What does your Googling say about you?

-> crystal 9 hotfix - missing patches for client server

-> Parser Error Message: File or assembly name CrystalDecisions.Web, or one of its dependencies, was not found. - Poor descriptor on error message for reports designed for clients

-> laptop rotated counterclockwise - Within seconds of banging on my laptop Fenner managed to rotate my desktop 90 Counterclockwise...she's *very* advanced

-> Spermicidal Efficacy - I'M MONOGAMOUS. Condoms were a necessity from my previous life.

-> schoolhouse press errata - Danish shawl from the past is posing some challenges I thought that it might *not* be me. But it is.

Warm at last! She's warm at last!!

My most recent finished object is this pair of Baby Snugs for the beast. I bought the kit at Lettuce Knit . Our house is cold and drafty - my feet are always cold so I was nervous about Fenner's little kibbies. I enlisted the help of Debra, Fenner's babysitter, during naptime to felt the little beasts - Debra loves felting a little too much and I took full advantage.

The recipe was clear and concise and the kit had everything I needed. My only criticism is that the yarn wasn't colour fast so when we felted them they turned a brilliant shade of orange.

These are alpaca lined and super warm.

They fit her like a dream and she ran amok all night wearing them

Now, the more astute of you might think to yourselves that this is just a cunning way for me to discourage stair climbing by making footwear that is deadly on wooden floors and stairs. Alas, even I am not so dedicated to stumping her development.
Leather footpads to prevent slippage and they work!They look so comfy I may just have to make myself a pair.

Some gratuitous pictures for family far and wide. Fenner and her favourite cow.

Small girl in first snow.

Sam revisited.

This is my last post about this sweater. Meet Zachary, dontcha just want to eat him?

I think he may have gotten the sweater in the knick of time!

Naughty and Nice

I promised a more in depth post about a dress Fenner was wearing a couple weeks ago. An unfortunate side effect of having a mother who *hates* shopping and feel, quite seriously, that dresses from young girls are the very definition of how the 'man' keeps us down. She can't run amok because she trips on hems, when she falls down she can't get up because the hem is under her shoes - generally nothing but frustration.

Those dresses that she does have are handmade family heirlooms and are brought out for occasions where I think she'll generally be in the carrier for.

My friend Lise made Fenner a dress for her birthday and it has changed my view of how pretty dresses can be. Pardon my terminology as I'm not a seamstress (yet) - It's an A-Line dress (I think) and the bottom is so wide that it *never* gets in the way. It looks great over a pair of jeans and a turtle neck and it's big enough that she'll be wearing it for a full year.
Reversible and Spectacular. Lise bought the fabric on Etsy (I'm not sure which shop? Lise?) .

Naughty.
and Nice (Michael Miller)
Just in case you can't see the detailing on the naughty fabric.
This is my favourite item of clothing to dress Fenner in right now and it causes a ruckus everywhere we go. It is truly absolutely fabulous.

Control of her world

This is simply impossible - the daily blogging business can bite me. That being said I have a seed of a post for every day this past week so at least I've started keeping my scattered thoughts in a semi-coherant way.

We're into week two of Fenner being home full time again AND I LOVE IT. Our friend Debra comes by and goes on adventures with Fenner in the morning. Today they're at the Royal Winter Fair (JEALOUS) and thanks to the joys of modern technology I get texts and pictures throughout their adventures (AWESOME)

Then we all have lunch together and either Debra walks Fenner to sleep in the afternoon or she and I (Fenner that is) lie down and have quiet time until she sleeps.

She never slept at daycare. You see we co-sleep so she needs to be held to fall asleep and they just couldn't do it at daycare but Debra can and Fenner is turning into an amazing little beast with all that rest and happy time.
We have an awesome drop in centre in our neighbourhood and more often than not Debra and the F-Bomb (sounds like a superhero duo) go to play in the morning. Fenner runs around like a beast with a purpose, moving all sorts of heavy fun, large toys. One of my neighbourhood Mom-Friends commented that she "is in control of her world" (Hi Eva!)

What a great way of describing a baby turning into a kid.

My knitting right now is all about winter apparel for us. Well mostly her and slowly for me and some thoughts for Jason but it's all so slow.

Here's a picture of us in our new Mama Poncho that our friend Annalise inspired us to pick up. It's awesome - We just need to wear a pullover underneath it to stay warm, I can take it off in seconds when we get inside to prevent over heating and her hatred of mitts can bite me because she puts her hands in my armpits like a smart little bean.
Life is great right now.

Also, this is old news but Christine Fellows, The Spinster's Almanac is striking the right chord with me right now, as is rapini with lemon and garlic. What does this say about me right now? Don't answer that....

24 hour life span

So the hunt for Brandon Crisp ended today. CBC has been talking about it on and off all day long. The story scares me straight yo.

I remember having fights with my Mom over events that seemed so earth shattering when I was 13 through to 21. These issues seemed worth disrespecting her and the family over at the time. Tortured feelings and betrayals that serve as the fodder for comedy and poetry as an adult.

There by the grace of the fates go we. I think you can be the best parent you could possibly be but the mind of a teenager is a treachorous and monumental place where if you don't remain vigilant the stakes can rise to a dangerous level over the seemingly inane aspects of growing up.

Mom says that the reason we never ran away was because we always lived in the far north where running away meant having to negotiate -50C temperatures or black bug season both of which are dangerous in the bush.

I can only hope that when the day comes Fenner and I will be able to negotiate those conflicts equally as successfully.
**Thank you Emily for the dangerously cute picture of a 1 yr old.

Here I was thinking I was an optimist

As I listen to Obama give his speech, simply enjoying the eloquence and the charm. What a golden moment to witness and the relief that I felt was simply that he spoke like a leader.

He recognized the fact that there was a lot of work for them all to do and that it wasn't going to be better over night. I appreciated the fact he didn't dumb it down or sugarcoat like he could have.

and then I thought: Please don't kill this one.

An FO revisited

Awhile back I blogged a finished object. Since then I popped on some buttons and tossed it in the mail. The pork bun for whome this was knit is a hefty 15 lber at 4 months so I'm a little worried about getting some distance out of it.Coygrrl wanted to know what the pattern was - Sam from Wee Knits in Mission Falls 1824. A satisfying and handsome knit.

Open House

When we bought our house I had visions of friends and family coming and going, eating and drinking, staying up too late drinking wine some nights and going to bed early after chatting in our living room other nights.

Up until two weeks ago, I believed that these visions fall into the world of fantasy for in them no one drinks too much, stays too long, our fridge always has the perfect food for omnivores and vegetarians, there are no awkward silences and I always win in Scrabble.

Until two weeks ago, we'd had family come to visit which is ALWAYS perfect don't get me wrong. THE MORE THE MERRIER.

But then last week, proffering home made marshmellows from San Fran, our friend Principal Blackman came to visit, my sister, Liz, dropped by for an enjoyable evening on her way through from Montreal and Fenner came home with a babysitter.

The house is full with all sorts of people J and I love to play, drink and eat with.

There are details but I am at the end of my writing time at the end of a day. This is a new challenge so I expect my writing quality to be suboptimal until I can adjust to the time limit and practise of daily.

Happy Halloween

From Yoda! Fenner's first real Halloween was most excellent. We live in a spectacular neighborhood full of folks with children who love to participate in this holiday.

150 children, 1 bottle of wine, 1 pizza and a whole lot of fun later Halloween was a huge success. It is truly Jason's favourite holiday. Magical.