Viking Tea Party

Instant Gratification Dinosaur

At (the much needed) knit group on Sunday, I got lots of progress done on the dinosaur I'm knitting for Emmett but it still needs a tail and all four legs and I felt the need for some instant gratification so out came the hook.

I found this dinky dino in the new patterns on Ravelry and it's designedby Ana Paula Rimoli (Ravlink). I've always gotten a kick out of her creations but I don't think I've ever crocheted one. This guy certainly calmed my need for instant gratification as I was able to make him up in a day with a little cooperation from Emmett. Most of the time, I'm pretty much hands on, ready to wrestle and play whenever he likes but yesterday I needed him to be a little more independent. And, thankfully, for the most part, he was.

Sadly, Emmett really has no interest in the finished product. I wonder if it's because he saw me "playing" with it all day or if it's, more likely, that he's really just not interested. He does have a few favorite stuffed animals, though, so I have hope that one day one of the ones I make for him will join that group!

Of all the photos I took at the cathedral today, this is my favorite:

I was just looking at my blog and the sidebars are SO out of date! The blurb about me says that I'm recently married...we just celebrated our third anniversary. The book list link is for 2010. Good Omens is on my Bedside Table and I (sadly) abandoned that ages ago (but should give it a try again if I can find it). It all needs a serious update. I have an idea for a new blog header, too. I had been contemplating switching to a free blog since I blog so infrequently but - too late! My auto-renewal came and went without me noticing so it's time to get my money's worth.

Going to Work, Using My Hands

The other day I asked Matt if he wouldn't mind if I "went to work" once or twice a week. I wanted at least an hour where I could go into the conservatory, sit at the table and blog without interruption - as if I weren't in the house at all. I'm not actually in the conservatory because right now it's as far as the folded laundry gets so the table is covered with piles of clothes (although Emmett's always gets carried upstairs and put away - his room stays tidiest as well) and I'm really only blogging because Emmett's napping on Matt. Still, it seemed like a good opportunity.

On Monday I started a class called My Space, My Time for mothers with post natal depression. Considering that I struggled with depression before I was pregnant, I wasn't surprised when it smacked me in the face a few months after Emmett was born. On top of it all, I'm horribly homesick - so much so that going to visit any of Matt's family really got me down. Then a little over a week ago my papaw died and it absolutely broke my heart that I couldn't be there. I'm happy with the things we said when I saw him last summer and when we last spoke on the phone but not being able to be there to say goodbye...I still cry at least once a day.

Even after one class I felt better. It's a small group that gets together over an art project and coffee, tea or hot chocolate and cakes to talk..or not talk. It's the art project part that got me interested. I really, really miss being creative. During this class we painted little boxes.

 

I know this photo is terrible - sorry. I wanted to take one earlier when the sun was still out but things don't work that way anymore.

I actually stuck the stickers from my sticker stash on the yellow one when I got home because I ran out of time in class. They're far from perfect but it felt to good to make something. Next week we're making little pigs out of clay - I'm really looking forward to that even though I'll be in the states when they'll be glazing them. We're also going to paint tote bags, a mug, a frame...and make a couple of other things I can't remember. Simple projects but immensely rewarding. It's a great way for me to meet other moms/mums, too. I'd run into one of them at the doctor's office and at the library so we kind of already "knew" each other but this meant we finally got to talk a bit which was nice.

For the first class Matt was at home and could stay with Little E but he'll be at work next Monday so I'll have to bring him and put him in their daycare for the hour and a half. I'm super nervous about that but they have three carers and there are only eight or nine of us in the group and we're one door down so they'll bring him in if he starts fussing. I've never left him with anyone but Matt so this will really be something for me. I'm ready to try, though.

And now for a little gratuitous Emmett. This little man is my world. No matter how bad I feel, I can always find a smile for him.

He amazes me with something new every day. He's using his hands a lot more now and can hold his little head up like a champ. He lights up when either of us walks into the room which is crazy rewarding. My favorite thing he does is sing himself to sleep on my shoulder. I sang him to sleep myself many nights (singing "The Pie Song" from Waitress which we played for him in the womb in hopes that he would recognise it and I think he does) and I really think his little cooing noises are his version and a real comfort. That's when I can tell he's really tired. 

I mentioned it earlier but our latest news in that we're heading to Ohio next month! Actually we're going to New Orleans for a few days first for my brother's wedding and then driving (with a five month old!) fifteen hours to Ohio. I can't wait for Emmett to meet the rest of his American family. I also can't wait to eat at a million places and browse Target and Kohls for hours (I miss Target and Kohls more than any other stores in the US)! And knit group - I can't wait to stop by the Sunday night knit group. A million things I'd like to do - hopefully we'll have time to do at least a few of them!

For now, though, it's quitting time. Glad to be back.

 

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'd love to get back to blogging but it seems that all free moments are filled with other things - housework, a quick email or even two or three minutes of shutting off my brain and staring into space.

I miss everyone and hope you're all having a beautiful Valentine's Day!

Cria Love

Two new alpacas were born last Wednesday!

