Yarn Piggie

Hippie-Dippy Granola Mom.

2012-02-21T23:47:00.003-06:00

I should have realized I was skipping down this road when we started out this whole, raw, juicing, unprocessed food thing. I am officially one of those moms that makes kids homemade granola bars because there's too many preservatives, sugar, and unpronouncable chemicals. Plus, and this may be oversharing, but my kids are poop hoarders. Let me explain.

They both have hereditary bowel problems; they don't poop for a week and then they howl while passing a fencepost. It's horrible, just horrible. About a year ago we started giving them Miralax in their milk with dinner, and now they are just regular gals. However, it's always really bothered me that we tried what should naturally work (no dairy/bananas/breads, tons of fruit and veggies) and nothing worked except giving them this "polyether compound with many applications from industrial manufacturing to medicine." Really? Industrial manufacturing? I can't believe this stuff is sold for consumption. So tonight I looked for a granola recipe.

I found a recipe for Healthy Nut-Free Granola Bars on SweetGirlConfections.com. Instead of using a 9 x 13 pan, I made a double batch and used a jelly roll pan. They turned out beautifully.

I omitted the brown sugar entirely, and I didn't have any wheat germ. I used 3/4 cup organic dried cranberries instead of 1/2 cup raisins and 1/4 cup cranberries. Instead of butter I used melted coconut oil. I also threw in a tablespoon or two of poppy seeds, and a couple of tablespoons of millet, for crunch.

Homemade high-fiber granola bars is one half of the equation. The other half is what Miralax actually does: it holds water in the stool and that's what softens it and helps move it along, which acts like peristalsis in moving material along in the bowel. Water is the other component of this experiment. I plan on being Nazi Poop Patrol every morning and make them drink 8 ounces of water as soon as they wake up, before they can watch TV. Then they need to drink another 8 ounces with their breakfast granola bar. Jess can take one to school for snack, or she can take her usual snack of an apple or carrot and celery sticks. In the evening, they need to drink 8 ounces of water before dinner, and if they choose to have a granola bar after dinner, they need to drink 8 ounces of water with that as well. Since they only get dessert on Tuesdays and Fridays, I am thinking they'll jump at the chance of any sort of treat after dinner every night. Especially ones that look as inviting as these, right?

I hope this regimen, along with our new habit of having a big green salad before "real dinner" (per Jessica) every night, and using more whole grains and vegetables and less meat in our "real dinner", will have some real effect on their digestive problems.

Here's hopin' for poopin'.

Our first quinoa recipe. Success!

2012-02-15T22:20:00.000-06:00

On Sunday I was looking through one of the blogs I like to read, The Healthy Foodie. She seems like a nice, down-to-earth person, and she takes way better pictures of food than I do.

While browsing through her recipes, I came upon one for Quinoa Cakes and Poached Eggs. Oh my. Be still my heart! I love poached eggs, and there's nothing finer than whole wheat toast breaking open an over-easy yolk. We'll definitely try that some Sunday soon.

However, we were looking for recipes for weeknight dinners, so we decided to put the quinoa cakes on top of big green salads, with avocado, cucumber, red peppers, tomatoes, sliced almonds, paper-thin discs of radish, and a drizzling of Lime Ginger Dressing.

The quinoa cakes called for bread crumbs. Using our delicious homemade bread crumbs instead of the sawdust-textured store-bought variety was a very satisfying feeling. For the cheese, we used a few ounces of gouda.

The quinoa cakes were fried in about 2 T. EVOO, and the recipe made nine 4-inch cakes.

I changed the dressing recipe up a bit. I grated the fresh ginger, and omitted the garlic. I substituted honey for the sugar, and 2 T. EVOO + 1 T. garlic grapeseed oil instead of the vegetable oil. I also added a splash of white wine vinegar. We had both jalapenos and jicama on hand, so I added both. Then I blended the whole lot in a bullet-style processor.

Now that I've written up all the changes I made to the dressing, I see that I probably created an entirely different dressing in the end. Well, either way, it was very good. I picked it originally because I was looking for a dressing with both sweet and tart components, to play opposite the slightly salty flavor of the cheese in the cakes, and the comparably unctuous, crunchy fried crust. All of those qualities were also complimented beautifully by the big chunks of avocado, and the sharp bite of radish.

The quinoa cakes were so satisfying. The crunch, the flavor, the texture, the warmth, were all perfect pairings with the fresh crispy romaine and tender spring greens. Definitely a winner!

The Farmers Taft

2012-02-12T23:33:00.001-06:00

My but we are embracing the agrarian lifestyle lately. Farmer Taft is preparing for spring, and lustfully thumbing through seed catalogs. He mentioned to me yesterday that he is thinking about sprouting his own seeds this spring using peat sprouting trays. I think he said that the tray itself with 30 peat sprout containers was $50, and the peat refills for the tray were $20 for 30.

I reminded him of the magazine cover I pointed out at the grocery store a few weeks ago that showed little sprouts coming up out of an eggshell. So today when we made quiches for lunch we saved the eggshells.

I guess the thing to remember is when you're planting your little sprouts (shell and all), just make sure to crush it a bit so the roots have an easier time getting through to the soil.

Saturday I had some time to myself, so I went to Slow Pokes in Grafton to check it out. I found some organic raw milk cheese, grass-fed organic beef, and better prices on raw cacao and coconut oil than I'd found online. The produce and meat are all local. For example, the beef I got came from Kay's HomeFarm Meats, just outside of Cedarburg. I'm very happy to have found this wonderful, reasonably-priced source for local organic produce and meats.

Saturday night I decided to try out a raw recipe, so I checked out Ani Phyo's Raspberry Ganache fudge Cake video on YouTube. Here's the recipe, and here's the pics.

Richard's summation: "This is GOOD. Wow. You could take this up north and they'd never know it wasn't just a flourless cake, that it was raw."

Pretty high praise, that you could fool the folks up north!

One last project this weekend was to take the breads out of the freezer that I'd been saving to make bread crumbs, and actually make the bread crumbs. I used two lovely rustic-style loaves from a local bakery that we hadn't been able to eat before they got stale. I let them thaw, and cut them up into cubes before putting them on a cookie sheet and drying them in the oven at 300 degrees for about 25 minutes. After a few spins in the food processor, I ended up with a 3-cup container of high-quality bread crumbs that will be part of some lovely home-cooked dish in the future.

Yum!

Criminal Behavior.

2012-01-31T22:38:00.000-06:00

I am a criminal. I wasn't caught, but I did the crime. I calmly and guiltlessly went through the Self-Checkout and stole these two chocolate bars tonight:

Inadvertant shoplifting. Have you ever done it? Did you fess up, even if you'd made it all the way to your car? This wasn't wrong change from the cashier, that I could correct with a question (which I do on an alarmingly regular basis - how much wrong change do I pay for in mark-up on goods??) I didn't realize I'd shoplifted these until I got out to my car with the cart, popped my trunk, moved a bag, and the chocolate bar fell down from in front of my purse to the bottom of the cart.

When I realized what I'd done, emotions flickered through me like northern lights: guilt, fear, elation, fear, smugness, guilt, and then finally, victory. I'm not sure why that last one was in there but I noted it because it was so .... American. To feel victorious about something we absolutely did NOT intend to do, but turned out well. Like a slop shot in pool, or hitting all the green lights on a street without having to slow down.

So I guess if the Grafton Five-0 want to arrest me, they have reasonable suspicion. But according to Wikipedia, they do not have probable cause, and I guarantee the evidence of my crime will be long gone.

Whole Grains!

2012-01-30T23:14:00.000-06:00

Richard and I are dragging our reluctant children on a new adventure - whole/raw food and juicing! For two and a half weeks we've been on the no-processed-food train, and we're feeling good. We have tons of fresh veggies and fruit everyday, both in juice form and raw food form. We're cooking healthier, using whole grains and less meat, and we've switched to about 75% organic. Our goal is 100% organic.

I have been drinking LOTS of water, and whenever I have a processed food craving, it's usually because I've forgotten to drink water in the last hour or so and my body is trying to tell me it's thirsty. So I drink a couple of long pulls from my filtered water bottle, and poof! The craving is gone.

I have been craving carbohydrates, however, and so I have been nosing around the internet for whole grain, organic, healthy recipes for breads and sweets. Sunday night I made a - well, let's call it "rustic" - loaf of Flax Seed Wheat Bread. It didn't rise very well because in addition to the generous amount of flax seeds the recipe called for, I loaded it down with sesame seeds, pepitas (pumpkin seeds), sunflower seeds, and poppy seeds. I have never made bread before so it was only AFTER it was very much not rising that I started looking into what not to do with bread.

However, it did turn out edible, but I would not use all the seeds next time, just the flax seeds. I also read through the comments posted to the blog I found this recipe on, and people who used milled flax seeds found out that was an oops too, because milled flax really soaks up the moisture in this recipe.

So here it is, my beautiful brown rustic little brick:

Within 20 minutes of pulling this out of the oven, and with dinner running an hour late and 5 hungry people hovering in the kitchen, it was down to this:

And then there was one. It was on my plate, and it was loaded with organic strawberry jam:

I also made some Apple Oatmeal Whole Wheat Muffins. Delicious! I didn't take any pictures, but I will next time. There will definitely be a next time.

For the last few weeks, I've been daydreaming about chocolate chip cookies, and wondering what in the world I was going to do about it. All things in moderation works pretty well with many things, but chocolate chip cookies is not among them.

So tonight I searched for some healthier version of chocolate chip cookies. I knew I wouldn't find a completely healthy substitute, but I was looking for something with less or no refined sugar, and using whole wheat so they were more satisfying than white flour cookies. I found a great recipe in Healthy Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies, on diynatural.com.

They turned out chewy, moist, and very, very satisfying to my sweet tooth, without being overly sweet. Just perfect!

Well, as we continue our dive into this new territory, I'll keep posting recipes we've tried. Even the ones that brick out. :)

My Husband is Famous, and I Get to Shag Him

2011-11-08T22:09:00.000-06:00

Richard was in another episode of Hoarders this week (Judy and Jerry). It was filmed in June of this year. We spent Monday evening at our friends' house to watch the show. Click here if you'd like to watch the episode.

He was in an episode last year too, but he only got about 3 seconds of camera time. This time, he had about 7 appearances. He was even shoveling the living room in one shot. (In another shot, he bent over, butt to camera. I *loved* it! He has the cutest butt! Don't tell him I told you that.)

