I Spy

Every play that game where you see a very close up photo and have to guess what it is? Well here's one for you. What is this?

Give up?


It's a cucumber! I think it looks like one of those tribal tatoos. Found as is, in our garden.

Ordinary Miracle

When Hayes was still in utero, we received a lullabye CD as a shower gift. I loved it so much I played it almost every night as I went to sleep. It didn't have that "made just for kids" sound. And I didn't realize what a wonderful thing this was until we brought Hayes home from the hospital. He was fussy that first night but when I laid him down and turned on the CD he calmed right down. That music was like magic the first year of his life.

Needless to say, now that we have another little one to love, I wanted to create a playlist that we could all listed to and be soothed by. And I ran across this Sarah McLachlan song, Ordinary Miracle, that I had almost forgotten. You may have heard it during the Winter Olympics opening ceremonies. I'm so glad I found it again. It could be the pregnancy hormones, or just my sentimental nature, but the song is so beautiful it makes me want to cry. So here it is, just for you.

Baby Sweater III

Oh how I love the Grampy Sweater! I just knew I would be making at least one for our new babe. After all, a baby born in February will need a supply of warm little things. And when I saw this amazing yarn at Frivolous Fibers, it was a done deal. (By the way, the samples they have in that store are truly blissful! If you ever have the chance to stop in, I would HIGHLY recommend it.)

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you will know how I adore the self-striping yarns. How could I say no to this? Plus, I love using bold colors and jewel tones for babies. They tend to get every shade of pastel in their tiny newborn wardrobes. This should make snuggling up, that much cuter!

Yarn: Adriafil Knitcol

Pattern: Baby Sophisticate

Sleepwalker Socks

I have been busily knitting this summer, even if the posting has been a little lacking. I wanted to share these socks with you because I absolutely adore them and would love to knit up an entire week's worth! Who knows, it could still happen. Personally, I think socks are the best sort of vacation knitting: light, portable and quick. What could be better?

I wish I knew what yarn this was, but when the ball was wound, the tag didn't get tucked in, so it's only a guess to say I think it was Blue Heron something or other. I found it at Frivolous Fibers in St. Michaels, MD. Probably not so helpful. Sorry. But the pattern is available by Dream In Color at Webs and they have a very similar yarn there. I was concerned that this would be a slow and difficult pattern, but it's not a true cable and the pattern was rather simple. I really enjoyed making these.

And it's almost sock weather; ahhh. I'll be needing something to cover the Birkenstock tan I've deepened this summer!

Virgin Harvest: The Onions

This year we decided to try onions. Walla Wallas to be exact. Never having tried these, I was not sure what to expect. Would it be worth all the space in the garden? I ordered the starts the spring and they looked like little soldiers all lined up. But just give them a couple months and see what they will do!

We wound up with over 2 dozen onions - and boy are they sweet! I even learned to braid them, but quickly ran out of room to hang them, so reverted to the onion bags. Holy cow these onions are big! And fragrant. The entire pantry smells of onions, and if I weren't so pregnant I am sure it would smell heavenly. At the moment, however, I have to hold my breath when I go in there. Nevertheless, I will not be deterred from eating them. They are delish!

Proof of Pregnancy (3)

The nesting has commenced. Not only have we started the great migration (shuffling beds and furniture from here to there), but I have become a purging machine. A machine, I tell you. Nothing shall escape me, no matter the amount of dust it kicks up, the sentiment it stirs, the potential it once held. Nothing should feel safe.

I've started purging the boy's room of all manner of flotsam and jetsam. Toys, trash, old books, old homework, parts of science experiments, rumpled up lego blueprints, all of it is out of here (or will be soon). And we've begun purging the "Man Cave" of it's (what we shall lovingly refer to as) shit. ToxDrop, here we come. Trash men, be ready. It all must go. And as if that wasn't enough (and believe me, it is,) I've been purging my studio right along with everything else.

We must find room for all the fabulous stuff I bought at IKEA this week. And buy I did. A loft, a mattress, a recliner, a shelving unit, bedding, toy bins, and a lot of random little goodies. (Apologies to my sister who graciously rode for 2 1/2 hours with her knees under her chin and tried to convince me it was actually quite comfortable. I know. I have the most incredible sister ever.) Once the purge-a-thon is over, we will have to start assembling said furniture. I swear my kid is going to have the coolest room on the block. But until then, I would recommend keeping your valuables behind closed doors.

It's Official (mostly)

You know the old joke, "how can you be kinda pregnant?" I think I have an answer to that. If you miscarried about 3 months ago, and then find out, lo and behold, you're pregnant again, it feels very nebulous. Like you're mostly pregnant; but you certainly don't want to go around saying things like, "We're having a baby!" Well, at least I didn't. Not for a while anyway.

But now I am 11 weeks into it and it looks like everything is exactly like a pregnancy should be. I've been sick and tired and they tell me this is good. (And really, I am glad, because I need a little a lot of reassurance that this is real and happening - every day.) I think I am over the sick part (mostly) but I'm pretty sure I'll be exhausted for the next two years. And I am starting to out-grow my clothes (mostly). And I have started to think (most of the time), at least to myself, that come February, we are having a baby. I've even started knitting for baby. So it must be true. We're having a baby. And mostly, I am really excited about it. But I would be lying if I didn't admit that there is a lurking little nagging feeling that pops up every now and then reminding me just how precarious and precious all of this really is.

So for now, I tell people that we are expecting. And that, I think, is exactly what we are doing.

Motherhood

I've had the unique opportunity to watch a mother and her fawn over the last two days. They must be living on the government property adjacent to ours. Last night, we saw them grazing along the two-track that leads to the lakehouse. It was magical to be so close to them. And the fawn was so curious about our vehicle that it kept inching nearer. The mother must have given her baby a cue of some sort (although completely invisible to me) because he suddenly bolted into the brush. She lingered a bit a then bolted too. (I did manage to get this photo of mom through the windsheild - not the best, but still.)

Then this morning, as I was eating my breakfast, I watched the same curious little fawn emerge from the brush at the side of our house and pick its way though our back yard and over to the little pond in back. I was surprised to see it alone, and then very quietly the mother emerged. She was watching and protecting, but still her fawn was learning how to survive in this strange environment of national park preserve and vacation-land mecca. She was showing him how to negotiate the humans, the traffic, the land and the water. She was allowing him to explore and learn and go a little too far before pulling him back with her silent signals. It reminded me what good mothering looks like. And how quickly our little ones grow and change and learn. Nature is a wonderful teacher.