10 on Tuesday

Today's 10 on Tuesday?

10 things to do besides watching TV

1. Knit. I know that you can knit and watch, but sometimes it's best just to turn the tv off and get knitting. The holidays are coming, after all.

2. Exercise. Get out there and move.

3. Play with the kids, if any are available.

4. Visit with friends.

5. Go see a new state park. Since we've moved, we've discovered a ton of new parks. Love it!

6. Housekeep. Sometimes I'm so distracted by what I'm watching that I forget all the crap I gotta get done.

7. Bake. I promised myself to make different recipes more often. I was afraid this weekend that I'd be asked to leave a party that I went to. I had a new dessert. It was delish though.

8. Take a drive. Explore.

9. Take a class. Check out the local adult ed classes or even online classes. Education is always a good thing.

10. Volunteer. I need to do this more often myself.

Dyeing Workshop

A few weeks ago I took a fiber dyeing workshop from Woolybuns.

It was a lot of fun. I'm not a big fan of color- I'm always afraid that I'm going to somehow screw it up. But for that day? I blended and mixed and had a blast! We were given 4 skeins of merino and choices of colors. My first skein was sage green and pink. I love how this came out.

I did a skein in blue:

And here's 3 of the 4 skeins:

One skein wasn't dry, so I couldn't put it on the wooden table.

All in all, great time. I can see how it can become habit-forming.

Thanks, Chris for sharing your expertise!

(Also, as a side note, Blogger really sucks with trying to upload and move photos. My last 10 on Tuesday had 10 photos, which took almost 45 minutes to upload and arrange, only to have Blogger crap out on me...at some point. I thought it was good until I went back to check and I saw what a mess it was. Sigh. Tomorrow I will post 10 on Tues. again. I promise.)

10 on Tuesday

10 things you like about where you live:



Let me just say that I live pretty much in my dream home, give or take a thing or two. We moved here two years ago and have settled in so nicely.



1. My neighbors. I remember driving by the houses in my neighborhood and asking myself, "What will I possibly have in common with these women?" Well, I have plenty. Hubs and I may be the youngest homeowners on the block, but that just means we have people who are willing to help us along the way. I have asked my neighbors for advice on everything from kids to pediatricians. I know that The Boy could go to any house on the block and they'd know him, how to get a hold of me and that he's completely safe there. I love my neighbors. They are part of what makes living here so special.



2. Seclusion. During this time of year you can't see any other houses. You see green out of each and every window. I don't have blinds on most windows and the ones I do have I only use in the winter.



3. Change of seasons. Regardless of whether it's summer or winter or something in between, the trees around my house are magic.



4. Safety. In my old house I never felt safe. Part of it was natural anxieties that I deal with, but most of it was the fact that I just didn't feel safe. No so here. I have slept soundly in my bed with my sliders open- not unlocked, but wide open.



5. The wildlife. Turkeys, deer, bugs galore, lizards, turtles, a tortoise, frogs, ducks, pheasants, fox, rattlesnakes, mice, bats, birds and chipmunks are just an example of the wildlife I've seen in my backyard. I can't imagine what I don't see.



6. Room to grow. We couldn't have had The Baby without the extra room. We would have been able to pull it off in the old house, but why try? Extra room means more to clean, but when you love every room, no need to complain.



7. My library. Hubs built it last year. It's still unfurnished, but has plenty of books. It's gorgeous and I swear that I just breathe differently in that room.



8. Same goes for the bedroom. My master bedroom is huge. I love it. I would love to have a professional decorator come in and change it up a bit...maybe someday.



9. The town. When we moved here it was a one light town. Now, there's 3. I feel cheated (haha). Honestly, I love this town. The schools are great, the people are friendly. So I don't have a Walmart near me. I don't see myself living anywhere else.



10.

10 on Tuesday (This Time, on Tuesday)

I noticed too late that I posted the 10 on Tuesday list on Wednesday. You'd think that I'd be able to tell which day is which, but being a stay at home mom means I really don't need to.

So this week's 10 on Tuesday:

10 ways to enjoy the summer.

1. Stay in the air conditioning. It reached 102 for the second time in as many days here in CT. Our central air has been broken since Sunday. I will not tell you how gross I feel.

2. Knit with something other than wool. I'm using Schaefer Yarn's Andrea, a 100% silk yarn for the shawl. Makes my hobby bearable.

3. Find some shade and read a good book.

4. Got kids? We went here and LOVED it. Pricey- I won't lie, but The Boy had a ball. Well worth the price.

5. Slip n Slide. The Boy also loves ours. I'm still afraid of it, much to Hubs' amusement.

6. Bug watch. We have PLENTY of bugs in our yard- The Boy likes to take a magnifying glass and crawl around to see what he finds. He also likes to look under rocks for slithering things too. One rule- no showing Mommy the spiders. :)

7. Ice cream. I'm not nearly as bad as I used to be with the cold stuff, but I still love a cone now and then. Summer is the perfect time.

8. Take in a museum. Yes, with your kids in tow. Free air conditioning and a bit of education. The Boy learned about statues in preschool and is pretty excited to see one up close.

9. I want to steal every one of these ideas. Personal drive-in at your house? Brilliant.

10. Check up on neighbors. Take a walk, see who's out and about. I like to think that summer means things move slower, easier. Call a relative that you haven't talked to in awhile. Write letters or cards to far away friends. Reach out to others. It's good for your spirit.

F#CK, IT'S HOT!

Central air in my house is broken (again).

This is what my thermometer outside reads:

UGH!!

The 79.7 below the 102 is the indoor temp.

So I'm spending time out of the sun- knitting (silk, not wool)

Dazzle of Dragonflies (which is coming along nicely once again after another knit-tink session) and plying:

I know that I've sung the praises of my Stitched By JessaLu bag before. Let me tell you! Thanks to her plying tutorial, I plied this in 3 HOURS,no cd spindle used either. I suck at plying. Typically it would take me 3 weeks to do this!! You don't need a bucket bag to make it work, but read the tutorial up on her blog. Best spinning advice I've received.