Lent, wonderful Lent!

 

 

 

The girls and I spent Meatfare weekend and almost all of Cheesefare week visiting my parents and the newest family member, my sister's son.  It was so, so special to be there with just two of my children, and it wouldn't have been possible without my husband's parents, who came to stay with the boys.  Truly, the quiet escape was medicinal.  I was able to spend time prayerfully considering my goals for myself and my children for the next term, something that the distractions of home would have prevented.  I don't just mean the children's interruptions, but that inability to sit quietly at home, without the guilty urge to jump up and accomplish something tangible, like cleaning out a closet.  The closets (and every other room) are always in need of a good clean out, so I never really have a quiet moment without the vague sense that I'm needed elsewhere. And lingering over my tea in the morning with a good book?  Until 9:30?  That never happens!  

We also got to meet Baby L, so new to the world that his little legs wanted to curl up like a frog's.  I was able to "help" my sister during the day with driving, but she is such a natural (and Baby L has been so cooperative) that she didn't really need me.  Still, it was nice simply to talk.  

My father, the girls, and I spent a Saturday being jostled at the crowded art museum in my hometown.  It's a sleeper hit of a museum, a fabulous one in a small-ish midwestern city, and one that we visit just about every time we're there.  Z loves impressionim, and lingered in the galleries, drinking in her favorites.  She also spied a picture that captured the essence of her and little M; she's the one with her nose in a book.  

While I was at my childhood home, I took the opportunity to photograph some of my father's extensive model railroad layout.  It's a project he's been working on since before I was born, adding a building at a time, and it's enormous.  Each child, in-law, and grandchild has their own special building that he's constructed, based on family inside jokes or interests.  My sister-in-law's family is in the coffee business, so my niece's building is a coffee roasting plant, named for her.  My dad has also included billboards and places that are special to our family.  The whole layout is a slice of his heart: all the people and places dear to him are there.  I need to spend more time photographing it!

As a reward for finishing Term 2, I allowed myself to cast on for a new pair of socks, one that I've had in my queue for two or more years.  The pattern is well-written, and the heel brought me out of my usual short-row heel comfort zone.  I loved the yarn when it was in the skein, but knitting it up has been frustrating. The speckles and colors I love, and it's really soft and great to work with!  But! The pooling!  It's a personal issue--pooling makes me want to tear my hair out.   Still, I will be thankful to add another pair of warm, comfortable socks to my drawer.

And, because I really don't have enough going on (ha), I decided to cast on for the Terra shawl I've been meaning to knit for the past year.  It's the second time I've knit it, but I forgot to add the first to my Ravelry page.  I didn't get a picture of it, and I gave it as a gift to a sweet widow two parishes ago.  I can't even remember the yarn I used.  This one uses Quince and Co. Chickadee in the honey colorway, still a favorite of mine after a decade.  And it will be for me.

Alright, that vague feeling that I should be doing something else has crept up on me.  I think there's a closet that needs attention.

p.s.  Z finished a darling felt Kyra Sarakosti just in time for Lent, and I am working on Little M's birthday crown.  Soon we will have a new four-year-old in the house!  Four is one of my favorite ages.