Hot tea

Dear Mom,
All these weather games- winter to spring to torrential downpours to bitterly cold with snow flurries- has me feeling like I am fighting a cold. And FIGHTING is the word. I refuse to give in. One of the things I do to pamper myself when I am feeling this way is make tea with mulling spices, orange juice and lemonade. This delicious tea is good for making winter days special, or special winter days even more special, and is not just for my-head-is-stuffy days.

Mulled Spiced Tea
Steep 3 tea bags and mulling spices of your choice in 8 cups of boiling water for 10 minutes.
Remove tea bags and mulling spices.
Add:
1 c sugar (yeah, that is alot of sugar, but we don't make it every day, do we?)
4 oz of frozen orange juice, thawed
2 oz of frozen lemonade, thawed
Stir until sugar is dissoved.
Serve warm.
You can make this in a teapot if you have one big enough or stir it all into a 2 quart pitcher and reheat by the mug. Tastes better the longer it sits.

I am taking my vitamins, too, so don't worry. And I have lots of wool to keep me warm.
Love,
Kim

Sunflowers and Dragonflies

Dear Mom,

It is only 22 degrees outside. My cheery window thermometer says so. I am longing for warmer days...I want to smell the fresh cut grass, listen to the hummingbirds buzzing and twittering, see the tops of the hosta pushing through the earth, and feel the warm garden soil in my hands! I know it won't be too much longer!

Love, Bonnie

Yellow

Dear Mom,

This yellow week has been interesting. I thought it would be a challenge to come up with yellow stuff, but now that I've been looking, I see yellow everywhere. I have too many yellow pictures to show in one week! So today I am giving you two. Yellow slides, one at the indoor pool in the Monon Center and the other in my back yard.

The slide in the backyard doesn't get much use any more. The kids have mostly outgrown it and actually use it more to climb up into the tree fort than to slide down, but it is a touchstone to the toddler years and the memories of the Fathers Who Built It, and so it shall remain in my backyard.

Yesterday, I finished knitting the February Lady Sweater. She is washed and blocking and if dried in time to sew on a clasp, she will have her debut tomorrow. I will definitely take a picture.

But today, the hampers are full of laundry, a pattern needs to be proofread before sending it off to the magazine editor and I imagine I will take the vacuum cleaner out for a spin before the kids get home from school.

Keep warm. It is cold out there!

Love,

Kim

Sunflowers

Dear Mom,


Sunflowers are David's favorite flowers. I think we would plant sunflowers all over the hill every summer if we could.



This is a picture that I bought for David a few years ago. It is the first thing we see when we come in from the garage. It makes coming home from the grocery store and lugging in all the groceries, or all the boxes from Costco, much brighter.

This is the sunflower picture we have in our front entry way. This is the first picture we bought together when we bought our first house. It was in our bedroom in our old house and when we moved to our "adult" house, we hung it in our entry way to welcome loved ones.
Hope your day is full of sunflowers and warmth!
Love, Wendy

Apple Pie Wannabe

Dear Mom,

My neighbor gave me this beautiful pie plate for my birthday! And it's yellow! I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends. I think I need to bake an apple pie tomorrow; I have a super yummy recipe from Susan Branch. Granny Smith apples, walnuts and cranberries . . . . on second thought, maybe I'll start baking now!!

Love, Wendy

Fiber Therapy

Dear Mom,

I'll be spending my day knitting with friends and I. Can't. Wait!

Love,
Kim
p.s. If I don't talk too much, I will finish my February Lady Sweater today!

Spring Chicks

Dear Mom,

On their 42nd birthday, I think Wendy and Will are still like spring chicks...energetic and full of life!!

Love, Bonnie Jo

42 Years

Dear Mom,

You saved the best for last! Thanks for showing me how much fun life is!

