Time to Knit

This is what happens when I have some inclination AND some time. I bought this Renaissance yarn at my local yarn shop, Unique One, well over a month ago. I have had no time to knit or do anything else for that matter until Saturday night. I rolled the balls up on Saturday night and looked over some of my knitting books at last landing on Setesdal Sweaters which is sort of a history book of knitting patterns and tradional sweaters of a region in Norway. Also, I used Favorite Mittens for the shape and style I was going to achieve. I didn't do all those things you are supposed to do first such as measuring and gauge, this was knitting at its most enjoyable. I just went for it and it was so FUN! I remember why I love to knit and how good it can feel to create. I got up Sunday morning and I kept knitting off and on all day and here I am. Almost done! I would finish tonight except I am off to a New Years Eve Party. So tomorrow...

Happy New Year!

Readying for Christmas

Tonight we found the time to decorate the tree which has stood in our living room undecorated for a few days. It was just PJ, L and I. We put on my new favorite Christmas music, Sufjan Stevens, and we went to town, pulling out all the decorations and the nostalgia that comes with them. Christmas decorations are such a interesting reminder of time passing! Since this stuff only gets pulled out once a year, you can really mark changes by what you find. You know-little kid decorations, homemade ornaments, christmas photos with Santa and on and on. Every year something new is added, this year I found some straw ornaments which I really love! Who knows what else will be added before the season is through.


Here are some silver bells from Christmas Past, three my Grandmother gave me when I was I child. The newest is one my Mom gave me in 2000 ( I really need to invest in some polish!). These are some of my favorites!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!!

The Golden Compass

We went and saw The Golden Compass on opening day last weekend. We were greatly anticipating this as we have listened to the audio books several years ago and again recently because L was finally old enough to listen. The movie was exciting and entertaining, although a little lite on the original story, which was expected due to the length of the book. Also, the end was not what I expected, instead they gave it the Hollywood ending which was a bit disappointing. I know that there has been a lot of controversy stirred up by this story being anti-religion, but I do have to say who wouldn't be against a religion that was oppressive and doing great harm to children? Do not be afraid of this movie it is after all a FANTASY just as Harry Potter is fantasy story!

Day of Reflection

In Loving Memory Of my Dad
Halfdan Schatvet
August 8, 1929- December 6, 2006

Baby Sweater

After making this sweater some time ago, I put the buttons on and gave it a quick wash and now it is finally ready to go off to my new niece in Germany. It is a nice, soft wool given to me by my old boss at the yarn and sweater store where I used to work. The color looks so nice but I am not sure that this picture does it justice. I am so happy that I have finally completed a project! It has been a long time.

I have a large number of incomplete projects, 5 that I can think of right off the top of my head without having to look. I'm sure there are more that I could find if I went rooting around my knitting stash(es). Does anybody else have that issue? It is exacerbated by my taking on a BIG project on tiny needles a few months after taking over The Video Shop. In hindsight I should have been keeping it simple. I guess I didn't really know what I was getting into having my own business. I do now!

So, It's Pretty much White Male Oldies...

...so said my young son while discussing presidents and how old they have to be and who had done the job previously. Out of the mouths of babes as they say, although this may change in his lifetime.

All over but the pie

Thanksgiving came and went amongst the busiest week ever(yay) at The Video Shop, a nearly broken foot involving a trip to the hospital, and yesterday a migraine. Here are some photos of the great day in the middle of all that.

Cooking

I was just saying to someone about a week ago that my young son seems to have no interest in cooking. Well some things are starting to change! I have been cooking and talking about food a whole lot for the past 10 days and L is starting to take an interest. He woke up wanting to make pancakes and wondered if I would help him. He ate pancakes twice that day and woke up the next day to make them again. I think this would have continued all week had it not been for (sigh) school. One day he even helped me make carrot soup for dinner. Getting him to eat it is the real challenge, I made him taste it and he didn't run outside to spit it out so I think there is hope. Food is such an interesting thing, really. We all eat it every day and we all have such different tastes and backrounds. Most of us don't think of it except when deciding what to make for dinner or thinking I can't or shouldn't eat that because of some dietary restriction either self-imposed or an allergy or condition. Food can be so much more than that! Some of my best times have been sitting around the table with friends talking, laughing, and eating real good food. Food gives us what we need to survive but it also serves as a social means of feeding us on a whole other level.

