Improved! Now with less rancor!

Yes, I did quest forth bravely to joust against the dragons lurking in their lairs.

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I did make some progress with the files; and I think I'll have a solid result in about another hour of two. (Not tonite, no! Heavens. I need more attention for that than I do for lace knitting, yo.) The good news is, the fix will have taken less time than re-keying the entire year. The bad news is, the difference is only about an hour. And it would've taken far less brain sweat. Ah well. I needed to sink my teeth into something today, & the accounting files were it. And it's the principle of the thing. (The man asked if I was done. I said "Well, I certainly have something that's very reasonable looking right now - but I want to do a little more proofing and make sure it's right." He figured that was worth the extra time.)

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The second half of the day was entirely more mellow the first - I think Am's teeth (or tooth - I think it was the upper canine on the left right side) is either cut through or taking a break. We didn't go to the store after all, because the keys for the car were AWOL, and the man had taken the other car to the dump, then to get more gravel. I made the executive decision to say screw it, and we went & sat in the swing & read a book for an hour or so.

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It was very mellow, and I think I needed that more than sugar cookies.

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(I still got unsalted butter & cream cheese later though. Just in case.)

A much better day!

Yes, yesterday was much better. Happy little girl, happy yardwork, happy sunshine.

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Today, however, the Amster is working on a canine tooth, which (appropriately enough) is being accompanied by howling. One more hour until we can dose with Tylenol again.

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And I've got the Itch. It's been building for a couple days, and I'm afraid it's turned into a full-blown case. You know the Itch, don't you? You could also call it the Crank. No matter what I plan, or do, or even think about doing, it's not what I want.

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It happens sometimes, for no reason that I've been able to figure out. Sometimes, it will go away on its own. Sometimes, it helps if I start something new. Sometimes, it helps if I finish something old.

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And sometimes, the only thing to do is it still for a while & let it pass.

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I've tried a couple things so far - my "to start" list isn't tantalizing me at all, so I'm working on finishing things. Today's slated completion is the books.. which have been vexing me for some time now, due to a corrupted file & the potential re-entry of an entire year pf bookkeeping. (*hairball noise*).

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So, I'm going to apply my building orneriness to accounting, which probably deserves it, instead of Am & the man, who don't.

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To pass the time until nap time, we're going to the grocery store, where I will continue to mull how badly I want homemade sugar cookies, and whether it's worth* the mess & the heat. With some luck, Am will enjoy the trip & be distracted from her teeth. And if she pitches a fit in the produce aisle, I'm in the kind of mood today where I might just join her!

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If you see two people, screaming & thrashing by the avocadoes, do stop & say hello.

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*Also, the potential failure - I have trouble with sugar cookies. Recipes that use some cream cheese seem to be more reliabel for me, but still a little iffy. And I was thinking about gingersnaps - a solid success - but I don't WANT gingersnaps....

Blerrrrg... But there's hope!

I did not feel like this today - a combination of CRAP & other office accounting shenanigans conspired against me.

But tomorrow, I have big plans to feel this happy & pink & orange. Yup. I'm even going to take Amoryn out for ice cream for lunch if I have to.

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(I'll try to remember to chuck the camera in my purse, but you know, even if I do, it's slim odds that I'll risk relatively delicate electronics near a two year old who is enthralled but also confused by the combination of frozen dairy products & the laws of nature.)

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(Gravity? Melting? Wha?)

Tuesday's Open Sticky Notes

(First, baby ultrasound pics but no gender spoilers! Second, I poured most of my brainpower into the office today. And third, I put all of my willpower into convincing the babe to let us see what's going on! So. Sticky notes again.)

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Dear Ultrasound Lady: Thank heavens that you took a quick image of my cervix & then let me go & pee three cups full. I cannot express how this made me fell, although I almost lunged towards you for a full-tongue french-kiss. Thankfully, i did not, as my bladder would have exploded & I would have peed my pants & had to wear a paper dress to work.* Also, that would have been weird because you had a giant tube of heated jelly for my belly.

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Dear Ultrasound Lady, Part II: Thank you so much for letting us know that everything looks good with the baby! And thank you for checking to see what Sandy is!

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Sandy: Thanks for letting us know!** We're so excited & pleased to see you. Words cannot express. Love Mommy & Daddy.

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Dear Mom: I know you think it's wrong to find out on ultrasounds what the baby is, but look what else you can see! The four chambers of the heart!

(Oh, wow, um... gross?)

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And feet!

(Awwwwww... no need to count toes once Sandy's born!)
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Quesadilla: Yum. I appreciate you more every time we meet. I'm especially delighted by the discovery that you are tasty cold, as leftovers, as well as fresh & hot.

