Things that happened in October

My Arch Nemesis

Yep, I'm really that lame. It's November and I'm just now writing my next post. People, I'm busy! For instance, I have to take care of these beasts which continue to haunt my back yard.

Leo

And I had to get Ryan ready for his Masquerade Bash at school. Since Ryan is in the Science/Tech program, the class project for Halloween was for each kid to come up which a famous scientist, get it approved, and then write clues so the rest of the class could guess who they were. Ryan was Leonardo Da Vinci, wearing Daddy's bathrobe.

The Boys and Baby S

And of course I still have Baby S with me 3 days a week. Every Halloween Gilman Village has Trick or Treating for the kids. Which is great for families, but frankly, a nightmare for everyone who works there. Mara and I spent 3 hours, not selling yarn, standing in the freezing cold doorway handing out candy. Both of our Mikes brought the kids by for a visit.

Earflappy Hat

Of course, throw in about 74 loads of laundry and you can see I've got my hands full these days. I did manage to clean my master bathroom today. That, wow. It had been awhile.

I'm using my extra-awesome photography skills here to show you the baby earflap hat I'm making for a friend. They also want matching mittens, which I think will be cute. But I honestly don't know if I've ever actually made baby mittens before....can't be that hard, can it? The great thing about baby mittens--no thumbs!

Snowbird Mitten

Last, but not least, here is my crowning glory. The left hand part of the Snowbird Mittens.

SnowBird Mitten Palm

I have to say, I'm pretty stunned that I was able to do it. Once I block it, I think it will look great, and it actually fits!

I'm still working on my 3 different pairs of socks, all for 3 different people, who should know me well enough to know that I have WAY over-committed myself here, what with the chickens and baby hats and scarves and everything else I'm knitting. I've been blatantly honest about the shear number of projects I have going, so if these 3 sock people are reading my blog (and I believe they do...), then they've hopefully done the math and realized that I'm a bit behind. I just continue to work on projects as the spirit moves me and somehow they all eventually get done....although I'm thinking I need to have a no new projects policy until I'm able to check a few of these outstanding items off my list.

If I intend to write this post and publish it in one sitting (and I believe I do), then the time for me to go is now. I have to fix dinner and present it to 2 boys who have no intention of eating it. They can't start whining until they see what I'm making, so I'd better get the show on the road!

It's October!

Happy Birthday from Jane!

...and do you know what that means? It means I haven't blogged since September! How did THAT happen? Let's see--what have I been doing with my time? I truly have very little to report, but here's the lowdown: laundry, watching Baby S, abusing my children by forcing them to do their homework, humiliating my eldest by talking to his teacher on the phone about his homework, laundry, running my "vacuum" over the carpet and pretending that it is sucking up dirt even though I can visibly see that the dirt remains on the floor, drinking Diet Coke, laundry...you get the picture.

Honestly, it has taken me 3 days just to compose this post, and after reading to the end you will undoubtedly say THIS took her 3 days?

October also means BIRTHDAYS around here--Mike and I are now officially 41. In our 40's. Old. Sunday my dear friend Jane gave me more sock yarn, under the guise that it's my birthday month. So how can I say no to that logic? More Pagewood Farms...yum.....

Finished Shedir hat!

I've been in a bit of a knitting slump lately. I finished my cousin's hat (which looks very cool in person and someone with greater camera skills than I would have actually been able to capture that), and now, what to knit....

I mean, I have things to knit. I always have hats. And I currently have 3 pairs of socks going. And I still have Heidi's chicken to start. And Mike's sweater, and my scarf... But nothing is reaching out and grabbing me these days. I need inspiration.

Snowbird

I have been making slight progress on my Snowbird mittens, but they require a lot of attention to detail. And my post-its keep falling off the chart. For my birthday Mike ordered a magnetic chart keeper for me from Knit Picks that is currently en route--I keep telling myself that my enthusiasm for this project will pick up after I've employed my new chart keeper. Because a gadget will improve my knitting, don't you think?

Honestly, I'm not one for gadgets and have very few knitting "tools". I mean, I have the basics--I have what I need. But I don't go for all the point protectors and row counters and special tension thimbles and all that. We sell lots and lots of gadget-y items at the shop that I do not own. However, I do think this chart keeper is a must have. I am so tired of trying to follow a chart and keep track of which line I am on with post-its that lose their stickiness factor after being moved 3 times. My only regret is that I didn't order about 4 of them....

Ryan w/ his stack of books to be signed.

In non-knitting news, Mike took the boys to the UW Bookstore on Sunday to meet author Jeff Kinney. Ryan is a huge Wimpy Kid fan (being kind of a Wimpy Kid himself....) and brought the entire collection to be signed.

Author Jeff Kinney

Eric got his own copy of the first book, which he is now reading, and they both got their books signed. Ryan is so excited to have these autographs that he is re-reading the series (which is so amazing to me--he has no time to do his homework, no time to do his 40 minutes of assigned reading each night, no time for his book reports, but has managed to carve out a significant amount of time to re-read the entire Wimpy Kid series. I plan to use this against him during our next "discussion" about homework. In about 10 minutes).

Well, unless I want this post to linger into a 4th day, I believe I will wrap things up. Let's see if I can return before November!

Yeah, I'm still here...

Shedir Hat

Listen folks, I'm BUSY! I don't mean to blog once every 21 days, but lately it just happens. I have things to do. My husband keeps asking me for clean underwear, and I often have to give it some serious thought before I can answer him. I have these boys that continue to need a mother. Again, the clean underwear question....and Ryan, who is currently writing a screenplay to send to George Lucas, keeps trying to tell me that he is incapable of writing a book report for school. Eric is practicing for the Wii Sonic Unleashed World Championships and it is serious work trying to bring that kid back to reality. I mean, he has too much homework and it's not fair that he has to read for 10 whole minutes every day. It's just not fair. So I spend all afternoon being the heavy to ensure I'm not raising two illiterates.

