AnotherPurl :: a knitter's life

Watch out world!

Monday was an eventful day for me.

It involved insurance, a phone call or two (not mine), parallel parking, a really sad 3 point turn, and then at the end a sheet and the words, "You Passed."

Yup, I am now a legal driver at nearly 40. 

Now I can decide I want to go to the yarn shop and not need to ask anything beyond, "Do you need the car?"

When I was in Boston not driving wasn't a big deal. Freedom and choice was having a valid T pass (or Charlie Card), not having a license and a car. Public transit is a lot more limited in Lexington, so learning to drive is much more important.

I probably could have gotten my license faster. I got my permit back in December, but the winter was icy so I didn't really start practicing until later in the spring. I took a driver's test prep session, which was handy in that it told me what to work on and bad in that it made me feel like the driver's test was a lot harder than I thought it was.

So, here I am a few days out from the driver's test. There is a new piece of plastic in my wallet (Kentucky gives you the official card day of. No paper placeholder for your wallet while you wait for the official card to be mailed to you), but not a lot of change. Maybe that will feel different this weekend when I have my first solo driving experience.

Oh, and I sent an email to our realtor when I passed, just in case she wanted to get off the road. I'm not that bad, but the joke was too good to pass up!

Time management (for parents?)

Time management is for everybody. Intellectually I know that, but now that I am a parent I feel like I have to be even more careful to get things done when the opportunities present themselves. When I first met Abby Glassenberg that was one of the themes of her blog: using the time while she naps and being efficient and on the ball in the time available. The interstices between when I am needed by our little boy are opportunities to get everything else done. It is time for me to study, because I'm going back to school. However, in the past few days before classes start, it is time for me to cook, clean, and knit.

Or bake.

I've had Booze cakes : confections spiked with spirits, wine, and beer out for most of the past two months. I keep renewing the book, because I hadn't found the time to actually try any of the recipes.

The book is more than a few years old at this point, but the recipes are still good (better than the recipes in Once a Month Cooking. The library copy is from the early 90s and the recipes show their 1970s and 1980s roots). However, there are a few flaws with the recipe I tried.

Pumpkin Martini Cakes. Sounds delicious.

The recipe comes out well, a moist cake with a tender crumb. However, the recipe lists a number of servings without giving you an idea of how many pans you will need or their size. Twelve servings. Individual cake pans or mini muffin pans. 

Well, I can tell you that I made 12 full size cupcakes and filled a 6-cavity regular donut pan with the batter from a single recipe batch. 

With the cake recipe comes a spiked maple glaze and a spiked cream cheese frosting. Last night's dessert was a donut drizzled with glaze and then filled in the center with a tiny scoop of frosting. Delicious!

This is what I did when I had an afternoon off while Q was at day care. While Chris was handling bedtime, I was a whirlwind in the kitchen, cleaning up after dinner and making both the glaze and the frosting, as well as walking the dog. Before Q was born, I might have made dinner clean up, a dog walk and a small amount of cooking take all evening, but now it is imperative to be efficient, so I can maximize my time to relax or my time to study. There is time to do everything, though maybe not everyday, as long as some careful time management is employed.

[10 Tuesday] 10 Favorite Moments

2013 was a busy year. I relocated with my family halfway cross the country. We sold a house and bought a new one. Our family increased in size, and my job changed. I knit a lot of things and got back into cross-stitch, and learned card weaving (though I still haven't bought the card weaving loom... and I should because it was a lot of fun). Picking 10 moments seems almost impossible, but there is a constant thread throughout the best times. Click to see the pictures all big.

1. Q was born near the end of the year. The labor was relatively quick and with the power of modern medicine even relatively painless.

Induction at 5 a.m. and a baby at 3 p.m. same day. 

The common wisdom is that having a baby changes you. As trite as it is, it's true and it is true every day.

 

2. Being a new parent is exhausting, but well worth the effort. 

Here Q is sporting my Ishbel as a baby blanket while being nestled in the nursing pillow. The days of fitting within the curve of the nursing pillow were quickly over.

I didn't really finish much other than feeding Q in the first weeks. I didn't want to move when he was cuddled up to me. Baby hugs really might be the best thing in the world (not that little kitty licks and purrs aren't awesome too).

3. Babies learn and grow every day, and Q is no exception. It wasn't long before he was grabbing at things and exploring the world around him. It is amazing what you can learn before you can scoot, roll over or crawl.

