Ravelry updates

I have several old knitting projects that I never got around to posting onto ravelry.com, so I finally got in gear and updated my project page!  My user name on ravelry is CBach (creative, huh?!).  Only ravelry members can access the site, however, so I thought I'd post pics here as well for those not on ravelry that might be interested in seeing them.

First up is a scarf I made for our oldest Bachster when she was a baby.  This is the very first knitting project I ever did!  It took me several tries, but finally I "got" it and actually made a scarf.  We still use the scarf & it's held up over the years very well.  I love the yarn - Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran......soooo soft!

I knit this easy baby blanket for our now-5-year-old when she was born.  I wanted to wait to start the project because we decided to not find out whether we were having a boy or a girl.  I really love this blanket - it's a perfect size and was really easy to knit.  I love that it's 100% wool, too - it kept my little one warm on many cold nights.  Now that she is 5, the blanket spends most of its time folded up in the closet, but it will always be a treasured item that reminds me of her baby days.

When the girls were very little, before Little Dude came on the scene, I knit them these matching rabbits for Easter one year.  I remember there being a little confusion - did the Easter Bunny knit these for us? - but we cleared it all up & they really loved playing with them.  These rabbits have seen some hard times, and needed lots of grooming & repairs before their photoshoot.  I guess that's a good sign, though - they have gotten lots of play and love!

 
When Little Dude was around age 1, I decided to knit him a hat, as he really needed one.  I found this one in a Harry Potter-themed knitting book called Charmed Knits: Projects for Fans of Harry Potter.  I don't remember which size I knit, but I sized it generously, and to this day it's his go-to winter hat.

A couple of weeks ago, I linked to my first blog post, which was about the 2010 Red Heart contest, in which I was a finalist.  I have finally gotten around to posting my globe on ravelry.  I'm not sure why it took me so long!  I've already received a couple of nice comments on ravelry about the globe, which really made my day.

I have some exciting knitting-related news to share later this week!

-Cheryl   

Book Nook - 360 Degrees Longitude

360 Degrees Longitude: One Family's Journey Around the World by John Higham.  Recently, I re-read one of my favorite travel books, One Year Off, written by David Elliot Cohen (see Book Nook posting here).  I discovered 360 Degrees Longitude when I was puttering around on amazon looking up the One Year Off book.  They are indeed very similar: a family with young children embarks on a journey around the world.  I loved One Year Off, so I thought I might enjoy 360 Degrees, too....and I did!

John Higham is a rocket scientist (for real!).  He and his wife, September, had always been hoping to take an around-the-world trip with their kids, once they had some!  They started saving & planning for the trip and once their kids were big enough (their daughter was 11 at the time and their son was 8), they took off from California to their 1st stop, Iceland, and headed East from there.

The family visited 28 countries all together (there is a nice tally at the end of the book - # of countries visited, average length of stay in one place, total cost of the trip, etc.).  For those 28 countries, we are along for the ride with the Highams.

Initially, they started their adventure cycling on tandem bikes.  They biked through England & France, but when they were in Switzerland, their daughter broke her leg while rock climbing and their plans (and budget) suddenly changed: they couldn't cycle and camp in tents to Istanbul as originally planned, so they had to start staying at hostels and taking public transportation.  This must have been a very trying time on the trip, but the family rolled with the punches and managed to have fun and remain on the go.

Katrina breaking her leg was not the only bad situation they encountered.  There were creepy close interactions with some of the locals in Turkey.  The Highams found themselves without access to cash, a place to stay or food to eat in Tanzania.  Their son Jordan got extreme altitude sickness on the Inca trail.  But among all these bad situations was a lot of learning and respect for other cultures.

I must admit, while reading the book, there were a lot of situations the family found themselves in that were not my idea of fun travel.  Not showering for several days at a time, not knowing where you would be sleeping that night, only eating ham and cheese sandwiches in France.  I mean, I love travel for the adventure of it, but I also love my creature comforts!  And if I go to France, I want to do as the French do, and enjoy some authentic French cuisine now and then.  Or if I go on a safari in Africa, I would want to have enough money to pay for a reputable and safe tour - not scratch one up when I got there and hope for the best.  I guess when your family's safety is at stake, you're going to want to spend the money to ensure their safety.  And on a lesser degree, to see the sights that you came so far to see.  If you get to England but can't afford to take the Tower of London tour or pay the admission fee to Westminster Abbey (like the Highams), then you are shortchanging your experiences in that area (by this I mean to say it would be nice to at least have enough money to have the option to see these sites if you wanted to).  Just my $0.02!

