Life on the hill

My sister had borrowed my hotsling for her daughter and loved it. She returned it to me, since I'm still using it sometimes for my 16-month-old (it's nice to have in the diaper bag for when he decides he wants to be carried). But I know she'd like to have one for her 10-month-old daughter. Does anyone have a size 4 hotsling (or similar pocket sling) they'd want to part with?

We sold our stroller last month. With the proceeds of the sale, I got a Didymos Iris and he got a custom Babyhawk.

( Pictures of the Babyhawk in action )

Do you need one?

http://www.themodernlife.de/briefoffner

(watch the video, ignore the annoying pop-up ad)

Gradually, over the years in Colorado, I've started to have sinus migraines of a quite horrible kind. They simply stay for a long long time (sometimes days), and they affect eyesight, balance and sleep patterns at their worst. Wanting to vomit and stab by right eye are some of the side effects. I've so far tried to treat them with normal pain meds and go to work as usual..but it's getting worse. This year is the worst one so far. What was a syndrome that always came in the spring, is now showing up in the summer as well, and I have a suspicion it'll continue over the year. The migraine always comes in connection with some weather front and air pressure change.

In this heat, I really didn't need the migraine on top. I took some stronger meds (sinus relief pills), but it barely keeps it at bay. I'm not sure I can ride the bus to work today, or focus on a computer screen for longer periods. Any tips, any on what to do about this, are welcome.

I never used to be a migraine person before in my life.

Yes, design your own Spore t-shirt with your own Spore creature!

(Yes, I'm thinking about it...)

Bring up moving in conversation and it jump-starts things. People either love to do it or hate it with a passion, it seems. Even talking about packing and/or unpacking in conjunction with a trip raises all sorts of sympathetic flutters and groans of compassion. I've always liked packing and unpacking. There's something very Christmassy about it. When it's for a trip, packing is like wrapping up presents to give to yourself during vacation or traveling. And when it's for moving, unpacking is all about opening great big boxes of presents you haven't seen in awhile, and giving yourself the gift of where to put them in your new place.

Anders' parents have reached the point where they have decided it's time to sell the house they have lived in for 41 years and move to an apartment in town. 41 years is a lot of accumulation. I can tell his mom is having a hard time with the whole idea of moving, even though she's all for the decision they've made and thinks the time is right. She gets teary-eyed talking about the chore ahead of sorting and purging through all of their stuff, to decide what to get rid of and what to keep. They have to pare down, of course, because they are moving from a big family house to a suitably-sized apartment. And the thought of leaving her garden is making her really sad.

The kids and I were there today for lunch (before I went to town to get my hair cut), and she started going through closets, showing me clothes that she doesn't want to part with and reminiscing about the occasions she purchased them for, and asking if I wanted any pillows; proceeding to climb up on a stool and empty an top-story cabinet of throw pillows, and then telling me later that Maria (her daughter) and I can divide up the large potted outdoor plants between us (later, when they actually move out, not now, of course). She said, "I have to get rid of the philosophy of "good-to-have"...we're past time for "good-to-have", too old for it now."

I've moved a gazillion times in my life, 29 to be exact, and sometimes the urge to be moving again is overwhelming, so I am very familiar with the awful dichotomy that moving engenders: exciting and sorrowful at the same time. But I've never made a move knowing that it might be my last or that my next one will probably be my final one, to an elderly care home, for example, and it's hard to know how to strike the right note of understanding and sympathy with the positive "think of it as an adventure!" attitude that I was raised with.

I am always on the purge bandwagon, simply in order to keep the mountains of stuff that a family accumulates under control. It seems that no matter how often I go through our closets and prune severely, they are still FULL of clothes. No matter how many bags of toys and games I remove from the playroom to give to the daycare or take to the flea market, the remainder simply swells to fill the space. The spaces I have moved to have incrementally increased during my lifetime of moving and my/our stuff has only expanded to fill it.

Having to REALLY purge, like an ENTIRE ROOM FULL OF STUFF, is unimaginably hard: Things you have sentimental attachments to. Things that belonged to your grandmother. Things you and your husband bought together when you were first married. Things that fulfill a function or give your heart joy. Things you were given or purchased or acquired somehow once upon a time that have moved with you through the years. Multiply that by a lifetime and it begins to feel daunting in the extreme.

