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.

Cluck Cluck

Chicken #1

My first chicken in hatching. That's right, my first chicken. Ok, first of all, how I can knit just one of these things? B. My cousin weighed in and expressed extreme interest in a chicken of her own. And 3. I'm starting to think my mom may need one as well.

Again, this girl who developed the chart is pretty darn clever. I am enjoying knitting it (although, truth be told, it's best done without too much wine). My only real disappointment is that she created the chart for the smallest of the three sizes. I was hoping it was for one of the larger chickens. And a smarter, braver, math-ier person might be able to convert that, but I know my limits. It's going to be small chickens all around.

Very little progress...

Leah's socks have been finished and delivered.

Mom's socks, finished and delivered.

Emily's coffee sleeves, finished and delivered.

Kristin and Tiffany's socks--inching my way along on sock number 2 for each of them.

Snowbird mittens--a whole 3/4 of an inch!

With free sock needles, I'm getting the itch to start more! It's all I can do not to allow myself to begin Scott's Alpaca Sox pair, especially now that my circular needles are again free. And I have piles of Jane's Lorna's Laces calling my name....Actually the only reason I haven't started the socks for Scott (husband to Kristin) is time.

With my husband working a 2nd job at night four nights a week, and then with me working on the weekends, I spend a lot of time dealing with things around the house all by myself (except for the giant dead rat in my driveway. That I waited for Mike to deal with. There are some things I JUST WON'T DO). But between the laundry, school shopping, refereeing Lego ownership, the laundry, convincing Ryan to eat his lunch, cleaning up popsicle drips off the kitchen floor which is interesting because I have a strict popsicles-only-outside-policy, the laundry...well, you get the picture. I'm not complaining, mind you. We're very grateful for the work. There are still a lot of people out of work, or waiting for the ax to fall. And finally finally finally, we are no longer those people. But as a result, my bathrooms don't always get the attention they deserve and my garden....oh dear. Well, fortunately, most of my beloveds will continue to grow even if I don't have time to tend them.

In less than a week I will officially have a 4th grader and a 1st grader, I will be able to rid myself of the giant pile of school supplies sitting on my dining room table, and peace will be restored to my kingdom once again. Between the hours of 8:00 and 3:15. All I need is some cold rainy weather and my joy will be complete!

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.

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.

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!

Update from the Castle

So, I'm giving you all an update. Not that I feel like writing about how much my life sucks right now, but I do have a couple of people who actually read this. And if I want you to continue reading my blog, I should probably update it every now and then.

But I haven't felt much like writing these last few weeks because my life is all consumed with helping my husband find a job. And, as Plan B, finding a full time job for myself (but you know what I've discovered about that? When you've been out of the corporate world for 9 years, you're not qualified for much. There is software people expect you to use that I've never even heard of before! And when I WAS working, I was making a fraction of Mike's salary. So I don't see myself getting a 6 figure salary offer anytime soon. I mean, when I left my last job, I was making about $34,000. Would someone pay me even close to that now when I've done nothing to hone my skills in the last 9 years? So, yes, I'm looking for myself, but let's be real about this...).

My book group is meeting tomorrow night to discuss the book I selected. I have about 300 pages to go to finish this book. My book. I'm doing a small craft show on Sunday (yes, this Sunday) that I am ill-prepared for. The woman running it was so sweet and offered to sell my hats for me since I have to work at the shop. And she is a friend of Mike's cousin Audrey. So I want to do this. But I should probably have some hats for her to sell. Hats that I have knit. Which involves spending time knitting them. And none of this is working out because I spend every waking moment looking for jobs.

And I'm spending all this time because Mike is still employed through the end of the month, so he has no time to search for job. So I spend hours finding jobs, email them to Mike, and then he reviews them in the evenings. It's a fun little system we have. Only it's not fun. My house is not getting cleaned, my children are not getting cleaned, emails are not returned, lever shocks are not being sold (well, to be fair, I'm still selling them. It's just that no one is buying them), and--now brace yourself--the knitting is suffering. Yes folks, as talented as I am, I have a hard time knitting cupcake hats and using the mouse at the same time. Apparently that is I where I have to draw the line.

