Fuzzy Love

Yikes

The wood for the floors is here, and there's loads of it. It smells good too. It has to sit for a week before the work can begin, but thankfully by then we'll be on vacation in Nova Scotia (for a few days) and Prince Edward Island (for a whole blissful week). So that means we have a bit of work to do a-sap and it's all making me a mite bit stressed.

Let's see what has to happen by Tuesday, shall we:

• clear out the entire main level of our house (kitchen cabinets excluded, thank todd) and also enough space in our garage for movers to stack all the big furniture on Tuesday morning
• pack up two adults and two kids for a ten-day trip out of country (and presumably the clothes we pack should be clean)
• take a uncooperative cat to the vet since he has to be kenneled and it turns out he's now open for rabies
• nurse a small boy who is mysteriously sick with some sort of virus (?) that gives him a fever and causes him to vomit every few hours (poor sweetie)
• stay up at night worrying that Olivia will catch said sickness and a) cause us to stay home b) throw up on the plane making us wish we had stayed home, or c) have a swine-flu-like fever at the Canadian border causing us to be sent back home
• track down a specific rare brand and shade of ballet tights (the wrong kind would ruin everything) to replace the ripped ones Olivia is supposed to wear in her three onstage minutes of a 2.5 hour dance recital on Sunday Yay! Jenn has a spare pair!! (Still must glue-gun the other parts of her costume that are coming loose)
• return library books because they're about to come after me (again)
• celebrate Father's Day in there somewhere.

Oy. My head hurts just thinking about it.

Toes

Since I've never done a toe-up sock before, I am really impressed with the following little piece of knitting:

It's the start of the Lace and Cable Socks (Ravel it) in Wendy Johnson's new book.* Just the very start; I've only just got to the part where I begin the stitch pattern, but I feel accomplished enough with just the toe. It's like all the hard work is out of the way already.

I used Judy's Magic Cast-On and many thanks to Jody-with-a-y, by the way, for pointing out the Knitty tutorial. The cast on is really very simple even with DPNs, but I found the Knitty article much clearer than the one in the book (even with fewer pictures). Once I read that, and after a first try during which I strangled the hell out of the yarn, and with a little bit of trouble keeping the computer screen from timing out as I worked (with no hands to spare), and with a few dodges of some rogue needles (some coordination is involved, unfortunately) everything went very smoothly. After I find some stitch markers (where do those things go?) I can knit on.

And Livvy has some new toes too. Blue-ty Call anyone? She dug through what I had and rejected them all as being too pink. (My three-year old is hipper than I am.) I got me some new polish too--in pink, of course--that's perfect for the stylin' Canuck. Nice Color, Eh?

*Some of the pictures in the book are cracking me up. Brush off your Russian accent and say with me, "I am sock model."

Love When a Plan Comes Together

I just got to be part of a big surprise. My friend Kelly (in the black shirt) turned 35 on Friday. Her husband had the fabulous idea that other friend Jenn (on the left) and I should fly in to her town of Seattle(ish) and surprise her and celebrate with her local friends (represented on the right). So we flew in on Saturday morning--just to be extra tricky--and snuck up on her in Subway, of all places. Surprised the pants off of her, I'd say. Now how fun is that, to be a big surprise for a great friend?

In the interest of full confession, a whole night of drinking and dancing has a bigger impact on me than it used to. Two days later and I still could use a nap and a glass of water.

Big Plans

Hmmm. Now that I look again it's not so exciting when it all looks just....beige. In my defense, that wall is in the front entry of our house, which means that it continues up the stairs and all over and can basically be seen from every room. Those pillows sit on our family room sofa and so I thought the lovely camel on the stripy pillow might do the trick, but now I'm torn with a desire to add more color (egged on by Liam: "Let's paint it every color of the rainbow! Except for pink.") tempered by a basic need for calm. So I swatch and stare.

But that's not all. We're going to have hardwood installed on most of the main level. That has always been a little dream of ours; we love the look and our lifestyle is not really compatible with carpet anyway. (Seriously - why is carpet in almost every house?) So now we're jumping in and actually doing it. Well, technically WE aren't doing any of it, except the part where we pack up an entire floor of our house and move it to the garage. But the funny thing about getting wood floors is that you need soft things to put on top of them. Which leads me to...

floor pillows!! Who doesn't love a floor pillow? I've had the Amy Butler sewing book for a long time now, but have never made anything out of it. The fabric (in a thrilling brown) is actually a set of cheep-o curtains that hung in our old living room. But they're 100% cotton and, of course, free, so I figure they're perfect for repurposing, even if I'd really like something more colorful.

But I do have some color in my house, really. See?

See the red, back there, behind the panda?* In the midst of all that colorful cream?

No wonder my knitting is getting brighter - I do love me some Spring Tickle. (Now that sounds like something more exciting than yarn, doesn't it?).

