Four Feet More

What follows are some completely unrelated bits of information which I will attempt to link together with creative segues:

First off, I finally finished my February Lady Sweater! I had set it aside but rediscovered it this summer, when I began working on the sweater with the goal of having it done in time for Fall. The garter-stitch top was easy, but the lace pattern for the body and sleeves gave me a bit of trouble. In fact, I had to rip the dang thing out 6 times before I got into the rhythm of the pattern. Watching T.V. while knitting certainly didn't help, but towards the end of the sweater, I was able to do both. Here is the finished result:

I actually made clothes for myself! I think I may do it more often (especially since I won't leave my sweaters lying on the playground to be trampled by hundreds of children, as Vika and Eamon do). I'm still not sure about the length of the sleeves - they seem like they should be either longer or shorter. But I don't have it in me to rip them out and finish them again, so I think I'll leave them this way for now.

The show that kept distracting me from the lace rows in this pattern is one Jeff and I recently discovered called "Firefly". We got it on Netflix in order to alleviate our "Star Trek" cravings (that movie will be released on DVD in November), and were pleasantly surprised. The show is on DVD because it was canceled after one season, which is a huge shame, really. "Firefly" is a SciFi Western, which despite the contradictory nature of the genre, is actually a lot of fun. My favorite lines from the show so far: "Well, my days of taking you seriously have certainly come to a middle." and "Your mouth's talking. You might want to do something about that." I would love to use that last line in my everyday life, but I think it would make my kindergartners cry.

Speaking of my students, have I mentioned that 3 of my kids have life-threatening food allergies? Well, two of those kids had allergic reactions last week, and it kind of freaked me out. Fortunately, I didn't have to use the epi-pens stored in the classroom, but it still was pretty scary. I really feel for their parents, having to deal with this on a day-to-day basis. Hopefully we'll get through the year with the epi-pens still unused, and all three kids happily going off to terrify a first grade teacher next Fall!

Have a great weekend everyone!

This week, the kids have been in day camp, and it has been GLORIOUS! From around 8:30 am until 3 pm, they are at the local community center doing fun activities with friends. This week's theme is "Totally Talented," which translates to a lot of karaoke, camp songs, and talent shows. Although they did learn the dance to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" the other day. It was funny to see them dancing (jerking) around with their zombie faces on. Unfortunately, the video camera was not charged, and by the time it was, Vika and Eamon had forgotten most of the dance. *sigh*

The best part about camp is not that the kids get to be out of the house having fun, but it's that I have some actual free time to myself. I haven't had that for over 3 years now, and I'm enjoying every minute of it! I've been knitting my sweater (this little number,which I really want to complete in time to wear this Fall) and watching a lot of "The Tudors" on Netflix. Although I was a bit put off by some of the explicit scenes at first, I have come to love "The Tudors." I must admit that I am lured as much by my admiration of Henry Cavill as by my interest in English history - however fictionalized it may be for dramatic effect. "The Tudors" is something you definitely don't want to watch when kids are around, so having Vika and Eamon at camp has been a perfect opportunity to catch up.

Next week, we're off to Florida and Disney World. It may be hot and sticky, but since we haven't had a lot of hot weather in Northern California this summer, I figure we're about due for some heat. Although the poor kids did get a bit sunbured on their faces yesterday. I lathered on the sunscreen, but they went on a field trip to the waterpark and forgot to reapply later in the day. This prompted a mini-lecture from Jeff on the merits of sunscreen and why it's important to protect your skin. He did a wrinkle demonstration and then said that "once the damage is done, there's nothing you can do about it."

Eamon, ever the optimist, replied, "We could wish...on a star...."

Now, is that a kid who's ready for Disney World or what?

School's been out for a week now, and finally I feel as if I'm beginning to relax. That anxious feeling that I have to grade papers or prepare lesson plans is gone and I'm getting into the rhythm of being home with the kids during the day. A few updates from my summer so far:

• I may be a Trekkie. I saw the new Star Trek movie on Mother's Day (and again since then), and absolutely loved it. I've always been more of a Star Wars fan than Star Trek, but I enjoyed the movie so much that I've begun watching episodes from the original series on Netflix. And let me tell you, they are HILARIOUS (probably not intentionally so, but that's besides the point). Seriously, if you have some time, you should check them out. "The Enemy Within" from Season 1 has some especially smashing acting from William Shattner (and I mean that literally) as well as an extraordinary space dog (some poor mutt in a shag carpet with dixie straw antennas).

• Lately, Vika is asking me to do her hair "like Uhura's" and Eamon wants his hair to be like Bones'. So I may be making my kinds into Trekkies too. Poor things. They don't really stand a chance. I'm making them into geeks already!
  

• Tomorrow we are going to see the King Tut exhibit in San Francisco. My parents visited it in San Francisco back in the 70's, and I remember as a child looking through the King Tut picture book they bought, amazed at all the treasures and the story of the boy king. I tried to see the exhibit in Chicago a couple years back, but tickets were sold out. So we bought our tickets for this one way in advance and are planning to take the kids (I hope they aren't bored out of their minds). We're going to see the exhibit on the same day as the Gay Pride Parade in San Francisco, so I hope it's not too crazy there. Nevertheless, I don't think we'll take public transportation. Seeing a grown man with his bare bottom peeking out of backless leather chaps is not an image that the kids need to have burned into their brains at this young age. ;)

For your enjoyment, and in honor of the occasion, I give you King Tut. Have a great weekend!

