{ This Moment }

Joining Amanda Soule from Soulemama for This Moment, a single photograph from the week. A moment I wish to pause, savor, and remember.

life boats

This Week in the Garden

Joining Amanda Soule of Soulemama for a look at the garden...

our new plants

the last of the cahrd

cae helping to pull up the old plants

mixing in the compost

adding straw

Gardening here in the Phoenix area is a bit different from a lot of places, places that actually have rain and cooler temperatures that don't burn plants up. The greens have had it, yesterday we harvested the last bag of rainbow chard (my favorite green), pulled up two garlic bulbs (which I had no idea what to do with), and added compost to the bed. After checking my book "Month by Month Gardening in the Desert Southwest", my go to book for all things gardening here, we planted a few melons, an eggplant, and a cucumber (all of which can be planted this time of year). Our tomato plants are doing well, but will no longer produce new fruit as the temperatures are going to consistently be well over 100 degrees from now until... August/September, and the monsoon season is still 4-6 weeks away. It should be interesting to see what we can keep alive here. So far this has been our most successful garden in Phoenix. When we live in Tucson we were able to produce a large amount from our garden, but the ground was better and the temps were a bit cooler, and we always got a bit more rain than the Phoenix area. Still, no matter how well the garden does, it is always nice to go out and care for it with the kids.

Yarn Along

Joining Ginny from Small Things for the weekly Wednesday Yarn Along.

Ahhhh, yarn shopping. This weekend I went out and picked up even more yarn, I can't seem to help myself. I do really good for awhile and then BANG! I need to fill up the stash or something. Anywho, I got three skeins of Manos del Uruguay from Tempe Yarn and Fiber. One skein of "fire, one of "aqua" and one of "melt away mints". I could have bought every single colorway. It is so hard to pick just a few of those yarns, they are heavenly, so soft and cuddly, and oh so beautiful.
I am working with "aqua" right now making a pebble vest in the round so there are not all the millions of wee little buttons along the side. I am going to make both shoulder straps have a button hole and I am planning on using some of my Wooly Moss Roots buttons, but to pick which ones, seems darn near impossible.

And on the reading front, I should be reading 8 other books, but instead I am enjoying my two new magazines, and finding a bit of time here and there to read Dan Brown's new book before Logan takes it from me to read... thankful he is visiting friends for a week, so I have some time.

The early morning

I have been rising at 5:30 almost every morning for well over a month now. I wasn't always a "morning person", I worked the night shift at hospitals for almost 16 years, any time before 10 am was just really way to early, almost like a sort of sickness, I mean really who wakes up before 10 am?
I love my morning solitude, I get up, go out in the back and feed and care for the hens, water the garden, and sit out on the back porch watching the birds at the bird feeder, listening to all the sounds of the early morning in the city. Sometimes I even do a bit of yoga out there in the still nice cool mornings.
I come in start a load of wash, that will end up in a pile of clean clothes that sits in a chair for a day or three before someone gets around to folding it, I do up the dishes and empty the dish washer. By this time someone else is joining me, usually it is Miss Fiona Rosy, all sunshine and smiles. She tends to nurse back to sleep, and then I open up a book or continue on with a knitting project. I must admit that it is a much nicer way to start the day then rolling out of bed at 10 am, a total grump, and stumbling around for the better half of the day.

* Gratitude Sunday *

Joining Taryn from Wooly Moss Roots for Sunday's heart felt tradition. A time to slow down, to reflect, to be grateful. A list of gratitudes...

~ double lines on a pregnancy test
~ a dinner date with my main man, to a most wonderful Indian restaurant... man, oh man, have I been hankering for some good Indian food
~ my early morning to myself, yes 5:30 am is early but it is oh so nice to have a wee bit of time to myself outside before it is hot and the kids need me for everything
~ choosing happiness
~ a surprise yarn gift from my dear husband. :) some lovely yarn to knit something for our wee little poppy seed baby
~ all of my wonderful books arriving, so much goodness to read, I am having a hard time deciding which book to read first
~ my lovely buttons from Wooly Moss Roots, I am so excited to use these. :)
~ chocolate covered pretzels, need I say more?
~ hot days but lovely mornings and evenings... lovely enough to have the windows wide open every morning for hours
~ morning sickness, yes I am grateful for that too... it lets me know that this little one might be sticking around
~making time to journal and be present and be grateful... life is such an amazing gift
~ three day weekends

