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...