The Stitchin’ Sheep

I’m not sure how I’ve managed to get this lazy about blogging. I guess it just isn’t a very high priority any more. I don’t even seem to do very many blog-worthy activities or have any blog-worthy thoughts anymore. I’ve gotten boring. Even I see that. I just don’t seem to have the time for it. I guess before, I made the time for it, but as my priorities shift, I can’t bring myself to spend as much time on the computer anymore (or doing the crafts I love quite as often). There’s laundry to do, dishes to wash, and kids to take care of.

In fact, the kids are currently on vacation at the moment, which zaps my time even more… which is why I started this several hours ago, got this far and had to stop. I don’t even remember where I was planning to go with this post aside from saing how lazy I’ve been lately with blogging. Maybe I could take some pictures of my most recent sewing projects some time soon. It’s not an easy thing to do, since I have to wear them and take a picture of myself in them at the same time. Then, there’s the fact that the shirt I made is short-sleeved and the other project is a knee-length skirt. With the cold, rainy weather we’ve got going, I’m not really in the mood to model spring-time clothes.

So, we’ll just have to wait around to see if I can find the time and desire to take a few pictures. I need to get one of Lambchop #2 in his cast, too. He’s got an appointment with the bone doctor tomorrow to see if it’s time to take it off. I should probably get around to taking at least one posterity shot (even if the thing is nasty-dirty now) before then.

I think this blog post is just one of those mind-burp kind of things. I can’t even figure out how to end the thing. I’ll just stop typing, and that’ll be it, I think.

Ooh, no, I think I’ll leave you with a beauty recipe instead:

Almond Honey Face Scrub

• 1/2 cup ground almonds (fresh ones would be better - mine were the result of making homemade almond milk)
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp water (or enough to get thick but not cakey consistency)
• several drops of lavender essential oil (or you could use tea tree or some other essential oil you like, but that hopefully has antiseptic properties - I like the lavender, because it smells lovely, too).

Mix the almonds and honey together, adding warmish water as you do, to help the honey melt in. Once the desired consistency is reached, add a few drops of essential oil and mix that in. Store in airtight container in the fridge. Makes a nice moisturizing, antiseptic scrub (the oils from the almonds moisturize, while the honey and lavender have antiseptic properties), leaving skin feeling soft and clean.

Yep, that’s a much better way to end a post, I believe.

If it is broke, however, get yourself on over the nearest urgent care facility to get it fixed. That’s this week’s moral. Want to hear the story?

Sure you do. You remember Superman, right? He was featured here last week. Well, there must have been some Cryptonite in the vicinity when we went out on Saturday. Either that, or Superman really isn’t invincible, and that’s just unthinkable, so… Cryptonite it is.

It was a gorgeous day last Saturday, and I was determined to spend it outside with the kids. We killed the entire sun-filled afternoon by going to a petting zoo. The goats were a wee bit intimidating, but the pony rides were great. Or, they would have been if we didn’t end up with a freakish pony that started running in circles, which caused the (apparently badly fastened) saddle to slide down the side of the pony. I think you see where this is leading, don’t you? Superman was happily astride said mentally disturbed animal when he found himself slowly slipping to the left. The only thing he could think to do was put out his left arm to protect himself from the fall (not a horrible plan, I think). He complained of pain at the moment it happened, but a few hours later he said it felt fine. I figured if it seemed to hurt during the weekend, I’d take him to see a doctor on Monday.

Fast forward to Wednesday (no other incidents to speak of until then). We went to a kids’ play place with all sorts of padded toys and slides. Of course, Superman can get a little rambunctious when there’s no Cryptonite in the area. He was having a grand ol’ time, until he came screaming and crying that he fell on that arm again. From that point on, for the rest of the week, he just seemed to have a weak spot. Every time someone twisted his arm for him (something that happens way more frequently than I would have expected), he cried. It was always at the wrong moment (just before dinner or bed, for example). So, when Saturday morning rolled around (a full week after the original incident), I swore to myself I’d pop in to the urgent care clinic next to my sister-in-law’s house just after her daughter’s birthday party. It was a hectic day (and I’d sort of forgotten about the clinic), but around 6:30 pm, Superman was playing with the other super heroes and cried out in pain after having his arm twisted. Good reminder for me, so I took him next door to have a really long wait and a couple of x-rays.

