danish fern

I am longing for these dishes- Danish Fern - they were in the Martha by Mail catalog way back when. Now they can only be found on ebay for a small fortune. I think I'll add them, along with the Eileen Fisher bedding at Garnet Hill, in my lust pile. I am so into brown brown brown, matte, taupe, silver, grey. Aren't they lovely?

roadtrip

Tall House, Double Cup and I spent six hours in the mama mobile, going up to Seattle and back for the Mariners/Red Socks game. It was so much fun! Though, my prediction came true - beer in the afternoon lead to a nap on the ride home. Still, I got a lot of knitting done and it was so cool to sit in Frau Marci's amazing seats behind home base. THDC relived his glory days as a pitcher and was generally beaming all day. I tried get a picture of the highway sign for Sleater-Kinney Road but the photo only showed up that we need our windshield cleaned. I stuck to knitting the rest of the trip. I got 3/4's of a CeCe sleeve done.

bit of cece progress

We ran into EVERYONE at the farmer's market this morning. I was

juggling dahlias, fingerling potatos and pumpking bread when we saw Marian the Librarian and a friend. We were talking books and fawning on E when around the corner popped Moo's dad and great aunt and when we went to meet up with Marfie, Moo, and Sam the Man, our neighbors with the two little boys were there too! We sat for hours sipping coffee, eating nibbles of market treats and watching our children run around like hell. I got serious cuddle time with Sam. We also paid for the first semester of a balloon artist's freshman year by purchasing sword after puppy after crown of pastel balloons. What a fun treat. We hadn't anticpated such fun so we returned to a $24 parking fee, but f it. It was totally worth it.

Here is a bit of progress on Cece. One arm down. One to go.

E's first letters

E dictated two letters to me while he decorated the cards and envelopes:

Dear Jonesie and Nana,
I am working on a project. It's an envelope. My friends are Basil and Will. Basil goes B-A-S-I-L. Will goes W-I-L-L. It's cold.

Goodbye. I love you,
E.

Dear Grandpa and Grandma,
I am working on a project and it's a note. It's a letter. I love you. I miss you.
Goodbye,
E.


Strong on the closing, no? An epistolary life certain to follow . . .

treadmill over knitting

I haven't had much knitting progress to post - I've been working the treadmill while watching tivo instead of camping out on the couch to knit. The good news is that the workouts leave me feeling a little more zen with myself and I've been able to get a second walk in at night while E watches his allotted 25 minutes of videos per day. So I've only been knitting in teeny tiny bits. Tall House, Double Cup and I have Mariner/Red Socks tickets this weekend (thanks Frau Marci!) so I'll get to knit all the way up to Seattle, through the whole game and all the way home - unless the beer makes me too sleepy :) Some serious knitting catch up will happen then.

My most motivating tivo watching list for treadmill walking:

*Project Runway (though dangerous if I switch from power walking to runway walking)
*Laguna Beach (it's so bad, it's good)
*old episodes from Survivor on the Game Network (lots of tribal drumming in the background music)
*Rescue Me (everyone is so toxic on that show that it's easy to forget I am working out).
*Workout (for obvious reasons - though they are hardly ever doing cardio on that show)
*Oprah/Martha (if it's a good day)

take me out to the ballpark, in a suite though, please

E and I headed off to the Portland Beaver's Game on Sunday. It was the library's Summer Reading event afternoon - and since I coordinate that program I felt like I had to be there - but it turned out to be SO much fun! It didn't hurt that we had one of those fun suites to watch the game from or that Frau Marci and her family came too! I don't know how much baseball E really got from the experience - he did a bit of art, played racecars with Guapo, and ate A LOT of popcorn and peanuts. But he also did a lot of rockin' out and tried a bit of the chicken dance.

At the end of the game, the kids got to run the bases - the look of exhileration on E's face was fantastic - I couldn't stop smiling.






Yeah for minor league baseball and yeah for watching from the suites.

saturday fun

Tall House, Double Cup was off in Reno with his brother and dad for some boy bonding/gambling so E and I had a very close weekend of activities . . .
Our Saturday was kind of packed with fun stuff - especially in light of the hot hot hot day it was. We had E's school picnic - where the parents dished on the teachers and the kids ran around in packs, so excited to see each other away from the school. E was a little nervous when the fire truck pulled up but eventually was won over when they sprayed the hose.


