thing a day - day23

of pestilence and yarn...

yes, there is more pestilence here. sigh. i thought we were done after the strange fever bout last week. but it rears it's ugly head yet again. this time - pink eye.

i can only imagine it was scooped up and deposited during a birthday party this past weekend at one of those mini-golf places. a rainy saturday afternoon, the arcade (it was rainy - who plays golf in the rain?) filled with snotty, pestilence ridden children. we stayed but for a short time. actually, i wouldn't have gone but for the 30+ years long friend for whose daughter it was being held. and this was our thanks. sigh.

a trip to the doctor this morning garnered eye drops for minime. she doesn't want them, but also doesn't want to miss our long planned train trip this coming wednesday. doc tells us that once treatment is started, contagiousness is contained in just 24hours. whew. that was a close one.

but on to the happiness that is yarn. i've still got projects i'm working on - photos to come, but until then, here are this weeks "Crafty Picks":

What NOT to Crochet - ok, admit it - you've seen some DARN ugly things out there! They've just got the guts to say what we haven't.

BitterSweet - not only does she come up with some great projects - crochet, felt, sewing, knitting - but she talks FOOD. what a great life!

Craft Tutorials - there's a little of everything on here. amigurumi crochet, paper crafting, beads - you name it, they've got some of it.

Yarns and Musings - I'm just checking her out - but I love her crocheted and fulled purse. still looking...

no 'thing' today...

nope, can't do it.

wait, um - nope, can't do it.

i know you sit there, panting with worry - wondering why. WHY??

eh, cause i'm feeling cranky.

i've been house bound for two days and am faced with the very real probablility of it being three. perstilence has moved into my home.

i came home from having very serious dental work done on tuesday. yes, a root canal AND they had to drill down into bone so the crown will sit properly. (Please, no lectures about visiting the dentist - I know just how long it had been). I drove home in pain expecting child to be at dance class #2. instead, when i arrived home, child was in bed, fast asleep. it was 6pm. that's NOT a good sign! her dad reported that she'd been asleep since arriving home about 230pm. she was hot. sigh...

so its been two days of keeping her cool, happy, and low key (the easiest part) and keeping me from wishing they'd just pulled the tooth out (no, seriously - I'm happy to have what part of the tooth is left). i'm not a huge fan of pharms, but right now "they're a good thing".

i've been crocheting up a storm, actually. what else can i do right now?? but minime is ever watchful on what i'm doing. she knows its for her but, doesn't know what it is. amigurumi bunny is finished - but in pieces. waldorf chicken is finished, but not yet sewn together and stuffed. my plan is to make mini chickens, but they'll be yellow - you know - baby chicks. i don't know what other creature i will try out - but i do want to do a few more. looks like i will have the time. our 'school-y' activities have mostly been cancelled this week - everyone is sick. and now we are in for several days of rain. i haven't a huge stock of yarn, but whatever i do have will soon be turned into "stuff".

stay tuned for photos. i'm excited about what i've accomplished and i really do want to share!

but first, i must stop being cranky...

thing a day - day 10 SCORE

ha! told you i'd be back with something to post for today!



isn't it lovely? no! not the pony, the sleeping child. yes, that was today's goal. ok - so that doesn't sound like a 'thing to do'. but- oh! it is! you see, last night - this sleeping beauty looked like this...


including all the green goo. yep - it was awful. i'm chalking it up to being overtired and not that she really truly needed an exorcism. but last night, i really had to think about it.

so today's 'thing a day' was to get child into bed at a decent hour. and i did. i had to start 3 hours earlier - but we did it and she went to bed the happy and sweet child i've always had. there are those that doubt my rendition of events last night - but i tell you - that above is an actual photo!

thing a day - day 10. child to bed at decent hour. SCORE

thing a day - day 10 & insanity...

i'm here. i know, it's been nearly a week since i last posted. thing a day - what happened to it? um, well...

ok - first off let me just say that i'm still in this! i'm not folding. i'm not giving in. i can do this - but there will be one less week of it. i must beg your pardon - last week was just insanely busy. we were off and out every morning - early days. i was doing good just to walk upright and speak with a reasonable degree of clarity, though there may be a few who might question this.

i have projects that i'm working on. my crochet is coming along. actually - it's right back where i left off when i was 10 - and decided that crocheting was no longer "cool". i've even recently learned a new stitch! what i must hone my skills on, however - is reading patterns! i started this very cute flapper hat. but ah, something went awry! i'm 10 rows into the hat and it looks nothing like a hat - but rather a realy fluffy doilie. sigh. clearly i've missed something!

photos you say? isn't it enough that i bare my soul to you and admit my defeat, albeit, temporary? isn't that enough of an insult? sigh, yes, there are photos and will share them someday. i will. but i must redeem myself first with another project passed onto me by belfry. a basket! it's the cutest thing and i will attempt to not ruin it too. stay tuned...

i must also announce that though i lost my beloved paper playing location - there is something new on the horizon! i'm excited. i can't wait - but alas, you will have to until i learn more details. just bare with me...

somy apologies for being so long gone. but i am back - rested and now ready to persue my 'thing a day' from here on out. today's "thing" has already been chosen and i promise to post a picture tonight! but as for why i was absent - i can only plead insanity...

thing a day - day 4...

oh, so much accomplished to day! where to start - where to start??

first off, let me just say that tuesdays are what i usually term "terrible tuesdays" - dance classes (yes, plural), park time with friends, and generally - just mommy getting mini from one place to another with all of the required equipment, meals and snacks. we arrive home just in time for bath, dinner and bed. it's a busy day for us and i'm no better at it this year than i was last - but i'm more accomplished at having busy work for me to do as i wait during classes.


