Still sick, but having a happy Advent

Whatever it is that I have is lingering on and on. Anne seems to be on the mend, but now Henry is saying that his throat hurts a bit and he definitely sounds stuffy. These are my exact symptoms. And he and I were already sick about a week and a half ago!

*sniffles daintily*

At least Anne slept last night, which meant that I got to sleep. Not getting enough sleep certainly makes things a lot worse when one is sick. She's still in a pretty saucy mood, but things were a bit easier this morning.

Meanwhile, I've been knitting. I'm finishing up a gift for my sister, and I'm going to make my dad a hat next. He's a fisherman and needs lots of heavy wool for warmth since he fishes in the winter. I also have 2 sweaters on the needles, and I think I've come to the conclusion that the red tweed sweater I was trying to finish for Christmas day simply isn't going to be done by then.

*moment of silence*

I mean, I knew the chances of that were likely. I just bought a dress at Kohl's (they're having a sale :)) that I can wear instead. It's the sleeves I tell you, the SLEEVES! Long sleeves get me every time. I'll be whipping through the body and then I get to the sleeves and BAM! Sweater sits for the next 6-12 months. I get so bored knitting sleeves. We'll get there.

I also have plans in the new year for the Jimmy Beans Downton Abbey KAL, Karrie's memorial Lady Edith shawl that I mentioned yesterday, and an after-Christmas exchange gift with my beloved friend Karen. I'm plotting that one out right now, and I'm all giddy with new pattern ideas. And I'll finish the 2 sweaters. I promise.

Eventually.

I've also been an excellent girl and using stash yarn.

*halo*

Because I really do have plenty of yarn, 2 storage bins full. The only short term purchase plans I have are for things that truly don't exist in my stash. Our tree skirt is looking bedraggled, and I'd like to knit us a new one for next Christmas. I found a gorgeous pattern, but obviously I do not have a boatload of red and green worsted weight yarn in my stash. I'd also like to knit a warm blanket for our couch. I do have a few afghans that I've crocheted, but a crocheted fabric lets in a lot more chilly air. :) I'm hoping for some Knit Picks gift cards for Christmas *angelic smile* and maybe I can get yarn for these 2 projects sometime in January or February.

In other news, last night I finished Jan Karon's Shepherd's Abiding. So good! When the book reaches its climax at the end, I always cry. Now I'm contemplating whether or not I should download the pope's infancy narrative book or not, still haven't pulled the trigger on that. But I'm still reading several Christmas-themed Love Inspired books on my Kindle, so those are making me happy. If you haven't read any Harlequin's Love Inspired line, I encourage you to do so if you like romance books. The regular Love Inspired's are contemporary fiction, but they also have a historical line and a suspense line, which is my favorite. These are very sweet Christian romances, and if you have a Kindle, on Amazon they are super cheap. Once they are published on the first of every month, the price drops to either $2.99 or $3.82 per book. If your ereader can work with epub format books, you can download them right from Harlequin a month early. Those of us with Kindles are not so lucky. :) But it's all good. I love them.

Anyway, my Christmas party with my fabulous knitting group is tomorrow and I'm taking the day off to drink, knit and be merry (and hoping that I feel better by then!). I will post pictures of the gift I knitted for our exchange on Monday, and trust me, it's SMASHING. I want it for myself, actually.

A tribute

I made it through the night, but barely. The Christmas concert was smashing, actually. It was shorter than last year, and it was quite lovely. I liked all the songs that they chose. Hank looked adorable in his red Christmas sweater, and his class sang "When Will the Little King Come?". And we concluded with a prayer. I love that he goes to Catholic school.

The overnight with Anne was TOUGH. I don't even want to write anymore about it, it was that miserable. It didn't help that I was also not feeling good. I'm just glad that it's morning, I made it, and Anne is not listed for adoption this morning. I'm still not feeling 100%, but it doesn't help that I haven't gotten enough sleep in about 2 years. I may leave work early today.

At any rate, I was on the reference desk this morning, and since I had no business whatsoever, I went on Ravelry to try and find a pattern to make my dad a hat for Christmas. After I was done, I checked in quickly with the forums. For some reason, today I got the urge to scroll down to the boards I don't check in on as frequently. One of them is "Friends of KnitPurlGurl."

KnitPurlGurl (not Abi of the self-patterning yarn fame on etsy, who also goes by knitpurlgurl) is a woman named Karrie whose blog and podcast I have followed for a long time. She's a knitter and designer, a very sweet and interesting person. She moved to a video podcast a year or so ago, and then I couldn't listen anymore since I have an older iPod Nano version that doesn't support video. But she had a board on Ravelry that I belonged to, and in November 2011 I participated in a knit-along/giveaway that she sponsored, and I won! I received a skein of yarn from Storied Yarns on etsy. I never met her in person, but she was a person that I followed online that I felt that I knew.

