An Inconvenient Truth

My Sleepy-Voiced Husband is home, safe and sound, and all is right with the world once again. Except that I have gained 15 pounds of awkward weight in the belly that makes me ungainly and maybe a little bit slow when trying to sweep under the benches in the greenhouse. That might be why SVH swept 2 of the greenhouses in the time it took me to sweep one.

Yesterday, I saw An Inconvenient Truth, finally. Is it wrong that I have a geek crush on Al Gore now? I thought the documentary was well made; I appreciated the way they juxtaposed his life with his talk about Global Warming. I just admire that he has taken his "catastrophic event" and moved through it gracefully and is now making his life's work about preventing other catastrophic events. I'm not a climatologist, but his information looked scientifically sound to me. I've been reading and hearing these same things for years in journal articles for classes. Thank whatever-higher-power-you-choose that the recent trend of pretending Global Warming just isn't happening or is some vengeful, leftist propaganda plot seems to be on the downswing.

So, if you haven't seen it, go! There's a nice update in the special features in which Gore discusses what has happened since the 2005 talk. The website is helpful, too. It's such an important topic, please take the time to see it.

The best laid plans, blah blah blah...

Remember on Saturday, when I talked about all the things I was going to get done this week? I have not done ANY more of it than I had last time I posted. Plus, one of my little mattress fixes came undone. Sigh. It seems that just the regular daily stuff plus 9 hours at work is all this little Mama can handle.

I guess there was Tuesday... Kouros woke me up twice in the night, vomiting up his food. I had also found a bolt lodged in my tire on my way home from yoga Monday night (too late to do anything about it that day). So Tuesday morning, on the way to work to quick tell my coworker that I was running to the mechanic, the clicking of the bolt on the pavement stopped... and the tire was flat a block later when I pulled into work. Fortunately, the lovely mechanic came, plugged the hole and made everything all better for about what I'd have to spend to get free Amazon shipping. Kouros got in to see the vet Tuesday after work (he was still leaving piles of regurgitated food when I got home) and it turns out all he needed was some hairball treatment. All's well that ends well. It was more than the daily grind, but none of it was stuff I could cross off my little list.

The things I have been doing, like cooking for myself, keeping the house clean, taking care of my kitty, have been good. I can feel good knowing that my priorities are in order. I know I need to find a job in MN if I want to move. I know I need to get rid of some of the crap in our house so that we don't have to move it across the country again. I know I need to get the set sketches done for our summer musical. I've been an all-nighter, push myself to the limit kind of woman in my past, but right now, it just can't be that way. I'm not going to risk my or my child's health for a job, a theatre group or anything else.

It's hard for me to realize that I can't do everything all the time. I may love the goal of simplifying, may find solace in things like yoga and meditation, but I still have that bit of myself that wants to go full speed all the time and rack up a dizzying list of accomplishments while having the clarity of a simple lifestyle. I may never lose that desire, but I've found that some of the limitations pregnancy has placed on me have been good for me. I'm so fortunate to have the luxury of being able to slow down some during this time; I don't have to work two jobs, and I don't have ailing relatives or small children who need constant care. I can whittle down the demands on my time without dire consequences. Perhaps this week hasn't been the loss I was originally thinking it was.

Hey Hermano!

Have you ever tried to do futon mattress repair? Especially when you have no idea what you're doing? My advice is get a really long needle. My needle is only about 3" long (I so didn't want to go out of town for one stinking needle), and it has been PAINFUL on my poor fingers. I repaired 3 little puckery-quilty-things and it took me about 3 (or maybe 4) episodes of Arrested Development. On DVD. So no commercials, but that's still over an hour. I'd like to blame Kouros, and while he did try to chew through some of the excess cord I was using, it wasn't really a problem. Carl has the camera for the week, so I have no ability to document the fascinating progress (and for this, you should be grateful).

I did get the dishes and the grocery shopping done. I also swept the apartment and did a load of laundry. Home is liveable. I was pretty tired this weekend so I didn't get as far as I'd have liked. I have yoga after work today, and between that and just the normal daily stuff, I won't make myself do any extras today. I need to get some good sleeping done.

