Tuesday, December 29, 2009

The Horror, The Horror

The PVR recorded this for me last night:
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Black Sheep
Nathan Meister, Danielle Mason, (2006), **. A young man (Nathan Meister) suffering from ovinophobia (fear of sheep) returns to the family farm in New Zealand just in time to help battle mutant killer critters attacking everything & everybody in sight. A wild & wooly horror comedy. (Comedy, 95 mins.)
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I swear I didn't make any of that up. Two stars... I might just have to watch it. Although I personally think a movie about moths would be far more frightening.

Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Stashmas!

At Christmas, while it's easy to become enchanted with all the new, shiny, gew-gaws, it's important not to overlook the blessings we already have. In that spirit, may I present....
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Stashmas '09!
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Here are some of my favorite items in my stash... some are old, some are new. Some have plans & plots assigned to them; a couple I just like to pet.
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(New, a b-day gift, maybe a small shawl?)
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("Honey Fig" fiber from Sweet Georgia - Make 1. I'm so hung up on the color.)
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(Mini-maiden. I lurves it. It lurves me.)
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(If I were a sock-knitter, deedle-deedle-deedle-dum!)
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(Mohair/linen. Fascinating blend!)
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(Ooooooooooo. Anybody know any poppy inspired lace patterns?)
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(Lace-weight merino that I died.)
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(I had a plan for this... which I have amended slightly. It's too bulky, so...)
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(I found this! Sock weight.)
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(Perhaps a snuggly shawl that's not all garter?)
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And most of all, just like Am says: "Daddy and mommy & sister & Amoryn: my FAMILY!"

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Festive Random Smattering

(I was going to call this post "Random Smattering of Fruitcake", but if you live with children, I suspect that you too will resonate to the potential scenarios that could be described by that phrase.)
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Dear Daycare Workers:
I love that you have a tub labelled "MR. POTATOES HEAD". I'm not sure if it's the fact that you have segregated the Potato Head parts from the other plastic creatures, or that someone so painstakingly (& correctly) pluralized "potato".
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Dear Market Mall Parking Lot:
You hate me, and I hate you, & I'd storm out in a huff, but I AM TRAPPED TRAPPED TRAPPED....
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Dear Husband, Love of My Life:
You know I love you. I also know that you're fond of having a sane wife, so I didn't pick up your last Xmas gift. I drove away from the mall parking lot after 20 minutes. You're a big guy, I know you'll like it as a New Year's gift too.
Love, K.
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Dear Eleni:
I love you so much, sweet thing. Today, I am especially smitten with the fact that you are sleeping better & better at night.
Love, Mom
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Dear Amoryn:
You are such a bright girl! And such a caring little soul. I love that you came downstairs this morning, went to say hello to your sister in the playpen, and when she wasn't there, you marched me back to the stairs & told me to "Go get Lenni".
Love, Mom.
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Dear Safeway Guy Who Did The Pricecheck On My Fresh Rosemary:
You were supposed to do a pricecheck, sir. You weren't supposed to bring back another bunch of herbs that have a bar code on them. I didn't need two bunches of thyme*. I need one bunch of thyme & one bunch of rosemary. (Sigh.) Now I have to go out shopping again...
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Dear Addie's (in Cochrane):
You rock. Not only did you have a wonderful selection of batiks, you had Koigu on sale 30% off. And you have some of the best staff ever - you watched El in her carseat while I chased Am around, and you didn't cast any glances our way until we'd left the store..
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Dear Everyone At the Yarn Store -
I've said it before, & I'll say it again. I love you all, and it means so much to me that you're there. If I don't see you again before Xmas, I hope that you have the best, mellowest, most joyful holiday.
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Amoryn, do we need to yarn & fabric stores more often? I don't want you to lose the etiquette. I'd be more concerned, but when I opened up my birthday gift from Mom and petted the yarn, you asked to touch it too.
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Dear Mom - thanks for trying to soothe El. I'll be right there.
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*If you could get me more time, however, that would be nine kinds of awesome.

