FemiKnitMafia

With two weeks of not blogging, there are more stories to tell than little Ms. Mafia has time to write up. Grad school has started, and the administrators repeated over and over again the importance of setting low expectations for our non-work & non-school obligations. Because I always do what I’m told [snicker], I’m here to set some low expectations.

Will I blog less? Yeah, probably a lot less. Email less? Yep. [as if I was ever good at emailing.] Comment less? Yes. Knit less? I’m afraid so. Spin less? Uh-huh. [she pauses to shed a tear.] Perhaps I’ll switch to a photo blog? Or post less frequently? I don’t know. For the next month or so, there will be changes, and I can’t anticipate what it’ll look like ’round here.

But I know one thing — I’m not going to stop blogging. After 2.5 years, it’s part of my life, and I would really miss you guys. In fact, I may need you now more than ever.

I have knitting pictures on my new computer, so stay tuned for those. In the meantime, here’s a heart-melting Nora picture and some yarn p0rn.

Med Student Kristen bought this emerald cone for me during the early days of the stash bust, and it lived with Cate for many moons so I could honestly say that I didn’t own it. But I’ve taken a flying leap off the stash bust wagon, so why not just confess. I present two pounds of pure tweedy emerald lust:

It’s mine. I love it. I can’t wait to use it. And while I contemplate an appropriate DK pattern, I’ll knit up a pair of Marina Piccolas with this Jaeger Matchmaker (which are sitting on the cone to emphasize how truly enormous the emerald lust is). Beth enabled the Jaeger purchase and we’re about to begin a wee two-person-Marina-Piccola-public-transport-KAL, so hopefully these won’t take too long to complete.

For additional lusting, go see Beth’s amazing Shetland Triangle and Cate’s stunning Autumn Rose sleeves. Enjoy!

On Sunday, Little Man turned 4 years old, so we threw a big party. While the primary purpose of my vacation last week was to prepare for visitors, I was less productive than I planned. Perhaps my list was too long? Anyway … here’s the story in photos.

Handmade invites by Wifey

What do you do the night before a party?

You don’t remove a toilet? Well why not? Doesn’t this look like fun?

Since that last photo was not terribly flattering, this is simply proof that MafiaBro has a nice rear:

How many Mafias does it take to paint a bathroom?

The next morning, we hauled a$s to finish the castle. For those who are interested, I present:

How to Build a Castle in 10 Steps or Less

1) Rebuild your pergola: those rotting beams that are broken and sagging in the middle under the weight of that ancient grapevine will not win the hearts and minds of other parents. [new pressure treated wood=$90]

2) Buy white sheets from Goodwill. [$6]

3) Dye them with “pearl gray” RIT dye. [$8]

4) Cut a stencil out of poster board. [$2]

5) Buy 4 cans of gray spray-paint and use the stencil to paint the block imagery. [$8]

6) Cut the castle top out of cardboard & spray-paint it gray.

7) Send your Bro to the ‘Po to get a staple gun and don’t let anyone else play with use your new toy tool as you staple the sheets and cardboard to the pergola. [$20] Borrow an artistic soul (MafiaMom) who feels that colorful flags are necessary. Stand and watch while they paint two pieces of felt with Elmer’s glue to stiffen the felt, cut the triangles and attach the flags two small dowels.

9) Cut windows in random places.

10) Sit down and drink a beer while your kid goes nuts.

Ta Da!

** if you do this project, I have one suggestion — start early! When you wait until the last minute, your family will be stressed, and you’ll owe your Mom and Bro something big!

In any case, it’ll be a big hit.

Even the dog will think it’s cool.

To further the notion that Wifey is Martha Stewart [have you ever seen them in the same room at the same time? yeah, me neither], here’s the spread that she prepared while I was dicking around in the god damn yard building the castle.

Do you see the Little Man hiding under the table with his Tord Boontje t-shirt? The cycle of favorite t-shirts [freezer paper stencils + Mombian’s “one of my moms is blogging this” t-shirts) makes a crafty blogging mama proud.

