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!

Making Progress...

Leah's Lilypad Socks

Hello people--I'm back. I have several things to share with you today, so prepare to be impressed!

1. Deer update: it seems the deer have taken my threats to murder them in their sleep seriously, as they appear to have moved on to greener pastures. Which means my tomato plants are laden with tomatoes and my rose bushes are short, but in full bloom. Any deer reading this, be for- warned--I shoot to kill.

2. I suck as a photographer. Jared Flood says that knitted items look best when photographed in natural lighting. So that is what I did today. I took all of the items I wanted to share with you outside and photographed them on the deck. Which apparently I did wrong because the sun was too bright and everything looks washed out. Whatever. If you squint real hard you can see Leah's finished Lilypad socks (see Leah, FINISHED).

Socks for Mom

3. I'm getting close on my mom's Mixed Berries Monkey Socks,

Socks for Tiffany

4. I'm starting on sock #2 for Tiffany...

Socks for Kristin

5. ...and I'm making good progress on Kristin's socks. Whew! That's a lot of socks! I'm a little embarrassed to tell you how much sock yarn I have left, thanks to Jane, but I will tell you that it's somewhere in the neighborhood of a baker's dozen....

Coffee Sleeve #1

6. I'm especially proud of this picture, being the worst of all the photographs I took today. Wow. This one is truly bad. But you still get the gist. My sister Emily has been hinting about coffee sleeves. Emily is a hairdresser. And more importantly, she is my hairdresser. And the irony is, she is one of those weirdos who never wears socks. Ever. Dead of winter--no socks. Here I am, oodles of sock yarn coming out my ears, and no point in gifting her with the only way I can afford to pay her (did I mention I never have to pay her?). So when she mentioned coffee sleeves, I remembered that my new Knitted Gifts book has a pattern for a great coffee sleeve. This first one I did in a charcoal gray Cascade 220 tweed (which is well hidden by the beauty of this natural lighting).

Coffee Sleeve #2

...and this second one I am doing in a brand new yarn called Brae Tweed, which is a merino, llama, and bamboo blend. I'm putting cables in this one, just to mix things up. This is a fair trade for a cut and color every 5 weeks, don't you think? No, I don't think so either, but it's a start!

One Step Closer

7. And finally, the piece d'resistance--I bought the pattern for the chicken this week. I think I shared this with you a few months ago, and it has been on my short list ever since I laid eyes on it.

Now, the original pattern, by Blue Sky Alpacas (and let's be fair, Susan B. Anderson) is fine. Cute, but not compelling to me. But when I saw that someone actually created this design and knit it up in these striking colors, well, there is no WAY I'm not going to make this thing! This has my friend, Heidi, written all over it. Between Christmas and her birthday, this will be gifted to her. And I can say all of this loud and clear on my blog because she will never ever read it.

Heidi is a dear friend. One of my best friends. And I don't believe she has ever read my blog. To be fair, I don't think she has ever read anyone's blog. Heidi cares less about technology than anyone I know (although she may be neck in neck with my mother, who can't find her own daughter's blog). So I can talk about Heidi and the gift I'm going to make her all day long on this site and she will never ever ever know of it. When I give it to her, she will be totally and completely surprised. Heidi Heidi Heidi Heidi! See--she can't hear me.

This particular chicken is made out of Cascade 220, which is so completely affordable. The pattern cost me all of $5.50, and the chart was generously made free by ElleM, who, let's face it, is a genius.

And now, I have 2 hours left of freedom before picking up my boys from their playdate. Then the fun will really begin when I take Eric to the doctor during rush hour to confirm his case of Fifth Disease (don't freak out people who have been around Eric--it's NOT contagious. I repeat, mother of Blake, NOT contagious). But since his rash currently makes him look like he's gone 6 rounds as a prize fighter, I'm thinking someone with an actual medical degree should confirm the diagnosis that I came up with via Shirley-the-neighbor and Cori-the-nurse. Rumor has it, the rash from Fifth Disease can last for weeks. Good thing they moved school pictures up to September 1st!

I'd love to stay and chat all day, but I don't want to. I'm going to bask in my last 2 hours of solitude.

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!

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.

So, what do you want to know?

Christmas Eve

I'm back. It's been two weeks, in which I've accomplished virtually nothing, but now I'm back. The snow has come and gone, come and gone, come and gone. And now we have torrential rains, wind, and flooding. In Seattle, that is called JANUARY.

I did almost no baby hat knitting, no lever shocks, and clearly no blogging. Know what happens when you take two weeks off? You find yourself two weeks behind. And what did I do with myself during that time?

Well, we had Christmas.

What a great idea
See that ball on the left?
That would be the one that bounced
down the stairs and broke my front window.

The boys made out just fine. They got new basketballs, Nerf guns, a build-your-own-Clone-Wars-lightsaber, books books books, DS paraphernalia, Hot Wheels...you know, a bunch of boy stuff.

...and they got Nerf guns

Santa brought Eric a copy of Kung Fu Panda, which has greatly increased the amount of times Eric has talked about his tenders. And Ryan is so excited to have a stack of new chapter books--he now sleeps with a pile of books in his bed each night. Which I suppose is more comfortable than the basketball Eric had been sleeping with until we made its permanent home the garage after the window incident.

Gettin' Down with Grandma

Santa also brought our family Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party, which is just about the funniest thing we have ever seen. Between watching my mom try to pick up the dance moves to "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go" and realizing that, yes indeed, there is a game in which you pee in the garden...well, it just doesn't get better than that, now does it?

Cousins
Grandma Keene bought the
boys and Blake matching
Christmas pjs.

We had our traditional Christmas Eve celebration with Tiffany and Marcus on New Years Day, due to the vast amounts the vomiting and snow. It took us awhile to make our way up from Renton to Edmonds that day, since we had to do some New Years shopping. First, Daddy had to get a much needed and long overdue free haircut from my sister. Another casualty of the snow. After the boys were able to recognize their father again, they begged him for their allowance and then immediately went next door to Barnes and Noble to spend it. Which is why Ryan and I are now reading Inkheart.

