A whirl of gaity

I, professional smiler that I am, have not one but TWO balls to attend. One tonight and one Monday. I even have a new dress for Monday (can't wear the same dress twice in a week! What would the Governer think?)

MM's going to spend the night at DeepVoicedFirstGrader's house tonight and then DVFG will stay at our house Saturday night. We have a sitter for Monday.

I'm so glad everyone got out okay

Unbelievable

More hula!

Barry Baker

Please read what Dave has to say about this case of criminal bigotry.

Watch their FEET!!!

I am such a sucker for these things

Oooh! New thing from Anne Glamore!

She's doing a carnival called "Flashback Friday," which sounds like fun. Count me in!

We've signed the lease

We're taking possession on the 15th, but not actually moving any of our stuff probably until after MM's b-day on the 1st. We'll get the utils put in our names, change our drivers licenses (mine is due to expire soon anyhow), and register to vote and whatnot.

Then we'll actually move in February and that will be that.

Then we'll rent out our current house. I'm going to miss the garden. But we're not going to sell the house right now...certainly not in the current market! I will also miss several of our neighbors, though I expect to see them often.

MM will stay at the same school for the rest of the year. I'll drive him there on my way to work. Our section of the neighborhood is probably getting sent to a different school next year anyway, so I don't feel bad about switching him next year.

The townhouse we're renting is on the same side of the street as a playground, so MM will be able to walk or scoot there without a grownup right beside him the whole time.

I need to remember to ask about after-school options. I'd like to keep MM at PoshPlace for aftercare next year, but they don't pick up from the school we'll be zoned into. I need to ask if we can get him placed into one of the four schools they DO pick up from. If not, the zoned school is actually close enough to my job that I could pick him up and drop him off at PoshPlace (which is literally right around the corner from my office). But that might not always work what with meetings and such...

I hate waiting

And that's what my life is about right now. Waiting for stuff to happen over which I have no control. It's like sitting in a traffic jam on the way to a great concert. MOVE PEOPLE!!!

Answer to the question of what to do for MM's Birthday

Pool party at the local indoor pool. A bit pricey, but it allowed us to invite 14 of MM's friends and is a longer time period.

He'll be 7 in 3 weeks.

ooh! this is nice!

To the tune of "What shall we do with the drunken sailor"

What shall we do for MM's birthday?
What shall we do for MM's birthday?
What shall we do for MM's birthday?
That isn't too expensive

Ooh! Hey! That's a doozy
Ooh! Hey! That's a doozy
Ooh! Hey! That's a doozy
For a kid with thirty buddies

Take a small group to go skating
Take a small group to go skating
Take a small group to go skating
But he has thirty buddies

Take a small group to build with Lego
Take a small group to build with Lego
Take a small group to build with Lego
But he has thirty buddies

We could take a small group to go swimming
We could take a small group to go swimming
We could take a small group to go swimming
But WOW, that's kinda pricey

Alas, the laser tag place went bankrupt
Alas, the laser tag place went bankrupt
Alas, the laser tag place went bankrupt
Oh! Hey! They re-opened! (higher prices tho)

We could do it in the house if I cleaned it
We could do it in the house if I cleaned it
We could do it in the house if I cleaned it
But, I'd have to clean up again after*

His birthday is in 3 weeks, so the park is out
His birthday is in 3 weeks, so the park is out
His birthday is in 3 weeks, so the park is out
Alas for winter birthdays

So, what shall we do for MM's birthday?
What shall we do for MM's birthday?
What shall we do for MM's birthday?
That isn't too expensive

The 2008 Meme

As seen many places, this one copied from Crunchy Granola.

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
Graduated College.
2. Did you keep your New Years’ Resolutions, and will you make more for next year? No.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Yes! Look at that little punim! And look at him now!
4. Did anyone close to you die? No.
5. What countries did you visit? I only travelled within the lower 48, and only to states I've been to before.
6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? A President I don't despise. I think I might get that. A legal marriage for any couple that wants one.
7. What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Oh, definitely Election Night. The rally in Leesburg. My graduation.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? My graduation. And helping Obama decisively win my precinct. But that wasn't MY achievement. That was OUR achievement
9. What was your biggest failure? Not being able to keep my mess under control. Losing my shit with MM.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Do colds count? Oh! My doctor diagnosed me with Mono!
11. What was the best thing you bought? The VTech Kidizoom Camera. Though it's actually in the penalty box at the moment.
12. Whose behaviour merited celebration? MM, definitely, MM.
13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed? Crunchy Granola speaks for me when she says, "The K of C, the LDS, and everyone else who supported Proposition 8."
14. Where did most of your money go? Paying bills, eating out too much.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? The election.
16. What song will always remind you of 2008? Ummm....None.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:i. happier or sadder? 'bout the same, I guess. ii. thinner or fatter? Yes. Smaller pants-size paired with the Ever-Expanding Rack of Doom. iii. richer or poorer? Richer.
18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Sleeping, cleaning.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of? I like Crunchy Granola's first answer here, "Mindless websurfing (usually too late at night, and addictively unsatisfying)."
20. How did you spend Christmas? The morning at home, the afternoon on the train, the evening at my Dad and Stepmom's, the night at my Mom and Stepdad's.
21. What LJ users did you meet? Like Crunchy Granola, I'll amend this to how many online friends did I meet for the first time in 08: Kathy A., redzils, and Elizabeth
22. Did you fall in love in 2008? I think I fell back in love with America.
23. How many one-night stands? Seriously??? I mean SERIOUSLY? Good GAWD.
24. What was your favourite TV program? The Daily Show and Dr. Who.
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? No.
26. What was the best book you read? (So glad you discovered Archer Mayor, Crunchy G!)This is a hard one. I think, though, that I might have to give the crown to either Barbara Cleverly's Joe Sandilands mysteries or to Colin Cotterill's Dr. Siri Paiboun series.
27. What was your greatest musical discovery? That my son has a nice singing voice.
28. What did you want and get? A job five minutes from home. An election outcome I really really really like.
29. What did you want and not get? Legal marriage for any couple that wants it.
30. What was your favourite film of this year? Forbidden Kingdom.
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? 39. And I don't remember what we did. Do you?
32.What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? If Prop 8 had failed, and the Democratic Senatorial candidate from GA had won.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? Does it fit? Is it stain-free?
34. What kept you sane? Blogging, knitting, reading, snuggling.
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Obama and The Yarn Harlot.
36. What political issue stirred you the most? What Crunchy Granola said. "The presidential election, generally, and marriage equality."
37. Who did you miss? My grandfather.
38. Who was the best new person you met? My new co-workers.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008. No amount of walking is ever enough the night before an election.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. Can't. Sorry. It is too much.

