Parenting

So I need to know if I handled this correctly. Last night after work, DD cornered me and begged for a trip to StuffMart for a new backpack. Yesterday before work she had cornered me and begged for the VIP's backpack, which request I politely declined. I told her I would buy her a new one at StuffMart after work. So we went, and it was LOUD. Sometimes I just get over-stimulated and I Can Not Deal with the cacophony of daily life. As soon as we got the backpack and a couple of other items, we got out and went home, and I retired to my bed. At 9:30 she came in and requested another trip to StuffMart for index cards. I told her to ask the VIP to take her as I was in no shape to go out again. I assume that he did, because I saw index cards in her room this morning. So as I was getting ready for work this morning, she called me. She was already at school, and wanted me to bring her oboe to her. She had forgotten it. I declined. I simply did not have time to do that and get to work on time. One day in band class without her instrument of choice is not going to kill her, and it may propel her to remember it tomorrow. So am I awful?

Discoveries

I found the lunchmeat! Unfortunately it was not in the same box as the leftover cheese-and-onion pie. I found that a day later. All had to be dispatched to the great garbage disposal in the sky.

I found my chocolate stash. It's fine. I shoved it under my bed.

I didn't lose my yarn stash. I made sure I packed it and moved it myself, and placed it in the new house and it has not moved. It is still there.

I found the shims that go under the shelves so that they dont fall forward and kill somebody. They are at Lowe's in the pre-hung doors section.

I opened my housewarming gift from DG. She knitted me three beautiful dishcloths and included a bottle of Bath & Body Works antibacterial soap. The computers aren't up yet so no photos have been downloaded off the camera. But believe me, they are lovely and will be loved. I miss her so much!

DD's birthday lasted several days. We finally ended it on Saturday by taking her to dinner at an international buffet with a Mongolian grill. She thought that was pretty cool. The VIP gave her a gift card to Barnes & Noble so we spent another couple of hours there looking for books. She still has one item coming in the mail from England. She asked Grandma for more books, which I gave her the night before her birthday because she had been so helpful with the moving. I think she made out okay.

I am having to be more creative about storing things in this house. One of the bookshelves has been called into action as a space for storing kitchen ware. As soon as we find the cookbooks they will go there as well, but it is also going to hold the rice cooker, the crockpot, and some other like items. I can't really store anything on the balcony and not expect it to get weather-damaged. I'd like to take advatnage of an end-of-summer sale and get some patio furniture, but it would be a shame to have it sitting out there all winter getting ruined. So maybe we will just get a couple of folding chairs that we can take out there on nice days.

I've been re-organising the sidebar, hopefully making it more easy to find what you want to read. All ideas welcome.

And go give Lynn some love. Her children's father is having serious health challenges and it is affecting them all.

And locals, let's meetup at Philadelphia Knit in Public Day.

Heavy Labour

This is just a note to say that I am still here, although I've been AFK during the move. We have one laptop up and running, but using the keyboard and mouse is a pain so I do the minimum on it. We are moved in, and I would like to publicly thank a certain person that works with us by the initials GW for all the incredible hard work he served us with. We could not have done it without him at all. I managed to hyper-extend both knees early on in the game, and had to spend most of the time directing from the top of the stairs. A big thank-you also to the Elders Quorums from both the Pennypack Ward and the Medford Ward.

Now comes the part where I do my best trying to get everything organised and put away. Tonight's job is putting the bed together not only so that we have a place to sleep, but also space to store boxes underneath while I get other things taken care of. I don't even want to think about all the stuff that has to be done, so I'm giving myself one big job at a time to accomplish.

The DD turns 14 tomorrow, September 3. She is a mostly-good girl and I'm proud to say she is my daughter. She has been a challenge to me, but I can see that she is growing up and will be an exceptional adult with wonderful service skills. I love her very much, even when she pushes every button I have. If you'd like to send her a birthday greeting, post in the comments and I'll pass them along to her.

Love you all, forgive my intermittent-ness please?

