Pooped

In my household, of course that word could mean something potty-related (or, unfortunately, not potty-related but smeared-on-the-walls/floor/bed/toys/boys-related). But this time it just refers to the people in my household. We are all pooped, tired, drained, completely exhausted.

This week has steamrolled us all, as the beginning of the program year at church usually does, but man, it is just infinitely more exhausting now that there are kids involved. First we had to hire a new daytime sitter (props for craigslist, love my new sitter and her darling 3 year-old daughter who comes with her). Then for the times when we don't have her (like evenings or weekends) but we have work commitments, we either have to scramble to find someone else (which has been the case 5 times in the last 8 days) or we have to cart the boys off to church with us again to be in the nursery (which, thankfully, they love).

Added to all this is the fact that now that the boys' cribs have been dismantled and they have free reign in their room, naps have been happening less than half the time. They still spend two hours in their room each afternoon, but more often than not that time is spent playing, tearing things up, and harrassing each other. At 5:00 in the evening, two, two year-old boys who have not had naps can wear me out like nothing else I know of.

Then added to all this is the fact of my total ineptitude in dealing with the practical little details of normal life. This past week included really idiotic things like:

• leaving my makeup bag in a public restroom and having to replace everything in it, including two things that were brand new
  
• buying the wrong thing three different times in five days (a deep cleaner that I thought was a steam cleaner but it's not; a CD player alarm clock for the boys' room that isn't a CD player but has a line-in where you can attach a CD player to play through it; a new skirt for a wedding that was actually the one I meant to leave in the dressing room because it was too big, of course I didn't discover this until right before I had to go to the wedding)
• losing the receipt to the most expensive of these three items (the deep cleaner)
• having computer problems with boot-up (with a Mac! this isn't supposed to happen!), and doing the same wrong fix for an hour before I finally realized what I was doing
• somehow ending up importing 295 duplicate photos when I was only trying to get two off that particular CF card
  
• driving myself totally nuts trying to nail down lodging in Tuscany when none of the places I was looking at would've been a wrong choice
  

I make things so much more difficult than they need to be. Still. This week, and especially this weekend, a whole lot of things turned out way better than I expected. It has been a very good week.

And I got to hold a newborn today (born yesterday) - a definite perk of being a minister (the one hospital call I'm always thrilled to make). *Sigh*. I'd take a thousand crazy weeks if I could hold a newborn baby in every one of them.

Meanwhile, I am knitting. Just not taking pictures of my knitting till I get my CF card dumped. I'm almost done with the first sleeve of my lace inset cardigan (perhaps I will finish it tonight, but not if I'm wise. If I'm wise, I will go to bed immediately - I get up in less than 7 hours already. Actually, if I was wise, I'd be in bed already instead of blogging). What's left now is the other sleeve and the collar (the thing that sold me on this cardigan), then blocking and seaming. The current weather is perfect cardigan weather so I'm very ready to be wearing this baby.

And, finally, some pictures of pooped.

Little Buddha fell asleep in the middle of the wreckage he and Tiny Dancer had made of their room. Knee up, partway off the bed, head in a wire maze. Now that's pooped.

And yes, that is a toothbrush he's clutching.
And yes, he is asleep, even though his eyes are a little open. That's the way he does it.

If I'm not around much this week, you can assume I'm either trying to keep up with the speed of life, or trying to undo all the stupid little mistakes I've made in the process!

The Solace of a Knitted Thing

I had been afraid that after spending so much time and focus on Cozy, I would end up not even using it. I've never worn shawls before (though I did do the poncho thing as a very young girl). But I knew the first time I saw Cozy that I had to make it. And it turns out, I needn't have worried about whether or not she'd get any use.

Every morning, after I've brushed my teeth and poured my coffee, I wrap Cozy around my shoulders while I sit and drink my coffee, have some quiet time, and do a little knitting. To wrap a silk shawl around my shoulders at 5:00 a.m., to sit for an hour alone, in silence, with that earthy goodness wrapped around me - it just starts my whole day right. No matter what else happens in a day, those few moments were just what I needed.