I had a bit of a learning moment when Q was first learning to grab. I was knitting over him. He was conked out on my lap, and then he woke up and grabbed at the yarn. Lesson learned. Now I can still knit while carrying him, but he needs to be propped against my chest so the yarn isn't passing into his field of view. I expect that will change in a month or so as well.

4. This baby hat was the first project I finished after Q was born. I went with my mom when she was visiting to ReBelle and I got a single skein of Koigu. It took a little longer to knit than normal, but not by much. 

Here Q is also sporting my Spectra in progress, using a skein of Toil and Trouble yarn in Snapdragon and a skein of the SWTC sock yarn (the stuff with chitin or something else weird in it) in green. I call it my watermelon tourmaline Spectra, because the colors make me think of the state gemstone of Maine.

5. Q got so much bigger from week to week that some of the newborn pictures feel almost foreign. He has big flat feet, but my long grippy toes. It's nice to know he has something from me other than an almost perpetual skeptical expression.

Now, obviously this is the all baby network, but I still managed to get some knitting and other craft things worked on. Many of them aren't completed, because I have an intense problem with startitis. Whoops. Other items are gifts, and cannot be shown yet.

I remember doing a rotation back when cross-stitch was my primary craft, and I felt like I got so much done. I have tried adding that back to my arsenal, but for some reason it just doesn't feel like it works quite as well for knitting or multi-craft mode. Probably because some crafts are just so fast (knitting, weaving) that it makes it hard to downshift to the slower crafts. 

My memories around this time include being grateful that there were two of us home, and that the stash of food in the freezer was a great idea.

6. Mr. Ice C. Scoops arrived this week (week 6). A gift for me and Q from me, it was one of the last items I bought in Boston. Mr. Scoops was made by Jen @ Zooguu for the shop window at Gather Here. I knew I was going to miss my friends from the shop and the nearly weekly craft nights (and brunches), so I wanted something to help remember.

Well, that and I didn't manage to snag a yeti from one of their previous shop windows.

Given how much I love ice cream, both to make and eat, this was a perfect fit. 

7. Q isn't really allowed to watch television per se, but it was fun watching him man the remote.

Also, cue the skeptical expression again.

One of the flaws with maternity leave (I'll let my husband speak if he wishes about paternity leave) is that caring for a baby at this stage involves a lot of sitting around. And in my world that meant a lot of time on the iPad or a lot of time watching television. There were days I could feel my brain rotting, though it is getting better now that we're limiting our television watching.

This is also about when I realized that I wasn't going to be doing the half marathon in March. It wasn't a lack of time for exercise as much as a lack of appropriate clothing to exercise in. But 2015 I hope to be back in action. It's something I've missed.

8. The chair was a gift from coworkers and is awesome. Q doesn't have quite enough sit up to use it yet, but when he is in it he often is sporting his grumpy old man look. Not his fault that the Patriots were giving one of those games. You know, the ones that the Red Sox often give, where you are wondering the entire time if they are going to be able to pull it together and get it done.

Yeah. Those  games.

I looked like that much of the game too.

9. Just after Thanksgiving Q was 2 months old. The time had passed so quickly and I was starting to look the end of my leave in the face (and occasionally with unattractive blind panic).

The play mat became a favorite place. A spot where he could (and can) grab things. 

No photographs, but at this point he could still wear the Newborn Vertebrae that I made for him to wear, though the booties and hat I made to go with it were a bust from the get go.

Thanksgiving was my first lesson in how much cooking I can really do. I made many desserts for our multi-family feast, but it was a lot harder to make anything that took more than 30 minutes or so. The best dessert might have been the apple cider caramels from Smitten Kitchen (I also made a version using pomegranate juice), though the different batches of fudge were also pretty good.

10. A well baby!

Doctor visits are a pretty regular occurrence, but this was the first one that involved vaccinations where we were there (we didn't have to watch the vaccinations in the hospital). Sometimes I think the experience is harder on the parents, because Q cried but was quickly soothed. Something that took a bit longer for the two of us to get over.

That said, I'm still glad he got them. Less getting sick for us!

All in all, 2013 was a very baby focused year. I was pregnant (and thus thinking about baby things) for the first 3/4 of the year and then all of a sudden Q was here and my life changed. And it is all wonderful.

Also, I promise knitting or other craft content in the next post.

Warning: get off the road

Picture from November. He is bigger now.

So, this is the face of somebody knowing his mom is learning to drive. Yeah. Kind of grumpy and skeptical. Concerned even.

