Playful Videos

I just uploaded (or, technically, am in the process of uploading) two video of Abi playing for your pleasure. Enjoy. Sorry the sound is almost muted on the one - I have no idea why, but you should probably be grateful you can't hear it at full volume.

Here's Abi dancing:


And Abi playing with her Dora lego.



And here are some cute pictures of her in her new house - which she painted.

 Okay, you got me, this isn't Abi. This is her friend over to play, but it's the only photo of the door on the house - in all its pink glory.

Thanks go to Candace and Jon for providing the box.

Another day of dyeing experiments

Let me preface the following by stating that even though I enjoy the process of using food colouring to dye wool yarn with Abi, I have no intention of becoming more involved with dyeing. Nope, not me.

Today we worked on creating a few small skeins of yarn that will be used to duplicate-stitch another Decepticon logo onto a black hat for Candace.  She wanted the full-colour design - complete with gradients of blue and purple.  Silly me said "okay". Hey, it seemed a better idea than doing the same grey work as Robin's hat. That would mean I did the same thing twice! No way!!

First job was to open the skein of yarn, figure out how many stitches were needed for each colour (pre-calculated earlier this week), and measure out the necessary amount, plus a lot extra to be safe.

Next the yarn has to soak for several hours. (Almost forgot that part. Good thing we were going to start early this morning and just had to push back dying to the afternoon.)

Eventually the fun starts!


We started with the blue. But apparently just plain blue food colouring results in a sort of teal or turquoise colour.  That just wouldn't do.  A drop of red fixed it nicely.  The three gradients were created by leaving the yarn in for shorter and longer intervals.  I probably won't use the lightest colour since I pulled it out before discovering the red-dye fix.

 Too light! Back in the blue-bath!

 Too teal. Time to play with the blue-bath.

 A drop of red made it much better!

 The darkest I could get it. Or I may have let it soak a little longer after this. I don't recall now.

Next Abi wanted to dye some yarn for herself, so we interrupted the scheduled dyeing of purple. She wanted blue. But then she wanted to add some drops of red directly to the pot after the yarn was in.  A couple drops turned into a lot of drops. The result is decidedly NOT blue. But it is a lovely purple. (sorry, these photos taken in the evening with a flash.) 
Then I was back to creating a less-mottled purple for the Decepticon yarn.  Again, the lightest shade is not what I wanted, so I'll just use undyed. But I think the rest came out nicely.

 Here are all the purples together. Abi's is on the right - the more mottled of the group. The pale purple [slash] pink will not be going into the hat. (Don't worry Candace.)

And, finally, it was Abi's turn again. This time she wanted pink. 4 drops each of neon purple and neon red created a very pink colour in the yarn (the water itself looked muddier).  Too pink for me... so I dropped in a couple drops of blue... you know, so it will blend better with the purple later.  I have no idea what her yarn will become.  It's just plain old wool. I can't even recall if it's Lion Brand or Paton's Classic. Either way, it was originally purchased for making wool soakers, when I thought I would need more. Before she decided to use a toilet and not grow significantly in the diaper region.

This one is still in the dye-bath.  In fact, I should probably go rinse it...

Final shot for Decepticon hat yarn:

