Wow. I mean, Wow. Seriously. Wow.

I made it to the Mason Dixon Knitting sidebar. Oh my gosh. I need to go sit down for a moment. So, if you just surfed on over from there, hello! Glad you could visit! The knitting you are looking for is in the July 21st entry. I would love to elaborate on my progress, but I'm still sewing up the next square. I've been "sewing up the next square" for several days now. I keep hoping, what with all the fiddly little seams you have to sew, that I will start to love seaming. So far? Hasn't happened. Still a pain in the ass. I do, however, love picking up and knitting on the sashing. And the little squares in the corners? Absolute heaven. So I just have to grit my teeth and get to the good stuff.

Um. Hi! Still kind of feeling like a deer in the headlights from the sidebar mention. I keep hearing "We're in the Money" sung by Daffy Duck replaying over and over in my head. Oh, and "Hollywood!" Okay, yes, there may have been too many Looney Tunes in my past. Whatever gets you through, right?

On to other news. The boy has successfully been moved into his own room! Yes, the little man slept in his nursery two nights in a row. Finally! I am very glad to have my room back after six months. I am already deep in the planning stages of a redecoration project. Not that we need it. I mean, come on, everybody keeps their clothes in and on a dresser where most of the clean laundry ends up sitting in clothes baskets in front because the drawers are too difficult to open and shut. Right? Right?

Of course, due to my complete inability to pick a design aesthetic and/or color palette, the redecoration has stalled momentarily. It's not that I don't know what I like. It's that I can't find what I like in any store. Am I the only person who finds this recent trend to a kind of Neo-Baroque style incredibly ugly? What's with the brocade draperies? And the tassels? And the ball fringe? Although, I admit it, I went to B, B, and B yesterday and found a number of things I almost liked well enough to buy. Which is a first for me. So maybe the tide is turning.

God, I hope so.

Okay, so, I lied....

I keep meaning to blog. Really! And then life intrudes, and I have to, uh, do laundry. Or play with the boy. Or watch every episode of Making Fiends.

But I'm here now. Doesn't that count?!

Anyway. I still hate the North Carolina weather. Why do I live here? I would much rather have it be cold than hot, and yet here I am. Sweltering. I don't even go outside if I can help it. And bugs, could you possibly not attack me every time I leave the house? What is with you? Do I go buzzing in your face every time you want to check the mail? Do I attack your ankles as though I am starved for fresh blood? Do I? DO I?

Ya know, the phrase "Do I" looks really weird now that I've typed it twice. What kind of weird ass word is "I" anyway. It isn't a word, it's a letter. It should at least be "Aye", or "Ai".

Maybe I will just get back to the blog. Digression. You gotta love it.

I am forging, slowly, ahead on the psycho baby blankie. Three squares done, three more to go, unless I decide to make it bigger, in which case I will have to make an additional three. Or perhaps an additional six. AAAGH. Can you tell I am winging this as I go along? The knit blogger I am lovingly copying (read: swiping) this design from is done with hers, and it looks great. Hope mine looks as good. (Who am I kidding. I want mine to be a bazillion times better than hers. Not that it will be.) Here's a progress pic:


Anyway, gots to go. Check out the kid's blog for new stuff soon! (Just turned six months, so baby stats are new!)

More frogs, more giant insects....

Imagine, if you will, a lady. She is sitting on the sofa in her living room. Perhaps she is knitting. Perhaps she is feeding a child. Perhaps she is watching television. Now, follow her gaze to the window. There! Do you see it?



Yes. That is a frog. Suction-cupped to the outside of my living room window. I guess that's no weirder than having them fall through the chimney and hop all over the living room leaving little soot tracks.

Oh, and here's one of the beauties that loves to buzz around our cars on sunny days, perching on the plant bracket holder thingy as though poised for take off.



And yes, "Plant bracket holder thingy" is a technical term. Shut up.

'Twas the book made me do it....

Forgive me, readers, for I have sinned. It has been two weeks since my last blog. I do not take responsibility for this, however. I blame my birthday.

You see, the people I love best gave me books for my birthday. Which I have been reading every spare moment when I haven't been taking care of the baby. They are now all finished, and aside from the requisite "end of book depression" I am okay now.

What did I read, I hear you asking. Reviews as follows:

The Hallowed Hunt, by Lois McMaster Bujold. Although not as good as her previous books set in this universe, still a fast and enjoyable read. I thought it took too long to get to the meat of the actual plot, which wasn't really clear until halfway through the book. Before that, it was mainly character positioning. That said, the characters were as wonderfully fleshed out as usual. If you've never ready anything my LMB, don't start here. But if you enjoy anything she does, you'll enjoy this one.

Finding Serenity, by Various. For fans of the sadly defunct tv series "Firefly". This is a collection of essays about various aspects of the show, including feminism, existentialism, the mental vacuity of Fox network executives, and the cogent-or-not use of Chinese. Really fascinating. If you are a fan, read this book. If you aren't a fan, or have never heard of this show, go immediately to your library or video store and watch it. You won't regret it. (Warning: science fiction/western content. if you have a knee-jerk negative reaction to either one of these, don't bother. if you are an open minded individual who enjoys good writing, have a great ride.)

The Language Instinct, by Steven Pinker. Amazing book. Forget everything you ever thought you knew about language. Oh, and forget all of those little "facts" you've been told. (Eskimos having 200 words for snow? Complete bunk.) Some of the things you will learn:

American English is more similar to British English from around the time of the Revolutionary War, despite the Brits complaining about our "bad english". Makes sense, doesn't it?

There is very good evidence to support a "Universal Grammar", a genetic "rulebook" on how to construct sentences. That is why it is so easy for small children to learn however many languages. It isn't just rote memorization. But the book slams shut after childhood, so if you haven't learned it by then, it will be a long hard slog.

The average high school graduate knows 45,000 words. And that's a low estimate. It's probably more like 60,000. And for people who read more, 90,000. Therefore, high school graduates must have been learning an average of ten words a day since their first birthday, or a new word every 90 waking minutes.

I have completely oversimplified all of these facts, but believe me, he doesn't. The writing is clear and concise, and entertaining as well, with tons of examples from everything from scientific studies to internet funnies.

So go read a book! And I promise to keep up with the blog from now on....