Knitting Musings

Baby A Chooses Her Own Books

2010-03-22T13:30:00.001-04:00

These two are particular favorites.

Snowed Out

2010-02-10T15:23:00.002-05:00

DC is getting so much snow that my in-laws, who live in Minnesota, are saying things like "wow, that's a lot of snow" whenever the weather report talks about DC. That's a lot of snow. Not that I would know, of course, because we're officially snowed out. We flew down to Florida right before the first storm hit, and were supposed to fly home on Sunday. And then on Tuesday. And now we're scheduled for tomorrow, but we're just waiting for them to cancel our flight AGAIN.

Abby is staying with my parents, and is getting "really tired" of walking in the snow. Poor Cricket is stuck at home with only the occasional visits from our intrepid (and much appreciated) neighbor to refill the food and water and change the litter - she is going to be so mad at us by the time we get home that we might have to serve her fancy Trader Joe's canned cat food out of a crystal goblet to get her to forgive us. Poor kitty!

So while all of our fellow DC-ers are stuck under mounds of snow, we're battling the "cold" 60 degree temperatures here in Fort Myers. We've only been able to go to the beach twice (oh, the humanity) -

- and we actually had to wear jackets and long pants to swing at the park.

Monster, meanwhile, has mastered the head-first dive down the slide. WHEEEEEEEEEEEE!

A Snowy Saturday

2010-01-30T12:29:00.004-05:00

We were supposed to have friends over for dinner, but the steadily falling snow has canceled those plans. Luckily, I had the foresight to make a huge pot of spaghetti sauce, so no harm done, and more yummy spaghetti for us!

We ventured out this morning for a walk to the post office - Monster really loves the snow! After she wakes up from her nap, I'll see if she wants to actually crawl around in it and play. This morning, she had to settle for being chauffeured.

And, since it's approximately 19 degrees outside, you would think that this would be a perfect opportunity for Monster to use her new hat. It's the "Practice Makes Perfect" hat from Inspired Cable Knits, knit on smaller needles with sport weight yarn to make a hat that more or less perfectly fits an 18-19" head circumference.

I love this hat, and I believe it may possibly be really cute on Monster. I'm not really sure what it looks like on her head, though... let me demonstrate her opinion on hats.

What's that, Mommy?

Nice try, Mommy - I may be distracted by the closet door, but I believe you just put something on my head.

See? I was right! You put something on my head!

There. That's better.

I figure my only hope is that it'll still fit her next year.

Finished Projects, Oh My!

2010-01-26T16:55:00.003-05:00

So I just realized I have 2 more finished projects that I haven't photographed yet. But since Monster had a meltdown last night until almost midnight (teething? random baby-angst?), I'll just go with what I've got.

And what I have is a finished Wild Apple! I love this sweater with a passion. Love it love it love it! I'm actually restraining myself from ordering another kit from Solveig.

I also finished Baby A's "Swing Thing" in a record time. I paired some silk yarn from stash with some pre-shrunk 100% cotton. I also used snaps covered by buttons instead of actual buttons, as getting things buttoned is a huge challenge with a wiggly Monster.

My only complaint is that the &#*@$ing silk yarn bled like crazy in a cold water wash, and slightly stained some of the cream cotton. I'm really glad I didn't use the silk yarn for anything else - it's not a big deal on a baby sweater, but could be a real problem in other garments. I guess if I use it again, I'll pair it with a really dark color of yarn.

Abby is still putting up with the whole "baby" thing, and has decided that all of the dropped finger food is a fair trade for the occasional abuse from Monster. She is NOT, however, quite as happy about the new exercise ball routine that S learned from the vet. Supposedly, it is like doggy pilates, and will help her compensate for the missing leg. Abby wonders how many extra chicken strips she's earning by putting up with S' craziness.

Right - off to start dinner and the bedtime routine. Here's what I hope to see in a few short hours...

Where Did December Go?

2010-01-08T10:53:00.002-05:00

So I didn't blog at all in December. Wow. So a quick recap - Baby A got SICK with a nasty cold, complete with emergency room visit in the middle of the night because she was coughing so hard she was throwing up. She's fine, there was nothing wrong except for a nasty cold, but still, scary stuff! So once Baby A kicked the cold, she passed it on so that I could enjoy almost 2 weeks of feeling like crap. What fun! And then, feeling left out, Baby A promptly got an ear infection. So that was a super fun month.

But in-between all of the crappy colds and ear infections, Baby A turned 1!! She didn't seem to mind that she had to share her birthday with that "Jesus" guy, and had a great time opening Christmas presents in the morning, taking a nap, and then opening birthday presents in the evening. And there was cake.

There was also a little teeny bit of snow here in December - we had about 20 inches in our yard! Baby A seemed to like to eat it, and wanted to crawl around more, but since it was over her head, she had to stick to the sections S shoveled clear.

It has been quite a challenge to keep Baby A warm on her puppy walks - she takes off her mittens, so we dug out her snow suit, but she's pretty much totally outgrown that. So we bought a new winter coat and a new snow suit which will hopefully help - she has grown so much in the last week or two that nothing is fitting her!

So on the really cold nights, we've resorted to "piles of blankets and jackets." It's seemed to work so far!

And there has most definitely been knitting - I finished 2 sweaters! Next up is supposed to be a cardigan for S, but he hasn't had time to decide on a design, so I'm filling the gap with a sweater for Baby A. I'm trying to use up some beautiful silk that I was gifted ages ago - not sure how much is on the skein, not really sure what to use it for... so I thought I would pair it with some cream cotton and make Baby A a little "swing coat". I'm loving it so far... not that I've had much time to work on it!

Not Quite Once a Day

2009-11-25T22:50:00.000-05:00

Well, we've made it to Thanksgiving with Oma and Opa in Minnesota. Baby A took her first plane ride and fell asleep after about 40 minutes of fussing... but what with the "get there 2 hours early" and "pay to check any baggage, including a portable crib" and the "stand in huge lines at security"... and my personal favorite, TAKE OFF A BABY'S SHOES AT SECURITY.

Because that's the new terrorist threat... explosives in BABY SHOES.

Sheesh.

So anyway, we all made it to Oma and Opa's, and have been having the best time. Oma gave Baby A a cookie, Opa let her play with his glasses, and they gave her an old cell phone (battery removed) because they felt bad that she couldn't play with the "real" cell phones. In other words, they have been spoiling her rotten, and she has been loving it.

They have quite a lot of experience spoiling grandkids... here's a picture of Baby A and all of her cousins. She is the 10th grandkid on this side of the family (and there's 1 great-grandbaby!)

And there has been a bit of knitting while Oma and Opa have been Baby A-sitting.... I'm working away at the back of my grey cardi, and am making decent progress:

I'll probably be ready to start the shaping for the armscyes by the time I get home, which is good because I didn't bring the pattern with me. I just know I need to keep going until I get to row 93... I'm on row 47 now, but I probably won't get much knitting time tomorrow or Friday.

Delivery Differences

2009-11-19T14:32:00.000-05:00

During the day in our neighborhood, we usually see 3 different delivery options - USPS, UPS, and FedEx. All drive trucks, all come to various doors dropping off things, and all are usually men.

So can anyone explain why Abby completely ignores FedEx, barks a few times at USPS, and goes COMPLETELY INSANE at UPS? I'm not talking about a little barking - she'll chase the UPS truck through the neighborhood if we see it while we're on a walk - she'll bark at UPS trucks she sees on the road when we're in the car... what did UPS ever do to Abby? And how can she tell the difference between the UPS truck and the FedEx truck?

Is the little doggy logo on the FedEx truck part of some kind of doggy-FedEx peace settlement?

Ugh

2009-11-17T11:20:00.000-05:00

S has the ick, and yesterday poor Baby A spent a grumpy couple of hours feeling miserable with a fever. She seems to be recovering a whole lot faster than S, thankfully...

...but now my throat is a bit sore. At least we don't leave for Minnesota until next Tuesday.

Actual Knitting!

2009-11-15T16:57:00.003-05:00

If you head outside today, watch for low-flying pigs - the Redskins FINALLY won a game, Baby A slept through the entire night for the first time in MONTHS (stupid teeth), and I managed to finish the left front of my new knitting project!

I'm working off of a Sirdar pattern (Donegal Tweed DK 8336), which I had purchased in the very early days of my knitting. When I pulled out the pattern to cast on, I noticed that it had (shudder) drop shoulders. Ew. EW EW EW. I'm sure drop shoulders look good on someone out there, but NOT ME, unless I'm dressing up as a linebacker.

So a little bit of math and a few experiments yielded a satisfactory set-in sleeve design.

The yarn is the scrumptious grey cormo cross I bought at Rhinebeck 2008, and apparently a love of cormo runs in the family:

And while I watched football and "knit" with Baby A, Abby and S took it upon themselves to absorb some excess solar energy.

Canine Roomba

2009-11-12T20:03:00.002-05:00

Baby A spends a lot of time "eating" various finger foods. By "eating," I mean she holds them out and feeds them to Abby, or sometimes scatters bits of food all over the living room.

Poor Abby. Whenever she sees Baby A's little snack container come out, she knows she'll have to spend a good long time meticulously inspecting every inch of floor for any errant cheerios.

It's hard work, but someone has to do it...

In Which I Resort to a Book Review

2009-11-10T10:43:00.002-05:00

I've spent the last week or so devouring "Will in the World." It's billed as a biography of William Shakespeare, but as so much of Shakespeare's life is speculation and guesswork, the book ends up being more a chronicle of the world in which Shakespeare lived and worked. The author speculates about how the events and attitudes of Elizabethan England may have influenced Shakespeare's writing. Although a familiarity with Shakespeare's most popular plays is definitely helpful in following the author's arguments for how each work was shaped, it is by no means necessary.

When I started this book, I thought it would be a waste with too much speculation - "Shakespeare may have done... may have seen... may have thought...." But as the narrative unfolded, I became entranced with how the author wove together a narrative based equally on Shakespeare's words and the historical records of the world in which he lived.

All in all, a fascinating read!

Sleepless in DC

2009-11-09T11:44:00.002-05:00

We're on day 3 of hard-core teething and accompanying lack of sleep. In the 12 hours that Baby A was "in bed" last night, we spent about 6 in the rocking chair trying to snuggle through the teething pain. I'm so tired that I'm actually looking forward to going to the dentist today because at least I'll get to lie down in the chair.

Right - enough complaining. Let's think happy thoughts. Like "homemade, whole grain graham crackers." MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

The Power of Handmade Blankets

2009-11-07T13:06:00.002-05:00

My maternal grandmother died when I was in elementary school, but I remember her crocheting blanket after blanket whenever she was sitting down.

She made one such blanket for her granddaughter some 30 years ago. Do you think she imagined that her great-granddaughter would eventually be wrapped in that same blanket?

The Knitter's Dilemma

2009-11-06T14:40:00.002-05:00

Last night, S came upstairs and asked if he could have "one of those Mr. Rodgers sweaters, you know, with the opening in the front." A quick peruse of Ravelry led to a couple of possibilities, but S basically wants a plain cardigan that's "not too thick and warm." Also, no "cables or ribbings or whatever makes it bumpy."

I pointed out that we could probably buy him a nice, plain sweater for less than what it will cost to buy the yarn for me to knit it for him. Plus, that way I wouldn't have to gouge out my eyes with my knitting needles on the 4 billionth stitch in a plain stockinette 42" chest cardigan.

He looked at me and said, "but then it wouldn't have that extra special Maevie touch!"

We're going to start looking at yarns.

Start them Early

2009-11-05T09:38:00.002-05:00

Knit Happens is a lovely yarn shop - not only do they sell me ~~crack~~ ummm... yarn, but they also put up with me bringing the Little Monster for visits. In fact, they may have occasionally encouraged her to develop luxury yarn tastes (cough cough - sea silk, cough cough).

So is it any wonder that Baby A has unique preferences when it comes to toys? She could, of course, play with the toys that have been carefully designed to entertain a baby of her age.

She could also help Elspeth play with some yarn.

It was at this point that poor Elspeth realized that she could no longer pull yarn from the ball. After a brief tug-of-war, I managed to wrest the yarn from Baby A and return it to its rightful owner.

On my own knitting front, there is slow but steady progress on my raglan pullover. I'm weaving in the ends and getting ready to pick up for the collar - good times. I'm forcing myself to complete all of the finishing on this sweater and on Wild Apple before I even wind yarn and swatch for my next project. Well, maybe I'll do a quick swatch so I can wash it and let it dry... but I can't START the project until I get all of the finishing done.

Do sleeves count as "starting?" What if the swatch is a sleeve?

Dear Sleep,

2009-11-04T12:57:00.002-05:00

I miss you. Let's make plans to see each other soon!

Love, Maeve

Seriously, last night I fell asleep before 9. SIGH. Such wild and crazy nights make for very poor knitting blog fodder, and leads one to scrape the proverbial barrel.

My big plans for today? Puppy walks, Knit Happens, and an emergency trip to the pet store for cat food.

Barrel, you have been scraped.

Three in a Row!

2009-11-03T11:09:00.001-05:00

Today's post is brought to you by the phrase "sleep deprivation." Yeah - after 4-5 very scattered hours of sleep last night, I'm barely coherent. Thank goodness for stockinette in the round.

And thank goodness for crappy quality cell phone pics that show off a hand-knit covered baby. I love colder weather!

Oh, and for all you Virginians, VOTE!!!! Baby A and I went this morning, and she helped by trying to eat the paper ballot.

Managing to Post 2 Days in a Row

2009-11-02T10:18:00.002-05:00

Not that I've got much. No knitting progress to speak of thanks to spending naptime doing chores. Only thing exciting today so far has been a trip to Target that involved finding S boxes of Count Chocula, Booberry, and Frankenberry cereals.

But I can finally answer a burning question.... what happens when you routinely expose impressionable babies to yarn store ~~pushers~~ employees?

Yeah, that's right. They go straight for the good stuff.

New Leaf for November

2009-11-01T11:56:00.003-05:00

I'm not sure that I can fully commit to the 1 post a day idea for November since we're traveling for Thanksgiving, but I'm going to at least post more often than once a month. Perhaps once I'm knitting something more interesting than a top-down raglan in the round in stockinette, I'll be more motivated.

Because my current knitting is so boring, I'll attempt to distract with cute baby with handknits. I made this sweater for her LAST year, but either Scandinavian babies are gigantic, or the sizes were rather off, because it fits her THIS year. (and she's outgrowing 12 month size clothes, so it's not that she's small.) But WOOT! Handknits that still fit!

(and yes, that is her chicken. poor chicken!)

She is also just about standing and walking on her own, so Daddy has to learn to stop leaving tempting closet doors open. And see her sweater? Another handknit from last year that still fits. This one was a gift, though, so it's even better!

Handknits were decidedly not in evidence yesterday for Halloween - before it started raining, it was in the 70s, so we were able to stage a bit of a photoshoot with our little jack-o-lanterns.

And yes, we did force Abby into her bee costume again. And she hated it just as much as each previous year. But if she's going to insist on charging the door like a barking maniac every time kids come for candy, she's going to have to put up with dressing up so she's less scary.

I still think she's plotting to kill S in his sleep in repayment for the indignity. One of our neighbors dressed up their dog like a princess... pink sparkly "dress" and everything... so I don't think Abby has it too bad!

Tap Tap... Is This Thing On?

2009-10-12T14:40:00.005-04:00

alternatively titled, "Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall!"

I'm knitting a new sweater - a basic raglan pullover out of yarn that I thought I hated. Turns out I didn't - who knew? I guess that's what a stash is for. I hit a bit of a speed bump when my needle broke last week, but I've switched to the Knitpicks Options and am back in business. Plus, the enforced break made me work on Wild Apple... just a bunch of sewing and end-weaving and I'm done!

Special thanks to my unwilling knitting model, S, who was trying to take a nap!

In other knitting news, remember the chicken hats I made for S and Baby A last year? Well, Baby A has outgrown hers, so I stuffed it and sewed the bottom shut... instant chicken toy! When she first saw it, she grabbed it, hugged it, and started laughing. I just about melted into a big puddle!

Before the temperatures started falling into the sweater-weather range, Grandpa and Grandma took me and Baby A on a beach weekend - S stayed behind and suffered through a baby-free weekend with the doggy. Baby A loved the sand and liked the water... but wasn't thrilled when the waves splashed up in her face!

She also got her second introduction to the culinary delight that is the Maryland Blue Crab. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM. Yes, she currently prefers playing with the hammer to actually eating the crabs, but it's a start!

Speaking of food, Baby A is well into the "finger foods" stage, which basically means that Abby gets a LOT of extra little treats.

Poor doggy - Baby A is crawling now, so she chases Abby around the living room. Funny how Abby doesn't seem to mind if Baby A has some food for her!

And it's not like Abby is constantly being abused, despite what she might have you believe... we do occassionaly give her a little TLC...

And now I'm off to enjoy the rest of S' day off from work by having some whole wheat banana muffins (health food, right?)

I'd Like A Sick Day, Please!