I then ordered them to take me to the New Years Sale at Village Yarns, where I purchased some ShiBui sock yarn (I'm a ShiBui virgin, but I hear it's worth the wait) and some chocolate brown Shetland wool to make my mom a pair of Druid mittens which she requested after seeing mine. And I stood in line for over half an hour to make my purchase. Half an hour! I'm sorry, but I they really should have been offering a lot more than 20% off for that kind of a wait. I love that shop and the ladies that work there are very sweet. But sllllllooooooowwwwwww.........

But we finally made it to see that baby (oh yeah, and his parents). Now tell me--is that not the most adorable creature you have ever seen?

Blake's Earflap Hat

And look what I am making for that baby. A little stripey earflap hat. Tiffany says he needs hats and well, if she's buying, I'll knit anything for that kid. He's also getting a cabled hat, which I think will be in the blue with a blue, green, and brown pompom on top.

Eric's Harry Potter Sweater

And let's see...what else have I done with my time? I'm back to working on Eric's Harry Potter sweater, I've learned how to play Boom Blox, I read Bunnicula, and I am actually caught up on my laundry.

Mike won a $100 Amazon gift card, which he lovingly split with me, and I bought for myself the Interweave 25 Favorite Socks book, which I have been coveting for quite some time now. I also bought the new Nancy Bush Estonian Lace book. Now I am not a lace knitter and, mark my words, I WILL NEVER KNIT A LACE SHAWL. EVER. That being said, this is an exquisite book and it has stunning scarves in it. Stunning. Again, I need to point out that I am not a scarf knitter. NOT A SCARF KNITTER. Beyond Knitting 101, I have never understood the habitual scarf knitters. Branch out, people! However, and this is a rather big HOWEVER, the scarves in this book are not merely scarves. They are works of art. They are challenging and gorgeous. So I treated myself to the book. And since I had a couple of dollars left over, I added a little bonus of the Casino Royale DVD. Merry Chrismas to me.

Eric has asked me about 45 times to come play Boom Blox with him, so I guess I should go pay attention to that person I am legally responsible for. Although since he recently requested that I no longer walk him to class and would prefer that I remain hidden in the car where no one can see me, I'm taking my own sweet time wrapping this up.

More from the palace soon...

A Shocking Experience

The Barn

My dad is a handy guy. Not in a change-a-lightbulb-quick-as-a-wink kind of handy. But handy as in, he can rebuild a barn, and restore an antique bathtub, and install antique flooring, and rig up the wiring so all the lights and tvs turn on at the same time, and learn how to keep bees, and make his own mulch, and rebuild vintage lever action shock absorbers. Kind of a renaissance man in Carhartts.

And what are lever action shock absorbers, you ask? Why, I'd love to tell you. As soon as I figure them out. Which I'll need to do soon since it's my new job to sell them.

The house

My parents moved to Whidbey Island about 8 years ago and bought this 100 year old farm house on 6 acres. My dad is in the middle of remodeling the house, and is always and forever remodeling the barn.

The front room of the barn

The barn is his shop. But I'm thinking it may be a little different than the kind of your dad had. While your dad has one shiny radial arm saw in the corner, my dad has 4. My dad's shop has a scrap metal WING. He has several lathes, of both the wood and metal variety. He has his own sandblaster. I mean, you never know when you come across something that needs sand blasting, right? He gave my husband a table saw because he had so many of them. See that doorway below all the extention cords in the picture? That doorway leads into ROOMS.

There are no peg boards with outlines of hammers and screwdrivers in this shop. And this shop does not have one of everything. This shop has 14 of everything.

I don't even know what to name this area

This shop is bigger than my house and I have gotten lost in it before.

Does this look like YOUR dad's workshop?

Where I spent my yesterday

About 10 years ago my dad bought this lever shocks business from this guy. I don't even know how he knew about this. I quit asking a long time ago. His favorite thing to do is find these crazy things and get the deal of the century. But anyhoo, he bought this business, selling vintage shock absorbers for vintage cars and trucks. Which apparently some people need. Whatever. In the first year the business paid for itself. He did it 3 more years and then "retired" from it. Sold the business to my cousin and bought it back. Sold the business to my brother-in-law, then bought it back.

My new office

And then stored it here. In the back of the Garage Mahal. See each of those boxes--they each contain either a single or a pair of shock absorbers for a particular vintage car. This is actually only a partial picture since I would need a wide angled lens to capture the entire inventory.

And why am I wasting your valuable time with this random bit of trivia about my dad? Because this is my new job. Selling lever shocks. Remember when I told you how supportive and helpful my family has been with our journey into financial oblivion? This is one of the ways they have been helping. There's gold on them thar shelves. As soon as I can figure out which part goes with which American car from 1915 to 1955.

Pretty!

Yesterday I spend the day with my dad, in the unheated barn, inventorying shocks. Which I think could be the reason I can't move my right shoulder today. Either that, or the fact that I'm turning 40 in 9 days. Or perhaps both.

Doesn't this new business just scream Knitting Queen?

And yet, I'm fine with this! I'll make money for me, money for my folks, and it's one small step toward cleaning out the world's largest shop while the owner and creator is still alive.

So now I work in a yarn shop, make baby hats, and sell vintage lever action shock absorbers. I can sell you yarn AND the correct shocks for a '38 Studabaker. Anything to pay the mortgage and keep me away from Murder She Wrote.

oh, the agony...

Tonight my family is torturing me by forcing me to attend the sneak preview of the new Clone Wars-cartoon-fake-Star-Wars-longest-90-minutes-of-my-life-movie. Seriously, this movie looks horrible. Zero desire to see this thing. Now, I'm as big a Star Wars fan as the next person. I mean, who does not love episodes 4, 5, and 6 (except my mother)? One of my fondest memories is of my dad taking my sister Emily and I to the UA Cinema in downtown Seattle in November when I was 9 years old. My dad never took us to the movies. Frankly, we couldn't afford it. But this movie was so big, that he spent an entire Saturday, waiting in line with us for 3 hours (I distinctly remember the line circling the theater) and spending money he saved for this event, while my mom spent a quiet afternoon at home with our baby sister, Caroline. Since my boys are essentially the same age Emily and I were back in 1977, my dad must have really wanted to see this movie to be willing to stand in line for hours, before sitting in the theater for hours, with a couple of squirrelly kids.

