Knitted Bath Puffy for a Baby…

I found this pattern on a book called knitted gifts I cannot recall the author of this book. I wanted to give it a try with the yarn I had. I have a tough time applying soap on our little ones body. Now that we spend most of our time outdoors playing since the weather is good. At the end of the day it’s time to have a nice bath with a scrubber and I like the idea of knitting a puffy to m little one.

Anyways it’s not the greatest puffy, originally it calls for natural yarn to give the puffy more like a spa material look but I change it because it’s going to be used on a little one. My husband didn’t like it but I thought it was cool. Something different when it comes to a bath puff… I think I am going to give it a try.

At the beginning it sounds like Greek reading the pattern I guess you just have to do it in order to understand knitting. Just have to do it… This was really easy though it sounds Greek. I had so much fun assembling it together. Now that I know how to make these I am constantly looking for Natural Yarns.

I hate to spend a lot on yarn because it adds up to my projects… for all the knitters out there I feel your pain…

Now I enjoy scrubbing my little one’s dirt off with newly knitted puffy…

Quote of the day “populate your to do list, not your mind”

Enjoy!

Seaming could be FUN…

Yep, who would think this could be so much fun, what I am buzzing about knitting…I wanted to make a gift set. Finally I found this baby blanket in baby knits for beginners by Debbie Bliss. I have been making stuff from her book but I immediately fell in love with this pattern. However the challenge was seaming the bound- off edge and a selvedge in garter stitch. (I ROCKED it!)

With much patience in my hand I did look at this as a learning opportunity and finally did it. I was so happy when I seamed the first square. It took me a while to knit all squares but it’s worth the pain.

I did not buy the yarn the book suggested but got something close to the fiber count. It turned out really cool and I had some left over yarn which I loved so much and I knitted a hat to go with the blanket. My little one already loves the hat. And she plays with it all the time. We will save it; to use this coming winter since it is little bit on bigger side.

I chose the colors and add a little white to soften it and all the girls from the knitting group loved the color combination and honestly I am very pleased with my final product…

I still have more knitting going on some FUN projects some not that fun I need to learn to balance it but who would not…
I enjoy blogging about my knitting experiences as a beginner and I am amazed by its GROWTH…

Quote of the day “fulfill your potential as a person, spouse, and a parent”

Enjoy!

Antioxidants & Blueberries…

As everyone knows the brain fruit for babies, kids as well as adults are blueberries. This is a well know fact. I enjoyed the liberty of introducing this fruit to my little one. When she was a baby around 7- 8 months as a very simple homemade sauce. When she was introduced to fruits it was summer there was an abundance of fruits. All I did was puréed blue berries in a food processor until smooth and cooked/heated it for 3-5 minutes and pushed the puree through a fine sieve to take off the small pieces or the skin. I poured it to ice cube trays and freezed it for up to 3 months. My little one loved it after that during Fall and Winter I would offer it to her as it is. She loved it and a great size for her little fingers to pick up and eat when placed in a bowl or on the feeding tray. Great eye hand coordination activity for babies…

Now that she enjoys the bake goodies I baked blueberry muffins for her it was a hit. I purchased a big muffin tray so we can have big muffins and she loved it. I also don’t forget to do the mini muffins. She would gulp about 4-6 in one sitting. I forgot to add the fancy sugar but who cares she didn’t notice it she simply enjoyed it.
Hint for making this yummy treat which I adapted from the William & Sonoma test kitchen is to mix in the blueberries at the very end especially if you are using frozen berries. Because that’s; what I used but didn’t mix them until the end...

If someone wants to bake this delicious treat for a special person here is the link

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/big-blueberry-muffins.html

please try and enjoy… because you know you are making something good for you and the loved ones.

Blueberries are sweet and delicious and one of natures’ super foods, loaded with disease- fighting antioxidants and vitamins also dark cherries share similar profiles but neither is related more allergenic berries such as raspberries and strawberries so they can be introduced earlier into your baby’s diet.

Quote of the day “teach children to take a moment alone when they need it”

Enjoy!

Spring Scarf...

