rien de nouveau (nothing new)

Just popping in to say hello to my dear Blog readers. As the blog title states, nothing really to share ~ the school days are winding down here and countdown to summer is on ... or so my kindergartener reminds me daily. He's very eager to start the first grade. Summer first, of course!

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Hope you are doing well and this little post finds you content and in good health. I finished a really good book lately, and this one too, and now starting this one. Don't think I showed you the pretty in pink cowl that I finished knitting several weeks back ... love how it turned out!

See you again soon.

the monkey bars

 

You know when you want to achieve something and it's just in your reach but you still can't get to it? You try and try and try but still, you're not there yet. My littlest dude wants to swing around the playground's monkey bars as it looks easy peasy but of course, it isn't. One day, with stronger arms, longer legs ...  he'll get the hang of it but in the meanwhile he's content with just hanging from one of the lower bars and when the arms give way, he lands on his feet, or his bum, with a laugh.

Life is like those monkey bars - a set of lines that look straight to travel across but we can't always get to the next one in perfect balance, as we grip our way to the next stop, and sometimes our journey abruptly ends with a fall but we need to dust off our egos and start again and one of these days, we'll get to that golden ticket that we're aiming for. That goal is different for each of us. As it should be. God has given us our unique gifts and it's up to us, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, to follow what speaks passion to us. In us. Searching for what you want out of life, at any age, is again like those high-to-the-sky monkey bars that yearn to be scaled and with persistence we obtain the triumph within to go the distance. Whether we make it or not, the journey is where we find ourselves.

It's Friday and the sun is out. The rain has passed. The grass is wet and tall. Fridays mean pizza night at our house as well as a time to argue over which movie to watch and/or play board games. Board games ... remember those games you'd play on a board rather than a screen? Yea - they still make them. I hear lawn mowers in the distance, birds chirping, the clock ticking ... and it's nearly lunchtime. Both my boys are at their respective schools amid their worlds they walk when away from home. Children are so different when they're among their friends and going along their daily routines ... as we are when away from them. How special it is to find your own true self amid the busyness of life. Those monkey bars may seem out of reach but you can reach higher in spirit than you can possibly imagine. Dream the dreams. Keep calm and Pray on.

published again

Exciting!! Copies of the current issue of Kreuzstich Motive that includes my design arrived in today's mail ~ magazine is in German but needlework is universal :) It's a rainy day here and this brightened it up very much. Sweet!!

baaaaa

This weekend was the 40th annual Maryland Sheep & Yarn Festival and I was there! Oh what fun it was - sheep sounds (and smells galore), festival food and more yarn vendors than you could possibly process in your knitting brain on a given day. Yarn bliss. 

 

sister TIlly!

My Mom has a precious new calico kitten. She is almost 5 weeks old and weighs 1.5 lbs. Her name is Tilly Triumph and well, she's adorable. The other day I went by to check on her and silly me, thought I could read while there ... Tilly stopped that very quickly. Wonder what would happen if I took my knitting next time? ;)

Have a lovely week-end!

May

 

May is a time to forget the demands of housework and go out to experience the delight of apple blossoms. ... it occurs to me now that it is a good thing for any parents to stop now and then and wonder what memories they are giving their children. We all try hard to leave real property, but memories are property of the heart. 

- Gladys Taber.

last day of April post

Working speedily along with these pink yarns. Cotton and silks. I watched the movie, Pretty in Pink, recently (gosh, it made me feel so old) so clearly I had to name this project by that name.

Then I was awestruck with Tania Gray's Printemps Shawl pattern. Oh. My. I can't tell you how many times I have drooled stared at this one and finally decided on some yarn in the stash for it and gave it a go yesterday before making dinner. Even though I'll probably be 80 when I finish it, it will be worth it.

Tomorrow is May!! I don't know about you but this beginning of the year has flown by. Wasn't it just Valentine's Day? My kiddos will be on summer break before I know it ... I've a lot of counting rows in silence before then. Ha!

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Fixed this for my bible study group today and if you like Nutella, then you must make it. It is amazing. Oh wow. Soooooooo simple to prepare and it is beyond words kinda-good.

OVERNIGHT NUTELLA FRENCH TOAST
6 eggs
2 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 loaf Challah
Nutella
butter

Lightly grease a 9X13 pyrex dish with Pam spray. Pour maple syrup on bottom and swirl around to coat.

In large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla until a little frothy and set aside.

Generously smear slices of Challah bread with Nutella and top with another slice each to make five sandwiches. Cut each in quarters or sizes to your liking. Soak each piece in the custard mixture, flipping to coat evenly. Transfer to the prepared baking dish. Pour the rest of the custard mixture over the top and dot the top with a few pieces of butter.

Refrigerate overnight.

Bake at 365 degrees for 35-40 minutes. (Mine cooked 40 minutes. Recipe idea from Pinterest!

s k y

One of my favorite things to do is gaze at the sky. There is beauty to behold.

