Sledding!

So, for the long weekend we went to visit Pappy at his place near Shaver Lake. We made the right choice picking the boys up at lunchtime on Friday--we got stuck in no traffic! The lovely view above greeted us, though the boys were mostly interested in the icky road snow that was left.

So, of course, on Saturday we had to go up the road a bit to play in the snow. After a bit of a bust in town (icy snow, too many people, and always the possibility of sledding into the lake), we found a nice lonely spot on Dinkey Creek Road. Hills perfectly sized for both boys, no people, and lots (maybe too much--E-man kept sinking!) of nice soft snow. E-man was not thrilled with getting a bit of air, though, as he also got a faceful of snow.

We went back there Sunday. And we all got in some good sledding. With a little help from mom, he also braved the saucer alone again, and made a snow shark. It's eating a fish!




The boys also had some fun exploring the rocks at Pappy's place. There were some pretty and chilly trickles coming from the granite. T-bone liked the small (very small!) waterfall, E-man liked the squishy moss and slippery algae. All in all, a fun weekend with Pappy!

Sidewalk Paint!

This is probably no surprise to anyone that knows him, but T-bone went nuts when I showed him the homemade sidewalk paint in the last issue of Family Fun magazine. (Who would have thought a Disney mag would be my favorite???) So, while E-man took a snooze on the couch this afternoon, T-bone and I made sidewalk paint. White, green, and yellow. And he proceeded to paint an entire road system on the patio and driveway. What you see above isn't even half.

Note to self: start buying cornstarch at Costco.

E-man's Sweater is DONE!

Yup, That's a happy boy. Happy because his sweater is done, and washed, and with the cuffs rolled up, fits! And it will fit next year, too. In spite of my gauge issues caused by substituting a cheaper and machine dryable yarn (still a DK wool superwash though), it all worked out in the end. Does that mean I know what I'm doing? 

Now I need to start T-bone's. First I need to figure out what size to do. He wants it yesterday...

Cooper the Hawk

Here he is, Cooper, our resident neighborhood hawk. He's a Cooper's Hawk, to be precise, but we are just so clever around here he is named Cooper.

Pete got this photo and several others the other morning--yesterday?--after we left for school. Cooper was looking and looking, this way and that, and there were no birds or squirrels in sight, and the outdoor cats (several frequent our yard since our kitty stays in!) were slinking for cover.

E-man and I recently saw Cooper sitting on our power pole, calling. We both thought it was pretty cool, though it made me glad I'm not a rat!

Illusion crochet square

So I joined a book club group on Ravelry. I sometimes miss being in a book club--but I don't miss the one annoying person every book club has, I don't miss conflicts with other meetings. And within the meetings. And being as it seems I'm already out of the house 2 nights a week, I don't need another meeting. So an online discussion group is kind of cool. No meetings to attend or miss. Reading messages whenever I want. Nice. 

The fun part of this particular book group is a mini-contest at the end for the best original 8x8 knit/crochet square based on the book. Fun! And 8x8 is just one evening's work.

So I just finished The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Great book. And I spent the whole book thinking about a square. Which I completed last night and posted there today. Without too much in the way of spoilers, since so much of the book is about hiding things (Liesel's learning to read, thefts, Max), I opted for Illusion Crochet (my first attempt--it involved lots of ripping). It's in black and white, which is meant to be the accordion keys, but can also stand for black letters on white paper. Here it is:

And here's the illusion:

Ta-da! A bit lopsided due to a wee miscount, but I was done with ripping.

The next book is The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. Which I am not enjoying yet. The writing style is way to contrived for me. We'll see.

A crafty rainy day...and a great book

Yet another rainy day.

T-bone and I went to Michaels today to get spray paint for his Pinewood Derby car (er...truck), being that it's that time of year again. I also needed (really!) some yarn (black and white in sport weight) and thread (for a project already going, and I'm running out!). More on those in the future.

When he heard we were going, E-man demanded "One of those wood things!" I had no clue what he meant til we were there. Of course! The $1 wood craft kits. So, we chose a semitruck for E-man. Which meant T-bone had to have...a semitruck. That is them in progress above. I am painting E-mans, of course (to exactly match the box, no less), but he painted on the glue to put it together. T-bone needs no help. He is painting some logo--looks familiar, but I can't place it. And just what we need, more completed wood craft kits roaming the floors...

I also started my Ravelry book club afghan block (that's what I needed the b&w for) for the best book I have read in a loooong time. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. What a great book. I had never heard of it, it is marketed as a Young Adult novel. A wee bit more intense than Harry Potter. I'll post my square when I'm done, I've already frogged it twice. Hopefully the third time's a charm.

On a chilly day

There is nothing quite so nice as snuggling on the couch with a warm cat! T-bone is now in charge of Tioga's food bowl. He is a bit overly generous with both the crunchies and the snacks Santa left her. She appreciates it!

I am still plodding along on E-man's sweater. I was hoping to have it done and posted by now. The ribbing is slooooow going. Hopefully I will get it done this weekend. Hopefully.