44/52

a portrait of my son, once a week, every week in 2015

Jimmy: Eat the pumpkin!

Jimmy has been unwell, so he missed out on the Halloween party at his daycare, but on the 31st of October we tried to get him to wear his costume. Not happening. Not even when we convinced him to wear his caterpillar overalls so that he could be a caterpillar inside (and therefore eating) the pumpkin... Ah well, part of me is glad that we didn't go to the effort (and expense) of making what we really wanted to make for Jimmy's costume, while part of me is frustrated that we spent money on a costume that Jimmy will probably never wear for more than 5 seconds. At least the costume is big enough that it fits Daddy, right?

On the needles: a beanie...

Way back before Jimmy was even born, back when he was inside my belly, and my belly was huge, Michael and I went to the 2013 Peace Festival and I bought this beautiful skein of alpaca from a local spinner. My plan was to make something for our baby with it, only I was going to wait until the baby was born before I did anything - the soft, soft yarn required something special, something that would suit our baby.

It was still untouched back in April, 2014, so it should come as no surprise that the wool made its way across the Pacific Ocean with us (did I mention that I brought wool over here, so that I could work my way through it and be less tempted to buy (even more) wool?).

After lots of umming and ahing, and realising that I hadn't started on any knitted project for Jimmy's 2nd birthday, I wound the skein into a ball and turned the very, very soft alpaca into a beanie.

I may have made the pattern up as I went along...

I did start with a measurement of Jimmy's head, and I did work out how many stitches of 3x3 rib went into 10 cm (or was it an inch or 5? Meh...), so I wasn't flying completely by the seat of my pants... And I kept notes, so that if I ever want to make another one, I have something to work from.

The process was fun and the project small enough to work on in the heat of July and August (I'm a slow knitter, so what). And every time I picked up my needles to work on the beanie I thought of Jimmy, and how the beanie would keep his head warm when his other beanies were not quite big enough or too cozy. I also thought of an old friend and school teacher and I remembered our brief conversation that day at the Peace Festival, and how he was ill and I was reluctant to get too close but still had trouble hearing the few words he said because his throat was so sore due to a recent bout of laryngitis - he would have appreciated the problem solving involved in the making of this beanie...

And now the beanie is finished, and after a very brief evening when the beanie was needed, Jimmy refuses to wear it. I think the fluffy alpaca is a little too warm for the mild autumn fall we're having in Kansas. Ah well! It fits, it stretches, and I know there isn't a photo of it, but the beanie comes to a point and is tied in a knot, because I wasn't wasting any yarn, so it's something of a gumnut beanie. Too bad the reference is lost on Jimmy. Perhaps we should tell him it's an acorn, then he might wear it.

Cheap thrills: extending my wardrobe...

Dressing for work as research assistant is a little different to pulling on clothes to wear to the playground. And my (unplanned) weight loss has brought about its own set of issues, namely most of my clothes are too big.

There are worse problems to have, but this one needed a creative (and super cheap) solution: little alterations.

As a new breastfeeding mother I bought a few tops from here, and they were great: they fitted when most of my old tops didn't, they provided easy access for breastfeeding, and they made me feel a little like the "old" me. I have worn them so often they were worth the expense, but now? Well, the under shirts had become little long, and I was sick of wearing so much fabric, and with Jimmy breastfeeding less and less there was no need for the modesty layers. So, I removed them.

I have kept the modesty layers from the two tops I altered, just in case and so that I can sew them back in place if I ever give them away. The tops do sit differently, and have a different look, and that's ok. My "new" tops are great, loose and airy but still structured enough for work.

Finding pants that don't cost much has been a bigger issue than making small adjustments to tops. There was a part of me that was enjoying being a little bigger and that was the part of me that had to deal with pants that don't quite fit. Again, there are worse and bigger problems to have, so I try not to give it too much thought, which can be tricky when I have to adjust my pants roughly 538,882 times a day.

In a bid to deal with my shortage of pants that fit or don't have rips in them (which describes all 3 pairs of jeans I have been wearing for the best part of a year), I ended up buying some slacks and a pair of jeans so that I might look a little less like a student while working at the university. The slacks fit fine, a little loose, but ok. The jeans? Heavily discounted and a size (or two) too big, I still bought them... I may have been a little traumatised by the opshop not being open... And just recently I found the energy to bring them in at the waist. This bring-pants/jeans-in-at-the-waist is something I may have to do a little more often, because I am happy with the result, but...