Good thing, too, since he’d apparently had a broken arm all week long. So, now I’m feeling like a derelict parent here, and I’ll pass on a little word of advice. Even if it doesn’t swell or turn red or do any of the things that you think a broken bone should do, get it checked out instead of assuming it’s probably just a sprain or something less harmful. I’m guessing that’d be the best way to keep Social Services from knocking on your door in the near future. As for me, I’ll just have to hope that no one alerted them. I’ve had broken fingers before, and there was no way you could have mistaken them for anything else. The swelling and constant pain were definite clues. I never assumed a break could happen any other way. Apparently, I was wrong. It would seem that depending on the age of the person as well as the place of the break, there could be very little in the way of symptoms. It’s really best to just get it checked out to be sure.

As a side note, Superman finds a nice, long knitting needle to be helpful for itches you can’t reach.

According to the notice sent home to parents, any adult parading through the village for Carnaval with the kids really should have been dressed up. And, you know, I’m nothing if not a rule follower. Of course, the French are kind of known to be rule benders. So, did the other parents dress up? Not many of them. Some did, but not many. I was the only parent for Lambchop #2’s class to do it. I guess I got some good brownie points with the teachers, who were happy to see someone participating, but some of the other parents really looked at me funny.

Come to think of it, everyone who saw me walk between the car and the school gave me odd looks. What’s up wit dat? I must say, though, that I kind of enjoyed the fact that a lot of people smiled (not just the kids). And, really, how often do we adults have the chance/excuse to dress up and act like an idiot. Not often enough, I assure you. The four-ponytail-look  really seemed to work for me. You can’t really see the one on top in this picture, but when I hopped around or danced just so, it bounced perfectly with the two on the sides. Yep, I think I’ve found my look.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering… no drugs or alcohol were involved in achieving this look or the attitude needed to pull it off. Some things just come naturally to me. Don’t be jealous. We all have our special gifts.

Also, in case you’re wondering (again), I do feel a little funny putting this photo of me on the internet, but I know my parents and brother could use a little giggle, since they’ll be flying to Oklahoma to lay my great aunt to rest. She passed away this week, and I’m pretty sure this picture would have made her laugh, so I’ll put it out here in her honor and to put a smile on my family members’ faces.

I may not say it often enough, but I love you guys.

How well do we really know Superman? Sure, we know his alter-ego is Clark Kent. We know he’s got the hots for Lois Lane. We know that aside from Lois, his only other weakness is Kryptonite. That’s about it, though. Do we really know what motivates the guy?

Well, I had a chance to chat with him this morning (before he headed off to school - where they are celebrating Carnaval a bit late this year). He’s a pretty personable guy, really. You just have to look at the pictures to see his many sides.

Sometimes he’s a little chatty.

Other times, he feels a bit shy.

Then, there are moments that make him smile.

And, still others that just make a guy feel downright giddy.

(The entire costume was dirt cheap. The red shirt was 1 euro bought at a local thrift shop more than a year ago. The shirt he already owned. The red underwear was a hand-me-down from his cousin (as was the shirt, by the way). The pants I had to make because I couldn’t find any blue tights. They’re made of some cotton jersey material I had on hand (and will serve as new pj pants, which he badly needed). The only thing I purchased recently to make the costume was some blue dye. While I was at it, I dyed some more of that same white cotton jersey fabric blue, because one of my favorite (royal blue) tees is on its last leg. Needless to say, I was really excited when he said he wanted to be Superman, since I knew I had almost everything I needed to make it happen. Yay for frugality and creativity coming together to make a boy happy!)

I have had such a busy couple of weeks. So many things going on around here. As I had mentioned before, Lambchop #2 had equestrian school. Then, the evening of his last day, we picked up a friend of mine who came to visit us from the US. She had the misfortune of coming the same week Lambchop #1 came down with strep throat, so we didn’t get to do much sightseeing until mid-week. We did get some fun chit-chat in, and hanging out around the house meant we got some chores down. Yeah, I know. You’re not supposed to invite friends to visit so they can do your laundry. I guess I just have very nice friends. We decided that the whole polygamy thing might not really be all that bad for the wives. Two can certainly get more things done together than one can alone.

For instance, Lambchop #2 was invited to a birthday party on Saturday, which meant that I needed to make one of my standard girl gifts: a bag. I had started this one at sewing class on Tuesday evening. I just needed to finish it up. So, while my friend entertained the kids,  I was able to finish sewing it. It turned out pretty well. It was my first attempt at snap closures, which wasn’t a huge success for me. I ended up getting the muscle man to put them on. It’s a pretty simple bag, with no extra pockets or anything, but it turned out pretty much the way I had envisioned it, which is always a plus. And, it was a hit at the party, which is also a plus.
No more crafting went on after that. I wanted to spend time with my friend. Oh, actually some crafting did go on, now that I think of it. I tried to teach her how to knit. She caught on pretty quickly. She even got really excited when she saw she had actually done a whole row without my help. Then, she put the needles and yarn down and said she was done. I guess it’s not for everyone, huh?  That’s the first time I have ever taught anyone, though. Kind of fun.