Anyone who watches The Daily Show on a regular basis knows that Fareed Zakaria RULES. This guy knows his stuff. I like the way he often cuts to the chase, stating issues clearly, without the sensationalism or spin you see many journalists and pundits using to get their points across.

Today, Zakaria talked to Wolf Blitzer about his view of Sarah Palin. I'd say he hit the nail right on the head with this one. What do you think?

To see the article that accompanies this video, click here.

I don't post much about my political views on this blog because I figure you aren't really here to read about that. However, whether you are for McCain or Obama, you must agree that the political debates in our country should focus on the issues that are really important to the American people, like healthcare, the economy and the war in Iraq. Not whether Obama's "Lipstick on a Pig" comment was directed towards Palin or whether McCain cheated on his first wife.

The debate hosted by Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos during the primaries was ridiculous. They didn't hit any of the really important issues until the last 10-15 minutes of the debate, instead choosing to focus on controversies that really had nothing to do with the candidates' plans for the country. I was actually a bit embarrassed that people in other countries were watching that debate and would get the idea that the American People really are that shallow.

Recently, I received an e-mail from Freepress offering Americans a chance to rate the debates. The idea is that the public will join together to hold the media accountable for what questions they present to the candidates. If you would like to see more focus on the real issues, rather than manufactured controversies, please click here to sign up. And if you do sign up, please blog about your experience. I would love to hear what you thought.

I just finished watching "The Wizard of Oz" with the kids for the first time. Even though I know it is a beloved family movie, I've always found it a bit disturbing. The witch flying by the house on her bike and those dang flying monkeys... completely creepy. I actually haven't seen the movie since right after college, when some friends and I watched it in an attempt to locate the munchkin hanging in the woods (I can neither confirm not deny this urban legend).

Then, a few years back, I worked on a stage production of "The Wizard of Oz" (I was a "munchkin wrangler"), and I began to appreciate the show on a different level. So, when flipping through the channels last night and seeing Dorothy flying in the tornado, I decided to let the kids watch the munchkin scene. And then we all got sucked in... Since it was too late to watch the whole movie, we TiVo'd it instead and finished it this afternoon.

Surprisingly, I enjoyed it this time around. And the kids didn't seem nearly as creeped out by the witch and flying monkeys as I was at their age. Although, when I put Vika to bed last night, she did have a lot of questions about the wicked witch. So I said to her, "When I was little, I used to be so scared of that witch! But now when I see her, I think, 'She's just a woman in green paint!'" Vika laughed and then started talking about what a pain it must have been for the actress to put on all that make-up each day. In her version of the witch voice Vika said, "Aren't you done yet?!"

Nightmares averted.

Here's a little something "Wizard of Oz" for your viewing enjoyment (from my guilty pleasure, "Family Guy."). Beware, it's completely sophomoric, but the first part is pretty funny.

I believe I mentioned before how Jeff and I have been enjoying the show, Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel. Never in a million years did I think I would be interested in a show about crab fishing. But the 40-foot waves, freezing ice and salty fishermen completely drew me in. Plus, Sig RULES.

When watching the Deadliest Catch marathon on Saturday, Jeff said, "We need to go crab fishing!" I was willing to humor him at this point, so I said, "Yeah, that could be fun." Well, Jeff took the ball and ran with it. Bright and early Monday morning he woke us all up and loaded us into the car to go crab fishing in the Marin Headlands. Now, I'm not a morning person on the best of days, but after a late night reading Harry Potter, I was feeling downright crabby (like the way I slipped that pun in there?). Jeff's enthusiasm could not be dampened, however, and as we made our way towards the Golden Gate Bridge, my spirits began to lift.

Fortunately, crabbing in San Francisco is nothing like crab fishing in Alaska. We dropped our pots from the safety of a pier, and set out a few fishing lines for good measure. The kids ran around chasing sea gulls and pigeons while Jeff baited hooks and I gazed at jellyfish bobbing slowly in the water below. We were also surprised a couple of times by a huge sea lion that surfaced with a loud grunt right below us. We didn't catch much - a few baby bullheads, a rock crab and a dungeness crab (both of which were too small to keep), and some jack smelt. As far as fishing goes, the trip was not a successful one. The frigid wind and fog also lessened our enjoyment of the day somewhat (check out the clothing we are wearing, and keep in mind that it was July 30th. Summer in San Francisco!).

Despite these drawbacks, we had a great time. Vika caught the most fish, and by the end of the day, fancied herself to be quite the fisherwoman. She followed Jeff around, shoving squirming worms and smelly sardines onto hooks, while Eamon and I huddled together on the pier, trying to get warm. The day ended with stone skipping lessons on the rocky shore (Vika and Eamon need a lot of work in this area) and a quiet drive home, thinking about the next time we would go out crabbing.