Sewing and Knitting November

Now that I am in my second trimester, I am knitting and sewing a lot more. I am over my pregnancy-related yarn aversion and have a little more energy. Here's what I've finished this month:


Baby clothes hanging in the guest room closet. This will become the nursery at some point.

Baby kimono in blue flowered cotton, tied with grosgrain ribbon.

Baby kimono in embroidered white linen, tied with satin ribbon.

Branching Out scarf in a merino/silk blend. For my mom for Christmas.

Happiness

Well, it's snowing, I got a fat raise, and I bought a Toyota this weekend. With cash. All is well in the world.

I am feeling good lately. I am past my first trimester, and the constant sickness and exhaustion have pretty much gone. I paid off my student loan last month, 2 years early. I have the aforementioned Camry, and with its help have finally attained the speed limit on West Virginia highways. The weather is cold and snowy, perfect for snuggling under a down comforter, knitting, watching movies, and cooking and baking up a storm. And, of course, the biggest holiday present I could get, the election results on November 4th.

What I'm Knitting

I am working on another pair of socks, in Louet Gems Fingering by Cherry Tree Hill in Green Mountain Madness. This is such a gorgeous yarn that I am tempted to go buy more in any of the zillion gorgeous colors, even though it's $11 a skein at the yarn store. It is strong and ropy and soft and doesn't fuzz or pill at all.

I'm a little nervous today because my husband is going to look at a car I found. It's a 1998 Camry LE, the same car as my dad has, in that pretty pale champagne gold color. Oh dear, am I turning into my parents? I'm hoping we can get a good deal on our Jeep as a trade-in. The air conditioning in my Jeep Cherokee no longer works and it has various other problems stemming from an intermittant electrical short (read, impossible to locate or fix...) I would love to buy a new car but I have a deep-seated dislike of owing anyone money, so I only pay cash for my cars. Thus, they are used and old (previously loved), but mine and paid for. I love getting the car titles that say "No liens recorded".

Crazy Running Lady

I took myself to the park today for a run. Well, a run/walk. I haven't run in a while. I am pregnant, and I've had nausea for about 5 weeks, and then 2 miserable colds. A hideous, hacking cough has been hanging around for a few days now. I have sciatica and backache and I'm tired. All these things, to me, spell disaster unless I get on my feet again. With my first pregnancy, I ran for 38 weeks, and delivered at 39. Frankly, I don't know anyone else who has run that long into their pregnancy. Running with a 30 pound weight gain and a full bladder is not exactly fun. All the usual rewards of running don't apply. You don't lose weight, get faster or run farther. You don't even have a quicker, easier labor. You DO have a healthy heart and lungs, maintain a healthy gradual weight gain, sleep better at night, minimize swelling, backache, leg pains and digestive troubles. And you gain some control over a body which seems sometimes to belong to someone else.

Whirlwind Weekend

On Friday, Jack and I went to see the Pumpkin House, an old Victorian place decorated with thousands of carved pumpkins, complete with pumpkin orchestra and choir.

Saturday was gorgeous and warm, and we celebrated by waiting for an hour to vote. It's good to have it done with, though. We saw this sign at the courthouse, which made us giggle:

Jack and I also went to see Peter Pan at the theatre. Captain Hook and the alligator were his favorites.

Sunday I managed to do some knitting for the first time since becoming pregnant, and I finished these socks:

I started another pair, in Louet Gems by Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn in Green Mountain Madness. Jack and I went to see a friend run the Marshall University marathon.

My husband bought an electric chainsaw (so quiet - I love it!) and trimmed some limbs from a tree that was shading our garden. In the course of this, I was standing on the ladder to ensure he didn't fall over, and one of the limbs fell on my left shoulder. It's still a little sore today, but I think no permanent damage was done. He also raked, mowed the lawn, and bottled 56 bottles of honey-wheat beer. All in all, an extremely productive, enjoyable weekend.