6 Winters in Wonderland

The Knitters

2014-01-11T16:22:00.001-04:00

Now that Christmas is over and the wood stove is up and running, I need a legitimate reason to sit close by the fire all day. So, I got out my knitting and started working on slippers for all the little feet in my house ... that's a pretty good reason, I'd say.

The other day Owen came to me and asked if he could knit something.

What would you like to knit? I asked.

After some thinking, he answered: A bracelet.

So here he is working away on his bracelet ... a little bit each day with the hopes of it one day matching the picture he has in his mind.

Then Laurel came to me and said that she would like to knit something too.

Would you like me to teach you to finger knit? I asked (thinking that finger knitting would be easier for her)

No, I want to use knittles! she insistently replied. (Is it wrong that I didn't correct her? I didn't think so.)

So she went to the drawer and chose some "knittles" and yarn. As I was trying to figure out how I was going to teach a 3 year old to knit, she sat herself down on the floor and started to wind her chosen yarn around the needles. After a few minutes of this, she looked at her work and proudly proclaimed: "I am the best knitter EVER!"

I guess that she didn't need my help after all.

As for me, I am still working away. I have finished one pair of slippers, but unfortunately they don't fit any of the feet in my house (sigh!). Oh well, on to the next pair ... maybe I should ask Laurel for help!

Granola Bars

2013-08-22T22:14:00.000-03:00

Homemade granola bars are very popular in our house. They are easy make and transport well so we often take them along on picnics and hikes. Over time we have shared them with many people and I often get asked for the recipe, but have passed it on only rarely. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I want to keep it a secret or anything (it's not like we are talking about a Caramilk bar!), but we only sort of follow the original recipe. It also varies so much depending on what I have on hand, that I've never been quite sure the best way to transcribe it. But for all of you who have asked (and asked and asked in some cases ... sorry about that) here is my best effort.

Homemade Granola Bars

2 cups oats
3/4 wheat germ (we don't often have this so it usually gets left out)
3/4 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup peanuts (the recipe says crushed, but who has time for that ... just throw them in whole!)
* note * we often add other nuts and seeds -- almonds work well, along with chia, sesame or flax seeds have all been tried in our house with great success.

Place on a baking dish and toast them in the oven (400 degrees F) for about 10 - 12 minutes, stirring every few minutes so they don't get burned.
*note* I always skip this step ... what is the point of no bake granola bars if you have to turn on the oven?!)

Put the "glue" ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly (ok, I don't stir it constantly ... how about frequently? yes, that's sounds more reasonable!).
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
4 Tbsp butter (coconut oil is a great substitute!)
1/2 tsp salt
* note * the recipe doesn't call for peanut butter, but I always add a big spoonful of it ... crunchy!)
Remove from heat and add 2 tsp vanilla.

Put the dry ingredients (toasted or otherwise) and the "glue" in a large mixing bowl and mix well. Add 8 oz of dried fruit (8 oz, really? I never measure this, just throw in handfuls of whatever dried fruit you have on hand ... raisins, cranberries, chopped up apricots or dates). And coconut, don't forget the coconut. Since it's not in the original recipe, I don't know how much coconut we usually add ... 1/2 cup or so? (are you seeing the pattern here?).

Now dump your granola mixture into a well greased pan (we like 9 x 13) and start spreading. You need to press them down so that they don't crumble when you cut them. Wax paper works well, just get a sheet the size of your pan and use your hands to press them down hard ... be sure to remove the wax paper when you're done or it will stick (only made that mistake once!). A plastic bag will work too, just be sure to turn it inside out if there is writing on it otherwise the ink will come off on your bars (granola bars emblazoned with the Bulk Barn symbol ... tasty!)

Wait 2 - 3 hours for the bars to cool. 2 - 3 hours? No, no, no you can cut this time drastically by putting them in the freezer for a bit. Warning!! if you leave them in the freezer over night and they get rock hard, they have the ability to chip off the end of your knife ... the really nice one that your husband likes (oops!)

