A Blanket for George

George's blanket is finished. The finishing touches were put on it late last night, after I was cautioned by Jeannie that perhaps the baby will not come until his blanket is ready for him. =) Honestly a tiny glimmer of superstition in me predicted my water to break just as I held up the final product for BJ's sweet (but expected) admiration. No such luck, but his blanket does await him when he chooses to make his arrival. In the bottom picture, friends, you must imagine a swaddled gorgeous little George instead of his owl partner-in-crime (handmade by none other than Sommer).

Patches

Time is becoming of the essence here with my latest knitting project, which is George's baby blanket. I had originally thought I would finish it in time, then realized that I likely wouldn't, and am now starting to hold out hope again. I have decided to knit his blanket as a construction of 24 patches in five different colors, all made with a simple knit-stitch. I figured that as long as I change colors and turn the patches in different directions, the texture would be interesting enough to make up for the fact that the blanket is constructed in only the knit-stitch. So far I have completed 21 of the 24 patches and am well on my way with the 22nd. This would all seem extremely do-able but for the small, insignificant detail that I still have to stitch all of the patches together. The problem is that my only free time is really during Silas' nap-time, plus a little time after he goes to bed at night. My friend Erin asked me yesterday if I thought I would finish in time and I had to tell her that I honestly have no idea. If George waits another week to come, then yes, I should definitely have it finished. If my water breaks tonight though, it ain't gonna happen. Luckily, my friend Jeannie sent George a gorgeous red baby blanket that I cried upon receiving, so it's not like little George is going to go cold. If George is anything like Silas, then he will love more than one blanket anyway. (Silas' word for "blanket" is "ninny," and he is extremely partial to his "blue ninny," which is also a Jeannie creation. Have I mentioned that Jeannie is a fabulous knitter? Why oh why must she live all the way in Indiana?)

So, knitting away furiously! At least, as fast as my swollen fingers will let me!

Owen

One of my dearest friends in this world is a marvelous young lady named Sommer. You can read about Sommer from past posts here and here if you're interested in her aura. =) We live a long distance from one another, but we typically communicate on a daily basis, so I feel very close to her even though our visits are not as frequent as I would like. Most recently BJ, Silas, and I visited Sommer and her family in June/July of this summer, at which point we both had one child nearly the exact same age and we were both expecting another as well. Sommer's son Owen was born in August, and he is the only baby I have knit a blanket for. (My own second son George will be the second recipient of an imperfect Jenny creation.)

Those of you who have wondered about the woes of our past month will find your answers here. Sommer's son Owen has recently been diagnosed with leukodystrophy, which we have learned is a disease that, in Sommer's words, is "devastating and life-limiting." BJ and I are obviously broken-hearted and grieving for our friends and for Owen's precious but short life here on Earth. Specifics about Owen's prognosis and symptoms are not my business to share on this blog, but for those of you who are interested in Owen and Sommer's story and their ongoing journey, Sommer has made the momentous decision to begin her own blog. She has consented that I share this blog with my friends, her only condition being that I don't criticize grammatic content. As if. =) Sommer's account of loving Owen can be found here: http://lovingowen.blogspot.com/

In trivial news, here are a couple of things that I have made lately:

1. An alpaca basket-weave scarf for BJ. He looks so handsome that he simply needed a soft, handsome scarf to match.

2. Homemade marshmallows. I can't eat the packaged kind because it is made with light corn syrup, which frustratingly contains vanilla. We special-ordered vanilla-free corn syrup that came in the mail earlier this week though, and so now my hot chocolate has huge, gooey vanilla-free homemade marshmallows floating in it. Yum.

* Note: This is not actually a picture of a mug of hot chocolate with a thousand floating marshmallows. I may be crazy, but I'm not that far gone.

 3. A fool of myself in excitement over the success of OSU's football season this year. I can honestly say that I cared less than ever about this Bedlam game in light of the above-mentioned recent events in our lives, but I tell you, what a pick-me-up it is to win a Big 12 Championship and taste the first-time sweetness of a BCS bowl. BJ and I are pumped!

