Sinuously Curved Lace Scarf - done :)

I've been participating in the International Scarf Exchange for the past few rounds. For you non-knitting readers, the ISE is a really cool exchange involving about 200 knitters from all around the world, you make a scarf (can be handknit, crochet, or hand woven) for your secret pal, while another secret pal is making one for you. Last exchange, I sent a scarf to Switzerland and received one from Scotland, very cool. This time, the pal I am knitting for is in the US, but still pretty far away.

I finished the scarf for my pal the other night. I made a Sinuously Curved Lace Scarf from SweaterBabe.com. It was a fun knit, the lace wasn't too difficult, the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran was lovely to knit with, and I think it looks terrific :) I will definitely make this pattern again! I will change the lace repeats a bit next time, though - the first 5 rows of the repeat are just a stockinette section, which looks good on the ends, but not in the middle of the scarf. I didn't notice that until I was too far into the scarf to frog back. So its not horrible, but I notice it.

Sorry about the crappy quality of the pics. Everyone knows that photography is not my art :) Plus, it was dark and rainy yesterday, so the lighting is bad. The actual color is a really pretty dusty rose.

Book Review: The Handmaid's Tale

My book club discussed The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood for October. I was so disappointed in this book, I thought it had potential to be great, but it really fell short.

It is the story of Offred (pronounced Of Fred), a handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, a fictional, futuristic United States taken over by extreme right-wing Christians. In a world of declining birthrates, handmaids are assigned to top-ranking officials for procreation purposes. Women are strictly controlled in Gileadian society – they must dress according to their class, no social contact with men, they cannot own property, control money, hold jobs, or even read.

The book is billed as a ‘feminist 1984’ and it definitely had a 1984-knockoff feel to it. Instead of Big Brother, the ‘Eyes’ watch everyone, anyone defying the government is tortured and/or killed, the news is full of lies, the society is constantly at war, etc. From a literary standpoint, it was nowhere close to 1984, Atwood’s writing is pompous and self-indulgent and her character development is sorely lacking. From a feminist viewpoint (not that I really claim to be one), it’s a sad commentary on women in today’s society. First, that we would let ourselves be degraded to that point, and second that we would then be pleased with things as trite as black market fashion magazines and sparkly dresses.

One of the ladies in my book club suggested that we weren’t supposed to ‘like’ the story. I get that, I don’t think Atwood wanted to write an enjoyable story. But it should have left an impact on me, and it really didn’t. I didn’t care what happened to any of the characters, I didn’t care what happened to the society, I just didn’t care.

Using Greg’s rating system, I’ll say 2 Pultos out of 5. I really wish it had been better.

I've been tagged :)

I've been tagged by Alicia (bajanknit)

Here are the rules:
1. Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog
2. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs. Let each person know that they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So let’s see what I can come up with…

1. I can’t stand when the sleeve cuffs on people’s T-shirts are flipped up. I have to turn them back down. I even fight the urge to go up to complete strangers out in public and ‘fix’ their shirts. Greg flips his up just to annoy me.

2. I am a very, very messy person by nature. I try very hard to combat it, but its hard.

3. I can’t draw. At all. My dad is a pretty good artist, but apparently he didn’t feel it was necessary to pass this cool talent on to me.

4. I also can’t sing. I’m completely tone-deaf. Although, everyone else in my family is also, so I guess I can’t really blame anyone for that.

5. I am horrible at keeping in touch with people. So all of my friends that I don’t write to or don’t call – I still love you!

6. My favorite New Kid was Joey. And anyone who was a pre-teen in the late ‘80s knows exactly what that means, and you had your own favorite New Kid too.

7. If I could look like any celebrity, it would be Jennifer Garner. But I wouldn’t marry Ben Affleck, though, I think Matt Damon is much hotter.

Ok, there’s my 7. Now, who to tag next…
Greg, Heather (LadyBugMom), Hart, Shannon, Laura (WestLakeWife), Kathy (MsAnnOMalley), Katie (Kaydee)

Sometimes I think they might actually like each other...

Its rare. But every once in a while, my kids don't fight with one another!

Super Mom!

Some days I just have good days. I can't explain it (trust me, if I could, I'd replicate it every day!) but some days everything just falls into place for me. Today is such a day. Greg helped me give the kids a bath before he left for work (we were out late the past two nights, and we have our church group tonight, so they really needed baths), I got them both dressed and they both ate good breakfasts. I vacuumed the whole house, took a shower, stripped and remade all the beds, started washing sheets, ran the dishwasher and did a quick food shopping trip. Back home, played for a bit, both kids ate good lunches, then Mariana went down for a nap. Owen helped me straighten up the living room and we played CandyLand. I lost, but barely. I was *this* close to end, but drew the gumdrop card and had to go all the way back. He checked toys he wanted from Santa Claus out of the Toys R Us catalog while I cleaned the kitchen. Now Mariana is awake, my house is clean and picked up, laundry is going, kids are happy and well fed, and we even got some playing time in. I think we'll take a walk soon :)

Ok, ok, so I didn't get to the gym. I never claimed to be perfect!!

On a totally unrelated topic, I felt this was important enough to share. This is actually one of my biggest pet peeves - I am so picky about what Mariana wears, and I'm sure its only going to get worse as she gets older.

Pumpkins!

We went to the Second Annual Callahan Pumpkin Carving Party yesterday :) We had fun, and our three pumpkins turned out pretty good. Normally, I prefer the traditional jack o'lantern face on pumpkins, but Owen picked out these designs. I actually think they turned out pretty good!!

Two pictures, in the light and in the dark:

I love this woman!

Nothing like an almost 4 month break from blogging :) Hopefully I'll get back into it.

I have to share this story. This woman is my new hero! Greg said "This is so going to be you in about 30 years, I'll have to come bail you out of jail..." How great is that?