Exhibit W...

Yet another sign I am still not ready to follow politics again: crying when the song "Eve of Destruction" comes on the radio. Seriously, fifty-year-old Vietnam protest song?! Mmhmm, think I'm gonna stick to binge-watching cleaning and makeup videos on YouTube for now. But reading up on "Eve of Destruction" did bring the 2001 Clear Channel memo to my attention, though. I mean, I know people did some nutty stuff in the fall of 2001, but suggesting radio stations not play Rage Against the Machine is not helpful. Jeez.  They should've banned that horrific Lee Greenwood song, if they wanted to pacify the masses... But hey, this song was also on the list!

Anyone remember the show Cleopatra 2525? That was fun...

So we've had a bit of drama over here, the worst of which I think/hope is over, or at least addressed. At his point we are planning a quick New York vacation, which will involve fun family stuff and hopefully Der Rosenkavalier at the Met! In crafting, a very good friend is having a baby soon, so I am making a Guernsey-style blanket for her. I am taking a break from it at the moment to work on a Rikaart cowl (finally using my Miss Babs!).  I probably should have done this before the freak cold snap here, so it might actually be useful.

Grumble grumble

I have a cold, and am miserable and pretty pissed about it.



This song is brought to you by my trial Sirius XM subscription.  My usual favorite station is Soul Town (OF COURSE), but The Joint is also a good one.  I don't know how weird it is that some suburban white mom is blasting reggae out of a station wagon.  Granted, reviewing the channel guide for Sirius XM is quite suggestive of their target demographics.  Not anyone under thirty, to be sure.

So the reason that I have a trial subscription is the same as the last time I had one:  we have a new (to us) car!  The TDI buyback scheme is tedious and involves a lot of back-and-forth with forms--but even with all the forms submitted, we still had to wait TWO MONTHS for an appointment.  In the meantime, a car became available, and we were able to swing it, so we jumped.  And it's probably the car we should've gotten in the first place:  a 2013 Prius v.  And it's blue!  Hooray!  Learning to drive a hybrid is a bit of an adventure, but you get the hang of it fairly quickly.  You definitely sacrifice responsiveness for fuel efficiency, which is annoying in a hilly area when you have to quickly accelerate to 45 mph out of a turn or traffic light, but I suppose one must drive safely, regardless of mpg.  Anyway, yes, Yuppie Car #2.  But I'm averaging 45mpg every day, so I'm satisfied.

Speaking of which, I must pick up the child soon, but I do have a crafting update.  Inspired by the pussyhats, I've decided to keep some charity items in the mix.  I am working on a mistake-rib scarf for the Knit Your Bit project (one of my usual recipients, when I feel like crafting for charity).  I finally finished a black lace scarf, and started another black scarf.  Typical.

Gratitude

Dear Obama family,

Thank you so much for your hard work, sacrifices, and class.  I hope you can take a few days off!  I would be honored to have you all over for dinner sometime. I suppose you could easily access my contact information if need be. Give the NSA something positive to do for three minutes!

I am actually serious about the invitation.

Lots of love,

Jennifer

(I did make Pussyhats. Six going to DC with a friend, and one for me out of some crazy scratchy wool. I did get recognized in the wild last weekend - at Cheesecake Factory, of all places. Here R. models one of the sparkly acrylic ones.)

And now I'mma be morose again for a few minutes. The George Michael binge continues...

Make like a tree

Kind of loving this song...

 

I am about 25% done with the five feet of i-cord required for the cardigan. I am so ready to start something else!

I won't cry for yesterday...

Because it's always a good time for Duran Duran.

Even if it’s Nineties Duran Duran.  At least there’s no weird African/women-as-animals fetishism in this video. 

