Home Sweet Home

My father in law finally came home from the hospital yesterday. He had open heart surgery on Monday, February 16th. All went well and seems to be going okay. The procedure is amazing and the human body even more miraculous. I know he is glad to be home. He said he is tired. I think it is hard to sleep trying to get comfortable without putting pressure on the incision. It will just take time. He has the weather on his side as things are greening up. It may motivate him to want to get out and enjoy the flowers.

My sister in law flew down on the 14th from Pennsylvania. She stayed with my inlaws throughout the entire process. The local contingent is extremely grateful for all she did. We are glad her family could function a few weeks without her. It also says lots about Merck permitting her to work from afar. She'd spend the day at the hospital coming home at night to get some work done. On Saturday, I kidnapped her. David stayed at the hospital. Mary and I went shopping. She bought some yarn. I tried to teach her how to knit. I don't think I am a very good teacher, but she is picking the art of knitting up. She started a scarf. I made this bag for her to carry her knitting. The squares are from the square swap I participated in last year. I think it turned out pretty good. This is only a small token, but we can't thank her enough for all that she did.



I am sure she is ready to head back home. She'll need a day or two to decompress and savor the feeling of home sweet home!

Pumpkin and I are heading to Nashville for the Southeastern short course championships. Our home this weekend will be a nice hotel!

Stocking Cap for Pumpkin

One down and one to go...Pumpkin wanted a stocking cap made out of black and gold. I varid the width of the gold stripes using just three skeins of Karabella 8, two of black and one of gold. I added a strip of black fleece inside. Can you say comfy? It is still a bit chilly and Pumpkin may get to wear it a bit before the winter season ends.



We had a good weekend. I feel like it just flew by. My father in law is still in the hospital recovering from bypass surgery. We are thinking he may go home today. He has done very well. The body is amazing! The boys went to visit yesterday. It was a nice visit showing them that he looks like himself. We watched W. on Saturday night. It is not worth the rental. I nodded on and off toward the end of it. Peanut is home with me today as he complained of an earache. We are heading to the doctor soon. I just may get some time to knit and work on Peanut's cap!

Valentine's Day 2009

We woke up to this on Saturday morning.

Pumpkin had a hunch who did it. It turns out it was a group of five girls! What do we have on our hands?!?

We got most of it out. There are only a few pieces still blowing in the wind. Peanut made a game out of the clean up. It was really windy. When the paper fell out of the tree, he ran after it trying to catch it. It was funny to watch as the wind made the paper blow in an unpredictable pattern. I bet he ran miles by the time we were done cleaning up.



This took quite a bit of effort. I can't believe we did not hear any of it. What kind of guard dog do we have anyway???

We finished off the day with our annual Valentine's dinner. This year I made hamburgers, french fries and strawberry salad. It was simple, but it was yummy! For dessert we have B&J ice cream cake. It was okay. They need to improve their icing. It doesn't do anything for the good ice cream.

We watched Smokejumper, Swing Vote, and The Heart of the Game this weekend. Smokejumper is a must see for those of you with girls. It sends a message that females can do anything. I enjoyed Swing Vote - again a little girl is smart and more or less in control. The last movie is all about girls basketball. It is nonfiction about a girls' team in Washington. It was right up the Big Guy's alley as he loves Frontline, Independent Lens and those PBS shows. This was similar. It did keep our attention, though, giving some history of girls' basketball.

Valentines for 4th Graders

We took inspiration from a project on Martha Stewart to create fortune cookie Valentines. We used pipe cleaners for the support instead of glueing the wire as Martha suggests. These were so fun and easy to make. Peanut came up with a fortune that he printed down on the computer. Each cookie has three kisses inside.

Here is the bag filled with his Valentines ready to give to his classmates.

An empty Harry & David Moose Munch box worked out well as a Valentine box. Peanut is hopeful he is the only one with a round box! His attention to decorating the box was priceless! He has his party this afternoon.


