Krafty Kitten

A chill is in the air as fall and winter begin to descend on Northern Indiana.  I should consider myself lucky that we had such pleasant weather lasting through September, but now I can see the leaves go from green to the yellow and red shades for fall.  The warm colors belie the coolness in the air though.  We had our first frost this week.

My tomatoes never did well, nor did anything else I planted this year.  I know part of it was the sheer distraction we experienced with the losses we suffered this summer, but I also blame the groundhog for eating my beans and the ground for sucking so hard.  There just isn’t enough good dirt to grow anything useful.  So, next year, Big Guy is building me a raised bed and we’re going to go through and add real dirt to the soul and hopefully do much better.

I finished my super secret project, which was a 9 square blanket for my sister-in-law for her birthday.  It turned out much better than I could have hoped for, considering the crunch I was under.  9 granny squares of 9 rounds, with each grouping 3 sets of triple stitches.  Clever enough for a birthday that occurred on September 9, 2009.

I’ve also been busy teaching.  I just finished a round of Composition 2 and am preparing to start a class for the basics.  This will be my first time teaching this particular class, so wish me luck!  I was telling Big Guy, I really do love teaching and it is rewarding to see people connect with the language.

We received our Angel Food Ministries box and already have made some tasty meals from it.  My personal favorite involved pork chops, pears and fresh sage from my garden.  It was truly delicious and the pears complemented the pork beautifully.  I also made chicken and beans in the crock-pot because we received two HUGE chicken breasts so I used one breast with beans and I think the other might be slated for some homemade chicken soup.  Yum!

It’s been a busy week. I have to admit, I am glad it’s almost over.  For me, it really is.  I don’t have class tomorrow because they are moving to the new building and that means no teaching at all until Monday.  What a break!

Now, aside from grading, I really have time to focus on some other things…  Like writing in my blog and working on my OMGSOSUPERSOSECRETPROJECT and working on my novel. It’s been a rough summer, and it is probably only just beginning to hit us exactly how rough a summer it was.  I am going through, getting rid of clothes and gathering up toys, now that the house is mostly empty.  We’re still trying to adjust to life without the kids and it’s beginning to hit me exactly how much I put into the kids.

When Big Guy and I got together, I was determined to be the best step-mom ever.  I read books, made sure I didn’t overstep my bounds, and tried to follow the best, most rational advice available.  I offered support and guidance to my husband when he tired of the games his ex was playing and really devoted a lot of time and effort into both the battle and making sure the kids had the best chance at sanity that I could provide.

So, for six years, I threw myself whole-heartedly into being a step-parent, to the exclusion of many things that I really should have been doing for myself.  And this May, when that effort was revealed to be useless, I really felt betrayed and destroyed by it.  But, through June and July, other things occupied my thoughts and time.  And now, I’m left with myself, Big Guy and Little Guy.  And it’s leaving me feeling a bit jittery.

So, where do I go from here?  Well, I work on something else.  I focus on the things that are important, like Big Guy and Little Guy.  I work on my projects.  And I sit back and breathe, take stock of where I am and figure out what I am feeling (aside from the surface emotions).  This is a new chapter in my life, let’s see what it says…

It’s been a pleasant and productive weekend and promises to continue to be a productive and peaceful week.  It started out on Friday evening, when I was able to march in the college graduation ceremony as a professor, complete with proper academic robes and an academic hood indicating my graduation from Saint Mary’s College.  It was a great experience, for me and for my mom, who keeps telling me that her tuition money is finally paying off.

I got to march in with the professors, even though people kept thinking I was a student.  Flattering but no.  Seriously though, for the most part, I am younger than my students.  Teaching gives me a chance to pass on my love for language to my students hopefully.

This past month I was complemented in both the classes I taught when one from the composition class said my class has caused him to pay more attention to emails and one of my World Lit students felt like his eyes had been opened to one important part of literature.  He also told one of the other professors that he really enjoyed my class.  Go me!  It helps when the students are actually responding to you and that was really the best part about this past month. It seems in smaller classes, the apathy is less spread throughout the students and they are more easily infected with excitement.

I also finished all my pink granny squares (or ‘grandma squares’ as Little Guy says) and have one left for my blue squares.  These are going to be sold at the Harvest Market on July 18th.  After blue, I am probably going to crochet some white ones and go on from there.  .  I’m starting to zip through them reletively quickly too.  And, since this week I don’t have to teach, I can focus mainly on churning out some of these projects.  I’ll finish up the granny squares and hopefully get started on some of the sewing projects.

