Minimalist Knits

1. Super Simple Neutral Cowl -Cute!
2. Plush Knit Bag
3. Royal Artisan Hat -Reader Favorite!
4. Favorite Seed Stitch Hat
5. Eggnog Scarf -Favorite Full Pattern!
6. Knit Your Own Minimalist Rug
7. White as Snow Cable Throw

Presidential Knits/Crochets

1. George Washington -The Father of Our Country!
2. Abraham Lincoln -Honest Abe!
3. Theodore Roosevelt
4. Woodrow Wilson
5. FDR
6. Dwight D. Eisenhower -One of the Greatest!
7. JFK
8. George W. Bush
9. Barack Obama 

Winter Fest at Kings Island

When I was a child and Kings Island opened they had Winter Fest and from what I hear it was a lot of fun! Now, I only came to Kings Island once or twice or maybe three or four times until I was in college and then I bought myself a pass and came when I was off work or just wanted to go someplace by myself. Sometimes I would meet up with friends, but I came by myself. I loved to ride roller coasters and this was an opportunity. By this time, Winter Fest had ended.

When we moved up to the area, we got passes and took our girls to Kings Island a lot. After a few years, we stopped coming for a while. We did other things. We had a Beach Waterpark pass and went there. We have zoo passes and museum passes. We just went with the flow. The girls loved it. Last year, my older girls asked if we could have passes again and go back to Kings Island. It was the perfect year to start again....Halloween and Winter Fest.

Christmas Time is Near

Recently, I heard a news item about apps that help to diagnose Alzheimer's. I thought that was interesting and saved the article.

Also, I love to make hot cocoa from scratch on Christmas Eve with my girls and watch "Polar Express." In the past we would also make popcorn and eat popcorn, but the girls have braces so many things are not allowed, so I am saving all kinds of fun things we can make together.

I love the Grinch! I love what he says about buying things for people to only have it thrown away! I saw this Grinch in Whitehaven and it was so funny, I had to save it for future watching because it is the truth and funny all at the same time.

This is a really good info on where to learn Sign Language.

Afghans:
C2C Moss Stitch
Jeweled Pebbles Blanket
Autumn Leaves
Bernat Wonky Squares

Amigurumi:
Cuddle Me Bear
Christmas Gnomes - free Ravelry download
I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas from Red Heart. I am so making this cutie.

Decorations:
Mini Creche
Red Heart Colorful Snowflakes
Harvest Pumpkins
Advent Calendar
Wreath Ornament
Penguin Ornament
Nadia's 12 Days of Christmas - this is such a wonderful and fun site full of patterns!
Santa Ornament
Christmas Tree Advent Calendar - my girls love Advent Calendars. This could be fun to make in the New Year and have for next Christmas.
Fair Isle Santas from Red Heart

Gifts:
Blue Spruce Mug Cozy
12 Weeks of Christmas Bags
Pattern Paradise - this is the site for 12 weeks of Christmas... quick and easy crafts.
Santa Pants Gift Holder

Gloves/Mittens:
Kreisel Fingerless Gloves - These are beautiful, architectural dreams.

Hats:
Ornament Hat

Shawls/Scarves:
Tides of Dawn
Northwoods Shawl
Van Ness

College Credit and More!

Even homeschool kids can get college credits while in High School. I found a link that shows how to do this and saved it since I have a Freshman this year.

Also, while exploring one day, a Park Ranger told me about this site: US National Parks for Teachers

Baking Charts - we use these all the time as we experiment.

Writing Tips for Anxious Writers

Smallest Town in Each State

Science Wars Mitosis vs Meiosis How Much Pain Can You Handle

Periodic Table this is from the Royal Society of Chemistry. It is interactive...in other words fun!

Code Academy - I was told about this from a computer guy I met at the zoo.

Homeschool Coding

Math and Its Symbols

Make Writing More Suspenseful - I love TED talks

Link to Graphic Reading Organizers

Good information no matter who you are.

Leading Lady Knits

1. Zooey Deschanel - Vintage!
2. Halle Berry
3. Jennifer Lawrence - Our Fave!
4. Kate Winslet
5. Julia Roberts - Pictured!
6. Jennifer Aniston
7. Viola Davis
8. Meryl Streep - We LOVE This!

These patterns are from my email and I am just copying and updating the pattern links. 

Cincinnati Zoo Lights and Christmas

We have been going to as many places as we can with the good weather. Walking as much as we can and looking at as much as we can. We have been having fun and learning so many different things. Love the zoo and their mission to educate on animals and help species survive.

