A Story

One Spawntime, there was Mama and Papa and Baby Etta and Oliver and Cricket and Veda and the big puma came and blew down their house! So then Mr. Daryl built them a nother house at Green Garden. Then the big puma came and knocked down their nother house! And they found another housein the woods. Then the good puma came. The End.
-Oliver Dec 2010

Here's to stories and good pumas and good ole Mr. Daryl.

Spending time

From Safe Baby Pregnancy Tips - a hilarious book my friend Emily gave me.

Don't know about the legality of putting a page on the blog, but it applies here.

I had big ideas for this maternity leave. Which was silly really, considering how the last one went. Visions of reading, knitting, sipping tea by the woodstove or up in the cupola... it was completely unrealistic, and yet...

Well, there is still no woodstove (but check back next week) and the unpainted cupola with no floor and plastic over the windows is most uninviting. But, somehow, this time, I'm able to sit around a bit and relax and, why yes, even read and knit (and paint and run out to the house but that's not relaxing and I generally get scolded for it).

I was slow to come to the reading-while-nursing idea, but my friend Becky suggested it while I was pumping at work 2 years ago and WOW it transformed the whole pumping experience. Previously, I had no time for pleasure reading (such an indulgence of time!) and now I was tearing through books. So this time, I was prepared. Etta and I have read:

• Listening for the Crack of Dawn - (thanks Jules!) I laughed, I cried
• Antelope Wife
• Bonfire of the Vanities (actually, I put it down. Couldn't get into it.)
• Edie (still working on this one)
• The Lost Symbol (in progress)
• A Homemade Life - I really enjoyed this one. It's a cookbook. But more! I thoroughly enjoy Molly's column in Bon Appetit as well as her blog, Orangette. This book is a nice combo of the two. Great, accessible writing. With recipes.

Not too shabby for 3 1/2 weeks I think. But you can do quite a bit of reading in 15 - 20 minute increments... several times a night...

And the knitting, well, that's pretty relaxing too. There were some holiday gifts to finish, and this cashmere kick I've been on, and oh, the joy of a knit hat (so fast when the drudgery of sweaters gets you down). The big reveal, of course, had to wait until after said gifts were gifted. And now:

Ben's Holiday Hat - I knit this in Plymouth Royal Cashmere that I fell in love with after knitting Darling's 2010 winter hat.

Thus beginning the cashmere kick.

So then I had to knit Karleen's Button Hat. It's a merino cashmere blend. To continue this cashmere excitement, I've got 2 more hats and possibly some mittens in store. But details on those will have to wait.

I bought some sister-approved yarn (Vemont O-Wool, an organic cotton and wool blend) in Kill Devil Hills this summer. It was supposed to be destined for a nice fall rollneck pullover for my soon-to-be niece. But I fell in love with another pattern and started the Gift Wrap Romper. Even though that was in the works, I wanted to make her a coming-home-from-the-hospital cap, thus the Zitron Cap (using some great Zitron wool sock yarn), which ended up being more like 3 months size I think.

Notes for all of these are on Ravelry. So that's the big reveal! Big ideas for maternity leave, but some of which actually came to fruition. Now back to that major remodel project or the baby clothing company...

We Passed

Wahoo! Passed our electrical inspection! Power is imminent!

In the meantime, we're making slow slow progress on painting and other items.

Who's Who

Recognize these kids?

Bath time

Milk drunk

The car seat lull

And now we paint

...And paint ... And paint.
Not like the old days where we would slap out a few rooms in a weekend. Hah! Lots of things waiting on our painting, such as trim, flooring, cabinets... But with the arrival of the babe and winter, I don't mind.

We had intended to use Yolo Colorhouse for our paints. They come in pretty earthy colors and we were aiming for neutrals for the most part. They're eco-friendly and reasonably priced - but not sold anywhere around here. I decided that shipping gallons of paint was decidedly un-eco-groovy and went back to our old standby: Harmony Low VOC paints from Sherwin Williams. The 40% off sale helped as well. The colors are pretty much all Martha Stewart (figures), and they blend together well. We were going for neutrals but trying to keep it warm and not too cool and modern at the same time. Most of the rooms are on the North Side anyway, so we'll be using furniture and accessories to brighten spaces seasonally. (Um, at least that's the idea.)
We have:

Popcorn (kitchen, scullery, bathrooms) Whetstone Gray (scullery, hallway)
Sharkey Gray (O's room, living room, other hallway)
Potter's Clay (dining room, mudroom)
Silvermist (Master Bedroom)
Tide Pool and Snowy Owl (Etta's room)
Rice Paper (Entry)
Cupola Yellow - seriously! (Cupola)

One thing not held up by our slow paint progress -- siding! Go Dave!

More

Very demanding relatives are looking for more photos, so here you will find Etta sleeping, pets reacting, and friends visiting.

Here it is!

Winter, that is! I can tell that I'm truly accepting of us NOT being in the house by Christmas, because I'm ELATED by the snow! Making saurkraut, getting our tree, and other winterly rites of passage: