Knitting Zeal

T'was the day before Christmas...

(A bit of backtracking since the past three or four days have been a blur/whirlwind of activity!)

On Christmas Eve day, the toddler and I trekked into Philadelphia via train to visit daddy at work in the biggest skyscraper in the town.  Andrew enjoyed the train ride, even though it was a packed train and he had to sit on my lap and not by a window.  He loved riding the elevator and pushing the buttons.  It's the simple things in a two year old's mind that he finds exciting. We got to view the city from the 36th and the 43rd floors of the building which was amazing.  I tried to get some good photos of the city, but the sun was so strong it was challenging.  

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We also caught a viewing of the building's holiday show in 3-D display.  It was fun and the crowd seemed to love the show.

 

After an abbreviated nap we all headed out to the family Christmas Eve service at Chris' church.  The kids choir sang and Andrew was able to sit through most of the service.  That was followed by what may become our tradition of Chinese take-out dinner and holiday light viewing around the neighborhood.  Once we finally got Andrew in bed and asleep, we played Santa and then finally were able to relax.   

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Reindeer in the city

Last night we had the fun opportunity to go to Chris's company holiday party.  It was held in his office building in Center City, Philadelphia, which meant the toddler and I had to take the train into town at rush hour.  I'm not sure what was more exciting, taking the "choo-choo to daddy's work" or talking to Santa Claus.  It was very odd for me to have Andrew sit next to me on the train and not strapped down in a five point harness of a car seat.  He loved that he could stand on the seat and look out the window as we traveled.  He was good and didn't try to run around the train car and even held my hand in the gigantic station in the city.  There was SO much to look at, it was stimulus overload for both of us. 

We got to spy on the city at twilight from high above.  Chris's office is on the 36th floor and the "cafeteria" where the dinner was located was on the 43rd floor.  I forgot how beautiful the city looks at night, especially with some of the buildings decorated in green, red and white lights for the holidays.  The Cira Centre was especially entertaining from across town. Chris's company's version of a cafeteria makes me laugh--it is actually beautiful and very modern, nothing like anyplace I've ever seen.  There was a great variety of food to choose from, including some entrees just for kids.  My favorite was the enormous bowls of cold shrimp cocktail.  Andrew was too excited to eat, even when he had his choice of pizza, mac and cheese gourmet style, fries, sweet potatoes, cheese, shrimp, pretzel rolls, chicken fingers, ham, and so on.  No, he just wanted to drink my bottled water and watch the carolers.  He later ate one small cookie, a blueberry fruit/cereal bar that I had brought and two candy canes.  Full size candy canes.  Great parenting!

The highlight for Andrew was the Santa village outside the building.  We got to ride on a mini-train and wave at daddy.  We met Chica, the chicken from the Sunny Side Up show on Sprout.  There was a real live reindeer too, complete with beautiful antlers, on loan from the North Pole.  We had a nice chat with Santa and his very much younger wife, Mrs. Claus.  Andrew was in awe that Santa told him that he didn't recognize him from last year because Andrew has grown so much this year.  Andrew sat on Santa's lap and was very serious, but was not upset at all.  Later he kept talking about Santa.  It was really cute. 

The train ride home was just as exciting for Andrew.  All in all it was a fun, albeit, exhausting night.  Photos are posted over on Flickr.

Please check out my review of Kate Jacobs' latest book, Knit the Season on my other blog!

dishpan hands

Since entering motherhood the quantity of dish washing I've done has risen dramatically.  As a result, I suffer from terribly dry skin on my hands, particularly my palms and cuticles.  I used to always have great manicured fingers, but I very rarely take the time to paint my nails anymore.  I am constantly moisturizing, but between the increased hand washing from having a baby/toddler who is in diapers and a messy eater, to the threat of germs/piggy flu, my hands are a mess.  It doesn't help that the hand sanitizer I use when not near a sink for hand washing is almost pure alcohol, which really burns! 

My palms were so bad last week that one actually split open and started to bleed.  Ugly and painful!  I've invested in a slew of hand potions/lotions and even tried a few diaper creams (which were messy!) and have settled on Heal my Hands Ultra, which has helped when I don't have to wash it off.  One balm cake should last me 6-12 months, but I am going through this cake fast, so I may be re-ordering soon.  (I really love all the Heal My Hands products, especially the lavender mint balm and the vanilla lip balm--both smell wonderful!)  I discovered them at Rhinebeck last year (with Julie's suggestion) and found that those balms work the best for me. 

The biggest mistake I make is not wearing gloves when washing dishes.  I've bought those ugly yellow dish gloves, but have managed to poke holes in them or find that they don't go up my arm far enough so water splashes in and annoys me.  This weekend while doing a bit of holiday shopping at TJ Maxx I found a cute pair of kitchen gloves that were purple with long polka dotted cuffs that go almost to my elbows.  They fit well and really have helped, as long as I wear them consistently.  For just $3, I should have bought a second pair!  My hands have improved dramatically this weekend, so hopefully knitting will be easier, especially when the fiber isn't getting caught on my dry skin!

