So Anyway...

...look behind the cat. This is what I woke to this morning.

-There you have it.

Finally:

A bread recipe I can handle.

To be found here. It's very good, and substituting butter for the shortening did not seem to hurt anything.

We have a nature table this year:

Last week we went walking in the woods together for a few hours. It was warm and sunny, and just heavenly. My girl is big enough to walk with me now instead of only being carried, and she was picking up all these tiny pinecones and putting them in the bag we brought. She also loved the milkweed we gathered at the edge of a field. She said: "OOOoooh!!" as they floated away on the breeze. (It is worth noting that wool pants are excellent even for kneeling on the forest floor, and repel dirt surprisingly well.) She likes the nature table, and points to it saying: "PINEcoh!" -so cute.

So today we have light snow:

It's time, I suppose. I love early winter, but detest late winter -which is understandable, since fully half our year is winter here. Oh well, time to get working on some more woolens -gotta fill up that Etsy shop.

Well we went

...to Rhinebeck, and it was great. This trip was bittersweet, as we are remembering Josh's mom a lot right now, and the sheep and wool festival was the last place we saw her. Never-the-less, we had a wonderful time together as a family. The weather was considerably colder than last year, but still gorgeous -as was the drive there and back.

Ray is much better able to appreciate the animals this year and had lots of fun. She particularly liked the alpacas ("Hi-pAca!" is how she says it).

As for stuff around here, there is a new pair of yellow wool pants running around:

I love these things. I decided to change up the pattern a lot this time. I have also been knitting baby cardigans for sale on Etsy soon, and I may add some of these pants too.

Today felt like a day to not go anywhere. It's raining and bitter, and grey. The house feels big, and empty, and cold, and dark. Except for the kitchen. I keep that warm by closing all the doors to it, and keeping the light on, and the various coffee and breakfast smells linger there which is a comfort. It feels like a soup night to me.

A new video...

...for a song I had not heard before by one of my favorite musicians. What a treat.

This made me cry a little:

I HAVE FOUND SUCH JOY

by Grace Noll Crowell

I have found such joy in simple things;
A plain, clean room,
a nut-brown loaf of bread
A cup of milk,
a kettle as it sings,
The shelter of a roof above my head,
And in a leaf-laced square along the floor,
Where yellow sunlight glimmers through a door.
I have found such joy in things that fill My quiet days:
a curtain's blowing grace,
A potted plant upon my window sill,
A rose, fresh-cut and placed within a vase;
A table cleared,
a lamp beside a chair,
And books I long have loved beside me there.
Oh, I have found such joys I wish I might Tell every woman who goes seeking far For some elusive, feverish delight,
That very close to home the great joys are:
The elemental things--old as the race,
Yet never, through the ages, commonplace.

What I'm making:

...well it's already made, I guess. I knitted this in the last three days for a baby shower today.

It's just my same favorite baby cardigan pattern, although because it's been a longish time since I've made one I botched some aspects of it royally. Oh well, the end result is pretty nice, and the recipient is not a knitter, so I'm sure it will be appreciated.

Is there anything cuter...

...than a toddler in homemade pants?


I don't think so.

This is the Tiny Birds Organics wool soaker pants pattern, and it's a good one, except for the seams. I hate sewing seams. I believe I will make more of these, but I will adapt the pattern for in the round. I hate sewing seams -did I say that already?

Also, I seem to be drawn to purple things right now. It's one of those situations where I suddenly realized how many purple things I have and I just sort of put them together. The result is very cozy and pleasing.