I have Baby S here three times a week, I have baby hats to knit each week, I have my job at the shop each weekend, I have boys to cart to and from Kid's Choir, and apparently we'll be playing basketball again...people, I need a personal assistant. Preferably one that can knit and will also pay me for the privilege of basking in my company each day.

In fact, the only reason I can do this right now is that Baby S went home sick today. And so while I'm very sad for 3 month old Baby S and his daddy who had to come pick him up, hooray for you because now you get my undivided attention!

I have been doing some knitting in the evenings. My two chickens are done, and I still have the original chicken, for Heidi, left to knit, but now I'm thinking of blue and white with yellow accents. Which means I need to buy some blue. Because I truly don't think my attention span can handle a 3rd black, white, and red chicken.

This Shedir hat is for my cousin, Lora. I picked this pattern because I wanted to make something pretty, and I'm using Debbie Bliss Prima (80% bamboo! and 20% wool) in black, which I thought would be a great color for Lora, but is clearly going to be the death of me. Ever tried to knit multiple cables in black? At night? It has now become a personal challenge and I Will Knit That Hat.

Again, just to mix things up and challenge myself, I am knitting these little court jester hats out of my leftover sock yarns. Because I need more challenges in my life. I have a whole bag of sock yarn remnants and it seemed like a fun idea to no only use up my stash, but try to sell them at one of my shops in the process. And to knit something other than a cupcake. You know I love my cupcakes, but I need a little variety now and then.

Felted Snowman

...and why oh why has it taken me so long to get on this project?!? I think I bought this pattern two years ago. The arms are beaded, there is a pattern book for all the little accessories...what have I been waiting for? I actually think they are going to be somewhat labor intensive, but holy smokes people, these snowmen must be knit!

...and more socks

And of course you all know me well enough to know that I have some socks on the needles. Always and forever, knitting socks. The pink socks are for Penny, my dear friend who moved away and now lives in North Carolina. And I promised her a pair of socks an embarrassingly long time ago. She chose pink and I love knitting with pink! Pink Pagewood Farms wool and bamboo sock yarn! The gray Alpaca Sox socks are, again, for Scott. I really need to get back to those...

That's it folks. That I'll I have to tell you right now. I have three hours that I can call my own until I have to get those little hooligans from school and remind them once again that I did not assign the homework so yelling at ME about it will get you nowhere but I would be happy to discuss your refusal to do the homework at your parent/teacher/student conference oh you don't want me to do that? And please tell your father to hunt for his own clean underwear because I'm busy fixing you all a dinner that is designed to ruin the rest of your evening because I'm secretly trying to poison you.

The magic never ends.

Weekly update...sort of...

Scott's socks
mmmmm...Alpaca!

This babysitting business is getting in the way of my blogging time! Don't get my wrong, Baby S is a cute little bugger, but between babysitting, knitting hats, and cruelly forcing my own children to do their homework, I haven't had much time to blog this week.

So we'll do this in one fell swoop. First off. Scott's socks. Made with Alpaca Sox. Yummy! I'm doing a broken rib pattern from the Knitted Gifts book, which I think is very masculine. Should keep him nice and toasty during those Montana winters!

KAL Chicken
This is my sample chicken for the shop!

Second, I'm on to my next chicken! I delivered Chicken #1 to my cousin the other day and it was well received. Her life really sucks right now. Really sucks. And so it made me happy to see her giggle when I gave it to her.

This next chicken is for our Knit-A-Long at the shop. I hope people do it. It's a fun project and the goal is to "borrow" the finished chickens and display them all. I need to get this thing done to rouse some excitement about my brainstorm.

Third: School. School is good. Both boys love school. However. Ryan has lots of homework. Which he knew about when we agreed to sign him up for the Science/Tech program this year. And in theory he still understands that it's his responsibility to do this homework. Except for all the excuses he comes up with each and every day. So now I've taken the tactic that all homework must be done before any other activity because he has proven that he can't be trusted to get it done in the evening. Because then, you know, he's tired. And it's not really fair that he has to read for 40 minutes each night. And it's also not fair that I'm forcing him to be alone when he reads because Ryan is fully capable of reading chapter books while the tv is on and his brother is playing the Wii and mom and dad are talking....I'm really mean.

At the Tacoma Dome
Wow. We look like we're almost 41.

Fourth: My husband was a nice guy and took me to Tacoma to see Keith Urban, as a surprise. Now, I'm not usually one for surprises, but this kind of surprise, well, he can show up with those tickets anytime he wants!

This nice couple asked us to take their picture, and then they offered to take our picture. And it turned out like this. Two people who look like they are about to turn 41.

Keith Urban Concert

And then we went to the concert, which was one of the loudest events I have ever attended. Including the last Keith Urban concert we went to. But it was very very fun. And again, Mike had to secretly admit that he had a great time.

Of course, part of Mike's enjoyment this time was the crowd of people in our immediate area. Sure there were plenty of people our age, and plenty of young blond girls who shriek a lot, but, and we still can't figure this out, there were several senior citizens in our section. Not just one or two. Several. And by senior citizens, I mean people you would never expect to see at this concert. Honestly, several people in their 80's. They had canes.

The couple right next to Mike, well, they had to be well over 80. And they sat still, not moving a muscle, the entire opening act (Little Big Town) as well as the concert itself. The wife put the binoculars to her face when the lights went down, and sat in that position for 3 hours.

The couple with the cane, same thing. The woman in front of us was the best. She was old. Old. I'm not trying to be offensive here. Truly--this woman was 85 years old. And she was having the time of her life. She boogied the night away for 3 solid hours. She was having way more fun than the 55 year old next to me who complained about everything the entire night. Everytime she wanted to get out, she let me know how inconvenient it was to have me there, she got mad at the people behind her for touching her chair, she got mad at the people in front of her who stood up when Keith came out on stage, and she ended up leaving early with her daughter, who I think actually wanted to stay.

