Life's Little Joys: Friday Edition

1. I am extremely joyful over all the prayers I've received from everyone. I know that they have buoyed me up and kept me going this past difficult week. I thank all of you out there for your kind words and prayers.

2. knitting: Why has it taken me so long to discover this relaxing little hobby?

3. roses

Desperately trying to hold onto the joy despite...

the fact that we learned yesterday that I miscarried again. My doctor couldn't find the heartbeat after about ten minutes of trying. He immediately sent me to get an ultrasound. I knew it was not going to be good news when the technician deliberately moved the screen out of my view. I would have been at ten weeks, but it is not to be. My body doesn't seem to know it yet and I'll just have to wait. The weird thing is that I was just starting to feel a bit queasy this week and that made me feel more confident that things were going well. This is my second miscarriage in five months. God's ways are not my ways and I'm just praying for peace right now.

Life's Little Joys: Friday Edition

It's good to think on life's little joys everyday, but I'll focus on a few each Friday.

1. My new bamboo knitting needles (so much nicer than plastic)

2. Staying up late to finish a novel

3. Drinking some steamed milk with Irish Cream syrup on a very cold day

4. Baking Cream Scones with Luke

5. de-cluttering our home

Check out Meredith's list as well. Count it all as joy!

A meme for the new year

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? -my mom
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? - I can't remember, but I'm sure it was sometime in the last couple of weeks.
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? - No. I go in and out of cursive with no rhyme or reason.
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? - Does bacon count?
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? - two boys so far...
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Yes.
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Yes.
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? -NO!
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? There's this vanilla granola that I buy ocassionally and well, it doesn't last long when I buy it.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? - only if I can't get my shoes off easily.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? -Yes!
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? - coffee
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? -if they look happy or not
15. RED OR PINK? Red!
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF? -that I am prone to stress and shyness
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? - I don't really know.
18. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? -jeans and brown slippers
19. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? - a peppercorn ranch chicken sandwich
20. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? -The sound of silence. There is napping going on right now.
21. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? -um, I don't know...something exotic like sea glass green or something. I don't know if that's even a color or not.
22. FAVORITE SMELLS? -baking smells, fresh lemons and a cup of coffee
23. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? -Stephanie
24. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? -Well, before that French judge at the 2002 Olympics, I loved watching figure skating.
25. HAIR COLOR? Brown
26. EYE COLOR? Brown
27. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No.
28. FAVORITE FOOD?-Seriously? I don't think I could come up with a favorite. Umm..Let's see, I love BLTs, avocados, lox and cream cheese on a bagel, steamed milk with Irish cream syrup, egg salad. I can't really answer this one.
29. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy Endings.
30. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? - About a Boy with Hugh Grant31. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? white long-sleeved t-shirt
32. SUMMER OR WINTER? Autumn!!!!!!!!!!!!
33. HUGS OR KISSES? hugs
34. FAVORITE DESSERT? -warm carrot cake with a caramel sauce
35. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature
36. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? I use a laptop.
37. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? -We don't have TV. Well, we have a TV, but no channels. So, nothing.
38. FAVORITE SOUNDS?-beautiful -soothing classical music and I really like quiet.
39. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? -neither
40. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Prince Edward Island
41. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I don't know.
42. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? -Florida

This was fun Meredith, but I'm bummed that I don't think I have a special talent.
h/t Meredith

Luke's latest hat creation

Thanks to Mary, Luke used her suggestion for thicker yarn and knitted another hat on his circular loom. It's a little big so he gave this one to Daddy and he will start making another. I'll have to put in my request for a hat!

In my attempt to get organized for the new year...

Here's my new and improved nightstand!

Two more for the nightstand

Right now, I feel like I'm buried under clutter. I'm kicking off the new year with no mercy. We're cleaning up around here and yet, I couldn't resist two more books for the nightstand. Yes, I picked up two books at Costco last Friday. It's generally known that I have to go to the book aisle first before I get the things on my list. Anyway, I picked up In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan. Now, I read a lot about food and I know there will probably not be a lot of new information for me, but I couldn't resist since I really liked The Omnivore's Dilemma also by Michael Pollan. I also picked up a novel that I read about in the Chinaberry catalog. I don't read as much fiction as I used to, but I was attracted to the balls of yarn on the cover of The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs. The yarn is beautiful and well, hopefully, the story will be good too. I don't usually run out and read any of the books offered for adults in the Chinaberry catalog, but I do enjoy reading about the books they review. I'm not sure I would have taken a chance on this book if I hadn't found it at Costco. I'm sure there will be leniency for clutter on my nightstand.

