Lickin' the Batter: it's already october!

my new toys!

ignore ugly blind ... soon to be gorgeous light block wood looking blinds

first skein wound from my winder/swift combo!

i'm so proud!

gift knit

quite messy craft room corner

** all pictures above of the fibery goodness in my life lately. Most are from the recent Shenandoah Fiber Festival here in VA. Look at that gorgeous alpaca in the blue bowl! I was so happy to pick that up (the greens and the white) for a baby blanket.

Well, well!

I never intend to go so very long without blogging -- especially as some of my favorite bloggers do so every day! Of course the majority of these are SAHM's. And I work full-time as a Montessori guide. Work's been very busy, between the start of the new school year, getting to know the families (lots and lots of email with a few in-person meetings, and a big presentation for upcoming parent ed night). It will continue to be busy as I work out the details of my maternity leave and train my replacement.

I have been really getting back into knitting lately. I love that about the fall. I'm trying to make more daily space for that, and for reading real books. I love Netflix and Amazon Prime for TV series watching, but I tend to go overboard with the screen. I do sleep much better if I don't have a show on before turning in.

Yesterday was our first wedding anniversary. We took a train ride into DC and attended a symphony performance, followed by Balkan tapas in a funky neighborhood southeast of Capitol Hill. I also bought a small cake from a local-to-us bakery that we love.

I have been flirting lately with learning how to dye yarn. There's a lot of great indie dyers out there. I know you can use your own oven as part of the process. I would love to start a small side business to help pay down debt. But there's a lot of research involved first. We shall see. I'm always open to new ideas. The idea someday is to be debt-free and to work less .. or work the same, but on more creative exploits. I love what I do, but it's very work-intensive. Add a commute to that and it kind of sucks the life out of you sometimes. At least, I have that personality type.

With that said, I hope to enjoy tons of knitting these next months as I start Christmas and baby projects!

Things have been warming up in the kitchen, as it's my favorite season for homemade goods. However, I've been trying to keep meals very simple so they don't take too long to prepare and overwhelm me with what little free time I find myself with in the late afternoons/early evenings. I've been enjoying the granola recipe and the one for chocolate chip/walnut/oatmeal cookies from Food for the Whole Family which I do not want to give back to the library! I am making the year's first batch of homemade pizza dough this afternoon.

Here are a few more pictures for you to enjoy. It's a gorgeous rainy fall day here in Virginia. A great day for snuggly socks and gentle activities at home. Hope you are cozy where you are, too. xo