NYM

The end of the semester has me contemplating the grading system currently used in the local public schools. While looking for Craig's birth certificate a few months ago, I discovered my report card from first grade. Back then, the marks were "C" (commendation for special effort and achievement), "S" (satisfactory progress) and "N" (need for more effort). In junior high and high school, the marks were the more traditional A through F, grades generally understood in contemporary society. I received only one F--in 8th grade math--and it was well earned. Trust me. Much like the F-word, however, the F grade seems to be banned from use at our local junior high. (I hope to never discover if it is still in use at the high school level.) It seems that giving a child an F--in other words, suggesting to said child that they have failed--is not acceptable in today's society. Think of the damage to the young psyche, the self-esteem issues that might arise. So now we have NYM, which presumably stands for Not Yet Meeting. Although capable and bright, both boys have Not Yet Met their fair share of junior high expectations, one more so than the other. In our house, NYM is actually short for No You May not play video games until your grades improve.

Ben is bemused by the whole NYM concept. There is not much gray in Ben's world: for Ben, everything is pretty much black or white. Good or bad. Right or wrong. Naughty or nice. 0 or 1. When asked to explain the NYM marks he received this semester, he offered his own definition of the ambiguous NYM mark: No, Yes, Maybe?

I like it.

Modified Resolutions

Significant progress was made on the green blankie for Baby K before I decided I just wasn't satisfied with the color. For a baby blanket. I really like the yarn and the pattern and am not ready to frog it. I picked up a skein of the same yarn in a different color and am thinking I may use multiple colors to finish the blanket. I need to think about it more.

In the meantime, I need to finish a non-experimental blankie for Baby K, whose mother incidently is an experienced knitter, a fact that may be contributing to the whole green blankie quandary. I decided on a nice traditional pastel, boring but safe. It's not really breaking a resolution if you're knitting something for the same person, right?

I have always wanted to take a Fair Isle knitting class, but currently lack the time to devote to such a project. Wondering if self-striping yarns might satisfy my desire for the Fair Isle "look", I picked up a skein of Bernat's Baby Jacquards to make a sweater for Baby R.

The answer is no. I still need to take the class. But I did learn something new by making this sweater. Though I understood the principle, I had never attempted a picot edge before. Unfortunately, I followed the pattern instructions, which said to bind off after five rows of stockinette. THEN (of course) I decided to research exactly how to "sew picot edge in position". The internet is indeed amazing. Within a few seconds of googling "sewing picot edge knitting", I found this blog with detailed instructions on finishing a knitted picot edge. I found several more very helpful sites, but decided to use Jeannie's needle and live stitch approach. Now all I need to do is to un-bind-off my stitches (is there a technical knitting term for that?) and remind myself to research a technique before I actually need it.

One Last Snow Memory

I think this picture is my favorite snow picture. It was taken on December 23rd just as the sun was setting.

The boys' ice sculpture was pretty darn cool, too.

A New Year's Resolution

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to finish several projects before starting any others. This baby blanket is for Matt and Amy, and I'm worried it's not baby-like. It is soft and I really like the color and not all baby blankies have to be pastel ... right? The sex of this child will not be known until birth and I'm really bored with yellow and all of it's derivatives. But I worry that this blankie might be a tad boring.

On the other hand, boring can be good. We found out at the birthday party that Greg and Michelle are expecting another girl, and Michelle shared that she's thinking of using magenta, orange, and lime in the nursery. I picked up some yarn at All About Yarn and started another blankie, finished a four inch square, and promptly frogged it. This yarn hurts my brain. I'm sure it would keep a baby up at night. I'll exchange the yarn for some nice pastels, and make a hat out of the used skein.

And I really need to finish Ben's blanket. And the picket fence valances for the kitchen.

Neighborhood Treats

Careful, this stuff is addicting. Our neighborhood exchanges Christmas time treats and I make caramel corn, which is always well received. My addiction began many years ago at the Lloyd Center Karmelkorn Shoppe. While my mom and sister shopped, Dad and I would go to our "secret place"--the Karmelkorn Shoppe--and get the medium-sized box, then watch the ice skaters from the bridge over the ice rink. We would polish off the entire box and get rid of any evidence prior to rejoining the rest of the family. Our secret. Wonderful memories. My next significant experience with caramel corn occurred when I was student teaching at Stephenson Elementary School. One of the teachers brought a huge bowl of homemade caramel corn to the teacher workday/Christmas party, along with a stack of recipe cards because "everyone always asks." Now I could make the stuff myself, which was timely because the Karmelkorn Shoppe at the Lloyd Center was long gone. A quick google search now produces the same recipe (ah, the internet age) and I've discovered that adding a couple handfuls of pecans is the right thing to do.

Let It Snow

It's still snowing and I am still loving it. And I'm on vacation for two weeks. Can life get any better?

It was just a few months ago that goats were clearing this path through the blackberry vines.

Finished in the Nick of Time

I started this scarf forever ago and just finished it this week. I fell in love when I first saw the pattern for the Northern Lights Wrap in the Lion Brand Yarn catalog, but the kit was just under $100 (cheaper now!) and I couldn't justify paying that much for a scarf. Then I got the email from Smiley's Yarns announcing that Moonlight Mohair was on their Midnight Madness sale for 99 cents a skein. The pattern is a simple stockinette stitch with a garter stitch border. I slipped the last stitch on every row to tighten up the edge and that worked nicely. The yarn is Moonlight Mohair Northern Lights and Trellis Ocean, and is knit holding the two strands of yarn together on size 11 needles. The pattern calls for fringe, but I'm not a big fringe fan--too much zipper catching and nose tickling. The scarf is wonderfully soft, fuzzy, sparkly, warm and cozy.