My Bit of Earth

One Year Later

We're heading to Maui next week for a family vacation.  While there, the Kid will celebrate his first birthday--we're hoping to round up a few hula girls for a photo op!

I will not personally be blogging here, but I'm sure I will be tweeting and Facebooking away, so--if you're interested--now is a good time to follow me on twitter (@MerylCA) or "like" the My Bit of Earth Facebook page.  (You know you want to!)

While I'm gone, five lovely ladies have agreed to fill this space with a whole lotta love.  (Literally, "love" will be the theme all week.)  From Maine to Massachusetts Street, to an adorable Valentine's craft, a yummy recipe, and even a little knitting--I hope you'll welcome them.

But right now, I need to take a moment to wrap my head around talk about the fact that my baby is turning one.

It feels ludicrous to think that at this time last year I was still so very pregnant, that the Kid was still (literally) a part of me.  And now, we have a toddler on our hands.  A little man with opinions of his own, who tried to escape at the drug store the other day and was angry when I made him put back a package of neon colored hair curlers.

There are a lot of things I wish I could go back and tell myself, but, truthfully, I wouldn't have believed any of it at the time.  Some things you can only learn by living them.  Nonetheless....

....Your whole world is about to get exponentially bigger.  I know you think you know what the sky looks like, but you've only been seeing a fraction of it.  It's about to open up wide in front of you.  I know you think you've loved, but you have no idea how much greater capacity to love you have.

....Your whole world is about to get smaller too.  A trip to the library will be a "big outing" for awhile.  The grocery store will be a mini-vacation.  Poop and purees and milestones and baby-proofing are about to become the most important things in your life.  Celebrate the first time you remember everything in the diaper bag.  Pat yourself on the back every time you get to pee alone or take a shower.  Revel in it the first time he says "mama".  The small victories will keep your sense of humor intact.

....All those people who keep telling you, "You better get your sleep now, because you won't once the baby comes," are, indeed, evil.  But they are not liars.  Go to sleep.  Sleep all day.  Because it may not happen again for years.  However--even though it's rough at times--three in the morning can also be more beautiful than you've ever imagined.  You're so much stronger than you think you are.

....You know that little regretful catch that your older relative gets in her voice--still, fifty years later--when she talks about not being able to breastfeed her babies?  You're going to have that too.  But try like hell anyway, because you'll feel better knowing you did the very best you could.

....Your husband is going to be an amazing father.  Well done on you for marrying so well!

....And your kid?  He's going to be more awesome than you ever could have imagined.

Happy Birthday Monkey!

Feasting Persephone

One year in college, just after Christmas, I caught a big old case of Winter blues.  A friend told me that he knew someone else who dealt with this slow, dark part of the year by celebrating her own holiday--"The Feast of Persephone"--on Groundhog Day.  It's a bit of a riff on the pagan holiday, Imbolc, actually, but it caught my imagination.  We had a grand party that year, and planning it chased my Winter doldrums away quite nicely.

Our observance has waxed and waned over the years.  It's still hard for me to "welcome Persephone back from the underworld" when there are six inches of snow on the ground.  But every now and then, particularly when the air smells like Spring, we revive the celebration.  

In fact, it had barely registered that today was "the Feast" until I stepped outside into the balmy, sixty-degree air this afternoon.  "I think we're going to have a picnic outside tonight," I declared to my co-worker.

And because Sweet Husband is willing to tag along for most of my crazy whims, and the Kiddo loves any excuse to play outside, we did just that.

I made some pasta, spread a big blanket on the porch, and lit some candles so that we could see.  The Kid walked back and forth between us, sampling cheese, chickpeas, and cherry tomatoes from our bowls.  And for dessert, we finished off a modified batch of Sweet Husband's orange shortbread cookies.  (He added honey and whole wheat flour, which made it an entirely different and even more incredible cookie--recipe forthcoming!)

I know it's too early still, but after such a nice dinner outside I'm going to say it anyway--Happy Spring!

The Kiddo's Due Date Party

About this time last week, Sweet Husband and I started looking at the calendar to plan a trip to the grandparents' house for the Kid's first birthday.  We're going to be on vacation the week of his actual birthday, and a few phone calls to check other VIPs' schedules (i.e. the grandmas) quickly revealed that it was last weekend or never.  So I sent out invites to his "due date party" (his due date was February 1st, but close enough), and off we went.