Burr… its cold and spring... it reads 38 degrees… Anyway I have to blog on what I have completed over the course of weeks. This was one on the venting projects I started. I am still working on my original project but I have managed to finish my side projects; it’s OK.

I bought this yarn while ago at a craft store to make jewelry this is a novelty yarn. So I have no experience in working with novelty yarns but gave it a try to make a scarf. It was a disaster but was very happy with the final product. In other words experience was not that bad, challenge was to keep the same number of stitches continuously since it was a novelty yarn it was challenging. Towards the end I got the hang of it. I also choose a big needle to keep the scarf AIRY and very SPRING this was my main goal. I wanted to make a scarf for myself but I didn’t want to look bulky also wanted to find way to use the left over yarn from the project.

It came out great I didn’t want many stitches because it’s going to wrinkle anyway so happy with the width of the scarf. The fact I finished it after the mother’s day was not that cool. I can still wear it on cold nights. Initially it looks like a fish net but the little squares of ribbon adds a whimsical touch to it.

I also had a wonderful Mother’s day my son and husband worked extra hard to make it extra special… at dinner my son said Mother’s day is like another birth day. You guys are so lucky you have two birthdays he was also referring to Father’s day but I just get to have only one birthday well on the other hand I like Pearl harbor day he is a WAR lover …

Quote of the day “reward yourself”

Enjoy!

Give with your heart…

Hello, I have been addicted to knitting and not only that I have begun some bad habits. Perhaps I should say I found project to vent frustrations out of other projects. Finally it’s all adds up… I am doing pretty good job so far because at the end I will have so many projects done. I am then going to stick to my old plan to do one project at a time. I guess I need a change of phase but who will not. With the season changes bring so many opportunities being outdoors and enjoy other interests.
I want to blog on this particular project because I put so many hours and my love and respect to it. I have not experienced the sisterhood with another sister but I want to make it very very special for this kid… and make it memorable for her hopefully. Because being a BIG SISTER could be a daunting task or a responsibility… So no matter how many books you read or how much role modeling you performed it could be scary for some kids… I can totally understand that. So I wanted this little girl to enjoy it as well as have fun because no matter what at the end brothers and sisters finally do stick around for most cases… I have come to in contact with an older community and I hear it very often that many people do regret waht they have said to their siblings when they are young or in an angry state of mind. Funny thing about siblings most cases they forgive or let go and always come to unity for taking care of a parents or a parent at the end; it’s amazing… how strong this bond could be… no matter how many years you are close or apart I have experiences with my own siblings as well with my own kids it’s amazing.

It could be a very simple or much intercut relationship but it’s a wonderful to have a sibling so I do care for single kids it’s hard to state what they are really missing.

I made a box of gifts for these two sisters with all my abilities and talents I really hope they will enjoy as much as I did assembling it together… This was one reason I couldn’t stick to knitting projects to finish on time because I had other projects. I was busy working; but it’s all for a GOOD CAUSE… make me feel so happy about myself at the end of the day…

Quote of the day “let go of your need to be overly involved”

Enjoy!

Window Box of 2010…

It’s been a while I post on my blog. I finally was able to plant this year’s window box. I did not spend much since we got the dirt and the boxes last summer the cost was not that high this year. It was just adding plants and the fertilizer. Accent plants were high priced, didn’t like that… but I needed one for what I did.
We are getting some rain hopefully it will give the head start for the plants… I also saw many varieties of tomato plants with low maturity dates, high yield, strong stems for patio or containers, and low acidity… so many options but didn’t buy any yet… that is going to be a kids project for dad to do this year.
I can’t wait to go to the local garden show to see what’s out there the town is going to host one I need to mark my colander. This year I did petunia’s and bacopa sutera this is a dainty creeping plant whit with flowers all summer long and easy to maintain needs a lot of sun this will work great on this box.
Today’s forecast is very cloudy with afternoon rain… that’s exactly what I needed…

Quote of the day “respect the natural cycle of life”

Enjoy!

Cottage Pie… or Shepherd’s Pie…

You can name this simple yet complicated dish… on your choice of meat... according to the history if it is made out of beef it is called cottage pie if it is lamb you can call it a shepherds’ pie.

