Summer Evenings

Dear Mom,

Now that summer is unofficially here and I am with children all day (I know, I only have 3 but they have morphed into many more and they bring their friends along, too), it is time for campfires, s'mores and tent sleeping. Activities all begging for Daddy while I am in the air conditioned house enjoying my "refreshments" too!

Enjoy your summer evenings!

Love, Wendy

Happiness = A Kindred Spirit

Dear Mom,

The best part of my weekend ( besides the coming home part) was spending time with my sister in law. She married into The Family ten years before I did, and I cannot begin to tell you the many ways she and I are alike (we surprise ourselves sometimes) or how thankful I am that she is just there.

She is the quilter to my knitter. I should have photographed her quilts while we were there. You would love them. Her fabric stash rivals my yarn stash. On Sunday, we were able to break away and visit a quilt shop and a yarn shop, both within a few blocks of each other, and both places an oasis after our time with The Family.

The yarn shop we visited was ....have you any wool?. I found some of my favorite sock yarn, Claudia's Handpainted.

This colorway reminds me of a box of chocolates.

And this one, I think, will look great with a pair of jeans.

A new ( to me) yarn was pointed out, and my Kindred Spirit picked out this color so I can make her a pair of socks as a thank you for her hospitality.

It is Panda Silk, a blend of Bamboo, merino wool and silk. It feels heavenly.

So I bought a couple of balls for me! I will use it to make this.

And if I could just knit faster, or sleep less, or teach the dog how to vacuum ...

Love,

Kim

Dear Mom,

We spent our weekend celebrating the 80th Birthday of my father-in-law. The party was held at the farm of one of his daughters and the setting was ideal. There was plenty of activity to keep the kids of all ages happy and busy, and 40 beautiful acres surrounding the reunions.

Each table was decorated with a theme based on favorite stories or interests from Granpa's past. Even the barn was dressed up.

I took plenty of pictures of people, and almost as many of the animals. Here are Mandy, a 15 year old lab,

one of about 2 dozen chickens,

one of a panicky group of lambs,

and one of my favorite pictures taken this weekend- the barn cat.

Love,

Kim

Summer Begins!

Dear Mom,

Today was our last day of school. I host an annual desperate-housewives-mourning-the-last-day-of-school brunch. We make it a priority to have our peaceful brunch with each other before the hectic summer begins. We have so much fun celebrating the school year and prepping each other for the upcoming summer. Friends have moved away and new friends have been welcomed. We eat yummy breakfast food and drink mimosas or coffee with "flavors".

We also throw water balloons at the kids when they get off the bus and give the kids ice pops. This year we filled 750 water balloons!!
It was another huge success and the kids had fun, too! Let the summer begin!

Love, Wendy

The Young Man's Summer, week 1

Dear Mom,

This is what the Young Man is doing this summer. Driver's Ed.

I have two crystal clear memories of when I was learning to drive: Daddy's laugh the first time I stepped on the break, bringing the car to an abrupt halt, sending us lurching forward; and you yelling "LEFT" so I wouldn't plow down a row of mailboxes in the neighborhood.

I am trying reallyreallyreally hard not to shout "LEFT" when the Young Man is driving. I may curse myself one day, but I did ask him to speed up and at least drive the speed limit. I was afraid he would be late to class if we continued crawling along at just-above-idle speed.

I am considering having a large "Student Driver" magnet made to stick on the car when he is behind the wheel. Kind of a New Millennium version of "Baby on Board".

Love,

Kim

Boys!

Dear Mom,
The bicycler had an accident. A large part of his right leg is skinned...and he purposely managed to conceal it from me for 24 hours because he thought I would "freak out" (his words). When he finally revealed his injuries to me, my knees felt shaky and weak, but I did NOT freak out! We promptly visited the neighborhood CVS where I easily spent over $40 in first aid supplies!! That freaks me out!
Love, Bonnie Jo

Jazz Legend

Dear Mom,

There is a jazz legend in the making in our home! The teenager made the Jr. High Jazz Band! Of course, being the supportive cheerleader Mom that I am, my first reaction upon hearing the awesome news was, "Seriously?!" (It is fierce competiton to earn a spot in the jazz band and I didn't want the teenager to dash my hopes for him in an attempt to pretend like he didn't care about not making the jazz band!) The teenager answered in a rather deservedly impatient way, "Yes, Mom!" He has worked very hard learning the trombone, we have listened to many interesting noises and Keeper still hides under the bed when she sees the trombone coming downstairs for an impromptu concert! All of his hard work is paying off, though and I am so proud!