Good Stuff

I wasn't sure what to title this post because it covers ground on a couple of topics, but because the topics are fun, there you go. Good stuff. First off, some good friends of ours had a baby last week, so we made a road trip to western Oklahoma to visit them and meet Baby Roxie. She is adorable and good times were had yesterday. Roxie's older brother Miles is a playmate of Silas', and also the same boy that I knitted the OU scarf for. We were able to get the boys together to show off their college scarves, but the picture is certainly sub-par. I had envisioned an adorable twosome with arms around each others' shoulders, grinning for the camera. What we really had were two cranky toddlers who were enthralled with their "prizes," which were little bowls of M&M's to make them sit still momentarily. Ah vell. Here are the Bedlam Boys (in case you're not from Oklahoma, the rivalry between OSU and OU is called Bedlam):

The second topic of this post is pomegranates. Oh people, let me tell you how I love fresh pomegranates in the fall. In my book, these delicious fruit seeds are rivaled in taste only by fresh pineapples. I have noticed over my adult years that when I talk about pomegranates or eat the seeds in public, people typically have no idea what they are. I thought I'd spend a short time discussing their goodness and how best to prepare the fruit. The pomegranate itself looks like this in your produce aisle:

 

When you cut it open, you'll find that it has lots of seeds inside that resemble red corn kernels. The seeds are the edible part of the fruit, while the skin and the coarse white bits that hold them in place are not.

Getting the seeds out can be a laborious and quite messy process, but BJ and I have found a method that cuts down on both of these problems. Start by quartering the pomegranate, and be careful when doing so because the red juices really will spill onto the cutting board. Wear a crappy shirt or an apron just in case.

After you've cut into it, work with one quarter at a time. I put a mixing bowl in the sink and fill it with cold water. Then, take a wedge of the fruit, hold it in your hands underwater in the bowl and begin digging the seeds out. Some of the seeds will want to cling to the white part, but most will fall straight to the bottom of the mixing bowl while the whites pieces that you don't want will float to the top. Separating it can take a little bit of time but it is worth it! Once you have all the seeds out, just start skimming the floating white bits out of the water and into the sink to discard. Dump the seeds and water into a strainer to lose the water, and pick through the seeds to get out any major bits of white stuff that you missed. Then, grab a spoon and dig in!

This weekend we have been so busy with cleaning out the office, which is officially an empty room now! It won't be long and it will be Silas' big boy room. We also watched good college football, made and enjoyed a delicious eggnog recipe by Alton Brown, and sold a bunch of things on craigslist and Ebay. I am feeling pretty good about us right now!

The OSU Scarf

I have finished my latest knitting projects, which were collegiate ribbed scarves for Silas and his friend Miles. In a previous post I mentioned that Silas' scarf would be, of course, in OSU's majestic orange and black, while Miles' is in the rival colors of OU, maroon and white. (OU faithful refer to these colors as "crimson and cream," but really it is maroon and white. I suppose I could also begin calling OSU's colors "ebony and mango," but nah.) One more collegiate scarf, in OU colors, has been requested for another of Silas' friends, and I will be sure to post a pic of that gorgeous little girl when she has her warm OU scarf around her neck in the next month. I'm now working on a navy alpaca basket-weave scarf for BJ. Needles are happily clicking!

Portland: Belated Part Two

Well, we made it back from Portland a week ago and have had a busy week in the meantime. A recap of random bits from parte dos of our trip:

• BJ had to work less in the second half of the week, and Silas and I were happy to see him a little more. We tried a couple of new delicious restaurants and also a tried-and-true favorite of BJ's from last time, Deschutes Brewery. None of the food in Portland was disappointing.
• Silas and I (through no fault of Silas') ventured into the nearby Ben & Jerry's far too many times, but it was necessary for George and me to get our fill of "Coconut Seven-Layer Bar" before it was no longer available to us on a daily basis. (Have I mentioned that we are naming the baby George? Well, George it is!) I also could not resist a taste of their new flavor, Schweddy Balls. The teenagers who were operating the store seemed to be under the illusion that the "Schweddy Balls" skit from SNL was "all the way back in the 80's." Part of me was just realizing I am old, but part of me was protesting, "It was Alec Baldwin and Molly Shannon! It wasn't that long ago!"
• Silas and I also continued our sweep of the sugary goods offered by the city by visiting the renowned Voodoo Doughnuts for breakfast one day. Voodoo was highlighted on the Portland episode of "Man v. Food," and it did not disappoint.   