The head organizer on the episode is Geralin Thomas, who's always been one of my favorite organizers on the show. Here's she and Richard at the hoarder's house in June:

How cute is she?? And Richard says she's a sweetheart in person too. Of course, all women just instantly love Richard, so he sees them at their best.

He's my sweetie, and he's famous. And I get to shag him.

Children Are Our Future

2011-11-04T00:10:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago, Richard and I took the girls to visit their grandma in the hospital. Halfway through the visit, AFTER hugs and kisses, she told us she has MRSA. MRSA is a highly contagious, highly antibiotic-resistant staph bacteria. On our way out of the visit, the nurse sternly told us to go home and shower immediately. We were appropriately horrified, and went home to take some nice long Silkwood showers.

The next day, we told the girls to watch for red bumps, after explaining what MRSA was and why we were to be watchful. We had our We're Serious But Don't Be Scared faces on. They listened soberly, and then continued hitting each other with magic wands and shrieking.

Since then, our little hypochondriac Jessica has been telling us about every single tiny red dot on her entire body. Last night, there were three on her thigh. They're nothing. Dry skin, or a rogue capillary, perhaps a wee pimple. They were smaller than the tip of a ballpoint pen.

I am so tired of those searching eyes, that gleeful, hopeful anticipation that something will be terribly wrong. I asked her last night if she's very worried about MRSA. Eyes shining and lips twitching trying not to smile, she tugged a frown into place and said, Yes, Mommy.

I asked her if she'd like to see pictures of MRSA. She nodded soberly. Shining. Twitching.

I googled "MRSA infection" on my phone. To save you a new tab on your browser, click here for what I found. (Do NOT click if you are pregnant or think you may be pregnant, have a delicate stomach, or are having a snack right now. Just sayin'.)

I told her they're pretty gory, and asked if she was sure. She said yes. I slowly turned my phone screen toward her. She looked for about 3 seconds, literally turned on her heel and said, Well, I don't have THAT. She looked a bit green around the gills.

I think I may have seen the last of the Red Dot Brigade.

Happy Halloween.

2011-10-31T23:06:00.002-05:00

You know, I was going to make this post like a happy little farty post with a cartoony picture of pumpkins or ghosts or some crap like that, and then I (finally) realized that I'm just not that gal. Never have been, never will be. To illustrate my point, I have a pair of Halloween socks in my drawer that I've had for going on seven years now. Every single Halloween I either forget I have them or decide not to wear them, and then don't wear them. They shuffle to the back of the sock drawer for another year, to be dutifully hauled out next September as I shrug back into my delusional anticipation of being that gal.

Today, I threw away the orange socks with cutesy black spiders on them. Happy Halloween.

Not even once.

2011-10-24T22:18:00.000-05:00

This is my thumb. It hurts. When I try to bend it, it's sort of stiff and crunchy, and and I have to wiggle it and finally it will crack and pop and I can bend it.

It is such a useful thumb. It has knitted miles of yarn and typed millions of keystrokes. It has cheerfully and cooperatively helped fill a glove for years.

So what happened? I'll tell you. It held a cell phone for about 16 hours this weekend. I dared to use my newfound cell phone app capacity (thanks, Mitch!) to download Angry Birds. I dared, and it bit me in the ass. I'm addicted, and what's worse, I had all the warning in the world not to do it. Everybody gets addicted to this game. I thought my general game-playing negative-skill quotient would protect me, but I got hooked. I just wanted a taste. To see what all the fuss is about. I just wanted a puff, a snort, a tab, just one little hit, just a little clarity, a little corner of coolness to call my own.

I was driving yesterday and there were three cars in two lanes ahead of me. Idly, I calculated the angle I'd have to throw an angry bird to get all three in one shot. I blinked a couple of times when I realized what I was doing.

This is your brain. This is your brain on Angry Birds. Don't do Angry Birds. Not even once.

John Malkovich Teaches Me SQL

2011-10-17T23:40:00.001-05:00

This week, I am in SQL training in Brookfield through Wednesday. John Malkovich is teaching the class. At least, his doppelganger is, and holy SHIT is he irritating. He uses long, dramatic pauses after almost every sentence, punctuated by exaggerated facial expressions of boredom and idiocy. This comedy set would make a nun yearn for a 2-drink minimum.

To pass a few moments, I inconspicuously recorded 8 minutes in class with my cell phone voice recorder. Tonight, because he is the light of my life, I made Richard listen to a good 4 minutes of Malkovich's comedy routine in bed. He finally blinked up at me, one earbud dangling, and told me he didn't need to listen anymore, because he totally, totally got my point.

To cap off this experience, we also have a system update going live at work on Tuesday night. My part of it is barely coded, and not tested. As far as I can tell, and this is after a lot of analyzing, this is a direct result of me being a piss-poor planner. What really, really blows about this situation, even more than me having to put pressure on our lovely and talented corporate beta tester to holy-shit-this-has-to-be-tested-yesterday, is that my lovely and talented coworker and partner in Progress crime has to pick up the slack because I can't get to my desktop while I'm at training. The timing of this training and this system update just suck in so very many ways.

Lunch was one fucked up bag of crazy today too. We got an hour break for lunch. I found a local Metro Mart and I was happy because they have good soup. Not Larry's good, but pretty decent for a grocery store. And much cheaper than Panera. So I drove into the Metro Mart in Brookfield off of Bluemound, parked my car, and went in. I got my soup, and a salad, and checked out in the self-check line (this is turning out to be a very alone-time intensive week, between not talking to my coworkers because I'm not at work and not talking to my husband after the kids go to bed because I'm dialing in to work until we sleep). I headed back out to to my car, enjoying the brisk air and sunshine on a fall day. I was distantly following a man pushing a cart. The man was probably 40, dressed business casual, had small round glasses, walking briskly and cheerfully. He pushed his cart between my car and the car parked next to me, a late model Mercury Milan. As I was reaching my car, the Milan owner (a large african-american man, also business casual and about 40, was sitting in it) beeped his horn at Glasses man. Glasses man kind of smiled like, what's the joke? Milan man started yelling in his car with the windows up that Glasses man hit his car with the cart. Glasses man was shocked and apologetic, and said he didn't know he had hit it. (I didn't hear/see it, but it would have happened out of my view because I was further behind and the Milan blocked my view.) Milan man got out and said, what kind of person hits another man's car when he's sitting right in it, and doesn't stop to see if there was any damage? Glasses man again said he didn't hit the car, and he didn't see him sitting in it, and starts walking (briskly - perhaps he doesn't walk any other way?) towards Milan man's car. Milan man now stomps around to the passenger side of the Milan, which was directly outside my car window, where I am now huddled behind my wheel, doors locked, thinking to myself, seriously? We're all business casual in Brookfield at the Metro Mart and you guys are going to go all "gangstah"? So by now Milan man and Glasses man are in each other's faces, literally like 3 inches apart, yelling about SHOW ME WHERE I HIT IT and YOU BETTER BACK THE F*** OFF and WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO NOW, HUH? at each other. At this point I started looking around for the hidden camera. This has to be a "punked" thing or a Borat thing or something along those lines, because these two Brookfield office guys have turned into two GET YOUR ASS AWAY FROM ME AND INTO THAT CAR, BITCH very-Jerry-Springer people while dressed in business casual with unremarkable loafers. I decided it would be imprudent to stick around, because really, I just didn't need to see any more car-momma drama.

I went back to the training facility and ate quietly, and alone, in my car. According to Malkovich, today was our easy day. I can't wait for tomorrow. This is one of those weeks where the hits just keep on coming.

I'm back!

2011-10-09T22:27:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile but I'm back. Richard and I have adopted two little girls, sisters, Jessica and Abby. Jessica is 9 and Abby is 3. We are very busy! I am working full time in the IT department at a local bank. In the spring I am getting a beehive for the backyard. A local beekeeper needs to place some of his hives around the area, and we have 1.25 acres in a perfect spot. This way I'll be able to learn how to keep bees without the investment, and with an experienced beekeeper by my side. This has been a dream of mine for many years so it's very exciting.Well I battled a nasty bug today. My temp was 102.8 for several hours even after taking Tylenol and a prescribed antibiotic. I am exhausted. Off to bed!

Revelation

2008-10-08T11:05:00.007-05:00

Last night I was half watching Shrek 2 with the girls while I dyed roving. I heard the fairy godmother show up and turned around to watch for a few seconds. I was suddenly struck with the realization that the fairy godmother looks exactly like Sarah Palin will in 20 years. If she lets her hair go gray, which I'm sure she won't. Check it out.

Alpacas and Apples

2008-09-29T12:58:00.006-05:00

The spinning demo went great on Saturday. Beautiful weather (78 and sunny) and an excuse to sit in the shade and spin for 6 hours. We had about 100 visitors and lots of enthusiasm and questions about everything. I find it hilarious that little children become entranced by my spinning wheel, and then, almost zombie-like, begin reaching toward it, to - what? Touch the wheel? Touch the flyer? And all the tots on Saturday had hands covered in melted chocolate chips because the refreshments table was in the sun. Sometimes I actually had to stop spinning before I could get their attention to please not touch. I couldn't stop smiling the whole day.
Sunday I took the girls out to there so they could pet the alpacas. They had a blast.
Afterwards, we went to the Gibbsville Orchard and went on a haywagon ride and went apple-picking. They had a blast, and they now have their very own handpicked apples for school snack every day this week. I don't have any pictures because I was too busy having fun. Bad foster mommy. Sigh. I often rebuke myself for not taking enough pictures, and forcibly have to remember that in this big world there are far more important things to be concerned with than having too much fun in the moment to try to capture them. We had a wonderful time I'll never forget and they probably will, and in the big picture, it doesn't really matter all that much. Laughter and love stay with you whether it's in a picture album or not.
That said, I got a great one on the way home from the orchard. I guess the caramel apple wore off. Heh.

