What?

I have had a day already today. Mostly my own fault. There are just some days that are stressful for no good reason than I am just 'off' for some reason. What could be wrong, hmm? Let me recount.

Got up and knit, drank coffee and even watched Knitty Gritty.

Kids came down 1 by 1.

Decided to do school at home today vs. at library.

All that sounds GREAT!!!! But, it is me. I just want my house to be magically put together, my dd # 1 to not forget anything over the weekend, IE: 2+2=4, and last but not least my spinning wheel to get here.

"What?" you say? You heard me right. I am waiting for my new spinning wheel to get here. I sold the Ashford Traditonal to (drum roll please) Nikki (sorry, hyperlink not working for me today) and got a fantastic deal on a Kromski Minstrel.

I found a deal to good to pass up on Ebay and went for it. I can hardly wait. It is supposed to be delivered tomorrow. The only problem is, tomorrow is Tuesday and I am going to go out of town on Wednesday and won't be back until Saturday late. AAARRRGGGHHH. I just want to spin and not come up for air for days.

barometric pressure

Have you ever noticed on 'high-pressure' days your mood is better. Today's weather is 75 degrees, sunny, and slightly breezy. I am in HEAVEN!!! Mood is great. No sweating or freezing. A light shawl might be called for, but just because shawls are so pretty. I love 'high pressure' days. Barometric pressure that is.

I don't like days when the pressure to produce is high. Go, go, go. Those days the witch in me starts to come out. Can you relate? Give me some time to knit, spin, visit, pray..... whatever. And I am a better woman for it.

Why do we put so much pressure on ourselves to 'do it all?' I just want to enjoy what I have. The friends I have. The children I have. The husband I have. The time I have. I am tired of thinking the grass is greener somewhere else, sometime else or whatever. We only get one time around on this planet. I want to make the most of it. Invest in YOU. Invest in my kiddoes and husband. Am I preaching? I don't mean to.

Let's give each other and ESPECIALLY ourselves some grace. Grace is undeserved merit or favor. Forgiveness. Letting go of hurt feelings and putting them in the trash. We all have been hurt, big time hurt, and hurt each other. I am making a commitment to let it go. Forgive. Forget. Love. Not the romantic type, but the true type. The kind that puts others 1st. I think that way, I will be filled up with 'a high pressure, breezy, and comfortable' life. Am I crazy? Maybe? This doesn't mean that life is easy. Au Contraire. I am just learning to live in grace and forgive.

Thank you God for this high pressure day. It was beautiful. I think I'll go knit on my porch.

Fawn

I had put it off long enough. The 2nd fleece. Today, I took the bull by the horns and went for it!

I got it MUCH cleaner than Brother. I followed a woolmills directions for scouring.

She is so beautiful and light. I have no idea what the staple is yet. I am having visions of what I can make with this pearly, lusciousness.

Other than scouring I have been schooling, de-cluttering and shopping online for something that will be unveiled at another time. See if you can be patient. Jennifer won't be surprised.

Progress Report

Just updating you on my progress with Rogue. I have started the 1st sleeve. I guess I could put 2 sleeves on 1 needle, but I am not real anxious to finish this thing. In fact, I will be sad when it is done.










Here is the finished body and hood. Now you can see my HUGE oops.
Close up details of the hood and the side shaping. I still need to block this thing.



















And last but not least, my newest love. The I Do shrug!!! This is some Noro Lily multi in a turquoise/navy/brown/teal colorway. I have been waiting for 2 years to find the right pattern for this yarn. A lot of it is in a UFO of a cardigan. Plain knit. I think that lace design really brings out the 'specialness' of the Noro. Plus it is 70% cotton and 30% silk. The notes by the designer says that it looks fantastic with jeans. Since jeans is "DRESSING UP" for me at church, I have a new outfit!!! Let's just hope that my problems with gauge have been improved.

Notice the bell sleeve. This is a fashion stretch for me. I am a plain, plain, plain person. I like plain clothes and plain decorating. I am just not flashy and this will be a show stopper. Let's hope I have the courage to wear it!

A photo shoot

So, here's the story. I put on the sleeveless Rogue at 8pm and head outside for a photo shoot with dh by the gargantuan rosemary shrub so I could show you all my work. I turn off the flash and DH takes 5 or 6 shots. The pix are TERRIBLE! It is not the sweater, it is not the light, it is ME!!!

