norsegirl

Today has been ups and downs. We started the day very early driving Jason to the walk-in clinic. He's just got a bit of bursitis in his elbow. No big deal, but a bit of a crimp in our schedule. On the bright side, Jason is being treated and we have a new family doctor (our last one moved out of the city and closed her practice here a few months back).

After dropping Jason off at work Georgia and I headed down to the local yarn shop for their monthly sale. Today it was anything in balls. I decided to take the plunge on some expensive Noro. I don't really like the feel of this yarn but I'm hoping it feels better once knitted, and to get the bright colours I was looking for this really was the only way to go.

This evening I wasted an hour or so doing what I always do when I buy a yarn without a very precise idea in mind. I know I want to make a scarf, but that still leaves it open to a lot of possibilities, so I stash the yarn in ravelry, and then look and see what other people have done with that same yarn. Sometimes you get an "ah hah!" moment where you see the PERFECT application. But more often than not you see a lot of examples of women grinning ear to ear in frumpy, mishapen knit disasters. It appears that it is a rare woman that can admit, after wasting hours of spare time, that what she has produced is in fact an atrocity that should not be allowed out in public. My personal favourites are the boldly and horizontally striped sweaters/coats/tunics/shells/shrugs/tank tops. Horizontal stripes are rarely flattering, make them a riot of mutiple colours and it is even less so. There's a special place in my black little heart reserved for the woman who knitted herself a large and unflattering sack 4 sizes too large and in her notes stated "Need to wear this with slim black pants/capris or a slim black skirt." Oh honey, that is soooo not going to help. Then there's the women who knit themselves "shrugs" that just look like they are re-purposing a garment stolen from their 4 year olds, complete with stretched-to-breaking fronts held together with a single button that is threatening to ping off and re-create that moment from the Incredibles trailer. Bonus points if their profile pic is of an adorable toddler, to whom they should probably return their "shrug". I'm tempted to post photographic evidence, but I'm not quite cold-hearted enough to mock a fellow knitter by name. Talking about these poor, tasteless, misguided souls in a general sense is one thing, but identifying them, even if they never saw themselves here, is a bit low even for me. Totally tempted though...

After the yarn shop, it was a beautiful day so I tossed my coat in the car, secured Georgia in her Moby and headed off to walk the strip. South Congress is an interesting place in which most of the stores give off a painful "trying too hard to be hip" kind of vibe. There's a lot of junk (they call it "vintage") shops, and stores selling crappy imported stuff (cheaply made jewelery and nick knacks), and then there was the back-alley record store that slavishly sold only vinyl. There's also the local food scene, which varies from nicer restaurants down to trailers flogging everything from tamales and BBQ to cupcakes and pies.

Most of the stroll was quite enjoyable, but I have learned an unpleasant thing... I can no longer shop in thrift stores. It's not that I ever did terribly well at these places. I lack the patience to sift through rack after rack of strange smelling garments for the perfect pieces. I did get my sewing machine from one of these places though, and at $35 for the machine and the table it was mounted in it was a total steal. I think I've been using it for 3 years now without so much as a single tune-up. Based on that success I keep holding out hope that I'm going to snag a really nice desk, dresser or mirror, so I poke my nose in if I happen to be close to one. In the length of time it took to walk from one end of this store to the other (just walking, not stopping to look at anything) I had 3 people try to touch Georgia. Complete strangers just sauntering up and trying to pet her like she was a chihuahua in my purse or something. The first woman simultaneously touched her sleeve and reprimanded me for letting her head flop forward (she's asleep, comfortable and none of your damn business lady). The second came out of nowhere and without saying a thing to me reached for Georgia's face. She barely brushed it before I swatted her hand away and she then shot me a look like *I* was the rude one in this exchange. As I passed the counter on my way out an old lady behind the counter exclaimed "she's so cute" and started rushing out from behind the counter. I high-tailed it outta there as I can easily outpace a senior citizen, even with 15 extra pounds and a door to contend with because the look on her face (and of course the bolting out from behind the counter) made it quite clear that she was wanting to reach out and touch.

