Joining

Well, it looks like a joiner. I don't really have the time or energy to commit to Secret Pal 8, but I decided to sign up for the relatively low-pressure One Skein Secret Pal even though you actually have to knit something as part of the deal. I've ordered a copy of One Skein, but since Amazon Canada doesn't stock a lot of small press releases, I won't receive it or the other two knitting books (I caved and ordered Knitting Vintage Socks and Last Minute Knitted Gifts) until mid June.

Speaking of secret pals, my secret pal 7 still hasn't revealed herself. I am very sad. I love her so, but she remains a mystery.

I'm going to try to craft my butt off this weekend, despite the fact that we're starting the sodding process in our embarrassing back yard. There's a lot brewing here in Elizaboothy land, so it doesn't look like I'm going to be able to free up any knitting time any time soon...

Everybody's doing it...

In no particular order and entirely off the top of my head, here are some records that I truly love. Yes, I'm aware I'm stuck in a time warp.

Create your own Music List @ HotFreeLayouts!

Self-Portrait Tuesday

I've been so focused on knitting my own socks (I just started the heel flap on SLLS #2 -- will I finish by the end of this month's Project Spectrum?) that I've forgotten about all the store-bought socks that I own and love. In honour of STP's month of silliness, here are the socks that Leena got me for Christmas two years ago.

Aaron's family (who are now my family too!) have a tradition of always getting socks from Santa under the tree and since both Aaron and his sister aren't really very creative with their sock choices, Leena has had a great time buying me socks over the year (now she also has Erin and Ruby to buy crazy socks for). These ones take the cake, though. I love the lady's pink sweater -- it's so bulky! I resisted actually wearing these for a while, but since I've needed some zany-ness in my life since having Ruby, I've worn them every week over the winter. Hooray for great socks!

On a slightly related note, I'm proud/horrified to announce that Ruby's first word seems to be "shoe." She got a great pair of black and pink maryjane sneakers the other day (her first pair of real shoes!) and she went crazy at the shoe store, fondling every pair of fancy sandals and girly shoes. She often slips into my slippers and tries to walk around, exclaiming "shaaa, shaaa!" To make matters worse, yesterday at the play school she goes to she fished a purse out of the toy box, slung it over her shoulder and pranced up to the mirror to check herself out. I think I've got a girly girl on my hands. And yes, I'm not-so-secretly delighted.

Progress Report

First things first: shout out to my secret pal! As keen readers already know, I had a great pal who sent me lots of nice goodies. The thing is, she never revealed herself! Secret Pal, who are you? I need to know!!

The pal I sent to, by the way, is a gal by the name of Elabeth who knits, blogs and roller derbys (yes!) in Arkansas. She's awesome.

Okay, second things second. I have two WIPs going, as you can see from the photo above. The pink thing is my nearly finished Swing Thing. I've just got to complete the sleeve (which, knitted on DPNs while attacked to the full body is entirely unpleasurable) and find some ribbon to do the detail. Hopefully it'll cool down here weather wise so Ruby can actually wear it before she outgrows it completely. That little orange cuff is the second SLLS. With the lack of napping and the constant park-going there hasn't been a lot of time to knit.

Third things third. I'm really starting to chomp at the bit with all the spring projects I have in mind. An abbreviated to do list:

1. Finish above knitted items, begin socks for month three of Project Spectrum.
2. Learn to use sewing machine and sew beginner's apron.
3. Spring cleaning!
4. Get Ruby's room looking nice.
5. Get garden in order.
6. Deal with photo albums (must order prints first).
7. Find more ways to make money.

It's funny, I've been reading a bunch of blogs by some other people who write for the same magazine as I do. The mag doesn't pay particularly well, so there's a lot of very young writers without much experience who are mostly in it for the excitement of getting free records and meeting rock stars. It's struck me that I'm turning very Pollyanna-ish in my old age -- my main concerns are knitting, getting my home in order and buying my daughter proper shoes, while theirs are drinking, flirting, brooding, and getting into shows for free. Am I losing my edge? Have I settled? Or am I actually on to something good? Some days it feels like a bit of both.

Self-Portrait, Um, Tuesday

Since Blogger was being a pain last night, my return to SPT comes on a Wednesday. I was planning to run an amazing photo booth strip that we took with Ruby in Vancouver (thanks to the genius of her aunties), but our scanner isn't hooked up and I'm not even sure where it is, so I give you a pic of me eating a hot dog at the Nathan's on Coney Island.

This was taken during a trip to NYC that Aaron and I took a year or two before Ruby was born. A friend of ours was flying in to New York from Scotland and some of our other friends from Calgary and Montreal were all congregating in New York for a visit. We took over an entire room in a hostel and hung out for a few days.

Although this makes me miss the days when we could just jump in the car and stay on questionable bunk beds for a weekend, it also reminds me of the way Ruby vigorously eats her bananas as I laugh and egg her on (it's almost obscene, really). Am I as silly now that I'm a boring old mom as I was when I was a kooky 20-something? Um, yeah. Maybe even more so.

Hello, It's Me

Aloha! As you can imagine, two weeks in Hawaii with a small child didn't make for much knitting time, but I did manage to get one of the Simply Lovely Lace Socks done. There was a bit of strife involved, but I'll fill you in on all that later.

So, what did I do on my spring vacation? Watch Ruby grow up. When we left Toronto the Roo had taken steps, but her walking was more of a party trick than a mode of transportation. Within a few days of being in Hawaii she was walking like a maniac, demanding to be freed of the stroller whenever possible. We took her to the aquarium and she let loose -- I realized that I'm now the mother of a child, not a little baby.

There's so much more to tell (the food, my spa day, Ruby wildly running into the ocean, spending an extra day in Vancouver so we could visit with Aaron's side of the family and surprise his mother at the airport), but I'm too jet-lagged to go into it. Suffice it to say, it was a lovely stay in paradise.