�The AntiCraft!

"Where are the sweaters to enshroud our dark hearts? Where are the afghans to blanket our angst? Where is the macabre? The dark sensuality? We've brandished our needles in defiance. "

This is a seriously funny little magazine. But don't tell them, because I think they want to be taken very, very seriously.

Quick 'n' Clean

A quick update so I don't feel like such a blogging loser, even though I'm sure no one's reading it anyway. The house is being shown tomorrow, so I'm cleaning, straightening, hiding tchochkes, and 'staging' like a madwoman at midnight. Pleasepleaseplease God let these people want the house, pleasepleaseplease.

I'm happy to report that one toddler sock is finished, and I'm quite pleased with it. No photo as yet because of the cleaning frenzy, but I will document and share it soon. I've cast on for sock #2 and had knit several inches but had to rip it back substantially because I had gotten my purls and knits backwards on part of the ribbing. Oh well. There may be some knitting opportunities tomorrow, with my sister here to divert M.M.'s attention.

And, another gratuitous cutiepie photo:

Not Very Much

Via Rose-Kim.

How Much Is My Blog Worth

My blog is worth $2,258.16.
How much is your blog worth?

Stop me now!

I'm in serious danger of tackling more than one project at a time! Quick, do something! I'm working on the toddler socks, which are proving maddeningly slow and prone to mistakes (because they're so small? I don't know!), and am itching to get going on further sockage. I keep thinking about the size 3 needles in my collection that are not in use on the toddler socks. It's a hazardous situation. I didn't even see the Yarn Harlot in Rhinebeck, so I can't blame it on some sort of contagious multiple-project virus.

Socky Socks

They're not flawless. One is a bit too short, and the other is a bit twisted. But I wore them all day yesterday, and they were quite comfortable, and no one pointed and laughed at my feet. So I'm satisfied with my first pair of socks. I've cast on for a quickie pair of toddler socks out of the leftover yarn before I start my next real project, which is to be another grownup pair.

I've been fantasizing about some yarn that I saw in Rhinebeck. Sadly, I don't remember the name of the vendor, and I wasn't smart enough to take a card. I remember the booth number (or at least the building number) and I've idly thought of trying to figure it out from there. But I need to work on my college application first. I can't help cracking up every time I think about having to work on a college app.

Rhinebeck

We went. We saw a lot of yarn. We also saw sheep and llamas and some ringtailed lemurs. Bought slippers, no yarn …– I was a bit overwhelmed, and I couldn't concentrate on yarn and corralling a two year old at the same time. It was fun though.

Not so fun, I think I have to rip back the last several inches of the second sock. The toe decreases are on a collision course with each other and I think it's because I'm doing them in the wrong place. I'll try again.

Free Day

We were awake for a long time in the middle of the night last night. I hadn't even fallen asleep yet when it started and I purposely didn't check to see what time it was or for how long it lasted. As a result we overslept this morning and missed M.M.'s 2 year old checkup. It's rescheduled for Monday. I'm completely out of it today; I can't think or speak sensibly. So I'm declaring a free day. I'm not going to try to be productive, or efficient, or smart about anything. Just moment to moment basics today, it's all I can handle.

Did I mention that it's been raining nonstop for 7 – yes, seven – days, with three more predicted? This could have something to do with the sleep issues and the dreary outlook.

Oh, and my koigu came. It's beautiful. I'm addicted. I just want to hold it and look at it all day.

CBS | Late Show with David Letterman : Wahoo Gazette

CBS | Late Show with David Letterman : Wahoo Gazette: Bush's poll numbers continue to sink but he's working hard to bring them back up. Dave suspects he's going about it the wrong way.

Announcer:

'President Bush has worked relentlessly to show all Americans he understands what a hard day's work is like. This is why he pretends to help build houses, pretends to help move furniture, and pretends to read intelligence memos. President Bush. Pretending a better tomorrow lies ahead.'

I don't have a tv so I didn't watch this show, but this little excerpt I came across online made me giggle...