2009-09-09T10:42:00.005-04:00

It has been SO much fun chez-Musings these last few days thanks to our lovely little ~~germ factory~~ Baby A. She got a cold on Friday night, so between the sleep-deprivation and the constant germ warfare campaign, she succeeded in getting S and me sick by Monday. WHEEEEE!

But there has been knitting. Mostly finishing, as I want to finally clear the decks and get out from under some long-unfinished projects.

So first, I finished Dad's 2009 Vest. It still needs a blocking, but all knitting and finishing is done!

I also finally finished sewing up my long-neglected Union Square Market Pullover. I was really close to finishing it 2 years ago, but then it started getting warm and I knew I wouldn't be wearing a cashmere sweater in the spring. Then last year I was pregnant, so knew I wouldn't fit into anything I had knit. My hope is that I can finally wear it this winter!

The yarn is recycled cashmere that I dyed brown and lime green. I haven't decided what to do with the neckline yet - maybe I'll just leave it loose!

And finally, I'm finishing Wild Apple. I'm mostly finished with the knitting - I have to decide what to do with the cuffs and the hemline, so I'm sewing it up for a try-on and I'll make my decision then. I'm leaning towards hems rather than ribbing, but I'm not sure. I might do a small colorwork motif on the wrists.

And on deck? A plain, raglan pullover in stockinette out of yarn I thought I wanted to give away. Nope, I can't explain it either!

And Baby A? She's now mobile (when she wants to be). She still prefers standing to crawling, so may not ever be a very accomplished crawler. But she doesn't stay where you put her anymore, leading to fun times with drawers...

... and a lot more exercise for poor Abby.

So... Tired....

2009-08-14T09:12:00.004-04:00

Teething is evil. Baby A is on the verge of cutting her first tooth and hasn't been enjoying the experience, especially at night. So, consequently, Mommy is also not really enjoying that thing that she vaguely remembers... "sleep," I think it's called? SIGH.

But in other, much happier news - yesterday was Abby Come Home Day! Since it happened to fall on a Thursday, we're postponing the celebration until this weekend. We're taking Abby to our favorite dog-friendly restaurant and letting her order anything she wants off of the doggy menu... probably lamb stew!

What else is going on? I'm nearly done knitting the body of my dad's vest - just a few more rows to go before steeking and finishing. If I weren't so tired, I might be working on it now!

We've also been hitting the pool with our little tadpole - she loves going swimming, and it's much easier to hold up a 20 pound baby when she's supported by the water!

Abby has been VERY helpful with solid-food time...

... and S managed to grow exactly 1 zucchini in the "garden." I think we have now conclusively proven that between our shady yard and our bright red clay soil, we really can't grow anything.

In Bed at 7:30????

2009-07-10T19:41:00.002-04:00

Baby A does not, as a rule, have a "bedtime." Mommy and Daddy have a funny idea that there is a "bedtime," but Baby A decides when she'll fall asleep, and absolutely nothing Mommy or Daddy can do will change that. Mostly it's 9:30ish, which sucks. Sometimes I hit the lottery, like tonight (fingers crossed), and she goes to sleep at 7:30, giving me time to do things like update the blog, or knit, or watch a movie...

In reality, I should continue taping up the basement in preparation for painting tomorrow, but that sucks, so I'll avoid it.

Instead, I'll show you pictures of my dad's 2009 vest:

It's based on AS's "Erin Cardigan" from Celtic Collection, except that I more or less changed the colors all around. I was trying to make them a bit more masculine, and I was also using Jamieson & Smith Shetland instead of whatever crazy yarns she called for. I'm not minding this one, but I think next year I'll go back to a more traditional fair isle pattern in blues and greens - I'm a little tired of the extra long floats in this one!

Right, so that's the knitting out of the way. I guess I should explain that even though I'm failing at establishing a strict bedtime, I'm definitely running a tight ship in other ways! Baby A has to follow a strict exercise regimine:

... she has to study VERY important subjects ("Tails are Not for Pulling" is a core coursebook)...

... and, if she has done ALL of her chores, she is sometimes allowed to relax for a few minutes!

How is it July Already?

2009-07-06T12:08:00.003-04:00

Perhaps its the VERY mild temperatures or perhaps its the fact that we spent July 4th falling asleep before 10, but somehow I can't seem to wrap my mind around the fact that it is now July. What happened to June? Isn't it still May?

We survived the trip home from Minnesota with a minimum of grumpy-baby. Plus, I had an inspiration while watching Baby A play happily with the wrapper from her diaper wipes - I encased said wrapper in some scrap fabric, added a few ribbons, and voila! New baby toy!

Baby A continues to thrive - all 18.5 pounds of her! She probably could be crawling right now if she would spend more than a few seconds on the floor. In Baby A's mind, however, there is really only one way to spend one's time... STANDING.

She also finds it acceptable if YOU stand while holding her, and she really appreciates it when Abby shows her which way to go!

While not standing, I've spent my time pureeing baby food...

... making my mom a birthday cake with some of the entire dozen double-yoked eggs I picked up at TJ's...

... and picking out real grown-up furniture that doesn't come un-assembled from a certain Swedish store. (The couch is coming in a few weeks).

Oh, and there has been the occasional lobster-eating, courtesy of my parents. My dad bought Baby A her very own lobster, which (unfortunately) we all had to share since she can't quite crack that shell herself yet...

She's thinking "why is your lobster toy so much bigger than my lobster toy?"

Oh, and in case anyone is keeping score, I'm still plugging along on my dad's 2009 vest... but on size 2 needles, it's slow going!

Leaving Tomorrow

2009-06-21T15:05:00.002-04:00

It's hard to believe that the trip to Minnesota is almost over - good thing S gave me his "lovely" cold so I could "enjoy" every last minute! But before my nose plugged up and my sinuses started throbbing, we had a lovely couple of cruises on the boat...

... and S caught quite possibly the biggest fish EVER. See? HUGE!!!

Baby A decided it was worth all of the driving to bring Abby with us... she loves her doggy!

But no one gets a free ride around here. If Baby A wants to stay in this family, she has to pull her weight in the knitting-modeling department. Here she is showing my progress on my dad's 2009 vest:

And here's a close-up. It'll eventually be the Erin cardigan (well, the charts anyway) from Celtic Collection, with quite a few color modifications.

Drive By Post before we Drive Away

2009-06-09T13:43:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow morning we're packing up the car and heading to Minnesota... dog, baby and all! It should be quite the adventure. So while I'm waiting for Baby A to wake up from her nap, I thought I'd do a quick "drive-by" post since it has been, well, forever...

...okay, so naptime ended milliseconds after I started typing. So now I'll do a "drive by at 75 mph" post so I can get to bed!

Let's call this post "things Baby A loves."

Baby A loves solid foods (except banana...)

Baby A loves playing with her toys (under Abby's careful supervision)...

Baby A loves napping on Grandpa's lap...

... and Baby A loves playing with Mommy's knitting.

Whew! Hopefully the drive to Minnesota will zoom by as quickly as this post!

2 Nights Down, 5 to Go

2009-05-11T16:31:00.002-04:00

Saturday was S' birthday. He celebrated by getting on a plane to Kazakhstan for a week-long business trip. Sunday was Mother's Day. I celebrated by cleaning up baby poo. See, Baby A has recently discovered how to roll over from her back to her tummy. So when I put her dirty little butt on the nice waterproof pad on top of her crib sheet so I could run the bath for her, I really shouldn't have expected her to stay put. But in the 5 minutes it took for me to prepare the bath, I returned to find her poopy little butt had rolled over right OFF of the nice waterproof pad, her leg was stuck through the crib slats, and she was grinning at me. Oh, and she peed on the sheet for good measure.

It's ok, though - S got me a massage for Mother's Day, and my mom is coming to Baby A-sit on Wednesday to give me a chance to get pampered for an hour.

But I'm still counting down the days until S comes home!

In knitting news, I'm apparently really bad at taking pictures, because I've since finished the first Bex sock and am well on my way with the second. Again, like the Rick socks (also from Cookie A's book), I'm not thrilled with the way these fit - a little loose around the ankles. I deliberately shortened the leg by a couple of inches, though, and I think the socks are stiff enough with all of the cabling so they won't slouch down. Regardless, these are really interesting to knit, so I'm not really concerned. I hope I'll finish the second one before the yarn arrives from Shetland for my dad's 2009 fair isle vest!

In Baby A news, we've discovered the best baby toy EVER - a $3 mylar balloon (don't use the latex ones in case they pop... big scary noise and chokeable pieces of latex everywhere). Lately, we've been standing next to it and hitting it, but you can also tie it loosely to baby's leg... baby sees the balloon, gets excited, and kicks... making the balloon move... making baby excited so she kicks... making the balloon move...

ah, great fun.

And know what else is great fun? Sitting like a big girl and playing with the stacking rings.

Baby A's First Sheep and Wool

2009-05-03T15:53:00.005-04:00

I love Maryland Sheep and Wool... even in the pouring rain! Of course, there was a lot less playing in the grass, watching the sheep dogs, and eating tasty snacky foods than usual, but we still had a blast.

The main goal of the day (besides a very short and woefully non-knitting shopping list) was to introduce Baby A to the sheepies.

Sheepies, meet Baby A.

Baby A, meet the Sheepies...

See the Sheepies?

(I think she saw the Sheepies.)

Ummmm.... and there might have been some funnel cake consumption.

Knitting? KNITTING!

2009-04-23T08:18:00.008-04:00

Thanks to Baby A's habit of cluster-feeding for literally hours at a time, I'm managing to get some knitting done. Specifically, the Rick socks in koigu kpppm. I loved knitting these (even though they were top-down!) and I wore them yesterday. Actually, they aren't my favorite socks to wear - they are a little big around the ankles so they slouch a little bit. It does appear, however, that they don't slouch down into my shoes, so I'm happy. Plus, the fact that I have a pair of socks is a bonus - I just knit these for the entertainment value!

The color in the first picture is a little more true, but Abby couldn't resist a chance to help me model them:

What next? I just placed the order for the yarn for my dad's 2009 christmas fair isle vest, but that won't arrive for a bit (seeing as it's coming from Shetland!), so I've cast on for the Bex socks. I'm still a little skeptical about how they'll fit, but I'm only 6 rows into them, so I can't really judge yet.

So that takes care of the knitting. How's Baby A doing?

She's learning lots of important lessons from Daddy...

... getting all dressed up for Easter Sunday...

... and having a blast in her exersaucer.

Where Does the Time Go?

2009-04-14T08:12:00.006-04:00

I have, indeed, been knitting... but only because Baby A has taken to cluster feeding for several hours each evening. On the one hand, being pinned down on the couch from 6ish-9ish is rather frustrating, and I'm rather tired of eating dinner off of a plate balanced above a nursing baby. On the other hand, she usually makes it until 6 or 7 am ... that's right, SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!! So in the end, I think the marathon of nursing in the evening is totally worth it!

That's right - knitting... I finished the socks for my neighbor, who promptly went on vacation just before I delivered them. SIGH. She came back yesterday, though, so hopefully I'll run into her soon. These are the Fancy Silk Socks from Knitting Vintage Socks, and they were an entertaining knit. In hindsight, I should have cast on more loosely, but I think they will work. The yarn is some superwash Blue Faced Leicester I originally dyed for S.

After the successful sock knitting adventure, I was at loose ends, as it were... I didn't want to cast on for a big project, because I just didn't have the energy for all of the planning. In fact, I need to get off my butt and start crunching the numbers and ordering the yarn for my dad's 2009 Christmas Fair Isle Vest. Plus, S had treated me to a new sock pattern book that hadn't arrived yet. What to knit?

Bibs, of course!!

Cricket must have been forewarned by her friends... as soon as the bibs came off of the needles, she was nowhere to be found. Luckily, for a chicken strip, Abby is up for any modeling gig! The only change I made to these bibs was to sew velcro on the straps instead of using a button. I find it's a little easier to adjust the fit and to get the bib on a squirming baby with the velcro.

And it was perfect timing - as soon as the bibs were off the needles, my new book arrived, and I cast on the Rick socks from Cookie A's book. So far, I am loving these. Challenging without being too difficult, and really interesting.

I've also been sewing - Baby A outgrew her sleep sacks, and I really didn't want to fork over the $$ for new ones. 2 yards of fleece, 2 zippers, and a lot of "sewing by the seat of your pants" resulted in 2 perfectly functional (and MUCH larger) sleep sacks.

And Baby A herself? She is growing like a weed, and is so much more interactive each day. Here she is helping her Daddy install a new doorknob...

... helping Mommy eat Easter Brunch at Grandma and Grandpa's house...

... showing off her new Easter Bunny from her Oma and Opa...

... and helping Abby train for the synchronized sleeping event by subbing in for Cricket. Abby seems pleased with how well she's doing (for a beginner!)

Busy Busy Busy

2009-03-23T13:36:00.002-04:00

S has dubbed Baby A the "time vampire." And so she is... just when you think you'll have a few minutes to do something, anything... there she is, demanding something! So sometimes it takes me 3 weeks to update the blog. SIGH.

But it has been an eventful month. My dad turned 65, and Baby A got her first good look at cake. I think she liked what she saw, even though she still can only eat it "second hand."

She's also graduated to facing out in the baby carrier, which means that she no longer falls asleep on dog walks, but also that she has a lot more fun (and we can go on more of them, so Abby is a happy doggy!)

She also got 2 lovely bibs from Chaos and Mayhem - I love these bibs so much that I already have raided my stash for some suitable yarns, and plan to cast on as soon as I finish a pair of socks for our lovely neighbor who gives us the occasional home cooked meal or freshly baked loaf of bread.

And speaking of finished - I knit S a sweater! It's mostly the Cobblestone Pullover from Interweave, but with some modifications. It fits him, and he was actually able to wear it before it got too warm!

I feel like there was so much more I wanted to post about, but instead all I can think about is putting away the laundry and feeding the dog. Such is the brain of someone who dealt with a baby who decided to pass on just about all of her naps today!

Hand Knits for Babies

2009-03-03T10:54:00.000-05:00

Whew! Time is flying, and not much blogging gets done. But we're slowly but surely settling into a "schedule" with these amazing things called "naps" and "bedtimes," so things are definitely looking up! I'm still plugging away on S' sweater - I've almost got the body done, and need to add about 3" on each sleeve before joining everything for the yoke. At this rate, I'll finish just in time for spring!

To distract you from my inability to take pictures of any actual knitting, allow me to present what Baby A thinks of her handknit hat and mittens, courtesy of Mommy...

Apparently she'd rather have cold hands and a cold head. Silly baby! Luckily, she is MUCH more appreciative of the hand-knit sweaters, like this lovely one from Ann...

and this equally luscious one from Shanti...

What a lucky baby! And not to be left out, S finally got to give Baby A her very first birthday present from Daddy - a limited edition fountain pen engraved just for her. While she did try to grab it a few times, apparently "writing with a fountain pen" is not one of the skills she'll master by 3 months, so we're putting the fountain pen somewhere safe until she's old enough to use it!

S has also, by necessity, been practicing his baby-soothing methods. Here is my personal favorite - he bends her over his hand and jiggles her with his knee until her tummy feels better - and sometimes she falls asleep...

... but sometimes she doesn't, which necessitates a puppy walk with her strapped to S' chest. She's extra-pissed about the hat, so she's tickling S in the armpits to get even!

But don't worry, Abby is definitely a big help. Not only does she selflessly go on extra puppy walks some nights, but she also makes sure that the blanket we use for tummy time doesn't blow away! What a helpful doggy!

This past weekend, S' parents were in town on their way from Florida to Minnesota (yes, they brought the snow. Blame them!) So Abby had her little buddy, Barney, to help keep Baby A in line...

And finally, we all enjoyed a quick walk in the snow yesterday - and Baby A got to use her snowsuit!

She fell asleep on the walk, so S thought she should make a little snow angel before we went inside.

(good grief, I think this post is completely nonsensical, but at least it's a post!)

Whew!!

2009-02-17T11:08:00.000-05:00

Good grief - I started this post on Friday. And it's not even that impressive. SIGH.

Actually, the only reason I was able to start a post at all was because of my new Valentine... meet Mr. Swingy. I LOVE Mr. Swingy. Mr. Swingy has enabled me to do such amazing things as use the bathroom, eat breakfast, and even knit sometimes! We had put off buying a swing until we had a sense of whether Baby A would use one... but after a few nights of Dad serving as the human swing, we decided it was worth the $$. I was all set to order one online, but S suggested we swing by Target just in case they had one in stock (saving himself a few nights of sore arms!) So we did, and there was Mr. Swingy... on clearance for 75% off. It was meant to be.

Thanks to Mr. Swingy, I was finally able to finish the second pair of socks for S (baby included for scale). I am so tired of knitting socks that I absolutely had to take a break, even though S still needs several more pairs to refill his sock drawer.

So I've started a sweater. It's a Cobblestone (IK Fall 2007) for S, knit out of some blue faced leicester that I dyed at least 3 times until I finally got a color that I liked. I hope it turns out well - I'm about halfway done with the first sleeve, and so far S still likes the way it looks!

Knitting!