A real treat, that one was.

Well, apparently I need to wrap this up. Ryan has been waiting all afternoon to play RuneScape on my computer (yes, the boys have a computer, but we have computer issues right now. Ryan has my old computer which has sound, but no wireless card. Eric has the world's oldest working computer, and it is connected to the internet, but for some reason it's not today, and you can't actually do anything on it anyway, and my new computer works great but has no sound at the moment and apparently Vista or whatever I have won't let me open certain email programs for no reason and I can't print....) and I seem to be ruining his afternoon, on purpose, by using my very own computer for my own personal use. So, any issues you have with this disjointed post--blame Ryan.

And now it's August....

Tiffany's sock

Since the temperature has literally dropped 30+ degrees in the last week, I am now able to return to my computer without melting. Today I'm wearing jeans, socks and a sweatshirt. And I'm still slightly chilly. And that is just the way I like it!

So, my little experiment with Tiffany's sock kind of got away from me and I'm nearly ready to start on the toe. For whatever reason, this sock practically knit itself. I almost feel like Mrs. Weasley with this sock, it has been so effortless.

Leah's never ending socks

Unlike, say, these socks over here for Leah. These are the socks that I can knit and knit and knit, yet they never grow. And when they do grow, I get ladders, weird misshapen stitches...Somehow the yarn I'm using for Tiffany's socks got all the mojo and these Lilypad socks, with the darling picot cuffs, are completely void of any mojo. I have had to reknit each sock for different reasons and, seriously, the will not grow. Both yarns are Lorna's Laces, I am using the exact same needles for each...I have no explanation.

I was at Leah's the other day and warned her that there seems to be a curse upon these particular socks for her. So, when she gets a hole in one and then slips and falls and breaks her leg the first day she wears them, she can do so knowing she had full disclosure. But they're pretty darn cute at least....

Yes, I still have 1 1/8 of my mom's Monkey socks and 1 1/6 of Kristin's Narragansett socks. I seem to have gotten a little carried away with the sock knitting, if I do say so myself.

Juliet

And just because I truly think there is something wrong with me, I finally found a use for my beloved Tilli Tomas yarn. And I started that project too. I've been thinking of trying out the Juliet Scarf from Lousia Harding's Knitting Little Luxeries. And I'm really liking it. It's a lace pattern, but it's not your typical repeating lace picture. There are several different "stripes" going down the scarf, which I think is fun. And it really shows off the yarn. Ok, this picture doesn't show off the yarn, but the glass beads are great in this pattern.

Knitting aside, we're sort of in survival mode here. With Mike working two jobs, I just don't have enough time to get everything done that needs to get done. I mean, I'm working too, just in opposite hours at the shop, and then when I'm at home, I'm trying to knit baby hats, keep up with the house, laundry, run all the errands, and oh yeah...spend time with my kids. So, while we are so very grateful for jobs and for the ability to actually pay some bills on time, I can't say this summer has actually been fun (ok--the part where all four of us got to see Harry Potter--that was pretty fun. I'll give you that).

When school starts I will begin babysitting a newborn. It's a situation that sort of fell into my lap and it actually works out nicely. I'll keep the same number of hours at the shop, and then pick up more income here at home. The hours will be from about 9:15 to about 4, which is really manageable. But again, no free time. Don't get me wrong--this job couldn't be more convenient. For someone looking to earn more money and still be available for her kids, this definitely fits the bill. And spending time with a newborn actually is appealing to me, since my babies are no longer babies anymore. But I keep thinking that, now that I can actually afford to paint my two unpainted bathrooms, I have no time to do it!

Mike keeps telling me that all of this will eventually work out. I'm not sure why he is so confident of that (he is sleep deprived, so some of it could be delirium), and I keep thinking that we can't keep this up, working 45 different jobs....but that's the situation we're in right now, so I guess we'll go with it.

Wow--I sort of ended this with a downer. You can blame the heat.

Back in the Saddle Again

Jane strikes again
New Year's Lights
and Forest

Wow--the last three weeks of my life have been out of control. Truly, this is the first moment I have had to sit at the computer for any length of time since the beginning of July. And today is only possible thanks to a handy playdate I arranged. I have 3 boys upstairs in Ryan's room as we speak. They are being awfully quiet, so I better make this quick....

Oh, where to begin....well, my husband got two jobs. Yep, two. One regular full time Monday through Friday job that we are very happy about. On the news the other night they announced that unemployment in the state of Washington is up to 9.3%, which is the highest it has ever been. So indeed we are feeling very very blessed with this job. And then he got another one. He is working swing shift about 4 evenings a week doing computer installs in different offices (where was this job 3 months ago?!). And so between the two, Mike is home for about two waking hours each day. Which kind of sucks in a I-don't-have-a-moment-to-myself-and-have-to-do-everything kind of way, but we're certainly not ones to turn down extra income right now. So Mike plans to keep up the 2nd job for a while so we can try and catch up.

And then, during the hottest July on record in Seattle, baby hat sales are at an all time high. Really? Knit baby hats in July? Whatever. Again, who am I to turn down income. So in between dealing with my kids all the livelong day, running 98% of the errands, and throwing my hands up in the air because I can't keep up with the house, I have been knitting like crazy.

Severe case of 1-itis
1 Sonata mitten,
1 Lilypad sock for
Leah, 1 Narragansett
sock for Kristin, and
1 Mixed Berries Monkey
sock for mom.

And this last week I worked close to 40 hours at the shop. So here we are. In a dirty house, in a city where it will hit at least 90 today, where I have traded poverty for single parenthood.