I started to make this after getting pie book as a gift and didn’t want to get rid of the book for some reason. It was a neat book because it had recipes with no crust and work great for getting something ready in a hurry. I have cooked couple of dishes from this book.
After trying the traditional cottage pie I came up with my own spices to ROCK it! (my version)

Going back to the history this is a very simple dish that is made out of minced meat and mashed potatoes. Also the term cottage pie was been used in 1791 it has a long history since the potatoes was introduced as an edible vegetable, it was cooked in cottage a modest dwelling used for rural workers. Also in early cookery books suggested using leftover roast meat… (I don’t know about this)

I know that’s me always make changes… I guess you can call it personality disorder whatever it is I can get my kids to eat carrots, peas, potatoes, and meat. My little one dines this as I have fed this since she was a baby but I have not. Older one likes it, I guess the spice blend reminds him of other food that I have made.
So here is the recipe since I have added and changed I have to type this recipe not my favorite but its O.K. Hopefully someone will give it a try…

Ingredients
For the crust
1 ½ pounds potatoes
¼ cup half- and –half
2 oz unsalted butter
¾ teaspoon Kosher Salt
¼ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 egg yolk

For the Meat filling
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 carrots peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
11/2 pounds minced beef
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon tomato paste
1 cup milk 2%
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
½ cup fresh or frozen English peas
½ teaspoon peppercorns
2-3 cardamom pods with the case
2 cloves
1 piece cinnamon may be 1- 11/2 inches long (place all these ingredients in a coffee grinder and pulse until very fine)

Method
Peel and diced the potatoes and cooked them until tender and easily crushed with tongs about 10- 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and add the egg, half-and-half, and butter. Mashed it and make sure it is all combined well add salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F

While potatoes are cooking make the meat filling.
In a saucepan heat the canola oil add the onions and carrots and sauté them just until they begin to take color 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and stir to combine. Now add the minced beef and the spice blend combined well to coat the meat. Make sure the meat is browned. Sprinkle the meat with the flour and combine to coat the meat and cook for another minute. Add the tomato paste and toss to coat the meat and continue to cook. Add the milk, Worcestershire sauce and bring to boil and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes or until the sauce thickens.

Add the corn and peas to the meat mix and spread evenly into a 11x7 inch glass baking pan. Top with the mashed potatoes and make a seal around the dish with mash potatoes. Bake for 25 minutes or just until the potatoes are begins to brown. Remove to a cooling rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!
Quote of the day “Be a shepherd – lead from behind”

Oatmeal made with 3 grains…

I want to post this on my blog for someone who is looking for an alternative for traditional oatmeal. Oatmeal was a staple food at our house but being expose to many meal plans and the number of nutrition classes I have attained I had fun assembling this recipe for my little one. After introducing many grains and paying attention to vitamins and starches I combined this power house grains to make my version of oatmeal.

I have seen my little one flourish on these grains also I have introduced these individually prior to this combination. What’s great about this dish is you can make ahead for couple of days and have it refrigerated. I have stored this in the refrigerator for 3 days but in the freezer up to three weeks (that’s my kind of food which speaks convenience as well as nutritions).

You may want to choose a fruit to make a sauce or if it is very ripe you can simply cut them into small pieces to blend with this meal. I usually go for homemade apple sauce, pear puree, peach, or nectarine there are many choices. You can also make fruit purees with blueberries, blackberries, & raspberries. Our favorite is blueberries way up with antioxidants. I will be lucky if I can get them to blend in order to make the puree usually it ends up in the stomach before it makes its journey to the blender but I don’t care as long as it get digested in some ones stomach…

What you need… equipments a coffee grinder…

Ingredients
¼ cup barley
¼ cup millet
¼ cup buckwheat
3 cups water
Pinch of salt (preferably kosher)
¼ teaspoon of ground cinnamon

Method
Powder the grains in a coffee grinder to your preference (if your child likes texture pulse once or twice)
If your child likes food pureed you may want to pulse it 4-5 times you can always check. Let the water boil in a medium high heat then slowly whisk in the powdered grains. While whisking, lower the heat. Continue to whisk until there is no lumps, add cinnamon and salt and cover it to simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
When it is done you can add your choice of fruit puree to sweeten or simply server with cut up fruits and watch out for colorful bibs with new designs.

