Three Day Weekends

As a teacher, long weekends are a welcome, especially when the students are stir-crazy with cabin fever. (It doesn't help that my school district was one of many hit by the New Year snow storm that closed school for an extra three days. A two day week followed by a 5 day is nearly torture, because the students are so not use to being in school-- especially middle schoolers.) I hope to snuggle up with a book or two, work on a bit of crochet, and (even though it sounds dreadfully dull) get some lesson planning done.

Who can resist that ruggedly handsome guy?

I have two new books to try, too! As a fan of crime shows (sometimes), I'm a sucker for the Richard Castle books, only because I know they'll be an easy mystery read. My husband and I have been going through my Castle & Bones DVDS at a rapid pace (it's easier to watch one or two 45 minute TV shows then dedicate time to a movie), so I was excited to see the new Richard Castle book available at my local library. Trying to stay up-to-date with the library technology, I'm also trying some e-books, which I can browse on my lunch hour at school, and download straight to my iPad. Mainly I'm looking at new historical fiction, as those are the books that hold my interest most often (and I have to keep my love of history alive while I'm not teaching it every day((Say a prayer that I teach history next year!!))) On the history front, though, I do have my tales of English history book that my husband bought me back in December. Due to its size and the style of writing (lots of short stories) I'm able to read a few a night, which is exciting. So far, I've made it through Roman occupation and I'm somewhere in the Dark Ages.

Pieces, waiting assembly

I'm trying to cut down on WIPs, and right now, I have 2 bigger projects, and a handful of smaller ones. Pictured above is the start of a Huntress Vest, inspired by the costume worn by Katniss at the beginning of the second Hunger Games movie. A coworker of mine asked if I could make one- she had the pattern purchased already, so it was easy enough for me to commit to. Her daughter wanted it in black/gray instead of the movie's beige/tan, which I like better anyway. My "bigger" projects are both blankets-in-progress, and they will both take time. One is all motifs, which helps its progress, only because it can be on-the-go a bit more than the giant eventually queen sized ripple blanket I am making. 

I'm in search of a cowl pattern to use up my abundance of cute buttons, but so far, no luck. Suggestions?

A New history book! Also, yarn

I love being busy with crafting things, and these weeks leading up to the holidays are quite busy. There is one final craft show this weekend, and I am hoping to have some new items in new colors for the final shopping push to Christmas.

New things!

From my fuzzy ipad photo, you can see my new book, all with two new projects that I've started. The dark blue yarn is another infinity scarf- lion brand has put out several new colors this season in their homespun yarn, and I am taking full advantage of fun and new colors.  The lighter blue that you can
kinda see it a third slouch hat, in a similar style to the red one from last week.

My new book is a gift from my husband, for St. Nick's Day & St. Lucia Day. Traditionally, with his family, books are the gift for St. Lucia, and food or candy is the gift for St. Nick. I've never celebrated Lucia Day before


Joining up with Tami & Ginny!

A finished hat!

You can see my Christmas decorations hiding in the back

The focus isn't great, because iPhone photos are not the best at night, but I have finished a slouch hat. Challenged by my sister, I came up with the pattern myself. I plan on making more of these, so there will definitely be more (& better) pics in the future!

The fact that I've been  able to finish this is most certainly an accomplishment, as I have been so busy with teaching, my time is not always my own. I still want to make a few more before my final craft show of the season- next weekend! I think with Christmas being so close, many people will be shopping for gifts, and these have been particularly popular. 

Linking up with Tamis Amis! 

Working

These past months have been busy. My crocheting has been slow. Fusion is a fun pattern, and I'm working it with honeymoon yarn :)
I have about 30 grams left, so I'm trying to decide the best way to end the shawl. Hopefully the weekend will give me time to finish!

In a rare quiet moment....

I rarely have time for crafting, since school has gotten really busy. But here's a new color infinity scarf!!! Hopefully, I'll have more to share, as the weeks might slow down a bit more soon.

Keeping Myself Busy

Taking care of a husband, a house, and 140 teenagers is rough work! Technically, I'm not taking care of a house, but rather an apartment, but still, the idea is the same.  I'm loving my job, though its really busy. I have 7th and 9th graders at 2 different schools, and they always seem to keep me on my toes. Teaching really is a wonderful adventure every day, and I feel blessed to be where I am.

Working and commuting (40 minutes one way) takes a lot of my time, leaving less than I'd like for knitting and crocheting. But, several of the teachers I work with crochet or knit!! I was excited to learn that, and they inspire me to keep up my craft.

In other news, I've found 3 new LYSs in my area. They aren't actually new, just new to me. I've been able to visit 2 of them, and loved them both! Each of them had something different to offer to me as a crafter, and I hope to go back soon. The last few weeks I've been a bit spoiled, as I've had some spare crafting money, and was able to buy yarn I wouldn't normally buy. However, I still plan on visiting my LYSs every so often. It's quite an adventure for me anyway, as usually I don't deviate far from my route to and from school, plus the weekly grocery stop, gas fill-up and visits to my in-laws' house. Some days I feel like quite the boring person, LOL.

Cooking

Living on my own results in cooking attempts. 

I made a type of enchilada this week. It was a Pinterest recipe that looked easy enough. I bought what I thought were all the ingredients when I was grocery shopping. When I actually start cooking, I realized that I was missing some things. Taking after my mother's typical cooking method, I made what I had work for me. 

It definitely tasted yummy, and I plan to try it again when I have all the ingredients.