A nifty, thrifty day....

We have a new toy in our backyard. (First I typed backyarn - I really am obsessed!). The boys have been learning to balance at school. They are constantly saying to me, "look Mommy" and standing on one leg.

They've been asking if we can get a balance beam for them to practice on. From where, I had no idea. Until I had an idea, that was. We took ourselves off to Lowes and bought a plank of wood for $3. I retrieved my unused yoga blocks from the garage, and lo, a balance beam was born. See, nifty AND thrifty.The little beauty balancing on the end there is my next thriftyness. It's my first hat for Hats for Alex, a charity which I'm sure most of you are aware of. Made with some acrylic I bought at a thrift store, oh, at least a year ago. I used the umbilical cord hat pattern from Debbie Stoller's Stitch'n'Bitch book. It's the first time I've knit that pattern and, boy, was it easy! I see many more in my future.

And my last thriftyness is actually some gorgeous yarn. I'm taking part in the Knitty.com Spring swap, which has encouraged us to gift yarn already in our stash. This is Mooncake Yarn's Tranquility in Blue Jewel. It looks and feels just like Malabrigo and is the prettiest pale blue. I'm going to be attempting to make two whole projects with this. It's going to be a squeeze, but I have to try.

Here's a bit of a poolside shot, for everyone in the frozen North. Actually, take heart, it's a bit chilly today, even here in SW Florida.