And, to add insult to injury, that annoying know-it-all Dr. Nancy Snyderman from the Today show informed America today that women who drink wine are going to get cancer and die. Apparently men can drink all they want, but women who drink wine will get cancer and die. I hate her. AND Matt Lauer was absent today. See, my life sucks.

My life is so bad right now, I'm actually watching The Golden Girls. I Love Lucy had the 1:00-2:00 time slot on the Hallmark channel, which made my life bearable. I watch Lucy while knitting hats, and then MASH (I'm not a bum people, but knitting does involve sitting down, so I might as well watch some fun tv while I'm at it), and then I pick the kids up from the bus. But the Hallmark Channel has replaced Lucy with The Golden Girls. And since there is nothing else on, including my local ABC affiliate STILL, I have succumbed. I blame Dr. Nancy Snyderman. She is a killjoy and I'm pretty sure she moonlights at the Hallmark Channel, as President In Charge Of Bad TV.

How many jobs has Mike applied for this month? Oh, about a kazillion. He's lunching, he's coffee-ing, he's Linked In-ing, he's Facebook-ing. He actually does have a couple of jobs he is very very excited about and we've done some major networking to give him an edge for those jobs. And now we wait.....Let's just hope Dr. Nancy Snyderman is not involved.

Weekend Update

Pat's Socks

Fine--it's been a bit longer than a weekend. I have bigger fish to fry here.

First of all, before we get down to it, I need to express my alarm and utter dismay that we got 3 inches of snow this afternoon. Today, March 9th, we got 3 inches of snow. It stopped snowing for a bit, and, looking out the window, it has started up again. The schools were so caught off guard that I had to pick Ryan up from school because his bus got stuck on a hill somewhere.

And now back to your regularly scheduled blog.

Life here around the royal residence is, in a word, stressful. The King's job is ending in 3 weeks and he is desperately trying to find another one. And since I hate for him to have all the fun, I've been searching for him, while he is at work. So now we have 2 of us frantically searching for something, anything that will pay the mortgage. If it turns out to be the job of his dreams, FABULOUS. If he ends up bagging groceries at Safeway, we'll take it if it means we can eat.

I'm convinced that we'll end up living in a tent somewhere because this job market is pretty dried up. So I'm spending my precious blogging time (and knitting time, and cleaning time, and being nice and friendly time) helping Mike look for a job. Because you all know how much I hate camping.

The little time I have been spending knitting, I have been making these socks for a friend at church. This is some of the Lorna's Laces that Jane gave me and I am loving the pattern. Tons of cables, but it's a fun knit. I can't wait to see how they turn out.

Mike's Smooshy Sock

I have one of Mike's Dream in Color Smooshy socks finished. I tried this twisted rib pattern and it looked awful. I then tried this retro diamond pattern and I made a ton of mistakes in just the first pattern repeat. Now he's getting garter rib and he's going to like it.

Caroline's socks

This is some more Lorna's Laces from Jane and my sister Caroline claimed it. I'm trying to find a fun sock pattern that won't make me crazy, but so far I'm not having much luck. I have been given so much fabulous sock yarn, I have this obsessive need to knit it all right now. You don't need to remind me that I'm in the middle of 2 pairs, still owe my mom a mitten, have Mike's sweater to do, and all the baby hats. And I'm also working on this:

Raha Scarf

This is from the Estonian Lace book and I'm using some stash yarn (because jobless homeless people don't buy much yarn). It a very simple pattern and it would be knitting up quickly if it were not for all of the mistakes I keep making. This is the easiest and smallest project in the book and I have had nothing but problems with it. You would think I had never read a chart before. You would think that counting to a number higher than 21 was a foreign concept to me. Because this simple little 21 stitch lace pattern is winning a game that I didn't even realize we were playing. This easy scarf I was going to whip up in a couple of evenings has turned into my arch nemesis. Which sucks because there are more things in that book I want to knit. And I already have the yarn in my stash. This does not bode well for my temper.

That's all the news around here. All job search all the time. If anyone wants to hire a very nice man who drives a messy car, has a secret crush on Elizabeth Shue and is married to a frantic woman with a dwindling yarn stash, you know where to find me.

