Knitting, Cabin Fever and Lent { 7 QT }

So it's friday and I am completely unable to form a coherent thought, so I decided to gather them up using Jen's brilliant 7 Quick Takes Friday link up. Maybe that will help?

1. I cast on for a Shalom cardigan last night with Cascade Eco. I don't have a yarn winder, so that meant that I hand wound 478 yards of bulky weight wool. It took about twenty minutes, and the result is a ridiculous ball of yarn about as big as my head. I know it may seem a bit naive to start an adult sized sweater in March, but I live in Michigan and am currently buried under several feet of snow. I bet I'll be done while there is still snow on the ground. I'm planning to follow Soulemama's mods for this and add sleeves.

2. I'm beginning to believe my friends think I seriously do nothing of importance. 4 different people posted that "knit sweaters for penguins" thing on my facebook in the past week - and in the past 6 months I've had something similar posted to me at least 6 times. I mean, I have nothing against penguins. And yes, I like to knit. But I really don't need more reasons to knit, or to knit things for animals. Do these people know me at all? Or do they maybe know me better than I know myself? Not sure which is worse, actually. (Of course I'm kidding. I love you all!)

3. For Lent, I "gave up" sleeping in. I know it sounds like something a teenager might give up, but I'm just as guilty. In the first year of my baby's life, I usually sleep when they sleep. With my non-napper Rosie, that has extended into late mornings. If she's still snoozing at 830, you better believe I'm right there beside her. However this has become a bit of an issue as I take a while to get going on my day. So for Lent, my initial plan was to get up at 6. Every day. But wow, that's early. I've amended that to be "get up and get a shower before the kids are up." I'm not sure it's as effective (or sacrificial), but it's going alright.

4. This weekend we are celebrating Jonah's 5th birthday, requiring me to come to grips with the fact that the next month is nonstop birthday cake and gifts. I know God planned my children perfectly, but goodness sometimes I wish their birthdays were a bit more spaced out so I could actually enjoy them and savor them a little more. As it is, I can hardly keep straight who's birthday is when and what day we are celebrating who. So although Jonah is at the end of the month, we are celebrating it on Sunday since we will be out of town on that weekend (got that? Me neither.). I had enough warning to place an emergency Amazon order, so he will actually have gifts. I'm counting that as a win.

5. Yesterday, Ben went outside for a bit and came back in long enough to shout at everyone else, "Come outside! It's like SPRING out here! SO WARM!" The kids sprang to action and went out - all except Fiona, who crossed her arms and said "No it's not. It's freezing!" She grabbed some knitting instead (Mama's girl) while I checked the thermostat: 19 degrees. Balmy, indeed.

6. As the days here in this otherwise charming little house wear on and on (our first snow of the year was November 5th. It's now March 7 with no end in sight), I'm finding my sympathy, empathy and every other possible "thy" disappearing. It's all I can do to muster a sympathetic look when someone running wildly around the dining room table screeching accidentally slides right into the piano and bumps their head. Oh honey. I'm so sorry...maybe a little?

7. Rosie is 11 months old and not walking, making her the oldest non-walker of my kids. The rest were between 9.5 and 10.5 months. She gets carried a fair bit, but the truth is she has figured out how to walk without doing it alone. She grabs, in just one hand, a tiny bit of pants fabric on the back of my knee and walks around the house attached, following me everywhere I go. I think this is the perfect illustration to our relationship thus far and I wouldn't be surprised if she kept it up for a very long time.

There are my 7 QT. What's going on where you are?


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