Two Purls

Before April is out

I thought I'd post *something* to let you know I'm alive and all. As anyone could have guessed, I've been off the blog scene. More specifically I've been off the computer scene, including email - at least the address the blog uses, so I just saw several comments from people asking where I was. Thank you all so much for thinking of me - things are fine really, I'm just trying to slow life down a bit and savor Xavier's babyhood, which is so quickly passing by.

So, we're good. Xavier is sweeter than ever. Oscar is healthy and happy. Hubby is busy. Me, I'm finally done with that long volunteer project (the final report is written and distributed) and so I'm just doing the public grin-and-sell rounds in City meetings - with X in tow. Still trying to focus on getting our house/life organized. Planting lots of beautiful flowers to celebrate Spring. Also doing the unthinkable and planning for a new round of house renovation to commence this August where we will re-incorporate the garden-level apartment into the main house to turn the place back into a one-family building. So in my free time I am browsing catalogs and websites, interviewing contractors, cajoling plumbers, and maniacally typing out Excel spreadsheets.

Knitting has been on hold. I miss it, but I didn't even realize how much I missed it until two days ago when I met up with Cara, Kay, and Lorette in NYC for some yarn shop browsing. I walked into The Point - had never been there before - and suddenly realized how much I missed playing with my sticks. The colors, the smell, the whole relaxing scene came back to me so suddenly that I teared up with emotion and blurted out to Cara "I think I'm going to cry." It took me by surprise, as I'm not exactly the crying type. So I decided to plan for a project (or two) and picked up some Rowan Cashsoft Baby DK to make this:

Click pic for link to pattern info

After dropping off Cara at home that night she gifted me some wonderful heavyweight STR - and a new chibi. I tell you, I always leave her house with a little treat in my pocket (thanks, C!). I'm planning to cast on for socks to carry around in the diaper bag...portable and easy are key right now. X just woke - I'm hopefully not off for another month. Thank you all again for your kind messages, it's nice to be missed. :)

Some good news...

Results are in and Oscar my sweet pug does NOT have cancer. Oh, I am sooo relieved. Although the no-cancer dx is fabulous, it seems little O does have a couple things going on, none of which are life-threatening, thankfully.

Full results:  stomach biopsy came back normal; lymph node biopsy came back with "atypical lymphocytes" that his vet said they are not calling cancer yet, but it will need to be monitored to make sure that the nodes return to normal size and there are no further changes; his intestine biopsy came back positive for inflammatory bowel disease, which we can treat long-term with prednisone. So Oscar the pug will start getting hopped up on 'roids starting tomorrow.

I was tagged last week with a meme from Portable Knitting Ann...

Instructions: Remove the blog in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone up one place, then add your blog to the bottom slot:

invisible handy wipe knits
K-nits
ARTwin Knits
Portable Knitting

Two Purls

Then add 3 people to tag (you're it... in a very non-pressure kind of way, of course)

Miles, etc. (even though she doesn't blog about it, Heather is a knitter, too)

Okay, I'm only tagging Heather. Because I have been so off reading most blogs the past few months to even know whether anyone else has been tagged before. Bad meme-recipient! :)

What were you doing 9 years ago?

March 1997: I was finishing up my undergraduate degrees in Italian and Economics at UC Davis. I still had to take some writing exam to test out of the undergrad writing graduation requirement. I had absolutely no doubts that this test would be a breeze, so I put off taking it until the last half of my senior year. Proving that I wasn't nearly as smart as I fancied myself (and in some fabulous St. Patrick's Day partying), I got really drunk and showed up for the 8:00 am exam still tipsy with the beginning of a massive hangover. The essay question I remember to this day - Discuss the difference between wisdom and knowledge. Which do you think is most acquired during the college years?

My mind went blank. I had a million half-quotes floating around in my head on this topic, none of which made any sense. Wisdom? Knowledge? Clearly I had acquired neither. In fact, I still remember my essay, scrawled in half-drunk penmanship that slanted precariously south-left: "The difference between wisdom and knowledge is   ". Yep, that's it. One completely unimaginative sentence fragment.

In hindsight, I should have written an essay about my night of partying before a major exam and the brilliant discussions that took place at wee hours of the morning over yet another round of tequila shots. But I was too drunk for even that. So if I were to write what I was doing come July 1997 (after walking in the graduation ceremony), you would read a story about a summer school writing class and having to delay starting my job in DC, all the while regretting those tequila shots.

 

What were you doing 6 years ago?

March 2000: I was back in school, in a PhD program at the University of Pennsylvania. I was just starting to contemplate ducking out with my masters degree and not going the full doctorate route. Which I did three months later.

 

What were you doing 1 hour ago:

Walking the dog and stopping off at the local coffee shop for a latte.

 

Name 3 movies/tv shows you can’t turn off if you stumble across them on TV:

Law and Order - any of them

Martha Stewart (shhh...don't tell anyone)

Fight Club (the movie)

 

Name 3 things you want to improve upon this year:

Get more organized

Keep in better touch with friends and family

Expand my cooking repertoire

 

Name 3 things you can’t live without (aside from knitting):

National Public Radio

The Internet

Non-fiction pop science books

 

Name 3 things you could live without:

Television

Telephone

High heels

 

Name 3 things you really like about yourself:

I'm an empathetic listener

When I love, I love deeply

I don't get pop culture references

What I did on my (blog) vacation

February turned into an unexpected blog vacation during which I (in no particular order):

1. Knit another two skeins up of Karabella Soft Tweed on my Valentine poncho, the poncho which was intended for Valentine's Day 2005 and was still not finished for V-day 2006.

2. Wrote Xavier's birth story.

3. Went down to Philly to visit the in-laws and found out that Dave's mom's multiple sclerosis is worsening.

4. Met up with Ann of Portable Knitting for some knitting in Manhattan and a fun, but crowded, visit to the new MOMA.

5. Cleaned my house and did enormous amounts of laundry since Oscar the pug got very sick and a pukey/poopy dog makes for a really disgusting mess.

6. Hospitalized poor Oscar for dehydration and, when an ultrasound showed bowel irregularities and enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes, agreed to exploratory surgery and biopsies.

7. Cried when the vet told me he may have terminal canine lymphoma and attempt to distract myself while waiting for biopsy results (due on 3/1).

8. Discovered that Xavier is ticklish, and swooned at the sweet sound of my baby laughing.

9. Kept up the fever log his pediatrician has us keeping, taking his temperature 4 times a day.

10. Got referred to a pediatric infectious disease specialist when X's ped couldn't figure out what is causing his fevers for the past 7 weeks.

11. Cried with relief when the ID ped told me that he doesn't think anything is seriously wrong with Xavier's health and that we should keep up the fever log for two more weeks and if it doesn't consistently go above 101 then we can chalk this all up to him running warm and perhaps fighting off minor cold viruses.

12. Booked flights for X and I to join DH on a business trip to Lake Louise,  Calgary for the first weekend in March.

13. Booked flights for all three of us to go to CA for Xavier's Baptism into the Catholic Church on March 18th.

14. Realized that I should probably get X a frequent flier card if we keep this travel schedule up.

15. Began planning Xavier's post-Baptism party to be held in my grandpa's illegal casino, because you just have to mix up some ungodly gambling with all the godly sacraments.

16. Thought of my grandma and how much she would have loved to be at her first great-grandson's Baptism and that the first thing she would have done is make us a cookie tray for the party afterward.

17. Called my aunt and asked if she would help make a cookie tray with grandma's recipes for X's Baptism.

18. Finally found, ordered, and arranged for the installation of stair runners so that I don't fall down the stairs again.

19. Joined a fledgling local CSA and crossed my fingers that it's better than the crappy CSA we participated in last summer where all they did was overdose members on swiss chard.

20. Went to a LLL meeting and made a new friend who has a son born on Xavier's due date.

21. Made snarky comments during all of the stupid ice dancing Olympic events in Torino.

22. Started counting down the days (only 14 days left!) to when The Sopranos returns  to HBO.

23. Stared for hours at Xavier, who learned how to suck his thumbs this month and is just the sweetest, most amazing baby ever.

Happy (belated) blogiversary to me!

January has been an unusually crazy month. Life seems to be getting back on track, though - we had a wonderful mini vacation down in South Beach, Miami, and that definitely has set a better tone for heading into February.

Lost in the sleep-deprived parenting chaos that took over our lives was my SECOND BLOGIVERSARY. January 15th, 2004 marked my first post - no comments on that one, but Carrie was already commenting by post #2. Can you believe it's been 2 years, Carrie?? Oh how the schmoos have grown!

My knitting has been on the back burner for a couple weeks. I've been madly trying to finish up a report for the city for a community green space project. Like many things it was supposed to be done by the end of 2005, but got put on hold in October with the arrival of little X. Lots of money (over a million dollars) has been earmarked already to get the project rolling, and the city is just waiting for this report to give them guidance on next steps. I feel so incredibly guilty for having held things up, but since I'm volunteering my time and energy on this I suppose they will take what they can get. Anyhoo - its almost finished (up to page 114 already!) and hopefully after this week I can get back to relaxing with the baby, pug, and my knitting. Besides, I've got a REALLY COOL knitting project planned, finally using some of this silk that I bought at Stitches East 2004. Details to come next post.

Edited to add that I managed to further procrastinate on the report by redoing the blog style for its 2nd birthday present. What do you think?

And now I am procrastinating even more by blogging about changing the blog's style. Sigh. Soon I'll be faced with the ugly reality that this thing isn't going to finish itself no matter how hard I pretend it might. (closing eyes real tight and wishing upon a star now!)

Winter detour

Yesterday we took a page from Heather's book and did the last-minute-get-the-hell-out-of-dodge family vacation. I'm blogging this from a beautiful hotel in South Beach, Miami. It's 76 degrees out, the sun is shining, and X and I just returned from a stroll along the pedestrian shopping area of Lincoln Road, where we sat outside for a wonderful lunch of the most divine Italian panini ever. Dave has a business meeting this morning and will be joining us shortly to spend the next couple days resetting ourselves with warm weather, long walks, and room service. He had suggested that we come along on this trip earlier in the week and so we purchased a refundable ticket for me (with X as a lap baby) pending the pediatrician's declaration of health. Yesterday morning the ped gave us his blessing for travel and we were off, not to return to the cold Northeast until Sunday night.

It's a much-needed trip. In addition to spending most of the past three weeks in the house or the hospital (making me more than a little crazy), Dave and I have been on completely different wavelengths. Last weekend my rest and recuperation was accompanied by some very awful arguments that boiled down to a competitive list of who-does-what in life with respect to careers, house, baby, etc. It does nobody any good in a relationship to start keeping score and the argument is ultimately fruitless - the resulting emotions just oscillate between blame and guilt and back again. Although we ended the weekend a little more rested, I think we both were still very resentful and headed into this week without much resolution to the underlying conflict.

So we're here for a change of scenery, some sunshine, and hopefully a reconnection to one another. We don't argue much - in fact out of the past 7 years I can count on one hand the number of arguments we've had - and neither of us are good at it. I think it scares both of us, too, to be out of sync with one another. It's nice to be able to take a deep breath, hold hands, snuggle the little one, and move on.

Friendships

We are all feeling better here at Chez G.  X seems back to 100% and I'm almost there myself. Almost because although I've caught up on that much-needed sleep, the cough is just hanging in there.

This weekend I had a couple wonderful treats from friends - Cara brought me along to a spinning group and although I was the lone non-spinner, it was relaxing to watch the rhythmic movement of feet and hands of others. And after nearly being killed by this maniacal flock of pigeons who were only seconds away from pecking out eyes out before we managed to flee into the yarn store, we needed relaxation. (Dude, WTF was up with the scary pigeons, anyway?!)

Since I do not have a wheel, I decided to start knitting a new soaker, using some wool that my SIL brought back from their family's trip to Norway this past summer. I'm not sure what kind of wool this is, but it's quite rough and just really not meant to be a soaker so I'll be ripping it out. The yarn label says PT3 - I've never seen it in local stores. The way it feels in my hands, though, makes me think it will be perfect for felting, perhaps a cell phone cozy?