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Dear T_____ (at work): Thank you for snorting in disbelief at how tiny my belly is for 18 weeks. I don't even care if you're mentally comparing me to your wife who just had twins. It still made me feel good.

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Lady Crossing The Street With Her Dog: You know, I talk to Am using that exact same sentence structure & intonation. Interesting. I wonder if it's more effective on golden labs or toddlers?

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Dear ______ & ________ : I realize that no matter what I say to you, you will never hear me. That's okay. It's a good way to practice my positive attitude & points of view. After a certain point though, I get tired of you talking to me, without listening to my responses. I may take a while off. Don't take it personally if I avoid you, although it is you. You will probably never read this & realize it's you that I'm talking about. And that's okay too.

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Dear Yarn: I love you and can't resist you. I got some new stuff today, to make something for Am & Sandy & myself. The colors are lovely & I shall post them, once I am keen enough to find my camera. (I did show them off to the man, & he expressed puzzlement as to my color choices for Amoryn. Rest assured, I have a vision.)

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Dear Popcorn: I am coming for you. NOM NOM NOM.

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(Bye Sandy! Great spine you got there!)

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*Yeah, right. I would have worn a paper dress to the maternity store just over there *point*, then worn something new to the office, with a wadded up ball of shame left in a plastic bag in my car.

**See Facebook or email me if you want to know. I will try & keep it a secret here on the blog, for the sake of the grands who don't want to know.

Snow & the Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse*

It snowed on Friday night. I woke up at 3am or so, and went to the bathroom, then peered out into the gloom that should have been gloomier.

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"That's snow on the roofs. It will be gone by the time I wake up. Just to be sure, I'm turning off the alarm & sleeping in."

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It didn't work. I didn't get to sleep in because herself started singing at 7:30am. Also, when I finally pried myself out of bed and looked out the windows, this is what I saw:

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That's the cherry tree in bloom, the peonies almost in full bloom, all the bedding plants that the man spent so much time nurturing... etc.

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The poor mayday tree in the front yard was all drooped over - it was just hitting full bloom. That's rather how it made me feel, too.

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This is also how the snow made me feel. (I'd originally put my open hand next to the snow so you could see how much there was, but I realized that this gave a better sense of both scale & my emotions.)

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So we drove away. I'd like to say that it was pure escapism, but we'd planned to go to the man's hometown after attending a certain S____'s first birthday party. The cupcakes were great, the party was fun, but the road trip was, well.

Amoryn is travelling much better than I am these days. I'm getting wickedly motion sick. She slept & sang. I slept, and knitted** a little while looking at the horizon & breathing shallowly.

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We go to K____ just fine, had a nice supper with Grandma J____ & Grandpa E____, then headed off to Aunt K___ & Uncle R____'s to bunk down for the night.

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I woke up the next morning to hear Amoryn coughing, then coughing, then coughing. I was just thinking "I should get her a drink" when I heard her little voice say "Uh-oh..."

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Sure enough, uh-oh it was. The man & I spent the next three or four hours cleaning up, trying to snuggle her, keep her warm, & force her to get sick in her bucket. I think Am thinks the bucket is making her sick, so trying to get her to get sick INTO the bucket involves pinning her arms in a quasi-Mexican wrestling move. Poor girl. She seemed to perk up after about 5 hours, but was restricted to crackers & clear liquids for the rest of the day. Luckily, this is not so different than her preferred diet some days, so not so awful.

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Although in the afternoon, her canine teeth started really bugging her. And I have a milder version of whatever she had - although I almost would have preferred getting sick & having done with, instead of weebling around.

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We survived the night (although there were several wakings in the night, and one re-medication), and headed back to home with Grandpa in tow. He's on his way to the coast to help M____ & L____ with some renos.
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The car trip was similar. Some comfort knitting for me, some made-up singing about funny tomatoes & bunnies for Amoryn ("funny mo-ma-mo, bunny hop hop hop"), a conference call for the man, and some sleeping, and a lot of horizon staring with shallow breathing for me as well.

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But I survived. And when we got home, we were delighted to see that most of the plants did too! (I'd embraced the idea that everything but the sweetpeas & maybe the strawberries & rhubarb would be dead.)

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The miniature roses I got for mother's day survived - and one even opened a bloom! (That's zeolite on the ground - a garden input - not snow.)

The heliotrope didn't fare so well. Neither did the marigolds or the four o'clocks.

But much to my delight, the peonies and the cherry & apple trees are looking just fine! Huzzah! Flowers & scent & fruit, oh my! So all's well that ends well, although if we could have skipped the flu, the motion sickness, & the snow, that would have been just fine by me.