For those of you who don't know me, I have had 3 children and am not a teenager anymore. I don't even expect to look in the mirror and see a size 0 model anymore. I know who I am as a person and even like myself. I HATE the fact that our culture places so much value on body size. I am basically happy with the size 14 that I am.

Excuse me while I scream for a moment.

*(*&(#$@#$$^%*%&*^$^%$#^%%&*(^*_&*(*&%^&$^%#^%$*^%*&%^&%^^%$#@#@$

Thanx. Feel much better now. Now I can go back to my rational minded self who realistically doesn't expect bodily perfection. Not even going to think about it again. At least, until see another pix of self.

So, who are the people who are doing this to us? Believe it or not, I think it is other women. You know, I don't want to be 18 again. That was a crappy time in my life. I like 35. So, why do we 'model' ourselves after 14-18 year olds who have no life experience (most anyway) and have not even discovered the true beauty that they have inside themselves. Goodness.

I will try again tomorrow. Maybe the light will be better and I will have magically lost 15lbs.

catie

We're back!!!!

Holden Beach, NC. April 2007.

We froze our arses off. I have never been so cold as I was this past week. We got tired of being locked inside during a Nor'Easter, so we went to the beach and the sea was really rough.

Kids are made of sterner stuff than me. My lovedies are all in the water. Why, why, why? It wasn't even 60 degrees.

The wind whipped up quite a bit of foam. Ethan really enjoyed playing with it like bubbles from his bath. He is only 3 after all.


Then, it didn't matter anymore about the weather. It didn't matter that our car broke down. All that mattered was that we were together and safe.

Andy is an alum of VT. Andy's brother, Tim, is an undergrad and grad alum. It was horrible to watch and to be away. We cried a bit and prayed a bit.

The weather did improve enough to consider letting the kids wear shorts. I only did so after much begging and pleading. At least it wasn't my body shivering and my teeth chattering. I got no points for good mothering this week.

Does anyone see something wrong with Rogue? The picture is terrible, I don't know why, but you can still see a glaring mistake that is unfixable. I didn't notice the mistake until I had knit part of the neck detail, joined the shoulders, and modeled the sweater for Lovey Husband. Guess what? Not fixin it. Hm mmmm, no way. Ain't gonna do it.

I guess I am not a Knitter vs. a knitter. I am unwilling to sacrifice for perfection.

Here is a very nice picture of the neck detail.

















Hope y'all have a great week. I'll be away. Hey Diana, could you drive by my house and if you see a moving van, call the cops. Thanx. Catie

What do you do, while you brush your teeth?

I HAVE A STATEMENT TO MAKE!!!

I HATE BEING WATCHED WHILE I SLEEP!!!!

Do you remember in Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, when Colin Firth is trying to sleep, and Bridget is watching him in a love struck, birds singing way. Well, my lovedy is Bridget Jones. Ever since we got married, Andy has found it sweet to watch me while I sleep. The only problem is, IT WAKES ME UP!!!! I am not the sweetest thing first thing either.

• He watches me while brushing his teeth, it is such a boring task, that I am more entertainment asleep than watching the kids.
• He watches me while getting dressed/undressed.
• He watches me before going to work.
• He watches me just to annoy me. For some reason he thinks this is funny! Does he like being raked with nails?

I need a lot of sleep, unfortunately. Having had babies back to back for the last 7 years has made me chronically sleep deprived. Now that the kids are sleeping in to 8ish, Andy lets me sleep. Is this what I want? What I have repeatedly asked him to do? NO. I want my bohunkus behind hauled out of bed at 7am so that I can have my desperately needed alone time to wake up. My ideal routine would be as follows:

• hang legs over bed for 5 minutes
• 1st cup of coffee wrapped in Miss Koigu
• watch news for the weather
• acquire 2nd cup of coffee while contemplating knitting
• knit while I am drinking coffee

After the requisite 1.5 hours of waking up, kids can come down and be happily greeted by a calm, sweet, patient mother. I would need to get up at 6:30 to accomplish this difficult task. Gee, that isn't difficult. YES, IT IS. Remember DH, thinks I am sweet asleep. He doesn't have the heart to get me up. Even after me begging and pleading with him to do so. He lets me sleep and then, the munchkins get up and my torture begins.

