Today was one of those Winter days where the snow blankets the ground and tucks one in the silence only fresh snowflakes bring.
We all overslept.
I awoke in Violet’s bed, Sage pleasantly snoring above Violet and me in his lofted bed, the alarm clock near my and Adam’s bed crowing. Adam had fallen asleep at the computer wheel last night, and woke up on the couch in the wonderful “oh shit! I’ve overslept” mode that no one wants to find themselves in.
He wouldn’t be driving Sage to school today. I looked outside at the steady falling snow, and thought, “Neither am I.”
When I was six months pregnant with Violet I was in a bad car accident about a mile from our house. On my way to a prenatal appointment, feeling secure in my four wheel drive car, I headed down the snowy county road to town. Going only about 35 miles per hour, I was “sucked” down into the ditch and hit an extremely large oak tree head on. The airbag went off, my car was totaled and I have since suffered “panic attacks” driving in the snow. Not good when you live in Minnesota. Meanwhile, I have a love/hate relationship with that white precipitation. I love watching it fall whist listening to Rufus Wainwright and baking cookies, sipping spiked egg-nog, and playing board games with the kids. I love walking in the woods near our house on a fresh snow day, enveloping myself in the quiet and reflecting on what is really valuable in my life. I love a white Christmas. I love how the snow masks all the shit I neglected to clean up in the yard. But, I hate hate hate driving in ANY kind of snow.
I’m a big wimp.
I have too many people in my life that need me to take risks when it comes to safety, and so today, Sage and Violet stayed home with Mom. A little bit of an impromptu “snow day.”
It was lovely. One of those days that I think will have a lasting impression on Sage, and yet I can’t fast forward to know what he’ll really value from his childhood. However, I remember days when my parents took me out of my normal schedule and took me to “the big city” to see a play, or go to a museum and those moments are cherished treasures.
Sage started his snow day by playing outside for over an hour. I decided that television would not be an option until the school day had finished. So, I asked him if he would like to learn to knit today. A few weeks ago he had asked me, and of course this warmed my heart. Sage is a fast learner. He decided he didn’t want to learn by making squares, or a scarf, and that what he really was interested in was making a hat. Since I learned to knit “in the round” making a hat as my very first project whilst studying in Scotland for a semester, I thought it would make sense that he learn this way too. We looked through my stash and he picked out some lovely purple wool Grandma Jayne brought back from Canada. It’s a nice 4 ply worsted weight yarn that won’t fray while he learns, is soft on his hands, and he it’s not too dark so he can see what he’s doing. He is a natural. Honestly, I can’t believe how easily he has picked this up and it’s wonderful to see him quiet and still and focused. Tonight he was knitting while watching a movie, knitting while listening to bedtime stories, and he asked me if he could knit in the car on the way to school. The apple sure doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Violet cracks me up. The temperature has hovered around the teens for the last couple of days, and we never keep our thermostat over 64 degrees, and yet she is running around in summer dresses and bikinis. She is my little furnace. I’ve started putting some Christmas decorations up, and the stockings have been “hung with care in hopes of St. Nick…” Violet is always looking for new “accessories” and is a big fan of knee high socks.
Posh’s potty training reminds me of my old days as a smoker, taking seven minute breaks every two hours or so. During those cigarette breaks ideas mingled with smoke rings. Now, I still find my thoughts wondering as I follow Posh looking for yellow snow and poopy piles. Meanwhile, I’m taken back to the days I would freeze my ass off just for one more drag. Sometimes I yearn for that “heat grate” outside the St. Olaf student center. It would be nice to sit down and wait for her to do “her business.” Last week I brought a beer to have with my “cigarette.”
She’s way cuter than a cigarette, smells better, and is good for my health, so I’ll put up with the cold and watch her “go potty” until she gets it down. Lately, she only has poopy accidents, and honestly after having a great dane, picking up turd the size of Lincoln Log really isn’t a big deal.
On Saturday we were able to have a brief, but lovely visit with my good friend Pam, her almost 4 year old son Emmett, and Pam’s amazing mother Debbie. Pam’s visits are always too short. Adam states my feelings exactly every time we say goodbye, “It’s a shame you live so far away from each other.”
Pam is my favorite person to knit for. I was dying to give her a sweater I had knit for her from a 1962 issue of Vogue Knitting. I think I started knitting this for her last March. Everyone who saw the color and the pattern looked at me cross-ways. No one trusted that it would work out, but I had faith and I think that the color x the pattern = modern meets vintage.
I’m not so good at finishing my projects, hello common knitting problem, and so the pockets weren’t totally done, but Pam’s mom is a retired Home Economics teacher and she said she’d sew them for me. Yay!
I had to have Adam snap a picture of the two of us together.
Emmett also modeled the sweater I knit him for his third birthday. He looked damn adorable, as you can see below. For both sweaters I used my favorite Merino wool from Uraguay, Malibrigo.
I haven’t been knitting lately, even Adam has noticed my lack of yarn…I’ve been reading! Imagine that?! I just finished Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal Dreams. I absolutely loved it!!! Now, because I’m kind of dog obsessed I’m reading John Katz’s Good Dog.
I think I may have to try and knit while I read, Posh needs a sweater. ‘Cause baby, it’s cold outside.
I Rant I Rave 