The man is taking his dad to the airport even as I type, & I'm going to go & watch Sesame Street with my girl.

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*That's pestilence or plague, right? Gotta be.
**I find the act of knitting very soothing, & I don't need to look at Shawl That Counting to work on it.

Bah, humbug.

It is snowing. The furnace is running - and it needs to be. It's 3 in the afternoon. It's June. These all shouldn't be true at the same time. And it's even worse that it's the afternoon - somehow it's that much more insulting. This mid-afternoon snow crap just makes me want to hibernate.

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My poor little bedding plants. The poor cherry blossoms, the poor apple blossoms, the poor peony buds. *sigh*. I don't even want to think about the man's reaction - he spent so much time starting all the baby plants this year.

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I think I'm going to amend my afternoon list of things to do so that I have time for a tub while Am is napping.

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*shiver*

Well.

I have an idea for a blog post - a funny one - and I'll be swoggled if I can get Amoryn to cooperate with me.

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Between the combination of being hung up on that idea, and the man being out of town, I feel like I have less words than usual. I suspect I would be a far more lax parent if I were a single parent - also, a lot crazier. She's been teething, and one night we had cereal bars, popcorn, & apples with peanut butter for supper. She'd eat it without screaming about it, and honestly, that's all I really cared at that point. I adore my girl, but after about three hours of irrational screaming, I become less concerned about calming, comforting & explaining*, and more concerned about making it stop & not start again.

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I always stay up too late when the man's out of town - or at least, I do for the first three days. I guess it takes that long for me to adjust to the lack of hot-water bottle. The benefit is, that I've got lots of knitting done**. Annie's Meret (she knit it at the Knitting Room, it's by Wooly Wormhead) made me realize that I need a summer weight hat to wear - all my others are wool (hot) or silk wool (also hot). So I picked up some yarn, with every intention of knitting the exact same hat, but.

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It's a slightly different gauge, & by the time I goofed around & sorted that out, I'd gotten a different idea in my head... so now, while it no longer looks like the above, and it is becoming closer to a hat, it's not even remotely related to Meret. I'm still not sure if I'll like the final shape - it may trend unfortunately towards Klingon brow-ridges - but we'll see. It's not much knitting, and it's really pretty.

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(And, for a cotton yarn, I'm mostly enjoying knitting it! It's a chained construction, so there's a little bit of stretch inherent in that.)

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All right. Back to the List Of Things To Do.

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Oh, & I cast off the NY scarf. And the teeny little ball of yarn that was left did in fact have another purpose in it's life - it became a cat toy. Arrg. I think I'm come down harder on the cat for that if I didn't understand the visceral attraction to yarn that he feels too. We just express it differently.

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*Usual tactic for emotional outbursts - calm her down, comfort her if she needs it, then explain that she's mad/frustrated etc, and that's okay, but next time, no throwing books/screaming/etc. Works pretty well, although I feel a bit granola crazy when we break into this routine at the mall. Oh well.

**I was also planning on watching - savoring - my long-saved, much-anticipated season final of CSI. HOWEVER. It has been deleted. I was tempted to delete all of his historical documentary thingies, but decided that would be shallow & vindictive. I don't mind shallow, but I do try to avoid vindictiveness, it's a bad color for me.

Oooo, Nice.

I have to say, I am feeling quite brilliant today. Not necessarily smart, but like I'm so happy & content that I'm almost a light source in & of myself.

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(Note: Not bragging, just trying to recognize & appreciate. I know that life is not usually quite so great. Not sure if it's the baby hormones, the weather, or the yoga. I'll take it. Universe, this is not a challenge; we both know that I'm running solo parent for the next 4 days, and my daughter is teething. I know that this mellow will some, erm, shift its focus. But it's nice right now.)

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It's Wednesday, you see, so I've already been to yoga. Then I ran into an exboyfriend, and I felt really good about that because a) I'm all happy & serene & junk* & b) I did a good deed & told him about gripe water - he's been a dad for all of a week now, & looked tired & a little burnt out.

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Then I spent $150 dollars on less than one bag of groceries. Sigh. I remember when I was single, & broke, how I would really try not to run out of shampoo & tampons at the same time, because it would screw my grocery budget. Now, it's running out more than one kind of vitamins at a time & getting some cleaning supplies too. (I've been taking a whole food, three a day, prenatal vitamin. Rests in my stomach well, I can digest the iron okay. It's just bleepin' expensive. And I'm not even taking the priciest.)

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And maybe the organic real-juice gummi-bears come into it too - but they really do taste fantastic! (I did a comparison. Regular gummis, real-juice gummis, & real-juice organic gummis. Organic won hands down. Sadly, they are about a million dollars a kilo, so I indulge rarely.)

