1.  Note to self:  When driving through a car wash with curious 4 year old in the back seat, lock the automatic windows.  Just saying.

2.  Note to self:  Remember this moment because of its sweetness and humor.   DearSon has discovered the Wii Lego Star Wars games and is learning characters and settings.  Currently we have Dark Vader (no, not Darth, Dark), White Vader (Count Dooku), Yoga, Bubba Fett (presumably Boba Fett's country cousin), Sees3pOhs, Empurwere and of course, "Why is Princess Leia naked, Mommy?"  And as an animated lego person, she does look naked in that Episode 6 bikini thing.  Naked and weirdly angular.

3.  Note to self:  Why do I get all the hard questions from the kids?  Driving home from my DS house in Ohio, I fielded about 824 questions from the kids in the back of the van.  I don't mind answering questions though this was a particularly tough bunch including "Why don't people take care of the earth?" (Remember "I don't know." is not an accepted answer.)  "How does Santa know what we want for Christmas."  "Who will get to play the Wii first when we get home?"  (There's one fraught with a lot of whining potential depending on the answer) and of course, "How do people die?"  (Yikes!)  Those and many others were the questions directed at me.  Specifically me. I know this because every questions started, "Mommy, why/how/when .....".  After sometime my DH decided to field a few questions so he asked that the next question be directed to him.  You want to know what question he got? Ready? DearSon asked "Is turkey made from turkey?"  Answer: Yes 

4.  Nothing makes a bus stop happier than the first snow of the season.



Other notable happenings

5.  DD#1 has begun her own yarn stash.  She's following in her mom's footsteps.  <sniff>

 

She won the drawing for the box of Queensland yarn from the Yarn Boutique during Rochester's first Yarn Crawl.  There was one ball of yarn made from wool and milk proteins.  Appropriately named, Leche, it is heavy for its size and very slippery -- interesting.

6.  DD#1 needed a new hat.
  

Pattern: Who? by Sara Amoroso.  DD#1 wanted eyes on just a couple of the owls -- side and back.
Yarn: Arucania Nature Wool in purple
Mods: Well, given the size of heads in this family, yes, I had to make it one owl repeat larger so the owl portion was worked on 121 stitches.

Next up lots of knitting....

Happy 8th Birthday, my dear daughter!  Your smile makes me happy.  Your enthusiasm makes me smile.  And your cheerful,  "Good Morning, mama!"  warms my heart everyday.

 

In the early hours of the morning the day you were born, Daddy and I bundled up, went outside and watched the Leonid meteor shower and an aurora borealis -- such a precious memory for such a precious child.  Happy Birthday!

And, of course, there was knitting...


Poofy, warm scarf made from Plymouth's Baby Rimini yarn which is a super soft boucle made from a wool and acrylic blend.  The pattern... extremely intricate...um, that is kind of knitting tongue-in-cheek (which would be quite an impossible way to knit...giggle)....anyway...I cast on 11 stitches and knit until I ran out of yarn.  (2 balls)

Here is some stuff in no particular order (Can you tell I'm going for the Pulitzer today?).

1.  Fall in Western NY, although often gray, can be filled with a lot of fun for the kids.  There really is just nothing like a giant pile of leaves.





2.  Halloween was a complete success...



even when DD#1's pumpkin tried to eat her.


3.  I believe this is the visual definition of the word "standoff".


4.  I'm a label reader.  There's just an incredible amount of information available on the backs of packages.  Although sometimes you get one where the people who designed front of the package clearly have not consulted the people who designed the back.

Front of package which clearly, proudly even, says this product is "alcohol free".  OK.
 

Back of package:



Equally clearly states that the number one inactive ingredient is "benzyl alcohol" which, last I checked, is a form of alcohol.  Making this product not so "alcohol free" as one would think.

5.  Now admittedly, it is time for me to let the whole Second Grade Snack Snafu go.  But somehow, I can still find myself getting worked up about it.  (For background read my September 19th blog entry.)  Anyhow, here are the new items on the school lunch menu for today.


