New Training Partner

Yes, you're getting two posts in two days.  There may even bee a third one tomorrow if I can get my thoughts in order...
No, this isn't an ad.  At least not a sponsored one or anything, just me raving about a product that I think could be life saving, or at the very least game changing.  But, I have to share.  Last night I got something really cool in the mail that I ordered, and I love it!

Jon and Becca are runners and very adventurous folks.  A while back they got shoe Road IDs and they love them.  I saw them when they were out here over the summer and commented on how nice they were.  Mom said she liked the idea, especially for Dad.  He's not prone to wandering, but you never know, especially as the Alzheimer's gets worse.  I'm often out by myself, or just with my boy-o (who will be 4! in June...).  Sure, I've got all kinds of contacts in my phone.  Yes, I have ID in my wallet.  And yes, I usually have both of these with me...

...But what happens if I'm in a bike accident and my phone gets crunched?  Or if I'm at the beach and something happens when I'm going for a walk or a swim?  Of if I'm swimming at the gym?  Or if I'm hiking in the middle of the woods?  How will anyone know who I am, or who to contact or my insurance info or vital health information?

Well, now I have something that can (but will hopefully never have to) speak for me if I can't.

Jon and Becca gave the family Road ID gift certificates for Christmas.  Mom ordered hers and dad's a while back.  She loves hers.  She got the version that velcros to her laces.  Dad removed his and tried to throw it away.  (I have no idea if Becca convinced him to put it back on or not... I'll try and be sneaky about it next time I go over...)  I got a pretty blue wrist sport version (see the picture above, but imagine it in a nice bright blue and with my info on it...).  I'm wearing it right now. Yes, I'm in the office and my wallet is right here and my phone and I don't expect to fall over any time soon.  But honestly, it's very comfortable and very comforting.

What I really love is the fact that they have an "interactive" version where you create a web page filled with your information that first responders can get to with a serial # and pin on the back either over the phone or on the web.  This means I can keep everything up to date and not have to worry about the info laser engraved on the tag being inaccurate.  Yes, it'll cost me $10/year for the account, but if you ask me, it's well worth the price.  (The first year is free with the purchase, so that's pretty cool.)  I also picked up a shoe strap so that way if I decide to put it on my shoes instead of my wrist, I can.

These things are great looking, very high quality, made in the US and could potentially save your life.  I'm thinking that I really should order one for Boo as well.  I mean, he's a typical little boy.  He doesn't often wander far, but there is the one time that he does.  Or what if both of us get hurt on a ride or a hike?  He's also not quite 4 and doesn't exactly have my, or Gak's, phone numbers memorized.  (And we don't have a home phone any more, so he really should have both memorized...)

So, I invite everyone to go look at www.roadid.com and read some of the stories and look at their stuff. And if you don't use one of theirs, make sure you have some kind of ID on your person. (I don't know how many stories say "I had ID with me, but it was in the bag on my bike and no one looked for it...) Especially as we become healthier and more active and more prone to doing silly things like going for a bike ride at 6:00 in the morning before work on busy roads, or taking long hikes in the middle of nowhere with just your kid(s) and things like that.

Peace to all and may you never have a time when you need something to speak for you because you can't, but may you have it if you need it.

Gender Specific Toys?

‘Tis the season to be shopping....

Yes, yes, I know, that wasn’t a very good try.  Anyhow, being bombarded with all the consumerism of the season and having recently completed the small amount of shopping we wanted to do for our son, I’ve had this thought bouncing around in my head.  Something I’m sure I’ve touched on before, even if only in passing with friends.

That dreaded topic of “gender specific” toys.

What initially got me thinking about this is the strange dichotomy that seems to exist when it comes to the kitchen.  You see all these great kitchen play sets done up in pinks and purples and all pretty and flowery to appeal to the young girl. *rolls eyes* But, when I watch things like “Top Chef” or talk to Abi about her time at Johnson & Whales, the predominant attitude is that you have to be a man to be a good chef, a top chef in the industry.  Why is it OK for a girl to play house and spend all her time in the kitchen cooking, but not for a little boy?  Why can’t a girl excel at the highly skilled and demanding job of being an executive chef?*   Or at least that’s what the advertising people seem to want us to think.