Speaking of Mombian - we were delighted that Dana & Co. came to the party, had a blast, and brought a brilliant present. Seriously. Go make a PVC pipe construction set.

And speaking of kids presents, I made a new freezer paper stencil for Grace’s 4th birthday. Most of the design is free-hand, but I traced the outside flower lines from What’s This?, a beloved Barefoot Books book. If you don’t know Barefoot Books, go now. Quickly.

Her t-shirt was part of a garden themed gift. I tried to find What’s This?, but it’s not available at the big box bookstores near my house, so Eric Carle’s The Tiny Seed was a great substitution.

It was a fabulous weekend of happy people all around!

Stay tuned for a knitting & fiber update tomorrow.

Don’t the holes look like this?

When I screamed “NO! Not The Handknits!” Wifey informed me that “Drop!” was the preferred response. Apparently Nora isn’t the only one who needs training.

And did I mention that someone was caught in her crate with a handknit gift that’s been stuck in the edit mode while I recover from my stint at FT gig+teaching two classes+preggie+surrogacy+c-sectionWifey and at some point very soon I have to stop using that as an excuse flying under the blogdar?

I haven’t even blogged it! Bad doggie, no treats. It’s a good goddamn thing that she’s so cute!!

Nora is the newest member of the MafiaClan. She’s was born in Virginia about 10 weeks ago, and transported to Massachusetts with her littermates by One Tail at a Time Rescue. Based on the markings in the litter, she’s certainly a Pointer and probably also a Lab.

For months, Wifey and I have been waivering back and forth about adopting a dog. But about two weeks ago, we decided to do it. We looked on PetFinder, found several rescues, filled out applications, researched breeds, and talked to Little Man. A sample:

Mafia: Little Man, would you like a puppy?

Little Man: Huh? What Mom?

Mafia: Would you like to get a puppy? A puppy to come live with us and be part of our family?

Little Man (ever the practical one): No. I have two cats.

With that as the backdrop, Little Man and I went to meet some puppies on Saturday afternoon. We met Midori and I fell in love with her perfect lemon/white Pointer markings. Then we met Mimosa and Little Man fell in love. They romped. They ran. They tumbled over each other. She licked him. She was on a mission. And so was Little Man. He grabbed the leash, walked over to the car and said, “Come on, Mom. Let’s go. Put her in the car.”

Unfortunately, Wifey was off at grad school and needed to meet the new puppy before we made a final decision. So Big-Meanie-Mommy forced Distraught-Sobbing-Boy back into the car without the puppy.

As it turns out, that was unnecessary. Wifey walked in the door, heard the story, grabbed the phone and said “Call her. I want that dog.” Well Okay …

By the time Meg, the wonder dog rescuer, delivered the puppy to the house a couple hours later , we had drafted a short list of potential names, with help from the Naming Oracle. Within moments of her arrival, we settled on Nora.

That was Saturday night. On Sunday morning, I woke to find the puppy and Little Man chasing each other, the cats huddled in the corner, and Wifey on the phone with every member of the MafiaClan. In short order, all of my plans for grading papers, cleaning Ms. 1890, knitting, fixing the bathroom, etc. were tossed aside in favor of a day trip to the Cape to visit the strongest branch of Wifey’s family. Nora sat on a blanket next to Little Man and despite the very dramatic battle raging on his lap, kept her nose on his thigh for almost the entire trip.

We hiked through fields and woods and down abandoned railroad tracks and around cranberry bogs. All the while, this was my view.

And Nora discovered that she can swim. And stink. Like stagnant bog water. Ewww. After a Neutrogena Shampoo, she smelled divine, and we decided to keep a small bottle of doggie shampoo in the car. Anything else we should keep in the car?

On the way back, Nora snuggled on Wifey’s lap and at one point, I caught a certain someone’s wet nose nuzzled up against Wifey’s neck. Clearly she’s playin’ us.