This Post Brought To You By The Letter Sugar

Yup. I've come to a decision, after some thought & rationalization.

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It's time to hit the Halloween candy.

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In other news, I finished up the socks/mumble mitts that were meant to be part of El's coming home outfit. (I'm still giving myself points because I got them done before her due date.) You may not get any H'ween candy, but feast your eyes upon these delectable little drumsticks!

(Hat & mumblesocks in Koigu KPPPM, one hank of, erm, colorway, erm, I'll have to check my notes... I aim to write up a pattern at some point.)

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(Part of my candy rationalization is that E is so incredibly sweet, I might just take a little nibble... or maybe a little chomp... so it's better that I go for the gummy candy. I'm being a good parent!)

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This is E's "Ooooooooh..." face. Her eyes are still newborn blue; and I love it when she raises what will eventually be eyebrows.

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Still not enough sweet for you? This morning, Am wanted to hold El, so we set up on the couch. (I'm in charge of head & neck support for El.) Am took El's little arm, and started gently waving it, saying "Hi Amrin*! Hi Amrin! Hi Amrin!". I love that Am is welcoming El, & wants El to welcome her right back. My girls are so sweet.

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All right, off to the candy stash. Sweeeeeeeeeet...

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*This is how Am pronounces her name these days. It used to be "Amin", with different stresses than "Idi Amin".

Well, I Packed My Posse Into A Palanquin...

Yes indeed, yesterday's previously planned playtime (A to daycare, Gran & E & I to the yarn store, then Nectar for dessert) was reorganized.
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Instead, the posse* headed out for vaccinations. The original plans had been to get the seasonal flu vacc last week, then H1N1 this week. Of course, the original plan was also that I'd still be pregnant. Sooooo.... After some research, we revamped the plan, and the man, gran, A, E, & I all trooped off to Cochrane to get the flu shot there. (We're in the high risk group, because of A & E's age.) (And yes, I spoke with my doctor at length about it.)

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It took three hours. The man & gran spelled off waiting in line, & I hung out in the jeep** & dispensed crackers &/or milk as needed & or squalled for. In the end, A was very brave, and didn't freak out much over the needle. (Although she needs a booster in three weeks - ARGH. The line business had better be resolved by then.) The man & I got ours too - E is much too small to vaccinate, and she'll get my antibodies from nursing.

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Other than the three hours (which was still a HUGE improvement over wait times IN Calgary proper), my main frustration was that I'd been assured that we could get the seasonal flu shot as well. And lo & behold, it had been jiffy-markered out on the posters on the door. Super. The nurse I'd spoken too let me know that it had been cancelled as of 11:50am, about ten minutes before they opened. (Two hours after I called).

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It's hard to feel super reassured about our province's health care, when communication is so slap-dash, and the organization of the clinics seems so poor.

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(What? You don't think it's a little impractical to have children, pregnant women, and seniors*** all waiting outside in lines, in cold, windy weather?)

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On the other hand, we all have the H1N1 vaccine now. And in two weeks, it'll be fully effective.**** And the best part of the whole story is that I had the man and gran giving the posse full support. It would've been a full serving of awful, with a side order of hideous, if they hadn't been there.

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*L_____, I know that you'd commented that I have an entourage - but I like posse better. It implies more of an edgy, outlaw vibe. Entourage makes me think that we should all be wearing expensive ring-spun denim, and large sunglasses. Realistically, we're in slightly mismatched knit wear, with varying amounts of food &/or marker as decoration.

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**The jeep served as our palanquin, B____. I did try to find one, but palanquins & the nubile hunks to tote them are in short supply this close to Halloween. So instead, we took the jeep.

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***Today, that is who the radio says the high-risk groups are. Yesterday, it was different. And the Calgary Health Region's website says something different yet again.

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****Just in time to go & queue up again, for A's booster. I'm trying not to be super negative about this all, but JEEZ. The health nurse I'd talked to on the phone told me that because A had had flu vaccs before, she wouldn't need a booster.

We're A Pony Girl, Now.