Being a purist, I'm not a huge fan of episodes 1, 2, and 3. The fact that my cat could have done a better job of acting may be part of my issue, but I argue that these movies did not need to be made. Prequels can be interesting, if done right, but these movies were just OK.

But this new animated thing? Enough already!

Mike and the boys were at the comic book store last week and they were given free passes to the advanced screening. The movie does not officially come out until the 15th and we have been watching the previews on tv for the past month. Eric is giddy with excitement. It's as if they made this movie just for him. This is all he has been talking about for weeks. And this was looking like a great evening alone for Mom until Ryan begged me to go. As in, all you do is work and you NEVER do anything with us even though we have spent THE ENTIRE SUMMER together and you are home all the time but I'm going to make you feel guilty because you have not devoted 100% of your life to just ME.

Fine. The movie is free and I am just talented enough to knit in the dark, so at least my fingers will be entertained even though the rest of my body and soul will be dying a slow and painful death. At least I can look forward to someday owning a copy of this fine piece of filmography since Eric has already put it on his Christmas list and, when Eric gets into a dvd zone, he will watch a movie over and over again until a permanent groove is burned into the disc.

As a bonus, I think I get to eat at McDonald's tonight. This is the special evening I have been dreaming of for months.

Craziness!

I don't even know where to begin. Finishing my sweater seems to have had a freeing effect on me. I suddenly am New Project Crazy, which is a little scary because I actually didn't gain any time by finishing that sweater. I still have a kazillion baby hats to knit and I still have a big messy pile of unfinished projects. And yet I'm crazy with the new ideas. Crazy, I tell you!

Turns out that the Alice Starmore book, Aran Knits, that I want to use for Mike's sweater, is a hot commodity. It is a rare book, out of print, and currently going for $200 or more on Ebay. She still has some of the most stunning and compelling patterns out there and there is a side of me that wants it all the more, knowing that it can only be found on the black market (apparently she had a big falling out with her publisher and so, while her books were, and still are, wildly popular, they are no longer printable). I have it on reserve at the library, but so do 34 other people. For one copy. And so while I am still coveting the Irish Moss pattern, I'm not sure it is meant to be. In the meantime I have also discovered this brand new book, A Fine Fleece. I was able to sit at Barnes and Noble yesterday and peruse it. You have no idea the willpower involved in placing this book back on the shelf. Must Knit Every Item In Book. Including a fabulous sweater for Mike that they made out of Cascade 220. It is perfect in every way. Must. Have.

Should I make this sweater?

At the same time, I have narrowed the finalists for Baby Blake's sweater down to 2. This precious Trellis cardigan, or

Or this one?

this adorable cabled hoodie. I can't decide. They are both too darling for words. Tiffy--your thoughts?

Mrs. Weasley's sweater

And if that were not enough, I realize that it's time for me to start on Ryan's Harry Potter sweater. If he is going to have it for the late fall and winter, I should probably start now. And so I have. I'm using Cascade 220 Superwash, so it is both economical (only $29 with my discount!) and practical. But of course, after I made a sweater with a giant R, I will then have to make one with a giant E.

Leah's bag

I've started on Leah's felted bag....

Leah's yoga socks

and I'm also close to being done with one yoga sock (her Panda Silk project was suppose to be a surprise, until Caroline spilled the beans. Of course, I should take some responsibility for not actually telling Caroline it was a surprise).

Emily's fingerless gloves

and then there are the fingerless gloves I am making for Emily out of my beloved Sublime Baby Silk Cashmerino.

On top of all that, I have about 2/3 of Linda's 2nd sock to go and both Caroline and Ellie have selected special sock yarn for new socks.

Yes, this is my knitting To Do list. Maybe To Do isn't the right title for the list. It should be Things Jen Really Wants To Knit. Because To Do is reserved for tasks like sweater design classes, cupcake hats, the laundry (we have so much laundry right now that Mike accidentally brought down a basket full of folded clean laundry, thinking it was dirty. I finally had to explain that clean laundry is in the giant unfolded heap on the right. Dirty laundry is in the giant unfolded heap on the left. I DO have a system).

And so how am I spending my morning? Certainly not working off either of my overwhelming and insurmountable lists. Instead I'll spend the morning taking pictures and blogging about it.

This may not be the best time to tell you that these are just my current projects. I'll save the list of Cardigans Jen Must Make For Herself Before She Dies for another post.

Weekend Update

Linda's Socks

We survived the barn sale. We spent much of the 4th setting up, and then we were up and at 'em by 6:30 in the morning to prepare for the day. Everything went exactly as I predicted.

My mom left many items unpriced. I had teased her, yelled at her scolded her, cajoled her...and yet throughout the day people kept coming up to pay for items that were unpriced. Items like vintage linens. Not nice enough to be sold in her shop, but clearly worth more than a quarter. Mike declared our section of the barn "Jackie's Dollar Store" and sold every unpriced item for $1.00. And since her phone was indeed turned off when I tried to call her in the shop, I wholeheartedly supported his decision. When she came to check in with us hours later, we explained that we didn't think she was making very much at her Dollar Store. She did laugh at that, which was better than her reaction earlier that morning when she thought the coffee pot wasn't working and preceded to yell at my dad, who was not actually on the property at that time, because none of his extension cords were working, when in actuality it was the light on her coffee pot which was not working.

She did manage to iron her outfit for the sale. She ironed her outfit for the barn sale.

These sales are amazing. We had 6 vendors on the property, all good friends of my parents, and people came in droves. Which gave my dad ample opportunity to talk about his tractors, his tomato plants, vintage gas pump, Airstream, the remodel job on the house, and the Geiger counter that he sold for $20.

