The inside shows a catcher's mitt (was much clearer before colored) and a baseball with the note to Ari that Sam dictated to me. The backside shows the 3 of us enjoying a baseball game together......and we truly did!
Take Me Out to the Ballgame
The inside shows a catcher's mitt (was much clearer before colored) and a baseball with the note to Ari that Sam dictated to me. The backside shows the 3 of us enjoying a baseball game together......and we truly did!
And Now Back to...KNITTING
I've Fallen
With your clear crisp mornings,
And subdued sunlight.
You're new; you're clean; you're cool.
You've got my attention.
One walk, and
I've fallen.
So Long, Summer
This is Sam on Saturday after an hour at a party in the pouring rain. After getting soaked through (and having a glorious time in the process), we were trying to warm him on the ride home.
The Peanut Song
Now, once more with feeling!
When Sam first sang this, I laughed. He asked why I thought it was a funny song. I explained that I thought it was pretty funny that the peanut got smushed and turned into peanut butter. He was shocked--shocked, I tell you. He explained the song to me: "The peanut is sitting in the middle of the track. The people on the train smell him when they're coming and think it is peanut butter. They drive over the peanut who does not get smushed because he's so little and then the people are sad because they have no peanut butter." "Oh," I say, "I guess I misunderstood the song."
Straight-Away Pull-Down Shorts
Blackberry Bonanza
We found some on Bainbridge Island at Fay Bainbridge State Park; in fact we went looking for them there because Emily read about them online. We picked over the bunch that were accessible on the beach, but we saw that the road we drove back on was lined with them. It was hard not to pull over and join the fellow-pickers we saw, but we had enough for a cobbler and had a ferry to catch.
We saw more berries on our walk down to the Arboretum and Japanese Garden along Lake Washington Boulevard, but we didn't have an appropriate bag to transport them home in. Sigh. But the next day, we chanced upon the mother load at Seward Park, and did have an extra grocery bag with us.
Though we were exhausted, hungry and scratched, we picked and picked until the bag was starting to rip under it's weight.
And even then, we were not truly deterred until we saw this warning sign posted: Poison Oak.
For those of you willing to brave the poisonous plants and potentially poisonous pesticides, I found a Pacific Northwest wild berry primer. Go forth and forage; you don't even need to leave the city.
Do Nothing Day
We walked down to Pioneer Square, but most of the antique stores we saw were either closed or not our kind of store (read: way too expensive). We stopped in to Elliot Bay Book Company, an awesome independent book store in Seattle. I got Native Seattle, Ari got some sci-fi or fantasy book, and Sam got 2 classics, Peter Pan and Treasure Island. We've started reading Peter Pan to Sam at night and he seems to be enjoying it, though there are a lot of interruptions for questions.
After more walking and mostly window shopping, Sam requested we "go in a building." We were very near the Smith Tower and decided to play townie tourists and check it out. Sam liked the view but was most intrigued by the old elevators.
As we were continuing through Pioneer Square, we happened to pass by the Klondike Gold Rush International Historical Park and stopped in to learn about how the Gold Rush profoundly shaped Seattle.
We paused for a rest in the Waterfall Garden Park, but we were all having so much fun that we didn't want to go home.
Sam suggested that we go to the SAM and who are we to deny the boy a bit of art? When we finally got home, Sam said, "but I wanted to go to Cal Anderson Park today too." Me, I'm hoping for a little more nothing on our next "Do Nothing Day."
What I Did on My Summer Staycation
On Friday we made it to the Ballard Locks. Sam and I are regulars, but it was Emily's first visit and she was rewarded with jumping salmon and the most enormous barge we've ever seen. On Saturday, Ari was finally able to join our sightseeing and we made it the Arboretum and the Japanese Garden as I mentioned before. Sunday we took our last summer outing to Seward Park. We picked more blackberries and exhausted ourselves. It was the best summer staycation ever.
First Day of School
Serious face
Goofy Smile Besides his lunchbox and snack, Ari and Sam were packed up with classroom supplies (tissues and baggies and such), our "homework" describing our family, family photos, the rest-time (not nap-time) blanket and stuffed animal (guess who?), and emergency kit. Did you know that kids now need to take an emergency kit with them to school? At least they do in the potential big-one area of Seattle. The kit consists of water and blanket provided by the school, and an oversized sweatsuit, underwear, mittens, knit hat, a day's worth of food, a comforting note and family picture provided by the parents. Knit hat? I'm all over that! So, I packed up this hand-knit hat, a warm brown number I knit last winter. It won't have any more cold seasons left (at least fitting Sam) by the time the kit is retired at the end of next summer. Here's hoping Sam never wears this hand-knit hat again. Sigh.
So Long, Emma
Even though Emma pestered me constantly to begin working on her requested/demanded convertible mittens, instead I was inspired to design a scarf in honor of her Pinkberry frozen yogurt obsession. To be fair, Emma cannot partake of the traditional ice cream treats, like this amazing strawberry that Sam got at Mora's on Bainbridge Island. (Totally worth the ferry ride, people!)
I'll post the details of the scarf once it's finished, but you will note that I said "design" as in 'I designed this scarf myself and did not follow any pattern.' Okay, it's a very simple pattern, but mine all the same.
Also, I have conceptually designed Emma's mitts, but have not yet knit a stitch. Oh, I'll get to them...eventually!