Enjoy!

Quote of the day “live in detail”

Humming Birds…

These are wonderful birds. My neighbor is a humming bird watcher and a lover. She had really wonderful feeders you can get them close to the window. I really liked it. I bought this less expensive humming bird feeder from the local hardware shop and having been used last summer still in good shape. Out again to attract more this summer. We had one humming bird visiting us on a regular basis last summer. I also had some flowers growing on my window boxes last year which I think helped them too; in order to find the feeder.

This year I have already filled the humming bird feeder and set it outside just curious to see if we are going to have any visitors. Because I thought I saw some but there are huge bumble bees out there too so I could easily mistaken a humming bird to a bumble bee. This is a cool activity for kids to get their hands on or simply enjoy nature.

If you got older children they can fill it or simply help you to rinse the feeder periodically.

Enjoy!

Quote of the day “see yourself as a work in progress”

Seeds, Dirt, & Little Hands…

I love to show children mine or others the wonders of the earth, and seeds could be plants. I have perform this in front of many kids and showed them what they could do with seeds. I remember once a kid plant an apple seed in a pot and brought it to school to leave it in our classroom. We watched it grow and we learned so many cool facts about apples and Johnny Appleseed.

This spring my son and I planted herbs from seeds we are very anxious to see the outcome.

My son had done these kinds of projects, I remember once he planted me an herb garden. I did not use all the herbs but it was a wonderful experience for him. I recall he would bruise some of the leaves and sniff its aromas. We had peppermint and pineapple mint and lemon balm I cannot think of anything to make with these herbs. It was the best mother’s day gift I ever received from my son.

I wonder how these herbs are going to turn out this year. I can’t wait to make pizzas with basil and potatoes salad with chives.
Hopefully he will try my potato salad this year with home grown chives.

How I got this project to be a success I planed everything before and gathered all the materials needed to this project. By eliminating steps to find tools while working with the project especially with children could be a HUGE distraction. By having everything prepared allows us to spend time together, have a good conversation, and enjoy the activity. Plan ahead when working with children is rule # 1 for a successful project.

Enjoy!

Quote of the day “Draw with children”

This is not procrastination

I love chapter 9 of the book I am reading. I couldn’t get before pictures but I have after pictures and plenty of them. I was procastinating to organize this pantry cupboard. I know this is an ongoing task to maintain order hope I typed it right. Finally I just did it. First I wanted to buy a list of things to make it organize. I knew something is not right so I used the items I had sitting around to hold small items for baking and what not. I was happy with the result. I was amazed with what I did. So far I have handle two things and I am motivated to handle some more closets cleaning/organizing and what not.

What I am most proud of is I am being an indirect teacher to my kids they automatically learning to be organized and that is priceless.

I am trying to hold on to basics this will aid be to become more organized. I drop off 5 bags at consignment. I am making progress with my sort it out and organizational skills.

Few tips that I incorporated towards motivation and to stretch the dollar. I used my cake stand as a center piece inside my cupboard to display items that needs to be used in near future. It stands up on a pedestal and telling me hey, its time you bake with me or whatever it is. I had two beautiful trays I used them to gather small items. One I used to place water bottles also this will give me quick access to use it when I have visitors over. Storage problem is solved productively/ small place/getting out of clutter/artful reminder to drink water what more can you ask.

Best thing is I did not spend a penny to organize I didn’t buy baskets used what I had sitting around.
I am glad I checked out this book and I love it…

Quote of the day “Hard work is often the easy work you did not do at the proper time” Bernard Meltzer

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Brownies & Vanilla Ice Cream…

Baking Madness… Monday… after long week of filing papers and long list of to do… I am glad I was able to bake. I wanted chocolate and kids wanted lemon. Yep, I am tired of baking the regular lemon tart. I wanted a change (who would not) and twisted it with some raspberry preserve… it was the hit of the week. I love to hear older one keep adding all his complements on this simple mouthwatering recipe.
If I ever have a garden I would certainly consider planting a lemon tree I just love it and we like all kinds of meals made out of this natural ingredient. Raspberry adds a sweet layer to this tart. I simply want to quit baking this summer to keep it simple so we can enjoy seasonal vegetables and fruits we will see about this.

