A Letter

Dear Younger Son:

Apparently you didn't get the memo from the Attachment Parenting Gurus, so let me clue you in. Since I spent the first year of your life co-sleeping and slinging you, and almost the first 20 months nursing you, you are supposed to be an independent, confident little soul. You have a lovely bedroom with murals on the walls, a cozy bed with a down blanket, and numerous stuffed buddies to sleep with. I know you are capable of sleeping in your bed, alone, because you have managed to do so for over a year and a half. Please cease and desist waking between the hours of midnight and five a.m., and insisting on crawling into bed with your father and me. And if you must crawl in, could you please stop sticking your cold feet on my stomach, and when I turn on my side to escape you, would you please stop clinging to my back with all four limbs like a giant beetle from a Godzilla movie. As it is a king-size bed, there is plenty of room for everyone if you would just move over!

And while you're at it, could you please stop breaking out into mysterious hive-like rashes. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

--Your Mother

Sorry for the lame post today. Obviously I didn't get much sleep.

But I did make a cute elouai doll this weekend. It looks just like me. Well, it looks like me if I were 3 inches tall and a size 4, but other than that...

What kind of yarn are you?

You are Dishcloth Cotton.You are a very hard worker, most at home when you're at home. You are thrifty and seemingly born to clean. You are considered to be a Plain Jane, but you are too practical to notice.
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Smurf Pits

Today I did something I rarely do: I wore a sweater indoors. Despite it being the south, for some reason most people in this area crank their heat up so high in winter that I am sweltering. Plus I am hot-natured, so for me, sweaters are generally cardigans and considered outerwear. But I bought a soft blue chenille pullover on clearance, and it was pretty cold, so I gave it a shot. By the time I got home home from work, I was sweaty and disgruntled. I grabbed a long sleeve T-shirt to change into, and yanked the offending sweater over my head. Where I was greeted by the alarming sight of what appeared to be smurf-blue fuzz sprouting from my armpits. Apparently all the loose interior chenille fluffs decided to adhere to my deodorant. One more reason to Just Say No to sweaters indoors.

Finally, we have recovered (do you like my use of the Royal We?) the photos from the computer, so here are my finished objects of 2007:



Oh God, the humiliation of having your mother make you model a pink headband because your head's the right size...if he grows up to be a transvestite showgirl I will accept full blame. Lion Brand Suede--trim on flower is leftover Mission 1824 cotton. Pattern from One-Skein Wonders .



Scarf and headband set in Plymouth Baby Alpaca Brush; pattern from my lys with yarn purchase. The scarf is stockinette made to roll in, with a keyhole to draw one knot through.




Earflap hat and mittens for baby in Patons Soy Wool Stripes; pattern from Knitting for Baby. Since no one in my house had a small enough head, I thought Elmo would be more aesthetically pleasing than a cantaloupe as a model. There really are two mittens, but Elmo's other arm is sort of sewn to his side.

Houston, We Have a Problem

Well, the old desktop comoputer is officially retired. It wasn't the power supply or the fan. Possibly it was the motherboard, but that was so expensive to replace, it was more cost-effective to simply get a new one. So dh has been busy loading programs and moving files to the new computer all week. Plus I have been sick with the sinus infection from hell.

I did cast on for the Noro Silk Garden hat. I hope my pattern mods work out. The finished pattern is supposed to be 18.5" circumference, but since dh has the World's Largest Head, I had to add about 4 inches. Other than that, it should be a pretty simple knit.

In other cool news, my books from Crafters' Choice arrived. I think this is the third time I have joined (and then quit the moment I bought my "required" book, but they don't seem to mind). I've acquired almost all my knitting books either from them, or from gifts. I got Mason-Dixon Knitting, Sensational Knitted Socks, and three others I haven't had time to look at yet. The tote bag they sent this time was really nice--a large red lined canvas bag with pockets and zipper. Not sure I will use as a knitting bag, but I will definitely use it. Excellent size for an airplane carry-on.

I also visited the lys yesterday and procured two 24 inch size 2 Addi Turbos, so I can learn to knit socks on two circs instead of dpns. I fondled some Colinette yarn from the Ab Fab Throw kit that they had sitting out. I finally ordered my Colinette for my wrap from Cucumberpatch UK on eBay. Much much more reasonable, even with international postage. I decided to go with sort of a fall colorway. Will post pix when it arrives.

P.S. If anyone out there is reading this, could you leave a comment? Even if it's just to say "this is boring."

Of Computers and Colinette and Other Screwy Things

I hope this post comes out all right...my computer decided to blow up last night. The Tech (aka dh) thinks it's a power supply. Let us devoutly hope that's all it is. Not only does that computer contain every digital photo we've taken in the past 7 years, but also an extensive number of songs I've managed to download, but not get on my ipod yet. What's that, you say? Recover all this from your backup? Well, you would think that since (a) dh is in a technical field and a certified computer geek, and (b) he purchased this massive external hard drive (like 360GB), we would have a back up. But no, dh has been "too busy." Thank god for laptops, cable modem, and wireless routers.