In hindsight, that was probably the best thing that could have happened because it gave me absolutely no time to fret about details.  Pizza for dinner?  Hey, the Kid loves pizza!  Cake?  A monkey face made by his Awesome Auntie sounds perfect!  (Ohhh, I think I just gave her a blog name--henceforth, Sweet Husband's sister is "Awesome Auntie".)

And, truth be told, I think much more would have been really overwhelming for the Kid, too.  He had a lot of fun playing with his small cousins.  He enjoyed demanding that every grown-up read Pete the Cat to him at least twice.  But by the time we got to cake, he was pretty over the whole party thing.  He took one little swipe at the chocolate icing and then started to cry.  

He missed out on some fabulous cake, but, not to worry, I didn't let his piece go to waste!

New Year's Day

When I was a little girl, I thought New Year's Day was the worst day of the entire year.  Just as the Christmas decorations always came out on the day after Thanksgiving, New Year's Day was the time to pack them all back up again.  Which meant not only stripping the walls and taking down the tree, but cleaning house.  Add in the fact that we typically resumed school on January 2nd, and it was just awful.

As an adult, I'm kind of fond of New Year's Day.  I love Christmas and all the attendant feasting and merriment, but at some point I need an end to it too.  The bare walls that made me cry as a child are refreshing to me now.  Giving the house a good scrub, purging some unnecessary stuff, paring back to more simple January days (getting the Kid back on a normal sleep schedule!)...it feels good in my soul.

And always some new little plans and projects to think about....Yes, I really do like New Year's Day.

Hopes and Goals for 2012

[Porter being a good sport on some New Year's Eve of yore...still missing our old girl, but thankfully getting to the point where memories like this make me smile.]

I like the ritual of making New Year's resolutions.  It's my love of list-making coming out, combined with my general optimism about life--"Next year we're going to get so much done, and it's going to be so great!" 

But, while they're all synonymous, I prefer to think of my list each year as "hopes" or "goals" rather than "resolutions".  It's just a tiny difference in the shade of meaning, but it is--in my humble opinion--a worthwhile distinction.  Some of my hopes and goals for 2012:

1. I would like this to be the year we learn to live without credit cards.  We were actually doing well towards that goal at this time last year...then we had a baby.  While we have tried to be careful, it turns out that lack of sleep lowers my spending inhibitions.  But it's time to get back on track, rein in the morning lattes, and start enjoying more frugal fun.

2. I want to take more walks outside this year, even when the weather is less than ideal.  

Sometimes I think we really should move about 100 miles North, because--while I can pretty much take whatever Winter throws my way--July and August make me want to hide inside next to an air vent.  

I'd like to get into the habit of taking a family walk every Sunday.  Like, rain, snow, boiling sun, whatever.  While I know that every week may not be do-able, let's say most weeks.  And on a real, bona fide trail, not just downtown and back.

3.  I want to make two quilts.  A knitted Beekeeper's Quilt for myself, and a twin-sized one for the Kid. (This one is leading the running.)

4.  And speaking of bees, I want to take a beekeeping class this Spring.  I'm still not positive we'll be ready for a  hive this year, but after reading and researching (and seeing several hives first hand in Philadelphia last Spring) I'm ready to take the next step.

5.  Last, but not least, partially in-line with the goal of having "frugal fun", I have two little social projects I want to get going.  One here, one elsewhere.  But I'm going to be a tease, and leave it at that for now.  If you want to know more (about the first project, anyway) check back in next week!

Happy New Year everyone!

Making Christmas

I promise (I think) that this will be my last Christmassy post, but I am truly proud of how much we made ourselves for Christmas this year and I want to talk about it just a bit.

I didn't do a completely handmade Christmas.  That just seems overwhelming to me, mostly because I always get stumped about what to make for a few certain people.  

But I knitted my heart out and took a few photos, and Sweet Husband did some jewelry making.  (It's quite handy being married to a jeweler, yes?)  Between the two of us, almost everyone that we exchange gifts with got something handmade, and most of our extended family got exclusively handmade goodies.  

And where we couldn't do handmade-by-us, we shopped handmade-by-others or--at the least--shopped locally.  (In the interests of full disclosure, I did buy my brother the flip-folder he really wanted, and I never, ever count buying books against myself.)  Really, we did pretty good though.  Some highlights....

[Hats by me; doll by the talented Grace.]