Then we had a mini-Mexico reunion with three of the six families who went to Casa Tres Vidas last February. We swam and grilled out. Frau Marci made killer grapefruit vodka and tonics - my new favorite. E swallowed a bit too much pool water and ended up a bit sick on the drive home. He implored to sleep in my bed and I didn't protest one bit.

dolphin success

E had his last swimming class for the summer - big break throughs during this session - the back float, the side float and a touch of his face in the water. I asked E what it felt like when he put his face in the water, "Like dying" - his very matter-of-fact reply.


He was cute happy with his certificate but I think the Sponge Bob ice cream treat he got as his end of session reward was the real highlight for him.

I am fall - yeah!

This is SO true. I love that in Portland fall lasts from October to New Year's. Yeah for pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin butter, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin seeds. I am already counting down the days. Boo to anything warmer than 76!

You Are Fall!

Thoughtful Expressive Creative Poetic Smart

What Season Are You?

bedding porn

My GOD - I love this bedding! Have you seen the new Eileen Fisher Home collection in Garnet Hill? This is motivation to keep working full-time. It's almost motivation to go sell myself on the streets - just for the chance to dive into this gorgeous fabric. sigh.

break from a break from a break

Remember how I started the CeCe as a break from the Flowery Sweater? Now I really need a break from CeCe (fugly lace). So I started a super simple skinny scarf - most likely for my boss's birthday. She wears amazing clothes that are always very put together with accessories. I know she'll love it. I'm using Filatti's Midas Touch - a lovely ribbon yarn. It was much more fun to knit this while watching tivo tonight than reading and re-reading the CeCe pattern. More pictures soon - it will be a breeze to finish.
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cabled fingerless gloves - ta da!

I finished these fingerless cabled gloves over the weekend - they aren't perfect but I think I like them enough and I want to move on to really crank out more of the CeCe. I enlisted Tall House, Double Cup in photographing these. It's hard to do justice with gloves in August.
These are going off to the State Fair along with a felted vest I made for E's Thanksgiving outfit. I am excited to see them on exhibit with all of the other pretties that people submitted.

Fingerless Cabled Gloves, Knitpicks Essential, aSH.

happy day Moo!

Moo turned two over the weekend and we were so lucky to be invited to her family party - it was a beautiful morning up at Marfie & Craig's house. Here is the birthday girl.


Moo had the prettiest cake from Bakery Bar. Her parents brought in a picture of Moo with her hippo jammies and they made a fabu cake from it. It was Grandma Sue's birthday and her cake was just as lovely - with pretty flowers all around.

E was on very good behavior - it didn't hurt that Auntie B brought HIM a present too! Super Blaster Rocket! Auntie B is the kind of aunt that everyone wants. She knows about the coolest toys, books, and fashion. Plus she is also upbeat and tres stylish.
Sam the Man slept through everything - he's totally Mr. Mellow. I didn't get a picture with him but here is a shot of Moo and her parents.

I was trying to be silly and get both E and Moo with their hands praying like little angels - I'd like to officially note here the child who isn't praying . . . .

zoo boy

A few handsome shots from last week's zoo trip. We had to have a fun outing after E fell off his big boy bike on the way to Starbucks, "I am never going to Starbucks again," he yelled through tears. No falls at the zoo.

it's all about the pool

We are still in the thick of swimming lessons. Every morning before I leave for work I make sure to have his swim bag packed - dry towel, swim suit, fresh clothes for after swimming, his new cool Croc mocs to slip into, his dinner, a drink, water for me, my knitting. I haven't done this much pre-morning prep since he was an infant.


But it seems to be paying off. Even though he isn't an attentive listener to his teachers, I definitely see him improving!
This last picture really represents E's relationship to his class and teachers. Throughout his lesson you can hear his teacher's voice calling out his name over and over. "Come on back to the group, E." "Over to the wall, E." "E, where are you?" He does get put up on the side of the pool once in a while for not listening - he doesn't seem to mind - it bothers me to no end that he is so nonchalant with authority figures - I am still trying to figure out what it means within the context of his personality. Thank god the teenage swimming teachers can take it better than I can. Six days of classes left . . .

