Friday, July 25, 2008

What I'm Thinking Right This Very Minute

I'm thinking homemade Christmas. I'm thinking if I don't start thinking about a homemade Christmas right now, it won't happen.

Actually, what I'm thinking will prove most problematic is not the homemade stuff (right now my list includes lots of socks, two purses, and a smock), but exploring the world of the Gently Used. For a long time, I've wanted to see what Santa could bring the boys secondhand. But buying secondhand stuff takes time--in my opinion, more time than making stuff. I guess that's because you don't know what's out there secondhand. You've got to search. You've got to shop. I don't like to shop.

My plan is to start out as simply as possible. E-Bay legos and baseball miscellany. That ought to be do-able. From there, who knows where we'll go. Hopefully not to Target.

***

I've got a bug. I seem to get this bug every summer. I don't know if it's a stomach bug or a head bug or both or neither. Loss of appetite, tiredness, tight chest, burning eyes. It seems to last four or five days. If I can't nap (and when would I get an opportunity to nap?), it feels better to move around. If I just sit there, I become aware that I feel cruddy. If I move around, I forget.

The timing is bad on this (not that it's ever good), since my niece is up visiting for a few days. What an interesting experience to have a teenage girl in the house! She is a very young, very sweet fourteen, and seems to love playing with the boys. I'm teaching her to knit, and she's catching on, though making all the usual first scarf mistakes, dropping lots of stitches, adding lots of stitches. The yarn I bought is kind of chunky and funky. The good thing about chunky, funky yarn is that the mistakes don't look so bad. The bad thing about chunky, funky yarn for a beginner is you split a lot of stitches since it's hard to tell exactly what a stitch is supposed to look like.

I like to think that in twenty years she'll be telling everyone how her wonderful Aunt Frances taught her to knit and it changed her life forever ...

***

We're going up to the mountains for a few days, so at least I'll feel cruddy someplace cool and serene.

***

The good thing about being sick is that when you're done being sick, you feel so marvelous simply because you're not sick anymore.

***

Off to make brownies. It is amazing how much fourteen-year-old girls eat (and still stay skinny). I suppose this is good practice for when my boys morph into teenagers. I assume Will will be eating by then. It's interesting to think that one day he will eat of his own volition, making selections from more than one food group. Is it possible?

Happy weekend!

2 comments:

Tracy said...

I hope your bug doesn't last too long. You're right you'll feel better than fantastic when you get well...just because you're not sick!

When I was 7 we had my 17yo aunt come to live with us for 6 months. My parents nearly tore their hair out, and Dad was already half bald so it wasn't a good thing! Granny wisely told them you grow with your kids. Most people don't go from 7yo to 17yo with one step through the door.

I hate to think what my kids will be eating at 14. They already eat a ton. I take them to the Dr when the stop eating because something is desperately wrong when that happens!

Victoria said...

It's hard being sick with kids and guests. So true that after being sick you will feel deeply thankful to not feel sick!
You have just reminded me that last Christmas I was vowing to spend the year finding all (or most) of the presents for next Christmas secondhand, um, I forgot, thanks for the reminder!!
I hope she does feel that the knitting is a significant thing in her life, wish an aunt had taught me to knit at 17! Wish I'd wanted to knit at 17!