Happy New Year!!!

First lines

I try to do it every year. The first line of the first post of every month last year.

January: I've introduced MM to the joy that is Bugs Bunny. (Wabbit season!)
February: First off, my SIL is profoundly awesome. (party! Again!)
March: He was well-behaved and very, very quiet. (I brought my six-year-old to a three hour class)
April: Nearby U has a slot for a student speaker at Commencement. (alas, it was not me)
May: MS shakes me to get me out of bed this morning. (I'll never hear that song the same way again)
June: This morning we woke up and we knew... (we've made it three times since then, yay us!)
July: Tomorrow I'll be marching in the parade with the Obama section, wearing my husband's name emblazoned across my chest, holding my son's hand, and smilingsmilingsmiling. (That was fun!)
August: I'm gonna work Five Minutes From My House! (They'll have to pry me out of there with a crow bar)
September: 1. Eating his lunch that he brought from home in the cafeteria. (He still loves bringing his lunch. As long as it's not pizza or taco day)
October: I woke up at 4:30 to leave at 5:30 to drive 4 hours to a place SW of me in my state to attend a conference on my volunteer committee work. (That was definitely worth the trip)
November: I have knocked my last door. (damned funny how the first post in November two years running is about my tired tootsies.)
December: I scored the sole Boston Cream donut at the cafeteria today! (mmm)

Sorry so silent...again

The unbloggability of some aspects of my life are making it hard to blog about ANY aspects of my life. Suffice to say that if I ever can write about it, I will.

In the meantime, random bullets of what to write about when I can't write about what's really going on:

• Somehow MM has accumulated over 330 Pokemon cards without us buying him any or, in fact, being allowed to watch the show.
• He wants ice skates and skating lessons for his birthday. That's a birthday present I can get behind.
• He keeps growing taller. How come he's not gaining any weight?
• He has made me swear not to cut his hair after August 1st, because he wants to be Harry Potter for Halloween.
• We bought him a black-and-grey-pinstripe suit this weekend and he looks like the world's smallest, cutest gangster.
• I got two shirts and two pair of pants for me at the same time. I love clothing store gift certificates!
• The meatball sub at the cafeteria here at ThreeMilesFromHome is delicious.
• I love to watch my husband work.
• On my white board here at work I wrote the following:
  DON'TS
1. Don't throw bouquets at me.
2. Don't please my folks too much.

Nobody got it. I mean COME ON PEOPLE. I've TOLD them I write snippets of song lyrics up there. WHAT IS THEIR PROBLEM?



• I love my Never Not Knitting Page-a-day Calendar
• I took a break from knitting those socks to read. Now I'm back to knitting.
• August is a long way away.
• So is May.

So, what's up with you?

He is sooooo my son

Reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, in bed, an hour after lights-out, with a flashlight.

MINE.

Things that suck

1. The cafeteria here at 3MilesFromHome on holiday weeks. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that they did not have cream cheese for the bagels. And the only bagels they had were - I AM NOT KIDDING - chocolate chip and whole wheat. Not a single donut in the house. AND...the scrambled eggs were crusty.
2. Sitting on the bench...the group double-you bench. I found out third hand that we're being released at noon today. If I didn't have friends upstairs I would never have known.
3. The weather. Year-end festivities may be called on account of wind.
4. My mood.

Recommendations

1. Brooklyn Children's Museum. Really, really geared towards kids. Everything is touchable, and everything worked. MM had a really great time and took lots of pictures. Which brings us to my next recommendation...
2. VTech Kidizoom Digital Camera. MM's favorite gift this year. He worked out how to use it as a plain vanilla camera and then, completely on his own, figured out all its fun photo effects features. Let me tell you, I look totally gorgeous with a pig's nose and bulgy eyes.
3. Dim Sum with kids. MM ate his weight in shrimp dumplings.
4. Amtrak. I know, I know, I know....I've recommended them before, but what's not to like about a mode of transportation where you can sit comfortably, use your computer (or watch your own movies), get up, walk around, have a pee or a bite to eat, and still get to NYC from DC in 3 hours? Without having to wait in line to take off your shoes?
5. Watching one's grandma turn 90, and have a 94-year-old at the party say, "I wish I'd had her kind of energy when I was her age."

Sorry so silent

I'm in NYC, hangin' with my family and eating dim sum and latkes and bagels. MM's been building with Lego and life in general is very sweet. We've been here since Thursday.

The socks have a taker. Second leg is almost done. Feet going on ASAP.

I'll be back in action on Tuesday.

I hope your holidays were beautiful and full of fun and love.

Latkes! Get yer hot latkes!

We invited MM's friend, SheIsAlmostAsTallAsMe, and her mom, IReallyLikeHer over for some hot potatoey goodness and the rest of the Hanukah scene last night.

The kids played Lego Star Wars while us grownups talked about everything and nothing as I fried up something like 30 latkes.

Neither of the kids were that into the latkes, but IReallyLikeHer ate 4 (as did I) and took some home with her.

