Reading happens anywhere

Aidan loves to read, which thrills us. We take full credit for starting him on the right path by reading to him every night of his life since he was born. Even when he had no idea what we were doing or what we were saying, it laid the foundation for his love of reading.

Proof that the urge to read can happen anywhere:


He is sitting in the snow saucers that Grandma Williams gave him for Christmas, reading the book on the states that we gave him. If you happen to see him, be sure to ask him what the capital of Delaware is or the nickname of New Hampshire.

At home in New York

I'm back - did you miss me?

The last six weeks or so have been a wild mixture of exhaustion, excitement, impatience, packing and tedium. I wrapped up our Georgia lives as best as I could while keeping life as normal as possible for Aidan, and on Thursday, 17 December, we picked up James from the ATL airport and life accelerated. We packed up a PODS container, waved it off, and climbed into my car with suitcases, boy and cat.

Three days, 1000+ miles, eight states and no one got tossed from the car - not bad. We arrived in Baldwinsville one week ago and started the process of settling in. The PODS container doesn't arrive until Thursday, but we have been getting the lay of the land and learning how to live together as three people again. Christmas was very merry, mainly because we are together and don't have a airplane departure looming over us.

I have found and visited both the local library and the closest Wegmans grocery store, so life is good. More, much more, to come!

On hiatus

With only a little over four weeks to go until we load up a van with a subset of our belongings and drive north, there is much going on in my life...but really not much other than The Impending Move. So unless something monumental happens, say we actually sell the house or we win the lottery, I won't be posting until we are up north and settled in. After all, how exciting is it to report that another box has been packed or I canceled COMCAST or I can't wait to leave?

So happy Thanksgiving and enjoy the holidays that follow, whichever of them that you celebrate, and I will see you either at the end of 2009 or the beginning of 2010. TTFN!

The week ahead

This coming week is going to be a busy one for me. I admit that most of the time, my life is quite laid back and my time is my own. Not this week, but I am not complaining.

Tomorrow, Monday, I have my last Monday Morning Mystery book group discussion. I have absolutely enjoyed the two book groups in which I have participated, both at the local library. Being around other people who like to read books and who like to talk about books is always a treat. I have already checked and learned that the local library in New York also has book groups - yippee! Sometime either before or after tomorrow's discussion, I will make a Goodwill donation drop off along with assorted other errands, plus we have a Cub Scout den meeting at five pm.

Tuesday, the real fun starts. This is the week that all grades at Aidan's school have Thanksgiving "feasts", when families are invited to dine and enjoy Thanksgiving-related activities. Two grades per day have their feasts, and I volunteered to help serve at Tuesday's feast. I have no idea exactly what I will be doing, but I am to report at 10:30 am and expect to be there until 1:30 pm.

Wednesday is my usual two-hour volunteer shift in the school library, but it is also Aidan's feast day. I will start in the library, then go and eat with Aidan in the cafeteria, followed by the class play in the classroom.

Since I will miss much of my Wednesday library shift and because other volunteers have their own feasts to attend, I volunteered to work another two-hour shift on Thursday. I enjoy working in the library so an extra shift is no trouble at all.

On Friday, I have to catch up on errands, give the house a quick once-over and get my hair cut by the fabulous Randy. Friday evening, we head to the airport to pick up James, who will be here until Monday morning - yippee! He has requested a full menu during his visit, so I will be a cooking fool. But a happy cooking fool!

Wanda the Witch

Aidan brought home from school today this cheery little tale:

Like father, like son

While eating his after school snack yesterday, Aidan said in an exaggerated whisper: "I love Emily Miller."

Me: "You do?"

Aidan: "It’s that red hair!"

May the Force

It was a dark and stormy night.

Well, to be honest, it was not yet night and while there was wind and drizzle, it technically wasn't storming. But trick or treating conditions on Hallowe'en 2009 were less than ideal; with temps in the low 50s and the wet, chilly wind, Aidan was forced to wear a jacket over his costume.

