Kids Knitting...

I don't remember if I'd told you, but back in January I was offered to teach the kids knitting afternoon program... it's a simple class after school so kids learn the wonderful art of knitting.

I said yes...

And Oh Boy! has it been a journey.... it has been exciting, getting to know this little girls (they are 8 and 9 years old), watching them start from zero and move their little hands with needles a little big for them and start forming stitch after stitch...
It's really nice to see how something inside them makes "click" when they finally understand the movement and then is simply natural and if they have been doing it forever.
It had amazed me completely how they don't freak out whenever the needle gets out of several stitches, they just think "if it came out of them, it should be fine if I just put the needle back though them", which is totally true, but I remember when I learned and I know it felt a lot more daunting like that, and I see the same with the older beginner knitters.
Kids have a different view and understand implicitly that loosing a stitch is natural to the process and all they need to do is to catch it back.

It had also been VERY fun sometimes watching this little women sit and knit and talk!!! oh yes, they talk! it's their social hour and it's like watching a mini version of older friends drinking coffee and catching up on the latest news...

They met at the class and they attend different schools so they chat about family and try to figure out if they have people that they both know... They were Miss A and Miss B for the first 7 weeks (and I'm not naming them alphabetically just to name them something, their names start with A and B)...
And yesterday we got our third addition... Miss C (and again, her name starts with C)... I wonder if the next one would be Miss D!!!!

So Miss B has this "EWWW!" expression when something disgusts her that now we have adopted at the shop, and it's very funny...
Miss A tends to be on the hiper active side and some days is hard for her to focus on her knitting... and for me to get through the class easily!
Miss C is quiet... but that might have to do with the fact that the other two were already "old friends"

Apparently yesterday was the last day for Miss A because it's difficult for her and her mom to have the class on Tuesdays...
But I'm sure the classes will continue to be fun...
I allowed them yesterday to sit at the couch to knit... it was a pure delight to watch them!!

Sorry, I smugged their faces... but they're all smiling!!

See you soon!
S.

Valentine's Day...

Happy Valentine's Day!!!! I hope you have a happy day wherever you are and either you celebrate it or not. We grew up with Valentine's Day around, but it was called "Día del amor y la amistad" which means "Love and friendship day".... I remember in highschool the senior class would dress up and sell roses and treats like brownies or cookies to make money for their graduation. I loved our senior year when my friends wore suits and gave us roses... they looked so nice and it was a fun thing to do.

Now, we don't really celebrate, but as EVERYWHERE is full of red things and hearts I get in the spirit... So I've made a couple of presents for MG.

Starting February I made chocolate buttermilk cupcakes covered with ganache...

Heaven of chocolate!!! although he's not fan of the frostings... but he can be very very happy with the cupcake just as it is in the picture... without any frosting, filling or decoration.

MG usually reads the news in his laptop after taking a shower and before doing/having breakfast, so today I woke up when he was in the shower and went to his laptop and put on top my present accompanied by a rose...

It's a little notebook, handmade with scrapbook papers, red, with hearts, kisses, love phrases, etc... and letter stickers. The cover reads "Why I love you from A to Z"... So I did a page for each letter and 26 reasons why I love him. It was fun to do and more difficult to come up with something for each letter than you may think!!!
But I had a great time doing it and over all it was great that he loved it...
After puting it in place, I went back to bed, so after he was ready and went to read the news and he saw it, I could hear him gasp from my bed... it was sweet...
I'll just tell you he loved it, he enjoyed every page of it and most important he felt LOVED!!!! which was the point of all of it... doesn't matter that is V-Day.... I would have done it anyway just to tell him in a different way how much I love him...

Then we had French toast for breakfast!!!

Delicious!!!!! cream cheese, strawberries and coffee... perfect!
And woke up to winter.... finally!

see you soon!!
S.

Soooo tired

It's 7.29pm

I left the shop at 6pm, hoping to catch the 6.05 bus.... 6.23 and it hadn't arrived, when I heard someone from the bus station saying to a customer that the bus would take another 20 minutes to get there...
We have rainy snow right now and it's cold... it was getting dark and I was cold.
I walked a block to a little coffee and chocolate shop to buy a hot chocolate... I like their products but I think they are very expensive... (seriously... $2.60 for a one bite chocolate-truffle kind???)
The hot chocolate was good though, not amazing but good and warm. Walked back to the bus station (bus stop downtown where all the buses stop so you can change to another and get to a different part of the city) and kept waiting...

Got home at 6.59pm...
Now in my PJ's and after relaxing a bit online... I'm off to bake!!!! nothing that a sweet baking can cure right?
So today we are making a Tres Leches cake to take tomorrow to the shop to eat with my friends!!!
I'll show you pictures later.

See you soon!
S.

Nimbus sweater....

Just a quick post to show you my Nimbus sweater, which I finished back in November!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it got lost in time but finally making its appearance... not the best picture but...

The pattern is by Berroco, and here's a link to the Ravelry pattern. I took a class for it although I really didn't need it, it was fun to do, and so far I'm the only one in the class that finished her sweater (the class was during November)...
It's made with Peruvia Quick yarn, 3/4 sleeves, and I LOOOVE it!!! warm, comfy and I MADE IT!!!!

See you soon!
S.

A cultural catch up...

Good morning!!!! I hope you are all ok and had a great weekend full of nice things...

This past week we were very cultural.... starting 2 Fridays ago, we went to the auditorium at campus to see STOMP... which it's described in their website as "unique musical theatre of choreographed percussion, movement and physical comedy", and it's a wonderful performance show of music formed with percussion with ordinary objects like brooms, sand, match boxes, trash cans, pans, etc... 

photo from "de todo como en botica" blog

Amazing, entertaining and full of rythm.  It was part of my Christmas present to MG and we had a great time and enjoyed lots.

Later in the week, on Wednesday night we went to a comedy show when one of MG's coworkers was performing... several comediants and all was good and fun.

During the whole week, our cozied tree had great response from the people!!! it's fun to be at the shop and see all day long people stoping by to take pictures of the tree or of themselfs with the tree... we've also had several people come into the shop just to say how wonderful the tree is and what a great idea it was. It has been succesful and we all hope it'll be up for a long time.

Saturday came and MG and I went to H&R Block to file our taxes... everything was good and smooth, and later when he droped me at the shop, one of my friends offered us a couple of tickets for a dance show that night...

Photo from "L.A. Opening Nights"

Evidence, A Dance Company  is a fusion of African, contemporary, and classical dance that tells you a story and won't let you take your eyes from the stage...

And finally Sunday, we had tickets for a play with the local theatre company, Bill W. and Dr. Bob, which tells the story of the creators of Alcoholics Anonims... it was a wonderful play with awsome acting, and a good story. I thought it would be a lot stronger and difficult to watch but it was nicely written and interpreted so I didn't have a problem with it.

So that's all for today cultural review...

Off to life!!
See you soon!
S.

Oh, and for those of you who asked (thank you!)..... we still don't know were we'll be moving... MG had a job interview last week and has a couple of other things lined up so we are waiting for the best but still don't know where life will take us!