What Can You Do?

I think it was Ghandi who said,
Be the change that you would like to see in the world.

I get an email newsletter from Creative Knitting, the editor Bobbie Matela. This is an excerpt from the edition that I just received... please take a moment to read.

-I'd like to tell you about an opportunity to help save newborns in developing countries by simply knitting caps for them. The name of this effort is called Caps to the Capital, and it was developed in response to the State of the World's Mothers 2006 Report, released in May. This report revealed that the first 24 hours of life are the most dangerous time for babies in the developing world; of the more than 4 million newborns who die each year, 2 million die in the first 24 hours. A simple knit cap, to help protect and dry the baby after birth, could help save its life.



Knitters and crocheters that heard about this report contacted Save the Children. Then Warm Up America! joined forces with Save the Children and helped spread the word. The goal of their program, Caps to the Capital, is to flood the White House with knitted caps, thus convincing the President that more basic health funding is needed for the developing world. Simple health measures and education could prevent 70 percent of the newborns' deaths. These measures include antibiotics to fight infections, immunizations against tetanus, training for skilled birth attendants, education on breastfeeding and basic care such as drying a newborn baby and keeping it warm (this is where the caps come in). America's leaders and citizens could save millions of newborns' lives by increasing international assistance for programs that offer these inexpensive life-saving tools.

You can read more about this on the Warm Up America! or Save the Children Web sites. Here are the easy steps that will allow you to make a difference.
1. Download the Action Kit, available from these Web sites:www.savethechildren.org orwww.warmupamerica.orgor call 800-728-3843
2. Make a Knitted (or Crocheted) Cap using the patterns in the action kit; also make sure to attach the tag that is provided in the kit.

3. Write the President using the form in the kit so that President Bush knows you care about newborns around the world. Your note and cap must be mailed by January 2, 2007, to Save the Children, P.O. Box 950, Westport, CT, 06881. Let the President know that saving the world's newborns is an important item to include in his budget.
4. Unite for Newborns by calling the White House on October 10. Send in the Stay in the Loop form in the action kit to receive e-mail newsletters and updates about this situation from Save the Children.
I urge you to read more about this and spread the word to other knitters and crocheters. Tell them to visit the Web sites: www.savethechildren.org or www.warmupamerica.org. Post the flyer (provided in the kit) at your favorite yarn shop or community bulletin board.
Save the Children (www.savethechildren.org) is the leading independent organization that creates lasting change for children in need in the United States and around the world. Save the Children USA is a member of the International Save the Children Alliance, a global network of 27 independent Save the Children organizations working to ensure the well-being and protection of children in more than 100 countries.

The Warm Up America! Foundation (www.warmupamerica.org) is committed to motivating, training and coordinating volunteers to knit and crochet clothing and afghans for people in need. Since the Warm Up! America Foundation was founded in the early 1990s, volunteers have knitted and crocheted 12 million squares that were joined into hundreds of thousands of afghans.-


Please consider taking a moment to download the file and a couple of hours to make a hat or two. It is a very small thing that can make a large difference in an infant's life.

That is part of my think Globally, act locally philosophy.

On to the Breaking News from the Family Front

Eldest lost his first tooth on Thursday.
We didn't know it was loose, he didn't know that he had lost it.
How weird is that?
We were having lunch with friends at MickeyD's so that he could play with the C children before they move to North Carolina, and I noticed something dark in his mouth when he came over to get a drink.
I said, "Hey, Eldest, what is in your mouth? Let me look."
He comes to me and opens up his mouth.
"What happened to your tooth?!"
"What tooth?"
"Yeah, exactly! Where'd it go?"
"I dunno, maybe it is on the floor..." and he began looking under the table.
I am just kinda stunned.

So what is up with that? He is getting tall, losing teeth... What's next? Dating?

At least INBA still has all his teeth...

Home Grown

I just know that there is a really good (and perverse) caption for this picture...


Our neighbors (who think, for some reason, that it is more desireable to live in Sydney than the 'burgh and are leaving us,) shared some of summer's bounty.

Is it cucumber envy?
Looking forward to a bed of leafy greens?

Whoa, Where'd I Go?

Good to be Flexible

As it turned out, The Mister did not have to work his Friday off. So, we loaded up the Mayhem Mobile and headed out to Indy to see my Siblings.

