Happy Halloween (part 1)

We are completely intrigued with a little gift G'ma & G'pa brought us...
It's a plug in, table top spooky house. It has a little witch on a broom that zooms around and around on the top. Clay says "look, it's mommy witch on Honda broom...". Yes, i had a little bit to do with the "Honda" part, but i think the rest is totally his.

And now for some truly spooky knitting news! I am now on the "Wing" part of my MS3. Yeah, I know ... finally. I really like the way it is looking, so let's keep our fingers crossed that I get this thing done sometime before Christmas. As I am still holding on to my "one project at a time" mindset (I know, why do I torture myself so?), I have been allowing myself to plan the next project i will dive into. I am thinking of embarking on some of Chuck's cabled Socks in the Kauni EV colorway and/or the Leavened Ragland in the Fall 2007 IK. I kind of slid off the proverbial "wagon" last week and accidentally enhanced my stash with some Noro Silk Garden last week (it was on SALE at Little Knits!), and some scrumptious sock yarn. The sock yarn I picked up on Etsy at Fearless Fibers. She has some beautiful stuff!

A moment of silence while we ogle together, please?

Fearless Fibers Superwash Merino
4 oz. / 550 yds.
Marrakesh colorway (left)
Inner Sanctum colorway (right)
(The picture was taken on the one spot of grass I did not kill this summer with the baby pool.)

Ah yes, and both so full of that beautiful squish-bounce feeling. Because of my little indulgences, I will not be purchasing the lovely Fiesta Kokopelli that the Leavened Ragland sweater is shown in - BUT, I will be giving it a go with some stashed Rowan Polar, that I think will have a similar gauge. I won't be sure though until I actually get my hands into the Polar and give it a good swatching.

I feel a small rant coming on...

You know, I have always liked Halloween. Bats, cats, smiling toothy pumpkins - it is all just so much fun! Halloween used to be so simple. A few maimed construction paper cut outs in the window, and a costume consisting of a black ski mask, black leotard with tights and wings made out of garbage bags were all you needed to do it up right. (Halloween also used to mean that it was cold outside, and trick-or-treating was done in the dark, yet, I digress). Recently though, I have been annoyed with the whole over-the-top holiday explosion. It now seems that Halloween has become yet another easy vehicle for stores to enable a frenzy of excessive, seamless, October through December buying, decorating, and waste. It 's like folks suddenly think that the more theme decorations you can cram outside (and inside) for each.and.every.holiday, the MORE you are into the holidays than EVERYONE else. I drive down the street and I am bombarded with yard atrocities that scream "Look at us! LOOK AT US! We have a yard so full of pumpkins and non-hardy mums that we look like we are running a U-Pick it farm! And our concrete geese are dressed in coordinating festive fall wool sweaters! Do we know how to do FALL right, or WHAT?"

M.I.A.

I have been missing in action lately. My mind has been a lot of ethereal places, just not here. Honestly, it has been hard for me to decide what to write about. I will come up with a topic, wait till the kiddies are in bed, and then the 20 tons of bricks fall into my lap. There I sit there, vegetable-like, on the sofa, staring at yet another episode of Law and Order. I don't even LIKE Law and Order. But there I sit, glazed over - much like the doughnut picture in My Profiles.

I have been quite apprehensive about talking about my knitting, because I just don't know what to say. I have a severe case of knitters block. I feel completely seized up. I try to lunge into a new project, but there is a tangle of UFO's, yarn wants, yarn needs, and knitterly daydreams that hold me back. At the moment, I am just a stagnant, tangled thoughts mess. Just how many entries can I put "STILL doing MS3"? I am on row (gulp) 251. Good GOD. At this rate I will never finish. I love the pattern, I love the yarn, I love how the project is turning out -
I just HATE how little time I seem to have for it at the end of the day. I have been trying hard to keep my "one project at a time" rule going - especially while MS3 is on the needles. But it has been so hard for me! Now that fall is here, the nights are cool and the trees are changing - I have this deep urge to start working on warm, colorful, autumnal things.

