It's Juju...

but the toddler insists it isn't bad.

My youngest son showed only a passing interest in the doll while I was knitting it, which means that he only came by to check on my progress 2 or 3 times while I worked. I knit a lot and he is used to it, so it had no real novelty to capture his interest other than fitting the stitch markers onto the stitch holders and learning to open and close the holders (and the usual toddler fascination with the properties of sticks and the cutting of yarn). This is the way of things; Mom knits, he wants to play with the tools but has no real interest in the finished product unless it was specifically made for him. Until now.

Just as I was stuffing the doll through the top of its head, the toddler came along and investigated this new thing that I was doing. He played with the loose fiberfill, helped stuff some into the doll, and then watched while I closed up the top of the doll's head. His attention began to wander as I drew up the cord that defines the head and forms the neck of the doll, but once I'd tied it off and set it down on the table he zeroed in on it.

"It's a little boy!" he cried and grabbed up the doll, claiming it for his own. "What his name?" he asked. I told him,"It's Bad Juju." He replied, "It not Bad Juju, it Good Juju." And so it is.

He may eventually let me put a face on it, but for now he is content with the 'amish' version of the doll.

If you're interested in what the doll was originally intended to be, you can read that story at the Bad Juju Knitalong.

Thar's Yarn in Them Boxes!

I was catching up with my email, which had been neglected during the move, and I took a good look at my sitemeter report, which I frequently neglect to read. I had how many visits??? I can't believe I've had 35,000 visits to my website! That's in one year. Absolutely unbelievable.

I continue to unpack when I can. You know how it goes, you open a box and take a good look at its contents, make a face, and close it back up because you have no idea how you're going to sort this collection of junk or where in the world you'll put it. Now and then I get to open a happy box like this one. I still have to close it up for now, but there's no doubt about what to do with it. It gets set aside in that pile of yarn boxes over there in the corner for now until I get enough space cleared to put up the shelves. Oh yes, the craft room is the staging area where all the boxes were piled in the move. It's great incentive to get everything unpacked and put away, because I don't get a craft room until then.

Playing Catch-up

It's the most amazing and amusing thing to hear a toddler trying to say,"Happy Valentine's Day Mommy!"

My youngest gave me this lovely pink azalea for Valentine's Day (with some help from his Daddy). It will make a nice addition to the garden-to-be. He has requested that I include a fountain in the garden, since he so adores playing in the water. How can I refuse?

...And a patch of lawn for him to play on, a big sandbox to dig in, some fruits and vegetables to eat, a play structure...

It's time again for the Gimme Some Needles Exchange. For my assigned swap buddy: You may look at my previous answers to the questionnaire here, or you may surprise me. As for me, I intend to surprise.

I am just itching to knit something. I haven't done any knitting at all during this move and now it's like I'm having withdrawals. Now, if I can just find enough of my knitting supplies to actually start something...ooh, wait, here's some kitchen cotton, now where are those needles...

Back in Blogland

We finally (finally!!!) have our internet connection installed in our new home. We were on a waiting list (but you can't put me on a waiting list! I have a blog to run here!). I have been waiting quite impatiently, can you tell? Now I can share with you all some of the joys and pratfalls of moving to a new place.

Pratfall #1: Boxes.

Boxes upon boxes. Boxes within boxes. Boxes surrounding boxes. Boxes completely filling rooms. You get the idea.

Once a body has unpacked the contents of the boxes and actually found homes for said contents, one still must deal with all of the empty boxes. For me, that's the easy part-a simple posting on my local Freecycle board does the trick. Somebody who needs boxes will come and get 'em. Then they can enjoy their own box-o-rama.

Joy #1: A new landscape to work with.

This very large and well-established Cape Honeysuckle positioned near-but-not-too-near to my backdoor. It attracts hummingbirds, which is lovely, but also attracts bees, which you don't want too close to any doorway. The distance seems perfect, the bees happily do their business and aren't bothered by our foot traffic.

This shrub and a very large tree are the only real plant life in my yard at the moment. Some would think of that as a bad thing. I see it as a wonderful opportunity to landscape the place to my own tastes without having to rip out existing plantings. What fun!