Doing it All is for Amateurs

I had some emails and Rav PMs after the last podcast and I answered them all. But then I saw people at Stitches West, and I decided to answer it here, because everyone keeps asking: How is this working? How are you DOING IT ALL? I mean, I'm working and homeschooling the boys and going to school myself, then there's the health stuff and the regular house and family life things that go into just plain living- how is it all coming together?

The answer is: The "Doing it All" myth is for amateurs, and I know at this point in my life that it's just not possible. And I'm totally okay with that.


There are a lot of factors that make this work. I'll talk about many of them in a moment, but you have to know before this post really gets going that there is one secret weapon. One BIG thing that pulls together all the little details.


Little things first:

1) This is not a long term situation. Knowing that makes all the difference in my psyche. This one semester is really tough schedule wise, but after this everything about our schedule gets a little looser and knowing that life is only like this through the first week of May is a short term projection I can deal with.

2) We are schooling on a way alternative schedule. Math, latin, grammar and all the other school things are being covered in the appropriate amount of hours, just not like a normal school schedule and not at all like we used to do it. Saturdays have become a bigger school day for us and Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday are like "maintenance" days. They have a selection of their work to get done on their own in the morning and then I check it all with them after I'm finished with my work or school. School may go all the way to the end of June to finish our hours, but that's fine too.

3) My creative time has been slimmed down in a way, but I'm cranking through some things during class. Knitting while listening to lecture really helps me keep my focus- I know that may not be true for some people, but keeping my hands busy lets my brain concentrate on what I'm hearing. I'm going to call it a side effect of listening to many audiobooks while knitting and doing housework over the past several years.

4) I am more organized than I was before. I went back to a paper planner so that as I think of tasks that need to be completed I can dump it into the correct day on the planner to make sure it gets done and free up my brain space for what is right in front of me. Homework assignments, readings, work -related projects, kid stuff- it all goes into the planner and I'm doing really well with this system. I look through the week's worth of things to do on Sundays to get myself organized for the week, and my florescent pink planner is the workhorse of this semester's schedule. 

5) Taking care of my body is more important than ever before. Between the schedule and the autoimmune disease sleep is the most specific priority and I am making sure that happens every single night. I don't include inflammatory foods in my diet and I'm making sure to get my steps in every day (which is super easy now that I leave the house more frequently- working from home has it's perks, but incidental exercise isn't one of them).


But I told you earlier- it really all comes down to one BIG secret weapon.

See, back when I was first considering the whole "Back to School" thing, I looked at the math of the situation and threw my hands in the air. There was no way it was possible. And thinking about all the back and forth of the situation was dizzying. It seemed right to say no, and I did. It was my husband who looked at it all, and promised me that he would help make it work, and he has been true to his word.

He helps the boys with their math lessons and supervises the evening madness of dinner and showers and bedtimes on the nights I'm working late or escape to a knit night. He finishes laundry I started earlier in the day, and makes sure the kids help around the house. Really, he's the reason I can even do this at all.

I have family (most specifically my mom) who are willing to help out on a regular basis by watching kids and getting them to trampoline or gymnastics or whatever when I have class or doctor's appointments.

It's all about support.

I had to let go of a few things too. The dishes are not always done, I'm *always* behind on laundry, and "free time" is spent plate balancing- what needs attention right now so that nothing crashes into a firey explosion? But I'm not the only one plate balancing- Brian is right here with me, asking what he can take over, taking the kids to the park for an hour or two so I can take a quiz online, all amidst his own work and commitments.

So there may not be really cool craft projects (my kids are kind of awesome at making up their own anyway) and not as many field trips. There may not even be a garden this year (Okay, there will probably be one, but it will be small. Miniscule. Probably.) But, it's a thing. A thing for just right now to get me to somewhere I need to go, and it's going to be a good place.

If only I can pass Anatomy and Physiology. That would be great.

Home

After being gone for four days the house is better than I left it thanks to my husband. Online things can hold, but kids cannot, and I don't want them to. I spent 15+ hours in the car, but brought back fun things from Stitches Midwest and a brain FULL of class notes and ideas.

We are supposed to have a half day of school today, full days start tomorrow.