My mom was a little disappointed that she only made $1000 (think of how Mike and I felt about the $106 we made) since 2 years ago she made over $3000. She also got me thinking about buying her spare antique chicken incubator to transform into a kitchen island, since her friend Karen has one in her house and it is ADORABLE and my current kitchen island is hideous. An eyesore. I loathe it. And yes, I did say spare chicken incubator. Giving a couple of antique dealers 6 acres in which to house their treasures is a dangerous thing.

I got quite a bit of knitting done that weekend. I made good progress on the sweater sleeve, made 2 baby hats, and am now 2/3 of the way done with the first sock for Mike's mom.

We arrived home at 8:00 Saturday night, after waiting in the ferry line for 90 minutes and I immediately started on the laundry. I hope to fold it one of these days.

I did manage to putter in my garden for a few moments and was able to put this together. I never ceases to amaze me that all of this grows, year after year. It is with such a sense of joy that I can say "I didn't kill it!". Sadly, I am unable to say the same about our "grass".

Today I have to take 2 boys to Target and try to get out of there with just a birthday gift for a little girl. And no, Eric, I don't think she likes Venom. Then tomorrow we get to attend said party at Chuck E Cheese. Kill me now.

Where is the queen these days?

Where is she, you ask? Why does she not post with any regularity? I mean, c'mon--how hard can it be finding a few minutes to sit at the computer?

Well, let me tell you. I DON'T HAVE A MOMENT TO MYSELF. Oh look. Here comes Eric now. I set him up with his new Bionicle, his blanket, and Tom and Jerry, thinking that I could actually have a few minutes to post. And yet here he is, ready to tell me that Tom and Jerry is on and get one more snuggle. Which would be great and adorable if he didn't want to snuggle every 23 seconds. It is a Ryan and Eric marathon around here. All day, every day. With quite a bit of Emily-the-neighbor-girl thrown in. And the laundry....I can't even talk about it.

But wait--don't you have a holiday weekend coming up? Well, let me tell you. We will be going to my parent's house on Whidbey Island and one sister and her family will be there. Which will be fun and great and the boys will run themselves ragged while the grownups set up for the giant barn sale to be held on the 5th. Seriously. Giant. Barn. Sale.

My parents live in a farm house on 6 acres and my mom has an antique shop on the property which she opens each weekend unless she doesn't feel like it. And my dad has this humongous barn, which is a front for the workshop of his dreams. They invite vendors to set up and they post flyers all over the island. And each year my sisters and I are summoned to the island to help run the sale because my parents are not helpful at all. Not helpful. (I actually did not go last year because it was the day of the Keith Urban concert and I thought my mom would have a coronary. But I held my ground. And she was going to hold it over my head forever until she picked up one of his cds and then promptly forgave me). My mom never manages to price half of her stuff and then she disappears for hours on end--into the antique shop, visiting with the neighbors, an impromptu trip to the sale down the street....while we are frantically trying to call her on her cell phone to ask how much she wants for the antique linen thing that I know nothing about. And the message I end up leaving on her phone usually ends with some kind of remark about TURNING HER PHONE ON.

My dad, on the other hand, also not helpful. He loves the sales. Loves them. Because he gets to hobnob with the other islanders and show off his 3 tractors, 2 airstream trailers which he says he will refurbish some day, all the work he has done on the house, the random metal things he is selling...all the while we are searching the acreage for him because my mom, who swore she would not do this again this year, has disappeared and people want to buy their stuff.

So, that will be my Friday and Saturday. And Sunday I work at the shop. Where everything is priced and in its proper place and no one will ask me questions about my dad's portable chicken coop.

And the knitting? Dismal. I have just the sleeve left on the sweater and then I will block it before piecing it together and then crying because it doesn't fit. I have a list of about 20 hats to knit and I wish they all could have beads. All of them. I'm knitting a pair of socks for Mike's mom and I've completed 2 whole inches. Pathetic, really, how much knitting I have to do and how little time I have to do it.

My house is dirty, my kids are dirty, I have to pack, I promised my mom I would bake a cake...you know what? Want more posts? My kids spend the week with you and I'll write every day.

Spring Break, Day 1

Day 1 of Spring Break. Day 1 of 5. The first day of 5 long days of quality time with me and the boys. We are only 1/5 of our way into an entire week of togetherness. 5 whole days which have begun with rain, whining, wet sheets from Ryan's room, all of the bedding from our room thanks to Alice, the 15 year old passive aggressive neurotic now non-peeing cat who peed on our bed last night for some reason, and 4 dirty bathrooms. 5 days of no school and no plans. Well, we're having lunch with a friend today, but after that, zilch.

My weekend was much more interesting than anything I have going on this week, so we'll review that and take our minds back to fonder, gentler times.

On Friday Mike took my UW Husky hats to Venue. I threw in the football hat just to get Diane's opinion. My instructions were: if she likes it, put a tag on it. If not, bring it home. Apparently she loved it. She loved all of them. It seems there was squealing in the store and rumor has it one of the employees may have bought the girl hat. So I have some work to do. Mike also brought my cupcake hats to Willow and Bloom and I now have to whip up about 6 more. I would so rather be working on other things but I'm not really in a position to complain right now, am I.

I worked that afternoon then went to Leah's for corndogs, drinks, and chocolate birthday cake while we chatted for a couple of hours.

On Saturday morning I woke up at o'dark:30 and went to my 8:00 a.m sweater class. Apparently this was our last class because now we have received all of the instructions we need to complete our sweaters. After I finished sputtering and stammering and wiped the tears from my eyes, I told Shiori to clear her calendar because I'll be stuck to her like glue until this thing is finished. I also think I may audit the Wednesday night class which can only help me. At one point Shiori said something to the effect of "if you remember from your high school calculus class when you blah blah blah blah blah blah.....". I told her that the only thing I remember is the decision not to take high school calculus.

From there I went to Jack's 4th birthday party. From there I went to my sister-in-law Tiffany's baby shower and generously partook of the champagne punch while gorging on the incredible food. And from there I brought Mike's cousin Wendi home with me for a visit.

