Catching the gold...

...while I still can. It's almost gone!



(the views from our backyard, 2 days ago, before the rain which took down most of the leaves)

Slipper weather

It's officially slipper weather here in New England--has been for a while in our chilly house! And Lucy didn't have any. So, several weeks ago, I got to work on a pair of tiny slippers, thinking they'd be ready in no time. Well, I messed up. And ripped it all out. And messed up again. And again. And again. It became very clear that I am decidedly still a beginner at crochet. I finally finished them--but they are two different sizes! The second came out much smaller than the first (probably more close to the size I actually needed).

But on her feet, they worked ok, so I called it good enough. I added some pink suede soles (cut from a thrift-store jacket), which work well to keep them from being too slippery on wooden floors.

(Please excuse the horrible shot--we're in that impossible-to-photograph toddler stage!) As you can see, one comes up quite a bit further on her ankle. Oh, well--they still keep her warm.

The pattern is free on Ravelry (and there, you can see cuter ones made by accomplished crocheters!). If I can do it (sort of), you can too!

In the studio: getting to know clay

This year's group of children is particularly interested in clay.
Yesterday, we explored the clay more even more fully than we have so far.








How well do you know clay?

Slacker mom at the playground

I am not one of those parents who climbs the toddler play structure, holding my baby's hands. I don't lift her to the monkey bars to "help" her across. I usually sit and watch while she plays. I probably look like the lazy parent to many others, or even the neglectful parent. (At a playground this weekend, as I sat in the middle watching my very-independent toddler explore all the tunnels and stairs and bridges and make friends and stir puddles, I kept hearing surprised other parents saying "oh! there's a baby in here!") But it's always been my philosophy to support children as they stretch themselves toward that next goal, rather than to do it for them. I usually help with words--and not many. Today there was a perfect example from our time at a nearby play structure.

"Mama, help me!" (This gap is too big for my leg to cross!)

"Hmm. What if you held onto this log?"
(No--see? I still can't do it.)

"Huh. I wonder how you could get across?"
(Well, I guess maybe I could walk on this chain like a tightrope.)

(Yes! That worked!)


Those appalled parents at the playground this weekend, when they eventually spotted me sitting on a bench, kept commenting on what a great climber Lucy is, and how confident and independent. Yup, that's 'cause her lazy old mom won't help her a bit!

Life among the leaves

It's been a busy week around here, as you can see by the lack of posts!
Luckily, we've found some time to do this:

(Lucy and a friend are drawing in their journals after I took their dictation. I've got a pile of books from a recent library sale that I'm taking a closer look at before cataloging and tagging them on Librarything. I'll show you those soon.)

Gone to Nanny's

Please excuse our absence; we went to visit Lucy's Nanny (my mom). It was Lucy's first time at Nanny's house, and she had a fabulous time. Nanny had all her favorite foods on hand, and lots of interesting things to discover, and so many fun things to do.





(We were there for a long weekend, but the camera battery only lasted one day/one dress.)
...
Thanks for all your sweet comments on my last post! I haven't heard those words again yet, but my heart's still glowing.
...
And a question for you... Any ideas about how to fix my header? I'm sure you've noticed its sad state. I'd learned how to make a header from A Foothill Home Companion's great tutorial. But now, Flickr's gone and changed, and I can no longer figure out how to use a header I make there. (They won't let me steal the url, it seems.) So I'm back to the blogger template (ugh). Help?

She said "I love you"

When I asked her for a hug this morning, she said "I love you."

I've been waiting 19 months to hear those words.
Or maybe I've been waiting for 41 years.