Saturday, January 08, 2011

All in a Morning

Hi Knitters,
Oh, the hustle and bustle that goes on around here... I walked around my house and took photos this morning to share a brief glimpse into the goings on.

I received a big bundle of flowers this week as a kind thank you. I love having flowers around the house in the winter although it really doesn't happen all that often. This is why I love it all the more when it does happen.
That burst of color and the shades of green make me so happy.
I also enjoy arranging flowers and have no idea what I am doing but I pretend I do. I think this arrangement turned out pretty good. I like the leaves that are included.
TC's plugging away on this blanket she has been working on for a long, long while. You should hear her grumble about the final ball of yarn she needs to finish to make it the right size. It makes me laugh. Grumble, grumble. She is like an old, seasoned knitter.
My son's girlfriend brought over a huge bin of stamps last night and the kids old and young gathered around and stamped cards of all sorts. Seeing all of her stamps and ink pads makes me want to collect stamps. I love it when she gives me a hand-stamped card. I always save them or hang them up.
The imperfections are what make these cards so sweet.
TC's gearing up already for Valentine's Day. Seems too soon.
TC is determined to read all of the Babysitter's Club books and there are well over 100 of them. She is on the third one right now. She ordered a bunch more of used copies in the series at an incredibly low price. My son helped her search them out. I am not sure where they ordered but she is really excited about it.
TC also got a Crayola Crayon Maker for Christmas. She has been crayon making crazy ever since. This is a good and fun one from Crayola. My sister brought over a huge freezer bag filled with old broken crayons for her to make into new pointy crayons. She loves mixing up the colors. Mad scientist of color she is.
TC and Peachy are making banana chocolate chip pancakes for the crew this morning. They are a funny and sometimes bickering team. Bicker, bicker. This is what I say to them, "Quit your bickering." You can borrow that if you like.

Actually, this morning wasn't too bad. There isn't anyone else in the world you can bicker with like your sister. The next minute you are best friends again.
TC and I are reading this book together. We just sit and read a couple of chapters a day. We are almost done. There are a couple more books in this series and we will read those together, too. It is a super easy book and sometimes it is just nice to sit and read a simple book out loud together.

Oh, and in that old beat up bag of crayons TC unearthed a special glow in the dark crayon that truly works (we went in the bathroom and shut the door to try it out), an old harmonica that TC plays loudly and drives everyone nuts, and a mini-pack of cards. You just never know.
I've taken to putting a big bowl on the bench in the kitchen to store hats and mittens and gloves. It is so ridiculous but the kids come in and whip their knits down on this bench so there is no room to even sit down. I am often just trying to manage the mess it seems.
Peachy dropped her phone in the toilet last night. It ain't gonna work.
Oh, and here is that bin of stamping supplies. I love it. We are making more cards later today.
The sleeve I started on my Camp Hoodie is coming along slowly but nicely. I'll keep you posted on the progress.
This morning I was looking for a whole punch in a closet (don't ask) with TC by my side. She spotted a pack of brand new canvas bags in the closet that I had bought for a girl scout activity but never used. A short while later I walked in the living room and she had quietly created this piece of art. She's a maker. She told me this is her new knitting bag for her blanket.

Then she grumbled about how she is never going to finish.

What's going on in your house this morning?
best, susie
p.s. I got a new camera for Christmas that I am still trying to figure out. As I posted the photos for this entry I see that many of the more horizontal shots are cut off on the right side. I'll get it all figured out soon but if you want to see the whole photo just click on it and it will let you see the entire shot. Sorry about that.

31 comments:

Jennifer said...

I'm knitting your Surefire Hat this morning!

CelticCastOn said...

wow lots going on at your house, looks like fun!
Tell Peachy not to give up on her phone. My daughter dropped mine in the dog bowl and it amazingly still works. It was in for quite a while too. Keep the hope alive!!!

Unknown said...

oh man! I wish i still knew where all my babysitter club books were! I read EVERY one. (and owned 70% of them) I loved them! I actually will check if I have any left and let you know.

Tara said...

