Monday, February 19, 2007

Mid -February updates

V-Day Recap
It's been a busy month -- Valentine's day is a big deal if you're 4 and 8. The boys have lots of Valentine's to make for classmates and teachers. Valentine's day is also DH's birthday so I made him a Rosie's Chocolate Cheesecake for his birthday cake and pasta with shrimp for birthday dinner. He got some good books for his birthday if I do say so myself, as well as LL Bean slippers, so he was pleased. And lucky me! For V-day, I got an IPod! I'd been talking about it but was surprised nonetheless. I'm busy right now uploading tons of my CDs to ITunes to transfer to the IPod. And I have a lot of CDs.

What a treat to have all of my music with me in such a tiny device. I listen to a lot of classical music, jazz and world music, so what I like to listen to is really specific and it's great to have my favorite pieces so portable!

Just in time, too. It's school vacation week and I've taken the week off. C (the 8 year old) is going to baseball "camp" (morning baseball clinics) in Foxboro (about 25 miles south of me) and I can enjoy the IPod and some knitting while I hang out there. I can also get some knitting done as well!


Knitting Content:
So, I did finish the red scarf for the Red Scarf Project, but alas do not have pics. It came out nicely in a dark red heather basketweave stitch. However, the Encore Worsted is a very "squeaky" acrylic blend yarn and I didn't like working with it. However, it's certainly easy for a college student to wash!

Finished another fruit cap for a friend's baby due soon. Put the Calorimetry on hold while I knit a scarf for DS's school fundraising auction. I'm knitting Midwest Moonlight from Scarf Style in Green Mountain Cotton Comfort. The yarn is lovely and the color is great. But I'm not a very good lace knitter so I may need to rip and restart the scarf so the design comes out right. It's not a hard pattern once you get used to it, but I am easily distracted and can make mistakes. Regularly. Repeatedly.

Stash Moratorium (kind of)
I have not been so great with the yarn diet. The only thing I can say in my defense is that they are all for specific gift projects -- a fundraising auction item and a baby gift. But that won't decrease the stash. So, I'm back on the wagon after my "gotta have it" splurge.


Winter
I've been cooking a lot lately and staying indoors, due to the cold and icy weather. In some cases, it's great. But we all get cabin fever and the boys fight if they're not apart for a while. I've been trying to do some exercise videos at home to get in shape. I really don't have the time or money for a gym membership, so we'll see how the at-home exercise goes.