Spinning Demo at Raspbaerry Hill Alpacas

2008-09-26T16:11:00.004-05:00

This weekend is National Alpaca Days, and I'll be doing a spinning demo at Raspbaerry Farm up in Plymouth WI. I'll be bringing my wheel, some fiber, and some handspun that I'll have for sale as well. It's supposed to be a beautiful sunny 76 tomorrow, a perfect fall day to visit a farm. I'll be there from 10-4 so I hope to see a few friendly faces there! :)

http://www.nationalalpacafarmdays.com/farmlocator/details.asp?zip1=53013&zip
MilesHigh=25&id=7885

Raspbaerry Hill Alpacas
Barbara Baer
W6399 County Rd U
Plymouth, WI 53073
Phone: (920) 893-8218
Cell: (920) 918-8033
Email: alpacalover@wildblue.net
Email 2: rhalpacas@wildblue.net
Web: rhalpacas.com

See you there!

This woman is vile.

2008-09-18T10:58:00.001-05:00

http://www.thepresidentialcandidates.us/about-sarah-palin-a-letter-from-anne-kilkenny/741/

Where ARE the damn things?!?!

2008-09-16T14:35:00.002-05:00

I knitted an exquisite pair of pink lace socks for my friend's birthday present a few months ago and one time when she was coming over I hid them and now it's PAST her birthday and I can't find the flippin things. Dammit!

I got my shipments of roving and dyes yesterday. 16 pounds of merino and 8 pounds of sw merino, and 30 1-pound containers of one-shot dyes (also sold as Country Classic dyes). I can't wait to get dyeing; hopefully I'll be able to get a few rovings done tonight even. Jewel tones seem to fly off the shelf this time of year, so I'm going to come up with some new combinations. Coming soon to Willow Acre Fibers!

Oh my goodness, I've been gone a long time.

2008-09-14T19:41:00.003-05:00

Things have been crazy busy here. No, you don't understand. CRAZY BUSY. I have my full-time job, Richard has eClutter, I have Willow Acre Fibers, and we both have the girls, who are enrolled in dance class on separate nights and increased visitation with their mom. Several weeks ago Aunt Connie passed away and left Richard and his brother a house that needs to be fixed up and sold. Which is over 2 hours away. Lots of work in the upcoming fall.

Willow Acre Fibers is doing really well. I've sold 30 items in the 5 weeks it's been open. I had an inquiry for wholesale prices on my roving from a yarn shop in Kentucky because they like what I have and want to carry it in their store. I worked up a price sheet/colorway sheet and was shocked to find that I've created 30 separate, distinct colorways in the 5 weeks my shop's been open. I was pleased to find that I had recorded enough information to compile into a recipe sheet for all 30 as well, so I can recreate any of them. I sent off the price sheet and am waiting to hear back.

I will be doing a spinning demo at Alpaca Days, hosted by Raspbaerry Farms in Plymouth, Wisconsin on September 27-28. They invited me to bring any handspun yarns or handpainted rovings to sell if I like as well, which is a wonderful opportunity. I'll have to go through my inventory of handspun and see what I have, and make up some of my more popular colorways of roving as well.

See what I mean about crazy busy? I will try to post more often. Promise.

Etsy and Innocence

2008-08-16T21:22:00.003-05:00

So I have sold 5 rovings so far and have an order for one that I just dyed today. I have dyed 3 more that I will post on Monday, and will dye a bunch more tomorrow morning. This is awesome.
I was at Barnes & Noble on my lunch break one day this week, and the woman ahead of me in line had two little boys. One was about 5 and the other I'd put at, ohh, maybe 7 or 8. While the youngest was having a whiny battle of wills over a "karate bookmark" (wooden bookmark with chinese symbols on it, bet you $1 they had nothing to do with karate), the older was crouched down looking at a magazine on the bottom rack of the stand by the cashier.

There were two magazines to choose from:

and some sports magazine with a bunch of very drunk, very happy Packer fans on the front of it.

Guess which one he was deeply interested in? Yep, the Packers. Which made me wonder; when exactly does that change? When is that switch flipped?

Etsy Store is UP and Selling!

2008-08-07T07:54:00.002-05:00

I have roving and yarn posted at my new Etsy store, http://www.willowacrefibers.etsy.com, and have sold one roving and taken an order for another custom roving! Woo hoo! This is awesome and I am having so much fun. I can't wait to dye some more this weekend.

The Yarn Piggie Emerges.

2008-07-21T12:49:00.003-05:00

I am not dead. I did not forget about my blog. But holy mother of hell, has this been one busy summer.

FC2 was sick and out of daycare for a whole week with some mysterious fever, and now I've had it for the last week. I think I'm at the tail end of it, thank god.

Good news about my foster care article; in the letters to the editor section of this month's magazine, somebody gave me some great feedback on my little Prepare for Breakage article. Note to self: MUST WRITE MORE.

I have been spinning up a lot of yarn, which will go on sale next week in my new Etsy store, http://willowacrefibers.etsy.com. Next week I'm also on vacation, so I hope to be dying my first rovings under the willow tree. I will try to take pics so I can post them here.

Thank you, gentle readers, for patiently waiting out the silence. I'm back!

A Fine Day

2008-05-28T15:10:00.002-05:00

This whole week has had one funky ass vibe. Just something hanging in the air, a funk that can't be metaphorically Febrezed away. However, today the sun is shining. It is a GOOD day. Today the annoying know-it-all-but-doesn't-know-jack temp that has been plaguing the IS department has been declared GONE as of Friday. As one of my fellow suffering coworkers so aptly put it, "It's a hump day miracle!"

FC1 had her birthday party at home yesterday. Pizza Hut and Dairy Queen ice cream cake. She's also having a party this Friday at the local skating rink with 15-20 of her closest friends. That'll be a trip. Hopefully on Monday I'll have lots of good pictures! Then Saturday she's having another party at my MIL's house with all of Richard's nephews and family. How spoiled is this kid, huh? She's such a sweetheart though that it's just plain fun to spoil her.

Gotta jet!

Spinning Under the Willow

2008-05-22T10:11:00.002-05:00

Last night it was just me and the girls, with Richard off trap-shooting with some friends. We had Jimmy John's subs for dinner (with Richard). After dinner, FC1 dragged my spinning chair outside, FC2 dragged the Happy Mother's Day rug they made for me out to the willow, and I brought my spinning wheel and fiber. I spun under the tree while the girls played on their bikes, in their playhouse, and in the sandbox. Then we all just sat and chatted for a good half hour or so before their mom called. After that it was brushing teeth and bedtime.

Not so much exercise last night, but had some very good quality time with the girls. Found out something interesting, too. FC1 was named after her mom's foster mother, from when her mom was in foster care as a child. I thought that was so touching, that she named her firstborn after somebody she obviously admired a great deal. Then I was brought back down to earth by the fact that even though this woman had that kind of impact on her, it hadn't been enough to break the cycle. Damn. This fostering business is a chocolate-covered lemon, with the sour always lurking just below the sweet. That said, I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Just yesterday I was having a conversation with a coworker about foster care. He is of the opinion that kids just shouldn't go back to their abusive/neglectful/whatever real parents. I don't think he gets it that kids need their parents. Or at least their primary parent. It's not that they want them, or prefer them. It's a human need, and if that's missing, there's a piece missing from that child from that point on. Period.

This is where my faith steps in as well. I believe each person has their own path in life, with God at their side. It is not my place to decide that this child doesn't belong with their parent(s), if that parent has passed the state's requirements. I can't protect beyond a certain point, except to hope that the tools I've helped them develop will serve them well. I must be at peace with all possibilities after I let go; they may thrive, they may stagger and fall, they may follow in their dysfunction's footsteps. This is where I end, where I must let go and trust God to be there when they need Him most.

This is where I become my final incarnation as a foster parent: Available.

Spring is Firmly Here

2008-05-21T09:11:00.002-05:00

I was the first to get home yesterday, so I went in and changed into play clothes (read: jeans and hoodie) and went outside to sit in a chair in the driveway. That's right, I hauled a deck chair into the driveway so hubby man would sure see me and hopefully not even bother to turn off the truck because I soooo didn't feel like cooking. They got home and somehow did not see me and everyone piled into the house. Fine. I piled in after them and sat chatting with hubby for 10 minutes or so until we all filed out again.

We went to a local restaurant that has the best ranch dressing I've ever had and I only ever order one thing there: the grilled chicken salad. Yummm. We even ate outside next to a trickling little water feature because it was so nice out. Finally! Afterwards we walked to the park across the street and I went down the big slide with the girls. They were thrilled. Then I attempted to ride one of those springy little horse things that stick out of the ground. Yikes. Not recommended for adults over 100 pounds. Then Richard and I both went on the swingset for a little while, after which I got some knitting done on the super secret sock. Not a ton of exercise but at least we got out of the house and had some fun!

Bizzy Bizzy Bee

2008-05-20T13:37:00.002-05:00

Long time no postie. I have no pictures today. I'm working on a super-secret sock project that wasn't initially intended as a gift but I goofed on the size and they don't fit my feet so off they go to someone who will love them very much. Hopefully I will be able to get them done, blocked, and photographed before I gift them.

Life has been ... interesting. The girls are doing fine, Richard is fine, and me? Well, not so fine. Just got a bad case of the blah's lately. I could blame it on work but then I remember how good I have it and feel like a nincompoop complaining about my cushy, sit-down, safe, stable job. I could blame it on the weather but the weather is getting beautiful. I guess it boils down to the fact that I just have to get off my rump at night and work out so I feel better. I just feel stagnant inside.

So maybe I'll use this blog thingy as a prompter for that. I'll post every day and see it all written down (or up, in the case of a blog) and feel better about myself.

[jumps down off the pity potty]

Toodles.

Swingin' and Sniffin' and Horfin'

2008-05-08T09:37:00.005-05:00

Yesterday was an adventure, pure and simple. It was one of those days when everything around you sparks and flickers with unseen energy, while forces work hard behind the scenes to make you notice life. Some forces don't bother to pull the curtain.

On the way back from lunch with my work compadres, we were behind a firetruck in traffic. It was moving kind of oddly. Kind of swaying and dipping too low in the back end. Soon we noticed there were little sparks coming from beneath the undercarriage. Ruh roh. Suddenly there were LOTS OF SPARKS coming from beneath, and it looked like they were dragging a metal garbage can. They pulled over and as the firemen piled out of their disable vehicle, we saw that the GAS TANK STRAPS HAD BROKEN AND THE GAS TANK WAS DRAGGING. Holy mother of hell!

As this post can attest, we did make it back in one piece, sans explosions.