Love, Wendy

The Twins

Dear Mom,
10 Things Being the Sister of Twins Taught Me

1. People will ask if your brother and sister are identical twins.
2. These same people will ask which baby is the boy and which is the girl even when one is wearing pink and the other blue.
3. Twins do have an exclusive, secret language.
4. Two toddlers, working together, can rearrange the living room furniture.
5. Being able to make car and gun sounds is something boys are born with, but not girls.
6. BOO-NO-BOTTOM-SHOE-COT is a seriously foul toddler curse word.
7. The best doll dress is the one that will get flushed down the toilet.
8. Listening to someone learn to play the violin is painful.
9. They do not like being called "The Twins".
10. No matter how old they are, we will still call them "The Twins".

Happy Birthday Will and Wendy!
Love, Kim

Spring Cleaning

Dear Mom,

I had a particularly grueling weekend. Mentally. I did a photo shoot for a man who is my age with stage 4 cancer. His kids are my kids' ages. His sisters are my sisters' ages. I was able to capture the tenderness, care and kindness of his family. But it's hard to keep yourself removed so you can do a job well. On the way home, I thought and cried. Resolved to be a better wife, mother, friend, sister, daughter. I went to my BFF Brooke and her mom and cried all over them. I went to the grocery store and I bought healthy cancer-fighting food.

David bought me a pizza. The teenager bought me a movie. "The Italian Job". Which I've seen once. Not particularly a romantic comedy but he was thinking of me. I think. The girls twittered about me, the ladies-in-waiting, showering their love on me in their special ways. Even Keeper snuggled quietly with me.

So today, one day before my 42nd birthday, I have been spring cleaning and singing. I sing like Kim. "Hey there, Delilah, somethin' somethin' . . . . . somethin' Delilah. . . somethin'" But the sun is shining and the kids are home from school. I worked on my photography, we did the dentist (all of them), the orthodontist (the teenager), the library (stocked up on comfort books and got to see my dear Audrey Kay), the laundry (me), the dishes (me), and the birthday cake baking (me again)!! It feels so good to spring clean!

Love, Wendy

The Farmgirl Apron

Dear Mom,
Thank you for surprising me with a new apron, lovingly hand-made by you! The yellow & white buttons are the perfect finishing touch. Since a farmgirl's official uniform IS an apron, I will be wearing it as I work in the garden, tend to the chickens, and gather eggs!


Look out neighborhood gals, this is my new style statement!
Love, Bonnie Jo

All Girls All the Time

Dear Mom,
Erin is sponsoring Yellow week this week, to perk up February. So, my first yellow picture this week is the box of chocolates My Hero brought me for Valentine's Day. He knows that Whitman's reminds me of the little boxes Daddy gave us on Valentine's Day when we were little. I don't need a fancy $$ box of chocolates. Whitman's=love.

My Hero and the Young Man spent the weekend in Detroit and went to a Red Wings game. The Young Lady and I enjoyed an ALL GIRL weekend.


We shopped for crafts and crafted.


We bought Friendship bracelets and crafted some more.

We had dinner delivered.

And we had a "sleep over" in my bed.

And the next day.....

We did more crafts and watched more tv shows and the Young Lady had a friend sleep over.

Time flies. It was a good weekend.

Love, Kim

Brown Betty

Dear Mom,

For at least a year now, I have been looking. Not actively pursuing, just keeping my eyes open. And in the clearance section of the recent Plow and Hearth catalog, of all places, I found her.

A Brown Betty Teapot.

She arrived yesterday. A sturdy 6-cup Globe teapot from The London Pottery Company, Ltd. Perfect.

We'll be spending alot of time together.

Love,

Kim

p.s. Next week is Yellow week....

Happy Valentine's Day

Dear Mom,

I love you!

Kim

My Pet Makes Me Breakfast

Dear Mom,
This morning I fried a fresh egg and ham.

I ate eggs, ham and cheese on a toasted English muffin; it was the perfect breakfast for a frosty February morning!

Love, Bonnie Jo

A Story to Cheer Wendy up

Dear Mom,

Nothing cheers a girl up like somebody else's embarrassing story, so I'll share this one....

In an effort to delay my slog through the grocery store today, I decide that it would be just too much fun to download a new ringtone to my cell phone; one that will be assigned to My Hero, notifying me of his (and only his) calls. " I know just the song!" my slightly naughty inner country music self calls out.

