Aaaah, that's better.

I am about to start the ears on the third and final fox hat. Hurrah! My children are excited. :) A lovely friend lent me her set of DPNs so I could knit this final hat without frustration. I'd been using two sets of circulars and it was getting very tiresome!  

I am almost wishing the boys were going to be foxes for Halloween. I would make them little tails to match! But their costumes are already underway. Michael has his heart set on being the Cat in the Hat, so the twins, of course, will be Thing 1 and Thing 2. (But who knows? The tails may make an appearance under the Christmas tree!)


I am still in the first pages of this book, which I first heard of on the Fountains of Carrots podcast. Any recommendations from those ladies are generally a good bet. Since then I've seen it written about in a few other places, so when we made a spur-of-the-moment visit to our favorite city library after Mass on Sunday, I took the opportunity to pick it up.

Linking up at Ginny's place.

Hats!

Fox hat #1--complete! Just in need of some button eyes. The construction of this is very interesting. It starts from the bottom up until you reach the end of the face, then you break the white and continue knitting up around the back, top, and then down the front again for the nose. Not exactly TV knitting, but lots of fun.

Right now I'm taking a break from foxes to knit a little something for a friend. And I just finished reading Howl's Moving Castle. I really enjoyed it! An easy, enjoyable read that is also very clever. It's a book I'll happily hand to my children when they're old enough to read it. Keith and I watched the Studio Gibli movie based on this book a year or two ago, and while my memories of it are a bit hazy, I remember enjoying it ... but I think it was quite a bit different than the book in terms of plot?

Linking up with Ginny!

Autumn Yarn Along

Knitting: a fox hat for winter. The first of three, because there's no way I could knit just one without a war breaking out once it was on someone's head. There would be blood shed over that hat.


Reading: a book that has been on my to-read list since its release. I am very much enjoying the literary fairy-tale feel going on here.


The book and the yarn arrived on the same day. I think they go quite well together! :) Fairy-tales and a foxy orange ("Allspice") both speak to me of fall. And also something more about the book ... the atmosphere of forgetfulness and search for memory seems to me very autumnal.

Linking up with Ginny.

Tea and Honey on a Chilly Day

A few weeks ago I asked some fellow-moms on Facebook about buying local honey in Pittsburgh. It was something I'd thought about ever since reading this article, but had been too lazy to pursue. It wasn't until I found myself swallowing spoonfuls of honey at a time that I thought, "It would really be better if I knew where this was coming from."

Today on our way back from the homeschool co-op, Michael and I stopped by a local tea shop that I'd passed the sign for many times. Getting there is a little funky--it's in a very industrial sort of plaza, and you have to go through a warehouse to get to it, but as soon as you open the door the wonderuful smell of tea drifts down the stairs to greet you. It's a cozy little loft filled with lovely teacups, handknit cozies, and an entire cabinet full of honey. (I almost bought one of the little wooden honey dippers, but stopped myself after the jar of honey and a box of tea samples ... maybe next time?) There was even a little table painted with chalkboard paint and chalk for scribbling--a handy way to keep little hands away from breakables!

Among the samples I bought are two kinds of chai. Today is quite chilly, and it seems a good day to drink it! I haven't drunk much chai in a few years, and am looking for the perfect blend--not too spicy, just a touch of sweetness. I have high hopes for these! (Any recommendations? I'm also open to mixing my own!)



(It may be that my reentry to blogging will consist of elaborations on Instagram pictures. I guess I'm okay with that!)

Of Mice and Motorcycles

Keith starting reading The Mouse and the Motorcycle to Michael a few weeks ago. I wouldn't have thought he was ready for it, and I think there are lots of things he misses or doesn't follow. But he understands the story. He loves the idea of a mouse riding a tiny, mouse-sized motorcycle that moves by making an engine noise. He loves the interaction between the a mouse and a boy, and he loves the threat of owls outside.

We've been reading it before his nap, and sometimes afterwards over a cup of tea. Today I came down from putting his brothers to bed, and he'd opened it and found the chapter where we'd left off. We read two, because he asked for another (happy Mama heart!), and now there is just one left.

I am so pleased that this world has opened for him, for us, especially just as the seasons start to turn. How wonderful to settle in to read when the winter is all outdoors; to be cooped up inside and enter the wider world of a story.



(I may be thinking of doing 31 posts in 31 days? Or some version of it, just to get blogging again? Just noticing/reflecting on/documenting moments from our daily life? Not sure I have the guts to commit ... but we'll see. :) )