Any minute now, as soon as I finish the clapotis for me that's on my lap (Ravel it), I'm casting on for some more socks. A brave and completely non-knitting friend took a shot in the dark and sent me Wendy Johnson's sock book for my birthday - that was a pleasant surprise, let me tell you. There are a few patterns in there that call for DIC Smooshy, one of which is my favorite in the book, so hopefully I'm going to cast on for the Lace and Cable socks before the day is out. The only thing is that I've never done toe-up socks before, her directions are all for two circulars, and I'm firmly a DPN girl. Hopefully I'll be able to muddle through.

Well, I hope you all have sunny and relaxing weekends. I need to get packing.

*The panda, who we affectionately call Big Fat Panda, was a gift from my brother who knows that kids long for giant stuffed animals but that their parents will never ever buy them.

I'm not quite sure what Livvy is up to there.

Sheesh

It's been a while AGAIN. I'm sorry, I really am, but there's just so much to be doing this time of year. It's Colorado's best time, actually. Our Spring is like a New England summer: warm and breezy, with a touch of rain, and everything is green and beautiful (unlike August, when a dry brownness sets in). I can't get enough. Plus Liam and I both had birthdays, he graduated from kindergarten (sniff) and we're into baseball season and gardening...

The blog suffers.

At least I've been productive and that means I do have some projects to show.

A nightgown for Olivia.* The fabric is Heather Ross's "Underwater Sisters," which Olivia and I both loved, so I bought a bunch thinking of....well, nothing in particular, really. But it turns out the Natural colorway is really sort of see-through, rendering it most useful for sleepwear. Since Olivia is a princess and princesses only wear dresses (didja know?) I picked out a nightgown that said easy--Simplicity 9292--and here we are. I am learning so much with each project that I usually want to make the same thing again right away, just to apply what I've learned. So different from knitting.

For the record, ruffles are a bitch.

But totally worth it.

The sock knitting is sticking too. Kudos to Cookie A, who I hear is coming to Colorado and I am seriously contemplating driving all the way to Boulder just to look at her.

This is Glynis, from her book. Beautiful pattern, but not the most fun to knit, what with the k3t bits and whatnot. So I have cast on for a second but my fingers need a rest.

But the sock thing is sticking.

* See the tag?! I've wanted those forever and finally got some. It makes things look so....professional (amazing the little mind games I can play on myself, isn't it?).

Little Miracles

First: Livvy is soother-free. Thanks for the help! We made a point of making sure her favorite stuffed pig was close by in bed and Livvy carried it around more than usual for a few days. She did try out her thumb a few times but always declared it yucky. Nevertheless, I'm feeling like this will NOT be one of those childhood traumas she'll discuss in future therapy sessions. Phew.

Second: I knit socks! (Plural!)

::whispers:: I think I may be a Sock Knitter. I know the proof is in the pudding, but I'm pretty sure this will stick. There wasn't a moment's hesitation between the kitchenering of the first toe and the casting on of the second sock. Although the ribbing was a bit boring, the lacy bits flew by. I love the finished socks (and have already cast on for another pair of socks for Liam).

Fun facts: the pattern is Kai-Mei (Rav) from Cookie A's new book. The yarn is DIC Smooshy in Good Luck Jade. I used 1/2.25mm bamboo needles, which now have distinctive bends in them (I knit a little tightly on the DPNs). As we speak, KnitPicks is whisking me a set of their Harmony DPNs, which I'm hoping I'll love. The people seem to like them, so I'm optimistic (and impatient). I've also joined two Cookie KALs on Ravelry because I've gotten a little obsessed. Good thing I have a stockpile of sock yarn (I knew something like this would happen eventually).

Third: We have babies!

(We also have poo, but just don't look at that part of the picture. After they fledge we'll have disinfecting.)

So, No Pizza Delivery for a While

We have a storm door. On that storm door there is a wreath. On that wreath there is a nest. In that nest are some teeny little eggs. And on that nest, there is usually a little mommy house finch.

She flies away if we open the front door, so we're not opening the front door anymore (just a week or so to hatch, then a couple more to fledge - we can do it).

Socks and Squirrels (But No Socks for Squirrels)

First of all, thank you guys so much for all the advice and support yesterday. We're still going strong, but probably only because Olivia did sleep through the night last night (and, by extension, so did I) and she has not yet asked for a soother today. Perhaps we've turned a corner, although I don't dare get my hopes up yet.

In other news, the squirrels are done hibernating and are now taking over the backyard.

There are two of them--a boy and a girl--and they actually live next door, but they feel pretty comfy in our yard and spend most of their waking hours here. I honestly don't mind any critters in our yard as long as they're herbivores and they stay outside. Good thing, that, since we're expecting more! Last week, Liam caught these two doing a "special cuddle" right under our Adirondack chairs (I even have a picture but, in retrospect, that's a little crazy and in poor taste to post. But if you want to see it, email me ; ). Anyway, that led to a talk. A long talk. And Liam now knows that babies come from China, although he still doesn't have any idea how a special cuddle gets them in there.

