Still Alive and Kicking

I compose brilliant blog posts. Full of details about New York, my kids and my school fill these posts. The posts themselves, however, are composed while I bike to or from school and never make it into the computer. By the time I arrive home, most evenings, I have barely enough time to change out of my biking gear before dinner is served. Then talking to the kids and Mike and general unwinding take priority. And before you know it, it's bed time.

I used to post in the mornings, before going to work. These days, however, I am leaving the house around 6:30 a.m. and am only awake for a mere hour before climbing on my trusty bike and pedaling into the sunrise.

All that is a long winded way of saying I'm sorry and I'll try to post more often.

Today I give you a catch-up post in pictures.

A couple of weeks ago there was apple picking with this lovely specimen. We put pants on it to emphasize the resemblance to a part of our anatomy.

Then there was a rather important bit of elephant surgery. We called it a hat-ectomy. Dumbo's original hat was in tatters so Little Squid crafted a new one and I added snaps to Dumbo's head so we could change hats if we so desire.

There has been some weaving. This one is making me really happy! it is my first real excursion into color and pattern play. It is not coming out as I envisioned it from the draft but this is a good thing as it is coming out even better!

Then there is my shawl. It is the Danish Tie-Shawl from Spin-off Spring 2008. The yarn is home, spindle-spun from Blue Moon roving purchased at Rhienbeck two or three years ago. The yarn has been aging in the stash until just the right pattern came along.
The edging will take a little bit of time to finish ...

There has been more. I finally did my back to school shopping and, thanks to mom, netted four, yup FOUR, long sleeve white shirts. Please don't faint. I had ... wait for it ... zero long sleeve white shirts. One short sleeve, one three-quarter sleeve but no long sleeve white shirts. Now I have four. Until I spill something on them.

Upcoming events include a work "retreat" this weekend. I might be able to finish Little Squid's latest pair of socks since someone else is driving. Squidette still has school interviews and auditions in two weeks but seems to be less stressed then she was before the SHSAT. Little Squid is practicing 3 instruments right now, two in preparation for a camp audition several weeks away.

And there you go, all caught up.