Simon Says Scrap!

The end...the beginning

2008-09-20T17:06:00.002-04:00

So, I've decided to switch over to WordPress for my new knitting blog, kind of like a fresh start. I'm all set up over there, and I've even imported all my posts from this blog cuz that's a heck of a lot of stuff to just abandon completely. This blog will remain for now, but will no longer be updated. Please join me over at my new "Knitapeace" blog and continue with me on my knitting journey. :)

Just point me toward the bed

2008-09-19T16:25:00.002-04:00

So. Four straight days (and half the nights) of nothing but knitting that darn sweater for Dan. And today at 2:48 pm I wove in the last end. It's finished, and just in time for his birthday party tonight. Now I'll grant you, the sweater has monkey arms. And even though it's a size large, it fits me like an XXL. But I still need to soak and block it, so I can (I hope) get rid of the saggies and maybe shorten up the sleeves a bit. I just needed to go ahead and wrap it first. I know he'll appreciate it; I just hope he wears it.

As for me, I'm headachy and bleary-eyed and drained. I just want to sleep, but we'll be taking Dan to his favorite diner for dinner and watching him unwrap his gifts. Rebecca did ALL the wrapping ALL by herself. :proud: I was lucky that I didn't seem to strain any muscles in my hands, arms, or back despite the fact that I did a *lot* of knitting with very few breaks. In fact, for the past four days while the kids were at school I only stopped to eat and do a little laundry. I know it was dangerous, and I'm going to take a knitting break for the weekend. After that I have two pairs of nearly-complete socks on the needles that I want to finish before October. A group on Ravelry will be knitting (I think) the Nutkin sock in October, and I'd like to join them.

Photos of the Cobblestone sweater to follow...I'm guessing it will take several days to dry.

Overcast with a chance of knitting

2008-09-16T07:37:00.002-04:00

I have a feeling that this blog isn't going to be around for too much longer. I've come to the realization, after gradually unsubscribing to most of my digiscrapping newsletters, that I'm probably not a scrapbooker at all anymore. All my free time and most of my brain space are devoted to knitting now. I haven't scrapped a page in months. And I kind of don't want to have my main web identity to have the word "scrap" in it anymore. So probably over the next few weeks I'll scope out some new blog possibilities, probably just stick with good ol' Blogger but better to see what my options are, and then I'll let anyone who still checks in know where I've gone to.

So, no go on that job. At least, I never got called for an interview so I assume it's no-go. My mom tells me to be patient, that the gears grind slowly at a public institution, but after a month I have the feeling that it's not going anywhere. I still have my eyes open, but I can't imagine anything more perfect than the situation I tried for.

The kids are starting a new venture tonight...karate. Dan isn't thrilled because he thinks it's too "disciplined and militaristic." Me, I don't go for militaristic either but I think the discipline is exactly what a couple of smart-but-slacker kids need. Heck, I probably should get my butt out there too for all that. The best part is that they'll be in the same class at the same time, so no going back and forth four nights a week like with soccer. And I can sit and KIP while they learn. I hope there are chairs or bleachers or something.

School is going well. Rebecca is taking advanced math and hates it. So far, each "problem of the day" has been incredibly difficult, and she doesn't like it when she can't breeze through stuff. The worksheets aren't bad at all, but they take a bit more time than she spent on math last year. I think as she gets into it, things will be better. She can do it, she just doesn't want to work that hard (see the "slacker" reference in the karate paragraph above). Ben is doing very well. He just did his reading evaluation and is now set into his reading level (level M, whatever that means). At home he's reading the Animorphs series of books right now, which is really at a fourth or fifth grade level, so I think he's doing fine for a second grader. :) He still has his hazy, out-of-focus moments, but they seem to be fewer than last year. Fingers crossed.

Today: I'll be running between the washing machine and the sleeves of Dan's Cobblestone. I was really, really hoping I'd have it done for his birthday, which is Friday, but that's looking less and less likely as the days float by. I'm past the sleeve increases and just knitting around, and around, and around, and around...I'm looking forward to attaching the sleeves to the body and hitting the home stretch of the yoke. If I get a lot done today, I'll be more optimistic about hitting my deadline. He knows it won't be done in time and he's totally okay with it. I'd just like to surprise him by getting it done in time.

From Home to Home Again

2008-08-23T20:49:00.003-04:00

I went "home" for eight days to visit my mom and dad, as well as my brother and his family. But you know what? I felt even more than usual that when I arrived back in NY that I was truly "home." When my little family of four is together, then we are all home.

I didn't even take my camera! The only photos I have are of the scarf and hat I sent Dad for Father's Day, because I forgot to photograph them before I mailed them.

I'm full of barbeque and Krispy Kremes and Mom's good cookin'. We had a wonderful time despite not catching one single solitary fish.

Holy crap, what have I done?

2008-08-12T12:48:00.002-04:00

I just applied for a job. Dan and I have had conversations over the past years in which he mentions gently that it might be time soon for me to start looking for a job, and they always end up with me in tears. I love being here for the kids if they need me during the day, but it's time I faced facts and realized that I am BORED at home. And I guess nothing is ever going to get me motivated enough to start cleaning regularly. So why not contribute to the income, right?

I found a proofreading position at Stony Brook University, and over the past few days I've been mentally writing up a resume and cover letter. Today I sat down and the computer and wrote them up. Dan the Resume Man helped me edit, and just a moment ago I clicked "send" and sent them off. I'm actually excited about this opportunity because they're flexible with the job being full or part time. I'm still adamant that I want to be home when the kids get out of school, so I could easily do part time hours. Fingers crossed that I get called for an interview.

But I am still shaking a little.

Disaster Cake

2008-08-11T12:26:00.006-04:00

Ben's party went very, very well. Four children called at the last minute to say they could come, which made me very happy, and we still came in right at the number of attendees that we estimated for the Mad Science people. Our Mad Scientist was funny and engaging, and he managed the kids wonderfully. They were very well behaved, so he didn't have much to do in that regard, but he had a good grip on how to allow them to call out without it turning into chaos.

There was only one problem all day. Me. I was a completely klutzical mess. I think I spilled, dropped or broke at least five or six things throughout the course of the day. The most embarrassing was when I was bringing out the cake (more on the cake in a minute) covered with sparklers and steaming potions, then hit the cake tray on the inside of the doorway and spilled one of the potions all over the floor. But that was nothing compared to the Disaster Cake.

I decided I was going to make the cake myself. So Saturday night I baked one sheet cake and realized it looked kinda puny. So I baked a second one. Sunday morning we were doing final preparations with the guests due to arrive around 1:30, and I decided around 12:00 to go ahead and ice the cake. I iced the top of the first sheet cake, put the second on top and began to ice it. And you know how when you bake a cake it's kind of domed on the top? Well I didn't bother to cut off the tops of the cake because it seemed like a waste. However, because the flat side of the top layer was sitting on top of the domed bottom layer, the top layer started to bend until I had a literal canyon running down the center of the top layer. There wasn't enough icing in the world to make it look like anything less than a disaster. Dan suggested we just take the top layer off and put them side by side. I could ice over any mess. But as you can see by the photo below, it was too far gone.

So at 12:30 I ran to the grocery store and nearly shook the bakery girl by the shoulders while crying, "You have to help me!!!" In moments they had a perfect yellow 1/4 sheet cake with white icing that I could take home and decorate with a mad science theme. Unfortunately I don't have a still photo of the finished cake, but Dan promises me he did get some video. And the Disaster Cake was a good chatting point during the party because I didn't want to throw it out...it still tasted fine!

We did have to come inside because it began to drizzle during the last half hour or so, but everyone who wanted to did get to swim for a while. And for the most part the weather was gorgeous. So aside from my embarrassing moments, which I think weren't that big a deal to anyone but me, the party was a success. And then I had a beer.

PS: I finished a pair of socks this morning.

Party time!

2008-08-09T18:40:00.002-04:00

Ben is turning 7 on Monday, so we are throwing him a big bash tomorrow. He's never had a really nice party so far. It feels really unfair, but it seems like Rebecca gets all the good parties. So this time around we're having a MAD SCIENCE party! There's a company called Mad Science that sends out people to put on a show with cool experiments, lots of bubbles and smoke and stuff, and since Ben is such a science fanatic he's really psyched for it. We have 10 kids coming, and Dan has really outdone himself planning for other activities besides just the show. The show has quite a bit of audience participation (particularly for the birthday kid), but Dan also has homemade, nontoxic lava lamps, rubber ball making, and bubbles. Plus he wants to put dry ice in the pool. That one I'm no so sure about, but we'll see what happens. :P There's still a lot to do. Tonight I'm making the cake and tomorrow I'll decorate it with beakers of colored water steaming with dry ice, sparkling candles, and (hopefully) cool icing. I'm already tired just from getting the house ready today, but I'm very excited and I hope he'll enjoy himself and feel very special tomorrow. He's just the best boy in the world and he deserves to have a fantastic day.

I opened a can of Coke and poured it in a glass with a little rum. I haven't eaten since breakfast (it's now almost 7pm) so I don't want to overdo it, but I do like a good rum n coke every now and again. I may have to save it for later though. The party people across the street (not the ones with the perpetual Christmas decorations but the ones with the spoiled rich kids) are having another party tonight, and I may need the help of Mr. Bacardi to get to sleep once the noise level goes up.

Mean Mom, cont.

2008-08-01T19:22:00.003-04:00

I'm very proud of myself for carrying out the kids' punishment, despite the fact that it actually made things a little tougher on me. They were not allowed any TV or computer or video games yesterday or today, which meant I heard the phrase "I'm bored" more than once. Funny thing, though, every time I suggested something to do they were suddenly un-bored. Granted, the suggestions I had were "go pick up the dog's droppings in the back yard" and "empty the dishwasher." But they played together very nicely all day, and we did have a field trip to the library and the grocery store to break things up. Plus the pool. Always the pool. When kids get cranky..."just add water."

The lucky happenstance of the day was that there was a program just beginning when we arrived at the library. The Extension office had sent a young lady with two baby pigs! The kids had fun learning about how they use their snouts, what their hair and skin can be used for, and what they feel like. Oh, and the various loud and squealy sounds they can make. The pigs were named Babe and Wilber. In my mind, though, they were called Bacon and Sausage.

The weekend! Yay! No idea what we'll be doing, but I guess I'll need to start preparing for having a backyard full of kids next weekend. Goodie bags, cake, ice cream, decorations...I feel like I'll be putting it together on the fly, but at least with the kids home they'll be able to help. Thank goodness they're reaching the age where their help really is help and not hinderance.

Meanest Mom Award

2008-07-31T19:09:00.002-04:00

Yeah, I'm a Mean Mom. Seems like every time Rebecca has a playdate, Ben ends up showing off his posterior to them. It's partly because he just likes to make people laugh (and what's funnier than a ghostly pale bum?) and partly because his sister likes to humiliate him. It's happened before, and I warned and threatened that it should never happen again. I'm furious at both of them, and yelled at them both in front of the playdate child. So, out of the pool they came and into the house. They decided to paint. On the floor of the craft room. Which is carpeted. And they had nothing under the paper. And the dog walked through the wet paint. That one will be dealt with when their father comes home. Also, there was a lot of mean talk going on in the pool, but that had something to do with the competitive nature of the playdate child so I let it go with minimal intervention. It was one of the worst playdate days we've had around here, and right now they are banned from TV and computer. When my husband comes home we will have to discuss further punishment, because I simply won't allow Ben to humiliate himself, or Rebecca to encourage it, any longer. I'm much angrier about the nakedness than I am about the paint. The paint will clean up (or rather, THE KIDS will clean the paint up) but the scars from being humiliated last a long time. She said from experience.

In happier news, we have scheduled a Mad Science party for Ben's 7th. He loves that kind of stuff. I can't wait! It's a small guest list, but I actually prefer that since it's at our house.

Knitting on the February Lady Sweater continues. I'd like it to be slightly long, so I'll probably be working on the body for a good while longer. I would like to finish before the end of August, though, so I can get my husband's sweater going and done before the cold weather arrives.

Photos, finally.

2008-07-29T16:35:00.007-04:00

I took a few moments to photograph my current projects and some yarn today. This is yarn I've had for a while but not yet added to my Ravelry stash, but after the plumbing bill we got today I won't be buying any new yarn for a while so I better appreciate what I've got. :)

First, here is my February Lady Sweater. I'm really crazy about how it's coming out, especially now that I have a "feel" for the lace and can see pretty quickly when I've made a mistake. It's so much easier to tink back a few stitches and fix a problem than it is to try and fix it three rows later.

The yarn is slightly darker and brighter than it looks in this photo. The color is very similar to the cardigan I made for my daughter last year, and it also happens to be knit in the round from the top down with raglan sleeves. A very easy and fun knit!

Next, I can finally share with you a "secret" project that I had hoped would be finished by now. I started a lacy scarf for my friend Pam, and despite knitting on it pretty regularly at camp I still have a long long way to go. But she's seen it and approved it, so I can share it with the world at large.

Pam's favorite colors are pink and brown, and although the colors don't separate very much in this knit she still likes it. Phew!

And finally, here are the socks that I really got tired of. The problem was that the yarn was VERY thick, and the linen stitch gets very tight on the needles because it's so dense. These will probably end up being house socks for my husband.

In other news, Pam and her boys were here for four days and got to do some pretty fun NY kinds of things. We went to the beach, where we were literally frightened for our lives due to the GIGANTIC waves and deadly undertow. Several swimmers did tragically lose their lives this weekend. Thank goodness we had hypervigilant lifeguards on duty at Robert Moses State Park, and our kids didn't want to go out far enough to be in any real risk anyway. The only thing that worried me was that the little skinny guys (Ben and Josh) might get knocked over by a wave and then pulled out. But everything was fine. We also went into the city and got to visit one of my favorite places, the Museum of Natural History. I absolutely adore the Hall of Biodiversity with its rainforest full of camoflaged creatures, and a tour guide with a flashlight helped us find some animals that we never even knew were there, including a huge gorilla! Thanks again for coming, Pam! Hope your boys are getting caught up on their sleep!

The bad news is that we had to get some plumbing work done, so there won't be much frivolous money-spending going on around here. We will need to throw Ben a birthday party soon--I can hardly believe he'll be seven!--and I think he wants a Mad Science party. But no yarn for a while, and no eating out or buying books or other unnecessary expenses. The new fixtures in the kids' bathroom sink look lovely, though. :)

Summer of Fizzle

2008-07-20T23:57:00.005-04:00

This is supposed to be the Summer of Socks. I signed up for the Summer of Socks contest. I cast on two pairs of socks on June 21st, the day the competition began. I actually stayed awake until 12:01 am on that date so I could cast on right away. And how many pairs of socks have I completed?

...

Yep. Nada. Now, one of the pairs I have on the needles is "done enough" to qualify for the contest. Each pair has to have at least 2" of cuff, and my Spring Forward socks have that. But I'm a big old Scrooge and want to use up all my yarn. So even though I could bind off and submit, I'm plugging away to use up the rest of the skein. Okay, well technically I'm not actually plugging away because I'm good and tired of socks and I cast on a sweater. Blush.

See, I have all this Peace Fleece to make my husband a Cobblestone Sweater, which is gorgeous, but then at camp my friend and I drove up to a large yarn store (WEBS) and I found the original yarn I wanted but couldn't afford. ON SALE. So I bought it, naturally, and now I have all this Peace Fleece just crying out to be made into a February Lady Sweater. So I cast that on yesterday and woke up in the middle of the night realizing what I had done wrong with the raglan sleeve increases. I hate that. So this morning I had to rip the ENTIRE thing back (it was only about 5 inches but still) and start over. So far I have maybe seven inches, one nice buttonhole and one raggedy buttonhole that will need a bit of corrective surgery later. And proper raglan sleeves. I'm pretty excited about how that one will turn out.

So the long and short of it is...Summer of Socks is not turning out how I pictured it. I'm a little less enthusiastic about socks than I was when I began. And since this whole knitting gig is supposed to be fun, after all, I'm going where my heart leads me.

Here are some photos of what I've got going on, but these are not my projects. These are samples done by knitters far superior to me (but I'm getting better every day!).

The Spring Forward socks:

The Cobblestone Sweater for my dearie:

And the February Lady sweater I'm making for myself:

As I say, these are NOT my own work. But I hope to have photos of what I'm working on sometime soon. And if not soon, then maybe when the kids go back to school. :sigh:

We're home!

2008-07-16T10:36:00.003-04:00

It feels like I've been gone for months. Dan explains that camp-time is different from realworld-time. In camp, a day is like a week in the real world. This explains why the friendships formed feel so strong even after a relatively short period. For example, Ben met a boy named Nat who was in his group. After less than a day, Ben told me Nat was his best friend. Fortunately Nat felt the same way, and they were inseparable for the entire two weeks. I had to pry them apart for an hour a day for "rest time" after lunch. Ben was in tears when the group went on a trip to the local ice cream parlor, and he wasn't able to ride in Nat's car because there wasn't enough room. Rebecca didn't seem to form an attachment to one single person, but she loved camp so much that she sobbed as we pulled away. I felt like a heel. Dan comforted her by recounting that he felt the same way as a boy, when camp was over for the summer. He even teared up a little. It's a very powerful place.

All that being said, I was pretty darn happy to come home. I love being in my own place with the ability to get a little privacy once in a while. Plus, I do love air conditioning. And television. And my coolio NASA foam mattress. But I had a very enjoyable time at camp, and I made some new friends and strengthened some established connections. The best part was teaching arts and crafts to the kids; most of them were very enthusiastic about learning new things or just playing around with stuff they already knew they liked.