Do I dare start potty training today too?

No, I'm not crazy.



I will be back in this space shortly. For now I'm sorting out the yarn goodies from the laundry in my suitcase and getting myself back in the swing of home.

By the Numbers

8 days, 8 skeins in my suitcase.

7 toddler naps = Mama's nap time/knitting time.

6 amusement parks (mornings for the girls, all day for the boys).

5 days with limited/no internet access.

4 skeins of sock yarn (and almost 2 finished pairs!)

3 patterns I thought I might start (but none begun *yet*).

2 planes.

1 toddler.

LOTS of fruit snacks.

No camera. Thank goodness for my cell phone, right?

I'll be back on Monday with a new podcast for you!

Remember

This Easter's memories:

:: The boys were both excited about ties this year.

:: Ellie was NOT excited about walking on grass.

:: I did get photos of the whole family, but someone made faces in every. single. one.

:: They weren't just "what a cute little weirdo" faces. They were "I'm being tortured" faces.

:: Yes, Ezra is rocking red tennis shoes with his nice Easter clothes.

:: The boys re-hid our measly stash of 18 dyed eggs 4 times. Next year we need to color a LOT more.

:: Ellie loved hunting eggs for about 5 minutes. Then it was all about the chocolate.

Three by Three

I've felt increasingly anxious over the past week so I started writing about the events of this past week only to quickly realize that the craziness boils down to 3 events and 3 things we need to change:


1. All I did all week was drive, and I really don't like driving. Especially in downtown traffic during morning rush hour. Thank goodness a lot of the city was on spring break this week so that those particular drives weren't as heavy as they could have been.

2. I have seen enough of the inside of hospitals this week, and I'd like to take a break, thankyouverymuch.

3. We didn't school enough this week (due to #2) and the house is a bit of a disaster, but we did have the best field trip ever on Monday.


The grace in all of this is that we finally have some answers for my health issues and a treatment plan begun. So what has been the problem for the last several months? An auto-immune disorder called Sjogren's Syndrome that did something weird and started attacking my nerves, in what is called mononeuritis multiplex.


Yeah, I had never heard of any of that either.


But it explains why I haven't had any feeling in my left hand for almost 3 months and why my left leg is so numb that walking has been... interesting. I shuffle like I'm 92, and take the stairs one at a time like my toddler. Hopefully in time the nerve related symptoms will go away and my body will start to behave like it's 32 again. Maybe just in time for my 33rd birthday.


{Usually there would be a picture of something here, but I didn't really want to take a picture of the 3 tiered pill box that I have to manage my meds, as if I really am 92.}


The draining schedule of the last few weeks has also shown me a few areas we need to adjust around here if we're going to continue forward in health and happiness.


1. We have white space built into our calendar for a reason and I've been narrowing the margins over the last two months to fit more in instead of recognizing that we might need MORE space during this period of time, not less. I am tired, and that's not just the Sjogren's talking.


2. We need to fuel our bodies better. Real food has fallen to the wayside over the last few months, because it takes time to plan real food meals into a busy schedule. We are getting back on the train this weekend and working hard at staying there through the end of the school year. I'm planning a few things to make this weekend to make our week go more smoothly and to make healthy meals an easy choice.


3. I really need a block of creative time to feel healthy and whole, and I just haven't had much of it lately. I've been needing extra sleep so my early mornings awake by myself with coffee and yarn and a book had dropped away (I've been working on picking them back up this week) and then my regular time on Fridays has slimmed down since Miss Ellie has decided sleep is somewhat optional. The little bits of knitting I've been fitting in here and there haven't cut it. I really need to dive in to a bigger project, but I just haven't had a block of time where I also had the mental energy to tackle something new.

More socks

We made our way to Planet Comicon over the weekend. a portion of the con was dedicated to Star Trek and getting the majority of the cast together for an event hosted by William Shatner. I am not the big Trek fan in the family- that honor goes to my husband- but I do know the shows pretty well, particularly Deep Space Nine, so I was able to listen in on those panels and know what was going on. Wil Wheaton was gracious and charming for the second year in a row, and we also got to see Jewel Staite3 (also charming, and very very funny) and attend a few of the author panels for both books and comics.