All of which accounts for very little blogging and an inability to finish a pair of socks or mittens.

Now, if we want to talk about knitting for a minute, you should know that crazy Jane has gifted me MORE sock yarn. Truly, I will never want for sock yarn again. I have some of it earmarked for people (should I ever get around to finishing my current sock projects. I'm not opposed to starting another pair--it's just that all my sock needles are in use), but I have several skeins just waiting for inspiration.

Must have...

Sock knitting aside, I still have about 3/4 of Mike's Town and Country sweater to go, 100% of my Must Have Cardigan to go, projects from my Estonian Lace book, a list of mittens and gloves I absolutely must make, and then there is this book. This incredible fantastic new book.

Our shop just got the new Interweave Knitted Gifts book in. And just sold out. It is fabulous. Some of the patterns are simple indescribable. And guess who has a $25 Barnes and Noble gift card burning a hole in her pocket? Technically this book is not available until August 1st (so why we got it and were able to sell it, I don't know). Come August 1st, my list of Must Knits will have grown by leaps and bounds.

Alrighty people. Time to go accomplish something. That baby Blake is coming tomorrow, so better pick up the Legos.

Who Who!

Who Who!

Well, look at me blogging again! That's twice in one week! Don't get too use to it.

I finished up these two Who hats that I found here. Pretty darn cute, don't you think? One is for that baby, Blake, and one is for Mara's baby that apparently will never come out.

Quick deer update: No sign of the evil one. Don't know if the Irish Spring is actually working, or if the creatures of darkness are haunting another neighborhood this week. We shall see...

Quick summer break update: So far my boys have spent almost all of their time outside, which suits me just fine, until they come in at the end of the day so filthy that I need to hose them down on the deck. Keith next door is nearly finished with the tree house his is building and rumor has it that Ryan and Eric will be packing their bags and moving into said tree house as soon as it's done. Again--I have no problem with that.

Quick job update: SphericalDave, husband of My Pink Toes, generously loaned Mike a laptop that, wait for it wait for it, works upon booting up. Each and every time. So that is making life a bit easier for the man who is spending every waking moment searching for jobs, applying for jobs, and networking with people who have jobs, all the live long day. Mike continues to apply for everything that moves and soon will have applied for every job posting in the world. One of those has got to work--right? We do have a couple of things we are a little more excited about than the average nameless faceless job, but we continue to wait and pray.

That all for now. Over and out.

Weekly Update

Catawampus Hat

Hello All. I'm back again--this time with the pictures I promised. I have several updates for you, none of which is job related. We are STILL waiting to hear back from that interview. Apparently a key person was out of town for the week. Which is a very valid excuse for not calling my husband for a second interview and offering him the job with buckets of money. However, it was a long week waiting to hear that information. So we continue to look, and apply, and wait....

The scene of the crime

The deer. Sons of Satan. Masters of evil. Behind those soft brown eyes and fuzzy nose is the face of a killer.

So, I built this little fence out of the deer netting my friend gave me, but it seems it was not tall enough. Woke up one morning to find the tops of my roses and tomato plants gone. Fine. Need to build a taller fence. Keeping in mind of course that we're broke. Mike and I rummaged through the garage and found several pieces of spare molding that are quite tall and stuck those around the roses, draping the netting over them. It looks hideous. It looks awful. And I still don't think it's working.

Tuesday I went out in the garden for a bit to weed. I noticed one rose bush, closest to the house, actually had 3 roses on it. This bush is, honestly, not 10 feet from the big glass door which opens to the living room. It's right there. And on the other side of that door is the couch. The couch where I sat that afternoon to knit, with my back to the rose bushes. Later on that day I went outside to cut some peonies and thought I might as well cut those 3 roses while I'm at it.

Gone. The roses were gone. In broad daylight, just feet from me, while I had my back turned, they disappeared. The netting is still intact....72hours later I am still baffled. Roses there in the morning, gone in the afternoon. All I had to do was just turn my head. Now, you have to know, I have a big back yard. Any deer coming into my yard in broad daylight is walking several yards to get to those roses. And walking up onto the deck. That deer was 5 feet from me and I was completely oblivious to it. Lately I've been keeping that door wide open--I can only imagine how fun that would have been....

See that planter? Right there.
That is where the deer was.

My next trick is to remove the netting and place pieces of Irish Spring soap all around the rose garden. I've been told the strong scent is unpleasant to the deer and keeps them away. I'm not yet ready to let my husband pee in my garden, but I'm getting closer.

Who!

The knitting: I finished the Catawampus hat for my nephew Jack. I think it's a pretty awesome hat--just perfect for an 8 year old boy.And I'm nearly finished with Blake's owl hat. I just have to find little buttons for the owl eyes, to make them really stand out. This was a fun hat to make. I had a couple of skeins of Debbie Bliss Wool/Cotton in my stash (and where that came from, I'll never know!) and it was an easy knit. So fun, in fact, that I think my manager Mara will get one for her impending kid as well.

And I'm making Kristin a pair of Narragansett socks from A Fine Fleece out of the Pagewood Farms sock yarn that Jane gave me.

Narragansett Socks

Things that are broken at my house: Car window is fixed, Ryan's eyes are not. He had a thorough eye exam and they were not convinced he needed glasses. Apparently the eye doctor has seen a lot of kids lately who are complaining of blurry vision, and she thinks it might be the stress of the end of the school year. Perhaps that goes along with the fact that he has been pure evil lately. I'm suppose to bring him back in 6 weeks to see if there is any improvement.

