Thanks so much for all the kind words from commenters. I am going to try to post when I am able--even if it is just a yarn I'm spinning (that is, a story) and not an actual thing I am knitting, spinning, etc.
On the knitting front, I am working on a cowl and a scarf. These go very slowly, but that is fine, because we are expecting yet more snow tomorrow, according to the weather report! In the basement playroom, I am very occasionally able to spin --all with spindles. I am working on a 3 ply yarn, 2 plies are a medium white wool roving (a remainder from the Brown Sheep mill in Nebraska) and one ply is a chocolate brown alpaca/silk blend. I wind the singles together on a nostepinne, tuck it under my armpit as a distaff, and ply from there. It is a very slow experience, but it feels wonderful to get to spin at all. When the yarn is done and I have big enough skeins, I am hoping to dye it with coffee so the boys can watch its transformation from white and brown barber pole to shades of brown.
We just finished Passover. It was an interesting holiday. We had no invitations to go to other peoples' seders, which is the first time that has happened in Manitoba. A lot of books about having multiples talk about the feeling of isolation that happens, and that can really be true! It is overwhelming to invite us over these days, I guess, and it is hard for us to keep two boys safe in a non-childproofed home.
Instead of a normal seder, we did a very simple "toddler Seder" the first night. I set up our Seder plate, we talked about what was there and what it meant. We skyped with my parents, who sang a few songs with us. We ate chicken vegetable soup (pureed for toddler enjoyment) and brisket. It wasn't a normal Passover, but then, who would want to invite over a family with two toddlers who go to bed by 7:30 or 8? Most Seders don't start until 6:30 or 7!
The second night, we went to the congregational seder for
our new congregation.
It was a wonderful, grown-up event, so we got our aerobic work-out in, chasing toddlers and trying to keep them relatively quiet during the more serious parts of the evening. Since there are two of us, and two guys, well, there wasn't much leisure to chat or reflect on the meaning of the holiday. I think some holidays are just like this!
The boys did seem to know what was going on though and were very happy to eat bread,cereal and pizza when the holiday was over! Their grandmother (Didi) visited in the middle of the holiday, and we enjoyed buying her flowers and playing with her. That part of the holiday was very nice. I didn't clean up as much as I would have liked, but there is always next year...