[Ring by Sweet Husband; keychain (slowly, torturously....I do not work in metal, really folks) made by me.]

[Sweater and hat by me; bracelet by Sweet Husband.]

The best reaction was undoubtedly Cutie Niece when she unwrapped a big sweater for her and then a smaller, matching one to fit her doll.  I was pretty sure the doll would like her sweater, but knitting for an eight-year-old is like taking your savings account and putting it all on black.  There are so many things that could go wrong--itchy, wrong color, an ill-timed growth spurt that makes the size all wrong.  It's win-big, lose-big, and this year I was a winner!

Next year, I would like to get more inventive about making some things for Sweet Husband and the Kid though.  It's harder, particularly with the Kiddo, because I end up making little things for him all the time.  He wasn't wanting for sweaters or hats or even toys.  But, for example, Sweet Husband remarked on the relatively simple construction of his sled.  It's something I never would have thought to try and make ourselves, but we certainly could have.

Likewise, other than the aforementioned key chain (which I made on purpose to fill the void) Sweet Husband's gift were all purchased.  With a little planning ahead, I think I can do a bit better by "my boys" for next year.

Christmas 2011 (Part 2)

After all that debate we forgot to leave out milk and cookies!  Thankfully, Santa is a forgiving chap, and he left the Kid a pretty pull-sled just the same.

I couldn't quite decide what the Kid thought of Christmas morning, to tell you the truth.  The boxes were a treat, of course.  And the little wooden spoon that was found in his stocking delighted him to no end.  

He was curious...interested...and generally just happy to have a day with Mom and Dad both at his complete disposal.

Also, the boy loves German Pancakes.  We made these baby ones (in a muffin tin)--the Kid couldn't shove them into his mouth quickly enough.

It was so nice here (not even a hint of snow) that we decided to go for a walk in the afternoon.  Moe and Sweet Husband ran off their Christmas treats, while I worked mine off by hiking with twenty-five pounds of the Kid on my back.

Then it was home for the Christmas Feast-of-Whatever.  Sweet Husband picked his current favorite beer, and the Kid is digging animal crackers these days.  Fearing that beer and animal crackers may not make the most pleasing feast, I picked prime rib.  For the record, I chose wisely.

Christmas 2011 (Part 1)

Since Sweet Husband works in retail, Christmas Eve is on-the-clock for him.  The first few years it was a little hard for me, but I've actually come to enjoy it.  The jewelry store he works at closes early, and they have a little party to celebrate the end of the busy season before everyone goes off to be with family.The Kiddo loves the store.  Mostly because, well, they kinda love him too.  But it's also a nice wide-open place (with mirrors!) for him to practice his locomotion.  

And this year Santa himself came to the party!  It was so cool!  The Kid got his very own, one-on-one meet and greet with the big guy.  (And the little handshake...*melt*.)

Then, we took a quick loop around Mass Street.  Everything was mostly closed, of course, but the lights were still much enjoyed.

And home for "Christmas Eve Crab Legs" and PJs and movies....

Happy Christmas!

Driving home yesterday evening, I caught part of a "book-review" interview on NPR.  The author explained that she set her fairy-tale inspired book in the snow because, "I think magic is closer to the surface in the snow."

Magic is closer to the surface in the snow.  I love that.

And while I sympathize with people who have to travel, the Christmases I remember in the fondest glow of memory have all been white.  It's like doubling-down on the magic.

So far only the very lightest of dustings here, but there's a little tiny hope still.  And in the meantime, paper snowflakes and the magic of Christmas lights are standing in admirably.  And a stretch of days with the chance to sleep-in (relatively speaking) with a snugly, little man in footie pajamas?  Merry magic indeed!

Happy Christmas everyone!

Inventing Last Minute To-Do's

I have a friend who decided to knit Christmas sweaters for her entire, adult, family of three, basically the week before Thanksgiving.  (I may be muddling the details a little, but I'm close.)  And then one of the sweaters wasn't quite right once it was finished, so it turned into four.  I believe she may get it all done yet--in fact, I'm sure she will 'cause that's how she rolls--but whew!

I planned ahead this year, and started my Christmas knitting during our July and August heat spell.  So on December 1st I had, I think, one pair of hand wamers left to do.  I even started a sweater for myself this month.

But I'm not sure I like being a plan-aheader.  (It's not my natural state, I assure you.)  It feels wrong to be sitting here--on the Winter Solstice just a few days before Christmas--with nothing to finish up.  So much so that I've kind of begun inventing things.

