I love the way that life pools in themes. This past month I chose a few books that had been recommended to me (by one of the few people I take books recommendations from) and they all ended up being based on mythology (two Greek, one Norse). Our bookclub book for the month was based on Greek mythology, and I listened to Neil Gaiman read his Norse Mythology while driving to and from a campground several hours away (it seemed fitting, as his retellings would not be unsuitable for a fireside gathering). My partner and I were also gifted an overnight date opportunity and part of that was spent watching The Eternals, which I was pleasantly surprised to discover was in the "origin of mythological characters" genre (one of my favorite tropes). My knitting projects for the month ended up all being for children (my own, and other's), between reading and working on my ongoing organizing project (I managed to practically double the size of our small kitchen, which feat I am quite pr...

I had enough yarn left over from last month's rainbow jumper commission to make a kid sized sweater, and an eager kid who ravenously watched me make the adult sized version and kept asking for one, so my first finished project was a mini Rainbow Sunshine Jumper . She is absolutely delighted (as you may be able to tell from the photo) and has very thoughtfully worn it as much as possible, but taken it off during meals and potentially messy tasks to avoid ruining it, which I honestly really appreciate. We then had a cold snap and my youngest had outgrown his sweatshirts from last year, so I gathered some leftover yarns in his favorite colors and ad libbed a little pullover for him. He is quite pleased and when I put it on him he immediately ran off to show everyone his new "fweater." It's just a top down raglan in DK yarn, with stripes to make the yarn run out gracefully. I found him a pair of black furry sweatpants so when he wears them together he looks like a Sesame...

In September, I sat down and created a daily schedule . We already had an extracurricular for each of the Bigs, so I mapped out a daily schedule (school for weekdays, unlimited screen time on Saturdays, no screens on Sundays). Last month I added in a Hello Fresh subscription to fill in three of the unplanned dinners (we already had pizza on Fridays and pick up tacos on Tuesday on our way home from ninja gymnastics). Also, since my oldest was born, we have had something every afternoon called "practicing peace" which is everyone in their own spaces quietly for an hour or two (as needed), which is great because it fills time and also helps everyone wind down from the morning, in preparation for the evening. It's been going pretty well. But last week was the test. One day last week I woke up and discovered that my youngest had thoughtfully shared the "snurfle" he'd had, and also I had started my cycle. And I didn't panic.  The Bigs are used to their routin...

Queen Anne's Lace The sky was blue, the air was crisp and clear. Huge mountains towered over me, sharp pointed and snow topped. I had just gotten out of the car, and I toddled toward a bed that had been planted with a wildflower mix. My mom pointed to one, a white circle as big as my face, made up of innumerable tiny white petals. "There's a carrot under there," she said. I stared at it in suspicion and disbelief. She grasped the stem near the ground and pulled. Lo, a carrot! I carried it around for the rest of the day, marveling. Dandelion I picked a handful of blooming weeds and carried them inside to my grandma. She accepted them less graciously than I wanted, busy perhaps with making lunch for everyone or cleaning up a mess someone else had made. Later, I was told, we would go visit my great grandparents. I knew Granddad was sick, as much as a three year old can understand cancer. I went back outside. Carefully this time, I made sure to pick the flowers close to t...

  I made it an entire month without using our heat or air conditioning, but one day last week I finally gave in, closed the windows and turned on the furnace. It's a twice yearly ritual - embracing the changing of the seasons by really feeling the shift. (I am alone in my enjoyment of this tradition and have to watch the thermostat to keep it from being surreptitiously switched back on). But now it's time to get cozy. I've got a (rewarmed) cup of coffee to hand, I'm wearing my favorite sweatshirt, and we had HelloFresh shepherd's pie for dinner and it was so  satisfying. I tend to be somewhat withdrawn during Scorpio season, preferring solitary campfires and quiet evening journaling to going and doing. It's kind of a gentle wind down from the energy of Leo, the determination of Virgo, and the airiness of Libra - before we dive brightly back in for Sagittarius and lights and gathering and delightfulness. So this month I'm looking at roots - the figurative kin...

 Walls straining to contain the warmth a room dimly lit with strings of blinking light Vince Gill softly sings let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me tidings of comfort and joy shared by those lovingly gathered whatever rages outside countered in equal measure or even in greater abundance by the joyful spirits within.

My project style is "spreader." I scatter my supplies around me, and then if I have to stop before I'm finished, I'll stack everything and leave it in place. This is a somewhat maddening trait to others if those I'm sharing space with are of a tidier inclination, and a dangerous one for me if those I'm sharing space with are under the age of three. Both of those parameters are currently in place, so I've discovered trays and carts. A little three tiered cart currently acts as my nightstand, each bin assigned a different theme, and perfect for dragging to wherever I'm working and then putting away safely when I'm finished. I've also started getting up before everyone else in the mornings to take online classes, write these posts (and other things), and ease my body into wakefulness with a gentle yoga routine. Especially this year, when we're all stuck inside together, I think it's important to maintain sacred spaces for the individuals i...

While my mum did her best to instill me with domestic virtue, I always preferred handing my dad tools while he did car repairs or built something to cooking or cleaning. I know how to do those things, but I never was able to match her enthusiasm for Cleaning Fridays, and I was baffled by her nostalgic love of hanging laundry out to dry and hand washing dishes, especially since we had functional machines that did those tasks for us, and using them meant more time to read or make something.  Now, as an adult, I do what it takes to keep everyone clothed and fed and to keep the ants at bay, but if anyone else expresses interest in any of those sort of tasks, I am happy to let them at it. Are your clothes put away in such a way that you can find what you're looking for? Great! Are the dishes in the dishwasher sufficiently rinsed and properly spaced so that it can do its job? Spectacular! I do not care how it's done, only that it's done. As the adult who is home the most and th...

Way back at the beginning of the year, I had the great idea to replace all of my store bought cardigans with hand knit ones. The first one I tackled to replace was a sage green cocoon that I wear a lot.  I found some acceptable yarn (one of my requirements for this one was washability) and cast on. I finished the sleeves and started the back, and then there was a pandemic and I briefly abandoned it. Now that it's cool enough to wear large squishy cardigans, though, I went ahead and finished it this month. The pattern is a Hannah Fettig one from an old issue of KnitScene, and I used Ewe So Sporty yarn from Yarn Kandy. Someone on Ravelry did a lovely two tone version (I believe they did a burnt orange and a dark red), and although my yardage calculations were a bit off (I ran out of the sage green a row and a half out and had to switch to pistachio, of which I ended up having an entire extra ball) but overall I'm quite pleased with the finished piece. Next I'd like to repl...

It's finally fully fall here in central Arkansas. The leaves turned overnight, along with the temperature, which dropped from 80s to 50s quicker than I could hide all of my five year old's flip flops. It's too dark too early for evening walks and too cold for morning ones (I'm a delicate blossom with an admittedly narrow range of temperatures that I consider acceptable), so I'm turning my efforts indoors. I've begun my yearly mini migration from the north side of the house to the south side - during the summer I sit by our deep front windows and look out at the little potted garden I have right off the front step. But as the leaves drop and the sun shifts, I move to the south side, where the double glass doors in our bedroom let in wide and glorious swathes of sunshine for me and a few sun-loving plants. I am a housecat in human form, watching the birds at the feeder, napping in the sun, and refusing to go outside when it's raining. As exasperated as I'v...