They really liked the candle-lighting and were surprised that we gave SheIsAlmostAsTallAsMe a present (IReallyLikeHer was a bit chagrined that she didn't bring anything and I just shook my head and said, "no. You weren't supposed to.")

They left around eight. Gotta do that more often.

Looking for a Christmas gift?

Dick Francis: Break In (main character is named Christmas), and its sequel, Bolt
Margaret Maron: Corpus Christmas, Rituals of the Season
Georgette Heyer: Envious Casca
Agatha Christie: A Holiday for Murder (AKA Murder for Christmas, AKA Poirot's Christmas)
Charlaine Harris: Shakespeare's Christmas (NOT about the playwright!)
Murder for Christmas (short story compilation), first in a series, the whole series is great!
Nancy Atherton: Aunt Dimity's Death and Aunt Dimity's Christmas

One Thousand

One thousand posts.

Some long.

Some short.

Some happy.

Some sad.

Some funny.

Some really, really not.

Some thoughtful.

Some less so*.

Some self-absorbed.

Some less-so.

Some arty.

Some crafty.

Some industrious.

Some lazy.

1000 posts in 1322 days.

When I started, I thought I'd be talking more about books. And I did do some talking about books. But somehow, I ended up being more Mommy than Mystery. Or perhaps more Life than Lit. You don't always see the best of me here, but there are also things I can't won't don't talk about here for various reasons.

*Hmmmm....it seems I've never enjoyed knitting that sock. And yet...I keep knitting it. WTF?

Not jolly enough?

How about this then?

Will these socks never end? (edited to add a quick pick-me-up)

I just found a mistake I made, and it's a whopper, seven rows back. Which is 385 stitches. Many of them involving the fireplacing cable needle.

I want to cry.

(ETA) But this made me feel better:

More of what I was thinking

1 year ago today, I was annoyed about genderized toys and today they still annoy me.

2 years ago today, I was probably thinking about latkes. But I don't really know, because I didn't post anything.

3 years ago today, I was relieved that MM was happy where he was. MM still remembers going to that school for 3 weeks. He was much much MUCH happier at PNP.

Just so you can see what I'm talking about here...

Front
Side
Back
Foot still not put on. Knitting up second leg now.

So...

I was reading The Yarn Harlot who was talking about her Christmas knitting schedule, which was set up for her by her friend Lene, who has her own blog called The Seated View, and she pointed me to a site that I swear is waaaaaay better than Amazon.

Lene also linked to the 100 most often misspelled words, many of which give me heartburn.

You're welcome!

I love Carolyn Hax and The Daily Show

First, it's The 2008 Holiday Hootenanny of Horrors. Once again, not completely safe for work. Same reason.

Next, it's last night's Daily Show. The musical tribute!! I died!

GAHHHHH!!!! (ETA GAHHHHH!)

These (beautiful! sincerely, they are beautiful) socks will be the death of me.

Ways in which I have sucked mightily making these socks:

1. Lost most of the original instructions, but was saved through the amazing generosity and kindness of the author.
2. Knit half a sock leg in my normal twisted stitch (how the twisted stitch became my normal one is a story for another day) and found out that cables look not so great in twisted stitch. Did not want to rip. Knit second half of sock leg in flat stitch.
3. Used #4 needles on ribbing as decreed. Switched to #6 for leg also as decreed...for knee socks. I am knitting the short sock. I was supposed to stick with the #4's.
4. Started knitting second sock's leg. The ribbing looks TOTALLY different in flat stitch. Do I redo it in my twisted stitch? Or do I just keep knitting because these are already not going to be anyone's present this year.
5. I have already decided to knit this leg in #6's because I'm NOT reknitting the other leg. I'M JUST NOT.

WAIT!! WAIT!! Perhaps I haven't screwed up as bad as I thought. I can knit the knee sock!

No, wait again. I already did the fireplacing decreases for the ankle shaping. I'd have to rip about 2 inches and then knit 10 more......

Help me, internets, you're my only hope.

NSFW

Because it will cause loud snorting noises to emanate from your cubicle.

What was I thinking?

1 year ago today

2 years ago today

3 years ago yesterday

Bullets of I love reading to MM

• He always asks questions that Rowling answers in the very next sentence.


• He really pays attention and anticipates what might happen next.


• He loves when I use different voices for different characters and thinks my Professor Trelawney is spot-on.


• Some words he has asked the meaning of: smirk, sneer, vaguely, tatty, briefcase, shabby, disdain, disgust, loathing, mutter, vulture, orb... (Extra credit, class! What chapter did we read last night?)


• He got really excited when he realized that the creature on the cover was a hippogryph.


• He loves to discuss with me the proper pronounciation of the magic words. Here's an excerpt of an actual conversation we had last night:

"I think they're short "u"s, Mom, because there's no silent E
or other helping vowel. See? It's CVC!"*

"But I think it's a long u followed by a short u, because it's
CVCVC! So the second u makes the first u say its name."

• Sometimes he asks me to point to what I just read and then reads it again himself, trying to use my inflections.


• He knows I know he could read the books himself**, "But you read faster than I do and besides, I don't know what all the words mean and I like when I can ask you."

*The stuff he's learning in first grade is awesome. He has to divide his spelling words up into categories: CVC (consonant/vowel/consonant), CVCe (consonant/vowel/consonant/silent e), CVVC (consonant/vowel/vowel/consonant), and Oddball. On his spelling tests, he has to mark the long and short vowel sounds. I NEVER had to do this. He's also doing sentence corrections. I don't remember doing that in school, either. With my dad at his job, yes. At school, no.

**He's reading the latest Magic Treehouse book for independent reading at school.

Sock Blogging UPDATED!!!!!

I was right about MM's socks. I don't have enough yarn to finish the second one. And my local store doesn't carry it, so will have to call the store in Roanoke and ask them for another skein.

