31 Days: Day 1 and 2

Wouldn't it be interesting to see how someone else lives their life for a full month? Yes it would, so you can do it here. For the month of October I'll be posting about how each day goes, as best I can remember, and counting on each of you to find it interesting and awe-inspiring. Here goes.

Saturday, October 1
The three of us slept in quite a bit and then got a call from my Grandpa saying he'd like to come visit. We agreed on 3pm (he lives in Niagara Falls) and then I got cleaning. Straightened up all our rooms, collected garbages from the house because pick up day was coming up, and threw in a load of laundry.
Around lunch Calvin left to get gas for the lawn mower. I warmed up a bowl of rice & lentils and had a quiet lunch in the kitchen. I started reading a book (Pastoralia by George Saunders) but then remembered that I am nearly done crocheting a short grey scarf so I got to doing that.
Next thing I knew Grandpa arrived so I gave him a tour of our place (nerve-wracking - the guy is a successful cabinetry and home-building company owner and lives in a nearly-million dollar home himself, with all the best flooring, finishes, etc.). Him and I decided to take Oliver for a walk around the neighbourhood which meant spending practically half an hour just dressing him up in his plaid zip up, blue knit sweater, blue knit hat, grey booties, fuzzy brown blanket... oh and I threw a leather jacket on myself too.
When we got back Oliver was hungry (I was getting there too) so I took him upstairs to feed him while Calvin showed my Grandpa his theater room. They watched a bit of Saving Private Ryan while I made dinner plans with my sister. We met her and my parents downtown for thai food. I ordered the vegetarian shanghai chow mein with wontons to start.
I hadn't packed any diapers so Cal and I couldn't hang out after, we went home and watched the hockey game with Jordan. I fell asleep half way through (not because it was boring, but because I knew I needed a nap if I was going to stay up for SNL). I woke up around 11 to feed Oliver, change him, and be ready for SNL. It was hilarious. When it was over I zombie-walked up to bed.

Sunday, October 2
We woke up bright and early to get ready for church. I think I ate apples and peanut butter and a scrambled egg for breakfast. (Grandpa had brought us fresh Niagara apples and grapes). We went to the 9:30am service and at 10 we slipped out because we had a parenting meeting (mandatory to have your baby dedicated at Gateway). The coordinator told us about the church's vision for supporting parents and teaching about God from a young age. We got a tour of the children's areas and Calvin laughed his head off over a little baby hitting another baby with a rattle. Then we watched the rest of the service on a TV in the cafe. Hung out at the church for a while just visiting with friends. Then we went back to his parents' house and ate turkey burgers. I had a short nap and then Calvin woke me up to drive to Appleland. We were hoping to pick apples and take Oliver on a train ride but it started raining so we just shopped in the market shop. We bought apples, a caramel lollypop, some hot chocolate, apple cider and Cal's dad got a Wayne Gretzky framed photo for his hockey wall. When we got home we made apple crisp (the secret family recipe, I will never tell!) and also made toasted tomato sandwiches for dinner. After eating we put on the movie Hanna but I, again, fell asleep because I'm terrible and can't stay awake through movies. We went home, took out the garbage/recycling and set up the humidifier for Oliver because he's a bit stuffed up.

Autumn Must-Do List

With a new little one in the house I am very mindful of doing productive/educational things each day. Most of the time this ends up being an hour spent at the library, a learning walk around the garden or sharing some time under the animal play mat. Today Oliver thoroughly enjoyed getting to sniff basil, oregano, rosemary, dill and peppermint. He also expanded his vocabulary from "hi" and "agoo" to "ga-ga" so that was exciting.

I decided to make this list of fun fall things and I think you should do them too!

1. Go apple picking.
2. Choose a pumpkin. Carve it. Roast the seeds (with raw sugar, cayenne and sea salt - yum!)
3. Rake leaves. Make it a photoshoot. Wear plaid for it. My sister is a killer photographer.
4. Create homemade Halloween costumes.

5. Clean out the closet of summer things & replace them with fall things. Maybe get a leg up on winter things too (yikes?!)
6. Experiment with crock pot recipes.
7. Make a snood.
8. Host a Thanksgiving meal with friends. It's nice to see family but there is nothing like pulling off the full-out turkey, cranberry, stuffing shabang with a group of your best. We've done it for 5 or 6 years straight and I look forward it to all year.

Autumn is a beautiful time of year to look at, but it also boasts some of the greatest activities so don't curl up and get addicted to too many tv shows just yet (although Survivor and The Office already have me!).

It's Creating Time!

The last days of summer are absolutely made for my favourite things: gardening, canning and crocheting (because you'll need some new scarves, mitts and hats soon!) I could probably include coffee brewin' in there too when the mornings are chilly. Just out of curiosity, does it offend anyone that I drink a mug of coffee every day despite breastfeeding? I would love to know how people feel.