The tv: Yes, after 8 months, Dish Network and our ABC affiliate finally came to an agreement and we now have ABC again. Actually, we have no idea how long we have had it back, since Dish didn't actually inform us of it. Mike just stumbled upon it a couple of night ago. "Hey, look at that--channel 4 is back". THAT is customer service, I tell you. No apologies, no notifications, in fact, no communication whatsoever. Clearly Dish is run by men. And what do you bet they remove the free channel they gave us for robbing us of ABC? Dish had given us The Hallmark Movie Channel as a special prize to make up for losing the ability to watch Lost, Desperate Housewives, The Academy Awards and the NBA Finals (when I emailed to ask if they planned to show The Academy Awards on The Hallmark Movie Channel, they didn't actually give me a response). I don't particularly want The Hallmark Movie Channel and don't really care if it is part of my package, but it would be just like them to try to charge us for another channel that is clearly costing them nothing, now that we've gotten access to ABC again.

I think the president of Dish Network is a deer.

Q & A with the Queen

Ryan's party

Yep, it's time once again for Q & A with the Queen!

1. How was Ryan's party? I will say, out of all those kids you see there, Eric (the only kid who refused to turn around and be in the picture, the little booger) was the loudest. Eric is the consummate little brother: "guys guys hey guys listen to this guys!" Ryan has a nice group of friends, and he adores his cousins, Ellie and Jack, so it was a good group.

At the movies

2. How was the movie? We saw Night at the Museum II. Which contained 2 monkeys, rather than just the 1 from the original Night at the Museum. And if you are are 9 year old boy, 2 monkeys are always better than 1.

After seeing this fine film, which I'm sure will go down in the annals of movie history, we came back to the house where everyone played soccer with Ryan's new soccer ball. And alienated all of our neighbors.

Spring has sprung!

3. What's new on the job front? Oh, my favorite topic. Thank you for asking. Mike actually has another interview a week from today. So we are very excited about that. And we continue to apply for jobs, along with 59080923 of our closest friends in the greater Seattle area. Our city currently has a 9% unemployment rate. How encouraging is that!

4. What is that gray post in the middle of your garden? Oh that. Yeah, that is what is left of my bird bath. I'm sure a deer took it out. They are out to get me. I bet one of them dared the other to sneak up to the house and tip it over. Actually this part of the garden is not as appealing to the deer. I didn't take a picture of my roses or tomato plants because it would make you too too sad.

Today a friend gave me some deer netting. I've been toying with the idea, but let's face it--not attractive. But since I didn't have to pay for it, I've decided to give it a go. So my rose garden, which is directly outside of my large living room window, is now surrounded by a wall of deer netting. So pretty. Pretty pretty. It does cause much less emotional damage to my children than waking up to a dismembered deer carcass and seeing their mother trying to get bloodstains out of her pajamas, so we'll try this solution first.

Caroline's socks

5. Knitting anything lately? I'm in the home stretch of Caroline's socks and Leah's socks are becoming pretty darn adorable. I tried to do a couple of fun things with Leah's Lilypad socks, but nothing looked right. In the end I decided that the striping was just perfect as it was. I did leave the picot cuff because it is just too precious. So, sorry Leah. I still want to make you those Biological Clock socks, but we'll have to pick a solid color yarn for that.

Leah's socks

Ellie's Koolhaas hat

6. Whatever happened to those Sonata Mittens? Oh, those. Well, I was right. Knitting them on 2's was not going to work. My stitches looked too uneven. Cascade Heritage is really meant to be knit on 1's, so I started over and that is what I'm doing. I know Kristin and/or Meghan is wanting a pair, but I think we'll have to do them in mail-ordered Lorna's Laces to get the gauge right for your man-hands.

7. Have you abandoned Mike's Town and Country sweater altogether? I know it looks that way, and for a while that was the case, but I did pick it up the other day and knit several rows. In all my spare time.

8. Please tell me you haven't started any other new projects. Well, I did begin a Koolhaas hat for my niece, Ellie. Ellie is 11 and loves light blue. And hats. I had this Cascade Superwash just doing nothing in my stash, so I selected several patterns for Ellie to choose from and this is the hat she wants.

9. And speaking of new projects, have you seen Susan B. Anderson's Knit Chickens? Oh my word. You have no idea. Actually the regular old chickens from the pattern are cute, but not terribly compelling to me. HOWEVER. I then saw what someone did with them and now I MUST knit this chicken once I rejoin society. I know. I've said that about a rather long list of projects. This blog is full of projects that I plan to knit someday. Someday....people, when I am rich and famous, I will knit all of these things I keep telling you I plan to knit.

10. Say, isn't it about time for Bob's Mom's Funeral Salad again? Yes indeed, it is that time of the year when I start making vats of Bob's Mom's Funeral Salad. About 35 years ago my dad's best friend's mom died. The friend being Bob. Story goes, at the funeral, there was this fantastic pasta salad that my mom couldn't get enough of--shrimp, pickles, olives, celery, sliced boiled eggs...not knowing who brought this salad, my mom replicated it the best she could and made it every summer when I was growing up. And we have always called it Bob's Mom's Funeral Salad. When we were dating Mike had some that my mom made and it was love at first sight. The salad, not my mom. He affectionately just calls it Funeral Salad and his eyes light up like a kid on Christmas morning when I have THE BIG TUPPERWARE sitting in the fridge, ready for him to dive in.

Well, must run along now. My children have been especially, shall we say, challenging (i.e. evil) this week and I'm starting to get the vibe (i.e. yelling) from their father that things are starting to disintegrate again. Ta ta for now!

Sometimes it's hard to be Queen

My little Mordecai

I'm currently reading The Other Queen, by Philippa Gregory. Historical fiction about Mary Queen of Scots. You know, things don't seem to be going well for her, either.

Ryan and I are also reading Peter and the Shadow Thieves, and Molly and Peter have just arrived at the Tower of London. Where I believe my dear friend Mary will be a guest soon. Molly tells Peter about the Bloody Tower and I ended up giving Ryan a little history lesson on Richard III, Queen Elizabeth I, and the song London Bridge is Falling Down, which is a sweet little nursery rhyme about the beheading of Anne Boleyn. All this to say, as far as queens go, there are others who have had it far worse.