Time of Change

It really feels like fall now. Most of the leaves are on the ground, the slant of the sun is different and palette of color has become more subtle though no less beautiful. Oh, and the chill is in the air!

I am also striving for a change. I have begun to include as many local foods in my diet as possible. This is no small task! I have been reading a book called "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver. This is a family's story about changing their diet to all local foods for a year and how and why they achieved it. I know that doesn't really sound so interesting but I assure you it is. This book is full of personal stories as well as the politics of farming and the politics of our food choices. For instance, she discusses how buying an organic vegetable from California when you live thousands of miles away might not be the best choice for the planet, the freshness and flavor factor, or your local economy. It is all very intriguing to me and I urge you to get a copy from your local library.

Change is good!

Being a Christian is just like being a pumpkin or Why my blog sucks

My Blog has suffered lately with not too many postings as well some poor writing..I do apologize to you all who might actually read it. I have had a few comments made directly to me about it! I am suffering from the "I don't want to offend anybody with anything ever!" syndrome. I always find something great and often funny that I want to put on my blog and then I will think of a person that I may offend and well, then it doesn't happen. For instance, after trick-or-treating this year we were going through L's treats and came across a little baggie with a few pieces of candy and a small pamphlet. I took it out and found a simple little tale which was trying to somehow link Christianity with halloween. Therein I found the funny line "Being a Christian is just like being a pumpkin". Well I thought it was funny and had a good chuckle over it and wanted to share but...I immediately thought of several people whom I might offend. Never wrote a word that week, not one. So here I am hopefully not offending anyone and I apologize if I have. But I am now going to try to write better, more often, well I may make someone angry now and then.

Cruisin'

Yeah, we went on a cruise. We ate lots of good food and stood on the deck of an enormous ship and felt the wind and the warm sun. Yeah, we walked all around Key West and went to the beach in Cozumel, Mexico. But, it was all for work. I HAD to go and so I took PJ with me. We met some interesting people and I got lots of advice from people who have been running video stores much longer than I've been doing it. A business conference for Independent Video Store owners on a cruise ship is a different sort of thing than I have ever done. Oh, and I have to go again next year, too. Somehow I'll manage it!

Stolen Lunch on a Rainy Afternoon

Well actually I paid for it, but the time was stolen. I have been extemely busy working and trying to find time to get ready for the cruise we are going on Monday! I was in the dressing room, trying on um things, at a local boutique when my cell phone rang (what is the protocol for telephone calls while you are in a dressing room changing?) and a very good friend called and I answered giggling and she said "Where are you?", I could only laugh more. She invited me to meet her for an impromtu lunch. Just what I needed. There is nothing in this world like a good friend to talk and laugh and eat with. So a bit of time stolen out of all the things I needed to do was just what I needed.

Last Swim

It is definitely feeling like fall around here, but we had a few hot days this week and had a chance at one more swim at the pond. It was dinnertime and so no one else was around which is the best. The air was warm but the water was cold! PJ brought his snorkel but he didn't last long because of the temp. I swam out towards the middle, just me and the dog, it was quiet and the sun was shining in that bright slanting way it does in the fall and I savored it for a minute and swam back. We walked around and I took tons of photos which I have been really into, I shot some decent pics but continue to be frustrated with my point & shoot camera.

Today it is cold again. I actually have on a few layers. Tomorrow is October and so if I want I will turn on the heat. I am off to work, it must be warm there!

Wool Socks, Heroes, & Knitting

Oh, the joys of the changing seasons. We have been curling up on the couch the last 3 evenings to watch Heroes on DVD, it is a bit strange but definitely compelling. It is pretty cold in our house but we don't like to turn on the heat until October. So out come my homemade wool socks and the beautiful quilt that a friend gave me. We get nice and cozy. I finally started knitting again after a summer hiatus. I am finishing up a baby sweater for one of the new babies that is being born this fall in my extensive family. It feels so good to knit again!