So in honour of this glorious time of year, I have a challenge for my readers. Read through this list of creative ventures and do at least one of them before the autumn equinox on Sept 23rd. Heck, do more than one. I plan to do all of them if my little Ollie Wolfe's sleeping habits will allow.

1. Do some end of summer maintenance to your garden. If you're really ambitious this could include attempting seed saving.
2. Make something DIY instead of buying it. Like these wood coasters (see photo) that my coffee table desperately needs.
3. Learn a new song on your instrument of choice. I suggest Iron & Wine.
4. Crochet a fall scarf. Charcoal grey is particularly satisfying.
5. Host a pickling party. Have friends bring their own jars and pay a buck or two for your supplies (pickling cucumbers, vinegar, salt, maybe sugar and other spices). Or let everyone bring a unque veg to pickle (think asparagus, carrots, pearl onions..)
6. Donate your rarely worn summer clothes. Commit to going new-clothes free all autumn. If you really need something get it second hand.
7. Write a thank you card. Lately I've realized gratitude is one of life's sweetest virtues. Recognize the people in your life that bless you.
8. Brew some joe (or tea!) in a french press. If you're near a specialty coffee shop, a thrift store or an Italian family home, try using a Moka stove top pot.
9. Go on a library binge. It's free!
10. Read myideaofhappiness regularly ;)

How to Make a Homemade Crocheted Slouch Hat!

I learned to knit and crochet when I was young. For some reason I always thought that knitting was much more legit so I did the majority of my projects with the double needles of death. It shouldn't have come as a surprise that everything I tried to make would take weeks and some things would never even be completed. This became evident a few nights ago when I had to call my mom on speaker phone and have her remind me how to finish your last row, because I hadn't actually completed anything I'd started knitting in so long. And that about sealed my fate to forever be a crocheter. It is quicker, easier, a breeze to transport and it is the way that I throw together the hat I'm about to explain.

You will need yarn and a crochet hook. Please learn to chain, double crochet, increase and decrease.

Hi Bethany! (Photo by: Ashley Long)

Chain on about 60 or however many it takes to loop around the circumference of your head or the head of who will be wearing this hat.

Double crochet a second row, beginning at the first chain loop, thus connecting the two ends and making a circle. You will be crocheting in a circle from now on.

Double crochet rows continuously until you've achieved a nice inch-or-so long band. At this point you could tie off and have a nice headband. Or,

Increase by adding a stitch every 10 loops. I do this by picking up the front stitch, double crocheting it, then picking up the counterpart back stitch and double crocheting it. Some people do this by adding a chain loop after the double crochet which you'll pick up next row. Either way, do this for about the same length as the band you've just completed. This will give the hat its token slouch. For a slouchier hat continue for longer, making the hat nice and large.

Double crochet, neither increasing nor decreasing, until your hat is reaching the size you'd like it at. This might translate to 30 odd rows, or more, or less.

Decrease by double crocheting two loops together, every 10 stitches. If this doesn't appear to be finishing the hat off at the rate you'd like, you can decrease every 8 stitches or even every 5, whatever appears to be creating the shape you're going for. I often begin at decreasing every 10, then end up decreasing much more often - every 4 or 5 usually. Continue until you have only 10 stitches left.

Draw string your last 10 stitches together by cutting your string off (leave half a foot for good measure) and pulling it through each loop, from top to bottom, then pulling the string tight. This will close your hat. Tie off and re-tie off just to be careful. Hat complete!

Did something go wrong? Common problems include making the original circumference too big or small. If this is the case, give the hat away as a gift and next time pay extra attention to the stretch and flexibility of your yarn of choice. Also sometimes the hat's inner volume is too small for your head, next time add many more rows and you won't have this problem. I've also run out of yarn before the hat is complete - Tie a piece of similarly coloured (or heck - totally differently coloured) yarn and continue on as usual.

Canadian winters are cold. Don't be caught without a homemade crocheted slouch hat!

Yarn Slippers

Everyone loves yarn slippers. You know, the handmade looking ones your grandma offers you to wear on her hardwood floor? I recently went on a crocheting binge and realized that a pair of these take only a few hours to throw together. I had a ball of recycled grey medium wide so I went to town!
Here's how:

1. Learn to crochet.


Never been a fan of witches, but this is the best youtube I've seen: http://www.youtube.com/user/theknitwitch
For this "pattern" you'll need to master the chain & the double crochet.

2. Chain roughly an inch longer than your foot, or the foot of the friend you're gifting these slippers to. Flip back and double crochet for the full length. This would be considered row 2. Continue until you have enough rows to make a rectangular piece about an inch wider than your (/the other person's) foot. Tie off. You will have a rectangle that is slightly bigger than the base of your foot. Repeat so you have two pieces.

3. With each piece separately, fold the rectangle in half width wise, and double crochet from the base of one side all the way up, then down the longest open side 2/3 of the way, grabbing both the loop from the front piece and back, thus connecting them, then stop! Tie off. Do the same on the opposite short side.

I am fully aware that a video or even some non-laughable photos would make this tutorial one that is possible to follow.