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At any rate, once I got home, I decided to bring my office outside, & catch up on some computer stuff - namely, organizing photos, roughing out some patters, updating projects on Ravelry (I'm mrsrobinson), etc. So I did this:

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(Can we hear a cheer for laptops & wireless networks? Not to mention decks & umbrellas?)

(Hula hoops in background are for Am's entertainment & have no real functionality as part of my office.)

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And this is my view:

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The cherry tree is just starting to blossom, the mayday tree is in bloom, and I can see the tulips stretching up. My 'it's going to be a hat' might actually move into the hat stage of its life soon. Sandy is bomping around happily. Life is good.

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How's your day?
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* I can't be the only person who always seems to run into exes when tired & haggard.

Several Open Post-It Notes

(As opposed to an open letter.) (And yes, I have big post-its. Like, 4" x 6". Lined.)

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Shawl That Counting/Yarn: I love you. You are very soothing too me, despite the yarn puke business & your resistance to spit splicing. (I know that's just because you're a superwash, & that your merino self & I will be very glad of your washability later on, once we're nursing.) I am enjoying this knit so much.

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Quesadilla I Had For Lunch: Why are you so angry at me? Were you & your salsa-y goodness jealous of the wild red prints of my dress, and that's why you were lunging so forcefully towards my lap? Or was it that the tale of the terrible woman who comes regularly to consume your brethren that inspired you to resistance? Either way, I won (*burp*).

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Mindless Drone Coworker Who Has Been Laid Off: I know I sort of promised to quit vilifying you. But it's so hard! First, you misnumbered the XXXXXXXX. Then you noticed the mistake, but you didn't fix it, you just put a sticky on saying "Shud be 003". I don't even know what to say, other than I vaguely regret that I am so happy that we don't work together anymore. You made so many mistakes, & they continue to haunt me. Not that I'm perfect, but geez. Shud? You shud know better.

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Cool Guy On The Train: First, you look so cool. Around my age, good haircut, impeccable pinstripe suit. (Niiiice. Not Gangsta, not Gangster, just a really well cut suit.) And you were even nice too - as we both approached the same seat, either you noticed my look of nervousness*, or you just decided to be cool and pause in such a way that it looked perfectly natural that you didn't get to the seat first, but you obviously let me have the seat. Either way, my motion sick self thanks you.

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Amoryn: I am always so happy to get you from daycare. I don't know if it's because you're happy to see me too, or if it's because I missed you all day, but I really, truly be live that working in the office part time & you being in daycare part time is so good for both of us. And I love you lots. I wish you didn't get so many colds & that they wiped your nose more often at daycare, but whatevs. Booger, schmooger. Give me a hug. My girl.

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Thighs & Lungs: When did you get so pathetic? I mean, I know we made it from Victoria to Kelowna on a bike together (apart from that water section by ferry - couldn't find a paddleboat, hah), so what has happened? When did 4 very easy, very flat kilometers become so hard? And don't even talk to me about the toddler in the bike trailer. That's way easier than the luggage on the trip. You're on notice - time to improve. (I know, we're carrying a baby & all, but seriously. This has to improve, or labour will be even less fun that it already is.)

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Feet & Brains: Thanks for remembering how to do your jobs, guys. Feet, good work on the clipless pedals/cleats. There was no panic wobble/tip over. Brain - I'm so pleased that a) at one point you put the allen keys in the frame bag & b) you remember how to make the appropriate adjustments on the brakes. (Not just random fiddling for show.)

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Husband: Wicked supper. Mmmmmm. Thanks for a) making me pregnant & b) making me a delicious supper that I ate enough of that I look about 3 months more pregnant than I am. You're so cool.

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Tulip Cardi: I think I'm going to frog you. You're really pretty, but your fabric is just to dense to drape like the versions I most admired on Ravelry. I've learned that looks can be deceiving, and I want you to think about what you've done, and how you can behave better next time. I'll think about it too.

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Dear Couch: My arse & I are coming to plant ourselves in your cushions. Get ready for some serious potato action.

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PS: Dear Blogger Spellcheck: Ravelry is so a word, & so is superwash.

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*I was girding my loins for the "Please give me your seat because I;m pregnant & the train makes me really sick if I'm standing" speech.

New, new, new!

I'm going to head out & plant some new annuals - but the keyboard is working Right Now, so I thought I'd blog some real quick. Things that are new, in the last month or two!
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The man is done the garden renos - 4 giant bags of dirt, a lot of deconstruction, reconstruction, & rototilling later, and we have this luscious veggie patch. Doesn't the dirt look like velvet? (And I mean the really nice cotton velvet - not velveteen, not that rayon/acrylic crap either.) I haven't taken any photos of the pods yet -they only got done yesterday.

