February Love

Amy over at the Creative Mom Podcast speaks a lot about working on a series of some sort. Right now she is interested in birds and has been exploring them through her artwork. She talks about setting small goals to push yourself to try new things in a medium that you enjoy. I have been working with my camera a bit more to try new lighting situations and divorcing myself from the auto mode on my camera. Flickr has been a huge help in this quest. Looking at other images, posting mine and receiving feedback has all helped in this area.

I've been wanting to try a series of one sort or another, but haven't found one that spoke to me as of yet. I knew the 365 day project was too much of a commitment but I have been submitting here and there in other Flickr groups. So I decided to make up my own series after seeing the Winter White Week that people enjoyed so much. I think what I will try is a series in February (that's tomorrow people) where I address the things and people that help make a house a home here at Upper Pond. I'm not going to put a lot of pressure on myself, so that if I can't take a picture one day it will be okay. Each day I want to find something in or around my house that equals the love that grows here. Granted, not every day is rosy, in fact quite a few days around here it can be pretty bleak. I want to focus on the positive and what stirs my heart to help remind me of all that is good in our home. I may not always post a new picture but look back in my archives to help create my collection. Summer pics, flowers, family members that may have visited will all be included. My goal, at the end of 29 days is to have a wonderful collection of very special, loving pictures, hence the reason to do this in February.

Feel free to join in or sit back and enjoy.

Frustrated!

Man oh man! Do you remember this?

Well it's now this. I ripped back once and thought I had the problem solved. Got to the same spot as the first time and still had the problem. So I have gone back to the beginning and will give it one more try. I really like the whole appeal of this project so I want to continue on. Yarn-overs get me every single time!

I am knitting...just a boring old rib sock. This yarn is again from SKnitches. It's soft and squishy and knits up quickly.

Lastly, I've been working on lighting and my photography. The first picture is in our town waiting for a red light to change. I'd just dropped the boys off for school and the sun was just coming up over the hill.

The second is in my family room. Very few lights were on in the room and I was experimenting with my new external flash.

Something New

I'm sure you already have seen this site (news travels pretty quickly in the blogsphere), but I thought I'd mention it here. Shutter Sisters is a new photography site. It looks like it would be an extension to your Flickr site and offer new ways to look at the world. Might be just the thing I'm looking for.

Tribute to Murphy

My oldest whipped this up the night that we had to put Murphy to sleep. Version 2.0 is coming soon, I have to get off my butt and scan in some younger pictures of Murphy.

Matt has been taking videos for over two years. He has advanced past the video cameras made for kids and now has a SONY. I am truly amazed what he can do at the computer in a few minutes. Although, the latest to be filmed is he and his brother on Guitar Hero (thanks Youtube).

I keep pushing our school district to focus on today's kids and their computer literacy skills. My third grader is working on Number Munchers and my fifth grader only visits the computer lab if he happens to have a computer savvy teacher (which he does, thank goodness).

If Matt gives me permission, I will post a few more of his creations!

Winter Fun

Everything lined up perfectly this past weekend to finally enjoy our pond. Anyone who knows a thing or two about pond ice knows that conditions have to be just so. No snow, frigid temperature and a nice wind all help to make smooth, perfect ice.

When all of this presents itself, everything else is dropped and we skate! And if we're out there, so are our neighbors and pretty soon a skating party is in progress. Pizza, chicken wings and beverages are consumed and everyone goes home tired. A perfect winter's evening!

Inside my skates were my newest finished socks. They kept my toes nice and warm. I love this colorway! Many of my friends at the hockey rink thought they could be colors of McKenzie-Childs.

Thanks again for all your caring thoughts about Murphy. It is so strange not to have him here keeping me company throughout the day. We all miss him greatly.

Murphy

July 4, 1995-January 17, 2008

We will miss you old guy!

Murphy woke up this morning with the usual arthritis in his bones, ate his breakfast and went outside to do what he always does in the morning. After awhile I went looking for him and found him in our woods. To make a long story short he suffered from a stroke this AM and then proceeded to have more while at the vet's. We are happy that we were all there to say

good-bye. He still recognized us at the end and gave us a tail wag for a send off.

He will hold a special place in all of our hearts.

Oh My Goodness!