Someday I'll have to face it, too, but for now, hopefully, I can be the objective voice of reason for someone else who is trying to pare away the unessentials (and hopefully not end up taking them all off their hands into my own home...eek!). I know when I am going through my own closet, hemming and hawing over items that I haven't worn in years, but love too much to ditch, it always helps to have a friend (or sister) on hand who can help me look objectively at that pair of leggings from the 80s with one eyebrow raised, saying, "Um...no" to get me to release it back into the wild.

Really Great Writing Out There Right Now: Loose Woman

More Really Great Writing Out There Right Now: The Ghost Carousel

Yet More Really Great Writing Out There Right Now: The Stone Gods

*Matsuo Basho

Thanks for everyone's advice to my previous post about which carrier to take on a trip, managing the airport, etc.  I ended up bringing my mei-tai, wrap, and comfy joey.  In reality, only needed the mei-tai.   I was able to wear my daughter through security in both airports, but randomly had to remove her Robeez on the way home.

Everything went very well for her first flight!

thought i'd put this up, not sure if anyone else has, couldn't find it when i was looking for it about a month ago, and haven't seen it since.

https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx


you can sign up for emails about all recalled items.

i was just looking through the list of childern's items (not including toys), and noticed a few items like baby carriers ( https://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08253.html ) and bottle warmers ( https://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08263.html ) on there.


ETA: for all you Boppy people, just found this: https://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08097.html

The thought occurred to me with the gentle kiss of a truck travelling at full speed into a brick wall: I had to buy a non-black dress to attend a wedding next month. Shit.

I specialize in black dresses. I have a bunch of them, for every type of occasion, from gardening (not that I ever would) to attending an embassy dinner (not that I ever would). But you can't wear a black dress to a wedding, because somebody would take it as an editorial comment. And I obviously can't wear white, either (not that I ever would).

On Sunday, long past my trip to the US, where I could have acquired a non-black dress quite easily, the thought occurred to me, 'That wedding is in three weeks, and I don't know what I'm going to wear.' Thus began the saga of the dress.

Yes, I know I have a lot of clothes, so I'm not known for being afraid of shopping. However, I don't really want to go shopping for a dress that I'm not likely to get a lot of wear out of. Really, how often am I likely to wear a non-black dress? Not bloody likely, that's how much.

Plus, good luck finding anything good in the shops right now: everything is picked over at this point in the season. The spring and summer sales are to the final markdowns of 70%, which sounds really great, until you realize that only the crap remains. If it's not crap, then it's a size XS, which I haven't a hope in hell of fitting one arm and one leg into. I did find one lone dress that I adored yesterday, but the chest was far too tight, making me look like Boobasaurus Rex. Seriously, I looked like the Giant Breast Monster that Ate Outer Space.

Let me tell you, I now feel utterly defeated and ugly. My bosom and abnormally large ribcage won't fit in most dresses with a defined waist; of course, most dresses out there now are A-line in style, which makes me look like an A-frame house. I feel even more awkward than usual trying to find something that fits without looking like I could house a small village in my skirt.

Men, you're really lucky: you can just wear a suit that you already have hanging in your closet. Women have to find something new that makes us hate the skin we're in.

I've mostly been involved in knitting to kill these days, but I did join the Summer Lovin' Swap on KnittyBoard. Yesterday, I got a box in the mail with some scrumptious things in it: Alchemy in a very pale green (so soft!), Araucnía Ranco in a darker green/rusty green, 2 scented candles (apricot and apple pie), steak rub from Alberta Canada and whole coffee beans (pecan and chocolate macadamia nut flavors). Great package! I've wanted to get Alchemy for sometime now. The candles are so yummy! And the coffee, we've tasted the choclate macadamia nut and it's delicious!



My only problem is, I have no idea who my secret swap pal is. She is from Alberta, Canada and I have a last name, but that doesn't often help with figuring out usernames. Help!

Thanks, whoever you are!

	In case anybody was wondering what the hell I was talking about when I mentioned Instant Martians in my Spore post yesterday, this is one on his little hoverscooter. From a Marvin the Martian WB cartoon, natch.
	And this is my Spore attempt. Too bad I can't get too granular with coloring his beak, and the neck ruff just wasn't happening.
	And this is from the other side. Yes, I'm a bit WB-obsessed. Deal.

had a pretty cozy moment with val kilmer (as he looked before he super-sized himself) last night. i was sitting on the armrest on the chair he was sitting in, leaning in over him, as he was looking through some sort of lifestyle magazine which had an interview with him in it. i looked at the pictures over his shoulder as he skimmed through the text. i pointed out that they had taken pretty nice portrait of him, but val was more amused by the photo in which they had placed him as some sort of post-industrial santa clause in a scene with a snazzy swedish christmas goat made of recycled tin watering cans (!) and a stylized rock carving-like reindeer head coat hanger made of wrought iron. apparently we were living together as a couple somewhere in the north of sweden.

