Distal #2 and another article

 Here's my most recent CBC opinion piece...this one is positive, for a change.  (feedback seems to indicate that while readers want positive pieces, editors don't usually want to publish them!) 
Ode to Winnipeg Tradespeople

Also, here's my second crack at Distal, my newest pattern.  This is my handspun yarn, a 2 ply Harlequin and longwool.  The fiber and yarn are at least 15 years old, I think.  It's been marinating in stash a long time! The pattern is on sale for 20% off until midnight tonight on Ravelry, as well.  The photos are terrible because we had a fog advisory all weekend.  When you can't see the tops of any of the high-rise buildings, it does not seem like a good time for a photo shoot, so I stayed inside. The yarn is a rich, textured red and someday maybe we'll catch a better shot of it.

I'm also almost afraid to say this...but we're all virus-free at the moment and I've almost stopped coughing from the last one.  This has resulted in several nights of reasonable sleep (only one twin wake up last night!).  It seems too good to be true.  On that wholly good note, I'll leave it before things get out of hand.  It's only a matter of time before the luck runs out.  be well!  Stay warm! 

The sleepy sweaters

Time is short...the boys have summer camp in the mornings in July, but it's all me and twin three year olds every afternoon.  In August, our mother's helper will be back to help  a bit(she's away this month), but there's no camp and no preschool in August...just me, filling up the play time as best I can.  That means there's very little time for blog posts, no time for, say, complicated cooking or vacuuming up the copious amounts of dog fluff (honestly, it could be a new breed of dog!) on the floors. 

When I do have spare moments, I am mostly trying to fill them up with things that keep the household afloat, are enjoyable for someone or give us pleasure in the long run.  More on that in another post, I think...but in this one, I present:

the sleepy sweaters

Yes.  Even in summer here, we wear sweaters to bed with some frequency.  With the windows open, it can get chilly at night, and both boys throw off their covers with some frequency.  In an effort to get more sleep by helping them sleep through the night occasionally, I came up with these. 

This starts with either felted wool sweaters (from the thrift store) or cashmere ones that I bought to make into wool soakers or longies.  (Wool is very absorbent and ideal for cloth diaper covers; it is what my boys have been wearing at night for most of their lives.)  My mom helped out by making the first soakers and wool pants when the boys were born.  Some of the soakers are handknits but most are made from felted, repurposed sweaters.  The wool pants, (also called longies) worn over their clothes, were great for winter time warmth when going outside and a lot easier than getting a couple of infants into snow suits.

Over time, I got a stock pile of beautiful sweaters felted or washed and ready to go.  The professor really likes the thrift store sweater hunt!  The sleepy sweaters in my house come in two styles:

1) a long sleeveless one, sort of like a sleeveless tunic.  This goes over a short or long sleeved tee-shirt and a pair of pajama pants at bedtime.  (and underneath those pjs, we are still wearing cloth diapers and wool soakers at night.)

2) When it is really cold, in the winter, we wear long sleeve sleepy sweaters.  I repurpose felted adult sweaters or cashmere ones by hemming up the bottoms and sleeves so they fit my (still pretty small) three year olds. 

Recently, the purple cashmere sleeveless sleepy sweater was deemed the "ballet sweater."  Leo, the older twin, is a great fan of dancing.  He particularly enjoys twirling and stomping in his sleepy sweater before bed.

I began to get worried because this particular sleepy sweater was looking a bit ragged. When would I fix it and where would I find another perfect purple (CASHMERE!|) sleepy sweater?

I had a very lucky helper.  My friend Rachel, who owns Wolseley Wardrobe, a local consignment shop, kept her eye out for the perfect sweater.  The stars aligned and we just landed a second, long sleeved cashmere purple BALLET sleepy sweater.  Hurray! 

I get enormous pleasure out of seeing my guys cozy and ready for sleep, outfitted in woollies made or repurposed just for them.  It is time well-spent because sometimes, just sometimes, I get to sleep 5-6 hours in a row when they both are warm and comfy enough to sleep through the night at the same time.

I took advantage of a sunny morning to air these out and I wanted to share it with you.  Hope you can imagine the twin ballet dancers twirling here. 

PS: I am wondering if the blog is something I should keep doing? If you are reading, why do you read?  Are you a longtime reader?  Would you like me to post something different?  I just read this article and wonder if I've missed the boat on blogging.  Should I have made mine into something money making?  Is it time to let it go completely, as I cannot update it weekly anymore?

losing it

Lots of people have mentioned that they missed the blog posts.  Me too.
It has been hard to find time to do this.
A few things have changed but most things remain the same.
The things that are the same:
-A doctor's appointment every week or two (5 total from Nov.27-Dec.27, including the twins and me) really cuts into our routine....again, no one is very ill but there are some things that should be watched.
-We don't really sleep through the night--at 18 months.

The things that are different are good things:
We have found a marvelous home day care where the twins go to play each morning.  This means I am slowly digging out and beginning to consider returning to part time work in a very low key way.  Stay tuned: I am teaching a couple of classes in the new year.

The professor is almost done with his semester, so he is going to help the boys through the night for a while.  I have only rarely gotten more than 3 hours of sleep at a time, so this will be huge. Toddlers frequently wake up once or twice a night.  I have two.  4 wake ups a night--not unusual.

Here's a short story to illustrate our title (losing it). It ends well.

I am a person who does not lose things.  This is important to my identity! I had my parents' house key (the same one), for about 30 years, from age 8 onwards.  Eventually, they changed the lock...but it took 30 years. :)

Twice recently, I have lost my keys.  This was huge.  My house keys, car keys --the whole enchilada.  The first time I was panicked and did not know how I would pick the boys up from day care.  In fact, both my friendly daycare provider and I considered a mile long walk with a double (or triple, in her case) stroller  to return the boys home while I panicked and searched.  It was already icy and snowy here and while the boys have warm sleeping bags on their stroller, I just couldn't face it without a thorough search.

On the third trip to retrace my steps, I found my own keys.  They were right next to the compost bin.  Buried in the snow.  Yep.  Whew. Lucky.

Then, on Monday, something worse happened.  Again, in a sleep deprived haze, I headed out the door at 7:15 to walk our dogs.  I remember very little of the walk in the dark.  When I got home, I stood at the back door.  No keys in my pocket.  Oh NO.

The professor loaned me his car key (the only other one) and I got the car going and headed on with my day.  Unfortunately, I've had a bad cold, so I didn't feel well enough (or rested enough) to cope with making a new key on my own.  A friend jumped to the rescue, and rushed off through freezing rain to get my (chip encrusted) key made.

This solved the immediate problem, but on Tuesday and Wednesday, we discovered that the copied key only worked every so often due to the electronic chip security issues.  What's worse than losing your car keys?  Trying to start your car in winter here with two toddlers in it and having the key not work. In fact, this just makes me afraid. Snow started in early November this year and this weekend's temperatures will be in the -20F range.  (dang cold)

On Wednesday, there was a slight thaw, it was around freezing, and the twins took their nap in the stroller while a helper kindly went with me to post "LOST KEYS" signs on my dog walk.  Bear in mind that by then, I had walked the dog walk 5 or 6 times (a mile each) trying to find keys in every snow drift.

Wednesday night, a young man (no older than 10), let us know he had found the keys. Hurray!

My car now starts consistently with its original key.

I slept a bit more last night as the professor handled the baby wake ups.  I am still sick but hopefully getting better.

Things, for the moment, are good.

I waited a long time to post so I could say something cheerful.  (That is hard with 2 years without sleep) Here it is.
Have a good one...and be grateful if you have your car keys, please!