Progress and Growth

Just like that, nearly a week has gone by since I have last posted. It seems like the days slip through my hands, weeks are cranked out steadily, and my girls grow faster each year.

Since this blog has become somewhat of a journal, tracking our progress and growth, I though I'd catalog a few of our most recent examples:

Progress: on a little surprise for soon-to-be-born babe

Growth: remember "Woolly Bear?" He emerged as this beautiful moth

Progress: on a bench, needed for the dining room table

Growth: chicks losing the fluff, getting feathers on their heads

Progress: the last-day-of-school countdown

Growth: last year's sandals

Where have you been making progress? How have you been measuring growth?

Mid-Winter Bits

Each February, just as the winter doldrums start to settle in, the kind folks at the seed companies throw us a bone and send out the seed catalogs. Those coveted booklets land in our mailbox reassuring us that spring is on its way.

We pour over them, making unrealistic lists of what we'll grow—giant watermelons, tiny yellow tomatoes, purple string beans, and white eggplants. We get all starry-eyed and forget the size of our garden. No matter, though. We can dream of bigger-than-life gardens while we're snuggled up warm inside. And anyway, we add a new raised bed almost every year, as a direct result of our overzealous seed ordering. The promise of spring that comes with these catalogs is infectious. And once those seeds are sprouting in their cups, there is no looking back.

Speaking of the winter blahs, I had a good dose of action this past weekend at the aptly named artisan show, Cabin Fever. It brought lots of shoppers looking for Valentine's Day fodder and a chance to get out and about. A few new pieces I had been working on made their debut there, like these Cuff Rings.

Oh, Valentines, Day. I am not crazy about this "holiday" but I have to admit, I do love the colors and art that comes with it. The girls and I were looking at some cute illustrations the other day and we came across a painting of a bowl full of hearts. I commented that I would love to have a bowl of hearts like that, and the girls giggled, "we have a bowl of hearts, Mama!" They were right. We did, in fact, have a bowl of hearts right on the table. A big bunch of multicolored salt-dough hearts, made for classmates.

School vacation is next week and soon, it'll be March. Then it's all crocuses and daffodils, Easter eggs and jellybeans. And seedlings, of course—maybe my favorite thing about winter.

Not a Dull Moment

The Peruvian wool I splurged on a few weeks back is starting to take shape. As you can see, I am running out of room on the pattern to make note of my sets and rows. What am I knitting? I'll bet most anyone who is a fan of knitty.com could guess. I do believe it is, by far, their most downloaded pattern...

Our pick-your-own blueberry excursion today yielded 5 pounds (five POUNDS!) of berries, for exactly $10. I call that a bargain, if there ever was one. But wait, speaking of bargains...

I scored all this booty at a local church yard sale this evening. Fabric, ribbon, rick rack, bias tape, string, a bread pan, and a pair of knitting needles of every size from 1 to 7 (!!!), and more (read: various random animal statues the girls chose, beads, a mug, leather gloves, felt squares...) for, once again, exactly $10.

So here I am—with an interesting knitting pattern to concentrate on, more blueberries than I know what to do with, and crafting supplies to last me far into the future. I don't imagine a dull moment any time soon.

Coming Along Nicely

The garden and my latest project are coming along nicely.

Here is a sneak peek of what I've been working on (more on this soon):

and...the garlic has been harvested! We usually do this in the beginning of July, but things in the garden are going a little slower this year.