Wendi is the daughter of Mike's dad's twin brother. Gene and Jim are the best of friends, and they married Linda and Rose, who were roommates and also the best of friends. So the two families have always been very close. Wendi also has twin boys who are 18 months old and one of them looks exactly like Mike did when he was their age. Wendi lives in Vancouver now and we haven't seen her in a few years so I just knew I had to bring her home with me or Mike would never forgive me.

Listening to Gene and Jim tell stories of their childhood is a riot. They were born to Mike's grandmother in rural Spokane when she was just 18. She somehow survived these two and went on to have 4 more kids. Every story from their childhood seems to end with one of the twins falling in a well or trapped in the hog pen (until they were older and the stories are about the thing they were hauling with their car coming loose and passing them on the highway).

10 minutes with these 18 month old boys and I turned to Wendi and Mike and said "I now understand why every story about your dads ends with one of them falling into a well". The 3 of us could not control these little boys. They seemed to have a divide-and-conquer philosophy and each ran in different directions. Just as we would rescue one, the other one would be eating the cat food. Or playing with my computer. Or the washing machine. Mike's mom and sister then arrived and, you would think with 5 adults in the house we could manage these 2 little boys. But no--on our watch one of them managed to order a pizza through our satellite with the remote control. We weren't even aware of this feature until Joshua and Reagen showed up. I was really wishing for more of that champagne punch.

These little maniacs are completely adorable and we spend the entire time laughing, but we were all exhausted after just 2 hours with them. We looked at Wendi and said "what does your house look like?!".

Needless to say, I did not knit on Saturday.

Yesterday I worked all day, and well, now that puts us back to today. Day 1 of Spring Break. It's only 10:00 in the morning and the 3 of us already hate each other. Ryan and Eric seem to be incapable of doing anything that does not require my involvement. I have asked them repeatedly to stay out of the office we'll be leaving in just a little bit please just let me finish my work (it's just a blog but what to they know) you don't need any rubber bands and now that I know why you want them you really don't need any rubber bands seriously the more you bug me the longer this is going to take ok that's it you two go upstairs and play I will let you know when it's time to go.

Just 4 1/2 more days of bliss.

Day 4

We're all still alive, although I think Ryan would have liked it better if the 3 of us had taken a vacation and left him in the house alone this week so he could play Super Mario Galaxy undisturbed. Apparently we all breathe too loud and that makes him lose. Many a time has the game been turned off and the Wii controllers removed from his sweaty little palms because of the colossal grumpiness displayed during Super Mario Galaxy.

But you will be happy to know that this morning Ryan beat The Last Bowser and saved Princess Peach. I was hoping that that would mean the end of Super Mario Galaxy until we purchased #2 (we've heard rumors), but never fear--when stars die their dust is released into the galaxy and each dust particle becomes a baby star. It's the circle of life. So you can play the game again with new stars. Whatever. It means nothing to me, but Ryan takes on the intensity of someone who is truly saving the galaxy. I wonder how often Captain Kirk was sent to his room for yelling at Mr. Spock?

On the birthday party front: I have decorations, goodie bags, the cake has been ordered (Safeway does not make a Transformer cake. Of course. I explained to Eric that we would not be going to another grocery store. He found a super awesome Spiderman wall-crawler cake. Done). I have outdoor games if it does not rain, and indoor games if it does.

The house: Certainly not ready for a party. Or even a visit from the neighbors. The laundry is actually washed and folded into baskets. The upstairs bathrooms are clean (and the boy's toilet is broken. As in, we had to turn the water off because the tank won't stop filling with water and starts to overflow. So Mike will have to replace the guts of the toilet tank. In all his spare time). But the living spaces our party guests will actually see? Disaster. I haven't been cleaning because I want to do it as close to the party as possible. Why clean a playroom on Tuesday when I'm going to have to clean it again on Friday night? So now it is Thursday and I have some serious scouring to do.

The garden: We have had unseasonably good weather this week. Spring-like. So my roses have been pruned and about 1/4890 of my weeds have been pulled. I was feeling pretty good about getting a jumpstart on my gardening until I looked across the street at "Todd and Margo". They took a fir tree down on Monday. Took it down, chopped it up, and disposed of the whole thing in about 2 hours. Seriously. They pulled it down right before Mike and the boys left to get haircuts. When they returned a couple hours later, all eveidence of the tree was gone. The last time Mike and I took a tree down it took us about 3 weeks to clean it up. And then "Margo" mowed the lawn. In February. Really? Has your grass even grown? Because mine hasn't.

The knitting: ha ha ha ha ha

I get to work today! You think I'm kidding, but truly I am excited to go to work! I love my job. And it will be my first time alone all week, not counting the 40 minutes I was at Target last night trying to prepare for Lame Birthday Party '08.

Paul Newman's Funeral

During my lunch break today, while I was at work, I noticed that I received a couple of messages on my cell phone. One was from a friend, and one was from my mom. A frantic message informing me that Paul Newman had died. Apparently my dad had been warming up the truck and heard the information on the radio. He came back in the house to tell my mom that sad news, then left for the day.

So, being the rational, reasonable, sane person that she is, she gets on the horn and starts calling everyone she knows--Did you hear the news? Paul Newman has died! All the great ones are gone....She was doing some serious lamenting into my voicemail about this. If you told her Heath Ledger has just died, her response would be "Heath who?", but for Paul she is starting to pack her bags to attend the service. Her casserole for Joanne Woodward is already in the oven.

I called Mike during lunch and during our conversation I mentioned, Oh yeah, and I guess Paul Newman died today.

Mike: Yeah she called me too. Funny thing is, there is nothing on the news or the internet about his death. Nothing.

Me: Well, my dad heard it on the radio

Mike (checking the internet): Well here is something saying today is his 83rd birthday...

So I called my mom.

Me: Mom, what exactly did dad say?

Mom: He just heard the tail end of the story--Paul Newman is 83.