I want to pick up some serious stranding, and do me up socks like Mel's, Chuck's Cabled Socks (GORGEOUS!)
I am so totally obsessed with wanting to make these socks. I have the pattern, I am about to purchase the yarn - so what am I waiting for? Well, I also want to make this, and this, and about three things from this. See what I mean? I just don't know where to start. I have all of these ideas, and I am bursting at the seams wanting to start them all, but they are all backed up in the bottleneck created by my beautiful Swan Lake Stole (MS3). I hate to say it, but this whole thing is kind of like being constipated. I want, I need, I HAVE to get it done ... but nothing is happening. I feel so guilty comparing this beautiful lace project to constipation. There has to be someone out there who knows what I am going through with this.

All of this on top of trying to plan knitted baby gifts for the NINE people that are due between October and April. NINE! Nine babies in seven months! That number might go up to eleven any day now (no, not me) but two of my friends. So far, I have finished one baby jacket for the baby due in 2 weeks. I will be photographing it on my youngest little guy later today, and i hope to be posting pictures of it here, and on Ravelry in the next few days.

Gasp. The doorbell ringeth - 'tis the postman!
Does he come bearing gifts of yarn,
knitting books,
non-buggy bread?
Let's go see,
shall we?

Day After Day...

I was driving out to a play group the other morning
and I suddenly could not remember where I was supposed to be going.
This brain fart is brought to you by ... The Violent Femmes.
I think that I am going to blame this particular seize-up on the fact that I was singing along with
The Violent Femmes "Day After Day"...
I was having one of those being-in-college flashbacks
to how every Friday night, our first year, we would have an upperclassmen go buy us beer,
(OR the Sun Country or California Coolers in Peach or mixed berry)
and listen to our V. Femmes tape.
By the time the tape got to the song "Day After Day" we were WELL on our way to getting soused ...
Don't worry, be happy...
And then, we all would go out and party at Delt.

Later on in our second and third year we would have an upperclassmen go buy us beer.
We'd break out the "Grease" tape only after we had finished the beers
and were starting in on the vodka lemon shots ...
Hey SBGH's, these are for you--
"DO me Baby" - BilBivDevoe and "I wanna sex U up" - COlor Me Badd
THEN we all would go out and party at Delt.

Our forth, and last year, we were older, and so much more sophisticated.
We could buy our own booze.
We changed up the routine a bit by filling up our "Use, reuse, recycle" cups with a few shots of Vodka and took them down to the cafeteria with us.
Then we would fill the cups with orange juice at the juice machine.
We'd merrily eat dinner, drink screwdrivers, and then go back to the room to play Roxanne, Red Light ...
Roooooxanne, you don't have to wear that dress tonight!
THEN we would break out the grease tape and drink Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill.
THEN we all would go out and party at Delt, and maaaaybe SAE.
"It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine!"

Only later in my Graduate Career did we discover Boone's Farm Sangria --
we kept a bottle of it "at the ready" in our freezer for special occasions like
"Hey, I passed my dissertation proposal! " or
"Hey, I got my NSF funding for the summer field season!" and the best one
"Hey! I got the Fulbright Scholarship!
waaahooo, let's break out the BOONE'S!
Only the best.

yeah - so that is where my mind was when I suddenly "woke up" on a freeway in central Flatlandia, in a mini van, with two wonderful, chattering, squeaking babies ... and a bag full of a half knitted MS3 stole.

Funny how priorities, and definitions of fun, change.

Change
is
GOOD.

We are back up and running, for now.

Just so you know I have not been ignoring you.
I have been trying to wade through, and catchup up with hundreds of e-mails sent to me over the past month+ that we had no computer, and no washing machine. August was a bad month for anything electronic in our home.
Yup, we blew yet another motherboard. Long story short, the computer people fixed it for free yet again
(we were one week out of motherboard #2's warranty expiration) but they refused to fix he problem that was CAUSING the mother f'ing boards to blow (!?!?!?). We got the craputer back, and took it to our own place here in town to get the power supply fixed. Now it is fixed, and now I am trying to catch up with the world.... oh, and the diagnoses with the washing machine? The fixit man said (and I quote) "ain't ever seen THAT happen before...".