Not getting up sets my day off on a really bad foot. Grumpy, cranky, non-caffeinated, and no time to knit and vegetate. Why won't Andy wake me up? I need an alarm clock. Yes, that is the ticket. I am not hard to wake up, just cranky and don't want to talk. Andy is SUPPOSED to be my alarm clock. Why won't he wake me up? Doesn't he understand that not waking me up is tatamount to expecting me to do a NASCAR race with the kids as soon as my eyes open? Without fuel and a tune-up. I might even need my tires changed.

He likes to watch while I sleep.

Dearest Lovedy, We need to talk. I have mentioned these 2 issues before, but it hasn't made much of a dent in your hard head. Here goes: I know that you like to watch me sleep. I wish you would quit. I understand that you love me, but this drives me to the edge of violence to hear you brushing your teeth, open my eyes, and see you staring at me. Do you think watching me sleep is a spectator sport? I am here to inform you that it is not.

On to the 2nd issue: Why won't you get me up? I understand that you think I look cute all warm and sleepy. But don't you get it that I need alone time, coffee, and knitting to be sane 1st thing in the morning? I willingly choose to forgo the extra 1.5 hours of sleep in order to be a decent, pleasant mother. I am begging you....... GET ME UP!!!

ALL MY LOVE, Lovey Wife

Dumpster Diving

Hello Saturday!!! BC, that is Before Children, Saturday was a day of ENDLESS possibilities. Sometimes we would hike, take a day trip, or even (quite a bit actually, in retrospect), go away for the weekend. We had a DINK (double income, no kids) lifestyle. That is long over!!!

This was my life so far, today. Awaken, by children at 8:30. Make coffee. Sit to knit. You see my priorities. Andy makes bacon and sunny side up eggs with kiddos. I am served eggs, toast, and bacon. I even got to watch "Tyler's Ultimate Pot Roast" on the Food Network. Kids then request a video. We put one in and adjourn to have a quick wrestling match ;).

Then..... The Piece de Resistance...... Dumpster Diving. Yes, dumpster diving. My decluttering from the past 2 or 3 months hasn't meant much without careful maintenance. When I was a serious blonde, I took maintenance seriously. Now, my hair and house suffers from the lack thereof. So, me and the girls dove into the trash heap of their room. We sorted all the baby girl toys, and dumped them into a box for Goodwill. You wouldn't believe all the stuff that those chicks parted with WILLINGLY. Then, they dove under the bunks and dug out the equivalent of a paleontologists dream of artifacts. Some organic and some inorganic. Andy the the Bud Man did his room. Andy is now vacuuming out all the stuff too small to pick up and throw into a massive trash bag.

I have sil who lives in Boston, is single, and has REALLY been dumpster diving. Back when McDonald's was giving away free plane tickets in exchange for collected drink cups, Becca and her friends would dig thru dumpsters, collect cups, and turn them in for plane tickets. That got her to the beach last year for the annual LONG family beach vacation. Believe me, I will be blogging about that when the times comes again this year. That is a comedy in and of itself.

My kids are well on their way to being obsessed with stuff. They come by it honestly. Parents and aunts, uncles, friends, and grandparents shower them with things. And, FYI, most of all those things have now become unloved and put out into the dumpster for someone else to dive for. Yeesh. The whining that I get at whatever store just to end up in the dump. I am realizing the massive waste of money that I have been party too. There is a lesson here.

What am I setting my affections on and beg for, after I get it, ends up in the dump, unloved?

God, help me to set my affections on things that last forever!! Give me a love for the things that last for eternity. Thank you Father for blessing me and my family and forgive me for complaining and whining about what I don't have. I love you.

Eggs

Hems

I actually have a title for this picture:

QUALITY TIME

Today my in-laws came and took my kids to their house today for a play date with some cousins. I usually go to Bible study on Wed. and I had a HUGE DECISION to make. Do I go to Bible study, see friends, pray, and generally be fed. OR, stay home knit, card and spin, read and do various other sundry things ALONE with out my helpers? Boy, I tell you it was a tough decision. And I opted to go to study. I walked the mile to my friends house. Beautiful day!!!!