One exciting thing happened. Not exciting in a good way, but it turned out okay. Dan picked up some cash that he was going to use to pay for the dog's kennel stay (he stayed at a farm upstate while we were at camp). On the day we took the little kids for ice cream, I asked him for some cash. He went to get it and it was gone. He freaked out completely. It was almost $300. He figured he probably left it in his shorts pocket, which had gone to the laundry earlier that day. He was convinced it wouldn't be there when they came back the next day. Sure enough, the laundry arrived and no cash. He was distraught. We had both searched the shelves where he had been keeping his money several times, but as I was putting the clean laundry away I decided to take ALL the clothes off the shelf and search the pockets. I was coming up empty until I picked up his swim trunks and the money fell out. Evidently I had been moving things around but not picking them up and shaking them out, and the money had been twisted up in there somehow. It was a huge relief for both of us, and tensions evened out. Until then, things had been pretty rough. We are very fortunate that Dan makes enough money that I can stay home with the kids, but with the way things are going with the economy that $300 was NOT disposable. We're both very thankful that I was brilliant enough to find it. ;)

Now all that's left is to wade through all this stinky lake-water-smelling laundry and try to get the house back in order. I left it a mess when I went, and Dan didn't do too much to remedy it while I was away, so here it still is for me to fix. I have to get things ready for my friend Pam to come visit in just over a week! Yay!!! (She's heard me talk about my lack of housekeeping skills, so she won't be TOO shocked to find a mess.) So happy to be back and blogging again, and hopefully I'll have some knitting progress to share soon.

Off to camp

2008-06-27T17:49:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow we're off to Massachusetts to hang out at Camp Kinderland for two weeks. Well, at least the kids and I are. Dan will take us up, come home to work, and then join us again later next week. I have about 8 sock knitting projects to take along, plus the things that I want to teach the kids as a member of the Arts & Crafts staff. I hope that's enough yarn to keep me occupied! LOL! I'll also have some books and M&Ms, which are always good companions when I don't have my husband with me. I hope they put us in the same rooms we had last year; it was nice to have a separate room for Rebecca (which will be used by Ben this time around since Rebecca will be in a full-fledged bunk). I'm nervous about her being able to take care of herself, but I guess I just need to trust her and the counselors. I know her counselor from last year and she's really good. I'm just being a mom.

So have a wonderful couple of weeks...I might be able to borrow a laptop from my sister-in-law, but if I can't then I'll be offline for two full weeks. Will I survive? Tune in next time to find out.

Now that's just wrong.

2008-06-23T19:29:00.003-04:00

We get a wonderful monthly newspaper called The Funny Times. It's composed of humorous cartoons and articles, some of which are pretty universal but many of which have a decidedly liberal slant. We enjoy it very much, needless to say. One of the regular contributors is Mr. Throaty himself, Garrison Keillor. The man's speaking voice makes me want to rip the radio from the car and fling it out the window. Speak up, willya?! But he's a funny writer. Anyway, today I was reading the newest issue which had just arrived in the mail and I saw a sentence that stopped me in my tracks. It included the words "my eight year old daughter." I couldn't read any further than that. I looked at the sentence. I looked at the byline. I read the sentence again. I read the entire paragraph, certain I had misread it somewhere. But no. Apparently this, forgive me, ancient human being has a child younger than one of my own. And all I could think to myself was, "Damn. It must be nice to be a man." How many 66 year old women do you know with 8 year old kids? If I were 66 and trying to raise my daughter at the age she is now, I'd just check myself into an old age home and let the nurses deal with her. But I'm guessing he probably has some lithesome wife at home who can handle the chasing and the running around while he sits back and gurgles about Powdermilk Biscuits.

Some days I just wish I'd been born a man.

Facing the weekend

2008-06-20T14:01:00.002-04:00

Now, normally I don't like to share on my blog when my husband is out of town. Creepy McStalkerpants could be reading, after all. But I'm feeling pretty low right now and need to share, and since above-mentioned husband is out of town for fun rather than business for once, I don't want to make him feel guilty. He's been in Vegas since Wednesday for work stuff, but since the James Randi group's big annual meeting was this weekend I encouraged him to stay and attend. (They're a skeptic group, in case you don't know who James Randi is.) On his way back he'll be stopping in Chicago for another work meeting. So for the first time since the Far East trip, it's just me and the kids for the entire weekend.

The good news: we have a birthday party to attend this weekend, plus the pool, plus maybe we'll go see the panda movie. The bad news: that will take up approximately 10 hours of the 48 hour weekend. I imagine we'll have to watch Camp Rock at least a couple of times--we're Tivo'ing it tonight--and I'm hoping we'll sleep at least part of the time. But I really miss my husband, and I can tell the kids do too.

On the positive side, midnight tonight marks the beginning of the Summer of Socks. On Ravelry there is a group devoted to creating as many pairs of socks as possible over the summer, and I signed up. I don't imagine I'll make more than 5 or 6 pairs, at most, but I've got the yarn and patterns all organized for 14. Who knows, if the nights get long while we're at Camp Kinderland maybe I'll get more done than I expect. There will be bi-weekly drawings for prizes, a couple of other contests like "socks on vacation" where the contestants vote on the most original photo of socks on vacation, as well as a huge grand prize for the person who makes the most pairs. I'm not gunning for that one, but I will be enormously jealous of the one who gets it. I have a couple of pairs planned out for my husband, but the rest will be for me. Kid socks don't count, sadly.

So please think of me this weekend and send me non-lonely vibes. Or better yet, drop by! Unless your name is Creepy McStalkerpants. I have sharp needles and I'm not afraid to poke you in the bellybutton with them.

Done been snucked

2008-06-17T09:11:00.004-04:00

So every week my new favorite online yarn shop has a "sneak up." She gets in new yarns and "sneaks" them into the store, only alerting her most loyal customers (known as Loopy Groupies). However, the Groupies are always kind enough to post a note on Sheri's Ravelry group letting everyone know that the sneak up has begun. Last night I was able to snag a Yarntini sock yarn that is already sold out, as well as another yarn that is sock-yarn weight but which I will be using to make my first lacy scarf. There are still some new things left in stock, and you can get to Sheri's site by clicking the Loopy Ewe link just to your right there. Only three more purchases and I'll hit Groupie status too! I'm trying to pace myself.

Also in my yarniverse I've learned the secret to creating two equal center-pull balls so that I can knit my socks two-at-once. Here's my technique:

1. Place digital kitchen scale on the table, then place a tabletop swift on the scale.
2. Zero out the scale (I hit the "tare" button on my scale).
3. Place the skein of yarn on the swift and find the outside end.
4. Check the weight on the scale. Because you zero'ed it out, that's only the weight of the yarn. Divide that number in half.
5. Using a ball winder, begin to wind the yarn from the outside strand.
6. Keep checking the number on the scale. When you reach the halfway number, stop and cut the yarn. Remove the ball from the ball winder.
7. Wind the rest of the yarn.

Easy peasy. Two perfect center-pull balls that won't roll around on you and that will help you to make lovely socks two-at-once. For more information on knitting socks two-at-a-time, check out Two-At-A-Time Socks by Melissa Morgan-Oakes, or the well-photographed web tutorial at Come To Silver.

The Summer of Socks contest is nearly here. It begins June 21st, and I'm looking forward to focusing on the sock knitting while lounging around the pool and hanging out at camp. I do need to give some attention to the Cobblestone Pullover for my husband, so that he'll have it all ready to go by the time the cold weather arrives again. But I'm in that place where I feel like fall is WAAAY far off. I'll be kicking myself come September, but that's another worry for another day. I just love making socks! I've reached the cuff of the multi-colored socks I'm making for Rebecca, and since I knit continental now the ribbing is just flying off the needles. I'm so glad I converted! Kid socks don't count for the SOS contest, so I need to get these done before Saturday.

In other news, the window guys are here finally. We're replacing the 58 year old windows with new vinyl ones. About half the house has newer windows, but the other half, the ones we're getting rid of today, were so old and inefficient. I'm hoping this plus the new boiler will help us keep oil costs down this winter. The bad part is that I'm stuck in the house for two days, when I really need to hit the grocery store.

Don't let him lick you on the mouth

2008-06-07T22:32:00.001-04:00

So we have this really stupid frog living in our back yard. I keep finding him in the pool skimmers and putting him over in the bushes. The last time, I took him clear across the yard and hoped he'd learn his lesson. Yesterday, I opened the skimmer lid and there he was again, bobbing sheepishly up and down, looking at me with his little buggy frog eyes. I scooped him out again and set him on the sidewalk, thinking I would close the skimmer and take him across the yard again. Then I realized the dog was standing right there. I made a grab for his collar, but he was too quick for me. Poor Froggie will no longer go a courtin'--he was gobbled up in about two seconds.

Today, Seeger's new nickname is Frog Breath.

Puppy Meme

2008-06-05T14:38:00.005-04:00

One of the knitting blogs I enjoy reading is called Pink Lemon Twist, and its author is Melanie, a superior knitter and designer. Well she got tagged to fill out a blog meme and decided to do it from the point of view of her dog. I loved that idea, and since I get some guff for not fulfilling my tags I thought I might do this one to quell the masses. (Okay, just Pam.) Take it away, Seeger:

What were you doing 10 years ago?

I wasn't born yet. My dogmom wasn't born yet. Two of the humans who take care of me weren't even born yet. But yesterday I played and slept and ate a lot.

What are 5 things on your To Do List for today, in no particular order?

1. Eat a lot
2. Sleep on my back so my private parts are on display
3. Chew on some dirty underwear that I dug out of the laundry basket
4. Bark at the men painting the next-door neighbor's house
5. Practice sitting and staying and heeling with my humanmom

What are some snacks you enjoy?

Well, dirty underwear obviously. Also tissues from the bathroom trash can. Rawhide bones, Milk Bones (gravy or plain, I'm not picky), and anything that drops from The Boy's plate at dinnertime.

What would you do if you were a millionaire?

Buy everyone's dirty underwear so I can chew it. And make world pees. I mean peace.

List the places you've lived:

1. In my crate
2. On humanmom's lap
3. Under the chair by the pool

Ow

2008-06-04T11:24:00.004-04:00

Okay, injuries seem to be rife around the house these days. The kids are fine, fortunately; it's the worn-out old folks who are having the problems. My husband injured his back trying to do some Wii Fit yoga, then fell down a couple of basement stairs last night due to someone irresponsibly leaving a laundry basket at the top of the stairs. Now granted, the fact that I was actually doing laundry should be to my credit, as should the fact that turning on the light before going down into the pitch dark basement is good policy. But I won't blame the victim here. So now he has a sore back and a sore knee to match. Me? Oh yes, I have achy Achilles tendons from my sun salutations this morning, plus I seem to have strained my forearm muscles doing rhythm boxing. If the exercise gods don't stop this nonsense, I'm going to start thinking they WANT me to be out of shape.

This is a pretty nutty week, as is next week, and then there will be a short lull before the chaos of summer vacation. We still have a ton of camp paperwork to fill out, which we've been procrastinating on. Yesterday was the much-anticipated school carnival, and I was lucky to be able to attend both the morning and the afternoon sessions. That way, I was able to see both kids playing and having fun. The lower grades were out from 9:30 to 12, and the upper grades from 12:30 to 3. In the morning I was working pretty much non-stop doing face painting. My specialty turned out to be dalmatians. I don't know if they were popular because I was good at them, or if I got good at them because I had to do so many. My only dissatisfied customer was my own son, which was good because anyone else and I wouldn't have been able to say "Sorry, dude, you'll have to deal." He asked me to make him a "red alien with green lines coming out of the corners of his eyes." That looked a little bland, so I gave him black around the eyes and lips. So then he looked like Spiderman. We thought about it for a while and decided he needed a yellow lightning bolt on his forehead. After that I had to throw in the towel. After a hot dog and an ice cream cone, plus all the sweat, it didn't last long anyway. In the afternoon I supervised the Dumbo ride. The extent of my duties was yelling at kids to put their feet down. The afternoon dragged a LOT longer than the morning. My daughter humored me by going on the ride once, but her time was pretty much taken up by the other, more exciting rides like the swings and the (small, safe) roller coaster. Here are a couple of photos of them with their bestest buddies.

A life fulfilled

2008-05-30T08:48:00.002-04:00

Sorry to be a downer today, but I just want to write a little about a man who passed from this life early this morning. His name is Dewey, and he was a friend of my parents and the father of one of my brother's friends. I used to go over to their house and his son, Eddie, would let me play this really early computer game of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It was all text based and very nerdy and mind-blowingly cool at the time. I remember they also put in a pool one year, and they were the only family I knew with a pool. Dewey was a kind and gracious man. He was a dear friend to my father, even when they butted heads while playing Phase 10. Not too long ago he was diagnosed with brain cancer, and the disease progressed rapidly. He was moved to hospice about two weeks ago, where he was able to get up and down, talk, joke, eat, and enjoy his final days with his family up until earlier this week when he seemed to enter a twilight from which he never emerged. His son (who everyone calls Dewey now but who will always be Eddie to me) has been keeping everyone updated on his blog. I was stunned when this morning's message, entitled "newcomer," was actually announcing that he had passed early this morning. The title refers to the family's very strong faith that Dewey is now in a paradise called Heaven. I haven't yet reached my mom and dad to speak to them about it--I imagine they're with Dewey's wife, Judy, and I'd rather not interrupt them on the cell. But I know they are all grieving this morning, and I am with them in spirit. All my love and warmest sympathy go out to Judy, Eddie, Cindy, the grandkids, and all the brothers and sisters Dewey left behind.

And then, the quiet

2008-05-25T13:27:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was pretty hectic but good; the pool is sparkling clean and it took a fraction of the time of past years because we had such a good cover. I did go ahead and buy that automatic vacuumer, but I hand-cleaned it the first time just to be sure all the nooks and crannies were done. Seriously, in past years I've scooped leaves for days and days and days because of that darn tarp. This year I was done with the cleaning and ready to balance the chemicals in about a hour. I could have leaped for joy. Instead I bought a vacuum, which was just as fun. The kids were chomping at the bit to get in, so I said sure. Heh. I knew that water was about 15 degrees Fahrenheit. Rebecca made it in up to her ankles before giving up. Ben never even got out the door in his suit. Hopefully the sun will warm it up a bit before tomorrow, and if nothing else we'll make the kids run around and get really hot so the cold water will feel good.

We also went to Old Bethpage, the historic recreation of a Long Island village, where they had their "Sheep to Shawl" festival. We watched a woman shear a sheep with clippers. A little boy next to me kept yelling (really loud!) "Dat hurt! Dat hurt!" His mom gave up trying to convince him that it didn't. Rebecca got to card some wool and I got a small bit of handspun. It might be enough to make a little Webkinz scarf, if I can untangle it first.

And today...ah. Quiet. DH took the kids into Manhattan where a historian is giving a walk/talk for children about Jews in New York. They're meeting some friends from camp, and my mother-in-law, so I opted to stay home and clean and shop for tomorrow's party. I've taken a couple of internet breaks as well, lol. I guess I better gather up my list and head out for groceries. This family likes to eat, so no skimping.

Let the screaming begin

2008-05-23T09:39:00.003-04:00

Our first fight over the Wii. Don't you just love school holidays? Yeah, me neither. I'm up here perusing my Ravelry forums when all of a sudden I hear the patented Boy Screech from downstairs. When I get downstairs the explanations begin before I even say a word. Rebecca actually has the nerve to say to me (remember, she's 9 and Ben is 6): "He's making me play when I don't want to anymore!" Really. Based on past behavior, I'm guessing it was his turn to be player 1 and she quit playing because she had to be player 2. Can you believe it, a petty nine year old?

They're currently serving out their 1/2 hour sentences in their respective rooms. Rebecca doesn't care; she loves to lie in bed and read. I'll never figure out where she got that. Ben reads too, but he spreads out in the floor. They have to learn now, though, that if the game is a problem there will be no game. Darn it, that commercial said it was going to bring my family together, and we're going to get some togetherness if it kills me!!

Quick review: Wii Fit completely and totally rocks. It has a little humor, a little attitude, and a lot of energy. I did the basic hula hoop routine about 4 times in a row and broke a sweat. When I unlocked the advanced hula hoop I did it once and had sweat dripping. Now, I'm overweight so I could run to the mailbox and break a sweat. But at least I know I can get my heart pumping with this thing. Ben discovered the running games yesterday and played them pretty much non-stop until I made him quit to eat. I think he collapsed at bedtime. When I went in to check on him before I went to bed, his little feet were still moving, like a dog will do when he's dreaming about chasing rabbits. Rebecca enjoys the balance games, particularly the tightrope walk.

Today's agenda: take the kids to the park with some neighbor friends, maybe hit Friendly's for some lunch, and make a library run. This weekend I hope to go to the Old Bethpage Village Restoration where they're having a "Sheep to Shawl" festival. I'd love to see them spin the wool into yarn. Still lots of prep before we can have the family over for our annual Memorial Day barbeque. (Can I call it annual if this is only the second year?) Great Friday, everyone.

Will Wii or Won't Wii...?

2008-05-21T08:23:00.003-04:00

Get a Wii Fit today, that is? See, I got a Wii for Mother's Day. Yeah. A Wii. I've had to share it, naturally. But the reason "I" got a Wii for Mother's Day was that I heard about the Wii Fit game coming out and wanted it. On Mother's Day night I went online to see if I could preorder a copy and nobody had it. Nobody. So I went to Target and asked them if they were going to have any. The lady in the electronics department told me they had 80 of them in the back but they couldn't put them out until Sunday. So on Sunday I got up at 7:00, grabbed a cup of coffee and drove over to Target to wait until they opened at 8:00. Walked in and learned that the Wii Fit would not be out until Wednesday (that would be today). The woman I spoke to earlier thought I was talking about the console, not the Fit game. So I was sad, and weirdly enough that sadness has been following me around ever since.