Two Years

I wear my LiveStrong wristband still, I put it on the day Mark was diagnosed with cancer, which was 3 years ago. He lived 49 weeks, and eventually died from lung, liver, throat, and brain cancer. I still cannot believe he is gone, and even though I believe my religion, I have questions about where he is and what he is doing. I miss him terribly, and I am always seeing things I think he would laugh at.

More Changes Afoot

This is a warning: if there are links on the sidebar that you like to read and haven't bookmarked, please do so. I'll be cleaning up that area soon and I don't want anyone sad that they can't find a favourite blog anymore.

I got a job! It's not spectacular or glamourous, but it pays more than minimum wage and it's at the same place that the VIP works, so we drive in together. And as we are moving in a month, we will be even closer and hopefully saving money!

I am still begging for foreign coins. I've been buying some on eBay, but I always want more.

I've been knitting a Pi Shawl, and I am at row 67. I have been at row 67 three times now. I think somehow my start-of-round marker has gotten moved, so I'm all confused in the lace pattern. This is my first real attempt at lace, and except for the constantly being lost, I am quite enjoying it. I finished a pair of Sunday socks for the VIP, which he loves. I used a dark grey variegated Trekking, so it was fairly boring. I'm knitting a pair of socks for myself, out of some discontinued Trekking that I bought from someone on Ravelry.

I'ts still very hot here. Sunday we went to the shore though. By some miracle, it was hot and sunny every single place except right on the beach. It was cloudy and foggy, and even though the temperature was still warm, it was just the perfect beach day. I didn't have to worry about getting sunburned at all. We found lots of shells to drill and paint and put on the Christmas tree, and we saw two seagulls playing tug-of-war with a crab. The skinny seagull won, but the fat seagull went and got his own crab that turned out to be even bigger. We started the day by attending our new ward. It is barely big enough to be called a ward, but apparently they are getting quite a few new families in the next few weeks. They are very friendly, and I think we will really enjoy it. We brought my friend DG because she is moving to California in about three weeks and we will miss her. She and I are enough alike to enjoy each other's company, and enough different to always have something to talk about. Even the VIP enjoys being around her.

So who is coming to help load and/or unload the truck?

All The Best Freaks Were There

And still no photos, but this time I'm sure you won't mind too much, because I got a HUGE bruise last weekend. The VIP and I (along with our friend Stochastic) went down to the Fillmore on South Street to see a Fish concert. (And that's Fish with an "F"!) As the VIP had to go to the train station to pick up Sto, so I was left at the Irish Times to hold a table. If you're not a Freak (that would be a Fish fan) then you wouldn't have gotten the email telling where there pre-gig meet-up was. The VIP is, so he did, and we went.

I sat and waited for the guys to show up, and then we ordered dinner. The Irish Times actually does pretty good Irish bar food. The meet-up was scheduled for 6-8pm, because the concert started at 9. There were CDs and DVDs and t-shirts being sold. People were eating and drinking and swapping stories. Then I saw some activity at the front door, and I looked . . . . and beheld . . . . . Mr Derek "Fish" Dick himself. It took me a moment to recognise him because even though I watched the Kayleigh video a thousand times, that was over 20 years ago, and he's changed just a bit. However, he's still six foot eight inches tall.

The whole bar erupted in shouts of adulation, and he was escorted over to the corner booth where he held court. Sto got right in line, the VIP was a bit further back, and I was stuck baby-sitting our stuff. So I stood on a chair and took pictures. And then I fell off the chair and got the afore-mentioned HUGE bruise on my left thigh. I thought I was going to pass out from the pain, but I didn't. As soon as Sto came back, I went and joined the VIP in line. It came to be my turn, and I asked Fish to sign my t-shirt. It's the VIP's, and it's from the first year the Garden Party was held. He signed it, the VIP took our picture, and then we swapped places and then we left. All those years ago I never ever thought in a million years that I would meet Fish.

