Buskers.

I had some seriously high hopes for this year's Buskers Carnival - some years are amazing, some years just don't strike a chord . . . sadly, this year's even didn't do it for me.

Maybe it was the unforgiving crowds and their lack of courtesy, but it would have been nice to be able to roll Sweet Pea and her stroller to a spot where she could actually see what was going on. Instead, people kept jumping in front of her/us - I still think she may have had the best seat in the house.

Up on her daddy's shoulders!

Maybe it was her grumpiness, or the fact that we were woefully under-prepared for the moment where the sun came out, and it got really hot, and we suddenly realized that we had neither sunscreen nor hats . . . and that weighed heavy on my mind.

And all of that coloured my perception of the one act we stuck around to see.
It took an inordinately long time for this to take place:


I recognize that safety is paramount, and the trapeze needs to be set up properly and all that . . but if you're going to make an audience wait that long while you set up, DUDE, IT HAS TO BE SPECTACULAR! And it wasn't. It was 'meh'.
There was a lot of this:And then some 'ooo, neat' while the one in stripes swung around on the hoop, and then there was this:




And that was fairly . . . non-eventful.
And then for the finale - which of course elicited gasps and shrieks from the crowd - I was crouched down with Sweet Pea getting snacks together, and all I could see were legs and bums. It was nice, but hardly amazing. The bums, I mean ;)

So that was disappointing. We still tipped them, and pretty well too . . . but it felt a bit flat. So I was totally on board when we decided to pack up and head home at that point.

Oh well, there's always next year.

Busy day.

This morning, Sweet Pea dragged her diapered little butt out of bed at 6:40. Or something like 6:40. I don't really remember. It was early, I was groggy, so sue me!
After her morning nursing session (yep, she still nurses, and I'm glad of it!) we went and played. First she played 'get into shit you're really not supposed to touch' in the computer room. Then she played 'ignore your toys and touch mommy's stuff' in the living room. Then she played 'turn your nose up at pancakes . . . OMG, is that syrup? NOM!' in the kitchen.
All of that, and it wasn't even 9:00 yet. Yep, it was going to be an action packed day!

Back in April, we were given a wagon. Sweet Pea loves her wagon beyond reason. She loves to throw her stuff in it. She loves to sit in it. She loves to give me palpitations while she stands in it. Most of all, she loves to have wagon rides around our house. So she messed about with the wagon while I cleaned up our pancake making mess - then we got dressed and headed our for a nice long wagon ride through town! Oh the excitement! Oh the thrill! Oh crap, I didn't bring the camera.

This is all I have to show for our thoroughly amazing morning stroll:


We set off with Sweet Pea happily gripping the sides of her wagon, as we strode up the street. When you have a toddler in tow, it's important to stop and check things out now and then. So we stopped here and there to discuss the cars we saw, or the flowers or what have you. One house had a flag out front, lazily flapping in the breeze. Sweet Pea was mesmerized. While we stood watching it, a very friendly kitty came meowing over to us - Sweet Pea even got to pat him/her! So thrilling!
There was sliding, and climbing, and swinging, and rocks to be sorted - it was all very busy work!
And on the way home?Which was really too bad, because there were lots of monarch butterflies, and little yellow and black birds, and geese to see. But clearly, she had tired herself out. Who was I to wake her up?

And then in the afternoon there was grocery shopping, and some crazy toddler acrobatics resulting in a bumped forehead and a cut nose. (Poor little monkey)

And then Grandma and Grandpa called and asked if they could come over and while we waited . . . Sweet Pea decided that she was a very big girl, and could totally handle the (concrete) porch stairs without help. She's been trying to sneak her little self past me to take on those stairs for quite a while now . . and today she almost made it. I reached out and grabbed her just as she started to go over. When I did, my thumb nail caught her cheek, just to the side of her eye. Oh the drama! First she whimpered, then she screamed . . . then I saw what I had done, and I cried too. I cut my tiny girl. There is a big nasty scratch on her face. It's preferable to the damage she would have done going face first down those concrete steps, but I still wish it hadn't happened. It's hard not to feel guilty - no matter how 'worthy' the damage, no matter how much better it is than the alternative . . . there was no way I could have avoided the tears I shed in response to that poor little cut face. And yet, I would do it again to save my little one the trauma of 4 concrete steps to the face.