Fortunately Silas was more interested in this guy than in partaking in my Raspberry Romeo doughnut.

• Silas and I also hit up the downtown branch of the Portland library system and joined some local toddlers in weekly storytime activities on Thursday. It was pretty fun and kept Silas entertained for 40 minutes, which was beyond my expectations for his attention span!
• Perhaps it is a testament to the fact that I am now an old woman, but one evening in the hotel I had to get out of bed and knock on the door of our neighbors' room and ask them to please keep it down. For the second time on the trip I found myself in deliberation: on one hand I realized I am just plain old now, but on the other I'm protesting, "It was 11:30 at night and those frat boys would NOT stop roaring with laughter every 20 seconds!" Even Silas, my champion sleeper, was not handling it well!
• Have I mentioned that Silas is fairly obsessed with airplanes? Well, he is. You can imagine his excitement every time we take him to the airport to see airplanes (which he calls "mare-mays") and then, gasp, BOARD an airplane and go into the sky! It's just all too much for him to take sometimes, and he spends the majority of our layovers looking through the floor-to-ceiling windows at the mare-mays parked at their respective gates, screaming in excitement "Mare-may!" for all passersby to hear. So our travel day back was pretty kickin'. Speaking of kickin', OSU also kicked Texas A&M that day in College Station, so a grand day was had by all of us.

BJ and I have somehow not readjusted to Central time yet, which is pretty unfortunate for our day-time energy levels. For example, last night we stayed up until 2AM, which is absurd and hasn't been done since Silas was born. Exactly what we are thinking, I truly have no idea. Fortunately, we own a son who is chillax and slept until 9:40 himself this morning, meaning of course that BJ and I also slept until 9:40.

Last update is that all those naps that Silas took in our Portland hotel resulted in my finishing Baby Owen's blanket! It turns out that nap-time is a wonderful thing when you get to use it for something fun and not things like housework and dinner preparation. Who knew? Of course, I made the bonehead move of quickly mailing the blanket off before taking pictures of it, but Sommer has graciously texted me a few pics of her kids enjoying my quite imperfect creation. Owen would make any blanket look good though!

I am currently well on my way to creating a collegiate-style ribbed scarf for Silas, in orange and black for OSU of course. His friend Miles will soon be sporting his own too, though in OU's maroon and white colors. I will post a picture of the boys in their rival scarves upon completion! Hope everyone is doing well!

A Knitting Frenzy

What feels like many years ago, I promised my friend Sommer that I would knit her baby-boy-to-come the first-ever baby blanket that I would make. I couldn't promise perfection, which I'm sure she was not expecting, but I did promise the blanket. And then I began knitting said blanket.

Months have passed. I feel like a terrible friend. Owen was born at the end of August, and while I know this blanket would really be too heavy for the summertime (even in Massachusetts), I would have loved for that blanket to be there waiting for his return from the hospital. Alas, it was not to happen. The pattern that I am using for this blanket comes from my father-in-law's cousin, the fabulous and wonderful Jeannie. Although I have only met Jeannie twice, she has been more instrumental in my life than she likely realizes. A couple of weeks after Silas was born, she mailed a package to our home containing a blanket that she knitted for him. This blanket, in conjunction with Facebook status updates from a close friend's sister about how cozy and awesome knitting is, spurred me to learn the trade, which is exactly what began last Christmas when I asked for knitting supplies as gifts. So thanks to Jeannie and Jill, for introducing me to knitting. But that is an aside. So, Silas has this very cool blanket knitted by Jeannie, and after learning the basics and knitting SEVERAL projects in 2011, I finally decided I was ready for my first baby blanket, and Sommer was my target recipient. Naturally, I wanted to knit the same blanket I had come to love in our home, knitted by Jeannie. I asked her for the pattern, bought the yarn, and quickly began struggling. My floundering continued, and thus my motivation waned, for several months until I got to see Jeannie in person in Indiana a couple of weeks ago, incidentally on the very day that baby Owen was born. Jeannie quickly set me straight on what I had been doing wrong, and just seeing her again and scheming with a fellow knitter (of whom I seem to know very few) was so rejuvenating for me that I haven't stopped working on this blanket since! I am now well into the fifth ball of yarn, and the blanket will only take just short of six balls. (Skeins I should say. Sorry. It looks like a ball to me.)

