New Year. New Part of Brain Engaged.

Thanks to all of you for the nice hellos. It surprised me that you were still watching.

My return to the scene was inspired by a great night of talk with a friend who makes me think. I've been exploring lately how refreshing it is to use my brain to really think about things (as opposed using it solely to think up good uses for frozen chicken or for strategizing ways to clean up the cat barf).

I don't mean to whine about the drudgery. I also spend a good deal of my time doing things I love, like having ridiculous conversations with my children, and knitting whenever I'm sitting down.

What I lack right now is balance. I need to read a book. One that makes me think. I need to engage in grown-up conversation. Grown-up conversation that is not all about my children. I need to look outside my little world more.

So, with this new year and this renewed interest in Baby Finds a Kazoo, I hope to step a little outside the crafty world occasionally and try to remember how interesting life can be.



In that spirit, I'm reminded of a movie I saw with the same above-mentioned friend. Before our evening of engaging conversation (and Marble beer drinking), we saw Milk. We talked about what an amazing thing it must have been to live in San Francisco in the early 1970's. It's interesting to note that I actually did live in San Francisco in the early 1970's, but I was a very small toddler, not a gay-rights activist. My parents were young at the time and, somewhat given to peace marches, but I don't know what their take was on the difficulties faced by their neighbors in the Castro. It must have been a crazy time to live in San Francisco. I think I'll ask them to walk down memory lane.

On a where did all the time go note, I was amazed when the movie recalled events that occurred in the later 70's, and I began to have actual flashbacks from my childhood of watching news stories about gay-rights issues and I suddenly remembered my dad and uncles standing around and discussing it. When did I get old enough to remember the history of 30+ years ago?

Labels: life in general

  ¶ 8:50 PM 3 comments

  My heavens, he's six.


We spent the birthday at Petroglyph National Monument counting millipedes, chasing jackrabbits and attempting to keep our eyes and mouths shut for 5 whole minutes while paying careful attention to the sounds around us. The suggestion of five minutes of silence was offered in the Junior Ranger Guide Book given to us at the park Information Center. Our silence lasted exactly 6 seconds. The guide book was evidently not written by a person who has ever spent time in nature with any real junior rangers.

At the end of the adventure, both my boys were awarded a very official Junior Ranger Badge and a Certificate. It was thrilling. A fabulous way to spend a day that I cherish with two of the people I cherish most.


Last weekend we drove up to Castlerock and Denver for family celebrations and to deliver a knitted hound to our new 5 month old cousin, Orion.

Labels: life in general, Toys

  ¶ 11:16 PM 4 comments

  lumpy beauty

Allow me to introduce my first-ever handspun yarn. I don't think I can sufficiently describe the pleasure I am deriving from this tiny skein of yarn. I feel very proud.

My teachers Consuela and Mary were very patient with me. I learned on my friend Tina's gorgeous patio . We sat there spinning, sipping wine, and nibbling on canoli and natillas for dessert with the Sandia Mountains glowing pink in the distance. My goodness.




Happy Father's Day!

Labels: life in general, spinning

  ¶ 10:28 AM 3 comments

  Orion's Log Cabin



My much younger cousin (whose not really all that young), just had her first baby.
Congratulations to all in her sweet family!

The new little boy has been on my mind in the past few weeks, as I've completely relished knitting a happy little log cabin square for him. It was originally intended to be a blanket (a la mason dixon), but the short rows I used to make the pieces non-square (i.e. charming) have had the added effect of causing the little square to pop out convexly and rather, well, pillow-like.

This happy little accident, combined with the fact that baby Orion came 3 weeks early have sealed the fate of this little square, as a 20" pillow, instead of a much larger blanket.

I will sew a pillowcase from some fun fabric, tack the log cabin square to it, and then embroider his name somewhere.

Thanks for talking me through all this, Heather. As always, you give my knitting crises your full, therapist-quality attention. I hope to always do the same for you!

Tomorrow I'm off to Philly. gulp.

In my fantasies, I'm relaxed (peaceful even) and savoring every moment. In my nightmares, I'm worrying about my children and aimless without their constant company.
I feel excited tonight, and that is a good sign.



Happy Valentines day!

