The past few days....

This is the gnome hat I finished for Elsa.  She loves it.  I would have loved to have gotten a picture with both of them wearing their hats, but we were at a playground, and David was much too excited to have his picture taken.

 I am thinking about knitting a gnome hat for myself, and maybe for Jesse, although I am fairly certain he wouldn't wear it.  But it would be kind of cute, right?  Elsa also requested a hat for Valerie(the very favorite doll, in the picture) and for Buttercup Anne (the second favorite, hand made--not by me--Waldorf doll that I am just as happy does not accompany Elsa everywhere.)  I was in a benevolent mood, so I said probably, but now I actually do have quite a few projects lined up, so we will see. 

Speaking of knitting projects, I undertook the yearly organization of Mama's knitting basket.  Sadly, it required scissors, but I did manage to save the beautiful (and expensive) yarn I was using to make Jesse a scarf last year for his birthday, which I may be able to finish for his birthday this year.  Beloved adult family members, I think you all have scarves from me now, and I am done knitting them.  They are tedious.  But it does seem like the children have entered this incredible phase of intense, self-directed play, which allows me to work on rather large undertakings.  Sometimes it leaves me flummoxed--what exactly should I be doing right now.  But for the most part, I am enjoying it.  I love to hear the little stories that they mutter to themselves as they play.  In my house, legos generally become people and animals.  Sometimes cakes.  Anyway, my yarn basket was a horrid, tangled mess, and is, for the time being, organized.  I am going to have to think of a new way to store the yarn, though, because I have been wasting it.

Oh, and here are the batch of king and star cookies we made for Epiphany.  I really like this tradition better than the Epiphany Cake, because the kids helped more and it seemed more Christmas-y.  And, the cookie recipe is sooo good.  It is the Rich Roll Cookies in my copy (which came from my mother) of the Joy of cooking, and frosted with a glaze made with powdered sugar, hot milk and vanilla.  Really, really good.  I wish I could have posted a picture of the kids decorating them, but that would have been disastrous, as they spent about half of their time sucking the glaze off of their paintbrushes (we used paintbrushes, which was spectacular), and then re-dipping them and glazing another.  Their lips were a very strange color.  And, I have a confession to make:  I ended up bringing the cookies to the church dinner.  Time was short, and my kids were healthy.  That's kind of the way we roll around here.  Don't tell.