Chapter 22, so much has happened this month

SO much has happened this month. I wanted to blog the evening of the 20th, after watching the inauguration, but never got the chance. At school the new superintendent wanted all classrooms/students to have the chance to watch the inauguration. We started watching at around 11:30. Let me tell you, middle school special education boys really don't care overly much about all the stuff going on. We did talk about why this was such an historic event, and they got the main concepts, such as the first African-American president, it being the day after MJK day, and how just 50 years ago, no one would have ever thought it was possible. We talked about how there were many in our community, country and at the inauguration who lived through segregation, and can remember when our own school was a "white only" school. One of my student's grandmother is one of these people, and she came in the next day and talked with the boys a little about what their small town was like "back in the day." As I age, I realize just how many things have changed in my lifetime. in regards to prejudice and acceptance, we still have a long way to go. but we have also come a long way. I wonder where we will be at the end of the Obama presidency?
On the crafty front, Christine has been working on my sweater thing (aka the gray hole) and says it is almost done. I have been working a little on my embroidery squares of baby animals. I have 6 of the 12 done. These were started like 4 years ago. I have not done much on the yellow baby sweater, or the multi baby sweater. Maybe this weekend. I have been following a blag this week, about trying to live as a 1940's woman. I love it. I would love to try it, but not sure how to even start. so maybe I will do a little more research into the hows and wheres (to get supplies/books)
Oh, the big things about this week! we get the carpeting in the living room and hallway tomorrow! I will try and take pics (before and after) and then, this weekend, we get the new couch and chair! I can't wait.

Chapter 21 What the wind blew in

We had a real bad wind storm on New years eve and into the first. When I went outside to survey the damage, I found some one's Christmas wreath on my porch. I asked all the neighbors, but no one claimed it, so I brought it in. Amanda and Nicholas had to ham it up with it, so I took a few cute pics. So even though it is after Christmas, I have to post the pics.

I started the New Year with my knitting. I am really working on finishing the yellow baby sweater. I finished the rest of the front, so now I have the back, the front and about 1/3 of the first sleeve done. I am hoping to finish it by the middle of January. Then I only have the multi colored baby sweater and my sweater thing to finish. I have promised myself I will not start any new yarn projects until I have finished these three. Man that is hard to keep. LOL I have also decided I would like to create a band sampler to help me work on my crazy quilting. I really need to improve my embroidery so my seams look better. have been doing a little bit of searching on the Internet and have found a few sites that help explain the band samplers and stitches. I am hoping to start that in February. I really want this to be the year I finish some UFO's. I also want to really improve my knitting and embroidery skills. Aunt Marie cot me a cross stitch kit for Christmas, (which I can add to my other 10 kits LOL) and I am hoping to finish at least 3 of them this year. lofty goals. But then, if I replace some of my mindless eating and stuffing myself with working on these projects, and spend more of my free time keeping my hands busy, I could get a lot more done. I really feel the need to "connect" to my ancestors. Which in my family involves "woman's work" such as knitting, crocheting, embroidery and cross stitch. My earliest memories of the women in my family all center around these. I can remember sitting in my great-great-grandmothers lap when I was 5 and helping her pull the floss through as she worked on embroidered dish towels. every Sunday afternoon into evening we had a family dinner where everyone gathered and the women all "retired" into the other room and worked on hand work. As the older generation has passed on, the tradition has slowly disappeared. Although both my aunts still knit and crochet for some strange reason they never taught their daughters. My grandmother is legally blind so she can no longer see to do embroidery. I still call home each Sunday and talk to them (they are in CA and I am in MD) and usually My aunts are sitting around my grandmothers table working on their handwork and talking. Oh how I miss that. I don't want to lose those memories. I want my step kids to learn and hopefully pass on the craft to their kids. I want my grandkids to learn from me.