Sleeves - The Bane of My Knitting Existence

It's been going like gangbusters at work, and I have been putting in some very, very long days indeed.  The higher ups complain about how they can't get any help, but perhaps they should have thought about the consequences of  laying off half of your group during slow times, then expecting the remaining people to pick up twice as much work during the busy times, all for less pay. With work and little baby Emma, this means limited time for other pursuits, such as my knitting.  It also didn't help that for about a week, poor Emma and I were sick as dogs - we just couldn't shake off whatever bug we had.

In any case, I have decided that it is time to finally finish this baby sweater, before it becomes too small for Emma. 

The entire body is done, and all I have left to do are the sleeves.  I don't know why, but when it comes to sleeves, I just hate them.  I once started a sweater for husband (which I later ripped apart), but in the middle, I told him from now on all he would ever get are vests.  No sleeves!

Ways to Help

"Here and there, small tragedies unfolded. In the Petionville suburb, friends held back Kettely Clerge — 'I want to see her,' she sobbed — as neighbors with bare hands tried to dig out her 9-year-old daughter, Harryssa Keem Clerge, pleading for rescue, from beneath their home's rubble. "There's no police, there's nobody," the hopeless mother cried. By day's end, the girl was dead."

That is just a sampling of what the Haitians are going through right now.  The above excerpt is from a recent article about the devastation that resulted from the earthquake in Haiti.  We can all do our part to help - Doctors Without Borders and the Red Cross are very good options.  You can use your cell phone to make donations, too.  You can give $10 to the Red Cross by texting the word "HAITI" to 90999.  The donation is added to your cell phone bill.

Just be careful, because there are internet scams out there, hoping to take advantage of our good will.  It makes me sick to think that there are people like that, willing to take away money from those is such dire need.

A Seaman's Cap for a Landlubber

A hat for my father-in-law.  He requested one over the Christmas holidays.  I decided I had better make one quickly before he changed his mind about wanting a handmade knitted item.  Here it is - the Seaman's Cap for a Landlubber:

It is being modeled by husband, so it looks a little large.  My father-in-law has a big noggin (sorry, but, it's true)!  I had to make a few adjustments to the pattern to make it fit a larger circumfrence.  I hope it fits, and that I didn't overadjust.  I made a hat with a fold up brim because my father-in-law wanted a hat to cover his ears while gardening outside.  I didn't know how long the hat would have to be in order to do that, so I  made a brim he could pull down as necessary.

Baby's First Christmas

Emma spent her first Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa's house in the Central Valley, but her holiday season actually kicked off a couple of weeks ago when she took a picture with Santa:

Grandma and Grandpa waited for us to arrive on Christmas Eve to decorate the tree:

Look at all those gifts!  Emma received a truckload of gifts from generous family and friends.  There was even personalized wrapping paper for baby:

Emma, unfortunately, did not get to go to her great aunt and uncle's house for the actual Christmas festivities because she had a cold.  She threw up (think fountain) right before we were scheduled to leave for the party.  She's ok, though, and resting and recovering nicely.

I can't believe how quickly time is flying by for us and Emma.  People commented that each time they see her, she has a new trick to show them.  She is grabbing everything now and putting things in her mouth.  She can sit up on her own, but it's hard work!

Surprise!

Just arrived in time for the holidays...two CDs chock full of documents to review by this weekend.  Ho ho ho!

Visiting the Country

I don't know if you know, but living in California spoils you.  You get accustomed to the temperate and gorgeous weather (Yeah, yeah, I know, there is something to be said about beautiful fall foliage and white Christmases. I mean, I did grow up on the east coast!).  And you start to demand the freshest produce possible.

My in-laws live in the Central Valley, where Californians get a lot of their vegetables and fruits.  My husband's family comes from a farming background, although most of them do not actively farm anymore.  When I first visited my in-laws, this city girl was surprised to see the size of people's "backyards" and how much produce people grow in these yards just for personal consumption.  Count my in-laws in this group.  They grow oranges, tangerines, avocados, cherries, and until recently, plums (sadly, their plum tree bit the big one).  Right next door to my in-laws, my husband's grandmother grows Chinese long beans, eggplants, persimmons, pears, and tons of flowers.  I think I might have left some stuff out, but you get the picture. 

Every year, my husband and I share in the bounty of my in-laws' crops.  Right now, it is orange, tangerine and avocado season:

Delicious!

In Memoriam

On December 5, 2009, my grandmother passed away peacefully in the middle of the night.  My husband, little Emma and I flew out to the east coast immediately to attend her wake and funeral and spend time with family.

At the funeral, my cousin gave the eulogy.  He described my grandmother and her quiet presence.  When she was alive, she made sure that things got done, but without complaint.  She raised five children on her own, with little help from others, and then she helped raise her children's children.  She lived with grace, and truly believed in following the ways of Jesus Christ and the Golden Rule.  Even in her last few years, when she slipped further into her dementia and stopped recognizing all around her, she still smiled and if she was suffering, she again did so without complaint and with dignity.

Although we all knew her time to leave us was imminent, it didn't make my grandmother's passing any less difficult or less heartbreaking.  We will all miss her so much.  I am grateful that Emma got to meet her great grandmother before she passed away.  And even if Emma is too young to remember, and my grandmother was too far gone into her dementia to have realized the significance of the meeting, one day, I will show my daughter pictures of the meeting and tell her all about her beautiful great grandmother.