2009-01-23T10:31:00.004-05:00

I feel GREAT this morning because Baby A finally decided to break the "only sleep for an hour at a time" habit of the last few days and slept for a bit over 2 hours at a stretch this morning... it's amazing what a little bit of sleep will do for a person! The last time she slept that long at a stretch was on Wednesday, when I took her to Knit Happens and she passed out for a good long stretch. So Holly... any night you want to come over and hang out with Baby A and do your "baby whisperer" thing, you just let me know.

I'm trying to ride the energy wave and upload some photos... of course, it's snacky-time for Baby A again, so my productivity is limited to tasks that can be done from the rocking chair. Luckily, uploading photos and updating the blog are such tasks.

And look - I finished a pair of socks for S! I dyed the yarn in early December, and had finished the first sock waiting for Baby A. I cast on for the second in the hospital, and many hours of nursing later, there's another sock! And just in time - S wore out another pair of handknit socks last week. His sock drawer is practically empty!

And in other Baby A developments... look! Holding up her head!

So let's all hope for some more sleepy-time today, because I have a couple of sewing projects I've been desperately trying to work on for DAYS, and I'd love to take a nap.

Quite a Week

2009-01-19T20:50:00.000-05:00

Dear Sleep,

I miss you. Hope to see you soon. Please visit Baby A.

Love, Maeve

Yeah - lots of late nights over chez-Musings... and not too much in the way of sleeping at night. Apparently Baby A didn't get the memo that she should only need to eat every 3 hours or so... she's eating and growing like CRAZY!

This week, she got her eyes working well enough to see the Snoopy toy that the crazy mommy person keeps waving in front of her face... of course, little-miss-one-track-mind tried to nurse on Snoopy's nose a few minutes later. (She also tried to nurse on Abby during a snuggle today - Abby was NOT pleased!)

She also (barely) made it to Late Night, where she was immediately snuggled by the Irregulars. There may have also been a tiny incident where Auntie Elspeth tried her best to lead Baby A astray... (try the cashmere, and the silk... all of the babies are doing it...)

And Ann gifted Baby A with the cutest little koigu sweater... she's not quite big enough to fit into it properly yet, but any day now...

Speaking of sweaters, here's a modeling shot of Baby A in the Baby Surprise sweater Elspeth made her... it gets so many compliments! We bundled up on Saturday morning (temps below 10 degrees!) and walked to the local coffee shop for theneighborhood parents group meeting - our first!

Since it was so cold, we went all out on the hand-knits... she wore socks, mittens, a sweater, and, of course, a chicken hat! She was not particularly fond of the mittens, since she likes to stick her hands in her mouth, and wool tends to get in the way...

But eventually, we were all decked out and ready to go (don't worry, I snuggled her up in a nice fleecy/flannel blanket before we ventured outside!)

And yes, S wore his matching chicken. They were tres adorable.

We are most definitely NOT venturing downtown tomorrow... in fact, given our proximity to a metro station, we aren't even leaving the house (at least by car) for fear of losing our parking permits. But (sleep schedule permitting), we'll watch on TV as history is made, and we'll be hoping, along with the rest of the nation, that the next four years fulfill our collective dreams of greatness.

And if I fall asleep during the Oath, there's always You Tube, right?

Nearly 3 Weeks

2009-01-13T16:34:00.000-05:00

I can't believe Baby A has only been here for 2 and a half weeks... it seems like she's been here forever! S is going to go back to work for a few days a week starting tomorrow, so I'll be facing my first day "all alone" with A (with help from Abby and Cricket!)

In the meantime, we've been making the most of S' time off and we've been trying to get out and go places... those of you who know me will doubtless be SHOCKED that one of our destinations happened to be a certain eatery...

Not only have I been learning to live with MUCH less sleep, I'm also having to learn how to balance all sorts of things. For example, my lap, although much larger than when I was preggers, is still only so big. Consequently, space allocation with a sleeping baby, a snuggly cat, and knitting can be a bit of a challenge...

When she's not trying to balance precariously on what little bit of lap isn't covered by baby-ness, Cricket has been shouldering a heavy burden of housework. For example, yesterday we ventured out to the Torpedo Factory to spend the rest of a very generous gift certificate we had received for our wedding. We scored big-time... 4 beautiful pieces of pottery. Cricket had to single-handedly inspect each and every one to ensure proper quality. She especially liked the little bouquet I stuck in one of the peices...

She isn't allowed on the kitchen counter, so she had to settle for a much more cursory inspection of the new little chicken bowl (that we're currently using to hold salt)...

And she luckily had completed her inspection of the bowl before I filled it with fruit.

But my favorite peice? Definitely this one. It's about the size of a salad plate, and is slightly curved... so it's not quite a bowl, not quite a plate. And it's just beautiful.

Baby A Fights The Man

2009-01-07T11:52:00.006-05:00

On Monday, S and I bundled Baby A up and headed to the local mall. It was truly a desperation trip, since we both hate malls - but I desperately needed some nursing bras, and needed someone to measure me and help me pick out an appropriate size. We parked at a meter, and came back to the car to find a parking ticket... apparently, the genius parking enforcement officer pulled up our address, saw "Alexandria" as the city, and decided we were missing the "you paid your Alexandria City car tax" sticker. And we are missing such a sticker... because we don't live in Alexandria City. We live in Alexandria, an unincorporated section of Fairfax County. And Fairfax County doesn't issue those nice little stickers.

So we had 2 options - either pay the $40, or go IN PERSON to the courthouse and hope they would cancel the ticket without making us go IN PERSON again to court. S and I were so pissed that we decided it was worth all of the effort to head over to the courthouse on Tuesday. The reason they changed the law to require you to appear in person, twice, to challenge a ticket? To increase revenue. We call it extortion... pay the $40 bogus ticket, or take off 2 days from work to challenge it.

We got the ticket cancelled (DUH). Fight The Man, A... fight The Man.

Fresh off of her successful pre-revolutionary exercises, A and Abby shared a little snuggle.

Cricket, on the other hand, preferred to take advantage of the fact that I left the side of the crib lowered.

And lest this blog become completely about Baby A, I've turned the heel on S' second sock. Who knows, I might be able to actually finish the pair before A starts college!

First Days Home

2009-01-01T10:48:00.000-05:00

We're home, and life is more or less starting to fall into place... she's still eating like crazy (she gained 2 ounces in 2 days!), sleeping, and filling up diapers... what a life!!

Our last night in the hospital was challenging... she really didn't like sleeping in her little bassinet (maybe she was cold?) but I couldn't really sleep if I was holding her. So finally S took my place as snuggle-buddy so I could get a few hours of sleep. S cannot sleep unless at least one of his feet is sticking out from under the covers... like daddy, like daughter!

Since A was a Christmas baby, she got a cute little red and white crochet cap at the hospital. I think her head is a little small for it, though - it kept slipping off!

While at the hospital, the lactation consultant showed me a neat trick that took advantage of my cheap old navy tank top to get some quality snuggles in... and, coincidentally, free up my hands for some knitting!

And speaking of knitting, when it was finally time to head home, I bundled A up in the smallest of the sweaters knit by 4-Ply Katie, rolled up the sleeves about 4 times, and we headed home.

Once at home, we had Grandma and Grandpa bring in A, and S and I gave Abby some much needed snuggling. Once Abby had had a chance to give us kisses and get belly rubs, we introduced her to her new pack-member...

After many sniffs, Abby gave A a little kiss, and has been a wonderful doggy since then. She's often sleeping on her doggy bed in A's room, and sometimes runs in there faster than I do when A starts to cry!

A is gradually waking up more, mostly at night (SIGH), but S has some pretty impressive baby whispering talents which have helped a lot. And A nurses like a champ - she gained 2 ounces over the past 2 days! So I spend a lot of time in the rocking chair. Luckily, S set up a portable dvd player for me, so I can occasionally watch a little Grey's Anatomy while waiting for the wonder-nurser to get full.

Oh, and one of the perks of new-baby-dom? I started this post 2 days ago.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-26T21:23:00.004-05:00

We got a very Merry Christmas present this year... our little girl, A, (aka the Little Monster), got dropped off by Santa on his way back up to the North Pole!

She was born at 9:22 am after almost 5 hours of labor. No, that's not a typo - my water broke at 4:40 am and by the time we talked with the doctor and headed to the hospital, it was time to push! I'm convinced that the secret to such a fast labor was the lovely lobster dinner we enjoyed on Christmas Eve... you heard it here first - lobster causes labor!

We're all doing really well - A got the hang of eating today, and has been eating non-stop all afternoon, and I'm feeling really good considering that I haven't really had too much sleep in the last few nights. Assuming all continues to go well, we'll all head home tomorrow, and hopefully celebrate a rescheduled Christmas on Sunday!

Here are the details:

A, the Little Monster
Born December 25, 2008 at 9:22 am
6 pounds 13 ounces
19.5 inches

Sigh

2008-12-23T10:57:00.002-05:00

Still pregnant. Everyone is waiting around for something to happen:

I'm knitting S a sock.

Attention, Little Monster:

2008-12-19T20:10:00.003-05:00

You are hereby notified, in any event, that your tenancy is hereby terminated as of RIGHT NOW.
You are hereby requested to quit, vacate, and deliver possession therefore to the undersigned on or before RIGHT NOW.

I'm now 2 cm dilated, and the head is "way down there." How far down there? Apparently, it's knocking on the door. But the Little Monster is just having a great time, having a dance party, getting its groove on... and seemingly in no hurry to come out and meet the world. We had an ultrasound today to double check that all is well before my doctor heads off for a few days for the Christmas holiday (any bets on whether the Little Monster waits just long enough for her to get on the plane?)

And we got to see our little cutie:

It also mooned the ultrasound tech, but she didn't take a picture. And no, we didn't see any identifying parts (she had us look away and was really good to say NOTHING). But I'm prepared to cover the little bottom if it ever bothers to show up... I sewed a quick little pair of pants out of some leftover fleece:

And to show that I'm serious about Project Little Monster Eviction? Yeah, that's right... I finished Alpine Lace, and it's blocking as we speak. Hear that, Little Monster? I FINISHED ALPINE LACE. Consider yourself served with the official eviction notice.

Riding the Nesting Wave

2008-12-18T08:03:00.004-05:00

Everyone send "Little Monster Eviction" vibes this way... I'm trying to convince it that a birthday BEFORE Christmas is so much better than a birthday AFTER Christmas. The wonderful folks at Knit Happens all made very encouraging noises last night, complete with testimony about people who have birthdays on either side of the holidays. So, Little Monster, any time now!!

In the meantime, I'm just continuing to "get things done" thanks to the wonderful world of nesting. I finally dug out my "mending basket" and sewed up everything in it - many of the items had been languishing for well over a year! Poor Shawn - he had almost forgotten he owned the shirt and sweater that had been hanging out in the basket.

In the process, I found a pair of socks I finished about a year ago...

... another pair of socks I finished months ago, but didn't bother to weave in the ends...

... a lovely feather-and-fan scarf knit out of the most amazing handspun from Carolina that I wore all day yesterday, even though I was kinda hot and had to change into a t-shirt...

... and a pair of socks that I knit SEVERAL years ago, and then overdyed with kool-aid. I'm toying with overdying these so they're not quite as, ummm, bright, but then again... I'm not sure I care!

So after that whirlwind of productivity, I sewed the last crib sheets and the final little sleeper sack... today or tomorrow I'll finish the sewing by whipping up a few pairs of little pants for the monster, and then I'll put away the sewing machine in preparation for the arrival of the in laws, who apparently need to sleep somewhere, and don't really want to have to step over all of the crafting supplies I've got in the basement!

Oh, and while I was at it, I took a picture of S' fingerless mitts. I swear I ended up knititng these about 15 times to get the fit right, but what's the point of custom-knitting something if you don't get it right? And yes, they are Cormo... but less than half a skein. I didn't go crazy and knit him a Cormo sweater or anything!

Today I'd like to bake cookies, finish up my thank you notes, and get my weekly doctor's appointment out of the way. I'd also love to keep updating my Ravelry projects (lots of old projects to add), go through photos, and all sorts of other stuff... so hear that, Little Monster? I have PLANS! Your arrival will mess up those PLANS! So it would be INCONVENIENT for you to come now! (I'm totally not above using reverse psychology on my unborn child).

Any Time You're Ready, Little Monster...

2008-12-16T09:43:00.005-05:00

I have a few more items on my "to-do" list, but mostly I'm just biding my time until the Little Monster decides to come. So I'm chugging along on all of those "it would be nice to finish this up" items on the list.

So that explains why I finally pulled out my long-neglected Alpine Lace Scarf, which has sat in "I'm bored" time-out for probably the better part of a year. After a few false starts while trying to figure out where I was in the pattern, I'm moving right along - I have a couple more repeats of the center motif, and then the bottom border. Who knows - maybe I'll manage to get this cast off before the Little Monster puts it into another extended hiatus!

I also spent some time this weekend preparing some undyed yarn for the dye pot... I had some expert help with the skein-winding process.

But despite the over-enthusiastic helper, I did manage to get all of the yarn wound... that's a bunch of Blue Faced Leicester worsted weight that may become a February Lady, or may become a basic raglan (depending on the results of my over-dye job today), and sock yarn for 5 pairs of socks for S, who has been wearing out his older socks at an alarming rate. I guess they all reached their expiration date about the same time!

I took advantage of the 66 degree weather yesterday and was able to set up the drying rack outside. I was also able to dye on the screen porch with plenty of ventilation, and only used the liquid dye stocks I had made up previously, so there was very little danger of me inhaling any particles. Plus, between the mask, the glasses, the gloves, and the apron, I was pretty well covered!

I had intended to do the dyeing this weekend, but I had an unexpectedly long lunch with a few friends on Saturday... lunch that turned into a surprise baby shower! They are VERY VERY sneaky and totally surprised me, even though EVERYONE knew, including my parents and S! It was a blast, and there were even some sneaky knitters in attendance... so now the Little Monster has a Baby Surprise in luscious koigu thanks to the lovely Elspeth! It may suck for the Little Monster to have a birthday right around Christmas, but it is PERFECT timing for all of the extra-cute teensy-tiny little handknits!

I also finished a second little ribbed hat, modeled here by a member of the Little Monster's personal sheep herd (complete with a border collie to keep everything in order!) And see the sheepie on the far left? That was hand-knit by the lovely (and very sneaky) Kati who flew down from Boston to help pull off the entire shower surprise. She thinks the ears are kinda "wonky," but I think they are perfect.

Meanwhile, Cricket has discovered that there are certain advantages to all of this "baby stuff" that keeps getting brought into the house. For example, she got to thoroughly test the warmth of both the blanket I made for the Little Monster out of flannel and fleece, AND the cushioning provided by the changing table pad. Somehow, I doubt she's going to be spending much time in that particular spot once it begins being used for its intended purpose...

Abby, meanwhile, spent the weekend supervising S, chasing squirrels away from the bird feeders, and barking at the various delivery people who keep driving past the house on their way to deliver holiday packages. All of that work makes for a VERY tired doggy who wishes we would turn off that stupid light and let her go to sleep already!

Counting Down

2008-12-12T07:48:00.004-05:00

So as of yesterday, I'm 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced. Hopefully this means the Little Monster is preparing for a timely entrance, because being 38 weeks pregnant is not at the top of my "most fun things ever" list! I'm currently fantasizing about some sort of spring-powered bed that will allow me to get up without looking remarkably like a large sea lion attempting to maneuver across land.

But at least, regardless of the Little Monster's timing, I've finished the 2008 Edition of Dad's Vest!!!

Ok, so technically it's not quite blocked. But in my defense, I was going to block it yesterday... but the weather was so nasty (low 40s and driving rain ALL DAY) that even Abby didn't want to go outside! And since the blocking board is in the shed, I decided it could wait.

Cricket concurred that the idea of "going outside" is entirely overrated, especially when there is a heat vent available!

I also whipped up a Little Monster hat... I was at Target stocking up the nursery with onesies and so forth when I thought to myself, "that sucks that they don't have any cute baby hats!" DUH! Sometimes pregnancy brain can be stunning in its stupidity. I'm a KNITTER. Why would I buy a hat?

Truthfully, though, I've been spending more time with the sewing machine than with the needles. I whipped up a super-cozy flannel and fleece blanket... it's 2 layers, so the flannel is paired with a layer of fleece on the back and vice-versa. It's very warm and cozy, and I'm hoping it'll come in handy for car rides and other outside times! I also made a ring-sling, and even practiced a bit with a big bag of rice as the "baby"... I think I'll get the hang of it! I still have to sew another crib sheet, another sleep sack, and a couple of pairs of baby pants... and then I think that's all I thought of. But the fabric store is right up the street, so no promises that I won't pick up more fabric!

And finally, I've been trying to finish the tree-decorating. I have one more round that I'll hopefully finish tonight, and then we'll be done! As you can see, I get a LOT of help from my crack team of tree decorators...

Abby also moonlights as a "cookie decoration supervisor." Apparently, she thinks I'm incapable of glazing sugar cookies by myself!

I guess she does have a point - that huge tummy keeps me from getting as close to the counter as I'd like!

I glazed cookies with red and green glazes for Christmas. S got his hands on teh food coloring and made his own "special" color...

