Winter Knits

See these fingerless mitts? I never thought they were exactly the brightest idea out in the knitting world. My fingers are the coldest part of me when I am outdoors. Who wears these things? Well, never mind. A friend got a pair for Christmas that had owls on them and I immediately knew that I had to knit a pair. My MIL loves owls and she loves handmade stuff from me. I found the pattern and knit her up a pair as fast as I could. I guess my thumb is hiding in the picture, but they really do have a thumb gusset in them.

Because the mitts felt like an incomplete gift I knit her a cowl, too. It was part of my plan for the Knitting Olympics. To compete in the Olympics you choose a challenging project that has to be knit in the 17 days that the Olympics last. You cast on at the Opening Ceremony and have to finish by the closing ceremony. I learned cabling for the mitts and learned to read (and knit) a lace chart for the cowl. Whew. I learned two new skills and completed my items before the end of the games. That means I am a gold medalist!

This is the full length of the cowl after blocking, but before buttons. See? Lace. The buttons add some extra bling to the cowl, and you know how I love some bling.

I made Taco Salad for dinner the other night. My youngest thought I was crazy for photographing it. Why not? It was very pretty and I love it enough I could eat it every night. The recipe? Lettuce, shredded cheese, ranch dressing, taco meat. Crunch some fritos on top and you've got dinner. I give it a healthy dose of tomatoes in summer, but the tomatoes at the store are not worthy enough to be purchased this time of year.

It looks like my little blog has 6 followers. I have to find a way to check and see who you are. I had no idea I had "followers". How fun! Maybe I can convince you all to check out my little etsy store in the sidebar. More will be added soon to my store.

Winter Weary

It wasn't until I began loading pictures for this post that I remembered my friend Laurie wanted to see the card I made for Scott for Valentine's Day. I'll have to take a picture and post it this week. I absolutely forgot that there is anything to write about except Winter. Along with my children being underfoot, Winter is the constant in my life.

Why? This is the most snow I remember receiving in Winter before. It snows and snows. It stops for a day or so then it starts again. We go from one televised Winter Warning to another with rarely a break. The kids have snow days, 2 hour delays, and built in days off for MLK Day and President's Day (today).

I often worry about money issues and things like paying for college someday, then I know that I may never go back to work. My oldest son proves his irresponsibility again and again and I know he can't be left to his own devices for any length of time. I don't know who these mothers are who work outside the home. What do they do with their kids in the summer? Who gets them on the bus when school is delayed? Who watches them after school when they are burning their bagels in the toaster? God forbid the day will soon come when they are entertaining friends of the opposite sex and looking for unapproved images on the internet. I am just not at a place in my life where I feel that my kids are safe without parental supervision. At the same time, I like it more when they are in school and I can do things like a knitting class or grocery shopping in peace and quiet.

I took the kids to the local park last week and we went sledding on a snow day. We crossed the bridge to the sledding hills and the snow was softly falling. It looked like Narnia to me. It was warm enough to be enjoyable and we played for about an hour. I eventually fell off the sled and went bare stomached down a hill. Once I got snow melting into my under garments it was time to head home.

I made cookies last week for all the people who work with my husband. I do this every year for Valentine's Day. Everybody gets at least one dozen cookies, many get more, based on their family size. I baked and packed and loaded up the cookies. Scott delivered them so I didn't have to make an extra trip out through the snow. I made 23 dozen cookies, and thankfully we had enough that some stayed home. The kids love to come home after school and have cookies waiting for them. Despite the fact I have days when I think I may go crazy as a stay at home mom, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Snow and More Snow

We got some snow in the past few days, like many people in the U.S. It is under six inches, so once it stopped falling we were fine to get out and go somewhere again. The snow started on Friday, during the day and the kids were released from school an hour early so they could get home safely. We are supposed to get another big batch of snow Monday and into Tuesday, so I am hoping school is not cancelled.

The kids were out of school last Monday for Staff Development and are out next Monday for President's Day, I don't need them to have a snow day this week. There just isn't enough to do to keep them entertained in cold weather. Maybe we could go see a movie or go out to eat, but that's all I can offer, and the roads have to be good for those things to happen.

I don't have any pictures to post. The kids spent the day out in the front yard playing with the neighborhood kids, all day yesterday. And I do mean all day. There was not the usual in and out. The yard looks like a herd of moose trampled through, so there was no use in trying to take pretty snow photos. I did not step even one foot outside with my camera to get pictures of the kids, either. I like to stay in with some hot chai, a book, some knitting, and maybe even fall into a nap. That's my kind of living. The kids are letting me live the good life right now and I don't want to disturb the pattern.

I hope you are warm and cozy where you are, too.