Labels: life in general, log cabin knitting

  ¶ 5:27 PM 6 comments

  For Celeste





Let me tell you about my friend Celeste. She is my oldest friend and no matter how far we live from each other or how different our lives have become, I find my love for her undiminished.

Celeste is funny. She laughs all the time. She never plays it safe. She always takes the road that leads to the greatest challenge and is truest to her heart. And she takes it with confidence. She is beautiful.

My dear beautiful friend is feeling sick these days and I'm knitting something special for her. As I knit, I find myself reflecting on all our years of friendship and I am appreciating her more than ever.

A little music dedication to Celeste on this lousy week:

My kids are addicted to watching this video on youtube (and so am I) and since Celeste is always on my mind these days, she and Feist have become fused in my thoughts.

They are both bold, sexy, and fabulous.

Feel better soon, friend.

Labels: adult hat, life in general

  ¶ 9:06 AM 2 comments

  Hello Camera!

Thanks to sweet birthday pampering from my husband and my dear dad, I am no longer without a camera. My new camera is the prettiest and best camera I've ever owned and it does all sorts of mysterious things I'm not even beginning to understand yet.

I had an exceptional birthday all around. My husband prepared a giant falafel feast, and a big batch of carrot, orange and ginger soup. Then he set the table with pretty dishes and wine, invited some of my very favorite girlfriends over, packed up the kiddos and....he left!
Seriously. He left and he was gone for hours.

It was so civilized and wonderful to sit around the table with my beautiful friends, laugh, drink wine and all the while there were no jarring interruptions from our (adorable, but) crazy little offspring.

I got more sweet handmade gifts this year than ever before.




The lavender soft drawstring pouch was made for me by my dear friend Alison. It's knit with Blue Sky Alpaca Silk and it has a gorgeous bar of French soap inside. Divine!

Marcie (who I miss so much), surprised me with this beautifully crocheted scarf with fluffy white edging. It reminds me so much of her. And THEN, as if I deserved more, lovely Heather made me the prettiest Fetching gloves in my favorite cranberry red. So much sweetness. Thank you. Thank you.

Also, my wonderful in laws got me this book as a gift. I'm dying to make the the crepe paper crown for every adult and child I know.

All these gifts have put me in the mood to make some gifts of my own.

When this bear is finished she will be about 4 inches high and she will hang from the Christmas tree of a very good 4 year-old friend of mine. I've already named her, but I won't give it away now. The pattern comes from my new favorite book, The Knitted Teddy Bear. Cuteness beyond description. I have other great handmade gifts planned for the holidays, but I can't reveal them here and now.

I've been knitting the Racing Stripe, Lightning-Bolt sweaters madly and they are nearly finished. Just one sleeve left, and get this: I've run out of yarn! I'm avoiding the inevitable: $2 ball of yarn + $6 shipping.

While I stew over the yarn shortage, I'm working on the perfect designs for lightning bolts and sleeve stripes. My big boy has many opinions on this subject, so I've begun pulling the sweaters out only after bedtime to avoid lengthy debates about precisely where and how the lightning bolts should be placed.

During my long absence from the blog, I got my much anticipated Ravelry invitation and I've been having so much fun browsing around and adding dozens of projects to my queue. If you're on Ravelry, you can find me under the name mollykazoo.

I'm so glad to be back.

Labels: life in general, two racing stripe sweaters

  ¶ 2:24 PM 5 comments

  cutting the grass with scissors


This evening I watched my 5-year old son carefully cut the grass in our backyard with scissors, then gather it up and lay it, in little piles, on the sprawled cat. This is one of those moments recently when I wished that I had been ready with the camera.

This past weekend we went to Taos. Just the four of us, on a perfect family getaway. We stayed in a little casita with clean white linens, luminous plaster walls and a patio complete with kiva fireplace. We drank Spanish wine and gazed at millions of stars in the clear Taos sky. The best part: we saw no less than 6 shooting stars as we lay there in our loungers.

Vacation moments that filled me with regret over not having my camera:

• I bought both boys really cool sunglasses in Taos. The big boy wore his a lot and during a walk along a dirt road, my husband said that he looked exactly like the guitarist for Cheap Trick. This reference was meaningless to me (I have no idea what the guitarist for Cheap Trick looks like) but his comment made me stop and enjoy the odd details of my son's outfit. He wore a cap, cowboy boots, red shorts with racing stripes, his hand-drawn rocket ship t-shirt, and his new blue fish sunglasses.
  