Back here in the 21st century, Mike and I continue to tag team the job search. I spend a fair amount of time searching the job boards and Mike spends all of his time applying for those jobs, contacting people he knows at those companies, and driving around looking for help wanted signed to earn cash while we wait for the perfect job to come along. Or the not-so-perfect job to come along. Honestly people, we're flexible! And in my spare time I knit hats, do laundry (I keep forgetting that the warmer the weather, the dirtier the clothes. Apparently my boys have a pact with the neighbor kids and they are all digging a giant pit in my back yarn. Have you any idea what 5 small children look like after they've been digging for and hour and a half? Unrecognizable.), and I'm rediscovering the joys of Mike's Hard Lemonade.

And how are we surviving all of this? God. Seriously, God. He's apparently not quite ready to give us a job yet, but is continuing to provide us with very random ways to pay the bills and eat. Miraculous ways. Mike and I just look at each other in disbelief, unsure of how to react to anonymous gifts of cash and gift cards. I'm telling you, if you don't believe in God, come spend the day with me. We're becoming the Miracle on SE 137th Place. We pray and pray and pray, and somehow, some way, God takes care of us.

And now it's time for a new segment in my blog called Random Things This Week:

1. Ryan played Mordecai in the play of Esther at church this week. This was a much bigger part than he has ever had and, I have to say, he memorized his lines beautifully. Now if he can just work on delivering them with more inflection than a robot...above is a picture of my little pipsqueak, on the right, next to his buddies Ben (King Xerxes) and Paul (Haman).

2. On Monday Ryan turned 9 years old. We celebrated by taking the boys to see Star Trek after school. The monster on that ice planet was just about the freakiest thing I have ever seen.

3. Dear sweet Jane gave me more sock yarn this week. This time it was the beloved Pagewood Farms, one in purples, and one in springy greens. My friend Kristin will be getting some purple socks in the near future.

Lily Pad Socks for Leah

4. I've started on Leah's birthday socks. I had planned to do the Biological Clock socks from The Eclectic Sole, which has a strand of DNA down the sides. But this yarn is just to variegated to show it off. So instead I'm doing this sweet heart pattern down the leg, from last year's Stitch 'n Bitch calender. I LOVE the picot edge and the striping is perfect. I think these socks are going to be quite adorable when finished.

5. Mara was mean to me. Yesterday she called me at home and left a message telling me she ordered some new sock yarn that I would love. She strongly hinted it was cashmere. She had me seriously thinking about this luxurious new sock yarn and I was so excited to see what it was. The yarn is evil and I honestly truly with every fiber of my being can't understand how this yarn, by Austermann, sells enough to justify remaining in stock. She was sent the color card and, rightly so, thought it was so offensively atrocious, she decided to have some fun with me. I told her she has lost my trust forever. But this yarn, I must share with you because it is, in a word, horrific.

6. Eric has his first loose tooth and it is becoming quite wiggly. He has declared that he can only eat crunchy foods, in order to loosen it more. He refuses all soft and squishy foods because they are counter productive and do nothing to help him achieve his goal.

That's all I have for you. Random musings. This Monday, Memorial Day, we take Ryan and his buddies to see Night at the Museum II for his birthday party, after a chicken nugget lunch at our house. There has GOT to be a blog post waiting for me in that event.

That Old Adage Is a Crock

"No News Is Good News" my ass. Know what No News means? It means NO NEWS. It means we know nothing. It means I have oodles and oodles of time to allow my brain to fill with thoughts of Why?! Why haven't they called? What are they DOING over there? They said we would hear this week, which means I was expecting a call first thing Monday morning. Because I know that if I were wanting to offer a job to someone as perfect as my husband, I would want to call AS SOON AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE. It is now Wednesday. Clearly they have given the job to someone else and we will wind up jobless and homeless, living in a tent. Perhaps they found out about his inability to sweep. Maybe they caught a glimpse of the inside of his car. I know that would scare me off. This job is now dead to me. Thinking that will allow me to go on.

People, welcome to my brain. Enjoy the preview into the workings of an anxious, glass-half-empty, neurotic, fear-based 40 year old. A little sneak peek into my constant conversations with God, in which I ask, beg, plead, cajole, bargain, reason, and pretty much drive myself crazy with my inability to understand why we have been living our own mini version of the recession for the last two years and why it will never ever ever end and I will be forced to spend the rest of my life as a basket case because I wasn't suppose to spend this much time with my husband until he retired. And the day he retires I plan to get him a lifetime supply of golf lessons. WHICH I CAN'T AFFORD TO DO WITHOUT A PAYCHECK. So you see my dilemma.

To recap, Mike has applied for 489084989890284938787598043 jobs. He adds to that list daily. He has "networked" and "connected" and "Linked In" and "Facebooked" with every person he has ever met in his life. Think I'm kidding? This is a guy who connects with people he knows from elementary school on Facebook. And communicates with them regularly. There is not a person in his life that does not know that Mike is looking for a job. Any job. A way to spend 40 hours each week making money. So we can not only continue living in this cracker jack box we call home, but we can replace our dead garage door, our broken front window, and replace our disintegrated gate to keep out the deer that continue to eat my roses and tomato plants. I would shoot them but I can't afford a gun.

And then here comes a fabulous job. Really. This job is fantastic. This isn't just a way to kill 40 hours each week. This is not only a job for which is well qualified, but it is a job he would like. A lot. And he actually gets an interview. And it goes well. He is pleased with how he did. He thinks he has a shot. And I actually start to dream of the day I can purchase my own bb gun and pick off those rat bastard deer that suddenly think my back yard is an all-you-can-eat buffet. And then, because my brain has the special ability to always look for the absolute worst case scenario, that is where I have taken up permanent residence. I am a lot of fun to be around right now.

