Staples

(photo taken with my phone)


On Friday afternoon we ended up going to the ER and Benjamin ended up with three staples in his head. He was given three balloons by the kind doctor.

See, he was standing on a kitchen chair (yes, that's why you don't stand on kitchen chairs) and they were messing around, and he lost his balance and fell, clipping the edge of a cabinet as he did so.

He also got a splinter in his finger yesterday from carrying wood and has been trying to get a very loose and sore tooth to come out all weekend.

The kid is a mess. I think he needs extra snuggling time in front of the wood stove tonight. And tea, maybe. And a book.

I'm rather looking forward to it, too.

A Day

I've been waiting for a guy to come and fix our thermostat today, so we can actually use our furnace. (The wood stove has been doing a good job of keeping us warm in the meantime.) He told us last night he'd stop by today, but he wasn't sure what time he'd able to... he thought it would be in the morning. Well, it wasn't. It's afternoon now and I'm still waiting. I'm not in the least bit angry at him. He was perfectly upfront with us, and he's done some work for me before and I've been very pleased with him. I just feel like I've wasted an entire day because of the way I am. I quickly threw some clothes on this morning without showering, got the kids off to school, and waited. I thought when he left I'd take a quick shower and run to the store for a few things, hopefully take the dogs for a hike. So here I am, unshowered, feeling awful, nothing done. And it's all my uptight fault.

The thing is, I often feel deeply disappointed with "my day." Most of the time I don't feel like my day has been very productive, and I feel frustrated and defensive about it all at once. As if a day was a complete and finite measurement of time and I dropped the ball. I don't know. On one hand I think I need to cut myself some slack and on the other I think I need to quit all my lazy habits.

But there's always tomorrow, I guess?

Halloween

I hope everyone had a spooky, fun Halloween. It was really cold here. Like, it snowed a little the afternoon before trick or treating. But that's not unexpected up here, so no one was surprised.

Sophia went as Athena this year. She's really into Greek mythology right now. She's always really enjoyed it, but the Percy Jackson books really kicked her interest up to obsession. Which I love, being the type to obsess over my interests as well. Bonding!

Benjamin went as Death, partly because he just plain wanted to look spooky and partly because he loves the character of Death as created by the great Terry Pratchett, two of whose books we've watched the movie equivalents for (The Color of Magic and The Hogfather).

It's been a good Autumn here... we had a woodstove installed in our fireplace and have been enjoying that. We went apple picking and visited the cider mill. I love it!

Friday - {This Moment}

I love how much she loves books, and bookstores. I love that we can share that. Her ever-widening mind is a joy and wonder to behold. Every day.

Hibernation

I've been feeling a lot like this recently. The days are getting cooler and it's been drizzly and gray off-and-on outside, and I mostly feel like hanging out in my house. Looking toward winter and hibernation.





And speaking of hibernating, it will that much more cozy this winter, because we're having a wood stove insert put in our fireplace in a couple weeks. Exciting! We had three face cords of wood delivered last weekend, so we're ready for a few cold months, anyway.

Now I just need to focus on the other instinct I'm feeling strongly: cleaning, organizing, and arranging my house in a more efficient and inviting way.

I'm really a homebody at heart, and I like it that way.

The Tomten

...is not just a very favorite, magical children's book character! It's also a very squee-worthy Elizabeth Zimmermann sweater pattern that I managed to complete over the weekend. YAY!





I made one for Benjamin first, because while Astrid Lindgren's book about the Tomten who lives on a farm and visits all the animals is pretty much adored by all of us, Benjamin has always been especially enamored with him. It was his go-to, most requested book for a very long time. Also, he's the smallest, and sometimes starting small is a good idea.

Incidentally, I really wanted to name any future additional daughter Astrid, but Clint vetoed the name. Can you believe him?!?!?!?!

Anyway.






Benjamin was really excited when I had him try it on. He says he really likes it, which is of course what any knitting mama wants to hear, and bless his little ninja boy heart for at least faking enthusiasm for my benefit. All I have to do is sew in the zipper now. I made several mistakes and it's not perfect or in the best yarn, but I'm still pretty ridiculously pleased with it. Especially today, when I've accomplished almost nothing but can look happily at it lying on the table and pretend I'm not a lazy, unmotivated slacker.

Onward!

Friday - {This Moment}

Had my stylist cut bangs. Celebrated 11 years with that man of mine. Bought a new french press. It was a good week.