Last week was Rosina’s first week of school, and other than some minor interpersonal things (Mean Girl hogs sparkly red pencil, drama ensues) she loves it and is doing great.  She even likes phys ed! (If I didn’t know any better, I’d say we brought the wrong baby home…) Her school offers free breakfast every morning, and she’s been walking to the cafeteria, picking out her food, and finding her way to her classroom by herself.   (I didn’t even know any of this until I asked her.)  We may even try school lunch one of these days!  ($2.25.  What in the world…) Because she’s going to a magnet and not her neighborhood school, we were planning to use an express bus stop.  Turns out that the bus stop was more than twenty minutes from our house, in the wrong direction for the school and our jobs, and took about forty minutes to get to the school.  We would have to leave the house before seven, and she wouldn’t get home in the afternoon until after four.  So not only was it more than two hours round-trip, it would have been a nine-plus hour school day, for a five-year-old.  Suffice to say I have swallowed my pride, and am driving her to and from school (about twelve minutes).  I hate doing this – it goes against my principles – but now I understand why so many people have to do it.  The bus situation in this county is just terrible.  Her school is fairly small, and it’s in right in a neighborhood with lots of walkers, but there are only TWO BUSES for a whole elementary school.  That would transport about 1/3 of the students.  How many kids are being left out?? Anyway, morning drop-off is a piece of cake, but pickup sucks big time.  I guess I’ll have to get used to it…

In crafting news, I am getting close to finishing my cardigan.  The body is done, and I only have about two inches of the first sleeve left.  I’m not super impressed with the fit – the yoke is too big in front (I KNOW – how is this possible?!), and the sleeve shaping is triangular and fits a bit oddly – but I think blocking will really help. (Famous last words…) My stripes are a bit different due to the yardage on hand, and I’ve had to fudge a bit on the sleeves to accommodate what I had left over, but it’s going to work.  Once the knitting is completed, I have to sew in a zipper – and may have to order one online, since I need a long one – so I’m not nearly as close as it seems, but it will be done by the time I need a densely-knit, light-worsted weight handspun wool cardigan.  (GO HOME SUMMER, YOU’RE DRUNK.) I am already thinking of my next projects:  a hat for Rosina, a baby sweater for a coworker’s pregnant daughter, bears for new-baby gifts for my SIL and cousin, stranded slippers for me?  Oh, and Rosina wants this Tunisian-crocheted ammonite.  That may wait until Christmas.

Alternate summer anthems

Somehow I got a certain "summer anthem" by a certain former Disney star-turned-wayward youth-turned-new Voice judge stuck in my head.  I'm not even sure how, because I can't imagine voluntarily listening to it.  (Maybe because the chorus starts out like "Mo' Money, Mo' Problems,", which samples "I'm Coming Out" - two summery songs that are not terrible like this one...) Anyway, I needed to evict it, and this sort of worked.







Summer has been passing quickly.  We just completed a trip to see Mark's family (Buffalo with record high temperatures and zero control over the schedule = not a vacation!), and had my parents come visit this past weekend.  (Only one fight about police brutality with my mother, and I tried desperately to change the subject...)  School supplies have been purchased, and Rosina starts kindergarten in less than three weeks!  Nope, still not really processing that.  I am working from home until after Labor Day, since camp is over.  We have been watching the Olympics, and I have been working on my handspun cardigan!  After two separate stupid mistakes (miscounting and switching to the wrong size tips, respectively) which each involved frogging huge amounts - two feet of plus-size cardigan total, I kid you not - I think I am finally on the right track.

I guess it's summer, then...

I suppose if you're going to have a song stuck in your head, this beats an annoying Ed Sheeran song.

And did you know? It's a Carter Family song.  No surprise!

Rosina's birthday was a little crazy, but she was so excited, and her friends had a great time at the party. And my cardigan is done! I even got a chance to wear it today before it gets ridiculous hot. I need to get a photo!

They grow up so fast...

This video is cool for a lot of reasons--and altruistic as this sort of thing goes, since it sounds unforced and is not a hot mess of showboating old men trying to sing/play over each other--but check out the kid in the background. Is that George Harrison's son, or possibly his clone? Whoa. Regardless, Prince's solos are so great, so stay tuned. He is making that hat WORK. 

(Speaking of music, I may have been conceived while "Afternoon Delight" was the #1 song in America. I doubt that's what my parents were listening to, but it is indeed troubling.)