I know that in the whole scheme of things and the entire spectrum of problems I could be facing, this is manageable. A lost job can some how, some day be remedied. My next door neighbor just learned that he has Parkinson's. My 46-year-old-father-of-2-neighbor has Parkinson's. They are waiting to get in to a specialist, and while they wait he is getting to experience a whole myriad of symptoms that involve the inability to use half of his appendages. To put it mildly, they are freaking out. As well they should. So I do recognize that things in my life could actually be a whole lot worse. But people, I am done. DONE.

There. A picture of something I knit. Now, back to me. Today I will spend the entire day staring anxiously at my husband, who has this illness that causes him to remain calm in the face of danger and adversity, I will probably clean something, I may knit a baby hat, I will once again curse Dish Network for continuing to withhold ABC from their paying customers (well, mostly) on Lost night FOR NO GOOD REASON, and then I will go to bed in pretty much the same frame of mind in which I awoke this morning. And this is why wine was invented.

D Day

Sonata Mitten

I planned to throw you off and blog on Tuesday. I took these pictures on Tuesday and thought HA--I'll surprise them with two posts within a week! Tuesday came and went. Yesterday also had blogging possibilities, but then I got all wrapped up in laundry and parenting and baby hat knitting and freaking out about my husband's interview, so Wednesday was a bust as well.

And so here we are, back to Thursdays. Well, you can't say I'm not reliable.

Today is my husband's interview. Today at 3:00. Pacific Standard Time. 3:00 pm. I have an entire army of people praying. Mike got a nice haircut and beard trim, so as to not scare the people interviewing him. He has clean shirts from the dry cleaners. This morning he started to put on his interview clothes and I looked at him and said really? You're going to wear that all day? And eat lunch in it? My point was well taken when Mike dropped a can of Diet Coke in the kitchen before heading out the door. He will be back at lunchtime to change. People, I've done all I can do. If I thought it would help, I would pace outside of the building with a sign reading HIRE MY HUSBAND, but something tells me that may be one step over the line. At this point, the best thing I can do is work myself up into a small panic and eat an entire bag of cookies. I promise to hold off on the drinking until after dinner.

As promised, here is a picture of the Sonata Mittens. Pretty darn cute, if you ask me! I'm frustrated because they are laddering a bit. I'm using size 2 needles, when I think I should be using 1's, but I honestly think they would end up too small on 1's. I hate this--I can have perfect tension for too-small mittens, or perfectly fitting mittens with wobbly tension. And I don't even know what I'm going to do with them. They were just too cute not to make. But I haven't decided if I'm a pink and brown girl. I may auction them off to the highest bidder.

Caroline's socks

I've also started on my sister, Caroline's socks. This is some yarn she picked out from Jane's stash. Lorna's Laces called Glenwood. I have started these socks about 5 times, each with a different pattern. I wanted to do something fun for her, but each pattern just looked weird. Lorna's Laces has a reputation for pooling badly if your gage is not perfect and I was finding all kinds of strange color patterns as I knit. I finally gave up and decided just to do a K3 P2 rib. And voila! Perfect striping! Who knew?

My socks

And these are some Lorna's Laces socks I just finished for me. I love the colorway (although I don't know what it's called), but I think Jane was sent two different dye lots. Look at the striping on each foot. And look at the pooling on the gusset. Not uniform at all. It's fine. They are for me and I still love them. But that Lorna is sure finicky!

That's all for today, people. I have Junie B. Jones to read, hats to deliver, 7968 cookies to eat, and, if I don't stay organized I won't have time to start my nervous breakdown . My life is so full.

Show and Tell

Mom's finished mittens

Well, apparently I blog on Thursdays now.

First, the Tell: Mike has a job interview next Thursday at 3:00 pst. We are very excited about this job. It is an organization he likes, it is a job for which he is well qualified, and it is very close to home. For most of his working life, Mike has had terrible commutes. Awful commutes. Anytime you have to go from the Eastside into Seattle, and then anywhere in any part of Seattle, you're in for a bad commute. This job would be 10 minutes from our house. That, in itself, would be reason enough to work at this place. But this is a job he truly wants, so that would be just the icing on the cake.

I am very nervous about this interview. It's just too perfect. I refuse to allow myself to get too excited about it. But you have my permission to jump up and down behind my back.

And now the Show: I finished my mom's Druid Mittens for Mother's Day and I finished Pat's socks.

Pat's Slippery Socks
I twisted the left sock
to try to show you the
stitch pattern.
I don't think my
camera can handle
fine details. But trust
me, these socks are
very cool.

Both of these projects were very labor intensive and required a lot of cabling. I am quite ready to be done with cables for a bit, which is really too bad for Mike's sweater. But I have to say, it was quite a sense of accomplishment.

Woolly Chick
These have Leah
written all over them.

I've moved on to the Sonata convertible mittens, also found in the Vogue Fall 2008 issue. Of course, I forgot to take a photo, so that sucks for you, but picture this: they are pink with vertical brown stripes on the cuffs and the flap, and each finger of the gloves is edged in brown. I had Mike's leftover Dream in Color Smooshy yarn, which I am using for the brown, and I got some very inexpensive, yet utterly perfect Cascade Heritage sock yarn from work (the pattern calls for Lorna's Laces. And in case you are wondering, yes, Jane actually does have the pink, but she is saving it for herself. I suppose that's fair).

Yesterday I was up in Edmonds helping Blake's mom (Mike's sister) with her broken arm. Yep, she fell down the stairs and broke her arm. So I spent the day taking care of Blake and doing things for her that require the use of more than one hand.

