Spring is a time when families get back together. Kids are out of school and return home for a little R&R. It was great to see this family all together with the eldest home from his 1st year of college. We wanted to get a great family portrait and a few of the boys… especially the eldest at this time of his life.
I’ve been doing a lot of crazy things to get ready for this baby. Mostly I’ve been trying to get the house organized… in spurts that has left the place a mess. Who’s going to clean that up? I have also been doing quite a bit of volunteer work, which always adds to the chaos. The other thing I have been doing a lot of is knitting… as the title of this post says.
Ezra adopted my first creation as his own. I wanted to wear this scarf to the park on St. Patrick’s Day since it was a bit chilly in the morn’. Once I put it on, Ezra said “Hey, that’s mine!” So he got it, mostly to convince him to be photographed.
I had combed his hair (I’ve discovered the benefits of water and a fine toothed comb to get out the knots) and he had chosen to wear his boots with his shorts, which didn’t leave much room for his legs to show. It was a funny look and I wanted to capture it. It wasn’t until he put the scarf on (“I want it to cover my mooouth”) that he agreed to a photograph.
My second project is for baby X. He will need a few hats. My friend Heather and I made a trip to this super cute yarn shop called Knitty Cat south of here. After the owner, Ann, helped Heather figure out which combination of patterns she should use, she gave us tips on which yarn to choose. We were then left to find the best colors for the job. I really wanted to make something too and I since I have no idea what I’m doing when it come to knitting, I decided we could each make the hat. Heather thought that was a good idea and reminded me that this babe will need a few things that are just his.
This is how the little hat has turned out. A few mistakes, but nothing earth shattering. I figure the mistakes will make it obvious that someone, rather than a machine, made this hat.
I guess I should finish this project, but I’ve already moved onto a blanket. I need to give these little needles back the Heather. It’s just so tedious getting the tail knitted. Tonight, I’ll do it tonight.
They say a baby is just a baby: they eat, poop and sleep. I think this little one was showing off a bit. Not only was she sporting the perfect amount of chunk; at 5 weeks she smiled, gave me smoldering eyes, and even a sleepy hug. This little one had so many great moments for me to capture.
The smile,
A bit of the smoldering eye,
and the sleepy hug.
I love the squishy face. Babies make the funniest faces when kissed.
The other day we spent after school time at our neighbor’s house. They have this super comfortable rocking chair that is also super modern. It reminded me of my chair search a couple weeks ago that turned up some uber-chic rocking chairs. After that search I looked at the more standard, and affordable, chairs… blah! Why would I want another one of those? The last one, although wonderfully useful while it lasted, was very noisy and not very stylish.
Anyway, Zach came to our neighbors to help round up the kids and I mentioned their rocking chair and how we really need one. Once home, my researcher began a looking on Craig’s List while I was busy getting dinner ready. By dinner time he had found the chair. A white Herman Miller shell with arms and a rocker to boot. For those of you not into vintage modern furniture, let’s just say it’s a very cool chair. Maybe you’d think this isn’t the most comfortable chair in the world, but our shell chairs for the bar are actually quite comfortable.
So, I called the seller and he was free that night. After dinner we began to head out when there was a knock at the door. I had completely forgotten we had an appointment with the EQ. Well, we said our apologies and headed out the door. Nesting errands trump visits from people. Ha! Sorry guys.
Anyway we got to the seller’s house and he had an upholstered rocker. Even better. I sat, rocked, checked it out and we chatted about the history of these chairs. He said the rockers were made for expecting office workers. Cool. It looked good and fit me well; we paid the man and headed home with our treasure.
Once home I realized I could really use this chair in my office while waiting for the baby. So comfortable. Not sure I’ll be able to give it up once the baby comes. I’ll just be nursing and surfing all day long.
This Arapahoe Acres home was built in 1954 by Edward Hawkins.  It is situated in the middle of the block, nestled into the slope.Hawkins did not bulldoze the natural slope found on the land; he incorporated it into his designs.Therefore the lower level of the home abuts the hill while the upper level rests atop it. When entering, one is ushered into a tiny foyer with beautiful mahogany paneling.It is surprisingly light owing to the wide stairwell and the fretted glass panels surrounding the front and interior door.
While the main living space is upstairs at garden level, downstairs has what was originally a small family room, two bedrooms, and a bath.
There are so many wonderful details that one cannot help but notice in this home.The first, and most dramatic, has to be the latticed stair enclosure one climbs to enter the heart of the home.Once atop the staircase a view of the beautiful garden, along with the salvaged sculpture from National Jewish Hospital, is seen through the south facing window wall.
A more subtle detail, but no less important, is the fireplace wall in the living room.The concrete hearth and mahogany shelves create a composition on the roman brick wall that reinforces the horizontal character of the room.  A series of panoramic photographs from neighbor Ron Pollard have been placed along the longest shelf.The images show a bit of Englewood history.They were taken of Cinderella City Mall as it was being demolished in 1998.
The vaulted ceiling throughout and clerestory windows on the east and west walls both attribute to the open feeling in the space.Pony walls enclose the kitchen and a former patio just outside the kitchen is now a sun filled room.The addition, dubbed “the lounge”, stays true to the original design.Dark lapped wood paneling along with south and west facing window walls, keep the lounge light and open to the outdoors.
This little nook has a desk that appears to have been built with the original construction of the home. The window seat seems to be an extension of the original desk, added at some later date. The tell tale signs are a partially covered outlet and some unpainted paneling behind the seat.
A very beautiful, well preserved home here in Arapahoe Acres.