Fresh Snowfall

Fresh snow is so pretty... and for once, a picture that actually looks a little bit how the world looked last night.
These are the trees along the side of our house. I can see them from where I sit to nurse El &/or snuggle Am on the couch.
(Pic courtesy of the man & his groovy camera that has an aperture you can set. Who knew?)
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Thursday, December 17, 2009

Blue Christmas

Yes, I finally accepted that I'm a little depressed, a la post-partum, these days. (PPD for short.) It's not just a run of a couple bad days. A couple weeks ago, I realized that I was entirely too wobbly & close to tears. I figured that we all could use a fun day, so Amoryn got to watch all the movies she wanted (Nemo! Wall-E! Tinkerbell! Elmo!), Eleni got as much milk as she could drink (okay, so that's SOP*), and other than providing food & libation for the minors, I knitted & napped.
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It was okay. Not too much different than if I'd spent all day doing laundry. (That statement should be accompanied by huge alarm bells! Klaxons! Sirens! Machines saying "moop moop moop" in an urgent way!) I reviewed the depression questionnaire in my head, and sure enough. Not just a couple blue days.
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I've been depressed a couple times before, and I've found the sooner you start, the easier it is to shake. I didn't have any troubles with post-partum when I had Amoryn, but it was also coming into summer, not winter, so there was no SAD icing for my PPD cupcake of gloom.
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I talked to the man about it. Then, a day later, I had a bit of a meltdown and ranted & raved & hicupped & snotted all over the place. (I don't cry so gracefully.) I'm not sure if he really understands how I'm feeling, but he's sure being supportive & open to talking about whatever I need to. (An engineer? Talking about feelings? Wow, man.) I've also talked to different friends. And now that I've quite denying the depression, it's getting easier to fight.
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I also made an appointment, talked to my doctor, and have a couple things that I'm trying before I make a break for prescription meds. There are lots of Rx options that are safe for nursing mothers, but I'd rather not, if I can. I'm using my light book, taking vitamin D supplements, and trying to get lots of sleep & physical activity too. I'm also not succumbing to that little voice that suggests that I'm useless, no matter what I get done, there will always be more to do, and I'll probably just screw that up too, so I may as well quit trying. (That snide little voice is part of my depression.)
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I think it's helping; it's hard to say for certain so soon. There's this Christmas thing I remembered - you may have heard of it?** So I've taken that into hand, and at this moment, have two gifts left to wrap. I also have to hunt down some batiks for El's stocking.
I used up everything in my stash for Am's. (L-R: mine, the man's, the girl's. I'm hoping to find acid green & purple for the smallest.)
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(Cards? Prezzies? Parcels mailed? Tree? Check.)
(The prezzies are all stashed elsewhere. The tree alone is almost too much excitement. Blue lights are coincidental.)
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I'm almost finished a little gifty for someone special - wanna peek?
(A violation of my no deadline-gifty policy. But so worth it!)
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It was also Eleni's first vaccination yesterday - yes, we get the kids vaccinated. The health nurse was not so helpful in some ways; I filled out the little worksheet, and she confirmed that indeed, I seem to be suffering from PPD. Her attempts at comfort were a little rough. On the other hand, she was a great source of information about support available through the health region, and she was trying really hard.
(El, all grown up & sophistimicated in pants AND shoes...)
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I think the biggest help - the single thing that's the most help fighting that nasty snide little voice in my head - is the fact that I have such a great support system. I honestly don't know what I'd do without all the people that I love, that love me back.
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And I don't know what else to say, other than - any suggestions on what I should make for supper?
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*SOP - Standard Operating Procedure
**Literally. I was all "HOLY CRAP THERE ARE ONLY HOW MANY DAYS UNTIL XMAS? DOOM!!!!!"

Monday, December 14, 2009

Oh, Earworms.

I watched "The Way We Were" last night. I'd never seen it before, and probably would have never bothered, except for the reference in Sex & the City. So I was a little curious, and there was nothing else on.
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It wasn't bad, EXCEPT FOR THAT AWFUL SONG. It's probably not even that bad, but Barbra has been crooning through my head non-stop since then. Even that wouldn't be so bad, except that I have several extra hours of consciousness on most people, because El was up for two hours during last night's feed, instead of her customary 45 minutes.
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And of course, the odd instant that there was no Barbra, the earworm fates decided I hadn't been punished enough & sent "Bop" by Dan Seals. I'm not sure what I've done to merit such treatment, but I'm hoping that I won't have to resort to the big guns to get rid of them.
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Yes, I'm talking about the soundtrack for Moulin Rouge, if not the movie itself. There's something about the dizzy collision of can-can & ruffles & seventies tunes that seems to short almost any earworm out.
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In other news, we went to Edmonton for the weekend, for some visiting & the man's Xmas party. It was good; other than a fire alarm at the hotel, and the minus nine million weather. I've also cast on and almost completed my first mobius; I'm completely fascinated. I've found my 3mm Addi, and I'm almost ready to begin phase 2. Of course, there's this whole Christmas thing I need to start thinking about... so I'm off to try & get some scheming done!


Wednesday, December 09, 2009

What We've Been Up To

First, this was so much fun.
It's a top-secret Xmas project. (It's SPARKLY.)
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My lap - max occupancy, one toddler, one baby, one cat, one board book.
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Auntie S____ was obliging enough to help "Amrin Butterfly" fly around the living room - "waaay up in the sky, bzzz bzzz bzzz". Bless S____'s heart, and her kneecaps too. (Am isn't holding the laundry basket - it's an illusion.)
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So far, this is the only photo I managed to get of Am in her new plaid dress. It's not too illustrative of the details, but does convey the fever pitch of the Xmas concert.
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Eleni has been practicing her super powers. I'd been KO'd be her shortly before, and woke up enough to realize that I needed supper. The man took over on snooze supervision.
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And that's where I'm headed - to snooze. Nighty-nooties!

Friday, December 04, 2009

Progress Report

First, the little dress & the plaid issues. I've done quite well, see?
The plaids line up. Unless you look, you don't even really notice it; but there's like a subliminal vibe when they're off. To demonstrate, here's the lining, where I'd didn't bother:
See? (Yes, I just posted two plaid shoulder seam photos. It's my blog & I'll do as I please.)
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On the Taiyo front, I'm still cautiously optimistic - and I lurve this photo.
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I got glitter paint, and this morning let Am have a crack at it. It went well, she had fun, and I'm impressed with her skills.
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Eleni still hasn't developed any real skills, other than eat/sleep/adorable, but she's got those down pat.
Eleni, practicing her "adorable", all geared up to go for a walk. Rest assured, the walk was NOT today.
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I'm back to Genghis (the serger) & the little plaid dress!

Thursday, December 03, 2009

Is It Really Thursday?

Huh. I've tried typing several different things - updates about sewing projects, knitting schemes, baby adorableness, and toddler fun. But my brain is not cooperating. Clearly, this morning's errand run of the library, the fabric store, & the shoe store eroded the synapses to my language center.
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Or something. So, this is where I usually default to pics, but the camera cord is downstairs. So we have no recent photos. Instead, let's flash back to summertime.
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The yard in late summer is a little like an enchanted kingdom - especially to someone who is only 3 1/2 feet tall.
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I didn't get many belly pictures, but one naptime I headed down with the camera sent to autotimer.
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This is some of the yarn I got in Anaheim...

(Habu merino & merino/stainless steel. I've been fascinated forever, and may never knit it, but man! It's sure cool.)
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This is mohair - and it leapt into my arms as I was on my way out. I can't convey how incredible it feels, but the picture does illustrate that it's the EXACT color of california poppies. (Appropriate as a souvenir from LA, no?) I also got a skein of cashmere in a lovely dark brown, and a skein of blue stuff that I've posted about before.
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This is the qiviuk blend I got in Whitehorse. It's niiiiiiice.
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(When they actually beome FO's, I'll tell you more about the yarn - like who made it, exact content, etc. For now, they're more like pets.)
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On other yarn fronts, I think I finally had an inspiration about some Noro Taiyo that has been resisting me! It's been a scarf & two different sweaters, but I keep frogging it. Time will tell if I've really cracked it or not - I'm not saying anything else.
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All right, off for more projects!
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PS: I read the label, and I can have Oreo cookies. So I am. Nom nom nom.