The other wonderful treat came in the form of a get-well care package from my long-time friend Heather:

Yes, that is wonderful Scharffen Berger chocolate (Heather's favorite), some super-duper vitamins and minerals to mix with hot water (how did she know that I had just run out of these little gems?!?), and some much-needed spa treats that I will be trying out tonight once the little one is asleep.

Heather and I have known each other for 16 years now, ever since we were sophomores at the same all-girls Catholic school. Senior year we became close friends and have been through some interesting adventures together - including rescuing an abducted 5-year old girl and spending the night outside San Quentin prison to protest California's reinstatement of the death penalty with the execution of Robert Alton Harris. Heather and I have the kind of friendship that, no matter how long it has been when we last chatted, we can pick up as though it were just yesterday we were sitting at the local coffee shop before class, drinking coffee. I miss her tremendously, but know she's just a phone call (or, if things get really rough, a 4 hour plane ride!) away. So it was an extra special treat to find this package on our doorstep this weekend.

While reflecting on friendships this week I started to wonder if I am as good a friend as the ones I am so blessed to have in my life. I've blogged about this before, but my friend Marsha is battling stage IV ovarian cancer and has been for over a year now. She made it through an enormous surgery in November of 2004 and went through round after round of chemotherapy. I was supposed to be her "chemo buddy" that winter, but was sidelined with the miscarriage and couldn't make her first few rounds and although Marsha more than understood I felt pretty crappy about that. Cara (sweet Cara that she is!) even knit Shedir for her to help keep her head warm when she lost her hair that winter. So, this weekend Marsha called to ask if I could accompany her to tomorrow's appointment here in NYC where she is taking part in an experimental drug trial. What I would give to be able to say yes, but I had to say maybe - with the bronchitis and coughing I was hesitant to be around her and the others there, what with their compromised immune systems. Tonight, still coughing, I had to tell her that I won't be there tomorrow. And so I feel like crap and go back to wondering if I will ever be as good a friend to those friends who are good to me.

New topic - 2006 resolution update. Number 2 (the organization of X's closet) was accomplished this weekend, which means I am now 1 step closer to a spinning wheel! Before and after pictures later this week.

Two weeks from hell

That's what it feels like, at least. Poor X's breathing got worse over last weekend and his fever just wouldn't quit, so he ended up hospitalized on Monday. In a way it was a relief as by that point I was exhausted beyond tears and knew that he was sicker than I could manage at home. The choking episodes, accompanied by subsequent apnea, were frightening in a way that I would not wish on my worst enemy, and the persistent low-grade fever just gnawed at my gut as all the "what if" possibilities played out in my head. But having recently lived the NICU experience, his hospitalization this week brought a lot of the sadness, anger, and fear flooding back.

X was feeling better by Tuesday - IV antibiotics, an O2 tent, and bronchodilators worked their magic. Seeing my little baby all hooked up to tubes again, though, is not my idea of a good start to 2006. Sweet Cara came to sit and knit with me on Tuesday in X's hospital room and by the end of the day I think we managed to depress her as well. Really, though, is there anything more depressing than a ward full of sick babies and children?

X came home on Wednesday and so far so good - no more choking episodes and his breathing is decidedly more relaxed. He had a recheck on his lungs today (official dx was bronchitis and bronchiolitis) and they are still clear. I seem to have picked up what he had and saw my own dr this morning. Dx is bronchitis as well, but I'm hoping that a weekend of rest, a husband to help out with our now-healthy baby, and a round of antibiotics will have me back to normal soon too. Because I'm seriously done with all the sickness in our house.

Onto knitting... I finished the LTK original soaker and loved the pattern. It was clearly written and super easy - the kind of mindless knitting my psyche needed. With this pattern came the realization that in the past I've always done short rows incorrectly (with no wraps). The short row light bulb having gone off in my head, though, I'm looking forward to more patterns with shaping. Here's a picture of the finished product, knit in malabrigo yarn, color carrot top (LOVE the color!) and contrasting malabrigo in blue (I forget which one exactly) for the tie:

I knit it on size 6s, achieving gauge per the pattern. It's a size small, so I thought X could enjoy wearing it over his diapers relatively soon. So I decided to try it on the little guy and as soon as it was within a foot of him I realized that this soaker is WAY too big. Here it is, just laid across X so you get a good view. He's getting a good laugh at his silly mom and her ginormous soaker:

So I'll close with a laughing baby. It's making me smile, which is a first in many many days. May tomorrow be even better.

