So apparently, the yogurt episode was an indication of bad things to come!

The boy has the icky-virus.. you know the one? The high fever, listless, cough and chills kind. I feel so bad for him. He has not sat this still in over a year (since the last visit from Mr. Icky)… or while not sleeping.
So, we here at Chez Mama have plans to rearrange and schedules to adjust. *sigh*

I can say that I dyed 60 skeins of yarn and 24 bumps of various fiber for here and here and Spinster’s Fiber (no web site yet… but Andrea can be tracked down here on Ravelry)… some club dyeing was dispersed in there too! I *MAY* have even dyed a colorway named after this chick…
Whew! It was a marathon… it must have been the yogurt!

Just an FYI… the 8 month spots in this club are almost gone ALL GONE!!! There are a few spots in both  the 4 month club left… wow! You guys rock.

Off to motrin down and cuddle up to my boy…

I found a very cool resource in my neighborhood… a donation based yoga studio. And…it’s Power Yoga!

Classes have a suggested cost between 0 and 12.00 … based non what you can give. How freakin’ cool.

I went last night with my buddy of 10 years, Mrs. R (who happens to be the cowboy’s pre-k teacher) and rocked some yoga. Can I say that I am slightly sore today… but feel great!

Before I left, the cowboy had a major meltdown. Imagine a tired, cranky, on-the-verge-of-sick 4 1/2 year old yelling, “I wanna go to yogurt too! ”

Thank god daddy is great at letting the boy decompress in the tub! I am going to try to find a kids yoga class for the boy so he can Yogurt too!

Want to try all different types of sock yarn? Want some sock, some lace, and/or some spinning fiber? This is your club!
You will receive 4 or 8 months of yarn and fiber based on your preferences starting in March!

You have 3 options:

Option 1: All sock: 4(8) shipments of sock yarn dyed in different styles and using different base fiber

Option 2: Sock and lace: A mix of 3(6) shipments of sock and 1 (2) shipment of lace yarn

Option 3: Call me crazy: A mix of sock, lace and spinning fiber

Option 4: Sock and Fiber: 2(4) shipments sock yarn and 2(4) shipments spinning fiber

The club is 80.00 with shipping for 4 months and 150.00 with shipping for 8 months!

There will be extras and fun stuff included in packages!

The number of memberships are VERY LIMITED!! Come get yours now!

There are only 4 left!!!! 2 left!!!!

I received a package in the mail this morning… it brought me to tears.

You see, the amazing Bev posted a Pay It Forward challenge and I responded. She PIF’ed me the most amazing gift…

No Joke. I dyed that yarn as part of the Year of the Sock club.

So…she took my yarn… knit it into a beautifully, and lovingly crafted shawl… and gave it to me. I am tearing up just thinking about the hours of work and intention that she put into it. I will always wear this shawl and remember how powerful a random act of kindness can be. I am speechless. (that is really hard for me!)
To honor Bev… I am also going to PIF 3 people.

Ms. GnomeGarden pointed me to a site that provides free rice to the United Nations while you develop your vocabulary!! Go check it out!

The Fab Jacquie Blackman nominated me for the “You Make My Day” award… I am so touched!

In the spirit of the YMMD Award I will:

“Give the award to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blogland. Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on. Beware you may get the award several times.”

Here is my 10 Things List (you all know I love a list) with links to my 10 favorite blog reads:

1. Lisa Congdon Art +Craft: this woman really is a brilliant artist. I am in awe of her images.
2. Montessori By Hand: Meg is very inspirational in the things that she makes. Great tutorials, great pictures!
3. Jodi’s Weblog:Jodi is a force of Art, knitting, and all things that lie in-between. Her work is amazing… and accessible through her etsy site.
4. Criminy Jickets: Dave is a great read… and pattern writer! Look for his dishcloth and sock patterns.
5. Brooklyntweed: Jared Flood’s blog is amazing… great pictures and insight into his patterns.
6. The Purloined Letter: Harriet has a very interesting perspective on most everything… and knitting to boot.
7. Go Knit in Your Hat: Carol not only is the creator pf Black Bunny Fibers… she is hysterical. Hands down ROFL.
8. Path to Freedom Journal: How interesting is urban homesteading? Very.
9. Insubordiknit: Jacey spins everything into creative, artistic other things.
10. Carole Knits: the eye candy and volume of knitting alone make me smile. She makes Fridays a complete joy!

Whew! That was rough limiting my reads. There are so many of blogs that make me smile! Go check all of these guys and gals out. I am sure that they will make you smile too!

Cowboy experienced his first symphony this weekend.

The BSO POPS put on the Sci-Fi Spectacular and D thought we should take the boy.

Man… was he right! We sneaked the cowboy’s jedi robe into the car and put it on him as he was walking into the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. He didn’t get it at first… but he sure did get it when he saw this:

Boy… what’s a jedi to do?

Luke and Obi Wan

The light side and the dark side collide…

tuning up…

tuning in.

This was a fantastic program and a great night for our little family. The cowboy loved the symphony as much as we do!

Sea of Possibility 2007

Mama and her Cowboy 2007

These were taken while on a walk in my neighborhood. I love these photos. They really capture the cowboy in all his wonderment.

(knitting related content to follow soon friends… promise!)

Our House in Felt 2007

This is our home. We live in a 12 foot wide row home with a 5 foot slab of concrete for a back yard.

There are bonuses to having a concrete slab backyard (no watering or mowing) and major disadvantages (no yard for a child or dog to play).

There is a rise (at least in my observation in my neighborhood) of families that are choosing to stay put in our neighborhood. We have a great public school in the area that is really doing an amazing job and is excited about education. The school and the fact we can walk all over our neighborhood is a major factor in our decision to stick with city life.

I have really, really missed having a garden though. We had a very successful container garden set up on the rooftop deck,the same deck that the cowboy has no knowledge of. We have always been afraid of his climbing and energy to utilize our rooftop yard fully.

So, the garden left us when I was pregnant.

This year we have procured a 20′x30′ plot of land in a community garden. I am so freaking excited! Our family is feverishly discussing what vegetables we like and what to plant. D gets 10′x15′ of the garden to plant his tomatoes. The man LOVES heirloom variety tomatoes.

The cowboy has requested carrots, cucumbers, and peppers. I am all for pumpkins, watermelon, zucchini and squash. Herbs will go in our front window box at home ( I hear that they may inhibit some plants growth).
I know that we have to limit our possibilities at some point… but I have this vision of acres of farmland and us as Ma and Pa and Cowboy Kettle. Maybe “Baltimore Gothic” is more like it. The conversation is carrying us through our gray, snowless winter. I am so excited that the cowboy is interested in the process.

I was so interested in the 100 Foot Challenge … this is the way that we can participate in (almost) eliminating fossil fuel use in the transportation and production of our vegetables. My car gets 32 mpg… and the drive to the garden is about 3 miles. Not bad for city life.
Anyone have good gardening tips/resources to share? Book that are a must read? Canning recipes?

Spring is in the air….. yea!

ETA:

What was that I said about a snowless winter?

We got blindsided by a winer storm today… not much accumulation but it came down quick with sleet.

I think the cowboy will be off tomorrow!

Stand

Patterson Park Pagoda

Tree

Harbor at Night

A few shots from my hood… I am turning them all into gocco prints this week.

I love creating every day!