SHCOOL ZONE

Apparently it's a trend!

Shcool has Shtarted

Don't you want to send your kids here? They have quite a Shpelling class!

Getting away from it all

We actually carved out a block of time and went to our favorite spot and camped out over the long weekend. It was so very nice to get away, the cell phone didn't even work, so we really did feel removed from the rat race.

It is a small remote campground and a bit rugged, no showers or anything like that. But, oh the river! What fun! We brought our niece along and she was the most vocal on the river. Screams, hollers and cries of "Awesome!" and "This is the best waterslide ever!" expressing pure elation and also an acknowledgment of the temp of the water.

We also hiked partway up a mountain to were there were more natural waterslides, these ones several degrees colder than down at the river and I only watched and stuck my feet into the cold. The kids loved it, but got quite chilled so we went back to camp and had a fire and ate.

We did a lot of resting, relaxing, and eating. We discussed the fact that everything tastes better at camp be it toast or hot chocolate, even potatoes take on a quality they don't seem to posess at home. We discussed it often as the subject came up often.

All good things must come to an end. We packed up and came home: to work, to school and to September, when life is just a bit more serious and summer is over.

Tough Mama

I am finally learning to be tough with my youngest, at least on some things. I was always the one who would baby my kids if they didn't like something or didn't want to do something. I always felt bad if they weren't enjoying life, as though it was my responsibility to turn their moods to happiness no matter what the situation. Well no more, or not so much as before.

My son started school yesterday and it went off without a hitch. I was surprised because every time I have brought up school in the last week he did not want to think or talk about it one bit. He felt he needed more time off. In fact, he said that we should not have gone our road trip because it took time away from being home doing whatever he wanted. Strange comment I thought, because he loved our trip, we had a good time and he really did do what he wanted to most of the time. But he said he wanted those three weeks back.

So this morning he did not want to get up and when I finally forced him out of bed he started his tirade about how school is a waste of time and how he could learn everything he needs to know from books and how he learns nothing there. It is all a flashback from last school year.

This is not a fun way to start the day for him or for me. I have discovered that no amount of discussion or reasoning works to change this. Not so amazing, really when does that help if a kid doesn't want to do something?

What to do? Get tough. Make him get out of bed and get dressed. Say yes I heard how you feel now enough and time to get ready and go. Do not discuss reasons for not going to school. Make sure that food is eaten! Put on shoes, glasses, brush hair, fill backpack. All the while ignoring the litany of complaints streaming from his mouth.

We make it out the door just barely on time. Complaints cease and he starts running down the driveway? He trips and falls because his backpack is so heavy. As soon as he goes down he yells " I'm alright ". We check out the milkweed at the end of the driveway and finally find the first monarch caterpillar of the year. The bus comes and he jumps on and is gone for the day.

Now I am not sure how it will be next week when he goes back to school. He is pretty adamant about not wanting to be there and that never stopped last year. I had to make him go to the very last day. Some days there is no trouble and he gets ready and goes, but I know that it usually doesn't last. So I have learned to be tough, to shut out the complaints and make him go and above all do not feel sorry for him, that is one of the worst things you can do for a child.

Yard Sale find

Found this recently. It struck my fancy and I found it amusing and well I thought it was worth $1. Don't you?

Fair Week is over...

...until next year that is. Once a year comes the time for pig races, the beef obstacle course, 4-H displays, demolition derby, FAIR FOOD, bicycle raffles, and the strange but beloved midway. We had 3 visits and many hours there although compared to some we were barely there. It is THE social event of the year in out little place on the planet and I have a love-hate relationship with it all. It is also the sign that summer is over, that school starts next week and I need to make an appointment to have a tune up for the furnace and an oil delivery. All very sobering thoughts, summer is fleeting especially up here in Maine. I do love to wear sweaters though...