as you can see from the photo - much was accomplished today!

i'll start with the black shadow in the photo - it's a hat! yes, i knifty knitted a hat! after finishing off the scarf a few weeks ago - i just had to make a hat to go with. i don't really like all 'matchy matchy' , so i went with a black chenille. yummy. i finished the last few rows while at a theatreworks production of "the midnight ride of paul revere" (told you our tuesdays are busy! we arrived there at 9am, then off to lunch and dance class #1). it's a bit longer in the top than i'd planned, but heck - i did it. i'll take it! thing a day - day 4, accomplishment #1, hat

secondly - i picked up my crochet needle. i haven't crocheted regularly since i was mini's age. yes, that many years ago! but finishing the hat and scarf have me determined that i can go back to it. there are SO many more cool blogs and books on the market with patterned things to make that it's not just granny squares, shawls and afgahns anymore! i don't know what i'm making yet - i'm just trying to refamiliarize myself with some of the terminology and skills. i'm thinking that this particular thing might end up on some of mini's dolls. thing a day - day 4, accomplishment #2, crochet beginning

finally - and MOST importantly - I VOTED! see, i even used capital letters for that!
this election is one that i never thought i'd see in my lifetime. there is an honest and real chance that our next president could either be a woman or a black man. that's absolutely HUGE!!
i took mini with me to the polls, i always do, but this year i made more of a point on discussing just why this election is so important. there are still many years for her to realize that blacks have only had the right to vote for about 40 years, and that woman have only had the right 80 years. yes, the 15th amendment said otherwise for blacks, but had it not been for the voting rights act of 1965, the systemized disinfranchisement would still be going on.

we chatted about it. she helped cast my vote.

i think about those people i have know who are not here to witness today. i tear up, knowing they never got to see this. i think of my beloved grandma who grew up in rural indiana. who never got to sit in a restaurant until she moved to california - in her 40's. oh, how i wish she were here. but i am, and i am so proud that two such strong and accomplished people now knock on the door to the white house. heehee, maybe we should call it the brown house or the pink house now!

just kidding (sort of).

thing a day - day 4, accomplished My Vote.

check

thing a day - day 3

whoo hoo! i've accomplished today's thing. hannah montana movie. sigh...

let me first say the the ticket prices for this movie (it's a MOVIE) are outrageous! $20 per person is much closer to what i expect to pay for a live concert (ok, so its been many, many years since i've been to a concert. blech). yes, you get "cool" 3-D glasses, but still - $20?

but once it was promised, i wanted to carry through - and so i did...

ok, 2nd - let me explain that i didn't intend to like the movie. i took my knitting with me. my intentions were clear.

but like it i did. that little girl has charisma. there is no denying it. the songs were relatively age appropriate. ok, i, like generations of parents before me wonders what a 15 year old knows about "love" - but still - it wasn't over the top or precocious. her costumes were tastefully age true - jeans, t-shirts, cute little skirts over leggings. i'm good with all of that. it's all blinged out and a little bright - but she's on stage, she's supposed to be blinged out...

there was even one song when me and my mom-cohort decided to "rock out" much to the embarrassment of our 7 year olds. a priceless moment when they looked at both of us and wondered what was wrong with us! they survived that moment because the theatre was blessedly empty. yes, homeschooling allowed us to go see the most popular movie in america with only 1 other family. a semi-private screening. whoo hoo...

the only down thing to the screening was that as the movie started, the film was out of sync with the sound. after 15 minutes i could no longer stand having my $40 movie drive me crazy. i had to complain - and they listened. not only did they instantly fix the movie - but we received free return passes for any movie of our choosing! ok, NOW i feel like i got my $40 worth!

so - thing a day, day 3 - Hannah Montana / Mylie Cyrus movie - done, check

thing a day - day 2...

uh, oh!! i forgot to post. uh - i forgot to "do" something - that i did yesterday!

i did stuff. really!! I did!

yesterday i came home from hogwarts school to hubby clearing out the 'back room'. well, we call it the 'back room', but actually, it's just the 'other bedroom'. in our teensy, tiny house, it's the room that should be mini's bedroom. but we've always used it for computer stuff and as the catch all in a house too small. well, mini needs her own space - and this is the only space left.

i won't bore you with all that went on upon my arrival. but he continued to work on the room - alone - and i attacked the bedroom. it's all pretty now! ok, maybe 'pretty' is a bit optimistic - but it's better organized now. i even cleaned thru one of my clothes drawers! 1 down - 4 to go.

i even took on making a 2-d drawing of an item in a book. uh - ok - technically, the item that i drew it from was 2-d as well, since it's in a book - but work with me here - you & know what i meant! LOL soon as i can find the camera - i'll share it with you. i haven't really tried to draw in many years, so it's very basic. but mini loved it - so i'll continue to play with the design and see where it goes...

thing a day - day 2 - clean bedroom - check

thing a day - day 1

ah - so here goes. the "thing a day" challange has forced me to set a goal and get *something* anything accomplished.

today was a hard day to start. but start i did. i dropped mini-me off to a playdate and i had some time - all by myself! yay!! that doesn't happen for a homeschooling mama very often. i initially wanted to come home and spend time clearing the disaster that is my home. but hubby is STILL off from work - so it sort of feels useless to do such a thing. i mean - if i do it - he'll undo it soon after. so i put the time to otherwise good use. i had *ME* time!

lunch while i read a book, then a movie while i - initially - knitted, then soundly slept through about 1/2 of it. was it good? it had it's funny moments, but with the busy-ness of the last 2 days - nothing was going to keep me awake. i'm glad i didn't go to see a movie i would have been really upset to have slept through!

so - day one was accomplished!! "thing a day" = *me* time. check...