Sorry for the lack of updates, it’s been a busy time. I’ll make up for it with some surprisingly gory Emily art!
This is a picture of someone having their eye shot out with a slingshot. There are crosshairs on the slingshot, I suppose to let the shooter get a good bead on the target. Note the open mouthed cry of surprise and the eyeball falling to the ground at about knee level. I think that’s a rock going past the victim’s head but I’m not sure. Lest anyone think my daughter is without compassion, the girl standing beside the victim is there “to make her feel better.”
We have now discussed that if someone’s eye gets poked out, it doesn’t grow back, it’s gone for good, so LET’S NOT RECREATE THIS SCENE. She would never do that, of course. She just thinks that in theory, it’s hilarious. As for me, I’m suitably impressed with the level of detail in this picture. Even though she’s drawing grisly scenes of mayhem, she’s come a long way!
“We are letting parents know that today in PE class there was a dodge ball game that got a little out of control. Some kids got hit hard with the ball. Emily says she was hit but not hard. She is not hurting now. She is calm and says she is OK. (Special Area Teacher)”
How bad does a dodgeball game have to get for the teachers to start sending notes home? I’m picturing the Gone With The Wind scene where the camera pans across all the wounded soldiers in the middle of town, but with little kids with charley horses. Oh, the humanity!
I’m sure everything’s fine, but I am writing back to get more details, and to find out how the heck P.E. turned into Thunderdome today. Yow.
ETA: “She was calm through the entire incident. I’m not sure of the details. There was a sub. It sounds as if the boys just got a little of control with throwing the ball.”
Okay, good enough.
Em’s hayfever is in full swing. I’ve bought an air purifier, am drying the clothes in the dryer instead of hanging them out, and am basically letting Em do what she always wants to do anyway, which is hang around the house and do nothing. Like mother like daughter.
Her allergy is to oak pollen. It affects me some years too, but not this year and not like her, poor kid. We have a giant oak tree in the back yard so it’s hard to get away from. Claritin or the other long-lasting medications seem to have no effect on either of us, so mainly we take preventive measures and suffer.
I sent her to school this morning, sniffling and tanked up on Bendryl, with instructions to the teacher to treat it like an illness and call me if she thinks Em needs to come home. If she’s not learning anything, then she might as well not learn it here in our hermetically sealed bubble.
Em drew this picture this morning and is giving it to a girl in another class whom she wants to get to know better. I’ve blurred out her last name and her teacher’s last name, just in case. First she left off the final line and said, “This will show Yohayra that I want to be her friend.” Then, while brushing her teeth, she came tearing out of the bathroom and added the final line. I think that was a good call. It’s kind of a “If you liked Cats, you’ll LOVE Les Mis!” sales pitch, but bashful. It worked on me – I like Em, so now I want to know who this Allyson kid is who’s so similar to my girl.
I’m off to run some really quick errands before coming home and staying by the phone, just in case.
It’s IEP meeting time! In a half hour, we’ll meet with Em’s “dream team” of specialists from her school. They’re wonderful people and we’ve always had a good relationship, but these meetings are still exhausting because of the laser focus on an emotional issue – our child and how best to help her.
Wish us luck!
ETA: It went well. Thanks, y’all!
The NC Zoo in Asheboro has an old helicopter near the elephants that kids can sit in and move the controls around. Looking at the picture after we got home, I realized there must be some sci-fi fans working at the zoo.
Can you see what leads me to say that?
I’ve heard from several folks this week that e-mails sent from jaynehat.com aren’t getting through. If you’ve sent me an inquiry and haven’t gotten a response, you are not being ignored! Please try me again at wearwithstyle at gmail dot com and I’ll get back to you. Those e-mails do seem to be getting through.
For the record, the list stands about 15-17 in line and the wait’s about five to six weeks. Things are a little slow this week because of Spring Break. My daughter has this crazy idea about me paying attention to her instead of knitting. Go figure.
