Three copies, please

Apparently, two copies of Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar isn't enough for my daughter.

Today was library day at my daughter's school. Each week they go to the library, pick out a book and bring it home to read. On the walk home, I casually asked what book she picked. I was flabbergasted when she told me she chose The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

See, we already two copies of this book. One belongs to the public library, which I still have yet to return. She loves the book so much that we got her own copy last week. She now knows it off by heart. Obviously her love for this book runs deep as she thought that she need a third copy. Now we've got a soft copy version of the book to go with the board book we bought last week and the hard cover book we've borrowed from the library.

I hope she's hungry for storytime as we've got three copies of the book to read.

Community

My daughter started school this week. Our school is at the end of a nearby street. It is a far enough walk for a four year old. Before we started school I had my doubts that we'd do this walk everyday. Actually, I was a bit disgruntled about the whole entire situation. Before summer, I had a conversation with the school's vice-principal who informed me that we were just too close to the school to qualify for the bus.

Driving isn't an option. Not only is the school near a busy corner, it is in close proximity to a main arterial road. It is just too congested with parents dropping kids off and neighbourhood traffic trying to get through that particular intersection. The school sent a letter home to parents, explaining that 85 traffic violations were observed during a traffic study last fall. In my opinion, cars and kids don't mix and I rather not add to the congestion.

So we walk. And surprisingly it is going well. During our walks, I've noticed that there is life on our streets during the mornings. We walk past a home day care that is busy with active children playing in the side yard. We observe local high school kids getting on a yellow school bus. I've noticed that one of the neighbourhood dads cycles with his son to school. The local city bus rumbles through the neighbourhood, picking up commuters heading downtown. Then there are the dog walkers. Yes, our community is teeming with activity.

I look at walking as a way to stay active. Although I run on a regular basis, walking will help to my activity levels. It takes about 12 minutes to get to school. In theory, I'm walking about 45 minutes a day, five days a week.

So by walking to school I feel that we are contributing to our community and health. And that feels good.

Handknit socks kind of day

Fall is coming. I can feel it in the air and also on my feet.

Currently it's a chilly 13 degrees C currently. Before walking the little munchkin to school this morning, I checked the thermometer. It was below the 10 degree mark. Almost freezing, considering the hot summer weather we've had for the last three months. I cheerfully marched to the closet and picked a pair of handknit socks to wear. I chose skews: a fun, but functional, pair of socks.

Wearing handknit socks is hit and miss this time of year. Sure, it's chilly right now, but by the middle of the week the weather will turn warm again and we'll be slathering on sunscreen and strapping on sandals on our feet. Handknit socks will be put away for another day.

But right now I'm enjoying wearing my handknit socks. They are a little treat on my feet before the summer weather returns.

Half a pair

This is my latest sock.

Instead of pair, I say sock. Why? Because I only made the one. No, second sock syndrome isn't to blame. A Raveller on Sock Knitters Anoymous was looking for sock knitters to knit her one sock for charity for a project she's co-ordinating. Since I was between projects I was only too happy to oblige.

Volia! I give you half a pair. The sock pattern I used is called No Fear Sox by Claudia Olson. I was looking for a simple pattern that would challenge my sock knitting capabilities. This pattern involves an alternative cast-on and an afterthought heel. I'm loving this cast-on. It involves casting on four stitches, knitting several rows of stockinette stitch before picking up stitches along each side. It is my new favorite way to cast on toe-up socks.

The yarn I used was from mini-skeins I dyed before summer for a charity fundraiser for Run for the Cure. Since this sock is for charity, I thought it was fitting I use the mini-skeins.

I really like how the finish product turned out. However, I was not a fan of weaving in a zillion ends.

Yeah . . . the challenge . . .

You know that blog challenge I set for myself on August 1? You know the one where I stated I'd blog every day during the month of August? Yeah . . . it didn't turn out so well, did it?

I was doing great until I hit August 18. The following day I posted a post where I was out of ideas. And them blammo! No more posts. Not a single one for the rest of the month of August.

Although I did come up with more appealing blog posts than I-don't-have-any-ideas-so-here's-a-lovely-and-colorful-yarn-photo, I just ran out of steam. August 20 was the start of the week from hell. And this past week I was on vacation recovering from the week from hell. There was simply no wind in my sails for me to write more posts.

So I'm back. I'm not going to write a post every day as that's simply crazy talk, but I will be posting regularly from here on in.

And before I go, here's a photo of the latest yarn that came out of the dye pot. It took three times to get it this red.