In other socks, I bought 3 skeins of Oatmeal coloured Plymouth Yarn Encore worsted weight to knit the March sock from "...And a Time to Knit Stockings," which I have started before, but never in the proper weight and it really needs to be in the proper weight and...I can't find the graphs for the cables. And this is an Aran sock, so it's all cables. OMIGOD! OMIGOD!!! Katherine sent me a .pdf of the pattern!!!!!!! WOOT!!!

Anyone seen my March sock cable graphs?

Also, anyone know how to translate a flat knitting pattern into a circular one? I have a pattern that I love for mittens, but am unwilling to go back to sewing up seams if I don't hafta.

I am evil

Because I lost my shit with MM. He. Got. On. My. Last. Nerve. And I just lost my shit.

And he lost: the movies we were at Barnes & Noble to buy (long story, suffice it to say that when I asked him to give them to me to bring to the counter at our turn and he said, "no," it was the last of many straws); his Leapster for a week (keeping on talking when I told him to stop talking); his Pokemon cards for a week (hitting me in the arm in the parking lot); and television until I say so (keeping on talking when I told him to stop talking).

The last part was at the top of my lungs.

Not my proudest moment.

Am I Evil?

Because I sang Over at the Frankenstein Place as a lullaby last night?

More links than you can shake a stick at

First, if you aren't reading Wil Wheaton's blog, you should be. Even if you're not as big a fan of Stand By Me as I am. He seems always to be first with the great YouTube clips and also writes intelligently about the process of writing.

Next up, The Yarn Harlot has a primer on how the Canadian Parliament works. Read it, especially if you're as pig ignorant about other countries' political systems as I am.

On that subject, Andrea is writing (beautifully as usual) about the Limbaughitization of the Canadian populace.

I'm getting a ton of insight into my committee work from Dave Hingsburger of Chewing the Fat.

Chris at Notes from the Trenches has a pretty amazing story to tell.

Moreena has posted some great photos

A year ago today, I posted this. Which makes me think I need to buy a buncha potatoes.

Two years ago today, I posted this. Which just goes to show you that I am an idiot because I forgot entirely about the fact that that trick worked and I have some stained clothes I could use it on!

And yet more bullets because my coherence levels are low. Anyone know where I can stock up on that?

Finished: HP&COS. MM wanted to start Prisoner, but I told him he'd have to wait for tonight.

Denied: Boston Cream donuts. Curses.

Puzzled: Wouldn't you think the development team would be invited to the tech review with the customer?

Triumphant: Frost removed from mini-van by sheer cussedness. That stuff was stubborn, but I am scrappy.

More random bullets

• I scored the sole Boston Cream donut at the cafeteria today! Yeah, baby!!!!
• MM anticipated the misfortune that befell Lockheart last night. "It's not going to work! Ron's wand is BROKEN!!!!" he chortled. And lo, it was so.
• I praised his brilliance and his mad predictive reading comprehension skillz.
• Did any of you catch last night's celestial magnificence? Wow.
• There's a dress in the Travel Smith catalog that I'm drooling over. Alas, I don't think it will accomodate the ever-expanding Rack of Doom. What do you think?

Random Bullets of Holy Guacamole It's Been Five Days

• Finished one sock for MM, have the sneaking suspicion that there will not be enough yarn to finish the second sock. MM's feet have gotten fireplacing huge. 7 & 1/2 inches from heel to toe.
• Also finished reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone to MM (he read the first chapter and a half on his own, but "you read faster than I do, Mommy"). Finished it at MIL's house on Friday, watched the movie coming back in the train.
• Started reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets to MM, and read 10 chapters on the train yesterday. We've just finished chapter 15, Aragog. MM guessed out who the dead victim from the attacks 50 years ago was!
  
• MIL cooks a damned good Thanksgiving feast. And SIL makes a fantastic corn casserole (I got the recipe!). And did I mention my MIL's homemade pumpkin cheesecake? Oh. My. God.
  
• If you're heading to anywhere Amtrak goes, just take it. The sleeper down was fantastic. What a great way to spend 11 hours traveling. Word to the wise, if you get a sleeper compartment, you also get your dinner included. And the dining car has great food.
• Coming back, the sleeper was sold out so we took a day train and it took...all day. But no problem, as it gave us more time to read and watch movies (see points above).
• The snack car is not equal to the dining car.
• Don't let the snack car attendant put the heated hot dog on top of a Snickers bar.
  
• Fantasia goes a lot faster when you fast-forward over the narrator.
• Dancing hippos never stop being funny.
• They're even funnier if you've just watched Madagascar.
• Most useful purchase this trip: a head-phone-jack splitter so that I could hear the movies too!

How was your Thanksgiving?

The problem with socks

Is that you must knit two of them.

Not just one. Not one-and-a-half. Two. They come in pairs, they are rather insistent that way. Like mittens.

This is why I like hats.

But I have some extra yarn left over from the secret mission socks and I'm knitting more socks. For MM because he's got the smallest feet in the house and therefore I am less likely to run out of yarn mid-sock.

The good thing about kids socks is that they're small and eminently portable. The perfect size to bring to lunch with friends.

To the Powers That Be at the cafeteria at ThreeMilesFromHome

1. It makes sense when selling discounted refills on coffee if you buy the environmentally friendly refillable cup, to actually charge less than what you normally sell the coffee for.
2. The point of an on-site cafeteria is to tempt workers to eat on-site so that they take shorter lunch breaks. This is undermined if you charge retail prices for your food. Seriously, what's with the $6.00 burger? Considering that it's a quarter-mile walk to get to you in the first place, you might wanna reduce your prices.
3. Also, your oatmeal is too watery
4. And where are the Boston Creme Donuts? Bring back the Boston Creme Donuts!!!
5. Why are you charging $1.50 for the same size bottle of Coke that I can get from the vending machine right next to your door for a buck?
6. And finally, they're called steamer trays for a reason. They're not called lukewarm trays.