Really?  Are they going to ask the kids if they would like an amber or a stout with that because that certainly has crossed into the realm of bar food.  I'm not going to deny that this meal probably  tastes good and will be very popular but I think anyone would have a hard time making the case for a healthy lunch for the kindergarten through fifth grade crowd.  And I wouldn't  be on such a jag with this if I hadn't had to argue my case with principal and teachers that if I wanted to send whole wheat crackers in as a snack that my child shouldn't be escorted to eat them alone in the cafeteria upon arrival at school because they weren't on the "approved" list.  (OK now I really need to get over this.)  

6.  Hey, how about some fiber??


This is domestic wool that I spun from the Spunky Eclectic October club.  DD#2 has professed undying love for these colors so she has dibs. 


This is some BFL wool that I dyed and that DH has expressed an interest in so he has dibs.


This is a wool/mohair 2-ply I spun from Tintagel Farms in the tidepool colorway.  I have dibs.


And this lovely pile of wool and tencel fluff from Susan's Spinning Bunny will soon be yarn for socks.  (I may also have dibs on this one.)

A very happy birthday to you, my sister dear!!! 

We love you very much!




Now on to the things which had not been spoken of.  Well, nothing so mysterious actually.  Just the the knitted gifts I have been working that I gave to DDS on her birthday.  (Have I mentioned I love knitting for DDS?  She just totally gets the work and love that go into them.)

First, for the love of all wool, please stop me from knitting more mitts!  I'm definitely on a mitt jag.  They just seem like such the perfect fall project when you don't quite want the full coverage of a mitten or glove but your hands need just a little extra to keep warm.


Mitts - the first



Pattern: Maine Morning Mitts by Clara Parkes
Yarn:  Noro Kureyon  -  one ball resulting in mismatchy mitts
Modifications:  Longer hand and thumb.

Mitts - the second




Pattern:  Rib and Cable Mitts
Yarn: Knit Picks City Tweed (Wool and Alpaca) in poseidon and habanero.
Modifications:  Longer hand and thumb, as always.
The the third knitted item is.....

Yes, that is what you think it is.   I knitted a hot water bottle cozy.  (Hey, you in the back.  Stop snickering.)  Really, who wants synthetic rubber against skin?


So I give you a cabled hot water bottle cozy with coordinating scarf.


Pattern:  Hot Water Bottle Cozy by Yarnagogo.
Yarn:  Cascade 220 and left over Opal sock yarn.
Modifications:  I didn't sew the bottom shut because it's much easier to get the hot water bottle in the cozy if you can pull it through from the top and bottom.

Hey, DDS.  Happy Birthday!

Ready for a little randomness, in no particular order.  (Redundancy is my middle name today.)

1.  We took off for a quick overnight in Niagara Falls after the first week of school.  Highly recommended after the craziness that is the first week of school.  (We're now in our sixth week and there's a whole other level of craziness associated with that.)



2.  Sign we saw in Table Rock tourist stop in Niagara Falls.


You know, if they're that angry, perhaps you shouldn't make them wait.  And I imagine the greeting at the "Fury Welcome Centre"  would be "WHAT DO YOU WANT!".

3.  It's fall here in western, NY and, oh, it is beautiful.  (Looking down the Erie Canal from Lift Bridge in Fairport.)



Random colorful leaves




4.  Scarecrow festival and our scarecrow.  He came to life with DH's creativity and a local artist's talent, she painted his face and all the signs.  Who is Fletcher Adelbert  Defendorf?  Just the last Democrat to serve in Perinton town council in the year 1917.  Yes, 92 years ago.  There are a number of excellent Democrats running this year and here's hoping they're elected!  Single party rule isn't good for any town as government benefits from different points of view.  (Fletcher stood in our living room for 3 nights waiting for the beginning of the scarecrow festival and scared the snot out of me every time I entered the room -- he's quite the imposing figure.)
:

5.  And there has been yarn.



I bought these rovings at the Finger Lakes Fiber Festival, from Neko Farm (light brown) and Nistock Farms (gray, white and dark) and spun them into these:



which I hope to soon make into these cute sheepy mittens designed by Amy King from Spunky Eclectic.



6.  I decided I needed some fingerless mitts and made this pair with Noro Kureyon, a Japanese yarn known for funky colors.



I think I achieved funky colors and I enjoy they're mismatchiness.  (That's not a word, is it?)  The pattern is Maine Morning Mitts by Clara Parkes.