Mouse returns

The cats were a little too interested in the living room table this morning.  I knew it must be a mouse. Then we saw it. Cute little thing. Abi's in love. We've been having a lot of talks about not getting close, but that it won't come to get her, and that the cats are trying to eat it (well, mostly play) and that's why it runs and hides.
At one point Abi and I watched from a safe distance (on the couch) as the mouse walked into the middle of the open room (I've been trying to clear up kid-clutter to make mouse-catching easier) with two cats following it. Mouse stopped. They stopped and just sat there looking. Mouse ran and George was in pursuit. Caught it, tossed it. Played for a while. Mouse rolled over and played dead with its belly up, and when George stopped to look the mouse took off again!
I can't help but think of Mrs. Brisby and her husband.  I'm sure the mouse has good reason to be here... I'm sure there's a few stray cheerios hiding under the couch.  Even though I just cleaned everything under the couch. You know, cleared the living room, shifted all the furniture so I could move the couch across the room and vacuum and wash the floor. Left a mousetrap behind the couch. You know, mouse-proofed. All for naught since I found the trap sprung, the peanut butter gone, and no mouse.
I would like to emphasize who did all this: Me.
So when Robin asked why I didn't catch the mouse while it played dead (for a whole 10 seconds), I informed him who will be cleaning the living room and catching the mouse with 2 cats, a dog, and a toddler in hot pursuit.
I'll let you know how that works out for him. Especially since he'll be doing his first full cleaning of the living room this week.  I'll definitely want to find the camera for this! :P

ETA: Photos from when I walked down the stairs for some water, picked up Abi's fleece from where she tossed it, and found mouse on my way back up. Somehow missed it on the brown tiles when I picked up sweater. Lucky I didn't step on it! Now the little guy is outside. Unlikely to survive - but I didn't kill it. Who knows, maybe the Rats of Nimh will rescue it. Darn cute critters.
Robin's still on cleanup duty!

New Teeth

With much convincing, I managed to get a photo of Abi's teeth today after our last-minute dentist visit.  Someone else's cancellation was our opportunity to get in before February - which was the earliest date we could get in the new year to finish her dental work.
See the teeth on either side of her top center teeth.
I'm trying to find a good "before" picture...

 Don't mind the chocolate... which probably makes it seem like sweets are the problem... but they are not. She brushes regularly and doesn't get much sweets.  She's had the caries since her teeth first came in.  We've been putting off the major drilling and fillings for over a year waiting for her to be old enough and familiar enough with the dentist to undergo the procedure in the office.  Otherwise she would have had to go to the hospital for general anesthesia to fix her teeth. In the meantime the dentist did small touch ups and would clean out the soft spots on the teeth every couple months.

Here's an old picture of her at the dentist getting her laughing-gas.  Oh how she loved squeezing that nose.  Hopefully she'll never have to do that again...

Today's visit went very well. She's always been good in the dentist chair, but was definitely her best ever this time - especially given that she knew what to expect and one might expect she'd be more apprehensive of going through all that again.  I know I was!

All the cavities have been removed (drilled out - and there was a lot) and filled back in so her teeth look better than ever. Yay! Hopefully these will last until they fall out... Her adult teeth won't come in with the same inherent problem.

Mini-me?

She's stubborn AND creative in her thinking.
She always has an "idea" such as in the following typical exchange:
me "Abi, please do X"
Abi "no wait, no wait. I have an idea! How about I do Y (fun thing) and then I do X.  Is that a good idea?"
me "how about you do X"
Abi "no wait, listen..."
me " please do X"
Abi "...listen, listen. I have an idea..."
and so on.

She's definitely a leader and a mothering type.
(That would be me... right mom? Right sis?)

The recent clincher was when she told me her favourite colours are pink and blue and rainbow.
My family and long-time friends will be chuckling.  I'll explain for the rest of you.
When I was young my room was pink and blue.  They were my favourites. When I finally was able to paint my own room and get new linens, etc, as a young teen, I went with earthy green. I was done with pink and blue!  It's only in the past couple years I've come to re-embrace pink as a lovely colour.
As for rainbow, that has long been my stated favourite "colour" (or as I might say now as a fiber-ista, "colourway") - despite frequently being told it's not a colour. 
(I also used to list silver as my favourite colour. In my teen years I wore a LOT of silver... you should have seen my shoe collection! And the dresses... Not to mention the rings on every finger.)
So when Abi said that I realized - uh oh - she really is ME! 
She repeatedly tells me and everyone those are her favourite colours - not that she ever says anything she doesn't really mean.  I sometimes expect she'll randomly say something but won't be consistent about it. But she always proves me wrong. Like names she has given her toys, or who her best friends are.

