guests and other quests

HOLY MOLY!

i can’t believe i didn’t link sooner.  here’s my guest blog over at HollaKnits.  swing by there and say hello, won’t you?  i’d love to know what you think of the new design!

this past week mae lost both front teeth and my big, sweet, beautiful alizah turned TWELVE.  you know, twelve is big and scary and really forcing me to think about my parenting - deep and thoroughly.

i think about how, when you have your first child, everyone tells you what it will be like those first months of parenting, then swiftly skip to those terrible toddler years with the potty training and tantrums, and then zoom right on into the teens and the dramas there, but no one really talks about what comes next.  what does come next?  you just push your little fledgling out of the nest and hope they fly rather than smacking square on the ground?  is the success of that first flight more dependent on baby bird or mama?  oldest child is the hardest to raise with no hindsight to work from.  sometimes i feel like i’m leading her through the forest blindfolded.  maybe that’s a reflection of my own rearing being (for all intensive purposes) an only child.  a true only child, actually.  and maybe it’s a reflection of my own child self, too.  as blindly as my mother guided me through the thicket, i too had my eyes covered.

all fears aside, i do have faith in that girl.  far more than she has in herself and i believe this will be the case for another decade or so.  she really is a stunning young lady and as she grows into her lanky limbs she will grown into her lanky mind and be a force.  i got a letter in the mail weeks back that she had tested in the top 25% of the entire school district and that the school needed my permission to conduct furthur testing so that she could be placed in one of the honors programs offered at the 7th & 8th grade center next year.  i signed the slip and the testing began.  days and days and she was tired but proud and told me all the kids she sits with at lunch were going through the program, too.  the “nerd” table i guess.  it’s impossible to convince her that she is just exactly where she is meant to be and that she will continue to become more awe inspiring with every new year.  right now she’s too busy worrying about the girls who don’t talk to her and feeling weird in her skin.

sigh.

now for some sweetness.

this is how he wakes me.

xo

these days

i hope everyone had a nice labor day weekend.  

quiet, relaxing, rejuvenating and the like…

my mama and i went caving with mae in southern indiana.  it was fun and beautiful and exciting for the little.  my mom and i laughed and dreamed all the way home, taking back roads through itty bitty towns surrounded by farms on giant hills dotted with goats and cows and horses.  we smiled and waved as we passed the amish men and women selling goods out of their carriages and reveled in how affordable the housing is in those towns.

alizah was on a separate adventure in west virginia with her poppie.  ya know, white water rafting, zip lining, and jumping off cliffs.  the usual stuff for an 11 year old girl.

blessed children.  loved and loved.

it wasn’t all death defying and adventurous though.  the rain has come and i’m on my knees with gratitude.  things are growing!  really!

running outside to collect the few plants still thriving is such a thrill.  the broccoli is so happy - growing nearly waist high and forming big beautiful heads.  ugh.  our garden broccoli is the most delicious thing to pass by my lips.  and of course those mint family plants are taking fast advantage of the space left by the plants we lost to the drought.  

a lot of rain means the house is quiet with nappers and play and pies… oh the pies.

baby blueberry pies

apple raspberry pie

chicken pot pie

i never ever made a pie from scratch before this week.  while i was making the chicken pie for dinner last night mae asked if pies were my new thing.  she’s so funny to me sometimes.  i just hope my girls see that spark - i want them to be fearless in every facet of their lives - even in the most domestic ones.  we were enjoying our dandelion vinaigrette on our garden broccoli the other day and i laughed as they mmm-ed and yum-ed and we reflected on how they thought i was nuts when i started running around the garden digging up dandelions for food!  (i got the dandelion vinaigrette recipe from taproot magazine, soil)  alizah asks me all the time if i know what i’m doing and the fast answer is “no” but it’s also such a good, rich, fulfilling answer.  i will never know what i’m doing as long as i’m moving forward and learning something new.

i’ve done a bit of knitting, too of course but i’m not quite ready to share.  soon.  maybe even tomorrow.  and now that i’m thinking of it i think i should go start another shawl.  yes, that sounds mighty fine.

have a wonderful wednesday sweet people! xo

————————————————————————————————

SO, you should make some pies, too… right?  i know you want to.

the crust recipe i used for the sweet pies

the crust recipe i used for the savory pie

the filling recipe i used for the blueberry pie

the filling recipe i used for the chicken pot pie - for this i omitted the celery & carrots, added corn & potatoes.  it was delicious.

the filling recipe for the apple raspberry pie doesn’t exist.  sorry.  i just sort of made it up as i went, but if you happen to find one, MAKE IT!  it was delicious and the entire family voted it the best pie of the week.

snip snip

snippets.