Anyway, so this morning. I scrolled down to her Ravelry board and I see a post entitled "Sad News." I click on it. Karrie passed away. :( She was 38! There aren't a lot of details, but she apparently had a seizure. She has a husband and 2 small children.

I couldn't believe it, I thought at first that the woman in the post must be referring to someone else! Karrie had written a blog post just 6 days prior to her death. Her and her family had recently relocated from the Pittsburgh area to Vermont, and she was so happy there. Her son has autism, and she said that the school district they were now in was unbelievably wonderful in setting up services that he needed. She loved her new knitting community and just sounded extremely content.

I feel just awful. I saw on her Ravelry board that some of her friends set up a memorial knit-along, and I'm going to take part. I have that yarn that I won via her, and she has several shawls that she designed which call for fingering weight yarn. I think I'm going to knit her shawl design called "The Lady Edith," another Downton Abbey inspired design. It'll make me think of Karrie when I knit it and wear it.

I'm anxious to cast on for this, I'm just finishing up a few Christmas gifts. It made me think about the fact that life is short, so very short. And we never know what day will be our last. Life is never something to be taken for granted.

Karrie shared the ups and downs of her life with her readers and listeners, and I feel privileged to have felt a part of it with her. I know that she was a devout Lutheran, and I ask you all to pray for her and her family. That would mean a lot to her, I'm certain. :)

Feeling weak, and just in time for the annual Christmas concert...

I'm not certain if I'm coming down with what Anne had or what, but I'm feeling decidedly *not good*. Perhaps it was the 3 hour long seminar I sat through this morning that did me in, but whatever the cause, I feel flushed and woozy. Not a good sign. And Henry's Christmas concert is tonight, which is never a picnic to sit through. His school has no auditorium, so events are held in the church, and the pews aren't the comfortablest (is that a word?). Sigh. I just want to be at home in jammies, a cup of tea by my side.

This mystery illness also has the side effect of rendering me brainless. What else is new? I have absolutely no idea. All I know is that this Anne Removing Pants phenomenon has transferred to public spaces as well (read: restaurant last night) so we're going to have to deal with that. And she's finally saying her name and Henry's, or, at least her version of their names. So I apparently have children named "Nay" and "Hay."

I'm hoping that I live through the evening. If I do, I'll check back in tomorrow.

:)

She'll just love reading this story when she's 18...

At the home of the Catholic Librarian this morning...

*Anne strolls into living room wearing no pants*

"Oh, you took your pants off? Do you have to go potty? Pee or poo?"

*squealing sound*

"I'll take that as a yes."

*Anne demands a tube of toothpaste to chew on while I take off her diaper*

"Ok, this is where you put pee and poo, into the potty. This is where the big girls go potty."

*I hold Anne's small form onto the regular seat, since we don't currently have a training seat*

Anne displays a wide eyed look of alarm

"Do you have to go pee or poo?"

"NO."

First potty training attempt is in the books...

Second Sunday of Advent and all it's adventures...

Well, my weekend was interesting, never a dull moment in my household. Saturday morning dawned with Anne clearly feeling under the weather. In fact, Anne not feeling well dominated both days and nights of our weekend, with the telltale signs being:

(1) lots of sneezing and a runny nose,

(2) a small fever,

(3) poor sleeping,

(4) diminished appetite, and

(5) marauding around the house doing nothing but (a) sobbing, and (b) throwing things.

It was a long weekend, to say the least.

I didn't know if I was even going to make it to Mass Saturday morning for the feast of the Immaculate Conception, she was just so miserable, but she settled enough for me to feel all right about leaving her with Mike (meaning, I didn't feel guilty about leaving him alone to deal with such a painful situation!) so that I could go. I went, and it was lovely.

Later, she actually seemed to perk up a bit, her fever went away, and she was drinking liquids like a champ. Mike wanted to go to the vigil Mass for the second Sunday of Advent, so we packed up both kids and went. Hence, I did end up doing 2 Masses in 1 day. :) But honestly, they felt so different from each other. It also helped that I went to 2 totally different parishes. For the vigil, we went to a historic church downtown that Mike loves. Both children were good, aside from Anne dumping her Ziploc baggie of small snacks onto the floor while we were standing up to recite the Creed. I was picking up stray raisins for the rest of Mass.