I, of course, spent the panel sessions knitting. I worked mostly on my virtually impossible to photograph Exploding Socks but also cast on a new pair in a yarn that may end up looking better in the skein than as a sock. It is Pattons Kroy FX yarn in the Clover Colors colorway and I'm really enjoying watching the yarn change on the micro level as each stitch passes through, but it's not quite the same effect on the macro level. I also considered the fact that I've knit a lot of striped socks lately and that may be messing with my color changing expectations a little. To be honest, it doesn't really matter how they turn out- a completed sock is a completed sock, and I'm all about sock gathering right now.


More handknit socks, not less. It's all in the manifesto.

Planning Ahead: Homeschooling 2014

It's that time of year again- February is over, but spring isn't here yet. One spreadsheet is everywhere in our house, printed fresh every few days (after a gazillion changes) so I can pour over it in spare minutes.


It's all about school for the upcoming year.


The thing is, we're still in the thick of this year, and now up to the part of the year where I start to feel like we'll never "be done", which is a little silly. See, we school essentially year round with breaks taken as needed through the year. We're never "done", but it's nice to move through material and end up with a stack at some point that shouts, "You've completed something big!"


So, I'm refreshing my schooling brain so that I can think good thoughts and finish out this year strong, while getting ready for next year.

The two books I come back to every single year are The Well-Trained Mind and Real Learning. Combined they provide the backbone for education in our home.


If you only take one thing from Elizabeth Foss's book Real Learning, let it be the literature lists. We use her lists for audio book selections when possible, and read-aloud if they aren't available on CD. They are rich and lovely book lists, utilizing picture books into later years- which I have not seen on other lists. Picture books are so very valuable in the later years and we shouldn't confine them to the 2nd grade and under crowd.



The Well-Trained Mind is my reminder text to keep the main thing the main thing. It is so easy to get into a "buy the best curriculum" scurry instead of recognizing that education is best when it is direct and uncluttered. The Well-Trained Mind forums can be an extremely helpful source of information. I'm currently researching elementary French options for next year, and there are dozens of threads to search through on that one topic that have provided almost as many options as there are posts. These forums are the first place I go to when I need to get started on researching a school area we want to pursue. I also appreciate that many posters there are considerate of budget and will mention costs associated with programs.



So for now, I'm trying to refocus the rest of our year, March- May. I picked up the Astronomy book from Memoria Press at my local curriculum store last night and we're going to focus heavy on science for a few weeks, as well as spelling. We will still study our other subjects as well, but we're going to put some focused work into spelling and science since those two subjects have gone a bit lax over the last 2 months.

Yarn Along: Christmas Hats Edition

{Yarn Along with Ginny today}

I mentioned last time that my craftiness for this holiday is a little limited by time and work so I had to pair down my "maybe" list accordingly.


I finished the last of the kids' hats over the weekend, and I'm pleased with all of them. I tried them on each kiddo and then told them that they were invisible hats and they would totally forget about them between now and Christmas- which means they ask me EVERY DAY when they can wear their new hats. Then I have the honor of playing along and saying, "What hats? I have no idea what you're talking about."

This is the Wurm hat I had begun last week. It's a bit stretched out after a wash, but it will bounce back quickly, especially being worn by one particularly busy boy of mine.

This it the Lacy Julian Hat that I've knit 4 or 5 times now. I love that it goes so quickly. I knit this for Ellie from start to finish on Sunday afternoon, even with an extra repeat of the lace pattern.

This is a little hat I improvise for Ender. That's the great thing about hats- they are so easy to just cast on and go! I added my notes on ravelry.


I'm still reading Ann Voskamp's The Greatest Gift, savoring a bit each day through this season.

What are you knitting and reading this week?

A Little Story

I originally planned to tell you a little tale of my recent finishing kick amongst projects in my knitting basket, but another little story happened that has to come first- a distraction, if you will.


