Starting the day on a nice note

I had a lovely start to my day, thanks to my local garbage men.

No, really, I did.

I was getting the kids rolling this morning when I heard the doorbell ring (at about 7:05). Given how an early morning call started my day on Sunday I was a little apprehensive as I went to check who was there. I pulled back the curtain at the front window and saw a man in a safety vest walking away. It took me a second to realize that it was the garbage collection man, and two more seconds to make it out to the side of the house to drag the barrel to the curb.

The garbage man who had rung the bell came back up the street to take the barrel and asked me where it was - in the back? I said no, on the side of the house, to which he replied that he'd looked there but hadn't seen it. He said that with the dirty diapers and all he figured we would be happy to get rid of our weekly trash.

Let me make sure this is clear: the garbage man went looking for my trash barrel, and rang the bell to let me know that he couldn't find it. Does anybody else find this completely amazing? I continue to be impressed that he would go out of his way to help us out. I thoughts about calling the garbage company and letting them know how pleased I am, but then I wasn't sure if maybe they're not supposed to do that, and I wouldn't want to get him in trouble.

Maybe I'll bake him some cookies.

In other news, we're having record breaking heat around here today. It's frakkin' hot. And I don't like hot. Cold I can manage, but it was over 100 degrees here today, and it's still hot and stuffy. It's supposed to be hot again tomorrow, although not quite as hot as today. And I've just about finished the knee length wool coat I've been knitting for Punkin - perfect timing!

Time to go, gotta clean up after dinner and attempt to fold some of the mountain of laundry that has piled up. Punkin bought a half yard of white cotton fabric and some lace trim the other day, so she can make a lace trimmed hanky, a la Laura Ingalls Wilder, and I told her it has to be washed before she can start. Patience is not her strong suit, and she's been asking me every morning and evening if it's ready!

A Not so Happy Mother's Day

Mother's Day started with a phone call at 6:48 am.

Phone calls that early are never good. I didn't get to the phone in time, but noted on the called ID that it was my father-in-law who had called, and then tried to go back to bed. When I told the Italian it was his dad who called he pointed out that his dad was unlikely to screw up the time change (calling from the East Coast) and that the other possibility was that he was calling about a family emergency.

I still tried to go back to sleep but the truth of what he said gnawed at me, so I got up.

Unfortunately, he was correct. His aunt and uncle were killed in a car crash early Sunday morning. It was one of those senseless tragedies that strikes at random, and the family is worse for it.

It is unlikely that the kids and I will travel to the services (in Massachusetts) although I think the Italian is still on the fence about going.

On a much happier note, my three year old son just said to me "my like you a lot every day" (he says "my" for "I").

I needed that. I think I'll go play Mousetrap with him some more.

And I wonder why I'm tired...

today's schedule so far:

8:00 - pancake breakfast fundraiser for Punkin's school
9:00 - drop Punkin and the Italian off at Mandarin class
9:15 - purchase bagels and endure one of Buddy's raging tantrums (he didn't get exactly the cookie that he desired. I sat him down on the sidewalk outside the bagel shop and just let him scream.)
9:30 - stop at an estate sale, pick up a few things
10:00 - retrieve the Italian from Mandarin, bring him to estate sale (he likes these kinds of things)
11:00 - retrieve Punkin from Mandarin class
11:15 - go to Silicon Valley Open Studios to see my friend Moose's really great artwork (stopping first at a library booksale - more on that later). Hang out with Moose for a little while until Buddy started to come apart at the seams.
12:00 - go to Costco (always a good idea on a Saturday) to buy some groceries and grab a quick lunch.
1:30 - home, unload the car, try to get Buddy to nap (hasn't worked yet).
That brings us to now, 3:27. The kids are watching TV (it's part of the nap attempt process), the Italian is sacked out on the bed, and I'm sneaking a minute to do this.

What's left for today? A trip to the Computer History Museum that we had tentatively planned is probably out. We may still try to go to the WWII Trainers event at the Hiller Aviation Museum that Buddy would love. And we're due at a party tonight at 5:30, for which we still have to prepare food to bring.

Not all Saturdays are this busy, but enough of them are!

Beuller, Beuller?

Blogger wouldn't post my last post, so I'm trying again.

Granted, it wasn't a great post, but irritating nonetheless.

Hi

Trying again to post this one...

I have been meaning to get back to this for quite some time. I keep waiting for the time to write a really kick-ass post, trying to explain why I've been absent and show what I've done for myself in all this time.

But that's why I've been gone so long - there's never the time to do anything kick-ass.

So instead I'm just here saying hi. I've been knitting - I've just blocked the pieces to a sweater I'm making for Punkin. I made socks for my mom, started a pair for myself.

I'm going to try to finish up some projects that have been lingering. I'm not going to start anything new for a little while.

The kids are doing fine, the Italian is busy, and I'm (mostly) getting through each day.