But it was really beautiful, and I'm so glad we went. By the overnight, Anne was back to her crankfest. She was a bit hoarse and was obviously feeling parched, because when she demanded my presence at 5 am in her bedroom, our conversation was as follows:

"JUICE."

"Hi Honey, Mommy is here to..."

"JUICE!!!"

"We're going to snuggle and..."

"JUICE JUICE JUICE!!!"

She doesn't like to take no for an answer, that one. I think she is also getting a new tooth, because she's been drooling up a storm. This all led to an absolutely ABYSMAL night last night in which Anne demanded milk, threw herself onto the floor, and cried for what seemed like 30 straight minutes, all *while I'm holding her and trying to soothe her*. It was ugly.

So I'm recovering a bit today. :) She was still on a rampage this morning, so not much has improved in that regard. We'll get there.

Musings on holy days of obligation...

As a child, I distinctly remembering how I felt at Mass. Which was a definite: BORED.

I didn't understand everything that was being said, nor why it was meaningful, and I was always happy to get to the Our Father, because that meant that Mass was approximately 3/4 of the way complete. I can see this same tendency right now in my own son, which makes me a bit sad, but I'm doing what I can to explain things to him and keep him engaged in the Mass and in our Catholic faith, and I pray every day that both of my children will always remain close to Jesus and his Church. That's really all I can do.

It wasn't until I was an adult that I understood the Mass and consequently felt it's true power and meaning. Since that time, I've been grateful every day that I was raised in a church with a liturgy, because I love it, and it suits me so well. I used to attend daily Mass, and so wish that were an easier objective for me these days. In the end, I'm just so grateful that I have the gift of the Mass.

I read somewhere that Sunday Mass attendance amongst self-identified Catholics is approximately 25%. For holy days of obligation, the number is much, much lower. I know that there are some dioceses in which bishops chose to eliminate the obligation to attend Mass on some holy days, and instead moved the feast to the closest Sunday. Whenever I look at my Catholic calendar, printed at my parish, I seem to remember Hawaii always being mentioned :) so I believe they are one of those exception dioceses.

This is just my opinion, but I was always glad that I live in a diocese that does not move the holy days of obligation to Sundays only. I love the holy day Masses, and it gives me an excuse to make that extra effort during the week to attend Mass. The liturgy is always special on those days, and the readings particularly poignant.

There are a few holy days, however, that do not carry the option of being moved by our local bishops. The feast of the Immaculate Conception (December 8th) is one of those holy days, because Our Lady under that name is patroness of the United States. Christmas, obviously, is another such holy day.

I have to admit, this year, the feast of the Immaculate Conception presents an awkward Mass challenge for me. The vigil is tonight, but via some very bad luck, I got stuck with the 3-5 pm reference shift this afternoon. Hence, all 4 and 5 pm vigils are out for me. I could technically make a 7 pm vigil, but I have dance class then, and you know how much I love my dance class. Obviously, if I had no other option to attend Mass, I'd have to miss my class, but happily I can go tomorrow morning, on the feast itself.

The only problem with *that* is that we wanted to go to the vigil for the second Sunday of Advent together as a family Saturday evening (Mike doesn't like going to Mass on Sunday mornings, he always prefers to go to a Saturday vigil when he attends), which would mean Mass twice in one day. And that seems less than ideal to me, like I was treating the Masses as not as special as they deserve because I'm simply packing them in to accommodate my schedule.

And so I had thought to myself for a brief time that I wished that this was one of the holy days that was moved to a Sunday (when they fall on a Saturday or a Monday, which I think all dioceses do). But I corrected myself pretty quickly. Both the feast of the Immaculate Conception and the second Sunday of Advent deserve their own special Mass, they cannot be combined or one forsaken for the other. So I simply have to deal.

I'm still not sure what we'll do yet about the second Sunday of Advent. If Mike really wants to go to Mass, I'm certainly not going to turn him away, so I'll go to Mass twice on Saturday. If not, then I'll go to Mass for the second Sunday of Advent on Sunday morning. Next Sunday, I have Children's Liturgy of the Word duty, so we won't go to the vigil that week. And I know that Mike probably won't want to go to Mass as a family on the fourth Sunday of Advent because Christmas is so close and he'll be attending on Christmas Eve. *sighs* The problems of Catholic Librarians these days, I tell you.

So, my evening today and morning tomorrow will be a bit hectic. I may try to take Anne to Mass with me in the morning if (a) it won't interfere with her nap, and (b) she isn't in a foul mood and clearly on the prowl for trouble.

