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I’ve been taking advantage of all this ice, sleet, and snow, to accomplish a few indoor projects over the last few days. Unfortunately when I get into project mode, the basics always seem to suffer – but it does feel good to get something out of the ordinary done once in a while.
I’ve wanted to make Dan a hat for quite a while, and for some reason never quite got around to it. Last night I finally chose a pattern, pulled out the yarn basket and got started.
Unfortunately, I don’t think Dan actually likes it much, as it’s not quite as warm as his stocking cap and beanies really aren’t his style….
Kinsley says that it looks like “a pregnant mama hat”… so maybe I just have really poor taste in the pattern choosing department.
I found the pattern on Ravelry (which is one of my favorite sites to browse for inspiration and motivation.) The hat is called The Skater Beanie, and the pattern was highly adjustable, as sizing was based on measurements, instead of a gauge swatch.
I’m not certain what the yarn is, since it was a ball I collected a while back from a thrift store, but I don’t think it’s anything special… just your basic yarn.
I crocheted the hat in one sitting (except for 42 bathroom breaks) and it really only took a couple of hours.
I hope to get around to making The Boy a coordinating hat, maybe this evening…
I snagged this probably incomplete deck of Snoopy playing cards, for ten cents at the thrift shop a while back. I put them away for a moment of desperation. The time came, recently.
Kinsley loves card games, and can spend lots of time playing her own versions of them. Her favorite is Liar. Her version of the game involves lining all the cards up into a “long train”. It takes her a while to do this to her satisfaction.
After playing with her cards the other day, she gathered them all up and handed them to Dan, saying: “Papa, can you put these away where I can’t reach them, so that I don’t lose them?”
Kinsley spent some quiet, quality time with herself in her little dream world, the other evening. When she emerged from the playroom, this was the result:
Sophie woke up about then, and after informing me that “The Baby Hippo is awake, now!” she ran into the playroom, to make herself into a “Queen Baby Hippo”.
Dan and I thought that the new look was more “Bag Lady” than “Queenly Hippo”, but Sophie was happy with the results.
The girls come from a long line of thrift shopping women. It’s pretty much in their blood.
It’s not that uncommon for my grandma, my mom, my sister, myself and my girls to be hitting the thrift shops together. That’s four generations of bargain hunters, all in one place.
Now, as far as their tastes in these bargains? That’s totally acquired.
Drum roll….
An Espresso Gaggia! But alas, when I brought it home, it was broken. I wept. Actually, I didn’t weep. But if I had time and energy, I probably would have wept. I felt like weeping, anyway.
However, my completely incredible, wonderful, and also very handy husband, managed to fix it. In his words, he bumped, thumped and knocked on the pump. But I’m pretty certain that it was more complicated than that. He’s simply being modest.
Christmas morning was as lovely indoors, as it was out.
One thing that struck me, is that while we may think that times are getting more difficult, we are not needy. Look at the abundance under that tree… We are so rich that I think we can’t even begin to comprehend what need actually is.
Everything we gave to our daughters came from the thrift shop, and while it was an unusually abundant Christmas for them, everything cost less than $30, when it was all said and done.
One of the highlights of Kinsley’s stocking, was the can of black olives which Dan suggested adding.
Sophie on the other hand, was thrilled to death with a twenty-five cent stuffed hippo from Goodwill.
Gage acquired a new/used bike from a yard sale over the weekend. He was the main instigator of the long walks we took over the weekend, since he really needed to get a feel for his new wheels. He told Dan “I had no idea that a used bike could go so fast!”
I hate large, obnoxiously colored pieces of plastic designed to assist children in the squelching of their imaginations. Somehow, we still manage to amass them, mostly because we have a very dear and sweet grandma who lives nearby and who can’t pass up a good deal at a yard sale.
Anyway, I thought of this car as one of those useless eyesores (and it partly is) but on the other hand, I’ve been pleased to see how it actually seems to spark the girls creativity.
Sophie insists that it takes a certain set of keys to start the car, and won’t budge her car till I find those keys. Then, she places her feet up on the dash board and says “Faster, Mama!”
Both girls are able to fit in the car, even if they do look a little like Richard Scary characters as they pile in and out.
During a playtime outside the other day, I was reading and drinking coffee, when I began to notice fragments of the conversation emanating from the car which caused me to perk up, take pictures, and listen.
“I’m Dan, and you’re Candace.” Kinsley informed Sophie as she slipped her arm around her little sister. Then, imitating her papa, she added, “Ah, Candace, what can I do for you, Darling?”
It made me thankful all over again for my wonderful, sweet, attentive husband.
Last weekend, I made a spur the moment dash to the thrift shop. Kinsley stumbled upon a pair of very worn, and slightly too big pink crocs. But these are not your normal run-of-the-mill crocs. These crocs have little “jewels” decorating them. It was love at first sight.
I nearly told her she couldn’t have them. After all, there wasn’t much tread left, and they were pretty grungy. But, I decided to let her purchase them anyway, and I’m so glad I did. I had no idea that something so mundane could thrill her as thoroughly as it has. The purchase of the pink crocs has undoubtedly been the most exhilarating moment in Kinsley’s short life.
She shows them to everyone who will give her a second glance. She has talked non-stop about going to show them to Marme and Granddad, Uncle Eric and Aunt Paula, and her friend, Hosannah. She had a potty training mishap yesterday, and was in tears over the fact that now her crocs are dirty.
But wait, isn’t that Sophie wearing the crocs in all these photos? It is indeed. Kinsley asked Sophie to take care of the shoes while Kinsley napped, yesterday afternoon. Sophie was more than happy to oblige.
PS – As I type, Kinsley is asking “Where is my pink crocs? Where can they be? Mommy, have you seen my pink crocs?”
The first of two new spring nightgowns. Made from a thrifted vintage sheet which has the nicest feel to it. It’s the sort of thing which always feels cool against your skin. I have enough fabric in the two sheets ($.25) to make the girls each a nightie and shorts, and myself a nightgown, and lounge pants.
