Re-Gifting

As I pack, frantically tie up the loose ends of my homemade gifts, and check my list twice for everything I need in the next two weeks (including one grumpy old cat), I just had to take a minute to send a very special holiday gift to you all this year.

Every year for the last...oh, 4 years? 3 years?, I have received a very special email from Ballard C. Boyd.  Ballard and I met years back when I worked at the Conservatory Lab Charter School in Brighton, MA.  He came to film a music video for Kristin Andreassen called "Crayola Doesn't Make a Color for Your Eyes" which featured my talented 2nd graders.  Because of this lovely happenstance, I have been on the receiving end of Ballard's annual Christmas CD.  I anxiously await the email every year announcing it's availability for download.

So, here again, for all of you, is where you can download, for free, his album.  It is three short wonderful songs featuring Ballard and his ukelele, as well as some special kazoo-ing in track 2.

Merry Christmas!  There are about a billion people out there I wish I could give presents, hugs, and extra love to this holiday.  In my absence, please accept this re-gifting.  Plant yourself under a mistletoe, crank up the volume, do a little jig and ... besos from me! (Click on the album cover to download!)

Cover design by Kelsey Fox Bennet

With A Little Love

I, like many of you, struggle to understand what happened today in Connecticut.  How do I explain this to my students?  How do I make them feel safe?  The country has lit up in discussions about why this has happened, laws that should, or should not be in place, who is to blame, etc.  I'm angry, I'm confused, and yet I still believe something can happen.

When I can't find the words to describe what I'm feeling, I turn to the words of others.  Today, this old Hootie and the Blowfish tune does it for me.  Although the video is slightly strange, the words say it.  I hope you have someone to be with tonight.  And if you do, hold their hand just a little bit tighter.  I know I am looking forward to heading home next week.

With a little love, and some tenderness,
We'll walk across the water, we'll rise above this mess
With a little peace, and some harmony,
We'll take the world together,
We'll take em by the hand.

I'm So Freaking Thankful!

This year I have been blessed with so much.   I'm the happiest I think I've ever been, and it is all thanks to...

The two beautiful cities I call home...LA and

Boston

My companion on the journey, 14.5 years strong, Nikolas James Pumpkinhead

My Boston family, who always make me feel at home

My LA family, willing to get down and relax whenever I need to

My forrealwearebloodrelatedcantyoutell? family

My wonderful job that leads to moments like this...

The bestest friends any girl could hope for

Starting something new...

And loving the finished project, despite the mistakes along the way

Words that make my heart skip a beat

That I want to read over and over and over again

The little things that remind me of home

Reaching my goals

And setting future goals... Sister Plan 2013!!!

Yup, it really is that good.  Looking back at pictures from this year, I realize that a lot of moments and a lot of people aren't captured here.  At first I thought maybe I need to take more pictures.  Then I changed my mind.  Not only am I thankful for these moments captured forever in photos, I am also thankful for those moments that I was enjoying too much to stop and take a picture.  The moments I got so swept up in, the moments where friends stood by me when I needed them, the moments that a picture could never fully appreciate...you were all there and I am thankful for that too.

Knitting in LA

What the East Coast thinks we do...

...and what we sometimes think we do...

But this is HOWE we REALLY do it!

My cousin Diane and I are the lone Howe Family transports on the West Coast and we both live in SoCal.  Our families back East want us back there. We are constantly torn between which coast we belong to.  However, during a most fabulous cousin weekend, we took some time to work out, shop, dance....and knit!  Another "Howe" girl has joined the knitting team! 

look at the puppy!!!

its gonna be that kind of day. tgif. enjoy your weekend and get yo knit on!!!

It's Beginning to Smell Like Fall!

I give you....terrible pictures of me just after waking up.  AND CHOCOLATE CHIP PUMPKIN PANCAKES!!!  We ate the pancakes too fast so we couldn't snap a picture, but they were delicious!

You Say Autumn, I Say, Pretty Please!

Yup, another post.  And yes, so soon after the last!  What has gotten into us?

Usually, in LA, our "signs" of fall are
celebrities dressing more cozy, as in this photo
from www.collegefashion.net/

Well, for me, it is the fact that the weather in LA is finally starting to turn to a more "fall" like season.  We have been battling triple-digit heat for too long over here and I am ready for things to cool down.  Seriously, you know it has been hot when you check the forecast, it says 80 degrees, and you say, "YES!  I'm wearing a sweater today!"

Today, however, is overcast, slightly drizzly,  and a cool 71 degrees (yes, I know what that sounds like to my friends back east and in Seattle) and I am ready to bust out my leg-warmers and some comfy food.  Add to that, my dear Marmie is on a plane, as I type, making her way to the west coast.  She will be here for a full 8 days but I only get her for the weekends.  Can you imagine a better fall day than snuggling up all cozy with your mom, watching chick flicks, drinking hot drinks, and knitting??  I can't!

I'm shooting for more of a
"quaint New England town" feel

So for tomorrow, I have planned us a delicious breakfast.  In fact, I am about to throw on my favorite Salmagundi fall hat and get the final ingredients.  The meal?  Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Pancakes.  That's right.  You heard me.  I decided to not just mush up my pumpkin puree with my box of Bisquik and actually find a recipe.  I stumbled upon this blog A Cozy Kitchen and she not only tells you why chocolate chip pumpkin pancakes are amazing, she gives a pretty simply but delicious-sounding recipe.

So, cheers to all of you who have been blessed with the appropriate weather.  I am finally joining you and will post pictures tomorrow!

what howe girls do

so howe girls do stuff is supposed to be about what we do. which can be anything. so one would assume that if there are no posts, howe girls do jack shit. well this simply just isn't true. howe girls do procrastination very, very well. so, without further ado, i present to you what this howe girl did, in picture form...

baked cookies

knit a wonky glove...

...and took it apart

hung out in brooklyn

spent a day hiking

hung w einstein

pissed off a cat enough to do this

was a baller and got flowers

made hipster eggs

saw jack white and his creepy band of zombie ladies

watched the nats win

made a new best friend

stalked adorable children's authors

was jealous of children screaming for coffee in italian

met a baby 

turned my friend into a model

surprised momma w balloons

made an american flag cake...

...for captain america

well there you have it. a snap shot of what this howe girl has been doing. next time i will hopefully have an entire blog post w words instead of just pictures. but lets face it. why do today what i can do tomorrow???