baby shower picnic

My dear friend and neighbor, Jocelyn, is getting ready to have a baby. I am so excited for her. It is so fun to see how she and Nick are getting ready for their little "bean". Sad for me though, we will have made our move to Ohio by the time the baby is born. This breaks my heart. So instead of crying about it, we had a little baby shower for her. Since my apartment is WAY too small and starting to fill with moving boxes, I planned "picnic style" by the playground near our apartments, crossing my fingers and toes for beautiful weather. My wish was granted, sunshine and a little breeze graced the party.

comments are welcome

So I didn't realize this, but I wasn't allowing comments on this blog. Oops. Thanks Annie for setting me straight. So now if you come by to visit me here in blog land, the lines of communication are now open. Smile.

Joseph Alleman Fine Art

Since my brother Joseph Alleman recently won the "High Winds Medal" from the American Watercolor Society here in New York for this painting, "The Nest", I thought it would be a good time to highlight a few of my favorites that I wouldn't mind paying the big bucks to have on my wall some day.

Nightfall.

Seasons Peak.

Figure Study.
All images are taken from his website where you can take some time and enjoy them for yourself. Because of this award we were lucky to have Joe and his family stay with us for a few days. They just left on Sunday and I miss them already. Congratulations Joe!

Easter romper

Here is my sketch of what I wanted to make Malcolm for Easter. I ordered a McCall's pattern online and luckily it came in the mail on Friday. Not much time, but just enough. I had to make some adjustments to the pattern to make it small enough for him and straighten out the tapered leg. It gave me such a thrill to see it come together. Dave sewed on the buttons Sunday morning and Malcolm got to wear his new Easter romper to church. It is perfect for the way he loves to move and grove.

I love the touch of light blue in the fabric and the patches make me especially happy. It turned out just right, so did his little rabbit (thanks Purl Bee for the adorable pattern) no time to make rabbit pants though.

Happy Easter! Chocolate note: I not only devoured my chocolate rabbit, but Malcolm's as well. He's too little for chocolate.

Malcolm's booties

I finished the booties and they still fit on the dude's little feet.

What happy relief.

I used the "stay on booties" pattern from Melanie Falick's book Knitting for Baby.

The sky blue and tangerine orange Manos del Urugay Stria 100% cotton yarn is a dream to work with. It is sooo soft and the colors are absolutely delicious.
Booties, books, and a bootiful morning!

knitting with mom

This doesn't happen very often, but Malcolm was content to sit on my lap while I worked a few rounds on his booty. How sweet is his tongue? In this moment he is really trying to figure it out.

projects brewing...

I should really finish these booties for Malcolm before his feet get too big. The first one was done before he was born, after sitting untouched for over 9 months I am now starting booty #2. He does have two feet after all.


How about a tote bag make-over for Spring?


I'm going to need something to wear for graduation and these poke-a-dots (from my grandma) need to be made into a skirt. Hmmm...

Would you like them in a house?

Dave graduates from medical school this May which means that our 4 years in New York are coming to an end. Just one week ago we drove out to Cleveland Ohio (where we matched for a seven year residency) to see what we could do about finding a place to live. After driving 8 hours to Ohio, looking at 40 houses over the course of two days, and driving another 8 hours back to New York, my head was spinning and my rear end aching. With the help of our amazing realtor we put an offer on the house we liked best and after just a little back and forth, it was accepted! All this in just one week. There are still a few more steps to go, but ahhh! A house, wow! It will be quite a change from the space we are in now (although it has served us very well). Bye, bye purple industrial carpet, hello more than one drawer in the kitchen! And guess what? It has a porch, a beautiful front porch. Did you know that I love to sit on the porch? Pictured above is the mail box (I think).

Little Malcolm was such a trooper.

This is Malcolm telling us he is "all done" looking at houses.

This is Malcolm after some carrots for lunch with a helping of tender-loving-care.

Oh, deer!

Check-this-out!

I was on the phone with my neighbor and she said, "wow, look out the window". This is what I saw.

How's that for a cool morning?

scrub pot

Look what came in the mail yesterday.

It's a scrub pot! My aunt Paula made it for the clever purpose of holding soapy water when washing dishes. This is actually scrub pot #2. I was devastated when by accident our 1st one fell to the floor and broke. We don't have a dish washer and we used it EVERY DAY. Working with such a nice piece of pottery while doing the dishes sure sweetens the chore.

Luckily, Paula had made a batch of these pots so when she heard of our loss she sent me a new one. I am so happy about it. I love the ridges and the detail on the rim makes me think of pie crust. I am so greatly blessed by Paula's pottery. Just wait till I post about her beautiful bowls.