All this time, I have been looking for my Denise interchangeable needles—somehow they got packed up along with some Christmas stuff—and it is not stuff we used last year—so it looks as if when we got back from Servia and I was re-packing and unpacking and re-distributing things, I packed a great many things, including my Denise needles, into a bag that got stuffed into a box that was labeled Christmas stuff…I found them two days ago. I darn near sat down and cried. My Easter egg dyed tags were in that bag as well. I really cannot tell you why I am so overjoyed at finding my Denise needles—my knitpicks interchangeables make me very happy—and I know where they are—at least the ones not currently in use somewhere.
Well, I’ve been a busy little girl these past few days. I get into these moods of lethargy and whatnot at night…especially w R gone. I’ve been at my house during the days, until the darkness starts to fall. Mostly the current schedule is due to dog sitting…the other night, I walked home near 7—I had had a late start that day, so the dogs had had plenty of time outside and I was willing to push their normal routine due to that—walking in the dark, with a light snow drifting, melted snow forming puddles over the roads and sidewalks…and me thinking how very different this is compared to me, in boots and a mini skirt and a jacket, tromping around through Lynn, MA and beyond as a teen-ager at all hours of the morning, with a knife in my pocket some well-meaning friend had given me. A knife I never used, much less ever needed to use. But it made everyone feel better for me. This time, I carry a flashlight, more for the light than the whomp in the head factor. I am still unafraid as I traverse the night, but I am not that person from all those years ago.
There is also a very different air to the world when you walk, especially at night. I am night-blind and I tend to rely on other senses when I walk at night. On-coming lights tend to blind me—ask me why I don’t like to drive at night, m’kay…so I leave many things to my other senses. I have a head cold—I usually get one at the beginning of the colder weather and I keep it until allergies hit—scents w me are hit and miss…I have allergies or a cold…it’s an all year thing…I know that different houses have different smells…I’ve been in enough empty houses in the past 3 years to know…and every time I move out of a place I always say the same thing—they will never get the smell of me out of this place—I am a heavy incense user…it’s a daily habit…I do it at Rich’s too…but until last night it never really dawned on me that houses could emit strong odors from the outside—other than the normal range—people w lots of pets (we all know where the cat lady in every neighborhood lives, right?) –but in the middle of winter? When all the windows are closed? I walked past a house last night where the SMELL of the place actually made me pause and look around…I would have sworn that some creature from some dark lagoon were snarfling along behind me—there was an increase in warm humidity in the air—not a bad deal when the temp is near 28 F. Can’t wait to see what happens come warmer weather…
The small people returned today, like royalty from a trip collecting taxes they came. Lol So we had our own little present opening party. T would have been very upset. N had thrown a fit over the holidays because no one got him his blue camera—he’s been asking for it since before his birthday—he just knew he was going to get it. Well, he did—but from me. He opened the package and let loose with joyful hoots and hollers. I took it, opened it, put batteries in it, handed it back to him—and he set it aside. He hasn’t touched it since! Ditto w his crabby patty making factory (play dough hamburger making factory play set) –again with the loud whooping—and then it got set aside—that box was never opened—only the wrapping paper removed. So—what did the boy appreciate the most? His soft soft fleece blankets—his favorite being the little throw that is technically ‘ours’ and not just ‘his’ with snowmen and penguins and whatnot on it…and his bakugan minis—which he opened and closed and re-opened and then used to decorate the Christmas tree.
I bet my mom is loving this. She still complains and gripes about my very first Christmas—how she took such care picking out the presents for me—and all I wanted was the boxes and the wrapping paper. Lol
My darling daughter loves her new sneakers—which she completely blitzed on the fact I made her try them on back in early November—she saw me put them back on the shelf—she didn’t see me swoop them back into the cart. Silly girl. She is also more than a little happy with her BFC Inc doll, Kaitlin. Yes, this is the doll she herself picked out in the store the other day when she and I had the rental van and were moving from the old house to the new house. It really is an American Girl styled knock-off—but BFC stands for best friends club. And Kaitlin is the artist, the designer. Which is perfect for E, who is also our little artist and want to be designer and …so many other things…
But—sneakers! Come on! I bought her the princess clock she has coveted for years! She was thrilled and happy—and then…she couldn’t stop talking about her shoes! Lol -- the things that these kids find amazing and amusing….