Regarding my own little clone: she's turning FIVE this weekend. ("Just the Way You Are" by Bruno Mars was the #1 song when she was conceived.  At least it's not a novelty song! And no, TMI, the radio was off.) I am not sure how we've reached this point. She's a little unsettled herself by all the changes happening in the next few months: she's been at the same place for school and camp for two years, and in September she'll be going to a completely new place where she doesn't know anyone. (She's going to a STEM magnet school, not the base school, but none of her friends live in our neighborhood anyway.) We know she will do great, and that realizing how big the world is is just a part of growing up, but she's been clingier lately because of it, and it does make me feel for her.

On a happy note, look what she gave me for Mother's Day! This is why we keep them around...

Actual Knitting Content: the fingering weight, top-down, garter-striped circular yoke cardigan I've pastiched is nearing the home stretch. There may actually be pictures once I finish the second sleeve.

Better late than never: Lorde

I meant to post this last week, but somehow it was still pending. Anyway, this song was stuck in my head all last week. 

How cool is Lorde?! Since I am actually old enough to be her mom (i.e. I even know who her father would've been), it seems like a weird choice. Most of her songs are about being a teenager, naturally, and she wouldn't be here without the ladies of my era--definitely Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, Ani?--but damn, she just does it so well. And she seems fairly normal and well-adjusted in interviews. May she make fifty more albums!

Despite my usual (and justified!) reluctance to embark on charity knitting and knitting-for-hire, I've decided to knit a few hats for Rosina's preschool's silent auction. Her Felicity (technically made for me) was so darn cute, and she got a lot of compliments on it. I had two more skeins of the same yarn, so why not? That and a few basic watchcaps--also from leftovers--and hopefully they will earn a few dollars. (As in, they better go for at least $12 apiece. Probably better if I don't ever know...)

Still Missin' Bowie

My brief hiatus has as much to do with being busy (two colds, performance, sewing the dress for said performance!) as with the sorry state of Blogger when it comes to smartphones. The app sucks if you want to do anything besides enter text, and Safari is not fully compatible--and while desktop YouTube has a Blogger button, the app does not. You would think Google would want to have connectivity among its own products... But I guess we're stuck in 2005 here.

Anyway, David Bowie died, and I'm still bummed about it.

I was never a #1 Bowie Fan, but I always respected the hell out of what he did. (I also cannot dispute the powerful effect of Jareth the Goblin King. That wig! Those pants!!)  I've been enjoying some deeper cuts that don't get much airplay, even on AOR. For example, how was this not my absolute favorite song in high school?!  I listened to WNEW and everything! Scandalous.

So Rosina is officially registered for kindergarten. I have no clue how she is almost five already. We applied for a few magnet schools--specifically this really cool engineering magnet!--but she is currently assigned to her very good base school, and wait-listed for the other. They do another magnet round in April, so we will hold out until then. Only six months away! :O

After a quick flurry of Lopi mittens for Mark and Rosina, I have started a fingering-weight cardigan for myself. (Another one?!) I couldn't find exactly what I wanted--top-down, with a circular yoke in garter stripes and the rest in stockinette--and I wasn't going to pay for a pattern that didn't meet my parameters, so I'm basing it loosely on this. The main yarn is Louet Gems Fingering in burgundy, and the contrast is some lovely peachy-orange Ella Rae Lace Merino. Working from stash, yo...

Now, the actual Saddest Song in the World

The local classical station played Madama Butterfly the other night, which reminded me that I wanted to post this.  To paraphrase, Cio-Cio-San is about to commit ritual suicide when her son walks into the room. She tells him that she is dying so he can go to America with his father, and asks him to remember her. The hunky guy in the T-shirt and hipster facial hair (Pinkerton, the child's father, AKA a grade-A slimeball) is none other than Placido Domingo.  This is not normally staged this way--usually Pinkerton, his wife and the consul Sharpless walk in after the fact--but this production has some modern elements (note hunky Placido's T-shirt).







