Armed with Textbooks & Knitting Needles

Knitting Adventures

17 hours ago
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Murphy's Law states the following:

Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. Also, all the sweaters Laura knits for Hazel will be at least 2 sizes too big.

You may think that I added that last bit. Well, it's always been there, but no one cared because it didn't make sense until I started knitting sweaters for Hazel and they all turned out HUGELY HUGE.

Case in point:

Big big sweater

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Knitters, you might be able to tell that this yarn in super bulky weight. I know - not all that practical for a toddler sweater, but I had 2 skeins from the first year I started knitting, and what else could it make? I actually had to hunt down and purchase another skein for the sleeves, but that's another story. Anyway, it's huge. It's a parka. For a three-year-old. A big three-year-old. It's cute, and I do like the big buttons we picked out today (even if they aren't spaced evenly; that's something else I can't seem to do correctly), but I wish it fit her right now. Next year she is going to wear a hand-knit EVERY DAY OF THE WINTER.

Also, as a side note: when I was trying to get pictures of her in this, which is much harder than it used to be when she couldn't walk, I made her wear a plastic cup as a hat. She wore it, which is the funny part!

cup hat

yep, that is a cup.

hazel <3

Also, she liked to bend her head waaaay down and lick the top button. I mean, it's her sweater, right? Mama's hand-knits are cool to wear in 7 years AND taste great!

A Funny Thing Happened

Yesterday
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I woke up with a goal in mind. Today, yes TODAY, I was going to finish up this proposal/research paper that has been hanging over my head like a guillotine. The word limit was 3000-5000 words, and I have had 1300 words (all appendices and the introduction) finished for weeks now. Research is piling up on my desk, with tons of notes and outlines, but I have been sitting behind the biggest writer's block of the century. Add to that a sick baby for a week, meaning she stayed at home with me rather than go to the sitter, and my work time/desire has been shot. Until last night, when I just shook myself and said, "Tomorrow. DO IT TOMORROW."

So, after having a banana and some coffee at my desk this morning, I dove into the material. About 6 hours later I hit "save" on the nice, neatly formatted 3900-odd words and started high-fiving my computer. Seriously, I could have danced some kind of Irish jig if I had any Irish rhythm. Not only did I finish with rough draft, with just minor stuff to add next week after one more interview, but I had another hour and a half at least until Amos and Hazel would be home! WOOOO, SPRING BREAK!!!!!!!

To celebrate I decided to take a shower AND use a sugar scrub. I know, it's like my own private honeymoon with myself! After stepping into the special, awesome, Vera Wang, Amos-gifted robe that I can't wear around a baby, I thought a little apple wine might be nice while I let my hair air-dry. I always let my hair dry for about 20, 30 minutes before using the blow dryer, so why not make that time special when I'm feeling so awesome, right? Right! My good friend Amy gave me two bottles of homemade apple wine last summer, one of which was chilling in the fridge for just such a moment. I poured a glass and settled down at my computer to catch up on all my favorite blogs.

My phone rings from the kitchen. I stand up, stumble into the hallway, and realize two things. First of all, I'm walking down the hall bracing myself on either side with my hands. Secondly, I'm walking like that because I'm drunk. Like, druuuuunk. Drunk-dialing drunk. Mouth open drunk. Bangs are in my eyes and I'm not moving them because I don't see them drunk. Yep. And, being drunk, I think this is pretty funny.

See, I kind of skipped lunch because I was in a writing fury. And I kind of wasn't hungry because I drank 6 cups of not-decaf coffee today after breakfast. Yeaaaaah.

All I can think is that I have GOT to eat and it has to be NOW because if Amos comes home and sees me I am going to be kind of embarrassed. I blow-dry my hair, whipping that machine around (FYI, not all that fun if you're drunk), throw on a flannel, and careen down my crazy steep staircase, hoping to duck into the natural foods store below us and grab some kind of granola to soak up the wine. I bust out onto the sidewalk and hear "It's Mama!!!!" from across the way. I turn in classic slow-motion to see Amos and Hazel waving like adorable maniacs, mouths open and everything. Of course he can tell something's up, and of course he pokes fun at me while we're in Tom's. It's only when we get upstairs, and he sees how little is gone from the bottle, that he actually laughs so hard he has to put Hazel down before he drops her.

The moral of this story is that if you have a cool husband he'll take you out for Mexican so you can sober up at 4 pm.

Dear Hazel,

5 days ago
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Trust me when I say that you only slept for 15 minutes. It's not time to get out of the crib. You are supposed to sleep for 2 whole hours. I know how to read a clock; you don't, yet. I love you, but I am not going to consider your job as "baby" fulfilled until you nap the remaining hour and 45 minutes.

Love,

Mama, aka your boss lady

Quick like a bunny!

6 days ago
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I am sick. Hazel is sicker. Amos is not (lucky dude!). So this will be quick fast like lightening!