Questions for the Queen

Best Buddies

Oh yes, it is time for me to answer those questions that have been keeping all of you up at night:

1. How is that baby, Blake? Our nephew Blake is 8 months old new and precious. And he adores Ryan. Blake is getting to the age when he's a little wary of me if he hasn't seen me for a few weeks. But one look at Ryan and he's all smiles. And I have never seen Ryan take to another human being like he fawns all over Blake.

2. How did you like the Academy Awards this year? Well, let me tell you, you have no idea how close I came to disaster this year. We have discovered that both Dish Network and Fisher Communications are run by the devil. ABC is being held hostage by these greedy capitalists and Dish appears to hate me. Dish has assured me that I can expect an entire $1.00 credit on my next bill for the pain and suffering I am experiencing from missing Lost, Desperate Housewives, and the greatest television event of the year, the Academy Awards. And they know just what they can do with that $1.00. Because I told them. I came home from work on Sunday night, prepared to spend the evening encased in a black shroud. And then my husband, the love of my life and my reason for living, put himself to good use and discovered some dude named Justin who lives somewhere on Planet Earth and was streaming the entire show onto the internet, which Mike downloaded onto his laptop and then connected to our tv. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the miracle of modern science. We still have to download podcasts of Lost each week that mypinktoes' husband uploads for us to keep us from completely sinking into total and utter despair. I'm thinking of creating a Dish Network voodoo doll. Any ideas?

3. You don't seem to blog very often these days. What is wrong with you? Well, you can see that watching tv at my house takes much more effort than it should. So there is one reason. Let's see....hmmmm....you've met Eric. There's another reason. I feel compelled to do laundry on a semi-regular basis, I'm still selling lever shocks (and by "selling" I really mean spending lots of time on ebay uploading information and then selling one thing, and then flinging myself onto the floor in total agony at the amount of hours and fees it has cost me, then I pick myself up and do it all over again. It's a pretty good workout), and I drive to and from school about 25 times a week. I don't know. I'm busy, people! Things to do, people to see, places to go!

4. How is Mike's job search going? Watch the news much lately? It's going about like that.

5. Does Eric seriously use that Snuggie? Every day. Every single day. Not a day goes by that the Snuggie is not put to use. I even caught Mike using it one evening on the couch with his laptop--just like the commercials. That was...not pretty.

6. Knitting anything fun these days? Well, I'm working on a couple of pairs of socks, Mike's sweater, my mom's mittens, and I began a scarf from the Nancy Bush Estonian Lace book, that finally arrived from my Amazon gift card purchase in December, out of Jaeger 4 ply merino wool that I had in my stash. And baby hats. Always the baby hats. Things at Venue have really slowed down (not just for me, but for the entire shop), but Willow & Bloom is still going great guns.

7. Can we get an updated list of the broken things in your house? Oh yes, delighted to share that with you:

Front window--still broken.

Garage door--deader than dead.

Greenhouse window in the kitchen--slowly sinking into the ocean. Apparentely the lifespan of a 30 year old greenhouse window is about 29 years.

Speedometer on the van--broken, and then miraculously brought back to life through the power of prayer.

The interior of Mike's car--scary. Ok, that's not really broken. What IS broken is his ability to recognize the layers and layers of crap and the rattling of empty diet coke cans as they roll around the floor of his car. And the rear windshield wiper and one door lock on his car is actually broken.

Underdog DVD--missing. We have the case but cannot for the life of us find the DVD. Anyone know where it could be?

Mike's laptop monitor--broken and will die, looking much like what happens if we try to watch ABC, if you touch his monitor at all.

My new vacuum--stair attachment broken in two. Well, that makes sense, with me trying to use it and all...

There--don't you feel enrich with knowing all of this updated information about me? I for one feel much better having gotten it all off my chest. And now, since Ryan is home sick for the second day in a row, I have to go watch Shrek. Again.

New Hats

Blake's Earflap Hat

I don't have a lot to share today, but I just had to show you the two new hats I made for Blake. They are both made out of Cascade 220 Superwash (which I am not liking for the boys' Harry Potter sweaters on a 7, but is perfect on a 6 for these hats!). I think they are pretty darn cute!

Blake's Stocking Cap

Tiffany picked these colors out, so I had fun playing with them to make a couple of cozy and super cool hats for that little dude.