The Mister did his usual surrogate husband thing at my Sister's house (that would be fixing sinks and such... dirty, dirty mind.) And then we did a Zoo tour.
The kids got tattoo'd...

And tried to measure up.

My Brother looks pretty good for a guy with a Titanium leg. Still nice and tall. You should see the star-scar on the back of his leg. I will take a picture next time. It was way too disturbing to see this time to even think about taking a picture.

Hey, Kids! Don't Drink and Drive!


I knit a bit on the way, finished an eggplant hat for Bella.





It is really purple and green. Something weird happens with the afternoon light, lately.

Then, I finally finished my Claudia Handpainted socks.

As for what is to be next...

Well, I am working on The Mister's Blue Cable Sweater. Seems like I am going to be working on it for a while. I have been doing 2 rows a night... y e a h ... it is going to be a while. It is just that *insert whine* following a chart, in the evening, when I am tired and achey... *keep whining* it just proves that I love him. He'll get it someday.

Oh, yes, I could be knitting a baby sweater, but brilliant me, I have tangled up the size 7 Crystal Palace Bamboo needles (that are awesome, that I bought to make baby sweaters) in the Mister's Blue Cable Sweater... hmmm... what to do?

In the meantime, I suppose I will begin another pair of socks... maybe that Rock, maybe that sparkle. Maybe I will be inspired.

Hot Enough For You?

A Hot Sunday calls for Cool Jazz.
And how cool is it to go to the Phipps and hear Jazz in the Garden by Joe Negri and his band.
Yep, that Joe Negri, Handyman Negri... The boys were confused, but enjoyed the music.
I took the picture of Mr. Negri signing a picture for the boys, but I left it to the Mister to get a picture of the band. Ummm, nice backside.
















Is that a strawberry tart or are you just a goofy 4 year old?

A little of both, I suppose. This is the knitty Baby Tart, done a little different. It is an infant topper, but stretchy to momentarily fit a kid. It has been sent off for a beautiful child.


















Pretty as a Picture

The Mister is very, very good with photographing landscape and wildlife. For portraiture, see above, but for Nature, this is about as lovely as it gets.

And did you know, Luther Burbank of Santa Rosa, California, developed the shasta daisy? Now you do.

"I firmly believe, from what I have seen, that this is the chosen spot of all this earth as far as Nature is concerned." Luther Burbank, 1875
(he was speaking of Sonoma County...see, it's not just me)

Truth and Fiction

Why is being 6 so hard?
Honestly. I didn't expect it so soon. I really didn't think I would be a total moron until he was at least 12. But at 6 he gives me the "can you be any more ignorant?" look. I swear, Eldest, I do know how to get to the grocery store, I do know how to play Mancala, and seriously, I do know how to operate the DVD player.
With knowledge comes power, with power comes the lust for more. He knows just enough to be dangerous, and is trying to figure out how to rule the world. He has begun stacking the deck when we play games and taking advantage of INBA looking the other way. Obviously, we have been having many chats about truth, (dis)honesty, trust, cheating, winning, losing.
It must make a little dent, even if he doesn't see it as always applying to himself. Eldest said to INBA, as he was looking for a toy that he thought INBA had seen last, "You lied, it isn't there, I can't trust you anymore." Of course, the search for a missing toy isn't what we were referring to when we talked about truth, not that INBA was even telling a lie.
I suppose this will get a lot worse before it gets beter. Until then, I need to think of a better way to deal with a back seat driver than, "who has a driver's lisence in this car?" I may be a moron, but I am a moron with car keys.

Home Sweet Chez Mayhem

I Missed You While I Was Gone...
And oh, how busy we have been.
Thanks to GMA, we were out of the house for 10 days while floors were done and drying... P-U, I was beginning to think that the smell woud never go away. Now we are functioning fairly well.
Here are pics of the powder room that The Mister did for me...


Before...

See how nice and yellow the fixtures were?




After...
See how elegant and white it all is. I need to make a curtain for the window. I have the fabric, but my sewing room hasn't seen priority to be organized yet.





















And how about those floors?

Please note that the foyer floor was pretty much the same color as the rug in front of the door. Ah, the beauty of natural oak.
The family room is gorgeous, too.
Overall, very pleased.























Yes, but have You Finished anything?

