Fuzzy Love

Picture Day

We've been down for the count the last few days. Liam's teacher suggested gently that it was, in fact, okay to stay home if you aren't feeling well, so we took that under advisement. Yesterday we lounged around in our pajamas except for a quickish trip to the doctor to find out both kids - and me - have an infection. Penicillin all 'round. Well, except for me. I have to go see another doctor. Convenient, that.

With all the hanging around the house, Liam got a lot of Wii time, for better or worse. The better part is that there's no Wii playing without piano practice first.

Please note his hair.

Liam was suitably healed to go back to school today, just in time for a class picture. We already had the individual pictures, but the group shot comes months later. Why? Can't imagine. Anyway, knowing he was due for a haircut, but also knowing it wasn't going to happen in time, I added a little leave-in conditioner to his hair after bath last night. What I didn't know until this morning was that the conditioner also contains a bit of gel, methinks. That hair was up and staying there (but really really soft).

So we tried a little water and a little of Daddy's pomade.

Hair: 1; Mommy: 0

Okay, more water and a firm brushin'.

That's the version that went to school (at least it is mostly horizontal) because, as sweet as he looks there, he was DONE having me fiddle with him. He still looks pretty cute, of course (I know I'm his mom, but seriously), and hopefully that sweetness will shine through despite the shaggy head.

Oh, and here's Olivia because she wanted in on all the picture-taking fun. Please excuse the post-lunch chin.

Saturday morning: haircuts all 'round.

Movie Night

Today is a draggy day. Both kids have coughs and runny noses and that's been making it hard to sleep for everyone; after all, if you're little and can't sleep, you know just where to go. (I'm on my second cup of coffee - now that I'm going to the gym the fiendish mocha fraps have been banished). I went back and forth about sending Liam to school today because I never know where the line is about keeping a kid home from school. How do you tell? He certainly is capable of running around at recess, so I sent him. He was pleased to take one of his Dad's handkerchiefs along and was using it proudly, so I guess he'll bring most of his germs back with him (hopefully).

(Livvy's mouth was full of food here.)

So lately we've got a new tradition around here: Friday night movie night! Nothing revolutionary, I know, but it means that we're actually making use of the ol' Netflix subscription. And, since we all want to enjoy the movie, we've been pretty creative about the movies we watch. Liam loves The Nutcracker (well, he loves the first half with the mouse king battle), so we got the version that has Macaulay Culkin despite the fact that it has Macaulay Culkin: children play all the childrens' roles and the rest are the New York City Ballet....troop? Beautiful, with huge funny lumpy mice. (Okay, I can't really say that Mark enjoyed all of that one, but he played along nicely).

And last Friday we rented some Charlie Chaplin shorts and we all laughed out loud at them. If you've never watched him before, it's very much like watching an old Bugs Bunny cartoon - very clever slapstick - but with some really sweet moments. Sometimes it's hard to believe you're NOT watching a cartoon. Our favorite so far was The Adventurer, where The Little Tramp escapes from jail (striped pajamas and all), is trying to elude the police, and somehow ends up at a fancy party with a beautiful girl. Oh, and the few parts of the stories that the kids didn't get were easy to talk them through, because of course these are silent films.

The other fun part of movie night invoves the logistics of dinner. Since the window between Mark getting home and Olivia going to bed is only so big, dinner must be eaten during the movie. At first we just had popcorn, but these kids can eat an astonishingly large amount of popcorn and that made for interesting Saturdays (if you have kids, I'm betting you know about popcorn poos). So now the kids and I go to the grocery store on Friday mornings and pick out a few hors d'oeuvres to have for dinner. Each kid gets to pick a fruitish item (cantelope, watermelon, and blueberries have been popular) and a new kind of cheese, since our grocery store sells sample sizes of cheeses. Add some fancy crackers or some fresh bread from the bakery and we're dining fine. There's popcorn for dessert if anyone remembers. Fun, huh?