It would be nice to be able to buy pants that fit, straight off the rack, no alterations or belts required. Being able to buy new tops would be nice too, but that's not where we're at - our finances are still very tight, even with me working - so we make do, and try to enjoy what creativity there is in the process.

On the needles: a little pillow...

Jimmy needed a little pillow for naptime at daycare, so after finding out that 10x8 inches was about the size that would fit their beds, I arranged to borrow our neighbours sewing machine and set to work. I may have already talked about it, but I wanted to share some more details about it (and I now regret not taking more "in progress" photos).

I wanted the pillow to be special. I used some red bunting fabric that I had bought a while back, and had already turned most of it into a pillowcase for a regular sized pillow - for Jimmy, of course. So, using the leftover fabric made perfect sense. Only there wasn't enough of it. Enter an old white cotton shirt.

I bought this shirt when I was in highschool, at a local opshop and probably paid less than $3 for it. It is 100% cotton and the cotton is lovely. The shirt is so old... I've had to cut the collar off, replaced one button and repaired the shirt area around another, and just had to deal with a work-related stain that slowly faded. And then I work it in the pool and it ended up with awful discolouration and that was that.

But I just couldn't throw it away. No chance. The fabric was still in good condition (except around the cuffs, oh well), so I was hoping that I would be able to put it to good use before we left Manhattan, KS, otherwise it would be binned (sad face). It was still hanging in the wardrobe after its replacement arrived. The fabric of the replacement is no match, in terms of quality, but the cut is about the same... anyway... I used the fabric for the pillow and the pillowcase and, to me, it makes Jimmy's naptime pillow all the more special.

I'm so happy with the end result. So is Jimmy, although he is too young to appreciate the two pockets on the same side as the opening, but he will. He saw me making parts of it, most of it even, and I made a fuss about it, and made sure he knew that I was making it just for him. A special little pillow, for naps away from home, made from things at home. He's napping at daycare, and hugging it too, so I think my plan worked - my plan to give him something special, from me to him, that is just his, but with a little of something of mine too.

A matter of personal taste...

A few months back I moved Jimmy clothes around in his set of hanging shelves, because it was time to give him access to the clothes he wears daily.

Why? Well...

Jimmy is a headstrong little boy, has been since the get-go, and we deal with it by letting him have his way when it is safe for him to do what he wants. And this extends to clothes.

We started by offering him a choice of two tops, followed by two pants, and we would ask him to choose which one he wanted to wear. And it worked for a while: getting him dressed didn't take too long, and he could feel he had some say in the matter. Win-win.

Some days the result was rather coordinated and subdued, and on other days the result was fun and loud.

There would be occasional day when we might ask Jimmy what colour top he wanted to wear. He would say "green!" because it was the colour he could say at the time, so we would get him a green top.

"No green top!"

"What colour top do you want to wear?"

"Blue."

"Ok, here's a blue top."

"No, not that blue top."

This exchange would continue another round or two or more, usually ending with Jimmy actually wearing an orange or red top. He may or may not have actually wanted to wear the orange or red top, but after 5 minutes going through each and every top in his collection, and explaining that the other red top was dirty and in the wash, we had to settle for something.

So, these days Jimmy mostly chooses his own clothes. This results in some interesting outcomes. He's a toddler and it's allowed. Actually, I think it's expected. The photo at the top of this entry shows three outfits and the ones on the left and the right are ones I had picked out for Jimmy, a few days before taking the photo. The outfit in the middle is all Jimmy. Clearly that lovely warm jumper is a "top".

Jimmy likes strips, bright colours, prints, and anything with pockets. He's not afraid to wear red with coral, he doesn't mind if his pants are turning into capris, and his go-to shoes are his dinosaur gum rain boots. He's quite happy to wear his rain coat when it's cool and windy, but he doesn't like how his hat flops over his eyes. 

I'm not beyond vetoing Jimmy's selections. The lovely warm jumper? Vetoed - Jimmy would have been far too hot that day. But for the most part, Jimmy has pretty good taste, even if what he wants to wear is not what I would have picked. And that's ok, because he's allowed to dress however he wants - he's the one wearing the clothes.