Why, yes, thank you for asking.
I finished a Claudia Handpainted sock, began the second.
Ah, it is like wrapping a cloud around your toes.















And then ther is a Baby Tart hat that is morphing into a Raspberry...ok, not finished, but is a definate amount of work. Oh, yes, the Celtic Queen warned me (laughed, really) about the bobbles and how I would feel about them after a few.
Thank goodness it is for an infant.







Speaking of infant, if someone can produce a little girl this fall, a lovely and colorful cardi can be theirs. I do need to attach the lovely purple buttons. I do, however, consider this complete. Because I can.

This was fun, because I knit it in one piece starting at the botom of the back. I adapted a pattern that called for a worsted weight yarn. My math worked! Happy girl.

Dude, Where's My Camera?

It's In There...

I am sure we put it somewhere safe, dust free. I just am not sure where that clever place was at the moment.

We spent our first night home in a good 10 days. Profuse thanks to GMA for letting us stay while the dust settles. Gee Wiz, these guys haven't heard of low VOCs, eh? I am sure that the house is still reeking, but the holes in my brain matter don't seem to mind anymore. And that is after 2 day of open windows and the whole-house-fan running.

But I care not, because it is done. And they are beautiful. BE- UUUUU- TEEEEE- FUL!!!

So, when I find the camera I will post pics of the floor (the foyer is most dramatic,) and show you what I was doing, knit-wise, in between. Hopefully that will be soon.

Why I Keep The Mister

So the floors aren't done yet, but as we were shifting the stuff from the remaining 2 rooms to the finished 2 rooms the Mister said and then did the most WONDERFUL thing. He said, as we were standing in our bedroom (get your mind out of the gutter, he would hurt me if I posted about such things,) "You know, if we want to paint this room, now would be the time since all the stuff is out."

And then he did. After all that work rearranging. He painted our room.

Just another fine example where actions speak louder than words.

My Mister loves me and I love My Mister.

Thank you, Mister, it looks fantastic.

Live Like You Were Dying

So, I have been thinking about Death lately.
How funny it is for someone to say, "I'm dying. " Well, duh. Every day since the day we were born is spent moving toward the inevitable. Sure, we grow and grow and grow, peaking, I would say from my own experience, around 22 or 23 years, and then the steady decline begins. Physically, at least. Perhaps that is the most difficult thing about life. Our body begins to give out just as the mind really kicks in, just beginning to make sense of all that information crammed in by years of formal education.
Upon further reflection, I would say that Childbirth really did me in. Ok, maybe it was the three years of pregnancy and lactation that did me in. Oh, hell, lets include the 4 1/2 years of continued torment, just for fun. It did me in. I shall never recover. As few have. But then I think of nature, all of the earth, and I think, "hey, who am I to complain about the length of time I have, just look at the flowers."
Yeah, the flowers.
Spring springs, the earth warms, (I am speaking from the perspective of a climate that gets unnecessarily cold,) and the flowers thrust themselves toward the sun. They grow and grow and grow. Then they unfurl their bloom. Swaying in the breeze, they graciously accept the appreciative glance, the deep breath of their fragance from an adoring passerby. Oh, to be so beautiful, full of life. Then, the bee is lured to her blossom.
"Hey there, Mr. Bee, sure is a fine day. My, you certainly are a hairy one, aren't you."
"Oh, yes, I do have some very tasty nectar. Would you like to try?"
"Mmm, I do enjoy the way you brush up against me."
"Oh? So soon? Well, do come visit me again."
So patiently she waits.
"Hello! Is that you, Mr. Bee?"
"Oh? A friend of Mr. Bee? Well, I suppose, but I'm not really that kind of flower."
And the next thing you know, she's been pollinated. A seed begins to grow and her beauty fades, is gone within a shockingly short time. And then, dead.
So who am I to be complaining.

Away, for now.

We are having the wood floors refinished. It is supposed to be done this week. I will be gone for a bit. I could take the laptop to the MIL's, but having been thoroughly spoiled by the Fiber Optic DSL, I think I would rather abstain than deal with dial-up. Such a SNOB!! *gasp*

ta-ta

Inspiration Seeks Me Out

Hmm, I wonder who is going to make this sweater for a certain Not a Baby boy. I am looking at this and thinking, great, intarsia, but a whole lot less loose ends than that Frog.