Aidan chose to be Luke Skywalker for Hallowe'en this year but what it really all came down to was that he wanted a light saber. That is right, it was all about the accessorries, a concept I totally understand. So I bought the light saber (complete with realistic sound! and lights!) and then kluged together a cheap but identifiable Luke Skywalker costume. He loved it, as the photos show:




It is good to know that if Darth Vader ever attempts to invade the house, I am protected.

My kind of candy corn

I have mentioned previously that I am no fan of candy corn, but I like the look of it. So today I made sugar cookies that look like candy corn - now that is candy corn I can (and will) sink my teeth into!


Look out, Martha Stewart!

A good day

Yesterday was a very good football day for me. Ohio State won, and both Michigan and Michigan State lost:

Ohio State - 38, Minnesota - 7

Iowa - 15, Michigan State - 13

Penn State - 35, Michigan - 10

Some days, that is all it takes to make me smile. And this Ohio State football season, the smiles are few and far between.

Fire safety

Aidan and his classmates have been learning about fire safety - always a useful topic. He mapped out escape routes from the house and we set a family meeting place.

Today he brought home this picture of firefighters putting out a house fire:

Weekend in New York

Last Thursday, Aidan and I flew to New York to spend a long weekend with James. Hooter County schools had a student holiday on Friday and we decided that Aidan could also miss school on Thursday.

We flew into Rochester, because Rochester typically has better airfares than Syracuse, so James had to drive about an hour and a half to pick us up. It was so good to see him after four long weeks! We drove to his apartment in Baldwinsville and then stretched our legs by walking around the village. So charming! I adore the mix of house styles and like that we could be in "downtown" Baldwinsville in just a few steps. We had pizza for dinner, then walked back home.

On Friday, James went into work for the morning so Aidan and I walked around the village. I got a delicious cup of coffee from Shamballa Cafe, and we walked to a park right by the Seneca River.


There were geese in the river and on the riverbank; I stopped counting when I reached 100. Aidan played in the playground while I sipped my coffee and enjoyed the scenery. It was a chilly morning, but the sun was shining and it was beautiful.

James picked us up and we went to Sal's Fish Fry in Syracuse for fish sandwiches and slaw. Yum! He took us to his workplace for us to do a Meet and Greet; we walked all through the office meeting James' coworkers and staff. Everyone was very nice but don't ask me to remember anyone's name!

We then went to Onondaga Lake Park in Liverpool. Although several of the attracitons were already closed for the season, we enjoyed walking through the park and admiring the fall colors. Aidan paused from playing long enough to have his photo made with James:


Back in Baldwinsville, we did a bit more exploring before my feet completely gave out. Lock E24 on the Erie Canal is located in B'ville and while we did not get to see a boat go through the lock, it was still quite interesting.


We ate burgers at Zebb's for dinner - yum! - then called it a night. After a hearty breakfast at the B'ville Diner on Saturday morning, we headed up to Oswego so Aidan could see his first Great Lake:


He was very impressed with the size of Lake Ontario and declared it "cool". We spent most of the morning wandering around Fort Ontario. Aidan liked going into the casements and pretended to shoot the bad guys with the cannon:


We drove back to Syracuse for a late lunch at the famed Dinosaur BBQ. While very good (but also very crowded and VERY loud), it doesn't rate anywhere near delicious Eastern North Carolina barbecue. Sorry, folks.

We took it easy the rest of Saturday with only a short walk around the village and snacks for dinner. On Sunday morning, we drove back to Rochester where Aidan and I sadly got on the airplace and flew back to Georgia. It was a delightful weekend, although way too short, but at least we know we will be back home in New York in only two months.

Never underestimate the power of a good haircut

It has been a rough couple of weeks for me. Oh, who am I kidding, it's really been a rough couple of years for me. But the last few weeks have been tougher than usual and I have felt my old nemeses, the demons of depression, creeping up on me.

