davejenbarnes

CRW_0663, uploaded by davejenbarnes

before the party, uploaded by davejenbarnes

It totally slipped my mind until I got a IM from an ol’ high school friend to update about the car… it’s like new - yeah! It had multiple problems that, when added on top of each other, gave the impression of a faulty bearing and steering column issues like we had back in 2004, but instead we had three separate issues. First off, forgive my extrememly shallow knowledge on the subject as I majored in clarinet in college, not vehicle mechanics.

The horrible steering wheel vibrations and clunka-clunka noise (apparently more noticeable from the back seat) were due to old tires. Go figure. We hadn’t replaced the tires since we bought the car [a long time ago] so we had no idea how old the tires really were. They were separating from the wheel or something technical like that. The screeching metallic “dragging chains” sound was ultimately caused by a broken boot to one of the front CV axles. All the lubrication had disappeared (because the boot was broken) and it was “metal against metal” so we got a new CV axle on that side (don’t know which side that side is)… and lastly the brakes were bad, so the car got a brake job on top of all the other stuff.

So there ya go, thanks to Travis for asking!

little ninja, uploaded by davejenbarnes (map)

To save you the trouble of reloading - or if you read via RSS (Hi Mark!) - here’s the latest header image upload.  I have them set to randomly rotate through a selection of about 20 or so.  I just purged some of them I was not very happy with and added some touches to others that I thought needed adding, but this one turned out better than I expected so I had to take a screenshot.

There are lots of pictures that are going to be added over the next few days. Luckily, James goes to bed rather early which allowed me some photoshop time tonight and I got a collage from Stonebriar and another pumpkin collage on our photos page. I’m still working on getting all of the individual photos uploaded to flickr, though. Dave’s using bandwidth as well, so I’ll upload them tomorrow to prevent him some lag.

UPDATE: flickr is up to date

I finished the tiny pumpkin for David. I figured it would be cute sitting on his desk at school. James calls it a ball, but that’s okay.

It was a lot easier to knit in the round than I ever imagined, once I got past the “I have to use FOUR needles?!” reaction. I used Red Heart Supersaver acryllic yarn in color 0254 (pumpkin) for the pumpkin (how appropriately named), Lion Brand Wool-Ease for the stem, and the cheapest set of four double pointed knitting needles I could find at Hobby Lobby in size 6 for the knitting. The pattern is unbelieveably easy as there really is no counting beyond the number 5 and it made a great project for the drive up to Plano and back this weekend. I already have a larger version of this pumpkin pattern started on the four double pointed needles just waiting for another road trip.

I must give credit where credit is due and say that this would not have turned out so well if it weren’t for the lifesaving videos at knittinghelp.com. Wow. Those things are awsome.

My snaps came today! Hurrah! I can start messing with diaper pattern pieces and do some sewing and snap pressing. I joined a 5 person snap press co-op with my cloth diapering playgroup and we’re all making diapers from scratch and swapping who has the snap press at their house. Of course, all the kinds of diapers we’re making are totally different. The mom that has the snap press now made some mean pocket diapers that look totally professional. I’m going for more of the “oh, lets see what we can do with all these left over Baylor tee shirts” kind of diaper. Hence the green and gold snaps. The two shades of blue are for recycled blue jean diapers and the white are, well, white is just a great color snap to have on hand.

Here is what I have done on the crocheted wool wrap. I’m pretty excited about having it more than halfway done. The red speckles are auto paint from the red touch-up paint pen for our red saturn that exploded one day. Don’t ask how the wool skein and the paint pen ended up in such close proximity to one another. I have no idea.

