Hobbies are Cool!

As I mentioned before, Jen taught me how to crochet when we were in North Carolina. Well, I took the new knowledge and the interest in the hobby and ran with it! James mentioned that he was all for this new hobby because it was relatively inexpensive and kept your hands busy. It does keep me very busy and very entertained, but inexpensive? Only if you don't visit Michael's once per week and purchase skeins and skeins of yarn. There are so many cute colors of yarn and soft textures. And I have so many ideas of all of the projects I want to work on. I guess in the grand scheme of things, all of the gifts that I have been making are cheaper than if I purchased them from a local store. My list of people to give gifts to is just growing and growing. Everyone is having kids, so there are many baby blankets to be made. It's winter right now, so there are lots of hats and scarves to be made. And who doesn't need a gorgeous afghan to curl under while you watch TV. So basically, all of my friends and family are on my list to receive gifts, but I'm still kinda slow at making things. I think my first scarf took two weeks and then it got quicker from there!

So far, my mom and Sam have benefited from scarves. Yael got a blanket and a hat, Sam and I got hats and I'm in the middle of making "Army boy" Brian an afghan. Next on my list - blankets for all of the new babies and an afghan for us. I just got a request for kipah's from Eran for he and Yoni - that I can make in an hour or so. I found the cutest yarn for little girls (see Yael's blanket) and completely bought them out! Sam bought me a gorgeous trunk to keep all of my yarn in and it's full. I think I'll take advantage of Sam being gone this week to crochet a number of projects!

My mom jokes that I'm somewhat geriatric for choosing this as a hobby. Is anyone else into this kind of stuff?? Did I also mention that I taught Sam to crochet and he just finished a great scarf, er, table runner, er long straight crocheted thing (which I love!)

Now, onto pictures!


Sam modeling his new scarf


Yael's hat


Yael's blanket


Yael in her hat with her blanket (with Brenda)


Our new hats (please ignore that I look like crap - I was sick!)


Sam's new hat

Mini Vacation - A Month Late

Well it's been a while and we have definitely been incredibly busy. I'm overworked and spending most of my time in the Bronx and Manhattan seeing patients. My caseload is more manageable, but I'm still exhausted! So in January, we decided that we needed a break. To celebrate Jen & James' 1 year anniversary, we hopped a plane to Charlotte, NC and then visited them in Hickory, NC. It was such a relaxing little vacation. The weather was beautiful, the company was great, and the food was even better.

Over the weekend, we took a day trip to Boone, NC to visit Appalachian State University, which is absolutely gorgeous and up in the mountains. The drive alone was breathtaking. It's such a cute little college town that was a little reminiscent of the UT drag.

During the weekend, Jen taught me to crochet, which I think is the coolest hobby ever! Jen taught herself recently and is really good at it. I was able to make a pretty silly looking scarf, but it was just a start. I was able to pack our suitcase with a lot of yarn, new needles and books of patterns that will also teach me to crochet!

Enjoy the pictures of the gorgeous mountains. We're really missing home at this point!!!!