On a note unrelated to seppuku or extreme melodrama, my nephew was born on Saturday morning!  It is still extremely strange to think of BJ as being a father.  In the one picture I have seen of him holding baby Colin, he has him in the classic two-arm, "I have never held a baby before, and I am so scared I am going to drop him" pose.  Obviously he has held babies before, but it always cracks me up when people hold babies like that.  It's usually men, but not always.  Anyway, I am knitting another Baby Bobbi Bear for Colin (many thanks to a friend who loaned me a copy of her pattern, since my copy seems to have walked off!).  Photos when it's done!  In the meantime, here's the sweater I knit for him back in October (Springtime Baby Cardi):

And while I'm discussing cardigans, Rosina is really loving the little Shalom Cardigan I made her, with sleeves added.  It's almost too warm here to wear such a bulky sweater--not that I'm complaining--but we will have a few more chilly mornings.

Notes to self

There's a reason I haven't knit the Baby Surprise Jacket in many years...I forgot how this damn thing sucks your soul. It's for one of Mark's coworkers who's due in October, so I do have some time, but man, this is boring. Oh, and I'm using sport-weight acrylic. Every time I work on an acrylic project for any real amount of time, I remember how I dislike working with it. I need to stick with cotton for baby stuff!

Yesterday I realized that Rosina was taking Got Your Nose very seriously--not that she was upset, but that I think she actually believed it a bit. I felt bad and had to let her in on the secret. :)

Reasons My Child Is Crying (one of these days I may even submit a photo):

-We wouldn't let her lick a table knife. 

-I flushed before letting her inspect the contents. My contents, that is. Want to see your poopeeee!

-We wouldn't let her play with a cheap toy badminton racket--one from which the head is easily removed, exposing a sharp spike (seriously, this thing is Bag O' Glass territory...)

Tomorrow I finally have the appointment with the GYN surgeon, and I'm glad Mark is able to make it. I'm not planning on making any decisions any time soon, but I did write a blog post the other day (unfortunately eaten by the Interwebs) where I mentioned reading a lot about the side effects of having a hysterectomy or oophotectomy at my age. They're pretty dire, honestly. I mean, if I'm basically on hormone replacement already--without the literal years taken off my life expectancy, given the immediately increased risks of stroke, heart disease, osteoporosis, cancer--than I may as well keep things the way they are, with maybe  some laparoscopic surgery to clean things up a bit. (Bonus: three days' recovery time, versus six weeks!) a That said, I don't think I'm seeing any changes since going back on the old meds. My followup with the RE isn't for three weeks--and I STILL haven't heard from the nutritionist that's supposed to call me!--so who knows. If I think too much about it all, I get pretty upset--not having control over my body's even basic systems, fear of gaining even more weight, diabetes of course (I know my bloodwork came back fine--but I still feel like a ticking timebomb). Ugh. 

(More) Housekeeping

Today is apparently the day I try to catch up on things.  I am currently uploading more than 200 pictures to Rosina's Shutterfly site, and it seemed like a good time to get my ass in gear and update my freaking blog already.  Poor neglected 13-year-old blog... (My blog has made it to menarche and likes to slam doors and fantasize about...hmm, about whom would an almost 13-year-old fantasize these days?  Sadly, I probably fantasized about Kurt Cameron or something.  Uh, the singer from Ylvis with the floppy hair?  David Wright on the Mets is pretty hot as well.)

First thing:  I am going to swear.  This song totally fucking ROCKS.  Like, I can't even.  It saddens me that I specifically remember denigrating the White Stripes when they came out, assuming they could not play their instruments.  Um, evidence to the contrary, right here. 



I mean, WHAT WAS THAT.

Also, we have had some adventures.  We did indeed buy a new laptop--of course, it's taken me three months to actually put photos on it, so there you go... We had a nice visit from my mother, sister-in-law and nieces in early May, then met them and my brother at Sesame Place in late May.  We picked just the right time to go, as the temperatures were about 15 degrees below normal (wearing cardigans post-Memorial Day = heaven), and there was a soft-open for a whole new section of rides.  We then drove up to New York to visit my grandparents and spend more time with my brother's family.  Things did get old with my mother.  (Also, kind of seeing a divergence in parenting styles here:  my mother gave my then-16-month-old niece a timeout for biting.  Can a baby that young even understand that kind of thing?!  Ugh.)  But we survived.  I even managed to drive back alone with Rosina (over two days--there was a lovely visit with the squishy and adorable Maddie in between legs), since Mark had to fly home after a few days.

