Random

Hi there. I've had blogging constipation. This happens every time there has been a big event, and I know that I need to post about said event, not forget anything, and include lots of photos. Obviously, we have had a BIG event here at casa de Fox, and what with all the holiday knitting, I have not got round to that big post yet. Still. Felt like a writing a wee post this morning.

I find myself doing an odd thing. I have Toddler Taming in the bathroom, and I read bits of it each time I take a seat. A normal person would flip to the parts of the book relevant to challenging behaviour for their toddler. Foxy certainly has his share of challenging behaviours. But that's not what I do. Instead, I look through the sections on sleep problems and feeding problems. He doesn't have these. It makes me feel SO GOOD!

I have also stumbled on a blog that I am LOVING. Crazy Aunt Purl, the true-life diary of a thirty-something, newly divorced, displaced Southern obsessive-compulsive knitter who has four cats. (Because nothing is sexier than a divorced woman with four cats.) Fabulous. And I love her descriptions of life in LA. Enjoy.

He Speaks!

Well, it's been a weird weekend. Foxy has been really ill again. A bad cold, with breathing difficulties as bad as they have ever been. He's been beside himself. Just miserable, poor mite. We know it's bad when he's not sleeping well and off his food. Eating and sleeping are his favourite activities! Then...just when things were really feeling wearing...he dropped one of toys, looked up at us, and said, "uh-oh!" Too cute! So clever.

Meanwhile, I am mostly in a holiday knitting frenzy. I have given myself WAY too many projects with a 25th deadline. I just can't help myself. Also means that I can't bore you with progress pictures, I'm sure you're gutted ;-).

I'm also enjoying some internet stuff at the moment:

1. I found bloglines, and it has made checking my ever-increasing number of blogs of interest manageable. Highly recommended!

2. I have joined audible, and am listening to Malcolm Gladwell's new book, Outliers. I'm liking it very much. Audible seems like a good deal for someone like me who walk a lot listening to an ipod.

3. Not that I have given up on podcasts. Oh no. I'm currently bingeing on CraftLit. Heather Ordover talks about her life and crafty things, and then introduces books or short stories that she then plays from Librivox (free audio books from back in the day -- no longer under copyright). I love it because she was a high school English teacher, and so knows what she's talking about. Thus far, I have listened to Pride and Prejudice, several short stories, and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. I am skipping over The Turning of the Screw though....

Cast On

I have my Nearest & Dearest to thank for this first installment of link love. In preparation for labour, my Nearest & Dearest scouted out some podcasts for me to listen to. She found a knitting podcast called Cast On, which I adore. I did indeed listen to it during early labour, as well as plugging myself into it the night after the Fox was born in order to avoid facing the weird detached empty feeling that came over me. Since then, I have continued to enjoy the podcast during feeding, especially at night (now blessedly rare).

It's a podcast for knitters, but there's a lot of general interest stuff in the shows. I like most of the music, and the host has a lovely voice. Best of all, she just blabs on about her life in west Wales, and it's charming. I love it.

One thing that is really neat is that I discovered that the host of the show, Brenda Dayne, and I have much in common. She is also a transplanted American (ok, I know I was born in England, but did much of my growing up in California), civilly partnered to a British woman. The difference is that she is an expert knitter (obviously), whilst I am an eager but basically crap knitter.

So this week's link is Cast On, where you can download the podcast (62 episodes and counting) and read all about it. Enjoy.