So hang in there, baby Owen! It's coming! My goal for completion is October 1, and I don't think that is unrealistic at this point. I haven't blogged about knitting in forever, so probably some of my friends didn't realize that I was still going strong. Never fear, readers, needles are still clicking. =)

Knitting, Jogging, and Cheering

I have missed blogging. So many times over the past week I have thought, "I should blog about that." And then I remembered that there just aren't enough hours in the day and I really want to sleep at the end of it. Mostly my time lately has been spent either with family or at work. We've been playing hard with Silas and we have lots to show for it this week. Silas stands pretty well on his own now (even took three steps the other day!), successfully says "dog" and "book" on command, and is doing his darndest to learn how to clap so that he can patty-cake independently. It has been lots of fun. I used to wonder before I became a parent if playing baby games with my baby would ever be fun to me, and thankfully it is.

Free time has been spent knitting like a crazy woman. In the past couple of weeks I have knitted two more grumpy bears, and they are gradually improving. This latest one I knitted, pictured below, will be given to Silas to open at his birthday shindig on Saturday. I figured out a trick that makes the arms look better, but I didn't figure it out until the third bear. My apologies to the recipients of the first two bears, whose arms are slightly funky but were knitted with love.

Other free time has been spent at Thunder playoff games or watching them on TV. Even as I type I am watching game five on TV, pulling for the Thunder over the thuggish Denver Nuggets. Although I had a ticket, staying home from this game seemed like the best idea since it's a work night, I'm tired, and Silas would sleep better in his crib than he would on our laps. Hopefully BJ and my brother-in-law are living it up!

Lots of jogging has also been taking place, since our marathon relay is this Sunday. I am slated to run the first leg, which is a 10K. Make no mistake: I have not adequately prepared for this race and almost certainly will not be able to run the whole thing, despite race adrenaline and a picturesque route through Bricktown and past the State Capitol. However, we all know that I'll do my best, which I think will equate to running over half of my leg. I'm not uttering aloud what my target time is, but I'll let you know if I pass or fail on Sunday after the race.

Welcome back, me.

Emily's Shower

This is my friend Emily.

Isn't she pretty? We like Emily.

Emily is well over seven months pregnant, and today was her big day... the baby shower! We actually celebrated at her home with a couple's shower, complete with hot dogs, burgers, cake, and tons of gifts! Can you see her here behind Mount O'Gift?

We had a great time celebrating Emily and Brian's little one today. Here are some pics to chronicle the day:

Not all of the guests were human! This here is Buddy.

Silas loved playing with Buddy, and Buddy was an admirable sport about it. Silas also enjoyed playing with his daddy at the shower....

and other children.

Emily got lots of good stuff!

This was one of her gifts from us: Mr. Grumpy Bear, hand-knitted by yours truly.

After the shower, BJ fixed the roof with his dad while Silas and I went grocery shopping for a dinner that we hosted for friends tonight. We've been on-the-go all day, and we're both ready for a good night's rest!

Goodnight, everyone!

Mom's Birthday Project

When you are checking out at the register in a retail store in the mall and the salesperson matter-of-factly demands your email address, do you ever tell them that you don't have one?  You probably don't. But I do. I hate giving that information away. Usually my response is met with either a look of surprise or an icy "I-know-you-have-one,-you-hussy" look from the clerk. Here's a typical ensuing conversation that BJ and I have on the way out of that store as well:

BJ: You know they don't believe you, right?