So now to the changes. We are moving. The VIP's contract job has turned permanent (yay!!) and I have been offered a post with the same company. I start on Monday. They have a small call center, seven seats. They are growing though. It will be nice not to have to drive nearly an hour, 35 miles each way, with gas at over $4 a gallon. I was in charge of finding us a new place to live, and I looked at about 20 places in 2 days. By the third day, I had narrowed it down to four places, and took the DD with me. The first we only looked at the outside of, because I had already seen it twice. The second place, I got lost trying to get to, so I figured that was a sign right there. The third place, we got to actually see our apartment, not just the model. It is scheduled to be renovated prior to our occupancy. The DD pronounced it good, and didn't even want to see the fourth place. The rent is about the same, but we are going up 20-25% in size, plus it's only 5 miles from work. And even less to the Trader Joe's. The DD gets a large bedroom, which includes a huge Harry Potter cupboard, plus her own bathroom. We also get a large bedroom and en-suite bathroom, plenty of closet space, and the living room is large enough to accommodate the VIP's huge piece of wall furniture and his many computers. I'm not sure yet where my sewing machine will go, but it is fairly small so I doubt it will be too big a problem. I'm excited about a new place, but not about the actual move itself. I swear, didn't I just move?

Where Are My Red Pyjamas?

We are having a heat wave here in the Northeast. I'm not going outside unless I absolutely have no choice. It's even too hot to walk the half-block to the pool. I'm hanging out inside in my underwear, and occasionally jumping in the shower trying to keep somewhat cool. I begged the VIP to turn the AC on, just to 80*. I can handle 80*, if the humidity is low. I have no idea how I survived in Kiribati, with 120* temps and over 90% humidity. I guess I was younger then.

On a different note: does anyone have any foreign coins they don't want? I'll even take Canadian. I'm also looking for Opal #1235. Everyone who has one listed on Ravelry won't part with theirs.

No Pictures . . . .

. . . . because the VIP downloaded all our camera memory cards onto his laptop and then erased them all. So until I get that reversed, no photos. And since a blog post is Boring without photos, no blog posts until I get my pictures back!

Girls' Road Trip

Last weekend my friend DG and I decided to have a girls' weekend and she rented a car and we drove to Palmyra, NY. I was in charge of navigation and I done goofed up, so we were almost to Canada before we realised we should have taken a left turn at Syracuse. Oh well. We got there, and our motel was on the banks of the Erie Canal, so we took a walk down the path. It was a nice walk, helped unkink my body which was sore from sitting in the car.

The next morning, DG had a reservation for the 11am session in the Temple, so we did a bit of sight-seeing beforehand. We saw the Smith farm and its buildings, and a view of the Temple from there. My photo turned out blurry, so I stole this image from the Hill Cumorah website. You can tell, because we went in May, and the leaves in this photo are obviously turning colour. I am disappointed that my photo is blurry.

DG went in for her session, and I waited in the car for her. I did some knitting, and I had a little nap. Then she came out and we continued on our tour of the Smith Farm and the Sacred Grove. It is so quiet in there! The paths are dirt, but are smoothed well. I don't think it would be difficult to take a decent wheelchair through it at all. They ask you not to remove any material from the site (leaves, flowers, grass, etc) but I will admit that I flouted this rule. Someone had dropped a plastic baggie (I sincerely hope it was a young parent who overlooked the fact that their toddler discarded it) so I did pick that up and carry it away. And of course, as I thought it would be inappropriate to shake the dust off my feet as I exited the Grove, some dirt came with me. But I think that's probably okay. The paths twist and turn, and there are many benches to sit on to rest or to contemplate. It's one of those Perfect Places. When you think of the words "forest path" this is what your mind conjures. I could very much feel the Spirit and the presence of God and Christ. I have never been a very gifted writer, so I have difficulty in putting into words my experience. All I can do is encourage you to go there yourself. Even if you are not LDS, it is still a lovely and peaceful place. I hope to bring the VIP and DD there this summer.

















When we returned back to the farm, we went through the houses. As a knitter/spinner, I was pleased to see handknit socks hanging up to dry by the fireplace, a spinning wheel with a skein-winder and a basket of roving nearby, and socks-in-progress. Clickety-Biggety



After all that, we drove a few miles to the Hill Cumorah. When they say "hill", they mean it. I thought I was Going To Die while climbing it. But the view from the top is so beautiful. I had brought my special copy of the Book of Mormon with me, and it wanted its picture taken with Moroni.