My darling husband told me that he would take Rebecca to school for her early orchestra practice this morning and then run over to Target to see if he could get one.

**pause to answer the phone**

Well that's pretty funny. I was just about to write that I didn't think he would be able to get one, that I would have to wait for a couple more weeks before I could play this game. That my blue funk (or is it a brown study?) would be hanging over my head for even longer. And then the phone rang. It was my dear, darling, precious, wonderful husband saying he got the game. He said they have about 100, and there were two people ahead of him in line.

That completely changes the tone of my entire day. I'm so happy and excited now! And you got to experience it as it happened. Lucky, lucky blog readers.

So now I can stop obsessing about that damn game and get back to knitting. I'm currently knitting a Charm Shrug for my daughter in a lovely red/pink tweed yarn. Here's what it will look like, only in a different yarn natch.

So far I have the fronts and back done, and they're attached at the shoulders. I picked up stitches around one side and have done about 2 inches of the first sleeve. It's going fairly quickly and I'm enjoying this new method of construction--I never did a three-needle bind off before and I love the way it looks.

Well, I'm off to imagine how much fun the Wii Fit will be and how svelte and sexy it's going to make me look. :eyeroll:

Can we call this a trend?

2008-05-19T14:48:00.002-04:00

For two Mondays running, I've cleaned the house. I mean really cleaned it well, top to bottom (except for the basement). Today it took me until just after noon, but I got it done. I was going to make a cake for dessert after dinner but I'm just too darn pooped. Tomorrow I'll get down there and clean the basement. Some of the soot and stuff drifted into the finished area, so I really need to give it a good vacuum and wipe-down. The kids have been coming up from playing down there with black on the bottoms of their socks. Tomorrow: basement and cake! Very good combination.

Do you ever have neighbors who get a big pile of mulch and then take forever to get it laid down? That would be us this year. We're doing it ourselves, and weekends have been so busy that we just haven't gotten it finished. The worst part is that it's been raining so much, and when we DO have time the mulch is soaking wet (or it's actively raining). The rain is giving me major weed problems too. We only have one section hasn't been covered with landscaping fabric underneath the mulch, and that's the biggest problem area. Next year that section is getting fabric too, otherwise I'm going to lose it.

Good news: the pool is open! I was so surprised to see how clear it was underneath the new cover. Up until last year we only had a tarp over it, held down around the edges by long tubs filled with water. Inevitably, the water would evaporate and the tubs would fall it, causing the edges of the tarp to fall in and all the leaves to dump into the water. We couldn't even replenish the water in the tubs because the sprinklers and hoses had been winterized. Last year we broke down and got a Loop Lock cover, and I'm so glad we did. The only other thing on my pool wish list is one of those automatic vacuumers so I don't have to go out there and do it manually. It's one big pain. Or I'm just lazy. A bit of both. I hope we'll be able to have the family over on Memorial Day for a swim and a barbecue.

A few photos

2008-05-17T16:28:00.003-04:00

So I promised you oil burner photos. Here we go. This is the workshop area with the old burner. You can see why we referred to it as "The Dinosaur"...it was both huge and old.

Here is Mr. Ben waving it a fond farewell:

And taDAH!!! Here is the new, more efficient burner. You can see the old oil marks in the floor to show you where the old burner came out to, compared to the new one which virtually hugs the wall. When DH came home, I could see his mind immediately begin to calculate which new tools he needs to fill in the space.

And just because:

Finally, here is the cabinet I just put together this afternoon. The middle is "regular" yarn and the bottom is sock yarn. You can see if my regular yarn collection grows any further, I'm going to have to start smooshing the sock yarn. Or using it up faster, one or the other.

Today was graduation from the Jewish Cultural School or "schule" that my kids attend on Saturdays. My kids are both in the youngest class, so their part of the program was to do two traditional dances. I didn't have my camera (BAD MOMMY) but my husband got a few on his camera phone. I'll share if he ever sends them to me.

Great weekend, everybody.

I survived!

2008-05-15T20:56:00.003-04:00

I made it through this stupidly crazy day. The new oil burner is installed and it's so cool. But it took the entire day. And the house smells TERRIBLE. There was a lot of dust and oil and oily dust, and they threw that stuff down to soak up the oil that they use to clean up vomit in elementary schools? I was getting crazy flashbacks. Then I started getting lightheaded and went down to tell the installers that I was having trouble with the fumes and they said it was because they were using an acetylene (sp?) torch to weld. It was nice to put up the umbrella on the patio table and sit outside and read though. I'll post some "before and after" photos tomorrow.

The sprinklers...oy, don't get me started on the sprinklers. All the plumbing stuff is sticking up out of the ground on the side of the house and every year something else has broken to the tune of four hundred bucks. I think the guy finally convinced DH this year that he needs to let them bury the plumbing to protect it.

And the dog training course was really, really good. I don't know if I mentioned last winter, I took Seeger to a puppy kindergarten that a neighbor recommended. Well I don't know if they had a new teacher or what, but she was awful. Totally the Nazi Trainer from Hell. This class, recommended by a different neighbor, was the complete opposite. Everyone was very nice, the teacher was extremely patient and corrected our problems very kindly. And she customized the class for the owners of the younger dogs so that they didn't get too tired out. Seeger was, naturally, the head of the class. He's just so regal looking, he always looks very elegant in a sit. He heeled like a champ. He's passed out now, so I know he worked hard. I'm very proud of him.

Tomorrow, pull out the checkbook again. The guys are coming to open the pool. Maybe it will be clear enough and warm enough to swim over Memorial Day.

Well, if I can drag the remote away from DH and get him to turn off the darn Mets game, I'm going to watch the Office season finale.

Thanks for your "support"

2008-05-14T19:39:00.002-04:00

Thanks to Linda, Melanie, and Chris for supporting my decision to try and curb my sock yarn purchasing, by telling me I needed to keep buying sock yarn. With friends like these...!

Actually, what I did was go out and buy a nice cabinet to use for yarn storage. My plan is to use one shelf for knitting books and a cup with needles, one shelf for sock yarn, one shelf for non-sock yarn, and the cabinet for things that don't look so purty on the shelves.

The sad part is that once I get all my yarn on the shelves, I'll probably notice that there are a few empty spots needing to be filled and go on a shopping spree. I do, actually, need to buy the yarn for this sweater, which I'm going to make for DH:

Tomorrow is going to be a nightmare. Early chorus practice for Rebecca, the guys are coming to replace our old oil burner, the guys are coming to turn on our sprinkler system, I have to be at school to go to book fair at 9:20, Rebecca has to stay late for art club, and I have my first obedience class with Seeger. Phew! If you see me tomorrow, I may be a blur!

Book Fair

2008-05-13T20:57:00.002-04:00

I don't know why I let myself in for these things. I hate the fundraisers that they have at the school, not because I don't want to contribute but because they always seem to put such a breach between the "haves" and the "have nots" of the community. Seeing a small child walking around with hands in pockets and tears in eyes, knowing he can't buy a book from the book fair because his parents couldn't afford it, just breaks my heart. And yet I continue to support the sales by showing up and giving my kids money to buy things. I say, "The money is going to a good cause." And yet I know the sadness these less privileged kids must be feeling. And then there are the kids whose parents would have sent money but simply forgot. They make me want to cry, they look so sad standing there.

Now I'll grant you, when I'm working at the book fair, like today, the kids with no money seem to be the ones who ask me the prices on eleventy-million items. Then they want me to add it up in my head. Didn't you just come from math class, kid? Figure it out. You don't have any money? Then why do you CARE how much it costs? Criminy.

Anyway, I do like this particular book sale they have at the end of each year, because it's the half-off sale. Last year I got "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" for half price, and this year it won the Caldecott Award. How forward-thinking of me, yes? This year I got another cool-looking book for Rebecca and a half-priced I Spy game for the DS for Ben. Come on, could I turn down half price? It would be foolish.

I think it's time I admitted I have a problem. Yes, I'm going to come forward and be honest right here, right now. I have a problem...with sock yarn. This is my current stash:

This is enough yarn to make 23 pairs of adult-sized socks. I don't think I even own 23 pairs of Target socks. So on this, my road to recovery, I take my first step by admitting that I have a problem with sock yarn. And in taking this first step, I think to myself, "Wow, walking this difficult path would be a lot easier if I had a nice cushy pair of handknitted socks on. I wonder what new colors they have in at the local yarn shop."

Someone, send help.

Quick project

2008-05-10T10:06:00.002-04:00

After I've done a couple of major projects (well, some people don't consider socks major but we'll ignore them) I like to do something quick and easy. Yesterday I made a mug cozy or mug sweater in about 3 hours. And it only took that long because I was having to adjust the pattern on the fly to fit my particular mug. I had to start over once and rip back rows a couple of times. The mug came from Target, and they had several different colors when I was there for about $4 each. The yarn is from AC Moore and wasn't expensive at all. So with a small investment of time and not very much money, you can have a very cute gift for teachers or coaches at the end of the year. Stuff the mug with tea bags, Hershey kisses, or pencils and erasers. I can attest that the mug sweater does help keep the beverage warm a bit longer!

My first pattern

2008-05-09T11:36:00.003-04:00

Don't ask me what the heck I think I'm up to. I'm completely ignoring my entire to-do list today because I actually :gasp: made up my own pattern for a pair of socks for my daughter. And not because I think I have anything like a designer hiding inside, but only because I know how hard it is to find tween patterns for anything out there, I made the effort of writing down what I did and presenting it to you. So if you need to make some cutesy socks that knit up pretty fast, please feel free to take the pattern! All I ask is that you don't share the pattern but direct friends here to get it themselves, and don't sell anything you make from it. It's also available via Google Documents, HERE.

Diamond Valentine Socks
by CindyS
Visit my blog!

These girly and lacy socks were designed for my nine-year-old daughter. Please note that the instructions are given for knitting the socks two-at-once, toe-up. There are several resources for learning to knit socks this way, but I highly recommend the tutorials at Come To Silver. If you have never knit this way before, I suggest doing a small practice sock first, or simply adjust the pattern to work with your sock-knitting method.

Materials
2 skeins Moda Dea Sassy Stripes (50 g/1.67 oz, 147 yds/135 m) or similar
DK weight yarn
One 40" circular needle, size 4
Yarn needle for weaving in ends

Gauge
21 stitches per 4 inches in stockinette

Sizing
These socks fit my 9 year old daughter a bit loosely, and she wears a size 4 shoe. They are stretchy enough that they almost fit me, a woman's large, so they are pretty adaptable as far as size goes. They are easily adjusted for a larger foot by increasing the number of cast-on stitches as well as the number of knit and/or purl stitches on either side of the center motif. Adjust foot length accordingly.

Cast On
Using Judy Becker's Magic Cast-On, cast on 8 stitches per needle for sock A. Slide the cast-on stitches to the cable and cast on 8 stitches per needle a second time for sock B. Begin by knitting around all stitches one round. Mark the instep of sock A with a stitch marker to help you keep your place. If you have cast on correctly, you should be knitting the instep of sock A, followed by the instep of sock B, then the sole of sock B, and lastly the sole of sock A. This brings you back to the marker.

Toe Increases
On the instep of sock A, knit into the front and back of the first stitch. Knit to the second-to-last stitch, knit into the front and back. Knit into the final stitch. Repeat for the instep of sock B, repeat for soles of socks B and A. Knit one round even. Continue increasing every other row until you have 48 stitches per sock (24 on the instep and 24 on the sole of each sock). The toe should be approximately 2 inches long.

Foot
Setup round: P24 for insteps of sock A and B, K24 for soles of sock B and A.

Below is the stitch pattern for the instep of each sock. Follow the pattern for the instep of sock A, repeat for the instep of sock B. Then KNIT across the sole of sock B, and knit across the sole of sock A.

Row 1: K5, P2, K2, K2tog, yo, K2tog but do not remove stitch from left needle, K into first stitch again and slip both stitches off, yo, skp (slip one stitch purlwise, knit the next stitch, the pass the slipped stitch over the knit stitch), K2, P2, K5.
Row 2: K5, P2, K10, P2, K5
Row 3: K5, P2, K1, K2tog, yo, K4, yo, skp, K1, P2, K5
Row 4: K5, P2, K10, P2, K5
Row 5: K5, P2, K2tog, yo, K1, K2tog, yo TWICE, skp, K1, yo, skp, P2, K5
Row 6: K5, P6, K1, P7, K5
Row 7: K5, P2, K2, yo, skp, K2, K2tog, yo, K2, P2, K5
Row 8: K5, P2, K10, P2, K5
Row 9: K5, P2, K3, yo, skp, K2tog, yo, K3, P2, K5
Row 10: K5, P2, K10, P2, K5

Repeat these 10 rows 3 times, to a length of about 5 3/4 inches. IMPORTANT!!!! On your final repeat of the pattern you must STOP after knitting the last row on the instep of sock B. Beginning with this last section of sole stitches we will turn the heel.

Heel
You can use whatever method you prefer for the heel, but for my sample sock I used the method from Cat Bordhi's YouTube videos which can be found HERE and HERE.

Knit to the next-to-last stitch on the sole of sock B. Wrap, and turn.
Purl to the next to last stitch, wrap, and turn. (You may find it helpful to place a stitch marker after each wrapped stitch, so you don't accidentally wrap the same stitch multiple times.)
Knit to three stitches before end of row. (This will be the stitch before the one you wrapped.) Wrap and turn.
Purl to three stitches before end of row. Wrap and turn.

Continue in this manner, knitting or purling to the last stitch before a wrapped stitch, wrap the unwrapped stitch, and turn. Do this until you have 8 wrapped stitches on either side and 8 unwrapped stitches in the center.

Knit across to the first wrapped stitch. Knit the wrap together with the stitch by lifting the wrap over the stitch and knitting the two together (seriously, watch the videos linked above). Repeat 6 times until there is one wrapped and one unwrapped stitch left. DO NOT PURL BACK UNTIL ALL WRAPPED STITCHES ARE KNIT. When you reach the last wrapped stitch, lift the wrap over it then knit these two stitches together with the final stitch on the row (which was unwrapped). Turn.

Purl across to the first wrapped stitch. Purl the wrap together with the stitch by lifting the wrap over the stitch from the knit side and purling the two together. Again, watching those videos will make this so much clearer. Repeat 6 times until there is one wrapped and one unwrapped stitch left. DO NOT KNIT BACK UNTIL ALL WRAPPED STITCHES ARE KNIT. When you reach the last wrapped stitch, lift the wrap over it then purl these two stitches together with the final stitch on the row (which was unwrapped). Turn.

Now, each sock has 24 stitches on the instep and 22 stitches on the heel. As we go around to begin the leg, we will add those missing stitches back in.

Knit across all sole stitches of sock B. At the end of the row, M1 by picking up the bar between the stitches of the row below. This helps close any holes between the heel and the foot, as well as making up for the decreases we did at the end of the heel. Now switch over to sock A and turn the heel as outlined above. Don't forget to knit back across after the final purl row, and M1 at the end of that knit row.

Leg
You are now ready to begin the legs of the socks. Because you stopped on row 10 when you began turning the heel, you simply need to begin the stitch pattern from row 1 on the sock insteps. Knit Row 1 across sock A, and again across sock B. At the beginning of the back/heel stitches of sock B, M1 again to make up for the second decreased stitch we made on the sock. Knit across sock B. When you begin the back/heel stitches of sock A, M1 there as well. We are now back to having 24 stitches on the instep and 24 stitches on the back/heel of the sock.

Continue knitting the pattern stitch across the insteps and knitting across the back of the leg. Alternately, you can begin to knit the pattern stitch across the back of the leg at this point if you wish. Knit until the leg is the length you like.

Cuff
To make the purl stitches of this K2P2 ribbing line up with the purls in the pattern, knit your cuff as follows:

K1, *P2, K2* repeat between the * 5 times, P2, K1

Repeat this pattern on each needle until cuff is about 1 inch. Bind off and weave in ends. Enjoy!

Happy Anniversary to me!

2008-05-08T12:59:00.002-04:00

I just noticed in my sidebar that I've been blogging here at Simon Says Scrap for 2 years now. I did have another blog before, which was supposed to be my "personal" blog while this one was for my digital scrapbooking design business. But the design thing kinda petered out after a while, and this is the only place I ever blog/journal/unload anymore. I still only have about five readers, but that's okay. I guess I don't really want my private stuff all over the internet anyway, and it's not all that interesting to begin with. But just a little "thank you" to all of you who do check in with me from time to time. Thanks for listening and responding, and for helping me feel like there are a few witnesses to my life...that it will not pass completely unremarked. Hugs all round.

Sickness

2008-05-05T10:20:00.003-04:00

I just can't seem to get rid of this nasty sinus thing that's wrapped me in its clutches. On the positive side, I don't cough nearly as much during the day as I had been. I can breathe through my nose and I can taste again. On the negative side, I seem to cough all damn night and I can't get a decent night's sleep. I keep DH awake as well, so I move to the couch and then stay awake for the rest of the night. Also, my ears are stuffed with cotton. The Tylenol Sinus medicine is helping, but I really wish I didn't feel like my head was underwater. On the agenda for later today: NAP.

A few overdue knitting project photos for you. First, the adorable baby sweater with matching boo-tays.

