Saisquoi?

This post is L-O-N-G overdue, and I apologize to Annika both for the crappy quality of my cellphone pictures and for the fact that it's taken me so long to post about Emmett. I promise I will take better pictures once I can find my actual camera.



I loved knitting this sweater. The yarn was a YarnPirate teal I bought many moons ago. The pattern was straightforward and the finished product is practical. Unless you're really particular regarding the placement of buttons for boys and girls, this is one of very few items I've knit that could totally be used by a male sibling, should such a thing come to pass. Of course, this sweater doesn't actually have buttons, because C finds them to be offensive.

Toddlers. They are weird.



Speaking of toddlers...I'm not going to have one for much longer. Someone is coming right up on three. MY BABY! WHAT HAPPENED?! C is getting so big. She talks all. The. Time. She loves mermaids and princesses and skulls and dolls and her family and rubber chickens and OMGgiraffes. She was a giraffe for Halloween and is still talking about it.



We have had a very difficult few months Chez Saisquoi, but things seem like they might be mending. I'm debating on how much to air via blog post because some of the stories are not entirely mine to tell. And the ones that are mine to tell are not happy and cheerful and I don't like how they present me as being, you know, human and all. But, at the same time, maybe it's helpful to post the difficult alongside the easy...the awful alongside the awesome. I don't know.

What I do know is that US Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and I have a whole heck of a lot to be thankful for--starting with my big girl who makes turkey pictures with handprints and wants to sing Puff the Magic Dragon every night at bedtime, snuggled up with her Mama and Daddy.

PS: I do have buttons for the sweater. But since my child won't wear the sweater if it has buttons? I'll sew them on when she outgrows it. Oy.

These were a test-knit for Pumpkin Pie Baby completed in time for C's birthday. Here she is channelling Macaulay Culkin after receiving the mitts:




I used some Peace Fleece left over from a pair of ruffled longies I knit for her this summer, and the mittens knit up quickly. The slip-stitch pattern used for the hands yielded a thick, firm fabric that will be awesome for winter wear--especially this winter of extraordinary snowfall and bitter cold! If I were to make them again, the only change I'd make would be to lengthen the cuff--C has proven adept at removing the mittens and so, for us, longer is better.

Since I've got what I've got, and these were a test knit (meaning no modifications), I'll add a cord to keep them together and threaded through her jacket. Or, we'll limit wear to car trips rather than outside play.

These are actually my second finished objects of 2011. I knit myself a pair of fingerless gloves that I finished on January 2, but I've only got a crappy cell phone picture of those. They are, however, toasty warm--which is very important given this winter of lots of snow and coldness.

Hey, look! Cute baby in cute pants!







This is Leapfrog in Cascade 220, so they are multitasking pants which serve as excellent playclothes as well as a diaper cover. Oh, and did I mention the cuteness?

Overall, I'm pretty pleased with them. They are a little shorter than I'd like them to be, and so I'm considering taking out the cast-off edge and just adding another cable repeat or two to make them full length pants. Not that they're awful now...just shorter than I intended. C is a bit hard to knit for--her legs are very short (just like her Daddy's), so everything I make is either way too long or too short as I overcompensate. The first pair of longies I made for her ended up being about 4 inches too long because I followed the pattern rather than my kid.

I'm not quite sure where my error was on these because I actually tried them on her to confirm proper length before I cast off the first leg. I'm guessing she may have done something crazy like grow. Or I just can't measure to save my life. Either are possible.

In other news, I wrote a guest post for Babywearing It Up last week which you can find here.

And last weekend, we took C for her first trip to the Big City for dim sum.




A good time was had by all. She loved all the different things to try. Then we took her on the subway to go out to the North End from Chinatown so that we could get pastries at Mike's. The Beloved and I each had an espresso and we all shared a lobstertail. One of the ladies brought C a cookie and told us how beautiful she is. And we brought half a pound of raspberry bow cookies home (they didn't last the night...SO TASTY). We opted to put C in the Ergo rather than try a stroller--we always do a fair amount of walking when we go to the City and C can't quite keep up yet. But between the stairs at the restaurant (we ate on the 3rd floor), the stairs in the subway station, and being in small places like the subway and the bakery, babywearing really was the way to go. Even The Beloved was impressed with how easy it was; we're planning another trip next month for more dim sum and a visit to the aquarium.

I can hardly wait.

And completely unrelated to anything...I'm agonizing over the discrepancy between my Twitter ID (Lustau) and the rest of my online existence as Saisquoi. When I signed up for Twitter, Saisquoi was taken, so I gave myself a new name, but it's always bothered me that it doesn't match. I can change it, but my Twitter ID would include underscores (_) or numbers. I can't decide if I'd be happier as _Saisquoi or Saisquoi_ or even Sais_Quoi or if I should just remain Lustau on Twitter.