Our last stop was at the printing press. That ink on the floor is original and from that time-period. The press is still in operation and facsimile copies are produced from it. You can buy them in the bookstore next-door.










On our way home we took a short detour to Chenango Forks NY, birthplace of some of my ancestors. When I go back, I want to stop at the cemetery and find the graves.

I had a great time, and I want to thank DG for inviting me to go with her. She is moving to California soon, for school. I will miss her very much.

Because Even I Am Tired of Not Seeing a New Post Up Here

We really have been doing things around here, I promise. The VIP got a new job, which he started yesterday. Unfortunately it's 35 miles away in the opposite direction where he used to work. So far I haven't gotten up the nerve to learn the drive so I don't have the car.

DD has been feverishly working on getting her homework caught up so that she can go on the school band trip to NYC this Friday. I have been so frustrated with the non-communication I've been getting from her teachers that I finally went in and spoke with the vice-principal. And I think all that did was make me feel better by unloading, I don't think it actually accomplished a single thing.

I've met Colleen, and we have started a weekly KnitNight at her place. The VIP goes to his second job on Thursday nights about 30 minutes from Colleen's, so I tag along, leave him there, and we girls go play yarn. We have been joined by a few others, but most often by Miss Laura, who is a lot of fun. We eat and drink and laugh and knit and sew. As soon as summer is here for real and our complex pool is open, Colleen will come to our place for a day poolside. She is selling my recycled-wool handbags on her Etsy site, so go have a look.

This past weekend we went to Haddonfield NJ, which is a cute town. There is an English shop there, and the VIP likes to buy food and candy and ginger beer. Around the corner is a fun eclectic shop that sells, among other things, Birkenstock shoes. They were having a Spring Trunk Show with a sale of $20 off per pair of shoes. I chose a pair of pink Tahitis, and have been getting them broken in. I still haven't given up hope of finding my bag with my pink Madrids in it, but I needed a new pair anyway. The DD and I wandered some more and found a cute shop called Pure Couture, which specializes in upscale consignment. The owner loved my wool handbag and asked where I got it. When I said that I make them, she got very excited and wants me to put some in her shop! So needless to say, I have been sewing the past two days!

Actually, I've been sewing quite a lot lately. I've been teaching Colleen how to sew, and we started with pillowcases. So I made a couple of sets for me as well. I've been mending slacks and shirts for the missionaries because they have enough to do without worrying about that too. **If anyone who reads this has any gently-used black men's dress shoes in size 14, please contact me. There's a missionary here who wears size 14.** I organized all my thread and other sewing supplies, and I've actually emptied some more boxes that have been stacked in DD's room. She is unimpressed with my slowness, but at least there is some progress.

Okay, back to sewing.

She Held My Socks!

It's all yellow and blurry, because the flash wasn't on. But we went to Annapolis and met the Yarn Harlot! Scroll down and you'll see the photos she took of us. We had a great time. The VIP had brought his laptop, and he spent the time waiting reading her blog and making comments on it. She is a great speaker, has the natural ability to spin a yarn (pun intended) and is just all-around Nice. She told us about The Worst Day on a Book Tour, and since it has been almost three years since it happened, the story has gotten better with the retelling. I almost peed my pants, it was so funny to hear her tell it. And then her talk was over and she went on downstairs to sign books. We were # 125 in line, so we waited awhile. Remembering her harrowing 14 km hike on St Patrick's Day, we brought her a 4-pack of Guinness, and a glass to drink it from. I also gave her my pair of Jaywalkers that I didn't like for myself, and I think she liked them. It was so great though, because even though she had already been through 125 people, when we walked up, she looked straight at the VIP and said "I remember you!"

Lynn has written new lyrics to a favourite Primary song. I have had the original stuck in my head all week, because there are some beautiful white trees blossoming around here. Lots of what my dad calls "tulip trees" too. And then there's this one that hangs like a weeping willow, but has tiny pink blossoms. So beautiful! I do love spring.

