon and ordered a used copy.
Other than this one, our basket lacks any real springtime books. Any suggestions?

my good folks throw

I finally had a chance to finish my "good folks throw" this weekend. Ken took the boys for a Saturday outing and I had peace and floor space to figure this out. It was really fun and satisfying. The quilt is inspired by Soulemama's--basically it is a copy, and I hope she doesn't mind. When she posted hers I fell in love with it and was inspired by how achievable a project it seemed to be. Then I kept seeing glimpses of it in her photos and continued to really like it. Finally I gave in and ordered the fabric (a fat quarter stack from Anna Maria Horner's Good Folks line. By the way, if you want to make a throw like this, I only used 16 of the fat quarters--so you could order a smaller and cheaper stack).
The back is just plain cotton from our local Ben Franklin--not exactly what I wanted (I wanted cozy flannel) but it works. The patchwork strip is to make it wider (and it's always fun to have a little surprise on the back of a quilt, isn't it?)
One of the things I love about this quilt is that depending on how you fold it it can look totally different. The fabrics are wildly diverse in pattern and color. Here it looks blue, but folded differently it looks pink or gold.
Faith is completely in love with it and wants to take it to college. I will let her--and then will allow myself to order another delicious stack of fabric. But that's a year and a half from now. In the meantime there will be much reading and snuggling under this quilt.

happy vernal equinox!

I just love the quarterly celebration of the seasons. I can hardly believe it's springtime already. The winter flew by--wasn't it just yesterday we were celebrating the solstice? I can honestly say these little observances of the change of season are worth it; just today Faith was saying how glad she is that we do this. It's nice to reflect upon the passage of time and the cycle of the year--it's just my sort of thing.
My mom thrifted these plate for me a few weeks ago. Aren't they sweet? Perfect for spring and summer. That tablecloth is thrifted too--one of my favorite finds. The teapot was my grandmothers. I love this old stuff.
I forgot how many eggs I have to cook to fill this little deviled egg tray (actually, that was my grandmother's too, come to think of it) so ended up shorting us by two halves. We could have used them too--Rainer ate 3 or 4 on his own!
I tried a couple of new recipes from the Moosewood Cookbook since I'm on my no sugar kick--this is the apricot almond bread. It was good, but I overbaked it. I love those apricots in it, so I'll try it again. That's some asparagus quiche on the right.
Also from the book I tried this walnut-maple pie--mostly just nuts, maple syrup, and eggs (I forgot to add the butter, darn it). It was good, not great. On the left are blueberry muffins (also sweetened with maple). These less-sweet baked goods do take a bit of getting used to, but I'm very happy to be cutting back on my sugar and I like the idea of eating less-sweet baked things for festive occasions. I imagine over time I'll build up a repertoire of successful and delicious naturally-sweetened treats.
And the best part? Jacob is home for spring break! Hooray! We all love seeing him, doesn't he look wonderful? Love that kid.

Well, it's official -- I never really have gotten myself together this week. I attribute that to the time change and the camera breaking on Sunday (I've sent it off to be repaired--not sure how long it will take). Making me happy now, though: these pictures Dieter has been drawing. In that top one, he tells me the ladybug is licking its chops and the aphid is frowning, knowing what is to come! I loved that. Another happy memory from this week: on Monday night watching Dieter eating his dinner. He sat in a big person's chair (he doesn't want the Tripp-Trapp anymore), forking salmon into his mouth and eating oranges. I think the sight of a child eating his dinner is a thrilling one for any mama.
And how do you like these blue photos, taken by Faith's camera?? Just keeping it real again. I don't know how to make her camera not photograph with a blue tint! I'm loving these Dieter drawings though. He put's "Ken" on there because they are for Ken (maybe that's easier than writing "Daddy"?)

So I'm hoping to get fired up and get myself all organized over the weekend and maybe get some sewing time too. And on Sunday we're celebrating the Equinox with a little tea. How about you?

still not adjusting

I'm embarrassed to say that it's 10:13pm and the boys and I are still up! Party it's because we're not yet adjusted to the time change (I hate springing forward every year), but also when they both take late naps at preschool and daycare it's almost impossible for them to fall asleep at a decent hour. On the upside we read three (!) new Miss Bindergarten books that I checked out for them at the library today. Miss Bindergarten is one series on which we can all agree (unlike the Berenstain bears, which they love and I . . . dislike). Happy spring to you all! Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with a post. Now I'm off to lie down with them (for the second time tonight) and hopefully they'll fall asleep this time!

fabric headband from "weekend sewing"

Thanks so much for the curtain love, everybody. It's nice to see that others like them too. You guys are sweet! Also this weekend, just before making the curtains, I made this little headband from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross. It's the first time I have actually used the book. I like this little headband, so maybe it bodes well for the rest of the book (although I've read of a lot of people having trouble with some of the clothing in there . . .).
This was such a quick sew--I'm looking forward to making a few more of these in different fabrics. Next time I'll add an extra inch of elastic, though--the fit is pretty tight.
Ken took the boys for a nature experience on Saturday--that's how I was able to get so much sewing done (a trade-off for sure, because I truly love going to the mountains with Ken and the boys. I also am truly grateful for the time to sew . . . balance, I say).

