-:- making and doing

My first trimester wasn't a ton of fun. They usually aren't, from what I understand, and mine was no exception. I was suddenly a very picky eater and foods that I usually loved were making me feel sick - this made me sadder than anything - I hated having food aversions.

But soon after I started my second trimester, a lot of that went away. I've just reintroduced spinach into my diet (and only in small amounts or ways that make it nearly invisible, like adding it to smoothies) and Mexican food and I are still not friends - but other than that, I'm happy to eat most anything that I encounter.

Best of all, my hands have started making and doing things again. I broke out my butters and oils and made an experimental belly balm for my tummy. (I really love it for nighttime, but am working on a formula that will be better for morning or daytime use.)

I started cutting cloth to make bibs, hooded towels, baby washcloths, and burp cloths. Mr. and I have grand plans for making some custom (potato) printed swaddling blankets sometime this December. And I'm back to knitting whenever my feet aren't touching the ground. Thanks to my amazing husband, this happens quite a bit.

We're moving through these colder days slowly, enjoying every minute of this amazing season we're in. Making and doing - and happily experiencing all of these new moments.

xox

-:- updates and news

It has been quite awhile since we last met in this space - thank you for sticking around despite my absence! Here are a few updates, in numbers.

# of cavities filled:

Four. Since I've never had a cavity filled before in my life, that was altogether an intriguing and terrifying experience. You can bet I have regular dentist appointments back on my calendar.

# of rocks found for a border in our front yard:

500 million. A few weeks back, we gave our yard some much-needed TLC in the form of some newspaper, mulch, a trip to our city's compost site, and rocks that we used to make a border between a bed in our front yard and the yard itself. Our neighbor liked our rocks so much that she asked if she could copy us! Everything is looking so much better and now we are prepped for some wonderful gardening next year.

# of garlic bulbs planted:

63. Or something like that. We got together with a few fellow community gardeners to plant some garlic off-site. It was a lot of fun and I can't wait until next year when we get to eat all of it up. It also eventually led to Mr. becoming part of the garden steering committee for next year! He's leading his first meeting next week and where I would be a bundle of nerves, he is as cool as a cucumber.

# of visitors:

Two. We had my parents here for two weekends in a row, which was such a wonderful treat. I don't have any pictures of our visit, but I do have a skein of yarn that I purchased while they were here - I think it's destined to become a pair of souvenir house socks.

# of knitting projects completed:

Two. Both hats, one for me, one for a dear friend's cat. Several other projects have been started, but up until recently, progress has been slow.

# of books read:

Zero. I don't think I've ever gone this long without finishing a book, but I'm remedying that now. I picked up an Agatha Christie book at the library last weekend, without knowing much about the author or her work, and have discovered my perfect mystery book - complete with gorgeous pre-war British language. Love.

# of good reasons I have for not knitting, reading, or blogging in the last few months:

One. And it's such a special, exciting excuse to have. We are thrilled.

xox

-:- hello from the boys

xox

-:- why, hello

Our spring has come and (almost) gone, leaving us looking right at summer. We just returned from a wonderful visit back East to warmer temperatures and sunny skies. Our garden is planted, our tummies are craving fresh fruits and veggies, and our heavy winter comforters have been tucked away.

And this spring, while short, has been so full of lovely things.

We discovered pink blooms on our tree in the front yard, lily of the valley covering one side of our house (my all-time favorite flower), and a lilac bush. We have been hosting and visiting, collecting wonderful memories all along the way. Drop Dead Fred is available on Netflix. And tomorrow, Mr. starts a new chapter in his career as a geologist - instead of as a teacher.

Spring sure took its time getting here, but it was worth the wait. And I can't wait to see what summer has in store for us.

xox

-:- what we've been doing lately

 // yoga

Last weekend, I started my official yoga practice at a studio near our house and loved every minute of it - I went to a beginner's workshop on Saturday and my first hatha class on Sunday. I loved my little at-home practice, but I love taking classes even more.