LYS Review

Yesterday was the first Saturday we have had in awhile where nobody had anything at all scheduled. So after doing Nothing for awhile, the VIP and I went to a couple of LYSs. I am going to review one, as I'm going to leave the other one for another time.
Nangellini is in Center City Philadelphia. We were lucky in the fact that it stays open until 8pm on Saturdays. It took awhile to get there, as we were coming from Germantown. It was just as easy to go through town as it was to find I-95 to follow the GoogleMap directions. We saw some *interesting* parts of town, I'll tell you what. We went through Temple University, we passed the Shriner's Hospital, and then finally when we saw the statue of William Penn, we knew we were almost there.

Nancy who owns Nangellini has awesome hair. I was so fascinated by it that I forgot to take a picture! But the good news is that they have knitting meetup every Sunday afternoon, and the VIP says we can go sometime. She had just finished an amazing shawl, which the VIP photographed. She didn't have a whole lot in the way of sock yarn, although she had a lovely selection of Silky Wool that her assistant Nicole says that lots of folks use to make socks. I wound up buying two hanks of laceweight yarn, because it was such an incredible price and I *may* double-strand it and make socks with it. That was on the advice of the lovely Nicole. They very kindly wound it into center-pull balls for me and we chatted about all the wonderful yarn and the artwork and the clothing that she has for sale there.

In case you want to go, you can park for free in the Whole Foods parking garage. Apparently at some times you must get your parking ticket validated with a purchase, but when we went it was free parking time so we didn't have to. We bought supper there anyway. They have a wonderful buffet for $7.99/lb.

Here are a few more of my favourite images from yesterday. Enjoy! Click for big, it is worth it.

Yes! We Are Going

Finally, after 25 years, I am going to a Yes concert. They are coming to Baltimore and I bought our tickets today. Now I need to pay for them! I have some wool patchwork blankets I'd like to sell on Etsy, but I don't know how to get started. Can anyone help me?

PS I also have a pair of Jaywalkers knit from Austermann Step that I will never wear. Anyone want to buy/trade for them?

He Is Risen

Happy Easter to everyone. As much as I love Christmas and all that it signifies, I love Easter even more. For one, I don't have to fret about endless parties and gifts and all that. It is just mostly a family day, with an extra-nice dinner if you like. This year Easter means even more to me. I feel like this should really be New Year's instead of January 1. I hope you all have a wonderful spring, and that you get what you want and need.

Occasional Zinger

Last night, it being a Tuesday, the VIP spent time with his DS (my DSS). I was commandeered to drive to NJ, because the VIP has been sick lately and was too exhausted after work. So I brought my sock-in-progress, and the pair of socks I had just finished for DSS. He is such a joy to knit socks for, because he loves anything I make for him. Anyway, after supper, they were working on his homework. He had some vocabulary words. Here is the convo:

VIP: "What do you call the back of a ship?"
DSS: "The stern."
VIP: "Correct. And don't ever call it the 'hind-quarters.'"
DSS: "No, because that would be the poop deck."



Want to see my latest Kaffe Fassett socks?

This just in:
Madeleine Albright loves to knit socks!

I Like It Here

Go have a look at my beautiful city.

And then go have a listen to this woman from Philly, who does amazing accents.

Now With Actual Knitting Content!

Since there's an extra day this month, I decided to post. Hang on!

In the left-hand column is three shots of the same pair of socks. Before I left Logan, the LYS got in some 100 g bags of Bearfoot mill-ends. I bought a couple, wound up all the little tiny skeins into walnut-to-golf-ball-sized balls, and tried making a somewhat fraternal pair of short socks. I used my regular needles, and my regular stitch count, but they fit my DD. So they are hers. I'm not a huge fan of Bearfoot for socks, anyway. I still have 200 grams left, in basically two colourways, so I think I'll make a couple of Moebius scarves to have on hand for whenever I need a gift for someone special.

