Riding off into the sunset

In between writing articles, and making dinner, we sometimes try to do some creative things.

In order to bring you this post...I've lined up homemade challah (from the freezer), slow cooker leg of lamb (freezer lamb to first slow cooker this AM), potatoes and sweet potatoes (second slow cooker), spelt bread for weekend sandwiches (bread machine is going) and salads for all of us.  I find if I manage to cook ahead a bit, it leaves me feeling less panicked and less likely to give in to expensive take-out, etc.  We're about to enjoy Victoria Day here --May Long Weekend, and that is three days of uninterrupted kid- feeding around here...they sure do eat!

Doing all this crazy planning ahead has given me 10 minutes here and there to do some spinning.  I found some wool roving (unknown medium wool) leftover from a class I taught a while back.  It was a strange small amount, so I decided to use it up.  Then I will likely make a chain 3-ply, and knit it into mittens.  I foresee a need for all new mittens for next winter; twins are growing fast; must be all that food!

In my pre-twin life, I imagined all the creative things I would do with my future kids.  I failed to understand how much time goes into just keeping everybody afloat, honestly.  However, both my boys really wanted their own hobby horses.  I'd read a great book called Rags as a kid, it's by Stella and Linda Allison.  I knew we could do this project.  Our Professor (Daddy) picked up two broom sticks at the hardware store, and we were off.

We had our photo shoot and maiden ride on our new horses (the gray one is a pony, just so you know that, Mommy!) this morning.  The boys helped stuff the doubled wool socks (cast-offs with big holes from Daddy) with some wool fleece that was ideal for stuffing.  The boys stuffed the broom sticks in.  I used duct tape (after bed time) to make sure the fleece did not pop out, nor the heads come off the broom sticks.

   Each kid picked out the eye colors (note: blue eyes for the blue eyed twin, brown eyes for the brown eyed twin) and mane colors.  They cut the mane for me after school one day.  I did all the ear attachment, eye embroidery, mane tying, harness, rein and rosette assembly, etc.

 I haven't done as many of these creative play projects as I had hoped to do, in the halcyon days when I imagined what twin-rearing would be.  There just isn't time.  Late last night, as I attached reins and stitched everything on firmly, I guessed that this project took me at least 5-6 hours of sewing/handwork, not counting the broom stick acquisition, the know-how, and the time I spent getting "help" from twins.  My main work time was between 9-10 at night, when I felt a bit cross-eyed with fatigue and couldn't see to thread needles.  (Yup, need to get my eyes checked, too.)

The best part of all this was to see the boys' enthusiasm, and every morning, they checked to see how their horses were coming along.  They seem to have no idea that some people just buy these things, and that is great, in my opinion.  Hurray for handmade, eco-friendly toys!  We didn't spend much money on these, aside from my time. I could see how this would be a fun thing to do if perhaps I didn't have to make two of everything, assembly line, and fitting in actual work for pay time, maybe if someone else was in charge of dinner. :)

However, my kids don't yet understand any of that, so they're literally planning their first horse race for the front yard when they come home from school this afternoon.

Let the races and adventures begin!

in process

 The last few weeks have been a blur.  We've had an amazing, sunshine-filled three day weekend, which was such a crazy comparison to last year's Victoria Day.  Last year, it rained, sleeted and snowed--I remember clearly because we shot the photos for the Riverbend Garden Hat  during a cloudy moment without rain and both my twins were freezing!

We've been busy with grilling and eating outside, tricycle riding, a trip to the zoo to see the dinosaur exhibit (very fun, but also a little scary) and other good weather excitements.

I'm slowly working on another design--here are some blurry, 'in process' shots.  Stay tuned!

I've also been writing regularly for the local Jewish Post & News, but have found it hard to post those articles here.  Here's one of my recent columns--but you have to scroll down to page 21 to find it!

The other thing is a bit more daunting and less sunny, as we are dealing with a whole new round of medical appointments and check-ups.  Nobody is dying, nothing life-threatening, but I have been spending a lot of time trying to figure out "the system" to address everybody in the family's needs lately.  Whole days seem to drift by and I haven't even gotten to my computer to write, or to knit at all, or...much of anything.  It's hard to be zen about this time sink but I know that these issues are important.  (and twins are much more likely to have health or developmental concerns, it's par for the course.)

In order to cheer myself along, I'm running a sale.  I love it when I know my sale has allowed someone else to afford a pattern, jump into knitting or learning a new thing --all for the price of a cup of fancy coffee... and of course, the small amount I earn allows for extras at our house.  (Extras might include...a gift for the Professor's birthday in June, a chance to have take-out for dinner, or even an extra sack of beans for the Winnipeg Harvest bin... all things that make me feel better about spending my time on the phone dealing with referrals..)

So, I'll let you in on the sale:
I have a 20% off sale going on for all my Ravelry patterns, including my eBook: Three Ply, until June 1st. (ends at midnight, CT)  The coupon code is:

Cankal2016

This sale is to support the Canada KAL, which features Canadian designs and designers.  Learn more here, in the designed in Canada forum on Rav.

Thanks so much for visiting the blog and checking out my work!
 (and stay tuned for a new design--a quick project on the needles never hurts morale either!)