Somehow, he thought that the addition of sprinkles would improve his "oil spill man" cookie...

Luckily, though, it still tasted good. And yes, he WAS that little kid who always ended up with the brown easter eggs because he dipped them into way too many colors...

Not Dead Yet

2008-12-08T12:57:00.004-05:00

Wow - this has been quite the cold. I've finally turned the corner and can see the prospect of "feeling better" on the horizon, but it's pretty sad when the highlight of my recovery thus far was the fact that, last night, I only woke up coughing uncontrollably ONCE, and I was actually able to kinda sleep on my side for a few hours instead of sleeping sitting up.

But the Little Monster is doing just fine, and only seems to be mildly annoyed by all of the bouncing it experiences during the various coughing fits. At least I'm hopefully getting the nasty cold of the season out of the way while the Little Monster is safely in utero... and hopefully I'll avoid repeat cold performances once the Little Monster arrives!

So poor S, who has been putting up with the unbelievable sexiness that is a 9 month pregnant Snot-a-saurus, also got to put up with me busting out the Christmas decorations. We bought our happy little tree, and I've made some pretty good progress on the decorating - it'll probably take me most of the week to get everything set up since it takes me forever to get up from the floor when I put an ornament on the lower part of the tree! You can see that I had help from a motivated and talented team of furry supervisors... Cricket really loves to help, shall we say, test the integrity of the ornament-attachment methods, and Abby likes to nap.

In between all of the coughing, not much knitting has been accomplished. I have a date with my dad's vest momentarily, and hope to finish that up today and get it blocking. I have, however, been busting out the sewing machine.

I found instructions for sewing a sleep sack online that suggested using a baby outfit as a guide to cut out a pattern. I don't have much in the way of clothing for the Little Monster as of yet, so I pulled out the 3 month size outfit I did buy to use as a model...

Any guesses as to why I couldn't resist buying this particular outfit?

With the puppy-feet outfit firmly in hand, I set forth to attack my new fabric stash... the 2 printed flannels are destined to become sleep sacks and little blankets, the fabric on the far right will become a ring-sling, and the fabric on the left will either become additional crib sheets, or will head to the fabric stash for some to-be-determined use.

I also got to fire up my new toy... I managed to break the bobbin-winder on my sewing machine, and thought I would have to track down a sewing machine repair shop and beg someone to fix it. Since it's cold outside, and I'm sick, and I'm a wuss, I really didn't relish the idea of driving all over town in a possibly futile attempt to compensate for my own stupidity in breaking my machine. Luckily, that morning had brought an advertising email from the local fabric store advertising the following product for $20... SCORE!

So, all pieces in place, I got to it. First, I used some stash fabric to cut out a pattern.

Then, I carefully pressed my flannel, cut out the pattern pieces, and put the freshly ironed flannel to the side for a later project. Bad idea, thanks to a helpful kitty...

About an hour or so later, and I was done... I can't believe how cute this is!!! And sheepies!! (I know, you're shocked.)

Dear Sore Throat,

2008-12-03T08:13:00.008-05:00

No offense or anything, but I hate you, Sore Throat. I can handle the disgusting nose-blowing, and even the headaches and general crappiness feeling of the common cold. But the sore throat that wakes me up in the middle of the night when I try to swallow? NOT COOL. And no, I don't think my lack of voice makes me sound sexy. Rather, I sound quite a bit like an old frog who has refused to give up his 3-pack-a-day smoking habit. So, Sore Throat, get the $&*@ out of here.

- Love, Maeve.

Yeah... still sick. I was supposed to visit the pediatrician's office this morning, but I rescheduled... I figure that no one at the office needs to be exposed to my toxic cloud of germy nastiness. Meanwhile, I'm making friends with the decaf tea, seltzer water, and chocolate chip cookies (ok, so that last one doesn't really help the cold, but they ARE yummy!)

The rest of the team is trying to ignore how often I blow my nose, and are instead subtly suggesting that I spend more time resting. Abby, for example, demonstrated how one might get comfy in a nest of down comforter, feather bed, and fleece blanket (hypothetically, of course, since she's not allowed on the bed and we're REALLY strict).

Cricket, on the other hand, finally discovered the doggy bed we keep upstairs, and decided that Abby might just be onto something here... after all, this particular doggy bed is really a full-sized feather bed that I folded into a square and sewed together.

And there has been a little bit of knitting in between the nose-blowing... I've finished the 3 little mitten/sock sets out of leftover sock yarns...

... but even more exciting was the package that arrived yesterday in the mail from none other than 4-Ply Katie!!! Inside were 3 tiny, tissue-paper wrapped packages. I barely managed to restrain myself until S got home, and we opened them together to find 3 of the loveliest sweaters I've ever seen!

Look! Denim stripes! Seed stitch collar! Buttons!

Teeny set in sleeves!

Thistle buttons! And the Little Monster's first trip abroad was to Scotland! And the yarn is green!

Look! So cute! And if you could feel how soft this is, you'd all be plotting as to how to steal it in order to carry it around like a security blanket. And GREEN!

I would have squeeled, but I had already lost my voice, so instead I croaked excitedly and kept pointing things out to S and to my mom. Luckily, although neither knit, both S and my mom were suitably impressed and kept making lovely comments.

So THANK YOU, KATIE!!!! And I promise to get you some properly modeled shots as soon as the Little Monster shows up for the photo-shoot.

Freedom!

2008-12-02T09:12:00.002-05:00

After a lovely Thanksgiving, I celebrated my new freedom from the job-I-hate by getting thoroughly sick. I had such a horrible sore throat on Sunday that I was seriously contemplating asking S to just go ahead and club me over the head. It didn't help that I couldn't take any medicine since so few things are "Little Monster Approved." Luckily, yesterday and today have seen marked improvements, although the Little Monster is apparently training for an interpretive dance competition. The intense rehearsals in the middle of the night have been, ummmm, challenging. Especially that little move I've nicknamed "play mommy's ribs like a xylophone with your feet."

Plus, yesterday we splurged and had a cleaning crew come for a complete de-furring of the house. It looks amazing, and was such a great way to shift into "Little Monster Arrival" mode! Abby and Cricket are rather upset that all of their insulating fur deposits were summarily removed, and have been attempting to re-coat every surface with fur as quickly as they can. What team players!

S realized that I hadn't taken a picture of him and his new saw when we were building our "drawer-holding box"- so we staged a picture. At what point to boys stop playing with toys and substitute power tools? Because S was so excited to buy his new saw that it reminded me of a little kid going to the toy store...

Abby, meanwhile, tried to make me feel better on Sunday by stealing a rice cake from S (ok, he actually gave it to her), and then running upstairs and "hiding" on the bed. I was minding my own business when suddenly a rice-cake-carrying doggy hops up on the bed as if it's the most natural place to have a snack! You can tell that we're real disciplinarians and NEVER let any of the fuzzles on the bed....

Cricket, meanwhile, had her own job to do. After, ummmmm, nearly 10 months of having un-hemmed curtains in the living and dining rooms, I finally got around to hemming them. Things took just a smidge longer than I thought, however, due to the following "technical difficulty"...

Having trouble seeing what was preventing me from finishing the ironing? How about a close-up:

What a helpful kitty.

And the best present a tired, pregnant lady can get? How about home-made soup, full of yummy veggies and awesome flavors like coconut milk, tamarind, red chilis... and, best of all, made by the hubby? MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

Lame Duck Associate

2008-11-18T09:20:00.004-05:00

I'm struggling through my last 7 days of sitting in my office before I start my maternity leave. Things are, thanks to the economy and so forth, beyond slow... and since I'm almost out the door, I'm not exactly in high demand for any new projects that come up. So I'm really just killing time. I guess I should try to enjoy the enforced periods of "sitting around doing nothing" since I'm pretty sure the Little Monster will be putting an end to those opportunities soon!

Speaking of the Little Monster, I ran out of subway-knitting, so I cast on for some thumbless mittens (on the advice of a mom at Late Night last week). I'll probably finish up the 3 pairs of thumbless mittens before I finish up the commuting, so I'm thinking I'll make matching pairs of socks and have 3 little sets (awwwwwwwwwwwww).

And the Little Monster itself? Definitely in the middle of a growth spurt. I feel more and more like I've got a basketball full of sand strapped to my stomach!

Over the weekend, S had the great idea to build a box to hold the plastic drawers we're using as a dresser for the Little Monster. So we headed out to buy wood, paint, and screws, and by the end of the weekend had this:

We figure that once we're done with the crib and get the Little Monster some real bedroom furniture, we can put shelves or doors on the box and use it as a toy chest or something. It's nothing fancy, but it makes a big difference! Plus, it gives us a great surface to use for drinks etc... while sitting in the rocking chair.

And the rocking chair? It's gotten the "cricket seal of approval."

Abby, on the other hand, prefers a slightly warmer mattress that is capable of giving the occasional belly-rub...

They slept like that for over an hour the other night. Awwwwww!

Two Weeks

2008-11-12T14:41:00.005-05:00

10 more days. It's almost here... as is the Little Monster! I've been riding the "nesting wave" and S has been helping me get things organized. Last weekend, we did the shed and the basement, and yesterday we used our holiday to finish setting up the Little Monster Lair.

Is anyone surprised that the wall art has a sheep-and-chicken theme?

Nothing in the room is "new" - the crib and changing table were passed on from friends, and the rocking chair saw service 30-odd years ago when my parents used it for both my brother and for me. I just bought new cushions!

After all of the crib-assembly and organizing, I continued the finishing-tear and dove into the knitting basket....

... and came out with matching Father-and-Little Monster chicken hats! These are FANTASTIC. I can't wait to do some photo shoots! And once the novelty has worn off, I plan to stuff them and sew up the bottoms to create a couple of awesome chicken dolls/pillows.

And yes, I am aware that other people may find this odd. But dude - CHICKEN HATS!! And the legs hang down to cover your ears, so it's actually a really comfy and warm hat!

I also FINALLY finished the Sheepie Blanket!!!!! For the record, there were 222 ends for the sheep, 79 ends for the various borders, and 53 ends for the dogs... for a grand total of 354 ends. I hate intarsia with a passion, but I'm really glad I stuck with it and finished this!

So a quick update of "The List" shows that I'm getting there... I should finish S' fingerless mitts this week (I've been knitting and re-knitting them over and over to get the fit exactly right!), and I should be finishing up my dad's vest in the next week or two. Once my maternity leave starts, I plan to go gangbusters on the sewing projects and start the mobile (sheep, of course!) I may still have bitten off more than I can chew, but I'm taking it one project at a time, and hopefully will get most of it done before the Little Monster makes its appearance!

Finished
1. Sew 3 baby bumpers for crib
2. Baby aran sweater
3. Baby Dale of Norway sweater
4. Socks for S
5. Chicken Hat for Little Monster and S (don't ask... really no rational explanation)
6. Sheepie Blanket

Almost Finished
1. Dad's Christmas Vest (cut steeks, neck and arm bands, sew in ends, block)
2. Finally hem living room and dining room curtains
3. Fingerless mitts for S

Haven't Started
1. Shaun the Sheep mobile for Little Monster
2. Sew sleep sacks for Little Monster
3. Sew ring sling for Little Monster
4. Sew crib sheets for Little Monster

Bring on Thanksgiving

2008-11-06T09:25:00.006-05:00

Ok, ok... so I know that Halloween was just last weekend, and normally I'm not one to rush to the next holiday... but Thanksgiving marks my first day of maternity leave, so pardon me if I am a little extra-eager to get through November. (For the record - 14 more days, including today, of dragging my sorry butt into the office. In 3 weeks from today, I'll be DONE.)

So right - Halloween. I'm a big loser and didn't dress up this year, but we did carve our pumpkin (Abby helped us by eating all of the "extra pieces!")

And before the trick-or-treaters started arriving, we made sure Abby got into the Halloween spirit. She was not particularly amused, but it definitely helped make her less threatening when she ran to the door woofing at each group of kids (we had a baby gate up to make sure she couldn't get out.)

Eventually, she (sort of) got used to the constant stream of visitors and settled down for a more comfortable door-guarding experience...

Poor Abby got quite a workout - we completely ran out of candy and granola bars (our back-up food) by around 8:30! We had at least 75 trick-or-treaters! Next year we'll be sure to buy more candy, but this was our first Halloween in our new neighborhood, so we had no idea what to expect.

The rest of the weekend was spent being productive. Saturday's weather was AWESOME, so we took advantage of the sunny day and mild temperatures to do some cleaning. I washed a bunch of baby stuff I was gifted (car seat and stroller), and S steam-cleaned the dining room and kitchen rugs. As you can see, we definitely knew when the rugs were dry!

After a day filled with all sorts of productivity, we all settled down for a nice relaxing evening. As you can see, both Abby and Cricket have done their best to adjust their snuggling to accomodate the growing belly!

Since I managed to tweak my lower back during all of Saturday's productivity, I spent Sunday being much more sedentary. But LOOK! I'm just about done with the Sheepie Blanket!!!

I just have to weave in the last billion or so ends I created knitting the two doggies, and it will be DONE. And the Little Monster had better be worth it, because I REALLY HATE INTARSIA.

And for the record, Abby would like to point out that she is MUCH more photogenic than some stupid blanket, and that you should all come over and rub on her tummy.

And finally, what weekend wouldn't be complete without some bizarre squirrel behavior? This particular squirrel stole an empty hot chocolate container from our recycle bin, and attempted to bring it up various trees in the yard.

He would do really well, but then would drop it and have to start all over. We tried to help out by keeping the dog and cat inside, but eventually he gave up and left the container in our neighbor's yard. We still don't know what he was trying to do with it!

The Last Month

2008-10-31T14:21:00.003-04:00

I'm planning on starting my maternity leave on December 1, making November my last month at work. Unfortunately, the last week has been and the next week will be insane at work... although I have been largely sheltered from the craziness. Today, I decided I needed to "clear the air" with the 3 partners for whom I work. Basically, I can't do crazy hours right now. When I do, I get stressed out and worn out, and I start to lose weight, and I usually get sick. Like in April, right before I got pregnant, when I dropped almost 10 pounds in a month - 10 pounds I wasn't really interested in losing. It was to the point where I was literally falling out of my pants. My doctor has (duh) been VERY clear that this CANNOT HAPPEN when I'm 8 months pregnant.

So I've spent the last week feeling like I'm a big slacker for not being in this project up to my eyebrows, and feeling guilty (and relieved) when I leave at 6 instead of staying past 10 like "everyone else." So I've gone to 2 of the 3 partners so far today with the message of, "I wanted to thank you for the accommodations you've made for me so far, and the fact that you haven't been demanding that I stay all hours etc.... I also wanted to say that I really need this accommodation, because if I push myself past my limits, I'll have to start my maternity leave early, and possibly be facing bedrest." So far the 2 conversations have gone really well - I'm trying to catch the 3rd partner to get that over with as well. (Of course, the last conversation is with the most intimidating of the 3)...

I definitely feel better after getting this out in the open. I don't know if it will make a huge difference in the grand scheme of things, because I think it's pretty clear to y'all that I will not be re-entering the world of big law after the baby, but I would like to avoid leaving a bad impression behind me.

After today - 17 days left in the office, spread over 4 weeks. And hopefully after next week the project-from-hell will be over, and my inability to push myself won't be so glaringly obvious.

Cough Cough!

2008-10-28T08:03:00.004-04:00

Well, it's actually more of a headache, but I couldn't think of a sound effect for "headache." Regardless, it's given me an excuse to take a sick day and hopefully to finally be able to take a much-needed afternoon nap! I'm also planning to watch some netflix and work on the sheepie blanket, bake some chocolate chip cookies, and get lots of snuggles with the fuzzy-butts.

I'm also trying to finally go through some of my photos... trying to order some prints and generally "clear the decks" in preparation for the Little Monster. Also, this way I can take advantage of the faster internet at work to upload photos to flickr! But in the course of sorting through some of the pictures, I found a few from Scotland that I meant to post, but somehow forgot...

First up - a very curious candy bar. It's just a milk chocolate bar - and it's pretty yummy - but really, is this the best marketing idea? Wouldn't you think that women would be a little MORE likely to buy chocolate than men? And does the fact that I ate some of it mean that the Little Monster will be a boy?

And in a similarly confusing label situation, S and I bought this toothpaste in Scotland after running out of the small tube we had brought with us.

Looks normal, right? But this is the warning prominently printed on the back of the tube... how exactly does one get toothpaste in one's eye? And who has done it often enough to merit a warning on the packaging?

Ok. Back to the present! On Sunday, we took advantage of the beautiful day and took a day-trip to Shenandoah National Park. We were originally going to go camping, but the weather on Saturday didn't cooperate, so we got up super-early on Sunday and headed out.

First order of business once we negotiated the road-closures in connection with the Marine Corps Marathon? Stop for breakfast (we hit up a *$'s). S may have slightly miscalculated when he decided he would just eat his breakfast sandwich in the car...

We hiked a short section of the Appalachian Trail and made sure to take lots of breaks to, ummmmm, "enjoy nature." (We think she's hunting a chipmonk, but it also could have been a mole. Or a mouse. Or just something that smelled interesting.)

