Between the holiday weekend and dealing with bureaucratic foolishness with my passport (which was applied for with more than 12 weeks before our travel and is still not issued because of their ridiculous snafus, with only a few weeks left, no I'm not frustrated and bitter about it, why do you ask?), I have not completed either the knitting or the pattern writing for Brume. I'm almost finished with the knitting, and I'm trying to get it done tonight so it will count for the MadMay event this year. Winter Wonderland is still my Sunday knitting, though I haven't posted progress pictures like I ought, and I'm doing the increases on the body right now. I wish I had done an inch of ribbing rather than the half inch in the pattern, but I don't want to go back and redo it. Rich keeps asking me about it and looking at me like he knows that it's going to drive me crazy every time I see it and that every time I see one of our children in it, I will have a look of disappointment on my face making them think that I am upset with them and then they will grow up thinking their mother didn't love them. Or something like that. So, probably it's going to stay here and I will rip it out and redo the ribbing when I get back from Paris. If I get to go.

We go to the passport office in person this week. Please pray that it goes well. Rich had to take a day off of work so he could come with me, and we're basically going to inundate them with documentation and paperwork in an effort to get my stinking passport. I'm also bringing my old passport from before I was married, which looks exactly like me now, only thinner and with much less white hair. Feh. I'm tempted to bring all of our kids into the office, too, and just hang out there until they issue my passport, while the kids eat their snacks and ask where the bathroom is.

The only reading I've done this week besides our daily Morning Prayer and Bible readings has been some read aloud time in The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic. While it is a fun story, we have detected a little bit of a modernist, secular message that is not really great. It's well coated in honey, but the bitter center is still there. We're still reading it, and we will see how it plays out in the end, but now it's a game of finding the message and pointing it out to each other. This is the danger in a lot of modern fiction. It's more about the message than the story. In this case the story is still good, but the message is intruding more and more, so it may end up being something of a regret. Though, we are having a lot of great discussions about the story, the message, and how that message is being conveyed.





Because of the government snafus and the holiday weekend, we have some repeats this week. We did get to get our hillside picnic and even flew a kite.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Nacho Breakfast, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Loaded Chicken Burritos, Strawberries, Lemon Bars, Fudge Frosted Brownies
• Monday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese and Bacon, Toast, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Grilled Pizzas, Salad, Watermelon, Chocolate Covered Strawberry Ice Cream with Cookies, Strawberry Cloud Dessert
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese, Toast, Bananas, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Grilled Pizzas, Salad
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Cheese Toast, Bananas, Tea with Honey
  Dinner:
  Macaroni and Cheese, Salad, Sliced Watermelon
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Dutch Baby Pancake with Sauteed Apples and Cinnamon Sugar, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Homemade Hamburger Helper, Rice, Salad
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast with Honey, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Black Bean and Pepper Quesadillas, Fruit Plate, Salad
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Sausage and Egg Breakfast Casserole, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Cottage Pie, Salad, Fruit Plate

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

Labels: Books, Church Year, Design, Family, Homemaking, Knitting, MadMay, Menu Plans, Tales from the Kitchen, Yarn Along

This week should have been all about finishing Ventus. I really want to get it to the editor soon. Instead, I mostly worked on Brume, and started Winter Wonderland for my Sunday knitting. The problem with Ventus is that I need to pay attention to it. Which isn't a problem, it goes pretty quickly when I have the attention to spare, but my life is full of distractions and people I need to listen to or otherwise attend to, so it's not a project I can easily work on during knit night or while I Knitflix with Rich. The good news is that I am making progress on Brume, which will get it off to the editor's sooner. It should be available in the late fall. Also, in case you missed the announcement last week, Amira was released at long last.