Or maybe a little bun thing. But it's gotta be solo! And the more barrettes, the better! (You can't see the orange one on the other side.)
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Things are still good, despite a plague of low-grade ills (variously: cold, flu, mild mastitis, runny nose). We just all wash our hands lots.

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Shawl That Knit Stitch is coming along, albeit slowly; and I spent nap time today finishing E's mumble mittens. (They were maybe going to be socks, and they match her hat. Koigu. More about that later.)

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Actually, just plain more later. I'm functioning on a fairly high level, but I'm still pretty scattered.

One of My Favorite Emails Ever

The man sent this out....
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From: P______

Sent: October 20, 2009 4:19 PM
To: everyone

Subject: mumbly girl

couldn't resist sending the pic.

has amoryn's socks on over top of sleeper and baby socks
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It's a brilliant illustration of how wee she is.

Funny Conversations In The Last Couple Days

Am this morning, when Gran went to pick up El. (I'd just left to go & grab the phone.)

"No Gran, no take, that's mommy's baby!" - scolding tone.
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The man to me, in the middle of the night. My milk had come in, and oh, my. I made a wince/whimper noise when I went to get up, and he whipped awake.

"What is it? What's wrong?" - tone of alarm.

"My boobs" - tone of strangled anguish.

"Well, quit touching them!" - tone of 'duh, that will fix it'.

"It's gravity, sweetie." - tone of realizing that he's still asleep.

He has no memory of that conversation.

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Speaking of memory, I feel like there should be more to say, but I can't think of it. Things have been going very well.

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Here, have some pictures!

Me & my two girls. Amoryn had asked to hold Eleni, and was so proud of herself!
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Eleni in the big 5-day weigh-off - BEEFCAKE!! BEEFCAKE!! (That's one of our midwives.)
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El & her daddy. She's actually focusing her eyes.
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Her beautiful dark hair! Her wee round head! (My giant hands, in comparison!)

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Am's lovely round head, and her pretty strawberry hair. (She's entranced by Elmo.)
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And I could go on, and on, and on... I'm so in love with my family.

More baby, anyone?

As a note, Am is being a super big sister. I'd have photos of us all together, but Am is very keen on pulling down my shirt to help me feed her "Leetle Baby Seester". So none of them are what I deem suitable for the Intarweb, or at least my little blog. Maybe tomorrow.

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The cell phone picture I took at the hospital, just before we went home. She's only three hours old.
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Sitting in the sun, working on that little wee bit of jaundice.

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Napping in the sun... how sweet it is! (The only time I'm okay with someone taking my pic while I'm asleep.)

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Am, modelling the hat she'll be wearing for longer than I anticipated, as the yarn I was spinning is currently on "hold".

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I fully expect that the posting will fade away as the endorphins do... and as the sleep deprivation piles up. I'm still in recovery mode, where sitting is a planned activity. So for now, enjoy the baby photos! (I'm sure enjoying my family.)

Welcome Home, Eleni

She's here! And she's perfect!
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Eleni Pearl, arrived last evening. 6lb 2oz, 19 3/4". Respectable for being a month early! (ell-enn-EE is how you pronounce it.)

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She was born in the hospital, with the Briar Hill Midwives, her dad, & her Gran in attendance. (I was there too, obviously :) ). We're home, & things are going very well, although I'm still feeling surprised that we have a new baby already! More later...

Sitting On The Couch In The Sun

Not much else I really want to say right now - thank heavens for sunshine.

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Am is napping. The baby's room is waiting (for about another month, please, baby). The man is at a financial seminar. Lucky guy! Hahhh.

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The laundry could be folder. The dishwasher could be emptied.

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I could knit on... Am's sweater, the baby's 'socks', Shawl than Incessant Garter Stitch, C____'s starter hat, those darn Noro socks, or something completely new. Or something that's been in the Bad Knitting Box for long enough that it's like it's new.*

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I could keep spinning the yarn for Am's winter toque - it is possibly the most garish & ugly roving I've ever seen. The sample I spun & navajo plied resulted in a surprising charming yarn, though. I'd post pics, but I are lazy.

