October 2010

Something Simple

October 29, 2010

Apples may be the best part of Autumn. There are so many different ways to enjoy them, and I never tire of all the varieties that are available this time of year.

For just today, Whole Foods is putting the Honey Crisp apple on sale (yes, they are good enough for me to actually plug that in this blog post), and the boys and I will be there first thing this morning to stock up. I can already tell you that our Friday will be spent making apple sauce, apple butter, apple cookies, and of course, apple sandwiches.

Although Facebook has it’s controversial aspects, it paid off when I saw a recent photo (again through Whole Foods) that showed a honey crisp apple sandwich with what appeared to be peanut butter and granola. It looked so good that I was nearly giddy to realize that Elwood and I had exactly one apple and enough peanut butter to make one for each of us.

We took the idea one step further and cut an acorn into the top apple slice, and made sure to add plenty of chocolate chips to sweeten the deal.

The result? The quickest, and maybe the tastiest snack we have eaten all week. Tart apples, crunchy gluten free granola and a touch of chocolate. How could we go wrong?

Happy weekend everyone.

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Piece Together Peace

October 27, 2010

At the end of September I received an email from Elizabeth of Threading Light letting me know about a new project that she and co-writer Lisa DeNardo were taking on.

Here is a piece of that email

I wanted to share with you a new project that Lisa and I have launched recently called Piece together Peace. We are proposing a personal peace movement to take place simultaneously with one that is literally walking through the heart of America beginning 10.10.10 and ending 11.11.11 called the 13 Moon Walk 4 Peace. While it is not practical for everyone to leave their homes and go walking across the US for 13 months, anyone can make an intention for peace in their own life. So we are asking the blogging community to make a simple intention for peace at the beginning of every month by focusing on one area of their life and sharing their experiences as they do this work. The idea is to inspire and support each other as we do this peace work.

I was really taken with this project, and I spent some time thinking on what exactly peace means to me in the life that I am living right now. I find that the most peaceful moments in my life lately have been the ones that come from just watching my children enjoying their childhood.

That may sound simple, but children really do hold the key to happiness, to peace, and to a more harmonious world. The simple things that make them laugh, that bring them joy, and that allow them a freedom of expression is not only joyous to watch, but truly awe inspiring as well. Maybe it sounds naive, but I really believe that if we could all live as simply and easily as a child, the world would be no where near as complicated as it is.

Having said that, children seem to be bombarded with so much these days, that it feels as though those peaceful and simple qualities are more limited than when I was a kid. The challenge that I gave myself this past month, in taking part of Piece Together Peace, was to allow for as many moments of childhood as was possible. To put down my computer, to walk away from all the tasks that I put on myself to accomplish, and to just live with my children in their world, rather than trying to prepare them for mine.

I have to admit that in trying this approach, a lot has shifted for my little family. There is nothing major that you can spot, nothing out in the open that seems different, but there is a subtle togetherness that surrounds us in a new way. Work, finances, stress, marriage, relationships, housekeeping, these are things that we all face and that sometimes are surprising in the ways that they prevent us from fully embracing the joys of our own family.

As Joel and I set out to not force those things to go away, but rather to embrace the time with our kids more fully, we both felt that our own relationship with each other has shifted and grown. It is important to us that our kids do not define us by the time we spend on the computer or the phone, but it also important that they feel that we not only schooled them and taught them and cared for them, but that we truly played with them.

It is in the play that the peace occurs. The tossing of leaves for hours, watching them jump from trees into those same leaf piles for as long as they wanted us to, and sitting back and choosing to be fully present in those moments, that is where we found the peace.

When my oldest child wakes early in the morning, instead of sending him out to work on a project, I have gotten up and worked on one with him. It has gone from sleep I felt that I felt I was missing, to the best part of my morning. Instead of encouraging the kids to play a game with each other, I have tried to get down and play one with them every chance I could get. Instead of knitting while they are in the backyard climbing trees or playing hide and go seek, I have gotten involved (to the extent that I can) in their imaginative play. I may not always be right in the thick of what they are doing, but I am not just observing anymore, and that has felt much different.