Speaking of Arrested Development, any fans out there? That show is absolutely brilliant! I was disappointed when it got canceled, but it was on during a busy time for me, so I wasn't really able to watch it regularly. That is totally the key to this show. You need to see them all so you can catch all the call-backs to jokes in previous episodes. ["Brother" in English, Italian, Spanish and French gets lots of mileage] This show lends itself SO well to DVD because you can watch them all in a short period and catch jokes. You can also pause it and see all the jokes put into newspaper clippings, webpages and other printed material shown on-screen. I think this show has become my all-time favorite. It may be dethroning The Office (in all its incarnations) and News Radio as my favorite of all time. If you haven't see Arrested Development and you like those other shows? Do yourself a favor and rent season 1, PRONTO! That was me speaking Italian. Ciao, Fratello!

Good intentions...

It is so BEAUTIFUL outside today! I've got the windows open to air the winter out of this poor apartment. There's a loverly breeze blowing through and I'm just so happy that FINALLY spring is here. In the past 48 hours, every daffodil in town has exploded. This winter was so long, and even though there was still a small pile of snow left on the edge of a parking lot I saw earlier, I'm pretty confident in saying that's the end of that for another year. Please, please don't let me jinx it by saying that!

So I've got some time to myself in the next week, and I've decided there are some tasks that need doing. Some of them relate to moving (job applications, getting rid of unwanted possessions so I don't have to move them across the country), some of them relate to improving current living conditions (decluttering, cleaning) and some of them are things I just haven't gotten around to doing (mend the hole in that sweater, send a package, sketches for summer sets). I've been working on a list, and trying to figure out how to get these things divided up over the next 10 days or so.

Today, I need to finish the massive pile of dishes I started last night. If there were one task I could never have to do again in my life? Dishes. Hands down. I'll wash windows, I'll mop floors, I'll clean toilets. I despise doing the dishes. Next place we live? Dishwasher. Definitely. That's a deal breaker.

I also need to pick up groceries so the bambino/a and I are well nourished, which means more lists. I need lists. My mind is to jumbled and cluttered and swirled, so without lists, I flit from thing to thing and never complete a single task.

Finally, that bad cat that lives in my house has pulled out the quilting in our futon mattress. I know, we should have gotten a cover immediately, but we didn't, and he has managed to pull the cords out that help the mattress keep from slumping. I've got the mattress lying flat so I can start to get it back into shape. I bought some cord and long needles, so once I beat the stuffing back to where it belongs, I'll replace the ties Kouros ripped out. Little brat.

.....

So after I wrote that, I talked to my Dad for an hour, and got invited to dinner at a friend's. Perhaps that will be added to my to-do list for tonight and tomorrow? Shit, I'm already falling behind. Why aren't you people keeping me on track?

Thump, thump

There's a lot of sad and disturbing stuff in the news these days. So I've been mostly avoiding it. For the time being, I've been trying to make sure the person I'm building to contribute to the world has as healthy and happy a start as I can give. A stressed out Mama won't be any help. I've been focused inward a lot more, which has been rewarding, because I've started feeling the baby moving around in the past day or so. No wonder Cari called her child Thumper while still in the womb- that's exactly what it feels like. I can't wait to be able to feel it from the outside, so SVH can enjoy it, too. He's been known to hold the cat like a baby in preparation for impending fatherhood.

In other news, I've got a lot of stuff that needs to get done soon, so over the next week or so, I may be using y'all as my to-do list police. Sometimes, you just need people to be looking over your shoulder, keeping you on task. I'll try to include cute cat pictures in there regularly to keep things from getting too dull round here.

Visual DNA

This little thing was fun. It was fairly descriptive, in the vague way these personality test things can be. More importantly, when you're choosing your little things "about me," the pictures are really gorgeous. It made me want chocolate and a vacation.

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Like mother, like child

We had an ultrasound on Thursday, and it looks like we've got a little thumb-sucker!

I sucked my thumb for years. I guess this one takes after me.