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I did take a photo of Am appreciating the tulips - it was a little overcast, but I did talk her into wearing her headband on her head, not as a mask. (Which is what she prefers.)

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I also got a new a haircut - sorry no photos. But here's me & my old haircut with some yarn that I ordered to make a poncho/cape out of. I'm in love with the fiber content, and when it came on full-bag sale, I couldn't resist. I thought I could always overdye the "hot pink" if I needed. And surprise! I love it. It's more of a cerise, and while I may not look terribly true to color, the yarn is fairly well represented. Still no progress - it's rolling around in my subconscious. I have several good ideas though, and anticipate the launch once I'm done a hat I'm working on.

(I'm not really that pale, am I?)

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Another color (or seven, plus lace & glitz) is on a pile of new knickers I got myself. Fairly cheapies, but I figured that bright circus gitch are going to be better for my self-esteem than the terrible, pastel, maternity gotch.

(Cheery, no? For a $1/pair, how could I go wrong. I spent more on the bra*, but still. Cheap like borscht & bright like Vegas showgirl.)

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And these swooned their way into my life - they were on sale for $33 from $85. (Gravity Pope is having a sale on their sale items.) They're sneaker wedges - Nanette Lepore for Keds. Lurve them.

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I wore them on a date with Am & the man last week. And they make me happy. I'm looking forward to wearing them to the office at least once. But for now, I'm throwing on my garden clogs & heading out the door! (Oh! I also found new gardening gloves that are both narrow enough & long enough for my hands! Huzzah!)

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*I was going to say "But I wear bras more...", but that's not exactly true. It's actually no where near true. It's more like, I don't mind underwear, but I actively dislike almost every bra I've ever owned, & I learned long ago that the cheap bras make you pay more. They will gouge you & scrape you & leave welts on your tener flesh. Bah, bad bras.

Spring is here!

Our tulips are (finally) starting to bloom! Huzzah!

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(Not that I've taken any pictures yet. These are last year's tulips, in

the hands of last year's non-mobile still-baby.)

When Is Too Much Of A Good Thing?

In the fall of 2006, the man & I had a lovely long weekend in New York. It was an add-on - he had a conference in Philly, so it was basically free. Yay free! I made a point of stopping by a couple yarn stores in Philadelphia & NY. In Philly, I learned the importance of insisting on going yarn stores by myself, or at least not going with non-knitting acquaintances. My non-knitting friends & family love & understand me; and they'll usually wander off to find a coffee, or something. My enjoyment of Philly's yarn store was somewhat trammelled; although it was a good lesson. Last fall, In San Francisco, I knew enough to insist (almost to the point of rudeness) that I really was fine walking 12 blocks over to the yarn store, and that I really would prefer to go by myself, and I wasn't afraid, & I didn't want company, and really, Let Me Go By Myself. And it was a good thing.

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But I digress. I think the yarn store in NY was the first time that the man had ever come to a YS with me, and while I was so fixated on finding the address & reading street signs that I didn't notice much else, apparently he was feeling a little uncomfortable with the yarns store's area. When we did find it, it was on a second floor, and had a buzzer you rang so that they would let you in. Maybe that's why he was so content to sit while I pawed through skein after skein. On the way out, I was so stoked from my finds that I again didn't notice anything about the area, other than maybe a lot of pawnshops with gold in their windows.

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This is some of what I got there - I fell in love. It was soft, hand-dyed, has cashmere in it, and was pretty reasonable. This is before I''d begun my knitting journals, so I don't remember how cheap, the yardage, or the fiber content. Oh well. It's still soft & pretty. It's also very fine, much finer than my usual knit.

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It's also magic. This ball has gone on for ever, and when I got clever tonite, I found that I have 7g of 43g knitted. That means that 16% of that yarn is left to knit.

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I'm discouraged. I planned to knit a scarf, out of this ball of yarn, and it's the scarf that never ends, it just goes on and on and on.... And it feels like cheating if I just cast off (even though the scarf is a lovely length), and I'm the one setting the rules (so how can I be cheating?). Despite picked this sucker up periodically and plugging away at it, it's still not close (10%) to being done. (I kept putting it down so that I wouldn't start hating it.)

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And I'm starting to hate it, just a little. I think it could sure recover from the hate with a good blocking, but... do I continue knitting, risking the hate increase? Do I cast of know, and know that forever, that little 7g ball of yarn will be snickering at me? Do I put it back into the "thinking" pile of knitting?

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Who can say. I am, for sure, going to go & tub though.

What a lovely sound...

