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Showing posts with label the house. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the house. Show all posts

Monday, August 30, 2010

Midwife Monday

It starts of strange & depressing, but turns into a kind of funny story, so read on...

When I finally fell asleep last night, I had a dream. A weird dream. I dreamed I was in the birthing tub & I gave birth to a... squirrel. No kidding. In my dream I broke down crying saying, "Oh my gosh. What will my mother think? I gave birth to a squirrel." My midwife was trying to console me by saying, "Look at it. It's so cute. You will love it." - You see, I have come to terms in ways with my mother having walked out of my life over this pregnancy. I know a part of her still believes that I'm not really pregnant; that I'm just making it up. It's one thing for people to tell me I'm crazy when I've done something crazy, but this is not me being crazy! When I tried to "analyze" this dream, it had to do with having disappointed her in ways, although I truly know that this is her problem not mine.

Anyhoo.

Well, I went for my midwife appointment & wondered whether or not I should tell her about the dream. It was a strange in ways kinda dream, but then also kinda funny. I arrived & she peeked out and told me to go do the urine sample thing. I sat on the bed in her office when she came in and told me about these squirrels. No! I had not even mentioned my squirrel dream yet! She said that people know she raises abandoned squirrels; how she always has a container of cat milk, just in case. She said someone brought her squirrel babies last week; tiny ones that require feeding every two hours. My jaw must have dropped as she told me about it. I told her about my squirrel dream... It was just such a funny "coincidence."

She also gave me a lovely necklace with a bear on it. She said when she looked in her box, she immediately knew that I had to have it. She said bears are good mothers. :-) She reminded me that human gestation is 37-43 weeks, but that we've come to a place in society where it's hard to accept anything beyond 42 weeks. It was nice to have the reassurance that all is well. Lil' Bean's heartbeat is just fine. Healthy movements. All is well.

I'm going to insert a bit of "normal life" here. I'm really trying to hang in there, but I just miss him so much. The last few days have been especially difficult. I don't mean to be the depressing blog in your queue, but I also can't deny that it is so.

Yesterday I ended up having to dust the birthing tub. There were dust bunnies. A sure sign one has been waiting for a long time... My living-room fireplace is the only one not bricked up, but it used to be a coal-burning one, so it's not suitable for wood-burning. I put some candles in the spot & I have been enjoying the magical light in the evenings.

The boys have been fixing dinner almost daily. Here's Noah with a pizza bagel. The recipe was their idea. They were quite tasty.

I finished the Rosie Shawl. It needs blocking, though. On the needles now is my version of the Icarus Shawl - with a bit of a stockinette section. I'm using Swan's Island Organic Merino. I love the green hues, but the yarn must have been rinsed poorly or somethin'. - My bamboo needles are turning green! Yikes.

So much for Monday.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Unplanning The Plan & Somethin' Finished

The plan was not to unpack the boxes labeled "junk" & to store them in the attic... indefinitely. Doesn't that sound like a plan you could have come up with, too? I mean, by golly why would we ever need "junk?" Of course something useful could be in one of these "junk" boxes, so throwing them out now would not be an option.

Please do tell me that so far what I'm saying is totally reasonable, normal, logic & makes sense. :-) I like it when people tell me I'm normal. A few years ago I had a therapist for a couple of weeks & I vividly remember the day he told me he thought I was perfectly normal. :-)

Anyhoo.

Here comes the curve-ball.

I picked up the last three boxes I had stored at a friend's house today (not "junk") & my extensive knitting needle collection that I was still searching for wasn't in any of the three boxes. Big bummer! The only logic explanation is that they ended up in a box that got labeled "junk." Gasp! I guess I'll be unpacking all the "junk" boxes anyhow & I bet they will turn up in the very last box I will unpack no matter which sequence I decide on.

And here's an "it was an insomic Wednesday night" finished project...

Malabrigo Silk-Merino. I just really liked the colorway.
Off to Australia it goes to Kat J B's youngest child...

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Heartache & WIP Wednesday

It was the kind of day that makes you wonder if things had turned out better had you just stayed in bed. Lots of strange things happening around paperwork-related things that really annoyed the bleep out of me. As I was driving home, I started crying & screaming. Why did he have to die?

I flung myself on a living-room chair where this caught my eye on the bookshelf & things went downhill from there...