Early Saturday morning I woke up to my husband telling me I needed to get up and get ready to go. Now, we had no plans for this particular Saturday, which doesn't happen often around here, so I was very confused. Plus it was very early. Way too early to get up on a Saturday with no plans. He went on to tell me how he had arranged for me to go to a spinning class and spend a bit on fiber, but I needed to get moving because it's about an hour drive to the nearest shop that teaches spinning. I was still a little confused, but happy and I got in the shower while he told me exactly what was going on. He had a list ready of what I needed to bring to class, had already packed what he knew to pack, and had even put the shop address into the GPS for me.


So I got in the car and drove and spent the entire time excited to get some more time spinning on the Lendrum in a class since I won't be able to buy a wheel for awhile. I thought through fiber and what I have in my minuscule stash at home so that I could look at some different fibers this time.


I signed in for class and got a little bit more information about exactly what the class was. It was a sampling class, a "step 2" for new spinners. They assumed you'd spun for a little while and needed a few basic questions answered, but then we would be given time to try out a few different fibers and also to work on short draw, long draw, and spinning from the fold.


I told the instructor that I've been spinning on a drop spindle for the last 9 months and that the class was a surprise and I wasn't sure I would be able to attempt different techniques during class since I haven't spun on a wheel since last February. She was very kind and smiled and said, "I'm sure you're hands will only take a few minutes to adjust to the wheel versus the drop spindle." I told her I wanted to be sure to sit at a Lendrum since it's the wheel I'm planning to buy in the future, and she assured me that could be arranged.


And then we went to the classroom, where a Lendrum sat in front of the first chair, with a red ribbon and a name tag made out to me.


My husband is known for sneaky fiber-related gifts, and he did it again- I was so very surprised. We had talked quite recently about being able to get the wheel in May or June, just in time for my birthday and another round of Tour de Fleece, so I was not at all expecting a wheel for Christmas... especially in November.

Her name is Lola, to join a long line of geeky references- it's just the way we name things around here. I spun on her in class all morning Saturday, and my boys were all gracious enough to allow me to spin on her during family movie night on Saturday. I spun a little more yesterday afternoon during Ellie's nap, and my... she is so wonderful. The singles I've spun so far are not super consistent, but better than I thought they would be. I'm sticking with short draw at the moment, but I'm going to make sure to practice some long draw in the near future.

Together

I'm so loving seeing the kids together these days. While the boys were reading their current chapter books on the couch last Friday Ellie climbed up with them to "read" a Star Wars chapter book upside down and I had the three of them in a row on the couch in the family room all looking deep in thought while thinking about very different things.


Ellie runs after them to "tickle" and they all giggle and the boys indulge her even though her tickles often include unintentional pinching and scratching.


The boys regularly load Ellie into a laundry basket and stuff blankets and pillows around her before taking her for rides- sliding the basket along the carpet in short bursts. She laughs and they laugh and they add stuffed animals to the basket.

For as much growing up as Ellie has done in the last 18 months, it is Ender who has changed the most. He didn't want a sister- in fact he wasn't a fan of adding another child to our family. He likes status quo and adding another kid threw his world for a loop- but for the better. He's learning to take care of someone who cannot take care of herself, he now understands that her cry means she needs a response of some sort, and I think he enjoys the detective work sometimes involved in discerning what a non-talking toddler needs. He thinks she is incredibly funny (she is) and he has learned that including her in the "big kid" games can make for a hilarious time.

I'm so thankful for the time they have growing up together.

Run Away

We ran off for a little holiday again last week. I meant to put a quick post up on Saturday mentioning this long planned trip, but I was too busy out on the actual trip!

We went to Disney World for 9 days and this time around took my parents. It was such a blessing to have them along. We generally did the mornings all together, then split off for the afternoon: the boys and Brian went to ride all the crazy rides, my parents went off wherever they wanted to look around, and Ellie and I went back to the hotel for a nap. The nap was supposed to just be for her, but I ended up "resting" too on several of the days. I had originally thought I might get to knit during those hours, but I was too wiped out.

Each day we would meet back up in the late afternoon/early evening for dinner and sometimes a few more things in the parks. Brian and I took turns taking Ellie back to the hotel for bedtime and going to bed early ourselves.

While I'd love to come back into this space with all sorts of finished knits, it's even better to come back into this space saying we had a week full of family time, fun adventures AND a brand new 8-year-old.

