{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. -- Inspired by SouleMama

AMERICAN GIRL KNITTING

At Chicago's American Girl store.

Foghorn had one American Girl doll to start last summer (Kit, in her Depression-era garb) and for her birthday received Kanani, a Hawaiian-themed gal in a flowery tropical dress.  Grandma made all three of them matching sundresses in a mermaid-pattern last summer, which looked danged cute and the dolls have been wearing these dresses ever since.

The matching mermaid dresses.

It's now February and with the snow flurries blowing around out there, I have to say the dolls are starting to look a little chilly to me in their sleeveless frocks.  I've been wanting to graduate from knitting socks to knitting a garment a little more challenging, but I can't quite bring myself to start something big and ambitious like an adult sweater.  Instead, I decided to try my hand at doll clothing.  Complicated enough to stretch my abilities, yet easy and quick enough to not be quite so intimidating.

I made Kanani a matching outfit using leftover yarn from Foghorn's January socks.  It's the Serenity sock weight yarn with Deborah Norville's face on the wrapper in the "Spring Fling" color.  (I often wonder how a woman goes from being a journalist on the Today show to hawking yarn.)  Spring Fling made cute striped socks, so I thought it would add a little pop to an outfit.

The Eyelet Hem Skirt is a simple A-line design, super easy, and available for free on Ravelry here.  It has an elastic waist and cute picot edging.  This item was a breeze and I thought it came out pretty nice.

The Retro Cardi didn't work out so well.  I'm not sure if there's an error in the pattern or if I messed up in some way.  (I would think it was just me, but I noticed someone left a comment on the author's blog, asking about the same problem I was having.)  I had to make some adjustments, but I ultimately managed to salvage it.  It called for tiny 1/4" buttons and my mother had cute vintage pink ones, which go perfectly.  It's hard to see from the picture, but the front has a lovely cable-like design.  The pattern is free on Ravelry here.

I was a little afraid Foghorn might be so delighted she'd want a whole outfit for Kit as well.  Instead she annoyed me by barely glancing at Kainani and instead going on about how every other kid in her second grade class as an iPod Touch and why can't she have one, especially since The Professor has a Nook.  (The whole 7th grade class was just provided with Nooks, part of a technology pilot program, but this knowledge didn't make Foghorn any less indignant.)   She better watch it or I'll knit her a stinking iPod and make her really mad.


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FOOD STAMP CHALLENGE 2012 - THE FINAL NUMBERS

The 2012 Food Stamp Challenge has come to an end and we didn't quite make our goal of spending less than $400 on groceries.  In fact, we didn't quite make it by a long shot.  We did, however, shave about a third off our average 2011 food bill, which means we succeeded in funding our Grayson County Humane Society "Angel" donations for the year.  In addition, we saved another $20 or so beyond that, which I'm rounding up to a $25 donation to Recycled Doggies.

Our former Recycled Doggie, St. Jimmi, got reprimanded by the vet at her 6-month visit last year for having gained a whopping 17 pounds since  moving in with us.  I have been diligently taking her for walks most days and trying to limit her food intake.  Unfortunately, Jimmi is a confirmed food thief and edibles are not safe from her unless behind lock and key.  We've been giving it our best, though, and I thought I noticed a little slimmer physique on my pooch.  Today she had her one-year visit and...drum roll, please...she gained two pounds.  I was given advice by the vet on how to keep her from pilfering from the pantry, swiping from people's plates, and stealing the other dog's food. I was told to bring her in for a weight check in a  month.  If she doesn't lose at least three pounds, it's diet dog food for her.  I think the mere thought is already starting to affect her.  She tried, with vigorous determination, to get onto the kitchen table to steal the remains of a fresh-baked loaf of bread.  If past exploits are any indication, I'm going to have to watch out for this dog's ingenuity in the face of hunger pangs.

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{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. -- Inspired by SouleMama

Well...almost no words.  Yesterday Foghorn and I went to see Beauty and the Beast 3-D on the big screen.  The greatest thrill of a movie theater visit is getting popcorn and I agreed to the large, KFC-bucket-sized if she would share with me.  Won't make that mistake again.  She snarled every time I took a handful and eventually moved a seat over to keep me from sharing, shoving her coat in the empty seat to block me.  Sigh...

THE FOOD STAMP CHALLENGE

Last year I was inspired by Katy Wolk-Stanley over at The Non-Consumer Advocate blog to try the Food Stamp Challenge.  The basic premise is that you attempt to live for one month on what a family of your size would receive in food stamps.  Katy lives in Oregon, but she has two sons just slightly older than my kids and one husband, so I figure the $400 a month figure she was working with should be comparable to what we'd get in the state of Ohio.  To make this a little more palatable to my fast food-addicted children, I told them about the Grayson County Humane Society in Leitchfield, Kentucky and their Grayson Angels program.  This is a small, rural shelter, always short on funds and held together by dedicated volunteers.  A member of the Grayson Angels pledges to donate $1 per day for the year.  Given that we are totally gluttonous and spoiled human beings in my household, quick calculations revealed that if we stuck to the Food Stamp Challenge for one month, we could save more than enough money to fund ourselves as Grayson Angels for the year.  It worked beautifully, no one died of trans fat-withdrawal, and the shelter got its money.  While my children have many faults, one of their redeeming qualities is a love for animals, so I knew I could get them on board for the Food Stamp Challenge this year.