Next, some socks that have been done for about a month now. I ordered the yarn custom dyed in Mets colors for my baseball crazy husband. He loves them, and they are VERY soft.

And last, the socks I took on vacation with me to Niagara Falls are finished. Yay! They turned out very lovely if I do say so.

Currently on the needles: the pattern called Eloise that came with my last shipment of the Chewy Spaghetti sock club. The yarn colors are unique, not my favorite, but the sock is knitting up nicely. Also on the needles are a pair for my daughter which are knitting up lickety split because I'm using a DK weight yarn on size 4 needles. This pair is my first "design" because I pulled a stitch pattern from a stitch dictionary to use running up the center of the sock. Other than that, it's a toe-up with a short row heel. Photos of that to come.

Off to make tea, start laundry, and rest if I can.

Back home and so glad to be

2008-04-28T11:12:00.003-04:00

We're home! We arrived home on Friday night around midnight, thanks to several stops we made on the way as well as a closure on the LIE just five exits before we needed to get off. Grrr... We made it, though, safely and tiredly. I have a few photos to share, so prepare for a photo-heavy post.

First, a Harlot-style sock-on-vacation photo. These are my Cascading Leaves socks that I'm making for the April Sockdown! challenge on Ravelry. Since this photo was taken I've turned the heel and started the gusset decreases. Still a ways to go.

Next, the view from our hotel room which overlooked both the Horseshoe and American Falls. Quite lovely.

This photo was taken as we swung high over the Niagara River in the Aero Car. It was a little scary!

Next we visited the Botanical Gardens and Butterfly Conservatory. Hubby actually got one to land on his head! Rebecca was so jealous.

These two were taken on top of the giant ferris wheel, the Sky Wheel, located in the touristy part of town. Also scary!

We saw a lot of rainbows. I wasn't sure if they would show up on my camera but I got lucky.

And finally, we made it home and went to the dog sitter to pick up Seeger. He was totally exhausted but we could tell he really enjoyed being with his mom and his brother. Below are Seeger (in front with the brown striped collar) and Romeo (in the back with the blue collar).

Abby is their mother. She is an expert kisser, as you can see.

Well that's it from here. I have a lot of laundry to catch up on, plus we all have some nasty hacking cough thing that just won't go away. It's messing with my inner ear and I feel very dizzy and gross. Fortunately it's a rainy day, so I'm going to stay inside and fold laundry and rest. So glad to be back with you!!

We're off

2008-04-21T18:03:00.002-04:00

We'll be heading out in the early dark of the morning to get a jump on rush hour traffic. Still have to pack a bit and get all the "car entertainment" ready, including DVDs and video games for the kids and some knitting projects for me. And snacks. Lots of snacks. (For your edification, I've found that lollipops keep the kids' mouths busy longer than any other treat, so there is peace in the back seat temporarily.) Not sure if DH is bringing his laptop, so I may not be able to check in for a while. Be good while I'm away.

Sadness: DH is off taking Seeger to visit his mom and brother for a little doggie vacation. I was going to board him, but I wrote to the lady we bought him from to ask for a kennel recommendation and she said he should come stay with her. She was very excited about it, and so was I. I know he'll be well looked after there, not to mention he'll see family members he hasn't seen since he was 3 months old (and only 15 little teeny pounds!). I know he'll have fun, but I'll miss him tonight.

Sweater done!

2008-04-18T15:22:00.002-04:00

No photo yet. It's SO cute. Well okay, I confess it still has no buttons but that's the easiest part. Photos soon. I have one little matching bootie finished, but the cuff part would fit baby King Kong so I may have to try again. We'll see.

I did get that cheap haircut the other day. Would you like to know what it looks like? Well then just take a look over to the right of the blog window at that photo of me taken in 2006. That's what it looks like. I even took that exact photo with me to the salon to show them what I wanted. I figure, if I take a photo of myself, surely they can replicate it. It's not like I took a photo of Sandra Bullock and said, "Make me look like that." I'm not letting my reach exceed my grasp, if you get me. It's only hair.

Busy weekend. Gotta get this pile of mulch out of the middle of the road once and for all. We can't put it down until the yard crew does our spring cleanup, which will be (I found out today) a WEEK from MONDAY. Blurg. My neighbors are going to start peeing on the mulch in the middle of the night if we don't get it out of the road. Granted, it's not taking up much more space than a car might, and the neighbors (who have three-car garages no less) leave their cars parked on the street constantly. What the hell have they got in those garages, is what I want to know.

Okay, thank goodness it's Friday and there's no homework. We're going to be outside where it's absolutely beautiful. Enjoy your weekend!

Announcement!

2008-04-16T12:13:00.003-04:00

My house is clean. (Why do I hear the voice of that creepy lady in Poltergeist as I type that?) Yes, my house is clean and should stay that way for...:checks watch:...approximately three and one half hours. Until my children return home from school. I will thoroughly enjoy these three and one half hours, while I can.

Also, the baby jacket currently looks like zis:

The only other thing to report today is that we made a last-minute decision to head up to Niagara Falls for a couple of days while the kids are on break next week. I've never been, so I'm really excited about it. The weather reports tell me it will be chilly and rainy during our two full days there, but I won't let that "dampen" my spirits, hardy har har. My hands are starting to shake so I think I better go grab a bite to eat before my shower and heading out for a cheap haircut.

Who is this woman?

2008-04-15T14:34:00.003-04:00

And what did you do with the real Cindy? I've been cleaning like a maniac the past couple of days. And I still have plenty to do. But the major thing that's been bothering me is the state of the floors in the master bedroom, and now they are dust-bunny free. That's a real relief, for my brain as well as my sinuses. Now that the weather is warming up, I want to make everything fresh and clean. Tomorrow I have to focus on the "common areas," like the octagon room and the living room. Lots of windows have doggie nose-prints that need to be wiped clean.

We're focusing on home improvements around here. We have a few quotes for replacing our 58-year-old burner, which is losing between 30 and 40 percent of the heat it generates. We could save more than 30 percent on our heating bills just by replacing it with a more efficient one. Add to that the fact that we're replacing the old windows that are still in the house, and we'll be saving lots of money this time next year. You wouldn't believe how cold the master bedroom gets in the wintertime with those leaky windows. Plus, none of the old ones open so we can't really get a cross-breeze going in the springtime. Not for long, though! Now if we could just get the yard company to come do our spring cleanup, we'd be all set. Thank you Motorola for dh's bonus this year, so we can do these things!!

In yarnie news, I just came back from AC Moore with some yarn to make the cutest little baby jacket you ever saw. No, I'm not pregnant. But one of dh's friends at work is having his second baby later this month and I want to make something for him. This is the guy who came to the hospital and sat with me while dh was in surgery with his sudden heart attack, so I have a soft spot for him (and his offspring). His wife is a doll too, and I hear she's having a pretty rough time this go-round. My thoughts are with you both, Dave!

Work in Progress

2008-04-13T10:30:00.003-04:00

Socks, of course. Work on my fall vest has ground to a complete halt, as I'm feeling the yarn is far too busy. Kate, you asked what it is: it's Patons Shetland Chunky in the colorway High Plains Variegated. I don't know what I'm going to do with 12 skeins of it, but I'm sure I'll come up with something. In the meantime I'm still going on DH's Mets socks. The ribbing for the cuff has become tedious, and there's still SO much yarn left that I don't want to stop until I've used it all up. So it's on hiatus.

I picked up a pattern for the Ravelry April Sockdown! competition. It's called Cascading Leaves, and I'm knitting it in a yarn called Dream in Color Smooshy. The colorway is called Butter Peeps, and I purchased it at Eat.Sleep.Knit. The lace pattern repeat is only 8 rows, easily memorized, and very quick to knit. I'm enjoying it very much! I'm researching different heel methods though, because I'm really not fond of the heel flap heel. My last attempt at short rows--using the yarnover method--was a complete flop (I'll show you on the Mets socks when I get a photo). So I'm hoping to try another short row heel with no wraps. Wraps really get me! Anyway, here's the work in progress:

We're off to a birthday party for twins! Have a great Sunday!

(PS, to a certain someone who is waiting for a particular piece of mail from me...I'm nearly ready to send it off! You're going to love it!)

Astounding

2008-04-09T20:58:00.003-04:00

Did I mention I'm pretty big into knitting these days? Oh yeah. Well the majority of my online time is now spent over at Ravelry, although I swearswearswear I check in at 123-Scrap at least once a day still. Ravelry is the place that made this new knitter feel like she

a) wasn't alone in her obsession, and
b) kinda sorta knew what she was doing

The people, the projects, the database, the friends list, the forums for every taste and creed...there's no place like it. And it's still in beta, so just imagine what's going to happen when it goes public.

Well, evidently there are several members over there who wax emotional when discussing the Rav, and they got together to help the owners purchase another, much-needed server for the site. After all, The Rav is free, and many of us would love to give a little back. They were hoping to raise about $5000 during the month of April. Imagine their surprise when they surpassed the 5K mark in a couple of days! They decided to aspire to an unreachable goal, just for kicks: to raise $30,000 dollars to eliminate the entire startup debt the owners had incurred. Well guess what? The total as of a few minutes ago was around $29,800. In less than FIVE DAYS, can you BELIEVE that? It's insane. Granted, there are a ton of simply amazing prizes being offered, with your name going into the hat for each $10 you donate. But just to know that this wonderful couple who gave up their fulltime jobs and risked so much to make this site happen will be able to sleep a little better at night...that's worth so much more than any prize. But I wouldn't turn one down... :P I'm off to watch the thermometer/counter break through that 30K mark!!

EDIT: at 9:04 pm Ravelry was officially debt-free. Maybe now Casey and Jess can start earning a salary and oh, I don't know, buying some health insurance or something? :D

Naughty Lily!!!

2008-04-06T19:14:00.003-04:00

Read this comment, left by Chris in my post about Seeger eating the muffins (she has a golden retriever named Lily):

Scary, Cindy. I can tell you chocolate cake, chocolate frosted donuts, 3/4 of a pizza and a pack of tortilla stories. All separate stories, but all stuff taken off the counter. Oh, and bread stolen from the toaster on more than one occasion, which I thought was me losing my mind, LOL. But, the good news is, Lily grew out of that stage. And I'm better at remembering to push things out of her reach. The microwave has become my friend. Give him some Pepto Bismol too, cause he'll need it for his diarrhea ;)

Oh my!! I've had fresh bread stolen off the counter (nearly cried!) and coffee drunk (just what I need, a caffeinated puppy) but that takes the...should I say it?...cake! And I wanted to put this in a fresh post to tell Chris, and anyone else with greedy puppies, that I read recently that canned pumpkin is a great stomach settler for dogs. Just a big tablespoon on top of their food and it really helps their digestion. So there you go, your pet owner tip of the week.

We just came home from a HYOOOGE party. The little girl next door was celebrating her first communion and we were invited. We skipped the ceremony--I think Jews tend to turn to ash when they enter a Roman Catholic church, right?--but the party was a blast. The mom has been a wreck about it for weeks. I told someone that when Brianna announces her engagement I'm moving to Florida. This party was ginormous, including a cocktail hour (I told the kids it was the pre-dinner dinner), open bar the whole time, disc jockey/entertainer, four course meal, ice cream bar, after-dinner drinks bar including espresso and cappucino, and of course a giant cake shaped like a bible. The best thing that came out of it was having a long talk with my other neighbor and finding out that we aren't the only "poor people" on the street. (No, we aren't poor. But compared to the other people...like, say, the ones that can throw a party for tens of thousands of dollars for their seven-year-old? Yeah. We're penniless.) But we're very grateful that they invited us and the kids had a BALL. Sadly, the kids informed me that they were both up at 4:30 am, and after a six-hour party of dancing and acting like fools, they are trashed. They did, however, get to witness their mother dancing the Cotton-Eyed Joe. So it was worth it.

A few finished projects

2008-04-03T09:17:00.004-04:00

I've been a busy bee! I finished a few projects this week and have more going. Still working on the socks for DH for our first Mets game next Friday...I really have to kick those into gear or they won't be done in time. Also:

A cardigan for Ben. He likes it, yet he doesn't like it. It's a very strange relationship. I'm removing my feelings from the equation and letting the two of them work it out.

A cotton top for Rebecca. It's too big, too bumpy (her words), and she doesn't like how it comes off the shoulder. But after I wash, soften, and block it I'm hoping she'll like it better.

And a pair of socks I finished for Ben last month. I like these a lot!

My current work in progress is a cable vest called "Boogie." I just started on the back yesterday...and can I tell you how empowering it is to know that I can kick butt on the seaming, so I don't have to fear seamed projects anymore? It rocks.

DH comes home tonight, so I need to do a bit of tidying and get caught up on laundry. That's it from here!

A good fright

2008-04-02T15:24:00.003-04:00

Seeger gave us quite a scare last night. Just as I was about to finish putting the kids to bed, I realized that he had eaten an entire plate of chocolate chip banana muffins. There were nine on the plate and they were all gone. There was a cup of chocolate in the batch, so I phoned the emergency vet and they told me to bring him in. Fortunately I didn't have to leave him there, because he had eaten just under the "scary" amount. Of course, no amount is good, and he did have all that muffin in there along with the chocolate, so she got him to throw it up and sent us home with some medicine and an order to get him some Pepcid as well. And she recommended training classes, lol. I really do need to teach him not to jump up on the counters...this has happened too many times before, only with meat or bread and not something dangerous like chocolate.

Since DH is out of town, I had to take the kids with me. We didn't get home until after 10:30 so I know they're pooped today. And I was so strung out after getting home, and scared that he might still get sick, that I stayed up with the dog on my lap until after 2 am. So I'm pooped too! Tonight's going to be a nice, quiet evening at home with an early bedtime all around.

No foolin

2008-04-01T11:00:00.004-04:00

My husband came home last night with a look on his face and told me that he had a talk with his boss. Uh oh. Then he started talking about how one of the guys over in Europe was needing some help...I started getting excited! I thought he was going to tell me that we were going overseas for a year or something! It wasn't that, though. His boss was offering to let one of the three of them go over for two weeks, with time to work as well as have some European relaxation time. So DH wants to know if he should tell the boss he's interested. It could be as soon as spring break, in just less than three weeks. I was concerned at first, because we'd need to take the kids with us. And fast-forward the passport situation, and deal with a lot of hurry and stress. But then I threw caution to the wind and said yes. So he's going to tell bossman that he's interested. We may not be the ones who go, but if we do I'll have the kids with me for a lot of the time, while DH works, in non-English speaking countries. This is one of my biggest fears. But guess what? If I face up to it, then it won't be a fear any more. And what an opportunity for the children! Part of me hopes it won't work out, but if it does then I'll have a lot of work ahead of me. It'll be hard, but fun. And that's no April Fool.

I'll leave you with a few shots of Ben. We went letterboxing one day last month, but we weren't able to find the hidden box of treasure. So sad. We still had fun though.

A smidge of activism

2008-03-31T10:37:00.003-04:00

Hey guys. Not much going on around here these days, which explains the dearth of blog posts. Just your normal cleaning, running around, and trying to keep heads above water. Saturday was our 11th wedding anniversary, so we went to the new hibachi-style restaurant in town (in Smithtown at the Uncle Giuseppe's shopping center, for those of you nearby). We had eaten at the sushi bar there a month or so ago, and it was fantastic. The hibachi was only so-so. They're still waiting on their liquor license so Dan had to get a bottle of wine from the liquor store down the hall. The chefs were making up for the lack of alcohol by squirting cooking sake directly into diners' mouths from across the table. It was a hoot (I abstained, can't stand the stuff). Also, I found a few leftover bags of Cadbury Mini Eggs in the 50% off section at the Rite Aid next door, so altogether a very good night.

You guys know I have some liberal leanings (that's putting it mildly), so if you disagree with me I certainly don't have a problem with you ignoring the rest of my post. Just a little heads-up for ya. :D I love all my friends, whether we have the same politics or not. But I had to stand up for my beliefs today.

If you live on Long Island, you've probably heard about the 80-year-old man who was arrested at Smith Haven Mall for wearing an anti-war t-shirt. You can read the Newsday story HERE. In short, he was wearing a white shirt with a count of the number of troops and civilians killed in Iraq to date. On the back it said, simply, "Enough." There's no photo at the online article, but in the paper you could see at the bottom of the front there were a few small spatters of simulated blood. The man had been outside the mall participating in an anti-war rally, after which he and his wife came inside for french fries and coffee. Mall security asked them to turn their shirts inside-out or leave. When he refused, the man was arrested. Now, Smith Haven is my closest mall and I'm in there a lot. I was so excited when they opened a Sephora and I could get my Philosophy body wash and perfume without having to order online. But I decided that I completely disagree with what was done, so I will not be returning to this mall. I've seen many t-shirts being sold in that very mall, right around the corner from the food court where the arrest took place, that were way more offensive to me than a simple statement of fact about the war body count. (Well, the body count does offend me, but in a different way if you get my meaning.) I think the security guards made a very bad decision that should in no way be enforced. So I wrote the following letter to the Simon Property Group, which owns Smith Haven Mall:

"I would like to let the Simon Property Group know that I will no longer be a patron at Smith Haven Mall. I have been shopping there since I moved to Long Island four years ago, but I cannot continue to support the place where Don Zirkel was arrested for wearing an anti-war t-shirt. While I understand the mall's policy, the security guards made an unconscionable decision to harrass a man peacefully enjoying his purchase from a mall vendor. The t-shirts for sale at the vendor near the food court are much more offensive than this simple statement of the loss of life in the Iraq war. If Simon Property Group supports this decision and allows Mr. Zirkel to be prosecuted, my family and I (and anyone I can persuade) will no longer patronize this shopping center. No more makeup and perfume from Sephora, no more expensive dinners at The Cheesecake Factory, no more computer equipment from the Mac store, no more luxury watches from Major Jewelers (these are just a few of the many purchases I have made in the past year alone). Thank you for allowing me to express my opinion, and I urge you to take the proper steps to clear this man's name and assure the public that tasteful expression of free speech will not be supressed on your property."

