Obsession

I get into these moods.

A new pattern comes out and I want to knit it. Now. Immediately. I spend my time trying to find the perfect yarn to make the perfect sweater.

It has happened with this one. And this one. Most recently, this one.

Then I don't knit them.

I've done some thinking about this and why I don't follow through. I think it has to do with being worried about being let down. I'm a glass is half empty kind of person. I automatically think it just won't turn out. It'll be too small, or too large, or not flattering. I'll be horribly disappointed.

I retain my obsession with them, but I don't want to be let down.

The newest sweater on the block is in the most recent Vogue Knitting.

So will I actually follow through on this one? I feel like doing some fall knitting and this would be perfect.

I think I need to go peruse my Knitpicks options....

Eight Years Later

Eight years ago, I woke up to a rainy morning. I couldn't sleep. I got up and got dressed, did my hair, prettied up my face. I looked around the house and couldn't find anything to keep me interested. I looked at the drizzle. I paced. I read the paper but didn't take anything in. I made my sister and my cousin play Scrabble and I'm pretty sure I didn't win.

It was my wedding day and I couldn't wait to walk down the aisle.

It's funny how certain images stick in your head from significant occasions. I remember the Dude standing at the end of the aisle waiting for me. He looked a little pale. I remember the Gerber daisies I held in my hand. I remember my nephew saying, in a loud and very 2 year old voice "I dropped my tractor" at a very quiet moment in the ceremony. I remember pausing to let the lump in my throat go away while I tried to make it through my vows. I also remember the pause getting longer and longer. The Dude winked at me and I almost cried. I danced with my brother and he swung me around the floor. My dress became a sail as we swooshed in great circles.

We're different people today, eight years later. We've laughed. We've fought. We've disagreed on what colour to paint our living room. We've bought a house, new cars, a couch. We've travelled together and cuddled in front of our fireplace.

Eight years ago, I didn't realize what today would be like. We have one beautiful child and one on the way. We are each individuals with our own interests who love and appreciate each other. We make each other laugh.

Eight years ago, I thought I was going to love this man forever. And I was right.

Stay-cation

A week "away", but not leaving home brought us a....

...Trip to a swimming pool (one of the most exhausting endeavours we had all week)

...Trip to a museum
(the highlight was the bug room - even the bug-phobic ones in our family, ie. me, found it fascinating)

....Trip to the dentist, specialist, and other health-care professionals (can't be all fun all the time, right?)

...Trip to a local festival I haven't been to in years (a least 4 1/2 years, the same age as the Punk). We even took in a play that I could relate too personally.

....A birthday party (I am married to a very old man....cute, but old)

It also brought some good knitting.

New Socks

A Scarf - finishing this makes me a Ravlete

A Hat

I'm exhausted. I think I need a week off.

The Princess is a Dancing Queen

Everyone loves a wedding, especially if you're the Bride's neice.

See? Three neices all looking delightful and in need of a snack.

My Princess was the star of the dance floor. She danced with her Uncle D and her Great Baba (that's my Mother's Mother, just to clarify).

She danced with her Uncle Mark who is also her Godfather and her legal counsel.

She danced with other pretty little Princesses.

She danced with the Bride. A lot.

And she danced by herself when she had tired everyone else out.

And sure we're happy for the Happy Couple but my Princess stole the show.

Olympic Coverage

I love the Olympics. I'll watch anything. Sometimes I know the rules of the sport and sometimes I don't but I love seeing people doing their best. I cheer for the underdogs and scowl at cocky winners.

In my own pursuit of excellence, I have completed one of my events. This little hat was knit up for the Baby Dressage and will be much worn by the little person in waiting.

I used some cotton/silk I had bought months ago and it's very soft and cozy.

In the Sockput, I have completed one sock and am picking away at the second. Due to family events and a busy schedule, this project is taking longer than I had hoped but I'm making progress none the less.

I'm looking forward to watching some track and field events this week. There might even be some diving. (Those divers know how to work a Speedo, don't you think?)

And we're off....T's version

I'm am officially off for a week. As is my love.

People keep asking us where we're going. I always feel like it's a cop out to say nowhere.

We aren't going anywhere this year. For a variety of reasons, not the least of which is having a rather precocious 2-year old, we're vacationing from home.

We have a list of 4 or 5 destinations in and around our city that we want to get to over our week off. Places we always say we're going to go to because they're so close, but we never get there.

My goal is to get a few things done around home before the insanity of the fall which includes new schedules, and new schools, and new activities. My other, and more important goal, is to spend time with my family. We may not be able to give the boys an exciting vacation this year, but we have the time to spend with them and do things they'll love to do. And that's the most important thing. Time together as a family.

So having said that, I'm going to computer-free for the next week or so. I'll be back to tell you tales of trips to historic villages and escapades of museum visits with rambunctious children. I know you're shaking with anticipation!!

The Eye of the Storm

It is so rare that the Dude and I can take the Princess and escape our lives for a few days. Work and life seem to intervene and it just never happens. That's why the last few days were so precious.

We swam.

We rode on gandolas

to the top of mountains.

We looked at waterfalls

and threw rocks.

We visited a lake

and threw rocks.

Every year I would travel to the mountains with my family and I have pictures of myself at this age riding in a gondola, walking in the mountains, being a kid. I'm glad we can make time to share this with our daughter.

We even went to a zoo and met a baby elephant

and a baby giraffe.

Someone rode a train all by herself.

We ate ice cream and Greek food. We snuggled by a fire and roasted marshmallows.

I even knit a bit.

These are my Ravelympics project. I am designing and knitting a pair of men's socks. I think I might be nuts.

Now I have a couple of days of respite to relax, do laundry, get a pediacure (thank goodness) and pack my bags again. My sister is getting married this weekend and there is much to do

And the answer is....

Handball. Olympic coverage can be found here.

In Canada we call it Team Handball, to differentiate it from a game that's played with 2 people on a squash court.

But in Europe, the birthplace of the game, they just call it Handball.

It's a wicked game. Vicious, fast, and scary. It's kind of like water polo on a court.

I played primarily goalie, but have also played out.

Our Canadian team has to qualify (via World Championships) to make it to the Olympics, and in my memory we never have.

From former handball player to mother, knitter, and sometime pharmacist.

Man how life changes!

Every 4 years

I will pretty much watch any Olympic event. Dressage, water polo (it's vicious! I love it), gymnastics, trap shooting, fencing. Whatever. I will watch it.

I find my Love and I start throwing around vocabulary that we don't normally use in our house. We become experts of obscure sports (at least self-proclaimed experts) and use our new found knowledge in such ways as:

"I sure hope our men's lightweight eights can make it to the finals without having to go to the repechage."

"It sucks that our guy lost out in the epee"

"Guo and Mingxia are unbeatable in this event"

I am watching as much as I can, while participating in my Scarf Stroke event. I am almost thru my first ball of yarn. I only have 2 balls of this Handmaiden Samira silk, so when it's gone, I'm done. My lovely friend J. picked this up for me on her trip to Toronto.


The pattern is working well with the yarn, and the end result will be a gorgeous silk scarf.

As a competing Ravelete, I think of the possibility I had long ago to become an actual Olympic Athlete. Yes, it's true, I did at one time have aspirations of playing on a national team. I played on a provincial team in this event, and hoped to one day make the national team. My sister played on the national team for a few years. To be honest, our Canadian team never qualifies to participate in this Olympic event. But, it was still the closest I ever came to being an acclaimed athlete.

Any guesses on the sport?? (and I'll give you a hint - it was NOT basketball)

And We're Off...

...Like a herd of turtles!

The Ravelympics start today. I'll be trying to catch some Olympic coverage while packing for a little holiday in the mountains with the Princess and the Dude. It's been a while since we all went away together and I'm looking forward to the pool, some easy hikes (I am seven months pregnant so nothing crazy for me), ice cream, a zoo and hopefully a woodfire or two. (That reminds me that I have to pack some marshmallows...)

During the pre-game, I managed to finish up these socks. They were a delightful knit and I'm amazed by the fact that you can wear them inside out and they look equally as good.

Note the Twizzlers and M&Ms on the left, Gumdrops on the right. Lovely! The colour isn't something I would have bought for myself but I think it's starting to grow on me.

I also started this Rocketry sweater. I've never used Dream in Color Classy before and I think I might be in love. The colours are variegated in a very subtle way and the yarn has a springiness to it that I really like. The pattern is simple and I think the finished sweater will be incredibly cute.

I'm hoping that the 4 hour drive will afford me some time to work on my Ravelympic project. I'll be designing and knitting a pair of Men's socks and then in my free time, I hope to crank out an Umbilical Cord hat or two. Good luck to all competitors! I hope we follow in true Olympic spirit: Citius, Altius, Fortius which means Swifter, Higher, Stronger. Perhaps as knitters we should adopt the following : Obesa cantavit. The Fat Lady has Sung.

Little Reminders

My Stink is turning two in a couple days.

Two.

Maybe if I keep saying it, it'll actually sink in.

I'm not sad, like I thought I'd be, knowing that he's my last.

I'm thankful that we've made it. It's been, in short, a journey. I could think about the hard times he had as a baby or I can choose to think about what that baby has become.

A charmer.

A fiercely independent soul.

A mama's boy.

A little brother.

A ray of sunshine.

A stubborn, strong-willed, determined little man. (let me emphasize strong-willed).

And a little reminder of things that are gone. Those blue eyes of his are exactly the same as his great grandma's and his Popa's.

He's also a little reminder of why I knit - because nothing is as cute as a little one in his mom's hand-knits.

He's one of my three reminders of all that's important in life.

Love you my baby.

If I Could Save Time in a Bottle

Oh, there never seems to be enough time

To do the things you want to do

Once you find them.....

This little balad sums up my weekend quite nicely. Summer weekends are always so busy and a long weekend seems more hectic than the rest. The Dude and I spent much of last week preparing to paint the main floor of our house. Taping and washing, moving and rearranging to achieve maximum painting efficiency. The prep work took a very long time and the painting took longer. No wonder people hire this sort of thing out.

On Friday night, we had some respite in the form of Spamalot. I had bought tickets months ago and the date happened to coincide with our painting project. I have to say that we laughed out loud (That's lol for you, T.) and overall had a fun time doing something we don't have enough time for now that we're parents.

Saturday, the Princess and I got the heck out of Dodge and took a holiday at my parent's house. This is something I don't do enough of, either. To have someone scoop up your child and play with her and occupy her while you get a chance to catch your breath is priceless. And I didn't have to cook or do dishes or wash clothes or anything! Just visit and enjoy being someone's daughter.

Sunday, we returned to the castle where the Dude had just wrapped up his second day of painting. Good man, my Dude. My house looks great and the colours I picked please both myself and my spouse. That's all that matters. We're still in the process of reassembling our lives and I have a feeling that could take a few days since time is short and we have a lot of crap.

Today is Heritage Day and in Edmonton, that means a big festival where local communities and cultural groups get together to serve their own special cuisines and perform music and dance for a large and appreciative audience. I look forward to this event all year. Not only is the food amazing, but I always see people I know who are happy to give you a little extra Pad Thai or an extra perogy. The Princess danced to the music and we ate our way through most of the civilized world.

So a busy weekend packed with fun and travel but not a lot of knitting. I have made some progress on the STR socks. I have one and a half socks to show for my limited efforts.

Note the new paint colour in the background. Hopefully I'll have enough time to finish them before the Ravelympics start on Friday.

I've looked around enough to know

That you're the one I want to go through time with.

(Excerpts from "Time In a Bottle" by Jim Croce. I'm pretty sure he wasn't referring to knitting but you never know.)