The "mutha" in Mother's Day

I had a lovely Mother's Day weekend. The weekend festivities began for me on Saturday morning when I attended the monthly meeting of Twisted Stitches, the knitting guild to which I belong. The May meeting includes the annual luncheon, so after the business meeting, sharing of projects and swapping of yarn, we enjoyed a yummy catered lunch. It is always a treat to eat a meal prepared by someone else.

My special Mother's Day dinner was Saturday evening. With plans to go to the ballpark for a Sunday afternoon game, we knew that we would probably be full from snacking on ballpark food when we got home. So James fired up the grill on Saturday instead to cook his specialty, rib eye steaks. Mother Nature tried to intervene by cooking up a storm, but James gamely stood under the overhang of the communal garage and grilled delicious steaks.

Sunday morning began with Aidan crawling into bed with us and saying “Happy Mother’s Day! It’s snowing!” And he was right...there were snow flurries. But we stuck to our plans to see the Syracuse Chiefs play baseball, snow or no snow. Aidan brought his presents for me: three cards/pictures. Is there anything better than drawings of hearts and flowers and "I love you, Mommy!" on them? Then James prepared his caramelized oatmeal breakfast, complete with strawberries, blueberries and fresh whipped cream. Yum.

We bundled up and headed over to the ballpark. It was strangely quiet when we arrived: few cars in the parking lot, gates latched, ticket windows closed. Hmmm. We called the ticket office from the parking lot and learned that the game had been canceled. CANCELED? What's a little snow? Shortly thereafter, a man came out of the building and James asked him why the game was canceled. It seems that when the storm hit on Saturday afternoon and they canceled the game that was being played at that time. the grounds crew was not able to get the tarp on the field fast enough and the field was still a wet, muddy mess. A "quagmire", to quote our spokesman.

Harumph. So we drove over to Zebbs for burgers, then went on home. On a very windy, snowy day, there just wasn't much else to do. But despite the dramatic change in plans, we had a good afternoon of Wii, board games and reading. I also was able to do two loads of laundry; not exactly my usual way to celebrate, but always necessary.

So despite Mother Nature's attempts to dampen the weekend, I had a great time. We will exchange our tickets for another game (maybe Father's Day?) and enjoy our inaugural visit to Alliance Bank Stadium another day. But wouldn't it have been fun to reminisce about the time we watched a baseball game in the snow?

Mommy swap #3

At least once a year, sometimes more, the Motherhood Later group on Ravelry has a swap. I participated in the fall 2008 swap and the spring 2009 swap, so I was excited when this spring's swap was announced.

We did another secret swap, which means that your swap recipient does not know that you have her name until she receives the package. I received Lucy from Manchester, UK, and since I have learned from her posts that she is fun and creative, I knew that I would have fun putting together her package.

And I did! Our theme was green, however we chose to interpret it. I started by knitting a set of three cotton cloths in my favorite Double Bump cloth pattern.


I also included in the package:

• Malabrigo lace yarn and pattern - Lucy indicated in her questionnaire that she wants to try knitting lace, so I bought some green lace yarn and pattern written specifically for that yarn;

• T-shirt bag – I adore how this old child’s t-shirt has been repurposed into a bag (although not by me - love love LOVE Etsy), and it is green;

• A copy of the book Love You Forever – Robert Munsch is one of our favorite authors of books for children, and this little book is a favorite in our house. When I saw this gently used copy, I knew I had to include it so Lucy could read it to her little guy;

• Penzeys spices – Lucy likes to cook, so I sent some spices from my favorite spice retailer. The chili powder is the best I have ever used, the Italian Herb mix is one of our family favorites and gets used quite frequently, and the Green Goddess mix I had to get because of the name alone!

• Chocolate bar – nothing green about it, just good ol’ chocolate and isn’t that always appropriate for a swap package?

I also threw in a sample of Philosophy shower gel and a sample of Soak wool rinse.


I mailed the box on Wednesday, April 28 and had no idea how long it would take for it to arrive in England. Much to my surprise, Lucy received it yesterday - only one week later. She seemed pleased with her box o'goodies and thanked me profusely.

Now I am eagerly awaiting a package from my secret swap person!