Pumpkin's science fair project was selected for the school fair. I have to go pick that up today. I have the menu planned for our annual Valentine's dinner on china. This year we are doing hamburgers. They are something everyone loves. It should be interesting to have burgers on china! Pictures of that to come next week. Happy Valentine's Day!

Car Wash

The weather warmed and the sun actually peaked through the clouds. The daffodils are trying to pop out of the ground showing off a couple inches of green. The grass is still dormant, but there is a slight bit of spring in the air. Peanut and I took the CR-V for a washing on Sunday. We took these pictures from inside. Pretty cool, huh?




They say the rain is headed our way. It was so nice to have a few windows in the house cracked. The breeze blew through. I know this is just a teaser. We've got a few more weeks of winter And, I have a few hats to knit. Can I keep knitting when it is warm???

The Weekend

It all starts with walking home from school to a friend's house for his birthday party. The boy played for the local Steelers team. Peanut and I thought this would make a great gift for a 10 year old boy! The pickings were slim for a book from the Friends bookstore at the library. I settled on this one thinking the birthday boy may learns some interesting facts.

We get to watch this tonight. Blockbuster still had one waiting for us!

Swimming at a swim meet on Saturday and Sunday. Pumpkin is looking for a few more qualification times for the upcoming championships. The Big Guy will be counting for him as he swims the mile. It is 67 laps! It makes me tired to even think about it. He has his mile cut but needs the 1000yd. He can get that split when he swims the mile.

Basketball is winding down. Peanut has his last game. With any luck the swim meet will end in time to catch the game.

Soccer is picking up with practice this weekend. The season starts in about three weeks.

A research paper on Groundwater is due as is a letter to the bishop, a report on a saint and a paper summarizing Pumpkin's community service. We'll cross our fingers for completion.

The teen choir sings are mass on Saturday night. We'll get to go out to dinner afterward. Yum!

Knitting needs to be in full swing. I have Valentine's gifts that need to get done.

I am sure the Big Guy wants to take in some miles running.

The weather is supposed to be about perfect. The cars might get washed and we will enjoy the great outdoors.

I finally started Twillight. I just may get sucked into reading that!

Have a good weekend!

Outbound Gifts

My last post was about gifts that we received. This post is about gifts we are giving.

The Big Guy has a baby shower to go to tomorrow and I whipped these gifts up. The yarn is Laines Du Nord Italian 100% merino fine in color S79. I love it. It is soft and just perfect for a baby boy! I used a pattern created by the owner of my lys. The pom pom was my original touch. The baby is due in later March. I hope this fits his head next winter. I had some yarn left over. I decided to make some booties. I found this pattern on the internet and found some additional scrap yarn in my stash. They are the cutest things. The only issue is that they look to be newborn size and will need to be worn right away. I guess they can always adorn a teddy bear if the baby grows too quickly!

I was in Hancock's a few days ago to pick up some fabric for another reading pillow (Peanut has another birthday party to go to!) This cranberry yarn caught my eye. I wanted to make my mom a little something for Valentine's. I had some ideas from some other blogs. In the end, I used the pattern right on the yarn sleeve. I had the right size needles and the hat looked pretty cute. The only change I made was at the end of the hat. The pattern states to sew the icord back on itself to create a loop. I decided to make the icord longer and tie a few knots in it. My model was jealous and wants one of these too! I lined the hat with a fleece band making it extremely cozy. I am pleased to say it is in FedEx's hands and is on its way to Cincinnati.

Hong Kong Gifts

We got a fabulous package in the mail the other day from our friends that are living in Hong Kong. They have been there a little over six months and really seem to be enjoying the expat experience. We are so grateful for the gifts and the glimpse into all the things they see.

I am thinking about pulling out the chopsticks. It'd be a great diet for me as I am not skilled at using them. I am going to use the little purse to hold my lipsticks within my purse. And, I was thinking of incorporating the scarf into my Easter outfit. We'll see how that plays out. Thanks so much Smith Family!