I felt inspired and started a little baby sweater in happy citrus colors to counter the dismal weather. It'll be cute for a boy or a girl- we decided not to learn the sex of the baby. We're just really, really excited!

Twenty Weeks

Here's that latest belly shot... not quite 4 weeks after this one:
I wore the same outfit on purpose so you could compare. This blue shirt doesn't cover as much as it used to. Thank goodness for the tummy sleeve. I'm long waisted as it is, so my shirts were always just long enough. The moment I started to show, I was showing skin, too. I also didn't bother with the makeup today, because I was running behind this morning. Pregnancy has not been kind to my complexion.

Easter Trip

I meant to leave a note on Thursday but didn't get to it. I spent the weekend in NJ at my grandparents' house with my parents, sister and brother. They had new video of my nephew, too! Got to see the first bath, which was so damn cute I could barely stand it. It was wonderful to see them. They took lots of video and still pictures of me and my big old belly (I'll post one here soon), which made me feel so good! I was kind of fun to be fussed over. My sister Cat kept talking to my belly, willing it to be a girl so she could buy lots of dresses this time.

It was also sad, because I don't think Grandpa will be around much longer. Usually when we go there he is grumpy and unpleasant. This time he was docile and kind of out of it. He's weaker than I've ever seen him, and he got sick on Sunday. He was put on some antibiotics, so I hope he's doing better today. Still, I don't think he plans to be around much longer. He smiled at my belly a lot and laughed at the antics of SVH and my siblings (we have SO much fun together!), but he seemed rather detached. I'm worried about my Grandma, because she's holding on to him with white knuckles, bound and determined to keep him alive, and once he goes, I think she's going to be a little lost. So strange. A few years ago they seemed to be waiting each other out, just barely able to stand each other.

Well, that's it. I'll post pictures soon. Now, I need to get to work. Kiss kiss!

I should have known

At lunch yesterday, I was trying to get into the refrigerator, but I was having difficulties. See, SVH had 3 pairs of shoes on the little mat in front of the outside door, and they got pushed in front of the fridge door. I started laughing and asked if he had any more shoes he could put there. He went into the living room, got another pair of sneakers and tossed them at my feet. "There."

I managed to get over the pile and into the fridge (our door opens on the wrong side and I've never gotten around to switching it). Suddenly I hear THUNK, THUNK, THUD! against the door. He said, "There, that's all of them from the closet, too." Kouros was a little freaked out.

He said he hopes our baby gets his sense of the sublime.

*Sniff*

We got this postcard in the mail yesterday. We gave our godchild, Gabby, a book of watercolor postcards for Christmas. We addressed the first one to ourselves so she could paint it and send it to us.

Fred and George

I love that the Weasley Twins's birthday is April 1st. I don't know if that was specifically mentioned in the books or if I got it off of JK Rowling's website. Anyway, happy birthday, Fred and George. I wish I had left school in the same flamboyant manner they did.

Finally, I got new batteries for the camera, and I have a picture of the gifty Fetchings. I think this yarn (Baruffa Maratona) is a slightly lighter worsted weight, so they came out wee. I added a second twist at the knuckles because they were so short. It's ok, Nicole is wee, too. They fit her perfectly. The weather up here is taking a turn for the shitty this week, too, so they may still be of use to her yet this season.

Earlier today, Carl was sitting at the computer and said, "Did you see the huge chunk of bread on our window sill?" Well, I could see the window sill, and there was no bread on it whatsoever. He said, "On the outside!" And sure enough...

I had no idea how it got up there- we're on the second floor and it's a sheer drop to the ground. I didn't hear anyone chucking bread at our windows last night. I did hear some drunk college kids staggering back to campus, and Carl heard some big rowdiness across the street when a party broke up, but it was all voices at a distance.

Then, an hour or two later, a fat squirrel ran along the sill, retrieved his bread, and scampered back across the street on the telephone line. Unfortunately, I wasn't quick enough with the camera. And Kouros wasn't quick enough, either.

P.S. I totally forgot that yesterday was my 1 year blog birthday! I had been looking forward to it, and then it completely slipped past me. Anyway, thanks for listening for all this time!