Last summer my younger one was eating solids I spend the entire summer getting her fruits and preparing them. Yes, I was a baby jar food free mom. My little one was delighted to taste all kinds of grains and vegetables. I had a great time introducing her to food I have to admit comparing to older one she is very liberal when it comes to her meals and independent. She started feeding herself very young. I am glad it worked out that way.

Going back to my chocolate craving I went all the nine yards to make this Brownie with lot of chocolate and nuts. It was sooooooo good. I want try to make a brownie without flour I wonder how it’s going to turn out could be a fun project. Mmmmm… Everyone enjoyed brownies with ice cream, it’s a great treat. If anyone wants to try chocolate brownies here is the link

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/brownies.html

Quote of the day “Keep your commitments even when it hurts”

Enjoy!

Hens & Chicks…

This is a wonderful plant that I brag about earlier writing. I snap this one early morning as I was cleaning the balcony. Since we live in the back we do not get much sun. I notice recently that the moss started to grow on wooden slats that concerns me. I was able to arrange pots on balcony I really like to get it raised so it won’t leave any marks/stains on wood; it's a working progress.

I have seen many varieties of hens and chicks on catalogs and on the internet but I love my collection and adore it.
I love colors and the formation of the rosette it is one of a kind plant.
Other wonderful fact about this is it doesn’t need much attention and can leave it outside and bring it in anytime…

Quote of the day “learn a relaxation routine”

Enjoy!

Good Old Dirt…

I enjoy gardening a lot. I recall my experience on gardening when I was a child and it was my parent’s garden and some documentary programs on TV. I miss my little garden in our house. I make sure to bring nature in contact with my kids in many ways as much as I can.

Last year we got two window boxes; hung them on our balcony railings this year we got some plants from back home(VA). One of my favorites and it is called hens and chicks. I really like to find the Latin name for this. You cannot go wrong with these beautiful succulents/perennials.
Specially if you are in a budget for watering, or fertilizer… this plant is ideal if you are not a green thumb person not a problem this plant will make your thumb green…

Today after managing many tasks I was able to feel the good old dirt and work with window boxes I have no clue what I want to plant but they are ready. I was able to plant a Rosemary plant, I love its aroma and we enjoy lemon and rosemary chicken. It’s amazing everyone love this Italian dish even my little one I have to post it when I get a chance to make this. Speaking of Rosemary this has many medicinal values I remember I read somewhere if you place a sprig of Rosemary in your wine bottle it will enhance your memory. I like to try that… This plant possesses so many healing powers…

I cleaned out the birdfeeder. We didn’t get many birds on our bird feeder last year may be this fall we might have some luck. I am ready to put out humming bird feeder to see some visitors.
This is my garden note.

Enjoy!

Quote of the day “Strengthen your skills”

Random Thoughts…

If I were to be a song I would be Landslide by Dixie Chicks
If I were to be a color I would be Lavender
If I were to be a flower I would be a Jasmine
If I were to be a bird I would be a Goldfinch
If I were to be a rock I would be a Pink topaz
If I were to be a tree I would be a Teak tree
If I were to be a fish I would be a Seahorse
If I were to be an ingredient I would be Butter
If I were to be an animal I would be a Panda Bear
If I were to be a cloth I would be Linen
If I were to be a piece of furniture I would be Chaise
If I were to be a shell I would be a Sand Dollar
If I were to be a yarn I would be Marino wool
If I were to be punctuation I would be a?
If I were to be a gift I would be Handmade
If I were to be a letter I would be “L”
If I were to be metal I would be “Titanium”
If I were to be an element I would certainly be “Uranium”
If I were to be a season I would be “fall”
If I were to be a city I would be Edinburgh, England
If I were to be a car I would to be a Jaguar
If I were to be a children’s book I would be ‘Oh the places you’ll go…’ by Dr. Seuss
If I were to be a dessert I would be Banana nut bread pudding with Vanilla sauce
If I were to be a politician I would be Al Gore
If I were to be an inventor I would be Karlheinz Brandanburg
If I were to be a place I would be Sigiriya, Sri Lanka
If I were to be a perennial I would be a Hydrangea
If I were to be a number I would be 7
If I were to be a month I would be April
If I were to be a chocolate bar I would be Dark Chocolate
I were to be religion I would be Buddhist
I were to be a sound I would be heard
If I were to be a wine I would be definitely Red
If I were to be a castle I would be Raglan Castle, Gwent, Wales
If I were to be a continent I would be Australia
If I were to be a keeper I would be a Secret Keeper…

