Swimming through a fog...

That's what it feels like I've been doing lately. I have been so tired and I'm not sure what it is. We had a winter that seemed to drag on forever and I suffer from severe SAD so that might be part of it. My Doctor wants me to go on medication every winter and get one of those SAD lamps to minimize the effects. At any rate, all I want to do these days is sleep and then sleep some more. I've been forcing myself to go out and do stuff. "Activity precedes motivation".

The boy and I went to "Iron Man" for our Mother's Day celebration. I see a lot of action movies and not many "chick flicks" part and parcel of living with an adolescent boy. Lucky for me I like action movies and I loved "Iron Man", Robert Downey Jr. is an unlikely super hero but he does a great job!

We also went to the zoo. They have a new manta ray exhibit where you place your hands on a ledge in the water and the rays swim over them. They feel smooth and it was all together pretty darn cool!! Edited to add: I just read the newspaper article about the rays dying, how sad! I hope they are able to figure out what happened.

Rugby is ongoing. I get boy to practice and fall asleep in the car waiting for him. Good support there. He had a game on Sunday and I did watch all of it. The more I watch Rugby, the more I love rugby, it really is a great sport.

Knitting is on going as well. I am progressing really fast (or at least fast for me) on my silver/gray wrap sweater. Even the girls at work are excited to see it finished. I did a little stash enhancement as well. I needed another skein for the wrap sweater but while I was at the LYS, I saw they had some new sock yarn in. Avery Allison, an indie dyer from St. Albert Alberta. All the colour ways were pretty but I settled on Iris.

Walkin' with my baby...

He got GREAT BIG FEET!!!

My boy has humongous feet. It's taken me for ever working on these socks but I am, through sheer determination, getting them done.

As an antidote to the boy socks, I am making myself some cabled footies. I am using the pattern from One Skein as my inspiration but I am making them toe up, cause that's how I like to make socks. In Dream In Colour Classy, Pansy-Go-Lightly. They should be a fast knit and they will keep my toes warm 'cause my house is COLD man! If the first ones turn out I'm making more 'casue 5mm needles for socks. Sounds perfect to me! And who doesn't like to keep their feet warm?

Also still committed to my SKB, on the silk insert of the first sleeve.

And one sleeve and the button band to go on Green Jeans. I put this one down for awhile then picked it up and went... what was I thinking, I freaking LOVE this pattern!

I am also committed (or perhaps should be committed) to doing YOL this year.

And a Swallowtail Shawl Knit Along in the Make One Yarnies group on Ravelry. Who else has swallowtail on the to do list? MMMMMMalibrigo lace, should start it any day!

Speaking of YOL & recent retail experiences (as a retail worker myself) in general... is it just me or are insanely cranky and irrational people on the rise? What is enough when it comes to excellent customer service? Blood? For the record, I feel Make One provides, bar none, the best customer service experience I've ever had. Bar None.

I was going to take a Monkey Sock class at the M1 but Boy's Rugby practices start the same night as the sock class. RATS!! Sorry Trish... hopefully later. In the mean time... Up the Mighty Saracens!!

We are the champions my friends…

a hard tackle

And they are! The boy's rugby team WON the city finals. It came down to a final match against the only other undefeated team in the league this season. Our other club team! Yep it was the old school boys (Sheilds in green) vs the football Dad's boys (Swords in white) and guess who won. I've never seen any of the boys play so hard, every try was hard fought to the bitter end and in the end the Shields only won by three points. It was great! Fun to watch and well played on both sides.

the line out… note intense look on the boy's face.

I went to watch a friend's son play baseball… no offence to my American friends but compared to watching rugby… it's like watching paint dry. There were tons of Mom's in the stands. I said, "You never see this many Mom's at the rugby games." to which she replied, "Of course you don't, they can't bear to watch their son's getting hurt."

the scrum

The boy already has designs on some classmates to get them signed up for next year.

hang onto the ball lads!

And school is out. YEAH!! No more rugby… no more school… nothing to worry about for 2 whole months! The boy's transition to Junior High did not go well. School this year was a total right off. Absences, issues, I hate to say bad…but young, inexperienced, stressed out, teachers who were not able to reach out to my son. I am hoping next year will be better.

I am very excited about the boy's psychologist. She specialises in issues surrounding anxiety, depression, LD kids, School refusal all the stuff we've been struggling with and our intake session went very well. Her philosophy is good, I felt very much at ease with her. She likens anxiety to a visitor, something you let in and what she does is teach kids how to shut the door. The boy has his first real session with her in just over a week, we have the Summer to get things going and by September I'm hoping for good things. I was really worried about the cost. My coverage for this sort of thing is limited. She told me to let her know if at any point it becomes a financial burden. She said we've accepted you as our clients, the treatment doesn't stop because you can't afford it. So that was reassuring.