Over the weekend we...

Bought Jimmy some new-to-him shoes, because the ones I bought a few weeks ago were actually already a little small, and I'm fairly certain that he's had a growth spurt.

We visited our favourite op thrift shops, hoping to find something suitable: size 7 sandals, in any colour.

Our first stop resulted in no shoes for Jimmy, but I found a dress and Michael found a cool little puzzle. We walked through Dillards (the one here reminds me of the Toowong David Jones store), poked our heads into GapKids to see what was within our price range (nothing, once we factored in tax, although I'd love to get Jimmy these).

We stopped for coffee at Sparrow before making for our other favourite op thrift shop. Actually, I think it is actually our preferred one, only because it is closer to the bus stop. And there they were...

Where last week there were none, this week there was one pair of sandals that were bigger than a size 6. That they are blue is just an added bonus, because blue goes with pretty much anything.

Actually, these sandals are size 8. That's right. Size 8.

Yes, the sandals are big, but that's ok because Jimmy hasn't tripped in them (yet). Plus, he's fond of them already, although that might have something to do with them being the roomiest shoes he owns.

Here's to summer and a growing little boy.

17/52

a portrait of my son, once a week, every week in 2015

Jimmy: Dig dirt.

Jimmy and I took advantage of a warm afternoon and tested out his new-to-him sandals and jeans (the tshirt is also second hand, but we received it from my Cousin K and brought it over, along with a few other tshirts that now fit Jimmy, with a little room to grow). The sandals are possibly not going to fit all summer, but that is ok because it means that Jimmy is growing.

And for a brief moment, it looked like Jimmy and I would be "growing" our pine cone collection, but no. Digging in the dirt was far more important. And then he wanted to do something else and the dirt, and the pine cones, were forgotten.

Early Spring...

It's Spring here in Manhattan, KS! Spring! Ok, so it's really early spring, but daylight savings started over the weekend. And while it could snow again before summer, the nights are now just warm enough to leave the windows open a little and during the day we are down to 2-3 layers, and sunnies.

Yes, the sunglasses are out because the sun is just blinding. As Jimmy said today: sun-bright. Yesterday, when these photos were taken, Jimmy had his sunnies on when we left the apartment and they stayed on until we were at Arrow Coffee Co. I was pretty impressed with how long he kept them on, but then we have been out without them lately, and we have needed them.

It was a lovely day, Tuesday, like the last 5 or so days have been, so when Jimmy woke up from his (rather late) nap, I knew he would need some running around so that he might just go to sleep by 9:30pm... I asked him what he wanted to do. "Ride Daddy bike" was the response. So, we took the bus and walked about the K-State Gardens, sans snow, before meeting up with Michael. Prepare yourself for lots of photos of Jimmy...

Climbing up all by himself...

Checking out the seat...

Just hanging out, you know...

On the needles: socks...

Just in time for the latest snow falls (3 times in 48 hours!!), I finished darning some holes in a pair of Michaels' woollen socks, and I finished making a pair of woollen socks for Jimmy. Michaels' socks will last a few more years, while Jimmy will outgrow his before May this year.

Darning Michaels' socks was made easier by using an old baseball inside the toe. It worked like a darning mushroom, only it didn't cost us anything as we have found a few baseballs while out and about. The work was quicker with the baseball in the toe and I'll use it again when I get around to darning a few more pairs of socks. While not the funnest of needlework projects, darning saves otherwise good socks from going to waste, and saves the replacement cost, which can be at least $15 per pair of knee-high woollen socks.

Jimmy's not-so-little socks were knitted using a Patons sock yarn, on 3 mm circular needles, based on the classic rib socks in Cute Knits for Baby Feet. I say "based on" because the pattern was a little unclear and odd in places, so I winged it when it came to the heel and then just checked the pattern to get an idea of how long to make the foot before starting the toe. Having knitted a few pairs of socks over the years, using really good patterns with really clear instructions, the socks turned out fairly well. They could be longer, but winter will be over soon and one way or another there will be no need for them.