After work I went to West Bend to meet my friend Deb for dinner at 5:30. I arrived 20 minutes early (do the math - 5:10), so I went to Valvoline to get an oil change. The poor little red bus was 1,200 miles over when it should have had a change and it was chuggin' and clackin'. I got right in. Then the little grease monkey dude showed me that my air filter was looking like a smoker's lung, and when he pulled out the in-cabin filter, I thought there were mice on it but no, just huge grey hairy dust balls. Oh, and your tranny fluid is brown, would you like us to flush it for you? Criminy. Poor little red bus was limping pretty badly. Let's not mention that it also needs new brakes and possibly new rotors right now as well.

Little grease monkey dude discovers they're out of hose clamps, so he has to sprint over to Auto Zone. Then he doesn't put it on correctly or something and has me turn on the bus and it sprays tranny fluid to the sky. Beautiful brown tranny fluid! Whoopsie. Please turn your car off, ma'am.

Cut to the chase; antics of grease monkey dude get me to the restaurant at 6:15. 45 minutes late. Deb, for perhaps the first time in her adult life (ducking) was not only on time, but 5 minutes early. She had also organized her bag and taken out all books, knitting, etc, so she had nothing to do but watch TV screens and people for entertainment while looking stood-up. We had a lovely dinner (AVOID AT ALL COSTS the fish sandwich at BW3's - bad frozen fishy taste) and then I suggested we go to the batting cages at Blue Dog.

After paying our bill and almost forgetting my take out box, we go to Blue Dog, a few minutes drive away. Walking into Blue Dog, a vile, ripe, tangy, gut-wrenching smell assaults us. "Oh my god, what is that smell?" I ask the guy at the desk, horrified beyond tact. I scan the dim interior, looking for something dead, or being eaten by maggots, perhaps. He shrugs.

The girl who walked in with us who apparently was coming in for her shift start says, "Yeah, what is that?"

He shrugs again. "I d'no."

I choke enough words out to communicate that I want to purchase some batting cage tokens and hand him the money. "Is that vomit? It has to be vomit. Holy mother that's foul." I admit, I was a bit lightheaded and not very much in control of my words. My mouth was watering uncontrollably and I couldn't stop swallowing. I keep thinking, my god, it's like I'm the one who horfed in here. I suddenly hear Deb behind me, and realize she's been snorting and trying not to die laughing this whole time. We grab two bats and stagger out the back door, sucking in fresh air and laughing until we cry at the oddity of the situation.

Check out some action shots!

Notice the Hot 'n Sexy white FOTL's peekin' out there. Yeah, baby! Sizzzzle!

Deb, you're a lousy shot, but I love ya.

Here's one of the boys who was very nice to two very odd, snorting ladies dressed in business casual at the batting cages.

Go Debbie Go Debbie Go Debbie Go!

Two swingin', snortin', almost-horfin' dorks. Too much fun.

Embryonic yarn

2008-05-08T09:30:00.002-05:00

I'm aiming for a nice fingering weight sock yarn with these two bobbins. I'm hoping when I ply them they don't poof up into a DK weight. Right now they're both about 24 wpi so together they'll be 12 wpi. Still acceptable for socks, right?

I'm thinking with the gorgeous blend of colors that include peach, tangerine, and mango, I am going to name this yarn Sunrise Margarita. What do you think of when you see these colors together?

And here's where I disillusion myself that I am indeed NOT a reader, at all, apparently.

2008-05-06T11:23:00.003-05:00

Not An Artist, a blog I have recently been reading, has recently posted about unread books meant to sit on your shelf and make you look smart. Looking at this list, I am coming to understand that I am distinctly, terrifically, and undeniably unsmart. However, I am also well-read enough to acknowledge that fact and be smug about other stuff I've read.

Here are the top 106 books most often marked as "unread" by LibraryThing’s users. As in, they sit on the shelf to make you look smart or well-rounded. Bold the ones you've read, underline the ones you read for school, italicize the ones you started but didn't finish.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Anna Karenina
Crime and Punishment
Catch-22
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Wuthering Heights
The Silmarillion
Life of Pi : a novel
The Name of the Rose
Don Quixote (In my defense, I was reading the spanish version. Tough going in 7th grade.)
Moby Dick
Ulysses
Madame Bovary
The Odyssey
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Eyre
The Tale of Two Cities
The Brothers Karamazov
Guns, Germs, and Steel: the fates of human societies
War and Peace
Vanity Fair
The Time Traveler’s Wife
The Iliad
Emma
The Blind Assassin
The Kite Runner
Mrs. Dalloway
Great Expectations
American Gods
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Atlas Shrugged
Reading Lolita in Tehran : a memoir in books
Memoirs of a Geisha
Middlesex
Quicksilver
Wicked : the life and times of the wicked witch of the West
The Canterbury Tales
The Historian : a novel
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Love in the Time of Cholera
Brave New World
The Fountainhead
Foucault’s Pendulum
Middlemarch
Frankenstein
The Count of Monte Cristo
Dracula (It's on my shelf. Makes me look smart. It was also a gift.)
A Clockwork Orange
Anansi Boys
The Once and Future King
The Grapes of Wrath
The Poisonwood Bible : a novel
1984
Angels & Demons
The Inferno (and Purgatory and Paradise)
The Satanic Verses
Sense and Sensibility
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Mansfield Park
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
To the Lighthouse
Tess of the D’Urbervilles
Oliver Twist
Gulliver’s Travels
Les Misérables
The Corrections
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Dune
The Prince
The Sound and the Fury
Angela’s Ashes : a memoir
The God of Small Things
A People’s History of the United States : 1492-present
Cryptonomicon
Neverwhere
A Confederacy of Dunces
A Short History of Nearly Everything
Dubliners
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Beloved
Slaughterhouse-five
The Scarlet Letter
Eats, Shoots & Leaves
The Mists of Avalon
Oryx and Crake : a novel
Collapse : how societies choose to fail or succeed
Cloud Atlas
The Confusion
Lolita
Persuasion
Northanger Abbey
The Catcher in the Rye
On the Road
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Freakonomics : a rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance : an inquiry into values
The Aeneid
Watership Down (Favorite, favorite book of all time, every time.)
Gravity’s Rainbow
The Hobbit
In Cold Blood : a true account of a multiple murder and its consequences
White Teeth
Treasure Island
David Copperfield
The Three Musketeers

Picture a Day 365

2008-05-04T20:23:00.009-05:00

So I've decided to take a picture a day, which means I'll do a post a day as well. It'll keep me writing, my blog current, and my mad photography skillz sharp (not). But mostly it'll be fun.

Today Richard and the girls did some landscaping in the front yard. Richard went on Craigslist and got a whole bunch of plants from people who were giving them away and brought them all home, along with some large cement landscaping rounds. He's ambitious.

I just wandered around and took pictures.

Now, the next pictures are sorta strange. We have a Lint Tree. Not familiar with that species? It occurs in nature only when next to a dryer vent.

Happy Monday!

My Fostering Families Today Article

2008-04-30T10:24:00.001-05:00

My article is published and available here. It appears on page 29. :)

New Yarn and Some Dusty FO's

2008-04-27T15:57:00.010-05:00

I am the only human home, with three fuzzy companions and a bunch of scaly orange ones. Well, one scaly orange one has a white belly, which I tickled while he was floating upside down last night. I know, I know, protective slime layer and all, but it was too cute to resist.

Richard took the girls to his sister-in-law's house for a birthday party. His nephew is turning 8. Hmm. 8 years old in 2008. His age should be easy to remember from now on. I stayed home due to a massive sinus headache. I wasn't sure I should stay home until Richard asked if I wanted McD's for breakfast (ALWAYS a hit on the weekend) and I just grimaced and said Noooo. I was in bed until noon and have been creeping around the very quiet house since then. Quiet. It's nice, and weird, and not at all lonely, probably because I know they'll all be home soon. If they weren't then it would be quite a different thing I think.

I did take the opportunity to photograph the latest skein of yarn I spun last night. It's a variegated merino plied with a solid corriedale. Lavender Lovely, I think I'll call it.
So there's that. Then there are Elizabeth Zimmerman's Mitered Mittens, below, which I think I got done in February.
I used handpainted yarn from Etsy for those. Very pretty and simple. Then last month I bought this amazing handspun, handpainted yarn from Maisy's and had just enough to do a pair of fingerless gloves. I bastardized a pattern from Kristin Knits so it is well nigh unrecognizable, and love the result. Perfect for just-chilly spring days. I also wore these for raking the yard last weekend and didn't get one blister! Regular gloves chafe me as bad as not wearing gloves at all, so these are a big hit with me. Raina says Hi.
Ok, I'm off to put another heat pack on my head. Richard was a sweetie and went to Walgreen's to get one for me before he left this morning. What a hubby.

Actual Yarn

2008-04-24T08:52:00.005-05:00

See here? This here is what we in the knitting biz like to call yarrrn. I'm pretty darned proud of myself.

And here is my next yarrrn project. It's so pretty. Briggitte, all wide-eyed innocence, gives me a yard of the roving and says, here, just try out this merino and see if you like it. Uh huh. The first hit's always free, right? Spin spin spin. Yummy. Gimme 5 ounces of that fine merino gold, Lady B!

Spun, Part II

2008-04-22T08:34:00.003-05:00

And behold my second yarn:

It's spun a little better than the blue and green, with both strands being about the same width. Sort of. I need a lot of practice!

So tonight I'll go after the variegated roving, or maybe the purple. I think the purple, because I want to spin the variegated really nicely, and I need some tips so I think I'll wait until class tomorrow night.

Not much happening on the knitting front. I'm almost done with sock #1 of Richard's first pair. I'm about 6 rows into a very ambitious sweater. I should post some pics of FO's I never posted, because I'm just going to have to fake it until I get off my spinning kick.

Richard thinks it's funny that I suck at geography. No, you don't understand. I really, really SUCK at geography. The other night I asked him a perfectly legitimate question, to my mind:

"Is New Mexico a state?"

3-second stare as he deliberates whether or not I'm serious. I blink, waiting patiently.

"Yes."

He snickers.

"What??"

"Nothing."

Spin, spin, spin, SPUN

2008-04-21T15:29:00.010-05:00

Oh HO! Behold! My first yarn!Ain't she a beaut? Tonight I plan on spinning the rest of the white roving and then plying the white and green together, below:

Then, I plan on spinning both of the following and plying them together:

By then, it should be Wednesday night, and I'll go off to my next spinning class. I hope I've practiced enough...?