Amidst those problems I had and unfortunate encounter of a food borne kind ... because I live in Flatlandia, the grocery store here in town that is NOT a Wal-Mart, decides that it is going to start ridding itself of diverse grocery products, and opting for the "highest payer for shelf space" products. This means that variety is now being replaced by products all from the same manufacturer/s. Where am I going with this? Well, let me tell you. A year ago they got rid of my favorite bread of all time Natural Ovens Bakery cinnamon raisin bread ... so we opted for the next best thing, "not-a-lot-of-crap-in-it" Roman Meal. I will be damned if now, the Roman Meal has disappeared from the shelves, and in it's shelf space was this new bread -- a new bread called "soft 'n' smooth". A bread with the name of a toilet paper should have tipped me off... it should have been a warning. ANYWAY, got said bread home, got half way through the loaf, and lo' and behold, this is what I found in my "soft 'n' smooth" the other morning...


niiiiiice, huh?

I think that this slice had more than only 2g of fiber, eh? OMG! Like, what the hell? You can see wings, and I swear that is the big old head....(shivers going up my spine).
Holy crap! I was this close [] to eating that! I was sticking this slice into the toaster and just happened to catch a glance of something funny on the bottom of the slice ... I called the Bread Company, and we are now sitting on a fist full of "get it for free" coupons.

And now a cute kid picture.

We are experiencing technical difficulties....

And if I say to you tomorrow ...

It has been a while now since I have written anything, but I have good reason I swear. This is the view from my rock. This is where I was hiding ...


Unfortunately, we had to come home a week early so that I can fly to California to be with my beloved family. They/we lost our brother way too soon. Oddly enough, this photo was taken hours before I learned of his passing. I had been sitting there since daybreak, watching the colors of the world change around me. My babies and husband were all snugly sleeping in the cabin, and the water stood vibrant, and still; everything, so deeply tranquil. Not even a breeze. The world seemed to be holding it's breath. Distant loon calls faintly echoed across the tree tops. A kingfisher suddenly came out of no-where and started diving and flying all around my tranquil spot; as if to say "hey lady, I can't wait all day, I got work to do here". I sat and watched him, thinking about how this bird and all of his ancestors have flown this lake for who knows how long. Although our lives are so short, the effects we leave upon this world (and other people) are everlasting.

Ernie, we all will miss you so much.

MS3

Yey! I finally got my yarn last Friday, just in time for the 4th clue to be released! We were in the midst of planning the birthday extravaganza, so I was not even able to properly feel on my yarn until Sunday night. Wow. It was SO worth the wait! I was a little upset that it too so long to get here (almost 2 weeks to the day), but I think the lady deserves a little slack, because hey, laceweight wool was in such high demand due to the MS3! I cannot believe that I made was able to sign up for the MS3 before the cutoff date! I am always the last to know things, and how I was lucky enough to get in on this one I will never know. I am loving the pattern! Lovely Melanie at Pink Lemon Twist is the leader and creator of the whole MS3 phenomenon. It is so beyond me how anyone designs beautiful lace things like this! It 's like, trying to understand how astronomers figure out the logistics of landing a rover on a distant planet (that's like, basically predicting the future, right?). Well, to me, it seems that designing lace is kind of the same thing.

I took a picture of my progress so far (I am still on Clue #1), see Slow Bee Badge to the right. Kind of sad that the photo does not do it justice (you can't even really see the beads on it!), but I really dont feel like looking for a good place to take the picture. I am pressed for time already, as it is. I HATE frogging, so because of this, I am SUPER cautious. As you can see, I have stitch markers, and life lines out the wazoo!

Zephyr wool/silk in Cassia, on size 4 (3.5mm) Takumis

The is the first knit-a-long I have participated in, but I am really hoping that Melanie will have a MS4 for next year (hint hint, Melanie)!

Our birthday celebration went really well this weekend! We had a bit of fun with it this year and kept Clay's gifts a total secret. Once he went to bed, we set everything up outside. So, Clay went to bed with the backyard looking like this ....

and woke up to this ....

He was simply ecstatic!

I also tried my hand at making him a cake this year.

He LOVED the cake. Well, let me clarify that ... he loved the TOYS on top of the cake. This is the second year in a row that Clay was not interested in the birthday cake! Last year he sat and stared at it like it was going to rear up and bite him. This year he stared at it like it was some gooey lump getting in the way of him playing with his trucks. Oh well, considering that the cake was not all that tasty, he really did not miss much ;) Let's just say that the decorations rocked...the cake did not.