Dining on a Budget with style…

Everyone is cutting corners to stretch a dollar it could be for fine living, traveling, raising kids, and gardening, almost anything you can name…

We love pizza, gourmet style, and we would have it once or twice a month but now we can have it once a week with all the topping you like or you can customize toppings. I found some really yummy pizza dough recipes. I personally like thin crust kids like anything you put in front of their plate as long as it’s pizza. I have baking this for couple of months, no take out and I control fat and amount of other ingredients goes into this lovely piza, works cool, great and saves money…

Added fun when, kids get involved in this creation, it could be a very simple task like grating cheese, flattering dough, cutting ingredients, arranging toppings, and most of all trying new toppings could be really interesting sometimes even getting some green vegetable into their little stomachs. (When kids make it they love to try it)

I love making it more Italian by adding fresh tomatoes and basil. I would love to plant a pizza garden may be this could be one my future goals… I love fresh herbs and vegetables and loves to go to farmers market but that’s me.

If I can control the Food and Agriculture industry I would make organic not a choice but a must… try to meet the demand with less preservatives and make it natural but I am not that person… banned genetically modified food. My future dream is to have control over food we consume; it’s a dream I believe in ha… ha…

Here is the link to the pizza dough… super easy…

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/food-processor-pizza-dough.html

I use all kinds of cheeses sometimes get them as chunks to cut the cost and great them at home, try new topping each time we make pizza at home has become a fun activity for kids…

Quote of the day “take time to play”

Enjoy!

New England clam chowder…

Living close to the coast brings a lot of opportunities to dine and wine on sea food. I always enjoyed seafood we as a family tolerate a lot of seafood. I was waiting for my little one to complete a year to introduce to shell food. She is already dining on clams. Myself on the other hand enjoy the RAW side of the seafood this includes clams & oysters can’t get enough of it. Since we love this so much I learned how to make New England clam chowder of course; I have twist it and add my own things so here is my version of New England clam chowder… Clams are enjoyed all parts of the world in so many ways raw, cooked, steamed, curry, and soups.
Here is my version of clam chowder

Ingredients

4-6 slices of bacon diced
1 ½ cups chopped onion
1 ½ cups water
4 -5 cups peeled and diced potato (of your choice)
1 ½ table spoon of salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 cups of half-and- half
3 tablespoons of butter
½ lb minced clams
½ lb fresh bay scallop (this is my version)

Method
Cook the bacon on a large Dutch oven or a stock pot until crisp. Add onion and cook for about 5-6 minutes. Stir in water and potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Bring to boil and cooked uncovered for 15 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender. Pour half- and- half and add butter add the clam, bay scallop with the ½ liquid into the soup. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until heated through, do not allow it to boil.

Nutrition Value: clams are high in protein and fat free. One pound of clams, after the shells has been removed is about 68g
Following are the nutrients clams have:
8.6 g protein, 31 mg calcium, 213 mg potassium, 9,5 grams iron, 10.8 mcg folate, 33.6 mcg vitamin B-6, 204 IU vitamin A

Serve and enjoy with a toast slice of bread…

Quote of the day “eat at regular intervals”

