Question! What do I do with my wedding dress?

Right now, it’s hanging in my daughter’s closet because there’s no room for it in mine. My daughter is nine years old and already up to my shoulders, so she’s going to outstrip me soon. There’s no way she’s going to be able to fit into this, assuming she wanted to wear it. I would never assume she would want to, mind you, but the option isn’t going to be there even if she did.

Also, I don’t think butt-bow poofy sleeves is going to come back into style – assuming it ever actually was in style. Hey, I was a Southern bride. That’s what we do. I looked like a giant marshmallow, but I was a stunningly beautiful giant marshmallow, so nyah.

On the up side, I’m pleased to see that my skin actually has cleared up a lot since my mid-20’s.

Anyway, I’m cleaning my stuff out of my daughter’s closet to make more room for her toys, currently scattered all over the house. There are business suits in there I haven’t worn in ten years. Even if I could fit into a size 8 again, I’d want new business clothes more suitable for someone – holy moly – 40 years old, which I’ll be next year. Those clothes, I’ve given to Goodwill. The wedding dress has been hanging in that closet for almost 15 years now, and I’m not sure Goodwill is the best use of it. Then again, maybe it is. I’m clueless.

The places that I’ve checked that want donated wedding dresses don’t take ones more than ten years old because they’re out of style or otherwise timeworn. Sooo… now what?

ETA: My mother would like me to clarify. Even if my DRESS looked large and poofy (although I loved it and loved wearing it), I myself looked absolutely beautiful. I know she thinks so, and yes, I do too.

• skated with the Ice Capades for a newspaper story
• traveled to Russia, France, Mexico, Japan, England, and more
• had several concussions as a result of pursuing her hobbies
• made shoes last longer with cardboard stuffed in the soles as a child
• carried a knife as protection when rescuing kids from a dangerous situation
• yelled expletives at a newsroom co-worker during a plane crash crisis
• randomly broken into a fake foreign language at the airport on several occasions
• faced a life-threatening illness with dignity, grace, and good humor
• taught adults to read
• taken in teenage siblings when she was a young newlywed
• ridden along with the police
• never broken a promise to her child

I cannot imagine a better role model or a more loving mother.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom. You’re a fantastic person and I’m so lucky to have you.

Mom rides the zip line at Em’s birthday party, 2005.

So yesterday my mother…um… I’m going to go with “encouraged” me to get to bed at a reasonable hour. We made a deal wherein I promised to go to bed by 10 if she promised to not gallivant all over town but to REST that day. You may recall that she just had surgery. Nothing slows this woman down.

True story about my mom: After she gave birth to me, her doctor walked into her hospital room and found her standing up with her palms flat on the floor. “I just wanted to see if I could still do it,” she said. Her idea of recovery time is different than the rest of us mere mortals’.

However, she is nothing if not a woman of her word, and so she e-mailed me this morning to tell me she’d lived up to her part of the bargain, how’d I do?

I was in bed by 10, as promised. Then the cat, who is on a diet, started begging for food at 3am. And my daughter got up at 5:30. But I was in bed by 10!

Even though my sleep was broken up into little chunks, I really do feel better. Leave it to Mom to know what’s best for her girl.

At right: Emily and her grandparents at a school function, 2006.

Ah, early Spring in North Carolina. The bulbs have peeked their heads up, and we’re all enjoying the first color of the season. Pictured to the left are daffodils from my mother’s front yard. From the photo, it would appear that about half the flowers are blooming.

Actually, until a few days ago, they were all blooming. And here I have to quote my mother. “Someone stole up on the daffodils in the front yard, armed with scissors, and cut half of them off for their own nefarious purposes.”

Did you catch that? They were cut, which means that someone had to notice them, admire them, go home, get a tool, come back at night, and snip the ones they wanted. I’ve watched enough Law and Order to know premeditation when I see it.

You’ll note that only half are gone. My mother and I have two theories as to why that might be. My first thought was that the thief thought they were being nice by only stealing half. My mother’s thought was that they only took half so that it wouldn’t be so obvious that any had been cut, and could more easily cover their tracks. The perfect crime!

Unfortunately, “perfect crime” is likely right. I can’t imagine how you would go about identifying the culprit. Perhaps she could look out her window this evening to see if there’s anyone in a black catsuit and ski mask out for a pleasant stroll. If they happen to be carrying gardening shears, that could also be a clue.

If she has any neighbors who have long, thin mustaches that they like to twirl while cackling evilly, that might also be a good place to start.

We obviously moved from outrage to amusement pretty quickly, but I still think I should find some police tape and cordon off the crime scene. We can’t let these blossom rustlers get away with this!

My camera’s back, so let’s get caught up!

Pattern: “Fuzzyfeet” by Theresa Vinson Stenersen from Knitty.com
Yarn: Lamb’s Pride Worsted in M05 Onyx and Noro Kureyon in colorway 52
Needles: size 10 1/2 (6.5mm) 16″ circular (2 circs for toe decreases)

Notes: Well, I’ll say this: I got a lot of knitting done in the hospital waiting room. The Jayne hats flew by with no problem. I can do those in my sleep. But I was distracted by family and concern and fouled up the toe on these not once but twice. The first time, I carried the body of the foot too long before decreasing, so I un-knitted back to the proper point. The second time, I forgot that I’d made the toe on the first one strictly in black, so I striped the second one up to the end. I ripped back and re-knitted it to match the first.

However, these did give us something to talk about. One aunt liked the way these looked so much she asked about commissioning some for Christmas gifts for relatives. Unfortunately, this pattern cannot be used for profit. She’s dear family, though, so I’ll see what I can do for her as a gift.

Everyone who saw me knitting these said, “you know, the stripes aren’t the same color.” I know, it’s deliberate. I think it adds some nice visual interest. I was more concerned with how the Kureyon and Lamb’s Pride were going to felt. LP felts much faster than Kureyon. However, it only took one trip through the washing machine for these to felt to exactly the point I wanted. They fit perfectly.

I’ve made many of these for others, but this is the first pair I’ve made for myself. I’m very happy with how they turned out.

My mother is having surgery tomorrow. We’re all expecting that she’ll be just fine, but hospital time is never fun time, so I’m giving her all the support I possibly can, dammit. Browncoats: she’s the lady who speeds production for me by making my pompoms so I can get your hats out the door faster. I know you want her to get well soon!

Let’s have a shout out for Mom!