We all work hard, and in so many ways we believe that we have to live within the stressful confines that the world puts on us, but choosing to seek out peace through the children we love so much is the best reminder that we get to choose the lives that we lead, and the way that we lead them. We can create peace by allowing as many opportunities for our children to find joy, and in doing so create a world of leaders for the next generation who will hopefully feel more connected to each other and the world they inhabit.

It may not be much, but it certainly has made a difference.

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A Vintage Gift

October 25, 2010

Beginning from early childhood, I was raised pretty far away from most of my family. An East Coast family by birth (my mom and dad spent their years through college in Maryland and Pennsylvania), we moved from Boston to Chicago when I was 6, and then onto California from there.

I never met my maternal grandparents, they passed years before I came along. My paternal grandparents were lights in my summer travels, and I loved getting ready to go see my Nana and Pop once a year.

So many of my memories of those trips revolve around the home that they lived in, and how much I loved to explore every inch. My Nana had old cracker and cookie tins that lined her pantry, recipe cards that I so wish I had copied of the food she loved to serve, and linens that adorned her home. I remember every corner or their space, every color in every room, and I especially remember the milk glass that lined the cabinet in their dining room.

When my now 93 year old Nana recently sold their home (my Pop died just after Jacob was born), she had my mom send me all of those dishes I had admired through the years. Opening that box was like taking a very long walk into the past 35 years of my memories, and so many wonderful stories have been shared with my boys as I unpacked each box (which was fun for the first story or two, but really a 7 and 5 year old can only endure so many “Oh I remember this dish, your Nana served…….. on this dish” stories).

I realize now that my love of vintage style and stores comes from the love of everything that I ever found, explored or played with inside of my grandparents space. The feeling of that time period when they first set up their home, and the care that they took with the linens, furniture and dishes through the years is something that draws me time and again to search for and recreate their style in any space I can find.

Some of the pieces even brought with them extra surprises, as I found such oddities as my father’s childhood rosary and St. Mary’s medallion at the bottom of a vase. I felt like someone who had discovered a rare jewel, fingering the blue crystals and worn medallion in my hand. I had butterflies in my stomach as I delivered them back to my dad, knowing that they too would bring a flood of memories his way.

Of course the greatest treasure in that box, and the one thing I will cherish until my own time passes, was my grandmother’s candy dish. A staple in their home, and never empty, this dish held the treats that I ran to with each visit. The dish that I saw my own father sneak from at least a dozen times, and the dish that now holds the chocolate bars that my husband loves to treat himself to before bed.

I can not pass this dish without smiling, and that alone makes it something I am abundantly grateful for.

These precious pieces that bring back so many memories now occupy special spots all around my home as a reminder of my connection to the family I love so much, and that one day I hope to pass on to my own children to cherish.

While no material treasure can ever last forever, I love how many memories these pieces possess, and what a great walk through my own childhood they have given me.

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Full of Wool

October 20, 2010

If I had to guess, I would say that my knitting needles have been packed away somewhere in my sewing room for the better part of the past year. Knitting has occupied little space in my brain, especially through the heat of this past summer. To be honest, I thought that perhaps sewing had begun to take on the dominant spot that knitting use to occupy, but thankfully a new baby and a new season has changed all of that.

With the start of my second trimester, and the looming birthdays of my two boys, I took up my needles once again. Pebble Vests were the first items to knock off the lists, but thankfully many more have followed.

This past Saturday, Jacob celebrated his 7th birthday. It was a very special day marked by BMX racing, a soccer game, family time, caramel apples and a lot of love for this little one. To say that Jacob is my miracle would be a huge understatement. At the age of 23, with mass endometriosis and a chronic illness diagnosed, I was told I would never have children. But it was a strange string of dates that would prove that theory wrong.

On October 16th, 1992, I would meet and fall in love with my now husband. On October 16th. 2002, we would find each other again. On October 16th, 2003 Jacob would come into this world at 12:09 am. This date is the most meaningful of my year, since it began the long journey of all of us becoming a family. I think that my favorite moment is always when I creep upstairs at exactly 12:09 to wake my sleeping babe up, and plant his age in kisses upon his forehead.

But back to the knitting.