There, I've done it. Let's hope the next one is better!

I'm not dead yet

I'm still here, my head hasn't exploded yet.

The car has been replaced (another used Volvo station wagon).

The day care has been replaced (although the three and a half weeks of looking and the adjustment period to the new place has not been fun).

Some knitting has been happening, nothing much exciting.

Punkin turned 7 last week and has lost both top front teeth - she's growing up fast.

Buddy turns 3 this weekend.

That's all I've got for now.

Fun, interrupted

As many of you know (unless this is the first time you've ever looked at a knitting blog) this weekend was Stitches West. For the first time in many years I had decided to take a couple classes and really do a full-on knitting weekend. I had a class on Thursday afternoon, I was going to go to the Ravelry meet up, have dinner with friends, go to the Market preview, go again to the Market after work on Friday afternoon with Punkin, and class all day on Saturday, with more Market during breaks from class.

Everything started well. My Thursday class was good (Pattern Writing with Edie Eckman), and the Ravelry meetup was fun - I saw some old friends and make some new.

However, the rest of the plan did not work out so well. On my way to dinner I got a call from the Italian. He and the kids had been in a car accident (everybody is fine) and he needed me to come to the spot on the highway off ramp and get the kids. Which I did.

Friday morning was spent on the phone with the insurance company and the car rental agency. I went to work where they were sealing the floors in the lobby (the building is being renovated) and the stink was so bad I had to go to a different building for part of the day.

The Italian brought Punkin to me after work, when he informed me that the best guess of the body shop guy is that the car is totaled. I went to the Market with Punkin, who started right away with "I'm tired". At first I thought she was just worn out from the drama of the accident and we soldiered on. But when I sat down with her to take a break I realized she was feverish, so we headed home (making only a couple of stops to peek in booths along the way).

Saturday went relatively smoothly. The Italian stayed home with the kids and I took off for my class, Estonian Lace with Nancy Bush. The class was good - Nancy is clearly knowledgeable about the topic and I learned some stuff. Unfortunately, Nancy was also very under the weather, and the handouts she had revised before our class were full of errors, which made the whole thing a little less impressive.

I got some very restrained shopping done (knowing that you're probably going to have to buy a new car you can't afford certainly changes one's outlook on buying expensive yarn) and came home.

Today brought continued fever in Punkin and fever in Buddy, which we dealt with by taking the kids car shopping. Two test drives later we headed home to nap/rest the kids. I lay down with Punkin for a while and woke up when the phone rang. The Italian was on the phone for a few minutes, then was busy dealing with Buddy, who had soaked through his diaper during his long nap. Once he had taken care of that the Italian informed me that the phone call was from Buddy's day care provider (he goes to a home daycare) who is in the hospital and either has to have cervical fusion surgery or has a brain tumor.

Oh. My. Gods. On a good day I feel like I manage my life reasonably well. On a bad day I feel like I can barely keep things together (and I just have to ignore the giant pile of laundry).

Tonight I feel like if I don't keep both hands firmly pressed to the sides of my head it will just explode. So please excuse me while I go sit somewhere and hold my head.

New man in my life

I have a new man in my life. Not so new, actually he's been around since last fall, but I just recently discovered that my new man has an interesting fetish. A fetish I'm not particularly thrilled about.

Meet Pete:

(yes, he's sitting in the doorway. Cool trick, that.)

Pete is a part Maine coon cat who came to live with us last September, joining our household of two adults, two children, one bird and one cat. Pete was about 5 months old when we got him, so he's getting close to one year old now. He's a lot of fun, very affectionate, and great with the kids.

We used to have two cats, a part Burmese named Maddy and a part Maine coon named Max. We adopted them at the same time over ten years ago (pre children). Maddy is temperamental and cranky, Max was patient and an absolute love.
Here's Maddy, napping/grooming on top of a tub of laundry:

Here's a not so great photo of Max, who was really a stuning cat:


About a year and a half ago Max was hit by a car and killed. We were crushed, and Punkin was especially devastated. She quite literally cried herself to sleep for a number of days, and still misses her boy.

After living with just one cat for about a year, we decided to find another cat. Maddy is part of our family, but she's very touchy and not affectionate, especially with the children. I wanted the kids to experience having a pet that was friendly, one they could interact with, not just try to avoid. So we let our wonderful pet-sitter, who also works with a cat adoption agency, know that we were looking for another part Maine coon, and within a few weeks we got the call.

Pete's great. He's friendly, fairly tolerant of lots of kid attention, and he's incredibly soft. He's also big, loud, and a bit of a whiner when he wants something, all of which I can live with.

He also has, unfortunately, a wool fetish. This is not a good thing, and today he took it to a new level.

Pete's been going after my yarn since early on. I would find skeins of yarn on the living room floor, and one time he even jumped up and stole a skein of yarn out of my lap while I was dozing.