We'll see how it goes. :)

Excitement with yarn

As I've mentioned several times on this blog, I love Knit Picks for my knitting and crochet supplies. I have multiple sets of interchangeable knitting needle tips and cables from them, I bought their new wood crochet hooks (and love them!), and I buy most of my yarn from them. They have lots of selection of workhorse natural fibers (wool, alpaca, cotton), and some luxury blends to indulge in on occasion, for very reasonable prices. I know that I get more for my money with them than if I shopped in other places. When I need yarn or needles (which seems to be at least once every other month), I turn to Knit Picks. They have very friendly customer service, and our relationship is quite loving. I participate in the Knit Picks Lovers board on Ravelry. I recommend them to others. I'm rather wedded to them.

However, I have a hidden yarn secret: somewhat regularly, I have an illicit affair with Jimmy Beans Wool.

Jimmy's yarn is pricier than Knit Picks, but I was drawn to him because of a discounted Namaste knitting bag he had in stock. I bought the bag, and found that every purchase you make with Jimmy Beans gets you 5% back in store credit that you can use during the next quarter. And their customer service? Out of this world. I mean, SAINTS can't be as nice as these people, and their shipping speed is verging on the very wings of angels. Then I saw that they had that London 2012 colorway in their Lorna's Laces sock yarn and I ordered a skein, to commemorate my first successful Ravellenic Games.  Yes, it costs twice as much as I normally pay for yarn, but everybody deserves a little splurge sometimes. Suddenly, I had a little stockpile of store credit and a free shipping code to use from October until the end of December.

And oh, oh Jimmy. Seducing me with your limited edition colorways every month in the Lorna's Laces yarn, that is most unkind of you. I felt like I was sneaking around every month checking on the new color to see if I liked it. Several were pretty, but I wasn't tempted. Until last Friday.

I'm innocently scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed. Suddenly, via my friendship with Jimmy's Lorna's Laces limited edition fan club, I see December's colorway. It's called "Christmas at Downton."

*keyboard activity ceases*

*brain function comes to a screeching halt*

CHRISTMAS AT DOWNTON?! I *LOVE* Downton Abbey!!! It's one of Mike's and my absolute favorite shows. And the third season begins airing in the U.S. right around our anniversary in January.*heart*

It was meant to be. I considered the sock yarn, but let's be honest. I already own A LOT of sock yarn that still needs to be knitted up into warm and comfy socks. I looked through some patterns on Ravelry and justified a skein of the worsted weight so that I can make a hooded cowl for myself. Doesn't that sound cozy for a winter project? And with my store credit and the free shipping, it was only $16. I mean, it would have been a sin to not get the yarn and let that credit go to waste.

So I ordered the worsted on Friday. And Jimmy, with his wonderful speedy shipping, had my yarn on my doorstep by Monday afternoon (and it was coming from Reno, NV!). Didn't I tell you that he is wonderful?

The colorway is *beautiful*. Pleased as punch, I tucked my new yarn into my stash to pick up again after I finish Christmas knitting.

And then came yesterday. I'm innocently (ah hem) looking for a pattern on Ravelry when I notice on the "Hot Right Now" list the following:

"Downton Abbey Mystery KAL (knit-along) with Jimmy Beans Wool."

*eyes widen*

How could I not click on that? I click on it.

Starting on January 6th, Downton's premiere date, Jimmy is hosting a mystery knit-along in which participants will receive a clue each week and knit a project together, the final product of which is a mystery until the very end. The recommended yarn is of course some of the "Christmas in Downton" colorway in a sport weight.

A mystery KAL?

*Hallelujah chorus*

I DREAM (quite literally) of good knit-alongs. I MUST DO THIS. My dignity as a knitter requires that I take part in this blessed event. There's just 1 problem.

I have no sport weight yarn.

Well, ok, that's not *completely* true. I have a few skeins of sport weight yarn, but they are ear marked for other projects. It's not like worsted weight, or sock yarn, which I have an abundance of in my (very reasonably sized, that's my story and I'm sticking to it) stash.

What to do, what to do...

Somehow, it was all a blur I can't remember the details, the "Christmas in Downton" Sportmate yarn that the KAL mentions jumped into my cart. I swear I don't know how it happened. 1 skein is $24.50.

*cringes*

But you see, Jimmy, with his smooth talking ways, was already working on me. You only need 1 skein to make the mystery item, he whispers in my ear, and if you can get free shipping...

I'm on the email list to my knitting group in seconds. Anybody want to take part in the Mystery KAL, I ask? There's a brief silence, and then a flurry of happy responses. Anybody want to order the yarn?

