Becky is largely complete. I love how the cabled neckline continues all around the back of the neck.

I still have to weave in the ends; my most hated task.

For blocking, I am going to cheat. I'm taking the sweater to the cleaner's and letting them do it. My experience with blocking Cathay is that it looks better after being dry cleaned.

I had big plans for Getting Shit Done this afternoon. At about 10.45, I received a call from Bean's school. The power has been out all day, so they canceled classes.

Instead of errands, I am starting some Monkey socks. I need carpool knitting.

Cableiscious!

I love the cable detail on Becky. It's a very simple cable, but really pops against the plainness of the rest of the shell.




I had a Moment of Duh last night upon realizing that, if I seam after the fact, I'll lose the edge stitch on each side, so it won't look the same as the established double cable section.

I decided to knit two extra repeats of the cable pattern before dividing for the neckline. That should give me a crucial inch and a half. I don't mind a deep vee, but there's a deep vee and then there's the Grand Canyon.

Inching along

Becky is inching along. I'm at the waist on the front now. I have another couple of inches or so and then I get to start the cable neckline.

I'm trying to figure out how to make the neckline a bit more demure. My cleavage is substantially more impressive than the model's. Instead of an expanse of chestbone, you'd get quite the eyeful. I know I can just wear a cami underneath, but it's freaking hot here and I'd rather not if I don't have to. I have decided that I will finish the sweater per the pattern and then decide what to do. I imagine I can just seam the neckline a crucial inch or two to preserve my dignity. The way the neckline is designed, it should be fairly easy to do since there is already a double line of the cable at the base of the vee.

An FO of another sort

I married a "handy" guy. He can install a new light fixture, rewire a lamp, take down wallpaper and mud a wall, etc. He also likes to Build Stuff.

Usually, we end up with some weird project like the beginnings of a solar-powered air conditioner (no, I am not kidding) that never get completed and end up rotting in the side yard.

This time, we ended up with this.

A fort for Bean.

It still needs to be stained and have a roof put on, but it's pretty darn cool. It's 6x6 feet, so there's room for all.

Bean is thrilled. Daddy is The Coolest Ever. I'm thrilled because it's finished and, when big trash comes, the huge pile of wood in my backyard will go away.


The stand of trees are crape myrtles. This is what happens when you don't commit crape murder every year. They don't need to be topped. This tree blooms numerous times throughout the year - delicate lavender blossoms. It's gorgeous.

Poor Dr. Pig though, he now has the Creeping Death Crud that has afflicted the rest of us. On his birthday no less. Happy Birthday anyway, darling!

Trouble

Oh, man, I've spent the last three days uploading stuff to Ravelry. I have all this stuff on my Palm Pilot, but Ravelry is so much more fun. And I haven't even started exploring everyone else's stuff. Additive is the least of it. I've been slogging through my huge pile of WIPs.

I'm currently working on Debbie Bliss's Becky in Cathay. I wonder if they've done a little reworking of Cathay, because this is a new color and it is much less splitty than when I worked with it right after it came out.



I'm also trying to finish the Sea Silk Lace Wings shawl from Alice at Lettuce Knit. It takes one skein of sea silk. My problem is that I keep putting it down to do other things and then it takes me a bit to figure out where the hell I am. It's a super easy pattern, but somehow it gives me brain freeze. After I finish those two, I'm diving back into CeCe.

This has been a very odd year and, while I have started a ton of projects, I don't think I've finished any of them. Several of them are either reworkings of almost-finished items that I decided I loathed. I'm back to the knuckle-down plan I always use when the WIPs get out of hand: finish three and you can start one. Much finish projects!!!

Updating everything

Somehow I managed to delete my blog template and all my links. I do have a copy, but I decided that, since I'm going to have to redo it anyway, I might as well change my template. Hopefully, I'll get that up later this week.

I've been cleaning out, cleaning up, etc. It's amazing how much stuff piles up when you aren't looking. I'm doing pretty well and I even have a pile of yarn that I need to sell. Let's face it, the chances of me knitting with Rowan Kid Classic for wear in Texas is pretty slim.

I've also gotten into the fabulous time-suck that is Ravelry. I received my invitation back in May and still had done nothing other than put in a username and password. I started feeling sort of guilty that they have this enormous waiting list, and yet I can't get my butt in gear to make use of my membership. So, I've been adding stash and needles. Hurricane season means that it's cloudy all the time here - though with very little rain. Hopefully, I'll get some sun this week so that I can photograph stash. I feel kind of weird putting my stash online, because it's really gotten out of control, and now I just feel greedy. I've given away tons of very old stash with the realization that it I haven't knitted anything with it after having it for 15 years, I probably won't ever knit with it.

Mostly, we've just been sick for the last month. It seems like that is all over. I still have a helluva cough, but I took my last antibiotic today so I'm hoping it'll dry up this week.

It's all just in time for Bean to start school. Start the wailing and gnashing of teeth - I have a kindergartener!

Expounding the reazles for sneezles and wheezles

AA Milne would be proud, because I certainly have Phtheezles.

My internist has a new nurse who I haven't met. She asked if I had been around Bean while she was running fever. Heh.

Thank God for antibiotics and cough medicine with codeine. Now, I'm just hoping Dr. Pig doesn't get it.

And hey! The antibiotic can also be used to treat anthrax!

Maybe they knew I'm a knitter?

Starts with P

A skein of cashmere to the person who guessed pneumonia.

Bean is Not Well although she loved having the chest x-ray and the thought that people were taking pictures of her insides. Me, well, let's just say that "Turning Japanese" kept running through my head.
I want the doctor to take your picture
So I can look at you from inside as well

Ahem.

It's been a long day and then I get notice that my rebate for my lovely carpet was denied because Great Indoors seems to think that 5/27 does not fall between the dates of 4/15 and 5/31. Bastards. We'll be contacting the store directly about that one.

If I had any energy left after 4 1/2 hours of doctors and pharmacies, I'd take a picture of my dinner. As it is, you'll just have to envision a very full glass of an extremely dry French rose.

A plague upon your house

Bean has been ultra-generous and given me whatever godoxious plague that she has. The bright point was that, after I finally took to my bed this afternoon, she brought me one of her favorite stuffed animals to make me feel better. Given that Bean has had this crap for about 10 days so far, has been on antibiotics for three days and is still running fever, coughing her head off and generally pretty darn sick; my future is bleak.

Back to bed.

Wake-Up Call

We're going to the circus today. Bean very timidly asked the doctor if she could still go yesterday and the doctor gave her a Well Duh! look and told her, "Of course you can go. Why not?!) Our church has a summer program for the small fry, and, when they offered up circus tickets at $10 each, Dr. Pig and I responded with a hearty, "Hell, yeah!" to be parent leaders of the expedition.

We are meeting at the church in an our or so and then taking the train into downtown. It's going to be a total blast.

Bean cannot wait. In the most literal of fashions. Somehow, she decided we all needed to get up at 6.30am, so we won't be late. At 11.30pm, I was woken out of a very sound sleep to a small person by my bed telling me it was 6.30am. I sent her out to her father who was still awake for a glass of water to help with the coughing and to go back to sleep.

At 5.03am, we are both awakened out of even sounder sleeps (I think I was drooling) by a very cheerful voice telling us that it HAD to be 6.30 by now.

We just got her up for the real wakeup and she's dragging around much as you'd expect. The best part? "Mama? I'm reeeeaaaallly tired." Heh! Me too, you little rat, but at least I can have coffee. You can't. Nyah nyah nyah!

Just when you think it's stopped raining

It floods.