PS I also rented Rivers and Tides and loved it, although it didn't keep Olivia's interest. I must get my own copy so that I won't forget to do something like this to my backyard this summer:

A Yarn Sale

On Saturday I heard about a Denver yarn store that is going out of business (thank you Samantha) and, after letting that information percolate around in my brain for a couple of hours, decided that I had to go immediately. Since the store is in Cherry Creak, a crowded area of town, Mark was sweet enough to drive down with me (and the kids, of course) so I could pop in and see what was available. Almost an hour later (there are times when my husband is a saint) I had some really great stuff. But it was really sad. The owner had a stroke in the fall and is no longer able to handle the business. So it wasn't like some faceless big box going under; a bunch of shop employees were there informing the regulars of the latest status and everyone was quiet and sad. It was a bit like attending a funeral. But a funeral with 40% off yarn.

Sooooo, you wanna see what I got?

It looks like it was in a sunny store window for a while, but I grabbed up this Tulip kit the moment I walked in and hugged it to me like someone was going to take it. The pattern may be faded, but the yarn is beautiful. Can you see the price on it? $28, which is before the 40% off. And it's a double kit, two or three balls of each color, for up to size six. I asked twice if the price was right and it apparently was; the kit was in the back room forever and they had only just discovered it and put it out on the shelf.

So Olivia will have herself a rainbow sweater shortly. (I've cast on already.)

I got a few other things too.

From right to left: four skeins of Aussi Wool, which I've never used before, but seems like a nice worsted wool good for mittens like these herringbone ones. Then two shades of Rowan Summer Tweed for Olivia's clothesline (Rav link - must take pictures for everyone else, because it is adorable), one skein of Dream in Color Classy in my favorite color, Some Summer Sky, and, on top, two skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Irving Park. All for a ridiculously low price. After showing such reverence at the store, I became almost giddy back in the car. But I don't feel good about feeling happy.

Unexpected Finds

So I was wrong about walking again on Tuesday. On Tuesday I was still sore from BOOT CAMP. That's three whole days, if I were counting. Let's hope the pudge starts declining soon. You know, pain/gain and all that.

Anyway, we took the kids to the National Western Stock Show. It was my first visit and I suppose I was expecting something small and manageable, somewhat like what I grew up with in Nova Scotia. Certainly not the largest stock show in the world (apparently I hadn't noticed I'm in Denver). Once we walked about a mile, two miles, something like that, past booths selling everything from....well, just trust me: everything; just to find the petting area (with Olivia in new shoes - yikes), and then perhaps another mile or ten to find the stock, we had a pretty good time. We got to see fluffy cows having hair cuts (blown dry!) and pigs having baths. We petted many bunnies and heard roosters crow. No sheep to be found, although many many bags full of fleeces, some with blue ribbons although I couldn't tell why they were any different from the others. And then we found an alpaca farmer!!

Sooooo soft. I got three skeins, or about 670 yards. I realize that doesn't divide by three, but I didn't notice that each skein is different until after I got home. I thought the natural (undied) would make a lovely cabely scarf. She actually had four or five different shades of the undyed, which would make a fabulous fair-isle project, but I don't know enough to buy for that sort of thing on the fly.

The red is for Liam; I have about 260 yards, which just might make a decent-sized garter stitch scarf. Boring, I know, but I'm thinking of some sort of embroidery/embellishments.....

And then today Olivia and went to the library. They have a little room there where they sell old and donated books to raise money. We always check it out, since we can't have too many books (until the piles touch the ceiling, anyway) and how can you go wrong for a quarter? Look at what I found today:

Rowan Books 5 and 9!! So what if they're from the eighties and full of intarsia? (Truly, this was Kaffe Fassett's time to shine.) There are actually a few things I like, but mostly they're just a lot of fun for a dollar.

Butterflies on a man's sweater? Really, Rowan?

(Actually, I can't help but like that last one.)

Katherine's No Good Very Bad Day

See those two little "angels"? Well. We did have six different stops to make this morning - which makes for a crappy day anyway - so I do see how they were a little bit set up. But still.

Stop number four was the grocery store. Olivia won't stay in the cart anymore and so it seemed like most of the time the three of us were headed in three different directions. But we finally did make it to the check out counter and I was digging in my purse for some coupons (for free Kraft products, which is what you get when you find a toasted bug in your cereal) when Olivia went off in search of the horsey ride. I sent Liam after her to explain to her that this particular store has no horsey ride and to bring her back. (Yes, that was a mistake.) Well, they didn't come back, but started running around in circles in the narrow area between the cash registers and the counter where you buy cigarettes. It took me a minute to notice too, because I was still digging in my purse and putting in my loyalty number and trying to pay the damn store. When I looked up my children were seriously holding up traffic. I reined them in sternly, told them to stay close, and went back to paying. This was when the usually-polite grocery bagger man said, at the top of his voice, "You have two very naughty children." And everyone within earshot laughed.