I passed my permit test a little over a week ago and had my first drive around the parking lot this past weekend. I would say that it was an OK trip around (and around and around) the parking lot, but I am by no means confident at driving down a street with more than two cars on it. Even if those cars are just parked on the sides of the road.

People always seem so surprised that I don't already know how to drive. I grew up in southern Maine, which doesn't make the lack of driving any more understandable, but I've always been a walker. Five miles? Walking distance. 15+ miles, still walking distance as long as I don't need to be there by a certain time. I lived in the Boston area for the longest time where actually owning a car can be a detriment and there is plenty of public transportation. Kentucky, however, isn't so great in the public transit side of the ledger. So, I'm finally learning to drive at nearly 40!

Fear for your lives people. I'm hitting the road.

Caramel Swirl

Bambino time!

So, our baby isn't the only one to celebrate. We have a couple of friends who are expecting their first early next year, so when we were going to get together I made ice cream.

Yes, that is a plastic baby figure in the ice cream. When we had the going away party/baby shower before we moved, my friends got plastic baby figures (some with mohawks a la carrot jockeys at Cake Wrecks) and put then on mini-cupcakes. We saved and washed some of the babies and moved them to Lexington.

So, when I was going to make a special ice cream for my friends, we decided to add the baby figurines like a king cake. I made the cheesecake ice cream from The Perfect Scoop, and added a salted caramel swirl for a caramel swirl bambino ice cream. My salted caramel sauce was based on the Smitten Kitchen recipe. I substituted unsalted butter for the salted butter and used sea salt to add the salt flavor to taste.

Now, I had a lot of caramel left after I made the caramel swirl bambino ice cream, so I used the remaining sauce to make a salted caramel ice cream with cream bourbon. I used the instructions for the ice cream base and added all of the remaining caramel sauce without even measuring it. We did buy peaches to use the same presentation as the blog post, but in the end we just ate the ice cream straight.

Yum!

Spork! Shall be my battle cry!

So, this is how far behind I am.

While my in-laws were in town, we all went to the Melting Pot. None of us had never been there and I had no idea exactly how fancy it would be (and for my tastes, it is OMG fancy).

The server was very personable and asked a lot of questions. When we decided on a dessert, we found out why. A custom plate with a sweet message on it came with our dessert and a baby-laden spork!

The baby spork went home with my MIL, and we left with happily full (but not overfull) bellies. 

That was back at week 38. Of course, now I am a bit further along and am just in that waiting period. It's OK to come baby! We won't let the dog and the cat lick you.... much. 

I have tomorrow off from work, so hopefully I'll even manage another blog post. Of course, it might be about curtains... curtains for you!

The homestretch

So, this past Tuesday I was officially full term. This Thursday we got a crib and my husband and our friends put it together. We aren't quite ready yet. We don't have a crib mattress yet (it is on the way). We need to wash all of the baby things, so while we are definitely in the home stretch there is quite a bit left to do.

Thankfully, the baby seems quite content to stay put. Heck, I'm having fun here, so I can wait.

Our closing was earlier this week, so this week has been go to work and come home each night to empty another box. The kitchen is now empty of boxes, but the counters are covered with stuff that doesn't have a home yet. Most of the rooms are in this stage. Boxes in various stages of unpacked, and lots of things unhomed. I'd show a photo, but really, no one needs to see this mess!

there are no good titles

I'm away and then back again and then away. It's not that I don't want to write on the blog, it is that I don't have anything to say or rather don't have anything I think I should say.

And even that isn't true.

I'm almost 23 weeks along (one of the stupid pregnancy counters helps me remember). I am feeling kicking, which is awesome. I am assuming that at some point it will become onerous, but I have been waiting long enough that I am pretty sure that even onerous painful kicks will be super welcome.

I am knititng. Right now I am knitting the Breezy Cardigan and have been for almost 2 months. It is a top down, seamless cardigan by Hannah Fettig. Mine has been mostly a stash busting experience, so it is stripy. And feels huge. I'm on the second sleeeve and after that I have the ribbing on both the left and right front and then the collar ribbing. I am hoping to be done in time for Squam.

I love Squam. It feels weird that I might be having my last trip to Squam. I know people come from all over, but I've always been a few hours travel away. This time next year I will be in Kentucky, and travel will be more complicated. I have to wonder if I will be able to make that difference, or maybe I will be able to convince my husband that he can come with and we can make a family trip of it (well, sans Victor and Saru-chan. Dogs aren't allowed).