Believe it or not, the little guy on the left was actually premature and had a rough time in the beginning.  My other-in-law said he couldn't hold his head up on his own and was having trouble breathing.  He's now runs all over and is almost the same size as the female on the left who was born, on time, earlier the same morning.  

I think his name is, ironically, Hercules and her name is Pandora.

Pandora is now my favorite -isn't she gorgeous?

This is Pandora's mum.  Doesn't she look like a mum?  She's the matriarch of the whole herd. 

Here's Hercules having a little roll in the dust with his mum.  I'm glad he pulled through as there as already been enough tragedy on the farm this year.  Just a few days before the sheep were to be sheared, one of them fell into the stream that runs alongside the land and drowned.  Sadly, it was one my mother-in-law was particularly close to because he wouldn't feed from his mother and had to be bottle fed last spring.  And just a few weeks ago an alpaca was killed by two wild dogs.  The last time we really talked to them about it, the police were not being very cooperative even though it's suspected that these were the same dogs that attacked and killed a Jack Russell a week or so earlier.  

Thank goodness these little ones finally came along or I might not have ever had anything to blog about.  Things have been slow around here.  I've got a little bit of mindless knitting to post but the two baby sweaters I've started are either hibernating or sitting in the naughty corner due to gaping holes under the arms that I cannot tolerate.  

I've also come to the sad conclusion that I'm just not one of those women who relish and really enjoy being pregnant.  While I love feeling our little acorn kick (and so does Matt - he finally got to feel him, too, a week or so ago) and can't wait until he gets here, I'm not in love with actually being pregnant.  Not only do I feel like what a balloon must feel like (if balloons had feelings, of course), painfully expanded (with a lot more expanding to go), but I'm ridiculously emotional, crying over every little thing (like, yesterday, discovering that we were out of eggs), and the homesickness is, to put it simply, really difficult.  

But I know it'll be over here in a few months and the wait will be more than worth it.  We've started on the baby's room which is something fun and positive to focus on.  We went on a little picnic to Stourhead yesterday and bought a fantastic piece of wood to cut in half and make into shelves.  It's actually from one of the trees on the Stourhead estate and still has bark running along one edge.  It'll look great hanging above the chest of drawers (which we finally picked out last week), packed full of cute little woodland creatures.  

In other news, I think I'm going to play around with my blog layout this weekend.  I've already changed the banner - a year of flowers and a teapot is more than enough - and am happy with it but there have got to be a few other things I can do to liven things up around here....

Knit & Crochet Blog Week

Long time, no post.  Not much has been happening around here and my motivation to do anything is pretty darned minimal.  Thankfully, as I come to the close of my first trimester, I am starting to feel a little more energetic and actually see eleven p.m. most nights.  One night last week, though, I think I was asleep by nine so it's kind of hit or miss. 

I do have a draft saved of a post I'm really looking forward to finishing but I needed to take a couple of photos which I finally did today.  In order to get back into posting a little more often, I'm also going to participate in Knit & Crochet Blog Week starting April 26th and invite you to join in, too!  

It was put together by Eskimimi on the Ravelry Group The Blog Hub and should be inspiring and a lot of fun.  All the details as well as the topics and this super cute banner can be found here on Eskimimi's blog.  Let me know if you decide to participate!

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Little Acorn Update: I'm going for my first scan on Wednesday morning.  We finally get to hear the heartbeat and see our little acorn for the first time! :)

Dainty Kitty

I canceled my old blog, Dainty Kitty just now.  Deletion was shockingly instantaneous and I feel a little stunned and a lot sad.  At first I thought it was silly that it nearly brought me to tears but I've been Dainty Kitty for a long time, longer than the two years I had that blog - we had a relationship - so it only makes sense that it would be a little heart wrenching to say goodbye.   I love that name given to me by my little cat, Mina, who sits so daintily and I'm glad that I use it to so many other places - I'd hate to give it up completely.

I wish I'd taken a screen shot of it before I let it go, too - I loved that layout and the adorable banner (thanks again, Bertha).  Eventually I'll have to recreate it in its new home.

A Viking Explaination

Why the new blog?  If the visa ever arrives and I do get to move to Salisbury (fingers crossed here that I haven't already jinxed myself by starting this before I get over there), I know my life will be full of new challenges and experiences.  I hope there's going to be much to share and that hope makes me want to blog more often and with more purpose.  This is definitely the second chapter of me and I think like a new persona is needed to celebrate it.   

Why Viking Tea Party?  It stemmed from something Matt said before we were even engaged, I think.  He compared himself to a viking - you know, "I'm here for your daughter...and the cats."  I'm not quite sure how this next part came about but I don't think he could ever be a true viking (i.e. pillaging and such) - he's more like the kind of viking you'd invite to a tea party.  After all, he swept me off my feet, he didn't throw me over his shoulder and carry me away.   So when I started thinking about a new blog, Viking Tea Party seemed like a good choice.

Oh, and I didn't want several years of writing to disappear so I decided not to entirely abandon the Dainty Kitty blog.  I actually imported it to an additional blog under this name and linked it down on the right.