Love, Wendy

The Young Lady's Summer, week 1

Dear Mom,

This is the Young Lady's latest craft project, a pencil/pen holder for her desk crafted out of a recycled glass jar with some scrunchies and pony tail holders stretched around it.

The Young Lady is also absorbed in a book of adventure and mystery titled The Mysterious Benedict Society. I want to read it when she is done! She found a bookmark that has a timer on it, so she can keep track of her time, both earning tv credit and knowing how long it will take her to finish the book.

Yesterday afternoon I took her shopping for a much needed summer wardrobe update. I am learning, but it is hard, to let her lead the way when shopping for her clothes. She definitely has her own sense of style and seems to instinctively know what looks best on her. She is attracted to the bright greens and blues that favor her coloring and I learned yesterday that she really likes plaid! We found a few cute cotton plaid shirts and some fun knit tops and shorts to match. We even found a dress she likes!

Here she is, modeling one of her new shirts, something she spied way up high that required help from a sales lady to retrieve, and which she knew was just right the minute she saw it.

She is also trying out a new hair style to go with the new wardrobe- we've caught some of those red curls into barrettes to hold them off her face.

A Young Lady, indeed.

Love,

Kim

Another Oriole

Dear Mom,

Bonnie Jo's Oriole reminded me of another Oriole story.

This story goes Way Back to when the Young Man was a Little Boy and played little league baseball. One season he was on the Oriole's team. We didn't realize until he got his uniform, saw the hat and asked us why that bird was on it, that he thought he was on the OREO's.

Which, when I think about it, would be lots more fun naming little league teams after cookies and candies rather than after the Major League baseball teams. Like the Oreos are leading the Snickers 3- 1 in the 7th inning.....

Love,

Kim

The Oriole

Dear Mom,
We have a new visitor to the hummingbird feeder. At first, I thought it was just luck that I happened to catch a glimpse of it passing through one day...then, I started noticing it regularly.

Baltimore Oriole

Wow! Do I ever feel lucky to have a Baltimore Oriole hanging around! Our yard if full of neat birds this summer, which is a good thing considering how many bugs and mosquitoes we have around for them to eat.

Love, Bonnie Jo

Friday Night

Dear Mom,
My Hero was given tickets to Monte Carlo night out at the Mt. Comfort airport. The Air Show is there this weekend, and Monte Carlo night is a fundraiser for Riley's Hospital.
I don't understand the appeal of gambling, not even when it is with pretend money, but we met some friends there, had some food and drinks and I even played blackjack. I still don't get the nuances of the game, but the dealer was a kindly, patient old man, and he just had fun with the rest of us.
The evening was very pleasant; the weather perfect- cool but not cold, low humidity, a gentle breeze. Hot air balloons firing up and rising gave us some pretty scenery.


So did the Men in Uniform. I have a new appreciation for the jumpsuit.




Oh Yeah.

Very nice views.

Love,

Kim

p.s. These photos were taken with my phone. Next time I am bringing my camera.

My New Favorite Hobby?!

Dear Mom,

I know I haven't posted in a while. This is a happy place for me and Kim and Bonnie Jo. It's our place to share the fun events of our lives. Kim showcases her beautiful knitting and her own (!) knitting designs; Bonnie Jo shares her incredible knowledge of chickens, birds, insects and outdoor farm living. Kim and Bonnie Jo are interesting! I have been struggling lately. Worrying about our finances. David had to take a mandatory paycut at work; my hours at the yarn store were drastically reduced, both as a result of spring shoppers who would rather be spending money on flowers rather than on yarn (what?!?!) and my being home this summer with the kids. I have a huge photo job coming up at the end of the month and David has a job he loves so all will be fine. I just worry and I didn't/don't want it to carry over to the blog. But, Bonnie Jo was a big cheerleader to me yesterday (thank you so much!) and encouraged me to post some of the latest stuff.


So, last week, because the kids are still in school and I had time, I sewed 2 skirts! I am a huge fan of skirts and love to wear them all summer. I think they are more versatile than shorts and waaaaaay cuter! This is an Amy Butler pattern (the Barcelona skirt) and I used her fabric, too. For the almost non-sewer, the instructions are easy and understandable. And the skirts were a very quick sew. Also, I have lost 25 pounds so I got the added bonus of making SMALLER skirts!!!! I had to resew this skirt to fit and was surprised at how much smaller I needed to make it!!! Yipee!!!!! I think I have found a new favorite hobby (sorry, Kim)!!!!

