Falling Off My Needles - Mittens

Remember these mittens?

They are finally done. Knit. Blocked. Knitted Liners. Blocked again. D.O.N.E.

The kicker? They don't fit. Not even close. I have super long piano fingers that I just cannot squish into these beauties. It's heartbreaking. I blocked these suckers like there was no tomorrow. Some would even say aggressively, but they just weren't meant to be, for me.

The upside is that they will hopefully make someone really happy and their hands warm.

I bought the pattern/yarn as a kit at our local, amazing yarn shop. I think I remember someone saying that the kits have been discontinued. Here's the designer's blog.

Happy Wednesday.

This Moment

Linking up with Soulemama

{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. 

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Teething much?

Because That's What We Do

I have the flu. The real deal. Influenza. It sucks. It's horrible. I feel like that guy on the NyQuil commercial that asks his wife to call his mom for him. This shows my former anti-flu shot self just how bad it can be. I can officially tell you that from here on out, I'll be getting the flu shot. (I know, I know, the flu shot won't protect me 100%, etc, etc. Please don't leave me nasty comments).

Parenting is a hard job to begin with, but throw in the flu (or a cold or something that throws you off your game) and it becomes downright impossible. My dear husband has been fantastic. He took a day off work to help me out and has been picking up all the slack. He's even been doing the middle of the night feeds so I can get a full sleep! (thank goodness little miss will now take a bottle. I'm pumping in overdrive!)

Last night, Elle was having a hard time falling asleep. I was nursing her for the third time in an hour and she finally looked like she was going to fall asleep. My head was pounding. The 17 pound baby in my arms felt like a tonne with my aching muscles, I had to cough but didn't want to wake her up and my nose was running. Pulling a kleenex out of the box sounded like a truck hit the house (which has happened...but that's another story). She had her eyes closed and then suddenly pulled off wide awake. Mt heart sank. I was needing my bed like I need air. Elle looked up at me with her beautiful blue eyes, gave me the biggest two tooth smile I've ever seen and then promptly closed her eyes and fell asleep in my arms. It's like she knew that I had no more to give.

Isn't that the way it works? Just when you think you've had enough, your child makes you smile and melts your heart.

Here's a picture of another family member that melts our hearts every. single. day.

2012 Intentions

If you remember this post, you may be wondering how things have been going.

1. I have not made cheese yet and there are no plans in the near future to do so.

2. I made a kneaded bread that failed miserably. This was months ago and became one of many moments that I should have photographed but didn't, to blog.

3. The garden. Well, that was an epic fail.

4. And the whole getting chicks idea is not going to happen.

So this year, I'm keeping it real. The garden is going to be a big priority. I'm tired of 'making due' and making constant revisions to the lay out, etc. I want it done. I want the bones of the garden to finally be 'set in stone' so to speak so that year after year, I just have to plant some seeds, minor weeding, minimal watering (this will be another year's project) and eat the deliciousness of my hard work.

Outside of the garden, my intention is to enjoy the rest of my maternity leave (that is going shockingly fast!) and eventually re-enter the workplace with grace.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

That's right. I'm jumping on the homemade detergent bandwagon. I don't really know anyone who's doing this, but according to Pinterest, I'm way behind the times.

I actually didn't get this particular recipe from Pinterest. I got it from the Dog Island Farm blog. I really like their posts and the fact that they farm, smack-dab in the middle of suburbia amazes me.

I digress...

I bought all the ingredients required. Bar of soap, washing soda (found at Joanne's Place - health food store), Borax (already had this) and a tub (bought at IKEA. Originally intended to use for the excess of toys but it's perfect for this too).

**A word of caution about the soap you decide to use. I bought some beautiful smelling soap from our local soap store, SIMPLE. It's delicious - a bit of a lemony and earthy scent. BUT - when you grate soap, the beautiful smell that you love so much can become a little noxious. Seriously, I just grated the soap and I've got myself a scent headache. So, a word to the wise, choose an unscented bar or a scented one that you either love so much that you won't be knocked out by it or be prepared to hate it for the rest of your life. **

Add the grated soap + 6 cups of water to a pot. Melt on medium heat.
Add the 1/2 cup Borax and 1/2 cup Washing soda until dissolved
Remove from heat
Pour 4 cups of hot water into your laundry detergent bucket of choice
Add soap/Borax/washing soda mixture and stir
A 1 gallon + 6 cups of water (1 gallon = 16 cups. Thank you Google) and stir again.
Let sit overnight or at least 6 hours prior to use

Voila! Detergent.

Make sure to stir before using. I used 1/3 cup in my first load and it seemed to work great, at least, my clothes appear clean. And luckily (for me), the soap smell didn't linger. I don't think I could have stomached smelling that soap for the next however long it takes to use up all this detergent. I had to hold my breath last night while washing the pot I melted the soap in!
I should also mention that I have a front-loading, high efficiency (HE) washer. Because this type of detergent doesn't 'sud' very much, it is HE safe.

I made this back in October. (Just blogging about it now...). The silver thing in the detergent is a fallen measuring cup. I've since started using 1/4 Cup instead of 1/3 and my laundry still comes out clean.

This Moment

Linking up with Soulemama

{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. 

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Falling Off My Needles

I have been a knitting finishing machine as of late. This past week, I blocked three projects that have been long overdue.

This is one of my favourites.

This moment

Linking up with Soulemama.

We've Been Featured!

Over the past 5 years, biking has become an integral part of our family's functioning. Kickstarted by my husband (who now owns a ridiculous number of bikes), we have all adopted a 'can it be done by bike' attitude. The only exception to our riding is Old Man Winter and for me, those ridiculously hot and humid days in the summer. I know, I know, those are the days that I should be on my bike instead of a car as cars contribute to that gross feeling, but I'm just not that hardcore and cycling in that weather is not pleasurable.
Anyway....
James, a local bike advocate, rider and blogger has featured us on his blog. Go check it out!

http://aptbopeddler.ca/2013/01/06/going-cargo-one-peterborough-familys-committment-to-a-two-wheeled-life/