Potatoes in the Mist

When Eric was very young, I wrote a list of books I thought he might want to read. They were favorites from my own childhood, including Harriet the Spy, The Little House in the Big Woods, Ramona Quimby, Superfudge, etc. Eric has enjoyed some of the books I picked out for him, but his favorite is the Boxcar Children series, which I never even knew about. Written by Gertrude Chandler Warner, the stories focus on four plucky children with no parents (just one laissez-faire grandfather) who use their New England resourcefulness to get out of scrapes and solve mysteries. They're written in 1950s style, very wholesome.

I'm sure you've heard of Elizabeth Gilbert - she wrote Eat, Pray, Love, which I liked well enough, and more recently The Signature of All Things, which I actually preferred. It had a very memorable central character named Alma Whitaker, and I learned tons about botany and the 18th and 19th centuries in general. You don't need to be a botanist to enjoy it. Anyway, I started following her on Twitter, and oddly enough she seems to be what Anne of Green Gables would have called "a kindred spirit." I like how they crop up in the weirdest places. Which brings me to one of my favorite words: serendipity (n.) finding something good without looking for it.

This is the scarf/shawl I finished today. It can also be used as a toddler blanket :)

I've been working on Clapotis , a huge scarf that takes forever...so it was fun to make these mitts over the weekend. Also, E went to a "dance party" this weekend (for a classmate's birthday). He enjoyed wearing one of the pink hats they handed out.

So yesterday was kind of a crappy day. We are having some trouble with E's school. They think he's really smart but they want him to talk to the other kids more (he tends to talk to the teachers instead). Also, he was overtired so he was throwing tantrums about everything (out of character). To top it off, I have a 2-year-old who sometimes throws tantrums too (though now she is peacefully sleeping). So today I got an almond danish pastry at Trader Joe's and had a giggly conversation on FB with a college friend about her high school crush. That is one of the sad parts of being an "adult" - no more crazy crushes. The pastry and the conversation were both fun, though. Note: I put "adult" in quotes even though I am (gulp, gasp, yuck) 38...