I would never DREAM of touching anyone's child if they were not someone I was familiar with. What on earth would make these people think that is acceptable behaviour? Outside the thrift shop many people complimented me on how pretty she is (people especially like her eyes and eyelashes) but not one of them ever got within a foot of her. They didn't even bend down to get a better look much less reach for her. And some of them I even chatted with for a while!!! And right now, while we're dealing with the whole swine flu thing (we still have it here, Jason's bosses were both sent home for 2 weeks last month to recover from it) do they not get that physical contact with strangers is ill advised to say the least, especially for the young with their immature immune systems? The ill manners and over-familiarity must be something to do with the common background of these people. There has to be a pattern to the 3 attempted touches in 5 minutes I was there vs none in the other 3 hours I spent on the street and in other shops where I actually spoke to people. The only pattern I can discern is that we were in a religious charity shop. So it's either socio-economic class or religion. Am I more likely to encounter this kind of over-friendliness if I go to a Goodwill or a church? I don't spend a whole lot of time in either of these places so I wouldn't have had a chance to notice a pattern myself. And of course this is the first time I've set foot in a charity shop with a baby. So can I still comfortably wander into thrift stores if I confine my hunting to Goodwills?

New cloth diapering products that my fellow cloth diapering mamas may be interested in.

( Cloth )

How have your cloth diapering adventures been going? What would you recommend and have you tried anything that just didn't work at all?

Hmmmm... it appears I've used that subject line before. Well, that's the situation. It's before 5:30 in the morning and I am up. What is this world coming to? I had an afternoon nap yesterday (not a long one even) but I'm still yawning so I'm obviously not completely rested. However, I can't sleep. My mind is all abuzz with the various projects I'm working on and it's not like I can get comfortable, and I was STARVING, so I gave in to the rumbly tummy, and decided to stop tossing and turning and messing up Jason's sleep and got up.

Things on the project list:
- super-sekret giftie thing for Mona
- viking mobile (x2 - one for a gift and one for me)
- throw pillow covers (4)
- master bedroom curtains
- cloth menstrual pads (this was where most of the thinky was going)
- baby blankets
- burp cloths
- finish wooden animals for Em
- paint and finish Jason's box
- make box for me
- cloth dolls for baby (long-term project, no immediate deadline, some thinky here too)

I'm thinking based on the hour that I'm going to have to do something that doesn't require power tools, not even the sewing machine, just so I don't wake Jason yet again. So that narrows it to mobiles or ironing all the pre-washed flanelette that's all over the dining room table (blankets, burp cloths and cloth pads). Mobiles are more fun, but maybe the brainlessness of ironing is good for this hour of the day. If I finish that quickly maybe I can start cutting out all the pieces for various things too.

I spent my first 4th of July here doing some very un-patriotic things.

First we took the beagles to the off-leash dog park bright and early in the morning. There was supposed to be a "beagle brigade" meeting, but only 2 or 3 other beagles were there, so it wasn't much different from the average day at that park. I assume next month or maybe the month after will be better. The holiday and the heat probably had something to do with it. Beagles had a grand time. It was *just* cool enough that they felt like they could run around and play a bit. Lizzy was a gross, slobbery mess though. And neither of them would stop for long enough to drink until we had them back in the car - dumb dogs.

After the dog park, it was still relatively cool so I decided I'd tackle a project out in the garage. I still owe Emer a gift for her daughter and she was lamenting the availability of SCA-appropriate toys, so this is what I whipped up this afternoon:


The Animals of Ealdormere - Series 1

Not sure if there will ever be a series two as neither rams nor boars really inspire me. They still need a final bit of sanding, but by the time these were done it was so hot out in the garage that I was finding new places to sweat, so that's getting done another day.

I chose not to make them to scale because I wanted them all to be nice and big and choke-proof. The Holtztiger toys they are modeled loosely after are made out of hardwood and painted and also recommended for children 3+ and I'm thinking it's because of the size variation (some would be small enough to swallow). Mine are made out of softwood instead of hardwood because that's what I had on hand (left over from making the shelves) and it's a little easier to work. Less durable, but I'm not sure getting a little banged up is a big deal; they're toys, not fine art. I've tried to design them so all the parts are relatively thick and well-supported so they are less prone to breakage (things like legs and tails especially).

I'm still trying to decide whether I want to paint or varnish them or just give them a final sanding and leave them as-is. They're going to be your toys Emer, what would you prefer? Also, do these look like something you'd like for M to play with or shall I head back to the drawing board and come up with something else? (I'm cool if you'd prefer something else, I'd rather send you something you want than something that will never be used after all)

So yeah, I spent my Independence Day asserting my independence of America by making little toy animals representing Canadian SCA places.

Tonight backyard bonfire, watching what fireworks we can see from our backyard and making smores. Not the worst plan ever, and no fighting crowds or traffic at the end of the night either.

Chair is teh awesome! Not in mint, fresh out of the box condition, but as it is wooden, it's just like buying a piece from a good antique store. A couple of nicks and scrapes, but perfectly good from 20'. As the chair only cost $100 compared to the $250 + tax I would have paid retail I'm quite delighted with it. Ironically, if I'd chatted more I could have gotten it for less. The reason the woman was selling it because she was converting her storage room to a sewing room. She has no friends who are interested in sewing and her family is also uninterested. I mentioned that I am also an avid sewer, but as we had the doggies in the car I couldn't stick around and get into a lengthly discussion. When I got home, on a whim I e-mailed her a link to my site with my Tudor. She replied that if she'd had any idea I could sew like that she would have bartered the chair for sewing lessons instead of money. Rats.

In other fantastic news, when Jason finally came home last night he also brought the mail with him and my baby gift from rectangularcat was one of the packages that arrived. I eagerly ripped it open and I am just awed by what she found for me. Perfect doesn't even begin to describe it. She found a black onesie (which all by itself is nearly impossible) with a button spider and embroidered spider web on it that is just too cute for words, and a ruffled skirt with skulls and crossbones that is just made of awesome! She also sent two sets of legwarmers (that can also be used as adult wrist-wraps, so these will get used for YEARS) one with pirate skulls and the other black and purple stripes (awww, baby legs will match mommy's legs). I tremble before her superior shopping skills and will take pictures to post later so you can all see what great finds she got for me! Thanks so much rectangularcat, and I just hope you think my giftie is just as cool when I finally get it done and mailed off to you (though I have my doubts, how can I possibly out-cool that skirt?).

Off to work on dining room curtains again since that task got interrupted last night with a run out to buy a chair. And of course need to clean the fabric again since Anna decided curtains on floor = dog bed.

The garage is getting better. I spent today hanging all kinds of things to organize the big tools (ladders, shovels, rakes and the like). And yes, I was up on a ladder, and yes I hoisted the big ladder up to almost ceiling height, while standing on another ladder, all by myself. Honestly, I don't get women who feel fragile or held back at all during this pregnancy thing. As far as I can tell my balance hasn't been affected that much (if it hadn't gotten hot while I was in the garage I might have strapped on some skates because I'm just feeling that confident again). About the only things I know I can't do are a sit up and reaching easily across counters (belly is just getting in the way, so it's like my arms are shorter). I can still climb, catch myself when I do lose balance (as I sometimes did when not pregnant too) without having to grab onto anything external and jog without any discomfort. I'm tired of being treated like I'm made of bone china.

While I was out in the garage the beagles were well-behaved. No one got up on the couch or chewed up anything that wasn't theirs. It's nice having well-behaved beagles.


I've been trying to make conscious decisions to keep some of my muscle strength up (and restore the bit that I lost when I felt shitty in the first trimester). For example, at the birthing class we all sit on the floor and I notice I'm the only one in the room getting up without using my hands. If you want to help both your thighs and your balance, try that, it works very well. It's a drill we used to do in roller derby back in Edmonton. Sigh... have I mentioned how much I miss roller derby lately? Going to the game on Sunday just made me miss it all the more.

Jason should be home soon, then dinner and Warcraft. Might try to tidy up the living room a little while I wait. Or maybe I'll do my birthing class exercises (which by the way seem way to easy and not nearly intense enough to actually do anything, I might have to modify them a bit).

This has to be up there among the worst birthdays ever, which is funny since the year it marks has been one of the best. And no, it wasn't because of anything anyone did or did not do exactly, it's just hard for a day not to suck when you're very pregnant and your husband gives you the flu. Seriously Jason, worst gift ever!

( thoughts on a birthday )

( thoughts on my 30th year )

I have to say, it's been a good year.

This morning I'm driving Jason to work and we're chatting about stuff we need to do. By the time we get to his office I've already forgotten one of the things I told him to take care of. I made a comment that it must be the whole baby-brain thing. His response... "no, we've already seen baby eats your fat, not your brains. It's not a zombie baby."

Baby has been about the best diet plan ever. I'm just doing what I was doing before I got pregnant in terms of exercise and diet, but my upper arms are looking a little less flabby and if I tense my abs I really can't pinch anything there any more. Still have a bit of unwanted flab in my back and around my face (as you can tell from the zillions of chins in my last post) and bathing suit shopping last week revealed some serious cellulite in my thighs that I'm sure wasn't there before. I'm sure the leg thing is because I've had to give up cycling and derby due to balance issues. First trimester I was too exhausted to even think about wasting extra energy on frivolous things like cycling and skating. I don't really feel that out of balance and I think I could still roller skate, but I also think that people would have my head if I tried it at this point, so I've hung up the skates for a few more months. I'll be very excited to strap them back on in the fall. By then some of the construction should ease off so the roads might even be cleaner, which would be fantastic.

As discussed last post, threw my back out yesterday afternoon so the curtains didn't get done. Heck, other than gathering all the stuff together I didn't even get started on them. I went to the chiropractor this morning so I'm feeling a little more sorted. Might go have a nap since I hardly slept at all last night with the pain and then get up and see if I feel like tackling curtains. Overall though I'm feeling like taking it easy today.

Me. I went out to put the final coat of paint on the drawers and remembered that I wanted to fill the holes at the top that once-upon-a-time were used to hold an attached mirror, which has long since been re-purposed in my mum's house and is no longer going to be a part of this piece of furniture. Not a problem since attached mirrors have kind of gone the way of the dodo, and I have a mirror I was going to hang on the wall behind this piece of furniture. Slight problem in that a 3/8" hole really cannot be entirely filled with wood filler. I figure I need some sort of dowel in there. Of course that is something I forgot to pick up today on my stop at Lowes. I was hungry and thinking about supper, so I just got paint and left. Annoying because I've found a little extra burst of energy and motivation this weekend and would really like to just get on with this project.

I figure maybe I'll get lucky and the 24-hour Wal-Mart will have it, and they have other things I need anyway, so I head out. I didn't spot anything in the hardware section on my own so I tried to ask one of the employees. Poor kid didn't even know what a dowel was. He ran off and got some other guy who did know what they were, and was also pretty sure that they didn't carry them. Yet one more reason why Canadian Tire is better than Wal-Mart. No grocery and pharmacy, but generally a better selection on those areas that they do have in common. I'm dead sure I could have gotten dowel at Canadian Tire. One of the things I miss most about Canada (after my friends of course, and the health care) is the shopping. I miss Loblaws/Canadian Superstore and all the PC products, and I miss Canadian Tire - sigh.

On the bright side, Wal-Mart does have a baby section and the disposables I'd been considering for week-1 were on sale, so I grabbed a few packages. Let's see how Huggies "Pure and Natural" work out for us. I figure between the 14 weeks I still have before the due date and 60 of these to tide me through the first week I have lots of time to make a decision on which cloth ones to use. Right now we seem to be deciding between pre-folds and the service.

Interestingly, still working on the name thing, and that is technically going to come up before diapers or all this furniture, car seats and stuff I've bought. I think we've stalled out on that issue. Probably because it is a much bigger decision than which "play yard" to buy or where to put the poop.

I guess since the dresser project is on hold until tomorrow I might as well get some sleep.

After the last post I went outside, sanded down an old chest or drawers and put on the first layer of primer. So that's one nasty piece of furniture well on its way to being decent again. My goal was just to get it sanded and tackle the painting tomorrow, so I feel very good about today's work.

My strollers arrived today, so I'm off to open the boxes. Squee! Everything is coming together nicely.

Tomorrow's tasks:
- chiropractic visit again
- return the full-priced stroller I bought
- return the diaper genie
- return the mattress covers to Ikea
- pick up a light-weight duvet from Ikea as our old Edmonton-weight one is cooking us now
- go to a cooking class with Rhonda

I might try to squeeze some curtain making or blind hanging in there too. And Jason is whining that he has no clothes, so I should probably consider doing laundry at some point.