The right-hand column is yarn given to me by Prairie Mama as a going-away gift. DD saw it and begged for socks from it. The yarn pooled quite strangely, but DD loves pooling socks. The second photo down is a pair for the VIP, which started out life as a Brown Sheep mistake, which I overdyed. One sock has a Harry Potter-like lightning bolt going up it. The last photo is proof that I have actually been knitting for myself as well. All of these are mine. All have Wendy Johnson's short-row heel (which I finally learned!) Across the top is Austermann Step, Regia Kaffe Fassett, and Opal Zebra, which I overdyed pink. On the bottom row is Regia Galaxy, the new Noro sock yarn, and Lorna's Laces. I haven't worn or washed the Noro yet, but I did knit it on a half-size larger needles than I normally use, because although it has nylon, it is not superwash. I am expecting it to felt a bit, but hopefully it won't shrink too much. If it does, one of my small-footed friends will have a nice birthday present! There's one more pair that I made for the VIP's son, but they got given away before being photographed. I'll be spending most of the weekend with him, so I'll see what I can do about getting a photo.

Currently I am working on another Kaffe Fassett pair. I think I want to collect all twelve colourways, and then after I've got all the regular socks made, make monstersocks with all the scraps.

Now that I've got that out of my system, I can concentrate on my second Stuff I've Noticed post. It will also be picture-heavy, so it may take me a few days to get it together. Talk amongst yourselves until then! I also have visited a few LYSs in the area, and have some reviews.

Of Special Interest

I got an email from LDS Living this morning, and there was an article about a young lady who has written a song around the special prayer that President Hinckley offered on behalf of the youth of the Church. Please go here for more information. You can download the song for free by right-clicking, and saving. I have iTunes, so I just saved it to my desktop as an mp3 file, then imported it into my iTunes.

Taking A Poll

Hi folks! I am taking the time now to clean up my sidebar links. I need some input, such as what links do you go to and browse, and which ones do you not? Are there some blogs or websites you think I and my three other readers would enjoy? Does anyone know what happened to Whoopsy Daisy? She seems to crop up and disappear without warning from time to time.

I've got another edition of "Stuff I've Noticed" brewing, but I'm going to wait a bit while I think of more stuff. In the meantime, please comment! Tell me what you want to know, or want *me* to know.

Stuff I've Noticed

I've made some observations in my month living here, and I'd like to share them.

We have to drive ten miles to get to church. And, said church has a brick-and-wrought-iron fence around it, and the gates lock. Last Sunday we had a potluck dinner after church. It looked like a bunch of piranhas had swum through. And far too many women wear pants and jeans to church. I still don't have the story behind that, but I'm surely going to ask about it! Our lesson manuals are distributed in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

The banks are open seven days a week.

There's a Dunkin' Donuts on every corner. Their Milky Way hot chocolate is really good.

It's humid here.

They have so many streets and roads here, that they have run out of names. You may *think* you're on the right road, until you realise you want Bristol Pike, not Bristol Road. Also, there is a Street Road here. Talk about unimaginative!

There is a turnpike here. What that is, is a highway that you get to pay to drive on. Supposedly it is maintained better, but so far I haven't noticed that. The fun thing about the turnpike though is that they have these things called Service Centers. These are like rest areas on steroids. Each of them has a different name, and they are usually named after prominent historical figures. There is not only a gas station, but a building that houses at least two different choices of eating establishments, plus a convenience store. The restrooms are clean, well-lit, and climate-controlled. Many of the Service Centers have a pressed penny machine, which is fortuitous, since I collect pressed pennies. While you are driving on the turnpike, you'll see a sign stating the distance to the next Service Center. It also lists the brand of gas station, and the current price of gas. Also listed are the restaurants. That way, if none of those floats your boat, you can drive on. I think Service Centers are way awesome.

There is no Deseret Industries here. And the Goodwill store leaves a lot to be desired. But there are a million antique stores around.

The squirrels here are grey, not red. And they are FAT! They look like those pickups with an extra set of wheels on the back.

There's a laundromat down the road from the school. The sign outside says "AUNDROMA", because the L and the T fell off. I just *know* there's a little girl running around here named Aundroma, because her mom thought it was a cool name.

People talk funny here. I have to ask everyone to repeat themselves, because the first time it just didn't compute.

But overall, I like it here. I like the trees and the hills. I like being in a smallish town, but close enough to the city. And I like being near my brother.