The Weekend and Why My Camera Battery Sucks

OK, so I promised I'd tell you a tale of toddlers harassing cows. My parents recently moved to a new house Way Out in the boonies. Their neighbor actually has cattle. (Only a small herd, and Mom confirms that some of them disappear when neighbor's freezer starts to look empty) From my parents' back yard it's just a short trip down the hill and across a narrow lane to see the cows, who apparently like to hang out there and watch people in the yard. The kids spent most of the time at my mom's house playing outside, as it was an uncharacteristically nice day and we don't get out much.

Well, after some time outside, the cows wandered over to see what was going on. I said as much to my dad, who decided to take our poor city babies over and show them the cows (from the other side of the fence - I am well aware of how awesome it would not be had one of the kids decided to go under the fence). Andy thought they were great and interrogated my dad on the diet and lifestyle of cows for some time. Maggie was understandably wary and kept her distance. Joan was fascinated. She wanted to talk to the cows. Even after we brought them back to the yard, she'd stand at the top of the hill and yell at them "Hey! Ka (cow)! Wha-I!"

Let me stop and explain "Wha-I!" This is Joan's multipurpose expression. It means (depending on the context) "What are you doing?" "What's that?" or a toddler version of "What gives?" (or the more grown-up "WTF?" if that's how you see it) If I'm working on the computer, she'll stand next to me and yell "Ma! Wha-I!" Sibling takes a toy from her "Anny! (or Mag!) Wha-I!" I've been known to exclaim at work when something goes wrong "Wha-I!"

So, back to the cows. Eventually, lunch time came and we went inside and ate, then made a mostly unsuccessful attempt to get the kids to lay down for a nap. But, new house + exciting things going on = no nap. We gave up and let everyone back out for more play time. Joan resumed her post at the top of the hill to see what the cows were doing. Of the four cows in the field, three of them were settled down, legs tucked up under them, for all intents and purposes, looking like they were napping. She resumes her yelling. "Hey! Ka! Wha-I!" She keeps doing this until two of the cows rouse themselves and walk away from the fence line, away from the loud little creature disturbing their nap. I comment to Mom. "I guess if Joan's not napping, no one is. Not even the cows."

Now, on to What Mommy Finished in the Car. The knit apron is done. Buttons have been sewn on, ends woven in and as soon as my camera battery recharges, there will be pictures. I missed taking pictures of the kids and my finished swaps (already in the mail) because of a suspiciously dead battery. I have also found the reason my battery seems to run down so quickly, after looking at the most recent round of pictures.

The three year old's been stealing my camera. I now have a table-level picture of his dinner from last week, along with several partial shots of his sisters, his toys, one of his aunt, and about twenty very-close-up pictures of his finger. I need a second battery. Or he needs his own camera.

On to the list:

• Embroidered bag is going in the mail today. Due to a lack of charged camera battery, there will be no pictures. I may have to ask the recipient to take one for me.
• Got my trading ATC's picked and planning on getting them ready to mail tonight.
• G0t my partner for the Tool ATC and I even have a card and envelope made up - just need to write a note, address and send.
• I need to finish the card kit as well. I haven't made much progress recently and while the deadline is still a month away, I don't want it to get lost in the shuffle. Plan on putting time to it next weekend.
• Amigurumi for my RAK. I'm planning to start it this week.
• Crochet dress - it's a few rows bigger now, but slow going. It keeps getting shuffled to the bottom of the list. This is why I'm making the 2T size.
• The evil homespun blanket. This thing is gonna haunt me, I can tell already.
• I need to post pictures and the pattern for the Knit Apron v2. I also need to make a second, blindly following the pattern to test it. Still looking for a way to size it and considering a bottom-up version with ties and a button neck-strap as well.
• Finish the tea set for the kids
• Second Skew sock. It's just a matter of picking it up on a regular basis.
• $1.5 Cardigan - really wanting to have this done to snuggle up in for the winter.
• Jeannie Wrap - another one that I haven't picked up in a while. I really need to get my hands on this once some of my deadline-conscious stuff is off my plate.
• Scrap Bag: closer to being done than one might think. It lacks only a handle and edging - the body of the bag is done.
• Christmas cards - got some supplies together, as well as my leftovers from last year. Also need to start making the card list and the gift list for family and whatnot.
• Wedding Present: I will attempt to win her over to at least a silk/alpaca blend and we'll go from there. I have a couple of patterns in mind - just need to pick the yarn.
• Leverage hat for Der Hubs - need to find a light weight yarn, as well as my really long size 1 needles.
• New projects for kids: girls stockings, new kilt hose for Andy (for next year's games), still need to find a pattern I like for sweaters and hats for all three.
• Newly discovered moldy oldie: the purple shopping bag.
• Noro gloves - half testing the pattern making the second glove. Also something I recently resurrected from the basement.

So there you have it - now I'm nervous I won't finish anything before my crafty season changes again. Well, I'll always need a carryover project - something to do in the car and when I just need to relax.