Kiss My Knits!

I stayed up way too late last night finishing up a project, which I hoped to have ready this morning. It’s 90% done, but it needs a finishing touch and probably won’t be ready until tonight, so I would have been better off going to bed early. Oh well.

However, Em did stay asleep all night. Before going to bed, she asked if we could change her pillowcase. One of the thing she’d said a few nights ago while awake in the middle of the night was that her pillow was uncomfortable. But that was one of a litany of things that were wrong, and I figured it was just one more on the list of things to say when upset. The fact that she said it last night before going to bed told me that yes, her pillow probably was uncomfortable. Fortunately, we have a spare. I set her up with two pillows last night and said she could switch them to see which she liked best, or could have them both on her bed. She went with that. So now she’s added another pillow to her nest of dolls and blankets. But hey – she stayed asleep all night. I’m not complaining. Besides, I also had an ungodly amount of stuff on my bed as a child, so I have no room to talk.

In spite of being up late and being very tired this morning, I geared up to run before dropping Em off, then went straight to Little Sugar Creek Greenway and ran. I’m running faithfully again now that the weather is good. I lost the couple of pounds I picked up over the winter, so I’m back to where I was when I started slacking off due to cold weather. Anything else from here on is forward progress.

It was misting slightly when I started. I like running in the mist, but it always leaves me wishing I had little windshield wipers on my glasses. A bonus of going at 7:15 in the morning in the mist is that aside from a couple of dog walkers, nobody else was out. I have to admit that I feel a little superior when that happens. “Ha! You super-fit exercise maniacs who glide effortlessly past me don’t have the huevos to come out in the morning rain, eh? Come back when you’re serious!”

The mornings are good on the Greenway. I saw a rabbit, some ducks, and a hawk which was being chased by a little songbird. On the down side, because of the deluge a few days ago, the waters are still receding and the entire stream area smelled like wet dog. Small price to pay.

My mother is coming over soon. We’re going to see Star Trek at a local IMAX theater together. And because she loves me and wants me to be healthy and happy, I know that she will be okay with my decision to go running instead of cleaning the shambles that is my house. Let’s hear it for Trekkie families with their priorities straight. Live long and prosper, y’all!

And now for something completely different. I haven’t knitted lace for several years, and I’ve never used needles this small before, so this is definitely an interesting change of pace. The needles are US size 00, which translates to 1.75mm in diameter. The Jayne hats are knit on 6.5mm needles. The yarn is Caron Impressions 50% wool 50% silk embroidery floss. Can’t tell you what it is yet, though.

Em’s been having trouble sleeping, which means we’ve all been having trouble sleeping. Two nights ago she woke up at 4am. She does this occasionally. She says she doesn’t want to sleep, but she doesn’t want to get up, which apparently leaves talking loudly about how miserable she is. She asks, “How can I fall asleep?” and our suggestions are tried for 0.5 seconds and then the talking starts again. Nothing we could do would help, nor could she seem to keep her misery to herself for more than two minutes, no matter how hard she tried. Finally my poor husband, who had been in at work at 3am the previous morning, couldn’t even pretend to sleep anymore and had to get up. He’s been working his butt off and he really, really could use a good night’s rest. Of course she went to sleep two minutes after he stepped into the shower, which was at about five in the morning.

Yesterday afternoon I taught Emily some relaxation exercises that I’d learned. Simple stuff, just relaxing your body one bit at a time, visualizing all your tension leaving your body, etc. I sweetened the pot by telling her I had learned them in seventh grade, which was true, so I think she felt like it was a good teenage thing to do. She fidgeted some as we tried it out side by side on the bed, but said she got it.

Last night she woke up again at 2am and it started up again. I got up and went to her door and said, “Can you try your relaxation exercises?” “Okaaaaay!” And she actually went back to sleep. She woke up again at 4am but again, went back to sleep fairly quickly. We could STILL use a good night’s sleep, but it’s progress.

There are a few possibilities here. One is that the relaxation techniques worked. I’d give that a 25% chance of being true. Another is that it was coincidence. I’d give that a 25% chance of being true. The most likely reason things went better, in my opinion, is that she had a way to take control of the situation. I think just knowing that she COULD consciously relax helped her mentally get past her “I can’t sleep!” block. Whether the techniques physically worked probably wasn’t nearly as important. Knowing that you have options brings tremendous peace of mind.

I find this is true for a lot of life. When we feel we have no control, that’s when we sink into despair. When we find a way to regain even the smallest measure of control over our lives and our situations, that’s when we can take a deep breath, relax, and get back to dreaming.

My mother the writer and editor asks me to pass this along:

“I am seeking to interview a driver who went through the N.C. Department of Motor Vehicles medical review program, or who referred an older relative to the program, maybe an elderly parent whose driving they were concerned about.

This is for an article in an AARP publication on how the medical review program works.”

If this describes you or you know someone in this situation, please comment or e-mail me at heather at jaynehat dot com. Thank you!

FO: A4A Lorna’s Laces baby hat
Yarn: Lorna’s Laces worsted in denim and Lorna’s Laces Shepeherd Sock in Lakeview
Needles: Size 9 US/5.5mm
Pattern: CO 42, 1×1 rib four rows, stockinette until piece measures about 3.5″
decrease round 1: *k4, k2tog*, round 2: K1 plain, round 3: *k3, k2tog*, round 4: K1 plain, etc.
Ravelry project page

Notes: This is essentially the baby spiral hat pattern I’ve got up on Ravelry. Although I noticed yesterday that it has a typo and I accidentally overwrote the original, so if you use it before I recreate it, just remember that 8×8=64 and not 65. Ahem.

The hat is modeled on a grapefruit. I didn’t omit plain rounds near the top so it’s a bit peaked, but that’s intentional. It’ll make it easier to pluck it off the top of the head. The yarn is about 40-45 yards leftover from a baby sweater a few years ago.

This is going to Afghans for Afghans, which has a deadline of May 15th for baby through child items for their Spring campaign. It’s a cause I’ve wanted to contribute to for a while now. Sometimes a quick and easy project is just what’s needed to raise one’s spirits, and if it also clears clutter from the house, so much the better.

When last we left our party, we were in a lift, headed down to a room where our three rescued Dwarves were going to fix some machinery for us.

GM Vaschon: Your party begins to descend and sees a very large machine room.
Val: is there a small man behind a curtain?
GM Vaschon: The room itself is 80′ x 80′ and filled with pumps and other gears. What a great place for an ambush. Your party is roughly 30′ from the ground.
Palin: Okay, I should say up front that both Vaeldriil and I are totally wiped. If a ginormous combat starts up, I don’t know about her, but I’m definitely going to have to call it a night. So we can start fresh with a massacre the next week.
GM Vaschon: Your party arrives at the machine room. The door opens and you are greeted by 5 drow elves.
Torkal: HOLY SON OF A
Veracity: …..
Palin: You are f****** kidding me.
Aleanghi: Oh for the love of…
Veracity: “Run away! Run away!”

And then all hell broke loose.

Sorry for the lack of updates, it’s been a busy time. I’ll make up for it with some surprisingly gory Emily art!

This is a picture of someone having their eye shot out with a slingshot. There are crosshairs on the slingshot, I suppose to let the shooter get a good bead on the target. Note the open mouthed cry of surprise and the eyeball falling to the ground at about knee level. I think that’s a rock going past the victim’s head but I’m not sure. Lest anyone think my daughter is without compassion, the girl standing beside the victim is there “to make her feel better.”

We have now discussed that if someone’s eye gets poked out, it doesn’t grow back, it’s gone for good, so LET’S NOT RECREATE THIS SCENE. She would never do that, of course. She just thinks that in theory, it’s hilarious. As for me, I’m suitably impressed with the level of detail in this picture. Even though she’s drawing grisly scenes of mayhem, she’s come a long way!

“We are letting parents know that today in PE class there was a dodge ball game that got a little out of control. Some kids got hit hard with the ball. Emily says she was hit but not hard. She is not hurting now. She is calm and says she is OK. (Special Area Teacher)”

How bad does a dodgeball game have to get for the teachers to start sending notes home? I’m picturing the Gone With The Wind scene where the camera pans across all the wounded soldiers in the middle of town, but with little kids with charley horses. Oh, the humanity!

I’m sure everything’s fine, but I am writing back to get more details, and to find out how the heck P.E. turned into Thunderdome today. Yow.

ETA: “She was calm through the entire incident. I’m not sure of the details. There was a sub. It sounds as if the boys just got a little of control with throwing the ball.”

Okay, good enough.

Palin: Okay, I have to warn everybody up front that I only got a few hours of sleep last night, so I am prone to do something unexpected, like fall asleep or charge into the fray.
GM: So in other words, a normal week!
Palin: touche.
Break out your tarp, it’s about to get messy.

I had a lovely four mile walk along the Little Sugar Creek Greenway with my friend Laura (hi, Laura!) this morning. It’s always fun being with her. Down side: I’ve been more tired since Stitches and now I really want a nap, but I know that we have to do homework, etc., before going to a family reunion this evening. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone, but it’d be more convenient if it weren’t on a school night. Whatcha gonna do, eh? I’ll just tank up on coffee afterward so I’m able to stay awake and kick undead butt in D&D tonight. I’m going to have to find a place to set up my laptop that won’t exacerbate my back, which has been acting up for the last few days.

Man, I’m just falling apart, aren’t I?

Anywho, here’s another little beauty from the Knitting Notions booth. This is 420 yards of their kettle dyed superwash merino. I was really impressed by the color quality on their variegated yarns. This colorway is Lichen. This is right up my alley.

I really didn’t buy that much actual yarn, although there are a few I’m kicking myself over, like this Madeline Tosh sock yarn in Frida from the Yarn and Fiber Company. It’s not my normal fare at all, but I went back to it three times. My usual rule is that if you find yourself going back to something three times, then you’ll probably think about it when you leave and you should buy it. I should have listened to myself.

Okay, I’m taking five while my daughter snacks on brie and crackers, which has become her new favorite snack. Wish me luck in staying awake.