I also finished my Nutkin socks, but I am incapable of taking good pictures of socks. I need one of those fake mannequin feet, which would be weird, but I can't think of a better way to take a detailed picture of a sock without showing you my own leg. And no one wants to see that. That, and I'm frustrated with the finished socks. I hate the toes. They are very uncomfortable and I'm thinking it's because I decreased too much and did it on two circular needles. And I had to add a new ball of yarn and it ended up on the ball of the foot which is very uncomfortable. This will bug me until the end of time, because that is about how long it took me to make those socks in the first place, so I think I'm going to re-knit the toes. As soon as I am able to free up one of my two sets of size 1 double points.

I know you don't want to hear about the laundry, or the vacuuming, or my clean playroom, or the fact that I had a hotdog for dinner, but I will tell you that my husband has a job interview tomorrow morning that I am very nervous about because it could be so perfect for him. So say a little prayer for Mike at 10:30 if you're thinking about it.

And, to take my mind off of the impending interview, Mike and I will watch all 4 hours of the new 24 while I drink a second glass of wine and knit some mittens. I bet Jack Bauer would be a great knitter.

On the road to crazy town

10 inches!

Week 2 of Snowpocalypse '08 here in Seattle. We've had the 14 degree temperatures, we've had the near-blizzard winds, and we've got the snow. Major thoroughfares are shut down, schools are closed, hair appointments are canceled again.

I did work this weekend. Saturday, a day that was a break in the Winter Hell '08, was insane with the yarn people. It's my favorite time of year at the shop. Not only because it's so festive in The Village, but I love to see the bewildered husbands approach us with their lists. We can sell those men anything. "My wife likes green....do you have green yarn?" DO WE HAVE GREEN YARN. How about this lovely Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk? And showing those husbands the ball winders and swifts...Look! It's mechanical and it moves really fast! SOLD!

Yikes!

After our Saturday night blizzard, I went to work yesterday for a bit. After Mike and I spent some quality time together putting chains on the car. In sub-freezing temperatures while kneeling in a foot of snow. Talk about a marriage builder! Nothing like the friendly exchange of obscenities to start the day. Again, those nutty knitters came out to shop. After first calling to see if we were open "Are you open today?! I've been stuck in my house and I'm out of yarn! I'll be right there!" That's a direct quote, right there.

But alas, today I am home. Buried under 10 inches of snow. And 10 inches of laundry. And unwritten Christmas card addresses. And unbaked cookies. And boys. The Queen with time on her hands is not a happy thing. I am a scheduler. I like routine. I don't do well with oodles of time on my hands. You would think this would be the perfect opportunity for me to get things done. You would think my house would be spotless, laundry done, cookies baked...I have had days and days and days at home with "nothing" to do, but that is not a motivator for me. In fact, the more empty space I have, the less organized and motivated I become. I work better under pressure. I'm much more efficient when I can look at my day in organized chunks of time. Knowing that I have unlimited time and that the possibilities are endless means I wander aimlessly and end up accomplishing nothing.

My sister Caroline is the exact opposite. She is thrilled with all of this time off. She has lists of things to do and she is ticking them off one by one. She is not bored. She is not aimless and overwhelmed by the vast amounts of time and space that 2 weeks of snow brings. Her cookies are baked, her laundry is folded...She is an efficient person and isn't going to let a few snowflakes or a house full of kids get in her way. Also, she is not hosting Christmas Day in 3 days. But guess who is....

Druid Mitten

I will say this. I have given myself permission to stop knitting baby hats for a few days. There is no way to drop them off anywhere, the shops where I sell them are probably not even open. I have instead spend some time on my fun knitting.

I'm almost done with Druid Mitten #1. I just have the thumb to do. Although I did have some issues with the decreases (mainly because he charted the decreases and I'm more comfortable reading the written directions) and I've never done a saddle closure before. But now that I'm done, I have to say it looks really good.

I've been knitting socks and have made serious headway on Eric's Harry Potter sweater. Otherwise known as the last time I will knit this sweater in a long long time because I'd sure like to knit something different in the future.

