So what do you do when spring finally arrives to your Florida doorstep, and you want to sing it from the mountaintops?

Wear your new yellow tights with your new gray corduroy skirt.  (I think I finished this skirt just in time for it to be too hot to wear it, but I love it anyway.)

And…go to the fabric store, in search of a single pack of bias tape, and come out with a stack of yellow fabric.  I mean, it was on sale.  I added the textured cotton/linen and the gold silk on top from my stash.  Thank you, M for that silk, I’m looking forward to finally using it.

This is going to be a new quilt for my bed.  I know I already have three quilts in progress, please do not remind me of that.  I know I should be working, please do not remind me of that, either.  But, I thought a new fun project would motivate me.  So my new goal is to allow myself 30 minutes a day to craft just for me.

Because sometimes a girl just needs a little carrot dangled in front of her, to keep her motivated.

A very dear friend from high school is about to have her first baby.  I am so excited and happy for her.  Wanting to send a little handmade love her way, I decided to knit a hat for the baby and sew a sling for her.

Here’s the sling I made.  I really hope that it will be used for to years to come.  My babies loved being carried, and I found it really helpful to be able to have my hands free.

Ohhhhhhhhhh, this hat.  It nearly undid me.  It is the Aviatrix hat, found via Ravelry.  I knitted it in a supersoft superwash merino wool, because the last thing a new mom needs is a hat that she has to hand wash.  The yarn and buttons were from my stash.

The interesting thing about the pattern is that it’s knitted on two needles, and the shaping is done with short rows.  I was intrigued, so I decided to give it a go.  I tried and tried and tried to get the wrap and turn right, and honestly, that wasn’t the hard part.  The hard part was picking up the wraps on the opposite side.  I could not for the life of me get it right and I tried about a thousand times.  I watched videos, I read instructions, and I practiced, practiced, and practiced.  I probably could have knitted that baby a sweater in all the time it took me to repeatedly knit and frog this hat.  Finally I had to take a break from it for a few weeks, before it completely ruined my sanity.  When I came back to it, I finally figured it out.  Also, I went back to Ravelry to see if anyone had any hints or pointers on the hat, and I discovered that the pattern had been entirely re-written, so that helped a lot.

The funny thing is that in the process of watching all those videos, I discovered that I have been knitting wrong for the past six years.  All this time, I have been knitting into the back of my stitches, instead of the front.  Well.

So the hat is not perfect by any means, but I thought a hat with ear flaps, and a strap to keep it in place would be really handy for a newborn in Minnesota. It’ll be winter there for what, another four months?

And now I know how to do short rows, knit into the front of my stitches, and make a fabulous baby hat, so at least the experience wasn’t a total waste.

Congratulations, S and C!  I’m so glad you liked the gifts.

Eiffel Tower, painted by me, November 2002

Dear France,

I love you.  I love your language, I love your chefs, I love your crepes, and I love your music.  I love your films,  I love your perfume, I love your painters, and I love your flowers.  I love your icon, I love your fashion, I love your croissants, and I love your wine.  I even love your smoking.

Someday I hope to come visit you, and speak your language fluently.  I would love to live in your capital one day, in an incredibly chic flat, perhaps in the 18e arrondissement.  Mostly I like saying arrondissement.  Although a little chateau in the south wouldn’t be too bad, either.  Perhaps for the summers.

Dear France, please wait for me, and know that while I live here in Florida, my heart yearns for only you.

Avec l’amour,

~Rose

Dear reader, The Daddy Monkey and I watched Coco avant Chanel this weekend, and it was breathtaking!  Even The Daddy liked it, believe it or not.  It made me fall in love with France, its romance, and its language all over again.  As if I needed another reason.  If you haven’t seen this glorious film, starring the radiant Audrey Tautou, please do add it to your queue.  I don’t think you shall be disappointed.

Since writing about sleep and rest yesterday, I have been thinking about napping.  We are big nappers in our house.  The Boy napped until age four, and I can still get him to occasionally take a nap with me.  The Girl still naps every day, and I hope she will continue to nap for as long as her brother did.

When the Boy was a baby, he was a terrible sleeper, so I usually napped with him, at least once a day, sometimes twice.  When I became pregnant with The Girl, all I wanted was sleep.  I couldn’t believe how tired I was all the time.  Absolutely tired, all the way down to my bones.  I had to sleep, so I napped with The Boy.  When The Girl was born, I would take both of them to bed with me, and we would all nap together.

