I am the worst blogger on the planet!

I am a horrible blogger. I can go for weeks without putting up something new, then a flurry of activity. I need to be better, but things have been crazy here for a while. Our camera dies over X-Mas and the quality of the camera phone pics is not so great so I will be putting project 365 on hold for a bit.

Now on to the good part of the post. I am part of an online knitting/crochet community called Ravelry. In Ravelry there are several Swap groups, and one that I am part of is called Monthly Advenutres - so each month there is a theme and a budget and you make something for a partner based on the theme within the budget. This month was called tops and pots so my partner had to send me a top (hat) and a pot (recipe for a one-pot meal). My partner is from Istanbul, Turkey and sent me the greatest package with a hat, a headband, a skein of Turkish wool, some green tea her husband picked up in China, a package of Turkish drink mix, and a peral necklace/ring/earrings fromthe Arabian sea, along with a yummy recipe for yougurt soup. I think she went over the budget.

I feel like a heel because of the craziness of our life right now I will miss the deadline for sending my partner her stuff and I am thinking of breaking the "secret" aspect of the secret swap and emailing her with a big mia culpa.

Day 6 - The sweater

The other day I came home with a sweater for Spencer. It is a nice combo of beige, brown and orange, and matches a plaid flannel shirt I also picked up - can you tell I'm Canadian, eh? Phil really liked the retro look and feel of the cardigan and asked that I make a similar one for him - a request he has been making of me for years - "please, make me a sweater". So I decided to make one for him, but for the life of me can't find a pattern for anything similar. I think I am just going to have to be creative, find a close pattern and add all the elements myself. Wish me luck unless you know where I can find a good pattern for something like this.

Day 5 - Chili and Cinnamon Bun Cook-Off

Our friends Ed and Elizabeth along with their daughter Frances, hosted a Chili and Cinnamon Bun cook-off at their new home today. It was a blast and eventhough my vegetarian chili did not take 1st prize we still had a fabulous time. The boys spent most of their time playing in Franny's room (there was even a 'playing doctor incident, but they actually were playing physician and Franny was checking their ears, eyes, etc.....think I am still safe from the other doctor for a while) and Cordelia schmoozed the crowd and reigned over the festivities from her perch on the fireplace.

Day 4 - Why We Co-Sleep

Although our bed is very crowded with three kids, two adults, 3 cats and usually a dog or two, this is why we co-sleep.....comfort, security, safety, closeness, and love.

Day 3 - Winter Wonderland

Yesterday it was raining, last night it snowed, school was closed today so we were all home. Blossom, being a fluffy, furry puppy thought the snow was great and she, Winston and yes, even Ranger the Dane, had a great time playing outside. Amazingly enough, neither of the boys wanted to play outside, but spent the day playing with a box that was delivered yesterday. A simple box was transformed into their personal cave/house/club after being decorated lovingly with crayons and markers.

Day 2 - My drive to work

Phil and I have always arranged our schedules so that one of us is home while the other is working. To that end, I stay home with the kids in the morning and go to work in the afternoon. I drive about 25mins to get to work, and pass many farms on the way. I was going to snap a picture of a cow and go into a whole thing about the meat processing industry and fast food after watching Fast Food Nation this morning, but lo-and-behold, the cows were too smart to be out in the rain. So, basically this is what I see everyday on my way to work minus the usual herds of bovines. By the way, I am totally going veggie again - I was for 15 years and only starting eating a little meat in the last few years. Cordelia is a bit of a carnivore, but the boys really only like salami and bacon and Phil is currently off meat too so it shouldn't be much of an issue.

Day 1 - Project 365

I have vowed to start a Project 365 of my own. My friend Kris (Share and Enjoy) and my husband Phil (Philanthropologist) have already started theirs. However, with the demise of our camera at X-Mas, I am left with nothing but my camera phone, so please excuse the quality.

After maligning the cats in a recent (and lost) post, I feel I must make it up to them, Odin the Kitten in particular, by making him Day 1.

Odin is a half Norwegian Forest Cat/Half Barn cat that we adopted when we adopted Winston the Great Pyr. He is now about 5 months old. How can you not love a face like this....

Wow, only three posts in and I already screwed up!

In my quest to make the blog more visually appealing, I somehow deleted all my old posts...at least I can't find them. Not to worry - there were only three posts and the cats complained that they were horribly misrepresented in one of them. Fresh start then....