7.  One of Erin's "mommy love mittens"  (That's what she calls them and it makes my heart melt every time.) , went AWOL from the winter hat and glove bin, so I knit another.  One of the many wonderful things about handmade knitted clothes is that the items can be re-made if needed.   So here is squirrel mitten #2.



8.  And for my DH, I finished these warm woolly socks just in time for October chill.  (I love knitting for him because he truly appreciates the effort, time and craftsmanship that goes into socks.)


Close-up


Patten:  Roger Socks fromKnitspot in Grandmother's Blessing yarn from Briar Rose Yarns.

That's probably enough randomness for now. 

I give you our backyard metamorphosis.....

Today is Mike's and my 19th anniversary! 


Happy Anniversary, My Love!


Muir Woods, California


Bar Harbor, Maine

(And just because someone asked, according to Hallmark (the self-appointed keeper of such information), the official gift for the 19th anniversary is bronze, not wool, that was for the 7th anniversary.) 

The Finger Lakes Fiber Festival was this past weekend and it was wonderful!  I enjoy it for so many reasons (yes, the presence of an absurd amount of fiber is the most obvious reason).  It also happens to only be an hour from my house, has a nice variety of vendors and is big enough to keep me busy visiting booths for 2 days but scale of the event is completely doable for our kids of 4, 7 and 10. 

So how do you know you're at a fiber festival....




Hmmm, could be when DH starts smooching the alpacas.  (Have I mentioned I love my DH?


And, of course, the sheep are always a give-away.


And where there were sheep, there also were the kids.



The kids weren't really ready to make peace with the whole circle of life thing.

Pet the sheep --->  eat the sheep?  
(Though DearSon was ready to lobby for chicken for lunch.)

There was a nice variety of food.  We snacked on kettle corn, a jumbo chips n' cheese (anything with " 'n " in the title probably tastes better in the open out in the middle of a field) and artichokes french/greens 'n beans.  Actually the arichokes french would have tasted good in any venue.

             

Yes, DD#1, that bunny is realllllllly cute.


Yes, DD#1, I know you realllllly want a bunny.  (And stop looking at me like that!)



There was a skein and garment competition display.  I couldn't back up enough to get the entire display in one shot, so you'll have to mentally knit the two pictures together yourself.  (Yes, pun intended -- I'm feeling witty.)





I volunteered in this area Sunday morning where I was able to look at yarn and garments and talk to people walking by about yarn and garments.  Holy perfect job, Batman!

Hey, did you see those??  Some of the items were made by me and DD#1. 

I'm such a proud mom:  DD#1 won a ribbon in the junior category for her wheel spun shetland wool!


And I was gobsmacked that my work did so well in the competition.  (And pleased.  I really am very pleased.)


I was particularly proud of this skein that won the best spindle spun award.


(The fiber was Blue Faced Leicester (BFL - a sheep breed) from Spunky Eclectic -- delightfully soft wool that was a pleasure to spin.)

I'm also proud of my mittens.  There's extra gratification when a project goes from fiber to yarn to useful garment. 

The fiber was BFL from AllSpunUp and the mittens are luxuriously soft.  Can't wait to wear them to ward off the cold this winter.  (OK...I could maybe still wait a couple of months...November would be good.)

This skein won first place in Navajo plied yarn.  A Navajo plied yarn, sometimes called chain plied,  is one where a single strand of yarn is used to make a three ply yarn by making a loop, reaching through the loop and pulling the next loop through, all the while continuing to put twist in the yarn.  The point of the technique is to preserve color order from a roving in the completed yarn.  If you make a three ply yarn from three separate strands of differing colors, the effect is that of rather freaked out barber pole.  That was quite the explanation, ay?



The fiber was corriedale (another sheep breed) from Sunset Fibers.  The colors remind me of an autumn sunset.

It was just a delightful weekend and one I look forward to all year.   Next post I'll regale you with the treasures I brought home from the festival. 

You know that road paved with good intentions ...well, I was forced to board the crazy bus and drive up and down that road looking for an off-ramp for a week.  Well, perhaps that's a bit of an exaggeration but there surely was a lot of energy expended on my part talking to school staff trying to understand and be understood. Here's the story...