Eric's Harry Potter Sweater

So, rather than doing something productive today like catch up on baby hats, or dust, or actually finish my Christmas cards before Christmas, you are getting the worlds longest blog post.

In the meantime, it is suppose to snow again tomorrow. And maybe Wednesday. And maybe even Thursday. And we are suppose to go to Tiffany and Marcus' house for Christmas Eve, which is about 40 minutes away. My entire family is to come to our house on Christmas Day. Currently the main road to my sister Emily's house is closed. My parents have a 2 hour drive. And Caroline lives near Tiffany. None of us know what to do because this is unprecedented in Seattle. Oh, sure we get snow occasionally, but not like this. And never on Christmas.

In happy news, our furnace is working again. Not that we know why--it has been randomly not working, and now it is working fabulously. My life would be so much less stressful if I stopped trying to figure it out.

Weekend Update

Druid Mitten

First of all, I just have to say, IT IS FRIGGIN COLD IN MY HOUSE. It is a balmy 15 degrees outside right now. And about 16 inside. Because my furnace has taken the day off. Again. We have a fairly new furnace. It's only about 4 years old. And for the first 3 1/2 years, it worked fine. But these last few month it has decided to take a vacation. It just flat out decides to put itself into safety mode and go to sleep. For no reason. We have had Ryan's-best-friend-Zach's-dad-Tommy, who is a furnace guy, look at it twice. He has taken it apart, cleaned it, inspected it, and CANNOT FIGURE OUT WHY IT RANDOMLY GOES INTO SAFETY MODE IN THE DEAD OF WINTER. The motor works fine, it produces heat, the gas readout is normal....we thought we had it fixed and then after about 2 weeks of blissful warmth, it is shutting itself down again. And so what I have to do, at 6:30 in the morning when I check the thermostat and discover that it reads 57, is go into the laundry room and flip the little switch to restart the furnace. And then it fires up, brings the house to a livable 69, and then goes back to sleep. And when I can't feel my fingers any more I check the thermostat again, discover it says 62, flip the switch again, and continue to go about my day. That is how I spent yesterday. My entire day. And then around 2:00 the furnace got off it's lazy ass and decided to actually start itself up and heated the house all on its own for a few hours. Until it got lazy and didn't do it any more. I think Tommy and I need to have a little talk at basketball practice tonight.

When I'm not busy dying a slow death from hypothermia, and lugging piles of laundry from one end of the earth to the other, and sweeping up sand from the laundry room floor that we sprinkled on the outside steps so we wouldn't fall and break our necks just getting to the car, I'm knitting. I'm knitting cupcake hats , I'm knitting socks, and, when I've been especially good and deserve a treat, I'm knitting my Druid Mittens.

How adorable are these mittens?! I'm using Knit Picks Essential Tweed sock yarn and size 1 needles, and each and every row of the pattern requires strict attention to detail which means that if I don't go blind they should be finished by next winter. But I love them. I love the little slip stitch pattern on the palm and I love the intricate braids up the sides and I love the fact that there is not one single solitary patch of straight boring old stockinette stitch anywhere on this mitten.

Nutkin

I've also finished one Happy Feet Nutkin sock. Which I would love to wear right now to keep my toes from falling off, but I only have one. So I'll stick to the double layer of socks that I'm wearing right now and hope I can keep the dexterity in my frozen fingers long enough to finish the other one.

Artistes at work

We did actually venture out and do some fun things this weekend. After our Dinner Group family Christmas party, Mike and I unloaded the boys on our sitter and punished ourselves by going to Target. On a Saturday. Before Christmas. After surviving the nightmare that is the Target toy department, we rewarded ourselves by seeing Quantam of Solice. And I have to say, I felt nicely rewarded. Two hours of Daniel Craig is a Merry Christmas to me.

The next day, while I was selling yarn to the masses, Mike took the boys to see Santa. While at the mall, they noticed a portrait artist had set up shop. Ryan was thoroughly fascinated by this and now we have a dual art studio set up in our playroom.

Today I have to deliver some hats and then do some Christmas shopping before the next round of snow hits tomorrow. Most of my shopping is done. Cards, finally ordered this morning. Decorations. Pretty much done. Outside lights, next year. Number of gifts actually wrapped? That would be zero. Baby steps, baby steps.