Wednesday, January 06, 2016

never too late




 (Wallaby cardi knit by my mom; her project notes here


  


  
(Milo vest project notes here)
  (Note reads:  "I lav u mom from Millie")



Today was the day to reestablish our daily routine after the happy wild of holiday.  I do believe it was harder on this mama than on anyone else!  I still ended up with breakfast on the table late, cranky snapping at those girls far too often, and sometimes when the difficult behavior goes from one child to the next quickly it all gets lumped together as if one big frustrating child was making all this trouble, but spread three ways, the mischief caused by each child was one-third what it felt.  The feelings of failure and defeat threaten and all the things I haven't done that I wanted to do and all the things I have done that I didn't want to do creep in and nag and trouble. 

So when they disappeared to the Clubhouse this afternoon and came back in bearing a child-made envelope full of handmade "I Love You, Mom" notes, I was humbled.  Reminded of the unconditional love of Him who gave me them. They gave me a gift when I definitely didn't deserve one.  Thank you, sweet girls.

In the book Lyddie is reading aloud to me (Here's a Penny by Carolyn Haywood), she read me this conversation between 6 year old Penny and his mother:

"What makes Daddy and me want to give you things that make you happy?"  
"It's 'cause you love me," said Penny, gulping on a sob.
"Exactly," said Mother.  "So it was Love that really gave you the kitten, wasn't it?"
"Yes," answered Penny.
"And do you remember what you learned in Sunday School last Sunday?" asked Mother.
"Yes," said Penny, "It was God is Love."

They continue the conversation and Penny realizes he thanked his grandfather for giving him the kitten but never thanked God, and Mother says that it is never to late to say thank you to someone.  This book is full of this sweet, priceless wisdom in a form that a six year old can really relate to, as well as any adult.  

So thank you, Lord, for my daughters and the precious gift they are to me.  

~~~~~~~~~~~
On my needles this week:  a new hat.  I am still working happy on my Hitofude but I cast on the hat for really practical reasons:  it is cold and I want another hat option.  I have only my Cabernet hat and I wear it very often right now.  A second choice would be lovely.  I settled without much ado on "From Norway with Love," I have wanted to make it for awhile. I had some beautiful Malabrigo Arroyo in my stash and a white and a deep purple Cascade sport for the hearts.  I decided to figure out how to get gauge with a sport weight yarn rather than the DK weight and go for it.  Here's hoping. 

I am working my way through The Warden and the Wolf King  by Andrew Peterson, and The Inspired Room.  I am also listening to Hamlet on the ChopBard podcast.  

The snow continues to drift down and pile up.  I can't believe how much snow keeps coming but I love it. And that rocking horse?  Jesse made that for our girls a few years ago but the rockers broke within the first year and so Rocky sat in the shop broken and dusty until this week.  Jesse took that sweet horse and repaired him, putting in solid hardwood rockers and he is better than new except his need for a replaced mane and tail.  There was great rejoicing and especially from Rosie who has hardly left the saddle since.  See those wood candles?  Jesse made those from last year's Christmas tree trunk after I showed him the idea - he said, "Oh yeah, I can do that" and in about a half hour he had six candleholders.  I gave a set to my mom for Christmas and these were the seconds that didn't turn out quite as well as we experimented with them, so I kept them for myself (oh, darn, right?).  They make me so happy.  I told him he should sell them. I'm thankful for a husband who is so good at home projects and the like. 

I thought I had shared some details about some of my Christmas gift creations but I guess I hadn't done that yet either.  Why not tack it onto this already- ridiculously long post?




Whitman cowl knit for my sister-in-law!  I felt so lucky to draw her name in our exchange because she was so fun to give gifts to!


 Clay buttons I made and glazed to give my mom, and my swap partner for the knitting swap got a set too!  That was a fun project and one I'd like to do again!

Happy January, friends.  Stay warm and safe and remember:  it's never too late to say "Thank you."





14 comments:

  1. Oh, so much inspiration! Love the knits! The cowl is just stunning - these bobbles are adorable! I've never seen such beautiful buttons!

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  2. beautiful knits and you could send me some of that snow, pretty please???

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  3. It's it wonderful having handy husbands? I'm always amazed by what my husband can fix. I ask him, "How do you know how to do this stuff?!!" He just shrugs and says, "I just do!"

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  4. Oh dear! I have projects coming out my ears, and now I feel I must knit that cowl! I recently discovered how much wearing a scarf in the house helps keep me warm, so I probably need another one, right? :)

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  5. It's been pretty cold here as well. This week though finally made it to the 40's. It was downright tropical! I love those gifts that Miss C gives to me when I've been short and cross with her. It always makes me want to cry.

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  6. I wish I had just an inch of your snow, I love it, but don't think I will be seeing it anytime soon.
    I am in awe of your buttons, they are just beautiful. Would you mind sharing how you made them? I've made antler and wood buttons, but never clay.

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    1. Antler and wood! Then clay is going to be easy! I'll find the link and share it on my blog soon!

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  7. Not a ridiculously long pot - just right!! Tell me more about The Inspired Room and what you think/feel about it. I'm working on loving this house I'm in....
    Precious knits as always, and I love the Norway hat. I am slowly collecting charts that I love to make a "my favorite things" cowl!

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    1. I definitely will share more as I read it! I'm only a little ways in so I will post more about it soon!

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  8. It's ice here today in Spokane. Icky ice. You are teaching your girls such wonderful lessons. Don't be too hard on yourself Mama. The fact that they have you the note shows that they are learning great things. Beautiful gifts made by both you and your husband. I think you could open your own shop between the two of you!
    Blessings, Betsy

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  9. Beautiful buttons and cowl and so many lovely things. I loved the story you shared about your daughters' love notes and the conversation in Here's a Penny--sounds like a good book.

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  10. Beautiful cowl and buttons.
    And a handy husband is great to have. Not sure what I would have done without mine ;)

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  11. Beautiful cowl and buttons.
    And a handy husband is great to have. Not sure what I would have done without mine ;)

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  12. What a beautiful post! So much to see and admire :-) your children are beautiful as is yours and your mum's knitting.

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