But today he's gone too far. I had a few minutes this morning and I did some hand washing, washing some things of Punkin's and a pair of hand knit Koigu socks. I took everything outside to the back yard, since it was dry and sunny out, and put things on the drying rack, including hanging the socks on the side with clothes pins. We went out to do some errands and came home several hours later to find this:


Yes, those are my socks, on the yard next to the house. Damn cat stole my socks off the drying rack and did who knows what with them before leaving them on the grass. I washed them again and then hung them up inside, out of his reach (I hope).

Damn cat, I wonder what he's going to get into next. Any guesses?

Finishing things

I continue to be on a tear (relatively speaking) to finish projects.


These are socks made for (and modeled by) the Italian.
Cherry Tree Hill Supersock is the yarn. The pattern is Wendy's toe up sock pattern with a stitch pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks. The pattern was a slip stitch pattern so it contracted both lengthwise and crosswise. The socks required extra rows in the foot, are shorter in length and snug around, but the Italian says the fit is great and he loves them.

And here is the main reason that I love toe-up socks


This is all that remains of the skein of yarn. Very little waste, no?

I have started another pair of socks (of course):


This is another pair for my mother. Socks that Rock lightweight is the yarn, Jewel of the Nile is the colorway. I haven't worked with this yarn before and have always kind of wondered what all the fuss was about. It's a very nice yarn. It's very firm, almost cord like. The colors are just great - there's a lot of different colors which eliminates a lot of the pooling and flashing you sometimes get with hand dyed yarn, but the end result somehow avoids being muddy. I've actually knit a lot more since I took this photo - one sock is almost done and I've done the toe on the second sock already.

My Wrapped in Tradition is basically done, after some amount of futzing with it.
The first time I finished it I didn't like the way it flared up at the neck:


I ripped back about two inches and switched from size 6 needles to 5s, then after an inch switched to 4s. When I tried it on after binding off again it was too tight at the neck, so I picked out the bind off and used 5s to bind off. Then it took some fiddling to get the crochet picot edging right. The first time I picked out the bind off it was slow, the second time it was fussy, and picking out some of the picot trim required a pin to separate stitches. If you're going to knit with lace weight mohair, you'd better get it right the first time!

At this point it's pretty much done, although I don't have any finished photos. The only thing left to do is to mark the back. There is a very slight amount of front neck shaping, although it's hard to tell. I was thinking out loud about how to mark the back (sewing on a label?) and the Italian suggested sewing a bead at the back of the neck - brilliant! So that's all that is left to do on that. Photos when I can (good weather, decent hair, no kids underfoot and a husband who is available to take my picture? I leave you to figure out how often those elements come together.)

I've picked up Serrano again, but am having issues. More on that once I decide what to do.

Out the Window

So much for sleep training. With the return of the Italian and then Buddy getting sick (he ran a fever for a couple of days) all of the progress that I made with getting him to sleep by himself has disappeared.

Oh well, we'll get there eventually. Hopefully before he goes to college.

In knitting news, I finished the Seraphim shawl for my mother:







I hope she enjoys it. Her hair is a beautiful white with just a hint of steel gray in places, so I think the blue/purple will set off her hair nicely. She lives in a cold place and enjoys warm, cozy things, so I hope this finds some good use for her.

Photographing a lace shawl is a wickedly tricky business. I tried for a while to find a good solution (I'm not showing all the shots that were much worse than this) and am not thrilled with the results. I held on to the shawl for an extra week, hoping to get a chance to take some pictures on a person, but we've had crummy weather lately and the sun did not cooperate. I decided it was time to get the package on its way while I still stood a chance of getting it there on time.

The photography experience makes me appreciate even more the people who do it so well - Cara, Anne, and Bonne Marie to name a few.

With that gift out the door I have been gripped with an urge to finish other languishing projects. I am close to finishing my Wrapped in Tradition - I just have the crochet trim around the neck to do, although I think I need to undo my bind-off an re-do - it's too loose and it flares up at the neck. The socks that I've been making for the Italian just need to be bound off, and I have picked up Serrano after months of neglect. I have plenty of projects that I want to start, but I'm running with the urge to finish some, since that doesn't happen very often!

And now, because it's much easier to photograph kids than lace knitting, I leave you with a couple of pics of the kinder...


because kids in a tub are just cute


I was trying to capture that moment when he's still half asleep in the morning and his eyelashes rest against his cheek, but of course he wouldn't sit still.


That boy really works his sippy cup!

A Little Backsliding

Bedtime was not as smooth last night as the day before. This is to be expected, but frustrating nonetheless.

It could be because Buddy had a nap yesterday (and he didn't the day before), or it could be that his daddy was home, or it could just be the normal variation of things, but we had more tantrum last night at bedtime. This has evolved into punching me in the head (he's only 2 1/2 but it still hurts) and pulling my glasses off and flinging them across the room.

