Life On The Lily Pad – Episode 10

Seems like writing posts in word might turn out to be a reasonable option so I'm going to give it a go. My only concern is that I think it does something a little bit strange to my photos. My otherwise crisp, clean pictures look like they've been scanned. In Word, they're sort of blurry and soft looking. Ah well, I'll post this and then do an evaluation of the process.

ETA: I couldn't stand those blurry photos so I fixed 'em.

1:

Ah, spring has sprung. I am quickly learning how much of a bummer it was to be cooped up inside since November. Both of my kids despise wind and cold and neither of them enjoy going outside in the winter in Ontario (Newfoundland is a different story – the cold is different there). Since all the snow melted, we've had a couple of nice days and the girls have asked to go into the backyard to play. The best part is that I can let them go out there by themselves and sit at the kitchen table and drink coffee or knit or chat on the phone or make dinner and no little people are underfoot getting into trouble. Of course, I still occasionally have to go out to help them do something or break up a fight but I like this new independence on both our parts.

Jillian's favourite thing to do is ride in the little red car:

Claire likes the sandbox (but has been in a "no pictures" mood again lately so I didn't get any great shots).

2:

You'll have to excuse Claire's eyes in this next picture. She was really sick. The second she gets sick, her eyes start running and she complains about how much they hurt. It's a sin.

The other day I had to run quickly to the grocery store for something and on the way out I passed the ice cream section. I realized that I don't often get ice cream for the kids and I thought it would be a nice treat for them. After supper I offered them each a bowl which they gladly accepted. Jillian ate her entire bowl at a mind-blowing pace and started howling for more. I assured her that she could have more the next day, cleaned her up and freed her from her booster chair. Claire was still there nibbling away at her dessert and DH and I left her there while we retired to the family room. Two minutes later, we looked over and Jillian had somehow convinced Claire to let her up onto her chair with her and to surrender her spoon to her. She promptly ate the rest of Claire's ice cream and again, begged for more. It was hilarious. Even poor sick Claire got a chuckle out of it.

3:

Last Christmas, my cousin Tanya came up to visit. We spent a fair bit of time out shopping and on the first day went to a toy store. As we walked by the display of Cabbage Patch Dolls, we were overcome with a wave of nostalgia and decided to have a look at them. Since the '80s they have made the doll's name visible through the box so we stood there looking at dolls and giggling at their names. Suddenly, I encountered a doll named "Tanya Jillian". We were absolutely amazed. We laughed and admired her and, as Tanya is Jillian's Godmother, we considered buying the doll for her. At the time, Jilla was only 6 months old and we thought it was silly to get her a Cabbage Patch Kid so we left her behind. For the rest of the vacation, Tanya was haunted by Tanya Jillian. How could we have left her? So, on the way to the airport to send Tanya back home we made a quick detour to the store and got the doll for Jillian for Christmas.

For over a year, Tanya Jillian has been sitting in the box on Jillian's dresser collecting dust. I knew that if I opened it, Claire would assume control of the doll and Jillian would be deprived of her toy so I left her in the box till she was big enough to a) ask for her herself and b) fight for her stuff. Well, recently, they've been sneaking into Jillian's room and somehow teaming up to get the doll box off the dresser. On the first day, Claire slyly asked "what's dat doll?", hoping I would just open her and hand her over. On the next day, Claire boldly said "Mommy, I need help opening dis box!". After that, I'd just catch them tearing little bits off the box in an attempt to free the doll.

In the meantime, the girls have been waging all out wars over Claire's Magna-Doodle. My nerves simply couldn't take it anymore. I got out the money they'd been given for Easter, packed the girls in the car and headed to Toys R Us to get a Magna-Doodle that Jillian could call her own and a Cabbage Patch Kid Claire could call her own so we could open Tanya Jillian without someone sustaining an injury. While we were there, I also got them each some bubbles in ice-cream cone shaped containers. Hours of entertainment.

Here we have Claire with Katharine Nina and a chocolate ice cream cone (they didn't know they were bubbles at the time):

The blue streak in her hair glows in the dark. It's sort of freaky. She also smells like flowers (it is gross) and wears big girl underwear. Claire thinks she's coooooool.