Bean has had a nagging and increasingly worrisome cough percolating for about a week, so today I took her to the doctor. Experience has taught me that in the case of anything that seems cold related, it's best to let it wait for a week unless accompanied by a crazy fever. Otherwise, they just tell you to wait a week and then charge you $120 (after insurance) for the pleasure.

She has an antibiotic, thank Pete. While we were waiting for the visit and then the recheck of her oxygen levels and then another listen to the lungs, etc - took 1 1/2 hours, all hell broke loose weather-wise. It was sunny when we went in.

About 15 minutes before we left, it started raining cats and dogs. I asked a nice lady to stand with her while I ran to get the car. (You can do this in Texas plus it's not like there was anywhere she could go.) I stepped out from under the porte cacher and was immediately soaked to the skivvies. It was like standing under a shower whilst fully clothed. I couldn't see through my glasses. The puddles were about a foot deep. Weird stuff. And, of course, I had my new leather purse and a pair of leather loafers on. The loafers are probably a write-off, but I left the purse with Bean, so it's fine.

So, get the car under the porte chacher and get Bean in the car and go home to find Dr. Pig making dinner.

Dry off.

About an hour and a half later, Dr. Pig heads out to fill the prescription. It stopped raining an hour ago, so all should be well. He heads to get coffee for tomorrow first, but the intersection is completely flooded out so he heads north for the scrip. The power at the Walgreen's is completely out and the doors are locked with a sign up.

Off to the next Walgreen's. This involves a trip past the flood point.

Maybe we stopped too soon on the ark building. I did a quick check of our yard and there are some small branches down, screens off the gutters, and a general vague sense of something apocalyptic in the neighborhood. We regularly get high straight line winds and other meteorological oddities up on our hill, but this, apparently, was a doozy.

Miracles do happen

Most of you will remember that Bean had surgery for strabismus on both of her eyes in January.

Today was her six month followup and the doctor told us that Bean no longer has to wear glasses! The doctor was just as amazed as we were but Bean is doing great and has near perfect vision and her eyes are in alignment! We are having to patch her to strengthen her weaker eye for a couple of hours a day, but that's OK.

Thank you so much for all your thoughts and prayers at that time because I fully believe that had a hand in what is pretty much a miracle for our family. It may not sound that significant, but if strabismus isn't treated properly, it can result in blindness in the affected eye.

Obviously, she may have to wear glasses again in the future, but it's amazing that she's out of them for the first time since she was 20 months old!

Carpet

The carpet will be installed Tuesday.

Because I cannot read a calendar, I scheduled the carpet to be installed two days before I am hosting an art class for my church kids group. The plan was to have the class outside, however, we are still busy with the ark building and whatnot and I will never move to Seattle because My God The Rain Is Making Me Crazy.

Normal Texas summers include swimming and playing in the sprinklers and being outside and having to get your butt to the playground before 9 so it's not too hot to play. This Texas summer features nothing but rain. We had 11 inches of rain in June. Normal is around 2 inches. My tomatoes were all blooming and lovely and ready to produce a huge crop. We counted 182 grape tomatoes growing on the vines and countless blooms ready to pop. All rained to death. We never got any sun so they never ripened.

Meanwhile, I have to have 1400 sq feet of house including all of our closets moved into the garage before Tuesday. And I'm hosting a dinner party tonight and I have a hair appointment at 2. Apparently, I no longer believe in sitting down.

Good thing guacamole is the easiest and most appreciated appetizer in the world.

Guac

2 medium Hass avocados
Juice of one lime
small spoonful of mayo
minced red onion
minced cilantro
diced tomato
salt

Dice the avocado and add the lime and mayo and mash until smoothish. You want some texture, but no big chunks of avocado. Add salt to taste. Add the red onion, tomato and cilantro to taste. I add probably a couple of tablespoons of each. Taste and add a bit more salt and lime if needed.

Make it up no more than half an hour before serving. Put in a bowl and put plastic wrap on top of the guac (not the bowl, the guac itself), making sure no air pockets are left. The pit doesn't really do anything except stop oxidation where it comes in contact with the guac. Putting plastic wrap directly on the guac accomplishes the same goal.

Rock Star

Bean achieved an important milestone last weekend.

Her first rock concert!

This one featured the not-at-all-painful musical stylings of Ralph's World (punk rocker turned kid's singer) who sing one of my favorite songs ever:

M-O-M-M-Y needs C-O-F-F-E-E
D-A-D-D-Y needs C-O-F-F-E-E

(fun and educational because Bean learned to spell Mommy, Daddy and coffee!)

also featuring the verse

I need a latte, a cappuccino
and tonight I think I'll have a little vino

At the end of show, they got all the kids on stage and, of course, parents took their kids.

This is what happened.



Yes, I'm playing the bass.

Yes, I'm really playing the bass.








You can see the part of the bass player on the extreme right of the photo. And pieces of three of my adult friends in the background. The bass player handed me the bass and told me to strum. So, I did.

There's video.

With headbanging.

(Much to the bass player's delight - he said most people are too embarrassed to have fun with it. Like you can embarrass me.)

Fortunately, the people with the camera are in their 40s like me, so YouTube is doubtful.

Parts

I was putting the washing into the dryer when I spied, on the bottom of the washer, a roach corpse. Or, rather, two pieces of a roach corpse. Now, I am fine with any kind of bug or critter except roaches. In Texas, we get these enormous Bugs Of Doom. This thing was probably a good 1 and 1/2" inches when whole. So, anyway, I'm putting the laundry in the dryer and then I see roach bits stuck in a couple of the holes in the side of the washer. And a big smear of roach guts.

Fortunately, my husband was still home and cleaned out the washer for me (I then ran a towel and alot of bleach through because EWWWWWWWWWWW) but I had to shake out the laundry and, I don't really want to talk about it except to reiterate that I Really Don't Like Roaches.

I'm rewashing everything now. I was afraid I'd be washing my face and run into a roach leg.

Gives me the wiggins.

I've got good company for my birthday

Thumper and Yarn Harlot.

We've been doing nothing but celebrating. We went out to eat Tuesday courtesy of a friend, last night courtesy of my husband and, today for lunch, courtesy of my parents.

After all of this gluttony, I must eat super-healthy for a while because it's bathing suit season and I'm passing the point of wanting to appear in a suit. Granted, most women hate bathing suits, but I want to keep it where the first thing that's noticed is the chest. That way no one will realize I even have thighs! My thighs are threatening a corporate takeover. Bad thighs! The sad fact is that after 40, your body views calories in an entirely different way and wants to keep them and love them and hug them and slather your butt with them.

Today is the start of an overly busy weekend. It's been feast or famine around here. I'm hoping that, after this week, we can settle down to a mellow summer. I need time to knit a shawl for my mother's birthday in a couple of months.

My foot hurts

Oh, it's not awful, but I have been on my feet for most of the day and, suddenly, my big toe has started to feel a bit owwy.

Good excuse to sit around and knit while Bean is at Vacation Bible School, huh? (VBS this year is a bit too Jesus Camp for me, so I declined to teach it. Bean loves it and the people are all very, very sweet, but I'm a bit too world religion to relate stories as "a true story from God's word". I'm more on the level of, "it's a cool book about God and have you read this one from the Upanishads?")

Today, I occupied myself working on a business plan to get angel investors for a friend's real estate development company. (And suddenly found myself with the job title of Director of Operations which just makes me laugh like hell. That MBA is coming in mighty handy these days. That and years of experience watching small companies blow up through lack of proper planning.)