Stamping is so much fun! I used to be a rep for Stampin' Up! So I have a pretty good collection myself :) And, I hope TC enjoys the Babysitter's Club Books. I used to read them when I was her age. I had/read about the first 90 or so before I outgrew them.

knittingknirvana said...

What a fun (and busy) morning! Thanks for the peek!! :) We dug out from under a foot of snow and then went to get groceries. But, I've got knitting planned for later today!! :)

Stefanie said...

What an awesome morning you're having Susan. What a creative activity to do for Valentine's day!
I laughed at TC's grumbling. I totally understand about blanket projects. You're always staring at the numerous balls left to get through...LOL.
What little treasures you're finding around the house! That is always fun.
Let's see...here my husband is addicted to the game, Risk, on the iPad. I just fed my girls their individual, favorite breakfasts and the little one is currently being silly while my older one is wrokin' on her wordsearch book that she discovered last evening in her art drawer. And I'm here on the computer checking my accounts. Not as productive

paws said...

That's so funny about the grumbling. I started out with blankets, so I never realized what a time commitment they were until I made a hat in the round. Now blankets are a labor of love.

Tiphanie said...

Loved reading your blog today... a lot going on in a morning already! I need to borrow your phrase, "Quit your bickering!" with my two boys. I'm not sure it will work on them, though, haha! The tote TC made is cute, and I love the grumblings about her blanket. I feel that way about a bunch of icords I'm knitting up. I hope Peachy's phone turns out okay! Oh, and I was wondering about that Crayola crayon maker... I'm thrilled to see if actually works. You wouldn't believe the mess of broken crayons we get around here! I love the handmade cards, too. I have a large stamp collection that I don't utilize often enough. Your post reminded me about that. Thanks for a glimpse into your Saturday morning!

Joyce said...

Susan, google how to dry wet cell phone. Some suggested options are to take the battery out and put the phone in a ziploc baggie with dry rice from 24-28 hours to absorb the moisture, some others listed. Sure worth a try. Good luck!
Joyce

Kathy said...

LOVE you new header picture! Soooo cute!
Great idea with the bowl on the bench. No kids here but will pass the idea on to my daughter. Happy Snapping with the new camera.

Jen said...

I am in awe of how much you have accomplished...my kiddos are still in their PJs. My 9 yr old said this morning that our refrigerator looks like the one in Coraline, so we'll do some shoppin. NFL Playoffs later while I finish the Marley toppers for my first ever baby hat!!

LoriAngela said...

We are makers and I was raised in a house of makers! We all loved Sarah, and the movie. Have you tried cracking Wintergreen Lifesavers in a black room? They spark!

Sandee said...

Be careful with the rubber stamps. I took my first class about 20 years ago. It was inexpensive, but it got me hooked. Hundreds of stamps and probably thousands of dollars later, I am still into it.

I need to get going on my Valentines cards. I make and send them in January and they do double duty as my Christmas thank you cards!

Sandee said...

Oh, just have to put in a plug for a great Baby sitters club blog.

http://bscag.blogspot.com/

My DD has every single book and has been rereading them and blogging about each story line. She is 26 and still enjoys these books. Her collection began when she was in grade school. At one point she was going to get rid of them, and I told her that she may regret that later on. Now she is glad to have them.

Hope it is okay to mention her blog here, if not, please remove the comment (but please check out the blog anyway).

KarenJ said...

I love your flowers! When I lived where winter came on hard and dark and full of snow and the world was a monochromatic black, white and gray all winter, I started budgeting for flowers in the house after New Years Day when the Christmas lights were gone. The first tulips at the grocery always went home with me. Worth every penny! Now that I live where the roses bloom until Christmas (I never seem to have many there for the New Year's Eve table though, and there's always something blooming and NEVER any snow(Yay!) I don't need to . I still bring some in in the winter anyway because the days are short and we get a lot of gray, rainy days. they always help.

By the way those are lemon leaves which are great to use for making chocolate leaves.

LittleMissEclectic said...

Wow- so much great stuff going on at your house. I loved the baby sitter club books too, I have been searching far and wide for one of those crayon makers, and Sarah Plain and Tall was one of my favorite movies growing up. Have a great weekend!

forevermore said...