My kitchen is adequately together—I don’t know where r put the screws to secure the table top to the center stand…so the center stand is in the middle of the floor—so I will quit walking into the ceiling fan pulls! R had to hike the lamp on the other side of the room up to over six feet off the ground because we were both running into it (he’s 5’10” – I am 5’11” + --when I am doing Yoga regularly I am 6 feet tall…otherwise I am just under 6 feet….)—so as soon as he’d moved that hanging lamp out of our way—I started walking into the fan pulls on the opposite side of the room….I may have to look up a business R told me about the other day…I am willing to pay someone to go to ikea and bring me back what I want….I would be SO MUCH happier!! We’ll see. I am not buying any furniture until he gets back anyway. He has a busy week coming up, so I probably won’t be able to get anywhere until the weekend—which gives me more time to clean up around the edges….
I might have to buy E another dresser! She has asked for another one…but I keep pointing out she hasn’t used the shelf in her closet yet…I gave her a little step-ladder to reach it…we’ll see how she does once she puts all her new clothes away this week-end…
N’s room is as done as it is going to be until we buy his new bunk bed…we aren’t putting his bed together because we’d just have to take it apart … and it isn’t as if he sleeps in his own bed anyway…not in a new environment…he was only just starting to sleep in his room before the break in at the old house…his room, not his bed…but I think if he has more input into his room, he’ll be happier to get involved with his own stuff…and will be more content to at least go to sleep in his own room, even if he doesn’t last the entire night there.
N sleeping here w us at R’s house, when R is here, did remind me that R is in for a rather different experience when we have kids together. I know he’s been there through both of my kids, but it didn’t dawn on him exactly how involved with my children I am. We work with attachment parenting…we always have. That’s one big reason why N is 6 and I am not overly worried about him sleeping w me, or his sister, or w R and me….he’ll get there to sleeping on his own. Not to mention, I have a very –not American attitude when it comes to making everyone sleep alone in their own room at night in the dark….this is my ‘Heaven and Earth’ moment—don’t mind me. R is really going to be taxed in the beginning w attachment parenting and a newborn—as if a newborn isn’t going to be enough for the poor guy…I am actually looking forward to seeing how long he’s off-balance about this…but we’ll get to that later….
I did get most of everything accomplished before the kids arrived today. Today I didn’t get much at all down, except organize the hall closet…and put the shelves on the bookcases and wipe them all down…hey—there were presents to open and pictures to take…
E is really happy I gave in to her request to make her her own gallon of tea. We drink sweet tea here—I’m Southern—sweet tea is de rigueur—however, I can’t do really sweet tea…and as I get older, the sweeter the tea, the less likely I am to drink it…the last time we went to Bandanas (where E can have her precious wonderful boiled peanuts….) E asked if I would make her her own really sweet tea at home…at Bandanas I have had to adopt R’s methodology w the tea—half sweet and half unsweetened…which is more like what I make at home…so when E came back from visiting her brother and cousins, she found a gallon of sweet sweet tea awaiting her…you would think she’d gone to heaven there. Not only does she have her own sweet sweet tea, she can reach her wonderful lovely ‘big girl’ crystal glasses (we go to thrift stores—I let her pick out the odd breakfast goblet, the odd wine glass, whatever fancy glass captures her…fancy….this time I put all her fancy glasses in a cabinet where she could reach them—the kid is tickled pink…
Both kids are so pleased with this turn of events…no one noticed I took all the covered cups and put them away…all the sippy cups (I pulled all the valves out of those things when I bought them…we’ve been keeping them around to keep spills to a minimum…but not any longer…now no drinks in the living room is about to be the established rule—once we get that kitchen table set up ….)
There are plenty of little bits here and there I need to work on putting away—especially in my bedroom. N’s room may be the catch-all for pillows and blankets (just maintaining the pillow pit for a bit there…), but my room is the catch-all for darn near everything else. I finally moved all the components for my desktop computer downstairs today—I didn’t even look at it—just took it down and decided to wait for R to come set things up…the lap top I am planning to buy can wait til he gets back as well…the price hasn’t shifted in either direction since I started looking at it…depending on where I look…so no big deal there either…
Tomorrow I think I am going to start unpacking and organizing my books…I have a full wall of bookcases…except for two stands that are for the family’s board games at the one end…and even they can be replaced (with one bookcase and a bit of room to spare) if need be…and I am fairly sure we will be needing more bookcases…before we moved I was saying we needed at least three new bookcases…I always look forward to full access of my library—I’ve missed that.