This what they call a "First World Problem." I really need to get out more.

Don't look now, but there might be some knitting on this here blog...



Yes! Look! Knitting! I finished something! Great God Almighty!





This is the Scrappy Socky Stripey Cardi from f.pea, using Yarn Pirate merino sock yarn in the (wait for it) Sweet Pea colorway. (Note: I have an overabundance of sock yarn, if such a thing is possible, and am forever looking for patterns that can use variegated stuff. For some bizarre reason, I currently like baby and toddler sized items. Feel free to leave me suggestions.)

I made a couple of modifications--the most noticeable being the absence of stripes other than those caused by the variegated yarn. The reason for this mod? I was lazy and didn't feel like searching out a matching contrast. The yarn was busy enough. If I knit it again in a bigger size, I'll add the stripes for visual/knitting interest and also because I used almost an entire skein of sock yarn for this sweater and so will need to add more next time around.

Also, The Tadpole has chunky arms. Too chunky for the pattern as written. So, I added some extra stitches and decided against using the decreases. The sleeves are a bit long, but I actually like them wide.

I loved that this sweater had NO SEAMING. The only sewing I did was to put the buttons on. I'm not crazy about the button loops, but I haven't decided what I'd like to do to make them better. Something to think about in all my spare time, I suppose.

Overall, a cute sweater. The way the yarn pooled? I couldn't have planned it any better. i love it. However, I should have made the sweater one size bigger than I did because The Tadpole will have outgrown it by, like, tomorrow. She's not very long, but she's a solid baby. So, while there's plenty of length in the sweater for her, she's already stretching those button loops. Oh well. Live and learn.

Now I have to decide what comes next on the knitting agenda. I have yarn for soakers, and she needs soakers since she's outgrown all of her diaper covers. And she may be ready to wear wool now as (knock wood) I think she's down to pooping only two times a day instead of, like, seven.

But, gasp, I also have a hankering to knit myself a sweater. Seriously--I bought the yarn and the pattern well over a year ago. I meant to knit it while I was pregnant because it would have worked over my bump. But it would still be a very useful sweater for nursing. And I could wear it if I ever decided to do this grow-a-baby-thing again.

So, what do you think? More cute stuff for my cute kid, or something for the Mama?

Or Winter, anyhow.







I'd like to say, my husband is a saint. At 36 weeks pregnant, I'm not really able to help with snow removal. I tried the other day to shovel out around my car and it just made me have contractions, so we're all done with that right now...

We really are thinking about Christmas here, too...in spite of all the snow. I put up a tree:



Please forgive the crappy picture--we haven't had much natural light 'round these parts lately.

I'm home from work today because the plow left us a wall of snow and there was no way I was getting out. Hopefully a) I will not go into labor today and b) the Beloved will be able to get at least one of the cars dug out. Have I mentioned what a good guy he is?

Speaking of him, I've finally, finally finished the Cobblestone Sweater. Well, mostly. I need to graft under the arms and wash it. If I do that today, it might be dry so that I can wrap it and put it under the tree for him. No pictures, yet, but hopefully he'll let me take pictures when the sweater is complete and wearable.

I've also knit a bunch of small baby things. I've got a baby sweater that I've been meaning to finish for a good month and have been working consistently on a round blanket. But, I gotta tell you, being able to knock out a hat, or mittens, or socks in a couple of days is very satisfying.









I think my favorite is the coral-colored hat. The Tadpole will be required to wear hospital garb while we're at the hospital as part of their security protocol. But I can bring a hat for her, so I think I'm going to put that little one on her as soon as I can. She's also got a little hat made from leftover yarn from her coming home sweater, and so that will likely be a going home hat.

The Beloved is bemused with my knitting of teeny-tiny things. Today I plan to work on either the never-ending baby blanket or the unfinished kimono sweater. After I wrap gifts. And do laundry. The baby laundry is almost done--her clothes are clean and put away, sheets and towels are done, and I'm left with baby blankets and diapers to take care of. Of course, I should also make sure that the Beloved and I have clean clothes and linens as well. And perhaps do some more picking up before Christmas Eve when my in-laws are scheduled to come for a visit.

Fortunately, I appear to be nesting. I have to be careful about how much I do--I have moments when my energy level feels very high and I get a lot done, and then my back starts to hurt or I start having contractions. Oops. But there's so much left to do--our house looks like a bomb hit it and I'd like to be a little more squared away before the baby shows up....

We'll see what happens, I suppose.

Dear God, it looks like knitting.


Baby Surprise Jacket in "Sweet Lime" Yarn Pirate Sock Yarn

This is the first object I have completed for the Tadpole. OK--she's got a couple of pairs of socks, but those don't really count as at least one of them was knit before I knew I was pregnant. It's also my first venture with the oh-so-popular Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman.