// finding sprouted bulbs...or the lack thereof

Last October, I planted several bulbs in our front yard and have looked forward to their blooms during these long winter months. As the snow started to melt (and fall, and melt again, and fall again...) I kept a watchful eye on our front yard, looking for those first true signs of spring. What I found instead were several deep holes and the papery remnants of those beautiful bulbs. Only three tulips survived.

I was mad at the squirrels responsible for the destruction until I watched a pair of them on a tree, acting especially twitterpated, and realized that I love fat squirrels that make healthy babies as much as I loved my bulbs.

// eating subs

Mr. has become an expert at building vegetarian subs. This one has arugula, tomatoes, cucumbers, hummus, avocado, and a bit of goat cheese. We rounded everything out with carrot sticks, salt and vinegar chips, sparkling water, and a melon for dessert.

While we ate, we smelled burning charcoal from every grill in the neighborhood and listened to kids laughing outside until their parents called them in.

// basking in front of open windows

This weekend was the first time in a long time that we've opened our windows and we all loved it - especially those boy cats. Wilbur has also started shooting outside every time the door opens - he never goes very far, but he loves darting into hard-to-reach places, like under the patio stairs.

On an unrelated note, a series of photographs I took inspired me to learn how to make animated gifs - this is my first one, featuring our Claude watching a bird. It was really fun to put together - but I will have to be more mindful of my camera position from now on so the next one isn't so dizzying.

xox

-:- weekend scenes

Last weekend, my parents were here for their first visit to our new home - it was so wonderful to see them. And I'm happy they came when they did - had they visited a week later, they would have encountered snowy weather and a daughter with a sore throat. There's so much more to tell you about from last weekend, but I'm going to wait just a bit longer for that.

This weekend, we ran all of our usual errands and then we spent some time at Mr.'s school. He had a few miscellaneous things to get done and I used the time to play the old piano they have there, which I have missed doing. It's out of tune, but it was still lovely to play.

I also started doing yoga this weekend (beyond my usual sun salutation) with the help of a library DVD. I already love how it makes me feel and have found myself doing mountain pose while waiting for my neep and tattie scones to cook - and seated forward bends as Mr. and I played our nightly games of gin rummy on the floor. Hopefully daily yoga is a habit I keep.

Now I'm sitting in front of the fire with Lou by my side, sipping a cup of tea made by Mr. for my sore throat. I hope you all had restful weekends - and I wish you wonderful weeks ahead.

xox

-:- weekend scenes

This has been such a fun weekend - Mr. and I had dinner with some new friends at their house, which was just what the doctor ordered. We had a lot of fun and can't wait to reciprocate. I didn't take my camera (I thought that might be weird - hi, nice to meet you, can I take pictures of the dinner you cooked for my blog?) but they fixed such a beautiful spread - I almost wish I had risked it!

We had big plans to go into the city today, but Mother Nature forced us to cancel - we got a good layer of sleet and freezing rain under a couple of inches of snow - and that kept us off the roads for most of the day. But for as much fun as we would have had out and about, I was just as happy staying in with a cup of tea, my furry boys, and a bunch of gorgeous tulips to keep me company while I watched the snow fall.

The whole weekend was just gorgeous. And I hope yours was too!

xox

-:- the lexicon project // shadow

This week I'm participating in a new project called the Lexicon Project, which was created by two lovely bloggers, Corrie and Rachel. You can read all about how it works on their blogs - and I hope you join in. If you'd like to include a photo, we're linking up on Corrie's blog this week. And to get the word for next week, visit Rachel.

This week's word was shadow and here is my photograph:

xox

-:- weekend scenes

It snowed! We woke up early Sunday morning to a winter wonderland. I got out of bed, put on my boots, and took Lou out for his first big snow. And oh my goodness, Louie loves the snow. He was like a little dancing fawn, frolicking and leaping, chasing snowflakes, running like crazy. It is so much fun to watch. 

Since we were expecting snow (though, maybe not quite so much of it), we made sure to run all of our errands on Saturday so we could hunker down and get cozy today. We went into Minneapolis to do a bit of shopping and discovered, quite on accident, the best Indian buffet we've ever eaten. This one was very vegetarian friendly and there were a few dishes that were very spicy, which is really rare in a buffet. It was super good and super unexpected.