Did anyone find an extra 7 days?

I lost a week. I'm not sure where it went. I kept thinking that I had just posted, but it's been a week. It hasn't even been a particularly busy week. I did a lot of job searching and research into continuing health insurance coverage after leaving a job, but that wasn't all consuming. I don't know what the hell happened.

I did finish my second gift fetching. Of course I don't have my camera with me, and I brought them to work because I thought I'd be having lunch with the recipient this week. Perhaps I will 1) bring the fetching home tonight, 2) get new batteries for my camera and 3) take a photo to share. I think I might have added a stitch or two to the picot bind off, because mine is very toothy-looking.

I have also found a place to get rid of the red heart and the acrylic I tried to teach myself to knit and crochet with in high school. I'm donating it to the Knittas! Should you have some yarn you want to get rid of, they said they're always happy to receive new yarn for their tagging missions. Just click on contact and send them a note. They'll get in touch and tell you where to send stuff. I love their knitted graffiti, and I love that they take acrylic yarn! That's one more box I don't have to move halfway across the country.

P.S. I did check the orange conditioner bottle- the nudist sport is volleyball. I think April left that in the comments last time, but I wanted to let you all know that I was thinking of you in the grocery store, and I checked so I could share the knowledge.

Amusements

We have this shampoo and conditioner, and I can't remember which kind it is (maybe herbal essences or something?) , but it amuses me to no end. For each kind of shampoo and conditioner, such as extra body, or moisturizing or what have you, they have trivia questions. The answer to the shampoo is on the conditioner and vice versa. What tickles me so is that we have two different "styles" of shampoo and conditioner right now, so the questions and answers don't match up. This is the one I read every morning and smile to myself:

Q: What is the most popular sport played in nudist colonies?

A: Yourself.

It just brightens my day. Next time I'm in the grocery store, I'll have to pick up the orange colored conditioner and see what the actual most popular sport played in nudist colonies is, even though it can't be any better than my answer.

I'm also amused by the fact that the first time I typed nudist, I spelled it nudest. Like it's a competition.

Other amusements include the fact that my belly suddenly popped this week. By Wednesday, my belly had gotten all taut. My navel hasn't started to stick out, but it's become perfectly round. When I was first gaining weight and it was all soft, my belly button had gone all deep and horizontal. Now, I can suddenly get to spots in there than I never have before. It's the cleanest my navel has been in 32 years!

We have a friend coming up to visit from DC. I emailed his wife a month ago to tell her about my "condition" and I don't think she's checked her email since. Or maybe it's been shut down since she's graduated. Anyhoo, it should be funny to see how Clint reacts. I've had several people at work eyeing me, not wanting to ask, but still pretty suspicious. We'll have to see how word travels, eh?

Well, I have to go eradicate some spider mites. Don't worry, I'm only spraying soap on them. I don't do anything stronger than that right now. Not while I'm a host organism myself.

Lots on the Needles

I've not had a very good attention span lately. And my knitting shows it. These are all "projects" (and I use the term lightly) that I started after the Christmas knitting was done, so Christmas day or later. I call it the ADD gallery...


Clockwise from the upper right: 1 1/2 Fetchings in Baruffa Maratona (a VERY late Christmas present for my patient friend Nicole); a provisional cast-on for Enid in Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool, with the swatch in the center; 1 1/3 Fetchings in Knit Picks Swish Superwash (for me); the beginning of a toe-up wee baby sock in some left over purple Dale Baby Ull (for my little bun); and the cuff +1 1/2 pattern repeats of the Rainy Day socks in Austermann Step.

My first priority to finish is the gift Fetchings. I can get it done by the time I have lunch with Nicole on Wednesday. I realize that is not a great feat, but I've been slow.

I've done no art to speak of. I think it's time to begin sketching again. I couldn't even think about it for a while. I began to miss painting so much I could barely stand it, but I learned that oils are a big no-no for pregnant ladies. But I miss drawing, too. My husband and doctor together suggested I begin to work in crayons. So nice when your doctor is as much of a smartass as your husband. Oh well, at least she laughs at the things he says, rather than being totally appalled.

