Introducing “mini-cp” aka Christina

Posted on December 4, 2014 by cpeezers

A couple of weeks ago, I started on a very fun knitting project. I began knitting a doll from the Arne and Carlos Knitted Dolls book.

When I first blogged about the doll, I posted an in-process picture.

Now mini-cp is complete. I call her cp (aka me), because Davey has asked me to knit the whole family. I am planning on a little Davey and a big David. Davey also wants Buster in the family portrait. I have a knitted dog pattern book, so I may have to knit him as well.

I am pretty excited about little cp. She was a lot of fun to knit.

When Davey saw her he said, “Mama, your eyelashes don’t look like that.” So maybe there is not a great deal of resemblance beyond the brown eyes and brown hair. Her brown locks are more luxurious and flowing then mine for sure. She is also wearing a skirt which I haven’t worn much since my bank examining days.

I would definitely like some striped leggings like the ones she has on. They are very fun despite the fact that they may not totally “work” with the outfit. She’s also not wearing any shoes. I guess I could make her some for the formal family portrait. I don’t really like to wear shoes though, so this is ok for now.

Mini-cp really enjoyed having her picture taken though. She was not shy about close-ups.

She wanted to try several poses. I like this one.

And here she is caught in a pensive gaze.

I am having way too much fun with this.

Cottonwood Pass and Vacations Past

Posted on November 30, 2014 by cpeezers

I have spent the last few days going through about 225 pictures from when I was little. Mom sent them to me, and they include pictures of our family which date back to 1967, when I was born. I think there are probably more of our family childhood pictures out there, but this is a good start. I scanned them in, adjusted the color as needed (there was a definite need since there were many aging pictures from the 70s!), and I have now compiled them into a photo book.

Some of my favorite pictures are the vacation pictures. We went camping somewhere every summer when I was a kid. We often went to Colorado or New Mexico, and later we went to the National Seashore in Padre Island and to Florida. One of the things I remember about Padre Island was looking for scallops in the bay. I’d never known before that time that they had dozens of bright blue eyes. Our friends, the Leggs, showed us how to scoot our toes along the sand and to feel for those scallop shells. After we were done gathering them, we returned to our campground to cook them. That was a memorable trip. We walked along the beach, tried to avoid those purple man o’war jellyfish, helped the park rangers release baby sea turtles, and made new friends.

My dad is famous for finding things. We can walk across the same parking lot, and he will come across $10.00 richer, while the rest of us will not have found anything. When I was a kid, Papa would come home from work and empty his shoes. He found change every day (we Potters have high arches which allow for the ability to store coins in our shoes). He’d save all the change throughout the year and then use it to pay for the gas on our trips.

In the picture below, I think we were in New Mexico, where we met up with the friends whom we’d met the summer before on Padre Island.

We lived in northeastern Oklahoma, and I always loved the drive across western Oklahoma. In later years, I used to love the drives David and I made from Dallas across west Texas to Colorado. I have always loved the big open spaces and blue skies. When I came across the picture below, I shared it, and my dad told me how much he also loved those drives across Oklahoma to New Mexico.

Then I came across this picture of us on Cottonwood Pass in Colorado.

I realized that we’d taken Davey across Cottonwood Pass just a few years ago, and we’d taken a very similar picture. So now I had two pictures. First me with my dad, and then Davey with his. I love this “tie” through time.

I have come across other family pictures where I don’t really know the stories that go with them, and so I learned some new stories and perspectives from my brother, sister and parents. I love stories. It’s primarily why I write this blog. Now that we will all have a photo book of our family pictures, I would love for us to share and maybe write down more of our stories. Maybe over the next year, we can begin to just jot down some of the memories we associate with the pictures, because we all have different memories and perspectives even about the same picture.

Maybe I can create a new book which includes our written stories. That would be a very big treasure for me.

Moments to Remember

Posted on November 29, 2014 by cpeezers

Each year, on the day after Thanksgiving, our town organizes an event called “Moments to Remember”. There are activities planned for the entire day. There is a craft bazaar and chili feed. The downtown businesses declare it to be Plaid Friday, and they have sales. There are Christmas light lightings (that sounds redundant!), caroling, dance recitals, camel rides (last year we saw reindeer), and a cookie scavenger hunt. The kids collect cookie toppings from different businesses, and then they return to a central area where they decorate their cookies. Davey is not much on crowded spaces, so he didn’t want to participate in the cookie scavenger hunt this year.

