Once again I am joining with Ginny and others for the weekly Yarn Along.  Books and Knitting.  Two things I love!  This week I am definitely not getting much reading done, but I am getting some in some knitting time.

Last week I put aside the Radiating Star Blanket I've been making to make an Aviatrix for Corrine's little friend Connor.
On Sunday I loaded up the car...I had two bags of goodies for the food swap I was attending that night, the birthday present for the party we were headed to, Corrine's diaper bag, and Corrine.  I remember having Connor's hat in the kitchen.  And that was the last I saw of it.  I'm not sure if I dropped it getting in or out of the car but it was REALLY windy that day so if I did the hat probably blew to Kansas.  After tearing apart the car and the house and even checking the backyard to see if the dogs were using it as a new toy I went to the yarn store and bought more of the same yarn and started over.

This past week I finished reading Catching Fire and started on Mockingjay which is the third book in the Hunger Games series.  The movie comes out March 23rd.  And I can't wait to see it.  Unfortunately I am working that morning so I'll wait a week or so to see it so it won't be as crowded.  I am also listening to Body Work by Sara Paretsky in the car on my way to work.

I took the recycling out to the bin this morning and to my surprise, saw some tulips pushing through the ground!  It has been unseasonably warm here, but typical of Colorado it changes from day to day.  Last week it was warm enough to finish melting the snow that we got the first part of February.  Yesterday it was 65 degrees and windy.  I wanted to hang my laundry on the line, but was afraid my wash would end up in Kansas!  Today it is sunny, but only 32 degrees.
We still have to get through March.  It is the snowiest month here.  Luckily it doesn't get and stay really cold.  And the snow is usually a wet, heavy snow.  Otherwise I would worry about my tulips coming up this early.  But it sure is a nice sign that Spring is just around the corner!

Lately I have been obsessing a bit over three things... cleanliness, my veggies garden, and school for Corrine.  Today I'm going to rant on my new cleanliness obsession.  (I'll save my other obsessions for another day).

OK...where to start?  Before Corrine I was always an obsessive vacuumer.  We have two shedding black dogs, and two cats.  If I skip a day the dust bunnies rival the cats in size.  But now with Corrine crawling, she puts all the fur balls she finds in her mouth.  Ick.  So I vacuum every morning.  A group of our friends got together and bought us a Dyson Animal Ball Vacuum for a baby present.  BEST.  BABY. PRESENT. EVER!  I had wanted on, but wasn't willing to pay $500 for a vacuum.  Even if I was to use it every day.  However, now that I have one, I would gladly pay that.  There is nothing more zen than clean floors.

Other than vacuuming, my housecleaning was rather haphazard.  I didn't clean anything regularly.  If I thought it was looking dirty I cleaned it.  Except the kitchen, that it cleaned daily as I used it.  But  now I am looking at cleanliness and dirtiness from a whole new perspective.  I am home more and can clean on a regular basis.

I'm not a germaphobe, I just want things to be fresh!  So I sat down and made a chart to give myself a rough idea of what needed to be done.  Things like vacuum and mop, clean the bathroom, dust, clean the walls, etc.  I don't want it to be a rigid cleaning schedule, just a guideline of what needs to be done daily and what can be done once or twice a week.  I can't go crazy over it...not with dogs who track in dirt and baby who makes a mess.  I'm not sure how long this will last, but even ranting about it now makes me feel better.

This week I am joining Ginny at Small Things for the weekly Yarn Along.  Books and knitting.  Two of my favorite things, but don't get a chance to do much of either with a one year old.