The study was great, as usual. God really spoke to me today and I think I will share it with you, if you are interested, read on!!!! It DOES tie into knitting.
Easter is HERE!!! Resurrection!!! Hallelujah!!! But, did you know that the Jewish Passover celebration coincides with this holiday? It does. The Passover is an ancient celebration of the Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt. God miraculously set His people free! And, BTW, that is what we were studying today in Bible study, the book of Exodus. We are at the parting of the Red Sea.

Well, God took His people the long way to the Red Sea. Put them in an impossible situation. There were mountains on either side of a million plus people, a deep sea in front of them, and Pharaoh's army (with chariots, the equivalent of a F-14 today) behind them. That doesn't seem fair. God brought them to a place to either drown or be slaughtered. God, "hemmed them in."

Have you ever been there? I have. Circumstances with mom on either side of me and no way to go, but through the sea. Chased by my own demons, bent on my destruction. I was so PISSED OFF at God. You have no idea how much. The last thing I wanted to do was to be the caretaker of my CRAZY mother. I had my own life to live, children to raise, and a baby on the way.

Frequently it is said, that God doesn't give us more than we are able to bear. Bull. I have found it to be that I am FREQUENTLY asked to bear more than I can handle, without God. With God..... that is a different story. Let us just say that I BELIEVE IN MIRACLES!! Personal, huge ones!! I had to go to court and become the caretaker of my mother. And let me tell you, it has been a huge personal sacrifice!!! The hardest thing I have ever done. BUT!!!!!!, God healed me. I faced my own shit (if this offends you, sorry, but that is what it is and no other word will do) , got my head together, and I am well on my way to becoming the woman God intends me to be! That is a MIRACLE of epic proportions!!! Hallelujah!!!

Moving on. Why does God "hem us in?" I think that it is an act of love. Take Rogue for example. There is a hem on the bottom and on the sleeves. I don't HAVE to hem them. They will just have an grossly, ugly curl at the bottom. So..... I suck it up and hem. And the results are beautiful. God hemmed me in to face my own demons. The results are beautiful.

I'll leave you with this Psalm:
O, Lord, you have searched me
and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O Lord.

You hem me in-behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go to flee from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed int he depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you for I am fearfully and
wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths
of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts,
O God!
How vast the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I am awake,
I am still with you.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 139:1-18 and 23-24

Not a witty day

Well, today I began the war with moths. Actually, it is a preemptive strike. A prescription of hot water, Euclan woolwash in lavender, and a spin out cycle. Then off to the boxwood for a day, laying out in the sun.

Say, I wish someone would do that for me. Clean me up, and lay me out. Wouldn't that be a welcome change. I would add one thing though. A wonderful dinner hot and put before me. Bliss.

I am having a ball with rogue. Here is the side cable detail. I am soooooo glad that did the cable cap first. I really thought she would be harder, but maybe that is to come later. I think doing the cap first took some of my 'Rogue' anxiety away.


Here's a blurry shot of the kangaroo pocket in progress.

The sad thing is that I will not be able to wear Rogue until next October. I can't seem to make the switch to summer type knitting. I am really hung up on sweaters. Maybe because it is just recently that I can make them fit (due to an evil known as gauge).

The summer of socks is not quite in full swing. I have to finish Rogue and DH's Ecowool Raglan.

Not very witty today. Just knitting. Hope you are enjoying the beautiful day. Catie

Edit on Wednesday: The moths I DO have are the mealy moths that you get from the grocery store. Thank you for all your kind concern. The washing is the puttting away of wool for the summer to PREVENT an infestation. I understand that the larvae like the dirt, bo, and food that collects on wool and that is what they eat, destroying the fiber in the process.

Time to Knit

Many friends and acquaintances ask me, " How do you have time to knit?" The answer is simple. I can't afford NOT to knit. My question to non-knitters is 'What do you do when you sit?' The question people should ask is : 'Catie, why don't you knit more?' Or people ask: 'Isn't it expensive?' Not as expensive as travel and more satisfying because I can do it everyday. I can take it with me when I travel or buy yarn THERE and have a keepsake that is crafted by a local and then enjoyed and created further by me.

