Little lamb, who made thee?

After Sandy, they postponed Halloween.  The rescheduled festivities were Sunday night, but it didn't seem like many families were participating.  Just as well, as none of us needs the extra sugar.  We took a nice Martinmas lantern walk with the children in costume instead.  They were entranced by their lanterns, and the fact that they got to carry real candles!  Ravelry notes on the lamb costume.  (The Gaydee the flying dog costume deserves a post and explanation of its own!)

Christmas stockings

The first (ahem) several years that we were married, I kept promising my husband that I would get around to making us some Christmas stockings. Some new stockings to hang in our new family home. I even started a couple of stockings with Hillary Lang's elf stitchettes, but although the stitchettes are dang cute, they didn't feel substantial enough, special enough to anchor the family stockings that I wanted to make. When the baby came, the pull to make the stockings got much stronger. Here is what I finally decided on, knit and lined in time for Christmas.
These are just what I imagined. Soft and substantial and huge. Homey and cozy. I love them-- they're probably some of the best things I've ever knit. Just before Christmas, my mom talked me into buying more yarn in other colors, enough to make more stockings for any other little ones who might (we hope, we hope) come along.

Pattern: Falling Snow Stocking by Jennifer Hoel, a free pattern on Ravelry
Yarn: Malabrigo Chunky (has to be my very favorite chunky/bulky yarn-- so so soft)
Needles: U.S. 9 dpns
Lining: Very nice cotton interlock that my mom gave me, sewn in by machine

PS: Here's a photo of our baby-friendly Christmas tree in action. I didn't want to set up a full tree and then put a gate around it, and we didn't want to be constantly pulling the baby away from tree and ornaments, or worrying about the whole thing toppling down on his head as he tried to pull up on it. So, tiny tree on a table it was (is, actually; it's the 12th day of Christmas, so the whole thing's still set up). H loves to lie underneath and stare up at the lights, wiggling and pumping his little legs. Sweet boy.

The Fourth

There was a little bit of this:
Mixed with a lot of this:
And then some of this:
Followed by a lot of this (for everyone):
And that was about right. I hope your Fourth of July was just as good.

Happy Easter!

Thanks a lot

Today I'm thankful for:


Our warm little home and cozy basement;


These beautiful birds: the bald eagle who came back to the farm to roost on the dead tree in the hill field on his way South for the season and the red-tailed hawk who followed us with his eyes until we saw him and then swooped low in front of us, showing off, as we walked this morning;


My husband's good job;


Bittersweet and falling leaves;


My family, and getting to see them for the Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow;


A big white dog who will sit! from fifty feet in the face of a bounding deer or a nervous mama cow, but who will go absolutely bananas ("le chien est bananes, b-a-n-a-n-e-s") with a stick in his mouth running down the driveway;


The sweet boy in my belly who kicks when I sing along to Hank Williams on the car radio.

I hope you have a great Thanksgiving tomorrow!


(Now I have to go listen to the Raffi song that inspired the title of this post or else it will be in my head all day-- we sure did listen to a lot of Raffi in the minivan when I was a kid...)

Happy New Year! Be sure to eat some money.

So the end of 2007 got away from me, but here we are at the beginning of a whole new year. I wish you all health, happiness and luck in 2008. We're hoping that these collard greens (with cornmeal dumplings, yum), hoppin' john, and black-eyed peas (because apparently hoppin' john is always dry) will help to send good things our way this year.

These are all from recipes in the January 2008 issue of Gourmet, which pays homage to late Southern chef Edna Lewis. I tell you, her essay on "What is Southern?" made my mouth water and renewed my interest in the lives of Southern writers like Carson McCullers, Truman Capote and Thomas Wolfe. January may be the month of Southern food (and authors) at our house.