And I would encourage anyone who feels strongly about this matter, either in favor of the action or against, to exercise your right to speak your mind and let the developers know how you feel.

A knittin' funny

2008-03-12T07:42:00.002-04:00

Stolen from a post at Ravelry:

A highway patrolman pulled alongside a speeding car on the freeway. Glancing at the car, he was astounded to see that the blonde behind the wheel was knitting!

Realizing that she was oblivious to his flashing lights and siren, the trooper cranked down his window, turned on his bullhorn and yelled, ‘PULL OVER!’

‘NO!’ the blonde yelled back, ‘IT’S A SCARF!’

Have a lovely Wednesday! I'll be at my local yarn shop knitting from 10:30 to noon, then coming home to relax and throw a load of wash in.

Why do I do this to myself?

2008-03-10T16:10:00.003-04:00

The time change has us all a little wonked out. So last night DH goes to bed early, like 10pm (which felt like 9pm) and I stayed up to finish watching a show. What do I do after the show is over? Like a complete idiot I start surfing the guide and see that Magnolia has just started, and I flip it over there. Despite drifting off several times during the movie, I refuse to get up and go to bed already. Once it's over, at the merry hour of 1:30 am, I drag my butt into bed and clang heavily into a sound sleep. Today I feel like death warmed over. I have these weird little wavy lines in my peripheral vision. My ears are ringing. Perhaps, just maybe, I need to get to bed at a reasonable hour tonight? I don't know why I insist on doing this to myself.

In other news, I met with the school counselor today. I was able to give her a good report directly from Ben's teacher, because we chatted on the phone on Friday. She's not really able to give me a detailed report of the day in our communication log, because she just dashes it off at the end of the day. As we spoke she painted a much rosier picture of Ben's improvement in class. He still has things we need to work on, that's for sure, but I'm feeling much better about things. The counselor had several good ideas for me as well. One of the most important things she told me was that they don't worry about attention problems unless they're interfering with the child's learning, which clearly isn't the case with Ben. His pediatrician had said the same thing to me in the fall. That relieved me immensely. The next person who suggests we have him tested is getting a punch in the nose...even if that person is me.

Not knittin'

2008-03-07T09:36:00.002-05:00

But crochet! I recently taught myself crochet, then discovered the Japanese art of "amigurumi," which are very cute crocheted animals or toys. I made the mistake of calling the kids over to the computer and showing them photos of various amigurumi toys, and they began putting in their orders. Yesterday I decided to give one a try: a cute little round penguin. It only took me a couple of hours, and that was with LOTS of do-overs and mistakes. I learned a lot from the attempt, and I can't wait to make more things! This little guy is named Ollie, because he just looks like a big letter O to me. Click here to learn more about amigurumi!

More knittin'

2008-03-03T16:57:00.002-05:00

Please forgive the blurry face. I post these on Ravelry, which has about 90,000 members thus far (and still growing) so I don't like to put the faces out there. Rebecca loves both pieces. The body of the poncho is knit, and the edging and flower are crochet. The hat is completely knit.

Next up: sweater sleeves and hood, plus MORE SOCKS! Woo hoo!

A very good question

2008-02-18T16:27:00.003-05:00

Pam asked a very good question in the comments of the last post. She wanted to know why the socks I made were so short. The reason is different for each pair, and I'll tell you why. Ben's socks are short because I hated the yarn and wanted to be done with them. So knitting from the toe up, I cast off as soon as I possibly could to get them over with. For my Parasol socks, it's a bit different. The pattern was written from the cuff down, and when you knit socks cuff-down you have to be very careful that you leave enough yarn to finish off the foot. Since I have large feet, I made sure to leave more than enough just to be safe. Thus, the short leg. For the ribbed pair pictured a couple of posts down, the blue ones that I'm obviously knitting toe-up, they will be much longer in the leg because I can complete the foot, then just knit away on the leg until the yarn is about gone. I'm working on the leg now, and I'd say they're at least an inch or two longer than the lacy ones so far, and still plenty of yarn to go. So those will be longer and more to Pam's liking. I personally don't wear knee socks, so they won't be that long, but they'll at least come up to the bottom of my calf. The ribbing is very stretchy too, and they look very nice when I try them on. That's another benefit to knitting toe-up: you can try them on for fit much more easily. Thanks for the question, Pam! I love to talk about knitting and try to get others interested in it. Socks seem like a pretty hard thing to knit at first, but once you learn the basics of their construction they are really quite easy and fun.

Just a few sock photos

2008-02-16T23:40:00.002-05:00

First is a pair of socks I finished for Ben last month, but I just now got around to photographing them. He doesn't like the way they feel when he walks around...the yarn is a bit scratchy and the purl bumps on the inside definitely feel different than a machine-knit pair. But he concedes that they are much warmer!

And second is a pair I just finished a few minutes ago. They're different from the ones you see partially finished in my last post. I had more fun with this stitch pattern, therefore I worked on them more. The other pair should be done later in the week if they kids let me knit while they're off school.

That's all for this weekend!

Baby steps

2008-02-05T19:45:00.000-05:00

Things with Ben are good this week. I hesitate to be more effusive than that because I know they can turn on a dime. We have made good progress with remembering homework materials, and so far no accidents. Things are going well with reducing computer and TV time, and everyone seems happy. I'm just going to roll with it and hope that any steps back will only be small ones. He's still not enjoying the writing exercises he is supposed to do, but today he did participate in writing what the teacher called "a friendly letter" without too much complaint. Maybe if they'd switch over and write "a heated missive" he'd be even more interested?

Hormones kicked in today and I completed nothing other than the turning of two sock heels. Here they are from a couple of days ago, when all I'd accomplished was covering my toes:

I'm now over halfway done and beginning to work up the leg. I like the fact that I can gauge my yarn usage better with toe-up socks than with cuff-downs, an important thing when you have size 10 feet. When you go toe-up, you can stop the leg whenever it looks like you're about to run out of yarn. You can't really make the foot shorter if you run out of yarn on a cuff-down sock. Well you can, but when you've got boats rather than feet you may end up giving away a pair of socks you were really looking forward to wearing. And hating the puny-footed friend who gets them, for a day or two.

Other than that, not much. Taking the girlie girl to see the Hannah Montana concert movie tomorrow night...wishing I had an iPod and a pair of light-up knitting needles, but oh well. And starting to think about her birthday party. This year we're planning a bowling party with only 10 or so children, and a sleepover with one of her best friends afterward. Should be fun.

What can I do?

2008-01-28T15:07:00.001-05:00

I'm sort of staring around me helplessly. Ben has had two accidents at school in the past two days. We had about a month there where he was back on track and keeping dry every day, and now this. I'm not there! I can't remind him to do what he needs to do! I don't think it's right to punish him for it. All I can do is talk to him about it, and he tunes me right out the minute I start. If I sit him down in the kitchen he picks something off the counter and starts fiddling with it while I talk. If I take him to a quiet place with no distractions around, he plays with his hands or jumps around in his seat. Honestly, days like these I *do* think he has ADD. Other days I'm convinced it's not possible. I'm just completely nonplussed, and out of ideas.

In addition, he was sitting in the nurse's chair asleep again. I've been keeping to the regular bedtime schedule while DH is out of town, starting baths around 7:30, everyone in bed by 9:00. Mostly, Ben is asleep by 9:15 and sometimes sooner. But he gets up early. I think he was up around 5:30 this morning, because I heard him jumping around up here. Now, I can put him to bed earlier, but I sure can't make him stay asleep in the morning. The nurse is extremely nice to me, but she was questioning me about his bedtime since he was like this on Friday too. I don't blame her. I just don't know what to do. (that's the theme of this blog post, if you didn't figure it out yet)

I have a couple of ideas. First, I've already decided that we watch too much TV on school days. Generally there's no TV after dinner but there is computer. So I'm going to set a "one 30-minute TV show and one 30-minute computer session" limit. Also, no Nintendo after dinner. Only books or games. Maybe limiting the electronics will help them be calmer and more ready for sleep when bedtime comes. I also think I need to eliminate MY computer time once they're home from school. More personal time with me will make them calmer as well (and less likely to fight, since I'll be right there). I'll be the first one to tell you that I use the computer to escape. But that has to stop. I have plenty of computer time while they're at school, believe me.

Okay, nearly time to go to the bus. I think my first package from my first sock yarn club should arrive today. Better go check the mailbox. And take some deep breaths to start this new program (which I know will be met with plenty of grumbles and moans).

They don't call it "retail therapy" for nothin'

2008-01-27T17:47:00.001-05:00

The thing is, I'm not a big clothes shopper. So I don't spend a lot of money on fashion. But I do love me a cool kitchen gadget from time to time, so guess what I bought today? Gave me a little lift since there are still three more days until my husband is home.

Tried the hot chocolate and the cappucino, and was very happy with each. Now to win the lottery so we can keep buying the little pods.

Unloading

2008-01-22T23:09:00.000-05:00

I had a bad night. I already called and moaned at my mom but I feel like getting it off my chest just one more time.

Because the teacher had been so concerned about Ben's attention span, we decided to take him to see a private child psychologist and have her evaluate him. With my husband's company we can use the Employee Assistance Program to see a mental health provider for 5 visits at no cost. If it's determined that more visits are needed, it then goes to the regular insurance. But we figured if there was nothing wrong, 5 visits would probably be plenty. It was worth it to us to get the peace of mind.

It's just a one-person practice, right around the corner form our house. We went in last week for the parent meeting, and the psychologist seemed fine. She said, "Mmm hmm" about every 2 or 3 seconds, which made it a little difficult to talk, but she seemed to know her stuff. Our appointment for her to meet with Ben for the first time was tonight.

We arrived a little early for our 4:45 appointment. Just after we got there, another family arrived. The receptionist told me to take Ben back to the doctor's office, but then the doctor called her into the office and closed the door. The receptionist came out and told me that the other family would be going ahead of us. I said, "But we did have a 4:45 appointment, right?" And she said yes. We waited for a few minutes and I asked her would that family be in there for a full session. She pulled me out into the hallway to tell me that they were supposed to come for a 3:45 appointment but they were late. I was pretty appalled that I was being shunted aside for someone who should have had to reschedule, but I took the kids out for some pizza and came back around 5:40. The Late Family was still in there. Finally at 6:15 I asked if we were ever going to get to go in, and she said she didn't know. I took Rebecca to the bathroom and when we got back the receptionist said to go on back. When I walked in the doctor's door she didn't say hello, sorry for the wait, nothing, just, "We won't have time to do a full session with Ben." I was shocked. I reminded her that we had an appointment for 4:45 and it was now nearly 6:30, and I didn't see the point in doing just a short session. She suggested that I come back another day. I told her that I was feeling very upset and pushed aside, and she said she was sorry but she was running behind and had some emergencies. I told her that we might come back another time, but I didn't make another appointment and don't plan to. I have a suspicion that the other family were "regulars" who pay her regular rate, and she probably gets less than that from the EAP for seeing us. So it made better business sense for her to see the full-price-paying family even though we were the ones who were courteous enough to be on time. When my husband gets back into town I'm going to ask him to phone the EAP and make sure that they know about her behavior and that she doesn't try to charge them for our non-visit. If EAP participants only get second-rate service, what kind of motivation will they have to use it at all? It doesn't seem fair.

Okay, I'm actually not all that upset about it anymore but earlier I was pretty darn mad. I was having second thoughts about doing it anyway, because Ben's school reports are SO much better now that his assignments are geared toward his learning level. I think starting some kind of official evaluation process could have caused more trouble than it solved. So it worked out in the end. I just hate to be treated like that, you know?

How cute is this?!?

2008-01-20T13:24:00.000-05:00

My friend Rach got me thinking about toques recently, and I found this pattern (along with the friendly forum knit-along) and decided to try it. I had to make a few adjustments to get it to fit a kid-sized head, and I wasn't completely successful, but the girl LOVES it and that's all that matters to me.

Addendum to earlier post

2008-01-18T13:07:00.000-05:00

First off, gigantic hugs to Lisa and Melanie for your responses to me. Honestly, they helped more than you know. I just go through this phase every once in a while. I don't get a lot of help around the house, so sometimes I just quit. And no one else seems to care to pick up the slack, so I'm the one that gets frustrated and has that much more to do when I finally lose patience with the mess.

I've made some positive steps so far today, tidying a lot and cleaning some too. This may be a little counter-productive, but I created a group over on Ravelry called "Knitting Rewards" where people can post their daily goal list and what knitting project they'll use as a reward when the tasks are completed. I'm about halfway done with my task list for today. But I still need a shower before I go to the bus stop, so I have to factor that in as well.

Seeger's stitches came out with no problems and he's good to go. No more cone, no bandages, nothing. No more you-know-whats either, lol.

And finally I really just wanted to add the sock photos. Rebecca chose the yarn, let me just remind you. And I was lucky that each ball of yarn started in exactly the same place, which is the only reason the stripes match up so well. I'm not usually a stickler about that. Apologies for the blurriness and bad lighting...I was trying to get the photos before she rushed off to school in them.

Distressed

2008-01-18T09:32:00.001-05:00

Yesterday the next-door-neighbor child came over for a playdate. (This is the one that is 7 years old and owns her own copy of Jaws 2, and let my 8 year old watch it at her house. I was appalled. I spoke to the mother about it the next day. Anyway.) They played and had dinner and played some more. When it was just about time to go home, I sent them downstairs to clean up the toys they'd played with in the basement. I went to check on them, and the place was a disaster. Not to mention, my 6 year old son was covered in makeup, including nail polish on the skin of his hands. I lost it. Now, I regret losing it.

See, I know I have esteem issues and I know how to change them. I just can't seem to. But the thought that went through my head when they trashed the basement was that everyone in the neighborhood thinks that just because ours is the oldest and least tidy house on the block, they can just trash it. This happened the last time the little girl was over (with another neighbor girl), and it happened again when one of the neighbor boys was over. That time, they took a 1000-piece puzzle and threw it from one end of the basement to the other.

So anyway, I know that kids that age don't consciously think like that. It's all me. I'm the one who knows I'm a terrible housekeeper and I'm the one who feels inadequate because we have a modest house on a street full of McMansions. So I shouldn't have been so hard on my kids. But every time I start taking care of the house regularly I start feeling SO put-upon and SO ill-used...I'm a smart girl. I have a college degree. I'm well read. But I spend my day cleaning toilets and vacuuming? So my husband says, get a job. Yeah, but then who would run over to the school and pick up the kids when they get sick? Who would take them to doctor's appointments and do the laundry and make sure the yard guys do a good job? Pathetic. I know.

So I get a hobby. I scrapbook. I knit. But those activities are so much more stimulating than cleaning that I ignore the cleaning and just do fun things. And then I feel bad all over again.

It's clear to me where my son gets his "pleasure principle" lifestyle. I tell him, "Do the work and then you can do the fun stuff." But I don't live it. I think I'm going to have to use knitting and scrapping and computer time as rewards for a while. I may even have to set up a checklist for myself the way I did for my 6 year old! When the work is done, THEN I can do something for myself. How else am I going to break out of this cycle and finally be able to have people over without feeling like what I have to offer is so sub-standard?

End of whine. The girl's socks are complete and I have a few photos to post. Right now I have to take Seeger to have his stitches removed.

Quick socks!

2008-01-17T11:26:00.000-05:00

I'm pretty excited to report that the 2-at-once socks are nearly done! Granted, I've been ignoring housework to make that happen, but we do have a clean kitchen and clean clothes so I haven't been a complete slug. Here's a photo I took early yesterday, so I've gotten more done since then. I only have about 3 more inches on the feet and they'll be complete. I can't believe that I'll have them both done at one time so Rebecca can put them right on her feet! If I work hard today maybe I can get them finished before she gets home from school. Then I can get back to Ben's cardigan. (Do you like the self-striping yarn she picked?)

We're gearing up for DH's big trip: China, Korea, and Singapore. I'm not excited about how long he'll be gone, but I know he'll enjoy traveling to these places. I hope he at least has a little time to sightsee and doesn't have to sit on planes and in meeting rooms the entire time. He's been to Singapore and Korea before, but this will be his first time in China. He says there's a big discount clothing mart right beside his hotel, so maybe he'll bring me back some clothes.

Things are settling down a lot for Ben at school. His teacher spent a weekend a few weeks back drawing up an entirely new curriculum for him. While he's still studying the same subjects as the rest of the class (systems of the body for science and communities for social studies) his assignments are project-oriented and involve a lot of computer research and harder worksheets. His teacher reports that he stays on task almost all the time now, and he tells me he likes school and enjoys the challenge of the new projects. He does the same math as the other kids, but he never had a problem staying on task during math time. He loves math. He doesn't have to do centers anymore either, which were a HUGE problem for him. Thank goodness the teacher realized what she could do to help him, and is implementing it so nicely for him. I hope it continues.

A very very very nice day

2008-01-13T19:46:00.000-05:00

This is going to be a pretty insipid post, even by my standards, but I just have to write all this down because I want to remember the gentle sense of contentment I feel right now.