Schooling So Far

:: If you came to school at our house, you would have to contend with the often sighted Table Top Toddler. This is the only table she can climb on (our dining table is bar stool height) but we spend so much of our time in the family room/school room that she is on that table often, no matter how vigilant we are about pushing chairs in and making sure markers/scissors/staplers/glue sticks/temptations are put up.


:: It reminds me of another Table Top Toddler we had around these parts not too long ago. How is he in FIRST GRADE this year???


:: Have I mentioned yet that this school year is rocking so far? I'm really happy with our materials, our schedule, and how we're working through things. I felt like we really hit a good place of learning in fun ways but also covering basics in the second semester of last year, and have continued at a happy rate this year. We're reading a lot, making lots of art, and getting out for field trips while still covering math and other basics.


:: Our schedule changed a lot this year, and all for the better. I'm teaching in the studio less so that we have more time to learn together. We cover math and language arts first thing in the morning and then we read and make and play until I head into the studio to teach. We're reading from Story of the World and a giant stack of science books, and whatever books come home with us from the library.


:: Read Alouds are a hard thing to find time for around here with Ellie always on the go, but they are REALLY important to me- important enough that I'm admitting that I'm not doing a great job of fitting it in and conceding that audio books are the way to go for now. So far this year we've enjoyed Tales from the Odyssey by Mary Pope Osborne and we're almost to the end of Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White. Next up is Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder. We especially enjoyed the voice work on Tales from the Odyssey- nothing like a British accent from a Shakespearean actor to really bring a story to life!

Catching Up

I'd like to say that I sailed into this first week of the full studio schedule fully prepared and rocking the working mom routine again, but last week pretty much kicked me in the tail.


1. We ran out of milk and I didn't realize til 10 p.m. Monday night after I was essentially in bed for the night. I'm so thankful that I had a single serving (like a juice box, but 8 oz. of milk instead) stashed in the door of the fridge from when the boys had to pack a lunch a week or two ago so that the baby didn't starve at breakfast Tuesday morning.


2. We skipped school Tuesday morning to get to the store because we were not just out of milk, but out of dish soap, laundry detergent, trash bags and diapers. DIAPERS. Again, thankful that I keep a few diapers in the car in case I forget the diaper bag somewhere so that the poor baby didn't have to hang out in a super soggy mess until we made it to the store.


3. Baby girl decided I didn't need to sleep between the hours of 3:30-5:30 for half of last week. Averaging 5 hours of sleep a night wasn't awesome.


4. The laundry and kitchen suffered the worst at my return to work. I caught up with the kitchen by mid-week, but ended up with a gigantic pile of laundry by the weekend, and then we were busy during the weekend and I only got through 2 loads. Today is laundry day until I start working this evening.


5. To make things even more interesting, Brian had jury duty last Tuesday and was selected for a trial that lasted the rest of the week. I'm so thankful my parents were able to help us out with getting the boys to their evening activities and bring them home later than usual while Brian was serving at the courthouse.

6. I did knit, but not very much. A little bit of sleeves, a little bit of a toe for a new sock.

7. Did I mention my phone died? I have a new one now that I'm trying to figure out, but I'm on instagram now because of it. If you'd like to follow:  I'm looking for folks to follow also. So far it's ALL knitting, and I have to say that I really don't mind. :) So many beautiful projects going for everyone!

Ellie's Place

Ellie made a little place for herself a few weeks ago- the ledge of a window in our dining room. She can see outside, there's a place to set her bowl, and her little baby dolls can come along with her.

She babbles and plays on her own here at all times of day, but particularly when I'm working in the kitchen. She's always a little miffed that I won't let her sit on the open dishwasher door, so she heads to the window sill for an acceptable toddler-sized seat.

This Week

This week has been a mix of summer and fall for us- we are still out in the garden so much (and now have so. many. tomatoes.) and swimming and baseball is still being played, but we are also busy with school and I'm easing back into work with a half time start next week and back to the full schedule the week after.

On the Needles... 

I'm working on those cardigan sleeves in bits. The lack of portability is really getting to me, but I'm going to set up with it on the couch in the school room and while my boys are reading and going through snap circuit experiments like crazy I can maybe get a few rounds in.