Elizabeth Pantley

Here are my problems with "The No Cry Sleep Solution" which – don't get me wrong – I'm really in favor of, theory-wise. It's just that, practically speaking-wise, well, here you go:

1. My child has not read the part of the book where it says she needs 13 to 13.5 hours of sleep per day. She's getting 11, tops, and I cannot seem to knock her out for any longer no matter what I try.
   
2. I have not been able to force her to 'sleep more the more she sleeps'. I love the counter-intuitive concept of it, but actually, she seems to go to sleep earlier if she has no nap! To wake up earlier in the morning if she goes to sleep earlier at night! Whoa, the logic!
3. When I lie in the dark with her, refusing to engage other than to gently whisper "shhh, shhh" to help her settle, she does not drift off to sleep. Instead, she tries harder and harder to engage me until she's jumping around and crawling off the bed. This sends me into a red rage, which is not soporific to either of us.
4. Massage tickles her.
5. How the *%&# am I supposed to simultaneously whisk her into bed the moment she appears sleepy in order to respect and take advantage of her natural sleep rhythms and also maintain a consistent bedtime routine? She seems sleepy right after dinner, I get her into the bedroom, and changing her diaper gets her all riled up and peppy again. I can't abide the diaper rash that will appear if I don't change her between supper and the next morning.

It's true that I haven't blacked out the windows to see if I can get her to sleep later in the morning. But that would not help me get her down earlier at night. Quite the opposite in fact (see #2 above). All I want is for her to sleep from 8 pm to 8 am and for an hour and a half in the afternoon. Is that too much to ask???

She is really freakin' cute, though, isn't she?

Links

I actually tinkered with my template and added some links to my sidebar. Plus, I changed the color of the annoying Blogger strip across the top of the page so that it is less noticeable. Unless I gratuitously draw attention to it by devoting an entire post to such trivial matters.

Slow Socks

Yeah, so the second sock... it's not that I've stopped working on it, or lost my enthusiasm, or anything. It's just, somehow... slooooow. A lot has been going on lately, and I have not been finding a lot of knitting time, despite making grand plans every few days. The progress is, I've started the heel flap. I believe I'm going to have some intensive knitting time as a car passenger on Sunday, so perhaps I'll even finish it, or at least get lots closer then.

I've taken another step in the direction of knitting obsession. I've purchased this . It's koigu, it's painter's palette, it's beautiful and it's on sale.

The reason it's a step down a slippery slope is that I have no specific project for which I'm planning to use it. And, I'm planning on going to Rhinebeck in a couple of weeks, and I believe it possible that I'll come back from that with some beautiful and unplanned-out yarn.

We're talking the beginnings of a "stash" here. This phenomenon is not allowed until a) I actually live somewhere, so I'm not packing and moving everything I own every few months, and b) my financial situation is under control and I know what my budgetary requirements and resources are. Seriously. Really.

Second Birthday

We had a really nice day, and all went according to plan except that M.M. didn't take a nap until we were on the way to dinner tonight, so she got pretty tired. But she didn't fall apart or cry or anything, even though it was her party.

I made the cake, a healthy one that no self-respecting grownup cake eater would appreciate. I got a little nervous because I had to make a couple of substitutions (despite what I thought had been careful shopping) and the batter seemed more like dough than batter. It turned out ok though. A little more like muffins than cake, but tasty enough. And the frosting was great. It looked right pretty if I do say so, decorated with raspberries. I have to admit M.M. liked the ice cream more than the cake, but overall it was a success.

She got to open lots of presents, and got the hang of the loot-getting thing fairly early on in the process. She got a wooden toaster with wooden bread, butter, and a knife (her favorite part), a toddler sized broom and dustpan with which she ran around sweeping for the remainder of the party, a bunch of books, wooden lacing beads, Weebles (she can now say 'they wobble but they don't fall down'), lots of stuff. And her big present was a play stove/sink combo that I'm hoping she'll get years of use out of.

Dave and Linda (my tenant and another singer/songwriter) played guitar and sang songs, both M.M.-oriented and guitar-player-oriented, and there was general low-key merriment, which is my favorite kind.