Me: Whatever. How do they know I have an email address?  For all they know I could be Amish.

BJ: Because you look so Amish.

Me: Touche. (The boy has a point, as my jeans, aviator sunglasses, and above-the-shoulder hair are not exactly channeling Lancaster County.)

Well, when my dad is asked for his email address when he is in a store, he can honestly can tell the clerk that he doesn't have an email address, because that's how paper-and-pencil my dad really is. He only gets on the internet when the situation is dire, which happens once every few months. My mom is a little more in the swing of things, but not much. I finally got my parents texting at least, but usually with accompanying grumbles about how a phone call would be much easier. All of this to say, my parents are most certainly NOT among my blog readers. I'm fairly certain that my dad has no clue what a blog is, and my mom, though she has been on here once or twice, I can say quite confidently will not see her birthday present that I'm posting a pic of below. So mom, stop reading if you actually are!

As part of her birthday gift, I knitted my mom this snuggly little wine cozy.

Ain't it purty?

Now, I'm giving one more of these away to a friend that we're visiting on vacation next month, but I also don't think she reads this blog. Right, Lynn? You don't read this blog do you? So there you are friends, two of my latest knitting projects for you to see.

Also for you to see, reason # 11 why Oklahoma is so great... the redbud trees. The redbud is Oklahoma's state tree, and this time of year you see them in all of their glory, all over the place. They are just as lovely as the lilacs in a beautiful Minnesota May, except that they don't smell as good.

Have a great evening, friends.

Still Knitting?

I'm wondering what to do about blogging about my knitting. Readers to this blog might think that I picked up this new knitting hobby, knitted with a furious passion for one month, and then suddenly dropped it... but this isn't true! I've actually been knitting regularly, but the problem is that I've been knitting gifts for other people, such as birthday presents and thank-you gifts. Today I'm beginning what is to be a slew of baby gifts, as we happen to know many people who are expecting little ones this summer. When all of those are done, I'm definitely knitting something for myself, and I have it all picked out.

A summer apron! This will be the perfect marriage of my loves for both knitting and cooking!

I definitely hate not posting about my knitting ventures, but alternatively I hate to post about what I'm knitting and spoil the surprise of a reader or two, as often the recipients of these gifts read this blog. Any feedback as to what I should do about this? I'm honestly not even sure if anyone else cares about my finished products but me! Let me know if you have an opinion!

Books and Needles

On Friday, BJ and I joined our friends Amber and Erik and braved the OKC Friends of the Library Booksale. In case you've never been, this place is a madhouse on crack. People, mainly hoarders as BJ and I have determined, feel the excitement about 50-cent books and they go absolutely hog-wild. I mean, seriously, fend-for-your-life-wild. And while you're at it, you better fend for your feet too, because some of the hoarders bring rolling suitcases, shopping carts, and outdoor trash cans (yes, you read it, TRASH CANS) to put their golden finds in. Suffice it to say, I'm 99.3% confident that the four of us were the most normal people there.

To show for our efforts, BJ and I came home that night with tired backs and a large number of books, all for under about 13 bucks. I chose a lesser number of books than BJ this year because I told myself before the sale that I have to read everything that I buy. This seems reasonable enough, but in years past I have found that, come annual booksale time, I still have one or two or ten books to read from last year's sale, which I thought at the time, "Hey, I might read this, and it only costs 50 cents!" and then of course did not read it. Here are my purchases from this year's sale:

1. WLT by Garrison Keillor
2. Lake Wobegon Summer 1956 by Garrison Keillor (yes, I'm a GK fan)
3. The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs (seemed appropriate)
4. Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs (don't know yet if I'm a KJ fan...we'll see)
5. Passage to Juneau by Jonathan Raban (has long been on my shelfari "to read" list)
6. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie

In addition to this book is a newly-acquired (and personalized!) copy of The American Zig-Zag by my favorite author Van Reid, previously referred to in a past post for his work on the Moosepath League books.  This new book is actually a series of short stories. So, my work is cut out for me. By the end of 2011, I have a goal of reading the above seven books. I can begin on the first one once I complete Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding, with which I am nearly finished. In the days of yore, finishing seven books by the year's end would not have even been a question. Easily accomplished! With my recently-acquired hobbies of knitting, blogging, and jogging, however, Jenny-time must be divided, and reading sometimes comes last.