Organizing Documents…

I am initially taking over, the job of organizing documents from my hubby to give him a break… also it’s my turn to give it a try we have a moveable filing box ha… ha… Yep but I am going to make it work for me. In other words the mobile filing cabinet is going to work for my filing needs. I have a plan and I have to stick to it but BAD thing is I also have to C-H-A-N-G-E, if you have read my earlier posts about time management (a book currently I am reading) might have a clue what I am talking. I thought as the book says all the BAD words have four letters but the word above has 5 letters. First job was to clean the mobile filing cabinet it was not a pleasant job trust me. I timed and shredded paper for a period of 1 hour for 2 days had eight bags of shredded paper for recycle. Task number one was done and completed. Next task was to run down a list and print out labels for all files needed get the job done. Have to get paper work in and label files mission accomplished…

I needed to print more labels and create more files in that manner all the documents had their own place this was a great. Top it off I want my son to access this mobile file cabinet to file his certificates hopefully this will give him teach some organizational skill hopeful thinking…

I enjoy maneuvering task like these… less time spending looking for documents problem solve hopefully. Changed myself to handling bills appropriately but who get excited with a task like this. I am doing the best I can…

Quote of the day “do things that make you feel passionately alive”

Be Grateful…

Middle school, approaching teen hood, & being responsible was a major task for my 11 year old. Good news is he is performing an A+ job with this statement. Yes we do have good days and bad days we both learn something out of it. This is surely a learning curve for me as well as for my son. His LOVE of reading books got him in trouble many times during this school year but with much hesitant he learned and moved on to my delight and his sanity.
He got poor grades but the lessons he learned are priceless. Amount of talking I did with him was painful and I sometimes dread having some conversations with him.

Now the weather is getting better days are getting warmer I want to be outside with him before it gets too hot. His school’s over by 2 O’ clock but I notice the teachers job doesn’t finish at that time they stay behind to help and guide children which I appreciate very much.

Sometimes you have to work with challenging children and emotionally these tweens are very vulnerable but still wants to do the best. I think a lot about these teachers probably I use to be a teacher too it’s a great service and a great satisfaction you received from children and parents.
I want to be part of paying tribute to this amazing career with my son as we are coming to the end this school year. We want to rejuvenate the Yellow Team (my son’s teachers) with some bake goods, bouquet of fresh flowers, coffee and a card…
That’s exactly what we did; I wish some more parents could participate in this too…

Quote of the day “Feel for others as you do for yourself”

Enjoy!

Knitting Community…

I was so thrilled when I saw the notice at our local library for a knitting group. Initially I came to know about a library close to our town was meeting with a knitting group. Since I love our town and take my kids to the library very often for story time, references, and many more things I wanted it to be at our town so I try to persuade the Librarian in many ways even told her about the Old Folks house and to get someone from there that has pioneered the technique.

She was amazing getting this group together she was looking for an experienced knitter to help with leading the group…

I would ask each time I visit the Library how is it going she would say to I will call you as soon as we get a schedule one day I was browsing through the paper of local announcements and I saw what I wanted to see for a long time it was the “Public Library Knitters Schedule” I was holding my little one so I couldn’t jump up and down but I was screaming inside my head with thrilled. Here I am posting the schedule on the refrigerator with my flower magnets and kept staring it for a while…

First night was a Monday march 15th I couldn’t go to it because we went to NJ for my husband’s work came home on time but my kids were exhausted from the road trip. I knew immediately I would not be able to make to the next one since I had prior commitments. So when I was at the Library for the story time and asked are they meeting this coming Monday and she was not sure but would call me with an answer. Yes they are meeting, I was there, late but I was there…

I met this wonderful person who is willing to give her time, help, & teach… I thanked her for her commitment… and we talked for a while… Best thing is she is knitting the Continental way not the European way which I am knitting now but struggling to learn Continental. So here are my issues I am not a swatch person bad habit… I am starting a fairly big project so here I am doing my first swatch we will see what I am learning. I need gage measuring instrument and size 4 needles…

This was the first meeting for myself there was me, leader, and another beginner she was so cute I remember my struggles with knitting but she was cool not like me who cursed a lot out loud and in my head all the time…
Teaching from books sometimes could me frustrating… that’s why I loved the knitting group…

And leader of our group named Cynthia does a great job… she showed me how to hold the yarn to knit the Continental way I was happy to get some help…

Quote of the day “Take a walk in the park on the first warm day of spring”

Enjoy!