And since I was in the neighborhood, I had to stop by Village Yarn and Tea on my way home. Now, given the fact that Tiffany lives, literally, across the street from Spin A Yarn in downtown Edmonds you would think I would pop in there instead. But that shop is weird. Seriously. Weird. They organize everything by color. And the shop is in an old house, so there are multiple rooms. You can't find anything in that shop. Say you are perusing the pink yarn in the pink section and you find a great yarn for your project. And then you wonder what other colors that yarn comes in--most shops will have all the colors of the yarn in that particular line all right together. Not Spin A Yarn. You would seriously have to go on a scavenger hunt all over this old house looking to see if they carry the exact same yarn in any other color. And I suppose I could ask an employee, but since they are always hiding upstairs and I could back a truck up to that place and load it up before they ever figured out I was there, that doesn't seem to be a viable option. And being a yarn shop employee myself, I honestly don't know how they can keep track of the 46 different locations of their Cascade 220, since turning their shop into a rainbow seems to be more important than selling yarn. So I don't shop there. It makes me dizzy. And angry.

But I digress. I went to Village Yarn and Tea. I do love that shop. The employees are very nice and they carry beautiful yarn, all displayed in a logical and organized fashion. Really beautiful yarn. I had a hard time not buying any of the really beautiful yarn (my shop also carries very beautiful yarn, but Village has a different inventory, so some of it I was seeing as if for the first time). Being destitute does make things easier though. No money=no yarn. However, I did spy this on the counter. Woolly Chick by Marie Mayhew. It's a felted chick with glass bead feet. Honestly, did you really think I could leave the store without that pattern?

Capillifolium Baby Bonnet

And then I found this. Village had a model of this baby hat on display and that was the clincher for me. The model was in deep greens, yellows, and reds, which showed me how stunning it can be in a variety of ways. I actually sat in one of their chairs and read through it, and then started to shop for the yarn before I came to my senses and realized that I would have to hold my own telethon to raise the money for this yarn. But I bought the magazine because, mark my words, I will make this hat. Blake may be wearing it to college, but I will make it.

Well folks, that's all for now. I have a 6 year old in the other room who has been begging me for lunch since 9:30 this morning. Perhaps I should go back to being a parent now.

Still Here....

His Father's Son

Still here. No job news to report. Just thought I'd get that out of the way up front. Still searching for jobs--check. Still applying--check. Waiting ever so patiently for SOMEONE TO CALL US WITH AN INTERVIEW--check. Oh, sorry--was I yelling just then?

Other than that, life around here is, well, we're all still alive. The boys see Emily, Daniel, and Connor every single day. In fact, Connor is here right now as we speak. He did give us the courtesy of ringing the doorbell before entering and completely making himself at home this time. So that's something.

And it's all Pokemon all the time. The other day Ryan used his allowance to buy himself a Pokemon magazine with a master checklist in it. And being the son of a baseball card collector from way way (way) back, Ryan very systematically and methodically went through his entire collection of Pokemon cards and checked off each and every one with that skinny little left hand of his.

Sock Hat
Made with leftover
Mini Raggi sock yarn

I'm knitting baby hats for the shops by day (well, when I'm not folding everyone's laundry. And vacuuming up the dirt from my carpet from the entire neighborhood running in and out of my house 500 times a day. And picking up Pokemon cards from every surface of my home) and knitting for fun at night.

This is a baby hat I made for a pregnant friend out of leftover sock yarn. Pretty darn cute, if you ask me!

Lorna's Laces for Me

And this sock is for me, made from some of the Lorna's Laces my dear friend Jane gave me. Much of the yarn she gives me is going to others in the form of socks, but this colorway was for me and me alone. I'm hoping to make the mate someday.

Mom's Druid Mittens

I am so close to finishing mom's mittens,

Pat's Socks

and Pat's socks are coming along nicely.

More from Jane
Black Purl, Baltic Sea,
and Lily Pad

On Sunday my dear friend Jane showed up at the shop with more sock yarn for me. This is the 3rd time she has gifted me from her crazy stash of Lorna's Laces. I protested. She insisted. I reminded her that the Black Purl is her favorite. Apparently she had 4 skeins of it. It seemed to genuinely make her happy to give it to me.

Lately Mike and I have been the recipients of many such gifts. Random and unexpected gifts from people who feel led to help us out. Cash, clothing money (and I'm delighted to tell you that I have new spring pants to wear to work. In the spring. New spring pants. And it was no small feat finding those pants, being the size of a normal human being who is 40 and bore two children. Who ARE these people shaped like sticks who are buying these clothes?), plants for my pots, Safeway gift cards, picking up the tab for dinner...this seems to be a season when we are suppose to be receiving blessings from others.

I don't know about you, but I'm a pray-er. And these days I've been praying A LOT. And even though God isn't quite ready to give us a job yet, He does seem to enjoy blessing us through other people. So I accepted Jane's gift of yarn, because I have no money for yarn and it made her so happy to give it to me. And even though she doesn't know the half of what's happening in my life (apparently she doesn't do computers, so reading my blog is out), she is a blessing to me. She blesses me with her company every Sunday afternoon, and even though she knows how delighted I am by the sock yarn, she has no idea of how much it means to me right now.

I want Mike to get a job for many reasons. Many many reasons. I have a list a mile long of reasons why my husband needs a full time job. But high on that list is the ability to bless others the way they have blessed us. And honestly, before this big mess of unemployment and destitution, I'll admit that giving to others wasn't high on my list of priorities. Don't get me wrong. I'm not a horribly selfish person. I don't think I was stingy. I just was sort of looking out for #1. But seeing how people have been so incredibly generous to us--now I can't wait for it to be my turn.

Now I have to send Connor back from where he came and then figure out what to make for dinner for two people who have no intention of eating it. Maybe one of these days someone will bless me with a housekeeper and a cook. Now THAT would be a miracle!