In other news, I had my third knitting lesson with Leslie today! Leslie has quickly become my favorite knitting buddy, and I enjoy chatting with her as she schools me. Today, Mr. Silas accompanied me to the lesson and was angel-baby, as usual, in his traveling high chair, eating his cheerios. I think that good karma is coming Leslie's way, as she understood that I had to make this appointment without having child-care, and still she was cool with me bringing not only Silas, but also his food to entertain him. When Leslie someday has a child of her own, may good things come back to her in the way of people understanding her baby-needs and pulling her a solid, just like she did for me today. Of course, I cleaned up our mess afterward, but still, she didn't have to acquiesce to my conditions! I know I haven't blogged much about knitting lately, but knitting I have been doing! I've now whipped out 2-1/2 adult scarves, 2 baby scarves, and 2 hats. I'd share my latest and greatest project, but I can't because two of you who read this blog are getting one, so I can't spoil the surprise...

Happy day to everyone!

Leslie: Part 2

On Friday I attended my second private knitting lesson, and boy oh boy, did Leslie ever school me over again! That girl knows her #$%*! We spent the first hour doing what I desperately needed help with, which is fixing mistakes over and over again. We grabbed a ball of super chunky yarn and some size 15 needles so that it would be easy to see what I was doing, and she purposefully made what seemed like hundreds of mistakes and taught me how to fix them, and then made those same mistakes and gave it to me to fix. Of course, in the process of knitting with her I also made my own natural mistakes, which she was there to say, "Ooooh, what did you just do? How do we fix that? Nope, not like that...yes, there you go!" The result is that later that evening as I was knitting at home and realized I'd made a mistake three rounds back in my newest project, I had no problems tinking (tinking is the process of unknitting--note that *tink* is *knit* spelled backwards, tricky tricky) 135 stitches to get back to the problem AND fix it. Yeah baby. That's what I'm talking about.

So last night I finished my latest project, the Winter Brights hat:

This was a fun and easy project that Leslie told me would only take a couple of evenings to make, and though I doubted her, she was correct. Leslie decided after our mistake-fixing session on Friday that I was ready to begin working with circular needles and "knit in the round" as they call it, so we began work on this hat, and I must say I'm pleased with the result. Working in the round is different, but in my opinion, far preferable than knitting with two unconnected needles. Instead, the needles you work with are connected with a cable, so the project works itself around in a circle as you go. The Winter Brights Hat begins with a ribbed edge for three inches and then transitions into a seed stitch, which I had never done before but was pretty neat. So there it is folks: project number three is in the books! Knitting has been a fulfilling and fun new activity for me; not only do I honestly love the process of it, but then you get an end result that's cute and occasionally brag-worthy. =)

Have a great day readers! And congratulations to the Green Bay Packers!

Knitting Queen (in my dreams)

Hi everyone! Happy snow day to those of you who live in Oklahoma! It's been an awesome day of horizontal snow and lazing around inside the house. Neighbors are coming over for dinner, so we won't feel too cooped up, and I just talked to my boss and she told me she is closing the office tomorrow too. =)

Before the snow vanishes off the ground, which seems to happen quickly in Oklahoma, I wanted to finish up my second knitting project, which was a scarf for Silas. I've posted a pic of it below, but don't have the picturesque snow in the background given the 50 mph northern winds. Babies don't seem to appreciate that kind of thing. For the scarf I chose a vibrant green solid-colored yarn because I wanted the basket-weave texture that I selected to pop out. Mission accomplished, I believe. I added the fringe this morning and must say that I'm impressed with the final product. My second knitting lesson with Leslie is scheduled for Friday afternoon.