After Aidan was born, I developed postpartum depression. What a rude surprise, given that I had never experienced depression prior to that time. It took a compassionate pediatrician kicking my butt and a multi-month regimen of Prozac to get me back to my old self, but the doctor warned me that I would thereafter be prone to depression.

She wasn't kidding.

At least now I recognize when the demons are creeping up and I know what to do: I can either try to drive them away using my superhero powers or, if there are too many of them and the threat is too great, I can temporarily use pharmaceutical weapons. Last week I decided that I would try to beat them using brute strength and try to avoid the med route. I am kind of doing tough love on myself, thinking that if I act like I am doing well, then maybe I will start feeling well.

So far, it is working and I am feeling better…and it also helps that I FINALLY got a decent haircut on Friday! It is a long [translation: boring] story of how I found Randy, but thank goodness I did find him. He gave me the best haircut I have had since leaving Raleigh over four years ago. I feel as chic as a forty-ish small-town mom can probably feel and, more importantly, I can style it well myself!

Of course, I am annoyed that I found Randy just as I am exiting the area but at least I will exit with a great 'do.

Why Aidan likes second grade

A change in plans

James and I don't pretend that we know everything or that we always make the right decision the first time, but we are willing to admit when we are wrong or when we need to alter our plans.

We are admitting that this living apart thing just isn't working out. James misses Aidan and me, we miss James, and getting together for one weekend a month isn't enough. Aidan is particularly suffering from this temporary separation. While he is doing very well academically, his behavior at school is getting worse rather than better. Two trips to the office in two days last week was enough to convince us that we need to make some changes.

Our original plan was that Aidan and I would stay here in Georgia until the house sells, believing that leaving a house empty to sell is not a wise idea...but we have come to realize that living apart is not a wise idea for us. We are now planning to move Aidan, Spenser and me with a small subset of our stuff to New York during the Christmas holidays, whether the house has sold or not, so Aidan can start school in New York on the first day of school in 2010. When the house sells, we will return to Georgia to pack up the furniture and the rest of our stuff.

I feel so relieved. I now have a goal to work towards, and hopefully that light at the end of the tunnel is not a train.

Hummingbirds

I went out on the deck this morning to photograph a knitting project when a hummingbird came to the feeder, which is only about four feet away from where I was standing. Other than chattering at me, he/she didn't seem to concerned that I was there so I started snapping photos:







This last one is a bit fuzzy, but I can't believe that I was able to get TWO hummingbirds in one photo!

The invisible woman

Yesterday I took Aidan to a birthday party. It was a pool party and quite a lovely day for it - breezy and sunny, but not hot. I was sitting at a table, under an umbrella (and knitting, of course) when two other moms came over and sat down, one on either side of me. I know both of these women since their boys are in the same Cub Scout den as Aidan.

After we all chatted about this and that, they proceeded to make plans to get their two families together next weekend, talking over me as though I was not there! And this is not the first time they have done this around me. I wonder if they could see me rolling my eyes while they were talking...no, probably not, because I was apparently invisible.

I wish my bad ass alter ego would have kicked in at that moment, saying something pithy like “Thank you for asking, but Aidan and I already have plans” but instead, I just said snarky things in my head.

Good manners - you either have them, or you do not.

Dentist approved candy corn

While I like the look of candy corn, I cannot abide the taste of it - might as well eat pure sugar, in my opinion. But when I saw a pattern for a candy corn hat, I knew I had to make it for Aidan.

I first followed the directions for the medium or child size hat, and did not like the way it turned out - way too pointy at the top. On my second attempt, I followed the medium directions until round 38, where I switched to the large directions; I like the final product much better.

I am not crazy about knitting with acrylic yarn, but it is just the fiber for a novelty child's hat. And the white yarn glows in the dark - too funny!

Aidan was not in the mood to pose, so please excuse the cheesy photos! (He is also recovering from a sty in his left eye, so please excuse the ick)

I call it Dick Cheney

The general Atlanta, Georgia area is under attack from a weather system that has dumped amazing amounts of rain since last Tuesday. The amount of rain that has fallen is absolutely insane and the ensuing destruction is almost impossible to conceive: roads under water, roads washed away, neighborhoods under water or completely cut off.