Cut into whatever size pieces you like and enjoy!

I don't have any on hand to take a picture of (*gasp* sound the granola alarm!), so I'm off to make some more while I ponder whether this is changed enough to call it my own ... where is that line anyway?

Already 3!

2013-04-12T21:59:00.000-03:00

Yes, my girl turned 3 last week ... it's sad and exciting all at the same time.

I decided that this special little girl needed a special blanket -- don't all little girls? -- so I set to work. I had heard that rag quilts were easy to make (a little bit of sewing and some clipping, easy right?) so I did some reading, and started to collect some materials. An old quilt that I had been hanging on to got cut up for the batting, and my pile of old receiving blankets became the 108 squares to make the top. We were given so many receiving blankets at Isaac's baby shower (over 10 years ago) and I remember wondering what on earth I would ever use them all for. Oh, silly, pre-children me! They turned out to be very handy ... a sun shade, a nursing cover, a play blanket, a diaper change cloth, a cleaning rag, a toy, I even turned some of them into diapers a couple of years ago (post here). So, into the pile they went (along with a couple of extra that I found at Value Village). Well, after a lot of cutting, stitching, a sewing machine tune up (fyi, sewing machines need some tlc more often than once every 10 years), a midnight meltdown, and a TON of clipping, it was finally done.

So worth all the effort to see that smiling face peeking out from under her new blanket!

The birthday girl and her horse cake ...

"Am I still this old?" she asked me the other day while holding up 3 fingers (a skill that took almost a week to master).
"Yes." I tell her.
"All the time?" she wonders.
"Yes, baby girl ..." I answer, then more to myself: "... for as long as I can keep time from moving too quickly."

A New Addition!

2013-03-16T22:16:00.000-03:00

Now before any of you get the wrong idea, it's not THAT kind of addition. With one working parent and 3 boys that can already out eat me if they decide to, another addition of that kind, while cute and cuddly, would not be .... well let's just put that thought out of our heads!

The addition that I am talking about is a little bit smaller, a little bit wigglier, a whole lot quieter, and very useful in the garden -- WORMS! We now have a whole pound of red wigglers (about 1000 worms) hanging out in our house. We give them our kitchen scraps and they give us amazingly rich soil, which will be put into our soon-to-be vegetable garden, which will produce more kitchen scraps for our new friends. Oh, the connected-ness of it all is so exciting -- yes, I am saying that worms are exciting.

Making up their new home

Happy worms

This is the next baby step toward our own little homestead, so a great big welcome to Walter, William, Willa, Wyatt, Wade, Wanda, Waldo, Willow, Wilson, Winston, Woody, Wesley, Wendy ...

one, two, three, four ...

2013-02-20T21:01:00.001-04:00

With all the snow that we had last weekend (okay, 2 weekends ago ... that's how long this post has been floating around in my head), I thought that I should knit up a few pairs of mittens -- one for each child was my lofty goal for the weekend. Nice thought, but it didn't happen. Now, more than two weeks later (ahem!) I have one finished pair.

Nothing too fancy but the wearer is very pleased with them. Here is the pattern that I used -- it's basic and simple. But, after finishing the first mitt, I discovered that it was a little to big for even my biggest boy, so I adjusted the second mitt a bit. Clever, right? Not so much ... I didn't write down what I did, so back to the drawing board for pair #2!

As I was finishing up the last mitten, Laurel joined me. When she gets tired, she will often climb up behind me, put her thumb in her mouth and grab a handful of hair (yes, she is still attached to my hair, but thankfully, she does not pull so much anymore!). As I got closer to the top of the mitten (and decreasing stitches), I was counting aloud to myself: "one, two, three, four.". Then the patterned called for knitting 2 stitches together. After a couple of rounds, Laurel leaning on my back, me still counting ... "one, two, three, four ...", I stopped to wrestle with some particularly tight stitches, and a little voice whispered in my ear: "five" ... funny girl!

