Erica’s Blog

It started out pretty well.  Monday was fine.  Tuesday, it was Thing Two’s turn to bring Mr. Bear home for an overnight.

They played while I repaired his sweater.  He took a nap.

They ate dinner together.  Mr. Bear got to sleep in Thing Two’s bed w/her b/c I didn’t get his new sleeping bag finished in time before I left for knit night.

Knit night this week was a special treat.  More on that later when Katheryn emails ‘Nette the pictures and ‘Nette emails them to me.

Wednesday.  Wednesday.  Wednesday night was when it all started to go downhill.  On the way to church, I took a corner in the Holiday Inn parking garage too close and…well…let’s just say the Pilot ain’t too pretty right now.  I’d show you pictures of it, but…

Thursday.  Thursday.  Thursday morning, when I was having coffee w/Lisa @ Starbucks, I showed her the pictures on my camera of the Pilot.  As I was turning the camera off, I dropped it on the hard floor.  Being *my* camera, after all, it has survived many a drop.  Alas, this particular drop actually broke it, hence my not being able to post pictures of the Pilot right now.  At the moment, the camera is in a myriad of pieces atop a dishtowel on the dining room table.  Hubby spent hours yesterday taking it apart.  He even FIXED it (Go, Hubby!  Go, Hubby!), however, he’s not confident that he can get the darn thing back together again.  Sigh.

Sigh.  Hubby has left it up to me to deal with the whole car repair mess.  He says that if it costs too much, we won’t be able to go on the Mexico sailing trip with Sean & Dana after all.  He’s not mad, but it feels like a waste of money to have to spend on something like this.  I told him that I hate feeling like a stereotype — the wife who calls home saying she’s crashed the car.

Today.  Today, I weighed in.  We shall not discuss this matter.

Good stuff?  Miss Mahalia came home yesterday morning, and the Things & I got to meet her yesterday afternoon.  She’s still teeny - about four pounds - but she’s really cute!  Tonight, Bible talk over @ Marco & Mia’s gorgeous house.  Tomorrow, Grace’s baby shower (I think I’m up to a second one).  Tomorrow night, Luce @ the Sweetwater (FINALLY, we get to see them, and in a nice, small venue, no less)!  Woot!  Woot!

Oh, and I have less than 1/8 of the edging left on the baby shawl.  Then, a mess of ends to weave in.  Then, a wash and a block.  Ooooh, it would be great if I could leave it blocking on our bed when we head up to Marin tomorrow….

I forgot to upload this one before.  This is how most mornings during Easter break began — cereal on the table where the Things could reach it (the boxes only fit on the tippy top shelf of the pantry).  They had explicit instructions on the order of their morning, and “Wake up Mom” was nowhere on their list of morning to-do’s. 

As for how much cereal there is…well, I’ll just say this:  I’ve taught them well….

Okay, there must be something you read that’s a guilty pleasure . . . a Harlequin romance stashed under the mattress. A cheesy sci-fi book tucked in the back of the freezer. A celebrity biography, a phoned-in Western . . . something that you’d really rather not be spotted reading. Even just a novel if you’re a die-hard non-fiction fan. Come on, confess. We won’t hold it against you!

Hmmmm….I guess the closest would be those silly food-titled murder mysteries.  Oh, and the Stephanie Plum novels by Janet Evanovich.

Just got these in the mail from Adri.  Aren’t they great?!  I’ll be sure to wear them to knit night tomorrow (along with my Knit Geek t-shirt).  I tell ya, I sure got lucky in the in-laws department!

Not sure if I can handle two baby-boy baby showers in a row, but this quickie project is for my friend Grace’s baby-to-be, Brandon.  I’m also giving her that SensuWool sweater I made earlier in the year (since I decided to make Ginger’s baby that baby shawl).  I think she’ll like it.

Size:  Newborn

Yarn:  KnitPicks Parade (now discontinued)

Needles:  US 5’s (dpn’s)

Basic 2×2 rib w/decreases down to the last…idunno…20 st’s or so, then yarn cut & pulled through.

So, folks, how accurate a description of me do you think this is?  I’m rather offended that it says I’m more Snape than Dumbledore, and certainly offended that it says I’m 25% Voldemort.  Sheesh! 

When Ginger opened the card and saw the three detail pictures of the baby shawl — the same pictures below — she squealed with delight.  Needless to say, that was enough to make driving there in the pouring rain, through anxiety-inducing conditions, totally worth it.  She was even more excited when she found out that those were pictures of the actual item, not just something to indicate that I’d knit her something.  She even read the inside note outloud to everyone, then had me tell the story about knitting for her wedding.

Clicky below to see what I had put inside the card (I’m hoping Bob catches the West Side Story reference; he was in a production of it in high school).

BTW, this was my FIRST baby shower in about three years, the first one since Paul died.  When I RSVP’d, I indicated that, if I weren’t doing well emotionally, I wouldn’t be there b/c of this.  I’m pretty sure Ginger would “get” it.  Hubby asked me later, Was anyone sensitive to what you might be going through, being there?  I told him that it didn’t appear so, but I did get a look from someone when I was overeating.  Hopefully, instead of being critical of me, she realized why I might be doing so.  Probably not, but I don’t really care.  I’m pretty proud of myself for doing OK at my first shower — not just a shower, but a shower for a baby BOY.

Something good…

Sadly, due to a mistake that cost me

a couple of inches and several days, plus

the threat of carpal tunnel syndrome,

it’s not quite ready yet.

(I could have stayed up all night

last night, but that would have led

to more mistakes, which

would have delayed it even

longer, etc., etc…)

I hope you’ll find it worth the wait!

P.S.  I sense a pattern developing here.  Ask me sometime about what I was *supposed* to wear to your wedding…

Nope, I didn’t get Ginger’s baby shawl finished in time for the shower five hours from now.  I still have about 1/3 of the edging to do, plus the washing & blocking.  Feh.  If I hadn’t made that mistake that set me back several days, I could have had it done.  Oh, well.  I’m still going to the shower; I’ll just be giving her a card with words to the effect of  “Something’s coming, something good…but you’ll have to wait.”

Here are the pictures I’ve put on the front of the card:

Sorry there’s no picture of the edging; I couldn’t hold that out flat & take a picture at the same time.

So, is it just me, or is there a pattern developing here?  First, I was frantically knitting in the car, trying to finish my sari silk wrap for Bob & Ginger’s wedding (and not finishing it).  This time, I was frantically knitting, trying to finish the baby shawl for the shower (and not finishing it).  My wrist was also threatening me with carpal tunnel syndrome yesterday, so I had to keep taking breaks from knitting.  I doubt Ginger would want me to mess myself up for the sake of the baby shawl.

Think good thoughts for me later as I drive an hour or so across the Bay in the rain by myself to attend my first real baby shower since Paul died, and for a baby boy at that.  The fact that I have to drive myself should help keep me from drowning any pain in alcohol at the shower, though I fear I’ll have to be really on my toes about the eating…