There seems to be a theme that runs through my days.  To Do Lists, plans made, organizational methods put into place, all under the guise of an orderly life.  And then, all it takes is one phone call, or one seemingly insignificant event to throw a monkeywrench in the whole day.

On Saturday, I had great plans to spend the better part of the day dyeing yarns – pounds of yarn (big plans).  The children had already had play dates with friends, so we were all set in the social arena.  But then the oil boiler started acting up.  It likes to do that when the weather is coldest.  Despite the fact that we have an outdoor wood boiler, we had switched to oil while Bob was away (to make things easier and I wouldn’t have to worry about filling the outside unit with wood).  Turns out I needed to get a fire going anyway because that oil unit wanted to keep sputtering.  So I got everything set to light the outdoor unit, until I discovered that we had (get this) NO MATCHES.  How is this possible?  Not a lighter, wooden match or book of matches in sight.  Even Bob’s torch he uses for plumbing wouldn’t ignite.

Luckily, my neighbor came over to plow the drifts out of my driveway, allowing me to drive 8 miles to the convenience store to get matches.  I picked up 3 boxes of wooden matches and two lighters, just to be safe.  After that, I had to grab a few split pieces of wood from my other neighbor’s reserve because all we had here were large chunks of tree trunks which I could not lift, and would not have burned well until a good fire was already in place.

By 5 pm, the fire was lit, the house warm, dinner underway.  But yarn?  I didn’t have it in me at that hour.

Last evening, I thought I would try again.  At least get the yarn prepped.  As I thought I was getting Alison squared away for bed, she announced, tearfully, that someone on the school bus was bothering her.  Apparently the child who sits with her (they always sit in the same places) has been “pesty” for lack of a better word.  These annoyances include poking, cutting off her conversation, and unbuckling Alison’s seatbelt.  Alison is probably one of a few kids who actually uses a seatbelt on the bus (it’s not mandatory), but, smart child that she is, figures it would be in her own best interest to use it.

My conversation with Alison involved asking her if she had told the other child not to touch her seatbelt, poke her, etc.  She had done her best to get her point across, but had no success.  She was further upset in thinking that if she created a scene by using a louder voice to convey her wishes, she would be the one to get in trouble.  And further still, she was worried that the other child would be mad at her (?). 

Assertiveness training ensued, along with the backup of my calling the bus garage to rat out the offending child.  Our driver called me back before the bus run to let Alison know she should pick another seat this morning.  This way, there would be no drama, and the incident would be addressed.

All of this sidetracked my plans (again).  But another crisis has been averted.  Life will go on, and I’m going to go put 2 pounds of wool to soak RIGHT NOW.

Peace & Love

I have been trying very hard to “wrap up” Alex’s sweater.  But there it sits, sleeves still in need of completion.  Alison’s multi jacket has been altered, but she still thinks she’d like it closed in just a little more around the neck…  I made it oversized on purpose, hoping she would be able to wear it in the fall.  Now I am wondering if I have erred in this way of thinking.  If I have to alter it, then alter it again, have I really done myself any favors?  It’s a pretty thing, so I will just do what I have to do and she can look good in it for as long as I can alter.

There are these other lurking projects.  Dyeing of skeins, swatching of dyed skeins, designing projects for dyed skeins.  And then there is this really compelling pattern out there over at Knitty – the Argosy pattern.  I’ve had my eye on it for quite a while, telling myself I had to finish other projects before starting something new.  Alex’s green sweater is reminding me that it needs completion before it hits 70 degrees.  Did I mention that I am minding the fort while Bob is exhibiting our product line at the NY Farm Show?  This requires time in front of the computer, phone calls to be answered and made, paperwork, inventory control, shipping…  Did I also mention the kids are home from school this week?  That they have each been granted the luxury of inviting a friend (each) over to play?  That there are also the household chores to be attended to, including, but not limited to meal preparation?

But the pattern called to me.  So I sat at the computer and pulled out the pattern instructions for Argosy.  “I’ll just cast on and knit a few rows to get the feel of it”.  “If I sit at the desk, it’s not like I’m really knitting, only swatching.”  “If a customer calls, I can set this down right here on the desk and carry on with the priorities of the day.”