Me: Yes, that is because IT IS HIS BIRTHDAY. HE IS NOT DEAD. You can take off the black now, Mom. Paul is still alive and kicking. Quit calling people to tell them Paul Newman has died. He's eating cake right now.

Mom (Laughing): Oh, Whew! Hmmm...maybe I should let your dad know.

Mike nearly cried, and then my dad...

It was never my intention to stay away for over a week. But somehow that just happened. Every day I think to my self "hmmm...I should blog...." and then it never actually happens. So now I have a choice. Do I blog about Christmas? Work? Current knitting projects? Knitting sales? All of the above? Does anyone actually care about the mundane details of my life? And yet, that's what the last week has been--just living my life.

Venue: Record month for me. I sold 16 hats and I'm thrilled about that. On to Valentine's Day!


Cultured Purls: Work is great. I play with yarn. I help people pick out yarn. I answer questions about yarn. And at the end of the day my boss tells me how great I am.

Christmas: Christmas was fun. Christmas was great. Christmas was, well, Christmas. The boys were beside themselves with anticipation and we did compromise with Ryan and opened half our gifts on Christmas Eve and half on Christmas morning. We sent the boys on a scavenger hunt on Christmas Eve, the end result being the Wii under the couch. The boys were, of course, thrilled, but I always have to remind myself that Ryan is a kid of delayed reactions. When he opened it he just kept repeating "it's a Wii, it's a Wii....". No screaming, no jumping up and down. Ryan is a kid who needs to process information before he can react. And the bigger his audience, the more withdrawn he becomes. So I was a little disappointed by his reaction (or lack thereof). But once the information is processed, however, LOOK OUT. That kid is now Captain Wii. And watching Eric shake his little buns has he plays Spiderman Friend or Foe is about the funniest thing I've ever seen. And I may need rotator cuff surgery from the homerun hitting contest.
Mike and I had agreed not to exchange gifts this year, declaring the Wii a family gift. But he broke the rules and bought me a skein of my beloved, coveted Tilli Tomas yarn that I pet every time I'm at work.


Mike's greatest fear: My mom is a huge Celine Dion fan. For the last few years she has been lamenting that she wants to go to Vegas to see Celine. And now Celine is leaving Vegas and mom will never get a change to see her. Ever. And so now she's been lamenting about that. My mom is a world class lamenter.


Several weeks ago my sister Caroline had a brainstorm and left the message on our voicemail--Celine Dion is coming to Seattle and would we all like to chip in and buy tickets for mom as a combined birthday and Christmas gift? And although those tickets are way out our price range, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. And would forever stop the lamenting (about Celine, that is). Mike listened to the first part of the voicemail, screamed and hung up. The words "would you like to buy Celine Dion concert tickets" are words that make him shutter and cry. Those are words that will keep him up at night. If you're ever looking for a way to torture Mike and make him talk under pressure, blast a Celine Dion cd. Put on the soundtrack to Titanic and he'll just lay there and sob as he hands over his firstborn.

So I listened to the voicemail and told him to get a grip--we are not going to a Celine Dion concert--we're sending Mom and Dad to the concert. And, well, Mike had no issue over the cost of those $300 tickets as long as he didn't have to see Celine Dion with his mother-in-law.

On Christmas morning my mom opened her gift and almost burst into tears when she realized what we all had done. And then my dad realized that he has to be her date and nearly burst into tears himself.

And that, my friends, is the miracle of Christmas.

Knitting, knitting, knitting, knitting....

It's me again--crazy knitting lady. Still knitting, still receiving orders for Christmas from people who apparently just got the memo that I knit. Last night at book group a friend asked how much advanced notice I need for a Christmas gift for her daughter. Leah piped up and said "4 months ago, before people knew she could knit!".

Aside from the 16 hats I still owe Anna (we've decided to put a hold on the rest of the booties, thank goodness, as the ones I have made have not sold yet. And part of me hopes they never do...), I have one more marley hat to make for Cori, a special order cupcake hat that I have not been able to make until now because I couldn't find the yarn, 3 cupcake hats for Erin at Mike's office, Meghan's blasted cake that is just sitting there like a big pink and white lump, and my mom's socks.

Today is Saturday. And it is one of those glorious Saturdays where we have NOTHING TO DO! Mike was going to mow the lawn, but it's been raining. I'm going to do very little housework because I have to clean later this week for Thanksgiving. So I think I'll just sit around and KNIT KNIT KNIT and then maybe later I will READ READ READ. And do you know what is scary? I can read and knit at the same time. Yes, I am that talented. In fact, I can knit, read, and drink a glass of wine all at the same time. But not until the evening.

Did you catch the part where I have to clean for Thanksgiving? Yep, I'm hosting Thanksgiving. It's been six whole years since I tried to serve my entire family undercooked salmonella laced turkey, and they have all agreed to try it again. Truth be told, I'm not a big roasted turkey/mashed potatoes kind of gal, so this is my chance to mix it up a bit. I will be serving turkey breast and ham. Yes, that's right, I'm serving a non-turkey meat item for Thanksgiving. My dad will complain about it the entire day, right up until the time he eats all of it. Much like the way he will complain about the appetizers and the way they fill us all up before dinner (frankly, that's how I make it through the holiday), as he is stuffing his face with everything laid out before him.

I've already warned Shirley that I need to borrow her vacuum on Wednesday night (Mike and I are still in discussion about the vacuum issue. I really want a Dyson. Don't have $500 to spend right now. The replacement part for my Kenmore is $149, but after borrowing Shirley's 20 year old Hoover, it became very clear just how crappy my vacuum is and I don't want to sink even $1.49 into it. And I hate Sears and have vowed to never shop there again. So I may just run to Target and buy an $89 vacuum to get me through the holidays and then in the spring I can buy a Dyson. I don't know. Any thoughts?) and there is no point in wasting time cleaning bathrooms that I will reclean in just a few days.

I believe my biggest challenge of the day will be convincing Eric to put on clean underwear.

Rodney Atkins said it best....

My family is recovering today from a trip to my parents' house yesterday. The Prince of Darkness himself woke up in Eric's room this morning. At 5:00 a.m. Let's go back in time and see how the day went, shall we?