The very last item on the "to do" list on Kjell's refrigerator whiteboard was "Kattvakt - 11 - 13 juni".

Björn's dad was supposed to come to the cabin that weekend and "kattvakt" - babysit the cat - while Björn and I were away.

He died, of course, two weeks before that trip.

I have, however, started wondering if Kjell took that refrigerator whiteboard with him to heaven and is taking his kattvakt duties seriously.

Ever since Kjell left us, Hanna has become much MUCH more loving, generous with herself, interested in being with us - while at the same time maintaining her self-sufficient, stubborn, independent nature.. She has, in fact, become exactly what I think Kjell would be if he were a cat.

I don't really know if we can interact with the living from the other side - I hope that we can and I'm comforted by the signs around me that Kjell is still interested in our lives. This thing with Hanna I take as great comfort - if it's just my fantasy, so be it.

On the other hand, if Kjell's beautiful and generous spirit is influencing our cat then she's the better for it and we're definitely on the receiving end of yet more Kjell love.

In either case, I believe without at doubt that Kjell is pleased with the result.

Huh. Zappos now has a feature where you can blog about their shoes. They have links, like YouTube, where you can embed some code into your blog or MySpace or wherever:



Maybe this is old news, but I rarely look at Zappos, since they don't ship to Denmark and I wouldn't want to see the customs charges if they did.

Those of you who read kottke.org daily, as I do, might have seen this link: The Disadvantages of an Elite Education, and maybe you buzzed past it and didn't read it, but I'm saying that maybe you should go back and give it a read. Especially if you attended one of the Ivy League universities or shunned (or were shunned by) them and want to read about the experiences of a Yale professor who has a lot to say about how the type of university we attend (or don't) affects business and government and the questions we ask (or don't) and the way we live our lives from day to day because that's what we were groomed in college to do, to take our place and not to examine it. I feel that there are so many truths about American life that are encapsulated in this one article that I wanted to share it. (See, I can do more than joke about sex and post little Spore creature movies.)

New member here :)

I hope this post doesn't violate community rules.

I am needing advice on making mei tais. I am planning to make mei tais for sale on ebay or etsy, I haven't really decided which yet.

So, my questions for you all are, what do you look for in a mei tai? What features are absolutely necessary? What features lacking would be a deal-breaker for you? And finally, what is the range of prices you would pay for a DIY mei tai?

And, here's my son in his mei tai that I made recently for a trip to Disneyland:




Constructive criticism welcome!

TIA!

	Last night, I finally spent the $9.95 to get the full Creature Creator and have been having fun with it since. No, I didn't call in sick to work, but I did think about it. Here we have today's playthings, minus the Instant Martian that hasn't quite come together yet. Marty (after Marty Feldman), a creditable three-toed sloth (an accident when trying to create a badger)
	Polly Wanacracker

Thank you all for your suggestions of Swedish children's books. Robert is enjoying reading to Sean a bit more now.

We have two bathrooms in our house, both have always had just a shower. But now, finally, we have a bathtub on the main floor. Yay! And we got it for only 250kr. Double yay! Sean outgrew his baby bathtub quite awhile ago, I mostly just showered with him. He likes the showers but he's LOVING the big bathtub. hehe It's a great way to get out that last bit of energy in the evening as well making sure that he goes down to sleep pretty easily. hehe

Spore post of the day:

 So, I've been looking for a lightweight carrier and really either want to try a ringsling or wrap.  We currently have a Moby that we love.  Before I knew they were evil, I tried one of those SlingRiders and I really didn't like the shape or weight distribution.

Does this look like a comfortable ring sling? I still don't understand what you can do with the dangling tail besides throw it over your baby's head. Is there anything else you can do with it?  At what point does the child start to feel too heavy in these?

I've also been looking at the GypsyMama carriers.  There's a water wrap that looks pretty interesting and fun.  Does anyone own one or know what kind of frabric its made out of?  For the balibreeze wraps, is the feel really different than a Moby because it doesn't look like it stretches as much.

Thanks. :)