What amazes me is that this is not a tropical storm or tropical depression or any kind of named weather system, so we can't even refer to it by name. I think that a weather system this awful, this diabolical, this destructive needs a name, so I am calling it Dick Cheney.

"Be thankful that you are one of the lucky ones"

I am tardy in posting the following link to an eyewitness account of 11 September 2001. It was sent to me last Friday via email and it has stayed with me since. I think it is always very important to view your life realistically and to remember that it likely can always be worse.

In the account, Diane Swonk, Chief Economist at Mesirow Financial, recounts what happened to her on that fateful day, and I particularly appreciate the following lines: "Remember those we lost on 9/11 and all those since then, including the casualties of the Great Recession. Take a meal to a family who is hungry, donate a coat to the homeless who will soon have to weather the winter and, for at least one moment, stop blaming and be thankful that you are one of the lucky ones."

A new threat to homeland security

The life of a pampered, indoor cat is not quite as cushy as you might think. In addition to bug patrol, shedding in a continuous, even pattern throughout the house and championship napping, there are always those evil forces that must be monitored. For Spenser, and just about every other domestic cat in the world, the biggest threat to his homeland security has been the vacuum cleaner. When I pull the vacuum out of the closet (not nearly as often as I should), his senses go on high alert and he puts as much distance as possible between him and The Beast. Even the turning of the doorknob on the closet door is enough to make him snap out of a deep sleep.

Now there is a new threat in town: a paper shredder. Our file cabinet is stuffed to the gills and I know there are many papers in there that need to be disposed, but in a safe manner. Two weeks ago Staples had a deal on an 8-sheet crosscut shredder: normally $69.99, it was on sale for $49.99 with a rebate of $20. Our shredder died years ago, so I bought the new shredder and brought it home.

I fired it up for the first time this morning, as I began my tedious evaluation of the file cabinet contents. Spenser was asleep upstairs, but as soon as I started shredding, he came running...and then promptly backed away! It seems that he is both fascinated by and terrified of it. After the initial fright, he hunkered down about fifteen feet away, never taking his eyes off The New Beast.

I supposed I should feel a bit sorry for Spenser, but I don't. I might even unnecessarily shred a few more things just to annoy him!

Bottomless pit

For breakfast this morning, Aidan ate:

• one slice of peanut butter and jelly toast on five grain bread
• one nectarine
• one bowl of Frosted Flakes (he is allowed to have a mini box of sugary cereal as a treat once each weekend)
• one glass of orange juice

And, yes, he will be hungry at lunchtime - in fact, he will probably start asking around 11:15 if we can have lunch. Any wonder that I am concerned about our food bill when he hits the teen years?

Chomping broccoli

This is an actual, unaltered, not retouched photo of my child VOLUNTARILY chowing down on broccoli. And that is his own hand holding the broccoli to his mouth, thank you very much.

Grandma and Aidan bake brownies

It was brownie baking day at my house today - yum!

Quick knit update

My mother is visiting for a few days, so this will be a very quick knit update. I finished this scarf last evening:


A woman in the Handmade RAK group asked for help in making scarves for a friend of hers, who works with terminally ill patients in California. The pattern is called Montego Bay and I made it with South West Trading Company Bamboo - yes, bamboo. It is very dense but yet light and silky. The pattern was a bit monotonous, but I like the drape of the scarf. And I like that it may bring some comfort to someone who is ill.

I also finished my second calorimetry; this one for my friend Heidi, who lives in Pittsburgh:


It is knit from the ever-luscious Malabrigo Merino yarn, in a gorgeous kettle-dyed purple colorway. I found the button at Jo-Ann when Mom and I were wandering around there today, and I think it looks quite cute. I will soon send it to Heidi, and she will have it in more than enough time before the cold winds start to blow.

