11/01/2012

The remains of the holidays

Last week was a challenging one. We came back from the holidays (which were great) to a first day with immunization shots for my baby boy. Not a very good evening followed, with F. refusing to eat soup for the first time. Thursday he woke up with high fever, so Papa and I took turns in staying with him at home. And the feeding refusal grew… Not only soup but also other things, like fruit or even pasta (a favourite). Also, the whining and clinging were at a peak (the paediatrician told me it is to be expected more clinging for a few months, until 18 months at least or a bit more). Sunday evening the three of us were exhausted, and meal time was a disaster. I really don’t want to go that way, so we are trying our best to understand the reason why a toddler who loved eating and never was forced to it, suddenly doesn’t wanted to eat any more… Monday we resumed our jobs/day care activities and dinner went ok, even though not as smooth as before. Everyone tells me not to worry too much and that this is probably a “phase”, even though my main concern is to keep the connection with my son through this and every other stage, and deal with it with love and respect. I have the increasing feeling that having an outside job is a drawback on the kind of relation I want to build with my child, and I’m always looking for news ways to reconnect with him after a day’s work.
On that subject of family connection, I got The Rhythm of Family a few days before Christmas, and I’ve been slowly flipping through the essays and the “Make” and “Do” ideas. The sense of rhythm is dear to me, and I have been feeling a bit disconnect with the passing of time lately. Even though the seasons aren’t as sharp as the ones described in the book, there is always a little something we can discover and wonder. And even though there is no snow around here, there are some chilly mornings – and F. is always with a running nose. So after reading about the coughing shirts in Naturkinder, I decided to knit one with Beiroa yarn, using an Interweave pattern. It’s progressing slowly, but hopefully in the next few days it will be ready.
Also, I went back to the local library and finally got a copy of Brideshead Revisited. I wanted to read this book a long time, because I faintly remember the TV serial TV serial that run many times when I was a child. Back then I wasn’t that interested in BBC series (it was much later that I watched and loved Upstairs, Downstairs and I didn’t even remember Jeremy Irons was part of the cast, but I wouldn’t mind watching it now. I have a thing about historical series… Oh well, first I‘ll read the book and then we’ll see.

Now let me thank again Ginny for hosting the Yarn Along and for the motivation to resume blogging!
For more knitting and reading content, please go to Ginny's Yarn Along.

10/01/2012

moving on

I've recently took blogging again, mainly to keep connected to some wonderful blogs I've discover and also to maintain a record of some sort of the feelings I've been having about my life in general and mthering in particular. I just wasn't comfortable with publishing in my previous blog, that seems an echoe of distant days. I'm still that person, but I've moved on. So I decided to move the blog on, too. On the next days I'll probably change the looks of this place, so just a warning for eventual visitors: this is a work in progress that's probably going to take some time.

08/12/2011

How hard can it be to knit a pair of baby mittens? Oh, not at all, The problem is to knit a pair of baby mittens that actually stay on toddler hands for more that, say, 40 seconds. Well, it won't be this pair, yet... I would love to have some ideas on that by all the readres of Ginny's Yarn Along.
Besides "Mothering your Nursing Toddler", that I'm still reading, I've been reading Julian Barnes England, England(or its portuguese version...). Lately I've been going to the public library on a regular basis and tend to bring home a book or two that happens to fall my way. This one was on the focus shelf they arranje for Julian Barnes' books after he (finally) won the Booker Prize.

01/12/2011

moving

Long time no see...
This is my first post on Ginny's Yarn Along. I’m not sure I’ll be able to join every Wednesday, because I’m not sure I’ll be able to show different things every week, but I’ll try anyway…
It has been a long time since I’ve knitted myself a sweater. First, the baby knits took all the available time and then it seemed I had only the time and energy for small projects: shawls, hats, mittens… I’ve finally decided it was time to get my hands on something bigger. And I really wanted to try Rosa Pomar’s yarn, Beiroa.
I had my eyes on Kate Davies' Warriston a long time ago, so I decided to combine both. The yarn is thinner than the recommended on the pattern, so the sweater became less loose. I like it just like that…
it took me almost two months to finish this project, working mainly on some evenings when I’m not too sleepy. And a train trip to Lisbon gave me 6 hours to knit non stop (my hands got sore by the end of that day!) I guess that’s the consequence of having a baby/toddler around. With 14 months he wants lots of attention and care. I’ve been reading Mothering your Nursing Toddler, by Norma Jane Bumgarner. Though weaning isn’t in our plans for the time being, I felt the need to reassure myself regarding my option. It also helps to know people who kept nursing long past the first year, even though I seem to find them more on line than around me.