He is loving RED these days, so maybe a red sweater with a BLACK dog... like the "best dog ever," D.o.g.

What is It Good For?

How do I explain to my Child, War?

Eldest is becoming quite the reader, when he tries. It makes a mother proud. But there we were, in the Christian Book Store, even in the Catholic section, and he is deciphering a title about the United States and Militant Islam at war.

Eldest isn't the kind of kid that just drops the subject. He doesn't question what Islam is, he knows what the United States is. He wants to know what war is, why anyone would make war. He is six. What, in God's Name, do I say to a SIX year old?! How much do I censor myself? How much can he handle (more than I think he can, usually.) Do I let my politics color my answers or can I really be objective for just a moment?

"Sometimes people, governments really, disagree and cannot find a way to communicate about their problems other than violence."

Quizzical look.

"Like sometimes you and your brother disagree and you forget how to use your words or don't know what words to use to express what you are feeling and then you both get so angry and fight and pinch and bite. It is like that, sorta, except governments do that with guns and soldiers."

"Oh, so who are we fighting?" Oh, come on Kid! We are in the middle of a christian bookstore and we are diving headlong into geopolitical religious ideology soup.

"Well, that is kind of the problem. It isn't another country this time. We need to go now."

On the way to the car, "Why would anyone want war with the United States? It's a nice place to live."

"It is a nice place to live, and that is part of the problem, too. We are a very rich country."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that we are very comfortable. We have food to eat, safe water to drink, warm places to sleep. There are lots of people in the world that don't have that. Some people think that we are too greedy and don't share enough or help enough other people." I start the car.

"Can we listen to High School Musical, Mommy?"

So, he was distracted for a moment.
But you know that this is going to come up again. I want to tell him not to worry, it has nothing to do with him. But it does. He was only 15 months old when those towers came down. Here we are, five years later and my fear has only deepened. My fear is not personal safety, my fear is for my children and the world they face. These people whom have been entrusted with our security, our foreign policy, our future as a nation, they scare me. I know that it was decades of policies and hundreds, maybe thousands of years of ideological disagreements that culminated one autumn morning. Am I the only one that sees that the old ways of working out, smoothing over, ignoring these conflicts didn't, don't, won't work? Yes, I know there are dissertations being written, intelligence being compiled, codes deciphered to try to gain new insights. Countries are being dismantled, people tortured, families murdered, all in the name of making peace.

My lament is so much more basic, so much more personal.

What am I supposed to say to my child when he asks, "WHY?"

Crafty Man

He's A Do-It-Yourself-er


No, the Mister is not to be out-done. Here at Chez Mayhem, we are a crafty lot. Uncle Dave started a bead project with the boys while here visiting with the Cousins. The Boys and The Mister finish what they start. Nice pliers, eh? Hey, if you need to crimp, you need to crimp.









INBA Displays his wares. They are quite cool. Magnetic clasp, glow in the dark... very boy friendly.















Cute Story...
Laurie, the Celtic Queen and I headed over to Knit One in Squirrel Hill on Saturday. The Celtings were in tow which provided an opportunity (at last) afterward for the Boys to all meet. Of course, they fell in like good buddies do.
As we sat on the porch knitting, Laurie noticed that a wasp was trying to build a nest in the leg of the patio table. Older Celting was aware of this and hot to tell the Mister. The Mister was out at Home Depot (he was working on the powder room, pics another day.) As soon as he walked up, OC ran over to tell Eldest's Dad about the wasp. He began sputtering, trying to think of what to address the Mister as, it came out, "Da.. Dude, there's a wasp building a nest!!"
Celtic Queen and I about bust a gut, dude.

Johnny Depp is Hot.

I don't know what it is. But he is hot. Maybe it is that pirate thing, maybe it is that he is 43 and looks like 23, maybe it is the impish glint in his eye. I don't know, but when I opened the July 13th issue of Rolling Stone and saw this, I wanted to rip it out and pin it to my bedroom wall. Do I look 14 to you? Hot.

The Mister laughed at me.

He's hot, but not in the I'd leave the Mister kind of way (I don't think that there is a kind of way like that.) He is rather effeminate, no man should be that pretty, but you know you could be naughty with a long hair, no chest hair, scraggly beard guy like that. Like when you were 23 and could be naughty like that and blame it on penny beer night. Uh, never mind.