Two sick kids today and dh is at work. The younger one, age 2.75, who shall be dubbed The Instigator, has a sinus infection. The older, age 5.5, who shall be dubbed The Negotiator, has some unidentifiable stomach ailment that requires him to lie about on the furniture and moan periodically, then demand very specific food, take one bite, and declare he can't eat it. Luckily we have two televisions, as The Negotiator is dead set on watching "Max and Ruby", while The Instigator is insistent on a really stupid DVD. On a side note, I am pretty sure that the creators of "Boohbah" were really high when the concept for that show occurred to them.

My main bitch of the past few days concerns Colinette yarns. On my Stitch 'n Bitch calender, which I am loving, thanks-for-asking, there is a beautiful feather and fan wrap featured as the January 5 pattern. It's made in three different types of Colinette yarn. Unfortunately, the local yarn store only stocks Colinette kits. And all the places I've found online that are US based don't have the specific yarns I need in the colors I need. Not to mention that they all charge exorbitant prices--to the tune of $75 plus shipping for 3 skeins of yarn. The same yarn could be had for the equivalent of $38 if only I could order from the aforementioned UK site. But they will not let people from the US order from them (only the mill ends, no yarns or patterns, they said). Apparently it violates some sort of agreement they have with the US distributor , whose website, I can unequivocably say, really needs some work. Come on, guys, if you're going to give a list of U.S. distributors with links, how 'bout making sure that (a) the links work, and (b) the stores in question still do sell Colinette yarns. The whole situation irks me no end, because it's just blatant price-fixing. It's not like I can get the yarn cheaper in the UK because the dollar is strong (haha!)--there's just an unreasonable profit margin being charged by the gougers, excuse me, I meant US distributors and retailers.

So it looks like I shall be forced to pick and choose from my old friend, eBay. It seems there are some sellers there who have the right idea. Don't get me wrong; I'm all for capitalism, but if a hank of yarn is being sold by a UK retailer for 6 pounds sterling (roughly $12 US), and you know that retailer is making at least some profit, why would that same hank of yarn suddenly jump in price by $10-14 merely by making a transatlantic journey? Was the yarn strapped into first class on BritishAir perhaps? Because I can't think of any other logical reasons why this would be so.

My First Baby

September 3, 1992-January 15, 2007

I remember the first time I saw you: soaking wet, water everywhere, stumpy little nose and ratty tail, fresh from a bath in the laundry room sink.

I remember the last time I saw you: resting on your bed in the vet's office as you fell asleep for the very last time.

No one could ever have asked for a better or more loyal friend. When the human babies arrived, you gracefully ceded your role as center of the household, and put up with toddler tail-pulling antics with great dignity and good humor. I will miss you. I hope you are running full speed along a river bed, diving into the cold water to find your favorite ball, having a roll on your back in the dirt, without any pain from arthritis hurting you any more.

A Rose By Any Other Name

OK, I think I've sorted out a color scheme for now...at least until I until I convince dh the techie to take a crack at finding me something more aesthetically pleasing. I also need to dump pictures of my FOs off the camera and post them on here tomorrow.

I am actually taking a knitting break tonight, after feverishly working to finish a birthday gift late last night. It was a simple ski headband, with a cute flower embellishment. Unfortunately, the pattern writer decided to make the flower *in crochet.* ::cringes in horror:: Now I used to do a little crochet many years ago, before discovering knitting, but whoever designed that goofy flower was clearly smokin' the crack pipe. I tried it three times and came up with these strange ratty things that looked almost, but not quite, completely unlike flowers (There's a little shout out to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for those of you in the know--heh). So I frantically googled for patterns, and found this easy and cute rose . I ended up adding a bobble of contrasting yarn as a center, and made two leaves. It looked better than than the stupid crocheted flower anyway. So there.

Tomorrow the kids and dh are off for MLK's birthday. I was explaining to ds1 that he wouldn't have kindergarten tomorrow. They've been studying Dr. King all last week--well, as much as little brains can absorb on such an adult topic.

He sighed deeply, and said, "But I don't want to go to his birthday!"

"Who?" I queried.

"Martin Luther King. I don't wanna go to his birthday party!"

"Well, he's not having a party. He's dead. It's a holiday to celebrate him and his work in this country."

"But if he's dead, why does he have a birthday?"

"Well, sometimes when people have done great things, we celebrate their birthdays even after they are dead--kinda like Christmas is Jesus' birthday."

"Well, I'm still not going to his party."

No disputing five-year-old logic.

Welcome

Here is my new home. It'll probably take a while to get things sorted out, as I am illiterate in html, and am still learning Blog Vocabulary 101. (Skins? Templates? AAAAH! ::runs in horror, waving knitting needles about wildly::)