The joys of Motherhood!

This Sunday I was dragged out of bed at 5:30 by my 6YO daughter (notice the absence of "dear") who was REALLY awake and who woke me up by turning the room light on. Now sometimes I can get back to sleep after something like that but not today.

Fine so far - daughter watching DVD, mom catching up on internet time, solicitously brings daughter a glass of juice, things seem OK. I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER!

As I was writing a supportive post for somebody on Knitters Review who is having a hard time with weaning off anit-depressants I hear the words EVERY mother dreads - "I'm sorry mommy - I messed - I'll help you clean it up". Daughter, against ALL instructions to the contrary, has placed her glass on the arm of her chair not on a table. Glass was almost full of Orange Tang. Chair was right next to the cupboard that is FULL of the kids video collection.

I rush out to get paper, yell at daughter who has stepped in the mess to take her shoes off so she doesn't track it EVERYWHERE (I have wooden floors). Does she say "yes mom" as suits a child who has just spread juice all over the floor. HELL NO! She says "They're not shoes, they're slippers". I refrained from killing her but it DID NOT improve my mood. I sent her to the kitchen to put the glass in the sink and to bring me kitchen roll. I wait. I wait some more. I go to the kitchen to check that she hasn't been eaten by the cat or encountered some killer creepy crawley. She is getting herself some frozen youghurt.

My mood DOES NOT improve some more. I take kitchen roll and realise that juice has permeated right under the cupboard mentioned above. It is too heavy to move. I begin to remove all videos. I empty cupboard, remove door, and try to tip it over while sidestepping my son's dirty laundry and artwork that he has left lying all over my lounge. The shelf, which I had forgotten about, falls out and lands on my foot. I use inappropriate language, remove the shelf, and drag my son from his bed to clean up the crap I was hoping he would have cleaned up before bed last night.

I popped here to write this in an attempt to let off steam while the paper soaks up the juice. THANK GOODNESS my cleaning lady comes in on Monday. My lounge is currently citrus scented. I hope the ants don't smell it.

Tell me - do any parenting books warn you about this?

I think I need to leave them both with my brother and go out for a Grande Wild Mocha and a Chocolate Brownie. So much for watching my waistline and cutting down on caffeine. I suppose in the greater scale of things it's better than killing the kids. OH YEAH - it's just gone 7 and nowhere will be open for an hour or two. I think a cup of instant and a biscuit will have to do me.

Don't get me wrong - I love them lots - I just don't LIKE them right now.

Too Tired for a REAL post

Ok - had a busy week, had a busy day, too tired for a real post. Today was payday, got my hair cut, took family shopping, bought daughter 4 pairs of shoes, bought me 5 pairs of shoes. Had to slip the tan boots past the daughter as she didn't approve. Took family out to dinner.

Did some surfing. Found this. I'm particularly fond of number 4. I have an underactive thyroid and low blood pressure and a BUSY life so I'm always tired and snoozing for that length of time sounds GOOD.

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Jayne!

1. You should always store Jayne in an airtight container in the fridge.
2. Jayne cannot jump.
3. Louisa May Alcott, author of 'Little Jayne', hated Jayne and only wrote the book at her publisher's request.
4. Jayne can sleep for three and a half years.
5. The difference between Jayne and a village is that Jayne does not have a church!
6. If you lie on your back with your legs stretched it is impossible to sink in Jayne!
7. An average beaver can cut down Jayne every year.
8. Jayneocracy is government by Jayne!
9. Jayne can drink over 25 gallons of water at a time.
10. Jayne can not regurgitate!

I am interested in - do tell me aboutherhimitthem

Lots of Pictures today

Hi Everybody. I haven’t posted much for a while so I’m making up today.

First the bad news. I have decided to withdraw from the Knitting Olympics. I don’t know if it’s the sheer volume of knitting or the fact that I’m doing Fair Isle SERIOUSLY for the first time in my life or if it’s just that I’m not really used to holding yarn in both hands, but my hands and shoulders are SORE. I know that some of this is stress, but I do a lot of PC work and have had RSI issues in the past so I’d rather play it safe and retire hurt now rather than waiting for the doctor to tell me to stop. I will indeed finish the jacket. It is looking WONDERFUL and everybody who sees it loves it. I’m well into my second repeat of the pattern but not even half way to the Olympic finish line. I feel like such a failure.

Now the good news. I went shopping for sock yarn online here and it arrived yesterday. I had actually forgotten just how much I had ordered and was surprised by the size of the parcel. I got a lot of bulk boxes and told them to surprise me with the colours. There were 40 balls and 7 skeins in total.

Here’s EVERYTHING laid out on my bed.

Here’s the Opal yarn.

Here’s the Trekking.