Finished a Sky Scarf, I called it, today ... just a simple knit pattern of slp1, K2, P1 with varied colors of blue cotton yarns. Measures over 60" long. Makes me think skyward and brings a smile.

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Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but if you sit down quietly, may alight upon you.
- Nathaniel Hawthorne

just call me hop-along

Yesterday was a busy day. One of those days when Mama's Taxi is on the move extra much. When my phone's calendar alerts are more annoying than helpful. In the late afternoon, between commitments, I was at the printer and got up quickly only to trip, on air, I guess!, and fell. Thankfully the pain in my knees was temporary but the big toe on my left foot bent backward. Yea, it hurt. I hobbled up like some 200yr old woman and panicked that I had sprained my ankle, (I've done that several times through the years as walking is not perfection with me.) but it turned out that just my toe was the issue. I was glad. Man, it hurt like all get out but I was able to walk and it didn't swell. 

I put some crushed ice on it and within minutes it was time for Ben to go to his ballgame. My grandmother picked him up (already planned and how convenient was that?!) and when she saw what I had done to my foot, she said, Don't be in such a hurry! Wise advise. Then I knew that tripping on NOTHING was a reminder to myself to slow down, don't be in such a hurry, yes. So within a few minutes after they left, it was time to fetch my youngest son from Lego Club. An hour or so later it was time for my monthly bookclub meeting and I was grateful for the carpool ride :) I wasn't going to miss our girls night out because of my toe!!! 

This morning I woke and happy to report my 43-yr-old knees are fine with no pain but I must have really stretched a muscle in my toe because I have this hop-along walk going on. Annoying! But a good reminder to slow down. Don't be in such a hurry!!

If you came to the blog today for stitching or knitting or foodie pics, sorry ... don't hurry & walk well is the mantra for today.

New Pattern! Austen and Alcott, a sampler for readers

Excited to share with you a NEW PATTERN ... now available!

Austen and Alcott, a sampler for readers

Copyright 2013 The Sampler Girl

Click HERE for details on pattern.

 

This design, Austen and Alcott, a sampler for readers, embraces my passion for reading and has certainly turned my brain, as I get wild with delight about the next book in my pile to devour and then it's on to the next one! I can't count the number of times I go to the library in a given week but let's just say, I'm never without a stack of titles to decide upon.

The first verse on the sampler is Jane Austen's and reads: I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! The second verse, written by Louisa May Alcott, reads: She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain. Love that one!! They both lend beautifully together thus the sampler intertwines these two lady writers who forever grace our lives with their pen of thoughts and stories.

progress

This morning I finally, finally!, finished designing my ornament design for Just Cross Stitch's Christmas 2013 issue ... oh I'm so grateful for an extended deadline because everything I had come up with wasn't working and today was the day it all clicked. I think you'll like the outcome - so look for that issue later in the year!

Last night I couldn't sleep and didn't feel like reading so I got up and knit. The green/yellow/cream combination cotton yarn struck me over the weekend and I ended up starting a simple shawl with it. I like it so far ... simple pattern from Lion Brand called Spring Garden Shawl. I'm going to adapt it somehow to make the last portion more ruffly. We'll see how that goes. In the meanwhile, I've got many rows ahead of me. I wish I had this done and on my shoulders the other night at the ballfield when Ben's team had their first game of the season. Whooosh! went the wind. Oh and the team won 10-6 ... woot woot!!!

Off to forage for lunch! Using your brain sure makes ya hungry.

simple pleasures

I knit up a few dishcloths this weekend - one for my mom and one for me. The pattern is called Petite Farmhouse Dishcloth from the Homespun Living blog. It's a great one for using up scrap cotton yarns.

17

 

April 12th. Today is our 17th wedding anniversary! We spent the very rainy morning tucked inside the National Gallery of Art as it's one of our favorite places in the city. And romantic on a chilly, rainy morning indeed. A parking spot right outfront of the museum was Providential and the skies had cleared when we left so that was sweet. We lunched in the city and spent a lazy afternoon together. Bliss.

country quiche

COUNTRY QUICHE
adapted from Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood cookbook 

6-7 pieces bacon OR ground pork sausage with sage
6 large eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
generous handful of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
8 oz colby jack shredded cheese
black pepper
1 frozen pie shell

Cook bacon, drain well and tear up in pieces. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl, whisk eggs. Add baking powder and tomatoes and mix. Add bacon crumbled and cheese to the egg mixture and stir together. Add desired amount of black pepper. Pour into pie shell and bake for 45 minutes.

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Do you need a good book to read? A REALLY good book? One that will linger with you and well, if you love to read then you must read this book. And come back here to tell me what you think! I gave it 5 stars ... finished it at nearly 1am. Now I'm reading this book ... yep, I'm in for another pageturner, I can feel it.