Fortunately it didn't last long, and somehow a little bit of extra bedtime milk did the trick after about 15 minutes.

This morning we abandoned our usual Monday morning frenzy of grocery shopping in favor of a long walk, a trip to the park and a leisurely lunch. It's nice to take the pressure off sometimes and not be worried about getting somewhere in a hurry.

Off to pick up Punkin from school in and hour and a half, maybe do some grocery shopping after that. Or maybe we'll go hang out at the local library. Good times with the kids, got to enjoy that more.

Third time's a charm

Bedtime last night was entirely civilized. I put Buddy in bed, gave him a bunch of kisses, and headed for the door. He gave it one try - "mamma, stay here, rocking chair!" and I just said no, Buddy, and I love you, and left him by himself. I left the door half open, and then sat quietly in the living room. He called out for me a couple of times, but no screaming, no climbing out, just falling asleep. It was wonderful.

I sat and read for a while (I was reading "Life as we Knew It" by Susan Beth Pfeffer - wow, what a story!) and I just had to finish it. When I looked up at the clock, after reading for a while, I thought I read 10:30 and that seemed about right. Then I was doing something at the computer and realized that it was only 9:30 - I guess that when you don't have to spend the first hour of the evening dozing in a dark room with a grumpy child that you get to do something else with that time!

Of course I spent the rest of the evening doing dishes, laundry, vacuuming, picking up, etc., getting ready for the Italian's return. Not that he hasn't seen the house messy plenty of times, I just wanted him to come home to a nice house. It's nice to have him back.

So no knitting to speak of last night. I have put the needles back in Wrapped in Tradition (I took the size 6 bamboo circular points out of that project to make Seraphim) and plan to finish that next. It's very close, and if I get it done quickly I will still have a chance to wear it this winter. I'm also working on the Italian's socks, one just needs to be bound off and the other is almost at the heel (toe up, so I still have to do the leg).

Since I have no knitting pictures to share, I'm giving you a random photo (to go with this rather random post)


Last fall we took the kids on a field trip to the Muir Woods and had a great time looking at creatures large and small. One of the special finds was a large cluster of ladybugs scuttling along the tops of the fence rails. Punkin put down her hand and let one of the bugs crawl on, and I managed to get one in-focus shot. I love the contrast of the bug's colors against her pale skin.

Getting there

Tonight's scream fest (oh wait, I mean sleep training) only lasted for 35 minutes. Compared to last night's 75+ minutes, that's a huge improvement!

Seraphim has been bound off, so all that's left is to sew in the ends and block. I have to figure out where to block it, but I think I'm going to try to get that done tonight.

The Italian comes home late tomorrow night, so just one more day. Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day - Mandarin class, school ice skating party, possible sleepover for Punkin - I'm tired just thinking about it!

Must sleep tonight...

A Visit

Once a year my dear friend Jill comes to my neck of the woods for work, and this year she came a day early to spend a little bit of time with us last weekend.

We had a lovely time. I picked her up at the airport on Saturday morning (she made it here in spite of our terrible weather). On the way home we went to Amazing Yarns. This is a lovely shop. It's built inside the house of one of the owners in the Emerald Hills part of Redwood City, and it's a beautiful area. The shop was open in spite of the fact that she had no power, which made it a little bit dark but not as bad as you would think, because the building has lots of skylights. We admired lots of yarn, and I was sorely tempted by some Mountain Colors wool to make the Koolhaas Hat, but I decided to wait until I had a chance to thoroughly inspect my stash for possibilities.

We had hoped to go into San Francisco that afternoon but the wind, rain, and hail (yes, hail) made us opt for a quiet afternoon at home instead. And a quiet afternoon we did have. Punkin decided she wanted to make a quilt for her doll, so we worked on that together for a while. Here's the layout we decided on:


It's her first quilting project (and only her second sewing project) and she's already got almost half the blocks sewn together - by hand!

and here are Punkin and Jill working on their projects on the sofa (made possible by Buddy's afternoon nap)


We exchanged Christmas presents. The kids and the Italian got some great toys, and I got this!


I had almost bought one for myself after reading Rachael'spost about them, but decided not to. I love it!

And what's the backdrop for the abacus bracelet?


I promised a progress shot, I just didn't realize I would be almost finished by the time I got around to photographing it! This is the Seraphim Shawlthat I am making for my mother out of Malabrigo Lace. It is wonderfully soft, and almost finished - I am binding off. I hope to get it washed and blocked today, but don't know if that will really happen.

I'm excited to finish this, I hope my mother will enjoy it. Her birthday is in early February, but I'm going to go ahead and send it as soon as it's finished and photographed.

I'm also excited to work on something else - maybe I'll finish Wrapped in Tradition, or the Italian's socks, or Buddy's sweater...

