Ms. Ellaneous crafts a life

Backyard Camping

Well, it turned out that the beach wasn't just expecting rain but also seriously high surf and winds.  G and I made the executive decision to not camp at the beach this weekend.  Much to the disappointment of A1-4.  To try and temper their protestations, we decided to set up camp in the back yard.  It was really more like a tarp city.

We had some heavy rains but not so much wind.  We slept out, made meals on the grill and had fires in the fire pit.  Camping light.  Similar flavor, not as intense.  I have to admit that knowing that my studio and a comfy couch was just yards away made it alot harder to enjoy the cool dampness of the camper.  I gave it a good college try though.  We will try and schedule another attempt to camp at the beach soon.

After two days, the kids gave up too moving the weekend inside.  This gave me time to work on another baby sweater.  This one is for the same baby, just a little bigger.  I blew the due date and he is already two months old and growing.  So, new sweater.

I also had some time yesterday to do some painting.  This is a little exploration in color, inspired by the green peppers G cut up for omelets.  I used the peppers to stamp the shapes and then filled everything in, using whatever colors I felt like and doing some experimentation with multiple layers of different paints.  It was great fun.

Ready to go!

Well, the little Pumkin Children are finally ready to be sent off to everyone who expressed interest.  Thanks for the support.  I am going to try and send them today but we are also packing for what looks like a very rainy camping trip.  We are headed to the beach for our annual fall camping trip.  When we were home schooling we took an entire ten days in the fall to explore.  We would wait until peak season was over and many days we had the entire beach to ourselves.  It's an amazing feeling to be on a beach with no other people in sight.  Now that the kids are in school, we only have this long weekend.  Even with the threat of rain, I think we will still go.  I guess if it gets too bad we will just pack up and come home.  

Yesterday, I went apple picking with A4's class.  We had so much fun learning about all the different kinds of apples and how they store apples for the winter.  The best part was picking apples with the little kindergartners.  They were so excited.  At one point the guide asked how much they thought a bin of apples weighed.  One little guy said,"forty hundred".  I love that.  It was the biggest number he could think of.  The orchard was beautiful and it was a gorgeous day.  I never really went on field trips when the other kids were in school because I was always pregnant or had a little one around.  I was alittle reluctant to volunteer this time too, even without a little one in tow, but I'm very glad I went.  A4 was so excited to introduce me to his classmates and they were excited to have so many other grown ups around.  The only thing that was missing was my camera.  Again!  I must be the worst blooger ever.  One of these days I'll remember.  I am definitely taking it camping, even if the only shots I get are of us staring at each other in the pop-top.  

Well, I'm off to pack up and get ready for the wet.  I hope everyone has a good weekend! 

Busy Weekend

I decided to use my free hours on Friday to take a little field trip with Not that W.  We went to one of our favorite places, Vermont.  We went to our favorite bookstore first, The Northshire Bookstore in Manchester.

It is the best bookstore.  They have a huge selection of books, knowledgeable and friendly booksellers, and lots of cool stuff.  I scored big time.  Not that W bought me The Alabama Stitch Book and the greatest leather dog organizer that I fell in love with, as a belated birthday present.

The guy helping me at the bookstore asked what I was going to do with it.  I told him that Iwas going to put a leash on it and take it wherever I go.  I just might.  I like it that much.  I also bought a book about Georgia O'Keefe and Alfred Stieglitz.  I love reading about artists.

We also had lunch at our favorite diner, yum.  Milkshakes, Cokes, and onion rings, Oh MY.

After a lovely day in VT, we decided as a family to drive to Newport RI the next day.  G's cousin was visiting her new husband (recipients of the never-ending wedding blanket) in Newport at the Naval Base.  They invited us to come take a tour and have lunch with them.  We had some fun looking at big, retired aircraft carriers and buoys, out of the water.  It was a beautiful day and we managed to get a little beach time in too.

 

After returning home I received some more belated birthday presents.  My parents bought me a matching set of ladder shelves for the living room and I got my first issue of Selvedge that G bought me for my birthday! Whoopee!

Today has been full of re-organizing the studio and cleaning our "second" home in preparation for an early fall camping trip.  We can't wait.  I hope everyone had a great weekend.

It's a brand new day

(sunrise this morning)

The children, A2-4, and I have been talking about what might make their transition, to school and then back to home, a little smoother.  We have decided to try driving the younger children to school.  While this is not particularly sound for the environment, it seems like the best idea for my children's mental health.  They are feeling overwhelmed by all of the changes and all that they are asked to deal with everyday.  Especially A3, who seems to be the most affected by stimulus.  A2 has been having some trouble with some older boys on the bus that has been giving him some concern, as well.  So, I'm adding chauffeur, again, to my resume.  I'm actually looking forward to the conversation.  When they were in school before we had our best conversations in the car.  I just hope I can figure out all the pick-up protocols, three different schools.

In Arts and Crafts news, the children have been doing some painting to balance all of the terribly cerebral work of school.

And A4 brought home a picture of a pig.  

I love the perspective and plan on making this into an embroidery for his room, or maybe my room.   

Testing...testing

It's been a hard week here as everyone continues to transition to a whole new world, at least that's what it feels like.  I am having such a hard time trying to help them manage all of these outside forces, grades, the bus, and all of the new expectations.  The real problem is I'm trying to figure out how to manage all of these new expectations and I am quickly becoming derailed.  I can't shake the sense that I was a better mother to babies and toddlers than I am to tweens and teens.  This, as you can see, is a major issue considering the children are not getting younger.  So, we are cocooned for the weekend trying to recover from the week.  I'm trying to resist the urge to crawl into bed and not come out until they are in their twenties.  That's easier, right?  