Our BIG Adventure Days 14, 15 & 16

2012-09-01T10:32:00.000-03:00

The Wedding

We left Drumheller and headed to Edmonton for the wedding that was the original reason for our trip -- an idea that grew into this grand adventure!

Along the way, the boys practised their singing (always to the tune of "Oh Canada" for some reason -- Olympic hangover, I think!) My favourite rendition was:

"Mark and Hilary,

Are in love with me ..."

That's as far as they ever got before exploding into fits of laughter.

We decided to stay in a hotel while in town -- we figured the other guests might appreciate it if we all had showers. Also there was a pool, lots of clean towels, and an iron -- clothes that sit in the bottom of a box for 2 weeks tend to get a bit wrinkled!

After the showers and freshly ironed clothes, the boys thought that we looked pretty good (I never iron anything at home, so freshly ironed clothes were a real treat!) They thought that such "fancy people" deserved some special treatment, so as we drove the streets of Edmonton, they shouted out the windows: "Fancy people, coming through ... fancy people, make way for the fancy people!"

The Fancy People

As for the wedding, Paul did his ushering thing, I did my reading, the groom said "I do", the bride said "I do", we had our picture taken a couple of times ... it was a beautiful success. Congratulations to my brother and my new sister-in-law!

The groom's family minus a few

After a brunch reception the next day (we ate, we told stories, we laughed), we headed west toward the Rockies ... the ROCKIES!! I am so excited!

Another great bunch of days on this big adventure.

Our BIG Adventure -- Day 13

2012-08-29T23:00:00.000-03:00

Bright and sunny (but much cooler, thank goodness) this morning as we headed off to go exploring in Drumheller!

We started out tour just outside Drumheller at Horseshoe Canyon. From here we got a great view of the area, known as the Canadian Badlands. We also ran into these bad characters!

With the promise of being able to climb inside the world's largest dinosaur, we headed to the center of town. There, staring down at us was a very large T Rex. We climbed the stairs and looked out over the city through the jaws of this massive creature.

After a bite of lunch at a local place called "The Old Grouch" (an interesting place where the walls are covered in Elvis memorabilia, the food is homemade, and the service is friendly -- it must have been the grouch's day off), we headed to the Royal Tyrrell Museum in search of some real dinosaurs. There was so much to see and learn! Everything from how they go about their search and transport their findings (there is even a window into a working lab where you can watch them doing their work!), to bones, casts, rocks and fossils. It was awesome!

Another great day on this big adventure.

Our BIG Adventure -- Day 12

2012-08-28T19:35:00.000-03:00

More driving today, but before hitting the road we stopped to look for buffalo (we were, after all, in Buffalo Pound Park). Unfortunately, they (all 30 of them, according to the sign) were out playing hide and go seek, or else grazing in another part of the pasture. We did, however, mange to see a few prairie dogs -- buffalo, prairie dogs ... they're similar, right?

The closer we got to Alberta, the hotter it seemed to get. The thermometer on the van read 37©! (By the way, when it's that hot out, don't leave crayons on the dash!)

As we set up camp in Drumheller that night, we talked excitedly about what we would see the next day ... dinosaurs!

Another great day on this big adventure.

Our BIG Adventure -- Day 10 & 11

2012-08-27T22:30:00.000-03:00

After our day at the fair, it was time to get back on the road. As there is much country that we want to see, as well as many people, there are some days that are spent mostly driving. But some of our most interesting discoveries have come when we were least expecting it, and days 10 and 11 brought many interesting and unexpected discoveries.

The dragonflies in Graham's Island State Park, North Dakota, were amazing. There were big groups of them that seemed to congregate just out of reach, but close enough to get our attention.

The Geographical center of North America is in North Dakota ... who knew? We came across this monument on the side of the road and just had to stop for a picture.