This is what I did for a pair of socks that will fit a 12-18 month old who wears size 4-6 shoes:

• Using sock yarn and 3 mm needles (circular or double pointed) cast on 36 stitches (I used the Old Norwegian cast on), join for working in the round, place stitch marker at the beginning of the round;
• Start a 2x2 rib, work for 33 rounds;
• Heel: knit 9 stitches, turn, slip first stitch, purl 17 stitches, turn, slip first stitch and begin working short rows until there are 6 stitches between the two sets of wrapped stitches, knit across the wrapped stitches (as for short rows) until there are no more wrapped or slipped stitches, ending with a knit row.
• Foot: continue the 2x2 rib for 26 rounds*
• Toe: knit 6 stitches, slip-slip-knit the next 2 stitches, knit 2, knit-together the next 2 stitches, knit 12, slip-slip-knit the next 2 stitches, knit 2, knit-together the next 2 stitches, knit 6, knit one round. Continue decreasing, alternating with knit round, until there are 16 stitches on the needles. Graft stitches and weave in ends.
• Knit a second (or third or fourth sock).

Done!

*I would actually make the feet 28 rounds long, possibly 30, because Jimmy is wearing size 6 and size 6.5 shoes and the socks are a little short for his feet.

Quick reads...

Jimmy is still snotty, yet boisterous. My shoulder/side have been sore for most of the week and I'm still not convinced that it's the result of doing 1-2-3-weee a few too many times over the weekend - at least it's not mastitis. The weather has turned cold again, and we're starting to look into the realities of moving back to Australia. How's your week been?

It might be Valentines on Saturday, but you might want to reconsider those dinner plans.

Activities for young ones while it's too cold or too hot to play outside.

Some crazy things about Australia.

Some stunning photos of Australia.

What's in a name? Most people mispronounce my name, let alone start spelling it with the right letter.

As I think about packing and what to leave behind, I'm reminded of this closet cleanout.

These photos of the Kazakh eagle-hunting festival are just stunning.

Hope you have some nice plans and some nice weather to go with them. We'll be catching up with some friends, checking out the new exhibits at the Discovery Center, drinking lots of warm drinks, and eating lots of warming soups and breads - it's going to be a cold one! Happy weekend!

50/52

 "a portrait of my son, once a week, every week in 2014"

Jimmy: Has a "flute", and plays "tooty-toot!" in his new waterproof suit!

Just a little Shel Silverstein and Dr Seuss mashup to go with this lovely photo Michael took yesterday, while I was in bed (long story, I'll tell you tomorrow). The waterproof suit just arrived this week from Granty L, along with a whole Christmas cake and a Christmas present for Jimmy - no, no the suit was an "anytime present" and we let Jimmy open it that day, and he had so much fun wearing it that evening! It means getting him dressed and out the door is going to be a lot easier as the suit is fully lined, hooded, and those green tabs actually fold over to cover hands and feet, all we need now is a little snow to see how it really holds up - I'm sure it will be excellent.

And did you notice this weeks' number? 50... 50/52... Only 2 more of these for this year...

While Michael and Jimmy were outside yesterday, Michael captured Jimmy's excited face. His "oooo!" face. And I had to share. Because "oooo!" my little sister is going to be here in just over a week!

On the needles: Possum fur beanie...

Yes. That's right: possum fur. From New Zealand. where Australian possums are a pest, and it's ok to kill them. Not wanting to let the beautifully warm and fuzzy possum fur go to waste, the Kiwi's are mixing it with Merino wool and making lovely, lovely woolly warm things for the cold climate that New Zealand experiences.

My lovely little sister went skiing there a year or so ago, and while she made a point of not buying touristy things for friends and family, she made one exception: me. She saw the wool mixed with possum fur and couldn't leave it behind. She bought me two skeins: one sock weight and one lace weight (I can't remember if this skein actually has possum fur in it or not). I brought the sock weight with me because it gets really, really cold in Kansas.

The skein I brought over was a Touch Yarn skein of Possum Yarn, in C1, and I tell you what, it's not an easy colour combination to photograph - let alone work out what to do with it!

A quick cold snap after our road trip convinced me that I needed a beanie of my own. Michael has a few, Jimmy has a few, but me? Nothing. So, I decided to turn this lovely yarn into a hat...

After posing for some silly selfies, of course... I had to make sure that the colour combination would suit my skin tone, right?

