Until I’m getting a respectable amount of sleep, I’m not going to exercise. This week was a bust.

I have a question about electric blankets. We’ve never had one. I’ve never slept with one, and I know nothing about them. But I bought one on Overstock.com for Nate for our anniversary.

(13 years, woo-hoo! Lucky 13)!

He doesn’t like being cold, and complains about getting into a cold bed most every night of autumn, winter, and spring, so I thought a nice electric blanket would be a neat gift. As we were putting it on the bed and reading the instructions, it said that the electric blanket needs to be on top of all bedding, and can’t be put under anything.

What?

I don’t get it. How does that work then, exactly? My question is this-

Is that something ridiculous they say to avoid any potential for a lawsuit, or is it legit? How do people use electric blankets? My intent was to put it between the comforter and the sheets to get things nice and toasty. Is that not the way they’re used?

I also have new flatware (really cool from Costco) that says not to leave food or moisture on them for any length of time, because they might discolor.

What?

It’s a fork. What am I supposed to do with it? I’ve been treating them like any other silverware we’ve owned and they look just fine. It seems that there is frequently some insane care or usage instructions that come with many things we buy; however sometimes, like I said, it’s legit. I don’t want to burn my house down if that’s truly an issue.

Will someone shed some light on this for me? Because I’m really quite annoyed at the prospect of either warming the outside of our comforter, or sleeping without a comforter entirely in the midst of winter for the opportunity to use our electric blanket. Both of those situations sound silly, and as I see it, can’t possibly be the way things should be.

I’m getting there!

I have three more lines to stitch, and the ends to weave in. I haven’t charted an angel for Liv’s stocking yet. Do you know where I could find a charted angel that fits in a 30×45 stitch area? Feel free to post any stocking updates in the comments.

Do you know where the term “misery loves company” came from? Well I don’t, but I have a guess, and that would be insomniacs and mothers of infants. I got a grand total of 4 hours of sleep last night, divided into a 1 hour chunk and a 3 hour chunk. After that, when the boy finally went back to sleep and as exhausted as I was, I couldn’t sleep. It really sucks being unable to sleep, wanting to more than anything, and not having anyone to talk to because everyone else is asleep. Misery certainly would have wanted company at 3:30 this morning. I have that horrible pit in my stomach that comes from far too little sleep. It won’t go away, and it sucks.

There’s my superficial complaining, but I am heartbroken for a reason far more serious. My aunt lost her baby at 7 months this week when the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. She had to deliver her yesterday. They also lost a baby to SIDS a number of years ago. In his email, my uncle mentioned her also. So sad. I can’t even imagine.

I think I’m going to be a little more appreciative when I can do nothing but sit and hold Clark today.

Olivia is doing very well on her stocking. I knit the heel flap and turned it for her, and she and I both knit the gusset. Now she’s on the foot, about 17 rows from the toe decreases. We need to start charting an angel pretty quick.

Last night after Clark fell asleep (or while he was crying himself to sleep. I couldn’t hold him one more minute by the end of the day. I was done. And he is feeling better, thank you) I wove in the ends on the argyle stocking.

It looks ok. The back of the leg bulges out right above the heel flap and it really irritates me, but other than that, it’s alright. I need to mess with the seam where the rounds meet each other to try to even out some stitches, but I’ll probably start the duplicate stitch first.

The ornament I broke and then bought again on eBay arrived

I’m not an “owl person” specifically, but this little guy looks just like the main character in an adorable series of books that Nate and the girls love.

While I was at Fred Meyer looking for more sheep ornaments like the one I posted a few days ago, I saw this

It’s a moose! Few of you will know why this means something to me, but for those that do…. It’s a MOOSE!

I bought all three, along with the only sheep they had, which brings me up to two.

Finally, if any of you spinning enthusiasts want to see something amazingly strange, take a look at this! You need to look at all the pictures to really understand what you’re looking at. I have to wonder if whoever made this was making a fashion statement or trying to in some way preserve an old wheel that had meant something to them. In any case, wow.

What? That doesn’t look done to you?

So I have a zillion ends to weave in before I can begin the duplicate stitched “x’s”. I don’t know if I should block it before or after the duplicate stitching. But the stupid thing is done. When and if I ever do the second argyle stocking, I’m going to knit the whole thing flat until I get to the gusset. It’ll go so much faster and be so much more pleasant to knit. I’ll weave in all the ends up until that point before seaming the back together and starting in the round again.

At least now I know that when I eventually knit argyle socks for myself, I’m going to do them flat. Hard lesson learned, but I learned, and not with toothpick needles.

There are tons of errors in the bottom third of this monstrosity, and I don’t even care.

When it’s really done, I’m going to lay all of the stockings out together and ask you what Clark’s should look like. I still don’t know what I want to do for his.

But don’t even joke about argyle. It won’t be funny.

I had a couple good days, and one great day last week. And I did weights and physical therapy once. So far today I’m eating well, and I’ll try to sneak in some physical therapy and weights tonight when Nate will be able to hold Clark.

Clark won’t sleep or nap unless he is latched at the breast and suckling. If I take him off, he wakes up. If I lay him in his crib, he screams and cries, no matter how long he’s in there.

So, how are we doing with our Christmas stockings? Tell me. Show me. Let me know.

Carrie has finished two! (And I never would have thought of the Seahawks, but I’m not a fan, either).

My poor baby Clark is sick. He’s rallying ’round, but his cry has that pathetically sick sound to it. Poor dear.

