Three little kittens they lost their mittens,
And they began to cry,
Oh, mother dear, we sadly fear
Our mittens we have lost

This week has breezed by but not without its knitting joys.

Little Mira’s striped hat, the last to go on the needles, was cast off and happily worn for a few minutes. I’m hoping to convince the littles to let me photograph them in their new striped hats – just as soon as we find Liam’s hat. He lost it nearly as soon as it was off my needles. We are hoping it turns up at art class this afternoon…

Next I moved on to the mittens which were in great demand. Our weather has been beautifully mild (by our standards anyway) and on a recent walk the gap in mittens was sorely noted (couldn’t resist the rhyme above). The pink mittens I thought were first on the docket for Sarah got pushed down the queue as others were found in greater need (she’ll make due with hand-me-downs for now) . A single blue mitten was knit to match the only one that remained in a pair (the second will follow shortly as hands have grown since last winter). Then I cast on a pair of red mittens for the boy who “magically” has none. And I’ve stumbled on what to many may have seemed an obvious stroke of common sense – superwash wool for mittens! I’ve always been a bit picky about avoiding superwash but I’m realizing there are times when it makes sense for kid’s knits. (Ravelry notes on the mittens here.)

And as for the cardigan I mentioned last week…well, I might give that another few days. I need lots of grace when picking up stitches.

A couple day ago I started reading The Extraordinary Eduction of Nicolas Benedict. Oh yes, more children’s fiction. I do love kid’s lit and particularly this series by Trenton Lee Stewart. This is the fourth in the series although this one is actually a prequel. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed each of the books, as I’ve mentioned here before, they are great stories. Full of adventure, puzzles, and mystery, they capture my child-like imagination. Now I just have to convince my non-fiction, encyclopedia crazy kids to read them with me – in the meantime I need no excuse to enjoy them on my own!

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Do you have a great book title to share? Are you working with needles or hooks?

For plenty of inspiration, visit Ginny‘s yarn along.

It’s been four weeks since we began the challenge to improve our health and change our habits by increasing water intake. I haven’t checked in here with you about it as often as I’d hoped but I’ve loved this month. I love that I’m much more mindful of how much water I drink every day. I also recognize what were regular nuisances before as what they most likely are – dehydration! Those mysterious headaches, that dry skin, the sore throat, digestion issues, and the fatigue – have all been helped when I grab my jug of water. I know there are other health issues in play for some of those symptoms but I have felt better when I’ve been “treating” them with pure water. Even sugar cravings (my late afternoon bane) have been eased when I try a glass of water first (sometimes anyways…).

The best part of all of this, though, has been knowing there are others in this with me. Some awesome people who have made a conscious decision to choose water – either by replacing a less beneficial drink or by becoming aware of our bodies’ need for pure water. From that first long glup of water to cleanse our systems in the morning to the many pee stops during the day, it’s been so nice to have company.

A huge thanks to all of you who took the challenge with me. Whether it was a smashing success or..not so much, I hope it’s given you some, er, beverage for thought.

I know I’ll be sticking with my big jug ‘o water every day!

And, as promised, I have a little gift to send to one of you.

The winner of the custom water counter is:

Melissa!

Yay, Melissa! Send me a note with your address and the number of units you’d like on your bracelet and I’ll make a bracelet to help you keep track of your daily intake.

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Have you made any discoveries about water during these four weeks? Have you changed your daily habits or did you fall back to established routines? Are you going to keep up with aiming for 3 litres of water a day? I’m always curious to hear your thoughts!

The practice of gratitude is one I cherish and yet have forgotten too often as of late. I enjoyed listing my five gratitudes last Friday so I’m doing it again today. Feels like just the right way to begin a great weekend.

<> on the coldest of mornings the slanting sun to warm my warm my legs as I stand at the stove stirring porridge
<> that remarkable man who cleans vomit without gagging, builds makeshift beds on couches, and camps out with the flu sufferers
<> an evening tea and knitting date with a cherished friend, remembering what we’re like without kids in tow, laughing, sharing, talking late
<> a little girl who recovered from the tummy bug with a new vocabulary – will never get over hearing those calls of “mama, mama” upon waking
<> two artists, heads huddled close, one creating despite her sore neck (all better now, thanks), the other enthralled while minutes stretch long

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One last thing…I wanted to check in with those of you joining me in the water challenge! Our “end date” is on Monday when I will draw a winner in the water counter giveaway (get your name in the comments here if you haven’t entered) – although hopefully this is a practice we will continue.

I’ve been keeping up with a ranging level of success. My 3L pitcher is a great visual reminder on the counter but some days I just plain forget during most of the day and play catch up in the evening. But gorging myself in the evening is hardly as effective because I end up flushing my system before my body has much chance to absorb nutrients. I’ve been finding that I occasionally still feel dehydrated (usually with a headache) even when I am filling my quota. I tried adding a little himalayan sea salt to my water but did not appreciate the flavour of softened water.

Then one evening when I was feeling miserable with headache, crazy fatigue, and dizziness (after drinking over 2L of pure water already that day), I remembered the coconut water I had stashed at the back of the fridge. I was astounded by how quickly and how well a few sips helped me. Headache cleared and fuzzy headedness lifted within a few minutes. While coconut water is not a replacement for pure water it is mineral rich and has electrolytes so it can safely and naturally help rehydrate the body. I will remember the coconut water in future!

How are you finding the challenge? Have you found it hard to replace other beverages with pure water? Have you found a good method of keeping track of your daily water needs? I’m curious to know how others are finding this habit to hydrate! 

If you missed my original post on the benefits of drinking pure water you can find it here.

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Happy Friday all! I hope you find much joy and contentment this weekend! xoR

I’ve been casting on and off this week with nothing much new to show for it.

The fifth of six striped hats is on my needles and will soon be off. I should have known that beginning a hat for one meant finishing hats for all. And I don’t mind one bit when I receive these knit requests (although I may be ready for the end of the stripes). The little people have even made it easy for me, choosing wool from my stash and all in the same pattern I’ve knit many times. Now that I’ve started knitting for them they’ve all informed that they need new mittens to replace the pairs outgrown or the singles lost (I think I need to knit mittens in trios for the inevitable lost mittens). There was great hilarity when I pulled Sarah’s knit mitten on her hand after months of ski mittens – her fingers have grown so long! So I’ll begin with pink mittens for her with orders for at least three more pairs to follow them.

I do enjoy getting lost in the simple repetition of these familiar patterns. At times it gets dull but there has been much to think about lately and with fingers on repeat my mind is free to wander and mull.

The gorgeous Downton Cowl came off my needles these past week –  I only needed to steal one metre of wool from my second skein of tosh vintage. Now it awaits blocking before I can reveal it in its true glory. I’ve been knitting it along with Shannon‘s Downton Abbey knit along. I’m so excited to start wearing it!

I have far too many plans for the next projects on my needles (last week‘s wool has been wound into cakes!) but I’ve resolved to get down to business completing some unfinishables (those blasted UFOs).

First up is the baby vertebrae missing only the ribbed edging on the body. It’s been sadly waiting in the bottom of my knitting bag while Miss Mira could be wearing it. Maybe I’ll steel myself to the task of picking up those stitches and have it to show next week?

I’ve still been enjoying Gluten-Free Girl. Shauna writes less about living without gluten and more about discovering an abundance of food to enjoy beyond it. Her writing makes me feel both hungry and more adventurous in the kitchen. Just the kind of inspiration I was looking for.

While we had a sweet girl recovering from a kinked neck, we put on a familiar audio book. We’ve enjoyed The Famous Five during some long car rides and it kept the two oldest entranced for a couple of hours this week. We love Enid Blyton’s stories, the adventures are fun and though my gang are a very sensitive bunch they haven’t been too concerned about the suspense.

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Now what about you? Have you been working with needles or hooks this week? Is there a good book in your reading pile?

::joining Ginny‘s yarn along::

P.S. Tomorrow is The Lexicon Project – we’re revealing our photos and announcing next week’s challenge!