Unfinished

I am really good at starting projects and then finding another I want to try. The first project gets set aside and the new one is begun. Well, I am going to go back and finish or remake my old projects into something else. My first is a baby blanket that I started before I was pregnant with my 4 1/2 year old. I'm going to turn it into a baby doll blanket for my baby girl and then that one will be out of the craft box forever.

I need to do the same thing with books. There are about 8 books (that I can think of) that I am in the process of reading, most of which I haven't looked at in months or years. They are all good books, I just have gotten distracted by another and need to finally go back and finish them. I keep upping the number of books as I type this paragraph. It is sad.

Pumpkin

A few days ago, my neighbors put out a carved pumpkin. Our dog saw it and was really angry with it. She sat inside staring, barking and growling, and when we went outside, she barked louder, flared up her fur and tried to get at it. It was nuts. She didn't have a problem with other pumkins, and she is fine with it now that a few days have passed, but I guess there was just something about that jack-o-lantern.

Thanksgiving

I have lived across the country from where I grew up for about seven years. I email and talk to my family a lot and so it isn't a big deal most of the year. For some reason, Thanksgiving is the time of year when I miss my family most. We would always get together for a huge family meal. Most of the cousins, aunts, uncles, Mom, Dad, brothers, sisters and Granny all are there. We talked, played and of course ATE! Granny makes this wonderful stuffing with mushrooms, bread crumbs, and chicken giblets. My husband thinks it is foul, but it is awesome. I miss that and the ham. Here we have really yummy turkey, but ham waits for Christmas. I think a lot of it is that Thanksgiving was the time of year that we always got together and spent a lot of time together. I really love my home and family here, but Thanksgiving time is still a bit tough for me.

Can I do it?

To go along with the puppetry I have in mind, I am going to try to learn ventriloquism. I have never really thought a whole lot about it, but I think it'll be fun to try. I found a website and I hope it will help. There is always the library! I'll let you know how it goes!

Looking for Puppets

I want to crochet some hand puppets for my kids. I have been looking for a while for a pattern and have had very little luck. I found a place that has one, but I don't think I can get it. If anyone has a clue let me know. THANKS!!

Jeans

Well, I took a pair of old jeans and cut them into 1/2 inch strips. Then, I used the strips and some other fabric, to crochet a little purse. It is quite workout for my hands to crochet with denim. I like it. I think I am going to make a big basket for our living room out of it. It'll take a lot of jeans, though. So, if anyone reading this has unwearable jeans they want to donate, I'll take them.

Yum!

I tried to cook my cook book, today. I should have known that the back burner of my stove was NOT a safe place to rest it. Of course, since the book was in the way of the dial, I turned on the back burner, rather than the front one. Amazingly, the cook book is only minorly damaged (browned bottoms of pages and a slightly melted cover) and the taco soup turned out well. I promise I really am a good cook. I love to cook, I just make silly mistakes sometimes. Maybe this is another reason to edit and print my recipes again.

Pseudosphere

Well, I finished it and realized that it is what is called a pseudosphere--a cone in hyperbolic space. Here it is!
It was really easy. All you have to do is start with a small number of stitches and increase every few stitches. I increased every third stitch. This one was done in rounds.

Crocheting Numbers

Okay, so this is my second post, today, but this one is too interesting to pass up. I was looking for a picture and found this: http://theiff.org/oexhibits/oe1e.html

There is a mathmatician at Cornell University who made a crochet model of hyperbolic space. It is really neat, check it out!

I started making one. It is about 4 inches in diameter, so far...

I am going to have to read the sections about hyperbolic space a few times to understand completely. It has been a while since I've had ANY math classes. And, I'm pretty certain my geometry class (10th grade) didn't go that deep.

Library Junkie

Recently I have become a library junky. I go at least once a week, and many weeks is it more than that. I love to check books out before I buy them, in case I don't want to. My kids love books and this opens up the possibilities for us. My son also likes to play the Magical School Bus games on their computers. My baby likes to run away, so I started taking a stroller.

It's nice to be able to thoroughly look through cook books. I have found that most have a lot of really weird recipes that I would never make for my family and if I did, they wouldn't eat them!

My latest find is a book called Simple Crochet by Erika Knight. From the cover, it looks like a regular crochet book, but she recommends crocheting with anything that is a continuous string. Her list includes kitchen twine, hemp, ribbon, mohair, and my personal favorite, leather thonging. I am really excited to try to make a basket out of leather. It looks really neat and would be really useful as well. She also has patterns for boxes to hold household goods in. They also look interesting.

I've also been reading the Anne of Green Gables series. I have loved the movies since I was a little girl and now I have finally gotten around to reading the books. I've really enjoyed reading about the "Anne-Girl".

Smile

It's amazing the utter joy that my baby's smile can bring to my heart. She is an amazingly happy baby. She is so much fun to watch. She is funny and loves to laugh. I love to see her learning. You can almost see the connections being made and the thoughts developing in her little head.

It is really fun to watch my son grow and learn. Sometimes, it is hard, because he has started learning things that I am not sure how to answer. He has learned about death and wanted to know if Santa Claus was dead. What do you say to that? I am really amazed at some of the things that he understands and remembers. He shocks me regularly! He can remember things I had forgotten.

I love the things I have learned by being a mother. It makes me think of a book called Being the Mom : 10 coping strategies I learned by Accident because I had children on purpose by: Emily Watts. It has been a while since I read it, so I really don't remember much other than it is funny (my memory is horrid) but I thought of the title. I have learned a lot of things on "accident" because I chose to have children. I think I have learned to have more patience and tolerance. I have learned that anything can be a toy. I have learned diligence, so that I can constantly make sure they aren't killing themselves. I have definitely learned a lot about love. I can't wait for the next lesson.

Crochet

I love to crochet!! I love to make things for people and honestly, for myself. I tend to make either things for my kids or purses for me. I also love to make hats and scarves. (which are really handy since I moved from Florida to snow!) I hate the cliche of a little old lady crocheting doilies (though I have made some of those, too). I am a young crocheter and I like to make things that I can use. If I have a need, I try to find a way to make something to fill that need. Water bottle holder, a band to hold toy arrows, bags and bookmarks are all on the list. Right now, I am making a blanket for my son and knitting finger puppets for my he and his little sister.

There is so much time that can be wasted just watching TV or talking. I like to take crochet along and work on something while I am talking to family or watching a movie. (as long as it isn't one I've never seen, then I need to see it more to know what is going on.) I think this stems from being fidgety. I wiggle a lot and crochet gives my hands something to do.

Strong Women

I love being a mom! But that is not all that I am. I can be a strong, educated person, with a life of my own as well. I don't have to simply wash, wipe, and cook because I chose to stay home with my kids. I am not implying that I don't like to do these things. (well, I hate dishes) I love to cook, teach my children, take care of my home, husband and kids. BUT, I am more than these things. I know women who have the goal of being wives and mothers, but seen to have no other aspirations in life. My question is: what do YOU do all day? I am a stay at home mom, but I don't just sit and stare at my kids and clean all day. I do a lot of that, because they are young, but I do things that I enjoy as well. I need to be a complete person, too. I can't raise complete, healthy individuals if I am not one myself! I have interests and hobbies. I am going to teach a community class. I just got my bachelor's degree. I rarely get bored--I have too many things that I like to do. I hope that all women, especially those who choose to stay home with their children can learn that they need to and can be accomplished, educated women!!

Howdy

Well, here I am at my first posting on my own blog. I'm not sure I'll have much to say, but I'll say it anyway. Maybe no one else will find it interesting, but I'll do what I like. I guess we'll see what happens. Thanks.