Later, when the boys get up, Tiny Dancer wants to sit in my lap under the shawl for a bit, while he wakes up.

Sometimes in the afternoon, when the boys are sleeping, I sit outside in the almost-autumn sun, on my bench swing, with Cozy wrapped around me, and I write.

I sometimes wear it in my study, the coldest room in the house, while I sit at the computer and work.

I wore it to church on Sunday, and I'll probably wear it to a wedding on Saturday.

And yesterday, when Tiny Dancer woke early from his nap, crying, I brought him to the living room, where he fell back asleep on my chest. For half an hour we lay there, with him snoring on me, and it was delightful. But then I really needed to get up and do work. I rolled out from underneath him and he whimpered. I put Cozy on top of him, and he went right back to sleep, for another half hour. There are no words for the tenderness I felt watching my little boy sleep peacefully under Mommy's handmade shawl.

*sigh*

Fun with knitwear

So this weekend I dug up some of the little things I knit last fall and winter. This was partly an exercise in nostalgia on the occasion of my pseudo-knittiversary (I learned how to knit in the spring of 2002, but not very well. I relearned, thanks to Knitting Help about this time last year). And it was partly in a desperate ploy to entertain the boys on a cold rainy weekend.

They were definitely entertained. We spent at least a half an hour just trying on mittens over and over again, and then taking turns trying on daddy's watchcap. They especially like pulling the cap down over their faces and playing "Where's Little Buddha/Tiny Dancer?" Little Buddha even rode all the way to the post office with me with the cap pulled down over his face.

Here they are, modeling
Picky Pants, toddler mitts, and daddy's cap.

And here's a totally different look. My first scarves.
With sunglasses, of course.

Little Buddha makes some sort of fashion statement.
I laugh every time I look at this picture.

Last year, I couldn't get them to wear a scarf or hat or mittens. Ever. I'm so glad they're at a stage where they appreciate the things I make!

Actual Knitting Progress - and Regress

So a few days ago I cast on for Sweater Babe's Fabulous Lace Inset Cardigan and I have made quick progress. (What a difference to go from knitting fingering weight on size 0s to knitting bulky on size 13s!). I love the pattern and love the yarn (Lamb's Pride Bulky). As of yesterday morning, I was done with the back and halfway done with the left front. Here's what it looked like.



Last night, My Old Man and I watched part of a DVD together, which gave me primo knitting time. I made major progress and felt certain I could complete the left front before the boys got up this morning.

Got up early this morning, took care of something other things, then finally settled down to knit. I stared at what I had done. And realized that last night I had totally skipped the whole binding off for the armhole part! Back at row 43! Guess where I started last night? Row 43! So basically I have to unknit everything I did last night. So as soon as I get it frogged, my project will look like this.


That's what I get for knitting while watching Weeds.

Book Meme

Amber tagged me for this. I've never been tagged before, so that was kinda cool!

1. One book that changed your life: The Preaching Life by Barbara Brown Taylor. Barbara Brown Taylor, an Episcopal priest in Georgia, writes like a poet and preaches in a way I had never experienced before. Reading her book (which is both a memoir of her calling and a collection of a few sermons), smashed all my stereotypes of preachers and preaching, gave me a whole new understanding of what preaching could be and was instrumental in helping me recognize that I was called to preach.

2. One book that you’ve read more than once: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Brilliant, subversive and delightful. I read this in high school and then read it again earlier this year, after seeing the movie. Austen is a master of the form.

3. One book you’d want on a deserted island: Hmmm, this is a toughie. I should probably say Don Quixote since I couldn't get through it the first time I tried 2 years ago and on a deserted island maybe I'd have more time and focus. But the truth is, a knitting book would probably keep me entertained and occupied for a lot longer (assuming I also had yarn and needles, which of course I would, but even if I didn't My Old Man can attest to the fact that I read and reread knitting books even when I'm not working a pattern from them). It would be a tough call, but I guess I'd choose Mason-Dixon Knitting since I haven't knit anything from it yet.