coffee shop

E and I go to the coffee shop every Wednesday morning. I started the routine when I was struggling with how to wake him up, get him dressed, wash his face, brush his teeth, and out the door without the drama and whining that he likes to go through. The coffee shop is our saving grace on Wednesdays - knowing he gets come vanilla milk and a pumpkin scone (always a pumpkin scone) rise and shine is just easier. We even have a song that goes with the event, "We're going to the coffee shop/ woo woo/ gonna get some coffee/ woo woo." I bring my knitting or read the WW and E picks all of the frosting off his scone ("it's the best part") and tosses tiny scraps for the birds.
Now that we've been doing it for a couple of months, I am starting to feel a bit of community at, gasp, Starbucks. The scrubbed faced barrista almost remembers my drink perfectly (venti iced decaf americano with one pump mocha, extra ice and room for milk). E gets a bit of attention. We see the same police officers and two super rocker-god types who always sit outside.
This ritual sometimes helps us get out the door and sometimes gets me to work five minutes late. It's totally worth it. Our coffee shop date.

swimming fever

We've started the two weeks of intense swimming classes EVERY night after work/preschool. E complains a bit each night about "having" to go to swim class. Once we get there and he sees the kids he's totally game but the drive from preschool to the pool isn't pretty. He is in the "Penguin" group which looks almost exactly like his "Goldfish" group except they spend more time away from the wall of the pool. E still doesn't want to go underwater but it's so sweet to see him try try try to get his nerve up and get wet all the way over his ears and then pop back up. I've been knitting during his class so I haven't taken any pictures yet . . .

Here is a fun action shot of E and La at the park. E likes to strut around in front of her, "La, look how FAST I am."

cece challenge

CeCe is coming along. Knitting lace is definitely a challenge . . . it's so intricate that I know I've messed up a couple of times but it's such a non-defined pattern (at least how I am working it) that I can't really tell exactly where I went wrong. I am hoping that by the time it's done, it will be wearable and then I might just start right over and make it is more luxurious yarn like hemp or bamboo. At least it's keeping me from going crazy over the Flowery Sweater.

honey chile

This is Honey - E's very favorite teacher. I think she is possibly his first crush as well. Her real name is Kristie but E came up with his own sweet moniker. One time E got very frustrated with me and slapped me on the forearm. When I was explaining how we never, ever hit people we love, I asked him, "Would you ever hit Honey"? And he GASPED at the idea! Of course not! She's Honey - you're . . . . Mama.
Honey is leaving E's school to look for a new position - we will miss her so much! She gave Tall House, Double Cup and I so much good advice for helping E along with his development. I'll never forget her telling us that, "Your child is so capable if you give him the tools to take care of himself." It's so true. A three-year-old can dres himself and sweep and pull up his covers and put on his own shoes . . . . at least at school he can.
I just love this picture of the two of them. I don't know if he will ever remember her kindness when he grows up but I am hoping with this picture he'll remember a "honey" kind of feeling from her.

super puffy

We were so excited to get E a big boy bike! He borrowed a friend's 12-inch bike a couple of weeks ago when we saw how proficient he was at pedaling around - the only problem was that his knees were coming up to his chest to pedal.
Then, being very un-librarian-like, we went out and bought him a big 20 inch bike without doing any research. It was just so fun and exciting for us as parents to get him a real bike! He is such a tall fella that he is riding what is usually cut out for five-year-olds.
We've already gone to Starbucks (about 3/4 of a mile away) with us walking and E biking. Maybe E could be my new workout partner. I'll just have to learn how to avoid all of the parks in our hood (there are five in walking distance) because every time he sees a play structure we have to stop (and bring down my heartrate, you know).
At E's school circle time, every child was asked to tell what they did over the weekend. When it was E's turn he said, "I rode on my super puffy bike!"
It's actually a "Stoked Huffy" but he had his own interpretation. I did buy spangles to hang off the handles but that could be just me living out my bike fantasies on E - this bike is pretty butch for spangles.

welcome sammy!

Marfie gave birth to a sweet little boy on Monday - Sam the Man is perfect and round - with a teeny little chin that points up. I burst into tears when I met him - it's so special to hold a five hour-old baby! He gets to come home today and I got out all of E's newborn clothes this morning to wash and have ready for his arrival. I love those little newborn onesies. hee!

drink them in

Our friends who live in North Carolina were able to stop in to visit on Monday night. They went to college with Tall House, Double Cup and when they lived in Oregon, we were able to get together for weekends every now and then. They brought the prettiest flowers from Pike Place Market for us. Drink them in!