Sunday, March 20, 2011

Where the hell I've been.

Actually, believe it or not, I've been knitting. Figure that.

Since the 5th of March, I've knit about 2/3 of a sweater for the Goober. It's a simple, percentage-system raglan pullover. (In fact, that's what gave me the idea for the upcoming knit-along.) I did a sleeve in two days this week. The other sleeve is nearly done. Then it's just the yoke left. I'm really enjoying the Cascade 220, to the point that I think I'll be doing most of my design this year with it. "Designs", oooh, listen to me. Made up patterns sounds more realistic. ToMAYto, toMAHto.

I meant to take photos, but, hey. Brain fart. I'll be sure to do a full-on photo shoot with the Goober when it's done. She's very excited by the idea of me knitting something for her. (Even though I spun her a scarf and then knit it, this winter; apparently that's not 'real clothes'.) She picked the color, and so she's very happy. I can't wait until she's a little older and can draw her design ideas that I can then knit for her. That would be fun for both of us.

Is there something in little girls that hard-wires their retinas, so that purple is their favorite color?

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When I'm not knitting, I've been wandering around the yard, pleased.
Bulbs of all kinds (except hyacinth, which make me sneeze) are my all-time favorite decorative flower. They're pretty much perfect. They don't require any special treatment. You plant them, you ignore them, you admire them for two weeks as they bloom. You let the greens grow for a month or two to 'recharge' the bulbs. Then you cut them back and ignore them until they bloom again. No watering, no pesticide, no fertilizer. No waste of resources. Just pretty colors and the thrill of spring returning.

Last autumn I went wild and bought almost 100 bulbs - tulips, crocus, iris, daffodils. Several types of each. I'd never have gotten them all planted without the husbeast's help. But he did help, and pretty much the last nice day we had last October, we planted while the Goober ran around the yard. Now I've got those memories AND the thrill of spring coming up.

Next, I start ripping out the established landscaping to replace worthless deer bait with plants I'll actually use. I'm hoping to rip out the topiaries by the front door using brute force (my Jeep). I'd like to burn them and dance on the ashes. But I'll probably settle for planting some smaller flowering shrubs in their place. Something that doesn't need pruned with nail clippers twice a year. Eeesh. Who in hell plants topiary?

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Oh - they think they may have really found Atlantis this time. I'm watching a documentary on it. Needs to be a blog post.

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What else have I been doing?
It took me a full day to find the floor of the Goober's room. And I'm not done. My back hurts just looking at the pictures.

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The other day, the Goob and I went to Target. I bought a pet bed for Sekhmet. The Goober, who is becoming even more freaky smart as she learns to read, spotted a dog bone embroidered on the front of the bed, and we had the following discussion. Paraphrased a bit, but I remember it pretty clearly:
GOOB: Mum, we can't get that for Sekhmet. That's a DOG bed. See, there's a bone on it. That's for DOGS.
ME: Baby, Sekhmet's bigger than some dogs. It'll be fine.
GOOB: But it's a DOG bed!
ME: Do you want your beanbag chair back?
GOOB: Yeah.
Two women nearby started giggling at that point.
The Goober's got her chair back. One less thing to yell at the two of them about. Woohoo!

7 comments:

Amy Lane said...

LOL-- love the square cat in the round bed--and love the Goober's logic! *sigh* I think my bulbs drowned in their pots... *grumble* Cheap Walmat pots... by the time I figured out they didn't drain, they were full of water!

Anyway, wonderful. Absolutely wonderful on the redecorating and the re-org and the spring cleaning and the bulbs. You've been doing good things:-)

Rosewort said...

Sekhmet looks to be about Little Bean's weight/size. Bean's just over 20lbs.

Donna Lee said...

We used our station wagon many years ago to pull out some useless shrubs that were just getting into the sewer pipes. It worked a charm.

My cat will lie on my pillow but not one I bought for him. Maybe if I use it first he might then covet it.

roxie said...

Good cat Sekhmet. Now she has TWO beds!

Barbara said...

Ooh, that looks like a dwarf iris. Pretty! All I've got so far is 2 crocus' and buds of hyacinth (which doesn't make me sneeze) and some daffodil buds. Bulbs are my favorite kind of flower too for all the same reasons.

Can't argue with the Goob's logic.

Corlis said...

Who has the pool on how long Goober's clean floor will last? A buck says 3 days. All proceeds go to Goober's college fund. The kid friendly shelving is great.

Louiz said...

Good luck with the landscaping. Looking forward to the post on Atlantis:)

If the Goober is smart enough to understand money bribery, we bribe Kathryn with tidying her bedroom. She gets 20 pence if she tidies her bedroom, and an extra 20 pence if I don't have to ask her to do it.