Today started with hot homemade waffles. The kids ate up every bite. DH and I read the paper and sipped coffee, sharing stories we found in our respective papers (he had the Times and I had Newsday). After some quiet time doing our own activities--DH on the computer, me knitting, the kids on the other computer playing Webkinz--we headed out for the day. First, lunch at Wendy's and some fun games at the table. Then across the street for two games of bowling (I bowled the high score of the day with 153). Next we went to Home Depot to pick up some tarps to cover the roof where the leaks were on Friday, because we're supposed to have some rain and snow tonight. We also got some of that great kindling they carry. Finally, a stop at the grocery store for the things we need to have on hand in case the snow blocks us in for a day or two.

Once we got home and the groceries were put away, the kids went back to their computer games and DH and I got busy putting up the tarp. No one fell off the roof. While DH put the other tarp over our patio furniture, I did something that I've been wanting to do for two years now. I cleaned out half the garage so we can now park both cars inside! We've been waiting to get rid of all the baby furniture that's out there, but I know how badly DH wants to be able to park his car indoors in the winter so I made that happen for him. Then we had dinner and bathtime, and now it's almost time for the kids to go to sleep and DH and I to sit down together and watch our favorite show, The Amazing Race.

See, I told you it would be a pretty sillly post. But I think the combination of events just all worked together to give me a feeling of relaxation and accomplishment both. And I want to remember that on days when I feel like either I can't get anything done or I tried and didn't do enough. Today was a good day.

Nightmare

2008-01-11T13:13:00.001-05:00

I can hardly even talk about it. My gosh what a morning. Rain...not just outside either. I found myself out in the pouring rain on a ladder scooping disgusting piles of goop out of the gutters with my bare hands, scraping them up dreadfully in the process. At least it stopped the flood in the basement. Back inside, pots littered the floor of the kitchen catching all the rain that was coming in from a completely different leak that needs re-tarring. Can't really handle that one by myself, particularly since it's still rainy.

Dog is mending but not really interested in anything like sleeping or resting. I'm overcompensating for my guilt by giving him extra breakfast and lots of chewy treats. The more he chews on them, the less likely he is to lick his stitches...and I simply can't tolerate that darn Elizabethan collar thing anymore.

And husband is still away, completely and joyfully oblivious to the ruin that awaits him when he returns tonight.

Okay, okay, I'm being slightly overdramatic. But dealing with a leaky old house while also trying to get the kids (who are draggy on the best of mornings) ready for school AND deal with the walking-wounded dog was not my idea of a fun time. I still haven't had a shower and it's after 1:00. I did, however, return some library books today and stopped at Panera for take-out of soup and a nice warm sandwich. And I cast on a pair of two-at-a-time socks from the book that arrived last night, so that was fun and comforting at the same time.

Plus, I know that as long as we keep the gutters clean the water pretty much stays out of the basement, and I think the other leak will be a pretty easy fix if we can just get a sunny day to do it. So it's not so bad. It just all seemed to come at once, you know?

For Dad

2008-01-10T09:31:00.001-05:00

My littlest baby is at the vet's as we speak. He's probably so pissed at me right now. I couldn't give him breakfast, doctor's orders, and now I left him alone in that place. Ben's so traumatized he doesn't know what to do. I think he thought he was going to have to watch the surgery or something. I'm sure all will be fine, but I'm allowed to be a little nervous. Also, it's very strange to be alone in the house for the first time since August.

Update 2:30: Just called the vet and Seeger is doing just fine. He's out of surgery and I can pick him up after 3:30. That's a big relief!

The sound of no one breathing

2008-01-09T10:16:00.000-05:00

I'm holding my breath this morning. Ben took his medicine this morning and ate some cereal. I drove them in to school so he could hang out at home a little longer so I could keep an eye on how his tummy reacted to the meds. It's now 10:20 and I'm waiting by the phone to see if the nurse calls. (Yesterday when she called she said, "Hi, it's Nurse Ratchet from school." LOL! She's a hoot. And she lets me talk and talk about our toileting troubles and gives lots of sympathy. I love her.) So far, so good. I absolutely must go out to get groceries today, so I hope he stays well. He was acting SO much better this morning...I'm sure it will be fine now but I can't help but worry. I'm a mommy.

The weather is the PITS today. It's just spitting down, gray and gloomy, clammy and nasty. Not a nice refreshing rain but just glum. Yick. And my hair was looking so nice too. Not if I go out in this mess, though.

I finished the back section of Ben's cardigan last night. I just can't seem to make myself start the second socks for him and me. I'm really anxious to try 2 socks on one circular needle using Silver's tutorial, plus I have some yummy yummy sock yarn from Eat.Sleep.Knit just calling to me. I stop and squish it occasionally when I pass by. Finishing the back of the cardi has inspired me to keep going on that, though, until I finish. Maybe I'll cast on new socks if I go out for a knit date soon (not likely with all DH's travel this month).

And some odd but fun news: I will actually be participating in season 3 of the Amazing Digiscrapping Race this time around. I came up with the concept last year and administered the race for season one. When Theresa was ready for season 2, I was just on the verge of quitting designing altogether and didn't have the desire to work on it again. So she took the reins and season 2 was WAY better than season 1. This time, I'm off the design team and ready to race around the digi world! I'm hoping it will jump-start my scrapping mojo, which seems to have taken an extended vacation. I fully expect to see it back, just in time for the race, with a nice dark tan and a headful of beaded braids, saying, "Hey, mon, it's gonna be ai-ree!" Thanks, Michael, now get back to work selling paper. It'll be weird to be a player rather than the race queen, but I'm looking forward to it.

And in less pleasant news, today is Seeger's last day as an intact male. Yup, tomorrow he's going to be (as they say in my dad's favorite Far Side cartoon) "tutored."

And that's it from Chez Me today.

I need a rewind this morning

2008-01-08T10:33:00.000-05:00

Yesterday at our visit, the doctor told me Ben could go back to school today if he was feeling better. He said he was feeling good this morning so I got him all ready. Got him to dress and make his bed, then gave him his antibiotic dose and fed him some breakfast. About halfway through breakfast (oatmeal) he kind of pooped out. I knew he needed energy, so I actually fed him. He kept eating, but started saying that he didn't want to go to school after all. I thought he was just whining because he wanted to stay home with me again...you see where this is going, don't you? The nurse called a half hour later to say he was practically green and could I come get him. He was dreadfully ill and I have him home now. I wish I had listened to him when he said he wasn't feeling well. Does anyone have a rewind button for me?

I have a call in to the doc, because I'm not sure what to do now. First, I'm wondering if something in his breakfast interacted badly with the medicine. Maybe I shouldn't have given him milk to drink? Because he didn't react to the dose I gave him yesterday. I'm sure she'll tell me what to do next: if I need to try another medicine or just redose the one I have. With this new insurance plan we started on Jan 1 I have to pay full price for all prescriptions until we meet the deductible, so going out and buying a new antibiotic is a lot more painful than it used to be! I'm not used to paying more than $20 for an Rx, but DH assures me that this new plan is going to save us money. I believed him until I had to pay $119 for the medicine yesterday! That was hard!

And speaking of DH, he left this morning for Las Vegas. He's going to try and get back Thursday but most likely it will be late Friday. So not only am I a single parent for a couple of days, I'm a single parent ON A DIET with a sick baby. All I can say is, at least it isn't snowing. :sigh:

UPDATE:

This is kid is a real contender. I swear. I took his temperature around 10 and it was 102.2. He looked awful so I got him some Tylenol. He laid around for an hour or so, but once the meds kicked in he was ravenous. I brought up a piece of cheese toast, an extra slice of cheese (at his request) and a few grapes. A few minutes later he was done and asking for more of everything. He's up and walking around, solving the puzzles on one of his favorite shows (Crashbox on HBO) and laughing and joking. Since I'm not worried about him falling behind in his work, and I'm kind of a stickler for not sending them back to school unless they've been fever-free for 24 hours, he'll be home with me again tomorrow. But he's definitely doing much better. THank you for the kind comments. :D

Scary night

2008-01-07T10:56:00.000-05:00

My little guy is sick again, although you wouldn't know it to look at him. First, he had a pink eye all day yesterday so I had resolved to take him to the doctor today anyway. Then, he came in our room around 1:00 am coughing, gasping and sobbing. He was having trouble breathing, and I thought he had finally started showing symptoms of asthma, which his daddy had as a child. But DH knows what asthma sounds like and he said it was up higher in his throat. I went for the Family Medical Guide (THIS IS A LIFE THREATENING EMERGENCY! is its response to just about anything I look up, so this may not have been the wisest course of action) and concluded that he was having an attack of croup. Neither of my kids has ever gotten croup before, and it scared the bejabbers out of me. DH got him in the bath and got some steam going. I gave him a little medicine and some orange juice and got his humidifier going. Once he calmed down his breathing eased up and he was able to talk. He went back to sleep, but obviously I called doc first thing and we have an appointment later this afternoon. This poor kid just can't seem to stay well! Nevertheless, he's running around the house playing with the dog and asking for a double-stack of waffles. So I know he feels okay...I'm just not so sure he is okay. Oh, and his eye's still pink so there's no choice but see the doc.

Other than that, I'm trying to stay full on the new diet and prepare myself for DH's upcoming business trips. He's going to the big trade show, Consumer Electronics Showcase, in Las Vegas this week. Then he's home for a week and headed out for a HUGE trip to the Far East: Korea, China, and Singapore. A week and a half away! I'm so not looking forward to that one.

Hope you all have a great week and I'll see you soon!

DONE! Running, screaming, dancing

2008-01-04T16:30:00.000-05:00

I feel like these socks have been on the needles forever. I made SO many mistakes with the first one, then made SO many different ones with the second. Hey, better to make different mistakes than the same ones over again, right? Anyway, I'm very excited for my husband to come home from work tonight so he can put them on his feeties. Yes, that's me modeling them. Our feet are very nearly the same size, I'm embarrassed to say. So check em out:

Release

2008-01-03T23:14:00.000-05:00

Today, I did some releasing. I released my fears about losing weight into the universe. I released myself from being upset when my son brings home a slightly less than wonderful report from school. And I released myself from two responsibilities (digital scrapbooking creative teams) that were causing me to give myself guilt over not paying as much attention to them as I should have. My husband once told me, once a hobby starts stressing you out, it's time to find a new hobby. Well, scrapping was stressing me out. So I am now only on one creative team, and that one is a very low-pressure gig for a designer who I consider a long-time friend. And I will give her 100% of my time and energy and mojo, and I will be proud of the work I do instead of finishing a layout and saying, "Okay, now I need to go do something for So-N-So's team so they don't get the short end of the stick." Too much pressure, and not any fun! Release is good.

I am currently (and of my own volition, not from any sense of obligation) knitting my husband a pair of socks. And they are so soft, and so pretty, and coming along so nicely, that they give me joy just to look at them. Now THAT is what a hobby should be! For those who were asking about a gallery of my knitting projects, I have everything stored over at a site called Ravelry which is not yet open to the general public. But I think I can share my Flickr page link and you should be able to see them all there as well:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/15920154@N07/

Feel free to ignore all the photos of yarn, lol. One of the features of Ravelry is being able to upload photos of your yarn stash and keep track of what you have. As a newer knitter, I figured now was a good time to get that going before I have more than I can photograph.

Happy 2008

2008-01-01T11:19:00.000-05:00

We had a lovely evening with some friends in Nassau County. The children played the Wii and had a wonderful time, and the grownups were actually allowed to have nice conversations without much interruption! I'm so glad we have this tradition to look forward to each year.

Rebecca is concerned that, after next year, people will no longer be able to celebrate the new year with those glasses that have the double zero for the eyes. Ah well, they can do it again come the year 3000, right?

Resolutions? Yeah, kinda.

1. Follow the Spark People diet and exercise program and reach my goal weight by the end of the year. (Lots of mini-goals on the way which I will probably delineate here as I go.)

2. Be a calmer, more patient mother and remember that no matter what the teachers say, my kids are smart, funny, and FINE.

3. Walk the dog every day.

4. Knit whenever possible.

Please have a happy, peaceful 2008. Make a difference in your little corner of the world, and do what you can to help others who are suffering. I'm a little sad about the turmoil that's happening around our world today, but I'm still optimistic that we can all do something to help bring change.

So, explain this to me

2007-12-27T17:06:00.000-05:00

I took the kids to Target so Ben could exchange his Hot Wheels toy that he already had. We also went to Borders, each child with a $15 gift card. What did we come home with? A waffle iron. How the heck did that happen? Serves me right for watching Good Eats before going shopping. Waffles for brekkie tomorrow, though! Yay!

The kids are getting along well today, considering how long the vacation has been. I haven't had to punish anyone all week, knock wood. Now that Webkinz is down for maintenance, though, I don't know how much longer they can hold out. Playing Mouse Trap together was a nice thing for everyone.

So, I joined Spark People yesterday. If you haven't heard of it, let me enlighten you. It's like Weight Watchers Online, only free. I can't figure out what WW has that Spark People doesn't. So I signed up but I probably won't kick into the program for real until after New Year's Eve, because I want me some cannolis from Uncle Guiseppe's, which is what we usually bring to our friends' house for their yearly party. And the wife's mom usually sends over her homemade samosas (they're Indian) and they are SO delicious I could eat them all. But in the spirit of preparing for a healthier attitude toward food, I will try to control myself and enjoy the company more than the treats. I didn't set ANY weight loss or health goals last year, and I didn't gain any weight at all this year. But I do want to try and get down to my goal weight before I turn 40 in November, and I know I can do it. Anyone else setting weight loss goals? Want a buddy?

KnitwearNYC

2007-12-27T01:49:00.000-05:00

Today we had tickets to see the Christmas spectacular at Radio City Music Hall. How many points do I get for KIP-ing (knitting in public, for you scrappers reading) in the audience before the show started? :P Sadly, I discovered after a few minutes that I was missing a stitch somewhere and had to stop because the lighting wasn't good enough to see what I had done wrong (turned out to be an accidental K2tog).

The best part, though, was walking around the streets before and after, admiring all the knitwear that I never truly noticed in winters past! There were lovely scarfs and cabled hats, and some absolutely gorgeous sweaters. I of course had on my Calorimetry with matching mittens, so maybe someone somewhere was scoping me out too.

The worst part was the crowd. I hate crowds. I grew up in rural North Carolina. There were cows across the street. Trying to cross the street in front of Radio City nearly gave me a panic attack. And that was nothing compared to the crowd in front of the tree at Rockefeller Center or the drive alongside suicidal cab drivers on the way home. I wish I loved NYC, I really do, but I don't. I tolerate it a couple of times a year. With heartfelt apologies to my city boy husband, who I tried to pacify by suggesting we spend our 10 year anniversary there. That was a fun trip, I'll confess, because we parked the car at the hotel and walked everywhere.

DH is going in to work tomorrow for the first time in almost a week. I plan to park the kids in front of some Pokemon videos and knit for a while. I need to calm my nerves after today's insanity. We may also visit Target to exchange the gift that Ben received that he already had, and maybe hit Borders too so the kids can spend their generous gift cards from my brother and his family. Who knows, I may even peek in the knitting book section for me!

New Year's Resolution

2007-12-24T20:18:00.000-05:00

I will not cast on a new pair of socks until these three pairs are done.
I will not cast on a new pair of socks until these three pairs are done.
I will not cast on a new pair of socks until these three pairs are done.
I will not cast on a new pair of socks until these three pairs are done.
I will not cast on a new pair of socks until these three pairs are done.
I will not cast on a new pair of socks until these three pairs are done.
I will not cast on a new pair of socks until these three pairs are done.

Sob.

2007-12-23T19:55:00.000-05:00

I think I'm going to have to rip out almost the entire second Sailor's Rib sock. I increased to 80 stitches instead of 70, so I have an entire extra pattern repeat. :groan:

The Meatloaf Thief

2007-12-22T18:33:00.000-05:00

Today I took a package of meatloaf mix out of the freezer and left it on the counter to defrost. It made it through most of the day. However, at one point I came downstairs and found DH holding the styrofoam plate that it came on...empty. He said, "I found Seeger in his crate licking this." No mystery where the rest of it must be. So the options were A) roast and eat the dog or B) go to the store and get more. We debated and came down on the side of option B. Plus a special bonus for the dog when Ben accidentally dropped his plate as he was clearing, because he had a little meatloaf left over that fell on the floor. At that point, I wasn't arguing over whose domain it was. Having the dog lick the grease and ketchup off the floor means only one thing for me: less mopping. Bonus for me as well, then.

Things are going well with the second Sailor's Ribbing Sock. I've gotten past the toe and into the foot pattern. What I have to look forward to is boring boring boring, then WHEE turn the heel. I love turning the heel. I got my order from Eat.Sleep.Knit. the other day, and I have to tell you that the tencel sock yarn from The Unique Sheep is so soft I want to rub it all over me. When I realized that I had ordered too little of the Lorna's Laces, I placed another order and had to throw in another colorway of the tencel as well. It's so delicious. I can now see why sometimes people leave yarns in their stash for so long, waiting for the absolutely perfect pattern to come along to match it.

I have to go serve dessert. I made my mom's famous (off the sweetened condensed milk can) Cherry Cheese Pie and some decaf. Rebecca won't eat it, the little snot, but Ben is looking forward to it. So am I. I've been buying the premade cheesecake filling by Philadelphia in the freezer case, and it's okay, but the cheese pie is definitely my favorite. Off to indulge!

Just dropping by...

2007-12-20T10:23:00.000-05:00

...to tell you I have nothing interesting to say.