The importance of swatching.

We all know swatching is important, right? Because without a swatch you can't be sure that the item will fit the intended recipient. Because swatching allows you gauge the drape and body of the fabric. Because washing your swatch enables you to see just how awfully bedraggled your FO will look after you put it through the dryer . . . you get the idea.

So how does this happen?

Easy! Cause I don't need no stinkin' swatch!

(Prepare for the punch line . . . )

. . . It's supposed to be a hat for Sweet Pea . . . .

Again??!!

Again.
I know, gross.

Who needs a title?

Good God! I'm sorry! It's just there's nothing interesting to blog, and no real time to do it. Lately it's been get up, play with Sweet Pea, go to work, come home, put her to bed, veg out for a few hours, sleep.

Today started like a typical Saturday except for 2 things. 1) we have a guest for the weekend and 2) it was town sidewalk sale day!!
So Sweet Pea and I played for a bit, she tried her hand at knitting

It didn't end well . . . she'll need some work.

When she got rowdy and rambunctious I packed her into the stroller and we went out into the world. Every 2 weeks, I go to our charming little town market. For $3.50 I get a beautiful bouquet of local, fresh cut flowers of the season. Bonus: too many flowers for the vase means momma can share!

Because they've been cut so recently, haven't spent time in a warehouse being sorted, or on a truck, they last and last and last. Typically, I get 10 days out of my $3.50. It's a lovely pick me up that I can look at and smile for a long while. On our walk, we checked out the sidewalk sales. Only one sale was really noteworthy in my opinion, and they didn't have my size. Meh. I did, however, pick up a backpack/tether system for my inquisitive, independent little girl.


She's at a point where she believes herself to be rather grown up, wants to do it all herself, and certainly does NOT want to hold hands of all things! For the last few weeks, she's been giving me palpitations in stores, malls, etc when she takes off running and disappears around a corner. I'm all for encouraging her to be self-assured . . but the child is 13 months. She doesn't even understand the concept of 'dangerous'. By setting her up with her backpack/tether, I have the reassurance I need as her mother that we are still connected, and she gets the independent feeling she desires. Win-win.
Poor kid has a monkey on her back already ;)

We did some running around with Mr. Wonderful and our weekend guest - including getting some hair elastics for this momentous occasion:


First Pigtails! Goddamn, toddler hair elastics need to be tiny! I tried to do this weeks ago with my old teeny elastics, and they were too big. I had to buy the smallest ones on the shelf. They're difficult to work with, but so worth it! CUTE!

And then dinner - where we enjoyed another market purchase.


I am a firm believer that there is no produce as good as Ontario's produce. I'm sure it has a lot to do with what I've grown up with - can an Ontario peach really outstrip a Georgia peach? I may never know. But I choose to believe it can, and does.

Then we bathed the girl, and got her to bed.
After that (not very) eventful day I was feeling 2 things:
1) beat
and 2) like I'm losing my edge. That kid tires me right out!

And then I saw that LUCY FREAKIN NEATBY is using her Carried Away bag . . still . . . at Sock Summit!!
Back mid-July Lucy Neatby happened by my LYS, where my bags are sold. She left that day with a knitting chicken sock project bag. I was notified, and over-joyed . . and overwhelmed. But I thought she likely got the bag to be polite, and wouldn't use it.
The lovely LYS owner is currently at Sock Summit, updating her blog as she goes. She ran into Ms. Neatby and got her photo taken. Lucy is wearing/using the bag in that photo. Swoon!
I was instantly alerted. I am, in a word, stoked! The tags on the bags have my contact info. I bet the tag is long gone, but in case it isn't, this could be a pretty big deal for the future of my little project bags. I am no longer feeling beat. I am now elated.