Addicted to Free Rice, Spinning

2008-04-17T16:01:00.006-05:00

This is fascinating and informative, which of course means I'm hooked but good. Learning learning learning!

http:\\www.freerice.com

I also spun a whole bobbin last night! It's a gorgeous teal blue but it came out just plain blue in the pic. I'm going to ply the green and blue together, and the red and black together. The red and black will be called Ladybug. :)

Sit and Spin, Baby!

2008-04-17T09:35:00.012-05:00

I went to my spinning class last night and it was awesome. Not to be too frat boy about it but DUDE! Fiber is so much fun! I suck at it and it's still way fun! The lady, Brigitte, at Bahr Creek Fiber Studio is really nice. Just about the time you're thinking, hmm, maybe I should just cut off my fingers and grow some new ones that WORK, she tells you how well you're doing and just do this and VOILA! you're spinning. For like 1.3 seconds and then it falls apart and the roving breaks and the little tail end of roving gets sucked up onto the spindle, cackling, and you can almost hear it laughing at you, and you feel like you really should be re-assigned to the short bus because obviously you're not competent enough to drive yourself home.

But it's TOTALLY FUN. I'd recommend it to anybody. I've always been a process knitter though so even when I feel like I'm trying to puppeteer somebody else's heavy clay hands I'm having fun with it.

I bought a wheel. I [heart] my wheel. I tried out 6 wheels altogether and this one felt ... right. It just WORKED. Brigitte was very non-committal about which style wheel she liked, she just kept saying that when you find the wheel you like you just know it, and she was right. It's a Schacht wheel called The Ladybug and it's just perfect. Richard put it together for me last night when I got home (thank you Sweetie!!) and then I completely flubbed my demo for him. I slept like a dead person last night, and dreamt of roving.

I bought four batches of roving in four different colors. My brain was too foggy to think last night so I didn't get pics of the roving, but I did get pics of my wheel. I spun almost a whole bobbin of one-ply last night but left it at Bahr Creek because I'll ply it with whatever I spin this week when I have my next lesson.

Here is my baby. Jezebel approves. Her eyes actually glow with love in the last pic. I know exactly how she feels.

Muriel's Garden

2008-04-15T09:34:00.001-05:00

I've just created my mom's Etsy page for the heirloom greeting cards she makes. They're gorgeous and I hope other people love them as much as she loves making them. Find them here.

Spinning

2008-04-10T09:03:00.007-05:00

Next Wednesday I will go to my first spinning class. I'm so excited! I hope I like it. I'm attending it at the Bahr Creek Llamas & Fiber Studio in Cedar Grove. I keep looking at spinning wheels and I'm just so clueless as to what I need that I'm really looking forward to learning all about them. Isn't this one pretty?

Description

This is our most popular wheel because it is so versatile. It's easy to use for learning, and you can then buy simple add-on kits that allow you to adapt the wheel to specific types of spinning as you begin to experiment more.

It is available in single or double drive, and if you are left handed we've created a version especially for you. 4 bobbins and Lazy Kate are included in the kit. As you can see, it is also a classically styled wheel made from beautiful New Zealand Silver beech, so it will look great in your home.

Specifications

Wheel diameter: 56cm (22")

Orifice: 1cm (3/8")

Bobbins Capacity: 100gm (3-4oz)

Ratios: 7.5, 10.1:1 & 14:1 bobbin lead

Weight: 8kg (17.5lb)

I have just barely the faintest glimmer of the idea of what all that means. Whee!

Baseball, Socks, and Mullet Man

2008-04-07T08:37:00.004-05:00

Richard and I went to a Brewers game on Saturday. The weather was gorgeous and we had great seats. I brought a book and a sock to work on. When the security guy scanned my purse with his flashlight, I said, "Got a book and some knitting - pretty exciting stuff!". He laughed and replied, "Well, I hope it's a better game than that!"

I worked on Richard's sock and got about 3 inches done while we were there. I took this pic before the game started, and before I started knitting on it.

THIS is the amazing and rarely-seen Mullet Man. He was wearing a Harley Davidson jacket and was sporting an absolutely breathtaking, fully gelled mullet. WHAM! was suddenly singing in my head, telling me to wake him up before I go-go'd. I captured both a rearview and a side view, but alas, I could never capture this captivating creature's face.

And these are the socks I'm wearing today. They are the spring ones I was working on a few posts back and are very, very lovely even though they look like K-Mart socks here.

I wonder if there's a Mullet website I could post my pics to? It's rare to see a full, gelled mullet in the wild nowadays without going back to a yearbook or old family pictures. Must investigate.

Bad Piggie.

2008-03-27T14:33:00.003-05:00

I haven't posted in over a week and I never did get around to posting those mitten pics (although I did photograph them), so this one's for you, Donna. Don't tell Richard.

I wrote this when we first got the girls and I was feeling a wee bit overwhelmed. He and I have both had a hearty laugh over both the event and the written story by now, and all duties have been redistributed more than fairly, so it should be safe for blog publishing. Enjoy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wife of the Year Award
by Muriel Taft

I would like to submit an anecdote as my entry submission for Wife of the Year 2008.

My routine has turned upside down since the children. Mornings now include getting two little humans ready for school and daycare and making sure they have everything they need. At night, homework must be checked, teeth are brushed, jammies chosen and donned, and tuck-ins. In between are the shuttling to and from daycare, organizing their schedules and visits with their grandma, scheduling respite care, calling doctors and dentists and caseworkers.

Richard has to set out two extra bowls of Cheerios in the morning.

Last Thursday night it got bitterly cold and we arrived home from Habitat volunteering at the children's bedtime. We all rushed into the house and I began getting the children ready for bed. Richard had to go out with the dog because the dog has better sense than to go out in this kind of cold alone. 10 minutes later, as I'm choosing the children's outfits for the next morning, and tucking them in, and making sure toothpaste doesn't splatter any further than the bathroom threshold, the girls perk up and say, what's that pounding? I tune into it for the first time myself and say, I don't know, but I'm going to go find Papa Richard for your goodnight hugs and kisses.

Reaching the living room, I see my husband pounding with both fists on our front windows. I go to let him in and he stomps off to the back door. He comes in gasping and angry that he's been pounding at different windows/doors all over the house. He locked himself out. He was worried about the dog freezing and he couldn't get my attention and oh my GOD didn't I hear him??

Well, no, I didn't.

I apologized and explained that I must have just tuned it out. He says, well, I guess I should have brought my keys with me. I guess I just have to remember EVERYTHING (and this with a defeated two-arm flap down to his sides).

Before continuing, I'd like to point out a few more facts to support my nomination. I'd like to point out that we have a key lockbox attached to the house for just such an occasion. The 4-digit combination is a number well-known to both of us, and chosen by Richard himself. When I asked him why he didn't use that, he said it wouldn't open. I assumed it was frozen shut. It turns out he got all flustered and couldn't remember the combination. That he chose.

Additionally, since we'd just gotten home a few minutes before, the unlocked car would have been a warm place to hide from the wind so the doggie didn't freeze. It would also have served as a nice place to really THINK about what that tricky combination could be.

So I'm sure you can imagine the deafening silence that met THAT statement. After closing my jaw, I simply said, we'll revisit that statement in a few minutes. For now, you need to go give the girls their hug and kiss goodnight.

He's still alive. Give me that trophy.

Mittens, Medicine, and Musings

2008-03-19T09:11:00.005-05:00

I have been working on these mitered mittens by Elizabeth Zimmerman and got them done Monday night, but I forgot the memory card at home with the pictures on them. Oh well. I'll post them tonight.

FC1 has been sick the last couple of days with an asthma-related cough. Non-stop coughing until she gags and throws up. Richard took her to the doc yesterday and had to stop the car 3 times on the way home so she could lean out the door and toss the cookies. Poor baby. She's had to use the nebulizer for albuterol and a steroid every 6 hours or so. It's sad seeing such a tiny person with a plastic face mask over her mouth and nose, coloring in her coloring book she got free at the pharmacy. She was up coughing with me until after MY bedtime, 10:15 pm. Finally I gave her a swig of Vick's 44 Cough Relief. It tastes like death but it worked. Hallelujah. She slept like the dead until this morning. Richard put her right back on her nebulizer first thing. She is doing better but Richard's going to stay home with her again.

I was having a discussion with my friend Janice yesterday and mentioned how with foster kids, they don't represent you or your values the same way your biological children do. They may have a different sense of style, different hair and eyes, different mannerisms, different sensibilities. This is where a very specific type of detachment comes in handy. You have to completely let go of any vanity that may come to you through your children. At the same time, this frees you to see events in their history for what they are instead of becoming immersed in a family culture. You are also much more aware of your role as caretaker of someong else's family. It's all good.

Well, I suppose I should get back to work. Happy Wednesday.

Back from Vegas

2008-03-12T20:37:00.007-05:00

A few pics from our trip.
At the top of the Eiffel Tower at the Paris Hotel.
At the Grand Canyon.

Fabulous Las Vegas, Here We Come!

2008-03-05T09:14:00.003-06:00

Vivaaaaa, Las Vegas! Richard and I head out early tomorrow morning. Wish us luck!!

New Haven Fleece Pics

2008-02-27T19:01:00.003-06:00

I had to tweak the pics a little to get the colors to be true, but I finally got them photographed. Both the finished and the second one for FC2.

This is a close-up of the collar and buttons. I really like how the Jelli Beenz yarn looks with the purple and pink yarns. I used Encore's 75% acrylic, 25% superwash wool blend for the main colors and then Plymouth Jelli Beenz acrylic for the edging.

Below is the second New Haven Fleece, using just two colors of Encore 75/25. I really like how it's turning out! I'm going to take FC2 to pick out the buttons for it later this week. It's hot pink and vibrant purple. Again, I had to tweak the pics a bit to get the true colors.

I'm also working on the socks for myself, in Twisted's gorgeous Netherfield. I can't wait to slip these on once they're done.

I mean really, doesn't this just look like a rose garden just beginning to bloom in spring? This colorway just lifts my heart when I'm knitting it.

An Homage to My Husband

2008-02-26T10:15:00.002-06:00

Dearest Richard,

Sometimes I think we get lost in the everyday. Weeks slip by and we kiss good morning and we kiss goodnight, and we kiss in between, and somehow forget how truly special we are together. Hopefully this little post will remind you how I see you, everyday.

