the snowy day

Winter is here! I've been telling Mae that when there's enough snow that you can't see the grass, then we can play with the new sled she got from Santa. When she woke up last Saturday morning, I took her to the front door and opened it to reveal the snow-covered lawn. She was so excited she almost cried while asking, "Can we go play??"

After a quick breakfast, we bundled up in our full winter gear and went outside. Our driveway slopes down to our backyard, so we had the perfect little hill for Mae's first time sledding. She LOVED it. She took turns with each of us and did a few solo rides.

In the front yard, we built a tiny snowman. The snow was a little too powdery to stick together well enough for a big snowman. Mae named him "Snow Snowy" (I think a mis-pronunciation of "Sir Snowy" from the Amazon Prime cartoon version of the book "The Snowy Day.") She insisted on the carrot nose, and I found some blueberries for his eyes.

Dan shoveled the sidewalk and driveway while I brushed off the cars, and Mae very carefully cleared all the snow from her slide, picnic table, and our plastic Adirondack chairs in the backyard. The we pulled Mae around in the sled for a bit. At one point while Dan was pulling the sled, it tipped sideways and she did a full face plant directly into the snow. Dan and I both burst out laughing, and she came up looking very startled before she noticed us laughing and started to giggle. I caught the whole thing on video and can't watch it without cracking up.

We walked down the street and did a few sledding runs down the long sloped alley a few houses down. Because the snow had covered everything, I don't think that Mae understood we were in the middle of the street. After warning her, I called to Dan, "I just told Mae we needed to hold hands because we are in the street, and she looked at me like, 'We are???'" To which Mae responded, "Penn State!"

On Sunday, we woke up to a couple more inches of snow. After breakfast and church, we bundled up for more wintry fun. The snow was much stickier, so we built a big snowman and dressed him up with hat, scarf, and gloves (plus the obligatory carrot nose and blueberry eyes/mouth). Afterwards, Mae sat in the snow and ate all the rest of the blueberries. (Yes, she was wearing a hat, but she took it off before this picture... Also, this is last year's 18-month-sized snowsuit, but it still fits and kept her toasty as a furnace!)

Most of our snow had melted by yesterday (along with Snow Snowy), but we got a few more inches today. Unfortunately it was much colder today (around 15 F) so we didn't get to enjoy it yet! I am loving that it finally looks like winter around here!

that's a wrap

It's not a shawl... it's a wrap. Or perhaps a crescent-shaped scarf.

This is the Vindaloo Wrap knit in Ella Rae Classic in the colorway Lunar Green. Kathy found the yarn for me at a good discount during Small Business Saturday in 2017. I finished knitting this near the end of last winter, but I'm still very undecided on whether I like it. I love the pattern, and it was an easy knit with minimal counting/concentration required. But, it's been hanging out in my closet, waiting for cooler weather and waiting for me to decide if I'll ever wear it.

I decided to give it at least one wearing before making any decisions to repurpose the yarn. I put it on Saturday for errands and a party in the afternoon. It's definitely warm, and it was a fun accessory. I'll give it a bit longer to see how often I reach for it in the closet.

What do you think? Should I give it a bit longer to grow on me or give the yarn a new life as something else??

the hoosier state

When Kelsey moved into her apartment this summer, she gave me a tour of her new place over FaceTime. Her roommate Emily had a framed Texas-themed watercolor print hanging in the hallway, and Kelsey mentioned that she would like an Indiana-themed one. So, I made this personalized version for Kelsey! (Sorry for the ugly watermark... apparently people like to steal art online.)

I sketched and painted the little symbols and vignettes separately and then scanned them to the computer where I arranged them and adjusted the colors. I tried to capture some typical Indiana icons (racecar, basketball, Soldiers & Sailors Monument) and some official state symbols (fireflies, sugar cream pie) while adding a bit of personalization (all our colleges are represented, with Kelsey's front and center). Can you figure out what everything is and how it relates to the Hoosier State? (Hint: we have a city called Santa Claus.)

I ordered a giclée of the print on watercolor paper and a custom frame. Even though I finished this in August, I didn't get a chance to deliver it to Kelsey until we visited her a few weeks ago. It looks very cute hanging in her front hallway, across from the Texas artwork!