winning hand

i was very pleased with myself that i impressed g with the word noddy in our bananagrams game this evening. i usually never beat him in word games . . but i have been . . . with this game!

winter birthday

it was g's birthday today. we made shrimp scampi and chocolate mousse . . lots of chocolate mousse. we gave him sulawesi coffee beans from roasting plant, and my sister and brother-in-law gave him bananagrams. however, we were all too tired to play tonight. we ate, sang happy birthday, and went to sleep! (yes, k is missing. she's at a UU youth con in plainfield, new jersey).

morning after

we got to bed so late last night that c fell asleep before she could open her final birthday gift . . an american girl (samantha) mystery book. it was opened this morning with xena as witness.

birthday bike ride

we managed to get ourselves out for a bike ride today. it was beautifully sunny and incredibly warm . . . and the bike path was quiet! so different from the summertime.

it's c's birthday. she's 10 now. a decade old! time goes by fast.

nonno's birthday

the girls and i came up to connecticut for swimming lessons. we come up every year. k and m have completed their red cross classes, but will be doing an endurance class for two weeks. (well, m will. k will swim in the class for a week before FINALLY returning to her beloved city). c is in level IV this year. g stayed home to take care of xena. today we celebrated my dad's birthday. he's 83 now. everyone is slowing down around him, but not my dad. well, he's slowed down a little bit since he had his surgeries for several aneurysms last year. but his "slowing down" is probably equal to a middle aged man's slowing down. he's very healthy (considering he began smoking at 13 years old and only quit in his 60's) and very much a leo.

the birthday: take 2

it was the family celebration of m's birthday today. nana made an apple pie and we brought the second key lime pie leftover from the original day. there were three other birthdays to sing about for the second pie, but they were all for adults and not half as exciting to celebrate as turning thirteen . . (at the end of the table is mr. watt. i don't know how he managed to escape his literary confines . . )

birthday day

m and i have been reading the third harry potter book (it's one of my favorites). we've been reading in the park, on the train, in bed, in hallways while waiting for a sister's dance class to end, and at magnolia bakery, where the above pic was taken.



today is m's birthday and after her celebration feast, we'll watch the movie. (hmmm, well she will. i may fall asleep.) we've had a wonderful day, including a picnic in prospect park and a short excursion through the prospect park zoo. the next book i look forward to reading with her and her sister is the one hundred and one dalmations by dodie smith. i was able to get the 1957 viking press copy that i read when i was young. it was one of my favorite books, along with the lost queen of egypt by lucile morrison (which can only be read in the library these days . . )



at least i hope to read the one hundred and one dalmations! i may have to succumb to popular demand and read arthur ransome's we didn't mean to go to sea, a thoughtful gift from a friend who knows how the series is so beloved.

officially . . thirteen.

february birthday celebration

g celebrated his birthday today. we had orecchiette senza salsa della vodka e con i piselli. (vodka sauce without the vodka but with peas). and m made a delicious apple crumble which we had with some heavy cream. g received a very nice birthday card and a $15 gift card to starbucks. i also gave him one of his socks; (big sigh) no, i have not yet finished the second. everyday i have hopes that it will happen!

church auction items

i knitted up a bag for my church auction. it's the fulled lopi tote from hello yarn. it was quick, as everyone said, and fun. i chose the heathered plum lopi yarn (from handknitting). many of my friends have used the lamb's pride bulky. i'll have to do that next time. i plan on felting it tomorrow in my friend's machine. i'm a little nervous that it won't shape properly. i'm also knitting a shawl out of twist from knitpicks and a beautiful rust colored chilean hand dyed wool from araucania that i bought from downtown yarns. i put off starting it for awhile as i couldn't make up my mind if i wanted to do a feather and fan or just plain garter stitch. well, since i'm down to the wire garter stitch has won out. however, i think it's too wide and i may run out of yarn. i may have to rip out the seven inches i've done and make it more slim. i don't have much time to mull this over. in the past i've restarted shawls three and four times. i always get so flustered over how wide i want to make it. what is wide enough for me is usually not wide enough for someone else. with this shawl i finally felt rather confident about the width, and now i need to check my yardage figures. the auction is saturday. i'm not in a good position. in fact, i'm feeling a bit worried and am very annoyed with myself.
m and c and i are listening to the narnia series as we madly click away. we're at the beginning of the series with the magician's nephew, and we've borrowed our friend's cassette of the lion, the witch and the wardrobe. we would be happy just sitting on the bed and knitting for the next 72 hours, but we have a homeschoolers play of the importance of being earnest to see, and another family birthday. k turns 15 on friday! (and she has two performances that same day. we'll have to celebrate all together on sunday.)