Speaking of that baby in the belly, here's the first of the pregnant profile shots. I'm almost 17 weeks in this picture (just over a week shy of entering my 5th month). I don't think I'll be hiding much anymore, do you?

It Worked!

Those crossed fingers worked! My nephew Jordan was born at 2:31 central time on the Ides of March. He was 8 pounds, 1 oz, 21 inches long, and had 3 1/2 inch long feet! I think my nephew got some of the same genes as his Uncle Jes (my "little" brother with the size 16 feet).

I've spoken with my Mom (aka Nana) and the proud new parents, and they all can't stop talking about how wonderful he is. My Mom is even a nurse! She had 4 of her own! And yet, she is now 100% thrilled and delighted with her new role as a grandmother. She sounded enthralled when she talked about how beautiful and how soft he is. It is so cute! She said, "Oh, Susan, I am so excited for you guys! It's just so wonderful." I'm so excited to see him, but it made me even more excited to have my own! It's suddenly all much more real.

My sister is practically high she's so happy, which is a good thing because she wound up having a C-section, and she's not so good with pain, like I said. Jordan was sideways up until a week and a half before his due date. He finally turned head down, and they decided they didn't have to schedule a c-section after all. Then, once they broke her water yesterday, the little stinker turned sideways again. The doctor got him all turned properly, took his hands off Annie's belly, and Jordan immediately moved back sideways again. Stubborn little rascal... sounds EXACTLY like his mother.

When I talked with Annie yesterday, she couldn't stop saying (in a rapturous voice), "He's so cute! He's just so cute! I can't believe I made him!" When I finally interrupted her to ask how she was feeling, she said, "Um, pretty shitty, actually." Ok. The first time Carl met Annie, she was moaning, "I'm DYING and no one cares!" She was having what we found later to be a problem with her appendix. Every time she had these pains and we took her to the doctor, none of the tests they did showed any indication that her appendix was the problem. Several years later, during her appendectomy, she kept starting to go into shock as they tried to bring her out from under the anesthesia. Her body is overly sensitive to pain even when her drama-queen consciousness is subdued. For this woman to not even mention her own discomfort until asked is a testament to the power of motherhood, I guess. I'm still not sure what the body snatchers did with my sister... but we'll keep this one.

My brother-in-law has been a big old puddle over the whole thing. He's so excited he can barely stand it. He holds and talks to Jordan every chance he gets. Jason is an only child, and I'm pretty sure yesterday was the first time he ever held a baby. My Dad has already been to the hospital with the video camera, so one of these days, I'll get to actually see the baby! My Dad is a psychologist, and he had been called over to the jail while Jordan was on his way, so he had to visit later. [Mom shocked the nurse when she told Annie Dad couldn't come right away because he was at the jail. Kind of like the time Annie answered the phone when she was little and said Dad couldn't come to the phone because he was in jail.] The other day, Dad was telling me how excited they were about the coming grandchildren. I can't wait to see my Dad as Grandpa. We've always loved seeing him with babies and kids, because he genuinely likes them. He was such a great Dad, he played and played with us, and I can't wait to see him with the next generation. He'll probably be out in the back yard playing hide and seek with Jordan the way he used to play with us.

It has been so much fun to hear and see the transformation of my family. I'm really glad I got to watch all of this. I've always been the first to do everything, and I've been so caught up in what's going on with me, I don't know if I've ever really observed the effects on the rest of the fam. I've really enjoyed seeing this. It's made me SO excited to have my baby. I know things work out the way they should- I'm a firm believer in that. I think for the first time, I'm actually glad for the way things happened. Last summer's miscarriage was sad and painful, but in a way, it's made everything so much better now. I don't know if I'd change anything. Everything just seems really right.

Have a wonderful day, loves!

The Waiting Auntie

Hopefully, my nephew-in-progress is making his way into the world as we speak. He is a week late, going by the latest due date given. As of a couple of days ago, my sister was dialated barely 1 cm. Fortunately for her, they have this thing now that acts on the cervix to cause dialation- the doctor kept referring to it as "the Barbie tampon." I'm not sure if this is different than the Prostaglandin suppositories or not. I am glad to hear about these options that don't involve a big old dose of pitocin. Or a very small dose, whatever. It's just supposed to make things so much more painful.