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I could sew; there's some yardage for receiving blankies. I have lots, it's true; but it seemed proper that there be a couple new ones for the new one.

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I could even have a nap.

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Instead, I'm just sitting in the sun, mentally flat-lining. I'm well content with that.

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*Yes, I'm a chronic multi-project person. I read more than one book at a time, too. One of my coworkers from years ago asserted that multi-project inclinations are a sign of a creative brain. I found this a more flattering concept than "Mentally, I'm a water-bug", so I just work with it & accept that that's how my muse seems to move me.

Sometimes All It Takse Is A Sense of Scale

Things are wonderful, here. I mean, snow, blah, blah, traffic, blah, blah, Am cutting teeth, SCREAM, NO, SCREAM, car's alternator shot, $480, wince, wince... But the baby's baking along nicely, the girl & I made her dad's birthday cake AND iced it, I got some fun knitting done, the man & I had a fantastic steak dinner date, and all things considered, things are great.

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I took the weekend off from the Intarweb, and enjoyed friends who were here, a brief road trip to see family in Lethbridge (and crash a Thanksgiving supper), and another Turkey dinner here, with more friends. It was grand.

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Yesterday, I finished getting the baby's room set to rights. Folding all those wee clothes made part of my brain melt - and the part that was left completely dissolved with the news that T__ & J____ had their baby. Welcome to the world, C_____! I can't wait to meet you. (The pics of the happy family on facebook dissolved me into near-tears. I probably would've fallen totally into soddenness, but was interrupted by the man calling me to call the shop to ask about antifreeze.)

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Today, it was snowy, but not cold, so I decided that Am & I should walk to daycare. I was beginning to regret this decision by the time that I had her stuffed into everything, but we persevered. At one point, I was carrying the back-up umbrella stroller, and breaking trail, while Am tried to follow. Imagine an overview of a dollar symbol - the straight part is my path; the wandering line is Am's path. Sadly, there is no symbol equivalent for her trying to figure out a) where the curb is & b) trying to climb up it in snowpants & winter boots. It was awesome.

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And the ice cream on top of the awesome was when we arrived at daycare - two grown women were trying to get seven toddlers into snow boots, ski pants, winter coats, hats, and mittens. (The other three weren't going out - no gear.) It was fantastic. I'd love to hear Ennio Morricone* score the music for that scene. I giggled all the way home.

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*You know, the guy who did The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly? Among other wonderful things?

Gifts & Guests from the North!

Well, one of the guests is just on her way from the North to home. Nonetheless, she brought Am this little fellow - his name is Ook-Pik, or something like that, & he's an owl. He's actually made out of seal-fur, which feels remarkably synthetic.

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(Please let me out of this plastic egg. This is not dignified packaging. I am a handmade owl, not a plastic gew-gaw.)

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(Wooo! Whee! Awooo! I fly again, I soar, I....)

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(I am spurned in favor of the new Ikea catalogue. Drat those Billy bookcases.)

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S____ also brought me 120gm of raw qiviuk fiber - now, I just have to figure out what do to with that... If only I knew a spinner who was working on qiviuk who I could turn to for advice... Oh wait. I do know someone like that. I probably won't tackle it until next year sometime though. Still, very very cool.

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In other news, the man brought home a turkey that weighs exactly what Am did when she was born. Although my brain understands that newborns are a different shape than half frozen turkeys, still: color me terrified. Or at least a little resigned. (That photo would've been far funnier if someone else had taken it - but I think you still get a sense of the belly/bird scale.)

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I'm just waiting for the little girl to finally quit talking, so that I can go have a nap. (I've got a date tonite!) (With my husband. No idea what we're doing, but it involves leaving Am with our sitter & us leaving the house.)

Suddenly, I'm All Excited Again

This morning, at approx 8:42 am, as I watched Am have brekky*, something dramatic happened.

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I became excited about that shawl - you know, Shawl That Counting, Shawl That Mindless Garter Stitch...

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I (finally) reached a stitch count. I've knit the last 60,000 or so stitches in an increasing daze of "decrease one stitch per row", and the prospect of changing it up somehow - ANYHOW - excites me more than words (or 60,000 knit stitches) can say. According to my math-fu, I only have about 46 rows & 18,000 stitches left. Woot!

