summer – Page 4

Summer, finally

July 20, 2015 Marie Leave a Comment

With so much rain and dreary days it hasn’t much felt like summer on the days I’m home. Today, though… today is different. Today is officially a summer day. Hot, sunny, with the sun beating on your back. Finally I could blow up the baby pool and go outside with the Little Mr and play. He wasn’t much interested in sitting in the pool, and that’s probably my fault because I didn’t fill it up this morning for the water to warm until now, but it turns out he really wanted to play in the sprinkler setting on our hose attachment. So we sat there while he ran his hands through and picked up the hose and waved it around, splashing himself in the face and then getting angry about it and throwing it back down on the ground. Then it was back inside for something cold – frozen pureed pear in a mesh feeder for him, and coconut cream pie ice cream for me.

From the urban berry patch

July 14, 2015 Marie Leave a Comment

Rebellious spinning

July 3, 2015 Marie Leave a Comment

Today a friend of mine on G+ shared this: Spinning in Cowgirl Boots – Homespuns and the American Revolution.

In an act of rebellion, women took to their spinning wheels, their knitting needles, and their looms. If you were a Patriot, you wore homemade clothes from homespun yarn.

You know, this is something I can really get behind. I don’t really attend any kind of 4th of July BBQ or anything and I rarely make a big deal out of the holiday, though now that we have the kid I feel like I should step up my game a bit. But spinning and knitting? Yeah, I’m down with that. Can we just trade out the usual over-the-top patriotism of the 4th of July with more of a low-key BBQ and spin/knit-in? Because I will gladly scrub my house and buy a bunch of burgers and steaks to feed everyone if that’s the kid of celebration we’re going to have.

Anyway.

Tour de France starts tomorrow, which means Tour de Fleece starts as well. I wasn’t sure if I was going to even participate this year – I haven’t spun anything since last year before the baby. But, with part of my “look for happiness in the little things” idea from yesterday, I decided I need to do it. The weather is nice, and I always love being out on the patio, so it’s a perfect excuse to do both after the baby goes to bed and take some time to do something that makes me happy.

I won’t be able to spin every day, nor am I spinning my traditional thin yarn, but it’s spinning and making and creating, which is something I’ve been needing to do more. I decided to start a bit early and go ahead and spin a bit. The fiber is Malabrigo Nube, and it’s what I picked up on my annual yarn shopping trip this year. I’m using my lace flyer but I’m trying to spin it thicker than usual so it a. doesn’t take a year to finish and b. will be something thicker to knit up that also won’t take a year to finish. I’m hoping the lace flyer will help keep the twist nice and bouncy once I ply it up. I’m not sure what I’m planning yet to knit it into – probably a hat. Not that I need more hats. Maybe I’ll pair it with some stash yarn for a baby cardigan or something? I figure if I knit up a few things here and there in different sizes then I’ll have some gift knits in the future and won’t have to stress over not being able to get something knit up in time.

Or, maybe (most likely, really), it’ll just sit in a plastic bin with the other hand spun until I get around to deciding what to make out of it.

Book club and the unexpected patio

June 28, 2015 Marie Leave a Comment

Friday night I attended my first book club. My dear friend has been talking about it for a while, and she’s constantly telling me “you need to come with me” so I can meet other people. More specifically, other local moms. I think it’s her way of trying to make me feel less alone in my struggles while also trying to get me out of the house so I can get a break from life. And since I always say I want to read more, and since I’m trying to find ways to sneak in time for myself (as much as I hate them, I’ve taken to reading ebooks on my phone since I can do that while the baby naps on me), I decided to buy the book (The Girl on the Train) and read it and attend the discussion.

We met at a local place I haven’t been to before. It’s a pub/grill next to the courthouse, and all of the sandwiches are named cutesy names related to the courts/jail. I really hate to admit it, but we’re horrible about not eating at the “local” places. Our town is full of chain restaurants, so you’d think we’d make a point to support the local places more, but we’re just not good at it. We forget about them. Or, as is the case with this place, because it doubles as a bar and a lot of the downtown bars are gross, we just ignore it and go on thinking it’s bad like the rest of them. I’m happy to report that I was severely mistaken, and that this place is quite lovely. There wasn’t much seating inside, and we had a group of 6, so we were set up outside under a tent on the patio. It was rainy and drizzly and fairly cool for a late June evening, but it was perfect. Absolutely perfect. And this view? Surely it doesn’t rival that of those I know others have in their towns, but this patio felt quite cute as far as outdoor patios downtown go.

Book club itself was ok. Things are always awkward when you’re the new kid at something. The book was just okay for me, too, so it wasn’t anything I was really thrilled to discuss. But it was a nice change, and nice to get to go hang out with some new people. The next book we’re reading is Holly Madison’s tell-all on the Playboy Mansion, which I’m probably a bit too excited about. The Girls Next Door was my guilty pleasure for years. I bought it and have it on my phone, I just need to finish the book I’m already reading, first (Cinder).

Girls night

September 21, 2014 Marie Leave a Comment

fpb1

Phillip Fox Band. Also known as me admitting that I don’t hate everything that sounds even slightly country. Expanding my horizons I guess you could say.