MM's adventures in cake baking

He already knew

• how to read the directions
• how to crack eggs
• how to turn on the mixer

He learned

• 1 1/3 != 11/3
• why we crack eggs in a separate bowl
• how to get egg shell out of the egg bowl
• he's strong enough to hold the mixer himself (with two hands)
• patience

He ate

• a piece of cake the size of his head

Reader's choice

What do I post next?

a) More one-sentence synopses of Georgette Heyer?
b) One-sentence synopses of Dick Francis?
c) MM's adventures in cake-baking?
d) Questions for the Powers That Be at ThreeMilesFromHome's cafeteria?
e) Other (fill in the blank)

Things I can knit in a day

A hat!

Black Lion Brand Homespun yarn (acrylic/poly blend). US size 10 dps.

Pattern adapted from this one (MM likes his hats on the plain side and he has a small, round head, so I went with a basic 2X2 rib and didn't do as many rows)

Cast on 72 stitches, join up dps (no twisting!). {P1; K2; P1} for 30 rows.

Decrease as follows (odd rows are as KT gives them, even rows are my own notation):
Row 1 - {K2tog; P1; K2; P2; K2; P1; SSK} six times (60 sts remain)
Row 2 - {K1; P1; K2; P2; K2; P1; K1} to end
Row 3 - {K2tog; K2; P2; K2; SSK} six times (48 sts remain)
Row 4 - {K3; P2; K3} to end
Row 5 - {K2tog; K1; P2; K1; SSK} six times (36 sts remain)
Row 6 - {K2; P2; K2} to end
Row 7 - {K2tog; P2; SSK} six times (24 sts remain)
Row 8 - {K1; P2; K1} to end
Row 9 - {K2tog; SSK} six times (12 sts remain)
Row 10 - Knit to end
Row 11 - K2tog six times.
Cut yarn, leaving long tail, and cinch through remaining live stitches.
Pull through and weave in ends.

KT added some great curly cues to the top, but as I said, MM takes his hats with no nonsense*, so I didn't add them. The decreases came out great. I highly recommend KT's method!

*MM changed his mind about the nonsense, but his nonsense of choice is a big ol' poofy pom-pom. Done!

Because you thought I was pulling your leg when I told you about it*

Proof that there is SO such a thing as National Blog More Challenge month...or whatever it's called.
Here
And here
And here
And here. There are others, but I'm not hunting 'em all down.

It's also National Solo Album Challenge month.

It was good seeing you tonight!



*Yeah, real life conversation!

Another Georgette Heyer one-sentence synopsis

Masqueraders

Cross-dressing siblings!

Posts from the deep....

I found this one sitting there in Drafts from April 1st.

Working title was "I'm probably going to hell"

So...Lego Star Wars. We've finished the first set (eps 1 - 3) and are now working our way through the second set (eps 4 - 6). House rules are no screen time if MM gets a strike at school.

Guess who has gotten maybe three strikes since we got the PS2 two months ago? Guess who stops whining immediately if we threaten no screen time?

Weekdays, we play one chapter after school. Weekends, we'll play one chapter in the morning and one in the afternoon.

MM is no couch potato, btw, he acts as though it's a Wii - jumping, dodging from side-to-side. It's truely adorable to watch.

Plus he's figuring out lots of puzzles.

I feel like a

And that's where it ended. I don't remember what I felt I was, judging from the working title, it had to have been something with no redeeming social value. I wonder what it was.

False Colours

Twins!

Need I say more?

Venetia

Ah....Venetia.

26 years old, no one she knows gets her sense of humor and her only eligible suitor is "worthy" and a dead bore.

Along comes "The Wicked Baron", Damarel. He's got a scandalous past, but he always laughs at her jokes, and never asks what she means by them. He doesn't expect her to have friendly feelings towards her late unlamented father. He respects her horse-mad, book-worm younger brother and doesn't treat him like he's made of glass just because he's got a short leg.

So what's the problem? That's what Venetia would like to know...

I don't recommend the edition I linked to up at the top. It's a Harlequin and has advertising in the middle, which causes the spine to break and the pages to fall out. Get this one from Amazon.co.uk instead.

Y is for children yelling because they are so happy

And Z is for children running around and acting zany.

Yes, MM was both Y and Z, the only child in his class to have two roles.

And the turkey luncheon was pretty tasty.

And since Susan brought it up

The Grand Sophy*!! Holy guacamole, is this ever a good book. Sophy comes to stay with her cousins who are, most of them, getting into scrapes both romantical and financial. Sophy, who has reputation for being meddlesome, dives right in and straightens everything out in an outrageously direct way.

This one should be read in a room with a skylight upon which the rain is steadily drumming.

Next up: Venetia.

*This edition, from Amazon.co.uk, is the one I have.

The Two Exceptions

An Infamous Army and Royal Escape. I got bored in the fourth chapter and stopped reading.

Why I love Georgette Heyer

I was first introduced to Georgette Heyer through Frederica, which is a regency novel. Later, when I'd read all she'd written, I realized that I'd actually read some of her mysteries one summer when I was staying with my grandparents in a rented vacation house on Long Island. Duplicate Death and Why Shoot A Butler, among others. I read Ngaio Marsh for the first time that same summer.



With only two exceptions, all of Georgette Heyer's books are delightful. Her mysteries are well-plotted and cozy confections. She is practically unsurpassed for rainy-day-nice-hot-pot-of-tea reading. Seriously, if you are faced with a gloomy weekend, you could not do better than to curl up with one of Heyer's mysteries and a box of mallomars and just dive in.