You do the dishes in the morning. I never have to worry if there will be clean plates for dinner, or if there's a dishwasher full of dirty dishes. It's wonderful and I try my hardest to remember how wonderful that is every day.

Friday mornings you collect all the garbage in the house and get it out to the curb. I never have to worry about it. Ever!

Every morning I wake up to the smell of fresh coffee. Mmmmmagic.

Every morning, I know the girls will eat their bowl of Cheerios, because you woke them up and poured their cereal and made sure they had spoons. It warms my heart.

Every night when I get home I know you will be there. If you're not, I know where you are. You're never "at the bar", or "out, see you when I see you".

You carry your phone and even if you don't answer it, I know that it's not because you're avoiding me.

You go to work every day even though things may not be so great there.

You start my car for me on cold mornings, and brush off the snow. When I see your shoeprints in the snow it makes me smile and get a little misty, imagining you brushing off my car and caring about me.

You make sure my oil gets changed when it's due.

You try to call your mom every Thursday, because you've done that since college. I can't explain what that makes me feel, except that it brings tears to my eyes.

You mow our lawn and don't drown it in pesticides. You accept our lawn for who it is, and though you may throw a few handfuls of seed, you don't try to kill every weed. Weeds are just plants that don't sit at the popular lunch table.

You make sure our driveway is cleared of snow. You even clear a path down the old driveway for Bandit, so he has somewhere safe to walk with his bad hips.

You make and keep dentist and doctor appointments without me ever having to remind you.

You love our little binkies as much as I do, and are sad when one dies.

You try to read the books I recommend.

You read books on your own, to learn and to improve.

You are always striving to be a better person.

You understand how important it is to contribute to the community, and happily go overboard with me.

You talk me down from the ledge when I'm having a rough day, and being too hard on myself.

You've become a foster parent, with me, and co-created this unique, warm, loving life that we share.

You believe in God and love him as much as I do.

You can be silly with me, and have fun with me, and be serious with me, and are just my best friend ever.

There are about a million more reasons why you are the man I fell in love with, and married, and to whom I gave my heart unconditionally. How about we snuggle in bed tonight and I'll tell you 100 more before we go to sleep.

Love,
Muriel

New Haven Fleece is Done ... But Unphotographed!

2008-02-21T13:21:00.005-06:00

I have yet to catch my breath from last weekend when I got the New Haven Fleece done for FC1, but I am determined to get it photographed this weekend. I want to take a photo using natural light because I'm sick of the washed-out utter CRAP photos I've posted lately. I'm going to have to start using Richard's eBay lightbox for photos of the small stuff because I'm just so unimpressed by my photos lately.

The whole time I've been knitting the NHF, FC1 has been trying it on. Before sleeves, after sleeves, after some of the finishing was done even. Absolutely delighted with the whole thing. I gave it to her on Saturday and fully expected her to put it on immediately. Instead, she beams up at me and says, "I'm going to save it for pajamas!" I said, noooo, I think you should wear it today when we go out for lunch. "Hmm. No. I want to save it for pajamas." It started to dawn on me that she didn't want to wear it. Perhaps ever. Vision slightly foggy around the edges, I asked, So are you embarassed to wear it? She nods. Why? "The sleeves make my arms look fat."

This from a 49-pound bobbleheaded waif.

After three weeks of knitting for the little nipper.

Oh, hell no. No, my dear little girl, you will wear the sweater and you will love it. You will cherish every stitch, because every stitch was knit with love and sometimes tinked and reknit several times.

After that little bump in the road I cast on something for me, all me, something I will love, cherish, and possibly go to my grave with. I'm working on a pair of socks using my lovely, lovely, completely scrumptious Twisted sock yarn, Netherfield.
And, because I'm a slow learner, I'm also knitting the second New Haven Fleece for FC2. I have already clarified with her that she will NOT be using it for pajamas, however. Ground rules are important.

Finger Puppets for Foster Poppets

2008-02-14T08:19:00.005-06:00

I made these finger puppets last night for the girls for Valentine's Day while Richard made them cards. We put the puppets inside the cards and then put the cards in their room for them to find this morning. Thanks for modeling for me, Richard.

The girls weren't terribly impressed with them until we told them that I made the puppets and Richard made the cards. Then OH MY GOD YOU MADE THESE???? THESE ARE SO COOL!!!! They both took them into school with them so they could show everybody.

Suck on that, Made in China.

Buckets

2008-02-13T09:40:00.004-06:00

A few steps from my cubicle the office printer gently belches paper between clicks and whistles. 80's music plays overhead, just loud enough to determine which "classic" is synthesizing away. Now it's "Let's Hear It For the Boy". Maybe he's no Romeo, but that doesn't faze the singer.

I can see outside through the glass doors past the receptionist's desk. I am grateful for this piece of daylight. It reminds me that being here is a choice, because there's the door, and I'm not moving. Semi trucks rumble the bedrock when they drive past. The business across the street still has a large Christmas wreath up. It makes me wonder why nobody has taken ownership of taking it down yet.

The building I work in is alive with politics and deception, yet we all come to work everyday. Why? I feel like I can almost see over the rim of the bucket I'm in. If I could only stretch up a little higher, I could see where I should be.

I didn't always live in a bucket. My parents had, and still have, no bucket, and that was the horror that drove me. I worked hard, really hard, to get good grades and graduate college. I played in the woods, camping and hiking, and lived other lives, always thinking my salvation lay just over the bucket's rim. I scrambled to conform, to rise, to build this career, yearning to blend in, to grind down my rough edges and streamline my flaws. I graduated, and ploop, slipped into the bucket. It started with a small bucket, and I have traded lives unknown to get this bigger, better bucket.

I am grateful that I am 32, and escape is more than a dream. But for what will I trade my hard-won bucket? It is valuable, and has countless hours and toil in it. I can't just throw it away. How can I leverage my bucket? It's a one-shot deal, whispers the fear.

To be continued.

Not a Very Wonderful Day.

2008-02-12T08:32:00.000-06:00

I am tired and grouchy today. I have recycled hair that wasn't so great yesterday, and is now much less so today. I would like to grouch about several things, in no particular order.

1) I spent 30 minutes on Pilgrim between Brown Deer and Silver Spring this morning. It's less than 2 miles.

2) I still have a sinus infection. I am miserable.

3) 2:30 am. A white face with pigtails ghosts up beside my bed and whispers, "Mama Muriel? I wet my bed."

Katie, you were right, I should have gotten the waterproof mattress pad. Oh, you were so right.

One More Thing

2008-02-07T14:23:00.001-06:00

The antibiotic they've got me on? My Augmentin's got me a runnin', if you know what I mean. So with Richard hacking up lung chunks and my indelicate after-odors, we are Hot and Sexy, respectively. You know you want it. Don't be hatin'.

Just Kidding

2008-02-07T13:36:00.000-06:00

Richard's good old-fashioned headcold turned out Tuesday to be pneumonia. Just an area in one lung, about the size of a silver dollar. Thank goodness. He's on antibiotics and a prescription cough suppressant, but I don't think the cough suppressant is doing much. My sinus infection was doing well until today. It's just acting up and I can't stop sneezing and blowing my nose. What a fun pair we are.

We had another snow day on Wednesday. I'd say we got about 15 inches. An absolutely ridiculous amount of snow if you ask me. Last night after the kidlets were in bed Richard and I went out to move snow. I was shoveling his truck off and wondering if we moved to Michigan and nobody told me.

We were all home. Richard's cough suppressant makes him sleepy, so I had to watch the girls while he napped a good part of the day. The girls spent some time in both the morning and afternoon sledding in the backyard. Richard made me a fire in the fireplace so I got to spend a couple of hours in the morning listening to NPR, sipping coffee, knitting, and watching the fire while the girls played. It was magical.

The New Haven Fleece is coming along very nicely.

One sleeve is done and the other is almost there. All I have left to do after that is the buttonholes and collar ribbing. FC1 is getting very excited! I think the second Fleece will go much faster now that I know the "tricks" in this particular pattern. Not that it's complicated. I'm just sort of a dimwit sometimes and have to rip things out a couple of times before the "ah-ha!" moment hits.

Sick and Sicker

2008-02-01T11:34:00.000-06:00

Richard and I are both sick. Of course we are. It's our respite weekend, when we finally get great big chunks of time together. I am on antibiotics for a sinus infection gone feral, and Richard has a good old-fashioned headcold. At least the kidlets won't have to suffer through the weekend with both of us so low-energy and growly. Grr.

On a positive note, I have been reflecting on what an amazing life we've created together. I try to never lose sight of what really matters; friends, family, our connection to God, and loving what is, instead of yearning for what isn't. We have a home we absolutely adore, in a town we love, and are foster parents to two incredible kids. We learn more about love every day. I asked Richard last night if somebody had told him he'd be in this place five years ago, what would he have said? He chuckled and said he would have told them they were smoking something.

What a life.

Two little girls are VERY curious about posting.

2008-01-30T09:04:00.000-06:00

The girls are home today because it's a snow day and the day care is closed, which means I'm home with them too. We are having lots of fun with the dollhouse and they're doing plays for me. They wanted to see how my blog works, so we're posting this little message about our day.

New Haven Fleece

2008-01-29T12:44:00.000-06:00

Nope, not dead yet. A bit bedraggled and most of my mind is now kept artificially alive in BerrEgads (all my computers have always been named [something] Egads since I was 18 - don't ask), but definitely not dead. I sent off an article I wrote that now holds the title of First Article Ever Submitted By Me. I submitted it to Fostering Families Today on 1/17. I still haven't heard back but that's ok. The hard part is over.

So I'm working on a sweater for one of the kidlets. It's called a New Haven Fleece. Since I seem to be reduced to blogging only at work, the crappy photo is from BerrEgads. That's what you get when you're reliant on flourescent lighting. I'm working on one of the sleeves right now.

It's pink and purple, in case you can't tell. Most people with eyes can't. It's a pretty bad picture.

The kidlets are settling in and keeping us on our toes. Most of our friends and family figure us for dead by this point since we've lost all contact with people outside of daycare and school. Rest assured we will re-enter the land of the living soon. We have a respite scheduled this weekend and the hubby and I get two whole days to ourselves. The mind reels. I hope to pop out of the vacuum we've created and perhaps enjoy a dinner that does not include anybody sneezing directly into my ear or worrying about the repercussions of two children gone wild on a wicked sugar buzz from dessert. Wish us luck.