In addition to deciding what to knit, choosing a pattern, and actually knitting said beanie, there was the task of turning the skein into a usable ball of yarn... And I very sensibly started this task outside, with Jimmy, while he was wandering around and while he had a little feed too... yep... I take my multitasking seriously...

I didn't wind it all in the one session and ended up improvising one of these, by turning our laundry basket upside down and slipping the skein over it. (Actually this worked really well, and I would recommend it to any crafter on a budget.)

Yarn wound, all I needed was a pattern... I loved the way the colours dispersed as I wound the yarn, but I knew it would pool a little during the knitting, so any pattern would have to work well with that. After a quick search on Ravelry, I decided that the Wurm would work better with the yarn than the first pattern I liked, that uses the same wool (but in a solid colour) - I'll make in with a different yarn, if I get around to it...

The Wurm is an easy knit, and a little appropriate for this arthropod lover. I added an extra 2 purl sections, for a little more length, but I'm not sure that they were needed. I'm also not sure that I knitted the right size for my head, but that's what you get when you don't do a gauge swatch... ah well, it's a good beanie, and probably just needs a warm (hand) wash or two to get it a little more snug around the ears.

Once all the knitting and tieing off were done, I tried to get Jimmy to model it for me, but he had more fun taking it off before I had time to take a photo. I wore it when it snowed, but am yet to block it. I'll wash it sometime this week, while we're enjoying a warm spell.

Winter is here!

Well... sort of... it depends on what calender you go by: if you're talking months of winter (December, January, & February), then winter is most definitely here; if you go by the Earth's position relative to the sun (solstices and equinoxes), the official start of winter is a few weeks away.

And it seems that Americans do actually chart the seasons by the Earth's position relative to the sun. It's something I hadn't noticed until we were living here and bloggers were talking about the start of summer in late June, the start of fall in October, and no there is almost no mention of winter already being here (except over at Soule Mama).

But for us, it's been winter for a while now... pretty much since it snowed... or the week leading up to the snow, when the north wind was biting and we had ice forming on the inside of our bedroom windows. Big jumpers, boots, socks that that look like boots, and a little boy who actually doesn't really want to go outside are all becoming the norm...

And apparently Christmas is in 23 days... We're not really "into" Christmas, but we still do something, because the day holds many fond memories. I just can't believe that it's that time of year, I mean it's cold, bloody freezing... It's always hot leading up to Christmas... Oh wait... In Australia the days are hot and long in the lead up to Christmas, and when it's not hot, I keep forgetting that it's just around the corner, because it doesn't feel like Christmas. Funny, right.

Winter is here and Christmas is coming, with New Years and birthdays following close behind. It feels weird. Because it's winter, as far as I'm concerned. Christmas and winter are things that happen in other countries, to other people, and yet it's going to happen. And in my mind Christmas (and my birthday) will be coming early this year when my little sister arrives a few days before Christmas.

Winter is here and with it, the last month of 2014. Stay warm, or cool, as required.

Avoiding the silliness of the season...

Christmas 2012

The silly season is upon us, here in the USA*, and it starts with Thanksgiving and the Black Friday sales.

The Black Friday sales are akin to Australia's Boxing Day sales. On steroids. According to locals (and by locals, I mean people who were either born in the USA or have lived in Manhattan for more than 2 years), Black Friday sales used to start at silly o'clock in the morning, with people camping out aiming to be the first in the doors to gain maximum savings. These days? Well... the sales have already started online and will start in store Thursday afternoon.

Yes, Thursday afternoon. That's before the turkey is even out of the oven for Thanksgiving dinner. Heavily discounted goods before dinner? Yes, please!

Well, that is, unless you're us, and more than halfway through a one year stay, and only need very specific stuff, like wool thermals, or size 2 childrens clothes, or woollen socks for little feet (toddlers size 6). Did I just write a wish list? Hmmmm...

I will admit to taking advantage of the online sales, but I tried to keep it to the things we actually need. More base layers? Yes. Undies for Jimmy? They weren't on sale. That gray jumper with insects embroidered on it? Hmmm, well... If you're me, then yes. It has insects on it - nufsaid.

I'll be keeping an eye on the prices for some woollen socks for me, but other than that (and the above wishlist), there's really not much that we need. Most of what we actually need won't be on sale, or if it is, it'll be sold out in our size or not to our liking (we're pretty picky about what we buy for Jimmy).

