The fish that ate my child

When Aidan saw photos last winter of a hat that looks like a fish, he asked me to knit one for him. Make that BEGGED me to knit one for him. I finally got around to casting on the hat back in October. Then we moved and then it was the holidays and I was still knitting the hat. I finally finished the hat this past week - yay!

I went a little wild with the colors and Aidan asked that the fish be alive, not dead, so I used black buttons on top of the white felt circles for the eyes:


Although he is grimacing (he said it was too bright outside) in this photo, Aidan seems to be pleased with the hat:


I call this photo "fish on ice":


Both the fish hat and the boy said that this was their best side:

Safe knitting

My fingers have long suffered from extreme dryness, particularly in winter, to the point of developing cracks. At any given time, either one of my index fingers or thumbs has a painful crack in the tip and knitting only exacerbates the problem. I coat my hands with cream as often as possible during the day, and wear heavy duty hand treatments with cotton gloves at night. I have wondered if there were protective sleeves for fingers and today at the drugstore, I found such a product. The box says "finger protectors" and I won't disgust you with the examples of usage listed.

I knew what I was buying but I wasn't quite prepared to see a package of what appears to be little condoms. Yes, indeed, the finger protectors look like finger condoms.

No matter what they look like, I just hope they work. I unrolled one today on my right index finger and, although a bit awkward, it did keep the yarn from aggravating the crack on my finger any further.

Guess where I found the finger condoms? On the shelf next to the crack cream.

Knit on

Three years ago today, a woman named Hannah taught me to knit and my life changed. I was going to write all about it but realized that everything that I said two years ago about my knitting anniversary was still valid:

"On 20 January 2008, I took up knitting needles for the first time and I have been hooked ever since, although saying that I am hooked would sound much better if I had started crocheting...

I don’t mean to sound flip or melodramatic, but knitting has changed my life, definitely for the better. I had no idea that I would take to it so easily and do so well at it. I have never been a crafty person but I can follow directions, and following directions allows me to knit beautiful and functional items. I love poring over patterns and yarns and much like I plan ahead on books I want to read, I queue up knitting projects. I have met some of the nicest people on Ravelry and I count some of my far-off knitting pals as my closest friends. And it thrills me to no end to be able to present my knitted items as gifts (but only to the knitworthy).

Knitting is calming and it gives me an excuse to carry around two pointy sticks!"

I definitely intend to keep calm and knit on.

Snowy day photos

Here I am, armed and ready to battle the snow:


I am wearing my snow pirate hat, custom designed and knit for me by my friend Laura. I received it as part of a swap but since I received it in May, there was no opportunity to wear it until this winter. And boy, have I had the opportunity to wear it! Here is how the hat looks when not on my head:


We went sledding for an hour or so yesterday afternoon. Aidan is in the bright blue jacket and James is in the red jacket:


Here they are, ready to slide down the hill:


And away they go:


There is not, thankfully, any photo evidence of my one slide down the hill. Let's just say it was, um, rather awkward.

Aidan weighed twice as much as usual by the time we left, due to all the snow packed onto his hat:

How James Bond got his start?

Santa brought Aidan a spy watch for Christmas and Aidan has been having great fun sneaking around, secretly recording conversations and shooting videos, and sweeping rooms for bugs. What a relief to learn that there are no listening devices in our house.

This morning, I heard odd noises as Aidan tiptoed into the living room. He had at least three bags hanging off his shoulders, each one stuffed with items.

Me: What are you doing?

Aidan: I'm a spy!

Me: Spies usually don't carry large bags that bump around and rattle as they walk.

Aidan: I'm a spy disguised as a HIKER.

He tiptoed into the hall and into the dining room. Hikers, of course, are known for tiptoeing. A few minutes later, James told me to take a peek at Aidan and this is what I saw:


He had set up camp underneath his computer desk and was taking a rest from his strenuous hiking. How much do I adore his imagination?

Merry Christmas!

Yesterday, two weeks after Christmas, James and I got our Christmas presents: snowshoes! We had decided before Christmas that our present would be snowshoes, but with the excitement and hassle of moving and the bustle of the holidays, we just didn't get around to buying them until yesterday.

Tada! My pair is a lovely Carolina blue:


(With a nod towards ACC equality, James' pair is Duke Blue Devil blue.)

We went out to Beaver Lake to try them out. We still had to rent a pair for Aidan, although we will likely try to find a pair of pre-owned snowshoes for him. It was a beautiful afternoon, sunny with little wind, so we enjoyed our trekking.

Aidan, of course, can't just snowshoe - he has to pretend to fall:


He also just falls a lot without pretending.

Don't ask me why Aidan and James look so serious in this photo, because we were having fun:


Snowshoes are a great way to enjoy being outside in the snow, a practical way to walk around, and an excellent way to get exercise (trust me, we are feeling the effects of yesterday's mile and a half walk). In an area that averages 120 inches of snow a year, we know that we will get lots of enjoyment and exercise with our snowshoes.

The village idiot

Yesterday we received a little more than an inch of snow, which is not, in our opinion, worth getting out The Beast to snowblow the driveway. Instead, I went out at midday and used a shovel to clear the driveway and sidewalks. It takes me less than an hour, it's a good workout and it was a gorgeous day, so why not?

To keep me company, I listened to a podcast on my iPod. Normal people listen to music on their iPods; I listen to NPR shows. And, yes, that is a big bold "N" on my forehead for "nerd". I was listening to one of my favorite shows, Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me, which is a wweekly radio news quiz game show, and the episode was a compilation of segments called "Not My Job." For those not familiar with the show, "Not My Job" is when a famous person is invited to the show and answers multiple choice questions completely unrelated to their field.

The first two segments with Dick Van Dyke and Tony Shalhoub were amusing but I really started laughing out loud with Denis Leary, who is one of the funniest people in the world (and also has an awesome voice). But then came John Hodgman. You know, the guy who plays PC on the Mac commercials? There is so much more to him than those commercials and that more is absolutely hilarious. I barked out with laughter all through his show and then came Amy Sedaris, who is seriously warped and seriously funny. By that time, all attempts to contain myself were gone.

So anyone driving by my house yesterday afternoon - and there were many vehicles that passed - may have noticed a woman shoveling snow and laughing her fool head off. I just hope they noticed the pink ear buds...

If you want to hear the podcast that made me laugh so hard and possibly, PROBABLY branded me the village you-know-what, go here. Don't say I did not warn you.