The WeatherPerson

How do you explain to a 4 year old what a "weatherman" is and is it always a man and why do they call it a man if it isn't a man and how do they know what the weather is and why don't they know what the weather is? *whew* Well, let's just say that the Weather People said that there was a 30% chance of rain today... I think what they really meant was, it will rain only 30% of the day. I won't even speculate as to whether or not we can get any soggier, 'cuz you know what that will induce. Oh, and we were at the ZOO when it began to POUR a COLD rain. The sidewalks were steaming. Fun.

Funny Memory
The summer I was 17 we lived in Grand Rapids. I worked at the Mall in Holland (don't ask why.) I was obviously the low ant in the hill and had to work every weekend all summer. That isn't funny, you say? It is funny that it rained EVERY weekend that summer, but was gorgeous on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, my inevitable days off. There goes my best summer.

What Have You Been Doing?
Well, I finished the blasted Jaywalker and immediately shoved them into a basket, out of sight. I finished The Mister's Green Socks. He immediately squirreled them away, with a touching, "thanks for knitting me socks," from the top of the stairs.
I want to start a sweater, (yes, in July) but I am torn if it should be a cable sweater for my husband or a cardigan for a baby boy. Either way, blue is involved. The Mister thinks I should love him more and make his sweater first. It isn't that I don't love him, but babies are so cute... but so is the Mister. Hmm. I did just make him socks. Hmm.

Elucidation

Let me allay your fears... we didn't lose the 2 year old at the T, he was running off down the platform like he had somewhere to go.

And if you would like to have even more clarification of much more important subjects... go see Mr. Sligo at Story and Pictures. My politics and world views become painfully obvious when I say that Mr. Sligo is pretty right on, in my book. I just wish I was so eloquent in expressing it. OOH, then maybe I actually would have a book of my own.

I know there are a lot more of you reading my blog than commenting, lurking under a cybercloak. And that is fine, The Mister has made clear that my posts are lame... his life isn't any more interesting, I assure you. But Sligo has some real things to say. And if you disagree, say so, I'd love to watch... the internet is mostly voyeurism, isn't it?

COUSINS

Boys, Boys and More Boys!!

Yeah, 5 boys, 2 years to 7 years in age. Yikes. But who has more fun than a gang of boys? I'm not thinking many.

Here they are at the zoo and then waiting for the T.

Just in case you missed it the first time, Blogger has given us Two copies... when I try to delete one, all my pictures go with it. *shrug* So Two it is.















In The Mood For Art?


Eldest found my oil pastels, so we did this... Mommy with the traditional landscape, Eldest with his modernist impression of... modern art.
Right here is what I love best about being a mom.















Fairly Fair Isle?


It all starts out ok, then I get distracted and funky things begin to happen. Funny how little it takes to turn a snowflake to the dark side. Skulls and Mosquitos, anyone?





Oh, YOU! At least I can report that since this picture was taken, I have begun the toe decrease. Geesh, can anyone belly ache as much as I have about this silly sock? *grumble grumble* I even annoy myself!!

OH, NO

He Likes It!

I guess we forgot to tell him that no one likes green socks. I suppose his comfort and joy when he tried on the sock was an override to the typical sensibilities. It probably doesn't help that I was hoping that I would get to keep the socks.

So just for that, I have been working away on the Jaywalker as I have been cavorting around town with my SIL and her brood. I have completed heel and gusset and am hoping that the elves will appear and complete the foot for me. Once I am done with that, I will make his other sock. And then baby layette galore!!

Oh, I am sensing my inept blogging, this morning. No picture of Jaywalker, no picture of the fair isle scarf that I began because 1) it is the other reason I learned to knit and 2) I want to be like Laurie, so I better do it while she is so I can mooch as much info off her as possible!! You just trust me that I am getting better at following the graphs (a couple of snowflakes morphed into some scary skull motifs... I doubt that is traditional.) I am sooooo glad that Laurie made me make a scarf to learn to knit continental. I am not having any problem carrying a yarn in each hand... just that graph-thing. I guess I get tired.

A quick complaint

My sock bag, that I loved and toted everywhere... The string broke. The one that cinches the top. Ripped right out. Not good. The Mister threaded it back in, but it isn't going to look as nice when I stitch it to secure it. I have only had it since March. Really not impressed, but still love the little bag... can't help myself, it is a great size, attaches to anything, is hot pink... just now broken and scarred. *sigh* but aren't we all.

