Something I Miss From Being A Kid

Big slides...

The picture above is from the Arden Fair earlier this year - and as big as this slide is, it pales in comparison to some of the big slides I remember at the PNE (Pacific National Exhibition) or Playland as a child. I did a search on Flickr for other people's slide pictures from PNE, and I found this one:



It isn't the one I remember - the one I remember had multiple slides going across and was all metal. And maybe it was just because I was seeing it from a child's reference point, but it seemed so much taller. I remember going down so fast that I was nearly airborne at times - a heady amount of adrenaline for a six year old.

Wordless Weekend

The Idiocy and Kindness of Strangers

What a strange day it has been. I had promised to get Willow this book she wanted to read, but she had to finish her school project first. The project was finished and handed in this week, so armed with my 33% off coupon for Borders, we headed out and bought the book.

Then we came back out to the car. No, no - don't worry - the car itself was fine. The problem was in the fact that some blind miscreant had parked his black Sienna minivan so close to mine that there was no way I could even get Willow in on the driver's side of the car. And what is even more assinine was that this is a good parking lot - there is a 8" wide double-lined no mans' land between the spots, so plenty of room to go around - but this idiot was parked about 3/4 in his spot, and 1/4 onto mine! Normally I would have just crawled over from the passenger side, but our console comes up between the two front seats - and there was no way I was going to be able to do this with the belly.

So... Willow and I went back into Borders, and they asked over the PA for the customer driving the black Sienna minivan with DE plates to come to the front desk. No one came forward. So, we went to the pizza place next door - same thing - no one came forward. The only other store it could have feasibly been was a toy store - but once again, no one came forward. I didn't know what I was going to do - until this twit moved, there didn't seem to be a way for me to get into the car.

Then this very nice woman in the toy store said if I was okay with it, she would manuever into my car and pull it out of the parking spot so I could drive. She came out with me and Willow to the car and did just that. Thank you, thank you, thank you! And to think - just yesterday I was trying to explain to Willow what 'pay it forward' meant. Now I have a prime example. Thank you!

It's a Little Ironic, Don'tcha Think?

Sigh...

Do you ever go in and check out your blog's statistics? I think it is interesting to see who is coming to my blog and from where - and perhaps the most amusing of all, the searches that bring people to my blog. You know - the person who googles 'turkey baster happiness' and ends up on my blog is going to be awfully disappointed.

Anyhow - I looked at my statistics recently and came up with this graph:



Look at that banner day far to the left at the beginning of October - I was so shocked - I had to go to that day's blogpost to see what I had written about that day that had drawn in so many people. Imagine my disappointment when I realized that was the day I wrote about not being able to go to Rhinebeck. It wasn't me at all drawing people in...

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DMV Postscript -

I have my new license! My father-in-law took me in at lunch today, and there were nowhere near the lines of the night before. I was only gone from the office for about 90 minutes, and we had no problems getting my documents checked or finding a place to sit. And a big thank you to David, the DMV guy who created my license! He was filling in my information, and asked if my height and weight had changed. I said, "My height, no - but I'm 7 months pregnant right now." He replied without a hitch that they would just continue to use the weight that was on my previous driver's license. Thank goodness for thoughtful DMV people!

Holy DMV Misadventures, Batman.

Well.

I had hoped to have a funnier story for you, but the gist of it is:

• I need to renew my driver's license
• Delaware has new document requirements for licenses (passports, birth certificates, green cards, etc.)
• Wednesday is the only day of the week they are open past the time I get off work
• We got lost on our way to the DMV (not horrendously lost, but got there later than we planned)
• We arrived 90 minutes before they closed
• My ticket number was 183
• They were serving 50
• No one was particularly interested in giving a 7 month pregnant woman a seat
• We gave up 15 minutes before they closed... because there was still 83 people ahead of me in line.

Gah!  No one is happy right now.  Andrew was stressing because I couldn't sit down for a long while, and he had a headache.  So many people who didn't understand the new document requirements were clogging up the lines, only to be turned away when they got up there.  It looks like I am going to have to take time off work to get my new license - I'm not terribly pleased with that - but I only have little more than a week before my license expires.