I believe that we were born to create. Even if you are not an 'artist', so to speak, we create everyday. Meals, computer data entry, children, write, watercolor, clothes, putting together an ensemble etc...... I like this quote by Alice Starmore from her book Sweaters for Men: in the past "women knitted-constantly and with prolific output" pg. x. Women have been creating since the beginning of time. It is just recently that we consider working with our hands and creating 'a waste of time' or a frivolous hobby. Yikes. This is the post-modern age?

Here is a poem, by ME!!!

Knitting
I can't scrapbook and knit and talk or monitor kids.
I can't read and talk and monitor kids.

I can walk and knit.
I can talk and knit.

I can't cook and knit, but give me more time and I'll just might do it.

I can read and knit, I wish I could sleep and knit.
I can pray and knit, but not drive and knit.

Knitting keeps me busy, off the phone, and present in my home. Available to my kids should they have a need. Keep all of us warm and sometimes breezy. In short, knitting is good for the soul and family and woman kind.

Granny I am not.
Weird I am not.
Just a simple girl with a desire to keep busy and create and relax and visit with a fellow knitter.
That is why I knit.

On the Needles

Good Morning All!!! Before the day really got rolling, I thought I would take the time and show you what I have got On the Needles right now.

The purplish looking thing to the far left is the Ecowool Raglan for dh. It is actually grey and will be a simple 2x2 rib crew or v-neck. With me you never know. Andy loves ribbed fabrics (everything from t-shirts to skivvies, even my clothes) , so, he'll love this sweater. It is the EXACT color of his eyes. Steel Grey. The green is the beginning of Rogue. And the multi-colored, reddish stuff is the 2nd sock in the Koigu Odds and Ends socks.


Rogue is the most intense pattern that I will have attempted to date. I bought Knit picks Wool of the Andes for this project and I am unsure of the color, Heather Green. I am remembering back to how I felt about Miss Koigu and so I am pressing onward and figure that the green will grow on me.

BTW, there are 20 pages in the Rogue pattern. Check out all the pages to the right here. Those are just the CHART pages. This will NOT be a kid friendly pattern. Nobody, husband, or kid had better even think of speaking to me when I have this sweater out and in my hands!!


There, a picture of Rogue on the needles.








Would you believe that upon 3rd and 4th yarn yardage calculations, I am 50 yards shy of what I need? Yeesh. Gotta do another purchase. Maybe I will pick up another something or other. ha ha ha

Last but not least. I am a brand new sock knitter. Not to mention a gal who has BIG PROBLEMS with gauge. The sock on the right is about 25% too big. The sock of the left is the correct size, however, the cast off is a problem because it was a toe up sock. All you serious sock knitters who do Wendy Knits toe up sock pattern, how do you get the cast off edge to be comfortable? I am expecting tons of advice!!!!

I gotta go organize the day. Get the house clean for the Erev Shabbat meeting at our house tonight. Do school. And eat something eventually. Shalom friends in this Passover/Easter season. catie

Potty Training Marathon

My son has reverted to doing #2 in his big boy pants. The little man had finally gotten the hang of peeing and pooping in the potty. I should say, the little, portable potty. He is even dry all night long and empties his bladder upon awakening. I am greatly desiring to transition him to the BIG KAHUNA potty. Well, he doesn't like it. Not one little bit. I however, am a persevering sort. Not to mention determined not to have to wipe out any more poopy bowls than I have to. But, the argument could be, don't you HATE cleaning out poopy pants? Yeah, the pants are much worse. But I am betting that he doesn't like having that mess right up next to his sweet little cheeks. He just turned 3 on Tuesday and we will see who has more will power. Him or me? (I bet y'all are all putting your money on him aren't you?)

Other than focusing on the final stage of potty training, I have been very busy.

On the homeschooling front: I quizzed dd#2 on her letters and *gasp* she only knows half of them. I have been working on them half heartedly with her all year. The good news is that SHE WILL LEARN THEM eventually. Just a matter of time, and her mother refocusing back on Kindergarten. DD#1 , is doing well. She did 2 pages of her language arts wb today, ALL BY HERSELF. That means she did all the reading etc, by herself. That is a real milestone for me, as I have always had to hold her hand in them for the past year. The little man, well, he just disturbs us as much as possible. I figure the girls will teach him to read when the time comes!!