I read...

I'm reading Enchanted by Alethea Kontis.

Just Keep Spinning…

I've been ignoring the spindle for the most part this week as I work on cardigan sleeves, but I'm ready to ply and may do that some through the weekend when I need a break from round and round on the sleeves.

Learning all the time…

We are listening to Tales from the Odyssey by Mary Pope Osborne. I found a wonderful recording at our library read by a Shakespearean actor and it is absolutely gorgeous. The boys listened happily on Wednesday for almost 2 hours as we went to and from a field trip and on a few errands. and when we found ourselves back in the car yesterday they both asked for the Odyssey before I'd even started the car.

A mild warning: there is talk in the book about people dying, being eaten by giants and all those sorts of things that are part of the *actual* Odyssey, so if your child will be alarmed by those types of events it may not be a good listen for your family. My boys understand that death is part of this world and the author doesn't go out of her way to make the deaths overly gruesome. I also really appreciate the emphasis the author places on the grief the men share over losing a comrade to disaster or monster. She does a wonderful job of continually reminding the reader/listener that Odysseus goes through all of these trials because he so desperately wants to get home to his family.

In the Kitchen...

Because of crazy amounts of tomatoes I have plans to roast tomatoes in the oven either today or tomorrow a la Food in Jars. And hopefully make pickles today or tomorrow.

Inspiration...

I'm looking for wall inspiration. We have now lived in our house for a year and a half and I have nothing on the walls. I'd like to change that, but it's not a thing I'm very good at. We did recently have some family photos taken and those are going up on the wall for sure, but that will only be one wall and this house has many... I'm collecting links on pinterest on my At Home board.

Watching (Spoiler Free, of course...)

Just Masterchef and Project Runway at the moment. We don't have a lot of shows we watch as they air, but there are a few new shows coming out that we are excited about, specifically Agents of SHIELD. *love* Agent Coulson.

Listening...

I've had a hard time getting podcasts in aside from the Knitmore Girls lately. I have so many podcasts to catch up on!

This weekend...

We have the weekend off from baseball so depending on weather we are going to be out in the garden, I have canning and knitting plans and the boys have some sort of "do as many science experiments as we can in one day" conspiracy going for tomorrow. 

Adjust

I went to sew with friends on Saturday mornings and was rudely interrupted by a migraine. I had to leave early and go to bed for much of the rest of the day. The boys were able to help Brian outside all afternoon cleaning up one of the overgrown beds in the backyard. Ellie went happily back and forth, outside for a bit and inside with me. She would get very upset if she caught sight of the tractor outside through the window. Ellie seems to believe that the tractor is her personal carriage.

I made some adjustments for school this weekend and gave each of the boys a reading placement test. Ezra's reading is coming along nicely and he's a little bit ahead. Ender is doing great as well and reading a few grades ahead. I'm having a hard time deciding what to have him read- I want to have him read at the level he can read, but I don't want him to read topics that are too mature for him. I'm pulling back in a few other school areas and doing more in others. I always seem to come into the new school year with a little too much to do, see what the boys enjoy and then adjust, making sure we are still covering what needs to be covered.


We're definitely enjoying our reading list so far. I tried to include as much science as possible for Ender which has made him a lot more enthusiastic about getting started each morning. He knows that as soon as he finishes math and language arts in the morning it's on to snap circuits and reading about scientists and how machines work and projects... and for this kid who doesn't *love* school, it's exciting for me to see. Reading is now easy for him and that has made all the difference in the last few months. It makes all of schooling easier and he can really be self-led in his project work now that he can read and follow the directions himself.

This Week

This week should probably be titled "wow- it's really gone, isn't it?" because that's how I feel now that Friday is here. We officially started this school year on Monday and after we finish today's school session I'm going to spend a chunk of the weekend revising a few plans to better address the boys' needs and rearranging some things to better accommodate Ellie's epic toddler-ness. We have a gate and closed doors to keep her with us, but we need to divide and conquer a little better so that she isn't left with chunks of time playing on her own next to us.

