holiday recovery

We made it through Christmas, and only a little worse for wear. The lead up, as little as I have to do with only one half of our family celebrating, wore me out and the morning of Christmas Eve brought on an "official" bout of morning sickness (insert meaning here). That took a few days to recover from and involved me lying on the carpet of my office trying to carry on conversations with co-workers. Not a pretty sight, I'm sure. Luckily my Mom and Dad didn't mind that I sat on their couch for our entire visit. And I had some great knitting magazines and Jane Brocket's The Gentle Art of Domesticity to help me recover, while Sadie happily played with her uncle. So the Christmas part, as always, was quiet and full of meaningful family time (not to mention mountains of h'orderves and sweets, yummm).

I have yet to photograph Sadie's nightgown or tutu which were the only things I managed to make this Christmas other than the pile of sachets above. When we went to the cottage this summer we visited a lavender farm and I have been a little enchanted with lavender since. So I made little linen sachets with bits of my Shinzi Katoh fabric and happily filled them with lavender, which had to be the most relaxing crafting step ever. I wanted to give the girls at work something handmade, and there were two other friends of mine that I wanted to think about while working on these (I've always felt the true joy of making gifts is the time you spend thinking about the intended person - time slows down and you remember all the best times, and the things you love about them). I miss the scent in our house now that all the sachets have been given, so perhaps it's time to make one for myself.

The last photo is a paper quilt I've been working on a bit and may finish next week. I've been working through Christmas, minus the stat holidays, so I'm taking next week off instead. I hope to relax and sleep enough to get my nausea completely behind me while I catch up on Mad Men and work on some art projects. There's a chance I may be able to exhibit some of my work before the baby is due, and I want to keep the momentum going while the inspiration is fresh. It will be a week of ivory silk and blue embroidery thread, tiny paper squares and dirty phrases.

I can't wait.

oh baby

The time has come for me to knit baby things. And here's the kicker: I won't have to give them away...they will stay right here. Because it would appear that I am officially knocked up.

Finally I can explain my lack of productivity for about, well, three months. As with Sadie, I have been battling 24 hour nausea. I'm taking Diclectin this time, which really helps, but thankfully I think the nasuea is starting to wear off now that I am 14 weeks along. I am amazed all over again at how much growing a human can wreak havoc on your body, not to mention your brain. Jay isn't so happy that "baby brain" strikes this early.

We are thrilled (with a healthy dose of "freaked out") about the news. Sadie is excited too, although now she wants to know how far away June really is. I can't say the decision came easy - it's been on my mind since Sadie was born, but I just wasn't ready for a very long time. It's crazy how much time has actually passed, and there will be a 5 year gap between Sadie and this expected sibling. But one day we realized that there was no time like the present and like I said, we're pretty thrilled.

Oh baby.

reading challenge #7

It feels like I haven't had a thorough reading post in a long time. I'm rusty and therefore I may be quite wordy. We'll see.

Miriam Toews is quickly becoming a favourite author of mine, and I have the Canadian Reading Challenge to thank for that. The Flying Troutmans was another enjoyable, intriguing novel and I devoured it. I find that I enjoy Toews' characters most of all - they are quirky and eccentric, yet I always find them realistic and wonderfully self-aware. I almost can't decide which Troutman family member is my favourite, they are all so captivating. On one hand I love Thebes, the 11 year old daughter addicted to her blue terry cloth outfit and able to make larger-than-life novelty cheques with the craft supplies stashed in her knapsack, but I also admire Hattie, the wandering aunt who takes her niece and nephew on a crazy road trip, unconditionally accepting their questionable habits (Thebes lack of bathing for example). The novel's road trip rivels the best of road trips, complete with fascinating small town detours and brief, but memorable characters (I mean, Adam and his casseroles? Perfect!). My heart travelled with the Troutmans through the entire novel, and I just don't know who to pass this book onto next - I think everyone will love it.

And for the first official knitting comparison of the 2nd Canadian Reading Challenge: I think this novel reminds me most of a hat I knit last winter after being inspired by this Flickr photo. Essentially a quirky baby photo led the way, and the hat was easy and quick to knit. Like Thebes, I wanted to be resourceful and use up wool scraps which meant the hat became quite eccentric in colour and the doubling up of purled rows was new to me and created a really fun texture. And to appeal to my inner child, I added a rather large and floppy pom-pom. There was a unique joy to finishing and wearing a hat in a single weekend, and it was somewhat akin to finishing this novel. Both were completely satisfying and made me appreciate youth and colour all over again. Thank you Ms. Toews.

cheating

Sadie spent the weekend at her Grampa's, so I broke down and cheated on her. I baked Martha Stewart's Oatmeal Raisin cookies. With butter. And eggs. Oh my, were they good.

Don't get me wrong, vegan baking is pretty yummy and it certainly makes my little girl's life more enjoyable. But the smell of butter baking was something I had completely forgotten. You'd think Jay and I would have taken the opportunity to go out for dinner or do something romantic, but this was our indulgence. Uninterrupted studio time and a plate of warm cookies.

Delightful.