But today I'm going to talk about Frederica. Frederica is the eldest sister of a family of five. Their father has died and left them without much money. Someone has rented their (mortgage encumbered) estate so the family moves to London for "the Season" to bring Frederica's younger sister (a "diamond of the first water") out. Meanwhile, their distant relation, Lord Alverstoke is bored to tears and looking for a way to annoy his miserly sister who wants him to host a ball for her plain eldest daughter. When he and Frederica meet, he realizes that he now has the perfect plan to infuriate his sister. Soon, the formerly bored Lord Alverstoke finds himself hauling Frederica's family out of scrapes and...

Well, you'd better read the rest yourself.

Reminder to self

When drawn into the debate about whether or not to have a second hospital in our county, remember to let folks know that CountyToOurEast charges for ambulance rides, and our county doesn't.

Also, tell what the debate looks like from a Park Slope native's perspective. I grew up 4 blocks from a hospital. My best friends lived half-a-block from that hospital. The neighborhood high school was one block from the hospital. Hospitals nearby are good.

And finally

This post over at Daily Kos reminded me of some lunchtime silliness the Mystery family indulged in yesterday.

I noticed that the restaurant we were in served Bahama Mamas, so I asked, "If our President-elect ordered one of those, would it be Obama's Bahama Mama?"

"Or perhaps if he ordered it with his breakfast-in-bed, it would be a pajama'd Obama's Bahama Mama."

"If he ordered one for his sleeping Andean pack animal, it would be an Obama's pajama'd llama's Bahama Mama."

"If the Andean pack animal choked on it, it would be Obama's pajama'd llama's Bahama Mama trauma."

"And finally, if a play were written about it, it would be Obama's pajama'd llama's Bahama Mama trauma drama."

Well, I thought it was hilarious

I have no will-power

I finished the series.

Now I'm looking at my Amazon wishlist and wondering...do I buy The Host now or hope someone gets it for me for Christmas?

And how do I wait until May for the next Charlaine Harris?

Thursday, November 20, 11:00

ThreeMilesFromHome's Thanksgiving Potluck and....

MM's class play on The Thanksgiving Alphabet. MM will be "Y".
I can't wait to see what "Y" has to do with Thanksgiving.

More victory parties than you can shake a stick at

Boy, does it feel good to be with so many people who feel good.

One of MM's sitters is getting her citizenship next year. She asked me for some Obama memorabilia. She couldn't vote in this election, but she sure wanted to.

Costco has failed me, advice needed

What's my next stop for inexpensive all-cotton high-cut und3rs? Target? JCPenney?

Also, does anyone know how to keep kneesocks from becoming tourniquets?

Also, to cut or not to cut (my hair), that is the question. My home team likes the hair long, but I'm thinking it's going to be a staticky, staying-wet-and-cold-all-day, pain in the ass for the winter.

What say you?

If you like Stephanie Meyer you will like

Robin McKinley (Sunshine has a lot in common with this series)
Charlaine Harris
Peter Dickinson (Eve, King & Joker) (also, he's married to Robin McKinley)


I bought New Moon. It's official, I'm addicted.

I know one or another of you told me

About Stephanie Meyer, but DAMN!!! Why didn't anyone TELL me about Stephanie Meyer?

Question: do I now buy the whole rest of the series at once? Or do I pretend like I have will power and buy them one at a time?

11/11

It always strikes me as odd that my county's schools don't close on this day, that the many defense contractors I've worked for don't close on this day. That this state, with the largest military cemetary in the country, doesn't observe Veteran's Day nearly as visibly as my native state does.

Throughout the last 6 years, there has not been a day that goes by without my thinking of the people who are wearing the uniform of our nation, fighting our wars. I hope that they come home safely. And for those that have returned, and for their families, and for the families of those who have not returned, and for the families of those who will never return, I give my thanks, my respect, and my hope that we do better by you.

A long time ago

What_Year
Originally uploaded by Mystery Mommy

I was a princess for Halloween.










And this year, I was again.

Lesson learned

Don't hold a political victory party in a sports bar. The speeches compete with the sound for the football games and the sports fans cheer in the wrong places.

There were a TON of Obamaniacs there, though.

Saturday!

Alright! Let's get out there and knock on some d...

Oh.

Wait.

That's right.

We WON!

It's not all chocolate and buttercups

So many others have already talked about this, more eloquently than I ever could and more personally...

Just as many Webb voters in Virginia also voted for the horrible anti-gay marriage amendment two years ago, many Obama voters in Florida, California, and Arizona voted for similar bans.

How could they? How could people simultaneously vote for a man whose focus is on bringing us all together and vote for Jim Crow?

I am also disappointed that Arkansas banned adoptions by unmarried couples but more people voted AGAINST this ban than voted FOR Obama.

All I can offer as a hopeful thought is this: young voters, both Democrat and Republican voted overwhelmingly against these bans. And Connecticut voted for equality. And what S said.

Which reminds me...

Remember when I wrote this?

Aren't you glad we stuck it out?

Props also to my mom and to you

My mom lives in NY, as y'all know. She made calls to PA and OH every day and went down to PA to register voters. I'm so proud!

I'm proud to know all of you, too. Proud of the work you all did and the votes you all cast. You inspired me with the things you wrote. There are many of you who I kept in my thoughts all day yesterday -- including one who voted for McCain but who will be helped enormously by the proposed healthcare policies of Obama.

I hope those proposals become reality.

Hugs and kisses

WE WON!!!!!

The precinct I ran.
The district MS is the Supervisor of.
Our county.
Our State.


The whole ball of wax.


I feel like I'm made of champagne. Happiness is just bubbling out of me. I love that all the work we did, the walking and the calling and the sample-balloting really showed.

Today...

Last night 100,000 people showed up for Obama in Manassas.

This morning the line was already out the door and around the corner and around the other corner when I got to the polls at 0530.

Most people on that line wanted the Democratic sample ballot.

I've had enough staff all day to be able to take two quick breaks.