I realize all this is easier said than done, especially when you're not in the midst of a 52 week whirlwind tour of the planet!  Some plans must remain open so that you can be flexible.  I suppose that's part of the adventure!

It's funny, after reading Higham's book and Cohen's book just how similar the stories are.  They visited some of the same places: Paris, Venice, Turkey, Istanbul, African safari (in different countries though), Tokyo, Hong King, Cambodia, Thailand & Costa Rica.  In both books, family joins them along the way during different parts of the trip.  In both books, the oldest gets hurt and needs medical attention.  In both books, there is a previous connection to Japan.  I wonder if these families have ever met (they both live in California) and shared stories?

One thing to mention about the book: the author has linked up their trip with Google Earth, so you can log on and get more pictures and stories.  On their website, http://www.360degreeslongitude.com/ you can see tons of family pictures through smugmug and learn how to plan your own around-the-world trip, if you're so inclined.  Another thing to mention that I loved about this book is that the author goes into a lot of detail on how the family shipped and read books (and homeschooled the kids on math) during the trip.  As a book-lover, I loved hearing about the logistics of getting books where and when you need them, because that is exactly what I'd be doing on a trip like this.  The family also made sure to read books about the areas they were visiting, and the author gives some great recommendations.

360 Degrees Longitude is a fun read on a subject that many of us just dream about doing.  The Higham family actually does it, and shares their story with us in a humorous & entertaining way.

Cheryl

Life at Blacklick

Last weekend, the Bachs all went for a walk at Blacklick Woods metro park, one of our favorite parks in Central Ohio (you can read more about it at the Columbus Metro Parks website, here).  We visited the pond, the Nature Center and took a walk in the woods.  Everywhere we went, there were little critters & signs of life.  The sunny day was such a nice change of pace from all the rain we had been getting up to that point. 

One of my favorite subjects to photograph is dragonflies, so our first stop was Ashton Pond to see if they were out.  We only spotted one dragonfly in the distance, but there were several damselflies.

The Bachsters always love visiting the nature center, as there are turtles and fish and a snake to look at.  They have big viewing windows with lots of feeders, so you'll almost always be able to birdwatch.

Outside of the nature center there is a small butterfly garden.  Even if there are no butterflies in the garden (which there weren't on the day of our visit) there are usually some pretty flowers or a neat insect or a squirrel romping about.

While we didn't see a butterfly at the butterfly garden, we did see a skipper on the trail in the woods:

While we were at the park, we picked up the Summer edition of the park's magazine, ParkScope.  To my surprise, one of my shots was in this issue!  It's a shot of hikers at one of last year's Commit to Be Fit hikes.

Now, my goal is to get one of my nature shots in the magazine!

It was such a lovely day at Blacklick!

-Cheryl

Book Nook - May is music & movies month - part 5

When I thought about making May a movies & music month, I thought about a few of my favorite CDs and a few favorite movies & figured I would split them up on the blog.  However, I didn't consider that there are actually 5 Mondays this May.  What to do with that last Monday?  Kid's choice, of course!

Microcosmos is one of our favorite movies, but this is coming from 3 Bachsters that love bugs and one Mama that loves to photograph bugs.  If you like insects, you'll love this movie.  There is hardly any dialogue in the film; rather, it shows up-close videography of insects in their habitats.  There is a rain scene, and it shows how bugs are affected by this force of nature (the ladybug being flung off a leaf is really cute).  Ants are shown sharing a drink of water from a raindrop.  There is a scene in which tons of caterpillars are marching to who-knows-where and they get in a traffic jam.  A hardworking dung beetle is forced to figure out how to get his dung-y treasure off a stick.

The first time the Bachsters watched this movie, there were shrieks and squeals of glee from the TV room.  I guess it's a good thing there's little dialogue, we would have missed it all anyway.  They were so charmed by seeing the insects, up close, in their own little world, that it was almost as fun watching the kids watch the movie as it was to watch the movie itself.

When I learned that Barenaked Ladies had a kids album out, I just had to check it out, as they are one of my favorite bands.  Snack Time by BNL does not disappoint.

After repeated listenings, I've determined that the band's songwriting strategy for this album went something like this: "ok guys, what are kids into?  I know.....school!  Great idea, let's elaborate on that theme.  Hmmmm.  I know....erasers!  Yes, great idea!  Let's write a song about erasers!"  There are also songs about hand-me-down coats, allergies & popcorn!  As trivial as these topics seem, they make for great songs for kids, and they all have awesome singability.

One of my faves (and a Bachsters favorite, too) is the song about 7-8-9 (or should I say 7 ate 9).  It's so clever, and it's classic BNL.  I just love these guys!  We also like the song about drawing - it's a very catchy tune.  The Bachsters all have many songs on the album that they like, and of course they know the number it is on the CD, so they can just request it by number (Mommy, can you please play number 10?).  You'll find yourself listening to this CD even without the kids, it's so good!

