Looking up

The sky was amazing today. The day started out with rain and puddles and then there was this..

And this..

And this..

And a lot of this..

It was nice. And warm (for a winter month). I left my winter jacket at home, opting for just a vest and scarf. For me, in a New England January.. that's saying a lot. I loved the day, but I'm still not quite ready for spring. I still need that one good day of snow. Lily does too- especially since we missed out on it last year.

Come on big (ish) winter storm, where are you?

Plenty of winter left to knit a scarf

DAY ONE
I've wanted to knit a basket weave scarf for awhile, I just don't know why I haven't yet. From what I can see it's just a matter of knitting and purling, knowing when to do which, and in a short repeating pattern. So let's do this..

I chose size 13 bamboo needles and some Bernat Mosaic yarn from my stash. I cast on 36 stitches and started working on my basket weave pattern- for which I am not following any specific instructions (I never do).

I decided on knit 6, purl 6, knit 6, purl 6, knit 6, purl 6 for 8 rows (because after knitting 6 rows, it seemed like that wasn't enough to make each little "piece" of the weave look like a square, so I continued on another 2 rows and it was perfect*). Then switched to purl 6, knit 6, purl 6, knit 6, purl 6, knit 6 for 8 rows. And that was my "pattern" to repeat.

* No, I don't knit sample swatches before I start knitting something. I suppose it goes hand-in-hand with not following a pattern- just making up my own. I'm a knitting rebel.

DAY TWO
For whatever reason my children actually, somewhat, let me knit this scarf (knock on wood). I'm happy with how it's turning out so far. At first I wasn't sure about the yarn because it didn't feel as soft as I'd hoped for a scarf, but as it's knitted into the scarf it seems a little softer.

Even after knitting two more rows than I should have in the wrong pattern, finally realizing it, and slowly undoing them- the scarf is a little over a foot long. If I can keep this up, I could actually be done next week. But I'm not going to hold my breath.

To be continued: scarf just in time

Crossed another thing off the list of difficult things to explain to my daughter

I don't watch anything scandalous on tv.. just Grey's Anatomy, Law & Order: SVU.. stuff like that, no horror, gore, murder, etc. I try to be very careful to make sure Lily isn't watching if there are "scary" parts.. because she gets scared and hides her eyes. Which I mean, I'd rather have it that way than if she accidentally sees something bad and she just stare at it happily.. so at least I'm doing something right [mommy +1]. But.. she's 4.. and learning about the world.

I convinced her it was mommy's turn to watch something this morning.. and she actually let me. Apparently I was tricky enough in my attempts to get her to allow me to be a person for an hour. So.. I watched Catfish (the tv show). Which is just people. She asks me sometimes when I put on a "mommy show" is it going to be scary.. bad?.. I forget the word she uses. And I'll tell her, no it's just people.

She didn't even ask me this time though- she was already engaged in something. So.. the episode I was watching was about two gay men chatting online. They agreed to meet (they always do, otherwise how would it be a show?). And when they did.. they kissed hello.

Of course I didn't think anything of it- as a grown up I know people are people, love and like whoever you want. And actually I didn't even realize Lily was watching the tv with me, but apparently she was..

And the way she said "boys aren't supposed to kiss" was so plainly.. no agenda behind it. Just like if you saw the moon for the first time and said "the sun isn't supposed to be white."

She had a bowl of mini muffins next to her, so when I explained "preferences" I incorporated them as a concrete example in "our world" (as she likes to call things that are real, not on tv, video games, etc). So I just said well, not everyone likes muffins, right? Some people like muffins and some people don't.. and that's okay. She said I like muffins- and I responded ya, I do too. And that was the end of it.

In the back of my mind, when she said that, I was hoping no one in her life had told her something like that. I'm fairly certain that's not the case.. but you just never know what really goes on when your children are away from you. However, I cannot get started on that- or I will have to get out the protective bubbles and hide everyone under the bed again.

I wasn't really thinking that by 4-years old I'd already have talked to Lily about death (2 dead gold fish last Mother's Day), race/skin color (there is a boy in her class that she says is "brown"- as she says she's "pink"), and now homosexuality. But it's all happened organically and she seems to accept it all as just another thing in life and not a big deal.

What's important is that I didn't freak out about any of it. Externally anyway. The goldfish death was really the worst. For me. I just didn't know what to say to her because I'm not always sure what I believe, but I didn't want to lie to her, and I also didn't want her to be upset. She wasn't. She didn't really seem to care. And when I pushed to make sure she understood there was no fish, it wasn't coming back.. she still didn't really care. It was accepted by her as just another thing.

Just another thing mommy presents her with, calmly. And I think she trusts me.. that I'm not going to lie or harm her with words, ideas, or otherwise. So.. we win. [big smile]

inspired.. #1

to MAKE..

diy instax wallpaper @a beautiful mess

When I first saw this wall here, I loved it. And wanted one for myself. But when I tried to figure out how much it would cost for even a 6' x 6' area.. wow- that film isn't cheap, huh? It must be nice to have that kind of money.. to spend on a little piece of wall. But then, Elsie posted the how-to. And the "secret" to the wall was revealed.

a LIKE..

knitty, knitty print @ashleyg etsy shop

 If I had a craft room or some kind of sweet little kitchen, I'd have this print hanging in it. But alas.

to FIND..

wire baskets @a beautiful mess

We have floating kitchen cabinets and I've been loathing their floating-ness for quite some time now. The idea of some type of basket or bin was all I'd been able to come up with, but I had no idea what size or kind. And then I saw this picture in a blog post that had very little to do with the baskets and everything to do with painting the insides of your cabinets (which we actually already have, but this blue is way cooler). However, wire baskets.. yes. Yes indeed.

to BUY..

8-drawer dresser @ikea

And, finally.. I've decided this is the bureau I want in my living room. Or something extremely similar. I just wish it came in red.