Monday, August 22, 2005

Hurricane Season

Remember the hurricane I talked about yesterday? There are actually 4 that cycle through my house on a continuous basis. I have names for them. Dan, he's 14 and mostly hits the small islands I call "Bathroom" and "His Room". Darcie, she's 9...I mean ALMOST 10...she hits the mainland and spreads out to the islands "Bathroom" and "Her Room". Dailaesse, she's 2 1/2 and while she's much smaller than the other 2 previously mentioned, she is capable of far worse destruction. She mostly strikes the mainland. Then of course there is Brandon. He's older and slower but leaves a mess everywhere he goes. (For those of you doing the math, Brandon is my second husband. Dad to all 3 hurricanes but father to the smallest) Hey, the National Weather Service isn't the only one capable of naming a disaster. I'm proud to say though that I can predict the onset of a disaster with much more accuracy than they can. Yeah, there's always the occasional one that sneaks up and blindsides you. Like yesterday.

So yesterday was Sunday. Warm with a nice breeze. Perfect weather to be outside. Was I outside? No. I was in cleaning. You see, this weekend I was all about the dust and clutter. My husband was home to entertain the baby and I had the green light to clean. I decided I was going to REALLY clean. You know, remove the inch of dust from the tv that the kids have been writing on, find the countertop in the kitchen, that sort of thing. I hate to clean. I have too many other things I'd much rather be doing. Like playing with the kids or knitting. Let's face it though, cleaning has to happen. I've always thought that part of being a good mother was to keep the house clean. Think June Cleaver. I've come to grips with the fact that I'll never be her but it's still nice to dream now and then.

So I'm cleaning away, being a good mother, my husband is outside enjoying the beautiful weather with the baby when the phone rings. Here comes the hurricane I never predicted...it's my father. He wants to know what I'm doing. "Cleaning", I say quite chiperly. He then proceeds to remind me what a horrible mother I am because I'm inside cleaning the house and not playing with my daughter outside. I'm confused. If my mother comes in the house and it's a mess she makes sure to point it out and criticize not only my housekeeping skills but my parenting skills as well. "But, the baby is outside having a great time with her dad", I say. "Don't you think she'd like you to be there too?", my father asks. "All you do is sit and knit. You never do anything with the baby", he says. I'm speechless. Let me assure you that this doesn't happen often. On Saturday while I was waiting for dinner to cook I sat at the table with a pair of clogs I was working for Sue for the store. My parents wandered over and saw me knitting while my husband entertained Dailaesse. All I'm going to say is...thank God my father called and brought me back to reality. I mean, what was I thinking??? I THOUGHT I was being a good parent by cleaning the house. The baby was happy with her dad. The house was almost clean. Thank you Dad... I needed that swift kick in the ego...I mean ass. Geesh. See what I mean? Right out of no where. I feel bad for complaining when the weather man promises sun and it rains all day. Sometimes you just have no way to tell.

How about a picture of the clogs? They are adorable. I love this yarn. It's Miss Priss by Schaefer. I've done an x-small, small and medium now for Sue. I use the Fiber Trends felted clog pattern. You can get up to a medium pair of clogs out of one hank of this yarn. I chickened out on the medium and skipped the bumper because I was worried that I was going to run out but I had plenty left and could have done it with no trouble. The colors are incredible. All I have left is to sew them up (I HATE this part. That's why the knitting was done in about 45 minutes but they still aren't ready to be felted.) and then felt one of each size. The pair on the left is the small with the bumper and the medium without the bumper is on the right. The x-small were done quite awhile ago in a pretty colorway that had bright pink in it. I thought they were going to be ugly while I was knitting them because there was a tan stretch of color in the yarn but once it was felted I loved it. Very pretty yarn.
Aren't they cute???

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Don't let anyone question or put down your parenting skills - my Mom is still criticizing the way I'm raising HER grandson even though he's 9 yrs. old! She can do a real number on my self esteem, but I just have to remember that "this too shall pass" (meaning eventually she will go home) and I can go back to raising MY son any way I want! Don't back down - you've got the right to clean your house even if you don't want to!!!

I'm pulling for you!

Lea

Anonymous said...

Just be glad that your mom and dad are still with you. I lost my dad 5 yrs ago and my mom last year and I still miss her! I love your blog....you have a wonderful way with words and I plan on sitting with my coffee in the mornings and reading your notes. GIve your little hurricans an extra hug and kiss and grab your knitting.
Hugs JEane

Anonymous said...

Just remember that your dad isn't your baby's dad and people of different generations think differently. I've had recent "challenges" with my dad too and you just have to roll your eyes and try not to let it get you down!

Tinydancer said...

Hi Kerry! Don't let the buzzards get you down!

Anonymous said...

Hi, I like your sense of humor. I love the way you describe your hurricanes---er family. hee hee
I do have one problem, I find it very difficult to read white print on a dark background. Sorry to complain, I just want to be able to continue to read your cute blog with out straining my "senior eyes". Great job though, love the new blog.

Leslie said...

Hey there, Kerry. Neat Blog. I'm a Townsend knitter too :) and a blogger myself. But I haven't figured out anywhere near as much as you. Maybe it's the blog template I use. At any rate, I'm adding you to my knitting blog list - I sort them all about twice a week so look forward to your travails with knits, kids and life in general.