Here’s my stocking progress-

Am I ever going to be done with this thing? I hate it. The color pattern is not adequately centered on the instep stitches. I don’t know how that happened. I’ve made a color mistake on a rather prominent spot on the side that will be displayed, but I’m ignoring it. I think the whole thing is a huge mess, but I do believe that once the ends are woven in… (I can’t believe I actually typed in “weaved” before erasing it to write woven. I’ve been isolated with my children too long)… and the top stitching is done and it’s FINISHED!!! it’ll look great. But in the meantime…. agony.

The girls are back in school today, for one whole day before the weekend. Yesterday Abigail and I worked on a couple of extra credit projects associated with her book report.

It’s a wubtail. I don’t know what that is exactly, other than an enormous fish that looks like a dragon, or in this instance, a roasted pig. Aside from the dried out pink-ness of it when it should truly be red, it looks remarkably like the pictures in Abby’s book. She’s very proud, and I feel like a good mom. I made salt dough, resisting the thought that I was wasting perfectly good food to do it. And don’t let the fact that it looks awesome lead you to think that I did her project. She did almost all of it. I showed her how to make the tusks, I made the wings and shaped the ridge down the nose, but everything else was her entirely. I’m so proud.

We got a lot of snow, (5-6 inches?) and it’s been really cold, so it isn’t going away.

The girls have been home from school yesterday and today. The road out front is solid ice. It’s been fun. The lame part is that the snow boots I ordered for Olivia and Veronica are in transit, and won’t get here until it’s melted. If this is our only snow of the year, I’ll be mad.

When it gets cold like this, the guy at the Wild Bird store said that I need to make sure there’s thawed nectar in the hummingbird feeder early in the morning, because the hummingbirds will make a straight flight for the feeder before the sun comes up. If they don’t get that calorie boost first thing after a really cold night, they could die.

So I set my alarm for 5am two nights ago, and after watching for them and not seeing anything ’til a bit before 7, I set my alarm for 6 this morning. Periodically throughout the day, I thaw the feeder, but I don’t think it’s as crucial as that first meal in the morning.

I set extra seed out in a large, flat tupperware and we’ve had so many birds.

I don’t know how birds are even cuter in the snow, but they are. They flip the snow with their wings, and bounce around on the surface, making those cute little birdy tracks.

I have seen a spotted towhee or two, a few chickadees, and dozens and dozens of Junkos. They’re fun because it’s so easy to tell the boys from the girls, and they have those cute little yellow beaks contrasting their smooth, dark faces. It’s been a blast.

I’ve worked on the stocking a little, ripping out the gusset and re-knitting to about the point I was before. I’ve been spinning the teal Romney I bought into singles that will hopefully be enough to 2 ply into sock yarn for myself.

If not, they’ll be socks for Abby, who wears a lot more teal that I do.

I’m kind of grumpy about the teal. It looked so beautiful in the bag in locks, but once I started carding and spinning it, I realized it’s pretty much the same color as one of the balls of merino top that I have and am completely bored with. What was I thinking? I don’t wear teal. Teal doesn’t match denim very well.

It was $2 for 4 ounces, it looked pretty, and I wanted something to card. That’s why I bought it. Plus, I like how the wool is darker and lighter in parts, so it makes neat color variations.

But it’s still teal.

I worked some of the gusset in argyle,

and I’ve decided that my readers knew better than I what would look best. I had to see for myself I guess. I’m going to rip out the few rows I’ve done and redo the gusset and bottom of the foot in light blue, and continue the argyle on the top of the foot.

Thanksgiving went well. We’ve been enjoying leftovers for a few days. They’re going quicker than I expected, but they’re SO yummy, I might offer to host the event again next year. Or, maybe I’ll just cook turkey more often.

Clark is going through a difficult stage. If I put him down, he screams. He never wants to stop nursing, even in his sleep. The pacifier isn’t cool anymore, and his appetite is insatiable, whether he’s eating food or nursing. When I am holding him, he’s scratching, clawing, pulling my hair, and pinching the back of my upper arm. But he doesn’t want to be put down. He isn’t sleeping well at night, so neither am I. I’m exhausted.

I don’t know how I’m going to find time to knit. Or do anything else for that matter.

Quick Health Group update-

Health Group isn’t getting its own entry this week. I didn’t do as well on my sugar free Halloween to Thanksgiving as I’d hoped, but it did help. I ate much better than I would have. I wonder if it was more difficult because I’m nursing? In any case, I’m feeling very discouraged. Mainly, it’s a matter of time or lack of it. With Clark being the way he is, and the demands of family, I can’t find the time and energy to exercise daily. I’m not giving up completely, but I’m taking a more relaxed attitude. I’m going to try to do what I can, but I’m tired of letting myself down. I’ll do what I can, no pressure. I’ll eat as well as I can, no pressure. I’ll weigh 300 pounds by January.

Just kidding.

I know I sound depressed, and I’m really not. Just mellow. Peaceful. And somewhat resigned, legitimately.

So to end on a happy note, look what we found at Fred Meyer while looking for an ornament I bought at the end of last year and broke on Friday before it got to the tree. (They didn’t have it, but eBay did)!

I didn’t understand the fascination with “sheep” things as a knitter, but as a spinner, I totally get it.

$5, and it makes me smile.

Between Friday and Saturday, we (mostly me) shattered three Christmas ornaments and one tea cup on our hardwood floors. I think I’m going to pick up an additional sheep, just in case.

And I missed it. We were doing family things all day. I’ll try to post stocking progress tomorrow, or Monday. Feel free to leave comments here if you have any progress. Thanksgiving is past, we’re in the home stretch. Christmas trees and decorations start coming out, where are our stockings?