...for the blog silence.
Just can't seem to find the time. But I am home with B for the two weeks of his school vacation and am taking a few minutes this morning (thanks for the nudge K). The blog silence is a combination of many things - work, being a mom, not having much crafty stuff to share, and strangely the puppy has taken over some. I know it isn't an excuse, plenty of people have puppies, babies, etc and still manage to blog, but basically I think I have a hard time taking time to do something for myself (don't we all), I feel quite guilty if I do. But, moving on, here is what we have been up to the last couple of months.
We spent a stormy November weekend away at Seabrook on the Washington Coast with some good friends. Two nights in a rented beach house, good food, games, walks, and conversation. Kids had a blast on the bunk beds and the storm that blew through felt like it would blow through the walls at times.
In December my Dad came for a visit all the way from the stormy coast of Newfoundland, Canada. We were so happy to get to see him, it had been about 4 years since he was here last. B grew quite possessive of Grandpa, asking when he would be back as he headed out to have a visit with one of my siblings. We have since discovered Skype and had a great chat with him, back at home now, on the computer last night. It is so different to be able to chat with someone and "see" them. Somehow it feels like a much better visit than on the phone. He even took their laptop and gave us a "tour" of their home there. In the photo above we went to see the fishing boats that are docked just minutes from our house, Dad is a photographer in his retired life and it was interesting to hear about the differences between our fishing boats (which fish in Alaska) and the ones in Newfoundland, the styles of the boats are very different.
A trip to my favorite coffee shop for hot chocolate and cappuccino was lots of fun too.
We celebrated the season this year by decorating a Gingerbread train with Daddy, held our now annual Gingerbread Cookie decorating party at the beginning of December, and had lots of visits with friends and family.
At the beginning of B's school break last week, we headed downtown to enjoy the Holiday activities. Unfortunately so did the rest of Seattle. The line to see the Gingerbread Houses at the Sheraton was so long I couldn't even see the entrance - so we skipped it - as was the line for the Carousel. But we did enjoy the a capella carolers (above), and had a great time poking through Daiso in Westlake Mall. A little hard to explain the homeless Santa charging people to sit on his lap, though. Ah the big bad world.
I am finding that six can be an interesting age, the frustration and grumpiness and yet also the pure joy and excitement of the season. I loved watching him over Christmas, the care he took in putting together a note, cookies, milk and carrots (for the reindeer) and the joy the next morning when he woke up. But that then couples with the frustration of not getting his way, or feeling he is not understood.
On the "crafting" front not much is happening. Most of our basement is ripped up for a do-it-yourself (translated to "will take a long time") remodel so my sewing room is gone and everything is boxed up. I have been knitting and took a class to finally finish my sweater, but then am not happy with the result so I have set it aside for now. It is frustrating to not be totally thrilled with something I spent so much time on, so I need to get past that before I try to finish it.
Knitting is something I can still do, doesn't take much space. I have finished several of the beret style hats I showed earlier and am most of the way thought this hat for my man, but it is my first time working off a chart, which I find is like reading another language, and it just doesn't come easily. I finally took to just writing out each line, which helps. The hat is brain taxing, which I like, but I don't always pick it up when I am tired at night. My current "easy" project is the kids scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, which is a really easy pattern, but fun because it is a combination of two colors of Noro Silk Garden yarns, so the colors of the stripes changes often and it is fun to see how the overall look changes. I will post photos when I get done.
You still with me? I guess I did have a lot to say. Happy New Year and I will try to post again soon.
good for you! love your new header. happy new year. xo
Posted by: kirsten | December 30, 2009 at 12:51 PM