My brother's a tool

At least, that is what it says on his license plate! Brother Kenny came up to visit for a night and we had a good old time. I took him to the our favorite local winery http://www.sweetgrasswinery.com/ for a wine and gin tasting, yum! We came away with our favorite gin, it is such good stuff. If you like gin and live nearby do yourself a favor and try some. Then we were off to our favorite local farm stand www.midcoastmaine.net/bethsfarmmarket/ for salad makings and cheese and donuts and biscuits and...well I like it there too. We had a great dinner and wine, and stayed up late talking. We never did get to the gin (next time he needs to stay 2 nights) so I sent it home with Kenny. Oh and did I forget to mention his awesome motorcycle that he drove up on? It is a BMW and well, check it out. Way cool. I live my motorcycle fantasy vicariously, even if he is a tool.

My Dad

My Dad would have been 78 today. This was his first birthday since he left this world last December. It was a sad and hard day for me, I miss him a lot. It is my brother Kenny's birthday also (Happy Birthday, Kenny!). I wish I lived closer to my family on a day like today. Misery loves company, right? So I decided to make some of his favorite foods to honor the day, Norwegian Hamburgers and a Cream Layer Cake with Berries. Food Therapy, not to be underestimated. It actually helped, I was glad to be in the kitchen and busy for a few hours. I had a purpose. We toasted my Dad with wine and had a great meal! I miss him but know that life goes on and that is how he would want me to feel.

Norwegian Hamburgers! Lots and lots of butter!

And Cake to top off the evening! Yum!

Last days of our trip

Here are a few more shots taken in North Carolina while visiting eldest child Cor. We only spent a short few days in the groovy little city of Asheville, where he lives. We ate lots of good food and walked around downtown quite a bit, lots of interesting shops to check out, it is an artsy little town. He took us down Chicken Alley (love the name) which had all sorts of cool grafitti and painting on every available surface, including a giant picture of Yoda, unfortunately we had left the camera in the car so no pics of that! These pics are taken while walking next to Swannanoa River, after a lovely brunch in Black Mountain. It was an interesting experience to go and visit my grown up child who doesn't really need me anymore. It is quite a transition for me. There are so many little things that you notice and have to make adjustments. Many things I think are important just don't matter to him. He's his own man. When you teach you children to think for themselves it is a suprise when they go ahead and do this and it doesn't agree with what you think!

Back from the road

We are back after our very long journey. Approximately 5023 miles, which is a very long way to go. Although it was great to get away, I was very happy to finally pull into my driveway at 9:30 on Saturday night. Once I had my car headed toward home there was no stopping me, I was supposed to stop at brother Kenny's house, I just couldn't do it (sorry Kenny!). I hid out on Sunday and told no one that I was home. Here are some photo highlights of our trip.

Eldorado Canyon

Here I am looking at...

This....can you see the tiny climbers?

Bye, Mom!

We are hitting the road after a fun week of visiting with family and friends. We had an awesome time and there will be more photos to follow. I will blog if I can but that remains to be seen. Thanks to Mom for letting us stay and everyone else for food and fun. Goodbye!

Evening in the Foothills

L and I went out for a walk after dinner. It was almost dusk when we started and the sky was threatening. It was windy and there were a few droplets of rain to keep us company,the air was cool and it was one of those walks were you just feel glad to be alive.

I will be happy for Mom when she sells her house but sad that we will not be able to visit her here.

What's doin' in Colorado?

Fun and interesting finds at Mom's house.

L says to call this "Very, very dangerous". Can you find him?

Peeping Deer

I was getting dressed and glanced over to the window and jumped when I saw this beast outside my window! The deer in Maine are a bit more shy.

We have arrived in Colorado!

It started to seem like we were going forever but now we are finally here. The last 420 miles flew by and we were in town by 2:30pm. I am trying not to think about all the miles yet to go on the way home. Maybe I'll just stay here. Oh, I have added a bunch of photos taken along the way so look at my previous posts to see updates. I am having a lot of fun taking photos and will continue to post any good ones!



Here is a shot at almost 10:00pm outside our hotel in Nebraska, I couldn't believe it was still light out.

Nebraska

These shots were taken off an exit in Nebraska.

Checkout the gas prices!

Peace Park has peaced-out.