yarn along

joining in with Ginny's yarn along

Two lots of Christmas knitting, both from Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. The pink creation is the Children's cotton hat in Mission Falls 1824 cotton, and the stripy one is the Child's Rainbow scarf in Noro Kureyon (I love Noro so this was a must knit!). They are both really quick knits and the scarf in particular is very satisfying to knit. Now if I can only make a pair of handwarmers a day between now and Christmas everyone will get a present !

The book is 'Creativity' by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. It's about creativity in a cultural rather than personal context. It's an interesting read so far. He says that creativity, in the sense of making a difference to a particular area (maths, art, sculpture etc), is as much about the area itself and how contributions are assessed, as it is about the individual.

yarn along

joining in with Ginny's yarn along.

This is a hat I have been knitting for ages. It's been my 'in the car, 5 minutes now and then' knitting, but since the weather's getting cold, and it's getting towards Christmas it has been upgraded to 'finish as soon as possible' knitting, as I can then either wear it or gift it.

The book is 'How mothers love' by Naomi Stadlen, who also wrote 'What mothers do'. It's great. She has been running discussion groups for mothers for a long time, and the books are based on what she hears mothers talking about, and her insights. A lot of the quotes are from first time Mums of young babies, and it's really a good reminder of what those times were like. I find this useful for the breastfeeding support volunteering that I do, as it's all too easy to forget just what a complete upheaval the first baby is. But I have also found a lot in here of relevance to me now with a 2 and 4 year old - the chapters on fathers and mothering more than one child in particular. And her style is just lovely, observant and non-judgmental, but still full of interesting and thought provoking reading. It's not a how-to book but more of a what-is book.

yarn along

 joining in with Ginny's yarn along

I haven't done yarn along for months due to a bit of a knitting hiatus. However, thanks to the Friday craft mornings at Hannah's kindergarten, when I can knit without (many) distractions, I now have a finished top for Hannah. Hurrah ! The books are a couple I picked up at the library for when I have a garden that I can actually dig up (we are currently renting). Oh and a greenhouse so I can grow lots of tomatoes and hopefully even have some left after the kids have picked them to use as missiles (Hannah), or stuff down the drain (Thomas).

out and about Wednesday

Today we ventured to the King George recreation ground in Bushey. We chose this park because it had paddling pools. Hannah stayed in for about 3 hours with a short break for lunch.

Thomas opted for a rest after lunch with some light reading.

There was the added bonus of a funfair in the park. This was the first time that Thomas wanted to go on a carousel. He was not happy when he had to come off !

{this moment}

out and about Wednesday

Our expedition on Wednesday was to the park at Aldbury, a picturesque little village close to us. After a short walk from the car park, and a stop to see some horses trotting past, we found the park in a lovely location in the middle of the village allotments.

The park has a large wooden climbing structure, as well as swings, a slide, small and large seesaws and the all important roundabout.

 

We ate our picnic, played with some other park visitors, and then, on the walk back to the car, came the undoubted highlight of the trip, watching the bin lorry.

{this moment}

out and about Thursday

Now that we are in the summer holidays I am trying to do more trips out with the kids. I'm also trying to use public transport more often. Thomas has not been on a train very often as you can perhaps tell from his body language.

Today we went to Bletchley Park, the place where many codes were broken in WWII, which has now been turned into a museum. There is a direct train from Berkhamsted to Bletchley and the park is only a few minutes walk from the station.

We headed first for the play area but unfortunately it was closed for maintenance, there were however some giant chess pieces to play with.

In the rest of the museum we enjoyed the re-furbished and working Colossus computer - an enormous beast of valves, flashing lights, switches and punched paper tapes - which took up an entire room, and the collection of toys from the 1940s, in particular the trains and the old school desks.

{this moment}

{this moment} A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. See Soulemama to play along.

{this moment}

{this moment} A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. See Soulemama to play along.

yarn along

I'm cheating a bit today due to complete lack of progress on Hannah's top. So here is a baby surprise jacket that was meant to be for Thomas but didn't get finished before he was born and so didn't get finished until he was already too big for it. I was wondering what to do with it (and, ahem, the other cardigan that also didn't fit by the time it was ready), but, hurrah, my sister is having a baby in the Autumn so they now have a recipient. The light green wool is some random ball I picked up because I liked the colour and I had to add some darker green as there wasn't quite enough. I think I'll put a dark green collar on it, or something around the neckline as it looks a bit unfinished as it is.

The book is 'Playful Parenting' by Lawrence Cohen which I have been re-reading bits of. It's great for reminding you to lighten up and have fun with your kids. And getting your kids to giggle is just the best thing! I find it too easy sometimes to go into stern parent mode, and the reminders and ideas in this book for how to have fun in what can be stressful situations are great. 

{this moment}

{this moment} A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. See Soulemama to play along.

{this moment}

{this moment} A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. See Soulemama to play along.

yarn along

joining in with Ginny's yarn along

There has been progress on the top ! We went to stay at Mum and Dad's for a a few days last week during the school half term, and I now have a back and two fronts ! However I still have to knit a whole load of rib around the front and neck bands, and sew it up, and since I have approximately 1 hour of free time before Hannah's birthday this ain't gonna happen. Never mind, she's already told me that it might not be ready in time, and she'll have other, more exciting birthday gifts.