As one of the class moms for Ben's class, I collected the money and bought the gift card for the class gift to the teacher. I made a nice card too, using the Blustery Day kit by Susan Bartolini and Christy Lyle over at the Sweet Shoppe. I'm not going to reproduce it here, because I included a class photo and I don't want to post the kids' photos without their parents' permission. It's right cute, though. Today is the class party at 2:00. I wasn't planning to be there, but the other class mom thought it would be nice if we were both there to present the gift. I also have a knitted washcloth with some nice Body Shop soap and lotion to give her as a present just from Ben. He doesn't want me to bring it today, though. He wants to give it to her tomorrow on the last day before vacation.

Speaking of vacation, I'm really glad it's almost here. I'm running low on the energy to keep on top of Ben and his schoolwork. However, I think we've come up with a temporary solution. He's decided he really likes Pokemon, so I bought a few packs of the cards and told him he can have a pack every time he comes home with a note saying he did all his classwork in a timely manner. That's the biggest problem now that the toilet issues are cleared up...he loves to daydream and not complete his work, then claim that he didn't have time. He even comes home with his snack, saying he didn't have time to eat it! He's just such an airhead sometimes. But he's dying, DYING, for these Pokemon cards and he told me he was going to earn his first pack today. So we'll see. The idea is to get him into the habit so the rewards can come less frequently.

I have three pairs of socks currently on the needles. I completed the first sock for DH and need to cast on the second one. Ben's and mine are still on hold. And what did I go and do? Ordered sock yarn from a girl who lives near my parents in NC. It's pretty, though, and I hope it comes today. It's mostly for me, I'm embarrassed to admit. I also found a sweater I'd like to make for Ben in the book "The Knitting Experience: The Purl Stitch." But the socks are following me all over the house and tugging on my shirttails, so I think I better get them done first.

I'm still not feeling 100%. I finished my last dose of antibiotic on Tuesday, then yesterday I woke up with one of the worst sinus headaches ever. The pressure in my head was unbearable. After waiting an hour and a half for some aspirin to kick in, I had to take some Tylenol on top of them. I even had to suffer through the gingerbread house activity at Rebecca's school, which I would have enjoyed without the pain and roar in my ears. Fortunately, right around 4:30 the pain broke and I could have started dancing, I felt so much better. Today I feel good, but I still have this nasty stuffy feeling in my ears. I called the doc who told me it could take up to 10 days for the symptoms to go away, so I'm going to wait until Monday and see if I'm better then. I feel like I'm living at high altitude or something.

Wow, I guess I did have some things to say after all. Have a wonderful day!

Nice day.

2007-12-16T19:45:00.001-05:00

Oh, okay, weather-wise it was a horrible day. But it turned out so nice I just have to sigh. First, DH and Ben went into the city for a father/son day. I just spoke to them on the phone and they went to an art museum and the Big Apple Circus. Rebecca and I went out to breakfast, walked around the mall and finished our shopping for the teachers and Ben's book exchange, and then went to see Enchanted, which we both loved. We stopped at the store on the way home, then made a nice fire and ate some spaghetti for dinner. Now I'm catching up on updating my knitting projects in Ravelry, and checking my other internet regular spots. Just overall a very pleasant and enjoyable day, despite the cold, nasty rain and icy spots on the roads.

This is going to be a hectic week with the vacation coming up. I have to clean the house for the first time in too long, work on some laundry, pay the bills, and find the kids new lunchboxes.

I'll leave you with a photo of Ben in his new mittens that I finished last night, along with the matching scarf and hat that I did at the end of the summer.

Love for the Z

2007-12-14T15:06:00.000-05:00

I love me some Z-pak. I didn't end up going to the doctor yesterday because just as I was getting ready to leave, the ice started coming down in earnest and I didn't want to risk my little Corolla (and my little self!) on the roads. So I went in today and got the diagnosis of sinus infection. I was surprised; I thought it was bronchitis for sure because of the congested cough. But she said my lungs are clear and the cough is caused by my sinuses. Stupid head. But I got my golden pills--they're actually pink--and I'm on my way to recovery. I also have to do nasal spray (Nasonex) which I hate. But I'll do it if it helps me feel better.

I'm so glad it's the weekend. I had a large-ish meltdown yesterday because I don't know how to make my son do his work. I can't make him do it at home, much less at school. I think we have to add a line to his chore chart about doing homework in a reasonable amount of time. He sat there until dinner NOT doing his spelling sentences. I was kind, patient, helpful, and patient (yes I know I said that twice, but I had to use up a LOT of patience) for about the first half hour and then I got angrier and angrier. DH, who had come home early with an upset stomach, finally had to get out of bed to help me out before I started yelling. I just left the room entirely and DH handled it. Ben came upstairs not ten minutes later with his completed sentences for me to see. Now how come I, with love and patience, could not get that to happen? I guess because I had walked him through his first assignments step by step and I wasn't going to keep doing that. "Now do this. Now do that." He's got to start self-motivating. Sorry, I feel myself getting upset over it all over again and I have to let today be a new day.

Anyway, I'm glad it's the weekend with no homework. And maybe a little more snow. And poor Ben can finally open the roller coaster toy his grandmother gave him for Hanukkah--you know, the kind with a million zillion tiny little pieces that's actually made for a 12 year old? Thanks Maddy! :smiling sardonically and waving:

Ugh, I feel like crap

2007-12-13T09:42:00.000-05:00

I've had some cloggy throat issues for a couple of days, coupled with a decrease in my ability to taste. (Always a bad thing.) Today it's turning into a cloggy cough and I'm going to see the doctor. Every year this time I end up with either a sinus infection, or bronchitis, or strep. I'm not waiting this time for it to get so bad I can't stand it. I just hope they don't close down the schools while I'm sitting in the waiting room.

Other than that, I'm almost done with DH's first sock, and it is very lovely. I just sigh whenever I look at it. I know the second one will go faster because I'll know a bit better what I'm doing. I gotta get busy on Ben's socks, though...he asked me the other day where they were!

Things went as expected at Ben's teacher conference. He's brilliantly smart but incredibly distractable. He gets bored with the easy, repetitious work and as a result doesn't complete it. Which just puts him in this vicious cycle where the teacher can't mark him down as mastering the work because he hasn't done it, and therefore she can't challenge him with harder work. And he continues to be bored. I know it sounds so braggy but the fact is, he's scary smart. And since we can't afford to put him into a private school, we have to work around the liabilities of the public school system. That means we may try to supplement his regular school with a Saturday gifted program or something. Rebecca would likely qualify too (her teacher told us she might have her pulled from class to join a 4th grade reading group, since no one else in the 3rd grade reads on her level). So while we are definitely having issues, they aren't the worst issues we could have. Ben is immature and sensitive and overly dramatic. And he has major toileting issues still, which is probably the thing that bothers me most. But I just keep telling myself that when he's out wrecking my car I'll *wish* he was still little and pooping his pants.

Countdown

2007-12-12T12:13:00.000-05:00

Just one more hour until our appointment with Ben's teacher. And he comes home with a sheepish look on his face and tells me she's going to tell me something bad.

Me: "Okay. Well why don't you tell me first so it won't be a surprise?"

Him: "...mumblegluemumble..."

Me: "Hm?"

Him: "I said I glued myself to my chair during center time."

Me: "....."

Him: "I'm sorry."

Me: "Okay, well thank you for telling me." (walks off to the other room to giggle quietly)

I'm sure she won't think it's funny. And I probably shouldn't either. But I still do.

Happy Hanukkah!

2007-12-11T01:04:00.001-05:00

Yesterday we went to my MIL's house in Westchester for Hanukkah. It was the first time we left the dog for more than a couple of hours, and I was a little worried he might not be able to make it without a bathroom break. But he did fine. Which is good practice for when we go into the city during Christmas break. (I HATE the city at Christmas...yes, shoot me...but I just can't tolerate crowds and the crowds are ATROCIOUS then.) So anyway, we had a lovely time at MIL's house and she LOVED the neckwarmer I knitted for her. The kids got loads of presents, many of which were science-related. I'll grant you, there were just way too many of them, but at least they're either educational, crafty, or books.

I've spent the past few hours working my butt off trying to work out a heel turn. First off, I'm using directions for 2 circs but I'm trying to do it with the Magic Loop method. I must have frogged that damn heel three or four times before I figured out how to do it right. So now I"m knitting up the gusset and at a good stopping point. Considering it's one in the morning and anything I do from here on out will probably have to be redone later, quitting is a good idea. I just really want to get these socks done for DH, because he doesn't have any from me yet AND they're really really nice. Very soft, beautiful colors, just right for my sweetie.

Tomorrow (oops, today) is parent/teacher conference time. We meet Rebecca's teacher tomorrow (yeah, today) and Ben's on Wednesday. I already know pretty much what Rebecca's teacher will say, and I actually know pretty much what Ben's will say too. Both need to work on their organization, Rebecca needs to chat less, and Ben needs to focus and mature a little. Despite the problems we've been having with the kids lately, I still know that they are growing up very nicely and have incredible futures ahead of them. They have their small quirks, but those are outweighed in my mind by their intelligence and wit. I tend to be an "agree-er" though, so I'm glad DH will be there with me to make sure that the teachers know that we think the kids are just fine. Heck, after being in Ben's class for the Hanukkah party I can say that he's doing VERY well despite being a little airheaded and daydreamy. There are worse problems to have. (We have a new sticker chart for him, just started today, so we can work on keeping him organized and getting his work done. Just thought I'd throw that in.)

Okay, off to dreamland. Otherwise tiredness + PMS may cause me to bite the teacher's head off with no provocation!

Better!

2007-12-05T20:29:00.000-05:00

Ben is feeling much better now. I kept him home an extra day (yesterday) because he hadn't been rid of the fever long enough for me. He just hung out with me and played on the computer. He's so sweet. I was happy to send him back to school today, though, mostly because I had a LOT of holiday shopping to do. I was able to get almost everything I need in one swell foop (heh) at Target and Ulta. I still need gifts for the cousins on my side, but I'll get those tomorrow when I go out for donuts.

We're having our small family Hanukkah celebration tomorrow night. DH gets home from San Diego tonight but not until late. I'm going to put a brisket in the crock pot, then make some latkes. Donuts and gelt for dessert. I hope it's fun for everyone. I used the last of the large sized Hanukkah candles tonight, so I better find a Jewish deli or something tomorrow to restock.

I've decided to make my mother-in-law's Hanukkah gift. I wasn't going to, until I saw THIS. I think it would look so nice under a dressy coat. I'm making it in a mauve-gray type heather yarn. It shouldn't take me long, which is why it appeals to me so much. That and the fact that it looks so nice on the model!

Not much else going on around here except that I finally, FINALLY took poor Seeger for a walk today. DH had been doing a nightly walk pretty regularly, but I was totally slacking off on the morning walks. Now it's simply too cold to get up at 6 am and walk around the neighborhood, so I went out right before lunch. He really needs the exercise and attention. He's a very sweet dog, but he loves to chew and he's a real kitchen counter commando. He'll steal anything I leave too close to the edge. Stinker.

Hope you're having a wonderful holiday season.

Sad boy.

2007-12-03T14:14:00.001-05:00

Ben told me on Friday that his ear hurt. It didn't look red or feel hot, and his temperature was normal, so I sent him on to school and he had a fine day. Then last night he woke us up in the middle of the night sobbing that his ear really, really hurt. I got him some Tylenol and sat up with him for a couple of hours, then put him back to bed. Then he came down again and said he was hungry, so I turned him over to his daddy, lol. He was up for several more hours. When I staggered out of bed an hour late at 8:00, he was snoring up a storm. So we left him in bed and called the doc. Sure enough, he has an ear infection...and a pretty nasty one at that. Prescription filled, sick-day toy purchased, chicken soup at Panera, and first dose of amoxycillin taken. Hopefully we'll be on the mend now, especially since Dan left for San Diego today and I've got the kids all to myself.

Of course, now I'm trying to convince myself that Ben's recent school problems stemmed from the fact that he wasn't feeling well. Any excuse, huh? I'm just glad we can get him well again. My kids don't get a lot of ear infections, for which I'm grateful, but when they do it's usually a double infection that causes lots of pain and trouble. Please keep my small little guy in your thoughts today.

Squee!!!!

2007-11-30T17:13:00.001-05:00

Rebecca's sweater is nearly done! I went to the knit clinic today and Rebecca (my friend from Ravelry) showed me how to do the buttonholes and tidy up the holes I accidentally created by increasing or decreasing. After that I weaved in all the ends, and when I got home I washed and blocked it. It's drying now, and by morning I think I can sew on the buttons and insert daughter! She's pretty excited, but I bet she's not as excited as her mom!!!! It looks fantastic to me. I'm sure once I have a few sweaters under my belt I'll look at it and cringe, but at this moment it's the most beautiful knit thing I ever created. Now I can finally finish Dan's poor neglected scarf.

In other news, the Christmas packages from my brother and my parents have already arrived, and I haven't even begun shopping for them yet. I'm pathetic. I vow to get my shopping done early next week and have the box in the mail before the week is out. Please hold my feet to the flames over this.

Things are not going well at Ben's school. I don't really have the heart to get into it right now, but it's been a very hard week. It's all related to immature behavior and not academics, so there's that to be thankful for. I'm looking forward to having the benefit of time to look back on this, because it's pretty tough to live through right now. But there are worse things, so I'm trying to be positive.

Plus, it's the weekend, right? That's a good thing. The kids are home and I love them and need to be downstairs with them and appreciating them. They really are wonderful, even when they make life hard.

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Dammit, I missed the cut-off again

2007-11-29T00:01:00.000-05:00

Seems like if I don't get into bed by at least 11:00, I miss some kind of weird sleep cut-off time and I'm awake for at least another couple of hours. Then of course I get hungry and have to eat something. Which keeps me awake even longer. So here I sit, updating my pointless blog at 12:02 am because I know if I go to bed I won't be able to sleep. Maybe I'll just go change into my jammies, brush my teeth so I won't eat anything, and come back up here to this TV and watch the episodes of Ghost Hunters I taped. I don't tape that show downstairs anymore since I walked in and caught the kids watching it. No, strike that; it was Most Haunted they were watching which bothered me slightly less because it's so completely ridiculous. But still. Up here I have the Tivo KidZone where I can filter out stuff. Downstairs we only have the Cablevision TiFaux and it has far fewer nifty functions. Once we switch over to Verizon I'm getting a real Tivo for that room too. (We really, really don't like commercials. At all.)

What else. Worked on my sock while watching Kitchen Nightmares. Do the producers require Gordon Ramsey to say a certain number of curse words per episode? That show has more bleeps than...I can't think of anything funny to say here. Let's just go with "a buttload of bleeps." Eh. I placed the unfinished sock stratgically far back on a table where even my long-legged puppy cannot reach it. Because I don't think the animal cruelty folks would look kindly on what I would do to that dog if he ate my sock again.

What else. Rebecca joined the 3rd grade chorus, which began rehearsals before school today. I think she'll enjoy that more than orchestra, because it's like pulling teeth to get her to practice violin. But she sings and hums everywhere she goes. Did I mention that the kids had to get shots at their checkups yesterday? Yeah, I was taken by surprise and that's not good. I told them to suck it up, take their shots, and I'd get them each a new Webkinz. (Hey, I'm not above a little well-placed bribery.) Ben was a real trooper...whined a bit, but sat still and took it. Rebecca, on the other hand, behaved like a 2 year old, tried to run across the room, and replied when the doc told her she needed shots for school by saying, "Then I just won't go to school." I had to hold her hands and she was extremely bratty and melodramatic. In the end, though, do you think she got her Webkinz? DH was extremely upset with me for giving in to her. Hey, she did take the shots once all was said and done. Was I going to get Ben a toy and not her? Pppptthhh. And now I'm the only one in the house who has not had a flu shot. Living on the edge over here, I tell ya.

12:12. Nothing I've said has any point. But I continue to type. Off to change and maybe watch a little boring TV to make me sleepy. Night!

CS3, hurray!!!

2007-11-28T12:03:00.001-05:00

I just installed the CS3 upgrade on our new Mac, and it's working perfectly. After a small glitch in trying to figure out how to make a clipping mask using one of Jen's new sketches (yes, Collection 22 is nearly ready and you're going to love it!!) I was off and running. And what a pleasure to be able to use Jen's text paths and have all my text fit perfectly into non-rectangular shapes!! I know I have a long road ahead of me, trying to figure out not only the updates that happened in CS3 but also ALL the things that have changed since PS7...ugh. A lot to learn. But I'm excited!

Thank you Sweetheart for my wonderful birthday gift! I love it!

Edited 2:58 pm: The yarn is unsnargled!!! YAY!!! I watched all of House and all of SVU and worked and worked and worked (taking breaks only to fast forward through the commercials) and now the sock yarn is perfection once again. And I get to knit tonight. :sigh: I entertain easily.

Anybody want a DOG?

2007-11-27T20:53:00.000-05:00

Okay, it was my fault. I left my knitting on the couch when I went to bed last night. So this morning while I was upstairs helping the kids get ready for school, Seeger expressed his displeasure with being left alone by completely mangling the yarn and ripping out several rows of knitting. The only consolation I have is that I was using metal needles, so they didn't get chewed up (THIS time). So instead of knitting while watching House tonight, I'll be untangling yarn. Joy.

Happy Birthday to me

2007-11-26T16:53:00.000-05:00

Yep, 39 for the first of many years, I'm sure. Got some lovely attention and prezzies from my family: cute keyfob from Ben, ceramic flower with jeweled dragonfly from Rebecca, and the upgrade to Photoshop CS3 from DH. Yay, I'm happy! We'll be going to dinner at a nice seafood place in about an hour.