Dot's Homestyle Pretzels - the pride of Dakota (according to the package) were a yummy discovery! We will be going through the Dakotas on our way home too and will definitely be looking to pick up some more.

Once we got into Saskatchewan, we came across this place ...

It's Dog River! Dog River is actually a fictional place, but the building and the grain elevator where they shot scenes for "Corner Gas" are really on the prairie in Saskatchewan. We had been admiring all the grain elevators and stopped to take a picture of the one that said Dog River, and when we turned around, there was the other building too!

And to top off our day, we had the most amazing view from the hills around our campsite in Buffalo Pound Park.

Another great day on this big adventure of ours ...

Our BIG Adventure -- Day 8 & 9

2012-08-25T22:30:00.000-03:00

We awoke early on day 8 to thunder and lightening. It didn't last long, but since we were already awake we decided to get an early start and hit the road again.

We drove for most of the day, picnicked on the beach between the raindrops, and stopped in Iron River, Wisconsin. After discovering that the county fair was that weekend, we decided to hang around for an extra day and check it out ... because who can resist a county fair (especially one with rumours of bull riding)?

Day 9 was slightly overcast, but off we went to the Bayfield County Fair, and it did not disappoint! There were kids of all ages in horse riding competitions (my favourite part), a stunt motorcycle show, the usual rides, games and food (deep fried everything from potatoes to Oreo to green beans!), and lots of animal, baking and craft competitions. We spent a lot of time looking around the foul and rabbit barn (Isaac's favourite part) where I was informed many times that some of the bunnies were for sale ... hmmmm maybe I should have checked their pockets before we left.

Owen and Laurel enjoyed the ferris wheel best, while the highlight for Aidan was the pony ride! (sorry no picture ... I was busy consoling Laurel who went around once then decided she was done).

Although the rumour of bull riding was true, it wasn't until later in the evening, so we headed back to our campsite for some supper (some very tasty ham from the local farmers market), an evening campfire and some smores.

Another great day on this big adventure of ours ...

Our BIG Adventure -- Day 7

2012-08-23T22:00:00.000-03:00

Another driving day (*sigh*). But I have just realised that, although I have made the drive between the Maritimes and Ottawa many times, this is all new territory for me! Suddenly things are very exciting.

Today I saw ...

a hitching post at a post office -- with a horse hitched to it (sorry no picture, I was too surprised!) ...

Some acrobatic cows ...

This rather ambiguous sign that amused me (we had great fun speculating what it meant, oh what a silly bunch of people on this adventure with me) ...

And ... I thought we had oddly named places at home, but how on earth do you pronounce this? (not Sudbury, smarty pants, the other one!)

We crossed the border into Michigan with no problems, ... went swimming in Lake Superior, then off to bed as the rain started.
Another great day on this big adventure of ours.

Our BIG Adventure -- Day 6

2012-08-22T22:00:00.000-03:00

On the road again. Long drive today, but luckily I have some backseat entertainment ...

Total silliness, but they think they are hillarious!

Our BIG Adventure -- Day 5

2012-08-21T22:00:00.000-03:00

Our plan for today was to do some touristy stuff, but with a few errands to do (we were not as organized as I would have liked when we left home *sigh*) we opted to stay close to home (as it were). It rained off and on all day, but we still managed to get lots of playground time, an oil change for the van and all the laundry done. A successful, but rather unexciting day, I thought. But then I saw this ...

... and as we danced in the rain under the rainbow, I decided that it was an exciting day after all!

Our BIG Adventure -- Day 4

2012-08-20T15:26:00.000-03:00

We were back on the road again today, on the way to our nation's capital, Ottawa. We avoided Montreal as much as we could (sorry Montreal!), but the boys did enjoy driving on the "race track" as we were going by -- what else would you call 4 lanes of traffic all heading the same direction with cars racing by?