I am GEEKING out. Ask me about my new Crackberry.

2008-01-11T12:52:00.001-06:00

Ohhh yeah. Bloggin' from my Blackberry. Slow but oh so geeklicious. Feel the geek. BE the geek.

YAY!

2008-01-04T15:24:00.001-06:00

The girls are coming for a respite overnight this Saturday, and then will move in next Saturday. We are so excited! I am taking Monday off to go over paperwork with the department and to schedule daycare, buses, school, appointments, etc. I will have a phone glued to my head the better part of the day, and zip around town in the Vibe for the rest of it.

Tonight is my monthly Stitch 'n Bitch with the ladies. We skipped December so I'm really looking forward to it. I am working on two fluffy novelty yarn scarves for the girls, one purple and one pink. After 1.5 hours the purple one is a few minutes away from being done, and I'll get the pink one finished tonight at the SnB, I'm sure. I wanted to get feather boas or maribu boas, but they are expensive! I ended up just getting some fun fuzzy novelty yarn for $4 and I can just make both "boas", and in the colors I like.

Well, off to SnB!

Happy New Year!

2008-01-03T12:48:00.001-06:00

The not-yet-felted giant slippers I gave to my family-in-law members felted up beautifully, according to their happy new owners. I was worried; I hadn't done a trial run with a pair due to quite painful time restrictions, so that was good news.

Richard and I are very excited about our foster girls moving in by the end of January. Child A is 6 and Child B is 5. They will probably be a longer term placement, meaning possibly 6-12+ months. They will be staying in what used to be the guest bedroom, which was wall-to-wall wolves. Pictures, figurines, books, and even a carved eggshell wolf lived in there.

The wolves have been evicted and the cappuccino-colored walls have been repainted a cheerful, creamy orange. Green and pink flowers are stamped along the top in a whimsical border, with some tumbling down the walls. A beautiful new oak bunk bed has replaced the queen bed and sports cheerful pink comforters and big fluffy pillows in stripey pillowcases. My old hope chest has been filled with toys, and a Ryan's Room Dollhouse sits in the corner. Richard and I made a 4' x 4' black chalkboard and now it's hanging on the wall with colored and white chalks lined up in the routered tray. "Welcome [Child A] & [Child B]!" and flowers (Richard made those - how cute is that?) will greet our two little guests.

Waiting, waiting....

Ho Ho HO, I say!

2007-12-24T15:52:00.000-06:00

The slippers are done and under the tree with care... my mom loved her hat and scarf... my granny is getting forgetful and asked if I was a clerk where I work... my dad looks happy... my brother is looking forward to the future instead of wallowing in the past... and now I'm off to enjoy the Eve and Day with my beloved family-in-law. Merry Christmas!

I...Couldn't...Wait...

2007-12-20T14:36:00.000-06:00

Ohhh dear. I've written/deleted/rewritten this post about three times now, but THIS time I'm sticking to it. I've gone and Etsied myself again. I weakened and bought two skeins of sock yarn this week. One from MJstitch and one from Twisted. MJ is cleaning out her stash and there was such a lovely bit that I just couldn't stop myself, and then there's the one from Twisted that I've been drooling over for just ages now.

I think I know where things went sideways. At night, when I should be schnuffling through my stash to get my hit of yarn fumes, I am too busy knitting the Christmas oil. So then I get to work, and have no choice but to go to www.etsy.com and just ... browse. Innocent, electronic sauntering through the virtual aisles. Popping into a new shop here, browsing a beloved bin there. After weeks of virtue and abstinence, I weakened, I admit it. I didn't perform the necessary preventative measures and now I and my poor, bewildered husband must pay the price.

1 skein de-stashed sock yarn: $23
1 skein Twisted lovely sock yarn: $30
Opening the mailbox to discover a soft squishy package of wonderful: Priceless

Super Secret Projects & Santa Goes Shopping

2007-12-17T11:05:00.000-06:00

The Super Secret Projects are coming along better than expected. I will post pics tonight. I got one SSP done last night and am halfway through another one.
Saturday, my dear husband donned his Santa hat and went a-shopping for yours truly. He hit all my fave yarn shops and was truly shocked to find that they knew who I was. Well of course they do! I always chat with the owners and talk about recent projects, and oooh and ahhh over new yarn. I spend quality time knitting with them and even helping other customers occasionally. He's so cute. He must have thought that you go into a shop, grab some yarn, plunk down your credit card, and head out the door. They all thought he was absolutely adorable for both his Santa hat and enabling his wife's obsession. I couldn't love him more if he was a skein of self-striping pink and orange sock yarn. Hint, hint.

Total Yarn Abstinence

2007-12-13T09:38:00.000-06:00

It has officially been TWO weeks since any yarn has lured me onto the rocks. We are on a tighter budget these days because we want to get our debt paid down, so I have been a very, very good little knitter. When I feel the need to engage in stash enhancement, I go play in my actual stash, where I fondle yarn until the urge goes away. On Monday, as sick as I was, I could have driven the 10 minutes to my LYS and snuffled through the sock yarn there. Instead, I hand-wound the Whoville's Grinch and green coordinating skein. By the time I was done I was faint from swaying back and forth behind the chair so I took a nap. It's all in the timing.

Not tonight, honey, I have a headache.

2007-12-12T10:35:00.000-06:00

Oh, I've been a sick puppy the last few days. This last weekend, and the weekend before, we've been providing respite care for two different sets of foster children. They've been so fun! I think it took it out of me though. On Sunday I woke up with a migraine, which descended into a full-on headcold that's still with me. I finally shook the migraine on Monday night with a large Coke from McDonalds and a whole handful of drugs. 2 acetominophen, 3 ibuprofen, and 2 aspirin.
The worst part about a migraine is that I can't even knit when I have one. Watching the needles makes me want to yak up my shoes, and not watching gives me a weird kind of motion sickness. I did get the frogged socks done, and I'm working on one of the felted slippers on my Christmas list. It's going really well and more importantly, fast. It's pretty fun and mostly mindless. It's been awhile since I've worked on just plain knitting needles instead of circulars or dpns. I will post pics when I'm not at work. :)

Our Lady of Perpetual Frogging

2007-12-05T12:54:00.000-06:00

Grr. I had to frog a fat inch of my sock last night. I had mysteriously lost two stitches off N1 and tried to M2 and it left a big fat hole. Duh. So I wondered for about an inch if I could live with it and finally decided I couldn't, so I frogged the sucker. My husband, horrified, asked What are you doing?! That must mean that A) I am just. that. good. that I never have to frog, or B) my husband has never really watched me knit, at all. I'm going with A because right now I need that.

No New Yarn!

2007-12-04T12:56:00.000-06:00

I have almost reached ONE WHOLE WEEK of not buying yarn! Ha! Not online yarn, not favorite lunchtime hangout yarn, not second-favorite lunchtime hangout yarn, not Saturday-hubby's-at-work yarn, nada. N-A-D-A. Plus, I'm almost done with the pair of socks I'm making for somebody for Christmas, and ready to start on other secret projects. Ma-ha-ha-ha...

I got my Whoville's Grinch in the mail yesterday. Once again, I'm in loooove.. swoon! It's from GypsyKnits on Etsy. She included the cutest little handmade stitch marker too. I think I'll resist getting into handmade stitch markers though. It would be like falling into a hole with no bottom, and I've already done that with yarn. Tightly focus your obsession, people, and you'll have a much happier marriage.

Power Drive '07

2007-11-30T14:09:00.000-06:00

I was on my way back from lunch today when I was struck with inspiration and the need to write it down. I am thrilled (there is no other word for this inner golden light) by the feelings of respectful love and true hope. True hope being the deeply held belief that people are/want to be good.

I work at a diesel service shop and distributorship. In September, a coworker and I approached the CFO with the idea of running a food drive over the holidays. He was encouraging, but warned us that giving campaigns had never been successful at our company in the past. He committed to matching whatever we collected (5 pounds = $1) and wished us luck.

With the help of five women with true hope and vision, I am coordinating our company's first Second Harvest food drive. We christened it "Power Drive '07", tuning it to the nature of our industry. Designed as a 6-week drive, we set the goal at 1,000 pounds of food to ensure success. Nothing's more sure to deflate the holiday spirit than an unreachable goal, we reasoned. We create a huge thermometer to show progress in the lunch room. Posters, paycheck flyers, table tents, barrel signs, and inspirational posters were created in Word, and printed at the local OfficeMax.

On November 2nd, the laminated table tents were put on lunchroom tables, the posters hung on doors and walls and in bathroom stalls, the thermometer propped up on an easel in the lunch room, and paycheck flyers sent. We held our breath. How would our fellow 120 employees receive this?

The goal was shattered by the end of week two.

Four weeks into it, we are at 1,690 pounds and climbing. I'm humbled and awestruck at how people can come together when working toward a common goal. It seems to me that the key is to respect the individuality of each person while encouraging each to strive for a higher community self. Somehow, we have accomplished that.

Our people have risen, and it is beautiful.

Rrrrats

2007-11-29T11:38:00.000-06:00

I have already broken my heartfelt promise of last night to my husband that I would not buy any more yarn until after Christmas. Rats. Damn these Etsy bewitchers with their seductive yarn! In my defense, I bought it because I am almost done knitting a certain someone their Christmas socks and it was my favorite yarn, so I'm sort of replacing it. With something completely different, and it comes with the green contrasting yarn for the heel and toe! The name of the yarn is Whovilles Grinch. The only drawback? I have to knit them up by Christmas so I can wear them to the family gathering. I really didn't think this through, did I?

Christmas List

2007-11-27T10:35:00.000-06:00

So... I've tallied up the projects I must complete by December 25th. It's fairly daunting and I think I'm done with knitting socks until the list is complete.

2 smallish purses*
1 larger purse*
3 pairs of felted slippers
1 pair of socks
1 pair of mittens
2 hat/scarf combos

See the asterisks? No pattern there. Have to wing it on those ones.

Oh, dear. I must get going now.

The DBS is DONE!