One month

me at 4 weeks... yes, i have a squishy belly

 I thought maybe it would be fun to post a picture once a month to show off my growing belly... I must admit that my belly is a bit squish, and I feel a tad bit weird posting a picture of it... but hey, I have a baby the size of a  poppy seed inside there right now, it needs padding.

yarn and buttons for future baby knits

As soon as the ++ showed up on the pregnancy test I was forced by a strange nature call to order more yarn from Brambleberry yarns and lovely wooden buttons from Wooly Moss Roots to plan some soft and cuddly baby knits for this new little poppy seed.
And, if I am honest I also ordered this from Armadillo Dreams. Personally, I feel that everyone should have a portable rainbow to pull along with them. And I really, really want to order a baby quilt from GypsyForest... but I will contain myself, at least for a little while.

{ This Moment }

Joining Amanda Soule from Soulemama for This Moment. A single photograph from the week. A moment I wish to pause, savor, and remember.

Yarn Along and crafting

almost completed small wool soakers

WIP large wool soaker

one of 8 books i must read in the next 6 months

yarn for 2nd large wool soaker

Joining Ginny from Small Things for weekly Wednesday Yarn Along and Frontier Dreams for KCCO.

The wool soakers from last week now have the leg ribbing, which ended up going great, I just wasn't picking up enough stitches along the legs. Now they just need to be sewn up, but I think I will wait and do all the soakers at once... I am currently working on a large one made with the two pinks, hoping it will be big enough for Fiona, and the left over blue and green I am planning on another large soaker for my nephew. Super excited about those.
I am reading "The Politics of Breastfeeding" which is an excellent book I think everyone nursing mother should read.

The weekend in photographs

making rainbow snakes

at Papa's pool party

Fiona Rosy and Daddy

wii bowling 

peonies 

knitting

reading

some sort of largish melon/pumpkin

our sweeeeet dragons have been found

basket ball with daddy

time out to talk strategy 

basket ball continues

A wonderful, fun filled weekend. Just how I like them.

joining Amanda of Habit of Being.

Yarn Along

wool diaper covers

probably my most favorite yarn EVER

I was able to almost complete 4 wool diaper covers this past week. I have been having a heck of a time adding the ribbing on the legs. I am suppose to pick 30 odd stitches and do 6 rows of k1p1 ribbing, but it seems to make such wee tiny leg holes, I am not sure if I am doing it correctly. Ah well, I am not in a hurry.
I have made this wool soaker before when Fiona was a wee babe, and I guess I never did do the ribbing around the legs, it just doesn't look right with out it. And this yarn! Oh this yarn is delicious! I wish I had a million dollars to spend on it because it is so soft, and easy peasy to work with. I actually have more left than I first thought, so I might make two more soakers one using both pinks and another using blue and green.
I have been NOT reading 8 books on parenting and breastfeeding like I should be doing. As always when I am in a weird place I pull out my copy of "The Mother Trip" by Ariel Gore and just fill up my soul with HipMama awesomeness, wise words, and beautifulness. I love reading her just like I love reading Barbara Kingsolver's essay books "High Tide in Tucson" and "Small Wonder". Which makes me think... maybe I should re-read "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle", or maybe I should just dive into my big old stack of school related books. haha

pretty flower

*Gratitude Sunday *

Joining Taryn from Wooly Moss Roots for a weekly Sunday ritual. A time to slow, to reflect to be grateful. A list if gratitudes...

~ I am oh so grateful for my children. They each are so their own person, so beautiful, strong, funny, loving, wild, amazing.
~ My husband, for being my best friend, my soulmate, my one true love
~ The warm days we are having
~ Continuing to wake up early, get the chores done, knit a bit, do yoga outside all before the kids get up
~ Learning to be gentle with myself
~ My soft soft sofa
~ My lovely Mother's day gift from Ike and the kids... this
~ for my own mother, thank you

{ This Moment }

Joining Amanda Soule from Soulemama for a Friday ritual. A single photograph from the week, a moment I wish to pause, savor, and remember.

Corners of our Home

cloth diapers

yarn stash

belly cast

toy shelf

knitting basket

cuddly sofa

front yard

The corners of this house are what make it a home, our touches, our things, our time, our emotions, our love. The sunshining in the windows, the children's laughter and tears, the smells of dinner cooking (or breakfast, or lunch), the sounds of the cat and the washing machine, the steam from a hot shower, coffee brewing, and the early morning sounds of birds and heavy breathing of deep sleeping children. These wee corners of our home, how I love them.