This was a huge leap of faith for me. The knitting itself is not difficult, but EZ did not write in step-by-step instructions. Following a very conversational pattern was not standard operating procedure for my very type-A brain. But I made it--and the next time I knit this pattern (because it was fun and easy and makes an excessively cute little jacket), it should be easier since I know that the amorphous bit of garter stitch really does fold into a garment.

I love the buttons.



I wish I could tell you they were handmade or came from a cute shop, but that would be a lie. I found them at Joann's and I just thought they were perfect.

The sweater is knit in sock yarn on US size 4 needles. I think it will fit a newborn. I'm hoping to use it as Tadpole's coming home sweater. I don't anticipate her being small enough to wear the sweater for very long, but I think it will be very sweet for the time she does get to wear it. It may be a little spring-y for a January baby, but I don't care. I'm happy with it.

I've started another little sweater for her--a kimono sweater--that's sized Newborn to 6 months. The other garments I have planned will be in the 3-6 month size as I don't expect her to stay tiny for long. Eventually, I'll knit even bigger clothes, but I'm reluctant to knit things that will likely fit her this summer as it can get really hot and uncomfortable up here and I'm not sure where the Tadpole will be. The Beloved and I are mostly sure that I will go back to work, but we have begun to seriously consider whether it's worth it for me to go back full-time. Child care is very expensive, and the places where she's wait-listed have told me that March and April are difficult times to place kids. So...we'll see. I think it will depend on what happens with the economy and with fuel prices. If it looks like my entire paycheck is going to be spent on day care and gas to get to work, it doesn't make a lot of sense for me to go back. The prospect is moderately terrifying, but all we can do is wait and see.

The Tadpole appears to be doing just fine. She's a very busy baby--the doctor had a hard time getting a heart rate at our last appointment because she kept squirming away. We go for another ultrasound at the end of the month to check her growth. I believe this is probably to make sure that the gestational diabetes diet and exercise plan is working as well as the weekly bloodwork suggests and that she's not getting too big too fast.

Other than that, life progresses here at Chez Saisquoi. I had a cold last week, which was not the most fun I've ever had. The Beloved has it now. He's decided that he only wants to live so that he can get even someday. But aside from that, life here is pretty good.

Hot damn--I finally finished!


Alpaca Silk Shrug
Pattern: Silk Shrug designed by Bobbi Intveld for Blue Sky Alpacas
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca Silk in the Ginger Colorway
Purchased from: kpixie.com
Needles: Addi turbo US size 3 (3.25 mm) for body
Knitpicks Options US size 9 (5.5 mm) for ruffle
I'm quite happy with how this turned out. As always, I apologize for the less than ideal pictures and the less than ideal model, but, hey--I figured out how to use the timer on my camera! Cool, huh?





It's not blocked yet. But I really wanted to wear it today--look how excited I am!



This is my first grown-up sweater. I've knit a couple of baby ones, but never a full-sized, adult garment. The pattern was simple...occasionally boring...but finishes in a very elegant garment.

Thank you for your comments on the sock. I think I'm going to use Marianne's suggestion and start a sock on larger needles just to see what happens instead of ripping back blindly. If I like the modified version, I can always rip the first and start over, but if I hate the new sock, I haven't lost any ground. In all honesty, I was astounded by this suggestion. It's absolutely brilliant. Simple, elegant, practical...I wish I had thought of it. I knew there was a reason I always separate skeins of sock yarn into portions. And here it is.

My camera! Woo-hoo!

Now I can show you pictures of my baby socks and the finished Calamity socks. Can you stand it?


Baby Socks
Pattern: A variation on the Magic 28 theme (I think they were Magic 36)
Yarn: Yarn Pirate 100% merino sock yarn in the "Rum Runner" colorway
Purchased from: Yarn Pirate "Booty Club"
Needles: Susan Bates US size 1/2.25 mm (5-7 inch DPNs)

Cute, aren't they? But a little small for me. These fit a bit better:


Plain vanilla with a side of picot socks
Yarn: Yarn Pirate BFL sock yarn in the "Calamity" colorway
Purchased from" Yarn Pirate "Booty Club"
Needles: Knitpicks US size 1.5/2.5 mm (5-6 inch DPNs)

The lighting is crappy. I apologize. I miss sunshine, but am too lazy to use the photo editor right now...





I like them. They're cute. They took forever to finish, but I blame the Alpaca Silk Shrug. No pictures of that one, yet. I'm on the ruffle, which means it is almost done. The ruffle is supposed to be six inches long--I've knit three. It's killing me. The 5x5 ribbing may be more boring than the miles of stockinette. But I try to keep going because the end really is in sight.

I also started a pair of socks out of the "Butternut" colorway. I'm not thrilled with them. I like the colors and I like the texture of the yarn, which is a merino/tencel blend, but the colors are pooling funny. Now, I'm generally not bothered much by pooling, but, thus far, my sock just looks goofy. I can't get a picture that even approximates--I'll need sun for that one. I'm not ready to pull it out yet, because I can't be sure that it won't get better. I can live with a goofy looking cuff it it evens out eventually, but... (whine).

