Stay-cation - Part VII - Projects and Odd Ends

Here is - the end of the stay-cation postings. T Rex Dad went back to work on Monday. It was tough on the kids. They were in daddy-detox for a couple days. However, Grandma and Grandpa N came over last night and Nana is here today and tomorrow. So, at least this eases the blow and makes the week seem shorter.


It was a really nice stay-cation. We were actually quite busy with events and outings - but we never traveled more than 30 minutes from the house. And most of our activities were outdoors, too.


When were were not out and about, we were home doing projects. I had several I wanted to accomplish while T Rex Dad was off. Here are a few that I did finish...

First, a patchwork quilt. This is the first one I've done is a really, really long time. I worked on it on and off for about 5 months. Here is the finished project. I wish I had made it a bit bigger but I think it will work nicely for our bed. If you click on the photos you can see the fabric prints better - moons and stars. Now we can sleep among the stars!

After the quilt was finished, I also finished several amigurumi animals. My goal with the rest of my projects this year is to not purchase any new material or yarn. Everything needs to come from my current inventory. My mother-in-law heard about this and was kind enough to bring over some of her open poly-fil to use on the animals so I would not have to purchase any new stuff. The elephants are both baby gifts. The pattern is out of this book. I sewed on yarn eyes so there would not be any chocking hazards. T Rex is very concerned about that these days.

Then T Rex requested I make him a William Cat. I tell him made up stories about a ficticious cat family. I intergrate lessons into these stories. For example, T Rex is terrified of storms. So I made up a story about William and Sweet Pea and the tornado. I really do need to write these stories down. Because of these characters becoming endeared to my little guy, he asked that I make a William and Sweet Pea to go along with the stories.


I found this wonderful amigurumi cat pattern and from some very think coarse black yarn I had around the house, I made William. His head turned out larger than I would have liked. And the yarn was not the best to work with. Additionally, I did work on this during a baseball game so I think that might be why some of the appendages are a little oddly shaped. Regardless of its flaws, T Rex loved him. He's already seeing a lot of action around the house.

Whenever I make a new animal for T Rex, I put it out for him to find in the morning. Then when he is about to fall asleep, I go into his bedroom and whisper into his ear that his surprise is waiting for him to find in the morning. You can see how I set out William to be found.

T Rex has also been really into Thomas the Tank train. In fact, he insists on taking at least one train with him everywhere we go. Rather than have him free carry one or more train in the grocery store or park, I thought a little case/bag was in order to save us from losing one. This was pulled together from some scraps I had around the house.

Lastly, one last amigurumi. T Rex requested I make a tortuga for my most recent project. This is where I found the free pattern. I am a little disappointed the shell turned out so large. And this time, I followed the directions to the letter and had no distractions. Once again, I am harder on myself than T Rex. He loved the tortuga and calls him Roger after my nephew's pet tortoise. I was glad I found this shade of green among my yarn stash. Otherwise, Roger would have been Christmas green.

I did complete two rounds of canning during the stay-cations, too. Blueberry and organic strawberry jams. Both turned out great. This week I'll be doing some organic blueberry. And next year, hopefully, I'll have enough blackberries from the garden to use them to can. My blackberry bushes are doing beautifully as are my grape vines. The blueberry bushes are so-so. Anyone have any suggestions for doing something with blue flax?


We did attempt to take T Rex to see Mr. Poppers Penguins but when he heard his sister would be staying with Nana he wanted to stay with Nana rather than go to a movie. Man I love that kid! So, T Rex Dad and I went to see Transformers 3. I love the Transformer movies but this one was a little too long for me but Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the moon, did make a cameo appearance as himself. We thought that was really cool. And Leonard Nemoy was the voice of Sentinal Prime, so that was cool, too. But it was just not as great as the first one.


I also showed T Rex Dad one of my newer favorite movies - The Time Traveler's Wife. He and I managed to get through the movie after the kids had gone to bed. We only had to stop the movie 6 times which is pretty good for us watching a movie at home. And yes, we both cried multiple times.


Lastly, we have made huge strides with Bebe Sister and potty training. I think we've moved from elimination communication to potty training. I'll write about this soon.


So, there you have it. Stay-cation update complete. It was wonderful. I look forward to the next one. And so much less stressful than a full on vacation.