I will keep you posted on my skirts! There are some funny school stories, too, that I can't wait to share with you!!

Thanks again, Bonnie Jo, for being my biggest cheerleader!

Love, Wendy

Sno-Cone Party

Dear Mom,
It all started innocently enough, on the first Last Day of School, back when the Young Man was in First Grade. I met the school bus on that day, with a grocery store cake decorated like a big sun, and sno-cones. I had a table and beach umbrella set up in the front yard, the sno-cone machine plugged in and a variety of syrup flavors ready - let the summer celebrating begin! The neighbor kids joined in and the Moms all eased into the summer, sitting in lawn chairs, watching the kids play and chatting away the afternoon.
Over the years, the snacks have varied, but we always have sno-cones. I don't know what it is about shaving ice that appeals to the kids, but they love making their sno-cones and choosing the syrup.
The Moms have sno-cones now, too. The frozen cosmopolitan or strawberry margarita kind. And cheese and crackers, bruschetta, and fresh fruit. Laughter. A mellow shifting of gears. One Mom very wisely prepared her dinner BEFORE the party this year, so she would not need to be "challenged" at the end of the afternoon.
This year it was not the kids asking about the sno-cone party, but the neighbor Moms. They grab me a good three to four weeks ahead of that last day of school to tell me how much they are looking forward to the Sno-cone party and the drinks on my porch and I am still gonna do it, right?
I imagine us, years from now, empty nesters, meeting on that last day of school for our sno-cone party. At least, I hope so.
Love,
Kim

Homeland Security

Dear Mom,

The threat to Homeland Security is at Red Level. The kids will be home for summer vacation within the hour.

My summer plan is to severely restrict screen time. The Young Man and Lady will have to earn tv, computer, and electronic game privileges with exercise and reading. I am hoping boredom will have them seeking out ways to be creative, possibly developing a new hobby. Like vacuuming.


And because these things only happen when I am expecting company:


Seriously?????


Yeah. I really don't know what happened here. I was just putting the granola away. Total Cabinet Disintegration. So now I can add cabinet repair to my list of skills. NOT how I planned on spending my last hours of freedom before the after school party begins.
Love,
Kim

Goofy Games Day

Dear Mom,

The school year is winding down and today is Goofy Games Day. Formerly known as Field Day. And way back when, it was Track and Field Day.

Goofy Games Day really just means school is over but we need to keep you here for another day and a half even though we won't be doing any real work. Which is totally fine with me because they will be here at home and in my space soon enough.

I learned long ago that being a parent volunteer for Field Day (or whatever they want to call it) is Not For Me. When the Young Man was a kindergartner and I was all enthusiastic about Helping Out The Teacher!, I signed up Field Day. It rained that year and events were moved indoors. I was assigned the "Peanut Race" and spent about 3 hours picking up the peanuts that had dropped off the racer's spoon and reloading the pie plates they belonged in for the next racer. It was a testament to my will to Get Out of There that I was able to straighten my back and walk to my car and drive home.

The next year, apparently having blocked out the memory of the previous year, I volunteered again. That year the weather was hot and dry. HOT. And DRY. We were outside. In the school field. With no shade. I can't remember the object of the "game" I was in charge of, I can only remember that it involved a kiddie pool filled with flour and hidden items, which meant that I was covered in flour and in the middle of a shade-less, dusty field in the hot sun for a couple of hours. That was my last Field Day. Let some Other Mom do it. I don't even feel sorry or guilty about it.

So, today. Goofy Games Day for the Young Lady. My heart sank when the phone rang at 10:28 this morning; caller ID shouting that it is the Intermediate School calling. Like Miss Clavell in the night, I know something is not right. I answer and hear the quavering voice of the Young Lady, asking me for a clean pair of shoes and socks, telling me that hers are covered in mud. She apparently stepped out of one mud-clogged shoe and stepped into the mud with her sock.

Thank heavens I wasn't the Parent Volunteer on that game.

Love,

Kim

Never the Same Again

Dear Mom,

Life as I know it will never be the same again.

