Back to solo work

Hello, friends. I'm back to solo work today for the first time post-surgery. We will see how I do. I need to remember to stay on top of the ibuprofen. Probably best to stay off the Big Pain Pills if I can manage. I suspect it's going to be a week with plenty of videos, sigh. selenite may well come home early many days this week. He has been definitely told to tonight, so we can get the kids ready for Halloween.

And one of the major things I have to do today is frantically work on a last-minute knitting project for part of one of the Halloween costumes. While standing, mostly, for as long as I can. I should have had selenite bring down the big wooden chair that I've been using in the bedroom. Soft chairs are more problematic.

Looks like the chances of me getting local friends to come help me this weekend are not good - I'd forgotten that Satuday is going to be the ORAC meeting at the Tyra house. I wish I could go. I might be able to handle the drive, but not getting the kids in and out of the van and taking care of them without gates and such all day.

Kid pics from last week

I have run out of space on the LJ picture server, so I'm back to putting pictures up on Kelthaven. Here's a couple from last week:
http://www.kelthaven.org/baby/

Trick-or-treat!

Aaaaand... they're off for Trick-or-treating.

We have a bowl of candy ready and have answered the door twice. The little pegasus/unicorn costumes for girls are apparently THE hot costume this year. I've seen two of them, different variations. Plus Maggie's.

Possibly this is why Maggie decided to suddenly panic and not want to go at the last minute? She feels she's being upstaged? Could be.

On the one hand, I hate us to scare her. But more significantly, she's showing a tendency to overfearfulness and MAJOR Drama Queening that honestly needs to be nipped in the bud. So off she went with her Daddy and her brother. If she's really too scared, he'll bring her back.

I hope she doesn't ruin it for her brother. Jamie "Mine is an Evil Laugh" Gallagher looks fantastic in his Evil Overlord In Training outfit. I took some pics - will try for more later, the camera is difficult. It responds just TOO slowly to deal with small kids, grr. Sandy is an inspired genius.

OH DARN! Maggie was being such a difficult child - I forgot to draw the mustache on Jamie! I ran outside but they're out of sight. Bought the eyeliner pencil and everything.

Halloween results and thoughts

( Pics of cute kids in costume! )

selenite went out with the kids, since I clearly am not up to that yet. I was staying home to hand out candy. selenite had been kind enough to bring down from our bedroom the big wooden chair that has been the most comfortable thing for me to sit in lately, and set me up with that, a wooden tray table, bowl of candy, and my sock knitting. After a couple door answers, I decided to move the whole thing outside to be more visible. Our front door is a bit tucked back away from the house, as I realize at Halloween when it seems lots of kids pass by our house and don't realize we're playing. The only decoration we have is a little ceramic pumpkin that goes over a candle. selenite did put that out in the yard more easily visible from the sidewalk, on top of an upside-down pot. I figured better to get outside and more visible. I'm glad I did, it made me feel more a part of things and I enjoyed myself more, and had time for lots of thinky thoughts.

I got a number of kids doing it for the first time. I think I must have looked like an ideal house for parents to direct wee little ones to - clearly playing, clearly an adult there waiting, a motherly-looking woman, the kid didn't have to ring the doorbell or risk getting rebuffed. But also we didn't have heavy scary decorations, or look like there would be anything to jump out or make scary noises. The wee little ones were adorable. I'd wait a moment to see if they could say trick-or-treat yet, or prompt them gently, then give them the candy and smile and tell them happy Halloween whether they could or not. One little girl was adorable - I asked her if she could say Trick-or-treat. She looked up at me wide-eyed and shook her head no. I gave her candy, and she said softly "thank you." She had the important part down! Another little girl was caroling "Trick-or-treat!" as she ran up the sidewalk, clearly this was the year that she Got It! and she was so proud.

I did get cold. I went in and got the purple scarf bkseiver made me a few years ago (this one, and if you want to see something amusing, look at this, Maggie was 18 months and Jamie was 10 days old), that helped warm me up. Useful for knitting, too - if I needed to set down the working needle, I just stuck it in the scarf. After selenite was inside with the kids, he brought me his jacket and the gloves I loaned them, but it's hard to knit in the gloves, so I mostly kept those off. I had him bring me hot chocolate later. We went through all the candy, and some of our own candy I had squirreled away. But then I try to give generous handfuls rather than just one piece. The last batch was a bunch of teenage boys with only a thin pretense at costumes - I know back in Los Angeles, it would have made me feel afraid, here I just laughed with them and handed them candy.

I was feeling envious of so many of my friends who have spent this weekend at costume parties and having fun. They get to have fun and be around people and be admired and all that. Heck, I envied those who could even have a fun costume and go trick-or-treating with their kids. But I reminded myself that I should focus on being grateful that I'm recovered enough from surgery that I could be downstairs and sitting long enough to do this.

I pretty much finished up the baby sock I was working on, too. I don't know how much of a KIP (Knitting In Public) it is when you're sitting at your own front door, but it's fun anyway, got a couple of comments on it.

projects I wish I could do

While I was sitting outside this evening handing out Halloween candy and getting chilled, I started to think about knitting projects I'd like to do for myself. I was already wearing a pair of handknit wool socks. I'd like to do more socks for myself - I have several already planned out and stash for more. Even with the scarf on my ears were getting cold. I was thinking that I really should knit one of those moebius scarf/hood things that I've wanted for years and years. I know there was a pattern in Spinoff for handspun yarn, I should see what weight they had in mind, or find another. (I certainly don't have time to do the spinning, and anyway I do smooth tight even thin yarn, not fluffy yarn) And my hands kept getting cold. I can't knit properly in gloves. I was thinking mabye fingerless gloves, or maybe some of those fingerless gloves with the mitten style flap that goes over them, I've seen pictures of those lately, surely I could find a pattern.

Then I thought some more, and realized yeah, who am I kidding? I almost finished those baby socks, there's a pair of socks promised to Karl I need to get back to, I have a huge project with a deadline coming up fast, and there's so much else I need to do for other people. I don't have time to knit for myself any time soon.

Which makes me sad. Although I do want to do the knitting for people I care about.