Cast on the Nine-to-Five sock last night for the Sockdown! November challenge at Ravelry. Gave up on the buttonholes in Rebecca's cardigan and will get some help at Knit Clinic on Friday. Casting sidelong glances at Ben's socks and DH's scarf, hoping they won't be too upset at being ignored a bit longer.

Downloaded a kit from a new NDISB designer, Dawn Inskip. The kit is called Kaleidoscope and it's so colorful and fun! I know I can find some perfect photos for it.

The downside of sleeping in

2007-11-25T01:16:00.000-05:00

DH and the kids let me sleep in today. Great, right? Except now it's 1:17 am and I'm not sleepy. I probably would be, if I'd take out my contacts, brush my teeth, and lie down. But I'm still on the computer.

Rebecca's sweater is nearly done. Finished the sleeves and one button band, then started on the button band that needs buttonholes. Uh oh. The buttonholes are giving me trouble. Luckily for me, the local yarn shop is having a knitting clinic on Friday morning so I'm going to take it in and have someone help me out with it. Maybe they can show me how to duplicate stitch over the places where I accidentally made little holes as well.

In the meantime, I'm gonna haul out some of that sock yarn I bought at the big sale on Black Friday and cast on another pair of socks for me! I still have that pair for Ben I'm working on, but I'm not enjoying them very much because the stripes are really rather huge-ish. At least I can tell him that he was the one who picked the yarn. I have a couple of cute sock patterns to choose from for myself. I don't mind experimenting a little for me...if it's for someone else I want to make something I won't screw up too badly. Oh, who am I trying to kid? At this point, everything I make is new to me. That's the joy of beginning a new hobby, as well as the bane. It's taking all my willpower not to go cast them on right now. I know as late as it is, I'll just make a bunch of mistakes I'll have to rip out tomorrow.

But I really do have to get in bed for Pete's sake. Rebecca has a soccer round robin tournament tomorrow and she has to be there at 9:00. I told DH I'd take her since I was the one pushing her to join this pretravel team. She has another game at 11:30, and then that will be it for soccer for us for a while. We all need the break. Good night!

New from Susan Bartolini at ScrapKitchen Designs

2007-11-23T20:58:00.001-05:00

Susan has a new collab kit out with Christy Lyle called Blustery Day, and I used it to create a funny little layout documenting how much we love my mom's homemade blackberry jam, and how distraught we are when it's all gone.

In other news, Thanksgiving went well. Very busy, went late as usual, but overall the food was good and everyone had fun. And the lights stayed on, bonus!

What moms can do.

2007-11-16T00:18:00.000-05:00

Lift a sleeping 6yo child who is completely upside down and uncovered on his bed, lay him right-side up again, cover him up, and steal a kiss, all without waking him even for a moment.

Good night, everyone, and sleep well. :)

Whatcha been up to?

2007-11-15T10:34:00.001-05:00

For me, mostly healing and knitting. Today was the day I was supposed to go shopping: Michael's yarn sale and the grocery store. But my stomach is not feeling so great and I'm getting these strange sharp pains in one of my incision sites. It comes and goes, so I think I'll just take it easy today instead. It's supposed to start raining soon so I'll be cozy and dry in here.

I've completed a few knitting projects and started a few more. Here are some photos to share.

First, a sock I've begun for Ben. I've finished the toes and started up the foot, slipped it on him this morning to find it's fitting perfectly (that's the benefit of doing toe-up as opposed to cuff-down), and I'm really enjoying the simple 4-stitch pattern I chose. This is the first project I've done where I've fancied up some bare-bones instructions to suit me, and I'm inordinately proud of myself.

Next is a set of mittens and headband/earwarmer. The Warmest Mittens are from Knitting Pretty and the Calorimetry headwarmer is from Knitty online knitting magazine.

Next is a cardigan, still in progress, for Rebecca. I over-Photoshopped the picture and you can't really see what a delicate heathered yarn I'm using. You can see it better HERE, just scroll down to Tidepool Heather. Working on the first sleeve, only the second sleeve and button bands after that. LOVE LOVE LOVE working on circular needles for the first time ever!

Other than that, nothing much going on. Dan is in California for a few days, which means we're having lots of diner food and Kid Cuisines for dinner. I hate to cook when he's not here. The kids don't appreciate it and I hate the cleanup. Starting to think about Thanksgiving, which is next week, and I'm really excited because we get to have everyone over here again this year. Last year was SO fun, partly because the power went out just as we were having dessert and the kids thought that was just the best thing ever. Hopefully we'll have just as much fun this year, only with lights and heat. Everyone pitches in, so it doesn't end up being too much work on my part.

The dog is good. Took him in to be weighed yesterday so we could get the right dosage on his monthly heartworm pill, and he's 39 1/2 pounds. It's like going to Weight Watchers, only in reverse. :P

Okay, I've blathered on enough for one day. Off to knit and maybe watch some of the DVDs I got at the library: Season 1 of House, which I only saw for the first time last week. Pretty good show, I think. I know, I'm late to that party. As usual.

I survived!!!!

2007-11-04T18:29:00.000-05:00

Yes I did, I survived gall bladder surgery. I can't say I enjoyed it, but it's good to know it's gone. The surgeon said that I had HUNDREDS of small stones, so it's pretty safe to say that we did find the source of the pain.

First, I have to tell you that the waiting was the worst part. I was scheduled to go into the OR at 1:30 and didn't get there until almost 3:00. Since I hadn't seen the doctor yet, they waited to put me under until he had arrived and had spoken to me. Then the anesthesiologist said, "You're going to go to sleep now!" and I said, "Okay." And then I lay there for a minute and said, "I'm not asleep yet." I didn't want them to start cutting, lol. And she said, "Don't worry it takes a minute. Just take nice slow deep breaths." And the next thing I remember I hear someone talking about Starbucks and I'm trying to croak, "Hey, I want Starbucks too." Then someone puts my glasses on my face and I say, "Can I please have some water?" and she says, "No, honey, you just came out of surgery two minutes ago." They told me Dan had gone home to have dinner with the kids and his mom, and I got moved pretty quickly from Recovery to my room. I had to share with two older ladies who were in real pain all night long, so it was very difficult to sleep. One of them turned on her TV to some war movie, tons of gunshots and screaming. The other one was moaning all night. The worst thing was that they put these leg wraps on me that inflated every two minutes or so, to keep my blood circulating. I would just drift off and those things would roar to life and squeeze my calves, waking me up again. I understand now the workings of sleep deprivation torture. It also didn't help that I was sick a couple of times from the anesthesia, and I had to ask for help every time I went to the bathroom. Overall, I'd rate being at a hospital a great big zero. Well, except for the "healing me" thing, that worked out okay.

The next day I was out of there almost before I could finish my breakfast. I guess I ate and peed to their satisfaction because they sent me straight home where I was greeted by enthusiastic family members (the dog was a bit TOO enthusiastic...jumping up on my belly was not a good feeling) and two beautiful bouquets of flowers from my family and Dan's brother's family. Today I'm very stiff and sore still, but I did manage to get out of the house to the dog park for a bit. And I've rested plenty too.

So, I made it. I can no longer claim that I've never been in the hospital. And I look forward to feeling much better once these stitches have dissolved. Thanks to everyone who encouraged me...it really means a lot.

:sniff: I thought I was good, but apparently not

2007-11-01T17:35:00.000-04:00

I'm scared. I have to go in to have my gall bladder removed tomorrow, and the closer it gets the more afraid I am. See, I've only been in the hospital to be born. My own kids were born in a birthing center and I've never so much as broken a bone. Even though the surgery is laproscopic and the surgeon has done this over 5000 times (he told me so) I'm still terrified of general anesthesia. I've been trying to relax and get a grip today, but I can't help think of what might happen. I've given DH instruction to print out all my saved scrapbook pages for the children. He's being less than sympathetic, as usual. (He has very little patience for my emotional outbursts, but despite that I still keep having them.) I asked him to take me out to dinner tonight and he said, "Why, do you think it will be your last meal?" He was only joking, but I didn't need that in my head.

So, I will be in the hospital beginning tomorrow at 12:30, surgery is at 1:30 and I hope to be back home on Saturday morning. I plan to be as annoying as possible so they'll let me go sooner.

Also, I'm pretending that the flock of hundreds of shrieking birds that just landed in my backyard is not a bad omen.

For Miss Pam

2007-10-30T09:47:00.000-04:00

Here you go, here is Seeger in all his gangly glory. His new favorite thing is going to the new dog park nearby and playing with all the doggies.

And for those of you following my knitting progress, here are finally some photos of the stuff I made for the kids. Rebecca's are the ones in Gryffindor colors, and Ben's are in the bright blues, etc.

I'm off to shower and go in for a dental cleaning. My dentist is a hottie!

Finally!

2007-10-23T20:08:00.001-04:00

firstsocks, originally uploaded by beccasmom_299.

I got the camera up the stairs. Must've been heavy, eh? These are my beautiful gorgeous and lovely first socks. I love them so. No, they are not identical but fraternal twins. They were created using a self-patterning yarn called Big Mexiko in the color Sombrero, and I certainly could have driven myself stark raving mad trying to find the exact spot in the second skein to match where I started with the first sock/skein, but I am neither that exacting nor that fashionable.

So here's the big news. A, my mammo was fine. Yay. B, my gall bladder is history. I'm going in on November 2nd to have the darn thing removed so I can stop feeling like a vise is gripping my middle once a week or so. The episodes have really stepped up and the sonogram showed stones, so out it goes. I have dubbed it Satan and will be glad to be rid of the evil bastard.

DS had a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese today at 4:30. Yeah, homework was pretty much out the window, and now he's so hopped up on sugar that his handwriting homework turned out somewhat atrocious. DD had soccer practice at 5, which meant a whole heck of a lot of driving around for me this afternoon. Thank goodness my sweet DH called me on my cell and said, "I'm home, is there anything I can do to help you out?" The blessed soul.

I promise on my double-pointed needles that I will post a puppy photo for you next time, Pam. And to everyone in SoCal right now--Steve, Marilyn and the pooches, Denise who is still in Australia but whose kids are at home, all my neighbors from Carmel Mountain Ranch--my heart is with you now. Be safe and remember that they're only things, and the ones you love are the most important.

I suck, I'm sorry

2007-10-11T09:02:00.000-04:00

I've had the socks finished for over a week now. I even photographed them. It's just a matter of getting the darn camera up the stairs. I could spread the blame all over the place but the truth is, it's the dog's fault. He goes El Destructo when I leave him alone downstairs, even though he's contained in the kitchen/living area. His favorite thing is to climb up on the kitchen table and drink my coffee. Just what I need, a caffeinated puppy. As a matter of fact, he's so tall now that he can reach up on the kitchen table and pull down a library book and chew on it so I have to pay for the replacement cost. Ask me how I know this.

Anyway, I don't like to leave him crated all the time and since I can't trust him alone that means my computer time is limited. And I just can't seem to remember to bring up the camera with me when I come up. I need a laptop...no, he'd find a way to chew that too.

I've begun Rebecca's knitted dress, and I'm excited to see what happens when I make it up to the armholes. This should be interesting. I should post photos of the process so you can all laugh. I do like the colors though.

I'm off to take Danger Boy to the vet for yet another checkup and pill. It's only been two weeks since the last visit. Man, I should have gone to vet school, these guys are raking it in off me alone. Last time he went from 23 to 27 pounds. Anyone thinking he's going to crack the 30 mark today? He turned 4 months old yesterday. Such a monster.

I promise next time I post, it will be with sock photos. Promise.

Good early morning

2007-10-03T06:45:00.001-04:00

I'm up bright and early, despite going to bed around 11:30. I guess I slept hard.

So, I know I haven't posted my socks yet, but that's because the second one is still in progress. They look GREAT and the day I finished the first one I wore it, all by itself, all morning. I looked like a complete moron but let's face it, they're used to it by now around here. I have a few more inches to complete the second foot, then decrease for the toes and graft it closed, and I'll post them. They're very colorful.

For the fourth week in a row I completed all the house cleaning by Tuesday. I only have a few loads of laundry today and the rest of the day is for me. I think I'll cast on the Palindrome scarf for DH. DD picked out the yarn for me when we were at the lame-o "yarn festival" at AC Moore last weekend. Speaking of which, I entered a drawing and won something, so I have to go by there today and see what I won. And I may just take one of the two 40% off coupons that are hanging around by my front door...

Oh crud, I just remembered that today is puppy kindergarten. Oh well, I guess I'll be doing that too. That throws a wrench in my plans, dang.

I also did two digital scrapbook pages, one each for my new guest CT slots. In October I'll be guesting for KikiScraps at Scrapbook-Elements, and JanaM at Scrap-Garden. They have some fun stuff, so I'm enjoying the work.

Here's a sample of Jana's awesome paper:

And Kiki also has a way with backgrounds:

See you in a few days!

All you ever think about is SOCKS

2007-09-26T17:57:00.000-04:00

So, the good news is that the soccer sitch is all straightened out. Rebecca was moved to a new team. They practice every other Tuesday, the soccer clinics are every other Wednesday (opposite weeks from the regular practice) and pretravel is every Thursday. So she'll never have more than two practices in a week. Phew. She's at a clinic right now, and dh said she was having a good time when he left. Unfortunately, Ben has a practice today too and there's been a lot of yo-yoing between practice locations. Lucky for me, DH decided to stay home and take care of all that for me, yay!

And the reason he's being so accomodating? Well yeah, he loves me and all, but also because I have a class tonight at my local yarn shop to learn how to knit socks! SOCKS, can you believe it? I'm a regular Laura Ingalls Wilder over here. I finished a couple of headbands that didn't really come out all that well, and I just finished another one that I think is much better. It's going to have a cute little knitted flower with leaves on it in Rebecca's favorite colors. That one is blocking as we speak and then I need to put it all together. So I'll be back later with some photos of me and all my socks appeal.

Grr

2007-09-23T12:45:00.000-04:00

I just have to vent. Rebecca is a pretty darn good soccer player...she really came into her own last season and was one of three top players on the team. Okay, I don't like to brag but she really was the star of the team. And she loves it. This year she has the opportunity to join the pretravel team, which will then be the travel team next year and play a lot more games outside the community. She wants to do it, I want her to do it, and it will be great to help her to continue improving.

The problem is, in order to be on pretravel you must also be on a regular team. And her new regular team coach has scheduled his practices at the same time as the pretravel practice. Who does that? Do they not communicate with each other in this organization? Isn't it beneficial to you to have a girl on your team who is so into soccer that she wants to do pretravel? Why make it so hard on her? I emailed the regular coach asking him if it was possible to change the practice day, but he said no. He suggests I take Rebecca to travel practice (which begins at 4:30), pull her from that practice early, then drive across town to his practice (which begins at 5:00) for a little while. In addition to this insane Thursday, she's supposed to be at the "supplemental" training being held every Wednesday. And she's supposed to do homework...when?

I emailed the pretravel coach explaining the situation and asking if it's possible for her to be changed to a different regular team that practices on a different day. Which then means she'll have three soccer practices a week. Ugh. But it's better than dragging her and her poor brother all over creation every Thursday, then having her melt down from exhaustion that night.

Okay, I feel somewhat better for venting, but these people better get their acts together and figure out what they want from these girls.

Check me...

2007-09-21T21:25:00.000-04:00

I didn't forget how to digiscrap after all. I did this one up while dd was getting her shower tonight. It looks simple, but the photo was pretty blurry and the colors were off by a mile, so I actually did a lot of touchup work there before ever scrapping it. Now I'm off to work on my ear-warmer/headband that I'm knitting.

2007-09-21T08:28:00.000-04:00

Here are my latest stats on the Ravelry waiting list. Sigh.

* You signed up on September 13, 2007
* You are #32736 on the list.
* 17017 people are ahead of you in line.
* 1870 people are behind you in line.
* 44% of the list has been invited so far

Now, I grant you, it's moving fast. But at this rate it'll be 2011 before I get on. I wonder if they're anywhere close to just opening the thing up to everyone? In the meantime I'm just knitting away on ds's scarf and only have about 5 more inches to go to finish. I'm going to make myself an ear-warmer/headband next for those chilly morning walks with the dog. I'm taking a sock class this Wednesday, and I hope to start a sweater for real very soon. Mom is bringing me some of her old knitting supplies when she comes in October, so I hesitate to buy circular needles knowing she's going to give me some.

Digi scrapping is suffering badly with my new knitting obsession. I really need to put out a few more projects for my CTs before the month is up!

A new knitting experience

2007-09-18T16:44:00.000-04:00

Are you a knitter? Have you heard about Ravelry? It's a new online community for knitters, but it's so much more than forums. When everyone enters their stash info and project photos, it becomes a huge resource for finding patterns, projects, and yarns. It will also be a place to connect with other knitters, whether through common location, common projects, or common personalities. I know, I sound like an expert but the fact is that I haven't even been allowed in yet! Right now it's in beta, and they've got a long waiting list of people who want to join. They don't want to overwhelm themselves as they work out the bugs, so they're only allowing a few hundred new people in a day. Here's my latest stats:

* You signed up on September 13, 2007
* You are #32736 on the list.
* 18418 people are ahead of you in line.
* 1133 people are behind you in line.
* 41% of the list has been invited so far

Yeah. So, for all intents and purposes all I can do is wait for the bugs to be worked out so they can finally open it up with no waiting. Because otherwise it'll take a YEAR! I'm excited to jump in...I only have five yarns and three finished projects, so I don't have as much work uploading as others do.