Here's Jillian with Tanya Jillian (they both have blue eyes and honey coloured hair) and a banana flavoured ice cream. Hers has heat sensitive streaks in her hair that I find fascinating. She smells like Cabbage Patch Kids did in the '80s and wears a proper diaper:

Since I took these photos, my mother sent me sewing patterns for Cabbage Patch Kid clothes and Claire has asked for nightgowns for the dolls. I guess I have some sewing in my future. Wish me luck (urk).

4:

Remember up there I said that Jillian had honey-coloured hair? Yeah, well, one day we had chicken nuggets and honey for lunch and Jillian took her honey-soaked plate and rubbed it alllll over her head as soon as the last bit of nugget was gone. I ended up giving her a quick bath in the kitchen sink and that's why her hair is so darned curly in this next picture.

This doesn't have much of a story, it was just a cute moment. The girls decided to pretend that one of the green bins was a boat. This kept them entertained for a good 15 minutes and then for the next 15 minutes they fought over the confined quarters and then I got the other bin out and they created a train instead of a boat. These are the days when I wonder why I spend any money on toys. Seriously.

5:

Claire is the princess in the family and at least a few times a week she dresses up in clothes from her princess chest that my brother gave her for Christmas. Jillian usually stays out of it. Recently, Claire managed to convince Jillian to join her in her dressing up. Claire put on her favourite pink gown and then put on the elbow length glove thingies (they don't have fingers...I don't know what they are really called...I'm not that regal). There is only one set of those so Jillian was going to have to do without. Or so we thought. The industrious child peeled off her socks and put 'em on her hands. Smart kid.

That's it for this instalment of Life On The Lily Pad. I really should get some knitting stuff up here, huh? I'll try to do that next time.

If You Like Pina Coladas...

I apologize for going AWOL for a while there. I meant to write a post last week before we left for our escape but didn't get around to it.

 

Back in February, DH called me from work to tell me that he'd apparently won an award with the company. Rumour had it that the winners and their spouses were going to be sent to a "sunny locale" for a weekend for the award ceremony. With all the "apparently" and "rumour", I tried not to get too excited but it was really hard.

 

I was pretty sure that I was more in need of a tropical weekend getaway than most people. Claire has been a handful lately and I'm generally no fan of three. We've had a long, cold, lonely winter punctuated by snowstorms and preschooler hissy fits. It's been rough.

 

Anyway, as time marched on, DH started getting more and more emails from people with clout talking about the award weekend and one day near the middle of March we got a message telling us where we were going, for how long, and to make flight plans to be there. My in-laws volunteered to come and babysit while we were away so we got to have a real second honeymoon out of it. It was the first time I've been away from the girls for more than a few hours since Claire was born in November 2004. I was past due for this little vacay.

 

We went to Fort Lauderdale, Florida and stayed at a swanky resort and spa for four nights and five days. The weather was excellent, the food was delicious and the beach was glorious. I felt like I'd been given a new lease on life. I enjoyed myself thoroughly. We went for a lot of long walks, a boat tour in the intercoastal waterway, a trip to the spa, swims in the ocean and a little shopping spree at Target (I love Target...is that wrong?). It was great to be able to leave the kids with their grandparents because I know that they were in capable hands. I honestly didn't worry about them at all (I feel a touch guilty about that).

 

I brought the good camera on the trip but only brought it to the beach on our last morning in town for a little photo shoot. I was scared of having it stolen or getting sand in it or dropping it in the ocean. I thought we might go snorkelling (we didn't) so I bought us a disposable underwater camera and we got some grainy but fun shots with that.

 

Here are some of the pics:

This is me on the beach. I know, I know, I look like some movie star going incognito. I'm afraid to burn (but did anyway). DH and I really liked the beach and couldn't really understand what folks saw in hanging out by the pool. When we were out relaxing, we were on the beach. On Saturday and Sunday the beach was a little bit crowded and so we set ourselves up in the shade of a big tree. They had amazing Pina Coladas on the resort and seem to be clutching mine for dear life. DH got a Strawberry Daiquiri that day. I traded him my pineapple for his strawberry. It was fun.

This is me in the ocean. The water temperature wasn't too bad but it was cold enough that it took a few minutes to get completely wet. Swimming in salt water is a heck of a lot of fun. Especially if you have an underwater camera – see:

Yup, I'm a little bit nutty.

Here's our oceanic self-portrait:

Don't we look relaxed? All in all we had a great time. I am really proud of DH for winning his award. I'm also pretty impressed that his company saw fit to send us both on this trip.