A scarf for a friend's birthday is in progress, and I just cast on for a hat for Aidan, which looks like a piece of candy corn!

Sunshine on a gloomy day

I admit it: I have been wallowing a bit lately as I reflect on the last four years living in Georgia, whining about my lack of success in making friends. You will be happy to hear that I am officially done whining and wallowing - aren't you relieved?

Conversely, I have had tremendous success in making friends via Ravelry, the online knit and crochet community (one friend's daughter calls it "My Knitting Space"). That is no surprise to any of you who have my posts before. I now count the friends that I have met via Ravelry to be some of my dearest friends, even though I have not met most of them in person. It doesn't matter; we connect via Ravelry, Facebook and email, keeping up with each other's lives, sharing in each other's sadness or disappointments, and celebrating each other's successes and joys. These women make me laugh, make me cry and make me feel valued.

I was so excited to see an unexpected package in my mailbox today, and even more excited when I saw it was from my friend Noelle in the Motherhood Later group - I knew it would be good. She knows me well, because she sent me coffee beans and a coffee mug cozy! I can't wait to try the coffee (even if it came from Ann Arbor - it's a running joke between us) and the cozy is adorable. Noelle made the cozy out of hemp, if you can believe it, and the buttons were reclaimed from a Peruvian-made sweater. She also enclosed a terribly cool "Handknit Heroes" postcard.




My coffee will taste extra delicious tomorrow morning and my coffee mug will be better dressed than me, all thanks to a dear friend with a generous heart.

Well excuse me

Cats are so very subtle. It took me a while, but I finally figured out that Spenser wanted some attention. Laying on part of the laptop is a very effective means of communication!

(Sorry about the demon-possessed looking eyes. Spenser really isn't possessed by demons, although the Mother Ship does call to him from time to time)

Four years

Four years ago today, we left our home in North Carolina to move here to Hooterville, Georgia, which never has been nor apparently will ever be home. What I wrote about this anniversary two years ago is almost exactly what I would write again today. For reasons too numerous and tedious to mention, we just don't fit here and here doesn't fit us.

We are celebrating this anniversary in the best possible way by making steps to leave. James arrived safely in New York and is getting settled in his bachelor pad, and hopefully Aidan and I will be able to join him soon. My fondest hope is that on 28 August of 2010, I will not be marking the passage of another year in Georgia.

On his merry way

James started his epic journey to New York yesterday - well, epic only to him. You would think that he was crossing the Rockies in a covered wagon and trying to beat the November snows, to hear him talk! Actually, his Outback did somewhat resemble a covered wagon in that it was practically loaded to the ceiling.

He left a few minutes after Aidan boarded the bus for school. We tried to downplay James' departure as much as possible...really really tried to minimize the drama. And Aidan did great until just as he got ready to climb on the bus and he got a little weepy. I fully expected a bad report from school but he did fine and we had a good afternoon/evening until bath and bedtime. He was tired, he missed Daddy and he just got a little obstinate. All in all, however, the day went far better than I anticipated.

James drove as far as his parents' home in the Charlotte NC area yesterday and stayed overnight with them. Today he will drive as far as he reasonably can, then complete the drive into Syracuse tomorrow. He starts the new job next Tuesday, so he will have a few days to move all his stuff into his apartment, set up utilities, buy a bed and computer desk, and procure the other little things that he either forgot or could not fit into the car.

As for me, I am fine. I am enjoying a little bit of space right now, but I am sure that it will hit me in just a few days that I miss James terribly and that I really loathe being a pseudo-single parent.

Short timer

Although we have no prospective buyers for our house, we have been starting to sort through all of our possessions in preparation to eventually move. We really have only started with James' specific items, since he will be packing up and moving ahead of Aidan and me to New York. I am waiting until he has left to launch a full-scale attack on the closets in the house.