For example, the Kid and I made salt dough ornaments at dinner tonight, just because we could.  One with his hand print, a few snowflakes, several hearts....

And then I decided to make both he and his new Christmas friend (more about him later, but I can't wait for you to meet him) matching stocking caps.  I don't know if I'd really call the looming deadline "pressure" per se--they're just hats and one is doll-sized, after all...getting them done in time won't be hard--but I think I needed just a little something to make me feel elf-y.

In Pretty Contemplation

Tonight I am contemplating a very serious question that will determine our Christmas happiness for many years to come:  What does Santa eat?  

Snickerdoodles?  Orange short breads?  Classic chocolate chip cookies?  

Orange short breads are the winner by a mile around here, but choosing a cookie that is not easily obtainable in a store seems like asking for a midnight Christmas Eve baking session sometime in my future.  Chocolate chip cookies come in bags, but they're not nearly as exciting....

And then, does Santa like milk?  Or beer?  Or eggnog?  Like many a man I know, I tend to think Santa may prefer a beer (particularly if he has to put the finishing touches on any toy assembly after slipping down the chimney), but I wouldn't want Santa to get a DUI....

We're starting traditions--this is serious business, folks!

While I consider these weighty matters, please enjoy some "just for pretty" shots from the new camera that I took this weekend.

Can't Steal Happiness

My camera is disintigrating before my eyes.  I fell down the stairs (again) with it in my hands the other day, and I fear it may have been the death knell.  It's such a stupid, spoiled, first-world-problem, but it's become like my right arm--I can't imagine life without it.  It's still functional, but it's troubling to have such a formerly good friend now actively working against me.

I've been squirreling away ("stick by stick" as I told someone this weekend) to replace it this Spring, but I'm not quite there yet.  And I won't pretend I've been dealing with it as gracefully as I should; I've been a mopey, old...well....

But then tonight the Kiddo and I had a little photo shoot in front of the Christmas star.  He had swiped a paperwhite, and I was trying to teach him to sniff it.  He didn't understand the concept, but he was happy to giggle at my demonstrations....and the Kid is in love with Christmas lights.

It's a mean town, but I don't care

Try and steal that

Can't steal happiness

--The Weepies

....or drop it on the floor and break it.  ;)

Big Fat Paperwhites

Those of you who've been around for a bit know that I'm a paperwhite evangelist during the holiday season.  But I'm afraid I've led you all astray as to the best method for growing them.

In years past, I've simply put them in a bowl with rocks and water.  They always ended up a little spindly (I tried alcohol to combat this one year), but still lovely.

This year I didn't have enough rocks to fill my bowl, but I did have a leftover bag of potting soil.  So I used soil to fill most of the bowl, and just put a layer of rocks on top to make it pretty.

Guess what?  Paperwhites like soil.  They like it a lot.  These are the biggest, fattest paperwhites I've ever grown.  While you can certainly get by with just rocks and water, I don't believe I will ever be doing so again.

A Simple Handmade Advent Calendar

For several years now, I've been wanting this wooden advent spiral to use as an advent calendar.  

I love the fun of counting down to anything.  But while "giftie" advent calendars can be fun, more often than not, preparing them stresses me out.  I always have trouble finding items to put in them that are not either "kid junk" (little plastic doozie-ma-jiggys and the like) or prohibitively expensive over the course of twenty-five days.  And we've tried doing a calendar with "events", but I would so much rather do those spontaneously.

The simplicity of moving a candle along each day--and the excitement of lighting candles for dinner--seemed perfect.  But the spiral still wasn't quite right.  

The symbolism is nice, but the size was wrong.  All the spirals I had seen were just a little too big for our house.  And while I love the idea of dedicating a space to it on the dining room table...with a toddler and a dog and a table that doubles as my crafting space...that's just not our reality right now.

But I still wanted to do something similar.  So this year, in early November, I ordered the two figurines.  I had them sitting on a shelf, and had just about given up on inspiration to strike when, on December 1st, the Winter edition of Rhythm of the Home came out.  When I saw this project for a "Hardware Store Hanukkah", something clicked in my brain, "Ahh!  I need something more like a menorah...something long and skinny...."