In addition to funding a charitable donation, my hope for the challenge was to show my children how lucky they are in their normal lives.  I always feel a little obnoxious doing this challenge, as if it's some great sacrifice for us to do without for one month when some families are living this way all year long.  It's a little like spending a week in a wheelchair to understand what it's like to be disabled.  I still wouldn't truly understand because I would spend that week knowing that in seven days I would indeed be standing up again.  In the same way, we know that on February 1st we can head down to the nearest McDonald's and stuff ourselves with fries.  It makes me feel like a bit of a fraud, but I figure it's for a good cause.

We're just over three weeks into the 2012 Food Stamp Challenge and things are not going so hot.  We got off to a bad start when we tried to soothe The Professor's post-Christmas/back-to-school depression by taking him to see the latest Sherlock movie on January 2.  We very rarely go to an actual theater, so when we do I let the kids get something from the snack bar.  Needless to say, I could have bought us all Taco Bell dinners for the cost of The Professor's Pepsi and king size box of candy.  We also hit a few potholes in the form of strep throat and colds.  The Vulcan was the only one who came through completely unscathed.  I, on the other hand, got both this month, and The Vulcan doesn't appreciate me cooking him food when I'm ill.  In fact, he avoids all of us when we're sick, appearing only to get a drink from the kitchen and then making a hasty exit with his shirt collar pulled over his nose and mouth like a doctor's mask.  (I get my revenge by chasing after him, pretending to heave big, germy breaths his way.  Makes me feel better just to see the frantic look in his eyes as he races for the stairs.)  As a result, there were more fast food meals than would normally fall into my personal guidelines for this challenge.

Our main goal is to stay under $400.  In reality, my goal is to spend $365 less than my average monthly grocery bill last year.  Given the embarrassingly large amounts we spent on food most months, this goal is totally doable.  To add a little extra incentive, anything we save over the $365 will go to Recycled Doggies, a fabulous rescue group in the Cincinnati area.  (Our beloved St. Jimmi came from them.)  They recently took in an adorable dog named Liberty who had been hit by a car and horribly injured.  She was taken to a shelter by her owners who couldn't afford vet care and luckily the shelter contacted Recycled Doggies.  She's a beautiful black dog, less than a year old, but her injuries required a tremendous amount of treatment.  Last I heard the bills topped $5,500, so I figure they can use all the donations they can get.

If you'd like more information on the Grayson County Humane Society and their Grayson Angels program, please click here.  If you'd like more information on how you can help Liberty, please see the Recycled Doggies Chip-In link here.


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CHRISTMAS SOCKS

Last weekend, Foghorn and I were home with strep throat.  This weekend, The Professor and I have been sidelined with colds and an ice storm that came through the southwestern Ohio area last night.  That means...more knitting!







Last weekend I finished up some small projects.  This weekend I'm devoting to the new yarn I purchased from Roving Acres this week.  Throw in Ken Burns' dvd on the Lewis and Clark expedition and I'm set for a not-unpleasant afternoon (except for the nose-blowing and pounding head).

For my first Roving Acres project, I used a soft variegated merino/alpaca yarn in shades of dark gray for a pair of fingerless gloves.  I tend to read a lot before bed and while I'm snuggled up under the blankets, my hands get chilly holding the book.  Now I have the solution, courtesy of a free pattern found  here.

Today I'm working with my other skein of the same merino/alpaca yarn, this time in a gorgeous natural color.  After having made numerous pairs of socks in the last month from sock weight yarn, I decided I wanted a pair in thicker worsted weight.  Since I have terrible feet and live in Birkenstock clogs, I figure my cold heels would appreciate nice, thick socks.  I'm using a free pattern I found on Ravelry here.

Lastly, I never managed to post pictures of the socks I made at Christmas.  For the last several years, inspired by Mr. Bean's Christmas Special, I've given my mother and sister socks.  Since we do our celebrating on Christmas Eve, it leaves them with a little something extra from me to be opened on Christmas morning.  Thanks to my new knitting obsession skills, I was able to make the socks this year.  And who would I turn to for yarn except my beloved Roving Acres?  As with the scarf and hat set I made for myself, Beth was super-helpful in getting just the colors I needed for these socks.  I wanted variegated red, going from a bright, deep red all the way down to just short of pink.  The yarn came out exactly like I wanted and it is so luxuriously soft.  In fact, it was so wonderful to work with that I was kicking myself for not buying a third skein so I could have a pair.  Turned out, since the recipients don't like socks that come too far up the calf, there was enough yarn left over for a pair for myself.  Both ladies loved them and declared them to be the nicest socks they've ever owned.  I used a free pattern available on Ravelry here.

From my ice-bound family room, I leave you with my inspiration for my Christmas tradition.  Enjoy!

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{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. -- Inspired by SouleMama

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