Christmas and Winter at Kings Island

Kings Island brought back Winter Fest. My girls have been twice, my husband once and I took them once. They loved it. Some rides are open, not many and there are tons of shows and lots of lights. We had so much fun wandering the park and looking at all the lights.

Agatha Christie

When I was in college, I started reading Agatha Christie novels. I didn't at the time know how prolific she was. I have a goal of trying to read all that she has written, but to do that, I will have to keep a list and keep track of what I have read and what she wrote. To that end, here is a list of her writing:

"The Man in the Brown Suit 
The Secret of Chimneys 
The Seven Dials Mystery 
The Mysterious Mr. Quin 
The Sittaford Mystery Parker Pyne Investigates 
Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? 
Murder Is Easy 
The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories 
And Then There Were None 
Towards Zero 
Death Comes as the End 
Sparkling Cyanide 
The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories 
Crooked House 
Three Blind Mice and Other Stories 
They Came to Baghdad 
Destination Unknown 
Ordeal by Innocence 
Double Sin and Other Stories 
The Pale Horse 
Star over Bethlehem: Poems and Holiday Stories 
Endless Night Passenger to Frankfurt 
The Golden Ball and Other Stories 
The Mousetrap and Other Plays 
The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories 
The Hercule Poirot Mysteries 
The Mysterious Affair at Styles 
The Murder on the Links 
Poirot Investigates: 
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd 
The Big Four 
The Mystery of the Blue Train 
Peril at End House 
Lord Edgware Dies 
Murder on the Orient Express 
Three Act Tragedy 
Death in the Clouds 
The A.B.C. Murders 
Murder in Mesopotamia 
Cards on the Table 
Murder in the Mews 
Dumb Witness 
Death on the Nile 
Appointment with Death 
Hercule Poirot’s Christmas 
Sad Cypress 
One, Two, Buckle My Shoe 
Evil Under the Sun 
Five Little Pigs 
The Hollow 
The Labors of Hercules 
Taken at the Flood 
The Under Dog and Other Stories 
Mrs. McGinty’s Dead 
After the Funeral 
Hickory Dickory Dock 
Dead Man’s Folly 
Cat Among the Pigeons 
The Clocks 
Third Girl 
Hallowe’en Party 
Elephants Can Remember 
Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case 
The Miss Marple Mysteries: 
The Murder at the Vicarage 
The Body in the Library 
The Moving Finger 
A Murder Is Announced 
They Do It with Mirrors 
A Pocket Full of Rye 
4: 50 from Paddington 
The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side 
A Caribbean Mystery 
At Bertram’s Hotel 
Nemesis 
Sleeping Murder 
Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories 
The Tommy and Tuppence Mysteries:
The Secret Adversary 
Partners in Crime 
N or M? 
By the Pricking of My Thumbs 
Postern of Fate 
Memoirs An Autobiography 
Come, Tell Me How You Live"

Time Change Needs to End

How Daylight Savings Affects Your Section of the Country 

Time for Daylight Savings to Fall Back Forever 

Daylight Savings Accident Statistics 

I don't like Daylight Savings. When I was a teen, I loved Falling Back, but I didn't like Springing Forward. Then I grew up, I got married, I had children, and animals all my own. Children and animals do not make this change easily. In fact, while the rest of the world was enjoying the sleep in, my cats are stomping on me, my dog is at the top of the stairs, singing about being outside. It is still dark and today, it is dreary. I have been up since (what used to be 6:50 a.m.) 5:50 a.m. trying to convince the animals that they need to sleep a little longer. They aren't listening to me. They are hungry and thirsty (freshwater snobs) and, in the case of the dog, want to go out to use the restroom. It will take us almost a month to readjust to the fall back and then, just as we are comfortable with the change, it will be time to spring forward. 

This was started during wars to help save energy and have more daylight during working hours, but now, these days, factories run around the clock and children are still standing out in the dark or in the case of younger children, coming home in the dark (some kids ride the bus for over an hour). It is time to stop the changing of the clocks. 

States Patterns

I love themes, especially those for different states in the Union.

1. Illinois - Windy City Cardigan
2. Wisconsin - Swiss Cheese Scarf
3. Montana - Jefferson Scarf
4. Maine - Lighthouse Dishcloth
5. New York - Links for NY winter accessories
6. Hawaii - Hawaiian Sunset Lace Shawl
7. Tennessee - Southern Sky Easy Knit Shawl

Halloween Haunt

This weekend Kings Island started their Halloween Haunt and the girls and I went to see it for the very first time. It was so fun! The way it started and the running of the "monsters" was so priceless. The girls were able to get on rides with short to no wait times and they loved that. They rode what they wanted and we had some fun.