(For the record, I have definitely never told her what my favourite colours are and would not have said pink or blue. She's never asked and I've never had a reason to say what mine are.  I also checked if she was mimicking someone else, but she doesn't know what colours her best friends favour. And trust me, if she knew, she'd tell me about it! She doesn't forget any thing. She still picks up her mardi gras necklaces from Spirits of the Earth Festival and tells me about how she got them and where and what we saw. She knows every gift from every person. And she'll correct me if I get it wrong.)

Daddy's New Toy

I'm sure if Robin were writing here, he'd like to send out his sincere gratitude to our parents for sending him Christmas money, with which he was able to buy an Archos 5 tablet.

He can tell you all about himself one day - and I'm sure he will. The 5 indicates a 5" screen. So it's very portable and does all sorts of things - like play music and videos, connect to the internet with WiFi, touch screen, etc.  For comparison purposes, it's rather like an iPad except it's not an Apple product and it runs Android (by Google creators).
It was just left on our doorstep by the UPS guy.  (Knock, drop, and run - is that their motto?)

ETA conversation that followed on IM:
Me: "Shall I open it for you and tell you all about it? :P"
Robin: "And steal all my fun?????"
Me: "Yes!"
Robin: :(
Me: "Hey, you get a new toy. What about my fun?"
Robin: "You got to blog about it."

So I blogged more.
And of course I won't open it.
I'm sure I won't even get to see it for weeks...

it's a new year

Hi all.
I'm feeling obliged to make a New Year post - just because of the number of people I know who are returning to their blogs afresh after a hiatus.  Not that I've been away from my blog - no, my obligation to post about Abi and knitting is too great to stay away.  I think, upon reflection, that I've done a pretty good job of keeping up with the blog updates for you.  Yes, for you. Well, a little for me - I confess that when I look over old posts I'm reminded of events I'd forgotten.  But mostly for you, our friends and family - particularly those who are far away.
As I type Abi is on my lap. Asking for fresh water in my cup. brb.
Where was I? Oh, yay me for keeping up with blogging for you (and me).

For those of you who read this on FB, rather than Blogspot, you've probably not noticed the increasing bar indicating the completion-level of my dissertation.  It's at 80% now.  What does that mean? It means I've finished the really boring review chapters - chapters 2, 3, and 4. I've finished most of the introduction (which I've shared with you here) except for that other boring part where I tell the reader what follows in the rest of the chapters. I'm half done chapter 5 in which I discuss the contexts of religious socialization for Pagan kids (the Pagan movement and families).  I've outlined chapter 6 in which I discuss the experiences of second-generation Pagans to discern the processes of religious socialization actually at work. And then there's the conclusion to write, which I have drafted on paper, but will likely be much revised by the time I am done.  Does that sound like 80% ? Maybe I should make it higher - because the boring stuff is done.  Okay, so there's still some (boring) editing ahead.

Time for our tea. With Abi's new tea set. She's waited patiently.

Preparing for a New Year

I have no special resolutions. I almost never make New Years resolutions.  The new calendar year always sneaks up too quickly.  Far too quickly after the holiday season in winter.  If I make resolutions, it's not at January 1.

I do, however, reflect upon the previous calendar year.  It's been "full" that's for sure.  Granted, isn't every year full of new delights, surprises, loses, changes, frustrations, drama... Some years it seems more so than others. This would be one of those years.  But I like to keep it all in perspective, especially when it can feel overwhelming.  The reality is, even with all the "bad" things, we have it good - my family and I. We have all the basics for survival - food, shelter, water, income; happiness.  And many extras (books, electronics, the occasional dinner out, toys.) And I have fiber (I can't decide if that's a basic necessity or an extra... depends on how you classify "sanity"- whether or not it is a necessity).  That is why you won't find me here dwelling on the overwhelming - I choose not to dwell. I like to shift my focus to the wonderful (and the less-overwhelming do-able stuff).