On the decluttering front: Nothing. Stalled. Except I have plans. I am going to clean out the girls toys. I have so many little, little girl toys, they don't have room for big girl toys. So, dear sil moving from Spain, they are coming your way!!!

On the gardening front: Me and the girls have started 30 tomato plants from seed. We also started nasturtiums, marigold, and loads of basil. Andy pulled out a bunch of sod and will borrow a tiller to make garden space. I can hardly wait. Fresh tomatoes and basil in August, here we come!! Haven't had a garden since we begun child bearing.

On the reading front: Nothing worth mentioning. Not even the Bible.

On the knitting front: Rogue's hem is cast on and one row of the hem is done. The odds and ends Koigu socks are butt ugly, but I love 'em. I didn't put much thought into the color mixing. Random. Andy's sweater is much neglected, but is good mindless knitting. It'll get knit on when we go to the beach in April.

What a long post. Not even a picture or 2. Hope you are all well. cate

Gauge and Toe Up Socks

I HATE doing gauge!! I finally got the yarn from Knitpicks for Rogue. The pattern calls for 4.5/in and I got 5/in on size 6 needles FLAT. Then, I have to see what my gauge is in the round. I shouldn't complain, at least I love to knit.

Still working on the Wendy Knits toe up sock pattern. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that pattern. I wasn't sure when I first saw Sallee and Nikki's examples, but after I cast on and experienced for myself the wonder and the majesty (ok, ok, I'll wax a little less goofy) of the brilliance of this pattern .... not to mention the simplicity, I was sold. side note: for all you grammar gurus out there, please ignore the grammatical inconsistencies in my writing.

Well, my kids are terrified of the thunder we are currently experiencing. So, I need to go and make sure that they are safe and sound, not to mention that I should unplug my puter.

Later, catie

A new friend has arrived!!

Miss Koigu has arrived. She has been waiting for her debut. She has covered sick children, watched husband dig garden, watched me vacuum, warmed me as I had an early morning on the porch and has been a pleasure to have around the house.

I thought she was going to be more of a 'formal' visitor of the household, but it turns out that she is homey and warm and fits right into this home filled with children, school, food, playing outside and general messiness. She is not going to visit, but be a working member.

I thought she would only come out to church or dates with husband, but she wants to be an integral part of our home at all times. She wants to see and be seen in our daily lives. In short, she is going to get dirty with the rest of us.

Welcome Miss Koigu. I am glad you are here.

What's For Dinner, Ma?

It is 3:07, and I had just signed off the computer. Fruitlessly, looking for something new in the knitting world to excite me. The kids had been put in room time, and I walked into the kitchen to begin the daily question of "WHAT AM I GOING TO FIX FOR DINNER?"

Now, if you have ever talked to me on the phone, and are female (yes, I know men cook too), then I have probably asked you in the beginning of the closing of the conversation: "What are YOU going to fix for dinner?" Why do I ask that? I think it is because I am a foodie at heart and I get bored with my own ideas and maybe you are having something scrumptious and I might ditch my idea and do a riff on your idea.

What I have in the house is limited. The freezer had no inspiration for me. I located some leftover chicken from the roast I had done earlier in the week and finally, I got it. Creamed chicken over rice. The creamed chicken will have caramelized onions, chunks of garlic, roux, thickened with chix stock and heavy cream. Plenty of salt and pepper. Finished with a little sherry. Fragrant, basmati rice. Peas or broccoli from the freezer with be my attempt at nutrition.

I thought of my mother. Mom was NOT a cook. We had no money to eat out, so she had to feed us with something. Here is the VERY limited list of what I remember her cooking:

1) Frozen cod poached (ahem, baked until it was like cardboard) in milk.
2) Spaghetti (from scratch, no onions, no peppers, I don't know what it had in it)
3) Liver and onions (the meal from hell)
4) Poppy Seed Chicken (actually, my favorite. I occasionally make it today)
5) Chipped Beef Gravy over toast (very salty)
6) Sausage Gravy and Biscuits (canned biscuits, no wonder I have bowel issues)
7) Poached Eggs over Collards (God save us)
8) Vienna sausages (What are those anyway?)
9) Hot Dogs (probably my favorite meal)
10) Frozen Burritos (my brother's favorite)
11) Mac and Chee (elbow mac layered with shredded cheese and filled to the rim with milk. Bake till set)

Makes me wonder what my kids will say about my food.