One of the best parts is the “Walk through Bethlehem” which is performed at night. The performers set up along a long alley, and they act out Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem. The Three Kings bring their gifts and sing “Oh Holy Night, (which reminds me that I need to look up frankincense and myrrh and make sure I explained them correctly to curious Davey) and the angels also sing. It ends with one of my favorite Christmas carols, “Joy to the World”. When the performance opened, there was a line that went all the way around the block so Davey and I went home. We came back after an hour and got there just in time for the last performance. Davey loved it. There are goats, sheep, chickens, turkeys etc., along the route. He likes to see the children who perform as well.

The craft bazaar was at the fairgrounds. It was not too big, but I enjoyed it. I tend to stop and chat too much with the vendors, and David and Davey get bored with me. It’s fun meeting the artists though and talking about their work. On our way home from the craft fair, I took another one of my favorite types of pictures.

There is a historic building downtown with huge windows, and the local dance groups performed there while we watched through the windows. It’s really fun, and this year they performed several selections from The Nutcracker. Davey really enjoyed watching them dance. He recognized a few friends, and he liked that as well.

Davey likes to attend all the lightings. There were three of them spaced out over an hour. First, we went to a lighting at the Fairgrounds. Then we went to the Safeway parking lot and listened to a choir sing as they lighted the Christmas tree. Finally, we went downtown (all three of these things are within a mile of each other) and watched them turn on the lights there. The organizers handed out candles, and we sang Christmas carols and listened to the choir sing.

It’s a fun day, and is just one of the reasons we love living in a small town again!

Legs!!! (of the doll variety)

Posted on November 26, 2014 by cpeezers

I am having so much fun with my latest knitting project. My mom put me onto these Scandinavian knitters named Arne and Carlos. They are so creative and fun. She just sent me a book they wrote called Knitted Dolls. I could not wait to start knitting a doll. The book includes a basic doll pattern and then a bunch of ways to customize your doll. Not to mention the clothes! There are so many creative patterns for doll clothes. Their dolls are so unique, and Arne and Carlos use lots of colors.

I mean look at this cover. These are dolls they knitted to look like themselves. I love them. I want to knit some little glasses too!

I have started a doll. Another great thing about these dolls is that it is a great way to use up leftover yarn. I have quite a bit of Knit Picks Palette, and that’s what I am using for the legs. Can you tell that these are legs?

When you knit the body, you can go “flesh tones” or you can knit it to have basic underclothes on. I had to go for the striped tights.

I am a little worried about the hair and face. I can really mess up a doll with a wonky face, but I think they provide great instructions to make the features.

I can’t wait to figure out how I am going to “dress” her!

Davey’s sweater

Posted on November 11, 2014 by cpeezers

I have finished knitting Davey’s sweater. I finished it just in time for the really cold weather that has arrived. The sweater pattern is called Wyatt and is from Brooklyn Tweed. I used a superwash yarn from Ella Rae.

Davey very agreeably consented to let me take some pictures of him in his sweater despite the busy day he is having playing Minecraft (“Mama, I am relaxing!”).

The light is not perfect, but we got some nice pics anyway.

There were a couple of challenging moments with this sweater. I knitted one of the button bands and totally messed it up. I didn’t pick up enough stitches when I was making it so it came out a lot shorter then the opposite button band. I think the sweater went into time out for a little bit. The second time around, I still didn’t get it quite perfect, but it went much better. I ordered some beautiful buttons from an etsy seller called AnnyMay Craft Supplies. I love these buttons.

I did something earlier on too when I was trying to figure out how to incorporate the sleeves into the body. I have kinda blocked the specifics out of my mind. This resulted in another time out.

Then there was also a moment where I thought the sweater would end up being mine. I soaked it and then lightly blocked it. After I blocked it, I thought “wow, that sweater looks really big,” but I thought “nah, it will be ok”. So I came back to it when it was almost dry and it definitely was enormous. I should have taken a picture. I had a feeling that it would fit me. I tried it on and it fit almost perfectly. A size 8 boy’s sweater.