• I knit a lot on the trip up--indeed, whenever we were in the car. I finished the last few stiches of my lacy malabrigo scarf just as we drove in and parked at the Rio Grande Gorge. It was windy, and I held my little boy close as we walked across the bridge that spans the 800-foot-deep crevasse. The view sneaks up on you--the ground suddenly and dramatically falling away from the plateau as you approach the bridge. My children were silent and wide-eyed. The effects of vertigo and whipping wind made it necessary to hold onto the railing. For warmth my little boy wore my just-finished scarf, and it made him look like a savvy, handsome, European traveler as the scarf billowed about his beautiful face. I wish I had a picture.
  


• In Taos we discovered Twirl. I was dazzled. Even better than the indulgent selection of perfectly chosen toys, is the fantastic setting. It was like the backyard garden of my childhood fantasies. The ones where I discover that I'm actually a magical princess with my own jewel-encrusted trunk full of elaborate gowns, secret glittery treehouses with real kid-sized pots and pans and morrocan-looking bathrooms decorated with murals of exotic pink and orange flowers. If you have children and you are in Taos, go there.

I also bought several yards of fabric to use on kitchen projects and christmas gifts at A Common Thread, a stunning fabric store. I was inspired by Molly's Handmade Napkins on the purl bee, and I plan to make some of my own with these delicious fabrics. I'm mostly doing the project because I can't wait to get my hands on the bias tape maker! Have you ever heard of anything more wonderful?

My absence lately is turning this into the longest post ever. If you're still reading, here is your reward:



stay tuned for itty bitty sock news...coming soon.

Labels: life in general, malabrigo scarf, sewing

  ¶ 8:57 PM 7 comments

 
clicking pretty



I am happy to announce to you all that I type this post on our super-fancy, brand-new laptop computer. I'm feeling that fresh, giddy whirl that only comes from buying something new that I never indulge in.

We are not technologically hip people and I only completed the purchase today after calling my brother-in-law 4 times from the giant warehouse store and consulting with him at length (and very slowly) about gigs, processors and wireless cards.

After looking at the dizzying array of computers for sale at the store, I know that my computer is not fancy. It wasn't the very cheapest one, but almost.

At the store, my eyes wandered to the really shiny black laptops with the super-big screens and I wished a little bit that I could choose something sexier. But, then I got it home and, as if by a miracle, I found it transformed from homely to downright racy!

Great Scott! When did it become possible to browse the internet and listen to cheesy talk radio at the same time?!? I may have to begin exploring these podcasts I've heard so much about. Any recommendations?

Take my advice, and keep your current computer for 10 to 12 years, then go buy a new one.
It will blow your freaking mind.

If you've been checking in with me regularly, I thank you and I'm sorry for my absence.
There is so much to blog about. I'll save knitting news for another day soon.

cheers!

Labels: life in general

  ¶ 8:38 AM 5 comments

  Knee Highs for a Baby

I bought a skein of Lorna's Laces Shepherd sock yarn that looks like this:


It was meant, at first, to become a little fine-gauge baby hat. Then I got a mental flash of hand-knitted knee high socks on a baby. That, I thought, would surely be the cutest thing I have ever seen. They would remind me a little of the Baby Legs I adore, except with so much more old-fashioned charm.

Haven't I seen hand-knitted baby knee highs on a rerun of my beloved Little House on the Prairie?

I have a baby in mind to knit them for, but my busy schedule may prohibit the knitting of little socks just now. We shall see.

A little detail of current knitting sweetness:

I love Berocco Touche. It's soft and plump and drapes nicely. The colors are pretty and it's affordable. I will have to withhold details for now, as the little gem you see here has not quite been gifted.

Thinking about Seattle

I've been savoring summer in Albuquerque, but as I approach the anniversary of last summer's vacation, I find myself longing for Seattle.

Here's what I'm thinking about:

• Walking along Ballard Avenue eating a hot deli sandwich from the Other Coast Cafe.
  
• Strolling through Discovery Park and feeling like I'm deep in the woods, right in the middle of the city.
  
• Eating breakfast at Le Pichet.
  