Thank goodnesss. It's the sound of the dryer working. I was afraid that the dryer had broken, and would spin but not create heat. I am so relieved that it is my faulty brain* that didn't start the dryer, NOT the dryer itself.

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I had horrid visions of having to be on top of Am's laundry enough to have time for everything to hang dry, and her not run around naked, or looking like her father dressed her**.

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Now, if the other thing I'm worried about turns out to be (similarily) hot air, life would be great.

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PS: Keyboard has mysteriously started working again - hence the verbosity.

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*Brain, you are taking the fall for this, even though I am sure I remember turning the dryer on.

**Joke! But he doesn't like to match her socks to her shirt. And he mismatched the lid & body of her sippy cup for daycare this week. He's the engineer; he should be more OCD than I am, no? I confess, I am deeply intrigued to see how Am dresses herself once she is more autonomous.

What Showed Up Today

Well, I thought I was feeling a lack of motivation yesterday, but I guess that only applied to the office job. I was quite productive other than that. And as I drifted off, I thought "Boy! Think what I can get done tomorrow!"

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Turns out, not as much. I've been to yoga, and the bookstore. I found this at the bookstore:

I was idly reading it at the register, & just after those bad kittens get dirty & loose their clothes, this is what their mother does:

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Can you read that? "She pulled them off the wall, smacked them, and took them back to the house."

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The smacking was even illustrated. Well, for three bucks, I had to have that book - how could I not? I'm debating having those pages matted & framed. (For my room, not Am's.) (I also like that Mrs. Tabitha doesn't appear to be enjoying the smacking - this is just one more chore to be done before her friends come over for tea. I imagine she looks a bit the same beating rugs.)

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I forgot to get groceries,but I did get the mail. And in the heaping piles of blah, mundane mail, I found this:

(Note heaping piles of blah mundane mail in background.)

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Guess what it is & where it's from?

(Hint:)

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Yes, our very own postcard from Ethiopia. Hand painted imagery of Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednigo, with Angel, on goatskin.* Have you ever received a goatskin postcard? I felt very special, & a little like washing my hands &mentally apologizing to all the postal workers who are weekend animal rights activists & unknowingly touched that. (There had to be at least one, eh?)

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Then I had lunch, then a nap. I woke up because Kitten was valiantly defending the basement window from a neighbourhood cat. The fight was quite raucous, despite the panes of glass, as the outside contestant was launching off a swinging chair that kept banging into the house, & Kitten's corner was actually behind A's toy organizer, so it was banging & bonging too. Poor Kitten. He's trying to be a good cat, and he's really improved, except that he still insists on chewing large holes into our good furniture. I'm torn between sending him back (an actual option for this cat, unlike with children), and just wincing, & hoping he doesn't go after the new loveseat.

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(Actual scene of couch violence. He's chewed through the fabric & stuffing, right down to the wood. Which he also gnawed on. And yes, we've tried many, many deterrents, none of which work. This cat is the most stubborn thing I've ever met. He's Manx crossed with Siamese.)

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I'm also torn between sewing & trying to rescue my room from the mess it's becoming - I keep pulling non-pregnancy compatible clothing into piles, and really, we're getting a little swamped. But I'd rather sew. So instead, I am blogging. A reasonable compromise, no?

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All right, I'm going to go & carry on with something.

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*S____, I know that sentence is a little goofy, but I like the mental image of the three brothers & the angel all lolling about on goatskin pillows. I almost like it better than the bible story, with the furnace & the faith & all. I bet the lollers had iced pomegranates & chilled fruit slushes to drink. (Also, spellcheck makes them into Messiah, Matriarch, & Abidingly.)

Shawl That Counting

So, I’ve cast on for Shawl That Jazz. The yarn I’m using is finer, as I believe I’ve mentioned, and I ordered heaps & piles more.

(Me, preening with the newly delivered yarn.)

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I got all mathematical about the difference in gauge – I knit a swatch I liked the hand of, then I reverse engineered the amount of stitches to cast on. I also reverse engineered the row instructions. I cast on on the way back from BC last weekend, & it’s going quite splendidly, actually. The first ball zoomed by, as has the second.

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(The colorway is call "Tulip Fields". I know the above are geraniums, but I think you'll get the vibe.)

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Thus far, my only complaint would be the fact that the balls are a little prone to yarn puke, as you might notice, off to the left. Happens when there's about a third of a ball left. And I'm afraid to stop using them as a center-pull, because what if there's a noticeable change in the color variation?

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(Or would it be noticeable? Please leave me a comment & an opinion. If you don't I'll have to ask the man - I actually can't help myself - I always ask him knitting questions* - and I know that's not fair to him.)