But, guess what? We're still going to the sales! That's right. One of Michael's co-workers is taking us along to some of the bigger shops in Manhattan, before we all go to a Thanksgiving dinner at their boss' house. It should be interesting.

Well...

We don't need much, as I mentioned. If we were buying gifts for family and friends, the Black Friday sales would be the time to do it, if we had a gift list already or at least some idea of what to get, but we're not, so we won't.

It's not just about our tight budget, it's about mindful choices and not being overwhelmed by stuff. We packed up a lot of stuff when we moved here, and I'm enjoying the current minimalism. Sure, I miss some things, but this state is temporary. And we don't need to add to the list of things we'll have to part with or ship (and add to our stuff).

So, when we head out to the sales tomorrow, we'll be keeping an eye out for bargains, while remembering that we don't need, don't need, don't need a lot of stuff.

And then we'll be enjoying Thanksgiving.

And if you think I'm overthinking things... well... here's some food for thought:
The guys over at The Minimalists put it well
Here's a semi-local take, and discount guide
On keeping the sales to Friday
The official Black Friday site - because a sense of scale is important.

*It's here for those of us not in Ferguson, St Louis, and those of us who aren't affected by the ruling yesterday. I'm going to put something up about it tomorrow, because it's part of our experience here, even if we are living a few states to the west.

Winter came knocking...

As I mentioned yesterday, it's been snowing...

On Saturday we woke up to snow!!!!!!! It was actually snowing!!!!! Light, gentle, slowly falling snow!

There was no way I was staying inside and missing this (Michael initially hid under the covers, but changed his mind).

So, we got rugged up and went out and enjoyed the snow while it's still novel.

Jimmy had a little trouble on the stairs in all his layers, but he did well and made it down without much trouble, thanks to a helping hand from Dadee.

We weren't the first ones out in it, but we were close enough and in some places we were the first (yay!).

The snow wasn't particularly thick, but it was a good introduction for Jimmy. It certainly changed his favourite rock garden.

Naturally there were a few stumbles, but that's normal these days as Jimmy recalibrates how to walk in 3+ layers, with or without snow. Actually, this was the first time Jimmy had gone outside in the Muddlarks a cousin gave us (along with a good selection of clothes that has saved us from buying jumpers, thermals, long sleeve tops, and gloves - and yes, we brought them all with us from Australia), and they were great! Jimmy's legs stayed nice and dry, and presumably warm. We double gloved his little hands too, and his fingers were still warm when we came home.

It was such a quiet morning, even though it was after 9 am. The world seemed to be sleeping, yet it was snowing. It was a little magical.

Michael took this lovely one of Jimmy and me*. It's kinda weird seeing picture of us walking together because he's still so little, yet he's growing so fast.

Our coats caught snowflakes, we crunched the fresh snow with our shoes and in our gloved hands, made a little snow man, and yes, Jimmy decided to eat some too.

I think it's fairly safe to say that Jimmy enjoyed the snow, or at least the excitement and attention of his parents (we kept pointing our cameras in his face because, you know, snow).

We weren't out for long, probably less than an hour, but it was warmer than it has been lately, and it was lovely. We stayed inside for the rest of the day as we had no reason or inclination to go out.

The snow turned to rain, and the sun set.

Sunday morning we woke to even more snow! It had snowed overnight, but the clouds were starting to clear. So, we headed out for our first snowy trip to the shops before the snow turned to mush.

 Michael and I were very excited to see rabbit footprints in the snow just outside out apartment.

Michael was happy with how his bike handled in the conditions.

The snow was thicker on Sunday than on Saturday, but it still wasn't enough to completely cover the grass.

Jimmy was pretty cold by the time we arrived but that's the difference between walking around and being worn (something for me to keep in mind). After helping to push the trolley around he warmed up and was kinda happy to be worn home.

And we did well: somehow I managed to breastfeed Jimmy; and neither Michael nor I slipped on any ice!

According to the forecast we're not going to get much more until Christmas, so I'm glad we made the most of what little there was. And I'm glad it wasn't bitterly cold or super windy for Jimmy's first experience of snow.

*I'll tell you about my hat soon.