Despite the numerous construction sites and other minor delays, we finally came to Ontario and arrived in Ottawa just in time to catch some drive home traffic! The boys, having never seen anything like this before, were appalled that we were STOPPED on the highway.

After finding our campground and getting set up, we made our way into an area of the city known as "the Glebe" for supper at Paul's cousin's. Isaac and Aidan were thrilled to have some older boys to hang with ... a little bit of street hockey, video games, good food and family, what could be better?

Our BIG Adventure -- Day 3

2012-08-19T22:00:00.000-03:00

** technology seems to be working against me lately -- that's why I'm only on day 3. I will keep trying, but I may have to change things up a bit. Adding pictures is particularly challenging, so I may have to be content with only 2 or 3 per post ( I also can't seem to fix the word "pledding" closer to the end of this entry -- it should say pleading. Please overlook any other spelling mistakes.) I am open to any suggestions. Thanks for your patience. **

I have realised that there may be people out there to whom this big adventure of ours may have come as a bit of a surprise. So, first, some explanation. My older brother is getting married at the end of the month and I wouldn't miss it for the world. The challenge was that he lives in Edmonton, Alberta and we live in Nova Scotia! We thought about flying, but flying 6 people so far seemed a little daunting. We joked about driving but that seemed even more crazy! But as time went on, the jokes turned into serious discussions, then ... "let's turn this into a huge adventure!" we thought. And if we're going to be in Edmonton, we decided we might as well make it a real cross-Canada trip and go all the way to Victoria, British Columbia to visit one of Paul's sisters and her family. So that is how it came to be that 3 days ago we left our house intent on seeing as much of this great country of ours as we can (and friends and family that are scattered across it). Now on to ...

Day 3

In true tourist style, we headed for Old Quebec and started strolling through the cobbled streets, stopping in some of the places that interested us.
A sports store ...

a candy store (in the following pictures the kids have sucker sticks in their mouths, not cigarettes as it appears at first glance ... I know that things are quite liberal in Quebec, but I not allowing that yet!).

and this bistro looked especially appropriate ...

We walked along the old fortification wall, enjoying the beautiful view of the harbour and stopping to check out every cannon along the way (followed by pleddings of "Mama, take my picture!"). With the occasional history lesson from Dada, we made our way to the Citadel where we arrived just in time to see the changing of the guard.

All that walking, combined with the beautiful summer sun, made us a bit warm. We came to a park that had a fountain(?) that looked appealing. There were no signs around saying that we couldn't play in the water -- believe me, I looked -- so we stripped down and cooled off in the water. By the time we left, nobody had been arrested and there were lots of others in the water too ... just call us trendsetters from Nova Scotia :-)

Our BIG Adventure -- Day 2

2012-08-18T23:31:00.000-03:00

I have finally figured out how to get my kids to sleep in ... keep them up really late the night before! Hmmmm ... might not be the best long term solution. Well, they slept in today anyway and, after a rainy night, we awoke to a lovely sunny morning. After a bit of exploring and looking around (not a bad parking job considering the darkness and the late hour when we arrived!), it was time to hit the road again.

It wasn't long before we reached the Quebec border, where Isaac announced that he was born in Quebec and, now that he was back, he was never leaving! We were tempted to stop in St-Louis-du-Ha-Ha (because, come on, that's just fun to say), but carried on to Riviere-du-Loup for a picnic lunch and some playtime at a local playground. It was a warm, but windy day and there was a gentleman flying the most amazing dragon kite that the boys found fascinating.

After some more driving, some napping and some Vinyl Cafe stories, we arrived at our next stop just outside Quebec City.

The boys took off for the playground and when they returned for supper, Isaac announced that there seemed to be an awful lot of people around who spoke french! When I asked if they had learned any of it, they said "yes, merci!", and, added to "bonjour", which they already knew, pronounced themselves bilingual!

Another successful day and we went to bed excited to have a day off from driving tomorrow and looking forward to doing some exploring in Quebec City!

