Avatar gloves

I started these gloves a few days ago. The yarn is a yummy variegated 100% lambswool - Rowan Colourscape Chunky. I initially bought this yarn to make a hat for Adam ; blue is his favourite colour and it was really cold this Christmas that he really needed a hat. But he wouldn't even give the yarn one look when I asked him if he would like a hat made from this colour. He hates hats. My husband wanted a pair of gloves to play snow with so I made these gloves with the yarn instead. But because the yarn colour is variegated (i.e. the colour changes along the yarn in the skein), the gloves doesn't match! Somehow I ended up with this pair of really unique gloves full of brilliant colours and character. And my husband is calling it Avatar, because the colours remind him of the Avatar movie, and coincidentally, we were watching Avatar on tv while I was knitting this.

My husband is an iphone user so I made the gloves with a slit in the index finger so he can play on his phone while wearing it...I don't know if my husband really like the colours...probably too colourful for him..and also, as luck would have it, temperature increased dramatically in the past couple of days that there are no more snow and he doesn't really need full gloves anymore....oh well...at least i enjoyed knitting them..hehe..and with the crazy weather, you never know when it's going to reach freezing temperatures again...

Mia @ 11 months (and Snow Day)

I have a sneaky suspicion Mia is trying for the fastest growing baby award..gosh..she's practically a toddler already!

She's a stable walker by now and can walk any distance she likes, or run, even. With her tiny little body she looks like a penguin waddling around the house. She follows me around where ever I go, and she is very quick. Every trip to the toilet is a race because she will be banging on the toilet door before I even had the chance to sit on the loo.

She understands everything we say to her. Honestly, she does. And she will respond to prove it. If you ask her, where's your Princess book Mia? She'll go and fetch the Princess book.

Yesterday she picked up a blanket, pulled it over her face and giggled. I asked, 'where's Mia?' and she pulled the blanket down, laughing and smiling proudly. Pandai main cak cak...adam la ajar ni...

She's very possessive of me. No one can come near me. If she sees me cuddling up with Adam or Daddy, she'll come over and start crying, until they leave me alone with her.

If she wants cheese she says 'chissss, chissss' . if she wants susu she says 'ssss,ssss'. She tries to repeat after the words we say.

We have a little gate at our living room door to prevent her from going to eat shoes in the hallway (one of her favourite activity) but lately she figured out how to open it! So much for babyproofing! honestly, we've had many adults guests who couldn't figure out how to open it...in fact everything in the house is now subject to her experimentation...the tv, the speakers, the wires, the bookshelf...Adam keep going 'Mia, no! nanti Daddy marah!'. But she just smile cheekily and keep going at it...but when Daddy's at work, Adam says 'It's ok Mommy, biar je iya (mia) main..Daddy work, Mommy...'

Oh yes, he constantly covers for her. If he sees me or Daddy telling her off he'll say 'Daddy, sian iya (mia) ....janan (jangan) mawwah (marah) iya...'. Or sometimes he says 'It's ok Mommy...iya kecik Mommy...'. hheheheh...do you know how lucky you are Mia?

You are well-loved, my dear. Happy 11 month birthday!

Here are more photos from our recent Snow Day. As usual not much snow in London but we made the most of it...

Adam had the most fun, naturally.

We tried to make a snowman....but...like my husband said,dgn Adam memang takkan siap2 nyelah...he said nak buat 'sandcastle'.

it was pretty heavy snow that day...is it bad that i want to wish for more snow? the news says it's pretty bad already...and everybody hates it because it makes travelling impossible and dangerous..but for us who aren't travelling anywhere, i'm content to stay at home with the kids, blissfully knitting and staring in wonder at the snow falling outside...

my little snow angel

The Cloth Hall, Kent

Recently we went to Kent with my mom. It was the weekend when it snowed really heavily. Kent was badly affected. But we called the highway and they said the roads are cleared. On the way to the car our porter said 'Going to Kent? You're very brave. Goodluck!'. That gave me the chills for a bit but we went anyway...

Alhamdulillah we arrived safely. Everything was covered in snow, white and foggy. It looked magical. Especially the cottage we were staying in...well it's hardly a cottage..a mansion perhaps? There were 6 rooms altogether but we only rented 2 rooms. Luckily the other rooms are empty so we had the house to ourselves. And the house, what a treat. It was built in the 1450s! almost 600 years old house! I certainly have never seen a 600 year old house..let alone have the chance to stay in one.

It had 3 sitting rooms. this was one of them. We spent most of our time here, because this living room is on the first floor, right next to our bedroom. Notice the original wooden beams on the walls and ceilings.