The hibachi restaurant was fun, but a little traumatic, as M.M. got scared of the chef and the grill we were sitting around. I don't think I adequately prepared her, and when he first made it sizzle she pretty much freaked out. She was very tired and had already had a long, exciting day. Dave and Kathy Jo and I took turns standing away from the table and holding her so she could watch from a distance. She tried like a trouper to watch, but she really didn't enjoy it. The guy's cooking act involves several flaming moments, which is generally exciting and fun, but M.M. did NOT like it. The food was great though, and she got through it without totally falling apart. I felt a little bad about taking her though. I thought she'd like it, and I was too tired and overstimulated by the time we got there to remember to give her a talk about what was going to happen before it was too late. Oh well.

Wax Paper Princess

This is what I walked into in the kitchen this evening. I had to laugh. Every ziploc bag in the house, the tin foil, and of course, the wax paper, which she proceeded to wrap herself in. It was a waste of wax paper, but other than that it could have been a lot worse. Nothing sticky (unlike my s-i-l's little boy who called himself "The Mayonnaise Monster" the other night, for reasons best left to the imagination), nothing that rolled into every corner of the house, relatively safe (except for the possibilities of, let's see, cutting herself on the blade of the tin foil box, suffocating on a ziploc bag, and, I suppose, choking on the tin foil. Luckily, she escaped injury.

She turns 2 tomorrow. I suppose she felt she needed to mark the occasion of her last day of being 1.

Winter Shoes

Preschoolians - I'm Walking Barefoot Stay Warm Purple Nubuck Waterproof Bootie

I don't know. Is $44 too much to spend on warm, waterproof, yet soft and comfortable boots for my darling girl? Shoes that are at all stiff or hard seem to make her incredibly irritable and cranky, plus make her insist on being carried all the time. I tried two different kinds of winter boots last year with very limited success. However, I feel that I've spent a truckload of money on season- and size-appropriate clothing for her and me already this fall, and I can't really afford to be doing that. I probably will though, because really, she can't keep having soaking freezing feet. And I canNOT carry her around all winter.

NOLA.com: T-P Orleans Parish Breaking News Weblog

NOLA.com: T-P Orleans Parish Breaking News Weblog

So, as far as I can see, the reports of the citizenry turning violent and out of control are false, even though the reports of the unimaginable, inhumane, despicable conditions they endured and the irresponsibility of the government agencies responsible are true.

Huh.

Big Toe

Well, I finished the sock. Hmm... not quite sure whether it's a pattern problem or a following-the-pattern problem. I guess I'm going to do the second one and see what happens. It's discouraging though. All this work, and it's not really wearable. Ho hum.

Socks

Finally, the images uploaded. The sock should be finished today, and I'll get started on the second one.

NPR : New Orleans Update: Leaving the City, Again

NPR : New Orleans Update: Leaving the City, Again: "Day to Day, September 21, 2005 � Citizens who had just returned to New Orleans at the urging of Mayor Ray Nagin are being forced to evacuate again because of the approach of Hurricane Rita. Noah Adams talks to Robert Smith, reporting from New Orleans."

I can't stand it. I am getting some seriously creepy vibes from all this. Those poor, poor people. My mind swirls out of bounds, imagining that this is the earth's retribution for all the havoc we've wreaked (I mean, if you were God and wanted to say 'Knock it off with the dependence on petroleum!' what would you do? Send fierce, 100-year storms to wreck the oil industry one after another? I might). I start to fantasize that every area of the country is going to get its own brand of climatic justice: earthquakes, fires, and mudslides in California (sound familiar?), ferocious blizzards in the north, etc. etc.

It could be a blockbuster Hollywood movie. Forget "Deep Impact" – see "Earth's Revenge", filled with special effects and mayhem.

Sock-a-rama

Damn and blast! I have sock photos for your viewing pleasure, but Blogger is capriciously refusing to upload them. I had no trouble with the sweater photos, so I don't know what's going on. I'll give it another shot tomorrow, I suppose. Something to look forward to.

Triumph!

Here it is! It's done, it's done, it's done! The color is actually slightly paler than it appears in this photo. The porch makes a nice background, though, doesn't it?














Behold the Sweater on the super-cute model. Try to ignore the lens cap in her mouth.