Pillow review!

Please check out my review blog for my most recent review of my new pillow!

Pillow Quest: watch for an upcoming review!

I've been in the market for new pillows...ok, actually I am always in the market for new pillows.  I haven't yet found a pillow that doesn't give my neck a kink or provides the support I want.  I recently discovered CSN Mattress, an online retailer that sells mattresses and bed accessories.  I am looking forward to trying out my new pillows when they arrive.  I will post a review on my review blog of them to let you know if I finally get some sleep!

Zinnia farm

The toddler and I went to a local farm today, along with friends, to see the pick your own zinnia fields.  It was a perfect day for it, warm in the sun, but not humid.  The bugs were only biting a little!  We picked about 20 zinnias and only had to pay $1!  Great deal.  Andrew liked carrying the bunch of flowers and was focused upon finding the yellow ones.  (He seems to like saying the word yellow.)

We also bought some fresh picked corn, tomatoes, a couple of peaches and cucumbers.  I would have bought more, but the wee one was so focused upon picking up handfuls of gravel and throwing it into bushels of vegetables I was a bit distracted.  

Only problem with going on a late morning adventure is that the toddler fell asleep briefly (ten minutes?) in the car and is now refusing to nap, despite really needing to sleep.  He is currently calling out for me from his crib.  He isn't quite two, but he certainly acts it!  

Happy Labor Day!  I can't believe summer flew by so fast!  I am not ready for fall, let alone winter.

cleaning out and preventing hoarding

So my latest project isn't knitting related, but one regarding cleaning out my home and simplifying.  I've been discussing hoarding with several people lately, saw a show about it, and discovered there is even a series on tv called "hoarders."  While I am not a hoarder by definition, I definitely am a collector and have collected too much stuff over the years.  Now having a child who keeps accumulating new stuff, I need to make room for his stuff. 

This all started with my grandmother's death.  While I knew she had many possessions, I have since learned from my aunt, who had to clean out her apartment, about just how much stuff she kept.  Apparently she had letters from the 1940s saved, along with lots of stuffed animals, clothes with tags, and tons of costume "QVC" jewelry, amongst other things.  My aunt was able to donate a large part of her stuff to Goodwill, but is now having trouble getting rid of the remaining things--trouble meaning that it is hard for her to part with those things.  She is threatening to bring it all up to my family (mom, sister and I) next spring when she visits.  My grandmother apparently had a huge collection of pot holders and kitchen towels--all new!  She also had lots of kitchen items, despite the fact that she hadn't cooked in years.   There is just so many remnants of our lives that we have that no one else is really interested in owning.  I started thinking about all the crap I own that is cluttering up my home.  Would I want my husband or son to have to go through all of it?  Certainly there is going to be stuff, but I have too much unused stuff.

So, starting yesterday, I've started cleaning out our basement.  I filled a whole big trash bag with old rugs that I was hoping to clean and old bedding that I thought could be reused again, but after a year in the basement that is constantly damp, there was no way anyone could sleep on it.  I realized that I saved stuff that I thought would be salvageable, but in reality, it was not usable or even in donation condition.   Today I filled two trash bags.  One with a large number of old lunch bags that had become moldy/mildewy or were ripped or didn't zipper anymore.  I threw out a wok that I had not used since I lived in out apartment, which was at least nine years ago.  I got rid of an electric skillet that had a broken lid.  I had saved boxes from toys...not sure why!  Those went into the recycle pile.  I still have a lot more to do, but I feel I got a good start.  I can actually see the basement floor better and was able to shelve some boxes where the trashed items had been stored!

To recycle some of the things we have that we do not need anymore that are in good condition I joined the local freecycle group on Yahoo.  We have three tv sets in our barn that we do not need, so I am hoping to pass them on to someone who cold use them.  We also have two window AC units.  We need to test them to see if they work before we pass them on. 

Starting last winter I had begun to donate at least one bag of stuff to the Purple Heart, who actually come to our house once a month to collect things.  That was very helpful at the change of season, when we sorted through all of out old clothing. 

This past weekend I sold lots of baby stuff at a consignment sale that is held twice a year.  I don't know how much  money I made yet, but the only things that didn't sell were some clothes, so I am happy with that.  (The clothes are going to Goodwill!)

I still have lots of work to do.  Hopefully Andrew will continue to nap daily, giving me at least an hour or so to keep clearing out.  It's going to take a long time, but in the end I know it will be a better place for all of us.

museums and sales

I decided to join the Philadelphia Please Touch Museum a couple of weeks ago, since it is such a fun place and my toddler is at the perfect age to enjoy most of the exhibits there.  It will be a great place to run around when the weather turns cold this winter.  We went there with my friend and her son and the boys had a great time playing.  I love how the exhibits can be enjoyed by a variety of ages.  My toddler is still a bit frightened by the carousel so we passed on riding it this time.  As a member we get 8 rides on it free during our year's membership.  Hopefully before the year is up he'll be a bit more adventurous.  (His first ride on a carousel at our local mall led to him freaking out and us switching from a horse to a seat and him deciding in the middle of the ride that he was all done.)