We had a lovely rest of the weekend. On Sunday afternoon we went to Artfibers, a lovely shop with beautiful yarns, and I didn't buy anything. After that we met up with some friends and walked around in Chinatown and North Beach (that's San Francisco!) and then had a great dinner. Great weekend!

It was good to have a great weekend, because the Italian has been away this week and it's a long slog doing the solo parenting thing. Especially since I decided to do some sleep training and Buddy didn't fall asleep until 11:15 tonight...

Wish me luck for tomorrow!

Beach!

Yesterday afternoon we received a package from my parents. Included in the package was a large, dragon-shaped kite, with a very nifty kite string winder tool. Buddy, who wasn't around when we opened the package, was very interested in the kite string winder. His dad explained that it was for a kite, at which point Buddy started talking about going to the beach, to fly the kite. I don't know what the Italian promised him, but certainly nothing more concrete than "yes, we'll go to the beach again at some point".

Fast forward several hours later, at 3:30 in the morning to be exact. After getting to bed late and having a fitful night, I was awakened by the sound of my 2.5 year old yelling "beach!" It seems he really wanted to fly the damn kite, and woke us all up to tell us about it!

A mind is a terrible thing. And it must be stopped.

Snow Day!

Well, not really...

We've been having weather here. This is different for us, as normally we just have climate. Of course I think the rain made my son was extra special hyper this morning, and decided to muck with my spinning wheel, which he just can't seem to resist. So I decided this morning was the day to show him how it worked. I spent 15 minutes trying to find my little bag with the oil, whorls, orifice hook, etc.

Could I find it?

Nope, so I made an orifice hook out of a paper clip and muddled through. But it left me feeling extra frazzled that my house is a wreck and I can't find anything. While I was showing the kids the spinning wheel I was mentally running through the calendar trying to figure out when would be my next day at home without the kids...

Then the phone rang. It was work calling to say that the power was out, the library was closed, and I didn't have to come to work today! (Not from snow, since I live in Northern California, but from rain and high winds).

Don't get me wrong, I love my job, but it was such a treat to get a free afternoon off!

Of course, I haven't spent as much time picking up as I wanted because the Italian had some suggestions of things I needed to do, and I do have Punkin at home with me, but still it's better than nothing.

I'm making good progress on the Seraphim shawl, but I'm getting to the slow stage, when each row seems to take forever. I got nothing done last night, but that's because I was in bed, asleep, before 9:30, and I slept until 7 (with only two interruptions). This was heaven for me, as I normally get about 6 hours of sleep, at most. So a "snow day" after a full night's sleep - wahoo!

NAME

Another Year Begins

It is almost the end of the first day of a new year. We had a lovely day with not one, not two, but three different "sets" of friends and it was great. There were kids who played with my kids, and grownups to talk to, and good food to eat (that I didn't cook. After several days of cooking I had enough!)

2007 was a momentous and difficult year for us. Here's hoping that 2008 will be less momentous and more enjoyable.

No great resolutions for me. There are of course things in my life that I wish to do better (or at least differently!) but no need to bore you with them. I'm looking forward to many things and planning to enjoy at least some of each day. That seems reasonable, don't you think?

I'll close with this bit of entertainment:

"Five Gold Rings"

Watch it all the way through, even if you think you have already gotten the gag, it's very cute and clever. Thanks to my friend Jill for linking to this; we shall not mention what I will do to her for getting that song stuck in my head for the last five days. And she will be here for a visit next weekend, so I have time to contemplate my revenge!

Best wishes to you for a glorious 2008.

Catching up

I was off to a roaring start for November (not quite posting every day like the NaBloPoMo people, but doing my best) and then whammo! Life gets in the way. My parents came for a visit in early December, and with the holidays I don't seem to be able to catch my breath.

I did finish the Mystery Stole. Here's a mildly crummy blocked shot:



I don't have a modeled shot and likely won't any time soon. I do wear it, and enjoy it very much.

This was an interesting project for me. I enjoyed the surprise aspect of it - it was a good exercise for me to let go of the obsessive planning aspect of project planning and just knit, knowing that it would look like what it looked like. While I like the finished piece, I probably wouldn't have picked it based on the way it looks, so maybe that's another lesson in branching out beyond my "typical" project.

I have been busy most of December working on a Seraphim in Malabrigo Lace for my mother. She lives in a cold place and is usually too cold so I figure something warm to wrap around her neck and shoulders would be appreciated. It's going very well and I'm kind of shooting for getting it to her for her birthday in early February.

I did almost no gift knitting this Christmas. I wrapped up on almost complete sock for the Italian but he knew I was working on them already. I did make for him a half pair of Dashing as a surprise - he's been asking me for fingerless mitts for ages now, ever since the last pair wore out. I could have made both of them in time but I wanted him to try it on and decide if he liked the fit before I made the second one. I'm glad I did that - the fit needs some fine tuning which will require ripping out half of it, so I'm glad I only have to do that to one instead of two!