It was just the perfect place to sit and knit...and stare and the beautiful wooden beams...The house must've been made for a very rich man 600 years ago...it's huge, full of little sections, secret pathways and hallways. Do you see the little door next to the fireplace? Every door has this clever little contraption. Every time you some into a room, the door swings close and locks itself. Then when you go out, there's another clever little trick to 'unlock' the door. Genius! Nothing like our modern doors...

Here's the living room on the ground floor...with a huge working fireplace...

This is the dining room. I'm thinking we should get a table like this one when we have 8 children..hehe...

the kitchen

The view of the house from outside..it comes with 8 acres of land as well...cantik sgt...

except for the caretaker who was awful ( malas nak citer pasal dia ni, I already made a complaint about her) we had an awesome time there...will definitely want to go again...(if they change the caretaker). The other house in the small village are historical as well...really charming place..

p/s:ernie i bet you would love this place.

edited to add: I forgot a fascinating fact about this place. The house is called Cloth Hall because in the olden days it belonged to a cloth merchant. He used to store his wool in an outside barn...I can just imagine all the wool spinning and weaving probably went on there as well...which makes knitting there especially meaningful...

Let them eat the sand

Last week at Portman Children Centre.

One of the staff was recording the children on her camcoder. Mia was walking around, playing. She's in her comfort zone in this place. The staff spotted Mia and started recording her. Soon, she has neglected the other kids and continued following Mia and recording her every move. She's tiny but very bold and quick on her feet - determined to climb everything, try out everything. Adam was playing in the sandbox. She came over to the sandbox, grabbed a handful of sand and put it in her mouth. I rushed over, took the sand out and started cleaning her mouth and hand.

The staff: You know she's going in there? (the sandbox). Then there is no point in cleaning her hands. The sand will just come out in her poop. She is using her mouth to explore.

Interesting, I thought. I am usually relaxed in letting my kids put things in their mouths, because I believe it is necessary for their learning and exploration. But I do draw the line on things they can choke on, things that are dirty, and..well...sand. However, stopping babies from eating sand when you're in a sandbox can prove to be very frustrating for both the baby and yourself. So I thought, ok, let's give this a try. Let's let them eat sand.

The staff is still recording. Mia grabbed some sand in her hand. She put it in her mouth. I fought the urge to clean her up. She tasted the sand, slowly. Her face crinkled up. She spit the sand out.

The staff: You see? She doesn't even like the taste. She is spitting it out.

Mia repeated this cycle a few times - grab, taste, spit. Then she started feeling the sand with her fingers. Her face still crinkled from the taste of the sand.

The staff: Now you show her what else you can do with the sand.

I took some sand toys - sand wheels, shovel. I started pouring the sand, turning the wheels. She observed, interested. Then she tried the toys. No longer putting the sand in the mouth. She poured the sand, picked up the shovel, felt the sand with her hands and feet. She climbed in and out of the sand. Tumbling into the softness. A whole lot of learning (and fun!) that she would've missed had I kept saying NO to her eating the sand.

She did try putting the sand in her mouth a couple times after that, but she didn't enjoy it. I think she discovered that playing with the sand is more fun than eating it.

Getting hooked on crocheting

I apologise for the lack of updates. Been away in Kent, bracing the chill. I'll update on that when I have some photos.

Today I'll write about our Autumn Festival, which happened a long while back, well..in autumn :) There were a lot of activities..baking apples pies, animals from the farm for the kids, pottery, folk dancing etc...

baking apple pies

adam and friends doing craft

The boy in the photo, Luca, we met there at the festival. He's six, and very sweet. He played with Adam the whole day. While they were on the crafting table, he made a lovely little card for Adam.

the front of the card says 'fren' with a drawing of himself and Adam

and the inside says ' Diy mdam I fik you or the boose from Luka'. I asked him to read it and he said ' Dear Adam, I think you are the best, from Luka' . isn't that the sweetest thing? I have it hanging on the wall in the kitchen until now.

At the festival I took the opportunity to learn to crochet. A few ladies were teaching people to crochet. They even provided the yarn and hooks. I think the lady who taught me only knew the basics, but it was enough. I started a hat that day...

..but only finished it recently! which is why this entry is written today, months after the Autumn Festival :) The actual crocheting didn't take very long at all, but I only crochet few stitches at a time, in between my knitting. Crochet is quite addictive too. Recently I borrowed a book from the library to learn more about crochet and made this:

comel tak baby chick?

this is the hat I learnt to make from the Autumn Festival

mia hates hats though...she only allows me to put a hat on her when it's really cold..

crochet ckp melayu ape ye.....?