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*I woke up early. Eaaaarrrrlyy. So I had brekky with the man before he went to work, then just hung out with Am.

What I Did With My Weekend

The man was out of town this weekend, so I was the Lone Ranger, and Am stood in as my sidekick. My original weekend plans went sideways, as did major parts of the backup plan. This means that I didn't get to the bridal shower (sorry to miss it, E___), but I did get the gauntlets finished.
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The pattern is Karin Wristwarmers, by Alexandra Brinck, and the yarn is Terra, by the Fiber Company. Apart from a few caveats, I'm very pleased with them. I personally prefer my gauntlets to fit a little differently; but that's a matter of taste between me & the designer. And the yarn.... It's incredibly luscious to touch, and a beautiful color. However, for what I paid for the yarn, I'm not sure I can forgive the inconsistent texture AND the fact that they bled like a royal hemophiliac when blocked them. I ended up setting the dye, then re-blocking them. (I wanted a denser texture, so I knit them with a slightly different gauge, and increased the stitch count by 2 st/gauntlet.)
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I went out to the yard & harvested every single flower that was still there, and made a lovely bouquet. You can't imagine how incredible those sweet peas smell.
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Yesterday morning, I cast on the Sailors Rib Sweater, by Wendy Bernard for Am. (It's a top-down all-in-one raglan sweater.) I'm using three colors of Tosh Worsted (Lapis, Fuchsia, & Terra, I believe), and it is yummy. I'm not sure if it's the yarn or what, but this project is flying right along. In less than 24 hours, I'm almost done the yokes & ready to divide the arms & body. (If you don't knit, interpret that last sentence as "I got a lot done".) Even allowing that this is for a smaller person, I'm still pleased. I'm doing the Jogless Jog trick - and when I look at the knitting itself, I think it's really obvious. But then, when I look at the photo, it's not so bad. (The jog starts at the base of the V. A gutsy move, to be sure; joining the stripes in center front - but if Jared (aka Brooklyn Tweed) can do it, then so can I.)
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I rearranged a little bit - and most importantly, Am had her first guest at a tea party. This is the little table & chairs that I stained for her last Xmas (her big gift), and they're now in the living room. She & S_____ enjoyed imaginary victuals while C____ & I had a grownup tea party all of our own. It was awesome.

Possibly Ill-Advised

Today, I got Halloween candy. There are quite few kids in our area, so we always give out a fair pile. I probably over-treat, too. We did get to go trick-or-treating on the farm, but there was a lot of driving & not so much candy as the town kids got. So now, rational or not, I like to give out lots. And no loser raisins*, either.

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And I didn't buy a single stitch of chocolate; the candy bar mixes all had an off-choice in them. (You know, three great things & one putz.) There's always a little bit left over, & it always seems to be the stuff I don't like, but end up slowly noshing on anyways. So think year, I got smart, & only picked things that I like. So we've got: Rockets, Halloween Kisses, miscellaneous gummi candy, and Cheezies, which are the man's fave.

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Except that that's a little dumb, actually, because now I've got pounds of candy snacks that I love in the house with me. Now, where to hide them in the house that I a) can't/won't get into & b) will remember for Halloween?

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*Raisins are creepy, with the limited exception of pre-soaked sultanas in half-hour pudding. Those awful little dried out joyless things in the wee boxes? I'd rather give out zombies.

Oh, Yeah, Right...

Hm. The whole point of covering tomatoes at night is so that they an survive a frost & their fruit will continue to ripen in the increasingly meager sunlight.

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Will they ripen if they spend all day under blankets, too?

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Not that I forgot to uncover them yesterday. Except that I totally forgot to uncover them yesterday.

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I'm telling them it's like a spa treatment. They look fine today. Wish me luck on the continuing cover/uncover process...

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PS: If you're concerned about the advanced case of baby-brain that I have, don't worry. Am makes much more noise than any plant I've ever met; there's no danger that I'll forget to water or cover her.