I realize that my life as an at-home mom/freelance writer/crafty urban homesteader/English teacher is probably not what my mom expected when she sent me to college, but I can also say I would not be able to be all those things without my college experience.  Plus, I am really happy that I’m not a secretary any more.

The heat and humidity of summer seems omnipresent now.  I have the AC set in the house at night to prevent my waking up panting and sweating.  I can handle it during the day, while I’m awake.  When I sleep, though, I need the cool air.  And, because we have air conditioning, we’re hosting the neighbors overnight because we have AC and  Neighbor Girl is worried about her young ones overheating.

I finished my second and third pink granny squares and am working on the fourth and final pink square.  I’ve tried to make them all different, or contain the same pattern but slightly different.  For example, I have the first ping and fuzzy granny square and then another wone crocheted in the same pattern, but with different types of yarn.  So, once this last pink one is done I will work on blue, black, and white.  It’s not like I don’t have enough yarn.

Tomorrow is the final day of classes for the month and then I have a week off.  The first full week of July, it’s back in the saddle though.  I have another Comp class to plan for.  No rest for the weary indeed.  Especially since the week I start class is the last week of Big Guy’s employment.  I would really like a chance to NOT have to worry for once.  On the bright side, once his employment ends, it will give us a chance to look at where we’re landing.  And we have a lot fewer people to worry about.  It goes to show that everything DOES happen for a reason.

I finished my first Granny Square yesterday and I’m working on another one.  I’m probably going to do sets in different colors and sell them for a dollar a piece at the Harvet Market. I used fuzzy yarn for one and bordered a pattern with it.  It was interesting to say the least because it was hard to see through the fuzz.  So, after I bordered the square with the fuzz, I followed up by adding another couple rows of yarn.

We’ve stepped up attempts at potty training, complete with “underpants” that have trucks on them.  We give him animal crackers for going pee on the potty and once he poops, he gets a Hot Wheels car.  I plopped him down on the chair this morning and he went…  Unfortunately for us, Little Guy has inheirited some of the more difficult aspects of our personalities.  He’s stubborn and is going to do what he wants to do, which, right now, does NOT include potty training.

I watched the “big announcement” episode of Jon and Kate plus 8.  Unsurprisingly, they’ve decided to seperate and have filed for divorce.  It’s sad to see because so much could have gone differently had the communication been present.  And watching this episode, it isn’t just one person’s fault.  Kate is still pushing and determined to do things her way.  Jon doesn’t want to hear it, doesn’t want to talk to her, doesn’t want to listen to what she’s saying.

My heart breaks for the kids in all this because both parents are claiming they want what’s best for the kids while making it painfully clear that they aren’t willing to do what it really takes.  Maybe I am jaded from my experiences with “blended families”, but I would imagine the “peaceful” existance Kate is touting for the cameras is only going to last as far as it takes Jon to want to be in his kids’ lives.

It did rain a bit this morning, with no thunder.  *whew*  The sound of rain pattering on the roof is very calming, especially when you’re huddled under blankets and listening to it.

Got up this morning and went to check on Little Guy only to discover a very naked toddler sleeping in his crib!  I woke him up and asked: “Where’s your diaper?”

“Diaper?” he responded.  “Poopy diaper?”

My initial thought was: “Oh dear lord, no!”  Luckily, I found the diaper and it wasn’t poopy.  It was, however, wet.  I took him into our bathroom to try going to the bathroom on the potty chair, which was not successful.  As soon as he hit the water for his bath though, the faucet turned on.  So it was a quick, rush out of the tub to try peeing on the potty.

Gotta love kids.  He played in the tub and we practiced with his tub letters and numbers.  I pointed out the difference between 12 and 21, which he got confused.  And then the letters and numbers apparently had a war in the bubbles.  More power to them.

Doing dishes, laundry and I will hopefully get a chance to crochet.  I’ve been itching to get my hands back into the yarn, but classes and prep for the garage sale interrupted.  Hopefully, now that things have settled, I can get back to work! Plus, as I start rearranging the house, I’ll be able to sort my own stuff out rather than worrying about kid stuff.

My slipper attempts have been paying off and the first one is just about finished.  I just need to trim off the cuff.

That picture is from the very early stages of the slippers, it looks much more slipper like now.  I’ve already got people interested in purchasing a pair, which is awesome.  If you would like a set of super fuzzy slippers, contact me and let me know!

