The kids are both old enough now to appreciate holiday traditions. They remember doing some of these things in years past and look forward to doing them again. As you can see, pumpkin carving was a big hit with them.

Sam and Claire cleaned out the pumpkins as best they could and directed the cutting of the designs. I, of course, was in charge of sharp implements. Sam chose an elaborate spider design. Claire was happy with a goofy face.

Our jack-o-lanterns garnered compliments from the neighbors!

Of course, trick-or-treating was the most exciting part of the holiday. Their dad and uncle took them around the neighborhood and they came back with an unbelievable amount of candy. I guess our neighbors were suckered by how cute these two kids are (I know I would have been!)

More holiday photos can be seen here.

I had hoped to finish my orange jacket in time for trick-or-treating. I had imagined attaching some black felt cutouts (only temporarily) to make it look like a jack-o-lantern, but I just plain ran out of time. I did finish it the next day and am very happy with it.

I think I managed to save it from looking too “clownish.” Cutting down the sleeves helped a lot. It’s not something I can wear all the time, since that neck is deep and wide. It looks best when I wear a turtleneck or crew neck top underneath it. Also, the wide neckline allows the cold in. My next jacket is going to be less “stylish” and more practical. Even though I disparaged the material a lot in the past, I’m eager to sew with fleece again. It’s easy to handle and makes perfect outerwear for the damp weather we have around here.

More details on the McCall’s jacket can be found in my pattern review.

We woke up this morning to snow. Not much, just a light dusting really, but it was enough to delay local schools from opening by two hours. That was ok by me, since I’m not a morning person and appreciated the extra time to get going.

Since Robert took the car today, the kids and I walked to school. Normally, it’s a nice journey, but today the fluffy white stuff provided them with continual distraction and I was hard pressed to keep them going so we would make it before the last bell rang. We made it–just in time–and both kids were soaked through and through.

When Claire and I made it back home, she changed into warm, dry clothes and sat down to watch the latest Pingu disc we rented.

I took the opportunity to work on Cassidy, which is nearly complete–but not close enough that I’ll be able to wear it to my knitting meetup tonight. Darn it! A knitter needs to show off their big creations now and then I still have a ton of seaming to do, a few more inches on the hood and the front bands to work. Still, a new sweater is on the horizon and I’m excited about that!

It snowed again. I was royally freaking out because I needed Sam to go back to school. Working hard in class and playing hard with his friends wears him out, which is a fantastic thing. When he comes home, he’s nice and calm. As much as Claire and I try to keep him busy, we can’t compete with six hours of school and 30 kids.

Apparently the People in Charge also had enough of letting the snow interfere with what should be a regular old day and/or they couldn’t stomach the thought of spending all summer in school, so school was back in session and on time today…despite all the snow.

I’m looking forward to a few hours of quiet today in which I’ll take a look at some of my favorite websites, do some laundry, figure out what to cook for dinner and play a silly game or three with Claire.

The snow has added another element of excitement to our lives. It’s breaking things.

The tree next door lost a couple of large limbs, which are blocking our neighbor’s driveway. The snow has also caused our street light to tilt over at an alarming angle. I called the Street Light People, who are supposedly sending Street Light Engineers my way, but I haven’t yet seen hide nor hair of them. I hope it won’t take them the six to eight weeks they estimate for fixing street light outages…

On the crafting front, choosing which mitten to knit has turned out to be more difficult than my former plan made it seem. I initially tried Bella’s Mittens, but the yarn I was using was variegated and too busy for the pattern. Then, I started on Bird in the Hand, but had serious gauge issues. Using size 2 needles made a mitten that was so tight it could have been used as a tourniquet. Using size 3 needles resulted in a tube of fabric that could have comfortably encased my thigh.

It’s a pretty pattern, though, and someday I intend to try it again using a DK weight yarn. (Ooh, and working those braids was loads of fun. I say this even after it caused me to break one of my beloved birch DPNs).

Currently, I’m trying to knit one of the Selbuvotter mittens, but am feeling paranoid about sizing issues despite the fact that my gauge appears to be spot on–and continues to be correct even after checking it 5,629 times. I’d post a photo, but I don’t want to jinx myself yet.