Well,

It happened. She went to kindergarten. She was happy, I held it together. Until I got home. I walked in the door and the house was so quiet. No one asked me for anything, or held my hand or talked to me. Yes, I have been alone in the house before but this felt different.
She was so excited. He brother and sister had anxiety, they knew what they were in for and knew that it would not be all roses. This little one though, she was certain they built this school just for her. She was ready to take it by storm. Her hugs maybe lasted a bit longer than normal and then, off into class.
Mothers everywhere are sending their babies off to school for the first time, heck, I've sent to others off. This feels different.
I think it is almost like I feel like it is time to get to work, even though I have been working, staying home and providing a caring environment for the last twelve years. Now suddenly, it's like there is this large portion of time where I need to re-define myself. Yes, I am always a mom but now, between 8 and 3 I am not caring for anyone. I need to fill my days and there is this nagging part of me that feels compelled to fill the day with "meaningful endeavors", whatever those are.

Yes, today was the day and it was good but there is a small part of me that is just a little but sad that that part of my life is over......

Screaming to a Halt

That's what this week feels like. Like the summer is screaming to a halt. So many things we planned to do.
We had hoped to camp this summer, go to the zoo, see more people. Ugh. There is a week before school begins and I feel like I am running out of air.
The kids want more time, I am reluctant to face the reality of a set schedule and I will go back to college when they go back to school. I am excited and apprehensive about that.
We have been watching the Olympics. I am knitting away on the afghan sweater.
I also had a custom order from etsy for a flower girl basket.
I love custom orders! I get such a charge out of the flower girl baskets. Every little girl that I have given one of my baskets to just loves it. I like the idea that the flower girl will keep this and hold her treasures in it.
I received my item from the Namaste Art Swap.
The person who sent me my item has an etsy shop. The piece was a lovely 4X4 inch canvas painting of a little house on a hill. The house has a red door and it is lovely. So pretty.
I love the idea of the swap, i've never done one before and think I might check out another one.

Why I am not The Yarn Harlot

Well, for one reason, she is Canadian. I am not . I have been to Canada and may conceivably move there someday. But, for now, I am by birth a Vermonter, which is as close to Canadian as a US citizen could be, but anyway, not Canadian. Secondly, she is younger than me, yes, we share the same birth year but she is younger. Third, although we both have three children, my set is mixed, she has three girls...but, the main reason why I am not The Yarn Harlot? I HATE knitting socks. Hate it.
I thought about this yesterday as I frogged the half completed sock I was making my husband for Father's Day. 2007.
The yarn is lovely, it is a silk blend, he is a good man, he wholeheartedly supports this VERY expensive habit of mine, he deserves hand knit socks. Folks, I do not think it is going to happen.
I have knit two socks. Not a pair, two different socks from different yarns and patterns.
I love the magic of the turned heel, I love the wonder of hand dyed sock yarn. What kills me is the knitting of the same thing twice.
I have one last item in my sock arsenal, one thing I have not tried. Last summer, while in Vermont, I picked up Socks Soar on Circular Needles by the most creative and clever Cat Bordhi. I am going to give her method a shot.
Anyone out there have any advice?

Is covet

A bad word????

Because I am suffering from severe covetousness...( is that a word?).
Check out the side bar, yep, over there, all those etsy items. I WANT them. There are some items I actually pine for.
I love etsy. I could get lost there forever.
I have managed to find the most amazing items there. Whenever I wear this necklace, people stop me in the street.
I have recently discovered the bath and body section there and am loving the hand crafted soaps that I have purchased from Savor. She is incredibly professional and ships quickly. Her soaps are amazing and the scents are lovely.
In knitting news, I am preparing to cast on for the Ravelolympics later today.
I purchased some pretty eggplant purple yarn from Filati
Yesterday. They were having their summer sale. I discovered that my friend Janice works there. I was so happy to see her!!! Anyway, yarn was purchased for the Afghan sweater as well as some turquoise yarn for a felted mobius basked and some Jo Sharpe nubby grey yarn fingerless gloves.
I also got some very banal navy blue acrylic yarn.
My kids go to a school that requires uniforms. I decided to knit this
for my middle daughter.
I think it will be nice to have something a little different and she can pass it down the her younger sister when it's time. Hopefully by then, the flame, tie dye, shamrock aesthetic the five year old has created will have evolved!

Not sure if I mentioned it

but it's hot!

Ugh. 100 again..Maybe more, I am afraid to look.
Despite the constant complaints about the weather, I do like summer. I really like having the kids home. I like the lazy pace of the day. As we move further into August, my anxiety builds though. I miss having them home and our time to just let the day unfold.
This year will be very different. The youngest is off to kindergarten and I am back to school myself. There is something so appealing about a 40 year old woman taking PE and remedial math at her local community college!
So, I want summer to stretch a bit longer and to savor more of this precious time.
Today, in knitting, I completed the red tote and added a little felted bird pin to it. I like how it turned out. I used a clever little rib stitch that The Yarn Harlot mentioned to add ribbing to the top. Of course, you cannot tell it is there after the felting but I know I did it!
I also picked out the pattern I am doing for the Ravelolympics. I am going to make a child's sweater for afghans for afghans.
I am going to make a simple raglan, roll neck sweater.
I am also working on another tote, I am in a tote rut. I am wanting to make some more mobius baskets but nothing from my stash is speaking to me. Etsy sales have been slow(non existent) so I am on a yarn diet.
So, knitting a bit more and pretending I am somewhere that is not 9 million degrees.