This week was productive in that I got new yarn and started knitting with it. Oh also the house was clean for one whole day. PRETTY COOL. Friday I got a crazy number of house-stuff done: groceries, dishes, sweeping, mopping, bathroom-sink-cleaning, plus I made a tofu/kale supper pie, which was phenomenal. But then I got sick yesterday, and all I did before Amos got home was feed Hazel and pick up a couple of promised books at the book sale. And today it's been mopey, snotty, headachey, orange-juicy shuffling from room to room.

Thus, the promised quick run-down:

I'm making the shawl on the left with the yarn on the right. This will be a kind of last-minute Christmas gift for my grandma. I'm making one that is a little bigger than the one here, since I want her to use it like a shawl.

my clapotis

Also, because Hazel was sick, Amos bought some Crayons for her. She's a little young, really, but he found these plastic-covered ones and she loved them! She didn't try to eat them once.

A Walk in the Park

Nov 8, 2009
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Here are two fun videos to start the week nicely. The first I took right around Halloween, on the 27th I believe. Hazel is so adorable.

14 months - around Halloween

This one is a little older, maybe mid-October. She's just happy when she wakes up from a good nap! Enjoy!

14 months - Crib Dancing

Christmas Addendum: Knitting List

Nov 2, 2009
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Oh yeah - this is what I was getting to in that last post. Duh!

I am basically done with all the knitting I had planned for Christmas, which naturally means that I have tacked more on already. Here's what I have left (if I don't write this down somewhere it will never get done!):

Pumpkin hat for Lindsay Done! 11.06.09
Purple scarf for Olivia Done! 11.03.09
Red dress for Hazel
Clapotis for Granny -- YARN BOUGHT!!
The extra somethingsomething for Emma -- YARN BOUGHT! DONE!! 11.06.09
Extra thing for Hazel 11.07.09
Finish the huge baby bedspread for Hazel (or take that on the trip - yeah do this option)
Maybe some baby pants with the gold/orange leftover yarns?
2 Christmas dishcloths

Ummm...I should get started. LOL

PS - That red dress for Hazel??!?!?!?!!! Yeah, it's crossed off because I was looking at it and I realized that it would totally fit her perfectly in about 8 years. Why can't I knit anything that will fit a 14-month-old?! It's like a curse!!! So, I ripped all that out last night, and that soft, beautiful Malabrigo (Bergamota is the name of the colorway) is going to sit there until I can stand to touch it again, which won't be too long, because it really is gorgeous.

PPS - I have finished up all these tiny little projects, which feels pretty awesome, but I really should be working on the proposal I have to write. So it's down with the needles & forward with the highlighter!

Christmas Stuff - Yes, I Know It's Early.

Nov 2, 2009
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That's right bro - it's officially Christmas season up in this mother!!! Why? I'll be happy to tell you! I made full-on caffeine coffee today!!!

We live in NY.
Most of the people I buy gifts for do not.
That means each gift involves extra time & money for shipping and strategic (wrinkle-free) packing.
That also means we travel every Christmas.
We don't like the snow.
So, we leave ASAP in December and come back ALAP.

The last two years I've been orchestrating this huge Christmas endeavor have been learning experiences. The first year I think I spent about $80 US DOLLARS on shipping alone, not including the cost of tape, boxes, and paper to stuff inside the boxes. That's just too much. Last year was better, and this year is going to be phenomenal. I made sure to buy things that were generally lightweight or small, so shipping will be a breeze! So, I've basically got that covered. It helps that I start buying really early, like when everything goes on after-Christmas sale.

Also, because we leave for Christmas pretty early, it means that everything has to be done by about December 10th at the latest. When I've tried to let things go longer in the past I have ended up crying red & green tears of despair, curled in a ball under a half-decorated tree, holding lights that won't blink in my hands. This year I hope to avoid that scenario. To that end, I have about 80% of my list bought, wrapped, and packed to ship. About 10% is staying here (bought & wrapped already), and the other bit I haven't made/bought yet. I have also already written & addressed every Christmas card, and the whole stack is sitting tight in the box in which they came.

I know - I'm like this Christmas Nazi. I start shopping and planning my Christmas knitting in January; every sale is potential Christmas fodder. I can't help it; my tendency to over-achieve, combined with our kind of weirdly stressful Christmas situation, makes for a total organized Yuletide dictator. But you know, when I'm sipping wassel and knitting in the evening with Hazel playing in the flickering glow of Christmas lights, I'm going to be enjoying my holiday instead of worrying about completing all the things I wanted done.

Happy Halloween!

Oct 31, 2009
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Trick or Treat from Liberace (and her parents)!!

Daddy & Liberace

Liberace & Mama, Halloween 2009!

The whole dorky family

Fall in Clinton

Oct 27, 2009
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A few more fall photos, this time from the village green in Clinton; these were extremely difficult to take, since I had a one-year-old who was kind of walking by herself (but not really, for whatever reason this morning) and a purse slung over my back. So, they aren't the greatest, but the trees are pretty.

Outside Today

Oct 26, 2009
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When I pick up Hazel on Mondays we always have about an hour to kill between then and when Amos is done at work. We usually spend that time pacing outside at SUNY while I hold Hazel's hand...today, she was running and walking all over without me!