But rather than borrowing trouble, or at least borrowing that trouble, I'm entering into that low grade panic. Our home is still on the market. I know people are seeing it. The latest group included a couple with two daughters, and our house is definitely perfect for a family. I don't need it to sell right away, but constantly thinking about it selling is just not fun. It makes for strange(r) dreams. What felt like far away (house shopping trip in June) is now countable on one hand (weeks, on one hand!).

So, to manage stress. Knitting, baking and cleaning. More of the knitting and cleaning and a bit less baking, but my house has to be spotless for showings after all.

There will be pictures next post and it won't be 3 weeks or more I promise. I just want to finish the current sleeve!

Three steps to putting a house on the market

Yesterday I mentioned that our house went up on the market. Now, we've had to do this before when we sold our condo, and it doesn't get easier.

For us, the steps usually go like this.

1. Realtor comes over and we walk her through the house/lot and have her tell us what things we should fix. She says declutter about 50 times, and notes a few minor repairs that will have a nice impact on the resale value of our home.

2. We get to the half way stage and have her come by to make sure nothing has changed. While we have obviously gotten rid of a ton of stuff, she says declutter about 30 times and we cry on the inside.

3. After 20 more trips to Good Will and 10 trips to free cycle stuff on the curb, we clean (and pay someone else to clean) our place to shining sparkliness and she comes by and tells us that we need a ton of new smoke/CO detectors, because the laws changed again.

4. We do all that and the house goes on the market. Profit?

If you are like me - and you'll know you are like me if any of the following words could apply to you: hobbyist, packrat, hoarder (but not like the TV kind), slob - then the first step is to take half of your stuff and put it in storage, or a pod. This is the high level getting rid of crap stage, and it is just the stuff you know without considering it that you want to keep.

That won't be enough. With the remaining half of the stuff, decide if you want to keep it, consolidate it into something else (I bought a pressure cooker/multicooker, so I could get rid of multiple small appliances), and get rid of/donate at least another third of your items. Buy trash bags and fill them. Make trips to the dumpster or curb.

Eventually you will be back down to the amount of stuff you had one or two dwellings ago, and that is probably closer to right. If you have a lot of things on your counters, move them into cabinets or drawers. No one wants to see even useful appliances out all over the place.

Scrub. Nope. It's not fun, which is why we hired someone to do at least the bulk of it, or it would have taken us another 2 weeks to get the house on the market.

What does that have to do with knitting? Well, I ran a stash sale and it is still going on. I also have more yarn to put up for sale. It's like the potential mess that keeps on giving. Now I'm going to procrastinate for a bit on touch up cleaning and knit.

[10 Tuesday] tomorrow is May 1st

May 1st is around the corner, and ever since college that has meant May Day at Fenmere. Now, I haven't been active in the SCA for more than a decade a long time, but it is still a remembrance of the rites of spring. This week's 10 for Tuesday were things you were looking forward to in May.

1. Going through at least 5 pounds of flour. I have tons, but I also have a gazillion food tabs up on my computer. My current use flour recipes that I hope to make soon are:

• Quick Chocolate Cake (vegan)
• Granny's Chocolate Cobbler
• English Muffins
• Whole Wheat Bread

That isn't close to the full list, but definitely an overview.

2. Finishing two sweaters. I have both a baby sweater and an adult cardigan on the needles, and I would like both of them done before Squam.

3. Selling our house. I am hoping it sells fast, but selling fast just changes one set of issues for another (though the second set of issues are easy to deal with in comparison).

4. Ultrasound. I had one just a couple of days ago, and I have a follow up in a couple of weeks. Seeing the ultrasound is really fascinating.

5. Seeing Iron Man 3. I'm not sure if it will have something funnier than shawarma, but maybe.

6. The Red Sox. My tickets are for May 24th (if I remember correctly), and it will be nice to see the game up close and personal.

7. Maintenance. It is a wonderful spot to be in. Two weeks ago we were cleaning and painting and busy all weekend long. Now we just have to maintain the cleanliness of the house and do small improvements.

8. More naps. Being in maintenance land means we can have more naps.

9. Stanley Cup playoffs. The long skate to the cup is about to start and that means more hockey on non-cable TV. Yeah!

10. Well, I've mentioned naps, and cleaning, and knitting and delicious food. Isn't that enough? No? Well, the nicer weather means I can enjoy walking outside. I'm hoping to get a couple of nice walks sans dog, because it is just nice to walk at my own pace and sans poo bags.