And now, here we are, eating Mr.'s homemade pizza, drinking vegan hot chocolate (loosely adapted from here), kind of half-watching some of our favorite holiday movies as we putter around, wrapping presents, knitting, cooking, straightening up, and cuddling with that pup of ours who wore himself out in the snow.

Heavenly - and I hope your weekend was too.

xox

-:- cat pagoda

Our two boy cats have been through quite a lot this year. They were removed from their home, packed up in a cage, driven half way across the country, and had to spend their nights in hotel bathrooms the whole time. 

Then, once they arrived at their new house, they only had about a week and a half to get used to everything (um, stairs) before they were introduced to their new, rambunctious, hyperactive, canine brother. Nobody bothered to consult them about any of it.

Then all of this new furniture arrived and they weren't allowed to scratch any of it. And since their cat tree couldn't fit in our U-Haul, our boys have had nothing to (legally) sharpen their nails on for quite some time.

Until earlier in the week when this arrived:



That's right - a cat pagoda. It was really the least we could do. I put a little bit of catnip on it and let Wilbur go nuts.

For the record, the number of times Wilbur has almost fallen off of the cat pagoda is 35,284.

He has only actually fallen off once.

And for any of you who doubt Wilbur's ability change moods in the blink of an eye, I am providing evidence. We love him, but he's psychotic. That column must have insulted his mother or something. 

To be fair, he was also catnipping.

Everything eventually evened out. The effects of the catnip wore off and Wilbur made up with the column. He spends a lot of his time there now, which I love to see, and I worry a lot less about our couches. And table. And carpet.

Ultimately, I'm calling the whole cat pagoda thing a success. And I think Wilbur would agree.

xox

-:- our new table

Mr. and I really haven't had a functional dining table since we started living together -

ours was really old and really small and we never used it because it always felt cramped.

While we (of course) have big plans for our little dining room, they require time, money, and an established woodworking space - and our patience with eating off of our laps in the living room was running out faster than we were making progress on our plans.

So we decided to buy our first real table.

Both of the leaves fold down against that center piece and it takes up very little space when it's in that form. When our big plans come to fruition, we'll be able to store this table in the basement or in a closet with no problem and can use it for additional seating or a game board surface as needed. It won't be wasted. And now, whenever our big plans happen, they happen - there is no rush.

Our old table, by the way, is now home to my sewing machine and I love it.

In the meantime, our new table has really made our house feel like a home. 

Mr. can grade there while I cook dinner. We set the table for ourselves.

And we sit, facing each other, to eat and talk about our days.

Plus, it gives Wilbur another place to nap.

We consider it a win all around.

xox

-:- happy half birthday, louie

Louie is officially 6 months old today.
And since the weather has been blustery, Mr. has been having some hard days at work, and I hadn't baked in awhile, I thought this half birthday was reason enough for celebration.

So I baked some cupcakes (for human consumption only), got Lou a present, and made him wear a hat.

(I know Lou looks pretty humiliated in his half birthday photo, but I consider this my payback for our little Malabrigo fiasco. Go ahead, Lou. Chew some more yarn.)

Since my last Louie update he has:

-:- (Pretty much) learned how to get his long body on short legs down our steep stairs by himself. It involves a lot of hopping. And a lot of concentration.

-:- Gotten better at interacting with Wilbur.



But only slightly.

-:- Learned how not to drench his front legs when he goes #1.
This was such a relief to us - for obvious reasons.

He also goes out and comes in by himself now, without having to be on a leash.

-:- Runs/jumps/goes through life with all limbs extended like Superman.

-:- Sprouted all of his grown-up teeth...
but he still likes to chew on socks. And clean laundry.
And dirty laundry.
And pillows.

-:- Established a rather hateful relationship with the vacuum cleaner.
And maintained (several) adoring relationships with sticks.

-:- And learned a new trick. He does this constantly for us, even if we don't ask him to. Except, of course, when I have the camera out. This picture is kind of a miracle.

What a good boy.

I should also mention that Wilbur felt a little left out during our festivities - he didn't remember ever celebrating his half birthday! So he got a turn in the new bed and got to wear the birthday hat too.

Cupcake time.



xox