I think I tangled my yoke

I really have been knitting these past few weeks. I figured it was time I proved that to all. First up is the Tangled Yoke sweater from Eunny. I think I may have messed it up though. See, I used a size 4 needle on the body to get gauge. When I got to the yoke portion I went up to a size 5 needle because I was afraid the cabling would pull in too much, making the shoulders way too tight (plus my shoulders are wider than any other part of my body). Now, I'm afraid they may be too large. So, here is my question to ya'll... do I rip out those 36 rows of cabling and go back to the smaller needle or do I just switch now to the smaller needle and finish up hoping that it won't look too big.
The second project is Hemlock from Jared Flood, et al. I am doing it in the Ecological Wool from Cascade. I think I am about halfway through the chart now. This is a great television/SnB (if I ever get there to knit without Piglet) knit because you only have to pay attention every fifth row!

The final project is this... This is the one that occupies most of my time. Actually, I spend lots of time trying to figure out ways to occupy HIS time. Now that he is walking he is getting more and more brave each day, and I am getting more and more tired. Tomorrow we are off to an Easter egg hunt. As long as it isn't raining, I hope to have great pictures and great candy!

Artifacts

A few weeks ago at SnB I was mentioning this pillowcase that showed up in my mailbox. It belonged to Big Boy when he was a child and his mother has held on to it for… well… too many years. She seemed to think that I would want it for Piglet. Big Boy knew it was on its way and yet neglected to tell me until I was standing in the middle of the kitchen holding it by one corner and saying, “what the fuck is this thing”. At that point he laughed until I cried. My Big Boy still drools like a five year old so you know it was even worse when he was five. Yes, that is a stain... only one of the many stains.

Not to mention, the pillowcase has been starched (yes, MIL did and still does have the maid starch her sheets and pillow cases - sleeping on them is a great way to get your skin exfoliated) so it now has this weird feel to it.

As I was talking about the pillowcase Lindsey remarked that she would like to see photos of “the bowl”. This baby was a wedding gift and I have tried repeatedly to get rid of it but somehow, it still lives. I have asked the movers to drop it but they refuse and instead drop my very expensive desk that I love. It is hand made of some sort of indestructible pottery (the people in tornado alley should build their houses from it, it’s that good!). I can’t give it away because it has our names and wedding date on it. If you know of anyone else with our names and wedding date, give me a holler and I will happily pop this in the mail to them. You can hang it on the wall with the nifty little hanger on the back.

Last night we were without power for over two hours. It was windy as all get out and apparently some lines went down a few blocks away. This was not been a fun time because A) I am not a back-to-nature kind of gal and I really enjoy television and B) I am scared shitless of the dark, especially when I am home alone. Now, I have three giant dogs that are absolutely worthless in this sort of situation. Calvin could care less about me; I am only here to serve him. Annabelle is as afraid of the dark as I am and follows me around like Velcro. She does however enjoy the flashlight and will chase the beam of light around occasionally running into a wall and giving me some entertainment. Baxter, well, he ate a book yesterday so he was sleeping off his fiber hangover.

I want to say thanks for all the suggestions on ways to amuse myself that will not land me in jail. I would love to take a pottery class but our adult ed system here seems to neglect those of us in between diapering years. If I needed my GED though I would be all set. I live in an area with a very high dropout rate so I guess they figure that folks need to be working on something other than bowl making. I am looking at taking a jewelry making class at the local bead store, but I have to wait until Piglet is enrolled in daycare. And of course I have to make sure that it doesn’t cut into my budget for my girl’s trip to Vegas! Think Piglet can exist on Ramen noodles?

I Need a Talent!

I am totally talentless. Ok, I knit. But that isn’t really a talent. It is the ability to follow directions; a skill learned at age five that will, supposedly, keep one out of prison. I can’t play the piano; I know, I tried for many years and frankly, I sucked. I can’t design bows like Rachel. I can’t scrapbook; again, I tried and royally sucked. What can I do? Well, I can shop and feed myself without having to change clothes after. Not exactly skills that will earn me some $$$. Well, shopping might but here where I live the average income does not allow for hiring a personal shopper to pick up your unmentionables at Wally World.

Ok, so by now you are probably wondering why I am droning on about my inability to do much more than turn oxygen into carbon dioxide. Well, because Big Boy leaves on Wednesday and will not darken our doors for another nine months. I need something that will occupy my hours besides keeping Piglet out of the toilets. In April, Piglet will start “school” three days a week and I am afraid that I will have nothing to do. What will occupy my evenings once the television season has ended? What will occupy my afternoons if Court TV doesn’t have a decent trial? I will have SnB on occasion but I can’t subject them to the whining of a toddler on a weekly basis - it just wouldn’t be nice. Last time I made it through by working, taking class and volunteering nearly full-time. Now, my time will revolve around nap and lunch.

Truth is, this deployment is harder because of Piglet. I know how much Big Boy enjoys spending time with him and it breaks my heart that he will miss so much. He gets such a thrill from teaching Piglet new things and I’m afraid I won’t have the patience or energy to take up the slack.

I guess I should talk about happy stuff. We had a nice, short vacation to Florida. We stopped along the way to visit with Susan and her family. I wish we had had more time because Piglet really liked Boogie. She was showing him a little of his future by having him hold her crayons while she colored. From there it was on to Orlando to visit with my parents. We didn’t get to do a whole lot because it was so freaking cold. Then it was on to Ft. Myers for a Red Sox game. Sadly, it was during that time we found out that Big Boy would not be coming home in April as originally planned. So, we headed home a day early. Leave it to the stupid Army to ruin a perfectly good vacation.

I know some of ya'll really enjoy the cool weather but I hope you will humor me and pray for sun and warmth from now until December. I am like a plant - I need direct sunlight to survive!