Instead, we focused on chores and caring for my sick little Lambchop #1. Once she got all better and was able to go back to school, we got some sightseeing in. My husband had a full day of conferences in Pezenas on Thursday, so we went along and spent our day roaming the antique shops and other interesting sights in that town. Definitely a place worth the visit if you’re ever over that way. We had an absolutely delicious meal at a restaurant called “L’Entre Pot”. It’s the first place I’ve seen here that actually seems to value the flavors and colors that veggies can give to a dish. They even had a dish call “simply a plate of in-season vegetables.” Lambchop #3 had that, and my friend and I helped her finish it. They were mostly baby veggies, tender and sumptuous. I had never before tasted a brussel sprout that didn’t have the least bit of bitterness.

We also visited this charming (yet pricey) candy shop. It’s a well–known brand here (La Cure Gourmand), and if I’m not mistaken, the factory is very near where we live. We found the vintage-looking decor to be quite quaint, so we took a few pictures. It’s a little like going into a well-stocked yarn shop, I think. All those colors are a feast for the eyes. We may have bought a little bit of candy. I know that Dr. Fuhrman wouldn’t approve, but what’s Easter without a few chocolate eggs? I did only purchase a little, and it was the dark chocolate. None of that milk chocolate stuff for us, thank you! Pretty good stuff, too, though I’m not a huge chocolate addict (I prefer it baked in something).

Come to think of it, lots of food was eaten that day. There was a little bit of non-Easter candy that we munched on. And, the luscious meal at that restaurant. And, we had to try the famous “Patés de Pezenas”. These are bizarre little treats, for sure. They are a local tradition that must date back to the middle ages, because the flavor is certainly not of this era. They are little pastries that are served as hors d’oeuvres. Inside the pastry shell is a filling made up of ground lamb, preserved lemon and lots of sugar. Yes, you read correctly. Sugar and lamb. It’s odd. I had actually tasted them before, but they had been served cool. The lady at the pastry shop insisted they were better warm. She was certainly right, but one will do you, for sure. No need stuff yourself on them. Interesting experience for a tourist, though.

I looked up their history, and they have apparently been around as a local tradition since the 1800’s. Not exactly the middle ages, but the recipe was apparently given to the town by a nobleman who had been living in India. That would explain the fact that they are far from being typically French-tasting.

After lunch, we took a stroll through a local cathedral. It wasn’t the most beautiful of cathedrals here, but it was nice. Just like many Catholic cathedrals in Europe, it was equipped with a large pipe organ. What was different about this one was that a young man was actually playing it when we entered. He had a small audiences of passers-by. We joined them for a few moments, and Lambchop #3 was fascinated by the music. It could have been her fatigue put her in the perfect mental state for ethereal church music. Whatever the reason, she was mesmerized.

We had a great day of chatting, eating and sightseeing. It was the perfect last day for her trip. I only wish we had been able to do more of it. Maybe next time. One week really is too short for catching up with an old friend and playing the tourists.

I’m so corny that I really can’t think of another title for this post. That’s because we spent our day around horses. Here in France, kids in preschool and primary school go on week-long field trips called “classes vertes”, which means “green classes”. I’m not sure what the green is all about except that often these classes get them out in nature. Usually, they don’t start this kind of thing until kindergarten age, but my son is lucky enough that he’s in a class with a mix of kindergartners as well as those in his 4-5-year-old age group. This means he gets to take advantage of the field trips scheduled for the kindergartners, even though he’s not one himself. I’m also lucky as a parent, because most of the teachers at his school are parents of young children and can’t just up and leave for week. I say this because usually classes vertes are a trip somewhere where they actually stay the whole week away from home. Most French parents are fine with this, but I’m not keen on that idea. So, I’m lucky that my kids’ teachers stick around this area and just take buses to their intended destination each day of that special week.

Last year, when Lambchop #1 was in kindergarten, her class went to circus school. They loved it. My son has a different teacher, though, and his class is going to equestrian school. Even though today is my sewing class day, they really needed a parent-volunteer to help out, so I freed myself up and went along. I was a little unhappy that I had to give up my sewing class, but I have to say that it was well worth the small sacrifice. I didn’t even get to hang out with my son’s group, and I still had a great time. The kids are full of pep and keep things moving, even when they should be stopped. I loved seeing things from their viewpoint, though. They are so full of curiosity. That didn’t hurt for me, because I have never been around horses at all, so I learned right along with them. Each group went from activity to activity all day, so there was never a dull moment (not that that’s even possible with kids ranging from ages 4-6). All in all, I think I’d have to say it was one of the best days I’ve had in a very long time, and I was a little sad that I couldn’t volunteer all week long. I guess we have to let other parents do some work, too, right?