We stopped at one overlook for a snack of apples and carrots (Abby helped with the apple cores once she finished her carrot!)

And we stopped at a second, spectacular overlook for lunch. The leaves weren't quite changed, but there were enough flashes of color to make it well worth the hike.

On the way back, Abby hunted something in a rotten log... and finally got S to understand that she needed him to break apart the rotten wood so she could stick her nose further into the middle of the log! S can be so dumb sometimes, but those opposable thumbs DO come in handy...

And the end result of almost 3 hours of sniffing out of the car window, followed by a 4 mile hike?

One sleepy doggy.

Rhinebeck!!!!

2008-10-25T09:15:00.001-04:00

So this week hasn't been too bad at work - mostly because I just don't care anymore, so am willing to do what I have to, but am no longer going out of my way to try and prove myself. Of course, I haven't slept properly in what seems like forever, but is actually just this past week, so the exhaustion isn't helping my mood. I love the irony of the third trimester - the last time in my life I'll have to sleep like a normal person, and I can't sleep through the night. Figures!

So anyway, this week is FINALLY over, and I can look back fondly on what I was doing this time last week.... RHINEBECK!!!

On the drive up, we saw beautiful fall foliage (and stopped like good little tourists to take pictures)...

... at the hotel room, we engaged in some group handspun-quiviut-detangling...

... and then, on Saturday, got to the main business of the trip... friends, fiber, food... and adorable border collie puppies!!!!

And did I mention the food? The apple crisp at this place was unbelievably good. My only regret was that it was too cold to get the ice cream, and I had to settle for the whipped cream. Wow - now I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

And remember that cute little border collie puppy? Hopefully, when he grows up, he can herd this little guy - a four-day old lamb that was so full of cute that it was almost painful!

There were some older relatives as well, including some cashmere goats...

...and some sheepies that looked so warm and toasty all snuggled up together, but who didn't seem to be interested in having me join them to get warm!

On Sunday, we managed to sneak in another few hours at the festival before we had to hit the road for the ride home. First stop? Lamb chili for breakfast (yes, it is just that good).

Since I had, ummmm, accidentally purchased a sweater's worth of grey cormo from Foxhill Farm the day before, I tried to concentrate on the beautiful scenery rather than the beautiful yarns. I love fall!

I wasn't alone in having a "cormo problem." Poor Elspeth accidentally tripped and fell into a pile of cormo-silk, and then just had to buy it. Doesn't she look so sad about the whole chain of events?

And to top the trip off... right before loading up the zipcar to head back to DC, I got to see my first pumpkin-chucking competition. True, I only saw 1.5 rounds so don't know who won, but I still think it counts. See that tiny little dot above and slightly to the right of the girl in the pink jacket? Yeah... that's a pumpkin. The sound they make when they hit the ground was AWESOME.

And here's a good look at some of the machines used to propel said pumpkins. When we left, the team that was winning was from the local high school - what a way to make science fun!

Saving Rhinebeck for Another Day

2008-10-23T08:23:00.006-04:00

I have, including today, 24 days left in the office. For the last month and a half, I have had literally NOTHING to do, and spent much of the day listening to NPR and knitting under my desk. With just over 5 weeks left to go, things may be a "little crazy" - just what I did NOT want. Although I now have the ability to go to my doctor and tell her that I think my health is suffering due to the work stress, and she needs to help me start my maternity leave a little early. After all, last time I went through a "crazy time" at work, I dropped almost 15 pounds and spent a lot of time crying when I got home. I obviously can't do that again - no job is worth jeopardizing the health of the Little Monster - especially a job that I don't want. To be fair, so far I've been very much on the periphery of the craziness - to the extent that I spent all day Tuesday at a worthless webinar, while other members of the group were pulling all-nighters. So I may very well be making a big fuss over nothing, and I may manage to dodge the craziness and get out of here without having to pull the "I'm 8 months pregnant and can't do this" card. (The kicker? They've named the potential project-from-hell "Operation Sunshine.")

ANYWAY, all of that was quite the long rant to explain why I'm saving my Rhinebeck post until later in the week - I have a feeling that I'll really REALLY need to remind myself of the glorious weekend in order to keep from running screaming from the building.

So let's jump ahead to Tuesday evening, when S and I engaged in some much-needed home improvement. (Nesting? Oh, HELL YEAH.) Our front door is lovely - it's the original from 60 years ago, and it has a large paned glass section that just makes the whole thing seem so friendly. Of course, it's a little TOO friendly when all of your neighbors can see you wandering around in your underwear because you really wanted a drink of water before bed. So we decided to replace the broken venetian blinds with a nice cream roman shade. Can anyone spot the source of the "fun" we had trying to position the blinds properly? I'll give you a hint... the cords from the blinds were REALLY long!

Fresh from her duties as assistant-blind-installer, Cricket turned to a MUCH more demanding task. See, I'm knitting coordinating chicken hats for S and the Little Monster. S really REALLY likes chickens, and once I saw the pattern in a Dale of Norway book, I knew the Little Monster needed one... and once S saw the pattern, he knew HE needed one. I figure that after they wear them a few times for photos, I can stuff them, sew up the bottoms, and make 2 very cute chicken dolls.

So yesterday I finished the Little Monster Chicken Hat, and needed a model (the Little Monster being unavailable for hopefully another few months). "Hmmmm," I thought, "Cricket has a pretty small noggin!"

She was not amused. So I gave up, and decided to take a picture of the chicken hat on the back of the couch instead.

Cricket, however, had not forgiven the attempted humiliation.

She was determined to destroy the chicken-interloper...

... and attempted to drag it off to "finish it" later.

Finally, thanks to the fortuitous intervention of some Trader Joe's canned cat food, I managed to take a picture:

... and even convinced S to "model" it.

So another project off of the "list"! And the second chicken hat, knit with worsted weight instead of sock yarn, is moving right along, as is the sheepie blanket. Perhaps, with luck and a little more of those lovely nesting hormones, I'll actually get through all of these projects!

Finished
1. Sew 3 baby bumpers for crib
2. Baby aran sweater
3. Baby Dale of Norway sweater
4. Socks for S
5. Chicken Hat for Little Monster (don't ask... really no rational explanation)

Almost Finished
1. Dad's Christmas Vest (cut steeks, neck and arm bands, sew in ends, block)
2. Sheepie Blanket (finish borders, assemble blanket)
3. Finally hem living room and dining room curtains
4. Chicken Hat for S

Haven't Started
1. Fingerless mitts for S
2. Shaun the Sheep mobile for Little Monster
3. Sew sleep sacks for Little Monster
4. Sew ring sling for Little Monster
5. Sew crib sheets for Little Monster

So Much to Blog!

2008-10-22T09:22:00.004-04:00

I've finally gotten my act in gear and gone through some of my photos - but then I realized that if I tried to fit them all into one blog post, it would be a little insane. So I'll have to wait patiently and spread out all of the fun stuff and hopefully manage to update more than once in a blue moon!

First up - I finished another pair of socks for S! He has been slowly-but-surely wearing holes into his "happy maevie socks," so I'm trying to keep up his sock-drawer supply. These are basic 2x2 rib.

We've also been trying to enjoy the lovely fall weather we've been having - a few weekends ago (not last weekend - last weekend was RHINEBECK!!) - we went to Great Falls and enjoyed a lovely hike along the C&O Canal. Being 7+ months pregnant, I was (of course) hungry when we got there, so I made S and Abby eat a hot dog to keep me company...

And later that same weekend, I made Abby and S try out our "new" rocking chair. We picked it up from my parents' house and gave it a good clean - it's the rocking chair that my mom used when my brother and I were babies. In her words - "it's seen a lot of rocking in its day!" I'm thrilled that we'll be able to use it with our Little Monster. Oh, and in case you're wondering, Abby approved of the rocking. She passed out and took a nice long nap in S' lap.

And despite my being 7+ months pregnant, neither fuzzle is totally on board with the idea that their lap is quickly disappearing. Cricket has resorted to sleeping under my chin, and Abby... well, Abby just improvises.

Abby also understands the strict rules we have in our house - no fuzzles on the bed (with a few minor exceptions, like if they look "cute" or "comfy"). So I think it is DEFINITELY against the rules for her to take her treat, run upstairs, and proceed to have "breakfast in bed."

Why Can't I Remember to Take Pictures?

2008-10-14T11:52:00.002-04:00

I finished S' socks on Saturday, made him try them on, and took pictures. But then I was too lazy to actually upload said photos. SIGH.

I'm currently chugging along on the Sheepie Blanket - it's all in one piece now, and I'm working on the top and bottom borders. The end is in sight - I may manage to finish it in the next week or so! Of course, then I'll have to figure out what to bring for my Rhinebeck knitting - that's right - I'm taking advantage of the last time I can hop into a car for a weekend trip without a kidlet in tow, and I'm heading up to Rhinebeck with the girls on Friday! Now if I can just figure out which project to bring...

Finished
1. Sew 3 baby bumpers for crib
2. Baby aran sweater
3. Baby Dale of Norway sweater
4. Socks for S

Almost Finished
1. Dad's Christmas Vest (cut steeks, neck and arm bands, sew in ends, block)
2. Sheepie Blanket (finish borders, assemble blanket)
3. Finally hem living room and dining room curtains

Haven't Started
1. Shaun the Sheep mobile for Little Monster
2. Chicken Hats for S and Little Monster (don't ask... really no rational explanation)
3. Sew sleep sacks for Little Monster
4. Sew ring sling for Little Monster
5. Sew crib sheets for Little Monster

WOOOT!!!

2008-10-06T14:55:00.003-04:00

S spent the weekend in Minnesota catching up with his family, which left me with huge spaces of time to fill with knitting. My goal? Finish something. Anything.

So I tackled the Little Monster Dale sweater. First, I headed to the local fabric store and picked up some buttons (making sure they were washable)...

I love these buttons. They work for either gender, they are sturdy (so they shouldn't snap off and get eaten, God forbid), and they were the right size. Oh, and they were cheap AND on sale!

After the button-shopping expedition, I settled in to the finishing work. Dale patterns are REALLY fiddly. You sew down plackets, you knit facings, you sew down hems... lots of little details. This, for example, is what the armhole seam looks like.

But I kept on with the fiddly bits, and kept plugging away at the button bands, the seams, the neckband, the buttons, the weaving-in-of-ends...

And ended up blocking this at about 10 pm last night. I think I can say that I have NEVER done this much detailed finishing on a sweater. Do I think all of my seams need to be covered by facings? No. But I do think that forcing myself to attend to all of these picky little details will make me that much better- after all, every project will benefit from a little extra TLC during those final finishing steps.

And since I had the blocking board out, I blocked the Little Monster Aran. Two baby sweaters ready for the Little Monster! Now, if those borders for the sheepie blanket would just knit themselves...

Finished
1. Sew 3 baby bumpers for crib
2. Baby aran sweater
3. Baby Dale of Norway sweater

Almost Finished
1. Dad's Christmas Vest (cut steeks, neck and arm bands, sew in ends, block)
2. Sheepie Blanket (finish borders, assemble blanket)
3. Finally hem living room and dining room curtains
4. Socks for S

Haven't Started
1. Shaun the Sheep mobile for Little Monster
2. Chicken Hats for S and Little Monster (don't ask... really no rational explanation)
3. Sew sleep sacks for Little Monster
4. Sew ring sling for Little Monster
5. Sew crib sheets for Little Monster

Actual Knitting!!

2008-09-30T15:33:00.003-04:00

Perhaps this is the beginning of that infamous "nesting" phase, or perhaps I'm just getting tired of all of the piles of unfinished knitting projects lying around... but I'm trying my best to work through the rest of them!

My one success so far - I've actually completely finished the Little Monster Aran!! I'm really pleased with how this one turned out - the sweater itself is based on a baby sweater from Inspired Cable Knits, but, since I didn't like the cables in the original, I substituted cables from one of Elspeth Lavold's Viking Knits books.

I also busted out the sewing machine and steeked the Little Monster Dale of Norway... I've since attached both sleeves and done one of the button bands. I need to tidy up a bunch of the seaming (Dale patterns are nothing if not finishing-intensive!), pick out buttons, and polish this one off as well... but I've been in a wicked head-cold fog since Sunday, and didn't want to risk screwing something up. Perhaps this weekend!

And finally, the Sheepie Blanket is progressing - I've sewed each of my 3 strips, and have done one of the side borders. I'm in the process of doing the other side border now.... I may go back and re-do the green border, as I ended up picking up too many stitches, causing the border to flare out a bit at the edge. So if I do a better job the second time around, I may go back and do a fix... we'll see! I think I'm going to have to start taking this one with me on the metro to make some real progress, but I don't want to pick up stitches on the train, so I'll keep it at home for the moment.

So I have 3 major projects I need to finish up - the Dale, the Sheepie Blanket, and my dad's vest. I think I can make it!

An Update of Sorts

2008-09-23T14:14:00.003-04:00

I've spent the last few days up to my eyebrows in pictures - I've taken advantage of some very slow time at work (which is a whole other source of stress, but hopefully I'll make it through the next 9.5 weeks) to upload all of my various archived digital photos to Flickr. I have a pro account (thanks to Ravelry), so I decided to make full use of my $25/year and use Flickr as an off-site backup. It took FOREVER to upload all of the photos, and I didn't do a great job of cataloguing - mostly just organized into sets and left it at that. But at least they are all up there. I also added in my 2005 finished objects to Ravelry - I still need to work on the 2004 finished projects, but I haven't gotten there yet.

And tomorrow I'm heading off to a mandatory "new associate orientation" in Atlanta - I didn't go last year because I started a week or so too late, and so they're making me go this year. I obviously can't tell them not to bother as I'll only be working here another 9+ weeks, so I just have to suck it up and go. S is, in a freaky coincidence, also traveling for work this week, so we're bringing Abby to the grandparents' house tonight (and a neighbor is checking in on Cricket). Since normally neither of us ever travel for work, it's quite the inconvenience that we're both traveling at the same time!

But I have gotten something crossed off the list - I finished the Little Monster Aran this morning! Of course, no pictures - I couldn't face another picture just yet!

Finished
1. Sew 3 baby bumpers for crib
2. Baby aran sweater

Almost Finished
1. Dad's Christmas Vest (cut steeks, neck and arm bands, sew in ends, block)
2. Baby Dale of Norway sweater (sew/cut steeks, assemble sweater, button bands, sew in ends)
3. Sheepie Blanket (finish sewing in ends on squares and block, sew up 2 more vertical strips, finish borders, assemble blanket)
4. Finally hem living room and dining room curtains.

Haven't Started
1. Socks for S
2. Shaun the Sheep mobile for Little Monster
3. Chicken Hats for S and Little Monster (don't ask... really no rational explanation)
4. Sew sleep sacks for Little Monster
5. Sew ring sling for Little Monster
6. Sew crib sheets for Little Monster

And Now For Something Completely Different...

2008-09-17T13:29:00.003-04:00

I still have more Scotland pics, but I figured I'd take a break and give myself a public "kick in the pants." See, I have a little over 10 weeks left at work, and then I'll be taking several weeks off (depending on when the Little Monster arrives). Unfortunately, since I have only a vague idea as to when the little one will be showing up, I can't necessarily count on those first few weeks in December. Consequently, I'm trying to motivate myself to get some of my projects actually finished!

So here's a brief list to keep myself on track:

Finished
1. Sew 3 baby bumpers for crib

Almost Finished
1. Dad's Christmas Vest (cut steeks, neck and arm bands, sew in ends, block)
2. Baby Dale of Norway sweater (sew/cut steeks, assemble sweater, button bands, sew in ends)
3. Baby aran sweater (finish last sleeve, assemble, knit neckband, sew in ends)
4. Sheepie Blanket (finish sewing in ends on squares and block, sew up 2 more vertical strips, finish borders, assemble blanket)
5. Finally hem living room and dining room curtains.

Haven't Started
1. Socks for S
2. Shaun the Sheep mobile for Little Monster
3. Chicken Hats for S and Little Monster (don't ask... really no rational explanation)
4. Sew sleep sacks for Little Monster
5. Sew ring sling for Little Monster
6. Sew crib sheets for Little Monster

I also have Alpine Lace marinating in the closet, and may manage to finish that up at some point.

Then again, I may go crazy trying to do everything. We'll see how it goes. I can definitely finish up the sheepie blanket, dad's vest, and the 2 baby sweaters pretty easily. The sewing projects shouldn't be too bad as long as I keep plugging away at them each weekend. The rest? Well, I guess I'll just see how things go!

Sheep Dogs in the "Wild"

2008-09-16T09:37:00.003-04:00

Our guide on the trip lived just outside of Ullapool, and offered to swing by her place on our way to our next destination. The lure? Her husband has about 700 sheep, and trains (and competes) sheepdogs. DUDE. Sheepdogs, 700 sheep, and the beautiful Scottish countryside? SIGN ME UP.

I should probably warn the more sensitive readers that they may be exposed to lethal doses of cuteness...

Unfortunately, only 3 of the doggies got to play with the sheepies - the others had to wait their turns.