Aside from needing to buckle down and get my design work completed, I'm also trying to get a handle on this whole social media thing. You can keep up with me here, on Facebook where I'm trying to keep up conversation with a question each week, subscribe to my newsletter, 1,001 Knits for pattern release information, stories about my travels and finds, and the best coupons and sale information, join my Ravelry Group where I run preview KALs and contests (I'd love to see more interaction there), or follow me on Instagram to see a lot more behind the scenes images, as well as sneak previews of work to come.

This week was another light one in terms of reading. I got a few more pages in Messenger of Truth, and the younger kids and I started The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic as a fun read. We're enjoying it so far, and it is nice to sit on a blanket in the yard and read it in the fresh air now that spring has finally arrived here.

Labels: Books, Design, Family, Homemaking, Knitting, MadMay, Patterns, Yarn Along

We are nearing the end of the Paschal season. This is a little bittersweet. Since the girls are so tied up with ballet during the week, I'm not sure if we'll be able to do our Ascension Day picnic, but we are going to try. At least, we'll get some kite flying done.

Last week was our second annual homeschool teen dance, and we had a lot of work to do. It was so much fun, though, and the kids had a great time. I voluntold Rich to make a pineapple palm tree, since our theme was beach bash, and he did an amazing job - definitely a Pinterest win.




Because of all the necessary preparations and also a field trip that became much more complicated when Rich was called back to work for a meeting, there was a lot of meal shuffling. So there are repeats this week. Another thing we didn't realize until Thursday was that all of our babysitting kids were going to the dance. We had a quick confab and decided that Jerome and Yasmina were probably old enough and responsible enough to take care of their siblings and the house for six hours. Their older brothers and sister had done so at their ages, and there wasn't even a baby in the house now. Both Jerome and Yasmina told us they thought they could do it and wanted the chance to try. They did a fine job.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Fried Egg and Cheese English Muffin Sandwiches, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Chorizo Burritos, Salsa, Guacamole, Sour Cream, Fruit Plate
• Monday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs, Toast, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Teriyaki Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry, Rice
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Pancakes with Raspberry Amaretto Preserves, Sliced Oranges, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Spring Vegetable and Beef Stew, Dilled Egg Noodles, Fruit Plate
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Ful, Harissa, Sliced Cantaloupe, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Black Bean and Corn Salad with Diced Avocado and Tortilla Chips, Fruit Platter
• Thursday - Ascension Day
  Breakfast: Fried Halloum, Toast, Olives, Sliced Cucumbers, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Chicken Salad with Bacon and Gorgonzola Sandwiches on Croissants, Pickled Vegetables, Fruit Salad, Strawberry Fluffy Cloud Dessert
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast with Honey, Fruit, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Crisp Potato and Lentil Cakes with Vegetable Veloute, Salad, Fruit Plate
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Sausage and Egg Breakfast Casserole, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Cottage Pie, Salad, Fruit Plate

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

Labels: Ascension, Church Year, Family, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Tales from the Kitchen

Look what is for sale on Ravelry! Amira was published this morning, and is available for sale!


Go check it out, and favorite, queue, and buy it! Then make your own!

Labels: Design, Homemaking, Knitting, Patterns

This post was supposed to be ready last week, but I was so busy having fun on our trip, that I never got to it. I decided to be reasonable and only bring four projects for a six day trip. Because finishing a shawl, a hat, a kerchief, and a pair of slippers in less than six days is totally doable. One of the hat patterns got cut and had to stay home. Ventus, Brume, Mariam, and Nejat's hunicorn slippers came along. Amira was also there for photography. I figured I had a beach, ocean, and fancy hotel, I ought to use them.



She should be published by the end of the day tomorrow, so long as I hit no snafus with the interwebs and technology. If you want to receive the only coupon for Amira, subscribe to my newsletter, 1,001 Knits. I'm going to try to step it up and do it bi-monthly, if not once a month. My subscribers will always get the best coupons and earliest news of any of my followers.