Here's a photo from the "real" camera (I have more but I won't bore you). We saw this strange little creature on the beach and since he was a real live sea creature I felt compelled to take his photo:

Anyone know what it is? He sort of seemed like a sort of horseshoe crab or something related to a lobster but I really had no idea. We watched him scurry across the surf and bury his head in the sand like a cartoon ostrich. I thought it was cute and worthy of photography.

 

On Tuesday, it was time to head back home. We were ready to come when the time came. There's only so much beach bumming a girl like me can do. Besides, despite the fact that we knew we were likely walking back into Her Highness the Pink Princess's Chamber of Royal Hissy Fits, we missed our girls.

 

I like this photo I took through the dirty window of my ancient, creaking Northwest Airlines plane:

I apologize for not keeping up with everyone else's blog. I'll try and get out and make the rounds later in the week. I hope everyone out in the blogosphere is doing great.

Seriously?

Apparently, Word 2007 has a handy-dandy blog post feature built into it. Blogger has long been messing with my posts and maybe they'll still mangle things after I've written them but I'm going to give it a try. Consider this a test. If this works, I'll do a new Life On The Lily Pad post later.

Me, on a beach in Prince Edward Island when I was about Claire's age. Foreshadowing? Maybe...

More Testing

Hmmm...maybe this is more work. Another pic? Sure:

A pitcher plant. Provincial flower of Newfoundland. Just cause I had it on this drive.

ETA: Oooh, the photo worked that time. Me likey now...

Claire's Jacket

When last we spoke, I was happily knitting the Polkadot jacket for Claire from Noro Kureyon in colourway 180. If you'll recall, it started badly. I joined it into a nifty mobius strip - sort of cute but not altogether practical. At that point I was still at a place I call "determined" so I ripped out those 363 stitches and started again.

After that, things went smoothly. I knit around and around and around enjoying the ever-changing colours, achieving a zen state that is highly uncommon in a house with two children under the age of four, and generally feeling clever.

I kept it tucked in my bag and worked on it at the Yarn Harlot's book launch, while visiting at the yarn store and while watching Claire do her thing at gymnastics. I was progressing quickly and that's another thing that isn't common in a house with two overly energetic children and one highly under caffeinated adult.

When I started on the fourth ball, I had a sinking feeling that I was going to run out of yarn. I zoomed up to the yarn store and had Carolyn set aside the last two balls of that colourway just in case I needed them. This should have been my first clue that things weren't going my way. I mean, seriously...I had about six inches of circular jacket and was on the fourth ball of an eight ball project. I shoulda realized.

As they say, denial is not just a river in Egypt. I kept knitting in this wonky blissed out state. I would slip into daydreams now and again. I began to think about digging up my sewing machine and sewing Claire a delightful little aubergine dress to prance around in while wearing her new coat. I'd even buy her some cute leggings and shoes and a headband. I'd take her out on parade with a smug little grin on my face, feeling like the pinnacle of motherhood. Not only for knitting my child a jacket but sewing her a dress and accessorizing her in a manner that would surely get her noticed by some big wig in the advertising world. By week's end, I figured, she'd have her entire education paid for from ads for H&M or Gap Kids or Old Navy or Gymboree or Jello or milk or whatever.

Then I got to the row where I was to cast off for the armholes. Being supermom and the ultimate knitter, I was planning to be smarter than the Berroco folks. I was going to knit scrap yarn in instead of casting off and later I was going to take that yarn out and pick up the live stitches and knit down to the cuffs. It was going to be genius, I tell ya! Happily, I started knitting in the waste yarn. After about the 10th stitch, it started to dawn on me that it was shaping up to be a wide armhole. Once the requisite 28 stitches were knit in the waste yarn, I realized that things were downright wrong in my little fantasy land. The armhole was wider than I would knit on a garmet for myself. Maybe even larger than I'd make for a lumberjack.

With dread in my soul, I dug out the measuring tape to check my gauge...

No, I didn't swatch beforehand. Stop looking at me like that. I know it was dumb. I was drunk on Noro. I wasn't responsible for my actions!

But, yet again, I digress...

The recommended gauge on this garment is 20 sts over 4 inches on a 5.5 mm needle. My gauge was 16 sts over 4 inches on a 5.5 mm needle. Now, given that I cast on 363 stitches to start with, the difference is quite staggering.