Speaking of Cavorting...

I will post soon about the Visit by our Florida family. No, it is too much, I will sum up... Carnegie Science Center, Pgh Zoo, Idlewild, and that was the first three days.

Sock Freak

Nobody likes Green Socks


So I ventured into Tonidale Needle and Craft last week while the Mister and the Boys were doing yard work for Gma. Amazingly, I left with sock yarn. The Green is from Finland and is a wool/polyamide blend. The Mister is having reservations... you know his delicate flesh... I think it will be fine, especially after a wash, but then, I kind of hope that he doesn't want them. Nobody likes green socks, except me and the Celtic Queen. And I will gladly keep these. They are cooshy and warm.











OOOh, and I found some more disco yarn. SPARKLE ME!! Can you see the little glint in the skein?! Whoo-hoo! Makes me far too happy. Then Ingeborg talked me into (said, "did you see this?") some cotton/wool blend summer sock yarn... not that I wear socks in the summer, if I can help it. But the summer doesn't last long, Autumn is not far away.

Yeah, I love to knit socks... oh, those jaywalkers, they are in my sock bag, about ready to turn the heel, when I get to it... So sad, much maligned and unfinished.

The boys love to see themselves on the blog... INBA got indignant the other day... "Why do you take pictures of your yarn? Where am I?" (did you hear the accusing tone? The attitude and 4 year old brash?) Um, how to answer... Well, 'cuz it is MINE *foot stomp* and 'cuz my life is about more than just YOU! (hey, let me have my delusions, they are all I have, some days.)

What to do on a Tuesday Night?

Three Rivers Art Festival

So there is this fabulous 16 days of music and art and fun in downtown Pittsburgh. Free concerts are always a good thing, but even better when the music is outstanding... which it is at the Arts Festival.
I made the Mister take me out on a date last night. He even took me to dinner!! We worked our way down to the Point, and listened to Del Castillo rock the park. So good. I even bought a cd and had it autographed. The Mister, of course, laughed at me for waiting around. Whatever. He just doesn't get the 'groupie' thing.
Eldest was totally impressed by the autographs, and loved the music... because he has great taste in music.

Speaking of which, I bought the Arctic Monkeys CD, too. Rolling Stone was raving about them, but I hadn't heard them anywhere. It is great British Pop/Rock. I am enjoying them. Eldest received The Ramones greatest hits CD for his birthday. So our Stereo is rocking. Oh, except he also bought himself High School Musical Soundtrack. It is a lot better than I thought it would be. He likes it a lot, too. We are eclectic people, I guess. Jack Johnson's Curious George Soundtrack is still prominent in the rotation along with Jack Brass Band. (You guys should wrangle a gig at the Arts Festival next year.)

So, I am feeling pretty good today. We have great music on, had a great playdate this morning, Eldest actually cleaned up all the Hot Wheels after they left without threat of great bodily injury, the weather is tolerable, I have a great chiropractor, I have a gorgeous Husband, brilliant boys, what more could a girl want?

He would be a Beautiful Girl

1979

2006 I guess someday he will deny that he resembles me, too.

Procrastination

From the "I don't look like my Mom" file...





See, these pictures were taken last August (05) by the Ausable River in "downtown" Grayling, where my Mother now lives. I sooo don't look like my Mom. I don't care that people I had never met before stopped me in the store to ask if Edna was my mother... These people were probably a)intoxicated or b)paid by my Mom to harass her teen-age daughter or c)did I mention mind altering substances?
The boys do have her crazy-blue eyes.


From the "Why I will never be Skinny," file...

And I am o.k. with that...
I do love to eat good food, I love to cook good food, and obviously I like to read about good food. This is just what was handy, I have much more inspiration than this. I won't even mention the cook books. Who needs literature?