And, I apologize if I haven’t gotten to responding to any comments lately. I’ve wanted to, but with only about an hour of internet access each day, I don’t get much time to anything I want to online. My husband called and found out what the problem is, though, so hopefully I’ll get a chance to respond to comments and even post more often as soon as they stabilize our line.

Until then, I think I’ll dream of a job at a horse stable, because I really did like hanging out with them. I haven’t ever even been on a horse, but I have to say that I wouldn’t mind grooming them and just being their friend everyday. Does that sound odd?

It seems every time I get back into the swing of taking the kids to school every morning, there’s another vacation here. After 3-and-a-half years, I still haven’t gotten used to the school vacation schedule in France. Someday, perhaps…

We usually don’t do much aside from getting together with old playgroup friends during school breaks. This time, though, we decided to take a few days to make a trip up to where my husband’s grandmother lived before she passed away last year. He found the trip to be quite nice without the stress of having his grandmother ill. For the first time since I met him, he was able to just enjoy the place he knew so well as a child and marinate in all the good memories without adding on any negative ones. The kids and I had a great time, as well.

I think the best thing we did while there was a little trip to see a waterfall. I really wasn’t in the mood, since I was tired and had a huge sinus headache starting that day. I didn’t want to be a party pooper, though, so we all went. I was glad of it, too. It was beautiful. The weather was unseasonably mild, so we weren’t freezing while roaming through the shaded forest. The kids had a blast, feeling like they were little adventurers. They led the way through the winding, rocky paths, all the while claiming they were discoverers. Very sweet.

This was the one part of our mini-trip where I remembered to get out the camera, so I thought I’d share the fun. The first one of the family cracks me up. The little fella up front was goofing off in all the other shots, but he looks like someone popped his balloon here. This is the only picture where everyone was actually looking at the camera, though.

All of these shots were taken at the Murel Cascades in the Correze area of France. I find that part of France to be lovely. I didn’t think to take any pictures of the houses there, which are beautiful with moss-covered, dark slate roofing tiles. The area reminds me a little of Missouri and Arkansas, though. It has beautiful, lush green forests and lots of rivers. I’d be happy to live there, since it more closely resembles the landscapes of my childhood, but vines don’t grow so well in that humid part of the country, so we came back home to our dry, Mediterranean climate instead.

Oh, and thanks to those who were concerned by my mood in that last post. I can get a little melancholy at times. I have always had those tendencies. Lately, it’s been a little rougher in that way. I’m not sure if it has to do with that last trip to the US just not being quite enough, or what. I think it’s just that I was never really cut out for being a housewife. I am a people person, and me staying at home is probably one of the worst things I could do for my morale. I love being a mommy to my kiddos, though, so I’ve got a few more years of stay-at-home-momminess before the last one starts school. I figure once the last one is in school, I’ll definitely find some job or task to keep me busy outside the home at least while they are at school. French school hours seem long to me (they get out at 4:30 at the earliest), so I’d have a whole day to kill. Anyway, this mood will pass. I already feel a little better today.

Maybe I was asking for it. I don’t know.

We recently decided to get rid of our Satellite tv network. It was a decent chunk of money going out every month, and I figured we could do without the constant hum of the kids’ cartoons, as well as the mediocre movies we got from the low rate movie channels in our package. My thinking was that we could put that money to a monthly trip to the movies, and the kids have enough dvds to last them into the next millineum. We actually discussed the pros and cons of this decision off and on for months. We finally bit the bullet in January, since our contract was up then. I didn’t miss it right away.

But, then the past few weeks our phone lines have had problems. They keep sending workers out to fix them, but because they are too cheap to just replace the faulty lines, we still have line troubles. Most of the time, we can make and receive calls, but it’s got a tinny echo that’s annoying. And, lately, the line quality has been  affecting the internet connection. The last few days, I’ve been lucky to get five minutes per day to check my email (all that for the monthly rate of a DSL connection).

We live out in the middle of nowhere by French standards, and by my standards, being a complete plane ride away from any English-speaking country, calling this place the middle of nowhere seems about right. Without CNN International, the internet is my life-line to news from the outside world, so the speak. So, you can imagine how I’ve felt lately. No emailing friends. No blogging. No reading internet news sites. It’s been awful. It’s made me very homesick.

