Cannon Beach

The past couple of weeks have been filled with sunny days, which is a rare winter treat around here. All that sun gave me the urge to get away from the city and to the ocean, and yesterday afternoon we finally had the chance to do just that. We were only there for a few hours, but that was enough. I just needed to soak up some of that ocean energy and dig around in the sand.
I brought the dogs as well, and since Puppy Cow is 14 and nearing the end, this may have been his last beach trip. However, I thought our trip in the fall might be his last, so yesterday was sort of a bonus.
I love living near the ocean. Driving for an hour to see endless water. There is something freeing about that.
I hope to get back in the next couple of months... I especially want to do some tidepooling... but we will have to see what weather and time allow.

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Unwelcome Guests

We caught this little scoundrel watching over our ducks yesterday morning (in broad daylight). A few years ago, one of our ducks was attacked by a raccoon. The duck did recover, but we have been extra cautious ever since.
I do have a soft spot for these masked marauders (I think they are adorable), however, I am not OK with them using my yard as a duck buffet... so I have to use scare tactics whenever I see them nearby.
She left, reluctantly, but I will be on guard to make sure she doesn't return....

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This Moment: Building Forts

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo- no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by Soulemama.

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Yarn Along

Joining with Ginny at Small Thing's for this week's Yarn Along .

This week I have been working mainly on Phoebe's Phoebe's sweater. I have finished the body and now just have the sleeves and hood left to do. Both involve picking up stitches, so I need to make sure I am mentally present, which actually rules out a lot of my knitting time. I normally sit down with my knitting at the very end of the day, when the dishes are done and the kids are in bed-- and sometimes, by that point, there is not much energy left for thinking! No picture of the sweater today-- but hopefully a finished one soon!

I also decided to start myself another one of these cowls (shown in the photos). I just finished one a couple of weeks ago, but ran out of the yarn I was using-- and it was a random skein I purchased when a yarn shop was closing. It is still wearable, but less thick than I wanted, and it has been nagging at me ever since. The sweater I am knitting for Phoebe is too big to bring anywhere, so this has been my on-the-go/ my brain is too tired to think about a sweater project. I am using scrap yarn from my stash (yes!) and am loving how the color scheme is turning out.


Last week I mentioned I was reading The Boom: How Fracking Ignited the American Energy Revolution and Changed the World by Russel Gold. A lot of you were interested in the book, even requesting a review. Well, here it is: Honestly, I didn't quite read the whole book. I skipped about 100 pages and came back for the last chapter. I was thinking the book was more about fracking and its impacts... and instead, most of the book was naming men who own oil companies and telling how much they paid for this or that. I am sure that information is interesting to someone, just not me. Snore. I enjoyed the beginning, where it talked about the logistics of fracking, how the process works and the impacts of this oil boom on the workers and small communities. The end chapter has a few paragraphs on the environmental issues. And the whole middle is like a really boring story of rich guys. Just not for me. Sorry to get your hopes up!

Currently I am reading The Martian by Andy Weir. It is so interesting! A fiction story where a man gets left for dead on Mars. I am completely captivated!

Oh yeah, and Moshi wanted to say hi for yarn along today!

What are you reading? What are you knitting?

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Our Weekend

Our weekend was mellow, relaxing-- bordering on restless at a few moments even.
Friday night I made my favorite lemon tart, and we had movie night, watching Kiki's Delivery Service, an anime film from 1989.
Saturday I headed out to an early morning yoga class, made french toast, and took Phoebe to her swim class. The sun came out in the early afternoon and I happily did some outdoor chores around the house; tidying up the garden, fixing the fence, cleaning up the back porch. All things that have been on my to-do list for ages, but have been waiting for nice weather. Afterwards, we took the kids to the park to play on the equipment and shoot some hoops. They rolled down the huge muddy hill and came home looking a bit like wild savages......which lead to a late afternoon round of showers and a very early dinner eating outside at our favorite Mexican. Todd went to his office for an evening of work, which meant that I had the night to myself. I indulged in some tv watching (Downton Abbey included!) and made some good progress on the sweater I am knitting for Phoebe.
Sunday morning was super foggy and so we puttered around the house. We read, we did some yoga and some science experiments, but mostly the kids just used their imagination to do whatever kids do. Our big plans for the day were to go on a hike. The fog cleared around 11:00, and it was warm and sunny, so after lunch we got in the car for our adventure. And then we were foiled. Fog surrounded us on all sides. It was sitting on all of the rivers and water bodies. And we decide we needed sun more than we needed a hike. So we headed back to the park to play in the sun. And it was warm-- 60's-- in January. Which felt fabulous, but also just sort of wrong. Like spring was here, except it's not, because it's only January. I finished off the weekend with a run to a hot tub with a friend. If all runs ended in a hot tub, I would go every day!

How was your weekend?

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Finding Nature

Living in a city, I often feel the need to escape, and to find some bit of nature, no matter how small. Luckily, Portland is situated in an amazing part of the country, and we have so much access to wilderness: forests, rivers and ocean. Sometimes, however, we don't have the luxury of enough time to drive an hour or more to seek out these treasures. And on those days, we do the best with what is close and easily accessible. Sometimes that is playing on the bank of a not particularly pristine river, or walking through a wetland surrounded by industry. And sometimes, these little gems in the rough are the best places of all, because you can see, that even amidst human development and pollution, nature still thrives, and is ready to take over the second it is given a chance.
Anyways, the resilience of nature was not actually my intention when I sat down to write this post. Rather, I was thinking of how easily children are occupied in nature. If I bring my kids to the beach or a river, or even to a pile of dirt or rocks that they can dig in, they will literally play for hours. Happy, immersed in their own thoughts. Sticks become props, treasures are found, ideas are discovered. In the comfort of our cozy home, toys that were coveted for months are played with for a few minutes at a time before becoming boring. Others barely even make it out of the packaging. This is not to say that all toys are like this; Finn can (and has) played with his legos for hours on end, and books, markers and stuffed animals are all well loved in our home too. But outside, there is always something to find, something to do, something to explore. So on those days when my kids don't want to go on a hike or for an adventure, I still make them go. And you know what? They (almost) always have fun once they are there.  

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Yarn Along

Joining with Ginny at Small Thing's for this week's Yarn Along .

The past week has been wonderful. For whatever reason, I feel like the world has slowed down a little bit and I have found time to read and knit, time that didn't even need to be (mentally) scheduled in.

This week I have been working on Phoebe's Phoebe's sweater. I have made some good progress over the past week (but then again, chunky needles and thick yarn will do that for you). I have just arrived at the part in the pattern where I need to divide for the sleeves, which means I will need to  start paying a lot more attention. The stitches are so thick that I think any little mistake will be easily noticeable. But, I am loving the color and loving how fast it is growing!

Currently, I am reading The Boom: How Fracking Ignited the American Energy Revolution and Changed the World by Russel Gold, which so far has been a fairly unbiased and informative read on the impacts of fracking. I am only about 1/6 of the way into the book, but I do like it so far. It directly relates to what I am teaching about this term, and I try to keep up with at least some of the relevant literature.... I am also reading Specials, the third book in Scott Westerfield's Uglies series. It's teen sci-fi: easy reading and a bit mindless, but also makes you start to question the world around you.

What are you reading? What are you knitting?

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