Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Getting a Grip

Dear Mom,
The Young Man is home. We moved him out of the dorm and back home last Thursday. So far, if you overlook the futon frame hanging from bike hooks in the garage, and the mini fridge and microwave underneath that, and the futon cushion on his top bunk, and the various back-to-the-dorm boxes next to that, the transition has gone pretty darn smoothly. It helps that he is employed full time thanks to Bonnie Jo's Mister.

Olive is making a transition of her own. I had her in to the vet to take a look at a lower incisor that was chipped while playing an aggressive round of tetherball. (Now there is something I never thought I'd say.... "My dog chipped a tooth playing tetherball.") After examining the tooth and telling me there was really nothing to be concerned about, the vet quickly and abruptly brought up Olive's weight. For a second there I thought maybe I had accidentally taken her with me to one of my Doctor visits. Olive is now making the slow switch to a lower calorie dog food. And producing a staggering amount of Gas.    Concerned, and worried the odor might keep me up all night, I did a quick internet search and read that a dollop of yogurt in her food might help. We slept well.  And no noxious clouds yet today.

In an effort to get a grip on my many, many projects, the dining room table was excavated, projects organized and I am taking a Deep Breath. Sometimes, many times, I get nervous about all the Things I Want To Do. Like there is a whirling cyclone of projects in my brain and that deep breath of fresh air and a step back is needed to let the dust settle and gain some focus. In the past, lists have helped. I started a short term knitting project goal list today, and I will need a long term goal list along with that. And probably a list of Other Projects I Want to Do..... I must remember There is Satisfaction in Finishing, and Serenity in a Well Ordered Life.

That is all well and good until a project is interrupted. Like when My Hero asks me "how long does it take to knit a baby sweater?" For the woman who just returned from her maternity leave. It seems the whole pregnancy and birth part just slipped his mind and it wasn't until the photos of the baby girl were in his hand that he thought of having a gift. When stuff like this happens I wonder why I don't just knit a bunch of stuff for emergency gifting. As if I have a shortage of knitting ideas and need to fill the time. Nope. It is usually the pressure of a deadline that motivates me to produce gifts.
Thankfully, I recently purchased the book 60 Quick Baby Knits. This book is FULL of the cutest baby things. And they aren't lying when they say Quick. After knitting the adorable cardigan (Project #7), I had enough yarn left over for the very cute little cloche style hat (Project #11).
The hat came off the needles last night and is wrapped and ready for gifting today.
Here they are:
I used 3 skeins of Classic Elite Seedling yarn for the Main Color and 1 skein for the Contrasting Color.

A BONUS to excavating that dining room table....
a place to admire and enjoy some freshly cut lilacs. The fragrance is heavenly! (When Olive is not in the room!)

Love,
Kim

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Poor Olive! (Okay, poor Olive's family, too...!) The good part is that at least gas doesn't leave a stain on the carpet. Such is the issue without our girl Scout's eating grass and barfing when she comes inside.

That little outfit is absolutely adorable!

I know what you mean about projects. Right now I'm debating whether to go out and work in the yard (which I want to do) or clean out the basement (which I need to do.) The fact that I'm sitting here commenting gives you some idea of why neither may get done.

Thanks for the yogurt tip! That would have been VERY valuable to know with the very gassy Miss Piggy. (Pardon me for speaking ill of the departed.) I should have thought to look it up myself.

Christine said...

Thank you for the yogurt tip. Lucy had been running me out of Sheville lately!

I feel the same way about projects and on top of it all I now have to pace myself. I'm not particularly handling it well.

P.S. I have the next spinning day already on my calendar. :)

Kathy at Knitting Off The Grid said...

What an adorable outfit! Handknitted gifts are the absolute best!

Carol L. said...

Miss Olive is full of it...isn't she. Hopefully the switch in the food department will help in the weight department. Still loving the tether ball!

And it is Lilac season in Indiana! I do miss that smell in the spring. I alway sought out a Lilac bush somewhere to pick a bouquet for my table as I didn't have a bush in my yard. Daughter bought me a lilac candle for Mothers Day that will have to do for now.

Love the knitted baby sweater and hat.