This year Jacob’s sweater followed his brother’s, and he was gifted a soft blue alpaca Pebble vest. Using the same wonderful modifications as Elwood’s, I added an inch of length to the body and about 3/4″ to the straps to make this fit just perfect. I loved working with alpaca, as it made the sweater feel just a bit more luxurious.

Pajama pants had to come next, and Jacob’s pants were made in the same way as Elwood’s (I promise a tutorial to come shortly). I have to share that the night before Jacob’s birthday, I had procrastinated so badly on the making of these sweet pants that I almost failed to get them done in time. When the clock struck 6 am, and I had only had 3 hours of sleep, down came my oldest son with tons of birthday energy. As he woke me and we quietly crept out to his birthday table, it truly melted my heart that his eyes lit up so big to see his PJ’s made. While there was no reason for him to think that they would not have been there, it still broke my heart to know that I had come so close to falling short on something he was so eagerly anticipating. Lesson learned.

His day dawned clear with warm sunshine, and with everything completed we began the celebration.

Thankfully the boy’s birthdays have sparked a new passion for knitting once again, and while Saturday was spent enjoying my older boys, Sunday was spent dreaming of knits for the one not yet here.

Baby mittens, socks, booties, slippers, hats, sweaters, rompers. All queued up and ready in Ravelry, all yarns, needles and patterns gathered together in knitting bags just waiting to be started. This new little one will hopefully have a very warm and cozy wardrobe to be greeted into this world with.

Of course, while baby and kiddos take up most of the space in my knitting world, there is always room for a few mama items just for me. This easy bookmark form the great book More Knitted Gifts made for a fun hour of knitting, and a great way to mark my place in a favorite book.

My goal in these next few months is to knit up as much as I can for the boys and the baby, hopefully strongly trimming down what I need to purchase in stores. I have had a storage of yarn for way too long, and it is time to use what I have, and use it where we truly need it. Warm and functional is my theme, and I have a few short months of nesting to get to it.

So tell me, what are you working on right now, and what favorite patterns are you excited to dive into?

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Tutorial Tuesday: Halloween Tulle Ghost

October 19, 2010

Somehow it feels like time has just flown by in recent weeks. Halloween is fast approaching, and with it I have two very excited little boys. Dress up is always a favorite activity in our house, and Halloween allows for an entire day of staying in costume, visiting with friends, and having as silly a day as is possible.

Decorating for this holiday has always been a highlight of the boy’s year, especially Jacob. Every corner of the house seems to be filled with homemade bat and ghost cutouts, every pumpkin candle has it’s very specific place on the mantle, and much care is taken in selecting where the Halloween blankets and pillows are put. The boys have decorated not only the main part of the house, but their bedroom as well (did I mention that after 7 and 5 years, my boys moved to their own room last week? Big steps for the wee ones!). It is truly a holiday of just pure fun, and I always enjoy seeing their faces light up with each passing day.

Last year the boys attended a Halloween party of a friend who truly knows how to decorate, and her house was filled with these wonderful Tulle ghosts that really turned her space into something special. As a parting gift, Dani gave the boys each a ghost to take home, and there they stayed on our mantle until we were almost nearing Christmas.

This year I purchased 15 yards of white Tulle and decided to recreate the ghosts for both the inside and outside of our house. We had a ball putting these together, and I love how much a part of this craft the kiddos can be. A simple bag of white balloons, some white and black ribbon, a sharpie, a few tacks and some Tulle and we have all that we need to create a dozen fun flying ghosties through our walls.

Materials

15 Yards of Tulle
One spool of black ribbon
One spool of white ribbon
One package of white balloons (12 count or above)
12 tacks
Sharpie

Begin by cutting your fabric into 9-12 pieces of equal length.

Blow up your balloons to the desired size, and using a sharpie draw any type of face you would like (we have a variety of scary, sweet and happy faces flying about our house)

Determine the center of your fabric and drape over your ghostly balloon face. Using a piece of black ribbon, tie a bow around the neck of your ghost.

In order to make a long tie for the top of the ghost to hang, simply string a piece of white ribbon through the center top of your fabric and tie a knot.