I was never hungry. I grew up VERY healthy. I have nothing to complain about. Thanx mom for feeding me.

My husband treated me to new makeup last Saturday. Makeup is like candy to girls. We love it and it only lasts a short while. I was due. I got dressed this am and was playing with it a bit. Gorgeous plum eyeliner and cool trio of eye shadow, pretty all over face powder in the shape of a chrysanthemum, Berrylicious lipstick with matching gloss, and new mascara that LIFTS and PLUMPS.

I had gotten it all on and was looking 'mighty fine' if I may say so myself. All that for..... Roanoke Gas Co. men. I am 35 yo with 3 kids at home with me AT ALL TIMES and at least 20lbs overweight. Makeup makes a serious difference for a gal like me. At least one of them was lascivious enough to check me out. Kind of flattering (boy, I am getting old, I remember when that used to offend me). To top it off had a t-shirt made of cotton and Lycra in it. Bad choice. Whoa to us with love handles.


So, I spent the ENTIRE day multi-tasking. We did NO school because of the symphony of jackhammers, dump trucks, trencher backhoes, and some thing that pats down dirt real good.

Here is my list:

1) Knit Koigu Keepsake shawl while keeping Ethan, ds, from getting into the men's way.
2) Prepare to see Dixigirl at Barnes and Noble tonight while keeping Ethan from mortal injury.
3) Make list for grocery store while explaining to Ethan that "No, he can't help the big machines."
4) Try to spin a little while keeping Ethan from certain death ala jackhammer
.

proceeded to multi-task even after RGCo. left

4) Bribe children into goodness at Kroger with chocolate bunnies
5) Bribe children into room time with chocolate bunnies
6) Cook dinner while uploading these 5 pix to Blogger


All in all, my day went completely NOT according to plan. Oh well. At least Koigu got more rows than she usually would have.

The Carding Machine

Andy is a carding machine. Really. He spent 4 hours on Saturday afternoon to evening, doing nothing but finishing up 'Brother.' Now, it is up to me to finish blending it with the other colors to complete the sweater I am dreaming of.

I was complaining to Tanya, that the batts are spinning up thicker than I had wanted. It is a VERY bulky yarn. I have no idea when I am going to be able to spin even a light worsted or sport weight yarn. Yeesh.

Andy is working on the basement cabinetry that my grandfather fashioned with his own hands sometime in the 40's or 50's. He was an amateur furniture maker. I still have some of his creations. The most famous kind would be the fiddlers benches that he made. They are a foot stool in the shape of .... what else, a fiddle. I called him Pop and he scared me to death as a child. Gruff.




I am starting to panic a little bit. For several reasons:

1) Brother's yarn is going to make a large, warm bulky sweater. In my inexperience, I was thinking of something with a little more, I don't know, dare I say, sexiness? Sexy it will not be. However, warm, durable, and possibly weather proof. Yes, definitely. Now, what pattern should I use?

2) I have almost nothing on the needles. I absolutely THRIVE on variety and get bored easily. That is why I switch around so much. Andy continually remarks on how I read more than 1 book at a time. Well, doesn't everybody? That only makes sense. I can keep up with a lot of things going at the same time and still remain perfectly charming. Or at least I think so. This is probably not actually the case. Just wishful thinking from and ADD mother of 3.

3) I ordered 1400 yard of Knitpicks Wool of the Andes in Forest Heather. It is only $1.99/ball. That means Rogue is only going to cost about $25. Usually, I would be ecstatic. I am concerned about the texture. Am I going to be covered in itchys all next fall/winter? I sure hope not. I intend to wear it NO MATTER WHAT!

4) DD #2, has taken to reading like a duck to water. Normally, I would be so pleased I would feed her nothing but chocolate cake for a week. But, dd #1, is clipping along at a slow but steady pace. I am reminded just now of the tortoise and the hare. Maybe it will be OK.

Well, enough panicking and should go take care of the Carding Machine's dinner. Later, catie