Here's to another WONDERFUL year.  (I'd raise a glass, but all I have with me is a mug of coffee. And this dark chocolate that I am not sharing.) (Do you like the blink? I know, it's annoying. That's part of the appeal to me :P  )

If you're wondering about our plans for New Years Eve, they're nothing special.  Try to get Abi to sleep and watch some movies perhaps.  (Lately I've had to stay with her until after 10 to get her to sleep! Every evening has been devoted to keeping Abi in bed and helping her fall asleep. What happened to the bedtime routine??) And tomorrow? Ummm, weather permitting (ie, if we get some snow back!) we could go tobogganing now that most of the family is over our colds.  Or ice skating.  That would be nice.  Abi went yesterday and I hear she didn't even need any support with her bob-skates.  J suggested she could upgrade to ice skates, but I don't foresee buying new skates this year.  Next year, in Winnipeg. (ah, sweet Winnipeg home... how I miss you.)

Thinking of others

I thought you'd enjoy this lovely little exchange I had yesterday with Abigail.  We were on our way out to New Hamburg with plans to stop at Meme's Cafe for a coffee (which turned into a hot apple cider for us to share) and then to Shall We Knit to shop with my gift certificate.  Abigail was home because of the lieu-holiday-days for daycare.
I turned on the radio, "maybe we can find some good music" I said.
"Can you put on the Monkey song?" asks Abi
"Sorry hun, I don't have it here in the car. I made a copy for the car. But I forgot the copy. I don't know where it is."
"Mom, you forgot your coffee?  You can share my water."

huh? where did she get... oh, she heard coffee when I said copy... Wasn't that sweet?  She thought I forgot my coffee and so offered to share her drink.
So much for selfish, self-centered toddlers.

Have I mentioned how much I dislike the pop-children's-developmental-psych BS?  Ditto on the classical stage models that inform them.
I'm pretty sure they neglect one crucial factor - kids learn from modeling (among other things). If they behave in self-centered ways, maybe they learned THAT behaviour.  You know, the typical "don't touch mommy's things" would easily translate into "don't touch my things" for a kid.  The "experts" conveniently remember this later in a child's development - especially when they want to point out negative influences of peers and media - but I digress.
Of course sometimes Abi doesn't want other kids touching her toys.  Certainly we've asked her not to touch some of our stuff - although we're pretty darn easy going and there's only a few things we say that for.  And other kids have insisted she not touch their things.  And she's had several experiences now where she has kindly let other kids play with her toys and they break them.  Who can blame her for not wanting them to touch her toys.  Or, it's the one toy she's playing with and someone walks up and just expects her to share it.  Would we do that to another adult?  "Oh, I see you're playing a really cool single player video game and you're half-way through but I want to play right now so I expect you to stop the game and let me join."  Yeah, I've watched gamers, I don't see that happening. Or, "hey, nice new sports car, can I drive it? I swear I won't break this one!"  Or, to choose an example closer to my own idea of fun, "hey, that's some nice yarn and knitting. I'd love to use some of that yarn, would you mind if I just cut some of it off for myself?" (ludicrous idea! and dude, you ain't touching my alpaca! get your own alpaca! I am not sharing. At least not until I am all done this project - then you might get my leftovers.)  Or perhaps they just want to do some of your knitting for you, as if they can knit the same as you (we all have different tension, techniques, etc).
Nope, I think it's perfectly fair for a child to behave in seemingly "selfish" ways - not because children are "naturally selfish" (BS) but because we all are. We all have our own things we like to do, our own projects, our own special toys. And we will grant that others have their own special things and respect that. So why not respect children having their special things - not for sharing. 

How many of us would hear "I forgot my coffee" and instantly respond "you can share mine".  (Okay, quite a few of the people I know, because I know awesome people, but I think you get my point.)