Let me lay it out for you. At gauge, the circumference of the garmet would have been 73ish inches. At my gauge, 91ish. The diameter was supposed to be 24" but at the rate I was going, it would have been about 30". Which, by extrapolation, I figure would have fit a 10 year old.

Sigh.

I lay the thing in my lap for a few minutes and pondered my options. I'm a little bit stubborn (stop laughing Dad) so I was still pretty determined to make this work. I thought about all the time I'd put into the thing and kicked myself a little for not swatching. I then thought about how I did all that knitting while I was doing something else or in a near-euphoric state so it wasn't as if I was painfully knitting every stitch. I got out all my Addis and found my 4.5 mm and 5 mm needles and decided I'd have a little swatching party. I was a little worried about drape but, newly humbled, I thought I'd lay my faith in the hands of the knitting deities and just swatch and worry about it later.

As I pulled the knitting off the needles to start swatching, Claire approached:

C: Hi Mommy, watcha doin'?
Me: Well Sweetie, Mommy made a mistake in her knitting and now I have to fix it.
C: Were you makin' somethin' for me?
Me: Yes, I was. Aren't these colours pretty?
C: Welllll, I don't like those colours. I like pink.
Me: I know you like pink but this is pretty too, right? Look, it was going to be a jacket (shows her photo on pattern).
C: Hmm...well, when it is finished I hope it is pink with butterflies on it cause I'd like that.
Me: But, but, but, this is cute! You'll wear this, right?
C: Nuh-uh. Nope. I don't like that. I want it to be pink with butterflies.

Then she turned on her heel and walked off as if we'd settled the matter. It was one thing for the gauge to be off. That was dumb of me and I could take it. But the rejection of this garment in hopes of getting some pink thing with butterflies on it was too much for me.

I didn't weep. I didn't curse. I didn't throw myself onto the floor and kick my feet and pound my fists into the floor. Nope. I kept my emotions in check and did the only thing my body would allow me to do at that moment:



I calmly ripped it all out and wound it into pristine little balls of colour. I'm taking suggestions on what to make with four balls of Kureyon 180. Also taking suggestions on how to break a three-year-old of her fascination with all things pink and/or princess. Finally, taking suggestions on how to find mojo again.

Book Launch

I went to Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's book launch last night in Toronto. I went in a bit early and met up with my buddy Kate (aka Miss Ewe).

I had every intention of taking a kajillion photos of the event to share here but when I took my camera out of my bag to take a picture of Andy Maize and Michael Johnston during the opening act (so cool), I realized that I had taken the memory chip out of the camera and my internal memory was full. I thought I'd just delete a couple of pics and get a few good shots but quickly realized that the entire internal memory was filled with one video that I hadn't downloaded yet. I love the Skydiggers, I love Stephanie, I love being an inexplicable knitter but I love my video more. So...no evidence that I was there aside from the teensy blip I can recognize as myself on Stephanie's blog (that, and the fact that I'm given "photo credit" for this little stunt).

Here's the video, just in case you are curious. It's of DH and Jillian reading a book together. The book is called "I Went Walking". It's a typical little kid book - "I went walking. What did you see? I saw a fill-in-blank-here looking at me" over and over till the end of the book. During the first reading, they were in a rhythm where DH would read and Jilla would repeat "I went wokin'....see....garbled animal name....me!". The second time through, when I took the video, wasn't quite as cute but you can get the idea:



Anyway, as is typical for these events, many knitters were knitting during the opening act and talk and at the pub later. I didn't bother knitting in the pub but made good progress on my newest project. I'm making the Polkadot circle coat for Claire out of one of my favourite colourways of Noro Kureyon. Here it is posing with the newly released book:



I started this last week in an attempt to get out of my knitter's funk. I sort of blanched a little when I read that I had to cast on 363 stitches but kept going. After 7 or 8 rows I lay the work on my lap to admire and realized I had joined my stitches improperly and had a big ol' twist in my work. Sigh. More than 20 years of knitting and the first time I make that mistake is the only time I'm trying to join more than three hundred stitches in the round. I wasn't going to let the knitting win so I tried again. Claire has declared that it is unacceptable because it isn't pink but I'll keep working on her.

I might be even more scarce than usual for a while. We're getting a new computer (whee) and I think all my computer time will be taken up with setup for a week or so. We'll see.