Flashback Friday

                             Yo Yo Mommy, April 2008

Oh my gosh look at Daphne's cheeks!  And hair!  She was so dang cute.

MTWTF

On Monday, I went to a Sip-n-Sew (and Knit) at the Bean Bar.  I started a project with linen yarn on tiny needles, and learned to do "double knitting."  Eventually, this will become a lavender sachet pouch.  Double knitting is pretty amazing.  I don't know how anybody ever came up with it.

On Tuesday, it snowed.  Again.  And I made a really good sandwich.

It didn't start snowing until after the bus came in the morning, so Daphne went to school.  After school, we walked in the snow down to King Street Coffee to do homework,

and then headed to the Finch so Daphne could finish up her sewing class.

She made a face zipper pouch.  I love it.

On Wednesday, I started another new project.  For work.  

Oh my gosh.  I said "work."

I don't know how this all happened, but I was asked if I would like to start teaching some knitting classes at the Finch.  I cannot tell you how excited and terrified I am.  I get to actually WORK at my favorite place in town.  I will get paid to sit and KNIT with people.  I can't wait to get started.  It's scary, but it's going to be so much fun.

On Thursday, there was no more sign of snow, so Daphne pogo'ed on the patio.  She is getting really good at it.  Her record is 100, and she could have kept going but she thought that was a good place to stop.

Today is Friday.  It rained all morning.  I went to Pilates, and then to a meeting at Shoes to talk about an upcoming camping trip with the troop and to drink a gigantic cup of coffee.  

There is a lot going on.  I hope I can handle it all without losing my groove.  I cannot lose my groove.  I think it will help when Spring is really here.  Spring is good for the groove.

So much good stuff is coming up, and so much to blog about, but no time now.  Daphne wants me to take another pogo stick video.  I think she has a new trick.

Happy Friday!

Spring Preview

Thursday was the first day of Spring.  And it was actually pretty spring-y!  So, the girls in the Brownie troop made bird feeders, and ours was visited frequently by some neighborhood chickadees until it was stolen by a squirrel.

Only three days before, it looked like this:

The birds were a welcome sight.

Friday night, we went roller skating.  It was so so SO much fun.  Sorry to say there are no pictures.  Daphne hasn't had much experience, but she got the hang of it by the time we left and is ready to go again.  I am too.  Next time, I'm bringing my own skates.  I think I might even put pompoms on them.

Saturday, it was extra spring-y, so we walked to Shoes for breakfast.

Then, we rode our bikes to the winery for lunch.

We were joined by a bluebird, who was also happy about the weather.

Daphne and Kev played frisbee while I watched the birds.

Then, Daphne found a stick.  Few things make her happier than digging in dirt with sticks.

You pretty much can't get any more spring-y than a pogo stick.

Then yesterday, it was back to being cold.  So we did some crafts and went to DQ.

Guess what it's going to do tomorrow?

I'm thankful for our little weekend taste of spring.  Soon it will be here to stay for a little while.  I am ready.

St. Patrick's Snow Day

Yesterday when we got home from West Virginia, Daphne put the finishing touches on her leprechaun house.  Upstairs, there is a bed and bathroom.  Downstairs there is a table and chair, and a couch.  There is a ramp for getting upstairs and various rainbow-y decorations.

Most of it was already done, but last night Daphne had to install the plumbing...

...and compose her letter:

She put out a tiny bowl of Lucky Charms and went to bed.

Kev and I stayed up and watched Nebraska, which is brilliant.  Please watch it.  So great.

Then, we went to bed.

In the morning, there was this:

And this:

The leprechaun, apparently pleased with the house, left Daphne several gold coins and a bunch of candy.  Lucky kid.

And there were extra Lucky Charms for breakfast.

Obvioulsy there was no school.  Snow Day Number 14.  Daphne played out in the snow, but I don't think her heart was in it.  Snow Days have lost their magic.

This picture was taken 5 minutes ago.  "I'm booooored," she whined.  Over and over.  So, I am going to brave the Great Blizzard and take her to the library.  

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you, wherever you are.  

Good Times in West Virginia

On Friday, our little family packed up the car and headed to West Virginia.  For Christmas, Kev gave us a "family gift" of a trip to a cabin in Blackwater Falls State Park.  Daphne spent the whole day before we left throwing up, so the whole trip was a little iffy.  Fortunately, she was fine, and (so far) Kev and I are fine as well.  We were able to make the trip without anyone getting sick.  Yay!  