If I think about it, really, our lives are never the same today as they were yesterday. We reach milestones every day. Some happy and some sad and some a combination of the two. Some are reached with out our even knowing it, like the last time I read "Goodnight Moon" or "Tow Truck Ted" aloud to one of my kids, or the last time they wanted to hold my hand when walking through a parking lot. And some of them cannot be ignored, like birthdays and weddings, and that first visit from the tooth fairy, and kindergarten graduation.

And a Driver's Education Learner Permit.

I know I don't want to drive him around forever. I know this is progress. I remember getting my Learner's Permit and how exciting it was. I also know that right now, I miss the days that I could buckle him into the stroller and take a long walk after nap time.

Love,

Kim

Mrs. MacGregor Knits (and not much else)

Dear Mom,

The cupboards are nearly bare and the house is a mess. I still haven't done Monday's ironing and it is Thursday already. I think I vacuumed once or twice but only because the new floor looks too pretty to let it get dusty. All because I have been knitting like a mad woman to beat a design submission deadline. I did it. And no one has gone hungry or without underwear. Yet.

Blue Sky Alpaca yarn company is having a contest right now, and designs need to be submitted before the end of the month. A requirement of the contest is that the patterns must be available as free downloads on ravelry, so I needed to knit the garment, photograph it, write up the instructions, and link it all to my ravelry shop. The prize is more yarn (not that I am really needing anymore of that), but I am hoping for some exposure as a designer and maybe a connection with another yarn company. We'll see what happens.

In the meantime, I have had to replant some of my garden and put a taller fence around it. Call me Mrs. MacGregor. The bunnies have been feasting on all those tender plants. Shortly after the fence went up, I walked around to that side of the yard and a gang of three rabbits were surrounding the garden, staring at the new fencing. And then at me. I think they gave me dirty looks and kind of kicked up some extra dirt before hopping away.

And then(!), as I was knitting into the dark of night on the screened porch (thanks to my new ceiling fan and its bright light courtesy of the Zucchini Queen's dad), I looked up to find a cute little furry, masked face looking in at me. A raccoon. She looked at me like I had a lot of nerve sitting out on the porch way past my bedtime. I imagine that she has been visiting the porch via the doggie door. A Hav-A-Hart raccoon trap has been purchased. Maybe I'll catch a rabbit or three in it, too.

Love,

Kim

Roses are Red

Dear Mom,

Roses are red...

and yellow...

and pink...

and amber...

The first spring blooms are the most beautiful. The Japanese beetles will soon arrive and you can see that some of the foliage is already being eaten by some sneaky, camouflaged bugs. I am still waiting on blooms from the white roses; I never noticed, but I wonder if they always bloom later than the others.

Since the chickens love to eat Japanese beetles, I might have the guys around here devise some sort of trap to catch them inside the chicken run. If we could just get the beetles to fall into a bucket of water, then the chickens would have a constant supply to snack on!!

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Sugar is sweet
And so are you!

Love, Bonnie Jo

Carefree

Dear Mom,

Isn't it wonderful to spend the day on the kitchen floor in your sundress and bare feet? Drawing and coloring pictures of elves? Humming to yourself? Being in the moment? If only every day.

Love, Wendy

Home Improvement

Dear Mom,

My Hero's knees may never be the same again and I think I strained a long lost and deeply buried gut muscle. We squatted, lifted, sawed, dragged, hammered and oomphed, and My Hero probably taught our kids but hopefully not our neighbor's kids some new words, but we now have a beautiful new floor in our family room. And we did it ourselves!

I am so proud of us!

Love,

Kim

My Knitting Sisters

Dear Mom,

Mostly every week through the school year, but less often in the summertime, I spend Wednesdays with the dearest group of friends. They are so good for me that it is hard for me to come up with the right words to describe us when we are together.

This week, Carol treated us to lunch at her house. It was a perfect, beautiful day and we spent our time together on her back deck. Sunshine, iced tea, sleeping dogs, buzzing bees, flowers, laughter, shared creations, book discoveries, yarn. Carol served a delicious lunch of Spinach Pie from one of the Barefoot Contessa's cookbooks, a salad with tomato, basil and mozzarella and fresh fruit. We had a Strawberry Rhubarb dessert. All light, healthy and tasty. Every bite.

Carol surprised us all with gift tags to enclose with our hand knit gifts. She custom made a set of these for each of us, using colorful ribbons and vintage knitting photos. I told her I love them too much to give away, but she has promised us we can re- order!

I think this one is my favorite.