This week we’re working on the Plants and Animals Girl Scout badge. To that end, today we’re going to the zoo. The weather is supposed to be absolutely beautiful, so we’re looking forward to a great time. I hope you’re able to enjoy your day, too!
The local knitting guild is renting a bus to go to Stitches South, and my good friend Illiane (of emergency knitting kit fame) is going. She doesn’t know it yet, but I’m going to serenade her all the way there with “99 bobbins of wool on the wall.” Wait, Illiane, I kid! Where are you going?
My daughter got back her report card, which has four A’s and one B. It is very gratifying to see that all her hard work, and the metric ton of money that we’ve shoveled into the furnace for tutoring, has paid off.
I finally did our taxes, and we’re getting a nice refund from Uncle Sam. Ice cream’s on me!
My husband and daughter are out of town this weekend. As much as I love them, I will enjoy having the freedom to slide around the house in my socks, Risky Business style.
It’s an absolutely beautiful day outside. The birds are singing, the flowers are blooming, and I’m going to get out in it later and stretch my legs and feel thankful.
Em came home from school yesterday with a free kid’s admission ticket to the Cole Brothers Circus which will be in a nearby town early next week. She was excited about it. Then today she got in the car and said, “I had a great day today! Did you see my circus ticket?”
I guess we’re going to the circus! But here’s an example of how strong her worry over new things is. The circus is in town Monday and Tuesday and I asked her if she wanted to go one of those days. She picked Tuesday. So as psyched as she is about going, she’s still nervous enough that she doesn’t want to go NOW, she wants to psych herself up for it. I’m sure once we’re there, she’ll be fine, although there will surely be a great deal of noise and lights and chaos. As always, if she wants to leave partway through that’ll be fine. As long as I get my cotton candy.
Em: Do you have a friend who died? (she knows I do, so this is just a conversation starter for her)
Me: Yes, her name was Pat. I’m very sad that she died, but I’m happy that I got to know her.
Em: Do you miss her?
Me: Yes, I do. I wish she were still alive.
Em: Why do you miss her?
Me: Well, I miss talking with her, and doing things with her. I think about her laugh and I wish I could hear it again. I miss her very much.
Em: Why did she die?
Me: She had a disease called cancer, and it made her very sick and finally killed her. Not everybody who gets cancer dies. Grandma had it, and she got better. But Pat didn’t.
Em: How old was she?
Me: I’m not sure. She was older than I was. 50 maybe?
Em:…
Em:…
Em: How old are you?
Me: I’m 40. That’s still young, I have many years left before I die.
Then Em changes the subject. I have no idea what put this in her mind. I’m going to be misty eyed for the rest of the evening, but I’m happy that Em is able to express thoughts that complex.
FO: Valentine’s Day socks
Yarn: two half-skeins Koigu KPPPM superwash wool, plus reinforcing thread at heel and toe.
Needles: 2.25mm/size 1 US
Pattern: Zhenya’s MUMTU sock pattern (link to tutorial).
(Ravelry page)
Notes: My daughter’s Valentine’s socks are done, and it’s only… what, March 23rd? Fortunately they’re meant to double as Easter socks. Even though these are only 52 stitches around, 6.5 stitches per inch, they’re still a little loose on her ankles. I should have gone to a size 0 needle for the ribbing. The ribbing wants to fold over, completely covering up the hearts on the ankle, so I’m pretty sure that when she’s wearing them with her Converse sneakers it’s just going to look like she’s wearing purple socks. Oh well.
The Fair Isle colorwork isn’t perfect, but it’s good enough for the purpose, and it was good practice. I was more concerned with being sure it wasn’t pulled tight in the back of the stitches so the socks would have proper stretch. That hurt my tension some. And I need to reinforce the gap where the ankle meets the foot. That continues to be a bugaboo for me when I’m picking up heel stitches and rejoining for the leg.
She was very excited to get them, proclaiming them “very comfortable.” It was difficult to get a nice picture with them on, because she couldn’t keep her feet still long enough to pose. I like the reaction, so who needs a pretty “socks on” picture? I’m letting all flaws go, because if she’s happy, I’m happy.