Our Big Adventure -- Day 1

2012-08-17T23:00:00.000-03:00

It has been crazy the last few days in the Winter household, with one house needing to be emptied and another not ready to be filled (I do not recommend moving and going on vacation at the same time, by the way!). As I was madly packing boxes to go to the new house AND packing up the camper for our grand adventure (and wondering how we had managed to accumulate so much stuff), a friend called to say goodbye and, oh so gently, remind me of just how lucky we were ... so (message received) it was with a thankful heart (and a few hours behind schedule) that we set off on our BIG adventure.

Day 1

This is our "on our way" picture. Everybody was supposed to wear their sunglasses, but in the last minute rush to get going, some were unaccounted for at departure time ... they have all since been found. And Laurel says that hers are not upside down, thank you very much!

We drove and drove and drove (Owen found the drive a little tiring) with only a couple of stops. First in Moncton for a quick visit with Grampie and Sandra (at Tim Horton's of course), then in Gagetown for supper (the Creek View Restaurant was very tasty!). We finally arrived at Maple Leaf campground just outside of Edmundston a little late, but still fired up about the adventure and looking forward to day 2!

Olympic Spirit

2012-08-03T13:04:00.001-03:00

One of our team members has been under the weather this week, but that didn't stop the healthy members from showing some true Olympic spirit ...

A Lesson in Geography

2012-07-28T08:00:00.000-03:00

More pictures to get back into the groove of blogging ...

Watching the Olympic Opening Ceremonies while trying to find each country on our big floor map. The smaller the country, it seemed, the less time we had to find it on the map! Guess the we had better brush up on our geography.

A Day at the Beach

2012-07-27T16:00:00.000-03:00

I am trying to ease myself back into blogging, by regularly posting some pictures. Here goes ...

Sunshine, blue sky, water, sand and kids ... the definition of summer!

The Why Child

2012-06-05T13:59:00.001-03:00

Everybody has met one.

You know, those kids whose answer to everything you say is: "Why?". They look so innocent and cute, so you try to answer their questions the best you can.

"Why?" the child responds.

"Wow," you think to yourself, "this child is obviously very bright. Good thing that I am here to answer their questions!", so you come up with another thoughtful answer.

"Why?" the innocent voice answers again.

As before, you try to give an answer that will satisfy this incredibly inquisitive child.

... 10 minutes later, you are running out of plausible answers, and this ~~#@^!-ing kid~~ (ahem!) lovely child is still asking "why?". You're not sure what to say anymore, you're fighting the incredible urge to shout "BECAUSE I SAID SO!", when the parent of said child announces that it is time to go. You breathe a huge sigh of relief as your tiny adversary walks away (waving a cute good bye all the way, of course).

Yes, everybody knows one of those.

I, too, have met my fair share of "why children" (and laughed good naturedly about it with the parents), but never before have I had one living at my house ... until now!

Beware of this "Why Child"!

Oh, I know that she looks cute enough, but don't let her lure you in with her cute smile and apparent shyness. Once you get her talking, it is almost inevitable ... the "why?"s will go on and on and on, sometimes without any apparent consideration for the answer that you have just given -- grrrrrr! So this your personal warning: start conversations with this child at your own risk! :) Gotta love those terrific twos!

The Key to the Rest of Our Lives

2012-04-01T21:02:00.000-03:00

Here it is! This is what we have been dreaming of for years ... the key to our "forever" house. The place where we will grow our own food, raise happy and healthy children (hopefully), and some animals too, entertain friends old and new, laugh and learn together, and much, much more ... and it all starts here with this key!

We took possession on Friday and decided that, although we won't be moving in for a few weeks, we would spend this first night in the new house! The boys got to work right away exploring our backyard. One suggested it would make a good baseball field and off they went, stopping briefly to examine the little stream (boys do not possess the ability to walk by water without at least stopping briefly ... it's a well documented fact!).