In other knitting news, I got a Ravelry request to use one of the photos of my Epiphany mittens (this one, I think) as a featured photo for the pattern I used (Basic Pattern for Children's Mittens by Elizabeth Durand). Neato, eh?

Otherwise, there isn't much else to report. Work is, well, work. I had my 90-day review last week, and they're letting me stay, so, that's good. They're happy with my work; I just need to get faster. Which I already knew, so...

The Beloved and I are refinancing the house. I'm sure it will be fine and it's the right thing to do and all, but just thinking about the large amounts of money involved just makes me feel ill. When the papers are all signed and its over, I'll be fine, but until that point I think I'll just hide under the bed or something.

PFC Sibling is still in medic training in Texas. She called last week to report that her orders now state that she will be shipping out for Iraq in June. It's not a surprise, but it's still a rather jarring reality. Last Sunday I was at a church brunch and someone asked about my sister. Another woman sitting with us said in shock and horror, "well how old is she?" My sister will be 28 next week. "Oh, well that's OK. At least she's not a baby."

Excuse me? Fortunately for everyone, I had a seven-year-old sitting next to me so I couldn't tell her what I really thought. Like it's somehow less horrible for my sister to go to war since she's "older." Like if her transport gets blown up on the way to some tent city hospital it'll be OK. You know, they should serve liquor at church brunches.

On that happy note, it is frickin' freezing here. I need to see why my fire isn't warming up the room. Maybe I should put my new socks on?

That's what The Beloved calls this hat. What a little charmer!


Lyra's Hat
Size: Large (To fit a large child or small adult)
Yarn: Reynold's Blizzard colorways 688 and 673
Purchased at: A Loom with a View, Newburyport, MA
Needles: KA circular needles, US size 19/15 mm.
So, on Wednesday I visited my friend Libby for tea and a knitting lesson. Libby reported on the fabulous knitwear in The Golden Compass after she saw it and said to me, Saisquoi, I want this hat that Lyra wears when she's with the polar bears. You'll know it when you see it. It doesn't look hard. Do you think I can do it? Of course! So, we bought yarn, went back to her place, and had some knitting fun. She learned the cable cast on and how to purl before the end of the evening. I'm happy to see she taught herself the three-needle bind-off and has a completed hat! Yay for the finished object!!

I brought mine home and finished it off whilst watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer with the Beloved. It was quick and easy and very satisfying.







The Beloved is probably right and I look like a garden gnome gone bad, but the hat is warm and fuzzy and kind of cute. I fully intend on wearing it if the weather gets cold again. I will likely make the hat again...but probably for a small child and not for myself.

I've also decided to pony up and do this, which I've seen around blogtopia for a while: The Pay It Forward Exchange. It’s based on the concept of the movie “Pay it Forward” where acts or deeds of kindness are done without expecting something in return, just passing it on, with hope that the recipients of the acts of kindness are passed on. I'm coming in because of Marianne's post.

So here’s how it works. I will make and send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I do not know what that gift will be yet, and it won’t be sent this month, probably not next month, but it will be sent (within 6 months--or 9 months by Marianne's rules) and that’s a promise! What YOU have to do in return, then, is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

I will now Pay It Forward to you THREE, I wonder who you will be?! Please, be a PIF! You will enjoy it just as much as we do!

And, remember…you have 6 months (or 9 months, to be 'fair') to get your gifts done!
Also, you don’t have to knit or crochet to participate, anyone who can make a nice handmade gift is welcome to join.

Any takers?

Teddy Bears
Pattern: Knitted Cuddlies available from Knitting Daily
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool Merino in the "Natural Mix" colorway
Purchased from: My local AC Moore
Needles: Knitpicks US size 7/4.5 mm (4 DPNs)

If you think these look familiar, you're right. This is the same pattern used to make Luigi (scroll down, I promise he's there). The pattern was quick, easy, and just the ticket for a handmade addition to Giving Tree gifts for Boy Baby and Girl Baby. I finished them on Saturday as Sunday was supposed to be the dropoff day at church. However, we had what is referred to as a big-ass Noreaster that day and church was canceled. Have you ever heard of anything so crazy? So I spent the rest of the day sitting on the couch and snuggling with Polly and knitting on the Alpaca Silk Shrug. Well, not really, but I wish that's how I spent my day.

Actually, I spent a good portion of the day trying to shovel out so that I could go to work this morning. The Beloved is on vacation and has come down with the obligatory cold. So he was of little help. Then the snowblower died. Then my neighbor's snow blower died. I seriously considered drinking the rest of the open bottle of sherry and then lying down naked in the back yard to see how long it would take me to die of exposure.