4. One book that made you laugh: Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris. Wickedly funny. I love me some Sedaris.

5. One book that made you cry: The Woman at the Washington Zoo: Writings on Politics, Family, and Fate by Marjorie Williams. Marjorie Williams was a brilliant journalist for the Washington Post who died last year of liver cancer (outliving predictions of her death by about 4 years). She left behind a husband and two young children. This book is a collection of her best columns, along with personal essays. Her husband collected these and published them after her death. She was a brilliant writer, and an incisive analyst of politics and political figures. I was devastated by the personal essays and found myself reading through tears numerous times. [I actually could've listed any numbers of books that have made me cry, as I tend to cry easily and to pick books that induce such.]

6. One book you wish had been written: Oh, probably any of the several novels I have either conceived of or actually started writing over the last 25 years.

7. One book you wish had never been written: Mein Kampf.

8. One book you’re currently reading: Leaving Church by Barbara Brown Taylor. It's a little unnerving when a preaching icon like Taylor decides she's had enough of parish life. But I couldn't not read it, and it is every bit as moving and inspiring as every other book of hers.

9. One book you’ve been meaning to read: The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion. I originally postponed this one because I didn't think I could handle another death book right after The Woman at the Washington Zoo. But that was 7 months ago. Don't know what my excuse is now.

10. Tag six people: Rebecca, Sara Jayne, Becky, yakmidi, Dave, and Vegan Knitting.

*gasp*

I'm a finalist in the final Amazing Lace challenge!

I've been dutifully playing along all summer, entering every challenge - writing poetry, taking potty shots, even taking pictures of the inside of my closet - but everyone else has been so much more clever. For my all time favorite knitting pic, check out Dave's winning entry for challenge #4. I mean, seriously folks, who can compete with creativity - or abs - like that?

At any rate, I kept on making my humble submissions to the challenges. It was fun to participate (and My Old Man was quite the sport for going along with a couple of long and ridiculous-seeming photo shoots). And it turns out that for every challenge we did, we'll get entered into the drawing for prizes, whether we ever won a challenge or not. Pretty cool, eh?

So to get chosen as a finalist for the final challenge is icing on the proverbial cake (here's my entry). And on top of that, I got a little shout-out for my subsequent post, with me imitating the Knitty model. tee hee. In addition to getting entered extra times into the final prize drawing, the winner of this challenge wins a $42 ball of laceweight Belisa Cashmere (!!!) from Hollis at Full Thread Ahead. Right now I'm trailing all the other participants in the challenge - there are some super entries. Check out this one and this one. Knitters are creative folks, aren't they?

Dudes, go on over and vote. For me, preferably.

This has been the coolest KAL. I'm so glad I took the plunge and entered. Not only did I challenge myself to learn more about knitting lace, and not only were the challenges creative and fun, but I discovered some awesome blogs out there in the process (because we all know that what I really need is to spend more time online, reading blogs). If you have haven't seen these before, check them out: Lickety Knit (written by Rachel, one of the co-creators and co-hosts of the Amazing Lace) and Criminy Jickets (written by Dave, who has more to offer than just great abs). Both blogs have everything I think a knitting blog should have - super writing, great photos, and some really beautiful knitting.

The Saturday Seven - #8

I haven't been tracking these on this blog, but I've meant to. So here's today's Saturday Seven.

In knitting news, I'm working on little projects while I wait for my size 13 KP Options needle tips to arrive, so I can start on my fall cardigan. Earlier in the week, I made a wee baby hat for a baby due early September. I should make either a kimono or booties to match, but instead I've spent the rest of my knitting time this week fiddling with more socks for me. I'm using Lorna's Laces worsted in chocolate (such a yummy color) and am working in a little pink (using my Pearl pink panther fingering weight, doubled). (brown and pink are a fave color combo of mine, esp. for fall) I'm sort of making up the color design as I go, and I keep being unhappy with it. So I'm about to frog for the second time and start again. Is it possible to do Fair Isle (a technique I've never tried) over ribbing, or should I really stick with stockinette?