(For some reason I cannot upload photos on typepad today--not sure what the issue is.)

I sell the toddlers unneeded items twice a year at a local consignment sale held at an elementary school.  The sale is this weekend and consigners got to shop last night before the sale opened to the public.  I'm hoping most of my stuff sells...if not I'll end up donating it I suppose.  I bought the toddler a small plastic wiggles guitar for $2.  He is in love with guitars and did not put it down all day.  I'd like to get him a real one for his birthday, but I think a two year old would destroy the strings.  I'm considering a ukulele instead, but haven't found one I like yet that isn't a novelty item.  At the sale I also picked up a pair of snow boots for $7.50 that look new and some clothes, including a cashmere sweater from Crewcuts.  While a toddler wearing cashmere is ridiculous, it was only $4, so if it gets ruined, I won't be too upset. 

Happy weekend!

bee attack

The Exterminator

So we hit a bit of a problem the end of last week with our fence installation.  Between all the rain days and heat, the fence was delayed constantly.  Then the fence guys discovered a bee nest (technically I believe they were yellow jackets, that are really wasps, not bees but apparently I'm the only one who was being technical.  The exterminator even kept calling them bees) in a pile of wood that was on the fence line.  It was discarded wood from the previous owner of our home.  Apparently two of the three fence guys were allergic and one of them got stung, but only swelled up and did not stop breathing (and neither of them carried an epi pen with them!  duh.)  So they were a bit hesitant to continue working until we had an exterminator come out.  (They did try to kill them with gasoline and offered to burn them, but I'm almost positive that it is illegal in our township to start fires in your back yard.)  On Friday we had our exterminator come out to remedy the issue.  It looked like he was going to use a flame thrower, but in the end he used a lot of smoke and some wasp killer chemical stuff and then stirred up the nest.  He suggested getting rid of the wood pile, so Chris bagged it up over the weekend.  When the fence guys came back this week, they were cautious and said they still saw bees so they were going to wait a few more days.  I did find it slightly amusing/irritating when the one guy pointed out that he saw bees in our yard.  Really?  Uhh, it is summer and we have lots of flowers and edibles for them naturally.  I've never seen a bee-free yard in the summer ever.  Anyway, the delays annoyed me but they finally came back today and finished the fence.  It does look great and when they were here, they did work really hard at installation.  Now our yard is completely enclosed and the toddler can be set free without me worrying that he could fall off the ledge into the neighbor's yard.  I'm sure he'll find another way to get into trouble!

First lollipop!

It was inevitable that Andrew would discover candy at some point.  He almost made it to the age of two without having candy, with the exception of two mm's once.  We went out to dinner with his best buddy one night last week when the daddies were busy.  We had dinner at Jason's Deli, a perfectly toddler friendly place with lots of food options and free ice cream.  They also have free organic lollipops in big bowls at the registers.  The toddler's buddy was well acquainted with lollipops and talked about having one the whole time.  I had grabbed one and put it in my bag when we left.  Two days later the toddler discovered it and realized it was what his buddy was talking so much about.  He seemed to enjoy eating it and left sticky marks everywhere. 

I missed my five year mark!

I just read Lolly's great post about her five year blogiversary and I realized that I completely forgot about mine.  I can't believe it's been five years of blogging for me.  My first post was rather boring, but I think it's become more interesting over the years (at least to me!)  Five years ago was before Ravelry, so my blog was the way for me to keep track of my knitting projects.  It's evolved into more of a life journal, one that I don't mind sharing with the internet.  Lately it's more about parenting than knitting, but I don't want to change the name of my blog. 

I named my blog Knitting Zeal partially as a private joke.  When I started, I was working at a company that had strong religious roots, despite their insistence that they were not religious.  Staff had to endure many religious-based meetings/retreats, even if their personal religious beliefs were different.  Most of those meetings were harmless and mildly interesting,  but the word zeal was crammed into those meetings constantly and it became a bit of a joke among the more sarcastic staff, myself included.  My zeal has always been about knitting, so it became the title I chose.  I never told anyone I worked with about my blog.  I work at keeping it anonymous enough so that it isn't search-able by my former employer--I hope!  I never did blog about work details, for it would be unprofessional and I certainly did not want to get dooced.  Anyway, that is the origin of my blog name, or at least as specific as I want to get for the internet!!

I am constantly composing blog posts in my mind during the day when I can't write.  When I actually have time to write, I draw a blank.  I started buying notebooks to keep with me everywhere so that I can jot down notes when I'm thinking of them.  (Office Max has spiral notebooks on sale this week for a penny, maximum purchase of three!)  This ties in to my interest in finally writing a book.  I've had ideas for novels over the years, but never did anything with them.  Now that Andrew is a bit older and requires slightly less (slightly) attention, I want to start writing, even if the book goes no where.  Ok, at least that's my plan!