Post-Holiday-Post

I won't lie - it was a long weekend of head colds, clingy kid, and tantrums toddler (same child). (Seriously had to argue with her over removing a wet diaper Sunday morning.)
There were good times too. I focused on those...
Abi had been home sick since Thursday. At some point she brought me a handful of small hair ties and insisted I give her pony tails...

Friday evening - Christmas Eve - we had a fondue with Robin's cousins. It was delicious, but I can say with certainty that it is difficult to fondue with a clingy child in your lap.  She was eventually enticed away by Dora so I could finish eating.
Then she got some presents:

The second package contained art supplies, including some paints which Abi just had to use the next morning before she would even look at the other gifts under the tree.

 She was even afraid to come downstairs in the morning because she feared Santa would be there.  She finally agreed to come look at the tree from the stairs and from that point we were able to convince her that Santa was not around.  Even so, she was not particularly interested in opening gifts.

sneezing, not crying - at that moment

We handed her a stocking and convinced her to pull out the contents - at which point she was quite happy about the Candy Canes and probably would have spent the rest of the day eating them if she could. Then she decided she wanted to paint, so I gave her a small gift I'd prepared with craft supplies including new paint brushes.

After painting she finally agreed to open some gifts.  Once she got started she was quite delighted, but still took her time.  See some of the final products around:

 Sylvanian Family / Calico Critters in the new bedroom set in the home-made box doll house.
(Wooden couch set sent earlier by coworkers of Robin's from Mexico this summer; other wooden furniture found in a bin marked 10/$1 one day years ago. Wooden blocks round out the furniture and there are plans to sculpt some more items from the Sculpey I have.)
 New train set addition from Nana and PaPere and fairy wings (from the Christmas Fairy, just like in her book). New Cabbage Patch Kid doll in the background - from Aunty Ericka. I think I might also see the My Little Ponies and new phone from Gam-Gam

 Vet dress up clothes - from Aunty Corey of course.

 Hat from Alaska from Grandpa - it's too big right now, but that's okay. She'll grow into it and has plenty of hats for this year.

Here's a short video of the beginning and end of Christmas morning:




 And then there's my stash-addition - bought by me on behalf of others. (Thanks mom, dad, and Alan)

 Yarns and fiber and a turkish spindle from Knit Picks, plus a project bag I found at Value Village (pretty cute!) and my sweater kit from Knit Picks (only $25!!). (Not shown are some needle supplies already put away or in use.)
The dark brown is a lovely handspun by the Roving Spinners - with alpaca and silk and other delightful things. The pink is a silk blend I bought to knit with it - so I can knit a larger project. (The lighter browns are some alpaca I found on sale that I hope to use to knit a smaller Caireen.)
I'm very excited to spin some dyed fiber, such as the berries and blue from Lofty Fibers - nummy.


This year I knit Robin socks - his first hand knit pair - and the cowl. Abi received the lion and various other knit items earlier in winter.

(Both socks were finished by Christmas, but I neglected to take a photo. This was the SkyFi pattern I test knit that uses Cat Bordhi's sky architecture for the gusset/heel shaping. Works perfect if you have high arches like Robin does. The yarn is Swamp Thing I special ordered through Etsy from To-Ply Fiber Arts. That's also where I ordered the lovely earthy fiber to spin, pictured above. Fabulous stuff!)

Robin and I received some DVDs (yay for entertainment) and food stuff (baked brie anyone? thanks Ericka). I watched Dr Horrible's Sing Along Blog and Commentary the Musical and then Repo! The Genetic Opera (thanks hun) this weekend. Robin re-watched the LOTR trilogy as usual (Abi and I did not). Robin's still debating what he'll buy with his Christmas money. It started with an MP3 player and escalated to a new laptop at some point - so who knows!

Hope you had a lovely holiday with family and friends.  We enjoyed our time with Candace and Jon, but I did miss not having the extended family around to celebrate with :(  This afternoon Abi and I are off to a friend's house and Robin will join us for turkey dinner! Yay for Turkey!!!  As an added bonus, I can wind my new yarn there... ;)