corners of my home: dining room curtains

Finally! I'm thrilled to say that after seven years of living in this house we now have curtains in our dining room. I love them and am so excited. Sadly, Ken HATES curtains (that's why it took so long). I would be okay without the curtains indefinitely, but I got so sick and tired of the hot, unrelenting Southern California sun preventing me from enjoying a nice breakfast, lunch, cup of coffee or pot of tea at the table. The sun would totally get into my eyes and we literally had to play a game of musical chairs every daytime meal just to get positioned in the least sunny (pointy) corner of the table. (It didn't bother Ken so much--he's very work oriented and doesn't allow himself a leisurely weekend breakfast or cup of tea. I, on the other hand, am all about enjoying my egg and coffee on a Sunday). So Ken, thank you for agreeing to the curtains. I love them!
Okay, so here they are. What do you think?
The fabric is "Laurel Canyon" by Alexander Henry. It caught my eye immediately and I'm glad I went with my gut. I think it's beautiful. I got mine here (although I see it's out of stock now--probably because I bought so much!) They gave me great service and a very generous cut.
The curtains went up Saturday afternoon so Sunday was our first chance to try out a weekend (daytime) meal without the sun beating directly on us. Loved it!

valentine books

I thought I'd share what books the boys got for Valentine's day this year. I love to buy them gifts for the holidays--I can't help it! I do think books are a pretty healthy gift, at least. Here's what they got:
The Children of Noisy Village--this is the first chapter book I have ever read Dieter. He enjoyed it very very much. This is a very sweet story of three families who have adjacent farms in Sweden "back in the olden days" as I explained to Dieter. It recounts such a simple and beautiful lifestyle full of old fashioned pleasures. I wasn't sure if Dieter would sit through it, but he was totally captivated. Even Rainer, at three, listened to a lot of it.

The Paper Princess--we love this one so much! Faith reminded me of it a few months ago. She had a copy when she was little and remembered it fondly. We had to do some searching to remember the title. It's about a little girl who makes a paper princess, and before she can really play with her the princess drifts away on the wind, to have many adventures. The art in it is just beautiful--exactly my taste--sort of a collage effect. This one truly has heart--highly recommended.

Flannel Kisses--very sweet. The artwork in this actually reminds me of the Paper Princess. Homey illustrations with short text. I love the cozy scenes in the house. This one is for the winter book basket.

Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy--a very cute and low-key story about a girl and a boy playing in the park and pretending to be bug superheroes. They are cranky with each other at first, but they work out their differences on their own and inspire the children around them to join in the bug fun.

Anyone else have these books? I'd love to know how your little ones like them. I love that they are high quality but have kid-appeal as well.

happiness update

I am loving my happiness project. I'm so glad I decided to start slow, with just a few resolutions. Later I can add more, but for now I appreciate that they are doable--and my success with this small group spurs me along.
::limiting my computer time has been working well. I actually set the timer for 35 minutes (rather than 30) so that if I get interrupted or a page loads slowly I won't freak out. Last night I broke my resolution and went over my time limit and it really reminded me of why I'm doing this. I was so cranky with myself for wasting so much time!
::as far as how I'm spending all my "extra" time, now that I'm limiting the computer, I'm finding that I want to curl up for a few minutes, when all the chores are done and I've put my computer to sleep for the night, with a book--usually a cook book or craft book that I've neglected but want to delve into. It's very comforting, the printed page.
::as far as the no-sugar thing, it's going very very well. It's wonderful to feel more in control of my own healthy eating. When I shopped at Trader Joe's on my way home this afternoon, I felt very proud of my cart. It had salmon, broccoli, chicken, apples, lots of other produce, organic string cheese . . . nice things. I did buy some candy for Easter and I felt glad about that too. I heard Michael Pollen talking about his new book on my "Most E-mailed Stories" podcast this morning. He said candy is fine when it a special occasion food--not an everyday thing like it has come to be. Candy as a true special treat on Easter sounds just right to me. One of the things that I LOVE right now about my no-sugar project is that the boys are not eating sugar either.

And now I must go and use the rest of my 30 minutes wisely! Happy end of the week to all!

playing

{sand pie with flowers}

I was delighted the other day to walk outside and find the boys making these sand pies with flowers sticking out of them. And the project kept them very engaged.

{Rainer's sand pie}

It reminded me of the book Mud Pies and Other Recipes. I need to find our copy, I bet they'd love it.

{Rainer doing art}

More play: Rainer is very into drawing and cutting right now, especially cutting (and our house is littered with paper scraps to prove it).