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The cast-on was a little perplexing - I didn't know that the e-loop cast-on was what I've always done, using my thumb, for mitten & armpit gussets. Thankfully, Gate-Gamba has the internet, so I got that sorted. I was a little leery, but it's proved lovely & not too fiddly. (It was fiddly, true, but not enough that I gave it up or put it down. I was trapped in a car, true, but I did have alternate projects.) (The secret - I think - is to wrap them right snug next to each other. Don't leave the usual space you might when casting on.)

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Today, on the train, this niggling thought finally worked ti's way to the forefront of my brain: "Do I have enough yarn?" And instead of thinking "Suuuuuuure", for some reason I started figuring out how to figure that out. I got a little uneasy, because I realized that I would end up with a stitch count for the entire shawl, & I didn't know if that was something I really needed to think about. (Kind of like contemplating contractions in your 4th month. You know you're committed, let's just not dwell on it, please.)

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I figured work would be busy enough to knock the idea clean out of my head, but no. It was slow. So I took a break, and an excel spreadsheet, & calculated as much of the shawl as I could remember the pattern for. I flinched a little when I figured out how many thousand stitches I get to a ball.

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I flinched a little more when I got home to the pattern, & finished my calculations. I'm going to try & forget that number, but, like a woman carrying her second child, thinking about dilation - it may fade a little, but I can't make that number go away.

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Oh well. Even my most wildly optimistic estimates think I have enough yarn, so I should be okay. And that (and new babies) are the happy ending, right?

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* And crossword puzzle questions too. It was so nice at Mom's this weekend, we finished a couple crosswords together.

Ha-ha! Home for a couple weeks.

The road, the road. We've been on the road. Last weekend we went west to see "Gate Gamba"; this weekend we went east to see Gran & Uncle Gorilla & Nena.

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It was a great weekend, with some pleasingly okay weather (no snow! a little sunshine!), some bbq (steak! potatoes! chicken! cheese toast!), and lots of family (Grampa stopped by the lake to see us too!).

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Amoryn was almost completely perfect; apart from climbing on top of a picnic table repeatedly, then looking at me & saying "noOo"* when I asked her to get down. That was the last time, & was closely followed by us leaving the bbq supper & going back to the cabin. The hosts & other guests all understood, or most of them; there were grandparents & parents. The two teenagers might not have totally got it, and wished that they could leave too, but hey, that's teenagers.

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There was also some work - the menfolk put in the docks (yay! I'm not a menfolk! Another reason to celebrate my womanhood!), and mom & I tidied the cabin, & arranged the deck furniture, and raked & bagged all the leaves. (Five big bags. FIVE, not three, as the man thought.)

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My brother helped the man fix his fishing boat motor - they went to go for a little cruise to make sure that it was working. The pull start wouldn't budge, so they went to work on it. (I'm sure that Gorilla was secretly gleeful; he loves fixing things.) As the pulled the sparkplugs out, some grain came out. Like, wheat. Turns out that an enterprising & misguided mouse had been crawling up the exhaust pipe all winter & storing his grain all through the motor. The engine was eventually cleared & returned to running order; so all's well that ends well, except for maybe that poor mouse. On the other hand, they didn't catch & kill the mouse, & it's spring now, so it could be worse for the mouse too.

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Today we drove home. And I vacuumed the living room, & snuggled my girl, & we made cookies. I actually just got up, with the fearful sensation that I had left the last pan of the cookies in the oven, to find that no, I hadn't. I was so pleased my my mis-remembered efficiency that I rewarded myself with a couple more cookies. Yay me!

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And now, I'm going to go & catch up on my recorded CSI's. Mmmm, murder & chocolate chips.

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*Yes, she did in fact have three rather petulant syllables in her 'no'.

So!

My keyboard is broken again. As I was trying to fix it by hammering at it, I had a sudden glimmering as to why it is broken... and you know, I've been calling her Hammerin' Amoryn for a while now.

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So. I had plans on chatting, and junk, and photos, & junk, but a) I am standing so that I can use my laptop keyboard b) the camera is upstairs & c) I are lazy, you are stuck with a briefer inane babble, with no pics. I are a little sorry, but not much.

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I are also getting fatter (although the man assures me it's phat, yo). I are also busy with Petal, who required a light yoke rework due to the arm/body scale, the shawl, and hm, what else? Oh yes, Hamerrin' Amoryn herself.

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We went visiting last weekend - hi Gramma! (Gate Gamba for Amoryn), this weekend coming up is more visiting! Yay! Anything to keep us distracted from putting plants in the dirt outside, because it it not nice enough yet. I know that, and still am almost helpless before my urges at the garden center...

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Thankfully, I can stop by a yarn store if I really need to sate some kind of craving. Phew.

Of course.