Tuesday Randomness and Half a Prompt

This is one of the trees outside of my local public library, and I love how the colours change on these trees. At any given time there are 5-6 colours involved, and each tree seems to change at a different rate. And for some reason, the leaves don't tend to fall off these trees unless there is a very strong wind, so in the end you get the spooky sound of the wind whistling through the paper-dry leaves.

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I was going to try the NaBloPoMo blog prompt this morning, but find I won't have much to say about it. This is the prompt:

Tell us the story of a piece of jewelry you own. Where did it come from, and what does it mean to you?

Other than my wedding band, I don't wear jewelry. I like my wedding band - I picked it out since Andrew was having breathing fits every time we went into a jewelry store and saw the prices. We have matching gold and platinum striped bands - very plain, and that's just the way I like it. The odd thing about it is since the band was purchased in Japan, on the inside it says the size is 17. And, while my fingers are short and stubby, my fingers aren't quite that sausage-like. That Japanese size 17 equates to about a size 7 (I believe) in North American ring sizes.

And November NaBloPoMo begins

I've tried to post on the blog more frequently in the last few weeks, mostly because I was depressed to see that we were 3/4 through the year and I only had some seventy-odd posts for 2010. I looked back at 2008, and I had 185 posts!

So, what am I doing to rectify that? Well, participate in NaBloPoMo, National Blog Posting Month, for starters. NaBloPoMo used to be only in November, a response to the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), but it has since expanded to continue year round. They provide themes or writing prompts you if you need one, and also a list of many blogs of other people who are participating to read.

So, my goal right now is to beat the 110 blogposts from 2009. Think I can do it? If I can get through November, that will bring me up to 119 - still a paltry one post for every three days, but something I could live with for now.

In the meantime, I will leave you with one more Hallowe'en costume picture:



We were at the Y Fall Festival a few weeks back, and I saw this cute little dog dressed up as a lobster. I asked his owners if I could take a picture, and as soon as I squatted down, the little dog went up on two legs and started dancing around! I just wanted to stuff him in my pocket and walk away...

Happy Hallowe'en!

I'm telling everyone that Willow is playing against type this year...



Costume courtesy of Grandma H, who has made almost all of Willow's Hallowe'en costumes so far.



Halo courtesy of my friend, Gail, whose son had dressed up as an angel for a Christmas pageant and no longer needed the halo.



It was a great night for Hallowe'en - clear skies, dry, not too cold - and my little angel made out like a veritable bandit with the candy.

Friday Finished Object: Jo Is A Sheep Hat

I love me a good hat - and I have to say with all due pride, Jo Is A Sheep Hat is a damn fine hat.



I started this hat because I saw so many cool versions of it on my friends' blogs, and Lord knows I have an excess of sock yarn in my stash (which in itself is a little silly because I wear sandals as long as I can physically get away with it). I bought this Noro Silk Garden sock yarn a few years ago because I love the autumnal tone of the colours.



But of course, being Noro, you are going to have your requisite wtfuckery with the shades. After all the beautiful green, rusts, and grey, we segue into... teal and purple. Of course.



Oh well. What are you going to do?

The Particulars:
Pattern: Sockhead Hat (Rav link)
Yarn: Noro Silk Garden Sock Yarn colourway 245
Needles: Knitpicks Size 4 circulars and dpns
Modifications: Not much - I took Cristi's suggestion and went with size 4 needles without worrying about gauge, and my hat is a little shorter than called for by about an inch because I was worried about running out of yarn.

Would I make this pattern again? Most definitely. The pattern was beyond easy, and it was nice to have a lightweight slouchy hat made from sock yarn.

And I want to say something - I don't know whether that top shot was just a lucky one, but I will be 38 in less than 3 weeks, I'm 6+ months pregnant, and I am not wearing any make up other than chapstick in these pictures. Yay me :)

With the exception of the first photo (whichi was taken in my driveway), the rest of the pics in the post were taken in Talley Day Park. The fall foliage here in Delaware is at its peak right now and I am in awe of all the reds, golds, and oranges wherever I go. Here are some examples.

Warning from Lucky

If you think you are getting a costume on me, you have another thing coming!

WiP It Wednesday

I'm in the home stretch now - Willow's Mi Escuelita sweater is almost finished!

The front:



The back:



All I have left to do is the neck shaping, which I should finish tonight, and then the button band/shawl collar. Cristi was right - once you join the sleeves to the body, the sweater speeds up considerably. The miles and miles of 2x2 ribbing on the sleeves is enough to make one put down the sweater and pick up quickie projects for a while, but I'm really happy at how it is coming along now.