My parents had invited us up to their house on Whidbey Island for a birthday lunch, as my birthday was last Wednesday and Mike's is this coming Wednesday. My 9-year-old niece, Ellie and her 6-year-old brother, Jack had been staying the weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's, so we thought it would be a delightful time up on the farm for the boys to see their grandparents and their cousins.

We left our house around 9:30 in the morning, ran through the Starbucks drive-thru, and were on our merry way by 10:00. The freeway was clear, the boys were happily watching a dvd in the back of the van, and there was no line for the ferry. Zero. We literally drove up to the ticket booth, then immediately drove onto the ferry. It was such a happy little trip, I'm surprised we didn't see cartoon birdies flying around our van all the way up to Whidbey.

We had a delightful time at mom and dad's, ate lunch and birthday cake, the kids played, Mike watched football, I started knitting my mom's socks and showed my parents the Viking Hat (my dad, a Norwegian born and raised in Ballard, had some design tips on making the horns just right), again--a complete fairy tale day, except for the moment when Ellie socked Jack in the nads while the kids were all in the hottub.

Ellie and Jack's parents were back home from their weekend away, so Mike and I agreed to take the kids home since it was on our way. No sense in Caroline and Jeremy coming up, or in my dad taking the kids back to Seattle when we were going to be practically driving through their neighborhood. And then all 4 kids could spend more time together. In our van. On the drive home after a long day. This is what Mike and I like to call fiveshadowing (NPR had one of their game shows where people make up words and funny definitions for the words. Fiveshadowing is a blatantly more obvious form of foreshadowing).

Ryan and Jack ended up in the very back of the van--a 6 year old and 7 year old boy, sitting side by side in an enclosed area. Eric was in his usual seat in the middle section, and Ellie was next to him. Ellie is a very sweet, loving, sensitive young lady. She is also extremely moody, emotional, feisty, and has been a pre-pubescent in training since she was about 18 months old. We all fear for the day she actually turns 13 (on the flip side, no guy will ever mess with her. Ever).

So we very happily drove away from my parent's home for the 4 minute drive to the ferry dock. Only to discover the 2 hour wait up the hill. Ryan and Jack were in rare form and spent that entire 2 hours burping, giggling, laughing hysterically, and talking about Star Wars at a volume level reserved for rock concerts, not a tight-knit group in a van. Eric was watching a dvd and Ellie was using her free time to brood. And about once every 3 minutes she would order Jack to pipe down using the most disgusted tone of voice she could come up with.

After 2 full hours we finally made in onto the ferry, let the kids wreak havoc on the boat, bought them each a treat from the vending machine, then set off for home. Got on I-5 going south, thinking we would be at Ellie and Jack's house within 20 minutes, and ran smack into a horrific accident. All but one lane was closed off for miles. In the dark. At dinner time. After already being together for 2 1/2 hours after a long long day on the farm after Ellie and Jack spent an entire weekend on the farm. For whatever reason, this prompted Ryan and Jack to up the ante:

Ryan: Hey Jack, I have something to tell you

Jack: What?

Ryan: Use the Force!

Both: Haaa haa haaa heee heee heee (wiping tears from their eyes), whooooooo hooo hooo

Ellie: (through gritting teeth) be quiet!!

Jack: Hey Ryan, I have a question for you

Ryan: What?

Jack: Use the Force!

Both: Bwaaaaaaaahaaaaa haaaa!!! Heeee heeee heee heee......

Ellie: I said be quiet!

This went on for 30 minutes while we sat on the freeway trying to get past the accident. At this point, Mike and I gave up. We had tried placating Ellie, we had asked Ryan and Jack to keep it down to a dull roar--they were too far gone. So I turned up my ipod, which was running through the car stereo and started hand picking songs to liven things up. We first blasted AC/DC's Shook Me All Night Long. Will Smith got Jiggy Wit It, Eric bopped along to Josh Turner's Firecracker, and The Eagles had a Heartache Tonight. While the Eagles were singing "somebody's going to hurt someone/before the night is through/somebody's going to come undone/there's nothing we can do" I know Ellie was starting to plot our demise. She was trying to decide who to bump off first--Ryan and Jack for acting like a couple of giggling maniacs, or Mike and I for not tying them to the top of the van for the ride home so Ellie could brood in peace and quiet, as brooding should be done.

I then picked a song which I felt summed up the entire 3 1/2 hour trip--Rodney Atkins If You're Going Through Hell (If you're goin' through hell keep on going/Don't slow down if you're scared don't show it/You might get out before the devil even knows you're there) Around that time we arrived at the scene of the accident and saw all the commotion--a car that was completely upside down and had clearly flipped a few times before coming to a stop. So we tell the kids--wow--look at that car. What a terrible accident. To which Ellie replied "O. M. G." Mike and I had to turn the music up louder so she wouldn't hear us laughing.

We arrived at Caroline and Jeremy's around 7:00, walked in the door, and I said "to quote your daughter, O. M. G."

This morning was picture day at preschool. One of the 3 days a year I actually insist on picking Eric's clothes. He gets 362 days to wear what he wants. I get 3 and this is one of them. So glad I got to have that battle on the morning after the car trip through hell and back, when the Dark Lord himself arose to greet me at 5:00 this morning by yelling demands from his bed because apparently his legs were temporarily broken. I told him he could have gummy worms if he would wear the shirt. "I want 4". "Sold".

Take 2

My Etsy store is dead as a doornail right now. I am getting no traffic whatsoever. None. Zilch. I know these things come in waves and, with the end of school and the change of seasons, for whatever reason, it affects things like Etsy and Craig's List. Regardless of the reason, it is very discouraging for me.

So I'm trying something new! I'm of course keeping my Etsy store (although apparently no one would notice if it went away), but I'm going to consign some of my things at this great new shop in Ballard called Venue. It is a work studio and boutique and is a place for artists to sell their wares.