Last night, I made an awesome goulash type of dish for dinner that was quick and easy too.

Super Easy & Filling Goulash

1 lb ground beef
1 can diced tomatoes with chiles
1 can tomato sauce
1 bag wide egg noodles
liberal ground red pepper, adobo seasoning, cilantro, chili powder

Brown the ground beef with the seasonings in a medium sized sauce pan; drain the fat.  To the meat add the diced tomatoes and the tomato sauce.

Get the noodle water boiling.  and boil the entire bag of egg noodles for 10 minutes while the sauce heats through. Drain the noodles and return to the pot.  Add the sauce to the noodles and mix thoroughly.

I’d recommend serving with shredded chedder cheese.  It’s delicious, filling and warming.  Little Guy loved it, I could tell because he had three helpings and was smeared in tomato sauce.  He looked similar to this:

The spicy warmth of the noodles, despite all indications to the contrary, we desperately needed last night.  Today, it’s supposed to snow.  This is seriously disturbing, considering the trees are only just beginning to get their leaves. In addition to that, I still haven’t planted my peat potted things because it’s too cold.  I’m seriously annoyed.

We’re heading into MAY. I know this is Indiana, but it’s supposed to be warmer than this.  How can I get my fruits and veggies if I can’t even get the plants in the ground!  My cantaloupe are going to start flowering indoors soon!

In a 12 step program, there’s a point where you have to start off by admitting you have a problem.  This is NOT one of those posts.

I admit freely, that I love yarn.  I am probably addicted to the new yarn smell.  Then there are the colors, the feel between your fingers, and, of course, the sheer potential that a skein of yarn embodies. It could be anything; shawl, afghan, slippers, toy.

The colors are the best.  I choose mostly multicolored yarns and fuzzy yarns because I prefer the tactile sensations and interesting colors.  I probably do need to stock up on more normal, single color yarns for large projects, but for now, I need to finish some of the projects I have going.  For my own sanity, and that of Big Guy’s.

He’s stopped complaining when I bring home yarn, which is probably a good thing.  At least I don’t have to hide my addiction from him.  Plus, he gets enjoyment out of the things I make and sell .   I have a fellow addict, my enabler and yarn shopping partner, my mom.  I think it must be a genetic condition since she is also my fellow fabric addict and enabler.

I also get my writing skills from her.

Hmmm.

In any case, I have a wonderful stash of yarn and am a firm believer that you can never have too much yarn. With a little ingenuity (and a lot of yarn) you can do pretty  much anything.

Finding peace and relaxation in crocheting is a good way to end up with lots of stuff.  Luckily, crocheting lends itself well to almost any project you can think of, from clothing to toys.  If you go to any hobby store, they have an aisle full of books on crocheting and knitting, including books on amigurumi, or the knitting and crocheting of stuffed animals.

When I discovered this, I went all out looking for cute, cuddly creatures that I could use up yarn on.  And discovered birds .  The pattern looked relatively simple, something I could do while chasing after Little Guy, and would hopefully not take an enormous amount of time and effort.

And indeed it was quick and amazingly easy for someone who is an intermediate crocheter.   It is also great practice for crocheting in the round, which came in extremely handy on my slipper attempt.  More on that later though…

The bird (nicknamed Parrot) has become an instant hit at our house, due in part, I believe, to the inordinate cuteness of the bird’s butt.   It is a really cute butt for a bird, and so clean too.  I made some slight changes to the pattern, as you can tell by the length of the bird’s body and I sewed on a beak and used yarn knots for the eyes.  The length of the body is due to the fact that I used only the back loops of each sc.  However, the length also contributes to it looking more like a par

I have long hair.  Incredibly long hair.  When it’s wet, it’s below my butt and heavy enough to pull my head back.  Most days, I put it up in a ponytail or a bun so I can get it off my neck, out of my face, and away from little fingers. But some days, I want to have my hair down without it getting in my face.

So, Hello Crocheted Hairband!

I used Ribbon yarn for the band and worsted weight yarn to attach underneath.

Band -

Chain 36 (use an N sized hook)

Row 1 - (using K hook) sc 6 st, dc 6 st, tc 12 st, dc 6 st, sc 6 st, chain 1 for turning
Row 2-? - Repeat Row 1 until band is as wide as you want and then tie off.
String -

Sl st worsted weight yarn to middle of band and chain 60 TIGHTLY. Sl st to middle of opposite side and tie off.

Snip excess yarn and then slip over your head and enjoy!