Once we returned, it was time for potty training boot camp.  We would've preferred it happen organically, but with her having already turned three, it probably wasn't going to happen on its own--plus she had to be ready in time for preschool in September.  It was a rough first week, with lots of accidents everywhere.  Just when I was beginning to doubt it would ever catch on, I had an elucidating conversation with Rosina (benefit of training late: your kids can tell you what's up):  we were talking about poop, as you do, and where different people and kids that she knew pooped.  When I asked her where she pooped, she said, "In my diaper!", tugging on her training pants.  That's when I realized that she thought training pants (actual Gerber ones, plus some underwear I tricked out with padding) were just a really ineffective diaper.  Eureka!  She went commando for the next three days, and finally figured it out! And the first week wasn't really a waste, as it got her really used to the ritual. (Including the reward M&Ms and stickers.) It hasn't been perfect--today she peed ALL OVER the bathroom floor because she timed it wrong--but that was the first real accident in a few weeks.  (She is still in a diaper at night and for her nap--she's a big sleeper--but we may be ready to eliminate the latter soon.) We did learn that we need to carry around her foam seat because she's scared to sit on a toilet without it (legitimately--she is still quite small), but I can deal with that.  Anyway, long story short, POTTY OUT, we are awesome, etc. 

Having to spend two weeks at home cleaning up pee was actually fairly convenient, as my old modern dance-acquired plantar fasciitis decided to act up.  It was really bad for about a week, and even now it's not great.  I think it was from wearing two different pairs of summer shoes that were both too big and had zero arch support.  Anyway, for the past month I've only been in sneakers equipped with surprisingly helpful Dr. Scholl's inserts, and I've been doing lots of stretching.  In other health news, I did actually get my act together and make some long-overdue doctor's appointments.  My new GP seems very nice, though I haven't spent much time with her yet.  My reproductive endocrinologist is really great--an actual published expert on PCOS, among other things--and we have a game plan going forward.  (I'm currently back on my old pill, Yasmin, as well as going on extended-release metformin since the regular stuff made me so sick for so long.  All of my bloodwork came back fine--even my testosterone levels were normal, which was unexpected--and I will have a follow-up in a few weeks, along with a gynecological surgeon to talk about possible surgical intervention.  The more I think about it, since I'm basically on hormone replacement anyway, perhaps a hysterectomy and/or oophorectomy would cause unnecessary side effects, and laporoscopic ablation/cyst-zapping would be more beneficial--plus I won't be housebound for six weeks. Jeez.) I also finally saw an orthopedist about my flared-up bulging disc.  I'm in PT right now, and the exercises do help a lot, but I still wake up stiff and sore every morning.  I just cannot get the hang of sleeping in a normal human position that doesn't result in numb arms or a very sore neck.  Still working on that.

Fiber news:  I did indeed start a fingering-weight cardigan, Zora, right around Rosina's birthday.  I've finished the back and started one of the fronts, but haven't worked on it in a bit--with the Yarn Harlot doing her own biking this year, I didn't even think about the Tour de Fleece until I heard on the radio that the Tour de France was starting.  So I'm back working on my pretty green Unplanned Peacock stuff (merino?).  The other things I've worked on in recent memory are a reknit pair of socks for Mark (huge gauge mistake in the ones I made him for Christmas), a few starfish washcloths...and the other day I converted a singleton sock into a new steel water bottle sleeve.  Yesterday I used some of the extra yarn to knit a new sock for my trashed sock blocker keychain sock.

Um, what else?  I'm making dinner--attempting baked lentil falafel tonight.  But in closing, look at this picture.