I also made sure I set up a definite craft area. E has her sewing machine…I have mine…and my serger…and a table w chairs upon which to set the machines…ok…so the sewing machines are situated by the yarn stash –which is HUGE—not as bad as I had imagined…even as I pull yarn out of the most inconceivable of places while unpacking at times…I found my stash of sports weight pink and orange yarn that my dad had snatched up on clearance for me that I have always planned to knit up into this brightly colored throw…it was being used as packing material in a box that I had packed last year….I hadn’t realized I’d used it as packing material—I actually bursting out laughing when I saw what it was and what it was protecting (I can’t remember now—but when I saw it, it was hysterical—it was nothing I would have ever thought I’d have used yarn to pack in with—outside of an actual we are moving right now move!) … E has her new BFC Inc doll and I am really hoping I can convince her to start sewing for the doll w her machine this year…I may already have patterns for 18 inch doll clothes…other than the knitting patterns…Kaitlin is a very stylish hippy type…I like her already. Ok, so it was her moccasin boots that won me over, much less her knitted hat….and these are just the things she came w….but at least E and I have our little space.
I have given up the thought of only one tv in the house…why? So I can bloody well watch something I want to watch once in awhile without being completely harassed every single moment…I will have to find a tv and dvd player for the basement…
I have the wrong chair upstairs…I have my old knitting chair…which used to be in someone’s office a long long time ago, before it was gifted to us and I claimed it as my own…I love that ugly thing…it wasn’t always ugly…but it’s a pale off-white color—and w my dirt magnets…I mean…lovely children…well…scotch-guarding only does so much…I want my glider rocker upstairs…of course, until the tree is taken down, it really doesn’t matter what I have upstairs….
I have also determined I want my living room open…and coffee-table-free. I have more than one reason for this….one is I like the open space…even though I need a rug to throw over the carpet…trust me on this one…I also want to make sure NOTHING is brought into the living room by the small wonderful creatures who are my children…if nothing comes into the living room, nothing spills…if there is a coffee table in the living room…the temptation will be far too great…I cannot allow that….so I shall simply eliminate the temptation all together…no coffee table…R still has my old one anyway—we will only need that one when we move in together…works for me…
E is actually anxious to sleep in her own house now. Before the holidays, she had said the house didn’t fee like ‘home sweet home’. I asked how things felt today when she came back—and she said they felt really good. Much more like home now. We aren’t even going to think about it til after R gets home. He’ll be home late Sunday. And I am not staying anywhere he isn’t for awhile, simply because I’ve missed him…so here we are and here we stay…it’s funny. She wants to sleep in her own bed in her new house—and for this I can not blame her—but she also wants to be here when R comes home—because she’s missed him too…can’t do both though…
My dog is a corruptive influence on Princess now. Mwahaha. R is kinda stupefied. Princess is not the sort of dog who…plays w other dogs…at least not ones she lives w…he keeps going on about the last dog who lived here…and how that dog and Princess would acknowledge one another’s presence and nothing else.
Ken and Princess—PLAY. It started out with games of chase….and that was too funny…because Princess played w Kendall the way R plays w Princess…Princess would bounce at Ken and stand her ground, while Ken would run all over the yard. Princess would only give enough chase to keep Ken running. Then…it graduated to…actually wrestling and puppy play…both dogs came in from the back yard the other day with dripping wet necks…I thought maybe it was snow or rain…until I looked and only the necks were wet…so I watched next time they went outside…they were playing….chasing and teasing and wrestling and having such a good time….and they do it all the time now…R’s house, my house, in the houses, in the yards…they like each other—they really really like each other….they sleep –touching—on the couch together—which is made even better when they sleep touching on the couch together—with ME! They will lay, back to back, on the floor, on the bed, with me in between them (every freakin’ morning—a head on each shoulder)—Princess doesn’t even flinch or groan when Ken flops her big ole fluffy butt right on top of Princess anymore (this really used to irk the non-personal-space-comprehending princess—now she seems to enjoy it….)
I love R’s reaction to the whole thing though—he was astounded and bemused…I actually had to prove it to him by showing him the girls in action playing before he would really truly believe it…the look on his face the first time he watched them play was just priceless…
Ahhh…there are so many things yet to discuss and ponder and wonder about…I refuse to make “resolutions”—I am open to creating GOALS….and this is a full moon…and most of my art supplies are still sitting in boxes—not exactly packed, but not exactly accessible either…so I am going to do what I do…and make pictures w words…and see what comes of things that way….
I’ll get back to you on that….
May the beauty of the Blue Moon shine upon you.
Happy New Year….
