What Makes Me Happy

It's not a list today. Just one thing is filling my soul with an intense amount of happiness.

This boy's profile. It may just be my favorite physical characteristic of his.

There's a connection I have with his profile that no one else shares. It's my most vivid memory of first seeing him after his birth, just moments old, his sweet face nuzzled into me nursing. And the countless hours since then reconnecting to this position as mother and child. Indeed, this profile of his has been stared at for countless hours by me.

Alex hears it several times through out the day, "I love his profile!". And if he were any person other than his papa, he may just start to get tired of hearing it. But it's one of those thoughts I have that can't be contained.

And there are so many different expressions in this profile of his. They're so ephemeral, and so difficult to catch in a photo, but fixed forever in my mind.

I suspect I'll always have an endearing love towards his profile, even after he's all grown up. I predict I'll always be able to see my sweet nursing baby in his face, even once he starts shaving or has a family of his own.

It's my thought that no one else can see and love the side view of their child's face more than a nursing mama.

Burl's Development

It's been a busy week for my little guy developmentally. This past week he's learned how to wave, point to things, say "Mama", and throw a ball. He's been babbling "dada" for months now, but he's just figured out that "mama" is me and "dada" is Alex.

He's 10 1/2 months now and is quite the walker. He doesn't sit still. Literally. He has full reign of the house, and uses it. Just tonight, he was walking from room to room with the broom, whacking everything in his path. He loves pointing to things, especially pictures around the house. He flings his sweet arm out and expects an answer to whatever he may be pointing to, even if it's just air.

I can't explain the joy I feel when I see him learn something for the first time. The more I think about his future education, the more convinced I am that homeschooling may be the route we take.

Another new development has been screaming. Lots of it. We around the house aren't so fond of this, especially the dogs. I think he's either: A) teething, B) coming down with something, or C) he's getting ready to talk. I hope it's C.


I've started working a little bit and Burl goes with me. A few hours a week, I watch my friend Georgia's sweet boy, Henry. He's a little over a month older than Burl and they play great together. Even though Burl's still big for his age, Henry makes him look little. They're both strong, handsome boys. It's quite fun watching two not-so-little boys play. It's not so easy to get a good picture of these two mobile boys, though.

Two Finished Objects

First, my new Purl Scarf, knitted using this simple pattern in Last-Minute Knitted Gifts, by Joelle Hoverson.

I used a combination of some handspun from Tenuki Handcrafts, a mohari / wool blend by Classic Elite, and some wool hand-dyed by Ester Bitran. I'm pretty pleased with the finished project. It was a super duper quick knit, the three strands together using big needles made the whole project move pretty fast.

I highly recommend this pattern for a beginning knitter, I think it would be a great project for someone trying to get down the rhythm of a seed stitch (knit one, purl one), a must-love stitch in my opinion, to enjoy knitting.

My second, Turn a Square Hat, by Jared Flood. Again, a pretty easy pattern. And it's a free download on Ravelry, even better. It's a little wonky, because the yarns were slightly different in weight. I intended this hat to go to Alex, but it turned out too small for his big head. So it's mine. And I love it.
I used some leftover hand-dyed from some of Burl's longies, and this Rasta-looking hand-dyed.

Insulation Saga: Part 2

Remember my first mention about our insulation saga? Well, here's a little more to the story.

I guess when they were building houses in the 40's, they didn't insulate them. At least not in our neighborhood. After we moved into our home, we decided mid-winter to remove some wallpaper in one of our bedrooms. We had no idea what we were getting into.

After we removed the first layer of wallpaper, we discover another layer underneath. Then another. And another. And yet another. Until we had pealed off 8 layers. 8! You could see each decade being removed with each layer. Once all layers were removed, we were standing there FREEZING cold, with beautiful tongue and groove cedar walls. And nothing insulating us. There was 6 inches of winter air between our siding and our walls. We had just torn down our insulation.


So now we're left with beautiful walls, no insulation and a freezing house. We're slowly insulation our home, adding drywall and painting, room by room. And learning so much along the way. I can't wait until we can rip up our carpet and expose the hardwoods underneath. Ah the joys of being a homeowner of an older home. I wouldn't trade it.

What Makes Me Happy

1. The amount I'm able to accomplish with less time spent at the computer.

2. My new (old) ironstone pitcher. This larger piece fits in nicely with the rest of my collection. And it's perfect for holding some of my larger knitting needles.

3. The realization that our son will grow with a knowledge of having an African- American as the leader of our Country. Political views aside, the strides of racial equality our Country has made since It's birth has moved me.

4. Burl's growing spoon collection. I pick these little silver and wooden spoons up from here and there. You'd be surprised how many little silver sugar spoons are floating around out there. And what's even better is how perfect their size is for my baby boy's mouth. And they're much safer than the toxic, plastic coated ones that are sold in the grocery stores.

5. The slow winter season which Alex goes through each year. We relax. He snowboards. We sleep in. We spend time reconnecting together as a family. Yes, this time together makes me very, very happy.

*Our camera's broken right now. My posts may be a little sparse until I'm able to take photographs again. But - this possibility of getting a bigger and better camera is anther thing that makes me happy.