There was some negotiation involving consideration of existing stash yarn, but Jimmy worked his wiles with them as well. Next thing you knew, everybody was in for a skein of Sportmate and together we had free shipping.

The yarn is actually out of stock, but is on order. Jimmy wrote right back to me to tell me he was sorry that he didn't have the yarn ready to ship out immediately, but that it would arrive in 1-2 weeks. He thanked me for my patience. We sent Jimmy a kiss.

It will arrive in plenty of time for the KAL, and meanwhile excitement is building in my knitting group.

This is the most fabulous development in my knitting life since the Ravellenic Games. I AM RIDICULOUSLY EXCITED. So expect lots of Downton Abbey and knit-along talk this January and February. I'm just lettin' you know now. I'll keep you posted every step of the way.

Karen, want to join us? *evil smile*

Advent reading

Every 1-2 years, I pull Jan Karon's Shepherd's Abiding off my bookshelf and read it during Advent. I've read it so many times that I skipped last Advent lest the story start to feel too predictable to me, and I happily pulled it out on Sunday.

I've read every book in the Mitford series and enjoyed all of them, but this is my absolute favorite book of the bunch. The series chronicles Fr. Tim, an Episcopalian priest who works in a small town church located in the hills of North Carolina. Assorted other townspeople are featured as well, and the stories are very charming. Some of the books are better than others, but overall I loved the series and recommend it.

Shepherds Abiding takes place during a Mitford Advent, and has our Fr. Tim happening upon a neglected antique nativity scene and spontaneously deciding to purchase and restore it as a Christmas gift for his wife. Nativity sets had played a memorable role in both of their childhoods, and this ragamuffin set captures his imagination as a project to work on leading up to, and during, Advent.

I can't tell you how happy I feel when I read this book. I usually read books on my Kindle these days, but I bought this in print years ago, and I have to say, this is a book that I would only read in print. There are a few beautiful color illustrations included and the cover art inspires me just to look at it. I am keeping it on my night stand this year and only allowing myself to read it before falling asleep to guarantee that it will last me for all of Advent.

Fr. Tim is an endearing character, and he's intimidated by the plaster work and painting involved in restoring his set, especially since his wife is a successful artist. Restoring the set is important to healing his heart toward his deceased (and emotionally distant) father, as well a true gift of the heart for his wife. I loved reading about the research he did to get each piece of the nativity just right in its color and look. 

Definitely a book to check out this Advent. :)

A knitting frenzy

Things are much more subdued in my knitting life this year (as opposed to last year's frantic dash to the finish line) but I've still been very busy in the evenings. I thought I'd post a few of my recent creations.

I love knitting a warm wool cardigan for Anne each winter. This year, I used the yarn from a wool sampler that I had bought, so it was a nice way to use up single balls in different colors:

And I made her some mittens to match her cupcake hat:

This bunny lovey is for her Christmas stocking:

I hope he doesn't look too angry, does he? Mouth embroidery is not my forte. I have a stuffed hippo that Henry asked for in the works as well. I had to change patterns on that one (the first pattern looked great at first, but once I actually started crocheting I realized that it was hieroglyphic-like in its instructions; once the f-bombs start flying in my head, I know that I need to change patterns, that's very reasonable, is it not?) but the re-started hippo in the new pattern looks fine so far.

I'm also knitting away on my sweater. When I went to Maine, Mike was teasing me about the sheer volume of yarn that I packed, and how much consideration I placed into each individual ball that I included.

"You're going to be helping with twins, do you really think you're going to have a lot of knitting time?"

He was right, of course. :) But I did knit a lot in the airport, so it was ALL worth it.

First Sunday of Advent 2012

We had a lovely First Sunday of Advent 2012, and you can see our brand new nativity Advent wreath above. Like every Advent wreath that I've ever owned, the candles tip a bit in the cups, however, they still seem secure in this one, so I'll take it. I know that there is a trick you can do to mold the wax at the bottom of the candles so that they fit into the cups easier, but I would have to do some actual research to uncover that. :) In the background, you can also see our wooden Advent calendar. I'll need to replace this one eventually, it's getting pretty beat up, but for now it still works.

I dug up an Advent wreath blessing prayer on my Kindle edition of the Magnificat Advent Companion and Henry and I blessed the wreath, and lit the first candle. Henry wasn't the best participant, but he's caught some early winter bug and was looking peaked all weekend. He's home from school today and looked just pathetic this morning, poor babe.

At any rate, I'm very happy on this second day of Advent, and am looking forward to further prayer and study. I've heard that the pope's new book on the infancy narrative is a good Advent read. Has anybody picked this up yet?