a year in review

I did it... I finished phase one of my boy-gift project. The photo album for 2005 came out really, really well, if I do say so myself, and I am pleased to have at least one year done and organized. I highly recommend Picaboo. I had trouble ordering the album due to the very high traffic on their site today, and a live person who actually lives and works in this country very patiently and kindly walked me through various fixes until I was able to complete the order. With humor! And friendliness! And did I mention patience?

The high volume of traffic was due to the fact that they were running a "buy one, get one free" promotion. This applied no matter how many you purchased. I was so fired up about getting four albums for the price of two (as well as getting one year under my belt) that I decided that I would try to whip out another one before the offer expired at midnight tonight. After all, I had figured out the program at this point, right? And I knew how to work it that much more quickly, right? Never mind that I estimate it took me about 25 hours to complete the first one. I am nothing if not completely delusional about time.

I went to upload the photos from last year -- because I discovered that it is hard to work too far back, and I was resolved to start each year as soon as it was finished, due to this memory problem I am having that only seems to be getting worse by the day. I quickly discovered, however, we had taken very few photos in 2008.

In fact, entire months had elapsed with only a minimal amount of shots. Of those, many consisted of photo-journals shot by Terzo as he walked around the house. A representative sample (from one day alone, and this is just a sample of that particular set):

The vast remainder were, unfortunately, taken by me -- but only to document certain events for this here blog. Turns out blogging is really, really bad in this regard. As fascinating as random pictures of knitting, sandwiches and sheep may be, they don't really lend themselves to creating a quality photo album chock-full of cherished family memories.

Who you gonna call in such dire circumstances?

Your family, of course. Thank goodness for my parents and sister-in-law faithfully snapping away at every piano recital, birthday party and family get-together. Right now, they are the only thing standing between me and photo album disaster. Not to mention that whole "mother of the year" award thing, and we all know how doomed I am on that particular account.

tally ho

Today was a red letter (or perhaps I should say yellow vest) day for Primo. Today Harry and he rode in a proper foxhunt. Well, I supposed technically speaking Primo was the only one that rode as Harry was in charge of carrying him.

I say it was a yellow vest day for Primo because his riding instructor was most insistent that he be wearing a canary yellow vest today as part of the required formal riding dress. Unfortunately she sprang this requirement on me with less than one week's notice. (She started out by asking Primo what colors of sweater vests he had in his wardrobe, to which he replied in a very cold tone, "I don't wear sweater vests.")

Guess where I came up with a yellow vest? That's right, my favorite store. It wasn't quite the right color -- more of a lemon, actually -- but, by God, it was a yellow vest that fit the kid, and the fact that it only cost $3 made it all the more perfect.

Here he is, modelling the yellow vest:

What's that you say? You can't see the yellow vest under his jacket? He was pretty pleased about that fact, although he did end up appreciating the extra layer given the chilly, windy weather. He will never, ever admit that the darn thing actually came in handy, while we all had the satisfaction of knowing that he was quite proper, even if no one could tell.

It actually was a cool thing to watch, at least at the beginning as they set out with the hounds.

After the initial excitement, though, it was a whole bunch of hurry up and wait. Actually, it was a whole bunch of take cell phone calls from the trainer about where they may possibly appear in the next ten minutes while driving over muddy unpaved roads in a more or less futile search for a random glimpse of them.

To give you an idea, here is the closest we got. Even this sighting was quite fortunate. I have helpfully marked out Primo and a hound for you. The only reason we knew it was our son was because he was on the tallest horse. That, and the fact that his vest was lemon yellow instead of the canary yellow that every one else was wearing.

We finally threw in the towel and headed back to the hunt club's headquarters to wait. Two and half hours after the hunt started, we saw the hounds coming down the road, a bit less enthusiastic than at the beginning.

Primo wasn't far behind.

You may not be able to see it, but that tight little grin on his face means -- in the world of a fourteen year old boy -- that he had really good time and he can't wait to go out again. I've gotten quite proficient at these sorts of translations lately.

happy turkey day

Best thanksgiving wishes to all. I hope you have many things about which to be thankful; I know I do.