So, why is it that 99% of the kitchen toys out there are geared towards little girls?  I admit, I’ve seen a few pictures for kitchen play sets that show a little boy (all dressed in a sweater vest and tie! /another eye roll/ )  My son loves playing in the kitchen.  He frequently asks to help me cook.  I even let him some times, depending on what we’re making.  (He likes to help unless it’s going to be messy… and I don’t quite like him to help with the hot things yet, he has a habit of putting his hands out and leaning on whatever is in front of him, not a good idea with the stove!)  So, yes, this year we got him a little box of toy kitchen implements.**  He has his on drawer in the kitchen, which currently only has some plastic lids in it and the microwave bacon tray.  These will be his to play with in the kitchen.  He will love them.  And you know what; I really could care less that they’re all pink and purple.  I just wish I could have found a set that look more like my real tools without costing as much as my real tools.

And then, while looking through an article from the New York Times book section about the top kids’ books of the year, I come across this statement “This lullaby in rhyming couplets will also be loved by girls, with its images of vehicles clasping stars and cradling teddy bears.”

And my response immediately was “why wouldn’t a girl like a story about construction trucks?”  Why would you think that just because it has trucks in it and is “dirty” that a girl wouldn’t be interested at all?  I mean, Zoe has her own toolbox full of real tools and loves to help.  Kat is the first person I ask about what’s wrong with the car and then go to Andy if she’s stumped.  I can wield a hammer, pliers a saw or a drill as well or better than my husband.  (Don’t worry; he freely admits he’s not a tool kind of person…)  Mom and I spent many hours fixing things around the house when I was growing up, and building things for Gram.

Personally, assigning a gender to who should play with which toy is absurd.  Just like assigning colors to genders seems a little silly.  Sure, I don’t always practice what I preach and I will sometimes try and steer my son away from the bright pink shirt or backpack.  But then I remember that my brother’s favorite color for a few years there was pink, just because it was mine.  And if Boo ever really put up a fight for having to have the pink one, even after seeing his other options, I’d get it for him, because it would make him happy.  (Trust me, my son is definitely a “boy” and it has nothing to do with the colors he wears but in the way he thinks and approaches the world.)

But in this world with enough mixed messages, shouldn’t we be giving our kids the toys they want to play with, not just the ones we think they should play with?  Boo has loved playing in the kitchen and “cooking” since he was big enough to crawl.  He also loves tape measures and anything with buttons and cars and trucks and trains.  He loves his stuffed animals and takes care of them, including when they’re sick. (Kelly seems to always have a cold these days, poor girl.)  He even corrected me when I said that Kelly was a boy, Kelly is most definitely a girl bear.  When you ask him who his friends are he’s just as likely to say “Alexis” as “Dominic” or “Joey”.  (Actually, usually you just get “I don’t like Kevin” and then only after assuring him that’s OK, will he give you his friends’ names.)

Have I come to any conclusions other than the fact that I think that advertising people are playing it “safe” and continuing cultural norms that have been in place since the dark ages?  Not really.  I continue to be happy with our decision to buy Boo both a set of kitchen toys and a tool box and a tape measure for Christmas.  He will love all three toys very much.  The tools for both kitchen and workshop will allow him to continue to be creative and explore all kinds of things in his imagination.  And that, above all else, is the important thing; encouraging our kiddos imaginations.  Letting them figure out solutions to problems and who they want to be.

Peace to all and may you have plenty of toys that make you happy, no matter who is “supposed” to play with them.

*There have been some awesome women on some of the Top Chef seasons, but most of the women on the show just don’t have the edge or talent or skill that the men do.  Maybe they just aren’t as competitive, but I know that women can be extremely competitive when they want to, just spend a day in a high school…

**If anyone is looking for ideas for a boy-child, some play food would not go amis…

*** No, that's not the play set I bought Boo, I can't find it online.

Crochet Overload

**I wrote this a few days ago, and am waiting for things to finish, so I'm being "productive" and posting this now... **

Ok.  It’s been a long, long time since I’ve posted anything about my crocheting on here.  As a matter of fact, I can’t remember the last time I did a post showing off my projects.  Of course, there haven’t been a whole lot in recent memory, but there have been several recently, so you all must endure a bit of show and tell.

I’m going to do this out of chronological order.  The reason being is that I want to put the most special one last.  Mind, all of these projects have stories to them, but two have a story that touches my heart more than the rest.

I will start with the first set of projects I got done in recent memory.  Gak’s cousin Robin was expecting her second daughter in April.  Ron and Jay had been trying for a long time and I was very happy to find out that Robin was pregnant.  (Robin’s baby girl was born healthy and happy at the end of April.)  I had recently found a really cool pattern for a heart shaped afghan that I knew would be perfect.  I followed the pattern until the last 3 or 4 rounds of the border.  I just couldn’t get it to work out right and I decided I didn’t really like it anyhow.  So, I improvised my own using an edging pattern from a book I have.