I am out of the music studio for the month which helps us get a good start on school and also a good time to get household projects done. This week was kid rooms and their closets. Ellie's is happily finished and I have a good list of what she needs clothes-wise for this winter. The boys... well, I wasn't so thrilled to find the explosion that was formerly known as their closet. If anyone has fabulous suggestions on helping boys keep their stuff from multiplying into other stuff, please let me know. One of the boys would be a complete neat freak if he had his own room. The other one doesn't notice giant piles of transformers and legos and clothes even when you point them out to him. 

I'm finishing up the fall registration in the studio today and tomorrow too, and once that's done I can truly relax and enjoy the rest of August off. 

On the Needles...

I have made very little knitting progress this week unfortunately. I mentioned in this week's Yarn Along that I bruised my hand earlier in the week and that pretty much shut down my knitting for the moment. It's feeling somewhat better and I was able to spin some yesterday without very much pain, so I'm hoping to get back to knitting a little bit in the next day or two as long as it continues to feel better. My projects in progress are still the little Striped Cardigan for Ellie, the Doctor Who Kernel, and the little hat for my niece that I shared on Wednesday.

I read...

Spinning in the Old Way by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts and hunting for another read after finishing Ready Player One.

Just Keep Spinning…

I have two balls of singles finished on this white wool. When I finish the next ball I think I'll go ahead and wind the three into a plying ball and ply before going on to more singles. I started spinning the first single with the intention of spinning a 3 ply yarn and using it to knit something for Ellie, but the more I've thought about what to do with this fiber as I'm spinning, I really just want to use it to work on more technical skills. So I'm going to spin a 3 ply as soon as I finish the current single, then I want to practice spinning from the fold with a horizontal draw. After watching the Fiber Beat video and reading more about it I really think it will be a useful technique for me. I listened to the old Fiber Beat podcast with Priscilla Gibson-Roberts and she talked about "older" spinners sometimes needing to use the horizontal draw because of the stress a vertical draw can put on the neck and shoulders. I struggle with tension issues across my shoulders as a musician and need to protect my arms as much as possible for my career. Adding tension through spinning won't help a thing, and I think horizontal draw will be healthier for my arms in the long run. 

Learning all the time…

Two wildly weird things happened in our homeschool this week as we got started with the new year. 

Weird item #1: My super artistic Ezra really loves math. I'm a little surprised by that to be honest, but he was really sad that we played some math games instead of having a formal math lesson on Wednesday. 

Weird item #2: Yesterday we had a light school day just like we will have once I start back to the studio schedule in September. We finished for the morning around 11 and went on with our chores and lunch and working on house projects in the afternoon. The boys asked around 3 or so if we were done with school for the day. They were disappointed to find out that we were, and they both asked if they could please have some homework. That was the first time I've ever had homework requested of me.

In the Kitchen... 

I read Ginny's pickle post with great interest. I have Canning for a New Generation also, and I'm finding myself in the same cucumber situation- a decent amount of cucumbers to pickle, but not enough to really pickle the sort of batch called for in canning recipes. I'm hoping to sort out some numbers and try it myself over the weekend.

Inspiration...

I started collecting dyeing links on my Knitting and Spinning Pinterest board. I'm not ready to jump in just yet, but reading and thinking about it.

Watching (Spoiler Free, of course...)

We've been watching Brain Games episodes that we DVR'd not long ago. Ender in particular is really interested in them and has enjoyed trying to figure out how each "trick" works before the reveal. 

Listening...

I downloaded all the Fiber Beat podcast episodes and have been listening to them in order from the beginning while working on the kids' rooms this week. There are so many great interviews to listen to! I'm in the middle of the one with Anna Zilboorg at the moment. 

Garden...

We have several cucumbers now, a jalapeno, and several little tomatoes. Ellie was so sweet to watch- her excitement over spotting a little red tomato had us all laughing, and in fact laughing so much that we didn't notice right away that she was picking anything that was even sort of red. Some of our tomatoes will be hanging out on the counter for a little while to ripen fully.

In Stitches...

I *really* need to get to the machine. I have a stack of things cut for Ellie and the boys and Ellie needs the winter stuff soon. Our weather is crazy cool for August and it's just another reminder that fall is coming and soon we will all need scarves, mittens, hats and long things.