There are only so many hours in a day, and only a select few of them are Amoryn’s naptime.

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Today, I deemed it more important to spend Am’s naptime making stuffed pasta shells – four pans full.  Well, three pans pf stuffed shells, and one pan that I am calling “Stuffed Shell Casserole”.  It’s a jumble of broken pasta, leftover stuffing, & more cheese.  They all look fantastic, and I’m quite pleased with them.

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Of course, now all I want for supper is blueberries, Oreos, & popcorn.  Possibly in that order, or possibly as some type of unholy sundae.

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Figures.

Ha ha ha Amoryn ha...

I know this look… it does appear on my toddler some days…

Busy, Busy, Busy

Well! What a busy... since I last blogged.

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Friday night the man & I went out for supper, to celebrate Sandy & the last week of the first trimester. He bought. (I'm carrying the kid, okay?) It was good, but dessert was even better - from Nectar, in Inglewood. I highly recommend it. (Want to see what $30 of dessert looks like?)

(Fragrant Lemon Tart, Raspberry with Green Tea Tart, Vol Au Vent, Red Velvet Cake. Yum, yummy, ohmyword, and mmmmmmm.)

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Amoryn, C___, S___, M____, & I all went for a "hike" on Saturday morning.

Then we rested (& snacked).

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Then C___, S____, Am, & I went for lunch. And I was a terrible friend & took pictures of when C____ had some hot mustard getting the better of her.

See? This is the second shot, featuring sunburn, look of betrayal, and "AGH HOT MUSTARD!!!". (She did say it was okay to post this though - I was just going to print one copy to treasure forever.)

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Then I sewed. Some. On the interminable couch cushions.

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On Sunday, we went to the garden store. For people who made a solemn vow to buy no living plants - only bulbs & dirt - we did pretty well. I snatched up the second last arctic kiwi - edible fruit, self pollinating, zone 3 - and we got a half dozen day-neutral strawberries to 'top up' that patch. (Yes, we have two patches of strawberries. The day-neutral, for regular snacks, and the Kents, for big-time snacks... I mean harvest. The man was deeply concerned that te day-neutrals were doing pretty crappy, & not producing, so I sheepishly admitted that he might never see the berries because of the vigilance that Amoryn & I seem to share when it comes to fresh strawberries.)

(Am has her bag all ready to go to the plant store.)

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And toady, we ran errands, I finished the couch project!!! (except for about 8" of hand sewing), and then I spent a large portion of the evening ordering photos to mail to everyone.

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And now I'm knitting while I wait for that process to finish.

See? Isn't Petal lovely? Not quite so blue in real life. (And not on the Addi's you may note. Do you think the gauge difference would be noticeable if I switched after I'm done the yoke portion of the sweater?)

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And we're done uploading... so I'm going to bed. Nighty-nooties.

Shawl Settled.

So, I decided to order the yarn that caught my fancy. It's from elann, and the colorway is called "Tulip Field".
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Doesn't that look like me?
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I used to adore tulips as a child - I still love them,; I've just broadened my horizons a bit. Tulips are my favorite spring flower. Marigolds and gallardia are my favorite summer flowers. Lilacs are my favorite tree flowers*. Alstromeria are one of my favorite cut flowers. Etc. And orange is one of my favorite colors, as is purple, as is red. And I like the green, just to have a bit of a 'poison' color in there to make it pop. All in all, I envision this as a shawl that will make me feel warm & happy, even when it's 2 am, then 4 am, then 6am, & I'm feeding a newborn, and wondering if anyone else is awake, anywhere in my neighbourhood. Even in the dark, in November, I'll be able to close my eyes & think of tulip fields**.
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Of course, it's a lighter yarn than what the pattern calls for - but I don't care. I ordered GOBS of it - because it was pretty cheap, and because if there's enough extra, maybe I'll make a Baby Surprise Jacket, or a vest for Amoryn, or hats for Am & Sandy, or hats, or gloves, or socks, or. Something. I have faith that I can adjust the stitch count enough to make myself happy.
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And even if the yarn gods end up screwing with this project***, they can't take away the honest anticipation & joy that I feel right now.
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PS: I find the opinion poll very entertaining, so I've updated it & will do so periodically. Look on the lower right hand side, pls.

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*At least, tree flower that will grow here. Should I ever move someplace that's a gentler zone, I may amend that a bit. I'd like another chance to appreciate magnolias & jasmine.
**More likely, I will close my eyes & go to sleep.
***Can we talk about WHY a 4mm Addi is smaller than the 4mm hole on my needle gauge & smaller than my other 4mm needle? Hmm? Actually, maybe I'm a little aggravated; it's still too soon to discuss it. Carry on.