The Coziest Place To Be

There is no doubt at all that Lucky is a lapcat. He may be pushing 16 pounds, but if anyone sits on the sofa he will become velcro cat within seconds.

What is Willow reading? Warriors: Into the Wild by Erin Hunter. This is the book she chose for her book report project - Booklist says it is for kids in grades 6-9. Willow is in grade 3. It's been a struggle to get her to finish it - the book has 288 pages and 25 chapters, so it is easily the longest book she has ever read. I don't think the content is above her - just maybe that the book isn't over in 100 pages and 10 chapters. Less than three chapters to read now!

Monday Pick Me Up: Yarn Pron

Don't you feel like you need a pick me up on a Monday morning? Feast your eyes on this pretty yarn!



Right away when I saw this I knew I wanted to do a striped scarf with it, something along the lines of the Noro Striped Scarf. These two skeins are different colourways, but close enough to make the changes complementary.

Here's a close up of one:



Yarn: Lang Tosca Light (Colourway 777.0088 - so poetic!).



Yarn: Lang Tosca Light (Colourway 777.0006)

The yarn is 55% wool and 45% acrylic and is machine washwable (although lay flat to dry). It's pretty hefty as well at 100g = 400m of yarn. I can't wait to use it!

Poor Lucky

Either had no idea or just didn't care that he was being so cruelly molested with yarn.

A Resuscitated Finished Object (And Photoshoot!)

Oh my. This is how today's photoshoot started:



Willow got upset because the sun was in her eyes, and I told her to close them because I was trying to take a picture of the sweater, not necessarily *her* and that just set the whole emotional ball rolling...

Thank goodness for second takes. We went to the farm later in the afternoon to pick up our CSA shares, and Willow conceded to having her picture take again.



This sweater was actually finished back in July, but it was just too damn hot to have her wear it to take pictures. And I am a little embarrassed to say that I started the sweater back in 2007 - the summer before she began Kindergarten. Then about 4 weeks before school started we received a notice saying there was a dress code, and two-toned striped sweaters were definitely not allowed. So, the sweater languished in the UFO box until I started to worry that it would be too small for her by the time I actually got around to finishing it.



Apparently I didn't need to worry about that. She would have swam in this had I finished it back in 2007.



I don't care for the clasp I put in the front (hence the little knitting pin holding the sweater closed), but I will find some way to fix that.


Willow pretending to be pensive.

All's well that ends well - this was the last shot taken at the farm (with our jack'o'lantern to be):



The Particulars:
Pattern: Polkadot by Berroco
Needles: Size 7 Knitpicks circulars
Yarn: TLC Amore Multi

Would I make this pattern again? Not for Willow. It was an easy enough pattern, but she is like me in that she has no shoulders, so the sweater doesn't hang right without being held together in the front. Willow likes it, though - even if she thinks of it more like a bathrobe than a sweater!

Spiced Pumpkin Bran Muffins

Andrew and Willow have been very tolerant of my pregnancy craving - all I want to have is pumpkin. We've had pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin quick bread, purmpkin french toast, pumpkin yeast bread, pumpkin pie... and now we have moved onto pumpkin bran muffins:

Spiced Pumpkin Bran Muffins



Don't they look yummy? Here's a close up:



Click on the recipe title to get the recipe - the only thing I did differently is omit the raisins because Andrew and Willow are both freaky about raisins in baked goods. I had everything in the pantry except buttermilk - and now I need to find something else that requires buttermilk because the only container I could find was a half liter and I only needed 3/4c for the recipe. Any ideas?

Okay, So I Didn't Get To Go To Rhinebeck...

... and with a 3 month old next year, I most likely will have to sit out MDSW as well - but I picked up something today that will almost make missing out on those two sheep and wool festivals worthwhile.

Feast your eyes on my Norden Gateleg table from IKEA:

Just why is this table making up for missing the festivals? Well, I have lots of wool. Andrew says he considers the wool insulation to the house at this point. And honestly, I really don't need to buy more right now. I also have a beautiful yarn swift made from reclaimed wood and a wool winder courtesy of my knitting friends as a housewarming present when we bought this house.

