Playing Catch Up

I had fully intended to participate in Project Simplify when it was announced a few weeks ago, but I realized on the first morning of the project that I just can't. This week and the next 3 are full to the brim with studio work during the week and family life on the weekends, and I just don't have spare time. And a bit of me felt really guilty over that because it's the season of spring cleaning and I'm ... not. I usually do, but the studio recital is early this year and I'm on a maxed out student load, the gray and cold of winter still isn't gone (I know it's only March, but still!) and my mind is buzzing with the next 18 months of studio planning.


A teenaged student showed up for her lesson a little early and caught me with the next 3 years spread out over my desk with highlights and scribbles and post-its and said, "You have to plan that far ahead???"


Yep. Because there are facilities to rent and I have to be able to seat a LOT of people. And there are Christmas recitals and composition recitals and composition books to have printed in time for people to purchase- and it's just me running the whole show.


And somehow I forget that this period of 6 weeks knocks me flat, even though it has every year for the last 9 years. I was totally surprised by it this past week, but I think fires have been put out and we're ready to get back to normal minus the guilt I'm choosing not to have over the boys not really having school for awhile.This is why we school year-round, right? So we can take time off when we actually need the break! So we'll consider this an extrended spring break. We will still read every day, Ender is still reading to me each day, and I'm sure a few schooly things will creep in, but mostly we're going to do whatever keeps them busy, happy, and me a little less stressed. Nothing really planned, no units or projects (unless they are completely independent).


**And to answer a few questions, yes- I'm going to post the rest of our continent units soon. I posted Asia and Australia last fall and we've since covered Antarctica and Europe and a bit of South America (though that's on hold temporarily.) I will try to post those in the next few weeks since I know you guys are either started planning or going to be soon! I'm planning to put up South America and North America after we finish the units and make adjustments to the plans. I only want to put up material we actually use!

** Yes, I'm still participating in MMM, but I'm pretty much cycling through the first week's worth of self-made clothes. Pics to come sometime soon...

Yarn Along

Today I'm knitting along with Ginny at Small Things and posting a current read. I picked up Respect the Spindle at the library for what I thought would be a casual flip through.... and now I want to learn to spin. Maybe for my birthday this sumer there might be a drop spindle and a bit of wool to play with?


Current knitting? After all the busy-ness of last weekend and the beginning of this week I've only really gotten through another row or two, but it *is* a few more rows on my second lace and cable sock and I'm determined to finish it by the end of the month to keep my sock goal going.


I don't know why March always surprises me like this- March and early April are the heaviest weeks in the studio work wise each year, although I always seem to forget until these weeks arrive on my doorstep. I have to be even more intentional about crafting so that I don't feel overrun with work.


In other knitting news I finally got up the courage to unravel a sweater that was mostly done but in completely the wrong size and with some mistakes that were bugging me. I actually feel much better that it's washed and back to center pull balls ready to knit again, this time in the correct size! I never wanted to work on it because it seemed like those mistakes were yelling at me every time I picked it up. I'm glad I finally went for it and ripped the silly thing back.

10 years

I remembered a few days ago that I need to renew my driver's license soon. I was pregnant with Ender in that photo and the lady was *really* insistent that I tell her my actual weight for the license- as in the weight I was at six months pregnant. Did she realize the license would last for 6 years and that I wouldn't be pregnant for most of it?


I remember thinking "I'll have a Kindergartener when I have to renew this."


I totally didn't think about it being an important anniversary for us.


Ten years later...


Two little boys...


A few jobs removed from those we held ten years ago...


I'm sewing with tulle again, but not for a veil this time around...


10 year later I'm packing my little boys so they can see grandparents and we can take off to ponder the 10 years we've spent together...

Geek

Geek is an oft used word at our house, always in a positive way. We are geeks about Joss Whedon and would attend Comicon every year if we could. We are both movie geeks (though Brian's geekdom goes back way farther than mine), I'm a knitting geek, he's a baseball geek, I'm a music geek, he's a serious scifi geek.


For us being a geek involves being deeply involved long-term with a topic and constantly learning and exploring more about it. We know that people don't get it or they only get part of it (some people understand the knitting but not the comicon geekdom but some people *really* don't get knitting or baseball...)


Ender is really heavily into dinosaurs right now and is becoming quite knowledgeable. After he explained the difference between a few dinosaurs to Brian over the weeekend Brian told Ender it looked like he was becoming a dinosaur geek.


Ender: What's a geek?


Brian: It's our tribe, son.


We seek to raise geeks- kids on the exciting journey to find their strengths and build expertise on topics they love. We don't really care what kind of geek the boys turn out to be as long as they find a subject that engages them. Maybe it will be dinosaurs long term for Ender, maybe not- but these smaller experiments with long term projects are preparing him for the day when he meets the topic that will engage his mind for years.

Me-Made-March Days 1-6

March 1: a re-fashioned shirt that I made last summer, with jeans and a black tee underneath.

March 2: A red linen skirt I made summer of  2009. I used the pattern piece from the Yard-Sale Wrap Skirt by Heather Ross (from Weekend Sewing) but added a waistband since I'm not a big fan of the wrap style.

March 3: These are Mitt Envy [Rav link]. Such a fast and easy knit, and my first cables on an actual project rather than a swatch. I wear these frequently when I practice or teach since my hands tend to be cold.

March 4: These are the first socks I ever made- cuff down, dk weight yarn. If I were to do them over again I'd adjust the cuff (a little too wide), but otherwise the fit is good and they are great for around the house.

March 5: a repeat of the black re-fashioned shirt from day 1. I was surprised with a blurry photo when I uploaded, so no pic- sorry!


March 6: a refashioned black skirt. This skirt was re-fashioned from a knit dress I used for performance before I had my boys. The top didn't fit after pregnancy but I really loved the dress, so it languished in my closet unused until I got up the guts to chop it up and make it into a skirt- I wear it all the time now! I really dislike the shirt though- I'm not really sure why I still wear it- probably because I don't want to wear all black all the time and I'm a chicken about matching things up.

And my fashion problem is? Too much black.