The Republicans finally sent more people. They're all standing clumped up near the door. My folks are spread out in the parking lot. We're not missing a single person.

General observation: Democrats vote early in the morning and are willing to wait on line. Republicans vote in the middle of the morning.

It's only rained a little bit, I hope it stays dry for the rest of the day.

My feet hurt, but I'm pumped!!!

Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow

Alaska and Arizona have our guy within the margin of error.

I don't believe it. I just don't believe it. I no longer believe any polls. They must all be wrong and we are going to lose.

I need another door to knock. I'm chewing my fingers to pieces.

Is it Wednesday yet?


GET OUT THERE AND VOTE!!!!

I. Am. Walked. Out.

I have knocked my last door. 80 plus today...I don't KNOW how many yesterday...maybe 90? I don't care.

I am tired.

Tired.

Obama had better win, is all I'm sayin'.

I'll be coordinating nearby precinct so I'll be there from 5:30 in the fireplacing morning until the polls close.

He'd better win.

And now, a PSA from Spielberg et al

This post is all about the Muffin Man

He knows about Santa Claus. A little girl in his class told him.

"Mommy, does Santa Claus exist?"
"What do you think honey?"
"I think it's you and Daddy."
"Well, you're right. But we do a pretty good job, don't we?"
"Yeah!....Can I be Santa too?"

My heart broke.


Every night, when brushing MM's teeth, I sing him a song that I made up. It's a little Elvis-y and MM loves it. I am thinking of singing it to Dr. Corndog, have him record it with guitars and all and make it a billion-dollar children's hit.

Also, most nights I sing to MM after the lights are out. I have a little repetoire for him to choose from: The Star-Spangled Banner; O What a Beautiful Morning; People Will Say We're in Love; Somewhere Over the Rainbow; My Johnny Was a Shoemaker; or A Few of My Favorite Things (this last one gets sung ala Ethel Merman - cracks him up to the point of hiccups). MM was overwhelmed, as I was, by the sound of over 30,000 people singing The Star-Spangled Banner and saying the Pledge of Allegience at the Obama Rally (I'm sorry, I can't get through one post without the election creeping in!)

I need a break

Today and tomorrow, I'm straightening the house (changing sheets and towels and vacuuming and making sure the bathroom is sparkly) for the campaigner we're hosting. And aside from that, I'm not doing any campaigning until Saturday.

I am tired.

Write to Marry

Crunchy Granola, along with a host of other people, is writing about the right to marry today.

Twelve and a half years ago, on a misty day, MS and I were married by a judge who wore bright red barn boots. We were married at my mom's house, in a big tent, with our family and friends around us.

There was no religious component to our wedding. We wrote our own vows, exchanged rings, and signed the paper. Love made that misty day sunshine-y and beautiful.

There was nothing about our wedding (except, perhaps the clothes we wore) that would have been different if we had been two women or two men instead of a man and a woman. There is nothing about our marriage (except, perhaps the way we conceived our child) that would be different if we were two women or two men instead of a man and a woman.

We are a white man and a white woman married to each other and living in Virginia. If we were a bi-racial couple 40 years ago, our marriage would not have been legal in the state we live in. If we were a same-sex couple now, our marriage would not be legal in most states, including the state we live in.

In the same way that it was wrong to out-law bi-racial marriages, it is wrong to out-law same-sex marriages. A marriage should be a union between two adults who love each other.

If you live in California, vote NO on Prop 8.

An invitation

If you live in my area of VA, or in nearby MD, or DC, would you like to come walking with me this weekend?

I've got a baby-sitter to take care of MM both days and will be walking from 10-6 Saturday and Noon-6 Sunday. It's a GOTV for Obama walk-a-thon! How many doors can we knock this weekend? If it rains, how many calls can we make?

If you live in solidly blue MD or DC, come on out to our (now) purple state and help turn VA blue!!!



Also, if you can take the day off on Election Day, come on out to the precinct I'm heading and help me hand out sample ballots. Or go to the nearby HQ and help make calls to GOTV! Or, if you're a lawyer, go and Protect the Vote. Genevieve's doing it!

We are all Californians

VOTE NO ON PROP 8

Today was a perfect day for walking

T-shirt weather! I picked up another volunteer and id'd at least a dozen strong Obama voters.

Next weekend is going to be reminding friendly voters to get to the polls. If you've never walked or called, next weekend is the best time to do it. Friendly calls, lots of excitement!

What an Obama Volunteer does when it rains

"Hi! I'm your neighbor, Mystery Mommy and I'm volunteering for the Obama campaign. I'm calling today to ask YOU to volunteer too! Only tennine days left until Election Day! There are a ton of volunteering opportunities from making phone calls like I'm doing right now, to door knocking on nice days, to bringing food to the local headquarters to feed the phone-banks! I could also use folks to help me hand out sample ballots on Election Day at YourVotingPrecinct! Can we count on your help?"

I got 1213 out of the nearly 100 I called. And one at the kids birthday party I attended.

I am DANGEROUS.



I've also been promoted. I'm now the Election Day coordinator for YourVotingPrecinct (as opposed to MyVotingPrecinct. I actually live closer to YourVotingPrecinct). MS and I are also going to host an Obama volunteer for the last four days.

Annika update

She's doing great!

I voted

Damn, that felt good!!!

I was noodling through youtube

...looking for this from 1980*



when I found this from the '70's:



Holy guacamole. Prophetic or what?**




*Somehow, being at the Obama rally made me think of being at this concert when I was 11.

**I had only ever remembered the first three verses of this song, it's the last verse that just knocks me on my ass.

This is beautiful

H/T Leesburg Tomorrow

Estimated...(ETA more links)

This is what a small portion of an estimated 35,000 people look like:

They look pretty real to me.
And this is who they all came to see.