I feel the need to clean! I didn't expect so many people to come visit my little home in the blogosphere. Thanks Leslie for sending everyone over! To all of you who are new here: Welcome! Pull up a chair and have some soup! Hopefully, you might find something you like and will stop by again, if not, thanks for stopping! Today I went from an average of 13 hits a day to 55 hits as of this writing. WOW!

I feel badly that I don't have any knitting to show you. I have started my Hemlock Ring Blanket. I am enjoying this knit greatly. A fun lace project using bigger needles and yarn!

It was a beautiful winter's morning today. I wished I had my camera with me when I drove the boys to school. It was very cold and frosty making the snow glisten. I didn't get back out until mid-day and by then, the sun was gone. I should know that you have to drop everything and use it for its full advantage in the winter months. Anyhow, I stopped along the lake to capture the geese. They looked majestic floating on the water this AM, but not so much this afternoon.

Friday Round-up

Oops yesterday I was so busy that I forgot to write this. Don't have too much as I am in the midst of starting a few projects.

This week I started working on the Tangled Yolk Cardigan and the Hemlock Ring Blanket. I wanted to join the bandwagon with the cardigan ever since I saw the sweater published in Interweave Knits. I also wanted to do a lace project that did not include Kid Silk Haze while knitting. Not sure what I am going to do with the blanket once finished, but it has been fun to knit so far.

Next, I want to buy a new sewing machine but I am completely perplexed every time I go to look at them. I have an old Kenmore that my mom gave me when I was in high school. It doesn't even have a drop arm and the fanciest stitch it makes is a zig-zag. The machine has been a mule to me, helping me to make all the boys' Halloween costumes, and little trinkets here and there. But, it is time for an upgrade. I wonder what you all use and like? I don't want to spend a ton of money for a bunch of options that I will never use. Please come out of lurkerville to help me. Thanks!

Lastly, I overheard a great comment in the Ry's locker room this week. One of the older brothers was watching four moms tie the younger guys' skates. He then looked at his mom and said, " You middle aged women sure do know how to tie skates good." I guess you can call that a round-about compliment from an nine year old!

Off to a hockey game! Have a great weekend everyone!

PS: No pertinent pics to go along with the subjects so I will let you dream of summer while viewing some flowers.

Hockey...

Usually on the weekends you will find us in some hockey rink around NYS. People ask me how I do it and I quite happily reply that I enjoy the whole experience. I have enjoyed watching hockey ever since my dad first took us to an AHL game when I was a really little kid. We would stay for the first two periods and then go home. Eventually, as I grew older my dad stopped taking us to the AHL games because we could finally understand the language in the stands. ( one of the downfalls of hockey in my opinion) From there he would take us to high school and local college games. As I went off to college I was pleasantly surprised to find that my school had a strong D-3 team and the college across the river had an outstanding D-1 team.

We never pushed our kids to play hockey although it was a natural fit since we have a pond in our yard and they were skating on it as soon as the could walk or so it seems. So when I look at these pictures it's hard to believe that Matt has been playing for six seasons and Ry has been playing for five. They have grown into good and fair athletes. Ryan needs to be pushed at times and Matt needs to be reminded not to "think" so much and play from the gut. We don't coach our kids after the games, just encourage them and ask if they have had fun. And when someone asks how we can spend all this time on one sport we just reply that we can find no other way to spend such quality time as a family. We are together, as a family, cheering each other on, for the entire weekend. Can't ask for anything more than that.

Friday Round-up

It's been a slow week around here what with the end of the holidays and the beginning of school. Thursday I did absolutely nothing but relax after having my husband and the two boys home for eleven straight days! I did, however, manage to start and finish a Thorpe Hat. Matt declared it the "coolest hat" he has ever had and that all the kids at school want one. I did not add ties per his request and knit it up the medium with Manos (black) chunky on No. 9's. I have since started one for the little guy.

Tollhouse chocolate cookies were made to send the boys back to school well fed. Again I was voted the best mom ever for making such great cookies. Actually, they are one of my favorites too. I could eat a whole cookie jar worth of them in one sitting.

The middle of this week brought sub-zero temperatures and by the end of the weekend we are supposed to be in the 60's. Go figure! My little birds are going to be thoroughly confused.

Have a great weekend everyone!