I still nap with The Girl on occasion.  If I am feeling tired or run-down, I will nap with her in the afternoon.  I still feel like I am tired often, and feeling run-down and fatigued from tending children and a home all day.  I know I am so fortunate to be able to nap in the afternoons if I need it.  But I feel that my health and energy are worth it.

Sometimes I choose to have quiet time for myself during nap time, but I try to take that time for myself to do some quiet work of my own, usually knitting, reading, or blogging.  I find it really helps me deal with the high energy of the kids, if I can have even twenty minutes of quiet time for myself.  Yes, there is always work to do, but my peace of mind depends on a little break in the middle of the day.

So every day, around one o’clock (or after lunch) we have quiet time in our house.  Even if The Boy opts not to have a nap (and these days he chooses not to), we still have an hour or two of quiet time, where everyone is expected to have some quiet, alone time.  I think in the ebb and flow of the day’s energy, it’s important to have some quiet down-time in the midst of a busy and playful day.

I think Shea Darian says it best in her book Seven Times the Sun:

One helpful tool when creating daily rhythm for your family is to think of it as a “breathing” exercise.  “Breathing in” is a time when one can focus inwardly and privately.  This might include such activities as reading by oneself, stringing beads, resting, etc.  “Breathing out” is a time of moving out to interact with the external environment.  Such activities might include free-play with others, making a craft project together, visiting friends, etc.  After an out-breath, an in-breath is natural and necessary.  As in any relationship, a balance of intimacy and privacy, as well as activity and rest, is important.  Remember to give both yourself and your child some “breathing room.”

I find that after everyone has had some quiet time, that we are all ready to have some together time afterwards.  I never realized it until recently, but quiet time has always been an important part of our day, since the very beginning.

I’ve always been a sickly person.  There have been many, many courses of antibiotics in my lifetime.  Far too many to count, and far too many to be healthy.

I found myself with an infection last week.  Rather than run off to the doctor for antibiotics, I went to my local community acupuncture clinic, where  I received the best care I have ever gotten.  I am so fortunate to have such an incredible resource, and within walking distance of my house.  I really tried to take it easy on myself during that time.  Doing a little less, drinking lots of water.  I had three acupuncture treatments, and two courses of herbs.

The Boy said, “Mom, that looks like mud.”

“Yeah,” I replied, “it pretty much tastes like mud.”

But I am happy to report that I am feeling better.

Except I landed myself a nasty sore throat yesterday.  It was very painful, and rather than stay up and fight it, I just went to bed at nine o’clock.  I woke up at six this morning, remarkably rested, and with a bit of a sore throat and congestion, but not as bad as yesterday. Hopefully the worst of it is behind me.

As a mother, it is hard to find the time to take care of myself, and let my body heal.  But after doing this motherhood thing for five and a half years now, I’ve learned that my health is really very important.  It’s amazing what sleep, rest, and good nourishment can do for your body.

I delivered two special packages today.

One was full of home made brownies and was hand delivered.

A little bear says, “thank you.”

The other package was delivered to the post office, to be sent to a cold, cold place.

I drew a bit of sunshine for them, on one of The Girl’s paintings.

I recently cast on a new summer sweater for The Girl.  It’s the Eyelet Yoke Cardigan by Lion Brand Yarn.  I actually found enough Rowan All Seasons Cotton in the stash I picked up at the thrift shop a few months back.  The yarn feels really great and knits up like a dream.  Three cheers for stashbustin’!

Just like my mom, I love popcorn.  Just like me, The Girl loves popcorn.  We are pretty serious about the stuff around here.  We eat it most days of the week, and I’m pretty much a purist about it.  I hate microwave popcorn; the stuff is an abomination.  This is cheap, healthy, delicious, and easy.  What more could you ask for?   Here’s how I do it:

I buy popping corn at the supermarket, or the bulk bin of the health food store.  I prefer yellow over white.

To a large saucepan, I add about 3 to 4 tablespoons of unpopped corn, and a thin layer of canola oil. I have also tried coconut oil but I wasn’t all that crazy about it.

Put the heat to high (I have a gas stove) and wait for it to start popping.  Shake the pan around when it starts to pop, so the kernels keep moving and don’t burn.  Turn off the heat when the popping slows.  I get almost no unpopped corn using this method.  When it’s done, I add salt to taste and shake the pan to distribute.

Enjoy!

Wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving. -Khalil Gibran

I’ve been trying to keep this quote in my heart and my mind for the past few days.  I have been so grouchy in the mornings lately, especially since it’s so cold and dark in my house when The Girl wakes me up.  Come on spring!