Enjoy your turkey dinner!

new obsession

I know it will come as a complete and total shock to my friends, family and readers, but I have a dirty little secret. (Well, apparently one of many, as yesterday's post demonstrated.) I am easily obsessed. Once I get ahold of a new one, whoa Nelly. All bets are off until I get it out of my system.

Today's obsession? This.

Every year, I try to make something for my kids for Christmas. Far from making my holidaze more stressful, I have found that it actually serves as a much-needed pressure valve and puts some meaning (for me) back into this overly-commercialized extravaganza. I usually sew or knit something simple. They have been highly appreciative of my simple efforts: think John Deere flannel sleep pants, Giants pillow shams, knit balaclavas. But this year, I am all out of handcrafted ideas.

Thank goodness I came up with another one today. I am going to make them photo albums using Picaboo. Right now our photos are either (1) in a box in the attic (pre-digital camera) or (2) in a folder on my computer (post-digital camera). My goal is to get them into photo albums, with a copy for each kid so they have their own when they (sob!!!!) leave home. I am so behind on photo albums that I calculate it will take me about 10 years to catch up, even if I do two years per Christmas.

Picaboo came highly recommended by a friend, who had used it to make a vacation album, and so far I agree with her. It is scrapbooking for people who can't be bothered with fancy paper, scissors and stickers. I can't seem to stop... I keep thinking "just one more set of pages"...

Sound familiar, knitters? In my defense, the Infinity Scarf is almost done. Now, if I can just tear myself away from the photo album to cast off.

ode to my favorite store

Thrift store, how do I love thee?

Let me count the ways.

You provide me with five new (to me) pairs of pants in my size,

In brands that I like,

For $42.

And lo, though I will eventually get sheep poop and dog mud on each and every pair,

I will not overly mind.

For I can always return the tired, the stained, the holey to you,

And you will provide me with a wide selection of new (to me) pairs

While saving me from the horrors of the dressing room mirror,

And the mall parking lot.

let the holiday knitting commence

It's that time of year again... the time of year when thoughts turn to hand-crafted gifts for everyone on my list, maybe even two per person, because how can I give just the scarf when I know a hat pattern that would go perfectly with it? I am trying to maintain some level of sanity, but given the fact that I still have over a month until the big day (technically speaking) I am not doing so well.

First up: 5th Avenue Infinity Scarf, out of Jaggerspun Superlamb (a washable merino) in Curry.

I had to alter the pattern a bit, because 241 stitches is just a bit too long, especially for the petite recipient it is intended for. Once I cut back to 201 stitches and got the darn stitch pattern established, it is flying along. I am over halfway done. I had planned to finish it by tonight but that won't be happening. Let the holiday delusions begin while we are at it!

delivery truck

I love old farm wagons and trucks, especially delivery vehicles. You don't see them very often, at least not in our neck of the woods, but every once in a while they show up at farm fairs. There is a wonderfully unique example at the George Washington Carver exhibit: a wagon he took around to local farmers in the south to explain good farming practices, such as the use of manure and legumes to replenish the soil -- I didn't know he was a father of organic farming practices. Scroll down a little on the link above and you can see a picture of it.

Today I transformed my plain-jane minivan into a farm delivery truck. One of our lamb customers, who is also a dear friend from our days in Pennsylvania, buys a whole lamb's worth of meat every year from us. Several members of her family are allergic to poultry and so no turkey for them! Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of the crown roast they will be eating for Thanksgiving -- it was truly a thing of beauty; my kids were hugely disappointed in me; you know your kids have a very different frame of mind when they complain that you neglected to show them a particular cut of meat -- before I packed all the various butcher-paper packages up into boxes lined with ice packs, wrapped them all in a comforter, and drove with the AC on to meet her halfway between our house and hers.

Besides her invaluable support of our little farming venture, I also appreciate the fact that this arrangement gives us at least one chance every year to see each other in person and have a cup of coffee together. The same function had to have been served by the old delivery vehicles as well -- a chance to get off the farm and visit with other people, not to mention the deep satisfaction produced by seeing the fruits of your labor provide sustenance to others.