In the meantime, I did some email contacts clean up this past week. It was liberating and sobering all at the time to delete from my contacts those people located locally with whom I tried to form a friendship, but failed miserably. I was amazed at how many names I deleted, names of people with whom I thought would become friends. I was astoundingly wrong in so, so many cases.

When I do leave here, there is probably only one person with whom I will keep in contact and whom I consider to be a friend. Four years in Georgia and just one friend, and a few good acquaintances. Sad.

Living here has dealt a severe blow to my self-esteem. I have never had any difficulty making or keeping friends wherever I have lived. I have gone out of my way here to seek out potential friends, to get together with them, to share interests...but in every case except the one, I have been rebuffed.

It is impossible for me to not take it personally and wonder what is wrong with me, why people here do not like me. I am no closer to an answer now than when I first started asking why. What is it that I am lacking? Do I live in the wrong neighborhood, drive the wrong car, look or sound the wrong way? Is it my opinions, my politics, my tastes, my clothes? Is it that I am not enough or, as I suspect, too much?

So I guess I don't care anymore. I have mentally checked out of Hooter County Georgia and am merely occupying space until I can get where I belong and where I can make some friends. In some ways, a weight has been lifted from my shoulders: I no longer care whether I meet people I like nor do I care if they like me. After all, I am just a short timer.

Gifts in the mail

Since last Friday, I have received not one, not two, but three lovely gifts in the mail from fellow knitters. Last Friday, my talented friend Laura from the Motherhood Later group sent me one of her awesome felted vessels:


Isn't it cool? Laura is the person who suggested that we send RAKs to each other in the Motherhood Later group to celebrate our group's anniversary, and she told me that she had me in mind when she made the suggestion. And what is really cool is that she is the person to whom I sent my anniversary RAK!

Yesterday, a nice, soft envelope from my friend Kelli was waiting in the mailbox. She sent me a copy of a pattern (a free pattern, people - no copyright laws violated); I had admired a market bag that someone had made for her and she tracked down the pattern. She also enclosed three skeins of Nashua Handknits Painted Forest in a luscious Jewels colorway, not to make the market bag but perhaps a warm hat for those cold New York winters ahead! It was so kind and so typical of Kelli to send such a thoughtful and unexpected gift.

Then today another envelope arrived, this one from Florida. It was from a person in the Handmade RAK group and she made a Pokemon card holder for Aidan in his (current) favorite color of orange:


As you can see, he is delighted with the card case! Let's just hope it cuts down on the number of stray Pokemon cards that I find throughout the house.

Three gifts in one week, which makes me wonder: are knitters the most generous people on earth? Or do I just happen to know wonderful people? Yes, and yes!

Meet the teacher

Yesterday afternoon, we met Aidan's teacher for the coming school year. It started at 4 pm but Aidan was so excited that he started asking to leave around 2 pm! I managed to hold him off until the reasonable departure time of 3:50, although we still got there quite ahead of James, who was coming from work.

The school was the usual Meet the Teacher chaos of parents, children, bored and/or crying siblings, teachers and staff. We found Aidan's class easily and met Mrs. Corley, who will soon be our darling's new favorite person, at least until the first time she disciplines him. Mrs. Corley seems like a good combination of warmth and steel. Aidan was delighted to find that three of his classmates from last year will be in this year's class, and I was delighted to find that one child in particular from his class last year is NOT in his class this year.

We delivered the bag o'supplies, filled out the requisite paperwork and took home more paperwork to complete. At the transportation desk, we were thrilled - ECSTATIC, really - to learn that the World's Greatest Bus Driver, Mr. Kemberling, will be Aidan's bus driver again this year. Mr. Kemberling is punctual, reliable, watchful and careful, all wonderful qualities to find in a school bus driver. He is also friendly, an added bonus.

James and Aidan then left, and I went to help sell school spirit wear: t-shirts, pencils, jewelry and those ubiquitous car magnets.

Side note: There are enough things about my station wagon that scream "mom!" without adding a stupid school magnet.