Since I was traveling, I did visit one yarn shop. I picked up some fingering yarn, the gradient set you see there as well as two different colors of a wool and linen blend. I'm thinking of using the deep heather and the cream to make some colorwork mittens or a hat. There were two within reasonable driving distance, but this one was closer, and as I said, I was really kept busy with conference events and fun things to do with Rich and other members.


The only thing I have left to do on Nejat's slippers is do the puffy paint on the soles, but I am counting it finished aside from that. I did get a few pages into Messenger of Truth, while on the trip, but that's it.

Labels: Books, Design, Family, Homemaking, Knitting, Yarn, Yarn Along

We had a fabulous trip last week! In fact, while we were down there, we went to church at the cathedral and found out that the diocesan ladies' retreat was that weekend, rather than the weekend before, as I had thought, and they made room for me, and we changed my return flight so I could go. It was wonderful!

I love Southern California's climate and landscape. If it weren't for the tax burden, the high cost of living, the social/political environment, I'd move back. That's a lot of qualifications, but it tells you how much it tempts me. I was born in Los Angeles, and it was a return to my birthplace. It's kind of a thing for Pacific Northwesterners to despise California, and especially Southern California, but I love it. And even though it doesn't draw Rich like it does me, he told me that California looked amazing on me. The coastal air, the sun, all of it made my skin and hair very happy. Home is where my family is, though, and it was great to be back with Rich and my kids. The frost this morning on the ground made me wish I was back in California, though.

When I came home, Rich had hung up my clothes and put away most of my things from the part of our trip together. Since I had been traveling for more than a week and eating out for every meal, I didn't want to go out for Mother's Day, so Rich made me a lovely brunch (we got home from the airport around 1:00 a.m., and didn't go to the morning liturgy, just the evening one), then after church in the evening, he grilled up a ton of food (with no leftovers!) and we roasted marshmallows over the fire pit that the kids built. The kids did pretty well with the meals while we were gone. Unfortunately, more than half of our kids got sick, possibly from dehydration, while we were gone. Aside from them needing to rest and recover, there were definitely meals that weren't made, so we're making them this week. Rich made some different meals than I had planned, since I didn't come home Thursday night with him as we initially planned, and there are some of those to make, too. We also have a birthday this week. Nejat turns four! I can't believe how much she has grown and how much she can say and do now. It was such a hard beginning, and you would never know it now.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Pastrami, Spinach, Tomato, and Cheese Omelets, Oranges, Almond Roca Mochas
  Dinner: Mixed Grill of Garlic Gruyere Sausages with Sauerkraut, Hamburgers and Onions, Tri-Tip, Lobster Tails (for me and Rich) and Asparagus with Lemon Butter, Roasted Marshmallows
• Monday
  Breakfast: Buttered Crumpets, Peanut Butter Toast, Oranges, Coffee
  Dinner: Tortilla Casserole, Guacamole, Sour Cream, Frozen Strawberry Rhubarb Bars
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Pancakes with Raspberry Amaretto Preserves, Sliced Oranges, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Greek Style Lamb Shoulder, Laban bi Chiyar, Harissa, Simple Rice Pilaf, Khoubz Araby (Pita Bread), Hummus, Middle Eastern Chopped Salad, Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Fried Halloum, Toast, Olives, Sliced Cucumbers, Fruit, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Lemon Butter Pasta with Sardines, Garlic Bread, Spinach Salad, Fruit Plate
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Sausage and Egg Breakfast Casserole, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Spring Vegetable and Beef Stew, Dilled Egg Noodles, Fruit Plate
• Friday
  Breakfast: Hard Boiled Eggs, Toast, Fruit, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Crisp Potato and Lentil Cakes with Vegetable Veloute, Salad, Fruit Plate
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Chorizo Breakfast Casserole, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Cottage Pie, Salad, Fruit Plate

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

Labels: Birthday, Church Year, Family, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Tales from the Kitchen

I'm posting this a little early to give my kids and our friends staying at our house a chance to look at it ahead of time and plan what needs to be gotten out of the freezer, or prepped in advance. We are so grateful to such great friends who move into our house, look after our kids as their own, and do all the school work supervising, ferrying and schedule arranging to make sure our kids get where they need to be while we are gone.