I love Ballard. It is an old scandinavian community located in North Seattle and it is where both of my parents were raised. My sisters and I were raised just a few miles to the north and we have always spent a lot of time in Ballard. My dad was born in Ballard Hospital and attended Ballard High School. His family belonged to Ballard First Lutheran, which is also the church where I was baptized. When I was growing up and in my college years (my alma mater, Seattle Pacific University, is just a couple of miles south of Ballard) Ballard was considered the home of the "newly wed and the nearly dead". But in recent years it has gone through a resurgence (as many Seattle neighborhoods have. Which is why no one can afford to live there any more!) and Market Street and the surrounding side streets are full of fun and funky shops and boutiques. Venue is one of these shops.

My sister, Emily, told me about it a couple of weeks ago and I sent Mike to check it out the other day (he does a lot of business in the Ballard area). He concurred with Emily that Venue just might be the right "venue" for some of my things and he brought home an application for me. I spent last night printing pictures of items I would like to sell there and hope to work on the application today. Mike is seeing a client in Ballard again tomorrow and I'm hoping to have the application ready for him to drop off. So I'm going to try and peddle some of my hats, cupcakes, felted pears, java sleeves, and Cinderella. And perhaps I'll make just enough money to replenish my yarn supply and start all over again!

Weekend Update

Well, first and foremost, the Langley Antique Show! I actually made it to my parent's house by 6:45, which was amazing for a holiday weekend, considering that I left my house at 5:00. My parents were still at the Langley fairgrounds setting up, so I met them there, and realized very quickly that this event was on a much bigger scale than I had anticipated. They had about 30 vendors and it was located in a rather large hall. And although my parents were actually in pretty good moods about this event, considering the fact that they were coordinating the whole thing, I discovered very quickly the object of my mother's "issue du jour". A very heated arguement had broken out between a couple of vendors over the placement of their booths. I heard many variations of this story that evening--all from my mother.

I set my things up around my mom's booth, we went to dinner, them home to bed to get ready for the big day.

The next morning, after getting coffee from the Useless Bay Coffee Co, we arrived at the show. Now, I was raised by two people who get the biggest charge out of a garage sale. When I was growing up we had a garage sale every year. But not one of those little set-up-a-card-table-in-the-driveway-with-a-few-chipped-dishes kind of sale. They invited friends and neighbors and put on the biggest sales you've ever seen. Every year. And now that they're on a farm, they have a barn sale every year and invite all of their "antiquey" friends to set up "booths" on their property. So while your average garage sale make bring in $75 to $100, my folks will rake in $3000.

Needless to say, the Langley Antique Show at the Island County Fair Grounds is big doin's for them. And the sad thing--after doing the barn sales with them for the last six years, I actually knew a lot of people at the Antique Show. And they knew me. And the people who didn't know me instantly warmed to me when they realized that I was Ray and Jackie's daughter. My parents have formed this whole new small town life for themselves and it is so interesting to watch it unfold!

And how did I do? I sold 5 hats, 2 stuffed cupcakes, and 6 felted pears! I made $120, received a ton of compliments, and passed out cards to several interested potential customers. So, while I made a small fraction of what my folks took in, I'm actually quite pleased with how I did and plan to make more cupcakes and felted pears for my mom to sell in her shop.

In other news: Alice. I want to wring her 15 year old furry little passive-aggressive neurotic neck. She is on a peeing frenzy these days. Including Saturday night when I woke up at 1:30 a.m. to realize she had peed on the bed while we were in it. Nothing like changing your sheets at 2:00 in the morning. She went for a few weeks without any problems, and now it's almost a daily occurance. But seriously, we don't know what to do. It's all behavioral. Should we take away her tv? Set up a little kitty sticker chart?

Robin Hood. Season 1 has come to a close and I'm actually quite sad about it. Ryan and I have had a great time watching it together and I'm in a little bit of mourning over the fact that it's done (but delighted to know that there will be a season 2!). Ryan and I were watching it a couple of weeks ago and Marian had become injured. One of Robin's "merry men" needed to find clean instruments to treat her. After several minutes Ryan looked at me and asked "how will the instruments help her?" and I realized that he had been wondering how a trumpet was going to heal her stab wound. It was all we could do not to even smile as we explained what surgical instruments are.

And up next? I have a list, a list!, of knitting projects! Gordon's hat, a snowman baby hat for Ryan's pregnant teacher, Cinderella #2, a java sleeve for Leah, more cupcakes and pears, and I'm in negotiations with a shop owner in Lancaster, PA for some babyhats. There will be little Amish babies wearing cupcakes on their heads!

Knitting for Dollars

This weekend I am going to be with my parents as they host their annual antique show in Langley (which is on Whidbey Island. Where I did not grow up. We were raised in a completely adorable Cape Cod house in North Seattle that was nearly paid off when those crazy people who raised me up and sold it and purchased a 100 year old farm house on 6 acres on Whidbey Island. It now takes anywhere from 2 hours to 5 hours to get to their house, depending on the ferry line. And they are having to completely remodel, which I hear about all too often. But I digress....). My mom owns a little antique shop on their property which she run on the weekends in the non-winter months. They have become quite involved in the Island community and host barn sales and antique sales and the like, where my parents and all of their "antiquey" friends sell things to each other. A few people from the general public pop in as well.

So I am going up to help out at the sale and try to peddle the wares from my Etsy store. My mom is convinced that my felted pears will be a big hit and I'm hoping the cupcakes will also attract attention. I'm also bringing Cinderella as well as a ton of my baby hats. And while my things are clearly not antiques, there will be a lot of grandmas there! I can see this being a huge success. And I can see it being such a big flop that I don't even make enough to pay for my ferry ticket. But I guess that is part of being in business for yourself--you've got to get out there and sell sell sell!

And I also get to spend some time with mom and dad. My mom is always trying to get me to drink flavored coffee (this is Seattle--flavored coffee should be illegal here) and she will obsess over something, we don't know what yet, that I will hear about 4398098 times. And my dad will be doing his best to avoid said obsession while working the room. Honestly, I am looking forward to it, but I know I will be exhausted by the time I get home on Saturday night. Stay tuned!