Stuart (doggy handler and shepherd extraordinaire) sent the 3 dogs way out over the hills - probably about a mile or so away (not that we could see them after the first few minutes). About 15 minutes later (with the addition of a few well-timed whistles and commands), this showed up...

SIGH. Sheep dogs ROCK.

Unfortunately, we had signed up for a HIKING trip instead of a sheepdog-watching trip, so away we went to climb a mountain...

And the Little Monster seemed to enjoy the spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean we found the next day...

And look! Culture! Shawn and I took the opportunity to visit Eileen Donan Castle as we drove towards our next destination, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

One more Scotland roundup to go...

I Wanna Go Back!

2008-09-15T10:40:00.003-04:00

Scotland was fantastic - we had (mostly) great weather, I felt wonderful, and the Little Monster learned how to play trampoline on my bladder.

The trip started (and ended) with some out-of-character airplane luck - all of our flights went smoothly, were on time, and resulted in us receiving our luggage at our various destinations! Definitely a welcome change to how travel with S usually goes.

After arriving safely in Edinburgh, we had a little time to explore the city (S tasted whiskey), and then we were on our way to Inverness via the lovely ScotRail, which, in stark contrast with our own Amtrak, was on time. Apparently this is not that unusual.

I enjoyed the scenery, my ipod, and some knitting.

I continued my knitting adventures in Inverness, where we traversed the town looking for somewhere that would make S an iced tea. He finally had success with a very amused barista at Costa Coffee, who made him a hot tea and gave him a huge cup of ice. I told S that he'll probably become the basis for one of those "you'll never believe what the stupid Americans asked for" stories.

Eventually, though, we had to leave the soft urban living behind and start hiking! Here's the Little Monster enjoying a view of the small town of Ullapool on our first "warm-up" hike.

One of the highlights, though, was the discovery of some stealth knitting info - these displays were hidden in a small lighthouse in Scoraig, which is a small, mostly self-sufficient community reachable only by hiking or boat.

]

more to come...

One Last Time Before I Go...

2008-08-25T10:57:00.006-04:00

We're all packed and ready to go - we leave Wednesday for almost two weeks of hiking in the Scottish Highlands. I cannot wait.

Oh, and packing? Always fun - especially with our furry little helper, who can't resist inspecting the suitcases. I think we'll have to double check to make sure we don't accidentally zip her up inside one!

But before we packed, I had to figure out the most important issue - what to knit?!? The Dale of Norway baby cardigan, ummm.... well, it kinda is already knitted. I still need to do all of the finishing, but the sleeves and body are waiting patiently for me, so that project is a bust! I also thought about bringing my long-hibernating lace project, but the yarn is on a cone, plus the chart is on a magnetic board... just seemed like a lot of bother. I thought about starting a pair of socks for S... but I'm afraid I might finish those up too quickly!

SIGH.

I tried swatching for a Trellis, but it just wasn't doing it for me. Plus, I was pretty sure I would finish it too quickly!

So I headed downstairs to my newly-organized, newly-moved "stash closet" in the basement and tried to figure something out. And yes, this is the entirety of the yarn (with the exception of 1 basket of white yarns that I've set aside for dyeing!)

I ended up with a cabled sweater from Inspired Cable Knits, and started swatching in some superwash sock yarn. Of course, I decided I didn't like the cables in the pattern, so set about trying to figure out some substitutions. I think I've finally ended up with the cable on the left of this swatch:

It's from one of Lavold's Viking Knitting books. So I cast on, started on the back, and went for it...

Almost. It's too small - these cables must pull in a lot more than the ones in the original pattern, so I've ripped out and cast on again - I'll be using the stitch counts for the medium size, and the lengths for the small size. Basically, I'm winging it. But the cables are complicated enough that I can't finish this one too quickly - and at 96 sts for each row, there's plenty of knitting! But the pattern is easy enough that I can knit away without referencing the various papers TOO much.

So after all of the knitting-related trauma, I treated myself to some chocolate (See's Candy, courtesy of my parents who just got back from California)...

... and settled in with Cricket to watch some Olympics. I'm still pretty behind - life got in the way, so I ended up taping most of the primetime broadcasts. I'll get there eventually! And I'm WAY better than Athens - I didn't finish watching the Athens tapes until almost October!

Cricket, you can tell, really loves the Olympics. She's on the edge of her seat with excitement...

But don't worry - Abby didn't neglect HER very arduous snuggling duties this weekend...

(yeah, that's S' pillow...)

And on Sunday morning, instead of watching cartoons, we watched the "Squirrel Channel." Apparently, a few squirrels have decided to spend the mornings playing in the oak tree right outside our bedroom window. The audience was quite appreciative!

After the squirrel show went off the air, Abby, S and I headed to Old Town Alexandria for a brief field trip. While S was at church, Abby and I toured the city... we watched the boats...

... got a little stubborn after spending a good amount of time digging for moles in front of city hall...

.... and finally ended up at Pat Troy's, waiting for the waiter to bring us chicken. She may have been just a teensy bit tired!

Whew! Hopefully my next update will be full of glorious hiking, knitting, and general visiting-Scotland pictures... here's hoping that my awesome airplane luck beats up S' terrible airplane karma and we make it to Scotland as scheduled!!

A Long Overdue Update

2008-08-19T09:35:00.004-04:00

I really need to develop a better routine for taking pictures, uploading pictures, and blogging. You wouldn't think it would be so hard, but somehow weeks go by and all of the blog fodder stays firmly inside the camera!

For example, here are the sheepie squares laid out in their final configuration. Of course, I've finished knitting the remaining squares, but haven't taken any pictures. SIGH. My game plan for this project is to finish weaving in the ends and blocking the last few squares, and to begin sewing the squares together into a blanket. As the weather gets cooler, my plan is to pick up and knit a narrow black "frame" around the sheepies (probably in some version of moss stitch or garter to prevent curling). Then I'll do a wider green border, incorporating the sheep dog panels. I may finish it off with a narrow band of the navy... or perhaps not! We'll see how it shapes up. But since the remaining steps require me to pay attention (sewing and picking up stitches) AND require me to have an entire blanket resting in my lap (knitting the borders), I'll be getting back to this one in the fall - after the Olympics, and after the weather cools down.

Speaking of weather, we've been having the most beautiful and mild August I can remember. Usually August is synonymous with "hazy, hot and humid." This year, however, we've spent most of the month with the windows open and the air conditioner off! It's been a wonderful treat.

In fact, a couple of weekends ago we took advantage of the weather to have a picnic at the National Arboretum. It was spectacular...

... and, of course, Abby came and kept us company (and closely supervised our sandwiches!)

We even got her to (almost) pose with us in a family photo... but it's hard to get her to look at the camera when there are all sorts of birds to look at!

I think we tired her out, however... she barely had enough energy to steal my spot when I got up to use the bathroom! She even stole my pillow... good thing she's so cute!

So what else has been happening? I'm well into my second trimester, so I'm feeling SO much better (not that I felt too terrible in the first trimester, thank goodness!) My appetite is back with a vengeance, so I've been eating like an oinker! I'm finally gaining a little bit of weight, which makes my doctor very happy.

One thing I am NOT eating, however, is the nasty lime jello that I made for S. S, being for Minnesota, seems to have a very different relationship with jello than I do... I think it is gross. He thinks its yummy, especially with whipped cream (I refused to buy cool whip). I guess you can take the boy out of the midwest, but you can't take the midwest out of the boy...

Oh! And we took pictures from Abby Come Home Day last week - proof that she did, in fact, get her Doggy Chicken! Of course, my camera's shutter speed is only so fast, so by the next frame most of the chicken was gone...

And I've been knitting away on my "Scotland Project" (oops!) Ok, so we don't leave until next week. But I ran out of Olympics/metro knitting, and besides, baby sweaters are just so freaking cute I can hardly stand it. I decided to go with the cardigan (thanks for all of the suggestions!). I've done both sleeves...

... and am well on my way to finishing the body. I think the finishing will have to wait until after our trip, however, since I'll need to steek and do other somewhat fiddly steps.

I'm really racking up the "finish these at home" projects - I need to steek and do the bands on my dad's vest, sew up the sheepie blanket and do the borders, and I'll need to assemble the baby cardigan. Plus, I still have another bumper to sew, as well as 3 fitted sheets. I'd better get cracking on all of that - especially as we've started to dismantle the second bedroom/craft room in preparation for the Little Monster, and I'm about to lose my nice, sunny sewing spot!

And don't worry, even though Abby has tended to get more "blog time" lately, Cricket is holding her own in the household as "Alpha Kitty" - but her schedule is packed at the moment, what with all of the hard-core napping...

... and "clothes that no longer fit over the baby bump pile" supervising. She'll be so sad when we box up ~~her bed~~ all of the clothes and put them in the attic!

Whew! That was quite the update. I hope I'll get off my butt and update before our trip next week - we leave next Wednesday for a glorious almost-2-weeks in the Scottish Highlands. I'm so excited!

Abby Come Home Day!

2008-08-13T10:03:00.003-04:00

Three years ago today, S and I drove out to the Washington Animal Rescue League and welcomed a new person into our little family.

Apparently, Abby REALLY REALLY REALLY liked S, even before she knew she was going to come home with him!

Luckily, I was there to help fill out the last few forms so S could get a head-start on the snuggles.

I think Abby picked a good forever-home... we're going out to Pat Troy's tonight to celebrate - Abby will order either the doggy chicken or the doggy hamburger, and maybe even get a doggy biscuit!

Inspiration... From Stash!

2008-08-05T12:38:00.002-04:00

So last night I thought that I should take a quick look through the stash of baby pattern booklets and see if anything inspired me. A few years ago, Knit Happens stopped carrying Dale of Norway yarns, and the owner gifted me with several of the shop copies of the baby pattern booklets, including #124, which contains this cute pattern:

pullover version:

and cardigan version:

I'm thinking I will do the cardigan... but then I get all wishy-washy and think maybe the pullover, but using the cardigan charts. After all, I won't know the gender until the big day, so will it bother me to risk having the buttons on the "wrong" side? I'm going to use some stash sock yarn in cream and dark green, with the cream being the main color (because I have enough of it!). I'd better decide in the next few weeks, as I need to get swatching so I can bring this sweater to Scotland (along with some socks for S, just in case!)

So what do you guys think - is the Little Monster more of a cardigan or a pullover kind of baby?

That's from our ultrasound yesterday - it was saying "hi!" Or possibly "stop bothering me, I'm trying to sleep."

So Much To Knit, Nothing to Bring on Vacation?

2008-08-02T18:04:00.004-04:00

Ah, the classic knitter's dilemma - I have so many things I want to be knitting, but somehow I have nothing appropriate to drag with me to Scotland at the end of the month. I'm sure I'll think of something - but for now, I'll distract myself with happier thoughts.

First up - proof that we can, occasionally grow something - our cucumber! We're not sure if we're getting any more, and we're not sure if any of our zucchini plants are going to bust out the produce any time soon. The tomatoes did ok, but I didn't stake them soon enough, so they're a little mad at me.

See how many zucchini plants we've got? We're either going to be drowning in zucchini, or it'll end up as much ado about nothing, and winter will come without us seeing any yummy veggies.

We've basically decided that this year is a trial year - we didn't get things planted as early as we wanted, we didn't know quite where the sunny spots in the yard would be (we have a LOT of trees, but had to plant before the leaves came in!)... so next year, we're ready to go for it. Plus, our lovely compost bin should be full of rich, black, nutritious dirt to supplement the lovely red clay that we naturally have here in the mid-atlantic.

Abby, meanwhile, is not so impressed with our foundering attempts at gardening, and wonders why we don't just dig a nice, cool hole in the flower bed and take a nap.

I clearly have learned to listen to the wise and all-knowing dog, although I did convince her to relocate the napping spot slightly to better suit the pregnant lady and the picky kitty. Abby obliged, but wanted to split the pillow.

When I wasn't catching up on my puppy snuggles, I was blocking 10 of the 15 sheepie squares - and I even annotated the picture with the number of ends I've woven in so far! Ugh. I'm now on square 12 of 15, and have been making pretty good progress - and the next steps involve me sewing up all the sheepie squares, knitting some sort of borders, adding in the 6 doggy panels, and maybe another border (I'm kinda winging it at this point because, after all, the pattern is only a suggestion!) But regardless of what I end up with, I will be working in the entire blanket, and won't really want to drag it around on vacation. So that's out as a travel project!

I'm also just about done with my dad's vest - I need to cut the steeks and knit the neck and arm bands. Also not worth bringing on vacation.

I'm guessing I'll end up knitting socks for S or something. Perhaps I'll get all wild and crazy and knit a baby sweater... I'll have to take a look through the pattern books and see what jumps out at me!

I also have finished 2 of the 3 baby-crib-bumpers I'm making out of a few yards of fabric and some old sheets...

I have one more all ready for the final assembly, and then I need to make 3 coordinating flat sheets. Overall, I'll get 3 crib sets for under $40, including the extra fabric and the $10 pattern! I'm really excited to be able to skip out on the super-expensive bedding. Somehow it just seems wrong to spend more on crib bedding than we spent on bedding for our king-sized bed!

In other baby news, we had another ultrasound this morning - everything is looking great, and we successfully avoided any mention of gender. And apparently I might be in for some fun - the Little Monster's legs are aimed at my bladder - so any day now, it'll start with the kicking and boy will I feel it! I'll try to scan a picture tonight!

A Weekend Recap

2008-07-14T11:11:00.002-04:00

I swear, weekends go by in fast-forward! This weekend was full of all sorts of great things, but by Sunday night I was so tired I could barely stay awake long enough to brush my teeth!

The recap - Saturday morning started bright and early with our weekly early morning trip to the farmer's market. It looks like cherry season is over (sob!) but the blueberries are amazing, as is the corn and all sorts of other yummy treats! I had planned on making a cucumber salad to go with S' awesome chicken tikka, but cucumbers are so expensive in the grocery stores... farmer's market to the rescue! Sure, the grocery-store cucumbers were cheaper at $1.25 per instead of the $1.50 per at the market... but seriously, how often do you see a cucumber this size?

I decided I probably didn't need the second cucumber called for by the recipe! After an amazing massage, the rest of Saturday was a blur of driving - we drove out to the airport to pick up my parents' car (they had flown out early in the morning, and didn't want to pay to park for 3+ weeks). While we were way out in the wilds of Virginia, we met up with Erin & PJ for lunch and hanging out. S went to run a few more errands while I headed home, driving my parents' car. My house key, attached to my car keys, went with S. Anyone see the potential problem? Plus, the key we stashed in the backyard hidey-spot had accidentally gone home with S' friend who visited last week. I showed up at home and realized that I was locked out... and, ummm... kinda needed to use the bathroom. I guess I had many options, but I did what any sensible person would have done in my situation - I headed straight to the knitting store and had a lovely few hours waiting for S to get home. What a lovely treat!

On Sunday, the plan was for S to metro to church, and for Abby and I to join him afterwards for lunch. There were huge delays on the metro, however, so I volunteered to hang out with Abby for an hour while he was at church. I figured, since it was 85 degrees and she'd already been running around in her backyard AND had gone on a puppy walk, that we'd have a nice, mellow time... maybe sit on a bench in the shade, maybe sniff some things...

I had to force her to take a 5 minute break during an hour of running and sniffing. By the time we met S at the restaurant, both of us were so tired we could barely move.... this is what we looked like when we got home!

The recovery period continued into Sunday night, when Abby was too tired to go on her evening walk... she and Cricket proved that they really are getting along (despite Cricket's attempts to pretend that she doesn't like Abby!) It's a little hard to tell from the picture, but those fuzzy-butts are actually touching... usually if Abby gets too close, Cricket relocates!

Of course, Cricket's reluctance to relocate may be partially explained by her careful positioning... apparently, shetland wool is irresistible! That is the best picture I could get of my dad's vest... I'm just past the armhole steeks, and would have been trucking right along yesterday evening during movie-time had I been allowed to knit!

And finally, at about 4 months, the baby bump is emerging!

Whew! I'm tired just summarizing the weekend. Hopefully I'll have a nice, relaxing week to recover (hah hah hah!)

New Projects (Because I Have SO Much Time!)

2008-07-09T12:22:00.002-04:00

Still trudging away on the work front - I got some positive feedback from the higher-ups that they've noticed my increased efforts, so hopefully I'll be able to rebuild some goodwill over the next few months and leave on a higher note. (And in case you're keeping track, like I am, I've got a maximum of 20 more weeks, including this one).

In baby news, there isn't much - I had another appointment this morning, and everything is moving along well. I've actually gained exactly 0 pounds over the last month - so all of the ice cream I have been having for dessert hasn't hurt me any! The doctor isn't worried, though, since I'm still in the nice and normal ranges for everything.

But perhaps now that my stomach is starting to poke out a bit, things are seeming more "real" to me - I spent much of the holiday weekend on my new crafting project - turning these old sheets for a full-sized bed we no longer own...

... into crib sets! I've made one bumper so far, and will be making a matching crib sheet soon. I should be able to make 3 bumpers with matching crib sheets for under $50, and that was only because I really wanted to use some coordinating fabric on the bumpers rather than keep everything all solid. I may double up on all of the crib sheets - I certainly have plenty of fabric left over!

I had LOTS of help during the sewing process - Abby supervised from her super-delux featherbed doggy bed (also recycled from the full-sized bed we no longer have!)

And then she helped me cut out the fabric pieces by making sure that the floor was nice and flat for me. What a helpful doggy! You can kind of see one of the completed bumpers in the background - I was going to lay it out and take a proper picture, but my floor space seemed to be rather limited!

Oh, and I did remember to take a picture of the crazy dusting mitt I made for my mom - it looks so strange! I basically made a thumbless mitten, and put a row of k1-p1 every 4 rows or so. I used a 3 needle bind-off for the top, and then went back and hooked a 2" piece of yarn into each purl stitch with a crochet hook. It seemed to be exactly what my mom was looking for - hopefully it'll work well!

Holiday Weekend - Just in Time!

2008-06-30T15:52:00.002-04:00

Supposedly the whole "tired all the time" thing is supposed to let up as you move into the second trimester. For me, though, it's been pretty much constant - never so tired that I can't function, but I always seem to feel like I got about half as much sleep as I should have! It definitely makes the later part of the afternoon "interesting" at work, to say the least! Luckily, I've been doing a decent job of getting in earlier, working my @$$ off and getting in as much work as possible before my brain just completely shuts off. I've been posting decent (although not spectacular) billables and have gotten some kudos on my efforts - so hopefully I'm moving in the right direction. I'm really hoping I've found somewhat of a routine that will carry me through the next few months. I figure I have a maximum of 21 weeks left, including this week, before I head off to maternity leave... obviously, given my track record, they may be asking me to head out the door sooner!

This past weekend was loverly - we ran our normal weekend errands on Saturday (farmer's market, grocery store, etc...), took Abby to the chiropractor-vet for a much-needed adjustment, and got to spend a lovely afternoon celebrating my mom's birthday. Abby is SO cute with her vet - she has the "good" vet - the one who gives her a massage and makes her feel so much better, and the "bad" vet - the one who gave her shots and vaccines and blood tests! She gives the "good" vet kisses and wiggles like crazy when she sees her... the "bad" vet? Not so much. We don't know what is going to happen when she has to get a shot at the "good" vet - we've only been going there a year, and the only shot she's had has been a heartworm test - and the "bad" vet had to do it because we couldn't get to the other vet soon enough! I'm guessing Abby will be VERY upset when her lovely snuggle-friend gives her an owie!

Since the heat seemed to sap my energy even more than usual on Saturday, we had rather a relaxing day on Sunday. I made an amazing turkey sausage-lentil soup to reheat for dinners this week, did some laundry, watched some soccer (go Spain!), and generally recovered from the previous week. I felt quite strongly, however, that the weekend was ENTIRELY too short - and am desperately counting down the days until the 3 day weekend coming up!

I also knocked out a knitting project - my mom had asked for a replacement "dusting mitt" - kind of like a thumbless mitten with a bunch of yarn ends hanging off to pick up dust around the house. I asked her to show me the one she has now - made by my Great-Aunt Irene who sadly is no longer up to making another (she's in her late 90s and struggling with her health). My mom had patched that poor thing so much that I think there were more patches than original yarn. So I dove into the stash and used the leftovers from the last baby kimono - superwash wool and a wool-acrylic blend - to cobble something together. I think it'll be great - now I just need to take a picture, wrap it up, and send it off!

I hope that everyone is having a good start to the week - let's all think "good thoughts" together and get the weekend to come faster!

Living for the Weekends

2008-06-21T18:09:00.004-04:00

I've survived my first week of "oh my god I've got to step it up enough to avoid getting fired" at work, and I think it went ok. Not spectacular, but given the physical demands my body is facing from the little one, I'm just not capable of spectacular right now (and perhaps would never have been regardless!) But I think I'm doing enough to extend my employment until October (to make it a full year), or even Thanksgiving (when I was planning to start my maternity leave). We'll see how the next weeks shape up. Right now, I'm already counting down the days until next weekend.

Speaking of weekends, a few weekends ago, it was really hot here in DC. Really REALLY hot - heat index about 110 hot - so hot that neither fuzzle would spend more than a few minutes outside. Coincidentally, both discovered the box fan we've set up in front of one of the air conditioning vents.

Luckily, the last few weekends have been much more mild, resulting in lots of outside time for both Abby and Cricket. This has been especially key as I very much need their combined squirrel-repelling skills. In past years, my attempts to grow tomatoes have been repeatedly foiled by squirrels who make it a point to munch on each and every little green tomato I grow. This year, thanks to the vigilance of the fuzzles, everything seems to be going well...

Another reason to look forward to the weekends is our trip to the local farmer's market - it has turned into a lovely tradition. A sampling of my haul from last Saturday -

MMMMMMMMMMMM. I can't tell you how happy it makes me to be able to look out on the back porch and see this for breakfast:

Oh yeah - I suppose there has been some knitting. In an effort to kick-start my knitting mojo (which has been sadly lacking these last few months), I let myself cast on for a pretty, shiny, new project... Dad's 2008 fair isle vest. Yummy. I predict I'll chug right along on this one, despite my questionable decision to knit a shetland wool vest during the very hot, very sticky summer months. But right now, fair isle is exactly what I needed!

I also needed some time this weekend to relax with the family - we took a short field trip to a local park and gave Abby a chance to pee on completely new and different trees. Happy doggy!

Since it was a little bit hot, Abby had to employ her "carrying assistant" to give her a ride back to the car (well, almost back to the car - she saw a squirrel and miraculously was able to run after it).

Hopefully this week will somehow fly by, and it'll be Friday evening before I know it!

Happy Happy Happy!

2008-06-17T09:20:00.002-04:00

Thanks so much for all of the birthday wishes and the wishes for a good resolution to the whole "this job isn't for me but I can't quit yet" situation. One important piece of the puzzle, however, has been missing... the main reason that I can't really consider leaving to find another job right now....

Due around Christmas. I am SO excited, and know it will be worth it to work through these next 3-6 months in order to buy myself the freedom to take a little time off and then return to the workforce in a job that is right for me.

And yes, those are the baby's little legs and feet in the second picture - it was doing somersaults in protest at all the jiggling!

Friday the 13th

2008-06-13T18:26:00.003-04:00

Talk about an inauspicious day that lived up to its reputation. The day started with power outages and disastrous commutes here in the DC area... luckily, none affecting me personally... but it gave a rather apocalyptic tinge to the morning.

Once I arrived at work, I got to eagerly await the arrival of my mid-year review. I knew it was going to be rough because I have really REALLY struggled with this job. As I've already discussed,the big-law career path is not for me, and I've known this since the first month. So while I'm not surprised that I'm not being nominated for "associate of the year," I was a little shocked to hear just how far below expectations I've been performing. I have until Monday or Tuesday to come to a decision as to how I want to proceed... I think I'm going to have to take the "suck it up" option. Basically, I've been given a chance to prove myself over the next 3 months, at which point I'll have a second review, and things will go from there. Given that I was hoping to be able to quit after Thanksgiving, this hopefully will mean that I'll make it at least through September. I had a long discussion with the HR manager about all of the options, and she said that I would most likely get 3 months of severance pay if they did ask me to leave in September, and that they would work with me to allow me to "resign" instead of being fired, so that's something I guess!

Now my challenge is to honestly ask myself how I plan to make it through 3-5 more months at a job that I dislike and where I have a track record of disappointing the powers-that-be. I really hope that I can come up with a plan that will allow me to leave this job more on my own terms.

Tomorrow I turn 29 - somehow I didn't think I'd be celebrating my birthday with the news that I'm a failure at work. But before I send out the invites for my own personal pity-party, let me just say that there are some really amazing things going on in my life right now for which I am extremely grateful. Even with this job, I am so lucky to be in a place where they are even willing to give me another 3 months to try and improve, and where severance pay is on the table even when it is my own performance that is the problem.

And, even if I'm miserable for each day of it, I'm only looking at 23 more weeks of work (assuming they let me stick around that long!)

So ready for the weekend...

A Long-Overdue Update

2008-06-02T18:51:00.003-04:00

Wow.... I think I only managed three posts in May. Hopefully things will get back on track soon - the main problem, as usual these last 8 months, is my job. The hours have eased up, but I still just fundamentally don't like it, and I've found that my negative attitude is infecting other parts of my life. I'm fighting this as much as possible, but sometimes it's tough to shake off the bad mood that starts when I get out of bed on a weekday. This past weekend, I headed off to the beach in Florida for what should have been a wonderful summer associate retreat... and it was lovely, but it was really hard to overcome my "anti-work" feelings enough to relax and have a good time. I couldn't help but think to myself that, by the time these summer associates start in Fall, 2009, I will be long gone from big law. In fact, my current goal is to be on my way out starting December 1, 2008. So far, things are right on track to make that realistic. So only six more months to go!

Of course, it's not just my attitude that interferes with posting. Sometimes, certain members of the family decide that there are more important things to do instead of sitting in front of the computer. For example, perhaps a snuggle or two are in order?

I just wish Cricket weren't so subtle about getting my attention!

We made it camping a few weeks ago, and Abby proved that, if you look cute enough, S will pick you up and carry you. S apparently calls this a "puppy walk." I tried to point out that he seems to be a little confused about the "walk" part, but apparently Abby always gets what she wants!

I took advantage of the slightly-slower doggy walking pace to snap a few pictures of spring finally arriving in the Shenandoah mountains:

Abby enjoyed the beautiful weather with a nice nap in the sunny spot in front of the tent. I just wish I could have this view out of my front door all the time!

Once we got home, however, Abby proved why she was decidedly NOT underweight after being on her own with a broken leg AND with puppies to feed. She's killed two more possums, and this morning she chased a bird across the street, leaped over a bush, and killed it too. She's definitely able to feed herself just fine should we somehow forget her extra-fancy gourmet doggy food!

Oh, and there's KNITTING! I know, shocking. But really - I've been plugging away....

First up - an almost finished baby kimono! I just bought the ribbons for the closures last night, so it's not completely done - but the baby shower isn't until Saturday, so I should be ok.

And another pair of plain socks - socks that rock in pink granite, for me. I'm about 4 rows away from finishing, so I haven't bothered to take it with me on various metro trips etc... because I know I'll finish in about 10 minutes. Consequently, these have sat around for about a month waiting for me to spend those last 10 minutes finishing them. SIGH.

I dug out Wild Apple again for my metro knitting - I decided to just bite the bullet and plow through the stockinette sections so I can perhaps finish this in the next five years! I've done the back, a sleeve, and am almost done with the second sleeve. I haven't decided about whether to put in ribbing or a hem, so I've left all the bottom edges on waste yarn to decide later. I'm predicting that this will sit in a bag with the Union Square Market Pullover waiting for me to get a wild "seaming urge," which will probably never happen. Maybe I'll force myself to finish these up after the job bites the dust!

And lest you think I'm neglecting the Sheepie Blanket (which I have been, but no matter!), here's the fifth square I've completed -

12 ends.

I may also have started swatching for my dad's 2008 vest. I'm really digging the muted colors, but next year's might have to be a riot of reds and golds.

So I should have no problem refraining from buying yarn in the next few months - here's a list of projects either in progress (and not just waiting for finishing!) or on deck, and for which I have yarn:

new dust mitt for mom
dad's 2008 vest
sheepie blanket
wild apple
S' socks
pink granite socks
alpine lace

That's quite a list of projects to get through in a fairly short amount of time - dad's vest, S' socks, and the sheepie blanket have Christmas deadlines, and are all pretty extensive projects.

Whew! Maybe if I were to update more often, the entries wouldn't be such novels! One can always dream, I guess...

A Finished Object, Of Sorts

2008-05-16T13:37:00.002-04:00

We finished the fence last weekend, complete with gate, railing, and doggy-resistant chicken-wire.

And the dog, for whom we expended so much effort and energy? She's been camped out in the backyard, under the shed, waiting patiently for her next chance to kill a possum. She's already gotten one of them, but apparently there are more, and she is determined to spend as long as it takes in the backyard. Last night, she flat-out refused to go on a puppy walk, choosing instead to spend the evening lying in wait by the shed.

We're going to hopefully give the possum family a break this weekend - we're planning on going camping for the first time this season! I'm so excited, even if I have been so tired recently that 9 hours of sleep just doesn't seem to make a dent... oh well... maybe I'll just hang out at the campsite while Abby and S go exploring.

A Good Weekend Ahead?

2008-05-09T13:27:00.002-04:00

This weekend, for reasons that completely escape me, my firm is changing their logo, website address, and various other technological things. I really don't care one way or another, except to point out that many of the changes seem pretty pointless... but the big benefit is that, starting at 6:00 pm this afternoon, all of the network systems will be shut down. No email, documents, phone, bl@ckberry, internet... nothing. And, even better - although some systems will come back online over the weekend, bl@ckberries will be non-functional until Monday morning. I'm not even taking mine home.

Since it's S' birthday today, I'm hoping for a very relaxing evening and weekend. Getting together with the family tomorrow in Old Town... I need to swing by Knit Happens and pick up some gender-neutral baby gift yarn for another baby kimono, as the only yarn I have in my stash that is suitable is pink, and I don't know the gender of the recipient. Oh well... it's a good excuse to swing by tomorrow and find a skein or two!

How is it Already May?

2008-05-06T09:44:00.003-04:00

I can't believe it's already May... it's definitely been one of those years where everything has been simultaneously moving in slow-motion and fast-forward.

Of course, it'll help when we aren't spending so much time on the weekends building our fence... but I'm loving the way it has turned out! Abby seems to approve...

Last weekend, we built the gate. All we have left to do is build the railing between the gate and the house, and put in chicken wire along the bottom of the fence to keep Abby from jumping through the bottom gap. In another few weeks we'll decide about painting - we're leaning towards white stain.

Perhaps the best thing about it being May is Maryland Sheep and Wool! S and I went on Sunday - I didn't have anything on my shopping list (no, not even Cormo!), so I skipped the crowds on Saturday and enjoyed the more relaxed day on Sunday.

There were the requisite cute sheepies and goats...

... the obligatory yummy lamb snackies...

... and there may have been some funnel cake for breakfast.

Oh, and some lamb sausages for second-breakfasts. (I'll blame it all on Erin.)

There were also two opportunities to marvel at the cuteness of the sheep dogs, and wonder whether Abby could be trained to ignore both verbal AND whistle commands.

All-in-all, a lovely weekend. I didn't even buy any yarn - just a broom, 2 pairs of slippers, and tomato and basil plants for the garden. I must say, though, that I am VERY disappointed in the Saturday shoppers... there was actually a decent amount of Cormo left in the booth on Sunday morning! I wonder if they noticed that their sales were off this year due to my realization that 3 + sweaters worth of cormo really is enough... for now... ;)

Topsy-Turvey World

2008-05-01T16:32:00.003-04:00

The last few weeks have been a little up-and-down... mostly up, thank goodness... but still unsettled. I think "unsettled" is the theme for this year. My actual workload at work has calmed way down (thank goodness!), but some other... events happened last week that threw everyone into somewhat of a tailspin. Long story short... several associates were fired for (supposedly) both economic and productivity-related reasons. Management was essentially silent as to what was going on, leading to rumors and a lot of anxiety. I am no more in danger of losing my job than I ever was because they know that first year associates are mostly useless and need a chance to develop skills before being forced to prove themselves. But still, the writing is even more on the wall.... mid-level associates who were not racking up the ridiculous numbers of hours were shown the door. As I told S, I may have job security for the next 6-12 months, but beyond that, I'm fairly certain that I would be getting the boot as I have no intention of killing myself to put in the 9-10 billable hours per day that are expected of me. Instead of waiting until they tell me to leave, I plan to leave on my own terms.

So really, I guess the whole shake-up didn't change my own plans, but it definitely heightened the overall stress levels here. In a way, it has been perversely comforting because it has shown me (once again) that this is a work environment for which I am NOT suited.

My plan is to be moving into a different phase of my life/career by December. Some parts of that plan are out of my control, but I am doing everything in my power to keep that plan moving forward. And it feels really good to have a "countdown date," even if it's somewhat tentative.

Oh yeah, and there has been minimal knitting, mostly of socks. I'll try and take pictures this weekend, but we're planning on finishing the fence, getting doggy-snuggles, and going to Sheep & Wool, so it promises to be another whirlwind weekend!

A Productive Weekend

2008-04-21T08:06:00.004-04:00

I barely knit a stitch this weekend, but it was a wonderfully productive weekend nonetheless.

On Saturday, we started the day by giving Abby a bit of a haircut. She will NOT tolerate the electric clippers so we have to do our best with a pair of scissors. We trimmed the extra-long fur around her neck in an attempt to keep her a little cooler as the temperatures push into the 80s.

The next project for Saturday was building a fence. I helped with the drilling, screwing, measuring, and fetching-and-carrying.

Shawn did all of that stuff too, plus he pounded in the fence post stakes with a really heavy sledgehammer. I tried to hit the stake a few times, and I could barely lift the sledgehammer above my head.

The rest of the work-crew left a lot to be desired, however.

