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?

Family Shamily

Well, I survived the familial invasion. It was a stressful time mostly because our families are so different. In fact, they are so different that we have managed to go 12 years without them meeting!

• My parents watch TBN-my in-laws watch PBS and ESPN;
• My parents read the Bible - my in-laws read War and Peace;
• My stepmother loves to shop - my MIL still wears the same clothes she wore 40 years ago (I’m not kidding! REALLY!) and prefers to go to museums on her vacation instead of a mall;
• My MIL likes to ask a million questions - my father likes to talk about himself;
• My parents want a brand new house - MIL doesn’t know why anyone would build a new house when there are perfectly good shacks out there that just need a little update, like electricity and plumbing (in-laws have 30 year old carpet in their bathroom. ACK!);
• My MIL likes to drink wine, beer (in the can with a cozy thank you very much) and martinis - my parents don’t believe in getting liquored up (it makes for a long visit);
• My MIL views Piglet as an educational experience - my parents just like to play with him, and;
• My in-laws have money to burn and have helped with Piglet’s college fund - my parents are living on my dad’s social security (don’t ask where the retirement fund went - it is a long story).

During my parents visit I had to keep sneaking into my bedroom to check the Verdict Watch on Court TV. Five months of testimony and the jurors still have to deliberate his guilt or innocence. I didn’t even see the whole trial and I know he is guilty! The verdict needs to either come in before the end of this week or wait until the end of next week because I will be away from the television. Now Court TV has moved on to the Warren Jeffs trial. I can’t believe I am saying this but I think the charges are a little far reaching. That isn’t to say that he isn’t guilty of being a sex freak! Frankly, the girl’s mother should be brought on charges for letting her 14-year old daughter get married to her first cousin! And State of Utah - 14 is waaaaaaayyyyyyy too young for anyone to get married.

Coming tomorrow... Tomato will be blocking and I will be playing with swatches. Stay Tuned!

I've Become...

Crap! I’m starting to sound like my parents. Today I started in with the “when I was a girl” speech and then moved on to “I can’t believe how much things cost nowadays”. Oh help me! But seriously kids… McDonald’s came out with their fabulous $1 menu a few years ago and I loved it. I could get a medium fry with a small drink for $2 and change. So today I pull up for my weekly heart attack in a bag and what do I discover – the $1 fry is now a small instead of a medium. WTF? Let me back my story up a bit… I recently wrote the big Red Haired Guy because my local “restaurant” has had their shake machine broken for the past month. It is July! It is HOT! People need shakes! I also let them know that said locale never gives a napkin leaving me to wipe my salty, greasy, hands on my pants. Today, I received two napkins in my bag. Apparently it is costing them a lot of money to hand out the napkins so the cut back had to come in the form of 20 french fries.

This afternoon I was adding to my Queue over at the site I’m not allowed to talk about at S & B (she whispers – Ravelry). I had made note of a shrug pattern and today decided to purchase it. The pattern alone is $15! Hell No! It isn’t a book. It is a single pattern. I just can’t bring myself to pay more for a pattern than I pay for a pack of diapers.

The Spector trial may possibly be winding down. Maybe. Sometime before 2008 runs out. I wish we the viewers could take the tour of the Castle next week. BTW, why on earth would you continue to live in the house where you murdered someone (or they committed “accidental suicide” – ACK!)? We will likely have a break coming up and I would suggest that Mr. Spector see his plastic surgeon as he is looking a little worn. It is probably time for a new wig too. For the lawyers who read my blog, here is a question for you. Shouldn’t you prep your witnesses prior to they take the stand? Or at least know what they are going to say? Today’s computer guy was totally unprepared and Mizzz Kenny Baden clearly had never spoken to him before. But, I suspect she spent quite a bit of time preparing the daughter for that big, dramatic answer “my father is right-handed”.

I think Piglet’s teething is rubbing off on me today. Big Boy has been traveling for what feels like a year now and in the meantime the baby has started teething, resulting in a week of upset tummy and now a fever of 102 for two days. I am soothing myself with my Lima. I really shouldn’t tell anyone about this yarn because y’all might go buy it all up. I take it all back. The yarn is really crap. Ya, you don’t want it.


With the crabbiness, tears, snot and drool going on around here I decided to look back on happier days – Saturday. Piglet turned eight months old. As you can see, he prefers to hold his sign now. Not sure what happened but out of the 20+ photos we took, there are around 15 where he looks like a drunken sailor. He still isn’t crawling but you wouldn’t either if you had to get that tummy and those thighs off the ground.

Doing The Happy Dance!

Front - Collar will be wider after blocking

Back

Close Up of Lace

Angelina is done! This has been a long project and I finished it with mixed emotions. Glad to be done with it and finally able to wear it but sad that the process is over. Big Boy wanted to take pictures last night but I asked him to wait until I was wearing make up and not pajamas. Details?

• Pattern: Angelina from White Lies Designs

• Needles: Size 5, 7 and 10. Also, size 1 for picking up stitches.

• Yarn: Barkarole from Austermann (16 skeins). This yarn is a blend of Merino, Silk and Cashmere. I bought it on Elann a while back and wish I had purchased more. This yarn is so beautiful!

• Notes: Oh boy! This pattern had a lot of problems. Some of the instructions were not clear and I had to decipher what the designer meant. I used a lot of lifelines! Some of the instructions were just plain wrong and the designer was made aware of them several years ago and STILL has not changed the pattern. While this is a great sweater, I don’t think the pattern is quite worth what she charges, especially to have not been proofread!

Here is where I need a little help from my friends. I need a pin to close the front and I want just the right one. Here are a few from Etsy that I really like. Keep in mind that I would have the beads changed to either match the sweater or to clear. I don’t want to take away from the beautiful lace.

The other day Joan asked if I was watching the mini trial on Court TV. I caught a portion yesterday. I had turned off Court TV when I found out the Spector trial would be dark. I could not handle one more interview with a washed up actress/singer or over processed hairdresser. Nor could I stand one more reference to the victim as an “aspiring actress” – she had been acting in Hollywood for over 20 years – she was not longer “aspiring”! And, why oh why can’t Court TV find a photo of the victim more recent than circa 1985? At least I haven't had to watch Nancy Grace or that weird guy that occasionally fills in for her.