I messaged my friend Ann. She told me not to panic. She explained that superwash wool stretches like crazy, and that it really needed to be dried in the dryer. I got it wet again and put it into the dryer. I was worried that it would either not shrink up enough or shrink too much, but after it was dry, it was back to the right size which is one that has some growing room. It should easily fit him next winter I am hoping. It’s apparent in this picture that the sleeves are a little long still.

Davey was very helpful. He said I needed to take a picture of the back of it. So I did.

The light was too bright here, but I loved how Davey modeled the sweater for me when he was standing on the front porch.

I learned a lot making this sweater, and it definitely had some challenging moments. But – yay! – it turned out well.

7

Posted on November 3, 2014 by cpeezers

Today Davey is 7. It’s been quite a year of learning, accomplishments and fun.

When Davey turned 6, he had just started kindergarten. He couldn’t read. He couldn’t ride a bike and he did not like to even put his face in the water at the pool. He was probably 3 inches shorter, and he had all his teeth. He’s lost 5 teeth now.

This year Davey learned how to read, and he has just recently exploded with his reading. It’s amazing to me how kids learn to read. Last fall, we were learning sight words, and now he is reading us stories. He also discovered that he really likes Math. He likes to try to add up numbers in his head, and he likes to think about multiplication. Numbers are quite interesting to him.

He has decided that when he grows up he wants to be a marine biologist, own a cookie store, be a veterinarian, and I think he may have mentioned pediatrician as well.

This year Davey learned to ride his bike. He’s grown so much that he had to get a new bike which he immediately hopped on and took off. This led to mastering the scooter, and he loves to go “scooterin'”.

Davey is learning to swim. When we started swimming lessons at the beginning of the summer, he was very reluctant to put his head under water. By the end of the summer, he was swimming under water. He gained so much confidence and found that he loved the water.

He started taekwondo this fall and has discovered that he loves it. He and David are doing it together which makes it even better. Davey loves sparring, and he almost has his first form down. He can’t wait to test for his first belt.

This kid is so curious. I love that. We went to the eye doctor, and Davey wanted to know what every machine was and how it was used. He loved seeing the pictures of his eye and learning about the different parts. He is curious everywhere we go. We went to a friend’s house the other night, and our friend has a lot of really interesting objects. Old record players, clocks, artwork, and Davey wanted to know about all of it. I learn a lot hanging out with Davey.

Davey is still an outgoing kid who has never met a stranger. His heart is big, and he always wants to make sure his friends are doing ok. If there is an unhappy child, Davey is right there to see if he can help.

Davey’s a good boy. I tell him that he is the best little boy a mommy could ask for, and he kindly replies me that I am the best “medium sized mommy” a boy could ask for.

Happy Birthday Davey!

Harry and Hedwig – Halloween 2014

Posted on November 2, 2014 by cpeezers

This morning Davey asked me what he dressed up as on his very first Halloween. I was able to easily remember that one. We dressed him in an orange body suit type thing that had a monster guy on the front.

Then he wanted to know what he was the next year. I wasn’t quite sure! I was thinking Superman, but then I was afraid that I was getting my years mixed up. Sure enough though, he was Superman (David knew right away when I asked him). This was the first year he trick or treated.

I had to go back to my blog to remind myself that after that he was Spiderman, Captain America, a Jedi, and Robin. Thank goodness for my blog. All that to say, I figured I’d better blog about Halloween 2014!

This year he was Harry Potter. His aunt and uncle had sent this Quidditch robe earlier in the year. He has had a lot of fun with it.

They also sent Hedwig the owl who accompanied Davey on his trick or treating. Not a great picture but I love how he carried Hedwig along.

He had a great evening trick or treating with friends from the art department.

I feel much better to have Halloween up this point all straight in my head!

Lion’s Rock Attempt #1

Posted on October 26, 2014 by cpeezers

I have wanted to drive up to Lion’s Rock for awhile now. It’s just north of Ellensburg. I think it’s a big rock, and that there is an incredible view. I don’t know for sure because we still haven’t made it.

I had the great idea for us to drive up there this morning. I have been wanting to take a new family picture, and the fall colors are so pretty right now. So we loaded up and took off.

Ellensburg is at an altitude of about 1,500 feet. We drove up into the hills and up the mountain to about 5,000 feet. It was a quick climb.

It just so happens that it is also the height of elk hunting season. We must have seen 50 trucks filled with men dressed in orange. It was one goofy clueless little family and jillions of hunters.

