Half-Priced Elephants

A Welcome Break from Winter Reality

2010-03-03T12:09:00.000-06:00

Hello again. For those of you who live in the more frozen parts of the world, you’ll be happy to know that the tropics are still wonderfully warm. We left the Midwest on a cold blustery day in late January when the thermometer could only manage a dazed and windblown 8 degrees. Most of a day later, we stepped out into a balmy 78 degrees. Lovely! Hawaii isn’t a place

When Mother Nature Gets Delusional

2010-01-27T13:09:00.003-06:00

I was having this great dream just before I woke up this morning. It involved wandering casually through a sunlit meadow, bordered by a few maples. It's an image reminiscent of my early years in the Berkshires, possibly flavored with the peace I find on my property here in the Midwest. There were false sunflowers, and liatris, and some wonderfully overgrown lavender. Warm sun, bright colors,

A Study in Self-Justification

2010-01-26T12:28:00.000-06:00

My husband and I are heading off on Friday for a long-anticipated trip to a warm climate. The forecast is for a high of 9 degrees here at home on Thursday, and a high of 78 at our destination on Friday. I can live with this. But with a 15 hour flight each way and relaxing downtime in between, I'm obviously going to need to bring along some knitting. Something that will not get sweaty or

Keeping Me Honest: Einstein Jacket

2010-01-25T10:11:00.000-06:00

Heather is what Rick calls one of my "imaginary friends." She is a friend of my cousin Julie from her college days, and lives in the greater Chicago area (I think) with her husband and kids. I have never met her in the "real world," but was chatting with her one day about her 10 year old son who uses a wheelchair and finds it difficult to wear a coat without it bunching uncomfortably in the

There Was An Old Lady Who Lived By the Sea

2010-01-22T11:55:00.001-06:00

This week, I've been blessed with a houseguest in the form of my cousin's 4 year old daughter, Lydia. Now, it's been 14 years since I had a little girl in the house and we quickly discovered that our home was sadly lacking in things like sippy cups and age-appropriate toys. We've also been re-aquatinted with the incredible energy and determination of the young, and have had the chance to watch

I miss blogging

2010-01-21T12:53:00.000-06:00

I used to have a blog, and I made it a priority to blog almost every day. I blogged about my knitting, my photography, my family, and occasionally (very discretely) about my job. I didn't have a wide audience - mostly cousins who wanted to keep up on my latest adventures and knitters who stopped by for free patterns. But it was kind of nice to show off my photography, and to receive condolence