Monday, October 29, 2007

Who Lives in a Pineapple Under the Sea?

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After a brief hiatus, Spongebob is back. I had lost the original chart I had made(I think it was thrown out in a cleaning frenzy), so I had to make a new one. Which involved going downstairs to use the computer that is connected to the printer rather than the laptop. Yeah, I'm lazy.

But it also involved this really cool website where you can generate your own knitting graph paper to your gauge. Here's the link if you don't already know about it. There is also another very cool site that will generate a graph for you if you aren't comfortable drawing your own. It's here. I've not used it yet, so if you do, let me know how it turns out.

This sweater has to be perfect. Thing 1 is a man(boy) after my own heart. After he received one of his frequent progress reports that he demands on no particular schedule, he told me that when he out grows the S.B. sweater, he is going to save it for one of his children to wear. Thanks, kid. Thanks for the added pressure of knowing I'm making an heirloom.

Monday, October 22, 2007

A Revelation

So I'm browsing through the 'Fibre after 40' forums on Ravelry, this is a group for knitters of a certain age. There is a thread on perimenopause. Perimenopause? I thought it was just 'menopause'.

After a little more research, it turns out I'm drowning in perimenopause! It's a bit of a relief to put a reason, or excuse, to all of those niggly little things that are going on.

Insomnia - check!
Thinning hair - check!
Forgetfulness - check!
Belly weight gain and bloating - check!
Daytime fatigue - check!
Zits - check!
Dry skin - check!
Forgetfulness - che..wait I did that one
Mood swings - check!

I told the Husband a few days ago that I didn't like the person that I was becoming emotionally. I was blaming all on the kids! Now, they are innocent of those charges at least. This doesn't mean that they are innocent of leaving dirty dishes, socks, and underwear all over the house.

It's quite liberating, really. I'm free to speak my mind, yell, cry at the drop of a hat, and just give into the naps all without feeling guilty. If someone starts giving me crap, I got one word for ya' - perimenopause. Except that's too long. I should just call her Perry.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

A Life Changing Day
John & Karen in London
Honeymoon: on the train from Stonehenge

Fourteen years ago today I married the Husband. It was truly a day that changed my life. Before Husband, I was still at home with my folks(I could have moved out, I chose not to. Why move from a large-ish house with off street parking in a good neighborhood close to shopping to a crappy, dingy apartment? Besides, I had good room mates!)

So the day we were married, I became a homeowner, first time on my own person. I'm glad the Husband was there to help me with the transition. He had been on his own for 12 years. It was a big transition for both of us. Back then 'playing house' by cleaning and grocery shopping was fun. Now, it's drudgery.

Thankfully, it's only the little things that have become a grind. I could say that everyday has been fun, but that would be a lie. But, with the Husband by my side, we've weathered those stormy days only to come through stronger and more resilient. Besides, we actually like each other and laugh often.

If it weren't for the Husband, I wouldn't have had the wild ride and 4 kidlets that all look like him. Well, three look like him, the Girl looks like his sister!

Here's to you, hon. I'm counting on you to make the next 14 and beyond as fabulous as the first fourteen.


Wednesday, October 10, 2007

One Evening at the Kitchen Table

I need a drink...

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Much better...

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Pretty...uh, where was I?

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I'm going to bed, I have a headache.

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Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Rat Bastard

It bears repeating...

I have finished(relatively speaking) the birthday wash cloths for the PD. Two still need weaving. The one on top is from the leftover scraps. Even though they had the same amount of yardage(so the label said), I was only able to get one full cloth out of the variegated colorway. That was the first one, and the one on which I had trouble counting. Maybe I added a few extra rows.

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This is the rat bastard part. I am one glorious little inch from completing the back of the Husband's rather large aran sweater. That's not a rat bastard, that fact is the opposite of a rat bastard, a non-rat non-bastard, if you will.

I was knitting happily along last evening, when I saw it. Approximately three inches down from the needles are three groups of travelling stitches in the center celtic knot section all crossed the wrong way. They are going in the correct direction, they're just not latticed.

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And to make matters worse, I did the same thing where you see that fabulously(if I may say so) manicured finger. After yelling out the title of this episode, I asked the Husband if he saw anything wrong with the sweater. He (not being a knitter, and a man) said he didn't see a thing wrong with it. I then pointed it out.

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That dear sweet man told me there was no need to fix it. His reasoning: it's just the back of the sweater and barely noticeable. Barely noticeable!!??? I think if Salma Hayek were to suddenly grow a big, fat, hairy wart on her chin it would be just as noticeable.

Bless his heart.

Sunday, October 07, 2007

The Death of Peter Cottontail

The following post is not for the faint of heart or fluffy bunny lovers.

We had a bit of a carnage here last week. Our usual weekday morning routine was disrupted by a mauling. The usual morning goes something like this: the Husband leaves for work, I wake up the kidlets, and walk outside in the back yard with the large carpet spotter Brunnhilde. She evidently can not be alone even to pee. She will not go outside with out me standing there, unless her dog pal neighbors are outside, then she'll go alone.

This past Tuesday, the Husband called in sick, the Girl felt ill and didn't want to go to school. Brunnhilde was even willing to go outside without me. I should have read the warning signs, but it was early, and my brain was foggy from sleep.

Then I saw why she wanted to go out without waiting for me. She had a rabbit on the run. We have a family of bunnies living in the over grown garden. She occasionally chases them, but they are able to make it out of the gap between the fence and the back gate. It was not to be that day.

This day the bunny wasn't going to make it to the gap and made for the 3 x 5 grid space in the liner of the fence. He got his head through. By the time I got back there, she had made his hind quarters nice and bloody, and he was stuck.

The Husband was not going to help, and didn't appreciate being bothered in his sick bed about a rabbit stuck in the fence. I knew the rabbit wasn't going any where, and he could just wait for my help until the kidlets were on the bus. The only problem were the two cats I saw in the property behind us on the prowl. They had noticed the ruckus and were very interested. So, I posted the Girl on watch to keep the cats away.

After I got the Boy off to school, I realized that I was going to have to cut the stupid rabbit out of the fence. My neighbor had beat me to it. It was obvious that the bunny was dying, and we should put it out of it's misery. I deferred to the neighbor. Having grown up on a farm in North Dakota, I hoped she would be up to the task.

She said, "I've killed rodents by twisting their necks, I've even killed cows, but I don't know what to do with the bunny." Great. We decided on suffocation. So, with an apology to the rabbit, I put him in a plastic garbage bag and tied it up tight.

His body is in temporary holding in the garage. I'm especially looking forward to garbage pick up this week.