Fortunately my neighbor was able to fix his snowblower and he was able to remove the mountain of snow left by the plow. But then I had to shovel out another two times--after the sidewalk plow came through and again after the street plow came by again and knocked a wall of snow into my driveway. What is the appropriate gift for your snowblowing angel of a neighbor anyway? My husband, speaking in what I can only imagine was a fever accompanying his cold, asked our neighbor if he liked meat. (I said--find out if Mr. and Mrs. Neighbor are allergic to nuts--if no, we can send over some of the cookies I plan to bake this week. He asks "Do you like meat?" Sigh.) Apparently, my Beloved Spouse was thinking we could pick up a gift certificate to The Meat House for their Christmas Roast. The question just didn't come out sounding very...suave. My neighbor is probably convinced that we're completely deranged.

This morning I woke to find that everything was coated with ice. This makes it hard for the car to go. It was too much--I went inside and proceeded to have a meltdown at my husband. Who looks at me and says, "I thought you were good under pressure." Wonder of wonders, he is still alive. It must be a Christmas miracle.

Apparently it will take another Christmas miracle for us to get a tree. So, Christmas Eve is one week from today. Naturally, the Rotary Christmas Tree sale was not going on tonight. The Beloved, being good and patient and pragmatic, said "We'll try again tomorrow and we'll go earlier--before dinner." Saisquoi, being tired and bitter and resentful, said "I don't know why I expected to be able to buy a freakin' tree the week before Christmas anyway." I must be a South Pole elf.

Anyhow. I'm drinking egg nogg, trying very hard to feel Christmasy, what with all the snow and all, but I'm just tired and cranky. I'm afraid I'm coming down with my sweetie's cold (isn't sharing great?) and still have to get ready to host my in-laws on Christmas Eve, when, actually, I'll be at church trying somehow to pull together a children's story with participation for the service. (The prep work with the kids should have gotten done yesterday. But no church, so...) You know, I like the idea of Christmas. I like the stories. I like the singing. I like the time spent with family. All of this other stuff? Not so much. I'm not having fun right now, and I'm not quite sure how to make it be fun and not so painfully stressful.

So, instead, I'll have another egg nogg and work on my shrug and snuggle my cat and my husband. And if any of you have any ideas or any thoughts on alleviating pre-Christmas malaise, feel free to pass them along.

I'll try to post something cheerier tomorrow. Maybe if we manage to find a freakin' tree...

Holy crap--a complete pair of socks! Yes, you are in the right place.



I finished these babies up on Friday and am wearing them today because I really needed a pick-me-up.


Pretty, aren't they? If I was a little more diligent, knit faster, and had more money to spend on stash, I'd look at having only hand-knit socks in my drawer. Alas, that'll take a while...


Sorry for the craptastic quality of the pictures. Now that The Beloved and I are actually blogging about wine, I'm working on getting a better camera and a light tent. I may end up making my own light tent, but the camera just isn't doing what I need it to, hence the desire for an upgrade.

In other news, this week will be busy. On Friday I got two calls for job interviews--one for a Young Adult/Reference position at a public library a couple of towns over from mine (20 minute commute--yay!); the other with *gasp* EBSCO, home of the uber library database. The EBSCO job is in the editorial department as a Humanities Abstractor. Two very different opportunities, but both are full-time, which the current job(s) is(are) not. Imagine--health insurance and retirement plans again....it seems almost too good to be true.

And it might be, after all, these are only interviews. But it is nice to dream. And to make the first cut. So far, one appointment is scheduled for next Thursday and I'm still waiting to hear on the other. I'm hoping they can see me on Tuesday afternoon--otherwise, it looks like I'll probably have to wait 'till next week because this week is overflowing with crazy-insanity.

Which, naturally, means it's time for more fun with cats. (Warning: discussion of cat urinary health to follow.)

Polly had been doing so well. We've changed their food to a urinary tract health formula (one you can buy in the grocery store--not prescription), and the little demons seem to love it. The bowl has been empty within a half-hour of feeding time. So, when she started whining more, I assumed it was EBS (Empty Bowl Syndrome) and didn't pay it much mind. Until yesterday when I went into the bathroom and it looked like we were performing ritual sacrifices in our bathtub. Seriously--if CSI comes over and luminols the bathroom, we'll have some explaining to do.

Since it appears the infection has recurred, I called the vet this morning and will have to leave work early to get her to the one afternoon appointment they had. Le sigh. This means I will have to forgo new shoes for my interview. Oh well. I'm wondering if any of you have ever brought an animal to a different vet for a second opinion or if that officially makes me a crazy cat lady?

Here's my problem: Our vet is convinced that we need to put Polly on Prescription Weight Loss cat food. And I won't argue that she's overweight. However, I've been reading more postings from people who own large breed cats (I joined the Maine Coon Cat Lovers group on Ravelry--we were told Polly was a Norwegian Forest/Maine Coon cross at the shelter, though she really looks more the Forest Cat, she's got behavioral traits peculiar to both breeds), and it seems to me that while Polly could lose her "udder" (flabby lower abdomen), she's really not all that far outside of the norm for her breed(s). Her last weigh-in was 17.5 lbs, which reflects half a pound lost since February. I'm just not convinced she needs to be a 14 pound cat.

Anyway--I'll put her on Prescription Urinary Health cat food if that's what her body requires. It will be expensive, but it will beat hell out of taking her to the vet every two weeks and having to hogtie and drug her three times a day. I need a little more convincing about the Kitty Weight Watchers stuff, though. (The Beloved is a bit of a conspiracy theorist, and the fact that we can only buy this special diet food from the vet makes him very, very wary.) And if that's all I get from the vet today, I'm seriously considering taking her for a second opinion--preferably with a vet who specializes, or at least has decent experience with large breed cats, if such a thing exists. Am I nuts?

It's been my cooking philosophy this week as I desperately try to use up leftover party food before it spoils, so why not reflect the same principle in my blogging style? OK--I've been too scattered lately to put together a coherent...well...anything... so here's a little sampling of everything instead.

Cooking

I did a lot of it last weekend. The good part? I haven't had to cook all week. We've been reheating leftovers like it's going out of style. It's been great, because, honestly--it's been the week from hell.

I made a lasagna on Sunday that was to die for. My Italian Mother-in-Law has granted me honorary Italian status. I'd post the recipe--which is my own--if I bothered to remember to take measurements. Whoops. I've been making my own pasta sauce for years now, and so I make it by taste. It's a handful of this and some of that and then you taste it and see what it needs. If anyone is interested, I'll take notes the next time I make one, which will likely be soon since I've got an extra tub of ricotta in my refrigerator that needs using.

On Monday, we ate Mediterranean-style stuff. I made Souvlaki, Tzatziki, and a Greek Caponata. I can give you recipes for those...

Souvlaki
You'll need:

• 1 lb. lamb shoulder meat
• 1/4 cup olive oil (preferably Greek olive oil)2 T fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tsp. dried Greek oregano
• 1 tsp. minced garlic or garlic puree

What you'll do:

• Cut the lamb into cubes approx. 1 inch in size.
• Combine other ingredients to form a marinade.
• Put lamb and marinade into a ziploc bag and shake well.
• Put bag in refrigerator and let marinate for approximately 4 hours. You don't really want to let this marinate all day, because the lamb is already pretty tender and you don't want the marinade to overpower the flavor of the meat.
  
• Start up the grill. While grill is heating up, thread lamb onto skewers.
  
• When grill is nice and toasty, pop skewers on and grill away! Mine cooked for about 8-10 minutes/side or 16-20 minutes total. You don't want to over cook them.
• Serve hot with Tzatziki Sauce.

Tzatziki Sauce
You'll need:

• 3 cups Greek Yogurt
  
• Juice of one lemon (about 3 T)
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 2 medium cucumbers, seeded and diced (or 1 large European cucumber with very few seeds)
  
• About 1 T kosher salt for salting cucumbers
• 1 T finely chopped fresh dill
  
• Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

What you'll do:

• Peel cucumbers, then cut in half lengthwise and take a small spoon and scrape out seeds. Discard seeds. (If you use the small seedless or European cucumbers with few seeds, you can skip this step.)
  
• Dice cucumbers, then put in a colander, sprinkle on 1 T salt, and let stand for 30 minutes to draw out water.
• Drain well and wipe dry with paper towel.
• In food processor with steel blade, add cucumbers, garlic, lemon juice, dill, and a few grinds of black pepper. Process until well blended, then stir this mixture into the yogurt.
  
• Taste before adding any extra salt, then salt if needed. (I didn't need any more salt)
  
• Place in refrigerator for at least two hours before serving so flavors can blend. (This resting time is very important.)

The Greek Caponata was something I saw Giada De Laurentiis make on the Food Network a few weeks ago and sparked idea for the Mediterranean theme. You can find the recipe for that right here, and I highly recommend it, particularly if you find yourself in possession of massive amounts of summer squash, zucchini and tomatoes. It's very easy and very tasty. It also reheats nicely if you're like me and make way too much of it.

Reading

Yeah. I've started doing this again. You know, it's kind of fun! I'm currently reading Fluke by Christopher Moore, which is funny and good reading, but is not grabbing me the way You Suck or The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove did. It still has interesting chapter titles (Heinous Fuckery Most Foul is my favorite thus far) and phrases (I don't think I've ever read another book that mentions "poop chute technology"). Perhaps I'll have to order it for work. Christopher Moore was on the cover of Writer's Digest or something like that earlier this year....

I'm also reading 1215: The Year of Magna Carta by Danny Danziger and John Gillingham. It's interesting, but very different from the Christopher Moore book.

Cats

(Warning: This is a TMI sort of post. If you don't want to read about cat urinary health, move along to the next heading. Don't say I didn't warn you.)

Polly has been sick of late. She seems to have some urinary tract unhealthiness going on. The poor baby was a little under the weather at the end of last week and into the weekend. By Monday, she was miserable. Unfortunately, it was a) Labor Day and b) The Beloved's surprise party. So, we kept an eye on her, cleaned up the puddles that appeared around the house, and hoped for the best. When everyone left, I called the vet's office thinking she had kitty diarrhea again--the puddles were watery, oily, and brown...what was I supposed to think? Anyway. They couldn't see her that night, but made an appointment for the next morning at 8:00. So, we kept an eye on her and then found some obviously bloody puddles on the floor. I called the Emergency Vet Clinic, they suggested I bring her in, and an X-Ray and $200 later, they determined she probably had a bladder infection. So they sent us home with some antibiotics and the X-Rays and told us to check in with our regular vet. Which we did the next morning at 8:00.

The regular vet was grouchy because they couldn't get an accurate urine sample since I had started her on an antibiotic. But then they couldn't find her heartbeat because Polly decided to start purring and wouldn't stop. Not for running water. Not when the vet tech held a piece of gauze saturated in alcohol under her nose. So, they took her back and took some blood and tried for some urine. They apparently couldn't find her bladder, either. Even with an ultrasound. The vet did, however, express concern about a lump on Polly's shoulder. Now, I asked about the lump six months ago when we last came to the vet (same clinic, btw), and the vet we saw then--the director of the clinic--told us not to worry about it. Apparently, I should have been worrying. They took samples and have sent them out to be analyzed. Then, they decided to put her on a different antibiotic than the one prescribed at the EVC. So, $400 later, we went home.

I'm happy to report there were fewer bloody puddles around the house this morning and that Polly is at least trying to use her litterbox. Unfortunately, she still isn't really eliminating properly. I called the vet this morning to reschedule a follow-up appointment and asked when I should start to worry. The vet says, "Do you want to bring her in?" Uh...not really...we're already going to be eating Kraft dinner for the next month since I spent all my money on the previous bill.... So, we're keeping our fingers crossed that she's doing even better (ie: peeing) by the time I get home from work today. I'm hopeful. She was eating and drinking last night and this morning and seemed a bit perkier than yesterday morning. And, if she's not doing better I'll suck it up and take her to the vet. I wonder if The Beloved will notice if I pawn my engagement ring.

And she needed a haircut.



Poor baby.

Hair

About a month ago I decided to try the no-shampoo lifestyle. This does not mean I've stopped bathing and/or grown dreads. What happened was this: I read Wendy's post about her "poo-free" lifestyle and was intrigued. Unfortunately, the WEN products are a little too rich for my blood. I'd probably have to give up knitting in order to wash my hair with the cleansing conditioner, and that would be absolutely unacceptable. But, like I said, I was intrigued by the idea of shampoo free. So, I put my librarian skills to work and did some research to see if there was an acceptable (less expensive) alternative. And I discovered sites about people washing their hair with baking soda and apple cider vinegar. After I got over the, ew, yuck, that's weird factor, I decided to give it a go. And I am pleased to report that my hair looks and feels great. I wash it every three days now (as opposed to every day with traditional shampoo) with a solution of 1 T baking soda to 8 oz. water. And I use a rinse of 2 T lemon juice mixed with 8 oz. water. My hair is shiny and soft, it has a bit of curl (who knew?!), my scalp feels great (no more dandruff or icky waxy nastiness) and I'm putting fewer chemicals on my body and into the environment. The only things I miss about traditional shampoo are the bubbles and the detangling agent--my hair is on the long side, and combing it out after a wash can be a bit trying.


If the Baking Soda and Apple Cider Vinegar route is pressing your buttons, check out this site. It was very helpful for me starting out.

Knitting

Yes, I still knit. I even knit socks. But the Angel's Rest socks still aren't finished. Sigh. I'm working on the foot. But I got distracted. I need more dishcloths for a housewarming party later this month and I was possessed by the overwhelming desire to knit this:

This is Luigi. The Beloved has named him. I actually made him for a friend (well, for the small child of a friend), but since The Beloved has named the damned thing, I don't know that I can give it up. Well, that, and it's a really pathetic excuse for a stuffed toy. I'm not good at seaming and I'll need to practice sewing arms and legs on to make it better next time. Because I'm sure there will be a next time. I used the Knitted Cuddlies pattern that's available free if you're registered with Knitting Daily. It was really easy to do, and though I'll probably make a few modifications next time--including finding a better way to sew the limbs onto the body--the end product is cute enough that I think I'll probably be making several of these. Best of all? I don't have to worry about lead paint from China when I give these to small children or to their parents!

That about sums it up for now. This weekend will be busy--that saying about no rest for the wicked is really starting to ring true. I'm going to Belmont for Godly Play reaccreditation training. I know you're all jealous. It should be fine, and possibly even fun, but I am just so darned tired that the prospect of a day-and-a-half-long storytelling workshop really isn't working for me. Maybe if they had beer...or at least naptime to break up the storytelling...

But it's something.

KelInCal has made about eleventy-million round dishrags in the past week or so. I was inspired. Go read her dishrag posts if you want to make some of your own--and then thank her for the wealth of fancy dishrags you'll have. Seriously.

This was just what the doctor ordered. My wrists are feeling better, but my mood is... meh. My dryer broke down this weekend, resulting in some nice piles of mildew-scented laundry, The Beloved was determined to try my patience as if it was the new favorite activity for all the cool kids in town, and...and...and.

But I have a nice, round, purple dishcloth to use tonight when I clean up the dinner dishes! Wahoo!

In all honesty, I'm amazed that anything got done at all this weekend. That's because this came into my life:

Yeah. Mine and everyone else's. So, that's how I spent my Saturday. The letter carrier dropped it off at about 11 AM and I retreated for 759 pages. I was pleased with how the story wrapped up. But I won't say any more for those of you that may still be reading.

On Sunday, though, I managed to be remarkably productive. OK--maybe not remarkably, but I did finish these:

It's about time. The Beloved wanted to know how much these socks would be worth if I charged an hourly labor rate. Hah. They are a belated birthday gift for my friend, ESB, and I've been knitting them for, oh, a while. This is not the fault of the pattern or the yarn or anything other than my relatively slow and inept knitting. Nevertheless, I'm happy with how they came out. As you can see, I haven't blocked them yet. I'll wash them and block them this afternoon--mind you, they will not be blocked on sock blockers or anything fancy--I'd just like them to look a little slicker when they are finally handed off later this week. Yay finished socks!

There was only one thing to do--cast on another sock. Am I finishing Conwy's mate? Not on your life. I mean--I will. Eventually. But I got new yarn in the mail last week and have been dying to use it. Yes, my Yarn Pirate booty arrived. Wanna see it? Click here. On the chance that someone reading hasn't gotten their shipment yet, I'd hate to ruin the surprise. Because it's sweet. And mine will become "Angel's Rest" from the "Peak Experience" patterns available from Fiber Trends. At least, that is the current plan.

I've also been spinning. No yarn to show right now because it's drying. I gave Navajo plying a go, and while it certainly needs work, I did produce something that one could identify as yarn. So I got ambitious and spun up one of the Spunky Eclectic batts I bought at the Maine Fiber Frolic. It's purple and yellow and blue, so I kind of took it apart into it's component parts and have attempted to spin a striped yarn. My single is striped. And, as long as I don't destroy the yarn in the plying attempt planned for later this week the final product should be striped. Let's keep our fingers crossed, shall we?

And yesterday I also did something I haven't done in years--I went fishing with my Dad. Naturally, both of us forgot cameras. (Battery was charging--the call was somewhat unexpected). Dad is teaching me to fly fish. I suck. But, by the end of the afternoon, I could sort-of cast out to nearly the middle of the pond, and I had even caught a trout--a decent sized one! But we were catching and releasing, so it got to stay at the pond. We had a celebratory cigar. I hope to be able to go out again, but will have to spend a little time practicing in the backyard. I'm terrified of hooking someone with the fly as I whip it around. Yikes!

Since I had such a wonderful day outside playing yesterday, it's only fitting that it's raining this morning and I use the opportunity to do all of the chores I neglected this weekend. So I'm off to do some laundry and play with my new sock. Not a bad way to spend a Monday if you ask me...

I know. I said I was giving up on it. But here's what happened....

A week ago Sunday, I saw Baby K and her mom after church. Someone asked about the upcoming baptism, and Mom responded that, well, her family couldn't find the...whatever...that babies generally use at family christenings. And since the baby has been sick a lot over the past several months, no one really thought to ask other family members if they'd seen it. And, in fact, they weren't expecting a large family turn-out, anyway. Did I mention that Baby K is our priest's daughter? Where, in some families, this may be a rite of passage with little actual religious significance (no one ever goes to church, but dammit, we're baptizing this baby and having a party), Baby K's baptism should have been an event. So I told her Mom, "I think I have something she can use."

Then I went home and knit like an absolute fool for the next week. I didn't do laundry. I didn't spin. I wasn't ready for the start of Summer of Socks 2007. All I did was knit the Christening Shawl.

I couldn't knit it as long as I originally planned. In spite of my best efforts, I still had to go to work and occasionally sleep or eat. But, this is what I managed: