silver teeth, dirt, kittens and knitting

Ben is the proud owner of a brand new silver party cap.

It's (almost) over with, he didn't feel any pain and he doesn't remember having it done. Oh, and I love that dentist and everyone there.

He drank the sedative and was getting sleepy within about five minutes. About 15 minutes in they started his chocolate-scented nitrous oxide and the work. While he was never asleep, Ben was slow moving and out of it for most of it.

The doctor kept up a constant dialogue with Ben throughout...lots of, "You're such a good helper," "You're the man," "You're doing great," etc. There was some talk of two prizes to come and he would periodically ask Ben how many prizes he had been promised. At one point Ben was too out of it to hold up two fingers and held up five. So the doctor started calling out, "OK! My best buddy, Ben, gets FIVE prizes! Everyone else back away from the prizes. They are all for Ben. No one else! You others, just back away!" Imagine it in a fairly thick Indian accent.

As it turned out, he needed two root canals and caps but the sedative started to wear off and Ben was starting to grab at the nitrous mask and turn his head. There was no sign of any discomfort--just confusion. The doctor finished up as much as he could and ended up putting a temporary thing on the second tooth. We'll go back in another month or two for the cap to be placed.

At the end he gave Ben a prescription for a local ice cream stand good for a free cone. I ended up having to call Billiam to come and drive home with us because Ben was out of it just enough that he kept trying to chew on his cheek and tongue and wasn't understanding me enough to stop. We were concerned that he would really do some damage on the way home, left to his own devices. His only complaint last night and today are that his tongue hurts. You can see what he did to it in the photo. The white part is the temporary stuff.

Remember I told you about the well pipe replacement and my poor red tulips? Here are the photos. The first photo is just before they were buried. You can see them, all unsuspecting, at the bottom of the photo.
See the guy in the trench?
At least they didn't have to break through the sidewalk.
After. I need some Mederma for this scar.

At bedtime Wednesday night, I realized I hadn't seen Mia all day. I checked with everyone else and no one had seen her since the day before. We searched the house, garage and yard (she's an indoor kitty), but no luck. I felt sick, thinking about her lost somewhere out in the dark. Yesterday before the dental appointment I made signs and when Jake got home we hung them up all around the area and willed the phone to ring. Just before dinner, Abie came running up the stairs. The goofy girl was in the garage. Jake and I had both checked the garage, separately and hadn't found her. She must have slept through us calling her over and over.

And knitting? I have another pair of socks going. This pair is Handmaiden Sea Wool Bordello. 70% merino and 30% seacell. Oh, the joy of knitting with this yarn! It's so silky and just glides through my fingers as I go. And dig this:

Seacell is a cellulose based fibre made from seaweed. That’s right – seaweed! It is highly breathable and very soft. When worn, your skin’s natural moisture will release magnesium, calcium and vitamin E contained within the seaweed. It has anti-inflammatory properties and has been shown to protect the skin. Amazing. (from Handmaiden's site)

The pattern is from the label.

Tomorrow? Sheep and Wool, baby. Sunday? Sheep and Wool spindle class. WOOT!

I could eat that picot edge with a spoon.

I am fairly certain this was my first short row heel. I'm not 100% sure because it seemed vaguely familiar as I knitted it, but I cannot actually remember a specific pair of socks with a heel like this. And a short row toe? Definitely the first. The ridge created by the zigzag bind off looks cute (moreso in person that the photo, I think), but seems like it could feel funny in a shoe. That won't be an issue with this pair, though. And who wants to cover up this cuteness, anyway?

I cast on for the second sock on the way home from the college yesterday but exhaustion won out and I ended up dozing the rest of the way home.

two in one

This evening's project fits in nicely with two kal's: Socktoberfest and Lonesome Skein.



This is from Ann Budd's Better-Than-Booties Baby Socks (Interweave online pattern for subscribers), the Chevron Lace version. Knit from my lonesome skein of hand dyed blue faced leicester fingering weight on #1 needles. I moved up from the size 0 needles called for in the pattern to make them slightly larger. I told you I'm feelin' the pink.

And the recipient? This girly, of course.



Fireball at eight months.

Do you think it will wake her up if I gingerly try the sock on her foot for length? (-;

in honor of Socktoberfest,

I present the first pair of socks I knitted.



I am not even sure when I made these. I know it was sometime after Emma was born (1997) because an online knitter friend kept trying to convince me to try socks, but I resisted. I can't remember if it was before or after Abie was born, though (2000). Impatient as I was to try turning a heel, they have a bit over an inch of ribbing and a scant inch of stockinette before the heel starts. I was (and still am) delighted with the mismatchiness of them.

At some point I couldn't find one of the them and knitted a third to take its place. The other eventually surfaced, so I actually have three of these. In the event that I sprout a third foot (hey, it could happen), I am completely prepared. And see that horrid baby toe on my right foot? See how it sticks out further than it should? That's the one I keep breaking. It's a monstrosity.