When we left Ellensburg, it was a beautiful sunny day, and it was about 50 degrees. We climbed up a ways and it looked like this.

Fifteen minutes later, the temperature had dropped 30 degrees and it looked like this:

The road had gotten slushy, and we had to put the truck in 4 wheel drive. I had no idea we were going to be driving into winter. We finally saw a sign which said we still had 3 miles to go. The road was getting pretty bad so we decided we’d better turn around.

There was a big fire – two summers ago I think, and it left a lot of trees charred. It was sad to see but beautiful in an eerie way with the snow.

We went back down part of the way and stopped a couple of times to take some pictures. We should probably have worn orange.

Trying to get a picture of this goofy kid is not the easiest, but we got a few nice ones.

The family picture was tricky too.

I tried to get a picture of Davey and David, but Davey was not real interested.

And I think it might be wrong of me, but this picture makes me laugh every time.

I figured it might be the last year I could pick him up for a picture, so I wanted to try once more. I did get a better one which I like but which does not make me laugh as much. I like catching the not so sunny parts of Davey’s personality. He is sunny most of the time though!

It was an exciting beautiful drive into winter. Although we didn’t make it to Lion’s Rock, we managed to avoid the hunters, and we had fun (mostly!) taking pictures.

A Field Trip

Posted on October 23, 2014 by cpeezers

I have not blogged in almost a month. That feels very strange. It’s definitely time!

So today, I went with Davey’s class on a field trip to the fire station. It’s not far from his school so we walked there. This involved crossing a grassy field, walking down the side of a road for a short distance, crossing onto a gravel trail, and then shortly after that, we arrived at the station (we came in from behind!).

Davey and his class learned a ton of great information. I did too. For example, I learned that your nose doesn’t work while you are sleeping. You can have someone stick a big freshly baked pan of brownies under your nose when you are asleep, and the firemen told us you won’t smell it. That’s why we need working smoke detectors. I found that fact fascinating. It’s probably the one fact that I will not forget.

They talked about escape if there is a fire. Davey got the chance to be rescued from a bedroom.

Davey had told me this morning that he thought firemen were kinda scary when they had all their gear on. I guess the firemen were used to this because one fireman demonstrated putting on all his gear and then showed us how he breathed like Darth Vader when he had his air tank on.

The kids thought that was pretty cool.

We had to get a picture of our little group!

We were waiting to see the ambulance when all of a sudden they had a call to go to a house fire. All of a sudden, they were putting on gear and hustling like crazy.

They started their sirens –

and then they were gone!

It was really neat to see them in action. The kids got to see how quickly they prepared and were gone. (although I do feel bad for thinking it was neat to see them in action because that meant that someone needed them which of course wasn’t good.)

Such a fun trip. Davey couldn’t wait to come home and tell David all about it!

Wyatt in Progress

Posted on October 1, 2014 by cpeezers

A couple of weeks ago, I began the process of joining the arms to the body of my Wyatt sweater that I am making for Davey.

Once the arms and body are joined together, than I will begin to knit the yoke and neck which will look like this:

When I joined, I had to bind off six stitches in the center. This is where I ceased knitting in the round and instead began knitting back and forth. This is so I can create the opening in the front.

First though, I had to join them together. The instructions baffled me a little, but thankfully my friend Ann from Yarn Folk helped me figure it out. I was able to join it together while I was at the shop working with her.

Then I got it home and got it all messed up. I am not sure what I did, but I got really confused so I just took it all apart again. There were a bunch of stitch markers and I was trying to keep the front and back straight. Somehow I got them mixed up and I am just not sure what I did. Then I got disgusted with my mess, and I put the project in time out for a couple of weeks.

Time outs can be great things if you get the item back out of time out. My motivation to get the sweater out of time out was the fact that winter is coming, and this might be the only winter the size I am making will fit Davey.

So I tried it again. The second time around, everything made so much more sense to me. It went much more easily. I wish I could do everything twice. I would understand so much more.

I did this rejoining last weekend when we were up that the art building with David. He was doing some work and so we were hanging out with him. I found that I do much better work when I am sitting on a tall chair in front of a tall table where I have tons of room. It was perfect! I need this set up at home!

That’s not the greatest picture, but we do have joinage.

Here’s hoping that I can knit the rest without making any enormous mistakes!

Cpeezers

Family, School and Yarn