Resolutions

The drive down the Jersey Shore for New Years had DH and I talking resolutions. I haven't had a concrete resolution in years and I remember the last set of resolutions being somewhat generic, nebulous, and conveniently forgotten within a few weeks. This year, I decided, will be the year my resolution is clear and has something chewy for me to sink my teeth into. I wanted something that would encompass a new way of living, yet be specific enough and task-oriented so that I could incorporate it into my lifestyle in a scheduled manner. "Eat better" or "Exercise more", although worthy and wonderful if actually accomplished, really wouldn't serve me well - I knew that come the first offer of dessert or opportunity to sleep in, all would be lost.

I thought about all the new changes in my life over the past couple months - renovated house and new baby - and reflected on what I would like to do with it all going forward with our new family. Since X surprised us with his early arrival I didn't exactly get the unpacking time I had planned on around the house. The result is that we continue to live out of many a plastic bin. Closets remain stuffed with half-unpacked boxes and the cellar is full of boxes that were packed the summer of 2003 and still await a home. My grandmother's words "A place for everything and everything in its place" ring in my ear daily.

So my resolution for 2006 is to get organized - with a punch list of very specific tasks to achieve my goal. In order to motivate myself, I've also decided on a personal prize at the completion of my tasks - a new spinning wheel. I've wanted a wheel ever since the Fall of 2004, when I started spinning classes with Betty at The Spinnery. My miscarriage interrupted the class series, and then the house renovation distraction (and dust) kept me from pursuing spinning during 2005. But I'm ready now, and playing for a few minutes with Cara's Lendrum made the desire come burning back.

Which brings me to said list, subject to revisions in the way of additions only. I'll update accomplished tasks on the blog as I get them done, as well as provide before-and-after pictures (as embarrassing as those before pictures might be). In the meantime I'll keep my eyes on the goal: an organized home for that new spinning wheel.

1. Build Easy Closet system in 3rd floor guest room closet to use for linens.
2. Re-organize X's closet and find location for outgrown clothes/diapers.
3. Organize master bedroom closet.
4. Get a bookcase for X's bedroom to use for books and toys.
5. Find an armoire for guest room to use for yarn, roving, and related fiber accessories.
6. Create and keep updated a working inventory of knitting needles and yarn.
7. Bring all kitchen/cooking supplies up from cellar to kitchen, find a home for everything (either in our home or in someone else's via Freecycle).
8. Design/build shelving and storage in laundry center.
9. Get ball rolling for carpenter to build shelves and cabinets in family room.

I haven't decided what spinning wheel I'd like - any input now or as I get closer to purchase would be welcome, of course. I've never been as excited as now about a resolution, but it really feels like this is my year - watch out 2006, motivated mama coming your way!

Granola, anyone?

Cara outed me to Ann last week. It's true. I'm crunchy. It all came out in a debate over whether Ann could toss a bagel crumb out Cara's car window. Cara wouldn't allow it, and Ann thought she was nuts because the crumb would be sweet manna for the hungry pigeons in winter, not refuse on the side of the road. So Cara asked what I thought - and of course I was horrified that anyone would toss anything (even a breadcrumb) into our already polluted environment. But then Cara revealed that we use cloth diapers on X at home, and Ann - smart cookie that she is - suspected that Cara set her up for chastisement by asking the opinion of a treehugger like myself.

So, yes, we do cloth diaper. But before you think I'm sloshing dirty nappies in and out of a toilet bowl all day, I have to say that these ain't your mother's cloth diapers! There aren't any more pins on which to stick your finger, either - snappis are revolutionizing cotton pre-fold diapering everywhere. When the baby is older and you need to spend a minute toilet-side with a dirty dipe, consider using a modern mini-shower to replace that old-fashioned dunking.

Some disposable diaper information:

8.8 million babies in the U.S. are using 27.4 billion disposable diapers each year.