I love lists

This face says two things:

1. Somebody got some sun today. I wore sunscreen that apparently wiped off, and I got tired of the hat after a while at the (fun and low-key) birthday party. I may need to resort to a baseball cap. The freckles are taking over, and it's only mid-April! O_o

2. Will we ever find a flavor of training toothpaste that Rosina likes?! She likes the strawberry Tom's of Maine, but the dentist doesn't want her using fluoride toothpaste before she learns how to spit. In the meantime, she has tried and vetoed My Little Pony and Elmo flavors. I do hold out some hope for the Elmo, but the My Little Pony one does taste weird... In other tooth news, she finally for sure has broken tooth #17, after like, ten months. I still don't even feel two of her molars. I wonder if they'll even be in by her next dental appointment. 

Today was another day I felt really tired, but couldn't nap, even when the rest of the house was asleep. I'm turning in soon, and am taking advantage of our computer-less state to sleep in until nine-ish--at which point I'll call my manager to find out if the old laptop in the office will actually work, so I can come pick it up. (I drove all the way down there on Friday afternoon to get it, but there were so many updates to run, it probably took hours and hours. Definite waste of time and gas--though I will definitely be counting the bullshit and travel time in my hours.) I don't know how long it will be until the new one arrives, and we haven't taken any action on our own computer issue--other than to basically rule out the Costco floor models.  I think Mark may be considering a Galaxy tablet at this point. I suppose we can blame Sara Bareilles for that. ;)

So tentative plans for tomorrow: 

1. schedule a physical with a newly-recommended doctor (my former PA has moved out of the area), which will hopefully include referrals to a GYN specialist--because this Pill is NOT regulating my PCOS, let's be real--and an orthopedist--because my old one' s now out of network, and my shoulder exercises are not helping. I realized the other day that I'm currently on track to be in habitual pain, just like my parents are now, and I want to take charge of this now while my body is still fairly young (and before I develop diabetes caused by my unregulated PCOS, sad trombone). 

2. Drive to my office, pick up laptop. Possible stop at Trader Joe's on my way back! (I have to drive past TWO of the three in the metro area on my commute--though surprisingly only three McDonald's.)

3. Start putting out feelers for area preschools that aren't too far from my projected commute. I suppose this is something for which Facebook will be useful, for once. 

4. Work on this dumb sock. I am finally through the leg, and am decreasing the gussets now. Mark has seen it enough now, and tonight Rosina said, "Mommy knitting Daddy sock" within his earshot (she also said, "Rosina knit Daddy sock," and pretended to knit, which was really freaking adorable--though I will probably wait another year before trying to teach her! She's got great fine motor skills, but I'm not going to push it!), so even if I don't finish before Wednesday night he will get them soon!

4. Laundry. At least two loads. I have new wool dryer balls ready to be felted, so that'll be fun...

5. Much-deserved Bollywood break! 

Sock Purgatory

Arrgh, this is boring, and it's not getting any larger!

I'm trying to finish it for our anniversary on Wednesday, and now that I've given up on it being a surprise, I will actually be able to finish the pair on time. But this is really a snooze...

We had a friend over for dinner tonight, so we decided to run errands early this morning, but I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night so I could've used the opportunity to sleep in! Tomorrow we have a birthday party to attend in the morning, and we have some important landscaping and computer-purchasing research to do in the afternoon...

Missteps

I've been hearing Michael's commercials on the radio, and I just saw an A.C. Moore ad on TV. I have to wonder if it's because Hobby Lobby has been in the news. It can't be a coincidence--though they aren't prefacing every ad with an annoucement that their insurance covers IUDs, I suppose it's implied!

Speaking of crafting, today I learned that scratchy acrylic squares are great at getting water spots and soap scum off of glass shower doors. When a Magic Eraser won't work, reach for a tawashi. So yes, I cleaned the bathrooms today. I even scrubbed the grout in the shower!  It did need to get done, but it was also because I was avoiding something...

Our laptop died this morning. :(  My work laptop--vintage October 2012!--stopped working about two months ago, and while it was at the New York office being fixed I used our personal laptop, which is four or five years old. It was a little temperamental about the Remote Desktop sometimes, so I was glad to get the other one back a few weeks later--but it bricked again after only a few days. Our IT guy was supposed to send a reboot disk or something, but nothing really happened. Meanwhile, our home laptop was getting increasingly grumpy. I asked my manager about it a few days ago, and we reminded the IT guy about it again; he apologized and said he would look for a new laptop. Yesterday afternoon the trackball keys on our laptop stopped working. I did a system restore, since there was just a Windows update a few days ago, but it didn't fix the problem. After a few minutes of work today, the power cut out, and it wouldn't turn back on. We last backed up our files several months ago, and because we put almost all our photos onto Rosina's Shutterfly site, we won't really lose anything if we can't get it up again. Except several hundred dollars on a new laptop. We had been having some trouble with it freezing up at bad times, so maybe it's been coming for a while, but we're not happy about it. 

Dude, this college kid on Wheel of Fortune just lost several thousand dollars because he didn't know how to pronounce "Achilles". Ouch. I guess business-Spanish double majors at Indiana don't have to read The Iliad.  That was painful to watch... He actually won--which doesn't say much for the other contestants. 

Seriously, this day calls for some tawny port. 

Housekeeping

I was about to say I didn't accomplish much today, but I did actually get some things done. There was some sweeping, Mister Lambie was bleached, and I even got around to a crayon re-molding project I'd been meaning to try for a while. Pro tip: cheap crayons separate when you melt them. Not a dealbreaker, but good to know. I don't think Rosina has seen the Easter Island head crayons yet, but I think she'll get a kick out of them. 

Me before knitting tonight. I have finished the first of the socks I'm making for Mark, and started the second, but man, this pattern is monotonous...

Plan for tomorrow: a few errands, maybe the playground, possibly the movies with my tiny friend. I don't even know if I have to pay for her--I've only ever taken her to special summer matinees. I have some research to do!

Radio commentary

"Wild Thing" by Tone Loc came on the radio tonight. When you actually listen to the lyrics critically, the last verse makes no sense: the first three verses are seemingly meant to demonstrate that he has no trouble getting laid, but in the last he's propositioned by a prostitute. Why is this necessary?  I mean, was it just to shock people?  I don't get it. Anyway, right after that "Close Your Eyes Forever" came on. (Yes, I still know the words.) This got me thinking that I had never gotten around to watching The Runaways. I am moderately interested in the topic, so I think I can get past Kristen Stewart's involvement. How the hell is she famous?! She is a truly horrible actress (unless you're a fan of the "something smells bad" school of acting), and her face is not pretty to me. I just don't get it. 

In other radio news, I heard Pat Benatar's "Heartbreaker" twice in an hour, on two different radio stations. It must be fairly inexpensive to license. Not that I'm complaining. 

Today was another recuperative day. As predicted, the Bollywood class took a lot out of me. After we performed last session's choreo, I really needed a nap!  But here I was before I got all sweaty:  

Note to self: the flash is your friend! Does this look like a fancy Instagram filter? I call it "Nighttime at the Lake Lynn Community Center". I am sporting my former favorite T-shirt, which I got for two bucks at Target but has recently acquired bleach stains so is now relegated to workout wear. I'm also wearing my shearling-esque Mom Fleece. I call it that because when I bought it, I remarked that it looked like something my mother would wear (she is always wearing white cardigans, in various states of rattiness depending on their age). Indeed, when she saw it she immediately asked where I got it. (Costco. Yes, I have become a person who occasionally wears clothing from Costco. Almost all of Mark's work shirts are from there, and they carry cute toddler clothes--mostly Carter's--but the choices for women are definitely of the middle-aged white lady variety. I don't want to lose all my mostly-imaginary indie cred just yet!) I had planned to buy her one for Christmas--we live far enough away to avoid the embarrassment of matching (omigod)--but they sold out before I could get it. I'll keep my eye out for something similar in the fall. It is very thick and warm, and surprisingly easy to keep clean. Maybe when I finally find/design the perfect Aran cardigan pattern, I can give mine to her. 

Okay Spring, now you're the drunk one

Eight days ago snow was predicted. Today it was almost 90 degrees. WTF?  I would like spring back, please! (Dude, the AC just came on!)  It did give me the impetus to go through Rosina's summer clothes. By weight she should just be getting into 18-month clothing, but in most things she needs at least 24 months in length. This means that the 18-month shorts from last summer still fit--though some may be a bit too small to cover her diaper in a bit, if she's potty-trained before the end of the summer they will fit well without a diaper. Summer clothing is easier for me to work with for her. Little sundresses can always have the sides or straps taken in, or can be worn with leggings if they're too short (though the latter strategy works all year round, provided the proportions are right). Anyway, contemplating her closet is much more interesting (and less depressing) than contemplating mine! She has at least two sundresses with horses on them. Horses!

Other than that, we didn't get up to too much today. I have finally started watching Smash, two years later, and at least in the first episodes it is so much fun!  Rosina liked dancing to the music as well. I made pork with sautéed apples for dinner--for which I have gotten into the convenient habit of slicing way too many apples.  Oh darn, I have to eat all of this sautéed apple?! My life is so hard. :) For tomorrow: I've meant to go to one of the local Asian markets for several weeks, but other things would intervene. I'd like to get some more curry paste and a whole bunch of soba and rice noodles. Ooh, and bao if they have any without MSG. I could eat bao forever. 

I am still dealing with this stupid crappy shoulder, so after doing some ab work, I mainly did upper body stuff for my daily bellydancing. I'm not sure if it helped much, but it couldn't hurt at this point. 

In crafting news, I have started some socks for Mark for an anniversary gift. (No, he does not need any more socks--but he did wear a hole in one recently, and if my repair doesn't hold they'll need to be replaced.). I'm using the second skein of Sock-Ease from the big box from my mother (this one is totally NYM colors, which I can needle Mark about), and I'm making Hermione's Everyday Socks. Not the most scintillating pattern, but he is not a fan of busy patterns on his socks. (Busy colorways are another story!) I've just started the heel. For the two pairs I knit myself during the Olympics, I decided to try a Padded Sweet Tomato Heel, hoping the padding would keep me from wearing through the heels too quickly. It's too soon to tell about that, but I don't think the fit is all that great for me--the rounds where you knit all the wrapped stitches seem to hit at a bad spot on my ankle. With these socks, though they are not for me, I'm attempting a regular short-row heel with slipped stitches. We shall see how this works out...

Selfie Month, Day 2: since I took a shower this afternoon, a rare glimpse of me with no makeup but some lip gloss. As I told Rosina in the NICU, don't get used to seeing me without eyeliner on. 

I had some trouble getting the light right while not looking insane...

Go home, Winter; you're drunk

What's that? Somebody on the East Coast complaining about the interminable winter? Oh, how novel... I suppose we must really be done now, in this state at least, but even two days ago there was a possibility for snow. Jeez. 

Right around the time of my last post I got a sample to knit, and it was more time-consuming than I'd assumed, even before a few minor issues came up. My wrists were killing me! While the body was blocking, I dashed off some chemo caps and some tawashi for a swap, then jumped right back in. As soon as I finished that I knit two pairs of socks during the Olympics (that seems so long ago!). Then I finished my Temperature Scarf and a Pinwheel Sweater for Rosina, all while dealing with a much heavier workload than normal (yay extra pay, boo extra hours spent Googling). Also, there has been some snow in the past two months. 

At least she looks happy about it...

Anyway. So things are okay here--ups and downs, I guess. Neck issues, eating too much junk, and I just caught a cold from Rosina. At least I know it will be brief...  I finally broke down and started a Color Affection, while I was on a garter stitch kick. And my next project will be another thing I said I'd never knit: a fingering-weight cardigan. It will take a LONG time, and I haven't picked a pattern yet, but we are planning some serious road trips this summer, so it should keep me out of trouble. I got a huge cone of (I think) LB 1878 from my parents for my birthday last year, so free sweater!

Speaking of my birthday, it is in nine days. It is a prime-number birthday, which is not a cool thing in my dork mind. I'm thinking about making it a Selfie Month--"this is what a prime-number-year-old looks like", or whatever. I guess I need the boost!  We shall see.