In the meantime, Rich and I will be spending part of this week in Long Beach. He has a work conference, and I will be on vacation. We will also be close enough to Saint Michael's Cathedral to attend there, which thrills me to pieces. There are a few yarn shops I want to visit, but my schedule as a spouse on this trip is actually pretty full. I don't have to go to all the spouse events, we paid for my guest registration so I could go to the evening events, really, but I may be doing some of the site seeing stuff just to get a lot of knitting on the bus time.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Blueberry Lemon Buckle, Bacon, Bananas, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Chili Casserole with Chopped Red Onion, Sour Cream, Cheese, Avocado, Serranos and Cilantro, Cornbread, Fruit
• Monday
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Raisins and Brown Sugar, Fruit, Milk & Coffee
  Dinner: Greek Lemon, Chicken & Spinach Phyllo Pie (made with a touch more chicken, lemon zest, more scallions, and, of course, the spinach instead of kale), Roasted Asparagus, Marinated Cucumbers and Onions, Fruit Plate
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Roasted Red Pepper and Onion Sausage, Egg and Cheese English Muffins, Fruit, Milk & Coffee
  Dinner: Slow Cooked Chuck Roast, Baked Potatoes, Sliced Peppers, Tomatoes and Cucumbers
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Fried Halloum, Toast, Olives, Sliced Cucumbers, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Spinach Egg Puff (using leftover spinach filling from freezer), French Bread, Roasted Asparagus, Fruit Plate
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Chilaquiles, Salsa, Sliced Oranges, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Spring Vegetable and Beef Stew, Dilled Egg Noodles, Fruit Plate
• Friday
  Breakfast: Hard Boiled Eggs, Toast, Fruit, Milk & Coffee
  Dinner: Crisp Potato and Lentil Cakes with Vegetable Veloute, Salad, Fruit Plate
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Blintz Casserole with Sour Cream and Raspberry Amaretto Preserves, Bacon, Milk & Coffee
  Dinner: Tray Kofta with Potatoes and Tomatoes, Harissa, Saffron Rice, Middle Eastern Chopped Salad, Gatayif

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

Labels: Church Year, Family, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Tales from the Kitchen

Do you buy those as unicorn ears? Rich thinks they are too small, but I was worried if I made them bigger, they would be floppy.

Amira is back from my technical editor's for the final edit, and should be published by the middle to the end of May! I just sent out a design proposal for a winter magazine also. The MadMay projects are on needles and ready for some travel knitting. If the magazine doesn't take my pattern, I will put that out in November, too, maybe with a third, related, pattern as a trio.

Rich and I have a trip coming up to Long Beach, and I am packing my knitting, of course. The shawl and hat for Mad May are coming, as is a design I've had on the back burner for some time that is almost finished, and another that I submitted to a yarn company a year ago that I'm working on for self-publication at the end of this year. Then I realized that I didn't have any knitting for Sunday, as I try not to do any work knitting (or pattern editing, newsletter writing, and so on) on Sundays. So, I decided that if I don't finish Nejat's hunicorn slippers before the end of this week, they will come with me, and if not, I have a vest I want to start for Dominic. We aren't going to be gone for more than six days, but you never know what you might finish or what might go wrong in that time. It's always better to be prepared. I'm so excited that we get to go to church at the cathedral again, and we'll be driving enough that I want my knitting ready. This time, we're going without the kids, and our wonderful friends are coming to stay with them and take care of most of the rides people need.

I actually did some reading this week! Not too much, mind you, I only finished a chapter in Messenger of Truth, but I did get to read for pleasure, which has been a rare treat lately.



Linking to Craft Love Link Party.

Labels: Books, Design, Family, Homemaking, Knitting, Yarn Along