Also, to finish off the previous post about visiting Bam's house, BJ and I ended our mini-vacation by promptly leaving our suitcase on the bedroom floor without unpacking it since Sunday. Leaving suitcases around in our house for days on end is a frequent occasion in our house, but I suppose it won't be for long since we have a new "helper" to assist us with the unpacking process:

Enjoy this winter day, friends!

Eskimo Joes

Well, today is day 3 of BJ's 5-day trip to Tahoe with his friends. Silas and I have had a good time without him, which I am kind of surprised about. Silas is doing a great job though and has been extra laid-back, which leaves me feeling not nearly as much stress as I thought I would. Today, to help alleviate some of the home-bodyness that can occur when a spouse is gone, my parents invited Silas and me up to Stillwater for an errand they needed to run there, and then they treated me to lunch at my favorite restaurant in the world, Eskimo Joes. In my trustworthy opinion, Joes is worth driving the 75 miles to Stillwater for. Their cheeseburgers and chocolate shakes can't be beaten, and don't get me started on the delicious chili-cheese fries. Don't EVEN get me started. So so delicious. So here is a picture of Silas sitting in his high-chair clearly enjoying his first trip to Joes as well.

You can tell by that happy face that mommy gave him several bites of her chocolate shake (sorry BJ! I know you're reading this! I'm causing our son to become a chocoholic!). I remember going to Joes on Wednesday nights in college with BJ and our friends, enjoying $1 Little Joes (mini-cheeseburgers) and having good times. Thanks for lunch Mom and Dad! Silas and I had fun getting out of the house!

In other news, I spent a long time fixing a knitting mistake today, which is frustrating for me. I'm just not good enough yet to know how to fix things when I mess up! I corrected it adequately, but at one point in this scarf you can tell that something isn't perfectly right. It's not incredibly obvious at least or I would have had to make another trip back into the yarn shop for help. They are probably getting sick of me. Despite my griping, I really am loving knitting. Also in other news, I'm on steroids now to treat this cough so that hopefully I can start jogging again! I seriously can't wait!

Leslie

First of all, Leslie is younger and hipper than me (it's hard to imagine anyone being hipper than me, but Leslie is). My images of Granny from the Beverly Hillbillies dissolved into thin air as she introduced herself. Despite her youth, or perhaps in part because of it, she did totally school me in knitting, which was exactly what I went to her for. Leslie is so good at knitting, in fact, that she told me she even takes her knitting with her to the movie theater. I was incredulous! Right now, if I'm knitting while watching a football game, my concentration is 87% on my knitting and 13% on the game. I did anticipate these percentages to even out somewhat over time, but I never expected the possibility of not even looking at my knitting. In fact, she said, "If I ever go blind I'll spend all my time knitting."  She maintained that she can feel her work, which I'm sure she can.

I was completely enamored by my lesson today. It was absolutely fantastic and I loved being there and learning. Leslie was very patient and friendly, and it was quite a relief to be able to ask an expert about a knitting snag as it was actually happening, rather than doing what I have been doing, which is guessing about what my next move should be (typically incorrectly) and then proceeding while pretending that I didn't just mess up, despite growing evidence to the contrary in my scarf. The scarf that I'm working on now is in the stockinette weave, and the yarn is a very pretty purple. When it's all finished, I'll post a pic of it. You can be sure of that, as readers can attest to the fact that I rarely miss opportunities to brag. Thank you for the lesson Sus! I'm on my way to becoming a knitter...

I'm Getting Schooled By Granny

Two days until I turn the big 3-0, which is exciting. The other night I was at my mom's house and she gave me a friendly reminder that "you're going to be 30," and I think that is when it actually hit me how weird that is. Aren't I supposed to be 17? Or 12? Or even 23? I clearly remember many of my birthdays and how old I felt at each of them, and now look at me.

Unlike many comrades of mine, I haven't experienced a desire for the whole "30 things before 30 years" or however the adage goes. Maybe I secretly have though... In the past few months, I have picked up several new hobbies (jogging, blogging, etc.), but didn't really stop to analyze this until now. Why have I done this? I thought it was because I felt inspired to stop watching so much TV and instead do something productive, but maybe it's more Freudian than that...maybe I fear old age and stagnation. 