While looking around, we discovered deer tracks by our back door and are anxiously awaiting the first sighting -- boy, is that deer in for a surprise when it realizes that 4 kids and a dog have moved in!

The boys really wanted to play hide and go seek in the empty house, so everybody joined in and it turned out to be a ton of fun! It turns out that Laurel is a surprisingly good hider!

The sunset was spectacular for our first night's stay.

6 sleeping bags in one room ... sounded like a good idea at the time ... not much sleep was had by anyone. But it will be a night that we will remember for a long time.

So, here we are at the beginning of a new journey and we are all very excited. There is much work to do, but no longer will we have the excuse "when we get a new house". The house is ours, and I have the keys to prove it!

A Trip to Gaspereau Valley Fibres, Snakes, and a Clean Floors

2012-03-10T22:57:00.000-04:00

Sound like an odd combination? They are all related, I promise.

Gaspereau Valley Fibres has long been on my list of places to visit, but this week I finally made it -- and what a treat it was! It is a beautiful, rustic space filled with lots of wool and yarn. I wish that I had remembered to bring my camera to show you all how warm and lovely the space is, but I guess that you will just have to check it out for yourself! The kids and I were warmly greeted, warned about the wonderful wood stove, and offered assistance. After walking around for a bit, I asked for some help in picking out some yarn for my next knitting project. I foolishly forgot to bring the pattern with me (I'm not sure if that has more to do with me being a new knitter, or just trying to get out of the house with 4 kids), but the staff person took me over to her computer, told me all about Ravelry, found the pattern that I had picked out, then was able to help me pick out the right kind of yarn for my project -- she was really great. Meanwhile, the boys had been eying the wool, so they each picked a piece out of a basket of end pieces (she even stopped to show the boys how to break off a piece so that it was just the size that they wanted) for a project to be determined later -- Aidan said that he wanted to make a coat for his pet, hmmmm...

The next challenge was to figure out what to do with the wool -- I have only taken 2 classes in wet felting, so my skills and knowledge are somewhat limited. Aidan's plan to make a coat seemed overly ambitious, so I Googled "wet felt animals" and found some simple instructions for a snake. Sounded easy enough, so with Laurel down for a nap, the boys and I got to work. I took the non slip mats out from under our rug (in my class we had used bubble wrap, but I didn't have any, so this would have to do) and laid them on the table with our other supplies (I'm not going to give a step by step of what we did, because that would imply that I had some idea of what I was doing and really we were winging it!). The boys did really well at putting their snakes together (although, in retrospect, we wished that we had picked some different colours so that we could have had more defined stripes), but we did get a little carried away with the soap -- oops! After a lot of rolling we had 4 great looking felted snakes and 3 very pleased boys.

Well, after all this fun, the table was covered with bubbles, LOTS of bubbles. And it just so happened that the floor in the dining room was particularly dirty. So, I did the only logical thing ... I pushed all of the water and bubbles onto the floor (there really was no other option, right? That's what I thought). Well, you'd be surprised at the commotion that this caused in our house -- socks flying off feet, boys arguing over who would have the first turn cleaning the floor ... it really was quite a sight (just call me Tom Sawyer!).

So there you have it, a wonderful visit to Gaspereau Valley Fibres, felted snakes, and a clean floor. I told you they were all related (I can't believe that you doubted me).

The Gift of Knitting

2012-03-03T17:23:00.000-04:00

It's been some time since I have posted ... the business of life, trying to keep up with 4 kids, house hunting ... yah, excuses, I know. The truth is that I have been struggling lately with this blogging thing. When I started, my intention was to only write about good and happy things (sounds a bit fluffy, I know). And while there are many things in my life that are both good and happy, the truth of life is, it's not always like that. Sometimes life sucks -- there really is no other word for it.