We are supposed to have company this week for dinner, someone I have not cooked for, before. I am quite nervous. The MIL has pointed out on numerous occasions that I have different tastes than people around here. I cannot help that I was born out of place in the Midwest, really meant to be a Californian, now trapped in this undulating landscape that cannot decide if it is Midwest or East Coast. Even The Mister, whom I love because he will eat anything I cook and like it, is raising eyebrows as I suggest dishes that catch my eye.
Oh, I have this little habit of trying new dishes when we have company. It isn't deliberate, I just generally don't cook the same thing twice anyway. It doesn't seem odd to have a new dish or twist every night for a week for the family, but if guests are involved, "YIKES!" So now it is a joke. And I still make something new when we have company. And since we have moved to this land of boring and manufactured cuisine, it is a bit of a test to see if these people are worthy of me bothering to cook for them again.
NO, I am not a food snob, I am simply defending my own culinary preferences. If you aren't the kind of person that likes some variety in your life, are we going to get along, anyway? Ok, maybe I am more of a snob than I like to admit. Maybe more defensive than I like to be, too.
It may be a non issue, we have been rescheduled once already.
Still, I am hoping for a run of good weather, I am hot to grill. I have fallen in love with grilled vegetables again this year.

From the "I should have taken a picture," file...
I made some muffins for breakfast this morning. (I had oatmeal two days in a row, had to get out of that rut.) They were beautiful until I pulled them out of the 400 degree oven and dropped them. Luckily only 4 landed on the floor (which had not been mopped, yet) and the rest landed in the hot oven... which is exempt from the 5 second rule because, well, it was hot. What a mess, crumbled muffin in the crease of the oven door. The ones that landed on the rack have nice little grill marks. Oh, yes, you know they ALL landed upside down. Still, they were tasty... just a basic muffin that I added orange oil to flavor, so subtle. yum.

Happy Birthday to WHOM?

Can this kid Celebrate or what? Quite a week, to be sure! Graduation, his own birthday party and 2 of his buddies' birtday parties, too! I do believe this sugar high will last a while.

So this is where the procrastination comes in... it is MONDAY, i.e. Housecleaning Day at Chez Mayhem... and likely you have noticed that I am posting on my blog instead of cleaning... Where to begin? It was bad after Easter/My Birthday, but now it is all the kidstuff, all over, and they are playing with it all, at once. How can I vacuum? How can I wipe? How can I rationalize? How can I motivate them to clean up if I cannot motivate my self? *sigh* I have finished the powder room, my usual starting point, so I know I will not be able to let the entire day go unkept.
In fact, I will go swap out the laundry loads and strip beds... right now.

Where did MY Baby Go?

How Quickly they Grow!







Here is Eldest, second from the left, with his buddies, waiting to graduate.











My Baby on stage. You know he loves this! The lights, the people, the adoring applause!

















It is a diploma. My baby is a first grader.

Check out the kids in the first row... can you be a little more excited?

















Pause and pose pretty for the camera!





















The 2006 Kindergarteners.











INBA came to graduation, but refused to be part of the Family Picture. So, it is Mom, Dad and the Graduate, probably appropriate, but a Mom feels guilty if she suggests it.









For the "Why aren't there more pictures of my kids on your blog..."



Aunt Heather and Vicki


Just for proof that I am Not the one that looks like her... it is the precious girl grandchild.









Vicki's Grandmother (age 4?) and Great Uncle (age 2?) I couldn't find a picture of Vicki with that look, but I swear she makes it.














And the Cousins all together... These pictures are from Vicki's 4th Birthday party... just so you don't think that My Sister dresses her daughter like that all the time. And I think someone said she looked pretty, so the dress lost out to play clothes before most of the guests arrived. 4 is great.

She's Having a Baby!

YIPPEE!!!

Joy of Joys! Someone I love is having a baby, and it isn't ME!!! Ms. Lynn is expecting a bundle of joy on or around November 19th. WOW!! YEA!!

So now I understand. I want to knit an entire layette. I couldn't understand what would motivate someone, before. Geesh, isn't a hat and booties enough? NO!! I am overflowing with LOVE!! I want to knit until my fingers fall off!

Ok, remember, I only have until November and I am only an experienced beginner... but I need suggestions for THE BEST BABY GIFTS EVER!!!! Lynn has been my good friend since we were 10 years old and being sent to the principal's office by poor old Mrs. Henderson. Lynn was a bridesmaid at my wedding. Lynn is too special for a mundane expression of my undying AFFECTION! So make it good, people.

I am off to BN to get "Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy," and a congratulatory card, so you have a few minutes to think about this. But if you know me, you know how I am when I have a mission. Let's go, people, let's go!!!