What I didn't have was a table to connect the frickin' wool winder to! As my luck would have it, every table we had in this house has either a beveled edge, a rounded edge, or a false front - all of which make it impossible to clamp the wool winder to. I have so much wool that is still skeined and packaged from previous festivals - now I will finally be able to wind the wool (oh, all that beautiful sock yarn!) into yarn cakes and start knitting with it! I can't wait to start re-discovering my stash.

The Story Of How I Came to Accidentally Eat Three Breakfasts

For the record, I have only gained 11 pound so far this pregnancy. At my OB appt earlier this week, the nurse told me I had managed to lose 5 pounds since my last appt a month ago. Almost 6 months along and I still have people saying, "Wow! You're pregnant?!"

Anyway. This is the story of how I accidentally ate three breakfasts yesterday.

Normally I don't eat breakfast at home. We're always so busy trying to get ourselves and Willow ready that all I normally manage is coffee at home, and then have breakfast at work. Yesterday, however, Andrew decided to make breakfast quesadillas - and since Willow was not ready when her quesadilla was ready, he told me to eat hers, and he would make her another one when she came down. That was breakfast #1.

I arrived at work, knowing full well that we had a 9am breakfast meeting with bagels from Einstein Brothers, somehow conveniently forgetting I had eaten a quesadilla 45 minutes before. However, by 8:15am I was starving - stomach growling and everything. So, my friend Gail and I went to our newly renovated work cafeteria, and I had them make me an omelet. I only ate about 2/3 of it - I still remembered the breakfast meeting. That was breakfast #2.

We go up to our meeting, and I have half a sesame bagel with crushed almond cream cheese (seriously delicious - normally I go for savoury cream cheeses, but this was almost like icing). The bagel was so yummy and chewy - I seriously thought about having the second half, but then someone else snagged it. That was breakfast #3.

Lunch time rolls around a few hours later, and I can't figure out why I am unenthused. I have a salad with chicken on top, some steamed sesame peas, and an pumpkin muffin. I pick at most of it, and throw the rest away. It wasn't until about 3pm that afternoon that I remembered Andrew feeding me the quesadilla and was struck silly by the fact that I had managed to accidentally eat three breakfasts.

I'm blaming pregnancy brain. Yeah... that's it.

Ultrasound Pics!

I had another round with the ultrasound people today - one of the joys of being of 'advanced maternal age.' No matter - I won't take offense - the tech looked at her chart 2 times because she didn't believe I was 37 years old.

I have pictures - and good news!

First, a nice profile shot of Sprog:



The tech was teaching a student how to use the ultrasound machine, so we got to see what all sorts of buttons did when you pushed them - but I was taken by surprise when they hit one button and the view changed to this:



You can see the side of Sprog's face and Sprog's arm! I've never had a 4D ultrasound before and I was fascinated! It looked more realistic on the screen because it is in all sepia tones.

And now for the good news - I no longer have placenta previa! The placenta has to be at least 2cm off the cervix for placenta previa to be resolved - and the placenta was 3cm off for me. And also, the last time we were there Sprog had some choroid plexus cysts, which in certain situations can be a soft marker for Trisomy 18 - but the cysts were completely gone as well. All in all, it was a great appointment - and, because I am of 'advanced maternal age,' I get to go back in 4 weeks for more picture-taking!

WiP It Wednesday: Rockabilly Booties

These were certainly the quickest things I have knit in a while! I started Sunday night, and finished last night... and I didn't knit on Monday. I'm still claiming them as a WiP, however, because I still need to get some ribbon to weave in the eyelet holes. These booties are not for Sprog (our baby), but rather for a swap on Ravelry. I still don't know whether my partner is having a boy or not yet, but I sure hope she is because I keep on making boy things.

The Particulars

Pattern: Shake Your Sockies by Kathie Popadin
Needles: Size 1 Aero dpns
Yarn: Storm Moon Knits Twilight Sock in Rockabilly Blues. This was leftover yarn from when I made Amy's Christmas Socks last year. There is still plenty enough to make another pair or two of these.
Modifications: The only modification I made to the pattern was to add two more rows of ribbing before knitting the eyelet row.

This was an exceptionally easy pattern to follow - and I plan to make another pair for Sprog - I can't wait to dig through my leftover sock yarn stash! (Is it sad that my stash has its own sub-stashes?)