Do you have any movies &/or CDs that your kids love?  Please share!

-Cheryl

Happy 1st Blogday!

Happy Blogday!

One year ago, I started this little hodgepodge of a blog with this post.  It's been a fun year & I hope you've enjoyed the blog!  Thanks to everyone who has stopped by - I really appreciate you taking the time to view my photos & read the posts.

Let's celebrate....who wants a cupcake?

-Cheryl 

Book Nook - May is music & movies month - part 4

Have you ever gone to see a movie & as you're leaving the theatre, practically forget everything you just saw?  Within a day, you've forgotten most of the scenes....maybe one day you'll completely forget you even saw the movie?  I really hate movies that are so generic that they make no lasting impression on the viewer.  So, today I thought I'd post about a few movies that are just the opposite (for me, anyway): movies that I remember years later: scenes, dialogue, imagery, etc.  Movies that are both enjoyable and memorable.

The Truman Show starring Jim Carey is an intriguing movie.  In the film, Carey plays a man who is the ultimate & original reality star: from his birth he has been filmed 24 hours a day.  He lives in a perfect, 50's style world where everyone is pleasant and happy.  Americans love Truman and his show is a huge success.  The only thing is, Truman is completely unaware that he is the subject of this show and that the world he lives in is a made-up fantasy land where everyone in his life is a paid actor.

Truman starts to suspect things are a little off.  He is captivated, even years later, by a pretty girl he knew in high school who tried to tip him off to the truth.  He sees his long lost father (an actor that was let go) on the street one day.  As Truman starts to dig further and further into his reality, the producers are behind the scenes, throwing everything his way to prevent him from discovering the truth.

This is a movie that makes you think, that you'll love to discuss and contemplate with others over coffee or chai after you see it.  I haven't seen it in years, but I still find the premise of it fascinating.

Contact starring Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey.  I love this movie about what it would be like to make contact with aliens.  It is so different from your typical alien movie, though & that's the best part.

Jodie Foster stars as an astronomer who lives her life with one goal: reaching extra-terrestrial life in the far depths of space.  In her lab, she listens to sounds from deep space.  One day, these sounds drastically change, and it is Dr. Arroway (Foster's character) who is able to decipher the sounds to determine that it is actually a message from the unknown.

The real magic in the movie is the actual meeting of the aliens - it is done in an ingenious & sensitive way.  There are so many movies with alien themes and so many of them are the same as the one before, but this one differentiates itself from the others.  I think it's about time I watched this one again.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off starring Matthew Broderick.  This is a classic 80's movie about a teenager who ditches school one day.  Matthew Broderick plays the eponymous Ferris Bueller, who is lovable, charming and a bit mischievous.

Ferris feigns an illness to get out of school, and his parents comply like putty in his hands.  Through some pretty elaborate schemes, he manages to get his best friend, Cameron, and his girlfriend, Sloane, out of school as well.  While he's off exploring Chicago in Cameron's dad's priceless 1961 Ferrari (well, actually the parking attendants get more mileage out of it than Ferris and his friends), there are outside forces determined to expose Ferris' deception: his cranky sister Jeanie and the school's principal, who cross paths in a really funny plot point.

All through the movie, Ferris stops periodically to talk directly to us, the audience.  We are in on the secret and on his side.  Save Ferris!

What are some movies that left a memorable impression on you?  Please share!

Cheryl  

My foray into juicing

I've been wanting to start eating healthier - more fruits & vegetables and less sugary sweets (I'm a real sweet tooth).  One thing that I've been reading about is juicing and how it is so great for your body.  So, I've recently tried my own homemade juices....and they are awesome!

My first juicing attempt was simply with organic carrots.  I really thought it would taste horrible, and when Little Dude tried some and said "blah," I figured it must be pretty yucky.  To my surprise, it was delicious!  Sweet and wholesome, just like a carrot but in juice form.

The next day, we tried a fruit juice concocted by our 7-year-old.  Apples, an orange, kiwi, mango, lemon....it was so good!  I've also tried carrots with a granny smith apple - so sweet and yummy!  Today, I tried carrots and celery, which wasn't as tasty, but I'm not real keen on celery anyway.  Maybe if I throw in some other kinds of veggies along with the celery?  As tempting as it is to make fruit juice all the time, I really want to focus on veggie juices - my daily veggie intake could use some help!

Have you ever made homemade fruit or veggie juice?  If so, what is you favorite recipe? 

Cheryl