Where's my two dollars?

Okay, I think the mailman is starting to think that I am stalking him. I am starting to feel like that paperboy in that classic 80's flick "Better Off Dead" .... "Where's my two dollaaaaaars? I want my two dollars!". Where's my yaaaaarn? I know that ALL of the yarn stores have been SWAMPED with orders for laceweight yarn ever since the MS3 KAL started, and I am trying to be patient and understanding. BUT I WANT MY YARN! It's going on 2 weeks since I placed the order.

I got the beads, I got the size 12 (!) crochet hook, and I have all of the charts taped together, marked out and ready to go. I am so ready to start this thing! Personally, I think they should call the crochet hook size a -12, because depending on who sized it, a "regular" size 12 hook is enormous. The hook needed for the MS3 (my -12) is a 1.00 mm hook. The other, more "common" 12 is almost a size L or M which is almost a cm in size.
Needless to say, I was really confused when the directions said to apply the beads to the laceweight yarn using a size 12 crochet hook. I was starting to wonder if the "beads" were supposed to be soda can ring pulls.

Must.not.obsess.over.yarn.
Must.distract.self.

Okay, how about this for distraction?
The Heathen Housewife has a contest going on this week! Let's go check it out!

At some point I am going to have to start photographing my FO's, UFO's and stash. That is going to be quite the undertaking, so I am just going to have to start slow, and post photos of the MS3 as I creep through it . I have not quite decided what this site is going to be about yet, but I suppose that will all come in time.

Well, I am off to go figure out what kind of birthday cake to make for the weekend. I cannot believe that my little boy is already going to be two years old! Perhaps the way I will privately celebrate his birthday for myself is by finally making some time to post his birth story on my Doula's web site. I almost cried at his first birthday because I was remembering how beautiful he was when he was born, and how beautiful that day was for me. I honestly believe that the birthday celebration is not only for the person born on that day, but it is also a small celebration for the mother that brought him/her into the world.

No Bitchin' Camaro for you ...

I went to a particular web site this morning and signed my older son up in a Little Toy Car "VIP Club" that will hopefully keep him current with all of the popular, cool, and "hip" toy cars. 'Cuz we all know how important this is when you are a little boy and have a younger brother to impress.

You know which brand of toy cars I am talking about. Yeah, the ones we ALL played with. ANYHOOOO, I hesitated doing this because once these places get your information, you are through. Thing is, this little boy loves cars, so hey, why not let him have a little fun. Well, I figure now that they have my address I will probably start getting a TON of spam and toy junk mail -- but I know that if a piece of mail comes here with a picture of a car on it, well, my son will be ecstatic. So I sign up for this "service" and then find that this e-mail has been sent to me...

Thank you for applying to become a member of the "Little Toy Car" VIP Club. We are excited that you are a fan of "Little Toy Cars" and want to be part of this special group. We will let you know within one week whether or not you qualify. Thank you!

Whether or not I QUALIFY?
QUALIFY?
QUALIFY, MY ASS.

Man, I qualify so hard that they oughta just send us five free cars. Two for each of the boys, and one for me.
I'd like the Bitchin' Camaro, please.


I have TWO BOYS. What more do you need to meet up to their stringent Toy Car Club Membership standards? Thank goodness I did not tell them of my past history of accidentally letting the vacuum pressure in the SEM fall, so that for 12 hours we had to wait for it to stabilize again. (PHEW!) ... had they found THAT out, I am sure we would have been totally screwed! I had no idea that my past indiscretions could possibly affect my son's chance of being a part of the Little Toy Car VIP Club. Crap.

Niiiiice. Real nice.

Me: Sweetie, what color are the leaves on the trees over there?
Sweetie: Black!
Me: Sweetie, what color are those pretty flowers?
Sweetie: Black!
Me: Look! There's a car! What color is the car?
Sweetie: Black!
Me: (sigh) How about the sky, what color is the sky?
Sweetie: BLACK!
Husband: Honey, what color are momma's teeth?
Sweetie: YELLOW!

Great. Maybe he does know his colors after all.