We had a lovely Christmas. We had friends over for a big meal on Christmas Eve, and then had a low key day at home on Christmas Day with the kids, opening present and eating a good meal, but nothing fancy (since we'd cooked like fiends the day before!) We're having more friends over for a big meal on New Year's Eve along with friends who are visiting from the East Coast. Good, busy, and tiring, but all good!

So Close!

I just finished the last row of knitting on my Mystery Stole 3. I'm leaving the bind off row for tomorrow because bind off rows always take a lot longer than I think they will, and I tend to be very fussy about them. Not the kind of thing you want to tackle at 11:15 p.m.

Punkin has no school tomorrow and I'm thinking of taking the kids on a field trip to the Muir Woods. It's been years since I have been and I've been enjoying doing outdoor activities with them lately.

Cheers!

See? I told you I was working on it...

Looks like boiled ass, no?

Getting Closer...

Lack of photographic evidence notwithstanding, I have been knitting.

I am slowly making progress on the Mystery Stole 3. I am working on the triangular part at the end of the stole, where each row gets longer by two stitches. I have a little less that 40 rows to go. The Italian very sweetly asked me last night "how close are you to finishing that shawl?" I tried, also sweetly, to explain that I was getting closer, but it would take a while.

Here is a totally unglamorous shot, mostly to prove that I am, in fact, making progress.
[of course, the first time in ages that I actually take a photo of my knitting, I discover that one of the things that hasn't yet happened in the great software update of '07 is the installation of the software that allows me to transfer photos from my hard drive to the server to post on my blog. Phooey. Oh well, it looked like boiled ass anyway...]

I have worked a little bit on socks for the Italian, nothing worth photographing. I haven't touched any other projects in a while. Buddy has been sick the last few days and not sleeping well at all. I think I was out of bed at least six times between 11:30 pm and 6:00 am last night.

I have given basically no thought to holiday crafting projects this year. I have a couple things I have kind of committed to doing, but I am not feeling the love.

Off to bed now, here's hoping that Buddy sleeps better than he did last night!

Randomness? Sure!

I have decided to tag myself for the 8 Random Things meme (I haven't yet decided if that is taking the initiative or being pathetic, but it is what it is). So here, in no particular order, are 8 random things about me that you may or may not know.

1. Even though I am from the Boston area (which most people can't tell because I don't, thankfully, sound like I am) my parents are Southerners, born and raised in Arkansas. (Actually my mom was born in Nebraska, but moved to Arkansas at age 2). Growing up we used to go and visit my grandmother at her home on Beaver Lake every summer, and much of my extended family still lives in Arkansas, Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, etc.

2. From childhood up through my first year of college I wanted to be a classical musician. I started studying piano at age 7, and oboe at age 10. I played in every school orchestra, band, wind ensemble, etc. throughout my school years. I picked up a few other instruments along the way (string bass, glockenspiel, guitar, voice) but piano and oboe were my main instruments. I played in the Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra for at least five years, and I started college as a music major.

3. I have a Bachelor's Degree in Apparel Design, and a Master's Degree in Library and Information Science.

4. One of my mother's nicknames for me when I was a child was "motor-mouth". I talked, a lot. Whenever she said that I had a mental image of Cookie Monster pushing a lawn mower.

5. I used to have long, straight hair that was butt length when I cut it off during my second year of college. I went from that to a chin length bob.

6. I took a year off between high school and college. One of the things I did during that time was a month long ocean kayaking/wilderness camping trip on the Sea of Cortez with NOLS. I have never done anything else like that before or since, but I had a blast on that trip.

7. My daughter and I have the same last name and my son and husband have the same last name. It seemed more equitable that way.

8. I like nuts, and I like baked goods, but I don't like nuts in my baked goods. (Why ruin a perfectly good brownie by putting nuts in it?) The only exception that I can think of is my favorite chocolate chip/oatmeal/walnut/raisin cookies, but the walnuts are ground into meal, not left in solid pieces.

So that's eight things you may not have known about me. Give it a whirl on your blog, just let me know if you do so I can check it out!

"All I want for Christmas..."

So. Here's the story behind the photo from a couple of days ago. (Warning: some gory details to follow, tread carefully if you are the squeamish type).

Before last Sunday this is what my son looked like:


Happy boy, cute smiling face.

Here is his happy, slightly altered smiling face:


Last Sunday morning we were trying to get ready to go to the Farmer's Market before heading out to pick up my MIL at the airport. The Italian was out back in his office, Punkin was sitting on the sofa reading, and Buddy was running back and forth between the living room and the kitchen. I was on the phone, telling the Italian that we were about to leave, when I heard the familiar "thud" followed by the sound of a child crying. I hung up the phone and went to pick up Buddy, who was face down on the carpet. I figured he had bumped his head or banged his elbow, no big deal. When I flipped him over I found that his face was a bloody mess (cranio-facial wounds bleed profusely!)

