Family Time

Daniel is pretty much done with his semester. He did an amazing job juggling all the papers he had to write or grade and all the tests he created and graded. It is so nice to have him around again. After several months of very long days and 6 day work weeks we now have about a month to take a little break and enjoy more family time. We also have a list of house projects that we want to start tackling although we are trying to be realistic about how much will actually get done. Daniel finished putting up the crown molding yesterday while I worked on removing old wallpaper in the bathroom. Some other projects we hope to get to are sanding and painting house/deck, removing old carpet and sanding hardwoods underneath, painting bathroom, knocking down walls, etc.


Since he doesn't have to rush off to campus, Daniel is enjoying long walks with Jay and the girls in the mornings, extended imaginary play times in the playroom, gardening, and yesterday he took the girls to their art museum class. Today we spent the first half of the day just playing around in the backyard.
This is a view from Arianna's perspective.
Enjoying the beauty of a fire.
Nutcrackers and bird watching

"The hawks wings were this big."





This broccoli has been growing since september.

Garlic that will be ready in spring. I planted about 30 cloves. Greens coming along behind the garlic. In the picture below they are putting up frames to make it easier to cover the potatoes when it gets too cold.


I have become addicted to crocheting. I learned the basic stitch from my grandmother a long, long time ago. Then I starting knitting a few years ago. A few months ago I started a blanket for Alder but I never could get it to look right. I have a very hard time reading patterns! Sorry to say that I gave up on that and ripped it out and now I'm using the yarn to make shawls for the girls. I'm also making a few little presents for Christmas. I carry around my little bag of yarn everywhere I go these days slowly working my way through these projects.