I enjoyed chatting with a few people and seeing some of Aidan's classmates, but our table stayed quite busy the whole time and we had to hustle to keep up. I am amazed at the amount of money that some parents dropped to outfit their children in school t-shirts! Six pm was a happy sight; we packed up the goods, stored them in the PTO workroom and I was free to go home and enjoy that well-deserved cocktail.

And thus begins another school year.

News

The good news: James has accepted a job offer in another state! We have been living on his reduced salary for over a year - 80% since spring - so going back to a full salary plus a raise will be lovely. He will be the General Manager for a freight forwarder and we will get to move away from Georgia...

The not-so-good news: The job is NOT back in the Triangle (North Carolina), which we would have loved. We wish we had never left Raleigh back in 2005, but the fates right now do not have us moving back.

Good news to us: The job is in Syracuse, NY. We are looking forward to living again in a small city with a strong university presence, and it is a lovely area of NY. Yes, I know that they get A LOT of snow each year, it will be very cold in the winter and it will be a major, major adjustment.

More not-so-good news: While the hiring company is paying to move us, they will not buy the house. James starts his new job on 1 September and will live in a small apartment, but Aidan and I will stay here until the house sells. Let's hope it doesn't take too long to sell the house; the idea of living apart is not appealing, but we don't think that leaving a house empty to sell is a wise idea.

James resigned yesterday and, surprisingly, his current employer handled it professionally (it was a concern, believe me). Our lives are going to be absolutely nuts for some time, but we are thrilled that James has such a good opportunity in a lousy job market and that, in the long run, we will be out of Georgia. Georgia is not a bad place, it is just not a good place for us.

So...anybody want to buy our house?

A day in the ATL

Today we drove into the city from Hooter County and enjoyed some uniquely Atlanta experiences.

We started the day at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, which has been our favorite place to visit in the city. We haven't been there in quite some time and wow, have they made changes in our absence...and, in our opinion, not necessarily changes to the good. There is a fancy schmancy new parking deck, Visitors Center and entrance plaza, and fancy schmancy new prices. It was a bit of a shock to have to pay to park when we have always parked for free.

But we still enjoyed the frog sculptures, the beautiful plants and the artwork that is, well, artfully placed throughout the grounds.





It was time for lunch, so we drove over to The Varsity, for our monthly allotment of greasy food. The food was okay, but the atmosphere and people watching were out of this world. If you ever visit Atlanta, you really ought to get yourself on over there - it is unique and a unique experience.



We then drove west on Ponce de Leon Avenue to the Virginia Highland neighborhood - a very, very cool area. Our first destination was Knitch, a lovely yarn store that was everything I thought it would be and more. Aidan was thrilled to help one of the marvelous sales people wind a ball of yarn using a swift. My knitting friends will be shocked to hear that I bought no yarn (gasp); it is still difficult to buy yarn when I do not have a specific project in mind. But I did buy a Knit, Drink, Tink t-shirt and petted lots and lots of luscious yarns.

Next stop was Highland Woodworking, where James happily browsed tools, tools and more tools. I really can't tell you anything more than that, although he did make some kind of purchase (not nearly as cute as my t-shirt).

Our last stop was Centennial Olympic Park, a 21 acre park that was built for the 1996 Olympic games. James and Aidan enjoyed the Olympic rings fountain, and then we rambled through the park, enjoying the downtown views and, again, the awesome people watching.


And a good time was had by all!

Enjoy a few more photos of the Atlanta Botanical Garden:

Things that scare me

Like most people, there are things - rational and irrational - that frighten me. Something bad happening to those I love scares me...wildfires scare me...tornadoes scare me something fierce. Dick Cheney still scares me beyond reason (but with good reason, of course). Clowns scare the bejeebers out of me and seeing the movie It years ago did nothing to help; in fact, it strengthened my fear of clowns. Silly me, I thought I could handle a movie based on a Stephen King novel because it was on television - still scared me senseless. It scared me so badly that it was a long time before I could think of Tim Curry without shuddering.

