Parenting: If it doesn't kill me, it will make me stronger.

Greetings, and Dear Cynthia,

You are so ambitious in processing your harvest, and it all looks so yummy! And, sounds like almost all of your jars sealed well, too, so YAY! Your hard work really paid off!

First, some quick knitting content, because I don't have a lot of knitting to show for the past few weeks...and second, against my better judgment, I'm including some snapshots of my new haircut, too...

Here is a completed ankle sock made out of leftover yarn. It is toe-up, and I used 60% (instead of 50%) of the stitches to make the heel.I think the heel looks "large" because it is a contrasting color, and because I'm accustomed to looking at my other heels which are all a little bit smaller, and so it is somewhat obvious that I used more than half of the stitches for it, though it fits great and the casual observer would never even notice. Thanks to Debi for that tip for adding a little bit of room to my sometimes otherwise snug heels in my toe-up socks.

Here's a new sock I'm just starting for one of my friends:It is my first time using Trekking Yarn. My friend has feet which are a little bit bigger than mine. To be fair, she's also about a foot taller than me...

Here's the bottom of what is going to be a boring blog sweater which probably won't be done for MONTHS, the Alpaca Vee, made out of wonderfully soft alpaca yarn, and stockinette stitch all the way! It has hems at the lower edges. On the body of the sweater, I knit the first few rounds back and forth after casting on provisionally, then joined to work in the round, then standard "hem protocol" of knitting some rows, working one row purl, then knitting some more until it is time to turn up the hem. By knitting the first few rows back and forth, after I turned up the hem (catching in my provisional stitches along with the stitches of the current row), I ended up with a little "hole" on the inside so that I could insert a length of elastic, or a rip cord, into the "casing" formed by the hem, if needed. I know that once in a while, the bottom of a sweater can flare out a little bit, and my dh does not like that as a design "feature", so if I do end up having that issue on this sweater (and preliminary indications are that I won't), I'll be prepared to easily fix it.

And, here is my haircut, which my kids thought looked really weird, though now, after about a week, they've decided they like it after all.... Pictures taken without the benefit of a bathroom mirror, and I'll add the disclaimer that it is the middle of the night and I'm blogging right now because I couldn't get to sleep, and by the way, this is the first time I've noticed I've got some gray (which could explain the expression on my face), so I guess the camera doesn't lie...or maybe it's just the reflection from the flash...yeah, or maybe I'm delusional. Side view:
And a view from the front -- what I look like under the previously discussed conditions except with the added "flash ten inches from my face and I'm looking right at it" affect: In all honestly, I think I look better in my drivers license photo, though my eyes are open here, so its a step up from my high school senior pictures. My seven year old has cowlicks, and just now I figured out why...

Anyway, let's just say that the end of summer has been a bit of a challenge. My kids have utilized FIGHTING INCESSANTLY as a means of combating boredom, and it's taking it's toll. One day, I decided that, since they seem to have enough energy for slamming doors and stomping on the floors, I would help them channel their energy differently....perhaps more productively?.....by having them run laps around the nearby park. At first, they did not like this. In fact, shortly after I had given them each their "lap assignment", and as I was taking care of business in the bathroom, my four year old stood at the doorway and calmly told me, "I **definitely** want a nicer mommy." He and his brother then proceeded to discuss the merits of living in a different family, how things would be so great with a much **nicer** mommy, etc. In any event, we all went to the park and ran laps (and I ran along), and by the end of it, we were all enjoying ourselves. So then I told them, if they want a different mommy, that would be okay. I'd pack up my bags that night and go stay someplace else, and perhaps they would find somebody who didn't make them eat their vegetables or try to get them to behave. My four year old stepped up then and told me that it would be okay if I stayed at "our house" that night, **really**, and he does like me, **really**. My seven year old said, "Yeah, it doesn't matter to me."

And my little "baby" turns five on September 4th. He has requested **a** pancake for breakfast, brought to him in bed, and shaped like the number 5. I guess it's a good thing he has so much confidence in his parents' ability to figure out how to do that? My dh has accepted the challenge. I'll definitely try to get a picture of that!

I'm sorry I haven't been posting very often. It's been a crazy August, and I won't bore you with all of the details, but I've been out of town three times, there's the getting my kids ready for school thing, and I also started another class last week (College Chemistry II).... But, school starts for my kids this week, and I am hopeful that our schedule will settle into more of a steady state to allow me more time to visit with you via this blog.

Happy September!
Warm regards,
Laura (YarnThrower)