Don't Faint

I'm posting 2 days in a row after a month of but after seeing Carole's 10 on Tuesday I had to post again.
Here goes!

10 Things I’m Looking Forward to in the Month of May.

1. Warmer weather - it is slowly getting warmer here in MA and I'm so happy.

2. Lily of the Valley - my favorite flower blooms in May.  I carried them as my wedding bouquet.  I love their delicate stalks and flowers and the scent is divine (however, I will admit I don't like lily of the valley perfume or lotion and for some reason I am given it too often).

3. May Fair - our church in CT has an amazing fair the Saturday before Mother's Day.  It is an all day event and is the largest one day fair in the state of CT.  If you live in CT, it is worth the field trip.  In fact, I'm considering trekking back to CT for the day just because it has been part of our lives for years and I don't want to miss it.

4. My birthday is in May - often it falls on Mother's Day.  It did last year which was fitting as it was my 50th birthday and I was born on Mother's Day.  Here's a photo of my kids and me on my 50th.

5.  Mother's Day - I love sending my mom a special little gift on our shared special day.

6. Our anniversary is in May - okay this was the crazy trifecta...our anniversary is the day after my birthday as it was the only day the church was available.  I told my husband that he could easily have my birthday, mother's day and our anniversary right in a row or stacked up on each other.  He's handled it well in spite of breaking the "separate gifts, separate cards, separate wrapping paper" rule for all 3.  He sure can't forget our anniversary ever!

7. Memorial Day - we spend Memorial Day at my husband's family home at the Jersey shore (not the Snookie part) every year.  We open up the house, go for walks, barbecue and if it is warm enough don bathing suits and start the summer season.  This year, however, it is going to be different.  Our house had 3 1/2 ft of water in it during Hurricane Sandy.  We hope to be back in by Memorial Day but we probably won't have any furniture...heck, that's what beach chairs are for!  Here is a photo from the Memorial Day service at the local club - it is lovely and so patriotic.

8. Changing my wardrobe - it is so nice not to wear a heavy coat everywhere.  I love breaking out the spring colors, skirts and baring my toes to the world.  Which leads to:

9. Beginning of the season pedicure!  I love to have pretty toes in the spring and summer and a pedicure is the right way to start the open toe shoes and sandal season.

10. Sleeping with the windows open.  It is too cold to sleep with the windows wide open or even cracked during the winter...however, just in the past few days we've cracked them open.  The fresh air gives me a lovely night's sleep and I love hearing the birds in the morning.

Happy May everyone!

Oh My...What a Bad Blogger

I just noticed my last blog post was almost a month ago.  I am a bad blogger!  I apologize for going radio silent yet again.  I've had a crazy few weeks that have made it so my time is not my own.  Two plus weeks ago I got a call from the middle school - a teacher was about to go out on maternity leave and their coverage fell through.  I went in and interviewed for the job (some of the interview was in French as it was to teach her French classes).  After some back and forth and reswizzling of the job and the pay I was awarded the long term substitute position.  THEN the teacher started a false labor so one week after the interview I was starting the job.  I covered her classes for 3 days then the job started right after our vacation week.

My first week of work was this past week - as a result, my time is not my own.  This is something I full well learned last year when I subbed for a teacher on maternity leave - hence, the need to reswizzle the pay!

This explains yet another radio silence...I am out of the house by 7am (up at 5am) and not home til 2:30.  Then mom duty begins which I don't need to explain to any of you.

I've been too tired to knit much this past week but I did finish a lovely knit.  I had some Elsbeth Lavold Silky Wool in my stash and I started this project at the end of March - it is by Bonne Marie Burns.  Vonica is a fun knit with an interesting pattern that is easy to follow.  I love the color, the cut, the weight of the yarn for a spring knit.  I quickly blocked it and wore it the next day.  I'm in love with this sweater.  Apologies for the photos - taken on the computer but better than no photos.

What am I knitting now?  I have a design idea in my head.  I've also ordered some yarn from the Webs sale - Cascade 220 of course.  I got enough to make a stocking for my nephew and a sweater for Miss America.

I'll try to post here and there - it is hard when my days are not my own.  Tell me, what are you knitting these days?

To answer Millie's questions in the comments section - this was our first winter in MA.  It sure was a doozy!  We live in a town that is known for not cancelling school often and we had to cancel I think 2 days due to snow/weather.  As for my subbing here, all I had to do was apply.  Substitute teachers surprisingly don't need any special degrees or training - just a college degree.  And as for new projects, I just cast on a stripey baby sweater that I'm making up as I go along.  More to come.  I love baby projects as you feel like you've accomplished so much in so little time.