Speaking of new hobbies, BJ's mom got me a very cool present for my birthday this year. She's sending me for a one-hour private knitting lesson at a yarn shop in Norman tomorrow. I'm excited about the one-on-one attention to my skill (or should I say lack thereof), but I'm also nervous about it. The appointment is with Leslie... I wonder what she's like. I bet you she's an old stitching fool. With a gray bun and a knitted shawl around her shoulders.  Now I'm picturing Granny from the Beverly Hillbillies. Okay, if she doesn't look like Granny I'll be excited. Look at me, fearing old age and stagnation again.

I'll keep you updated, fo sho.

100.5 and Holding

Today I was up briefly to help BJ get the baby ready for the day and to call my office and tell them I was running a fever...still. Then I went back to bed and slept hard until BJ called me from work at 12:40. Can I take a moment here to give a shout-out to Sus, my splendid mother-in-law, who generously gave the Christmas gift of a dual-control electric blanket to me? Thanks Sus. I cranked that thing up to '17' this morning and was still shivering, but soon fell into that deep sleep of which I just spoke. It was a slow-moving day because of the 100.5 degree fever that I seemed to be holding steady at, but it subsided just after 3:00 this afternoon and I have felt pretty normal since then. Thank goodness!

I was pretty determined to get down the knit stitch this afternoon, so after Silas went down for his nap and I regained some of my health, I got onto youtube and found a demonstration of the garter stitch, which is the stitch that I really needed to learn for this chapter's two projects. Besides, I hear that it is the most basic stitch of all and the one that all others build upon, so learning it was essential. Admittedly, I did have to watch the video about five times, but I got it! I'm using a bit of a thinner yarn so this is going kind of slow, but so far I have about three inches going, and I'm happy with that. Tomorrow I'll make it to Hobby Lobby to spend some Christmas money on the yarns that the project actually calls for, which are much thicker and require a larger size needle (who knew?). When I was selecting some beginner supplies I had no idea what I was looking for, and I chose yarns based on their colors and designs rather than important things like size. I was at least intelligent enough to buy the necessary corresponding needles though. Now I just need a more complete collection, including some fabric scissors and a finishing needle.

As 2010 winds to a close, I hope that everyone is doing okay out there. My friends, I hope that life is awesome, and I encourage you all to start blogs so that I can keep up with your daily lives (this means you Emily! Don't let others stop you!!!). Good night. =)

The Pig-Out Stage

I'd like to propose a change to the widely-accepted grief cycle. As it stands, the acknowledged stages are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Shouldn't there be room for the 'emotional eating' stage of the grief cycle too? I mean, I go through it every time I grieve, and today was no exception. Somewhere between depression and acceptance there is most definitely 'pig-out' stage, which consisted of me going to Rusty's Frozen Custard and consuming a pumpkin custard with chocolate chips, solely in an attempt to make myself feel better today. Indeed, it did help a little bit, but only a little bit. Although I could go on about how today was a terrible day, the truth is that this business is someone else's, and the extreme sadness that I feel for some close friends of mine is not material for a blog. Suffice it to say, people that I love are truly hurting, so I am hurting with them.

I have been inspired by one of my friend's sisters to begin knitting. It seems like every time I get on FB, she has an enviable status that says something like, "A whole day of knitting ahead of me, with a warm fire and hot chocolate!" Now, that simply sounded irresistible to me, so I asked for knitting supplies for Christmas and I am on my way. Sort of. I have learned the casting on part of it all, but am still working on the knit stitch, which of course is the most basic stitch of all. It's hard to teach yourself because I don't know anyone in my area that knits. If you're reading this, live in the OKC area, know how to knit, and are interested in giving a lesson to a beginner, please let me know! I received the book The Chicks with Sticks Guide to Knitting: Learn to Knit with More Than 30 Cool, Easy Patterns for Christmas and am going by that so far.  Will keep you updated. Right now my free time is divided between so many things like writing work reports, reading, blogging, and now learning to knit, so I'm not sure how long it will take me to make progress...