I needed your post this morning more than you know. Thx.

Anonymous said...

We've been watching Doc Martin thanks to you!

Laura said...

I love that TC is working on reading the whole Babysitters' Club Series. I'm 25 years old and still have almost all of these books. And I can't lie, I still read them sometimes :)

Ertman-Trowbridge Family said...

I loved getting this glimpse around your house this morning. It gives me a glimpse for what my future may hold, as my girls are both still so small.

Babysitters Club?! Oh my. They were hot when I was TC's age but that was twenty years ago!!! Girls still read them? Wow!

I love the crayon maker and wish I had one.

Peachy and TC bickering. Too cute. I had sisters. I understand.

My morning was a bit different. It included four diaper changes for two kids, one bottle for the baby, dancing to Disney music, one time out and a lot of hugs and kisses!

Kelly said...

I was a big fan of the Babysitters' Club books, too! Loved your post. I am looking for a better storage solution for all our knitted hats and scarves. too...

bitten78 said...

wow! I've been doing the 'short order cook' job for my kids, yesterday's snow day used up alot of our crafty activities so today was free for all! I had the same exact green samsung phone- and my youngest dunked it in root beer! hubby took it apart- wiped it down with a electronic wipe (like a Lysol wipe) and put it in a bag of rice he warmed up with a blow dryer (???) and I'm happy to say it still works. it is now my oldest son's phone! that phone is a trooper-like a timex watch-lol!

Melanie said...

oh how i loved the babysitter's club books! i have a stash of them at my mom's and so glad i kept them as i now have two girls of my own. granted, not of reading age yet. :)

saw that you were having a workshop at sc at the end of february - definitely have to sign up as i want to finally be able to meet you. my 2yo wore her cupcake hat while we were running errands this am (finally checked out the new willy st. coop) and she gets numerous compliments on it each time. :)

Dianne@sheepdreams said...

Great colors in your photos this morning! They pop right off the screen. Woke up to snow and I spent all morning finishing up sewing a pink fuzzy robe and flannel pj's for my grand-daughter's American Girl doll. Such fun!

Unknown said...

Love everything that was going on in your house! Bryan got a new cam for Christmas too, only it was for work, taking product pictures. He got the Nikon D3100. He was going for a Canon, but I told him that Brandy Fortune recommended Nikon. Which one did you get?

Oliva Ohlson said...

Busy busy household and fun. I love Sarah, Plain & Tall. There's alos a Hallmark movie based on the book, and it's actually very good! TC and I are kindred spirits...I was so much like her growing up.

Anonymous said...

Babysitters Club!

I'm 28 and still have all of my BSC books too. Actually, Ann M. Martin is on Facebook and very active. You should check it out (or tell TC if she is on to check it out).

By the way, what blanket pattern/yarn is she using?

Sarah

lulu said...

I love your blog because if I feel my house is busy, yours will be even busier (and crafty!) I finished your Surefire Hat - amazing and fun to knit. I am also finishing the Itty Bitty Toys sheep. SO, SO adorable. Actually, I have come back to knitting after a 10-15 year lull and your Itty Bitty Toys gave me fun, short projects to accomplish! Love it!

crookedknits said...

You can get books for free at paperbackswap.com on the condition that you trade your old books. So if she doesn't want to keep the series after reading them, trade them! I'm trying to get some knitting books off there right now.

And I love the crayon maker! I kinda want one (says the single not-mother...)

inklenaomi said...

you have to bury the phone in the rice for it to work. Mine went for a swim in my morning coffee in the car on the way to a play, and it was 6 hours before I could rescue with the rice. It stayed in there for a day, and a year later, still works great!

YarnOnTheHouse said...

I love when you share the fun happenings around your home! I always come home and tell my 9yo daughter, Jasmine, about what's going on at Susan's house. She loves it too!

P.S. The crayon maker is awesome (J has one and I hate broken crayons, so this little machine is genius), and secondly, the rice thing works. My mom washed (yes, in the machine clothes washer - washed) her cell phone recently. She didn't know it was in there til her phone started ringing from inside the washer. We put her phone in a bag of rice for a week and it works!