Love,

Kim

There's No Place Like Home

Dear Mom,
My friend WON an all-expenses paid trip to Nice, France!! Instead of taking me, she chose to take her husband and she left me to take care of her house and kids. So, for the past six days, David and I have been housesitting-kid watching. We were "responsible" for 2 houses, 6 kids, 3 dogs, several fish and a leopard spotted gecko. During the 6 days, there were 6 baseball games (3 of which were called due to rain, thank goodness), 2 afternoons of swim team practice for 3 children, a band concert, a birthday, a friend who spent the night (which really means all night movies and video games), a morning of babysitting for yet another neighbor's daughter and a photo shoot. All of "our" children made it to their events on time. We cheered when they won and commiserated when they lost. The children woke up on time and were sent to school with a hug and love. They were fed breakfast and dinner and lunches were packed. We did homework. We baked chocolate chip banana bread twice and Mississippi Mud Bars. We even staged photo ops and daily uploaded pictures to their parents in Nice. I washed baseball uniforms, re-sewed a patch that fell off of a uniform during a grand slide and I did laundry for 6 children. It was truly one of the funnest weeks that David and I have ever had.
But I'm tired and I am going to go to bed. I get to sleep in my own bed tonight.
And welcome home, Kim and Joey! We really missed you! There truly is no place like home!
Love, Wendy

A Knitter is born (sort of)

Dear Mom-


The Young Lady was introduced to a "knitting machine" at a sleep over last Friday night. Never mind that I am a human knitting machine, that I have been trying to turn her into a knitter with every sort of knitting gadget, cute knitting needles, fun tape measures and colorful yarns her whole life, (and we're not even speaking of what I hope was absorbed in utero) and that in desperation, I even let her take a crochet class, heaven help me. Nope, it took a plastic knitting toy, introduced at someone else's house, away from the hopeful, encouraging eyes of her mother to hook her. No pun intended.


I picked the sleep deprived child up Saturday morning and once we were in the car, the first words out of her mouth were, "I want to use the money I am saving for a Nintendo DSi and buy a knitting machine." Be still my heart.


Fearing that any delay would break the spell, I put the pedal to the metal and drove her home to get her money and then immediately departed for Michael's. We found what she was looking for and then shopped. For Yarn. Together. For HER.


She spent most of her waking hours (and some when she should have been sleeping) over the weekend cranking away on her machine. We had to take it away on Sunday night because she was "knitting" way past her bedtime. (I couldn't look her in the eye when I did that, having knit way past my bedtime more times than I can say.)


I even let her look through my stash yarn, only warning her that she had to ask me before using anything. I now have a scarf made from some alpaca I told her she could use that is 12 feet long, and I have been told that IF I find yarn I like, I should buy it and she will make me some leg warmers.

(.........)

just look at that speed!

If you're lucky, maybe you'll get some leg warmers, too.

Love,

Kim

A Visit From A Fairy

Dear Mom,

On the eve of the Diva's 9th birthday, we were visited by a fairy.

Happy birthday to the Diva!

Love, Wendy

My Window Box

Dear Mom,


Yesterday, Bonnie emailed me with some questions about the window box I have outside the kitchen window. The answers got me to thinking about my window box and its history.


My Hero and his brother, Bill, built it for me on a whim about 10 years ago. Bill and Cheryl had been here for a weekend visit and really probably planned to be on the road when the project started. Bill had just made some window boxes for Cheryl and the plans were fresh in his memory. After some quick measurements were taken and an even quicker trip to the lumber yard, the sawing and drilling began and a very short time later, my window box was born.

I've never painted it, preferring a rustic window box as the stage for the flowers growing there.

This simple window box makes me very happy. I enjoy planting it and watching the flowers fill in over the summer and trail down over the edges. I love seeing the flowers peeking in the kitchen window and looking out at them as I sit at the kitchen table.

The window box also went above and beyond the call of duty, a testament to its sturdy construction, less than a year after it was built, when, on his first 4th of July, we found the dog perched dangerously on the window box, trying to escape the fireworks. We didn't realize until we came in after the fireworks had ended. As pitiful as he was, we didn't rescue the poor animal until a few photos had been taken.

You can see the concern and sympathy radiating out of the kids faces through the kitchen window. Fortunately, the dog has never had a problem with fireworks after that first initiation.

Today the window box is in its youthful, hopeful stage, not quite filled in and as pretty as it will be, but pleasing and happy and enjoying the sunshine.

Love,

Kim