2007-11-17T19:08:00.000-06:00

This is what my Saturday morning looked like. Crisp fall air, nice big picture window through which to watch the leaves fall, hot sweet coffee and the DBS. Eleven hours later, I am freeeee.

And here is the finished ensemble:

I embroidered a little butterfly on the hat!

Altogether, I'd say it took me about 40 hours to make the booties, hat, and sweater. I learned a lot. Mostly about how I don't know if I ever want to knit an adult sweater. For now, I can get back to knitting socks. Lots and lots of socks. I hope I have enough yarn...

Hand-Painted Sock Yarn, Get Thee Into My Stash

2007-11-16T14:47:00.000-06:00

How do you eat Cheerios?

2007-11-15T16:08:00.001-06:00

This is a general observation, based on a recent conversation with one of my more neurotic coworkers (we get along fabulously). He and I both eat Cheerios (and Rice Crispies) in the exact same way.

1. Pour cereal into bowl.
2. Pour milk over cereal slooowly, making sure to coat each single piece of cereal thoroughly in milk. Use back of spoon to dunk stubborn bits.
3. Sprinkle sugar over cereal evenly, from bowl edge to bowl edge.
4. With spoon, cut straight down through top layer of sugary cereal carefully so as not to disturb other potential bites. Scoop up cereal from directly below sugar crust. Milk to cereal ratio must be precise. If necessary, repeat until this ratio is achieved.
5. Deliberately lift bite away from its sugary brothers and into your mouth.
6. Savor.

Bag Accompli

2007-11-13T22:18:00.000-06:00

My bag is finished. I sewed in the liner last night and attached the tiger's eye bauble today. I love it.

Vegetarian Yarn

2007-11-13T22:11:00.000-06:00

I bought my first ball of Tofutsies sock yarn, color # 788, 425 meters (467+ yards). I bought it at a yarn shop I hadn't been to before, The Yarn House in Elm Grove. I was totally jonesing for some great sock yarn and $91 later I have half a tote full. Yes, Richard, if you're reading this, I promise to not buy any more yarn for awhile. Please stop choking. This yarn is knitting up beautifully and feels great running through my fingers. These are my first fingering weight yarn socks and I can feel an addiction beginning.

This Damn Baby Sweater

2007-11-12T20:14:00.001-06:00

That's the official name of the pattern now. I've declared it; let it be so. No matter how cherubic the baby that wears it, I will forever see this sweater as The Sweater That Would Not End. Sigh. It's coming together, but oh so very sloooowwwly. Saturday morning was four hours of NPR and seaming. Notice how lovely and almost undetectable my side seam is, below:

If I'm going to spend 1/2000th of my life working on This Damn Baby Sweater, it's going to look gorgeous. I'm SO not ready to make a grown-up sweater.

Escape to Noro

2007-11-12T19:48:00.000-06:00

This Damn Baby Sweater is killin' me. So I dug into the stash and found something fast and satisfying: a bag. Last weekend one of my LYS's (see list on right - French Knots) had all their Noro at 40% off. I've never understood the lure of Noro. It's kind of scratchy, not very soft at all. The colors are sort of muddy. But it was 40% off, so... I found a pattern for a bag I liked in the Stitch 'n Bitch handbook that I remember had required Noro. I bought 3 skeins (usually $20/ea) of Noro Iro #40 which is 120 meters of 75% wool/25% silk. The original pattern called for 6 skeins of Noro Gemstones and that's extinct, so I used two strands of yarn together. It turned out super thick and sturdy.
In the book it shows the handles being sewn to the very top row of stitching but I liked this look better. I found a cool Tiger's eye charm that I'll dangle from it when it's done. Richard sewed me a liner (with pockets!) out of that beautiful blue sari material. I have the best husband in the world. Sorry, all you single gals, but I've got the best one and I'm not letting him go. Mmmm.
Anyways.. for the yarn around the handles I sort of butchered what was left of the last skein to get the blue, brown, and green lengths separately. I love it.

Mouse Cozy

2007-11-05T17:45:00.000-06:00

I whipped out this little computer Mouse Cozy today while I stayed home from work sick as a dog. It's a Christmas present and I'm sure the recipient will enjoy it thoroughly. I used a pattern I found online, but instead of expensive merino yarn I went to my local craft store and rummaged through the bargain bin (a few weeks ago, before this hellspawn flu was even a bad dream). I found a Lion Brand Chenille Thick & Quick, color "Old Flannel" ($2). Since I used a completely different yarn, I had to change the pattern considerably. To tell you the truth, I couldn't tell you how or where I changed stuff, but of course I used a LOT less stitches because Chenille is way chunky compared to merino. And I ended up using the back end as the front, because it just ended up tapering better that way. I didn't use an i-cord for the tail because the yarn was too chunky and it would have looked like a gray alligator tail by the time I had three stitches into it, so I just used a single strand of yarn after it was all done. I didn't use the white yarn for the whiskers because I spaced out at the store and bought a clearanced black instead ($2). I just looked a clearanced fuzzy yarn that looked like whiskers to me. Instead of the expensive ribbon yarn they recommended for the nose and eyes, I bought embroidery floss ($.33) and tripled it, then used a yarn needle to make the eyes and nose. It turned out pretty cute, I think!

O-wool, How I Love Thee

2007-11-04T20:39:00.000-06:00

I've knitted a baby hat and booties from this lovely organic 50% cotton/50% merino blend. Although I usually prefer bamboo needles, I recommend using aluminum because this is a stickier yarn. I used the natural off-white color as the main color, and will use the yellow/pink/green skeins for embroidering vines and flowers on them.

I'm also working on a baby sweater using the same colors.
I got all three patterns (hat, booties, sweater) from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms, by Louisa Harding.

Outing My Stash

2007-11-04T20:31:00.001-06:00

This is my stash. I'm outing it, right here in public. I refuse to pretend to be ashamed of it, like I see so many knitters doing online. I love mine. It's pretty and I picked out every single skein with projects in mind. It's part of the joy of knitting, imagining all the lovely as-yet unknit things to be made. Knitting castles in the sky as you finger a fuzzy nylon, or a sweet as sugar baby sweater with that organic cotton. You can almost feel that rusty blue scarf made from that bulky clearanced yarn. Fingering, handling, buying, knitting, wearing or giving. These are the wonderful things to be done with balls of string. Don't be ashamed to love to dream. When my stash gets too big to use, I will share it with other knitters, or take it to retirement homes and knit with elderly folks who have lots to say and nobody to say it to. This string will never be wasted.

Jelli Beenz Baby Hat and Booties

2007-11-04T20:20:00.001-06:00

This Baby Pip Hat snared me as soon as I saw it. After work that night I went to the local craft store and picked up two clearanced 107 yd skeins of Plymouth Jelli Beenz yarn, color # 208. I knit the hat that evening and the Oh! Baby Baby Booties the next. I added the poms; it makes it look like they have tiny floofy noses. Too fun! My hairdresser is having a baby in January and they don't want to know the sex, so this is perfect.

First Socks EV-ER

2007-11-04T20:12:00.000-06:00

Aren't these the loveliest socks? I took a beginner sock knitting class and used two 120 yd skeins of Knit One, Crochet Too "Wick" yarn, color # 558, on size 4 DPNS. I can't provide the pattern here because it's copyrighted.

Richard's Hat and Scarf

2007-11-04T19:46:00.000-06:00

This is the hat and scarf set that I made my wonderful hubby Richard shortly after I took up knitting again. He had his heart set on having a suuuuper long hat and scarf, and he loved these. The original stocking hat pattern called for stripes, but he chose a variegated yarn that turned out just beautifully. It measures about 4' long with the ribbing.

I made up the "pattern" for the scarf, which was so simple I won't bother making a separate pattern page for it. CO 30 stitches; knit 1 rib pattern for 10 rows, then K30 in garter stitch for 10 rows. Then repeat these two rows until scarf is as long as you like. I made it super long to match the very long hat. I think it looks sort of alpine-y, making me think of a ski lodge.

Second Scarf and Hat

2007-11-04T19:20:00.000-06:00

These were made for a good friend of mine for Christmas. The Earflap Hat didn't take long at all. The Color Block Scarf is a very simple pattern that I made up myself. It's all garter stitch but I staggered four colors with three color-block sizes. It's simple but I was delighted at how it turned out.

First Hat (with Matching Scarf)

2007-11-04T19:09:00.000-06:00

This was the first hat I ever made. It's got some mistakes but all in all I'm pretty happy with it. Since I was the first child my mom ever made, I'm giving it to her for Christmas. Ahh, synchronicity.

I found the pattern on one of my favorite websites/blogs, I Live On A Farm. The Lavender Hat and the matching Lavender Scarf were too cute to pass up. I'm on my third hat using this pattern with a super soft baby alpaca. I had to mortgage my unborn children but it was worth it.

Dishcloths

2007-11-04T18:43:00.001-06:00

1st project post-scarf phase: Dish washing cloths. So as I said, I'm going to use this as a sort of knitting log, to keep track of projects and make notes on them as needed. That said, how cool is it that I get to combine all three of my passions in one place? Photography, knitting, and writing. OMG it's too cool. Anyways, I am going to start out with the very first batch of dish washcloths I ever finished. I used all Lily Sugar 'n Cream 100% cotton yarn for these. For the big green/white one I knitted in garter stitch and crocheted around the edge. For the striped yellow one, I played with different textures created by using knits and purls together, and crocheted around the edge. For the pure yellow and smaller green/white one, I used the Classic Washcloth pattern.

Yarn, Knitting, Blogging.. It All Makes Sense Now

2007-11-01T10:47:00.000-05:00

This is my first post on my first blog, ever. Even though I've been a programmer and in the IT industry for over ten years, I guess I've been too busy reading/knitting/fighting sociological ills to really notice blogging. How weird is that?

About 4 or 5 years ago I knitted 6 scarves and gave them away and then lost interest in knitting. I guess I just didn't know there was more to it, like purling. So this August, prompted by a friend learning to knit, I re-took up knitting with a vengeance. So far I've made 5 hats, 3 scarves, a pair of socks, a shawl, a baby sweater and 2 pairs of baby booties. My husband knows we can't drive by an unexplored yarn shop without me becoming VERY animated and insistent that we stop. I get even more excited when they're open.

I'd like to make this blog a sort of knitting journal as well as a way to meeting other knitters and get fresh ideas. Mostly, I just like talking about knitting. So at long last, here I am!