Not as bad as it looks

It's a good thing that you can't see under the bandages, because I have a nice slice in my foot. I patched myself up with butterfly sutures and a couple of big bandaids, but it's a bit nasty under there (no, I did not need stitches, but it was close).




Don't drop one of these on your foot.

Cleaning House

I'm not knitting.

I'm shopping for carpet.

We only have hardwoods in a small part of the house. We've been here for eight years and the carpet wasn't new when we moved in. After 6 years of dog and 5 years of child, the carpet, she is shot. It's that nasty stuff made out of plastic so it doesn't wear out so much as ugly out. The stain resistance? Yeah, not so much.

So, instead of yarn, my wool of choice these days is carpet. We've narrowed it down to two. And I'm buying a houseful of the stuff this weekend.

This is the part of home ownership that's not so much fun.

The carpet buying isn't so bad. Plus, I have a neighbor who is a decorator with fabulous taste so I laid out the samples for her and then did the Happy Happy Joy Joy when she picked my favorite as the best one. But when it sank in that I would have to clean out the closets and under the beds and move everything small into the den and kitchen? Not a pretty face. Charities all over town are getting stacks of lovely things I don't want to touch more than once. Example: Husband's bachelor kitchen stuff was under the bed. We haven't thought about it in eight years. Goodbye 30-year-old Corelle!

Ralph!

No, not ralph.

Ralph's World!

Coming to town.

Bean is so excited she keeps asking me if it's a month from now yet.

Ralph is revered in our home - along with Dan Zanes - for providing music for children that still manages to be witty and entertaining for the adults and is never condescending to the kiddos.

Ralph! At House of Blues!

Of course, there must be at least a small fly in the ointment and there are two:

1.) The show is the same day as the birthday party of Bean's best friend. Fortunately, the timing is such that she can attend both, but it's going to be a long day.

2.) The show is general admission and at 9AM. This means having to get up hella early to go to the show. I hate getting up early to stand in line more than almost anything in the world. Including oral surgery.

Oh, and the show is during Birthday Week. But making Bean happy as a clam is a pretty good birthday present for me!

What you get for your PhD

Me: Is that thunder?
Him: Yes.
Me: Tell Bean to get inside and you might not want to be standing around on the patio with those metal tongs in your hand.
Him (aggravated): It's not lightening.
Me (smartass): And it thunders when?
Him: Bean, get inside.

Heh.

On a serious note, it's not raining at all but it's pretty loud thunder and two guys in town were electrocuted in separate incidents this weekend because they figured that if it wasn't raining, they were OK.

Is it summer yet?

Because, dude, it was 90F yesterday.

Oh, wait, that's Texan for spring.

But Bean and I are ready for the slower days of summer. It's birthday party season which means a party or two every weekend. Combine that with a sudden flurry of adult activities and several pretty hefty storms resulting in a constant need to clean tree limbs (not even our trees sometimes) out of the yard and you have a tired child and tired parents.

I can't wait for Memorial Day.

New adventures in arguing

The Bean, being a relatively bright kid, can and will use logic and reasoning against you and has for about the past year-and-a-half. This can make parenting ... interesting.

Yesterday, the zoo brought a bunch of animals to her school and she learned that animals that are awake in the night are called nocturnal. She also learned what animals that are awake in the day are called but couldn't remember. I thought it was diurnal, but we got busy and I didn't have a chance to look it up.

Long about 3pm, we're back at the house and she's getting really cranky, so I tell her she really needs to take a nap.

Much screaming ensues. (I've heard that 5 is The Year of the Boss and, so far, she's right on schedule.)

"I CAN'T TAKE A NAP. ONLY NOCTURNAL ANIMALS SLEEP DURING THE DAY AND I'M TURNAL!!!"

Ah, the benefits of education.

I've been a bad, bad girl...

There is nothing like a bit of self-indulgent wallowing to make one get over oneself.

The sun is out and it's a beautiful day and life is mighty fine.

The delivery of my April shipment of the Rockin' Sock Club didn't hurt.












And a little retail therapy never hurt anything either! I have been coveting a pair of gorgeous orange peep toe pumps at J. Crew for several months now. But they were a bit pricey for what was a complete indulgence. Nevertheless, I wandering in to see if perhaps I would get lucky and they would be on sale. On sale for half off. Score!

But it gets better. Much better.

Everything in the store that is on sale is an additional 50% off. Double Score!!!!!

But they don't have my size in orange. Sadness!

But they order them for me over the phone and, although the web and catalog price isn't on sale yet, I get my sale upon sale price!


I decided that I'd get the brown ones as well. And then I started thinking about it and realized that a cream pair would come in handy. (At this point, the three pair of shoes have cost me less that one pair full price.) I've bought one pair of heels since Bean was born. I have lots of thong sandals, but no heels. And they are such sexy heels. Not to mention insanely comfortable - always hard to find in a heel.

Then I decided to check out Crewcuts (J Crew for the small set) and they had the same 50% of anything on sale deal going on. Who can resist little navy chinos embroidered all over with strawberries for $10? Not me.

I told my husband that, when you think about it, I had really bought the heels for him, not me. Because he never gets to see me in heels. So, it's a treat! (Ahem)

Only One

I hate it when people ask if Bean has any siblings and say "Only one?", "Aren't you going to give her a brother or a sister?"

As if I can go to Toys R Us and get her a sibling for Christmas.

I would have loved to have more children. She's the result of my third pregnancy. The first time I became pregnant, I was 35. I had Bean two months shy of my 38th birthday. I had every minor malady you can have while pregnant: the itchy rashes, the heartburn and acid reflux, sciatica, and the wonderful "morning" sickness every single day of my pregnancy (seriously, I got up for my c-section - she was sideways - and, because it was 6.30am, I had to throw up).

I had her and nursed for a year and then went into a terrible bout of postpartum depression and anxiety after she stopped nursing.

Then I started menopause. At 39. Which really helps even out that emotional roller coaster. Ahem.

Bean didn't really sleep through the night until she was almost three. And believe me we tried everything. Well, we didn't drug her, but man I was tempted a few times. Once she could really express herself verbally, the nighttime waking stopped.

I think my body wouldn't get pregnant again, because I would have gone off the deep end.

Now, at almost 43, I see her going off to kindergarten this fall and I'm terribly lonely and feel as if I should have tried harder to have another child. I see how wonderful she is with the siblings of her friends and feel as if I have somehow deprived her. I feel as if somehow I have failed.

And it pisses me off that people glibly suggest adoption. Yes, I could adopt. But that's hardly an easy solution. I have friends who have been trying to adopt for years and it's incredibly difficult, not to mention financially burdensome. At this point I am 43 and I don't really want to start over. I have to have faith that things worked out this way for a reason.

I know I'm lucky to have her.

God gave me a wonderful family.

My husband is an only child and can't fathom why I get upset. It never bothered him at all.

But sometimes it is so hard and it hurts so much.

ETA: Well, Bean managed to help me get out of my self-indulgent funk. She just had a meltdownscreamingconniptionfit of epic proportions, including hitting and kicking. She's fine now, but it certainly made me appreciate some of the finer points of one ;>

Y'all are too smart for me

Can't fool a fooler!

My all-time favorite April Fool's joke was when I was getting my MBA. We all read the Wall Street Journal most days, and there was this huge full-page add that Taco Bell had taken out, announcing that they had bought the Liberty Bell, which would henceforth be known as the Taco Liberty Bell. Now, for a bunch of people who were alot smarter than me, they weren't that swift on the uptake. I looked at the ad and the commotion and remarked, "Check the date on the paper."