At second grade curriculum night last week, the teachers put up a list of approved snacks.  The snacks listed were fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts and cheese.  They were trying to promote healthy eating at snack time.  That was the good intention, a wonderful intention even.   The problems were
1.  It was an unresearched, exclusive list that did not include whole grains or lowfat dairy.
2.  There was a punitive element  that if a child brought in a non-approved snack, rather than taking the matter up with the parent, the teacher was to take the food away from the child. 

Number one first:  I feel that my child needs some whole grains at snack time to give her enough energy to make it to lunch as she has a metabolism that burns through calories.  The list didn't include whole grains.  After some research here at home(that is a google of  "healthy school snacks" -thank you DDS), we found that a great deal of work has already been done to put together programs that promote healthy school snacks.    All of them included whole grains and lowfat dairy as elements of a healthy snack.  

Here are some of the links:
Mayo Clinic
National Institutes of Health
New York State Department of Health  Their Activ8kids program which is the NYS School Nutrition and Physical Activity Best Practices Toolkit available from the NYS Department of Health.  Excellent resource!

Number two:  Honestly, this is the aspect of the policy that bothered me the most.  My child's nutrition is my responsibility because I know  her needs, medical history and personality. I don't want a teacher taking away her food that I have specifically packed.  I really don't understand why  they choose such a negative and coercive model to try and promote healthy eating.   After several discussions I was told that if I persisted in sending in whole wheat crackers (with cheese) that either the teacher would take away the crackers  or my daughter would be escorted to the cafeteria upon arrival at school  to eat her snack and would have to sit quietly later during the class' snack time while everyone else ate.    Really?  Contraband whole wheat crackers??

Let me also say -- the teachers at my DDs school are a terrific group of talented educators.  I'm really at a loss of where the disconnect between my opinion and theirs came from.

End of the story is, the program has been rescinded and the approved snack list has now become the "recommended" snack list.  I can send in whatever snack I feel is appropriate for my child.  Thank goodness.  And since I'm obviously all about healthy eating, I have also offered to put together a "Healthy Snack -  tip of the week" for the teachers to put up on their websites or to send home with their students.  I hope they take me up on my offer.

Side note:  School lunches available to buy in the last 5 days:  Chicken nuggets, hot dog, crispy chicken ranch BLT, chocolate chip pancakes and pizza. 

The only reason to post today is just to have the chance to type the date over and over again....9-9-09.  It is really is amusing me...there's something just so symmetrical about it.  9.9.09 

As it's Wednesday and I don't have anything hugely cohesive to talk about, here are a few random items in no particular order.

1.  Kind of sad and quiet here.  DD#1 and DD#2 went back to school today and I miss them.  I enjoy having a full, noisy, busy house for the summer and I don't really look forward to the beginning of school.  (On the up side, they were happy and excited about getting back and seeing all their friends.)
 
DD#1 and DD#2                                                                                The bus stop

2.  I'm just sayin'  that it's lucky for the world that I use my creative powers for good.  I give you....Banana Dog!




3.  The monarch caterpillars ate their fill of milkweed and have become chrysalises.  Hopefully it will stay warm enough long enough for the whole process to complete.



4.  After lots of hard work, DD#2 got her green stripe belt last week at karate.  
 

5.  I've been spinning.

I had 14oz of romney batts** from Sandy Long that became about 650yds of lovely light worsted yarn. (Romney is a breed of sheep with a sturdy long staple length.)   Sandy Long (doesn't appear to have a website) will be at the Finger Lakes Fiber Fest which is Sept 19-20.  That's 10 days from now, people!!!  Have I mentioned I can't wait!!!!  Love this festival!

. 

I spun about 220yds of this colorful yarn made from 3.2 oz wool left over from teaching the spinning class to 120 4th graders during Homespun Days last year.  (I bought a pound from Ragtime Farm on Etsy.)



One more picture, just because the colors are so rich.


6.  I have also been knitting and I'm nearly done with a couple of projects: a simple triangular shawl (hopeful hip wrap for belly dancing) and the mittens from last blog.  Pictures forth coming.

**  Mister Spellchecker is at it again.  He suggested that "romney batts" is incorrect and should be "romney butts".  I certainly wouldn't spend my time spinning 14oz of romney butts.  Um...ewwww.