And here is what I started in lieu of the frustrating knitted soaker. Knitting in the round with double pointed needles looks freaky complicated but in many ways it is much more simple than knitting something flat. What I like the most is that you don’t have to alternate rows of knit with rows of purl. That means I can be consistent in my knit-knit-knit-knit-purl pattern and not have to remember “Is this a k4p1 row or a p4k1 row?” I also like that you can spread the stitches over the needles according to the number of repeating stitches in the pattern. This pattern calls for groups of 5 (k4p1) so I have 10 stitches on one needle, 10 on the other, and 15 on the third.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering on the orange thing… it’s gonna be a tiny pumpkin. For Dave to take to school and clutter up his desk.

James’ 15 month check-up was this morning.

• 24 lbs, 15 oz
• 32.5 inches tall
• 19.5 inches head cir.

So he’s average weight (50th percentile), slightly taller than most (though I doubt the 75th percentile that they slapped onto that measurement; I think he’s average), and has a gargantuan head (95th percentile). There’s no percentile for number of teeth, though she said he had gotten all of them faster than she had seen in other 15 month olds, and to expect the same thing with the next one. Great. More solid teething from July ‘07 to May ‘08 with Lowell.

UPDATE - oh, yeah, he got shots, too.

I was thinking of starting a whole new blog for this but I figured why not incorporate it into this one and see if it turns out being post-rific enough to warrant its own space. I mean, who knows how long this “making things with my own two hands” phase will really last once Lowell arrives in the world of air. So here goes, the handmade category.

Although I consider myself quite creative, I’ve never considered myself a very “craftsy” or “artsy” person. I do not own many handmade things (basically just crocheted baby blankets dating back 3 or 4 generations on the Hawaiian side) and have not handmade things (besides all the curtains) in quite some time. But now I have a toddler whom I am cloth diapering and a baby boy on the way who I also plan on cloth diapering. Nothing against pockets, but I really miss the prefold-cover days of the pre-walking James. The problem I’m running into is that most of the covers are plain white, fastened with Velcro® or aplix (which James can remove in a jiffy), and made of PUL which doesn’t breathe much. Enter wool which is a perfectly presentable cover for a cloth diaper, even with a tee-shirt, even in public, and they breathe. Wool covers run extraordinarily expensive though and we’re on a budget. for real. So I figure why not make some? and here I am.

My current project is (which is by no means my first project - I’ve known how to crochet for years but just now have a reason to crochet again) a Tickle Turdle Wool Wrap made from Lion Wool (from Hobby Lobby, cheapo so I don’t break the budget!) in Midnight Blue. So far my only complaint is with the yarn; the skein was not complete from start to finish! There was a tied connection about a third of the way through the skein which resulted in a knot being in my project! How cheap! That aside, I have been very impressed with the feel of the wool versus the Red Heart acryllic I am so used to crochetting.

I am also undertaking (practicing, learning, teaching myself, getting frustrated with) knitting so that I can attempt this Tiny Birds Soaker Pattern which is knit flat, then sewn together at the sides and finished with crocheted leg openings. I’m rather intimidated by knitting in the round right now, seeing as how I can hardly keep the loops from slipping off the needles as it is.

Once the size 20 resin snaps I ordered come in, I will be in some serious diaper making mode but that’s another post for another time (and it’s sewing and not crochet or knit)…

Failed projects include a crocheted-in-the-round soaker pattern that I pulled out in favor of the flat crocheted soaker pattern I am currently working on, and several attempts at starting the previously mentioned Tiny Birds Soaker Pattern due to interruptions by my 15 month old and 29 year old boys and a TV show called LOST, oh, and the slippery aluminum needles I am so foolishly attempting to knit with. I must go out tomorrow and pick up some bamboo knitting needles.

David brought home some huge apples from HEB. He warned me that they were expensive, like $2.50 per apple, so we had better enjoy them. They’ve been sitting on the countertop just staring at us every day since they came home from the grocery store and today I finally pulled out a knife and grabbed one of those $2.50 apples and cut it into wedges.

Oh. My. Lord.

That is the very best apple I have ever had. ever. James has not stopped asking for more since the first bite. It’s a good thing they’re huge, too. I HEART HONEYCRISP.