It is just really hot...

and it's not even THAT hot here today.
I am back. I left the lovely, sometimes foggy Monterey Peninsula and came back to what I affectionately(not really) call the City Closest to the Sun, Sacramento.
Ugh.
So it is like oh, 9 million degrees here today.
I'm back doing laundry and cooking and dealing with broken dishwashers and all this other lovely stuff.
I did felt some items today. I finished the set of nesting bowls that I am swapping in the Namaste Art Swap and I felted a tote I finally finished out of this great red donegal tweed yarn......Two ( yes, two) summers ago I bought the yarn to make a pillow cover. Two summers ago I knit the first half of the pillow color.
Last summer, I picked it up to make the other piece and could not for the life of me remember which needles I used. I tried for a while to figure it out but lost my passion and frogged the whole thing.
Now the yarn is a tote and it is felted and I am happy.
I will embellish it and it shall be in the etsy shop soon.
So, it's 9 million degrees and I am felting wool, in hot water.
Smart

Knitting I will not shrink

Twist Collective, a new online knitting magazine is up! I read about it a few months ago and have been waiting. It is live today!
Check it out....be prepared for cables!
twist collective
The magazine is free but there is a charge for the patterns. Some are VERY tempting. I have not had the time to read the articles yet!
Anyone else been there yet?

Big Sur!

I visited Monterey over the July 4th weekend. I came on my own. The kids stayed home and my husband carried the torch for 4th of July. Not being my favorite holiday, I was happy to leave Roseville behind to visit the land of fog and drizzle.
My time here that weekend was bittersweet. Every time I looked at the news feed online or went into town for coffee or pastry (http://www.parker-lusseaupastries.com/home.htm) I would hear of the fire.
Fires raged all over the Big Sur area, sweeping down over the mountains and right to the road. Businesses were sprayed with fire-retardant gel. We waited for word and listened wistfully as we heard the stats relating to the containment of the fire.
I was worried that Nepenthe, this fantastic. iconic restaurant and gift shop would be lost to the flames. I heard stories that the owner refused to go when the evacuation order was given.
So, it was hard to be here. My dad fought forest fires when I was a kid. He even fought them in the nearby Carmel Valley. It was quite a trip to come here, 15 years later, when I first moved to California and see where he fought those long ago fires.
It is about three weeks later now and the kids and I went to Big Sur today.
We visited the hard to find Pfeiffer Beach. I love that beach. Hidden away at the end of a winding road, it is secluded enough that there are not hoards of people. Today there were several small groups, couples, dogs, kids. The beach was lovely and the kids dug, chased waves and rolled down the hill.
We had lunch at Nepenthe. The 5 year old had what she claimed to be the best Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich EVER!!! The views were stunning.
We swung into Pfeiffer Big Sur State park to look at the river and the falls. Sadly, we found that most of the park is closed. The trails in some cases are non-existent. The hillsides are bare, except for the shadows of ash left over from the fire fight.
There are signs everywhere thanking the fire crews. Spirits are high and businesses are busy. It was nice to see the area in recovery.
I paused to think of other parts of California. Right now in Paradise, in northern California, there are many many homes lost. There is devastating damage. Sadly, Paradise, despite it's name, is not a huge tourist destination. There is less money coming into the area and less attention being paid to it as a result.
So, to the residents and the crews, my thoughts go out to all of you.

Vacation?

So, I packed up the kids to head to Monterey for the week..yes, week!
Why is it that they manage to have all of the necessary items while I end up with one sandal, a t-shirt and half a pair of pj's? In the race to get the three of them ready, I always manage to forget the essentials!
Luckily, we are at my moms and I am certain (hopeful?) that she does not mind that I am raiding her wardrobe while she is away.
Having this respite from the HOT Roseville summer is so nice. Right now it is foggy and cold...48 degrees!
So, days spent on the beach, digging huge holes and evenings relaxing watching the deer walking along 17 Mile Drive are a lovely distraction from the everyday.
I love this time away, our days take on a different tone. We are not racing around. Large chain stores are not part of our circuit. If we need something , we run to a local place. Sometimes it costs more but I love that we are away from what I call chain store hell.
I find it harder and harder to escape that monotony in Roseville. Being a suburb, the town just sprawls and sprawls, ever larger. Most days our attempts to eat and shop local are thwarted.
There are some places there and some opportunities. There are many Farmer's Markets in the area and some new restaurants are trying to turn the central commissary tide.
So, for the moment, we are away. We have big plans for more digging and dog watching on Carmel Beach and for chowder at a place in Pacific Grove. It is a lovely break!

Oh yes, there is knitting as well!!! I am joining in an Art Swap that a fellow etsy seller has organized called Namaste Art Swap.
While here I will go to
this shop to find some wool to go with some vegetable dyed yarn I got in Taos, NM. I am thinking a felted bowl or a mobius basket! ( The kids are less enthusiastic about this part of the day!)

So it begins.....

The need to connect and create is very strong for me. I thought I would start this blog as a means to connect with others!
I have experienced many great exchanges with others online. It is amazing how small the world can be when you find common ground with other people, miles and miles away.
I would love for this to be a place for me to share some amazing things I've found online, on etsy and beyond.
I love to discuss kids, knitting ab books, along with many other topics!
If you have found this, check back again. I'll do my best to be engaging.