Something else that scares me is being in a store during Georgia’s sales tax free weekend just before the start of school. The sales tax free weekend is tomorrow, Thursday 30 July through Sunday, 2 August, and school starts in Hooter County on Monday, 10 August. Parents probably have their child's school supply list from the school and are looking for a break. But there is no way I will be caught in an office supply or discount store this weekend! I went to one such store last year the day after the sales tax free weekend and it looked like a full-scale assault had been launched on the store...displays were a mess and the employees looked shell-shocked. I asked one sales associate if he had worked all weekend and he said yes, and that it had been really chaotic and, well, scary.

It is not that I don't like a bargain or to save money, but I look at it this way: Aidan's school supplies will likely run about $60, so getting those supplies on a sales tax free weekend would save me $4.20. That is all. It is well worth an extra $4.20 to NOT go out with hordes of parents and children all shopping in the same stores at the same time for the same items.

Besides, I may have found an excellent solution. I found everything on Aidan's list at OfficeDepot.com and since it totals over $50, I get free shipping. And I am guessing that if I place the order tomorrow, I will still get the break on sales tax. It may be another office supply store's slogan, but I am thinking that on Friday I will saying to myself, "That was easy!"

Windy Indy calorimetry

Look what I finished yesterday! It is called a calorimetry and it is essentially a combination of a head scarf and a hat, which allows people with long hair to keep their heads warm while still wearing their hair in a ponytail or just falling naturally without crushing their 'do. It fastens under the hair in the back with a button.

Even though I do not have long hair, I have been wanting to make one of these for quite a while (and even though I do not have long hair, I wear the calorimetry made for me by my friend Jennifer, because it does an awesome job of keeping my ears warm). I used the Malabrigo worsted yarn I had leftover from making the hat for my friend Laurel, and the color looks great with the pattern.

And look at this great button!


When I was at Sugarfoot Yarns a few weeks ago to buy some SWTC Bamboo for a scarf, I saw this button and knew that I needed this button for the calorimetry. It looks fabulous against that color.

So for whom is this lovely item? My friend Jane, who lives in Indianapolis where it can get quite cold and very windy. She does not know that I made this for her and I probably won't send it to her until fall (just who needs a wool head scarf in July?), so on the off chance that she reads this post, she will find out about it. That is okay by me; a surprise is surprise no matter when it occurs.

I really enjoyed knitting this pattern and would happily make it again. I just need to find a recipient - any volunteers?

Rowdy feet

One of the newest members of the Motherhood Later group on Ravelry has her own Etsy shop, Mama Jude's Plant Dyed Stuff, where she sells yarn that she dyes using natural plant dyes. I am amazed at the vibrant colors that she is able to achieve and love the fun color combinations.

She had a contest to rename her sock yarn, because her yarn supplier didn't like her using their brand name. Since she is located in Georgia (on another side of Atlanta from us), I suggested Peachie Feet. To my surprise, the day after the contest closed she sent a message to me, saying that rather than use my contest suggestion, she wanted to use my Ravelry name, Rowdy Girl!

I was so thrilled, but I had to point out to her that I did not coin the name, that it came from a long ago episode of the television show Designing Women. I told her that it came from an episode about one of Charlene's girlhood friends, who was in an abusive relationship. They had called themselves the Rowdy Girls when they were young, and Charlene invoked that name and the "we can do anything!" feeling when encouraging her friend to leave her husband. Judy then decided that it really was the perfect name for her sock yarn.

She sent to me two skeins of her lovely Rowdy Girl Sock Yarn and they arrived yesterday. Gorgeous!

Here is the Summer Fun colorway:



And here is the Springtime colorway:



The yarn is 55% mohair and 45% wool, and each skein has about 230 yards. It feels so soft and the colors are incredibly beautiful. And while I still have no interest in knitting socks (sorry Noelle and Geri), the yarn can be used for other projects...and I am happily looking through patterns to find the perfect use for it.

Thank you, Judy!