Oh my lord. I laughed too, but I was seriously embarrassed and could feel myself going red. Liam heard, of course, and was mortified, so that he behaved really well at the last two stops. Olivia, being three, didn't notice.

So right now Liam is at school and I've put in a movie for Olivia and I'm going to put on some tea and do some really relaxing knitting. And hope for a better tomorrow.

Really Random Stuff

1. I up and joined a gym yesterday. I'm really not fired up to work out or anything, but I need to put a halt to the weight gain and resultant squishiness that is slowly creeping up on me. Anyway, the humongous gentleman who signed me up strongly suggested I try a BOOT CAMP class (yes; it really is spelled with all caps) right away and so I'm signed up for 8 am Saturday. I think I may be able to walk again on Tuesday.

2. Eastlake is coming along swimmingly so far.

I started with the back but decided to rip out the couple of inches I'd done and begin again with the front. Since the row gauge is off I wanted to be sure the leaves wouldn't end in some awkward way; I've never quite tried to crowbar a pattern and a yarn together like this before and I think I'll have to work through the neck line with a calculator. But it will be a good exercise in altering patterns, I think. In the meantime, I'm really loving the pattern and the yarn (very camo-ish, no?).

3. Apparently Olivia has decided that rolling her eyes back into her head isn't quite expressive enough. Here she is not hiding her disgust at my desire to take a picture of her in her new Spring jacket.

And I do know it's too early for Spring jackets (although we did get away with them today). But last year we went to buy them in - get this - Spring and there were no jackets to be found anywhere. We had to get them in the Scotia, where a good jacket is always available.

4. Now that I'm thinking of sweaters (for me me me!), I'm seeing some really beautiful ones that I want. Like the Minimalist cardigan that has been burning in the back of my mind since it came out (despite the torturous stitch it requires). And look at this Hourglass sweater - it's made of Noro Cash Iroha with a Silk Garden Lite yoke. I'm also loving the idea of knitting an aran sweater, and this one has waist shaping, which I think makes it more wearable. Just some ideas at this point though, since I'd like to work through some of the stash first.

5. Our little seeds are growing like crazy and I'm going to have to figure out what to do with them sooner rather than later. We've discovered that pumpkin plants are huge even when they're babies. Just how much would 100 clay pots cost, do you think? And where would I put them?

6. So far so good on the reading. I've read three totally different books so far this year and enjoyed them all. Affiction by Russel Banks, a mystery/thriller in a small town with some heavy duty alcoholism and abuse mixed in. I spent the entire last half of the book with my heart racing. The End of the Alphabet by C.S. Richardson, which might not be for everyone, but I adored it and it had me sobbing at the end. It's very short and it feels like every word was carefully chosen, like a poem. And Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin, a very-readable look at human evolution, especially from fish. Love it.

7. Now I feel like a cookie. : )

I'm a Joiner

I've set a few goals for myself in 2009 and, in the process, signed up for a few things. I have a vague feeling that I'm over-committing, so I'm going to list it all out and then we'll see just how much bigger my eyes are than my stomach, shall we? Good thing no one shows up to flog you if you don't finish these things.

1. NaKniSweMoDo (Rav link). Basically, knit twelve adult sweaters/vests/shrugs in 2009 (or, thankfully, finish one that's in WIP mode). I do want to knit more sweaters this year - last year seemed to be all about the accessories - and a KAL helped me almost achieve twelve in 2007 (thank you Stephani). So it could happen! So far, though, I'm only about two inches into Eastlake. I did finish the last of my Christmas knitting this morning though (pictures soon), so I expect progress will pick up:

2. Stash Knit Down 2009 - Small Items (Rav link). Here's where I reveal just how crazy I really am. Okay, you know how sometimes one or two skeins of lovely things get purchased without a plan? And then they can get tucked away and, I hate to say, forgotten about? The idea here is to pull all that stuff out and match each with a pattern. (Not so crazy so far, but wait.) Then put each project into it's own paper bag and draw one to see what you'll work on first (that's the crazy). Kind of like a sock club, right? Kinda? It's like a Jedi mind trick to get myself excited about the long-term stash.

The exercise of yarn-pattern matching was actually quite helpful. I found yarn for things in my queue and I queued other things for my yarn. I also found some very pretty color combinations for mittens and such that I probably wouldn't have thought of otherwise. Anyway, the first project I picked was a little stuffed cat for Olivia:

Not much to see yet, since all the magic is in the finishing.

3. Bird in Hand KAL. Stacey, who works at my LYS, has kindly agreed to lead a class on these mittens and I am so excited about it. My last pair of stranded mittens had a few...flaws. For example: all the stitches done with my left hand were twisted and I wasn't sure why. Then I figured it out just to forget whenever I put the project down. Plus my tension was out-of-control tight. So I've got some pretty raspberry and cream Cascade 220 for that and we start next Sunday. I am bound and determined to love knitting stranded mittens.

4. 52 Books in 52 Weeks (Rav link). Just what it sounds like. I've found my reading has really fallen by the wayside the last few years and I'm ready to take back my books!

Plus I'm taking my first sewing class at the end of January and have vowed to have more of a hand-made Christmas next year. So don't bother calling me for plans or anything until 2010, 'kay?

A Ballerine at Last

Now please indulge me; this was a big moment for both of us and I have many pictures to share (I held back, I swear). It was so fun to watch; she did everything with so much concentration and enthusiasm.

Once she got home there was a costume change...

and then it was time for Baby Kiki's lesson.

(Is it bad that I secretly hope she wants to do this for a long time?)

I Think I Need More Sleep

We're having a sluggish day around here. Still not 100%, but back into the old routine. So I'm afraid our down time isn't very inspired right now, although we did find something to do that's lotsa fun and doesn't tire you out.

In case you were wondering what knitting thing I'm working on, that giant (malevolent?) ball is still following me around. And even though I've knit more than 500 yards from it, it doesn't seem to be getting any smaller, does it? It's working against me, methinks; I really thought I'd have done before Christmas (in time to mail it, even - ha!), but those calculations were using optimal sit-on-butt time that didn't take shopping, baking, wrapping, and socializing into account at all. {{sigh}}

But I'm on the home stretch and that means something new! I'm thinking of casting on for this sweater (Rav link) next. Someone on Ravelry made one in Dream in Color Classy, and I just happen to have a sweaters worth sitting around waiting to be a February Lady's Sweater (Rav link). I think I like this one better. I even have a similar shade of green.

Superstitions

 

I really believe that whatever I do on New Years Day sets the tone for the rest of the year (I know the Yarn Yarlot already wrote that, but I swear I was thinking of it before I read her post). Also that the first person to cross a home's threshold in the new year should be a dark-haired man, but that's tricky so I just don't worry about it much.

So anyway, I wore real pajamas to bed and not Mark's old long johns and I cooked healthy food (fondue is healthy, right?) and I made sure the house was clean.

We took down the tree too, and that was hard work and a bit sad. I suppose I can't expect to avoid those things all year anyway.

I tried to keep the kids from fighting, but that didn't work. Hell, I couldn't even keep Mark and I from arguing all day.

I thought about exercising too, and even had a Mocha Frap to celebrate. But then Liam came in from the garage with seed packages, tools, and gardening gloves, bound and determined to plant something immediately. I know it's pointless and crazy, and that we'll end up with a pile of plants weeks (and weeks) before we can plant them outside, but we did it anyway. Most of them are herbs so that I can pass out little pots of basil and parsley to about thirty of my closest friends in early March.

And of course I knit, and we all played Uno (new favorite game for Liam), and other little fun things. So I suppose we should be expecting some happy, sad, fun, hard work, and a bunch of crazy. Bring it on!

So here's to 2009! I've got a few resolutions to break, like the usual eat-better-exercise one I've had my whole adult life, but a few that I intend to keep too. Like to make more handmade gifts this year, to make myself some socks and stranded mittens, and to turn that Kidsilk Haze into a Seascape. And to send out my Christmas cards so that they arrive in Canada before 2010. And my handmade gifts too, for that matter.

There's so much potential in a new year, isn't there? Clean slate and all that, just waiting to be messed up. ; )