So... soon? This little boy is trying to break my sister of her planning, scheduled ways already. It amuses me to no end, because I've always been a little more fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants. Anyhoo, keep your fingers crossed for my hypersensitive-to-pain sister. She needs a short labor and a good strong epidural.

Girls in White Dresses With Blue Satin Sashes

Random list of favorite books:
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenedes
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
Portrait in Sepia by Isabelle Allende
Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood
The Ground Beneath Her Feet by Salman Rushdie
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle
Shopgirl by Steve Martin
Any of the Harry Potter books by JK Rowling
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Hunger by Knut Hamsun
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Usually, those books that I truly love I will read repeatedly. I also love to read a book and then get an audio copy to hear it in someone else's voice. The Harry Potter series are an exception here, because I've only actually "read" the fifth one. The rest I've only listened to, albeit over and over and over again... love you, Jim Dale! He's such an amazing reader.

Some of the books in my list, however, are books I've only read once, but could not put down. Or I actually took the time in college, when there were many other demands on my time, not the least of which was dinking around with friends, to read the book because it captivated me. I think a book that can hold onto you, despite your very strong urge to slack off, deserves some credit, don't you?

Then there's my candy reading. I'm a sucker for murder mysteries. I dearly love me a Patricia Cornwell book where you get to follow the whole forensic investigation. Or Kathy Reichs. I'm partial to the John Sandford books because they take place in my beloved Twin Cities. Lucas Davenport apprehended a suspect at the gas station just a block from my old apartment, and I love being able to see exactly where things are taking place in my mind. I also adore the Dianne Mott Davidson books featuring the caterer/crime-solver extraordinaire, Goldy Schultz. Yes, I know. A caterer who always happens to be around when people are dying. Or else she knows the people who are dying. And her husband's a cop. But come on! Murder mystery + recipes? Fantastic. I love to combine my candy reading and food. I've made several of the recipes in the books, too. Excellent.

I also love completely unique worlds. Like Hogwarts, like Narnia, like the Old Kingdom in the Garth Nix books. I'm a little more choosy when it comes to fantasy books. I'm much less inclined to pick up just anything. But there's something wonderful about completely escaping the world I inhabit.

I'm sure I'll remember a dozen wonderful books, left off the list. There will probably be an addendum once I return home, scan the bookshelves and see favorites jumping off the shelves at me.

I bet you've wondered...

...what Kouros has been up to, right?


He sits in cardboard boxes.














He reclines under the drying sections of his freshly cleaned commode.












And he steps in the crust of the tart I try to make for dinner.

So Many Thanks

You're all so damn sweet! I have the best imaginary friends on the whole internets! Thanks for all the lovely wishes and congratulations. We're very excited. It's been a fun so far... well, other than the gas.

I am so excited by Hesira's post today. You need to go check it out. Remember when I tagged everyone to share beauty, both your own and those of the beautiful people you see every day? Hesira wrote about a young woman from one of her classes, and included a picture that just glows. It just made me so happy.

In that spirit I wanted to share a moment I had a couple of years ago. I watched the movie About Schmidt late one night, while I was alone. Kathy Bates plays something of a free spirit in the movie, and at one point decides to join Jack Nicholson in a hot tub, in the buff. She is, of course, perfectly comfortable, and he is not. At the time, I remember talk show hosts, morning radio idiots and all sorts of other geniuses making LOTS of jokes about a woman of Kathy Bates's size doing a nude scene. The thing is, the scene is not meant to be erotic or sexy or anything other than awkward. Yet, there are a couple of seconds in which the camera is behind Kathy Bates as she steps into the hot tub.

And I was shocked at how gorgeous she was. She was all round and pink and curves and suddenly all those Rubenesque women I've seen in paintings throughout history made sense. I felt like I'd broken through that current beauty ideal barrier to appreciate the beauty those painters saw and captured. I'm really thankful for that moment.