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!

Off duty mommy

One of the most difficult aspects of being a parent is that you are on duty all of the time, especially when you are a stay at home mom like I am. Even when Aidan is at school or at VBS or somewhere else, I am the parent who will be called if there is a problem. And while James gets breaks whenever just Aidan and I go to visit my mother, the times that I have been away from Aidan overnight are rare.

I was fortunate to have one of those breaks this past weekend. James had arranged that he and Aidan would visit James' parents, who live in the Charlotte NC area, for the weekend. The original plan was that I would stay home, but then my knitting friend Kelli suggested that since she would be up in Charlotte on that Friday anyway to pick up a friend of her daughter's at the airport, why not ride back with them to Columbia for the weekend?

Why not, indeed?! So last Friday, the three of us left at 6 am to drive to Charlotte and we met up with Kelli and crew by 11 am. I was officially off duty! After a few fun hours wandering around in lovely Southpark Mall (including lunch in the Nordstrom Cafe - yum!), we drove down to Columbia.

What a lovely weekend. Although we didn't do much exciting by many people's standards, we had a great time talking, knitting, drinking blueberry ginger mojitos (awesome) and generally enjoying one another's company. Kelli took me to Columbia's two yarn stores, where I got to pet yarn I have never seen before in person. I did not have to bathe anyone, see that they ate fresh fruit or keep them from doing foolish things - well, except me. It was such a treat to only be responsible for myself for 48 hours.

Yesterday, we met back up with James and Aidan at noon for lunch in Rock Hill, SC, then drove back to our respective homes. I was a bit sad to see my weekend of leisure come to an end, but still glad to see my boys. And I so appreciated the extra effort that James, Kelli and Aidan put forth so that I could be off duty for a weekend. Sweet!

Happy anniversary, Motherhood Later group!

Today is the one year anniversary of the formation of the Motherhood Later Rather Than Sooner group on Ravelry. Woohoo! The group is for knitting and/or crocheting mommies who have given birth at age 35 or older. What a great group of women - this is the group in which I have participated in two swaps, and one of two groups that I visit multiple times a day.

One of the members came up with a great way to celebrate our anniversary: "...wouldn’t it be nice to send a RAK (Random Act of Kindness) to a good friend you’ve made in the group, something you know they would love or have wished for in conversations, and you could make it happen? Maybe it’s a thing you make or buy, but it would represent a celebration of online friendship that we wouldn’t have without this group. I’m not talking like a full swap package; just a symbolic item."

I adore this idea - just sending a little surprise to another member of the group, just because. And the woman who made this great suggestion is the person that I chose to gift first with a set of felted coasters:


I got her address from one of the last swap moderators and sent the coasters in the mail yesterday, with a little note telling her how I have enjoyed getting to know her on Ravelry. Not a big gift at all, just a little something to say "I appreciate your friendship", and I hope that when she uses them she will think of her friend in Georgia.

Now, what and to whom should I gift my next RAK?

Hot water

For once, being in hot water is a very good thing since we have been without it for almost five full days. James came downstairs on Monday morning and announced that his morning shower was tepid. We did some investigating and found that the pilot light on the hot water heater was out and would not relight. Rats.

We have kept up the home warranty since buying this house (terrified that the a/c units or furnaces will croak) so I immediately called in a service request. The earliest that the contracted service company could get here was Tuesday afternoon. The guy spent about five minutes examining it and said that it was the pilot light assembly, which had to be ordered. His best guess? Three to four days, then they would come out and install it. So let's see...three to four days from Tuesday afternoon was Friday or Monday; we could easily be looking at a week with no hot water.

The service guy was so apologetic but good grief, it wasn't his fault. And in the grand scheme of things, it could be far, far worse: no water at all, no electricity, no a/c. It certainly made for VERY refreshing showers and quick ones, always good for the environment. Aidan was hilarious as he lowered his tookus into his chilly bath each evening! But I missed having hot water in the kitchen the most, having to heat water on the stove for dishwashing and rinsing.