I grabbed a handful of paper towels to staunch the bleeding, sent Punkin to get the Italian ("please go tell your father he needs to come inside right now!") and figure out what was going on. It was evident right away that he had damaged his teeth - he coughed and one of his front teeth landed in my hand. Once I wiped away enough blood I found that the remaining front tooth was dangling by some gum tissue. The Italian said we had to pull it out to keep him from swallowing it, so I did that next. All this while swabbing away blood, trying to call the doctor's office, and comforting the screaming child in my lap.

We took him to the dentist (our fabulous pediatric dentist, who answered his cell phone on the 2nd ring and listened calmly while I explained what had happened, arranged to meet us at his office in 20 minutes. On a Sunday. Amazing.) The dentist checked and said that none of the other teeth were loose, his jaw was intact, the teeth had come completely out without fracturing, and there was likely no damage done to the forming adult teeth. He said that putting the teeth back in wouldn't work, and while there are prosthetics they are mostly for the benefit of the parents and the kids don't need them.

So that's it. We wait while his gums heal over (looking like a festering mess in the meanwhile) and then do nothing. His adult teeth will come in about 3 years and until then my boy will have the ultimate gap tooth smile. Our only concern is that he will develop a speech impediment, but we will just have to wait and see.

Parenting is such a mixed bag. There are the joyous moments, the tiring moments, and the "oh my god, is my child alright" moments. Those are usually few and far between, although they come too often with Buddy. I feel like even if I could keep my eyes on him every second of the day he would still get into scrapes, and it breaks my heart a little bit every time he does. It's all part of the package.

It makes me wonder how my parents ever made it through!

Life's a Beach

There are plenty of things that I dislike about living in Northern California. It's ridiculously expensive to live here, there's too much emphasis on how much money you make, and the culture can be a bit superficial.

However, there are lots of things that I really like about living here.



Having a glorious afternoon at the beach with the family in early November is definitely a plus of where I live.

My mother-in-law is visiting from the East Coast and we went to the beach for the afternoon. It was sunny but windy (in spite of Punkin's attire it was much to cold for swimming) and we brought snacks, wine, sand toys and a friend and had a great couple of hours. Then we came home and had a fabulous meal, the kids were in great spirits, and I just finished baking a batch of brownies for a party tomorrow. Great day all around!

(Don't get me wrong, there are lots of other wonderful things about living here - we have great friends, there is an amazingly rich collection of cultures represented in the people who live here, I have a fabulous job, and there is so much that is interesting that happens here. I just sometimes wish I could raise my children in a simpler society, one where there isn't such an emphasis on the consumption of material goods and more emphasis on being kind, generous and thoughtful members of a community. But I think places like that are getting harder and harder to find).

Tomorrow we're off to see Body Worlds - I'm so excited! I'm the last one in the family to go - the Italian took Punkin while I was in Florida and they had a great time, and they're excited about going again. Some good friends are going to meet us there, and then we're going to a potluck party for Punkin's first grade class. Another busy but great day!

Another of Life's Adventures

Anybody care to guess what this is all about?



Details to follow when I can stop and catch my breath...

Bumpy Landing

I have been home for almost two weeks and I just unpacked my toiletries two days ago.

Being gone for a week on a physically and emotionally exhausting trip was hard enough.

Getting thoroughly sick on my way home was too much. I have developed a pattern where if I get a bad enough cold it settles in my lungs and I get a dry cough that can only be quelled by steroid inhalers. Fun it isn't.

I'm still working on coming to terms with what we learned in Florida, and haven't decided how much I plan to blog about it.

I have been knitting on my Mystery Stole and have reached the wing part, although I have to undo a little bit because the stitch count is not right.

The weather is changing, the days are getting shorter, the children are getting busier. Life continues.

Life Happens

I am going home today after spending a week at the Mayo clinic in Florida dealing with some family health problems. We got the answers we came here for, but they are not the answers we were hoping for.

I have been knitting (lots of waiting in doctor's offices). I will photograph things once I get home and catch my breath. Right now I just want to get home and hug my family and try to wrap my brain around the new shape of the world.

Call your family (spouses/children/siblings/parents) and tell them you love them.

On the Needles

Do you ever have that feeling that there's just a few more things going on than you can keep track of and there's always something that you're forgetting?

I feel like that too often. These days I've been feeling that way about all the knitting projects I have underway. In the grand scheme of things I don't have that many WIPs (compared to some people) but combined with the chaos that is life around here lately it's making me feel dazed and confused.

So, in an attempt to feel less lost, here is a list of WIPs:

1. Dale Baby Ull cardigan for Buddy - I purchased the yarn for this in February. It is knit in the round and the body is completed. I have started one sleeve, and it works up fairly quickly. This will be the first time I've ever worked a steek, so I will likely get bogged down when I get to that point! I am making the size 3 and my gauge is a little bit larger than spec so it is a little bit big. Buddy is 2 1/2 now, so I'm hoping he'll get at least two winters' wear out of this, if not three.