"Yeah, April first, what does that have to do with anything?"

"Um, April Fool's Day?"

Half the class was convinced that it was still true and the date was a coincidence. There was a huge, national outrage and the best part was that when White House press secretary Mike McCurry was asked to comment, he told the reporter that the Lincoln Memorial had been bought by Ford and would now be the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.

Best joke of all time.

No More Knitting

I've decided to stop knitting.

Stash sale tomorrow.

Stink Stank Stunk

At five o'clock this morning, I was awakened by a godawful smell. I struggled awake to the horrible realization that the smell was not human in origin.

A skunk sprayed somewhere near the side of our house. It's just gross. It seems to have dissipated outside the house, but inside it's still nasty. We're also checking to make sure nothing has gotten in under the house or in the attic. Meanwhile, it's a really cool day and, since we have all the windows open and the fans on to try and circulate the stench out of the house, it's a bit chilly in here!

Spring Broke

Bean is on Spring Break from school this week. We've been having a wonderful time at home. Until today. I think we may have been having a bit too much fun because, despite a good night's sleep, so far today she'd had a tizzy, a hissy fit, and a full-blown conniption.

I haven't seen fractious at this level at this time in the morning since she was very small. Every now and then, she'd wake up on the wrong side of the bed and I'd feed her breakfast and then put her back to bed. An hour or so nap and she'd be back to her happy self. So, Bean is taking a nap at 9.30am. There is no reason for today to be a no-good, very bad day. It's gorgeously sunny, the temps will be in the high 70s, and I want to go to the Arboretum and look at all the gorgeous flowers and maybe have a picnic. But I'm not going to do it with Queen Hissyfit.

Here's hoping she really does fall asleep for a bit. Otherwise, it's gonna be a looooooong day.

I hate the insurance company

Bills keep coming in for Bean's surgery and it totally sucks. I don't understand why the copay is determined on the uncovered amount of the surgery, rather than the negotiated amount that insurance pays. The difference is a couple of thousand (yes, you read that right) dollars, so I'm trying to get my husband to call them and figure out what the hell the deal is. Because I'm not getting the numbers to add up in any way that makes any kind of logical sense.

Oh well, it's only money. We didn't want to retire anyway ;> It just annoys me that we have to pay all this money up front and then even more money on the back end.

There is good news, though. The surgery was totally worth it because not only did Bean ace her doctor's visit yesterday, they even lightened her glasses prescription and she doesn't need bifocals!!! The doctor even told us we don't have to be so serious about patching. This is just fabulous news.

Not food poisoning after all

Bean has it now.

The good news: she's not all that upset by the whole thing.

The bad news: it struck when we had juuuuuust gotten to a friend's house. Half an hour away by highway. An eventful ride home to be sure.

At least it should be short-lived if my experience was anything to go on.

Shrimp

Food poisoning.

Back to couch.

Good thing I have a stock of Pinky Dinky Doo and Jack's Big Music Show to keep the Bean entertained.

Oh, yeah, blogging....

Things have been hellabusy around here. What with checkups, fundraisers, jobs, and all sorts of things, I've had little time to think about blogging. It'll get better.

Meanwhile, Bean is fine. We have another checkup in a few weeks when I'll find out what the outcome of the surgery is, but she's fine. Happy and healthy and driving us completely crazy.

I was taking her to school the other day and I asked her, "What happened to my sweet little baby?" Bean replies, quite seriously, "She turned into a wonderful child who is almost five years old."

At least I won't have to worry about low self-esteem...

Home run

We got home about two hours ago and Bean is sleeping off the anesthesia. She supposedly has a fairly light recovery, but the bloody tears that are coming out of her eyes are pretty much right out of a horror movie. She's been in and out of sleep, but was a total champ about the operation and seems to be fine now that she's in her own comfy bed.

Dr. Pig and I are just relieved that it's over and, since we've been up a good 9 hours already, we've decided it's time for a nice cocktail hour and have opened a bottle of champagne and made a nice little breakfast to go with it.

Pound of bacon: 6 dollars

Bottle of champagne: 28 dollars

Knowing your child is home safe and sound after surgery: Priceless.

Can't beat it.

Thanks for all the good thoughts. It means more than you know.

Thursday!

Surgery scheduled for this Thursday!

Nothing like getting it over with. I'm so happy that she'll just get it and get out and be done with it and that the recovery is pretty mild. I'm going to have to get out the Mountain Colors Enormous Cardi for hospital knitting. Because I'm going to need plain stockinette with no increases or decreases. Otherwise I fear I'd end up with increases on one side, decreases on the other and Lord knows what in the middle!

Well FUCK!

Fuckety fuck fuck fuck!

Some of you may have noticed that Bean wears glasses. She has a condition called strabismus, which causes her left eye to cross. The glasses help her align her eyes in the correct position. We also patch her right eye for about an hour a day to help strengthen the muscles in the other eye. Unfortunately, the muscles in her eyes that control the up/down motions are also affected by this condition and can not be aided by patching or glasses. The doctor was hoping that, with time (Bean has been wearing glasses for 3 years, since she was 20 months old), those muscles would equal out in strength.

It's not happening.

So, Bean is going to have to have eye surgery.

It's an outpatient procedure, but it's general anesthesia and it eye surgery and I'm a bit freaked out. I know that it's really not a huge deal and that lots of people have vastly more serious health issues. But it's my baby. And that makes it a very big deal to me.

Oh sure

Today we get school closings. Last night we were watching the late news and, upon seeing the line of snow and ice that was predicted to fall well short of the Metroplex, I told Dr. Pig that we would get that storm and to plan on being late to work today.

I woke up to a half-inch of ice on the ground. An inch of ice is supposedly equal in weight to a foot of snow. And it's still falling. Not heavily, but consistently, which will eventually equal heavily. We are predicted to get an inch or two of ice today. Bleh. The problem with ice is that it's not much fun. There usually isn't quite enough to go sliding, and you can't make a snowman with it.

Bean and I are going to hang out and make chocolate chip cookies and watch old movies.

The Iceman Cometh

or, maybe not

We went into Friday night with the weatherman making dire predictions of doom and gloom and three inches of ice and no power and WE'RE ALL GOING TO SUFFER!

It rained like hell and got pretty cold (34F).

We woke up Saturday to dire predictions of doom and gloom and three inches of ice and no power and WE'RE ALL GOING TO SUFFER! I had a 9am haircut scheduled so I went to that, but went home expecting the weather to turn on me any minute.

It rained like hell and stayed cold.

We went to the Saturday afternoon birthday party (it rained like hell and stayed cold) and came home wondering if, indeed, there would be any "weather".

The weatherman assured us that REALLY I SWEAR tonight and tomorrow there will be doom and gloom and three inches of ice and no power and WE'RE ALL GOING TO SUFFER! Except that one channel pointed out the possibility that since the temperature at 3,000 feet was in the 60s, and that was where the clouds were that were generating the rain, it might not freeze up after all.

Sunday, it rained a little bit and was cold.

Last night, the idjit weatherman was STILL trying to perpetuate the myth that we'd get a freak ice storm and that the National Weather Service really hadn't been out smoking crack while making our weekend weather predictions.

And yes, we got ice. A veryveryveryveryvery thin rime of ice on the roads, etc. And it's sunny (a full three hours before the 7am weather report predicted), so that won't last.

There is a reason I don't stock up too much for events like this. Based on experience, there are two possible outcomes: nothing happens in which case you didn't need to stock up. Or, it does happen in which case the power goes out for a few days and the food rots.

The good news is that Bean has the day off and she and I can go out an enjoy ourselves!

Battening down the hatches

A major ice storm is predicted to hit the Metroplex this weekend. I'll grant them that it's raining like crazy and that in the past two hours it's dropped a good 20 or so degrees. We'll see about the rest of it.

The dire predictions of ice usually send our area into a major food/beer/milk buying frenzy.

Me?

I've bought a gaggle of "fashion fever" Barbies because the Fashion Fever Barbie clothes don't fit the regular fucking Barbies and we have lots of fashion fever clothing and it DOESN"T FIT. DAMMIT! Oh, and we just got back from a huge sashimi dinner. Because nothing says, "I'm prepared for the ice storm." like a big plate of sashimi followed by grilled delights such as enormous grilled bacon-wrapped scallops. Screw milk, I'm happy, slappy!

And alot of sake.

Whee!

If you really could laugh your ass off, I'd be wearing smaller pants

Bean: Ethan and I played superheroes today on the playground and I was Spidergirl (I think of it as Spidergrrrl) and I'm still Spidergirl and Stephen was the Manian Devil.

Me: The Tasmanian Devil is one of my favorites (insert bad imitation of Taz)

Bean: No, Mom (insert sounds of a 13-year-old girl's frustration in a 4-year-old voice)! He was just a regular Manian Devil. Not a *taz*-manian Devil.

New Ways To Have a Big Damn Heart Attack

Be alone in the house on a gloomy Friday morning.

Be very involved in creating a newsletter that really should have been sent out yesterday.

Feel something cold and wet apply itself to the little space where your sweater has risen up above the waistband of your jeans.

Scream loud and long enough that the dog won't come out of the bedroom no matter how long you apologize.

We went to Egypt and saw the Stinx

Last week, Dr. Pig, myself, and Bean went to Fort Worth with my parents to see the Hatshepsut exhibit at the Kimball Art Musuem.

The best part of the trip was Bean saying, "I know where Egypt is!" She ran off to her excellent new globe and pointed out Egypt and said, "See, you can tell it's Egypt because there is a picture of a Stinx on it." We gently corrected the pronunciation, but "stinx" is now my favorite Beanism.

The Year of Living Stashfully

Last year, I made a resolution to try to not add to the stash. It wasn't so much a "No Yarn Buying" resolution, as it was a resolution that I would knit the yarn I bought and not let it become resident in the stash. I did fairly well. The major areas of stash enhancement were in the sock and lace categories. At least those are small skeins!

This year, sock yarn counts. I have 30 some-odd skeins of sock yarn and I'm knitting socks at a rate of 5 or 6 pair a year. I can stop with the sock yarn for a bit.

I think another Year of Living Stashfully is in order. I posted a while back about all the lovely sweaters I have sitting in stash. And I'm diving in. As with last year, I'll buy yarn to knit, but I want to have anything I buy back out of the stash by the end of the year. I'm an inveterate list-maker and I've already worked out what I'm going to knit with which yarns on the old Palm Pilot. Whether or not I'll conform is another matter. But it's a start.

Right now, I'm working on a sample for the Shabby Sheep and on Bless in Rowan Cork for myself. And on finding the damn camera cord so I can upload pictures.

A combination of sales and serendipity have led me to buy the yarn for the long-coveted Electra vest on the cover of Rowan 38. I have been lusting after this vest since the magazine came out, but I hated the fact that the cover yarns are really bright purples and not the plums, etc. the picture would lead you to believe. I've found a good combo of colors that should be gorgeous.

Best wishes for a delightful New Year's Eve. We only go out about once every 5 years, so we're having some really good friends over. Their daughter is Bean's best friend, so it will be sort of like a playdate with champagne!

Step away from the bag, Ma'am

My MIL has been deeemed a threat to national security. And it's all my fault!

I gave my MIL a bar of nice soap for Christmas. She packed it in her carry-on bag, where the TSA agent determined that it was a threatening substance and searched her bags. Now, my MIL is in her mid-seventies and has a boufant hair-do the likes of which I haven't seen since the 1960s. Hell, the hole in the ozone layer is probably solely due to the amount of hairspray my MIL uses on what is no longer hair, but more of a structural accessory. I find the whole thing hilarious because my MIL makes June Cleaver look like some sort of reactionary hippie.

At any rate, the TSA agent is trying to search the bag and my MIL is asking what he's looking for and offering to help and the agent is trying to get her to stop touching the bag and to find the offending items: the soap. Totally overlooked in the dangerous aresenal of weaponry carried by my MIL is the hair pick she uses to tease her hair. (Remember the hairpicks people used to carry in their back pockets to tease their 'fros in the 1970s? Yeah, Grandma has one.)

Moral of the story?

Ack! It's Soap on a Plane!

Christmas was delightful. Presents were shared, relatives visited, in-laws stayed with us, etc. I've even cast on for a new knit at long last. I'm still trying to figure out how the heck the new camera works for uploading. Dr. Pig has Done Something with the required cable. This is Not Good. However, I'm sure it'll turn up.

Beans' big Santa gift was a pirate ship. Mama excavated said object from her closet at about 9.30 on Christmas Eve and discovered that the assembly required was fairly extensive. 109 teensy tiny little pieces. But, fueled by several glasses of champagne, we had a blast putting it together. Well, the grappling hook and the anchor were a pain in the ass, but the rest wasn't too bad. It's insanely detailed and she loves it to distraction. It's quite fun to play with.

We hosted Christmas again this year and, overall, it was amazingly low stress and for that, I am truly thankful. My family can be a bit much at times for reasons that will be left unsaid and having Dr. Pig's parents stay with us for 5 days can sometimes be a bit much. But, I made a commitment to Dr. Pig to have a low-stress holiday and keep it together, and by God I pulled it off.

Back to the knitting!

Dear Dr Pig

I love you.

That's why I married you.

But...

When your parents are staying with us and I ask if you want to come with me to shop for a few last odds and ends, please do not respond, "Nope, I'm all done."

1.) With the exception of three packages under the tree, I did all the shopping and wrapping. And you only wrapped one of those three. So, technically, I'm the one who's done.

2.) I realize that there is an awfully large box under the tree wrapped in Tiffany blue and white which indicates that you are, indeed, "done" as far as presents go.

BUT

Think that I might be using the whole "shopping" ploy as a thinly disgused ruse for going and sitting in a pub and drinking a few Belgian beers and having some moules frittes before I have to come back and help prepare Lutheran Chicken for your parents.

Speaking of which - this makes a great grilled chicken

Lutheran Chicken (Dr Pig got the recipe out of his church cookbook from Iowa. The Lutherans call this BBQ chicken but, as a Texan, I beg to differ. Hence, Lutheran chicken.)

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
1 small bottle Italian salad dressing (think wishbone or kraft - don't get fancy)
1/2 small onion, diced
1/4 c soy sauce
1 tsp dry mustard

Combine last 4 ingredients and marinate chicken for 1 hour.
Grill.

And, just because I'm in a sharing mood

Easy chocolate truffles (the ingredients sound completely ridiculous, but people scarf these down like no tomorrow)

1 8 oz pkg Philadelphia cream cheese
1lb 2oz pkg oreos
16 oz semi sweet chocolate (I use a combination of Baker's and Nestle chips)

Let cream cheese come to room temp.

Put 8 oreos in a food processor and blitz to fine crumbs.
Reserve.

Put rest of oreos in food processor and blitz to fine crumbs.
Add cream cheese and pulse until combined.

Put chocolate in a double boiler to melt.

Roll oreo stuff into small balls - you'll have between 40 and 50 depending on the size of your balls. (heh!)