I’ve also been doing very little knitting and sewing lately. The kids have been off school the past two weeks, which tends to suck not only my time but my energy. I have been going to bed a bit earlier. Then, there’s the fact that I usually knit while watching movies. No tv means I don’t sit down to knit so much. I’ve been getting my English kick with books (though I just finished the last English-language book in the house, I think). I think we’re going to have to get a subscription to one of those internet movie places where they send you dvds in the mail. Otherwise, how am I supposed to get any knitting done around here?

There will have to be a little sewing happening soon, though. We’ve got Carnaval coming up, and the kids will be in the village parade. They have to dress up for that. Lambchop #1 wants to be a rock star, which should be easy enough. I’ve got some black vinyl pants and a tan vinyl jacket I bought at the thrift shop for cutting to make the bottom of bags. I’ve already started sizing the jacket down for her. My plan is to paint it gold, since that’s the tacky star look she wanted to go for. I’ll cut the pants down to her size and maybe add some rhinestones. A fancy t-shirt with a tacky belt and some starlet sunglasses and a homemade microphone should do it for her costume, I think.

Lambchop #2 wants to be Superman. He’s already got a long-sleeve t-shirt with the logo on it, and I have a red thrift-shop shirt I plan to make a cape from. All I need is some blue tights, because he’s got some red underwear. I figure at the very worst, I’ll have to get some white tights and dye them blue. That, or I’ll make him some tightish cotton pants with some cotton jersey fabric I’ve got around here and I’ll dye them blue. That would work, too. Pretty simple and quick, I think.

Well, the kids have invaded. I’ve got Lambchops #2 and #3 on my lap fighting for “king of the mountain.” This is not ideal for typing…

There might have been several moments recently when I would have liked to take a bit of time out of my day to blog. My internet has had other plans for me, though. It appears to only want to work for my husband these days (Suspicious? Yes, I think so.). I occasionally get 2-3 minutes to check my email before it decides to take a nap. *Sigh*

So, anyway, there are things happening around here that I would have blogged about, but no connection means no blogging. The big, fun news is that I got a new toy. I recently came across a knitting machine on ebay. It was in England, so hefty shipping costs, but well worth it, since it was only used a couple of times and goes for about 1000 euros retail. Even with the shipping, I still paid under 500 euros, so great deal for me. I’m really enjoying it.

I often feel bad about not knitting cute little sweaters for the little ones. I’m just too slow of a knitter, though, and there are so many cute things I could knit for myself (and that I won’t grow out of as soon as I finish knitting them, you know?), so it seems a bit like wasted time to do knit stuff for them. Now that I’ve got this new knitting machine (and am in need of something to practice on), I’m knitting Lambchop #3 her first homemade sweater in a year or more.

There’s a bit of a learning curve involved with new machinery, but I’ve figured out how to get it to sit and stay, so we’re good to go. I’ve also learned to do increases and decreases, so Lambchop #3 now has the body (front and back) of a new cardigan. I already sewed them together (by hand). Tonight, I hope to get some time to do some calculations and start on the arms. I think when I really get to know the machine well, it’ll take me a couple of hours to knit a small cardigan like that.

The real plan (and this is a bit of a secret, so… shhh, don’t tell) is to try to use this machine to come up with some original designs and sell the garments for actual money. You know, one of those stay-at-home-mom jobs we hear about but never actually come across in real life. That’s the plan, anyway. I’m not shooting high or anything. I just want to be able to afford to pay someone else to clean my house. So, if I can make minimum wage, we should be living in the lap of cleanliness, at the very least.

Just have to get up over that learning curve. In the meantime, it’s a lot of fun to tinker around with.

In the past few months, we’ve learned that we have a budding Don Juan on our hands. It seems like every other time we’re down at the school some little girl with pig tails smiles and bats her eyes while sighing our son’s name. “Oh, is that the Lambchop #2 (names have been changed to protect the innocent)?” The other day, a mommy told us we might as well just marry our son off to her daughter now, because her love for him is undying. Little does she know. Apparently, he’s got them lining up around the block. Today, it was a new girl. Her teddy bear is named after him and has been for the past year or so. Would the other girl be so keen to marry him if she knew he was sleeping in another girl’s bed each night? How does he do it, though?

I’ll let you in on his secrets:

The right outfit is a must (I made these pants in my sewing class recently - he likes the darts at the knees; says they’re like skateboarder’s pants).

Have to have a fresh hair cut.

Styled Just So

You Da Man!

She wants me - they all do.