I should have recorded it as a movie. D'oh! Here is some of what he said. I brought along MM, and a friend of mine and her daughter. My friend got a hand grasp and an autograph. We were both just blown away by the incredibleness of the experience. So many people, so much enthusiasm, and a candidate that makes us want to go vote FOR him. MM and my friend's daughter were thrilled to have been there.

Here is what Raising Kaine says about it.

Two pieces of news

Obama will be going to Hawaii Thursday and Friday to see his ailing grandmother, cancelling events for those days. I hope that his grandmother recovers.

Before he goes, he'll be visiting my county on Wednesday for a rally. I'm going to be there come hell or high water.

Over 100 doors, yesterday and today

Colin Powell made a difference.

And so did Nancy Pfotenhauer. (MS was out there with me today in a shirt that said, "A REAL VIRGINIAN FOR OBAMA")

And the picture of St. Louis.

And the thought of 632,000 people who never donated to Barack Obama before deciding in the span of one short month that it was time to get off the pot and donate. In September, the Obama Campaign got 150 Million dollars in contributions averaging less than $100 each. If you can't donate, walk and knock on doors, call, work the polls on election day. VOTE. If you CAN donate, walk and knock on doors, call, work the polls on election day. VOTE. If you can't donate, or walk and knock on doors, or call, or work the polls on election day, then you better get out there and VOTE.

Money doesn't win an election. Knocking on doors doesn't win an election. VOTES win elections. Money buys literature and yard signs and buttons and postage and tv time and phone lines and rent. Volunteering gets the word out. Only VOTES get the job done. Get out there and vote.

What's old is new again

Topical before, topical again. Love that Christine Lavin!



Take that Palin!

Bling, bling, BLING, Democrat Rabbit!

My house (that truck doesn't belong to us).
My car. Driver's side...
Center...
Passenger side...
Me.

No doubts as to where I stand, eh?



And here are the socks. They've been packed and sent. I hope they keep the recipient warm and cozy through the watches of the night.


And, in other news, MM asked me if I'm the tooth fairy. Sigh.

NSFW

Because I laughed out-loud uncontrollably. Kept reading. Laughed louder.

I love The Yarn Harlot.

Thoughts on last night's debate. EDITED (again) (and again) TO ADD (yet) A(nother) LINK

TRANSPLANTS are equivilent to cosmetic surgery and shouldn't be covered in a generic plan? ARE YOU SHITTING ME?

"'Health'"? Really? (Phantom Scribbler just pointed out Julie's post on the scare quotes which actually says what I meant to.)

And here's what Cecily has to say about it.

And Dooce points to Alexa's post.

Julie and Cecily and Alexa. Thank you for saying it when I couldn't.

Holy guacamole

Did you see that? He all but said, "McCain, you ignorant butt". I can't wait to see what the papers have to say about it.

A response

A guy I used to work with, who I like a lot mostly except once every four years, keeps forwarding me anti-Obama emails. Today it was about ACORN. I sent him back a link from Momocrats about McCain having his own ties to ACORN. So he said, yeah but it's not apples to apples. So I sent back this:

... Just sayin' that if we start throwing mud around because of who the candidates have worked with or done speeches with, we're gonna have a mighty messy country.
F'rinstance: Obama and Ayers. Fine. McCain and G. Gordon Liddy and Paul Schenk. Okay? So we've got BOTH candidates "associating" with militant domestic terrorists. And while G. Gordon Liddy has moved into the mainstream, so has Ayers.

ACORN may be overzealous in getting people registered, I don't know. I haven't particularly paid attention to them, being more interested in trying to help come up with new ways to make a 20% funding cut in the budget of the board I'm on not mean that we're going to have to stop serving some of the mentally ill or intellectually disabled in [my county]. What I do know, is that there are partisans on the Republican side who are just as overzealous in scaring vulnerable voters away from the polls. Again, neither side is covering themselves with glory.

Let's stick to what our candidates are actually doing and saying. Neither looks great if we go back 20 years (Obama: "Of course I inhaled, that was the point" and McCain in trouble with the Keating Five, and leaving his crippled first wife for a younger, richer one). Neither has exactly been quick to disavow the rhetoric of their ministers.
Both have visions of where they want the country to go and how they'd like us to get there. That is what I would really like to talk about with you. All the rest is just crap.

HT to Cecily, Momocrats, and the folks they linked to.

In which MM comes to work with me and has fun doing actual work

We went down to the mail room to peel labels off 167 boxes for re-shipment, stacked 'em, watched them get shrink-wrapped, and pushed the cart full to the store room to await the trucks. Then, MM got to push the empty cart all the way back.

The busy work I do to keep from going crazy is a perfect task for a six-year-old. I love my job.

The socks are done.

I will photograph them tomorrow and send them on a secret mission across state lines to offer aid and comfort.

I failed platelet donation...

Will they confiscate my diploma?

To quote my reply to an email from Kathy A.:

"They blew out the vein on my left arm (after I'd been on the machine for about a half-hour) and then, when they moved over to the other arm, I started feeling woozy. Which, it turns out, is because my left arm was still bleeding pretty heavily.

I didn't give enough for them to use any of and I won't be able to donate again until December 5. I am disappointed."

And I got a lovely elbow bruise as a bonus! However, I'm ready to try again in December. Maybe next time, they'll listen to me when I tell them I don't think the needle is in right.

And she's back out. (Edited to add link. Thanks Kathy!)

Doing well so far.

Tomorrow, I'm donating platelets. Please donate blood. Become an organ donor. Send money to COTA (link on my sidebar). Let's do it for Annika.

She's going back in...

Apparently there's a hematoma they need to deal with.

She's OUT!

And she's doing okay!

On my way to bed now, but my thoughts are in Chicago

I hope all is going well.


May all our children outlive us. May we live to see to see our children's children have children. May their lives be as easy and happy as is good for them. May they be useful, and kind, and compassionate. May they be trust-worthy and strong. May they make the world better for having been in it.