Dip balls into melted chocolate (use two forks to make it easier)

put on wax paper on a cookie sheet.

Sprinkle liberally with reserved cookie crumbs and put into fridge for at least an hour. Transfer to other container for storage (always in the fridge). These are best after sitting overnight in the fridge.

Weirdly good stuff.

not dead, just busy

Shopping completed: check
Presents wrapped: check minus two
Decorations applied to all corners of the house: Santa and Baby Jesus have combined forces to take over

Rum balls: Made
Chocolate truffles: Made

Tea party for 6 four-year-old girls: 2.30pm today.
Wine for mothers attending said party: oh yeah!

Anxiety level: oddly high

Knitting: none

My knitting drought continues unabated. Frankly, I think it has something to do with the fact that my mother keeps finding really great mysteries at the library and passing them on to me and then I have to read them NOW because they are due in a few days. I'm enjoying reading, but I'm starting to miss the knitting. I do have a few things I'm working on for classes at the shop, but nothing for me or mine.

We did buy a new digital camera, but I haven't figured out how to upload photos yet. Maybe tomorrow I'll have a treat for you... Because it's ain't Christmas around here without a little decorating abomination I refer to as Santa Jesus. Some people have waaaay too much money and waaay too little sense.

Lost

I seem to have lost my knitting way. I don't think I've completed anything since the test knit of the Casino shawl.

This is not like me.

I am halfway finished with two knits for the shop, and I completed the front of a sweater for Bean. Of course, the Bean sweater is too wide, so I'm going to have to go down one more size in the width and keep the two sizes up in the length. Nothing like a skinny child.

I'm not sure what I've been doing in my non-knitting non-knitting time. I will admit there has been a sharp increase in family activities. Zoos and gardens and picnics and circuses and all manner of non-knitting fun.

But

I'd like my knitting mojo back.

It might not seem like much of a Christmas present, but it would mean something to me.

Almost done

I had this whole ranting post written out and then I deleted it.

Sometimes, just writing something out makes you feel better.

Suffice it to say, I have started a new Christmas tradition. To be completely finished with Christmas shopping by the 10th of December. Because it drives me completely nuts every year to be left with last minute shopping. I hustled Dr. Pig into giving me his list last week. I told him it was that or he could buy it himself.

This has led to a very nice, mellow Christmas spirit.

Either that or it's the case of wine I bought last week.

Ack!

It went from 80 to 27 in less than 24 hours. I am Not Pleased.

The Cold From Hell continues albeit somewhat abated. Robitussin gelcaps are my very good friend. Sleeping sitting up to help alleviate the coughing suck big dead green donkey wongers. Granted, what doesn't kill me makes me stronger, but I'm not sure how much stronger I can get. (You remember that one, Lex? College was fun. Sometimes.)

Bean has improved quite a bit. And that's the more important part. We set up a ton of Christmas stuff today and will continue tomorrow. I'm aiming to rival Carole's "Christmas Threw Up On My House". This time last year, I was just getting to know Carole and Cara. I'm glad I "met" them. I have a small but ever-growing collection of creches. Bean loves them. She has two "crushes" as she refers to them. One is a really cute one by Playmobil that I bought at Target a couple of months ago. Much fun. I love to see how she arranges them.

OK, the cough is killing me. Time for a toddy.

You need:

1 mug of hot tea - your choice but I prefer a Celestial Seasonings Zinger flavor
1 half of a lemon, squozed
1 tbsp honey or more to taste
1 shot of Jamieson's Irish Whiskey

If it doesn't stop your cough, you won't care.

78 to 38

I'm sure everyone has heard the jokes about Texas weather (Don't like it? Wait a day.). You might not realize just how true that joke is. The high today was 78. Tonight, it's supposed to start raining and drop to 38 and then to 26 by mid-morning tomorrow. Complete with sleet and ice and plague and locusts and famine. At least, you'd think it given the lines at SuperTarget today.

I always love seeing what people buy when there is a threat of ice. Now, admittedly any accumulation of ice pretty much shuts us down, but it rarely sticks around for longer than 2 days. So, the chances of starvation are pretty slim (although, I did forget to buy bread and we are almost out so I may make a run to the Thumb).

The woman were all making their weekly grocery run, albeit maybe a day or so early.

The men all had beer. Some of them even had food in their baskets. I'm not trying to be sexist, but it was really hysterical that all of the unaccompanied men of a variety of ages had baskets that contained vast quantites of beer and maybe a couple of steaks.

Meanwhile, The Crud lingers on. Bean did make it to school today (she only goes for three hours), but we are both still coughing quite a bit. It's getting to the frustrating point where you feel pretty good, but you can't do anything much physically because that heats you up and starts you coughing again.

Cough Cough hACK

I have caught whatever variety of cold crud is circulating. Bleh. Bean has it too. And, of course, this is the weekend we had planned to paint the kitchen, den, and office (it's one big L with lots of windows). Poor Dr. Pig is soldiering on and will paint the den today. I told him if I get well enough to move all my stuff out of the office, that's great. If not, we'll do it another weekend.

I had some really freaky dreams last night. The one I remember was that there was some sort of knitterly gathering and somehow I volunteered to make lunch but more people than I was counting on showed up, including The Yarn Harlot. So, there I was in the kitchen making fried chicken only I had bought whole birds instead of just breasts, but no one wanted dark meat. I was thanking my lucky stars that any good Southern Luncheon includes a ton of veggies and salads and that I don't cook with bacon, so Stephanie could get a good lunch. Your guess is as good as mine as to why the hell I'm remembering she's a vegetarian and trying to cook her lunch. Much less why I'd choose to make fried chicken for people I don't know. That's a labor of love, honey, and a whole lot of work. At this point, I was relieved to be woken by Bean, who was hollering becaue Pinky Pink (her favorite stuffed animal - a pig) had fallen out of the bed. I had to get her some medicine, etc. Hopefully she'll sleep a bit.

And now I'm going to go back to sleep.

Somedaaaaaaaaaaaay I'll knit agaaaaaaaaaaain. (Sung to the tune of Someday My Prince Will Come.)

And then, the oven

Tried to bake said pumpkin pie last night.

Forgot that I had roasted a couple of chickens last week and forgotten to clean the oven. Set the oven cleaner thingy. Door latch mechanism suddenly busted. No oven cleaner. Had to tell husband to come home with oven cleaner and chocolate cake (if I'm going to clean the oven myself I want a piece of chocolate cake for fortification). Pecked to death by ducks once again.

Husband came home and is currently cleaning the oven! I love him!

Then, hopefully, the pie will have enough time to cool before I take it to school.

Keep your needles crossed.

OGIM

You know TGIF?

Yeah, I'm having Oh God It's Monday.

I've been busier than the proverbial one-armed paper hanger with no knitting yet and a pumpkin pie still to bake for Bean's pre-school "feast" tomorrow morning. They may be getting store-bought.

Man, what a day. And the rest of the week is starting to send me into a tizzy just thinking about it.

End result: no thinking allowed!

Have Yourself a Merry Little somethingorother

My mother-in-law just sent me a list of what she and my FIL
want for Christmas.

On his list she put "a NASA Car hat".

I'm sure this is a typo, but my husband and I are envisioning space shuttles hurtling around a track.

Then there is the whole concept of having to actually purchase a NASCAR item, but we won't go there.

Want vs need

It happens every time a new Interweave Knits arrives.

I spend quite a bit of time contemplating the knits I like and then trolling the stash to find matches. That Nantucket sweater on the cover of the new IK is causing me to have whatever the knitting equivalent is of your mouth watering over a delicious recipe.