Luke's crazy hat

Here's the hat that Luke knitted on a circular loom. He got a little help at the end, but otherwise he made it himself. He's started a second hat with two different yarns to make a thicker hat that will actually keep his head warm.

It's the New year

I took down the Christmas tree yesterday. It seemed to be an all-day process, but somehow I managed to get the ornaments put away and the lights stuffed back into their boxes. I know it's still Christmas, but I couldn't take the pine needles all over the floor anymore. I can't eat another cookie either. I'm done with the sweets. I intended to keep the tree up until the Epiphany, but after the new year, I tend to look ahead and start planning again. I find that it's difficult to celebrate Christmas for twelve days. Of course, I did keep the Nativity up as Luke moves the Wise Men a little closer each day.

As I put away ornaments yesterday, Luke commented that Christmas and Advent passed entirely too quickly this year. I agreed, but in general, I think time passes quickly all the time (except when I'm doing laundry). I thought about all my exciting Advent plans and how we accomplished most of them. We're still reading our Christmas picture books and yes, we did end up comparing the art work in many many editions of The Night Before Christmas from Tasha Tudor to Jan Brett to Will Moses To Gennady Spirin and many others. There were so many mediums of art to accompany this poem. From paintings to photographs to pen-and-ink drawings to pop-ups that it was difficult to decide which artist had the best interpretation of the poem. They were all creative. Along the way, Luke almost memorized the entire poem. He's even working on his own artwork to accompany the Clement C. Moore poem.

We're still only about a third of the way through A Christmas Carol, but there's still plenty of time during the twelve days of Christmas to finish this read aloud since it's not that long and we're all familiar with the story. I can tell that I'm already in that mode where I want to move on.

There's also a small stack of Christmas picture books that we haven't gotten to yet and I'm reluctant to turn them in until we've read them. With all of our nightly read alouds, I did end up with some new favorites this year. We loved loved loved Angela and the Baby Jesus by Frank McCourt and Great Joy by Kate DiCamillo and The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey.

Luke and I did make the gingerbread cookies and he actually ate them and enjoyed them. I discovered that they taste much better undecorated. Plain gingerbread men with a tall glass of milk is mighty tasty!

I'm in planning mode. I'm thinking about the books I want to read this year. I'm also thinking about our winter menu. This Potato soup will definitely warm the tummy during the cold months, but I need at least eleven more dinner dishes. So, I will be sitting down with a cup of tea and a stack of my favorite cookbooks this weekend. I plan to read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. I bought it last year as an impulse buy at Costco, but didn't get around to reading it. It's been sitting on my nightstand for most of 2007. (I need to start the new year right and clear off the nightstand, but I know another stack of books will grow again.) I received A Walk with Jane Austen:A Journey into Adventure, Love, and Faith by Lori Smith for Christmas and I'm excited to read about the author's adventures around England as she follows in the footsteps of Jane Austen. I also bought this book before Christmas because as I've stated before, I love cookbooks and a book that will combine simplicity with food is something I want to read! I also have plans to read In this House of Brede hopefully in time for Nutmeg's bookclub. At present, I can't find my own copy. So, I hope that my library has an available copy and soon! Now, I'm still working on learning how to knit from this book. So, I've spent a lot of time reading from Kids Knitting trying to understand how to knit. Now, I know that this list will probably change as I discover new topics that excite me. I'm still working on Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature. I've had to take a break since I've spent a lot of my reading time reading children's Christmas books. I'm still fascinated by Beatrix Potter as it is clear that she seemed to learn best when she immersed herself in a subject and not when she had lessons. I've also started reading Atonement thinking I might actually go and see this film, but I'm not sure yet what I think of this novel.

Anyway, all my plans are well and good, but that Baby in a manger has led me to start thinking about 2008 and how much I want to incorporate Him even more into my daily life. I'm thinking about how to get back our good rhythm of learning we had for our first term. Our schedule got derailed during Advent (which I totally expected would happen) but now I realize it's getting close to the beginning of our second term.