It's one of my favorite pictures in the book New Zealand Landscapes by Andris Apse, although certainly all the pictures are stunning. What an idyllic homestead in the midst of these beautiful hills! It reminds me of Canterbury, although it's actually near Tahora on the North Island. Brent gave me the book for Christmas. He had given me The Penguin History Of New Zealand when he first visited in April of last year. It has 500+ pages and I never read the entire book, so Brent joked that he would only give me picture books from then on... and he did.

He wrote in the front of the book, "Happy Christmas 2009, Cadi! The landscapes are better with you in them. Maybe some places to visit next time. Much love, Brent"

Less than a month later he died. "Next time" was supposed to be now.

Sigh.

Deep breath.

Now let me climb out of the pit to do the WIP Wednesday thing...

Something finished. Yay! I love the buttons.

Plans for this stash from bottom up: 12" square for a Friendship Quilt swap; Percy Lace Shawl; mini shawl.

A pilot-hat (Malabrigo) in the back (I finally got started, Cat J B!) & a Vanilla soaker in the front.

This should get the reward for "the longest lasting WIP ever." Remember? At one point I had three sleeves done, now I've "progressed" to one done.

Working on gathering the things listed on the homebirth supplies list.

And still unpacking...

Noah's bookshelf is coming along.

Ever heard of a dresser full of Legos? Well, it's reality in our house. There was a time when I wanted to sort them by color - in rainbow order. Crazy, huh?

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Moi House

First off, I must mention just how much I miss my children. They are spending the summer with their Dad in Kentucky and I can't wait for them to be home and see our new house and the sweet little kittens. Nathan has a bad case of swimmer's ear. He was so miserable when we spoke the other night & complained that his Dad was making him take "unnatural Tylenol" (rather than homeopathics). I thought that was kinda funny. They are camping over the holiday weekend & I hope he will still have fun, although he can't swim in the lake. I made Noah's day yesterday when the bookstore had 20% off all used books, and I got five hardback Harry Potter books for $35. Only #2 missing now. He reads them over & over again, so the paperbacks just didn't last.

Anyhoo.

If you came here for the Babynaming Laceshawl Giveaway, you can find the link here. Have fun. It's been great to read all the comments thus far.

Now on to the house...

It was built in 1910 in Barton Heights, which was actually the first suburb ever in Richmond. Original hardwood floors & fireplaces, but modern bathroom & brand new kitchen. Porch in the front. Deck in the back. Lotsa berry bushes & gardening potential. Psst... Maybe even chicken underground potential...
Picture a lil' pond there to the left (or right?) of the path & two or three fruit trees on the right side of the house... and lots of flowering this-n-that here-n-there... - At least that's how I picture it one day.

Rainbow organization - just slightly over the top. Actually, it looks very pretty, but it requires knowing the spine color of a book to find it quickly. Not very practical... Well, but pretty.

A little peek into the dining-room. The picture was Nate's Mother's Day Gift to me in 2007.

The living-room mantle gives me an opportunity to display my green glassware & there's still room for many, many more pictures. I'm still looking for the box with my big yarn & knitting needle stash.

I'm craving crunchy green salads & fresh berries. Not a bad pregnancy craving to have.

All pictures of the kittens are a blur. They just don't hold still at all...

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Last Shameless Plug & A House Snippet

One last shameless plug.
Voting ends tonight.
Please consider voting for me if you haven't done so already.
I'm listed in section 5, Claudia Thomas.
The voting link is here:
http://richmondmom.com/index.php/expecting-and-baby/page/category/dream_baby_shower/
You have to scroll down, the actual CLICK HERE TO VOTE is right after all the sponsor's have been listed.

Thanks!

Then back to regular, craftsy, housey, lifey... blogging just as soon as I have internet at the new home & the laptop power-issue is fixed (once again). I will also try to have pictures as soon as possible. It's such a pretty 1910 Colonial-type house with original wood-floors, 4 fireplaces, a brand new kitchen & modern bathrooms.

I feel very safe there already. The fire-alarm is extra sensitive, and the entire alarm is activated even if the house just gets a bit hot. Picture awakening to the siren-noise of eight fire alarms at 4:30 a.m. on your first night in the new home. It was hilarious!

Friday, June 18, 2010

The Dream House

Finally, I bought it.
Closing done.
Got the keys.
Moving in.