Progress on 101 List - Papermaking Class

One of the reasons I love my crafterdinner girls (and believe you me, there are MANY reasons) is that they inspire me to get more crafty!

Tonight, I attended a class at the Charlottesville Trade School where I learned how to make paper.
It's pretty simple. All you need is water, paper pulp, paper (yes, to make simple paper, you need paper), a blender, a screen and a sponge.

The paper I made may not be the most useful paper for writing a note, but it sure is pretty to look at.

The way the trade school works is that the classes are based on a bartering system. The materials tonight were provided by our instructor and in return, we provided her with an item from her wish list. I just finished Angela's Ashes, a memoir by Frank McCourt. Luckily, she hasn't read it, despite what N predicted, and she even had her eye on the book right when I walked in.

The class inspired me to teach a class. R and I want to teach a knitting class. but need to find an inexpensive way to provide yarn and needles. We've started brainstorming but have to work out the kinks in getting the supplies without breaking the bank.

Progress on 101 List: Run in a Race

On Saturday of Labor Day weekend, I ran in my FIRST race: The Charlottesville Women's Four-Miler.
N and I canceled our gym membership to ACAC. About a month before moving to our new home, we decided to take up running. I was over at our friend K & T's house when I saw posted on their fridge a running program that was 12 weeks long, and was designed to mold a non-runner into a runner. Basically, you start off running 6 minutes, and increasing every run in small increments, and by the end of the 12 week training program, you are running up to an hour. We have been running longer than 12 weeks, and are only up to 46 minutes. But this is a VERY large accomplishment for us. N was a pretty steady gym go-er; I would go through phases of going to the gym 4 times a week at 6:30 in the morning, then after a few months of that, I'd lose the momentum, and be back at cursing how I felt and how I thought my body looked, blah blah blah.



This running program has been great for a number of reasons:
1. I have a running partner who is there next to me in the morning, and encourages me to get up and run, even when I'd rather keep my head on the pillow.
2. It's FREE, and has enabled us to cut the (big) cost of a gym membership.
3. My energy has increased, and I feel good physically.
4. I can go running whenever or wherever I want.
5. The program enabled me to accomplish something on my list that I have wanted to do for a long time.

If you want a copy of this running program, you can get it at the Ragged Mountain Running Club here in Charlottesville.

Baby Blanket for Hattie

Below is a picture of the baby blanket I made for Hattie Rodier.



The pattern comes from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I didn't use the exact yarn that was asked for since my local knitting store had something comparable with more colors for less of the cost. When I started the blanket, I didn't know if Sam was having a girl or boy, so I picked colors that could be used for either.

I literally sewed up the last seam on my way up to the baby shower. I am tempted to knit another one - I hope Hattie enjoys it as much as I enjoyed knitting it.

Life's To-Do List

I was reviewing my to-do list on this blog and have not kept up very well with it. But, I'm going to pick up where I left off, and try to keep track of my progress.

The clothing swap on Thursday went well. It was a small but mighty group and all of us came away with a few choice items. I got some cute dresses from Ann Taylor Loft, and one of them I can even wear to work. There is now a core group of us that will carry on with this tradition, I hope. Maybe one swap a season?

Also, I've been crafting in a group which we call crafterdinner (like after-dinner, but instead, crafterdinner). Working on these handwarmers that I started a while ago. We meet once a week at one of our houses, and R usually brings tasty treats. Not only will I get crafts done, but also gain some weight!

We're having G and T over for dinner tonight. Off to get the house in order!

Can you revive a blog that's been neglected for 5 months? I'm going to try.

Tonight I am hosting Swap-O-Rama, Summer 2010. It will be a small but mighty gathering with wine, lots of wine!

Hopefully there will be some fabulous swapping of goods tonight.

House Hunting

We were about to put in an offer, our fourth offer, on a home just down the street from where we live, and we learned as soon as we walked into to our realtor's office that the seller had just accepted an offer.

This process has been more emotionally draining that I thought. Last night, N and I were wearing our cranky pants, and we were not being very nice to one another. So, this morning, after our latest failed attempt to be homeowners, we decided to put the brakes on this process, at least until we get back from Israel. We know the looming deadline - May 31 - which is when our landlords may be moving back into our current home. But there's no good that will come from checking the latest listings while we are thousands of miles away from home.

The nominations for the 2010 Bloggies came out a few days ago. I'm always looking for new interesting blogs to read, and came across this blog: Matt, Liz and Madeline. I'm addicted. I can't stop reading it. I'm trying to pinpoint what exactly about this story that has me coming back for me. It's most likely my fascination with death and with how the father is dealing with the death of his wife, and mother of his child.

Reading his blog gets me thinking about my relationship with my husband and how I have no idea what I would do in this world if he were suddenly gone. I had the same thought the night my father died. There is so much I want to do with N before our time together is up. I can't imagine not getting to do the majority of those things with nothing I could say or do to change that. Makes me grateful for what I do have now.