I download the song "Who's Your Daddy?" by Toby Keith and call My Hero at work, asking him to call me back when he is free so I can make sure it works. He calls back and it works! What song? He wants to know. I tell him. NO! I SING "WHO"S YOUR DAAAAADY, WHOOOO'S your BAABYYY" in my best (which is really bad) country music voice. LOUD. ................................................................................................

"Kim, you're on speaker phone right now."

"Any body there?" I squeak.

"No."

Love,

Kim

So long, selfish

Dear Mom,

I woke up feeling very sorry for myself. My new not-even-90-days-old roof blew off in several spots because of high winds last night. The unplanned hassle.

And when I was making bread, my beloved Cuisinart snapped and broke. In several places. It is 20 years old and I do (did) use it weekly. Thoughts of having to actually knead the bread?! With my hands?!?!?!

And when I was on the verge of my feeling sorry for myself tears, I was reminded that I didn't lose my home in a wildfire or a raging tornado. Roofs and Cuisinarts can be replaced; if not now, someday. I have a husband that loves me despite that I spend too much time in bookstores, yarn stores and camera stores. I have three healthy, beautiful children. Full of energy, ideas, imagination, life and love. I have a dog that talks to me; never sassy words. Only words full of praise that I rescued her from a life of harsh hands, kicking feet and cruelty.I love my house. It's never clean all at once. There will always be laundry to do. And dishes. There are always tracks of someone's footprints somewhere in the house. Because we are a family. We have friends and loved ones that come visit us. They bring me laundry. And dishes. And footprints. And love. And happiness. And laughter. And so much love.

So when my I'm ashamed of myself tears passed, I thought, so long, you selfish, selfish woman. I am thankful for so many blessings.

Love, Wendy

February Lady Sweater

Dear Mom,
I spent the best part of my Wednesday knitting with friends. We had some delicious ham and bean soup and blueberry muffins. We admired each other's yarn and projects. We are a knitterly version of a Think Tank, solving world crises and local problems, offering advice and support to each other. We even provide yarn in knitting emergencies. Which is A Very Good Reason for maintaining a deep stash. And we think we all might need a flashing light like the one Starsky and Hutch had that attaches to the cars when making an emergency yarn pick up or delivery. And mostly we laugh.

I made progress on my February Lady Sweater.

I restarted the yoke last week. I didn't like the raglan shaping for this sweater, and felt that the gauge was too tight for this yarn. I decided on a more rounded yoke and did some math at the new, looser gauge and started over.

I am well into the lace on the body and it is moving along quickly now. I hope to start the sleeves this weekend and should have no problems having this sweater finished in February!

Love,

Kim

Love Potion #9 or Chocolate Covered Cherries

Dear Mom,

I am in love!! New Malabrigo sock yarn from Yarns & Fabrications in West Chester, OH. It is a deep chocolate and burgundy color. I want to call it Love Potion #9. But maybe Chocolate Covered Cherries, too. The colors are rich enough that I may actually find a nice manly pattern and knit socks for David. Or not.

Love, Wendy

Pets

Dear Mom,

I suppose some might say it is poetic justice that this dental hygienist's dog had a periodontal abscess and had to have a tooth extracted yesterday.

And while I was talking to the vet, I asked, "How long do rabbits live?"

"Oh, two to three years," he says.

"Well," I say, "the classroom pet we *adopted* is now 7 1/2!!!!"

"Any day now."

"Any day now," I tell the Young Lady. "Could be ANY. DAY. Dr. Veterinarian could only think of maybe ONE other rabbit who has lived as long as Smokey."

"I think Smokey is gonna break a record!" says Young Lady.

"Really?!?!" I say.

"Gee, maybe!" I say, trying to inject a cheerful note of optimism in my tone.

What I am thinking is that as much as I love that rabbit, I have been cleaning his cage for way too long.

And Bonnie Jo's pet chickens gave us part of our dinner last night. Young Lady named the eggs before we cracked them. Because " they could have been chicks."

Love,

Kim