Anyway, no knitting today, still working on the heinous mohair wrap. Self torture disguised as fun hobby. My best friend is coming Tuesday, 4 kids and 2 adults in a 750 sq. ft. house with one bathroom, we will need 2 things--good weather and lots of booze, The house is a shambles must work on that. HAPPY CANADA DAY!

Not Knitting…

Miracles of miracles, my son is no longer on the team with the football kids. He got switched to accommodate more of their car pooling issues. Works for me. Now he's on the team with the nice parents.

He wasn't at practice this week. One of the sad things about anxiety is that it tends to spread. Monday the boy convinced me he was far too tired to play rugby and further more had hurt his knee while playing rugby in gym. The week kind of went down hill from there. Major anxiety issues. Tuesday the mailman brought brand new cleats from Ruggers Canada. So Wednesday, I thought practice would be easy, nice weather, new cleats to show off, it's all good. The boy got ready to go and seemed excited to try out the new cleats; we got up there and he couldn't get out of the car. A big fat tear was rolling down each cheek and he couldn't tell me why. He played a bit at the game today and stayed to watch 'til the end so he could cheer his team, they won.

I guess the good news is I was able to get him into the specialist finally on Tuesday because she had a cancellation. She has him on a much higher dosage of his primary ADD medication and is in the process of increasing the secondary ADD medication which is also used as an anti-anxiety medication. She feels the main reason for the anxiety is that he was on dosages too low for his age and weight and that by bringing his medication levels up, the negative components of his ADD will subside, his ability to function and do well at school will increase and his anxiety will go down. If that doesn't work, I also have a referral to a clinic with psychologists who specialise in adolescent anxiety. Hopefully one of them could help the boy.

The thing with anxiety is people can't see it. Talking to his teachers, they don't get it. They STILL think it's being lazy and irresponsible. Trying to explain to his coaches why he wasn't at practice this week, they don't really get it, although they are trying to.

I can't show the boy how this is affecting me. I know how many knit bloggers are also parents, you guys can sympathise. If I show any weakness it feeds the anxiety. If I get upset, or depressed, any chink that all is not A-OK and things go South. I gotta stay positive, up beat, sunshine and lollipops--if I take the odd break from blogging, it's 'cause I'm having trouble doing that.

Where did the time go?

Had a bit of a downward turn there… weeks went by and and I couldn't find anything funny, or up beat or in any way inspirational to say. Every time I started to write, it went south and it was never my intention to be down and depressing for anyone who cares to read.

And now the weather is better and the rugby fields are lovely and green and things are looking up again, so I'm back.

Ah Rugby…I love the game… but the parents may drive me to drink!

Some of the Dads are such amazing jerks! We have enough registered players for 2 teams. If they had their way, the 2 teams would be: Their son's (who of course are all perfect) on one team and the rest of the loosers on the other. Some clubs do it that way, a highly competitive team and a B team, not ours. These are the same bunch of yahoos who joined their kids up last year and were telling them, "Rugby is just off season practice for Football."

I really don't like the "Football Dad's", gee can you tell ;-D? One of their snotty little blond Stepford wives was talking about the gravel on the field and that someone should pick it up. Then she looked over at me (who was not part of the conversation and minding my knitting) and said, "That could be your job." Seriously. I looked her straight in the eye and said, "Yeah, I'll be getting right on that." and went back to knitting. I have no problem picking up the odd rock, it was her tone.


Hooker, Lock and Prop all rugbyese for ox-like, capable of mowing down anything in it's path. All are in this thing called a "ruck" and also something else that involves a great deal of pushing called a "maul". The boy is in green, black and white.

The boy played two games back to back this afternoon (he's on the team that has all the football kids but I haven't started spiking my coffee yet). He plays, prop, hooker or lock. They won both games and knitting was accomplished. The other club team also won its games.


See? "Still life with rugby balls and sock."

Have received more fibery goodness in the shape of Vespers sock yarn by Knitterly Things in "Sorbet" from the Sweet Sheep sock club. Best of all… I booked a lil' somthin' special for my self. This fall I am going on a knitting retreat. The Make One Emerald Lake Lodge knitting retreat. I am pumped! I have from now 'til the bus leaves in November to get it paid for, totally doable. Emerald Lake Lodge is so awesome and gorgeous. Looking forward to it.

Other than that… you know… the hanger just won't go away. I can't figure that man out. When he isn't driving me insane, he's one of my best friends. We aren't going out but we aren't not going out either. In other words… he's still doing what he does best… hanging.