Here are some scenes from our vacation.

We did some hiking on Saturday...it was a beautiful day.

First we went to Balanced Rock:

We found a playground:

Then we hiked to Blackwater Falls:

There was a rainbow in the water...you can kind of see it above.

We had a nice cabin.

There was reading, knitting, guitar playing...

...and s'mores.  Made with bacon chocolate.  Yep.

Daphne discovered an owl in her room:

There was a lot of wildlife viewing opportunity at the cabin.

These guys were not the least bit afraid of us.  Daphne was like the Deer Whisperer.

This is a red shouldered hawk.  A new bird for me...Number 94!

We were all sad to leave on Sunday.  Especially Daphne.  But we had to get home...another snow storm was looming.  More on that later.

On the way home, we drove through WInchester, VA, home of the only Sonic Restaurants I know of around here.  Winchester is an hour away from Leesburg, so we don't go there often.  So, since we were driving through, we stopped in for a cherry limeade, which I haven't had in about six years.  What a treat!  I also had a corn dog.  And Kevin put on my Willie Nelson CD.  For about ten minutes, it was just like being in Texas.  A nice way to end a great vacation.

And we got home before the snow.

Stay tuned for The Great Saint Patrick's Day Blizzard of 2014.  

Pictures of Food

Kev said that all of my pictures are of food.  Kev is an exaggerator.  But, I guess it's true that a LOT of my pictures are of food.  I can't help it.  Being the family chef is one of the biggest parts of my job, so food is often the biggest thing that happens during my day.  Nobody wants to see pictures of laundry.

Anyway, rather than bogging down this blog with pictures of food, I have decided to attempt to go back to writing in a separate blog, just for food and cooking and food-related stories.  I hope I can keep it up, because it is a very useful thing when I'm trying to plan meals around here.  So, if you are interested in knowing what that delicious looking stuff is in the picture above, please go over to the sidebar and click on the "What We Ate" link.  Or stay tuned here for pictures of Other Stuff.

Pogo Sticks, Martians, and Big Leprechaun Plans

Well, Daphne reached a milestone yesterday when she figured out her pogo stick.  She got it last year for her birthday, but wasn't heavy enough then to activate the springs.  Yesterday, it was actuually nice outside, so she decided to give it a shot.  Check out that look of determination in the photo above!  It took about five minutes for her to get the hang of it.  Her pogo stick record so far is 24 jumps.  She was so proud!

I had a pogo stick when I was a kid.  I loved that thing.  I would go up and down the sidewalk on it.  I could jump and jump for infinity and not fall off.  I had some stilts, too, that I was pretty OK at.  If only I'd had a unicycle to complete the trifecta.  It's never too late, I guess!  

Here is the book I was talking about yeterday.  I just finished reading it.  The basic premise is that an astronaut on a Mars mission is thought to be dead and is left behind on the planet by his crew.  He isn't dead at all, and has to survive all alone. On Mars.  So cool.  

It was absolutely fantastic.  I couldn't put it down.  Maybe it helped that I am a total space program nerd.  It definitely helped that I have some inside knowledge from Kev about how NASA operates.  I didn't totally understand all the science, but that didn't matter because the story was so captivating and the characters were so great.  Anyone who liked Apollo 13 or Gravity will love this book.  It's funny, smart, and terrifying all at the same time.  Best book I've read in a long long time.  I am sad that it's over, but happy to know that there is a possible movie in the works.  Please do it justice, Hollywood.

Meanwhile, Daphne is working on a "Leprechaun House."

It's in the early stages now, but I will tell you there are plans to install a clay toilet.  With pipes.  We don't do anything half-way around here!

Daphne had this big idea that, rather than building a trap this year, she would instead build the leprechaun a really super nice house.  She has drawings and plans and everything.  Her theory is that if she is NICE to the leprechaun rather than trying to TRAP him, he will be happy and leave her more gold and stuff.  I am hoping this works. I could use some gold coins.  I am also hoping that the leprechaun will be SO pleased that he will NOT dump out all the stuffed animals and turn over the furniture this year.  I will show you the house when it's all done, and report back on the success or failure of Daphne's strategy.

In wisdom teeth news, I am going to try to eat some potato chips today.  Wish me luck.

Off to start my Tuesday!