But the end result is SO worth it! It'll probably take us another couple of weekends to finish, but I'm so happy with how it's looking so far. We're still debating whether we want to paint it white eventually.

On Sunday, we packed Abby into the car and drove north to Philadelphia to visit S' friends from grad school. After a lovely lunch, we headed over to Valley Forge and exposed Abby to some culture...

... she seemed more impressed by the moles in the fields than the giant memorial arch.

A Day for Finishing

2008-04-19T06:56:00.003-04:00

On Thursday, I took the day off to recover from the high-stress work environment I've been dealing with for the past few weeks. It turned into a day of endings and beginnings.

While watching the last in a long series of shows, I finally finished the "metro socks" that I've been working on seemingly forever. I'm going to send these to my mother-in-law as a late birthday present... I'm not sure they'll fit, so they might be coming back if I guessed wrong on the foot size.

After finishing up a few other chores, I spent much of the late afternoon sitting on the back patio, listening to All Things Considered, and knitting on my new sock. I did, of course, have company on such a stunningly beautiful spring afternoon...

Cricket decided to inspect our garden turtle... found at Ross for a few dollars, he's totally my favorite part of our new landscaping projects.

The finches stopped by for a little snack...

... and Abby, worn out from all of the abuse heaped upon her at Knit Happens on Wednesday night*, collapsed in the grass.

* Wednesday night was tough on Abby - I dragged her to the knitting store and then everyone force-fed her baby carrots while telling her she was cute. Some people even gave her scratches and pets. Poor doggy!

I took advantage of the beautiful spring flowers to stage some artistic shots of the new socks... the heel:

... and then the heel, a few minutes later, after I had realized that they were going to be too small and needed to be re-knit slightly larger. For the record, that would be 56 stitches.

I've made quite a bit more progress since then - these are the Heel-less Sleeping Socks from Knitting Vintage Socks, and I realized that, as well as making these toe-up instead of top-down, I could also knit them inside out. That way, the stitch pattern is k3p1 rather than p3k1. And since I knit faster than I purl... speedy!

Knitting? Really?

2008-04-17T09:05:00.004-04:00

Hopefully both horrible projects at work are finally done for awhile. I'm taking today off as a recovery day - I needed a day where I just DID NOT WORK. It's supposed to be a beautiful day, and I'm going to enjoy each and every minute. I may even manage to get some knitting done!

Speaking of knitting, I've been chugging away on my sheepie squares...

14 ends.

32 ends.

I've finished 4 of the center squares, and have woven in 96 ends so far. I'm not really sure why I'm keeping track of the ends - but I guess I'm always curious when I do intarsia (shudder)... so this way I'll know when the blanket is all finished! I'm forcing myself to weave in as I go along because I know I could never face all of the squares at once.

I'm hoping to finish up a pair of socks today, so I'll be able to start on a new pair... I've been carrying around these same socks for what seems like months (and probably is!), so I'm anxious to have a new metro project. I've picked out some beautiful, spring-colored koigu, destined to be another pair of heel-less sleeping socks for my mother-in-law.

After I wound the yarn this morning, Abby helpfully assisted with the photography!

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm - koigu!

Sigh

2008-04-11T20:48:00.002-04:00

So it's another Friday night, and once again I'm stuck at work. I'm not sure for how long... and not sure how much work I'll have to do from home this weekend. The suckiest part is that the horrible project that kept me so late and caused me to work so hard LAST week and weekend is pretty much wrapped up - it'll finish on Tuesday morning. The horrible project that is ruining THIS weekend is also supposed to finish on Tuesday morning.

I have GOT to have a day off soon. Maybe I can take Wednesday or Thursday off to recover. I just really hope that things calm down for a bit soon!

A Real Update

2008-04-07T11:34:00.003-04:00

I finally got to go home a little after midnight on Friday, and only spent about 4-5 hours on Saturday and a ~~bit~~ lot of time Sunday dealing with work stuff. (Note - getting a call from your boss a little after midnight on a Sunday night does not a good weekend make!) At least I didn't have to physically go back into the office over the weekend!

S and I were supposed to be working on building a fence this weekend, but it took so long to buy all of the lumber on Saturday, and what with all the work crazies, and the rain, and the fact that we couldn't find the fence post spikes we wanted and had to order them from New Jersey all conspired with the weather to let us off the hook. We did, however, feel very proud of ourselves for buying a whole bunch of lumber rather than something pre-fab. We'll see if our optimism translates into a fence.

Since I managed to do about, oh, NO knitting this weekend, I thought I would at least take a picture of the second sheepie square I finished a few weeks ago.

For the record, 26 ends.

There was another HAPPY reason for the lack of knitting and general stress of the weekend - Kati came for a visit! I wasn't able to spend as much time with her as I would have liked, but it was SO GOOD to see her again!! We hadn't seen each other since the wedding in September.

Right. So that's about all of the semi-interesting stuff I can think of - so I'll try to distract you with cute pictures of animals.

Why working from home might not work so well!

Proof that Abby can sucker anyone, even S' stepdad, into falling for her cuteness.

Abby contemplating the gravity-defying power of the squirrel.

Abby basking in the beauty of the Capital Columns at the National Arboretum.

From the National Bonsai Collection. I would love to have a bonsai garden!

My favorite bonsai of the whole collection.

The beautiful landscaping S' stepfather did for us while I was sleeping off my food-poisoning.

I wish I'd taken a "before" picture, but I was too sick. Think mulch and weeds.

More beautiful landscaping.

Any guesses as to where the bird is sitting?

A beautiful little Finch that has discovered the finch feeder. S is a happy boy - he didn't think we had any finches in the area!

Let's all send "boring week" vibes my way - I need a chance to relax!!

Keeping Things In Perspective

2008-04-04T23:38:00.002-04:00

Is this Friday night better than last Friday? Given that it's almost midnight and I'm still sitting in my office, I would say NO - but, given that LAST Friday I spent the night in the midst of a horrendous case of food poisoning, I think that this Friday is, in fact, better.

Granted, it would be best if I were home, in bed, like a normal person. SIGH. Add into the mix the fact that I have a friend in town this weekend, and it becomes quite the "everything at once" moment. At least I am spending most of my time here at work waiting for other people to do things, so I am free to read, knit, and otherwise occupy myself as best as I can.

I will say, however, that I am extremely proud of the way that I am handling this whole situation. A few months ago, I would have been a stressed-out nutcase by now - desperate to go home. I think my efforts in attitude adjustment have really paid off - I am here tonight whether I am a stress-case, or whether I am keeping a cheerful note in my voice. I am not by any means HAPPY to be here, and this is just another thing to add to the list I keep in my head of reasons why "no matter the money, this is not the job for me." But it's not the end of the world, and I have a massage scheduled for tomorrow to help me recover from this whole day. After all, in 12 minutes, it'll be Saturday.

Can I go home now?

Ugh.

2008-03-31T13:34:00.002-04:00

This weekend was NOT what I would have called "good." Oh, there were some great things - my in-laws were in town for a visit, and my father-in-law and hubby got a whole mess of landscaping done. We got to visit the National Arboretum and spent some good time together. But there was one overwhelming bad thing - the horrible case of food poisoning I got on the way home from dinner on Friday. I now know that it is not the end of the world to be sick on the Metro train, or station, or platform... and that there are really kind, sweet people who will give you tissues and hope you feel better. But after being sick ALL night on Friday, and so tired and shaky on Saturday that I only spent about an hour upright and went to bed at 6 - definitely not the greatest of weekends. I am feeling much better now, but am still feeling a little weak and definitely not 100% in the appetite department. SHEESH!

There was one bright spot from my otherwise-miserable Friday night - Each and every time I staggered into the bathroom to be ill, Abby hopped off the bed and followed me to make sure I was ok, and then hopped back on the bed and curled up right next to me. She must have gotten on and off the bed at least a dozen times over the course of the night - but each time, there she was! It was so sweet!

Doggies and Sheepies, Oh My!

2008-03-22T22:16:00.003-04:00

Warning - graphic picture of doggy abuse below -

notice which head is on the pillow...

But it wasn't all doggy abuse today - S got to fire up his new weed-whacker and 'whack' the teensy little patch of grass that had managed to escape his mid-week mowing. I am ALL FOR a husband who is willing to handle the yard-maintenance aspect of things... I'll deal with the herb gardens and any other little plantings, but really have no desire to get out there and mow the lawn. In fact, I am extremely grateful that, for the last 4 years now, I've lived too far away from my parents to realistically be in charge of lawn-mowing when they're on vacation.

Of course, we wouldn't have to worry about mowing the lawn at all if we just got one of these...

First square completed from my newly-started Sheepie Blanket. I have big plans for this blanket, but all must be hush-hush for now (I feel so mysterious!) The yarn is Elann Superwash Worsted, and the pattern is from Knit Simple Holiday 2007. The original was done in shades of sepia, which just really didn't do it for me.

For the record - Square 12, 24 ends.

Welcome, Spring!!

2008-03-20T10:57:00.002-04:00

Ok, so the weather today isn't exactly screaming spring, and I'm wearing a sweater. But the calendar says "Spring Begins," so WOOT!!!

And what better way to begin Spring than with my annual shipment of Shetland for the 2008 version of Dad's Christmas Vest! I really only ordered 17 balls, but went through my stash of shetland leftover from past projects in case I decide to get creative and switch out some of the colors. I'm so excited! I think I probably will hold off starting until the summer, but who knows... all that shetland will be hard to resist!

mmmmmmmmmmmmm sheepie goodness!

Abby, needless to say, was neither impressed by the yarn nor by the arrival of Spring. I took this picture last weekend, and Abby is not only on S' pillow, but she's all wet from her walk in the rain! It's a good thing that (1) she was on S' pillow, and not mine, and (2) it was change-the-sheet day anyway, so these were headed straight to the laundry!

New Projects and the Arrival of Spring

2008-03-16T08:32:00.005-04:00

I may have accidentally bought some Euroflax linen at KH on Wednesday... oops! But since this is for a housewarming present for a dear friend, I maintain it totally doesn't count. This yarn is horrendous to work with - like stiff twine - but I have it on good authority that it feels divine when washed. I remain to be convinced, but I have high hopes. I'm making two linen hand towels from Mason-Dixon... because what else do you get the boy who has, literally, EVERYTHING? (Is it wrong that I am seriously smug about the fact that, thanks to knitting, I can send a completely unique present?)

And this is someone who totally deserves hand-knitted linen hand towels. He got me the neatest housewarming present - a set of herbs designed for tea - lemon balm, mint, and chamomile! I'm waiting (not very patiently) for the seeds to sprout.

Speaking of presents, yesterday was quite the exciting morning for Abby - it was doggy food delivery day! There's a great shop in Alexandria that delivers for free to our neighborhood - we could technically save about $4 by getting this same food at another shop, but we figure that's the delivery fee, and then we can still be in our pjs while a huge stack of dog food cans shows up on our porch. Abby really likes doggy food delivery day!

Of course, being the horrible people that we are, we couldn't let Abby just enjoy a day of hanging out in her backyard. No, we had to drag her to the car and drive her over to the Potomac River, and then force her to run around while people told her she was cute. It's such a hard life for a poor little doggy!

We appear to be having a slight disagreement as to which way to go... I was voting for "back to the car." Abby respectfully disagreed. She won.

And what makes a doggy even happier than a day in the park? A day in a MUDDY park!

I'm going to ignore the chilly rain falling outside today, and instead I'm going to concentrate on the beautiful day we had yesterday. The sun was shining, the temperatures were in the 60s, and the flowers started blooming. Welcome, SPRING!

Quick - Call the SPCA!

2008-03-10T13:42:00.010-04:00

I want to thank everyone who commented or emailed on my last post - it was really great to read everyone's insights and get comfort that I am not alone in going through this unsettled period in my life. I am increasingly confident that I am on the "right path" in general, and just have to work on my patience as each day brings me closer to the next phase of my life. I have been learning so much about myself lately, and feel like I'm really learning who I might want to be when I "grow up." I'm also learning that my immediate reaction to any "problem" is to fix it... not to wait until the time is right! Patience, it appears, is not among one of my strongest qualities.

Of course, my general lack of patience is ironically matched with my current knitting - miles of stockinette on size 0 needles. But perhaps my knitting is just reflecting the current state of my life.

In other, more urgent news, Cricket would like to make a public plea for someone to please rescue her from her life of enforced servitude. We make her help us make the bed...

... and I force her to help me keep my knitting from blowing away.

I believe that look says "touch this knitting and you will be very VERY sorry - this angora-merino yarn is the perfect kitty bed!"

And it's not just Cricket who gets put to work in the Musings-Household - I even made poor S learn how to use the sewing machine in order to make one of the panels of the dining room curtains (he's a natural!)

And, as if that weren't enough, I then forced S to be a manly-grilling-man with our new grill and cook up some steaks for dinner. I also forced Abby to go supervise because, well, I'm just mean and I force everyone, Abby included, to earn their keep.

All of our hard work this weekend, however, was worth it - dinner on Sunday was delicious - medium-rare steaks, kale with double garlic (kale is my new favorite veggie!), guinness, smithwicks, and homemade fresh bread.

And, but for the weather turning suddenly colder, we would have enjoyed our yummy dinner on our newly-tidied back porch, complete with the table/chair set we just bought at Ikea ($120 for the set - such a good deal!)

And after dinner, we closed the newly-hung dining room and living room curtains! They still need a good press and hemming, but I'll let them hang for a week or so before I finish them up next weekend.

And see? I even made Abby pose in the picture - POOR DOGGY!

In Search Of....

2008-03-05T10:53:00.002-05:00

Erin categorized her post this morning as "In Search of a Remarkable Life." I read her post on my crackberry (which I would dearly love to chuck off a bridge) this morning on the metro as I rode into work. It struck a chord - what am I in search of? As with so many "big questions," the answer to this one came to me as soon as I articulated the question.

I am in search of contentment.

I've been thinking recently about how this is a year of waiting things out. I am not content in my professional life, but cannot make a change until I have a year or so under my belt. Some big changes are in the works in other aspects of my life as well, but those too involve waiting and some uncertainty. And I realized as I sat on the metro that what I am ultimately seeking is to be somewhere, personally and professionally, where I can see myself living the same basic life for the foreseeable future. I want a life where I don't have to have a "this will be over by...." date in order to get through the week.

Will I find that contentment? I think so.... just not quite yet!

A Very Crafty Weekend

2008-02-27T10:27:00.006-05:00

Since the house is finally a (mostly) box-free zone again, I set my sights on some of the other "move-in projects" I have in mind. First up? Unpacking and finally getting a chance to play with my Christmas gift from S - my new sewing machine!

I think I'm in love.

After dragging S through the local fabric store, where we totally scored on some sale fabric to make pillows and drapes for the downstairs, I was all set to start cutting the fabric for the pillow covers:

Notice the helpful assistants. Abby supervised, but Cricket, always a team player, was a little more active in her "helping."

She particularly liked to "help" me measure by carefully placing the end of the measuring tape in a precise location.

Somehow, though, despite all of the "help," I managed to sew four new pillow covers - I love how they turned out!

Next weekend I'm going to polish off the drapes for the living room and hopefully make a good start on the drapes for the dining room. It's so nice to have a sewing machine again!

At the fabric store, we also picked up a yard or so of fleece for Abby - she loves to sleep on an old fleece Spongebob blanket, so we got her another one for upstairs (yes, she is the world's most spoiled doggy!)

We think she liked it.

But don't worry - Abby sometimes lets Cricket share her new blanket too...

Must Post More Often!

2008-02-26T09:59:00.004-05:00

Life is finally calming down now that the house is more-or-less set-up. I still have that "I wish I didn't have to" feeling each morning when I leave for work, but I've felt more "in-control" of my life and have consequently felt less overwhelmed by the challenges of each day.

Most importantly, I've found a little time to hang out with some knitters... knitters who understand the joy of finally frogging back a mistake, only to realize that the whole "fix" just took a few minutes!!

Wooot! Erin discovers the joy of finally frogging her mis-shaped sleeve cap!

I also had a lovely Valentine's Day, complete with a surprise flower-delivery at work - the first time S has sent me flowers! I was kinda expecting him to show up at home with some flowers like he usually does - it was such a thrill to get the delivery at work - I had such a silly grin on my face for the entire day!

Speaking of "silly," S wondered if I had perhaps lost my mind the other weekend. We were eating breakfast at the Silver Diner in Arlington after dropping off our old apartment keys, and I spied a beautiful Aran sweater on another patron. I had brought my camera in case we needed to take pics of the old apartment for some reason, and so I naturally proceeded to take pictures of the sweater. Isn't it lovely?

And please, there's nothing strange about stalking sweaters in the wild, right?

Cricket, of course, prefers to stalk sweaters in the more civilized confines of the basement. Her supervisory skills were much appreciated as I finally gave the finished pieces of the Union Square Market Pullover a quick steaming to block out the edges. Who knows - perhaps I may manage to finally seam this thing up eventually!

Don't worry - it's not all work for the animals - they do get the occassional break to explore the sunny spots on our front porch...

... and to investigate the napping possibilities of the new "yarn window seat" I constructed out of my trusty modular bookcase pieces.