2. Ribby Cardi - the body is done and the sleeves have been re-knit to a longer length. I want to reblock the pieces before proceeding - I blocked the body a little too big and the sleeves not enough. Then I have to seam, pick up and knit the collar, and insert the zipper. I've put zippers in sweaters before but never in a way that I was satisfied with, so this will need to be a deliberate and well thought out process if I'm going to be happy with it.

3. Mystery Stole 3 - I'm making slow and steady progress here. I think I'm on clue 4, but I'm too tired to get up and check. I haven't met any hurdles with this yet, and I don't expect I will. I've scanned through the rest of the clues and I plan to knit this with the asymmetrical wing as designed. I have enjoyed this project; while I might not have picked this to make if I'd seen the whole thing up front I think the "mystery" aspect of it has been a fun exercise in letting go and just enjoying the process.

4. Socks for the Italian - I'm about halway up the foot on these. I'm working them two at a time on two circulars and while I enjoyed this technique the last time I did it I am not enjoying it as much now. I think it's because the stitch pattern I'm using is a little bit more snug on the needles so I have to spend more energy pushing the stitches up onto the tip part of the needles, and that's not very entertaining. I think I may try switching to dpns and see if they are less of a struggle. Of course I'll have to make sure that there isn't an obvious change in gauge, but I don't think that will happen.

5. Serrano - I haven't picked this one up in a while. The body is knit back and forth in one piece, and I think I've got about six inches or so done. This is a pretty easy knit, although figuring out the side shaping decreases without messing up the lace pattern takes some thinking. I tinkered with the size on this one a bit; I am a classic pear shape so I started with one size on the bottom, decreased down to a smaller size at the waist shaping, and plan to increase back up to a third size for the upper part. Hopefully it will fit! I have a long history of preferring my knits (in fact, all of my clothing) to be big and loose. In the last year or so I've been shifting toward clothing with a closer fit, which presents more of a challenge in making hand knits, and I'm on the steep part of the learning curve!

6. Toy octopus - I started this a while ago, it's the octopus from Kath Dalmeny's World of Knitted Toys. I've got all of the pieces knit (all eight legs!) and some of the pieces stuffed. I still need to stuff the legs, sew them to the head/body, and sew the face on. Ideally I'll get this done for Christmas, but it's been languishing for a while.

7. Wrapped in Tradition - this is a lovely capelet pattern from Wrap Style by Interweave Knits. I started it a while ago and then got caught up in the Mystery Stole and set this aside. I'm making it in Kid Seta, which is kid mohair and silk (it's similar to Kidsilk Haze). The color is a soft, pretty champagne color, very atypical for me. The construction is intriguing and I have nothing like this in my wardrobe, so it will be interesting to see how/when/if I wear it!

That's all I can think of, and I'm not home now to go rooting for all the other little projects that I haven't finished and have forgotten about (like the bag I started for my sister-in-law, or the bag I made for myself but decided to put a zipper in, or... well you get the idea!)

Sorry for the lack of photos, but I'm away and don't have any way to upload photos. Assuming I had taken pictures of all of these projects recently (or at all), which I haven't!

Wha?

I've been meaning to post for a while now with a list of all the projects I am currently working on and a status of what is left to be done. Not that any of you really care, but it would be a useful exercise for me to figure all of that out. I'm going away in a week for six days on a trip that will provide lots of knitting opportunities and I need to figure out what to bring!

However, my head is a whirl. Buddy has been sick (fever of 104.5 last night!), I worked yesterday, and we're getting a new cat this evening. I've got a million things to do and I can't figure out where to start, but a lengthy blog post isn't going to happy today!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Duh

So I finally blogged about being on Ravelry, but did I remember to tell you my screen name? No. Duh.

If you're on Ravelry come say hi, I'm Loopie.

If you're not on Ravelry, consider getting on the wait list, it's a fun way to connect with a community of knitters, and keep track of your projects/yarns/patterns/needles/friends/etc...

Why?

Why?

Why did I dare to utter the words "All it needs now are a collar and zipper, so it shouldn't take me too long, right?" (It's almost as dangerous as saying the words "hey, neither of the kids has had to go to the doctor lately!" The last time I said that my son swallowed a dime. I try to not even think those words anymore).

Why didn't I think to try on the Ribby Cardi before I seamed it?

Why did I alter the pattern and make the sleeves one inch shorter?

This is the Ribby Cardi now:


I tried it on before starting the collar and instantly realized the sleeves were too short. Short enough to bug me. So, time to undo!

I have now removed one sleeve and ripped it back to the start of the cap shaping. I have washed the yarn (to remove some of the kink) and will make the sleeves longer before basting together and trying on again (I try not to make the same stupid mistakes twice, at least on the same project!)

Wish me luck.