One never Knows

YOu never know what you'll find at the beach. Girly and I went this morning as our own Mothers Day. Since we are spending Mothers day proper with PG's Mom. WE got up about 745 and got there by 8am. We even had a nice giggle at the expense of another driver on the way. You see I know ,being as I am friends with Many a police officer, That out of towners should NOT go over the speed limit. I was going my alloted 55mph and the person behind me figured HE would pass me and go about 90MPH....with a local PO about 100yrds up. The officer pulled out to get him as I was coming up to him. GIrly " GET 'EM! Get 'Em!!" hee hee. Once we got there we had a great time as there weren't many people there at all. about 10ish other people stared to flow in. One group of ladies had a camcorder and were sitting in front of me. when their bags got caught in the tide I chatted them up. Turns out the youngest was a knitter too and was admiring "the bikini from hell" wondering if I too was a knitter:)And as we were discussing what the best fibre to take on a beach excursion was"cotton versus fuzzy mohair, and sock weight over worsted or larger" Girly ran up and calmy told me she had squeezed something squishy in the water and now her thumb was burning. Good thing the teen lifeguards were there. They had some vinagar in a spritzer bottle to save the day. Girly was so disgusted with"that naughty jelly" that Our yarny conversation was cut short and Girly and I went onward to the farmers market off 8th street( only open on Saturdays from 9-2 pm FYI). We sampled fresh organic cheeses, and breads, etc. There was a man selling organic coffee beans, and a bunch of local produce, and flowers, We spent $30 on some dried bananas, blueberries,fresh crab cakes and surprisingly Girly who TOTALLY HATES olives Asked to buy a jar of organic olive/pimento/herb& anchovy dip that she LOVED. The guy gave her a sample, I figured the poor guy was about to get the worst review ever but she was all"Oh. MY. GOD. Mommy that is the best stuff EVER!" You really never know. So then we came home to have a nice picnic in the floor, and a LOONG nap.

Mawiage

Often people think that with marriage comes a "happily ever after" filled with snuggles, prosperity and endless joys. These people are usually single.
When you get married, there are the happy dilightful parts. Like someone to warm you on a cold night, to share joys and tears. Watching a scary movie together under a hand knit afghan(had to slip in the knitting)
The Least wanted to think about is the fact that with the happily also comes the miserably ever afters. The key is to work through the miserably and wait patiently for the happily to come around again. the smashed through tube of toothpaste, the Picky etaers, and the stinky disagreements. Sometimes even illness. Some days I can't stand my husband. Any married woman can tell you the same( and the husbands too I'm sure). BUt unless you're married to a really rotten guy there's no reason to let a few irritations ruin an otherwise good thing.Little girls see the happily ever afters in movies and stories every day, and Nievly think that THE GUY will be a perfect agreeable man clone. Not gonna happen. Alot of marragies get messed up over sweating the small stuff. Sure we like to gripe about the stinky socks in the floor, and the mystirious inability to wash a load of laundry, but We all are irritating to some level. I for example like to kick my husband in my sleep, and sometimes forget to wash his pants:D which sucks. But we also like to hang out and watch old movies, and talk about world news and sciency stuff. We order Pizza and have mudfights in the yard. Not allways, but enough to remember them during the crap days when the laundry is loafing on the couch and he's forgotten to put away his dishes and I want to throw a kettle at him for being a pain. marriage is a job, like it or not. Things don't always fit like puzzle peices, sometimes we have to cut off parts and hammer them in to make things fit right. The efforts we put into it make the results much more valuable.

It isn't easter ham But...

I've been looking up some new recipies to add to my meal planning. I am a bit uneasy about some of the thai ones, Fish sauce doesn't sound all that yum, It brings on memories of catfish gutting and the goop you pullout. Never the less I bought some to make a sea food stew called Yose nabe in hopes that it doesn't tasste like the fish and sour feet that comes to mind when thinking of fish sauce. If when I open it it smells too terrible I will revert to a nice safe gumbo instead. I have to omit the mushrooms already since PG is horribly allergic and ends up itchy and vomiting like the girl on Exorcist. It's not a pretty sight. I'm also going to try a nice greek dish which looks really yummy. And more to the standard eating habits of my family. Prawns, rice and tomatoes are always big here. throw them together it's gotta go over well.
In knitting news I have most done on my cape, leaving only one side of the front and some possible adjustments to the hood before the bordering.
It's going to be a basic diamond cable. And of course blocking the durn thing so it doesn't curl anymore. I may have to crochet a few places on the underside to STILL keep it from curling because even though I moss stitched the first inch it wants to curl once I get past the moss. I haven't gotten much done on the socks I have on the needles Either. really I've been so tired the past few days I'm surprised anything is done at all.I will be gratefull for this 3 day weekend so I can get some rest. 5:30 am to 11-ish Pm is not a very restfull thing, especially given that from the time I get up to about 2 1/2 hrs after I am rnning around getting people dressed and off to their business and out for a walk with the dog.
Girly is STILL awake because her tooth hurts. I don't know why, the dentist was supposed to have de rooted it and capped it, yet it still freaking hurts two months later. She's driving my mad in there screaming like I ripped off an arm. of course it doens't bother her during the week. Must yell at dentist first thing monday morning....

Beauty

This is a poem I wrote some time ago, I had it on one of my poetry sites. I don't feel this way so much any more. I don't really know when , but I know a change in me came. Round about the time I started knitting, and quit the religion scene. I don't feel as hopeless, and unloveable now. I think alot of it has to do with letting go, letting go of thoughts other people put upon you, and the stigmas they put agianst you. Letting go of unlive-uppable standards given by mothers, husbands and most importantly Yourself. Beauty is a state of mind. I just thought I'd share it.



I see beauty all around me,

the smile of a child with an icecream, dancing in the sandy playgrounds

a bird on the water glistening in the sun, soaring high in the clouds

the veins of a blade of grass, or a flower blooming proudly

interior beauty of a kind man/woman opening the door

or helping put away groceries for an elderly person

a picture, a song, a book

why don't I see the beauty in myself,

I know I can be kind, beautiful inside,

Yet I cry, feel insignificant and unhelpful

wondering at night, did I do what is right

while I should be sleeping, looking forward to the next day

does my child see my admiration, have I shown her all my love

or remember my impatient outbursts, and forget the happy times?

the voices of the past telling me I am not good, am not smart

they cloud my judgement and my dreams, no matter what I do they laugh and taunt me

I am an outsider, the other moms stand away from me, as if they see my imperfections.

I try, perhaps not hard enough , to be their friend

yet alone I sit, at parties, recitals and games.

I think will my child do the same one day

or will she be better than me in my emotionally stunted friendships

only here physically apart do I find friends, I wonder why

do I exude some physical sign of abnormality, not in my face but manner?

like the caste less of ancient times

untouchable, odd ,unmistakably different

until I know for sure the cause and cure

I still have cookies to bake, rooms to clean,

Life goes on, full of tastes, smells and endless chores to keep me busy

until the night when I wonder again have I done enough

am I beautiful now? at least to those I love most.


copyright bitches.( but you can share it if you put it as mine)

Playing With Yarn

I've been playing with a few different stitches, trying to find a happy lacy pattern for a scarf or wrap. This one is R1:(k2tog, YO, K1 ) R2 (purl2tog, YO, P1)and rep two rows.(or if you're a two handed knitter like me just REP the R1 on the left hand) I like that it has these little rosette type stitches where the "2TOG's" are and that it looks ribbed, but it is a little bland. Cute, but bland.If the yarn wasn't so shiny, You could see it better. So anyone who reads this and knows how to take a non shiny Picture I'm all ears.
This is my personal way of YO and also How I cast on, and chain stitch, I like how it's tight, and symmetrical. I know some people just wrap the yarn over the hook/needle, and if that works for you OK. I don't like how it tends to fall off or become loose so I cross it over my finger.

More tomorrow on what I've added to this in a different stitch pattern. I've got the basic Idea of this one, so I'm moving on to find my happy stitch.

This(below) Is going to be Girly's shrug, a variation of a pattern my Good friend Sally found. It's the inspiration to my playing with the blue yarn above. After frogging The Pinkness like 4 times, I stuck with this one and moved my playing onto the blue( Caron's simply soft if you care to know). It definitely doesn't hold together like wool or acrylic, and I tend to have to re-wind it. On the up side it is soft and works nicely with the Paton's Poodle stuff on the cuff, and it is'nt nearly as heavy as I thought it would be.

CO 35 in A (bulky)knit every row x4

R5:knit 1R in B (worstest)

R6: (K2tog, YO, K1)

B7: P Across (or K across for 2 hand knitters)

rep 6-7 until B covers wrist to wrist

Change to A and K4 Rows BO.

This works for toddler kids of average weight, add or DEC by2 sts for less confusion in smaller or larger kids. I would have prefered a few more sts on Girly's, but this will be more of an over tank than over a sweater type thing. So if you're going for a shrug over a sweater I suggest adding more STS. Adult size recommended CO: 81 sts (or any odd number that is closest to your gauge: I'm using worstest ) Sally's shrug Is in an even # pattern so she uses 80 STS. so I went up a st. instead of down as bigger is always better than smaller when unsure:) As I so erroneously learned on SIL's sweater this passed Christmas. OI!