Disposable diapers generate 60 times more solid waste and use 20 times more raw materials like crude oil and wood pulp.

Americans spend 7 billion dollars on disposable diapers each year.

Mainstream disposable diapers contain Dioxin, a carcinogenic listed by the EPA as the most toxic of cancer related chemicals.

Swedish and German studies have linked the worldwide decline in sperm count to the rise of disposable diapers.

Here are a few good articles for more reasons to consider cloth: Why Choose Cloth Diapers?, Cloth or Disposable? and The Joy of Cloth Diapers.

If that weren't enough to think about cloth as a diapering option, consider the cuteness factor. Cloth diapers are just darn cute nowadays - with all kinds of prints to choose from it adds a bit of fun to each diaper change. Seriously.

But my favorite knitterly reason to consider cloth diapers is most definitely wool soakers. Soakers are woolen knitted diaper covers used over the top of absorbent but not waterproof cloth diapers. As most knitters reading this blog will already know, wool is an absolutely amazing fiber - it's hollow cores are absorbent at the same time that the lanolin is water resistant, both of which contribute to an excellent diaper cover. Moreover, wool is breathable, which helps maintain proper body temperature. Check out Why Use Wool? for more.

Check out what's on my needles for some soft woolen goodness. It's a wool soaker knit using (yes, I'm extravagant) Malabrigo in color Carrot Top. Pattern is the Original Soaker from Little Turtle Knits:

That's the shaped butt side, created with the use of short rows. Speaking of which, when knitting this up and following the wonderful appendix of instructions that accompanies all of the LTK patterns, I realized that up until now I've always done my short rows incorrectly without wraps. That wrap technique had me a bit confused for a bit there, but it's all under control now.

I have quite a bit of knitting time on my hands right now as sweet little X has a respiratory infection. He probably picked up the cold I had last week, but having spent New Years with his 13 cousins, it could have been something those buggers my most wonderful nieces and nephews seem gave him. Since he's still so little (but growing! He was 9 lb 6 oz yesterday!, his pediatrician is staying away from medications unless absolutely necessary, but instead had us set X up in his crib with a nebulizer of saline solution, and then the crib tented over in plastic to keep the environment moist for him to breathe. He's supposed to be in there for 20+ hours a day, so the pug and I are camping out in the recliner here in the nursery through Friday, when X gets rechecked with the doctor.

So the soaker will probably be finished soon. I have to say, though, that knitting with Malabrigo is always a treat. As Cara said with the last Malabrigo soaker that I knit (and which still needs buttons), "I want one for MY ass!". Hey, C, if for some ungodly reason you end up in cloth diapers, I'll knit you a Malabrigo soaker. :-)

A stocking in pictures

Happy 2006!

X's stocking has been finished for more than a week now, but the distraction of the holidays, traveling, and visitors has delayed this post. And I'll admit, it wasn't quite finished by midnight on Christmas Eve - more like 4 pm on Christmas Day, but hey - it's done!

I'm very happy with how the stocking turned out and am particularly happy with the changes I made to the pattern from Grace Ennis Vintage Stocking Patterns. For one, I swapped out the charted figures, putting Santa on the front and the scary devil-reindeer on the back. Seriously, that reindeer is really frightening. Dave suggested that in years where X is a bad boy we'll hang his stocking backwards with the devildeer and stuff it with coal. bwahahahah! I also changed the color of the heel flap and the toe, making them both dark green to contrast with the red foot.  Without further ado, the stocking progress...

On Christmas Eve night, around 9 pm, stitching away on the couch with baby and pug:

Hung by the chimney with care:

Doh! What's that on the bottom of the stocking you ask? Why it's a set of dpns on an unfinished toe:

But the 2-hour car ride down to the Philly area on Christmas afternoon provided some finishing time:

And the reverse (blurry, because well, I'm trying to shield you from the scary satandeer image):

Taking a size comparison between X and his stocking gave me some giggles. Without the bulky cloth diaper, he might actually fit IN the stocking. :)

And to end, a smiling baby picture. He's not so smiley today as he is running a fever, so we are headed to the pediatrician in a few minutes....hopefully my sweet babe will be back to his smiley self soon: