I didn’t think I’d missed crocheting. I did and it was therapeutic to make little little girl’s beanie for her Halloween costume. And I know that now you won’t pay attention until I show you pictures. No worries, I’d be wondering about what that much cuteness would look like too.
She wouldn’t smile unless her head was tipped back and these three pictures are from 57ish that I took. And one of them is an action shot I snapped right before she decided the frog eyes were just begging to be slobbered on. Gone are the days of my still baby model.
Her older siblings are both going to be tyrannosaurus’ from the show Dinosaur Train (much more on that later). And this meant that she could be a palaeobatrachus…a prehistoric frog. YES! I love everything about this idea. I found the pattern here and it was really easy. I think I get now why it felt good to crochet again. It might be the same reason why my dad re-builds army jeeps and why my friend loves to cook and bake. Or why my other friends are crafty. Many other people have had this conversation with much more eloquent words than I have, but here is what really hit me. As human beings we need to touch our world and affect our own reality in a physical way. It’s about creating and following a pattern or a plan and ending up with something that was worth it. Something beautiful. Something that wasn’t there before. Humans are tactile and sensual creatures, especially in this day and age. But like I said…not a new idea. Here’s what hit me: why don’t we allow kids to follow that same instinct? Why don’t we give them real tools to create real things that have real meaning? I think about what most kids are “allowed” to do, and after enough time given the same treatment I’d be pissed off and disenchanted too. We give them cheap knock-off imitations and don’t even let them use those how they want to. Adults set the rules and the parameters. Is it any wonder we have a rising generation that doesn’t seem engaged with their world and so they get buried in a mirage-like virtual world? What would happen if more kids were given both the tools and time to follow their own passion? sigh. [climbs off soap box] Anyways. Christmas might be a bit different at our house this year because of this little epiphany of mine.
Here are a few other projects that have catered to this basic human need I momentarily forgot about.
Naomi needed a car pillow for our car trip. I let her dive into my material bin and she pulled out “Barbie goes to India,” which is fine because what else would I have done with that? A few seams and strategically placed strips of velcro and she could nap in the car. Score one for everyone.
You can have a fine debate party without these. You can have perfectly lovely Fall even. But why waste such wonderful excuses? Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and Kale Artichoke dip (I didn’t have spinach).
This is one of the best salads. EVER. I am something of a connoisseur when it comes to salads and this is pretty much brilliance on a plate. You roast thick slices of sweet potato until they turn into a healthy verison of a roasted marshmellow. Then you top it (still warm) with a simple cold salad of chopped celery, craisens, feta and red onions that was tossed with olive oil, red wine vinegar and salt/pepper. Thats it. It has every taste experience you could want in an awesome balancing act for your mouth. Please try it. This kind of goodness should be enjoyed by everyone. And though I do make it year round, it tastes better in the fall.
Comfy Posy 