sometimes it's hard to blog

and it's not for lack of time.

It's more for lack of ability to get to the computer, or to type with more than one hand, or to remove small bodies from my lap.Motherhood is going well! Eamon is a friendly little man, super sweet and mellow. He seems to change daily. It's really fun to see him unfold and grow.

I have a few knitting projects to share, and I promise I won't wait another whole month until I do...

Christmas is over

and Christopher and I are happily back in Brooklyn. The older we get the less we seem to like leaving home.

This holiday was no exception. On Thursday, after wading through the last minute shoppers in midtown and waiting an hour for a bus that never came, I erupted into tears when I realized the reserved tickets I'd bought were for us to go from Philadelphia to New York, not the other way around. 4 hours and a train ride later we had arrived and met the newest additions to the Brown household.
They made it all worth it. 12 weeks old and so happy to curl up on your lap, or shoulder or baby bump!! Dinah would be so mad if we brought them back here, but it sure was tempting...

-

I'm now 33 weeks into this pregnancy. The baby will be considered term in 3 weeks, though he won't be expected for another 4 weeks after that, and he could happily take his time and make us wait until late February to make his appearance. That's a 6 week window. Crazy.

In any case, we have 3 weeks to try to get everything as ready as we can, and it will be a lot of work to get from here to there. We need a bureau. We need a crib (or a baby hammock, which is what we hope to use). We need to move around a lot of furniture, and we need to bring a lot of things we've been given - both new and used - here from Philadelphia. Never mind the piles of books to get through, on breastfeeding and baby care. Yes, I know, it all works out in the end, and we probably won't remember the details of those books anyway. But still, there's a lot to learn before Smudge arrives.

help.

Rest in Peace, dear Blaze

My parents' cat, who joined their household in about 2005, passed away today. She was a very loving, friendly and rather cheery cat, one who loved being in the center of things and near her human companions. She survived an nasty accident in August 2006 which left her paralyzed in her back half for several months. She regained the ability to walk, but did not have great control of her back legs and so would careen around my parents' house, enthusiastically knocking into furniture and flinging herself onto the sofa next to you in order to be pet.

Last week she seemed to be ailing, and was diagnosed with Feline Leukemia on Wednesday. She deteriorated rapidly and was put to sleep about an hour ago.

It's hard to describe, but she was very much a part of the family. My cousin Alex just called me, very upset and nearly in tears at knowing that Blaze was gone. And my mother summed it up in an email, "She was just the most wonderful pet we ever had. We feel like there will never be another one we could love so much."

Goodbye, dear Blaze.

winter

I've been a bad blogger recently. Clearly posting a YouTube video is a cop out, if that's the only post of the week.

I honestly don't have much to report. I've been slowly working my way through projects, though nothing is done enough to show. My mittens need one more thumb, my second sock needs a heel and ankle, and my Alpine shrug (which I may not have even mentioned, it's been so low priority) has been picked up again and I'm seaming it together. The shrug is one of those projects that nearly knits itself, the yarn is so thick and the garment itself is so small. Besides seaming, I just have to do the neckline, find and sew on a button and I'll be done.

I've been social. Last week I spent an afternoon walking around the Brooklyn Botanical Garden with someone I've been wanting to know better, the wife of a guy I went to high school with. It was a beautiful afternoon, the last semi-warm day of the week, and it was also really nice to be out. I didn't take very many photos, but I did get this:
Yeah, it's a great blue heron, in BROOKLYN. Who would've thought?

It's also been cold. Dinah has a new favorite spot, in her new cat bed right by the radiator. I don't blame her; I've been plotting what knitted thing would keep me warmest, and how I can make it as quickly as possible. Something big. A sweater? Or maybe I should pick up that coat again...

calming down

Yesterday I took the morning off to go to a morning yoga class. I used to do yoga quite a bit, but in the past few years the classes have triggered stomach aches, and once I had to run out to throw up during a class. Needless to say, I've cut down on yoga.

Yesterday was different, perhaps because I have been so stressed. In any case, it was like rediscovering an old friend. I left the class feeling very relaxed, and the feeling has continued through today. I would like to make it more of a practice, and hopefully it will help me keep my stress levels down.

I spent most of this rainy day today spinning wool, knitting, cooking and talking on the phone with an old friend, and all of it was good for my soul. Christopher and I baked a pumpkin pie using a pumpkin I bought at the Coop yesterday. It was delicious though very gingery.

On a completely other note, has anyone seen these Japanese cat videos on YouTube or Gothamist? This one especially cracks me up.

a cat with taste

This is Dinah.If there's one thing you should know about Dinah, it's that she's obsessed with being brushed. Some cats like catnip; Dinah likes her brush. If you can imagine, she has the same out of control-drugged out response to the brush as other cats do to catnip.

This is a piece of artwork that Christopher's friend Derek made many years ago. You will notice that looks a little like a large dust brush, but with pencils instead of bristles.

Dinah has just discovered it on its shelf, and she now spends many hours pining for it from atop the sofa.
Let's hope she doesn't actually pull it down and impale herself on it.

a photo for the weekend

I barely seem to have time to sit down these days, and I haven't been to the gym in at least 2 weeks. I don't want to neglect the blog, but I also have a ton of things to do in the next hour or two before I head to Hartford for a few days.

So. I leave you with Dinah, who finds many ways to enjoy the sunlight. We are fortunate that most of our windows face south, and the sun shines in basically all day. (In the summer we're a little less excited by this as it really heats up the apartment.)