• Going to Port Townsend and drinking beer on a deck by the water.
  
• Spending long, leisurely hours wandering through the best yarn shop in any city anywhere.
  

It's easy to miss Seattle in the summer. Yesterday, as I drove my two sweaty, lethargic kids across town in our small, oven-like car, I passed a thermometer that read 104 degrees. It's days like this that make me remember lying on the velvety lawn of my Seattle backyard, staring at the pale blue sky through a canopy of flowering Magnolia trees.

My longing has been intensified recently by the discovery of Orangette. Molly, the site's proprietress, writes so beautifully about Seattle that she makes me wish I was there.

There are plenty of things that I love about our city. Really. But I'm not thinking about those this week.

Alas, this summer, we won't be taking any big trips.

Instead. Our limited time and money is going toward improving things around the house. Over the past 3 months we have constructed the slowest fence in the history of fence construction. It's almost done, however, and we are so gratified to have done it ourselves. (With considerable help from dad. Thanks dad!).

Now we're shifting our energy to laying flagstone in the backyard, crafting a functional sandbox cover, and hanging strings of globe lights for late night get-togethers under the arbor.

Stay cool.

Labels: life in general, monica, socks

  ¶ 11:58 PM 5 comments

  Weird


Cari, who is a terrific writer and is documenting her adventure in Japan, recently tagged me to share 7 weird facts about myself. Those who are tagged need to write on their own blog those 7 facts as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag seven others and list their names on your blog. You have to leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and to read your blog.

My husband loves an opportunity to dwell on my weirdness and immediately offered a list of things I might share. I had difficulty narrowing it down.

1. Despite the fact that I'm a pretty together person who can keep track of multiple little things simultaneously (i.e. 2 small, wily children, snacks for said children, lipstick, knitting projects), I manage to misplace my keys every single day. About once a year I lose them permanently.

2. I have no aptitude for numbers, and math was always my worst subject in school. Despite this, I have an idiot-savant-like ability to memorize numbers. When I was a small child, my mom and dad used me as a walking phone book; I could rattle off the numbers of all my aunts & uncles and several family friends.

3. Once, when I was about 23, I was eating dinner on my couch, using a large chef's knife to cut my food (the butter knives were all dirty). With no table to rest the knife on, I wedged the handle of the knife between the sofa cushions when I wasn't using it, with the tip pointing toward the ceiling. (After all, I didn't want to soil the cushions with chicken grease--that would be stupid!) Later, I got up to wash the dishes. When I finished, I did a running jump onto the couch and--you could see this one coming--the knife sunk into my right ass cheek. The hospital staff who stitched me up had a grand time making me repeat the sequence of events to each and every doctor, nurse, lab tech, and ambulance driver on duty that night.

4. I eat orange peels and lemon peels. (An anticlimax after #3, but odd nonetheless.)

5. When I was in labor with my first son, I couldn't get the word haberdashery out of my head. At the time, I did not know what it meant.

6. I fall down. I don't do it so much anymore now that I'm carrying children around, but I used to need very little reason to simply fall down. On one occasion, my husband (boyfriend at the time) and I were standing at the corner of a busy intersection. Note the word "standing." Then I found myself on the ground. My husband was very confused, as he had been looking at me, then turned away for an instant--an instant!--then turned back to find me gone.

7. I can catch anything. My husband likes to keep me sharp by tossing the keys to me when I'm not expecting it, and I catch them every time. I suspect this may be why he married me.

I tag Miss J, Aspen, Philip, Dave, Crystal, Marianne and Morgen.
I would love to tag my friend John from long ago Santa Fe days. He is one of the funniest people I know but I think he's blogless.

In knitting news I happily completed 9 hand knitted washcloths, collected another 18 from other knitting moms and wrapped them up with handcrafted soap for delivery to the most exceptional teachers I've had the pleasure to know. The best unexpected surprise was that my dear friend Heather knit 3 cloths even though her children don't go to my son's school! She just loves to knit and she saw the desperation in my eyes as I fretted about the project. What a gem!

It seems we have some interest in our little Surplice Lace Top KAL. There are at least three of us here in the American Southwest, my dear longtime, sassy friend Amanda in Seattle says she's tempted to join us, Marianne in England plans to join and her photos are so delicious that it should be lovely to follow her progress from anywhere. Also, k-ron who knits and snowshoes with her dog (I love that!) somewhere in the world (I don't know where) is thinking of joining in. Anybody else? Aspen? Julia? Kelena?

I think we'll begin soon...stay tuned.

until then...

Labels: life in general, Surplice Lace Top

  ¶ 11:44 AM 6 comments

  Art in the Backyard

Labels: life in general

  ¶ 7:12 PM 0 comments

  Talented Friends, a Summer Top and Mother's Day Tea

During my printmaking days at the University of Washington, I had a friend, whom I shall refer to as Miss J, who made me laugh out loud every day.

Miss J was known throughout the department for her drawings of odd characters (see above) that hinted strongly at a very rich--and slightly disturbing--inner landscape. These characters didn't always stay on paper. On one memorable occasion, I arrived at the studio to find an elderly gentleman ranting at the other printmakers in a thick German accent. It was, of course, Miss J in full costume, including wig, cane, and osteoporosic posture. Miss J had a full array of material--improvised and rehearsed--that kept the rest of us peeing our pants with hysteria as we worked into the night on project deadlines.

Miss J is a wonderful friend and you really should go NOW and see her brand new blog: The Flying Pencil. There you will find a sampling of her amazing drawings. Those of you who may be less interested in drawing should know that she also knits, sews, and bakes chocolate banana bread like a pro.

I showed this picture to my friend Heather and we immediately agreed that this sweater would look stunning on both of us. This is remarkable since there is a 7 inch difference in our heights and we look nothing alike. And yet, it's true.

Our friend Chris is also charmed by this lovely pattern and the three of us are gathering our collective enthusiasm and planning a little KAL. This will be my first KAL and I'm quite excited. I'm really in no position to begin something new for myself, what with the 5 or 6 other projects I have on needles, but... why the hell not?

Wouldn't it be nifty if other folks reading this right now feel as charmed by the Surplice Lace Top as we are and collectively we mobilize a real live, online KAL?

This little pattern is no Simple Knitted Bodice (the Titanic of all KALs), so I don't expect that THE WHOLE WORLD will want to knit it with us. If, however, you feel moved to knit it too, drop me a comment! I really love comments from people I've never met.

Tomorrow I'm off to Mother's Day tea at the big boy's school and I can hardly wait. Rumor has it that the children will greet us at the door, show us to our seats, pull our chairs out and serve us tea and goodies. He plans to wear his tie and has requested that I wear my butterfly skirt and purple shoes.

Labels: friends of mine, life in general, Surplice Lace Top

  ¶ 2:54 PM 7 comments

  Appreciating teachers and stinkbugs

I've been knitting cotton facecloths for the teachers at my son's school. This was my bright idea and goes under the category of things I committed to months ago when it sounded like a terrific and reasonable idea. Now a few short weeks remain in the school year and I have only completed 2 of 7 facecloths. Thankfully, I wrangled help from two other (very generous) knitting mothers. Also, I feel much better now that I finally started them, because they're so quick. I even began to crochet one today. I am not a crocheter - but luckily my standards are very low for this project. I joke. These teachers are too special for low standards...I just know that accustomed as they are to the accomplishments of preschoolers, they will appreciate my feeble efforts.

In the end there will be 21 cloths all wrapped up with locally crafted soap and tied with pretty twine. I'll photograph the group when they're finished.

Instead of knitting facecloths this weekend, we had a family outing and climbed a volcano. My favorite kind of hiking is the kind where you can see for miles in every direction. I prefer it to feeling hemmed in by trees and surrounded by GREEN. Sure there are snakes in a landscape like this but there are also lizards (excellent for chasing) and stinkbugs (excellent for aggravating into a stinky frenzy).

Labels: knitted cloths, life in general

  ¶ 9:53 PM 4 comments

 
Gratitude


My sincere thanks to everyone for your generous comments about my Sahara. There's nothing like kindness from people who appreciate knitting as much I do. It is gratifying to know that my efforts were not only for me and my family, who have seen me in the sweater now about 150 times. I got lucky with the weather. Things have been chilly and it's a good thing, because I would have worn my Sahara 150 times regardless of the temperature. This way I didn't look like a crazy person.

I also owe a big thanks to Panther, a perfect stranger who found my plea on Blogger help forums and took the time to get my Flickr Badge into the right gutter of my page, where it belongs. Lookie! There it is! Can you believe that people just browse through the help forums offering up advice to boneheads like me whose eyes cross at the site of HTML code?

Do you like to cook, Panther? Maybe I can knit you a nifty potholder as a gesture of thanks...
Having issues with Blogger yourself? You can always find the link to Panther's helpful blog, Beta Blogger for Dummies, in my list of links to the right.

We took a road trip this weekend and I sat in the back seat and knit while the baby slept.
A little peek at a new secret project...

I also bought the new Interweave Knits and browsed at it during knitting breaks. Have you seen the Ruffled Surplice that's pictured on the cover?? Holy cow. Love it! I am very tempted. I also LOVE the Indigo Ripples Skirt.

Other things I'm tempted by these days: Well, I'm dying to knit another Wendy Bernard sweater since I enjoyed my last one so very much. I am thinking seriously of making Something Red, except not red at all and with long sleeves. Maybe blue and brown.

I am also seriously smitten with Lelah by Christine at Knitting for Boozehags. It makes me want to show off my shoulders. I have some beautiful Euroflax Linen in eggplant that I used on a tragic disappointment that I like to call Peek-a-Boob.

It's looks stunning on me as long as I don't lift my arms above my waist. It hurts me to open my closet and see it there, and I finally feel ready to rip it out completely and make something sweet with it. Maybe Lelah. What do you think? Has anyone heard any horror stories about a Lelah elastic-band failing it's wearer? My wedding gown was strapless and I had a dream pre-wedding that I was dancing at my reception with an elderly uncle when, suddenly, out flops a breast. Thankfully, I was spared this humiliation at my actual wedding.

Maybe I'm a candidate for straps.

I've been coveting beautiful needle cases at sites like The Organized Knitter for over a year and wishing I could justify spending $75 on one. I knew that if I just spent an afternoon making a huge mess at my dining room table, I could sew one that would make me proud, but time is precious and I just wanted someone else to do it for me.

My disinterest turned to inspiration when I saw the handmade needle case made by my friend Heather. She used old flour sack fabric that belonged to some ancestor of hers, generations ago.
(Am I over-romanticizing it Heather?)

Well, anyway it's adorable.

Here's mine.




My favorite new book: So Few of Me by Peter Reynolds. It's about a boy named Leo who is a busy lad. No matter how hard he works, there is always more to do (sound familiar?). Crazy things happen in the book that are meant to help him complete all the tasks on his endless to-do list, but poor Leo is overwhelmed by it all and he slips away to take a nap. When he wakes up, he is still savoring his dream and he says, What if I did less—but did my best?

Can you beat a message like that?
Have a good nap this week, and do less.

Labels: life in general, project spectrum, sewing, tragic knitting disappointments

  ¶ 9:40 PM 2 comments

  Life every 5 years


Ramona tagged me to do a "five year meme". Descriptive memories of your life in five year jumps working back from 2007. So every year that ends with a 2 and 7.


1972 - I was two. We lived in San Fransisco near golden gate park. I remember being terrified of a big stuffed beaver that loomed over my bed at night. I remember taking the bus with my mom and the bakery on the corner was warm and lovely. They fussed over me. Our backyard was big and green and I found a little bunny there once (or did I dream that?).

1977 - seven years old. Silent sustained reading in second grade was just an opportunity to hide behind my book and whisper with my friend Pamela. I spent my summer at La Casa Country Dayschool. We played make-believe princess all summer. There were two old ponies there named Cinderella and Snow White. My room was always a mess. Pamela had baby chicks and I held and snuggled one for the whole afternoon. It died from being held too much. I thought that if I just wished hard enough it would come back. I was an adult before I could forgive myself enough to tell that story.

1982 - Twelve years old. I felt lost. My best friend of 4 years suddenly found a new friend and stopped speaking to me. My dad found a girlfriend who I loved but simultaneously resented. I didn't know where I fit anymore. My school was tough. I spent most of my time with my cousin Crystal who was one year older and outrageous. She dressed in fishnet stockings and ripped-up shirts that exposed too much of her very curvy 13 year-old body. She cussed and got me drunk. But she loved me and she was fiercely loyal. She treated me like a sister.


1987- Seventeen. Like Ramona, my first car was a VW bug. I earned the money to buy it myself and my dad painted it candy-apple red, including the wheels. Also like Ramona, I was not a good driver. I wrecked that car 3 times. I fell in love for the first time with a boy who was pathologically shy and made my whole body tingle. I crept out of the house late at night with my best friend and went to parties featuring hot tubs and beer. The same friend and I stayed up all night on a regular basis talking and drinking pots of coffee at the Village Inn. We watched the Godfather movies dozens of times that year. I was loving life.

1992 - Twenty-two. I was still working on my bachelor's degree (VERY slowly) and waiting tables at a 50's-theme diner. My name tag read "twinkles'. I had a long off-and-on relationship with a wonderful guy who was definately not my match but who I could not seem to stop dating. We played a lot of poker together and we drank a lot of beer and we camped all summer long. I knew that I needed an adventure. I began to fantasize about a sophisticated life in a much bigger city.

1997 - twenty seven. The year I found my first grey hair. I had been living in Seattle for 3 years. This was the year that I moved in with my now husband. Our apartment was tiny. He made me laugh everyday. This was the year that I FINALLY graduated with 2 degrees and a minor (that's what happens when you go to school for 8 years). We lived on Queen Anne Hill and we walked to coffee shops every chance we got. I spent a good deal of time at a divine fabric store down the street.

2002 - thirty two. The year my first baby was born. We lived in an apartment with a huge magnolia tree outside. When it bloomed our whole living room glowed with warm pink light. My darling boy was born at home. Every day was a honeymoon and a glorious gift. I watched him stare at the world with giant brown eyes and I couldn't believe life could be this good.

2007 - thirty six. The boys play now. They yell and scream and pull everything out and leave it in my path. I think they are stunning and beautiful. I had a date with my husband last night and he was extraordinarily insightful, as usual. He sees me clearly. He loves my flaws. He makes me laugh and when I do my heart is full. He's very cute too.

Thanks Ramona!

Now I tag whoever feels moved to remember their lives in this way. I'd love to read more of these.

Labels: life in general

  ¶ 11:41 PM 3 comments

  Pot Roast and little knitters

OH BROTHER!

Where the heck have I been?

I have so missed my beloved blog. Things aren't quite as much fun when I'm not plotting to share them. There have been so many changes in our lives and they all seem to have directly impacted baby finds a kazoo. My tiny desk in the back of the kitchen has been replaced with a fabulous (and desperately necessary) new food pantry. Until we figure out how to enable our wireless network, the computer remains perched beside the rolled oats on the top of the new pantry. I am writing this as I stand on my tippy-toes.



Don't pity me. I am also drinking a glass of zinfandel as I write this. It's 3:45 pm. Not a typical time of day for me to dip into the stash, but I just put Red Wine Pot Roast with Porcini in the oven and the remainder of the wine begged not to be wasted.

I have completed many projects in recent weeks; most small, a few doozies. I've been sewing, decoupaging, knitting and doing a LOT of laundry. But disaster has struck. My camera appears to be broken. Very sad news for me. Luckily a loaner has been secured and I can begin sharing photos soon.


What else have I been up to? Sharing the knitting love for one.

Meet Ciera and Paloma. Both terrific kids and both gifted with considerable skill in artistic endeavors of all sorts. I was amazed by the ease with which they picked up knitting. Is it their crafty genes (they also happen to be my little cousins)? Or is it their age (what with brain cells generating every minute)? Seriously, it was spooky how little I had to explain and how quickly they picked it up. I'm fond of these girls. Can you tell?
They have fabulous, super-colorful projects planned. Stay tuned for pictures of them modeling their results.

I have three other equally adorable and fantastic cousins -one of whom is a boy (boy knitters rock!) who I plan to bring into the fold as soon as I can bribe them to come over by offering sugary treats or some other really cool incentive.

Happy Spring!

Labels: life in general

  ¶ 4:38 PM 2 comments

  Have you heard?

Record breaking snow has filled everyone in these parts with glee. There is nothing like falling snowflakes to fill you with hope and comfort.




















We built snowmen to greet the cars driving by. We skated down the middle of the road on our boots. I blathered on and on about the many virtues of wool. Rufus and Bargy were positively covered with snow and still did a damn fine job keeping little fingers warm and dry.

On a productive note, I have been madly knitting a little hat for a soon-to-be-born baby boy in Seattle. His mommy is an excellent friend who came all the way to New Mexico after my second kiddo was born and who pretends (for our benefit) that her guest quarters is actually named for my family. I have big knitting plans for this special little guy, but his birth has snuck up on me (and is landing too damn near Christmas). I will send a hat now and something more worthy of his cuteness soon, soon, soon.

And speaking of excellent knitted gifts, I must show you one of my very favorite Christmas gifts. A pair of sweet fingerless mittens knitted just for me by my gracious and wonderful mother-in-law. She knit them with Goddess Yarns Julia and they. are. yummy. Not to mention, cute. I love them.




Happy New Year!

Labels: fingerless mitts, life in general

  ¶ 9:51 AM 2 comments

  Happy Everything!



I'm back.

Today I return from a family Hanukkah/Christmas party where we lit the Menorah - one day late for the last day of Hanukkah- but God will forgive us. We sang Christmas carols and gave the kids insane piles of gifts and naturally we ate Tapas. There was also dancing and dreidel games.

My family embraces it's own strange amalgam of celebrations that we hope honors the traditions of our various ethnicities while still keeping it light and mostly secular.

It was great. The hosting Aunt and Uncle live on a snow-covered mountain and the views were so gorgeous. There were snowy mountain vistas for miles and clear cold air.

I have been so busy that I've had no time to look at my many favorite blogs, much less post a hello to y'all. Most of my time has been occupied spending lots of money and making miles and miles of wrapping paper with my kiddo.

Much as I wanted to, I didn't get around to making a stocking for the little one. I will resort to borrowing one for him from my stash of family acquired stockings. This makes me feel a little sad, but I'm telling myself that he'll never notice. Next year I will make him a kick-ass stocking that will fill his little heart with joy at being loved so well by his mama.

And while we're talking about things I had on my list, but never got around to making, this is the advent calendar that now graces a 9x12 inch spot on the living room wall. Not exactly what I dreamed of, but it's making us all very happy just the same.

It was picked by the big kid, from among many at a local bookstore and he loves imagining that Santa will sit on our armchair, just as you see him here, napping and digesting his cookies. He's been regularly squirting water into the fireplace to make it more sanitary and comfortable for Santa.

A wonderful thing happened to us. We went to one of those huge home center stores yesterday to buy some paint and the clerk, all dressed in a flannel shirt and work pants, otherwise looked exactly like Santa himself. When I asked him if anyone ever points out the resemblance, he leaned over to my big boy, winked and said, "Oh yes! Ho Ho Ho!"

As we left the store, even I was convinced that we had just had a close encounter with the big man, incognito. There is really nothing better than a dazzled/absolutely-anything-is-possible expression on your beautiful child's face.

My closest and favorite friend for the past 20 years is named Celeste. She is fabulous in so many ways but most recently, she is fabulous because she spent part of her recent trip to France in a yarn store (even though she is not a knitter) and she bought me all this:

Aren't those colors just delicious?? Oh, how well she knows me! Wouldn't it be lovely to make it into something sweet for the gifter herself? There is only one problem. The precious (and it is indescribably adorable) pattern book is written entirely in French.

Despite 3 years of French instruction in high school and a refresher course years later, I read not a lick.

HELP! Can anyone out there tell me how to find English translations for Plassard pattern books? I would be grateful to hear from anyone who offer a tip.

Perhaps I'll email Becky at skinny rabbit and ask her advice. Hers was the first knitting blog I ever saw and I've been an admiring lurker for years.

I knitted 3 gifts this week. Two teeny sweater ornaments for the Christmas tree of my fabulous friend Jeanette, and a seed stitch hat for a cutie named Heath. The hat was my own pattern and was knit with a zany-looking bright orange, bulky yarn that I got in Taos at the yarn festival.




















I am now required at the wrapping station (formerly known as my dining room table) to adorn 50 more gifts then it's off to sleep for two blissful hours before the baby wakes me up.

Merry Christmas and Happy Everything!

Labels: baby hat, knitted ornaments, life in general

  ¶ 9:38 PM 6 comments