Need a lift...

It's a rainy gloomy day. I know better but would love to find some wool in my door when I get home. That would be just the thing to cheer me up and occupy my evening with more interesting things than laundry and dishes.

Ten on Tuesday

Ten Things in My Refrigerator Right Now:

1. A quart of apple butter that I made this weekend. 
2. Organic milk for the Little Dude
3. Some of my Mum's homemade sauerkraut. Best. Kraut. Ever!
4. Jug of apple cider for hot mulled cider...one of my autumn indulgences. 
5. Inglehoffer cream style horseradish- the hottest horseradish sauce out there determined by our delicious but unscientfic tests at work. Good for clearing out clogged sinuses.
6. Portabella caps waiting for some gorgonzola and carmelized onions to become the perfect dinner. 
7. Pure maple syrup from Vermont...some things I don't compromise on. Maple syrup is one of them. 
8. Orange juice. I'm pregnant. I inhale the stuff. 
9. Green olives. My husband's latest passion has been vodka martinis. 
10. Greek yogurt.

Ordered...

and now waiting. I've got enough Blackberry to make my Duster. I'm holding off on the other for now. I didn't want to wait while I made up my mind. I guess I'll finish up my socks until this comes. I'll be stalking my mailbox.

Well I'm exhausted and hungry so I'm going to eat and then crash. Let us all pray that the Little Dude sleeps in tomorrow morning.

Almost there....

with a decision. I meant to order last night, but the night did not go as planned at all. Immensely irritated (read severely pissed off) at having to miss Stitch n Bitch and knowing I won't be able to attend the next few weeks I was in a mood. I turned my irritation towards housework and vacuumed before I picked up the Little Dude from 'school'. After we played outside I made dinner for the two of us (Pasta!!!) and after much fuss and tears and pleading for "Down!" he ate it. I also did three loads of laundry, stacks of dishes, set the dishwasher to run, bathed the Little Dude, put him to bed, mopped and cut my husband's hair. And even though I was rather furious with him, I refrained from shaving something into the back of his head. That's true love.

Once all these were accomplished, I settled down in the bed with my laptop to surf, and write and order away while waiting for the diapers in the dryer to finish....and I promptly fell asleep. My husband pointed out that once the screen saver pops up, it's probably best to go to bed. So I did and my yarn remains unordered. I've narrowed it down to a few color options: Currant, Blackberry, Lullaby and Indigo Heather. I'm leaning towards Blackberry.
I might order two sets to make another top from my queue. I've been wanting to make the Ballet Wrap by Nora Gaughan for quite a while but it falls in to the pile of items that my stash cannot supply. Plus it works well with a baby bump and seems like much of it is rather mindless knitting. Again, I'm slightly stumped on color. I might go more neutral as it is something that I would layer with a ton of other things. Or stop being practical and go with one of my other options (Currant or Hollyberry or Claret Heather) and have fun with the color.

We'll see what the night brings.

Decisions, decisions...

I'm still debating on a color for my Tilted Duster. I've decided that I need to order tonight, if I'm going to do this. I've banished the idea of a neutral. I've got too much of that going on in my wardrobe. Besides, if I've had to stop dying my hair funky colors because of the Little One then I might as well wear them.

I'm still looking at the Wool of the Andes. My top choices are the following:

Currant
Blackberry
Lullaby
Hollyberry
Winter Night
Indigo Heather
Amethyst Heather
Evergreen

I'm just stumped. This is the dilemma I have with online ordering. It's hard to pick when they aren't right in front of me. Looking through Ravelry I've noticed that several people have used Amethyst Heather, so that has moved that color on down the list. Any guidance, suggestions, or opinions would be appreciated.

Ten on Tuesday

I've nearly forgotten about these.

10 Ways to Have a Happy Birthday:

1. My number one rule is that I wear a tiara on my birthday. Hey, it's your birthday. You should be Queen. This tradition started when I spent way too much on my wedding tiara, but it was the only gold tone one I could find. So I rationalized it by saying I'd wear it at every opportunity, and I do...only I have a collection of 7 or 8 by now. Even if I'm wearing respirator, ear protection, and goggles my tiara graces my head every birthday.
   
2. Cake--a must. And the birthday girl/boy gets to choose the type. That's the rule in our house. Even if it means I'm making the pain-in-the-ass-to-make cheesecake that my husband loves and spraying myself and the kitchen with chocolate every year, so be it. He gets the cake he wants.
   
3. Do something you wouldn't do on a normal day. Even a little something....just to make it special.
4. Fill the day with people you like (and avoid the ones you don't) even if it means taking the day off from work.
   
5. Calories don't count on your birthday.
   
6. If possible, sleep in.
   
7. Make the day about celebrating you, not some abstract number.
   
8. Look at pictures of your childhood birthdays....this is always fun. Share them with family and friends and reminisce or just laugh at the clothing/hair styles.
9. If you have your mom in you life, have her tell you about the day you were born. My mom finally wrote it down and sends me a revised document every year as she remembers more details.
   
10. Indulge in something special just for you. Something you wouldn't normally buy. Hey, you survived another year. You've earned it!
    

Fall is in the air....

and making me ponder going off of my very strict yarn diet. The chill in the air makes me long for hot cider and warm knits. My needles are longing for some wool and my stash just isn't allowing me to knit what I would like. With Rhinebeck looming in the near future I have a strong desire to wear the Tilted Duster as I peruse the stalls. Frankly, I've settled on getting the yarn I'm just stuck on the color. I'm looking at Knit Picks Wool of the Andes. The colors are lovely and the price is right. Just what color do I go with??? A rich brown or charcoal?? Or do I abandon my neutral kick and go for a lovely jewel tone....if so then what? Blue to go with my eyes or a woodsy green??? A deep red or a glorious purple??? I better decide soon if I'm going to manage this in time for Sheep and Wool.
I've been eying this pattern since it was printed. I know several people who made it and have admired it on several knitters at various festivals. I'm always cold, as my husband will attest to, so I never can have too many sweaters/hoodies/jackets. Plus, I think it'll be the perfect pattern to accommodate the new baby bump I'm sporting.
In all the stress and strain of the summer we achieved something thought we could manage on our own....namely getting pregnant without jumping through numerous hoops and much heartache. Yet here we are. The Little Dude with be a big brother come this March.
And speaking of the Little Dude, I'm happy to say that his new 'school' is working out very well. He's very happy there and they just love him to pieces. He's learned so much in just the month he's been with them. He's counting to ten and getting much better recognizing letters. M (said with a slight growl) is still his favorite. His hands are better and better all the time. It's even hard for me to notice the discoloration that had been left.
I've been silent here since I went back to work myself. I confess to the mixture of being back on the job full time and the pregnancy has knocked me on my butt. I'm often falling asleep after Little Dude goes to bed. I'm going to have to fight that urge if I'm going to get my Tilted Duster done.

Off to stare at some color swatches...and maybe a few kits. If I'm going off the diet I might as well splurge my way to free shipping.