I hope everyone is having a good weekend!

(Congratulations to Bridge and J, your both winners!  I'll be e-mailing soon, so I can send you your Pumkin Children) 

100 posts and my first giveaway!

I realized shortly after my last post that I made it to 100!  I wanted to do something in celebration, so IT"s MY FIRST GIVEAWAY!  I have been inspired by all of Kathleen's giveaways over at Grosgrain.  She's amazing.  I don't know how she does it.  It took me a little while to get my act together to make something, painting, a trip to the yarn store etc., but here it is, little pumkin child. 

 He/She is about two inches high and ready for adventure!  I don't know anything about giveaways so here goes, leave a comment on this post and your entered.  That seems easy enough.  On Friday I'll put everyones name into a handmade basket and let A1-4 fight about who gets to choose.  After I bandage everyone up, I'll e-mail the winner and send off little pumkin child. (Let me know if there's something about giveaways I'm missing)

I have always loved pumpkins and Autumn.  So expect more fall colors and crafts.  Speaking of which, I have a confession to make, again.  I did not have the "right" brown in the right weight for the pumpkin stems so I made the pilgrimage to WEBS.  Just to pick up a skein, but then I started thinking winter crafts and thought I might need some tiny yarn for another project in red and white.  One thing led to another and there I was in front of a tantalizing display of Blue Sky Alpaca skinny cotton in an array of fall colors. 

 I have been reading Jane Brocket's The Gentle Art of Domesticity and fell in love with her ripple blanket.  As I stood there in front of the display that was all I could see, a crocheted ripple blanket in those colors.  There are two problems with my vision.  I don't really know how to crochet and crochet takes alot of yarn.  I stood there, for a very long time, performing mathematical equations, rationalizing time versus money (crochet is faster), the fact no one is in private school (more money to spend,theoretically), trying to mentally find another, smaller project to use the yarn on, adding in the famous WEBS discount, and finally just staring at the yarn.  Some of the staff began to worry.  I was there a long time.  Then I had a small epiphany.  If I did not buy the yarn and make this project it would start to take up vast amounts of mental space eventually causing hallucinations and another trip back to the yarn store where I would find they did not have enough yarn for me to make my blanket.  Then I would mentally flog myself for not getting it in the first place.  It's happened before.  So I bought the yarn. I have spent yesterday evening and a good deal of the day trying to perfect the stitch.  I am confident that the time will pay off.  I better get started.

TGIF

The kids and I had a whole conversation this morning about texting and that it should be taught as a language in school.  My older daughter has just entered that "world" in a very real way and she is still having a little culture shock.  They were also saying how happy they were it was Friday.  All of a sudden I had animage of a poster I had in middle school, the one with the kitten hanging from the tree with TGIF written on it.  I feel a little bit like that kitten.  All this newness and transition has me hanging from a limb.  Not to mention a day full of the unexpected.

On Wednesday, I came home to find the basement covered in...

POO!

The septic system backed up and was ready to swamp the leech field.  These are all recently acquired words, seeing as though I like to pretend that the house runs completely on magic.  I really know nothing of the "systems" involved.  Nor do I want to.  Picture me with my fingers in my ears saying LALALALALALALA, very loudly.  Anyway, G was gone, as seems to always be the case when something goes wrong, but luckily my parents were around to help manage the ensuing digging up of the septic thingy and the poo pumping.  Then there was the school nurse threatening to not let A4 go to school because of our alternative immunization schedule, the bus driver who asked if A4 had special needs because he keeps falling asleep on the bus ride home (sheesh, give the kid a break, this is first time to school, all day, and he has always been one of those kids who falls asleep in the car, and HE'S FIVE!) then there was the stray dog incident culminating in my dogs trying to eat the stray while I held them by the collars and the stray making his way into the house.  To top it all off, G came home and announced that he was leaving on business for the next couple of days.  All of this happening while we tried to get homework done and dinner on the table.  It was quite the day.  I was left feeling incompetent and exhausted.

Yesterday was quite a bit calmer, with cleanup underway, then complete.  I decided to crochet my mom and dad the above pictured poo that I found on Puchitomato via Ravelry.  I thought it was a very fitting thank you for all there hard work, really the least I could do.

My dad thought it was hilarious.  The only thing is now my "problem pooper", A4, wants one too, and he wants to take it to school!  I can never turn down a request for handmade, poo or not, so he shall have one by the afternoon.  He wants his tag to read, "Thanks for putting me in the potty".  I hope everyone has a wonderful Friday!

Bus Stop

Well, it has finally arrived.  The day that all four children are in school all day long.  This is also A4's first day of school ever and he is in for the whole day.  I'm not sure what shape he will be in when he gets off the bus this afternoon.  I had a stomach ache all day yesterday and this morning.  This is a big transition for all of us, I know I keep saying it, but that is about all I can actually say about it.  My thoughts are five thousand different places and I'm trying to acknowledge them without making up a bunch of stories about what the kids are experiencing, good/bad, what I need to do now, etc.  This is a tall order since I am a speculating, story loving kind of gal.  There is a new element to my day that helps on this front however, quiet in the house.  Weirdly silent.  So quiet I can here the chirping of the crickets, I think. (I can here the chirping, I just don't know if they are crickets.  Anyone know?)

Here are some images from the bus stop today...

 
I also managed to finish the baby sweater and hat this weekend.