on my bookshelf : : fall and winter 2013/14

It's SPRING!  Time to share some books.  I skipped my winter post so I have lots for ya! The first 2 are my very favorites...

Shantaram : : Gregory David Roberts
Ooooh wow.  Loved this book!  It is an epic 944 pages long, but I was hooked.  Warning: slightly violent and scary.  But the main character is sweet and sensitive in addition to being a tough guy living outside the law.

The Secrets of Mary Bowser : : Lois Leveen
Loved, loved, loved this book.  Probably my favorite on this list!  A freed slave works as a spy during the civil war.  Awesome main characters!
 
The Dressmaker of Khair Khana : : Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
 This book combines several things I love. Takes place in a land far, far away: check.  Strong and brave female characters: check.  Based on real people: check.  And the main characters make a living by sewing!  Read it!

Fever 1793 : : Laurie Halse Anderson
The yellow fever epidemic of 1793 in Philadelphia, as told by a teenage girl.  Actually a YA book, which made it an easy, quick read.  Loved it, and it's part of a trilogy.  Look for the next books on my next list!


Game of Thrones: A Dance with Dragons : : George R. R. Martin
I've got to be honest with you, I'm ready for this whole thing to be wrapped up. Yet nothing ever seems to get wrapped up, it just goes on...and on...and on..........

The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder : : Charles Graeber
Suuuuuch a creepy true story.  Shiver.

The Reason I Jump : : Naoki Higashida
Written by a boy with autism.  So interesting.  A really quick read. Everyone should read this!

Child of my Heart : : Alice McDermott
Another sweet main character.  Sad book though!

The Winter Sea : : Susanna Kearsley
This one has been on my amazon recommends list for.ev.er.  Not bad!  Historical fiction meets the paranormal.  But not in a super-freaky way.

The Light in the Ruins : : Chris Bohjalian
A 1955 mystery with flashbacks to WWII.  I do love a good mystery.

And my Geek-Out Nonfiction Picks of the Month...
Hands Free Mama: A Guide to Putting Down the Phone, Burning the To-Do List, and Letting Go of Perfection to Grasp What Really Matters : : Rachel Macy Stafford
At first I thought this book really could have been condensed to an article or a blog post.  But it had me tearing up so many times!  I should reread a chapter every month. 

Say Goodbye to Survival Mode : : Crystal Paine

henry's valentines

Here are just a few of Henry's valentines this year...clearly this is not an exhaustive list because we are missing aunties, cousins, friends....

 Grandma Mary

 Grandma Carolyn and Mommy (duh)

 Miss Lara (Music Teacher) - Henry spends most of class just staring at her.

 Teacher Betsy

 

Babysitter Sade - yet another person who will read him book after book after book...which pretty much makes her the best babysitter ever.

 

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

ps. Do you love these valentines?  I finally got a "Royale" subscription to PicMonkey...I think I've already gotten my money's worth.  Love!

snow day!

After a white-knuckled drive in the snow on Saturday night, it was fantastic to actually enjoy it on Sunday!  

 

 The Resslers and our neighbors the Meyrs came over for a sledding party.  So much fun!

 This is for sure my favorite pic of the day.  Ambros is 2 months older than Henry, and they are destined to be besties.  They live just down the street from us and are as nice as can be!

Then after naptime we had some snowman building time.

 Snow Throne!

And now, Mother Nature, the snow can go away and spring can get here.  Pleaseandthankyou.

stretch island winterfest 2014

On Saturday we took the ferry to Bremerton and then headed to Stretch Island for Winterfest 2014!  It was beautiful and sunny when we embarked!

 The sun was gone by the time we got there, but we still had a great time walking down to the water.

 It is beautiful here whether sunny or cloudy!

 Henry got a rock-skipping lesson from daddy.

And of course this happened....

 And this!

 When we got in the car to head home it was SNOWING!  We high-tailed it out of there...and by that I mean we drove home as slowly and carefully as possible. :)  Can't wait to go back!

is it over yet?

January, that is.  This was pretty, but I'm getting a little tired of leafless trees:

And this was nice on Sunday morning:

We've been attempting to brighten up the days with..

Abelskivers (and bacon-duh)

Cupcake playdates--Morann, Julie, Mallory and Phoebe came to visit!

Of course a jam session was part of the playdate.

Bundling up to play outisde

 Shopping

 And shooting lots and lots of hoops.

(Henry shoot.  Mommy shoot. I dunk! I miss. I made it! More hoop!)

We are ready for February, spring, and a Hawks win!

liam cable sweater

You may remember something almost exactly like this, from last winter?  Well here's the thing.  The weather got too warm too fast for Henry to wear it much before he outgrew it (his head outgrew the neck-hole first).  I found a similar pattern on Ravelry--the Liam Cable Sweater!  I was specifically looking for a pattern with raglan sleeves (omits the tedious task of sewing on sleeves, which I can't get to look right), knit top-down.  It was pretty easy and I loved knitting it!  My Ravelry Link here.

Notes:

1. A very effective method for getting a toddler to hold (sort of) still for a picture is the Cookie Method.  The Cookie Method isn't used very often at my house, especially considering how many cookies I make, but it's pretty magical!  Before resorting to sugar I got these shots:

2. I bought these handy-dandy foam puzzle-piece-thingys for blocking.  Easy to store and worked like a dream!  Way cheaper than your standard blocking-boards, too.  Score!

3. I swear I don't sit around and knit all day.  Really.  My only reasons for getting this much knitting done this winter is 1) football, 2) basketball and 3) less sewing.  It also helps to pick easy-ish patterns.  Hooray!

sick days

Uuuugh, will the sick days never end?!  Poor Henry has not been feeling well ever since Christmas morning, between flu, teething, and now--croup.  The only bonus is more Huggle time. 

 

 I love catching him "reading."

 We've also taken quite a few walks to see the neighbors.  Our misty cool days are good for the croupiness!

And this has been going on during naptimes....from my stash of course!

 Praying for feeling better soon.  The only fever I want around is here is HAWK fever!  Super Bowl baby!

jordana paige baby bloomers

OK, after complaining at length yesterday about gray days, I've decided to talk about something cheery today...these baby bloomers I finished knitting back in Nov! I wanted to make something I had with the yarn left over from this project.  And what baby girl bottom wouldn't look happy with these on?

This pattern is called "Bottom of my Heart Baby Bloomers" by Jordana Paige.  More info on my Ravelry page, here.  This pattern was super-easy and I learned how to make a multi-color pattern by stranding!  It's sooo not perfect, but I'm learning to embrace the imperfections in everything I knit.  So liberating!