Here’s the Regia.

Here’s the On Line and Sokka.

AND – here’s the Opal hand dyed stuff. Now I just need more needles so I can knit lots of socks at the same time.


I also decided to get out and meet people so I went to a Honey Fashion Accessories launch and signed up to sell the stuff. I don’t really need the cash but their stuff is GORGEOUS and it’s a way to get out of the house every now and again and meet people I don’t work with every day.

February 14th 2006 was .....

Jackie's 6th birthday. She had her party on Saturday, her presents yesterday, and her party at school today. I baked and iced 2 cakes, made 30 party bags, entertained a pile of kids (in my house rather than my garden due to rain) and tried to stick to my KO schedule despite a total lack of time to knit. Girl - child birthday stuff is now over for a year, Boy - child birthday stuff will start in March when he turns 16. The pictures you see somewhere around this text are the cake (Cassie from "Dragon Tales" in case you are wondering what the picture is supposed to be) and the birthday girl in her Ballet clothes and Birthday crown.

I have also uploaded some pictures of my Olympic Knitting progress. I am almost through one whole pattern repeat. I need to finish another 3 (OK, one row short of another 3) to reach the armholes and my Olympic Goal. I'm hoping to pick up speed now there is no more Birthday stuff to distract me.

This is a close up

And this is a picture of the whole thing.

I'm really quite impressed at how well it is turning out. The colours are pretty true to life, and much more subdued than the picture at Virtual Yarns and the picture on the pattern leaflet. I think I like this A LOT!

Good News and Bad News

It is Day 3 of the Knitting Olympics. I have good news and I have BAD NEWS.

The good news is that, despite it pouring with rain yesterday afternoon, my daughter's Birthday Party went VERY WELL. I got the cake finished, she was delighted, and my house is still standing. Photos and more info will follow when I have time to do something other than knit on my Olympic project.

The bad news is that, this morning, while admiring the progress that I had made, I realised that my jacket (knitted in the round) had a TWIST in it. It was only while I was ripping it out that I realised that I could probably just have cut the steek early, untwisted, and carried on, but it's too late for that now. I have just reached the point I was at this morning. At least I'm past the garter stitch edging - For the record it is a PAIN doing colour work in garter stitch in the round as you have to do every second row in purl and it is a BUGGER to keep moving the wool back and forth to keep the little draggy bits at the back.

HOWEVER, now I am on to knitting EVERY row things should speed up. It is looking GORGEOUS and feeling lovely too. Photos will follow when I get a bit ahead on the knitting.

Off to knit some more.

GO TEAM WALES, GO TEAM SOUTH AFRICA!

Knitting Olympics - Day 1

OK - it is the first day of the Knitting Olympics and I have done - NOTHING!

I spent the day at one of the mines, got home late, need to make a cake and party packs for my daughter's birthday tomorrow, and will perhaps get to cast something on. Doesn't help that my oven appears to be acting up and I have a cake with burned edges and a raw centre. My daughter also wants a picture of Cassie from Dragon Tales on the thing. I have talked her out of having the whole picture and she has agreed to settle for just the face which will hopefully be easier for me to do.

Considering the burned edges I just might do a "shaped" cake, assuming the middle cooks. Otherwise I'll be off to the home industry shop tomorrow looking for a rectangular shaped cake to ice. Of course, if the little Miss Madam had made her mind up earlier I could have had one MADE.

AH WELL - the joys of motherhood never cease. This too shall pass. Before I notice it she will be a teenager and TOO COOL or ON DIET to want a cake made by me.

Today, incidentally, is not just the first day of the KO, it is the 6th anniversary of my EX dumping me. The mathematically minded will realise that, consdering my daughter has her birthday on Valentine's Day, this means that I got dumped the day my daughter was due. What can I say, his timing was ALWAYS impeccable.

Alright - must go and see if turning off the oven will lower the temperature enough for the middle of the cake to cook. I'll hopefully have some progress to post about tomorrow or I'll be one of the Olympic "also rans".

Knitting in Public

OK - I have been stuck in a worshop since Monday. Full attention has been required but the use of hands has been sporadic at best. I have been eating TOO MANY of those little peppermints they put on the tables and drinking far too much coffee.

Today I took my knitting in with me. I got some work done on my sock and on a baby blanket. It's all part of my training for the Knitting Olympics which will start on Friday. I'm just amazed at how well everybody took it. I got a few annoying requests to be "added to the list for socks" but I explained to them that I have a job and THIS is a hobby. If I offer to make something (like the baby blanket) it is a hobby. If they ask me to make something (like socks) it becomes a job and they have to pay me the same hourly rate as my employer. They can't AFFORD me.