I have just started reading 'The Transition Handbook' by Rob Hopkins. Berkhamsted is a Transition Town, though as far as I can tell not a particularly active one, and I have been thinking about getting involved, but wanted to know more. It's a scary read, particularly at the beginning when he sets out the case for peak oil and climate change, but I think it will be an inspiring read also.

{this moment}

{this moment} A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. See Soulemama to play along.

yarn along

joining in with Ginny's yarn along again.

I'm still knitting the top for Hannah and it's still growing slowly.

The book is by Naomi Aldort. It's always on my bedroom shelf and I often read bits of it before I go to sleep, especially when I feel my connection with my kids has gone a bit awry. I first read it when Hannah (the eldest) was about 2 and I thought it was interesting but a bit vague and a bit too radical. However as she's got a bit older I've found the ideas have become more and more relevant, and what seemed radical now seems like common sense.

{this moment}

{this moment} A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. See Soulemama to play along.

yarn along

joining in with Ginny's yarn along.

still knitting Hannah's top - it is (slowly) growing. The book is one I have been reading a lot recently, out loud, with lots of steam train noises. Luckily the illustrations are so good (and yes I should have taken a photo of an inside page, but it's late now so maybe another time), that there are new things to discover on  every reading (and there have been quite a few recently!)

out and about Tuesday

Yesterday we went to one of my favourite places near here, College Lake Nature Reserve near Tring. We always have a good time when we go there and yesterday was no exception. 

There aren't any swings or slides, or fancy interactive displays. Just bird hides and hens ( a recent addition) and old sheds with dusty exhibits to poke around in and learn some interesting bits and bobs.

And some ceramic hedgehogs in a hibernation box who went out to look at the grass.

at the weekend

we 

went to the school fair and saw Fred's flying circus

baked chocolate brownies

became princesses

climbed

and slid

{this moment}

{this moment} A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. See Soulemama to play along.

weekend

this weekend we have been busy at home and around about

planting

baking

going to the zoo

and I have been singing

{this moment}

{this moment} A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. See Soulemama to play along.

yarn along

Joining in with Ginny's yarn along.

In the background are a stack of recipe books for this evening's project of finding some new (inexpensive) meals to cook. I'm still reading The Omnivore's Dilemma (by Pollan), and the section on organic farming has made me think that I'd like to get more of our food as locally as possible. For us this means from a box scheme as there isn't a regular farmer's market. It is more expensive than the supermarket so I need to update our meal plan.

The new knitting is a short sleeved top for Hannah, hopefully for her birthday in June. I love the colours in the wool (Sirdar Click DK).

weekend

bluebells in Ashridge

afterwards we went to Aldbury May Fair, but I didn't manage to get any photos of the Morris Dancers

{this moment}

{this moment} A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. See Soulemama to play along.

yarn along

Joining in with Ginny's yarn along

Hooray the socks are finished !

I went to the library without the kids at the weekend, and so came back with a big stack of books for me rather than ones about talking bears, frogs, buses etc. Not entirely sure when I'm going to read these, as I'm still reading Omnivore (which is still very interesting), but I can at least look at the pictures. Since we live in a rented house with a small garden self-sufficiency is a long way off ! but I do like to dream of what I would do with a bigger space whilst I'm planting my lettuce in pots. 

{this moment}

{this moment} A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. See Soulemama to play along.

yarn along

More progress on the socks. I'm now on the front foot bit (these are knit flat and then sewn up). Once I'm done with that it's faster as there are no more cables. I think they should be finished by next Tuesday.

I'm still reading 'Omnivore', and think it might take me a while. It's a very interesting book, but is jam-packed full of facts so I can only take a certain amount in at a time. Also it's my reading-before-bed book, so I have to stop reading to get some sleep.

However I rarely read only one book at a time (or indeed knit only one thing at a time), so this week's book is my reading-on-the-toilet book. A great place to get a few minutes (seconds) peace I find. This book summarizes current researchers in early childhood development, with a few pages on each, and is great for getting an overview.

in the park

Today's park was Butt's meadow in Berkhamsted (known in our family as 'the little park near the school'). It's a small standard-issue park, but it's the one where we've spent the most time, since it's an easy walk from our house.

One of the trees on the way there has a fantastic amount of blossom.

Thomas went down the slide all by himself for the first time.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. See Soulemama to play along.

yarn along

Some progress on the sock. I can only knit cables when I can concentrate (i.e. when the kids are asleep) so that doesn't leave me much time. The first sock is finished however, and I'm aiming to get the second one done for Thomas' birthday in a couple of weeks time. The white flecks on the sole are from sewing cotton which I am hoping provides extra reinforcement.

I've just started reading 'The omnivore's dilemma' by Michael Pollan, which looks as though it will be good. He's tracing three different North American meals back to their roots. I've just started the first chapter and have learnt that most of what most North Americans eat is based on corn (maize). I've been reading lots of parenting and child development books recently so this makes an interesting change.