So, I went out into our shed and found a piece of wood that had formerly been a garden stake.  Quickly seeing exactly where I was going, Sweet Husband sanded the board and drilled in the holes.  (I'm capable with the power tools, but he's quicker.)  Then we rubbed it down with a bit of "spoon oil", and it was ready to light that very night.

Ever the perfectionist when it comes to such things, Sweet Husband says he intends to make a new one next year.  ("The holes cracked a little, and the board should be a little longer....")  But I'm not sure I'm going to let him--I think it's perfect. 

The First Annual Christmas Parade Watching Party

Remember last year how I said that our local horse-drawn Christmas parade comes down our street?  Remember how I said that we were going to have a party to watch it this year?

Well Saturday, we did just that!  You can't necessarily see it in these pictures, but it was a drizzly, rainy day--so the porch was the perfect place to watch from.

A few other houses on our block were having little shindigs along with us.  Amidst the calls of "Merry Christmas!", several of the riders joked that we should share our hot chocolate and goodies with them.  Maybe next year, eh?

Because this is definitely going to become a tradition!

[P.S. Fabulous crock-pot hot cocoa recipe.  You're welcome!]

The Festival of Trees

This has become one of my favorite holiday traditions.  I just love walking through all the beautiful trees.  

We were unable to donate a tree this year--all of a sudden my knitting group has gotten a little busy and we've basically given up on meeting anymore--but we did manage to hook up with the Kiddo's favorite girl, the Cupcake, and her mama to see what other people had created.  

If I won the lottery tonight, I'd go back to the auction tomorrow and buy the tree with the tiny baskets on it, but the rooster-as-tree-topper also caught my eye.  And, just for one year, I'd love to have a funny, alternative tree, like the space shuttle-ly one pictured.  Then again, maybe we need a bat signal?

If you're local, The Festival of Trees will be at Liberty Hall until Thursday, so go check it out.  Here are the times it's open.

Full

And not just full of turkey and chicken noodles and stuffing and pie....although there was certainly plenty of that too!

All the Much

In addition to Thanksgiving, today is also my birthday.  My 31st trip around the sun--that's how my dad always says it.

There's a little litany that I say to the Kid each night as he has his bedtime ba.  It started as silly-babble to comfort him to sleep, but it's become a habit.

Mama loves you.  

Mama loves you all the much in the whole world.

Mama loves you.

And Dada loves you.

And Moe-moe loves you.

And Etta the Chicken and all her sisters love you.

Everybody loves you so much.  All the much.

Although it may not be directly on point (as the law nerds would say), that's the flavor of my year and everything I'm thankful for today, all at once.

Hope your Thanksgiving is all the much!

Halloweenin'

First, the news you were all waiting on baited breath to hear--the scarf was finished, and with time to spare.  

I don't normally knit with lace weight yarn, but when I saw this color in Heather's shop (it's been a few years ago, I think) I bought it on impulse.  

And it sat, because I don't normally knit with lace weight yarn.  Further, since the Kid was born, I haven't knitted anything challenging at all.  So it was perfect, in a really sarcastic and not actually perfect way, when about three weeks ago I decided to knit this in time for Halloween.  

It's been a marathon.  Just when I got going, I'd mess something up and have to rip back several rows.  One afternoon at lunch my fellow knitting co-workers almost saw me cry.

But finally, this weekend it was done.  And it's so worth it.  Like, if you know me in real life you're going to have to excuse me when I don't take it off for weeks at a time.....

But on to our Halloween.  While there are all sorts of good parts to being a parent, one thing I've looked forward to most is the holidays.  Because when you have a kid, you get to be a kid again in a magical way that we could never quite emmulate with just the two of us.

There was the Halloween party and "parade" at school....

Some visiting with our friends downtown (I swear, the Cupcake only started crying when we pulled out the camera...before that she was the happiest little bumblebee!)....

And visits to the Kiddo's "Lawrence Aunties and Uncles" for tricks and treats....

....and (just because I think it was super cute) our friends' pup, Stella, in her Ewok costume.

Hope you all had as much fun as we did!

Hooot! Hooot! Happy Halloween!

Moe:  This is awesome.  The little slave is taking over the Halloween card--THANK DOG!

Sweet Husband:  Tights?  Really?  We can't even get pants on him without two parents present....

Porter:  Wake me up when it's Thanksgiving.

The Kid:  Ahh dadadadadababa!

Meryl:  As promised, my little baby hoot owl suited up for trick or treating fun.  Happy Halloween to all!