I had tons of yarn left over.  So I made a hat and a little sweater.  I made the same hoodie as I made for Boo and for my “cousin” John’s baby 2 years ago now.  Only I didn’t do the hood, used a smaller hook so it would be closer to newborn sized and added a little ruffle edge instead of the plain one that it called for.  I think it all turned out very pretty.  I added a few ping onsies and some pants to the package and happily sent it on it’s way.  It was loved by all.

This is my most recent project that I finished.  I did this one in record time for me since I stopped traveling.  (I probably would have gotten it done all in one trip back in my crazy travel days.)  I think I put about 15-20 hours in total on it, but it would have been less if I’d actually read the directions more closely.  I did rows 7-10 about 3 times in total before I finally read what the pattern was saying and got it right.

Let me tell you, this yarn was a joy to use!  I picked it up at my new little local yarn store when it opened.  It’s called Haze by Queensland.  It’s a nice lightweight yarn, somewhere between sock and sport.  What’s really cool about this yarn isn’t the amazing colors or the light weight or the soft feel, but the fact that it is 40% cotton and 60% corn viscose.  Yep, 60% of the fibers in the yarn came from corn.  The stalks actually.  Pretty amazing.  (It actually took just under 160 grams (1.5 skeins) of this amazing yarn.  I’m trying to figure out something amazing to do with the last 40 grams or so of yarn.

This is the Aphrodite shawl pattern that I picked up for free at Michael’s back many months ago.  All I could think about while I was making it was the Caribbean.  Therefore, I’m calling it my Caribbean Aphrodite.  I actually wore it to work on Friday over a white tank and got several compliments on it.  It really turned out nice.  The picture doesn't really do the color justice, but I’m not sure how to get better ones.

Finally, we get to two pieces that I made starting in February and finishing up in April.  (It took a good bit longer than planned, thanks to being interrupted by the whole “problem” at the apartment…)  These two hold very special places in my heart.

You see, my friend Ron from work is fighting liver cancer.  Back in February he went out on medical leave to begin his chemo treatment.  Ron is a wonderful person and has never hesitated to help where he can and is a very wonderful, kind person.  It really makes me sad to see him so upset and sick.

I made a shawl for his wife Beverly and a large lap sized afghan for Ron.  They’re both the same pattern and the end of the skein used on Beverly’s shawl is what I used to start Ron’s blanket.

Here’s the note I put in with it.  (It’s long, but I can’t post these pictures without posting the note.  Oh, and I made a boo-boo, they have 3 daughters, not 2.)

Dear Ron and Beverly,

When Ron told me he was fighting cancer and that he was going to be out for therapy, I knew in my heart that I had to make something.  My solution to problems usually involves yarn, a hook and some quiet contemplation.  Keeping my hands busy so my mind can think.

When I bought the yarn, my first thought was to make a wonderful blanket for Ron when he’s resting in the recliner or to possibly keep a chill off while at doctor’s offices or at treatment.  But then, I realized that I needed to take care of the caregiver almost more than Ron.  Beverly, you have been Ron’s support, confidant and best friend for a long time.  You two have been through a lot together, raising two daughters and welcoming a grandson into the world.  You are his rock, and I thank you for this.

I realized after finishing the shawl for Beverly, that it was far from perfect.  Some of the stitches are uneven or slightly out of place or even just plain missing.  But, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that’s how life is.  The final product may be beautiful from a distance, but when you get up close, there are all kinds of little things that don’t seem perfect.  It has taken me a long time to take to heart my dad’s message of “there’s no such thing as perfect”, but I think I finally get it.  Life from a distance is perfect, the every day living of it, is not.  The shawl and the blanket are both beautiful, warm and comforting, just as life is.  And just as life is, when you look at it closely, it’s a common thread knotted and woven through good times and bad, places where the pattern we want was followed exactly, and places where it gets a little messy.  In the end, it is beautiful, despite the rough spots and the problems.

I hope you both find these warm and comforting, now in the tough times and in the future as well.  I hope they bring you joy for a very long time to come.

I received a wonderful card in response.  They both love their gifts, and it warms my heart to know I could bring some warmth into their lives right now.

I think this is where I’m going to leave it.  I do have plans for more crochet coming up.  I still need to make something for Ethan, my newest little cousin (well, son of my cousin) and my friend Treats is due with a little boy in October.  I wish I’d gotten something done for Ethan before he was born, but with everything going on at the apartment, it just wasn’t going to happen.

Peace to all and may your projects be fun and your hearts full of joy.