:: small moments cut and stitched together, building a map of our life these days ::

do YOU have snippets to share?  let’s see them!

reminder…..

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

ATTENTION INDY FOLKS!

this weekend is the first of three mama & me classes!

info via homespun workshops & gallery:

Mommy & Me Knitting 
Instructor: Pink Brutus Knits

This workshop meets for 3 sessions.
Saturdays May 19, 26 and June 2 2012, from 1:00p.m. to 2:30p.m., all sessions

This class is a beginners knitting class (ages 5 & up) and no experience is necessary. There are three different projects presented and completed during this workshop depending on the age of the student.
Parent- Simple Ribbed Cowl
Children-5-7 Tooth Fairy Pouch
Children-7 & up Hood Cap

Workshop Fee is $80 (for parent and child pair)
Students must provide their own supplies. The supply list will be given upon registration; items can be purchased locally and are readily available.

Courtney is a mother, wife, knitter, spinner, pattern maker, gardener, baker, crafter and a wearer of many hats. She is also the owner and creator of Pink Brutus Knits and Lucy & the Bird which is sold online and at our own Homespun: Modern Handmade.

to sign up, contact homespun:modern handmade 

i’m very excited and still have quite a bit of work ahead me! thanks for all of your support xo

full

technically, it was thurday but i’m including carl’s visit in our weekend.  mae loves carl.  the boy.  he gave her a hacky sack when they first met all those years ago and she still has it - she even tells people he knit it for her.  so, so cute.  she wanted to show him her favorite park.  i think he had a good time until he got sticky green goo on his hand.  eww.

we had lunch after our outdoor adventures, then headed home to scour my knitting books for patterns.  carl has just been through some major changes and hasn’t had his hands on the needles for ages.  i didn’t have much that was of interest to him but he did steal one of my stitch dictionaries.  we’ll have to have a library play date and really get down to business.

first friday at the murphy building

mare at maryanne’s studio.  i love both those ladies.  big time.

we ran into greg.  of course we ran into greg.  sweet heart & loved by all.  we had such a great night.  beautiful friends.  love.  hubs told me on the way home that he had been really tired and didn’t actually want to go out that night but knew i was already stressed about the situation with dropping alizah off for her weekend at her dad’s & he didn’t want to add to it.  he smiled and said, “i’m glad i went.  i had a really great time.”

cinco de mayo

we took on the laborious task of cleaning out the garage.  i thought i was going to sweat to death - but it needed to be done and in part because he found this little guy

the little fledgling was hopping all around getting stuck behind motorcycle parts and toys and boxes and i needed to get a hold of him.  we got everything cleared and swept and i finally snatched him.  i put him in a shady spot under his nest and a few hours later he was gone.  i’m hoping his mama got him.  eep!

we celebrated a job well done with cinco de mayo tacos.  ha! 

100 acres

every time i post about this place i say everyone in the indy area should go.  i love it.  it was hubs’ first time & we brought the dog.  it was his first time there, too.  we had such a beautiful day together walking and talking and playing and it was HOT but shady and the pooch was really quite well-behaved.

i’ve been feeling so full lately.  i’ve also been stressed - big time, but i bought this

and you know… i felt so much better.  ha!  the little things really can turn around a rough day.

honestly though, even when i make my way up to bed after every one else and there is absolutely NO place for me to lay between the husband, the kid, the dog, and the cats, i find a narrow slot and squeeze in - hot and cramped with the fan barely easing the heavy air - i feel so full & so happy in a way financial comfort or my professional life could never make me.  i know how valuable love is.  

also, i know my cat has super powers.

zap.

happy tuesday all! xo