I have been wanting to write about knitting for some time now, but keep putting it off. My hesitation comes from the parts the story that don't fit into my "good and happy" guidelines, but without which, the story would be incomplete. So, leave parts out, or find a way to make everything look rosy? Neither seemed the right way to go. Then it occurred to me that things aren't always easy to categorize into good and bad; and that appreciating the good things that come along doesn't mean that you've forgetting about the bad. The trick, I guess, is to be open to the good while still remembering how you got there. Yes, that seems appropriate.

So, here is my knitting story:

My childhood home was filled with knitting. Not my knitting, but that of my paternal grandmother and mother who were both wonderful knitters. They happily and (what seemed like) effortlessly knit sweaters, hats, slippers and mittens, mittens and more mittens. At the time, it didn't seem all that special -- I mean, didn't everybody have a grandmother who seemed to have a knitting needle attachment (kind of like Inspector Gadget -- "go go gadget knitting needles!")? It was many years before I realized that this was not the case.

When Isaac was born, my grandmother had already passed on, but my mother excitedly stepped up to the plate (she'd been busy practicing for other babies in our family) and my home, like the one of my childhood, was filled with hand knitting for all my babes, knit with love from both sides of the family. Just the way is should be right?

Then things changed ... my mom got sick ... she forgot how to knit and lots of other things too. She knit quite a bit while she still remembered, and the piles of hand knitted goods that showed up at every visit seemed strange at the time, but looking back, were great expressions of her love that she knew would last longer than she would. Slowly, the knitting stopped, the conversations got harder ... and before we knew it, the fight was over. And at that moment, life sucked.

A year went by, life went on (as it is prone to do), and finally it seemed time to do some cleaning out in my parents house. The craft/laundry room seemed like an easy place to start, so I dug in. Buried under a pile of stuff was this old trunk.

I had often admired this beautiful, old trunk of my grandmother's but didn't have any idea what was inside. When I opened the lid, it was filled with yarn ... lots and lots of yarn, knitting needles, and books for every age and style. I had long been thinking about taking up knitting, and this new discovery seemed to announce that now was the time to start. This collection of my mother's and grandmother's included needles of every size, yarn every colour of the rainbow, projects started and never finished (some so heart-breakingly full of mistakes as I imagined my mother's frustration at not being able to finish what she once found so easy), and a stack of books filled with patterns spanning decades of styles and fashions. Then I came across a booklet entitled "Learn To Knit in 6 Easy Lessons". I picked it up and recognized some of the stitches that I had been taught as a young girl -- but I hadn't thought important enough to keep up -- and decided that now was definitely the time to learn to knit.

A "Red Cross Knitting Instructions for War Work" pamphlet dated 1940 was a real surprise to find. Finding my grandmother's name on it made it even more exciting (the "J. Webb" on the top is her writing). The instructions for everything thing from service socks, to gloves, to sleeveless sweaters are very specific -- for example: although the instructions for Two-Way Mitts are the same for the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, it specifies: khaki colour only for the army, navy for the Navy, and air force blue, for ... well you get the picture). When I get a little better, I'm going to try knitting some of these socks for the boys -- I think that they will get a little thrill from wearing "army socks" -- and if I get really good, I may even mail a pair to a soldier ... soldiers today still need socks, right?

I hope to someday move the whole trunk to my house to look through, and choose from whenever the mood strikes (unless my father unexpectedly decides to take up knitting, but I think that I am pretty safe). But for now, it is waiting at my parent's house -- minus a few items that I am using to practice with.

So that is my knitting story -- the whole complete story. So, what have I learned? I learned that I love knitting! I would probably not have discovered this new love if things had gone differently, and although I would rather have my Mom (and her knitting), I can still enjoy this new hobby of mine and the connection that it has forged between mother and daughter (and granddaughter).

This is the "cowl crew", as they dubbed themselves, and all cowls were lovingly knit by Mama (yes, me!). The gift of knitting continues. Thanks Mom!

You Rock!

2012-02-14T11:42:00.002-04:00

Happy Valentine's Day!