I made myself buy some knit fabric so that I can learn to sew little leggings for Ellie. I have never sewn with knit fabric before, so I need to make an appointment with my mom so she can help me get going.

I didn't get to...

A few things on my organizing list didn't happen this week, but the important things (the kids rooms completely cleaned and starting school) did. So I'm letting go of the other things and purposely forgetting that I mopped the kitchen TWICE on Wednesday and by Thursday morning you couldn't even tell.

You know, I include this category because I think it's important to recognize in our blog posts that life isn't always full of finished projects and gorgeous gardens and life coming together every single day. I don't know about you, but even when I have a really successful week and accomplish a lot of the things on my list I rarely find myself in a place where everything is completely finished. There is always tomorrow and next week for those things.

This weekend...

I'm meeting up with friends on Saturday morning, then the family plan is to spend Saturday afternoon outside taking care of weeds in the garden and one of the beds we haven't gotten to yet this year that is seriously out of control. The boys are hitting a baseball game and I'm hoping to catch up on some knitting if my hand co-operates. Maybe?

Summer Time

This Week

This week I started the summer session in the studio and we went to approximately 8 MILLION baseball games. Baseball season is almost over and we'll be a little sad when it's done, but I won't be sad about not having to figure out how to keep Ellie up until 9:30/10 on game nights. She's in that weird transition from 2 naps to 1 nap, where she needs different things on different days.

On the Needles... 

The Boneyard Shawl is still in progress, I'm working on another cardigan for Ellie for this fall as I have time, and I have the first of the grey and coral Regia socks on the needles. I find myself mostly working on the Boneyard Shawl, but taking the sock to baseball games.

I read...

Still Game of Thrones, but I got a solid 90 minutes of time in last night and made a ton of progress. I'm still trying to get it done by tomorrow night, but not sure I'll get it done. If I run out of time hopefully I can queue it back and get it back quickly.

Just Keep Spinning…

I'm trying to get a little time with the spindle each day to "warm up" for Tour de Fleece. I'm not doing anything special for the Tour and I certainly don't expect to finish all of the wool I have to spin, but I do want to make sure to spin for at least 15 minutes each day of the tour and gain more experience.

Learning all the time…

We spent pretty much all day Monday cleaning out the school room. We threw out a TON of paper (my boys produce artwork the way they breathe) and I stacked up the finished workbooks and binders from this year. We made sure all our games have the proper pieces and everything is together, we re-stacked books on the shelves and cleaned out the cabinet drawers.

I'm working on coming up with an organization system that will be a little more self-propelled. Some things we tried this past spring really helped- one basket per kid for the books each kid works out of, a plastic tote for the art that they make (that we clean out at the end of each month) and one central place for all crayons, markers, pencils and pens have been great. 

The problem that needs a solution is the stacking. I'm super guilty of this too- it's certainly not just the boys. By the end of the week we end up with stacks of things- narrations, library books, lesson plans... and by the end of the month it's crazy. So I end up using the whole last weekend of the month to take care of all of this and I'm tired of devoting a full day to this. We (the kids AND I) really need to work on putting everything away right away.

Garden...

The strawberry plants are gone, eaten almost down to the ground. My mom needs me to take about 10 strawberry plants from her to thin out her giant patch of about 75, so we'll "re-stock" but I need to figure out who is eating the plants.

I'm hoping next year to turn up more ground for more garden space next year, and once we determine the right size I want to get some fencing up.

In Stitches...

I picked up a few simplicity patterns for Ellie and also printed off a pattern for diaper covers since this girl is wearing dresses a LOT lately. If I show her two outfits she will *always* choose a dress.

I'm hoping to get some time in today to cut patterns and fabric and maybe to get started with the sewing. We only have 3 baseball games over the weekend- maybe I can sneak in an hour with the machine then?

I didn't get to...

The Studio organizing project I'd hoped to tackle. My library of music is seriously out of order and much of it is piled in recital-prep stacks from last April. Maybe next week?

This weekend...

3 baseball games and more school planning for me. I'm finishing up all the list making and once that's done the school year feels like a breeze. I can just turn in my binder to the right subject, look at the next thing and do it. So easy!