My daughter is having her birthday party on Saturday. Her birthday is on Valentine's Day but this is easier for a mom who works full day Monday to Friday. She handed out invitations over a week ago, I specifically asked that they reply, I invited the whole class - 20 kids. Number of calls to confirm - 2! Am I the only one who thinks that this is RUDE?

Anyway - must go to knit (what I want to be doing) or make party bags (what I should be doing). Still have to figure out how I'm going to make a Barbie cake in time for the party. At least my brother is off to house sit for a friend tomorrow so I'll get a break from him. He is getting on my nerves so much lately. I know I should just chill but sometimes it's not possible for me. I think the combination of him and my 15YO son who seems to think that schoolwork will do itself if he ignores it long enough is just getting to me. It doesn't help that the weather has been gloomy for AGES and doesn't seem to be clearing up.

Maybe the thrill of competing in the Olympics will jolt me out of this funk.

No longer a Sock Virgin!

Woo Hoo - I turned my first heel today! I joined the Six Sox knitalong and am busy with the Feb / March sock. I'm trying to get as much done now as possible so I don't feel so bad about abandoning them when it becomes "all Olympic Knitting all the time". This will happen on Friday - think I might finish the sock by then?

This is what the leg looks like - no you can't see the heel on this one as I hadn't done it when I took the photo and haven't had time to take a photo of my progress. This is my first sock and my first beaded knitting.

I did try a sock years ago but lost interest while knitting the heel flap. I have matured. I am really quite impressed with myself. I did GOOD!

FINALLY doing the tagging thing

OK - in one of my first comments I was tagged. I have finally finished the thing and, here it is. It didn't take that long to do, just took me forever to get round to it.

Four jobs you have had in your life
Well – now that I think about it I’ve only worked in 4 places SO:
1. Cahier in a bottle store
2. Actuarial clerk type stuff at Southern Life
3. Actuarial clerk type stuff at Alexander Forbes
4. Various jobs at AAC / DBCM , different titles but basically the same general stuff

Four movies you could watch over and over
1. The Incredibles
2. Anything with Wallace and Gromit
3. Love Actually, just without somebody sitting next to me constantly asking “Who is THAT” or “Why’s he changed his hair” or “What’s happening NOW” like I had at the (too full to move to a different seat) cinema
4. Bend it Like Beckham

Four places you have lived
1. Port Talbot, Wales
2. Newcastle, South Africa
3. Witbank, South Africa
4. Benoni, South Africa
My dad is a metallurgist so I got to grow up in some of the most boring mining towns know to humanity. Now live in Randburg, South Africa and work for a mining company – go figure

Four TV shows you love to watch
1. The Amazing Race – just wish the contestants could hear my comments when for the nth series in a row they put unleaded petrol into a tank clearly marked as “Diesel”
2. Strong Medicine
3. Charmed
4. Firefly

Four places you have been on vacation
1. Butlins
2. Durban
3. Kruger Park
4. Drakensberg

Four websites you visit daily
1. Knitting Solo
2. Yarn Harlot
3. Yahoo Groups
4. Knitter's Review

Four places you'd rather be right now
1. Right here but with all my laundry out of the way and the meals cooked for the rest of my life
2. At the airport, about to take my kids and my mom to see my Grandad who the kids have never seen (he’s my only surviving grandparent) and who neither I nor my mom have seen for over 20 years
3. One of the Disney theme parks, with the kids and free passes to the front of the line for all the rides we want to go on
4. Somewhere I get to sleep late, get pampered, do whatever I want whenever I want, with bottomless credit cards and all the time I’ve ever wanted to do all the things I’ve ever wanted to

Four bloggers you are tagging
In the spirit of Team Wales – Jamaican Bobsledders of the Knitting World...
1. Aunt Gerry
2. fyberduck
3. Anisa
And, in the interest of helping a friend get her blog and her life back to normal
4. Gina

I hope nobody minds being tagged. If you do, just ignore me and act like I don't exist.

We apologise for the break in transmission

Hi there everybody
Sorry for the big gap since the last post but things got a bit hectic round here. Work, the weekend, and a business trip kind of put a crimp in all my plans to immortalise myself in prose on my blog.
I'm just happy that I had some time to knit, on Eris, not Rogue - I see that nobody pointed out my mistake. HMM - note to self - that was probably because NOBODY read that post. Anyway - Rogue WILL be knit in the round when I've finished fiddling with the pattern. I HATE HATE HATE sewing up seams.
In the meantime I have been knitting on Eris, a Kiri shawl that has a deadline and, just in case I was thinking that I was cutting down on the old WIP list I started up a baby blanket for a colleague due in May.
Need to shut up now and go do mom stuff.
Still busy with the countdown to the Knitting Olympics.
More things to come.