(Insert segue here.)

I've been knitting. I am finally making a Clapotis for ME out of some Malabrigo sock yarn I bought at a yarn sale a few months ago (not that the Malabrigo was on sale).

Of course I'm loving the yarn. The colors are very jeansy and the yarn manages to be matte yet have a sheen at the same time. I have two skeins (880 yards), am using size 6 needles, and I think it will turn out a smidge bigger than the pattern.

And the sock bug has hit again. I'm not sure why I keep wanting so badly to be a Sock Knitter with a capital SK. I'm also not sure why it hasn't really taken (yet I keep on stashing!). Most recently Cookie A's sock book, Sock Innovation (Rav link) has been gnawing away at me. I find her patterns really interesting; she pays attention to the details, such as how the ribbing moves into the pattern, and that sort of thing really bugs me when it doesn't happen. Sooooo, her book came home with me on Tuesday night. And I love the book; out of fifteen patterns I would really love to have knit nine of them. Then I remembered that I just happened to have some Smooshy already wound up, and here we are:

Super impressive, isn't it? Two whole inches of ribbing. Also, that picture in no way represents the color of my yarn. It's called Good Luck Jade and looks more like pine needles with a little bark peeking out (or perhaps a squirrel?). But I'm reasonably optimistic that there will someday be two of these puppies.

Woe is Us

Damn soothers. Olivia is almost three and a half now and I think you'll agree that is much too old to still be sucking on one of those things, even when it was banished to the bedroom. The idea of a 3+ kid with one might even give you the willies; I know I'd be tisk tisking if I saw her out in public too (I'm so judgmental - sigh). I've been brooding over the soother problem since Olivia turned one, actually, but I always had some excuse why now was never a good time to permanently extract it. And besides, wouldn't she give it up on her own when she's ready? (I suppose I've decided she wouldn't.)

Flashback sequence: last week Olivia went for her first dental appointment.* All is well; no cavities or problems EXCEPT the soother has been pushing her front teeth out in an unfortunate way. They aren't sitting in a straight line but form more of an angle, like this: ^ (only not nearly that dramatic, thank todd; I hadn't even noticed although it is obvious to me now). My dentist said that some kids have this happen from soothers or thumb-sucking, others never do. No need to panic, but she did suggest that, unless we want a huge orthodontist bill, we should think about weening her off the soother soon. I must have looked stricken, because she quickly followed that up with a helpful suggestion.

Turns out that our lovely dentist is in touch with the tooth fairy. When the time is right (and, it seemed, Olivia's time was last Thursday), a young child can place her soothers under her pillow and the tooth fairy will collect them--for redistribution to babies--and leave a smallish toy. Mark and I talked about it, I asked for one more day, and then we presented the idea to Olivia on Saturday morning. Would she like to? YES! Did she understand the ramifications? YES! Was she sure? YES! Seemingly without looking back, she piled eight soothers under her pillow and calmly drifted off too sleep. Too easy, you say? YES!

Sunday she was thrilled to find a new toy and seemed content with the trade. We began to relax.

But Sunday night was horrible. She wanted a soother and wasn't going to stop crying until she got one. Eventually she fell asleep, but kept waking up calling for me during the night. She's done that every night since. Last night she asked Mark to sing her to sleep: "You sing, Daddy, and I'll cwy" and then yesterday she started asking me to please go to the grocery store to buy her more.

/Flashback. Look, I know there's no going back. I don't want to start this again. But I swear, I'm near the breaking point. I'm so tired that caffeine isn't enough, especially this time of the day (I'm horrified to say that I'm on my second delicious coffee drink). Sooo, that all leads to...

HELP! Are we doing the right thing? Will this traumatize her forever? Will she still use a soother at eighteen (or something unimaginatively worse)? I'm too tired to figure this out anymore.

*Liam's been to the dentist before, so he hopped up on the chair while Olivia held back. At this, the hygienist remarked, "You're an expert." Liam corrected her: "I'm an expert, an artist, and an inventor."

Cheating Without Guilt

But first up, what the heck?

Um, hello? Spring?

Anyway, we couldn't let TV-Turn-Off week get in the way of movie night, could we? The movie was Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and so we couldn't resist.

Step one: assemble all the household bunnies (just not the ones in the backyard). Instruct them to watch quietly and not get any naughty ideas.

Step two: watch movie (highly recommend - there were a few parts Olivia found scary, but they're really very silly).

Step three: follow up the movie with the "How to build a bunny" extra feature. Realize that they use Plasticine to make the figures and what is one of Liam's favorite things ever?

Step four: bike break!

Step five: feed bunny carrots.

Too bad for TV-Turn-Off week; movie night has become sacred around here.