Posts from — May 2009

Kate loves, loves, loves picking flowers. So do I.

We had a beautiful time in the country this past weekend, filled with running around in grassy meadows and picking flowers (and weeds), visiting with grandma and grandpa, uncles and aunties and a favorite cousin, and eating takeout dinners from the volunteer fire company chicken barbeque.

We also spent time at my childhood home again.  After years of stop-and-start renovations, it is finally habitable, and it was comforting to stand on the porch at night and see the stars overhead and to awaken with the sun streaming into our bedroom window and the birds singing wildly.

It was also our seventh anniversary, and although we always seem to be in the car driving back from somewhere, it is still a special day.  I cannot imagine life without this amazing man and this little child.

Grandpa dug up a bunch of these so we could plant them around our NYC trees.

Though the time passed quickly, as good times always do, we did manage to relax and unwind a bit and enjoy some simple things.

Kate, Tyler and Jack explore the meadow.

This is the kind of smile I get when I say "Stinky Pants" to Kate as I'm snapping her picture.

Isn't this strange and gorgeous?

Today I took a long stroll up Broadway to Fishs Eddy for some sturdy new dishes.  As I hit the checkout counter, I saw these out of the corner of my eye and laughed out loud:

Oh, yes, it’s all our favorite statesmen and women, both past and present.

In the Republican camp:
George Bush, Newt Gingrich, John Ashcroft, Joseph McCarthy, Herbert Hoover, Richard Nixon, Trent Lott, George W. Bush, Strom Thurmond, Spiro Agnew and Tom Delay

And for the Democrats:
Harry Truman, Jesse Jackson, Al Gore, Jimmy Carter, Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt, Robert Kennedy and John F. Kennedy

Of course I succumbed to the impulse purchase.  How could I not serve my darling husband a steaming cup o’ Joe in one of these?

I’ve been in withdrawal.  With Kate’s birthday celebration, meetings and class trips last week, there was no time or energy for crafting.  So last night while catching up on “The Office,” I finished sewing this little dress.  The pale pink fabric is Alexander Henry’s “Starling”; ribbon is from The Ribbon Jar.  Dress pattern from Heather Ross’s Weekend Sewing (with some minor modifications).  Simple, comfortable, and Kate loves it.  Who knew sewing with elastic thread was so freaking easy?

It’s Kate’s birthday today.  On Mothers’ Day five years ago, after eight hours of intense, drug-free labor, I pushed out this red-faced, shrieking, gorgeous baby girl.  She’s been my best pal ever since.  Today we are celebrating the birth of this beautiful child with party games and prizes, balloons and birthday cake.

Happy Birthday, pal, and many more.  May your life be wonderful, and full of sweet surprises and lots and lots of love.

Today I am digging this…

It’s my dining table, devoid of scraps of paper, drawings, weeks-old mail, fabric, quilting paraphernalia, sewing machines, cameras, books and toys.  I seldom see the surface of my own table, and because it’s often loaded down with things, it is seldom used for dining.  Today I am enjoying this clear, unburdened space.

In a moment of insanity, Rob declared that Kate should have a homemade piñata on her birthday.  Sure, who doesn’t like to eat a bunch of sugar and whack at something with a big stick on their natal day?

Painting by Phil Krohn

The other night while Rob and I were on a little date, Kate and her sitter began the arduous task of covering a large, orange balloon in pieces of goo-covered newspaper.

I asked Kate about her process, and here’s what she said:

“You make glue and then you put some newspaper on the balloon, and first you have to blow up the balloon, and then put the newspaper onto the balloon.  And it’s kinda fun to do it, but I haven’t done the rest yet, and you have to do it four more times.  Now I’m done.  Well, I’m not done yet, because I haven’t finished it yet, so I will do it and maybe I will write it down again.”

Needless to say, we’re pretty excited about filling this large globe with little Japanese erasers shaped like cakes and ice cream cones, plastic gemstone rings, monster finger puppets, temporary tattoos and gummy candies and taking a whack at it ourselves.

I have always loved plane trips–having hours of time with nothing at all to do except knit, read and gaze outside.  But everything changed with the arrival of our daughter.  The first few years of travel were all about caring for a small child and attempting to keep her happy and entertained (truly, I’m not complaining).  Now that Kate’s almost five, she’s content to draw and color for hours at a time, while I’m free to knit again.  It’s cozy and lovely, and such a great way to pass the time until we arrive at our destination.

During our last trip to San Francisco, I finished these Misti Alpaca baby cable socks, just in time for spring in New York (hah!).  This shade of green ignites my brain, and they’re soft and warm, too.

Baby cable socks in Misti Alpaca

Socks are relatively easy to make, and very, very satisfying.  If you’re planning to make simple handknit socks, Charlene Schurch gives the best instructions.  Her book Sensational Knitted Socks is the only one you’ll need (that is, until you long for trickier patterns like argyles).

On these cool and damp spring days here, I’ll be wearing these inside my rubber boots….

We made a cake!  Not just an ordinary cake, but an amazing, fantastic ANGEL FOOD CAKE.  Kate was home with the sniffles, and these bored girls bake a lot.  The recipe was very simple and straightforward, and it was surprisingly easy to make.

This is the quintessential angel food cake–the one you ask for each year when it’s your birthday.  Light and spongy, with the perfect balance of vanilla and almond.  The three of us couldn’t stop raving about it, and now we know we’ll bake it again for Kate’s birthday celebration next weekend.

All week long I’ve been infatuated with the colors of this purple-spotted phalaenopsis and this incredible 8-ply Jade Sapphire Mongolian cashmere.  The orchid is Kate’s; the simple knitted scarf is a belated birthday gift for my friend Jen.

This color SLAYS me.