Green in March

When I got home from school yesterday, I took Winnie and Bailey for a walk. It's mid March and the grass is already turning green, and plants are beginning to poke out of the ground.  What a great beginning to Spring Break!

Basketball Coach

Here in Iowa, we are experiencing beautiful blue skies, sunshine, and warm temperatures.  We left the jackets inside and enjoyed recess in short sleeves.  There were some great basketball games going on, with Mr. P supervising.

Open Window

Temperatures in Iowa reached 80 degrees yesterday, and for the second day in a row we had our classroom window wide open.  It was glorious!

First Blizzard of the Season

This winter we haven't had much snow here in Iowa.  In fact we've been having record breaking high temperatures for March, which brought the first Blizzard of the season.

Expensive Socks

Last Saturday I began taking a Sock Knitting class at Knitting Next Door in Ankeny.  It has been very challenging.  Although I first learned to knit in Girl Scouts, when I was about ten years old, it was only recently that I began knitting again.  Up until now, my projects have been very basic; slippers, a scarf, and a hat.  This class is using a Magic Loop, beginning at the toe and going up, and two socks at a time.  Add to that, the fact that I am left handed.  It is a right handed world, so patterns are written for right handers.  I always have to analyze the pattern and do the opposite.  When you are doing two socks at a time, you also have to coordinate your two separate balls of yarn.

After my class, I came home, ripped everything out and started over.  I love my yarn!  It is both colorful and sparkly.  I am making progress, and things are getting easier, but last night I realized that I had somehow picked up two extra stitches, so once again I had to rip out about an inch of one sock.

 As I was re-knitting that sock this morning, I realized that this is going to be one very expensive pair socks.  Between yarn, my Magic Loop Knitting needles, and tuition for the class, these will be $70 socks, and I'm not even sure they will be wearable!  Although these socks may prove to be one of the more expensive items in my wardrobe, it is money well spent.  I am really enjoying learning these new things. The fantastic thing about knitting or crocheting is watching yarn become fabric, and then an actual useful piece, and then knowing that I'm the one that did that.  I'm loving it!

Dean's List

Thursday I drove to Ames so I could attend a reception where Michael was being honored, along with other Liberal Arts Students, for being on the Dean's List. To be on the Dean's List a student must have a 3.5 or better grade point average.  Great work, Michael!

Tar Beach

Mrs. Rasmussen hung a new quilt outside her door.  This one is made with a picture from the book, Tar Beach, by Faith Ringgold.  What a great way to inspire kids to be more creative!