Much to my surprise, the service company called this morning to say that the part was in, and would it be convenient for them to install it sometime today between 10 and 1? I could not say "yes" fast enough! About 11:45 am, the repair guy was in our basement to install the new part and a little over an hour later, hot water was available.

Heat + water = a good thing.

Moo

Aidan and I had a great morning/early afternoon today. After running a family errand, we went to Barnes and Noble so Aidan could spend a gift card that he received for his birthday back in March. We verified the amount at the customer service counter and Aidan was thrilled to learn that he had $20 to spend! We spent nearly an hour as he wandered around the children's book section, perusing all the options. He decided on three Pokemon books; I would have preferred that he broaden his purchases a bit, but it was his gift card so I let him make the decision.

From there we went to Chick-fil-A for lunch, where I used one of the umpteen bazillion coupons we have for a free children's meal. Tomorrow, 10 July, is Cow Appreciation Day - go to any Chick-fil-A dressed as a cow and you get free food. A woman at the restaurant gave Aidan the lovely cow "hat", as well as cow stickers and placards that he can wear tomorrow. He told her that he would come back with his daddy since I didn't want to eat there two days in a row. True...but did he need to share that info?

He took off the cow hat long enough to get his hair cut at Great Clips. The stylists there always tell me how much fun he is because he doesn't complain and he carries on such enthusiastic conversations with them. Then home again, home again, jiggety jig where he sat on the sofa, excitedly reading his new Pokemon books.

And a good day was had by all.

BLTs, burgers and betrayal

The tomato plants in James' garden are doing very well and the tomatoes are coming in at a nice pace. We have plenty to eat ourselves with a few leftover to give away. Yesterday I made the first BLTs of the summer and, oh my, they were delicious. I had bought a loaf of five grain sour dough bread from the Publix bakery, the bacon was crisp and the tomatoes were at the perfect point of ripeness. I slathered on the mayo, sprinkled on salt and pepper and nearly wallowed in the deliciousness!

In the afternoon, we went over to the house of Dave and Rita, with whom we have become friends since Dave and James work together. We went to their neighborhood's pool so Aidan could splash around for an hour or so, while we adults stayed in the shade and tried to keep reasonably cool. When we went back to their house, Dave fired up the grill and we enjoyed a very nice Independence Day dinner of burgers, hot dogs, potato salad and watermelon, washed down with cold, hearty beer.

This morning we awoke to find that vandals had wreaked havoc on James' garden. Tomatoes were pulled off the plants and strewn about, cucumbers had been devoured, plants were torn and one was even pulled out of the ground. We are quite sure that we have the neighborhood raccoons to blame; their paw prints were all over this caper. We are feeling a bit betrayed because we have put leftover bread and rice out for them to enjoy just about every evening, and this is how our kindness is rewarded?

It is now going to be a while before we have tomatoes for any more BLTs or anything, and it will be an even longer while before we willingly share any food with those lousy rodents.

Bag lady

Look at me - I am a knitting designer! Are you impressed?

Today I put into the mail a cute little bag that I am calling Jill's All Play and No Work bag. I made it for a fellow member of the Ravelry Handmade RAK (Random Acts of Kindness) group; in this group, we gift one another with knitted or crocheted items that group members have posted on their wish lists. I chose Jill, a young woman in Toronto who loves purses and the color pink. I had lots of pink yarn left from a project so I decided to make her a bag.

None of the patterns I perused fit what I had in mind, so I made up my own pattern. And, honestly, it turned out better than I thought it would! I patterned (pun intended) it loosely after the bag that I bought at the Cotton Pickin' Fair, putting in eyelets at each side so that the ribbon strap could be adjustable. And I found the cutest button EVER in moonsie's shop on Etsy to serve as the closure.

Here is my creation:




I hope Jill likes the bag as much as I enjoyed making it!