I knit more than a few rows.  The pattern is addictive, like eating popcorn – just one more row…  I did finally put it down.  The yarn I grabbed was a little too bulky (although it would work if I wanted a scarf in this weight).  Now I know.  All it will take is willpower to not go through the stash and find the perfect yarn for this pattern.

The green sweater is begging for completion.  Stay on task.  My new mantra.  Until I find that other yarn.

Peace & Love

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day, as I’m sure most of you were aware.  In the past, we have tried to steer clear of the commercialism this holiday seems to inspire, and instead make a more elaborate meal for dinner.  It gives us an “excuse” for a higher grade of beef or seafood. 

But here in New York yesterday, we picked up a substantial amount of snow (at least in our neck of the woods), and this seemed to impact the overall feel of the day.  It was nice to have the kids home from school for the colossal snowfall, watching it fall at a rate of 4 inches per hour at one point. 

I remembered to get the kids a little something (but no candy).  They each received some new drawing pens – paint markers and double ended glitter markers, artfully placed in a red and white mug.  And I also supplied them each with a new mini-flashlight ($.92), the kind they seem to enjoy using for reading under the covers.

As for Bob and I, we did not “gift” each other anything.  No flowers, no candy, no diamonds (and no kiss that began with “Kay”).  Bob showed his affection by doing the tough stuff around here as he usually does.  This meant braving the cold and snow and getting the tractor geared up with the snow thrower.  And going up and down the road and helping the neighbors clear out before doing our place.  And suffering for another hour outside fixing things because all the machinery fails when you need it most.  It is a loving relationship that keeps someone doing this instead of living in a one room hut in the South Pacific.

I, in turn, did my usual thing – managed house and children, prepared meals, kept up with phone calls and paperwork for the business.  Didn't hit him or say anything rude after the insinuation that I probably goofed up something with the Quickbooks.  It is a loving relationship that puts up with this stuff instead of finding a job that keeps me out of the house 10 hours a day.

We didn’t even have a fancy dinner – chicken sauteed with curried veggies (sounds exotic; isn't).  Alison and I had made brownies earlier in the day, but several had already been eaten.  She has taken to heart my comment about not saving things for special occasions – seize the moment and enjoy things right now.  So even the dessert did not have the impact I had intended - it resembled leftovers instead.

But we were all together, and that’s what Valentine’s Day is really about.  People loving each other unconditionally.

And I’m really a fan of colored gems anyway…

Peace & Love

I have watched Alison over the last 4 years progress from drawing stick people with stickers for heads to painting layers of color and texture in mixed media.  You will recall she’s 6.  I really marvel at how she puts things together.  Alex used to love paints when he was little, but put them aside for more interesting thing like playing with trucks in the gravel pile or the Lego Star Wars sets that are his current obsession.  But a strange thing happened while I was busy with the minutiae of the day to day happenings around here – Alex has turned into quite an artist in his own right.

I volunteer in his classroom twice a week for his reading group.  After completing a book, each small group does a “project” – a skit representing a scene from the book, or some other artistic rendering to present to the rest of the class.  Our group project this week is a drawing of a Chinese dragon.  I’ve learned that, given too much freedom to pick what they would like to do, the boys in my group do their best when given a particular task.  Once the project is in front of them, they can then use their own creativity to complete it. 

Our dragon was sketched out on 4 separate sheets of paper.  Each boy drew a number and the number corresponded to a section of dragon that he was to embellish in any way he choose.  Alex, by luck of the draw, received the dragon’s head.  His thrill was evident, and each child was actually quite happy with the body part he had won in the lottery.  I told them that they did not have to match colors, but rather to use whatever they liked to complete their section. 

The boys drew scales, used colored pencils, oil pastels, crayons and markers.  Claws were multi-hued, the tail a gridwork of color.  And the head, well, it is beautiful.  Alex was the only one who did not finish because he was taking such pains to have everything come out just as he wanted.   It will be quite stunning when it is completed over the weekend.

Alex gravitates to bold, saturated colors.  Markers are his medium of choice.  If those are not available, he will use crayon, but will insure that not a speck of white paper is visible through his colored areas.  I wish he did more artwork here at home, but know that he has to do things like that on his own terms.  I will look forward to the next masterpiece.

I will also look forward to watching them master new techniques, try something they haven’t before, pull those creative thoughts out of their head and turn them into something tangible.  I will take a lesson from them and apply this enthusiasm in my own life.

Peace & Love

I had hoped to attend a guild meeting this afternoon.   Unfortunately, the pinched nerve or whatever it is in my hip has left me wanting to spend all my time standing.  Sitting is incredibly uncomfortable.  Painful, even.  And it’s not just sitting, but bending in any fashion that is problematic.  So imagine the mother of small children, clutter strewn about the living room floor, and not being able to pick it up without sending searing pain through my hip and down my right leg.  How I’ve longed for an excuse not to clean up…

Deciding that I would be unable to sit through our meeting, I hit upon the idea of doing a fiber related project at home, while standing.  The lovely Alison decided that this would also be a good opportunity to spend quality time with mom, particularly since Alex was alternating between helping dad outside with animal chores and playing a video game.  What could be more fun than dyeing yarn!!  A girl after my own heart.

Despite her impatience with the prep work (filling dye squirt bottles, mixing up another quart of royal blue, and setting out the proper drop-cloths so as not to spill anything), we embarked on our project.  Alison first watched me dye 2 pounds of wool/mohair blend in various shades of purples, greens & blues.  I told her that even though I sometimes think I know what colors I’m going to use, I always change my mind as soon as I put the first one on.  No plans, no rules (except the safety ones), and every batch a beautiful new surprise.  We take notes, however, on what colors are applied and how, so that if we really like the results, they can be replicated.

Alison listened dutifully, cataloguing this information in her mind for future reference.  I asked which colors she might like to use on her own skeins.  “All of them” was her matter of fact reply.  She pointed to one bottle after another, carefully assessing its qualities and then squirting it on the yarn.  It was interesting to watch her and fun listening to her commentary on the various colors.  “I really like the dark reds”, “This blue has a lot of green in it”, “Yellow is a good color here, right next to the pumpkin” – all this from a 6 year old.

The skeins took the color beautifully.  Hers are stunning, and she has a great future in dyeing yarn if she wants to sign up.  Well get working on those digitals so everyone can see for themselves.

But if you’ll excuse me for now, I have to go stand up. This sitting around is killing me.

Peace & Love

I have entered into the realm of being hip, having been given an iPod for my birthday last week.  It is a great metallic green (think granny smith apple green, and you’ll have a good sense as to its color), almost credit-card slim, about 3 ½ inches in length.  And it holds over 1,000 songs!  Bob, being the resident techno-genius, helped configure the thing so I could begin downloading some of my favorite cd’s onto this little wonder of a toy.  You can arrange things, delete things if you get sick of them, add new ones at whim (you can even buy a song at a time on iTunes) – the possibilities are endless.  Who knew?

I love to listen to my iPod, but I have a dilemma.  Two, actually.  The first is that despite the fact that my lovely family gave me this to use and enjoy, I somehow feel as though I would be distancing myself from them if I were to use it in their presence.  It seems some sort of an insult that I would rather be focused on music rather than them.  Then the perfect opportunity arose – home alone, working at the computer – no one could feel ignored!  Earphones in place, I turned on the music.  Thirty seconds later the phone rang.  After handling that business call (we do have a business to run, after all), I popped the earphones back in.  This time the music lasted about 4 minutes before the phone rang again.  And again, and again.  What began as a quiet morning, in which I had hoped to clean up correspondence, run reports, etc., turned out to be just another hectic day of calls.  And no time to enjoy my gift.

Dilemmas always force solutions, so here are mine.  I will pick up some converter device whereby we can all listen to the iPod (especially in the car), and, if business is slow, I’ll just put in the earphones which will prompt a day’s worth of sales calls.  These things really are cool!

Peace & Love