But

I took a step back and contemplated the yarns in my stash and some of the original intentions. I contemplated the sweaters I've knit and noticed a tendency to knit sweaters that are interesting knits. And I noticed the lack of what I will refer to as utility knits. Nice, plain sweaters that I can just throw on and go. No shawl pin closures or funky ties. Nothing awkward requiring constant re-arrangement while running errands.

I'm having a conflict between my wardrobe needs and my knitting needs and, right now, I'm going to go with the wardrobe needs.

I have some Atacama Alpaca in the stash purchased with the intention of making the t-shirt sweater. I have some Mountain Colors 4/8 wool purchased with the intention of making a simple tunic. I have enough Calmer to knit Cutaway.

There is a lot of stockinette in my future. But, in a way, that's probably also what I need. I've had a tremendously hectic fall. The zen of stockinette is calling. And the nice thing about this hobby is that, after all that zen, I'll have some lovely garments.

Of course, it's still me. The alpaca is shocking pink. The Mountain Colors is all sorts of berry. The Calmer is red. Maybe not so zen after all.

THINK

Yes, vote. But, most importantly, THINK.

I know many people, both liberal and conservative who vote a straight party ticket.

I urge you to instead look at each candidate and weigh their qualifications for specific jobs. In local elections, Republican or Democrat often tells you nothing about the qualifications of an individual for an elected position. The true power of voting is that we do not have to elect a party. We can elect individuals. A true independent is someone who votes for the right person for the right job. Regardless of party.

I urge you to use that power. Even if you are voting straight party, don't just use that one check box. Check off every candidate individually. Even if you take the time to read the whole ballot, it rarely takes more than 10 minutes.

Mysteries of the Universe

The lightbulb in the top of Bean's closet went out when I pulled the chain.

The bulb itself was fine. It seems that the bulb had somehow unscrewed itself part of the way. Strange stuff, Maynard.

I'm finally breaking down and joining the red sweater KAL. I admit to a bit of fear that I've lost my sweater Mojo what with all the lace of the summer, but I'm launching straight into cables. Nothing like a good cable to cure what ails you!

Pictures tomorrow.

Bean: I'm four-and-a-half, right?
Me: Yep
Bean: When will I be four in both halves?

Bean: Why is the sky blue?
Me (driving in traffic): God made it that way (or some variation of that)
Bean: No, I know God made the earth and the sky and everything, but God also made all the science and I want to know what makes the atmosphere turn the sky blue and then it's not blue yesterday!
Me: Uh, Mommy is driving right now, but we'll get out the encyclopedia when we get home.

We had parent/teacher conference yesterday and her teacher told me that Bean is having some trouble concentrating when they do coloring. Mrs. Teacher, you are a lovely woman and Bean adores you, but in her mind you did coloring last week. Bean is thinking, "I showed you my fine motor skills, let's move on!"

Of course, Bean has never been fond of coloring books. She'll go to town on a piece of blank paper, but coloring books bore her.

Instead of completing her coloring in a timely manner, my child is asking the teacher how electricity works and what happens to the electricity if one outlet works and the other doesn't.

I find all of this totally hilarious, although I did tell Bean that maybe she could help the teacher by doing her work, even if it is boring.

Mythbustered

Last night, Dr. Pig and I were sitting around watching Mythbusters.

I was bemoaning the fact that the swelling above my eyes has now migrated below my eyes.

Then it hit me. I have several "puffiness reducing" eye treatments stashed in my fridge. And my under eye area is about as puffy as anyone's could ever be.

So, do any of those over-the-counter remedies work? (Keep in mind that most of this stuff has been in the fridge for a good six months.)

The answer?

A shocking and resounding YES.

Both Earth Theraputics Hydrogel Under-Eye Recovery patch and Origins No Puffery worked really well.

The Earth Theraputics patch things left on for 20 minutes made a noticeable effect.

The Origins stuff? It's a gel. And it too made a noticeable difference.

This morning I put on the gel eye pack thing they gave me at the hospital for 20 minutes and looked my eyes. Puffy.

I put on the Earth Theraputics patch thingy for 20 minutes. Noticeably less puffy.

Unexpected.

So, use my suffering to improve your life. Get the Earth Theraputics patch thingies. They rock!

Thriller

Have you seen a commercial for that horror movie, Turistas?

Carefree college students on spring break and it ends with a tight headshot of a girl on an operating table saying, in a tremulous voice, "I want to go home."

That eye operation on Monday?

Yeah, they do it while you are awake.

They give you a lovely zonker and you wake back up five minutes later with your eyelids numb and your upper body and head strapped to the table in about seventeen places.

They keep you awake so they can see your eyes move and figure out how much of whatever to do to your eyelids. Which you can hear them discuss. It was...

...unpleasant.

I can't imagine anyone doing something like this on an optional basis. I have this attachment to seeing the world through something other than a teeny slit between my lids, so I had to have it done. But I'll tell you, if they hadn't done both eyes at one time, there is no way in hell you could ever get me back in there. I'd just prop everything open with a toothpick.

My eyes are hideously swollen and Frankensteinish, but, hopefully, they will go down quickly. At least it's all over!

I'll be wearing sunglasses to Bean's Parent/Teacher conference tomorrow afternoon. I'll be faaaaaaabulous, dahhhhrling!

Knitting? Hah!

Maybe next week.

Heading out to the hospital. Back after lunch!

Whee! (I'm so excited it's just pathetic.)

Funny stuff

Bean's interest in phonics has progressed to sounds including two consonants. As in band or chip, etc. And then she got into the "s-h" sounds. And the inevitable happened. And I'm still laughing, much to her bewilderment. Plus, it's hard to explain to her why we don't say that word when you are collapsed in hysterics on the floor.

Ch-ip
Sh - ip
Sh...
that spells!!!!

Just call me Blinky!

I'm still working on the baby sweaters. Knitting has been sporadic at best because I've been spending all my time working on a charity dog walk that happened last Saturday. After 14 hours in the sun and wind, I spent the next three days recovering from the allergies from hell.

I'm bound and determined to complete the sweaters this weekend because I don't know how much I'll be able to do next week.

I'm having eye surgery.

More precisely, eyelid surgery. I have "floppy" eyelids. The muscles don't keep them open as wide as they should. I'm pretty careful about posting good pictures, so you probably won't have noticed unless you know me in person.

I'm going to have it fixed on Monday. No more seeing the world through my eyelashes!!! And just in time for looking spooky on Halloween. I've had to tell the people I see pretty often, so they won't think there's been a domestic dispute or something when I show up looking like I've been punched out!

Keep your fingers crossed that everything goes well and there aren't any complications. I'm not particularly worried about it, but any time you have to have surgery, a bit of prayer doesn't hurt.

Jeffrey won!

I'm pleased with the decision.

Completely disregarding personality, I loved Jeffrey's runway show and would be happy to wear a number of things from that collection. I also loved Laura's collection, but I knew they wouldn't give it to an evening wear collection in a million years. Michaeal's collection, unfortunately, sucked. It had alot of potential, but when they said the "taste level" wasn't there, they weren't kidding. Even Dr Pig (who has surprisingly good taste, but rarely cares) commented that he felt like he was watching the new looks for streetwalkers.

I liked Uli's collection, but, as pretty as her dresses were, I have to agree that there was a unified flow at the beginning of the show that devolved into a collection of pretty "Uli" dresses that had nothing to do with each other except that she designed them. She would have been better off going with the same outfits but a graduated color palette.

I also think there were specific reasons Jeffrey was chosen. The first winner, Jay, has been very slow out of the gate and was not interested in any of the prizes. Chloe has no interest in leaving Houston or doing anything different from what she has been doing.

Michael is too inconsistent to win. Uli and Laura are pretty much this season's Chloe's - they both have very specific points of view and are not interested in changing at all. Sure, Uli said she'd move, but given that she's spent the whole show being all about Miami, it's kind of hard to believe. Being specific is not a bad thing, it's just not what PR is looking for.

Jeffrey is a proven businessman who is looking to broaden his audience. He changed up his collection a bit while still keeping his point of view and, the addition of the two more flowing dresses showed that, while those didn't work, he is open to expanding his view. Sure, he's got a nasty streak a mile wide. But, Michael Kors doesn't exactly strike me as Mary Poppins.

As for the "cheating", first, 200 bucks isn't that big a deal. It would have been completely different if he'd gone over by $750 or something. Second, if all he had to was drop the wigs, I don't have a problem with it. The wigs were a styling choice rather than an actual garment. As for whether or not he sewed everything himself, if Laura could hand bead and hand feather those garments, I see no reason why Jeffrey could not be equally capable of sewing his garments. After all, having a production line, he has access to professional machines as opposed to something like Michael's tiny little cheap-o number.

So, overall, it was a pretty good season - much better than last year.

And now I get to watch Top Chef!

Buzz Buzz

Been busy like a bee.

I have a tendency to over-commit myself. I am on the steering committee for a huge fundraiser that takes place this Saturday (pray for no rain because it's OUTSIDE). I am on the auction committee at Bean's school (need my volunteer hours so I can get the tuition discount!). No time to knit or blog because hey! I'm cooking dinner for a friend who just had a baby.

Someone make me STOP!!!!

Fair Play

Yesterday was one of the most beautiful days we have had in quite a while. The sky was brilliant blue. The morning began a bit chilly and topped out in the low 70s. We rarely have weather this nice until Halloween. Especially during the State Fair. It's usually hot as hell during the Fair.

At Halloween, it's either hot or pretty darn cold, depending on the nature of your Halloween costume. Because if you are going as a pretty ballerina, it's gonna be cold and damp and your mother will have to scramble to figure out how to clothe you so you don't have to wear a coat over your costume.

My husband and I looked outside, looked at each other and decided to ditch. He called in for a day off from work, I called school and told them that Bean would not be there, and we went to the Fair.

We ate the best corny dog in the whole world: Fletcher's. Oh, there are other corny dog vendors at the Fair, but any seasoned fairgoer worth their salt goes for Fletcher's. Then you have to go to the Midway and get the corn roasted in it's husk from Darn Good Corn. They only have one stand, it's always on the Midway; accept no imitators.

We saw Elsie and Beauregard.

Bean got to go fishing for catfish at the Toyota truck display (disn't manage to catch one).

We had a ball.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of the pictures are on the non-digital camera. And we didn't go to see any of the fiber exhibitions. Bean was tired and they are never going to top the crocheted hamburger and all the fixin's from a couple of year ago.

Yacht rock and log cabins

My old college buddy Lex just posted a link to this genius series. I think I may have broken something while laughing like a complete maniac. Long live the 70s!

The Log Cabin socks had a few rows added to them last night.

And I started something else. In a fit of efficiency in camera card management, I deleted the picture before I posted it.

I'm test-knitting the mini size of Casino for Anne Hanson. This one is for Bean. She's been wanting a shawl, just like Mama's. Of course, this also means that I'm going to have to get my hot little hands on some cashmere laceweight so I can have one too. (I love my child but I'm not completely stupid with it. At four, she's getting superwash sock yarn for her shawl.)

While I've knit quite alot of lace, Casino is my first big effort in working both sides in a lace pattern. True, I've knit a number of shawls that had a small section of lace patterned on both sides of the work, but this is a whole 'nother ballgame and it took me a while to realize that, "Hey, I'm knitting lace patterns on both sides!" Yeah, I'm really on these days...

So, I enjoyed the hell out of myself, knitted away at another truly brilliant Knitspot pattern, and got to the end where you undo the provisional cast-on to pick up the stitches for the top border. And then I took a good look at what I had done so far. User error abounded. I finally figured out that I had knit a row twice without realizing it (lace and wine=WHINE). So, the whole thing went to the frog pond and I'm starting anew.

Meanwhile, two friends have had their babies a bit earlier than anticipated.

Knitting two baby sweaters at a time. The garter stitch wrap top from Simple Knits for Cherished Babies by Erika Knight. I cast on for the second sweater on the same 40" needle because I was at a meeting and didn't have the pattern with me. I'm using Plymouth Dream Baby because, although I love the special baby knits, Dream Baby is so easy to care for which makes it perfect for a new mom.

Anyone still there?

My break was a bit longer than intended. I developed a minor case of crud last week while Dr. Pig was attending his conference in Tokyo and I am still a bit tired. I also picked last week to give up coffee.

Ultimately, I'm a fairly lazy person. The reason I never drank coffee before I was married was because in the mornings I was too lazy to make it. I didn't even have a coffee maker. Or, rather, this is my coffee maker.

A Drip-O-Lator.

My father took this to Korea during the war. It makes fabulous coffee, but only two mugs at a time.


You boil the water, put the coffee in the little filter contraption, put the top back on and pour the boiling water into the top. You can leave it over a low burner if you want to keep the coffee warm, but I hate doing that as the coffee always tastes burned to me.


Dr. Pig's coffee maker is a Bunn and it's one of those dealies that keeps the water hot for the next pot, so I can never get the water/coffee ratio exactly right, the way he can.

So, I just went without. I'm sure the withdrawal added to the crud, because, even though I only drank about one small cup of coffee a day, I felt like hell. At that point, I decided that anything that could make me feel that bad, needed to go. I'm turning into my mother, but my body is slowly starting to adapt and I've substituted a cup of green tea in the mornings.

I didn't even knit last week. I don't know why, but I've been feeling very burnt out lately. I've had a very busy fall and I have realized that I am somewhat overcommitted and it's making me mentally too tired to concentrate on knitting.

Well, that and the fact that I don't seem to want to knit anything but lace. And I have baby things to knit.

So, given that it's Socktoberfest, I pulled out one of the many incomplete pairs of socks in my knitting basket and set to.
Oak Ribbed Socks
Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush
Regia 4-ply something or other (can't find the ball bands) in Party
Size 1 Crystal Palace bamboo needles


I adore this pattern. The completed sock fits wonderfully and the ribbing adds some interest. The color variagation is fun and the grays are a great contrast to the reds and pinks. I've been knitting on these suckers for the last three days, so today I start the toe decreases and then kitchener!

Next up - the perfect color for Socktoberfest. My long-unfinished Log Cabin Socks from Handknit Holidays. I started these last January and someone commented that had expected Log Cabinning and not cabling! It's going to be several months before it gets cold enough to use these, but after the State Fair is over, the weather will start to cool down. It was gorgeous and cool and fall-like last week, but then the Fair started. And now it's in the 90s again. Happens every year.

I'll leave you with a picture of a toy that Dr Pig bought Bean in Japan.

Hello Kitty Kaiten-Sushi!

It's hysterically funny. You press a switch and the little plates of sushi rotate on a conveyor belt.


Bean has spent hours "cooking" sushi for us. She takes orders and then rushes off stating, "Now, I must make the food swirly and turly!" (I have no idea what turly is but she was quite adamant that it is not the same as twirly. She's giving Samuel Johnson a run for his money.)