Explaining Death

We have a number of guinea fowl and chickens. We started with five guineas which we are free-ranging in our back yard: Blondie, Billie Joe, Joey, Henry, and Jello. At some point in their adolescence (a few months old) two went missing. Henry and Jello still had flight feathers, so I am hoping they just found a new home elsewhere, but it is highly likely they just 'flew the coop' and were a quick lunch for some local owls, or heaven forbid, some of the local 'free ranging' neighbors' dogs. *grumpfest* I won't go into the local custom of 'free-range' dogs, it's just too much for this post.
Maeven, age 4.5, has been sad about losing Henry and Jello, but she was able to accept the explanations of their disappearance. We talk of them often, but it hasn't been stressful. My 15 month old Aisling isn't quite at the age where any of this makes any sense or matters.

Last week, we added four more guineas: Crowley, Castiel, Sammie, and Dean. And we added six chickens: Mary Ann, Ginger, Rose, River, Amelia, and Clara. These ten are still hatchling chicks. Mary Ann and Ginger are a week or so older, but all very vulnerable and small. When the Punks (the five original guineas) were this small, we had their pen in the house. I was keeping the house warmer, too, as it was still chilly out at night. Well it's full-on summer now, so we put the keets and chicks outside. We built a bigger coop for all the birds, where the 3 almost-fully-adult guineas now overnight. The chicks' pen has been up on the porch next to the house.

At some point in the last 8 hours, we lost Crowley. Poor sweet little albino guinea keet, body still warm, absent of life. Maeven and I went out to hand-feed the chicks and keets and she saw before I did, "Wake up! Mommy, this one isn't waking up." I looked, and saw his crumpled form, and realized this was her very first experience with death.

I got my oldest son to help. He picked up Crowley with gloved hands. We examined his feathers, found no visible sign of injury. His eyes were open, glossy and clear. He had no breath within him, no sign of life. He was still warm, but it's summer in Texas so he wouldn't cool that quickly. With gentle care, Aus took Crowley around the back of the barn, got a shovel, and asked me, "Where?"

We decided Crowley should rest beneath our apple tree, which isn't very big yet. I had already planned to put a bench and turn the apple-tree-corner of our yard into a place of serenity, so why not place our lost fur-and-feather-babies there. He started the hole, and Maeven piped up, "I want to help! Let me get my shovel too!"

A few moments' search, and she couldn't find her shovel. She came back to watch Aus finish the small hole, and we placed Crowley into the hole, without any wrappings or box. I would have given him more dignity, but the process of decay would be hindered by the sentiment. We each put a handful of dirt in the hole, and said some words. Then Aus filled it back and we all came inside.
I explained to Maeven, "Crowley is dead. Dead is gone, forever. But his body still has something to give us. His body has atoms and molecules, and the tree will use him for food. He will become parts of the tree. We can call the tree Crowley if you want."

"Mom! I don't want Crowley to turn into a tree! I miss Crowley, I want a new Crowley. Daddy can make me a new Crowley."

"Honey, there will only be one Crowley, ever. His spirit is gone, his body is empty. We need to let his body go into the dirt, become part of the tree. The birds will enjoy him as a tree, he will feed and shelter the birds, and give us shade. And maybe some apples."

Explaining death to a 4 year old is difficult. One of the hardest things I've ever had to do as a mother. There isn't a quick and easy, "He's gone to heaven, and we'll meet him there some day" answer for me to give her. Because I can't fill her head full of bullshit. Death is final. The bits of our body that remain become food for microorganisms, for bugs. We nurture the soil, become fertilizer. We become part of the plants, the trees and grasses, or more directly, if we're not embalmed or burnt up and ground up, we become food for larger beasts. When those things die, they continue to become food and nourishment for more living creatures, and on and on goes the life cycle. The things that make us who we are, those are lost forever. But the stuff within, everything else, it continues to be recycled over and over and over, becoming new things with new (but temporary) consciousness and spirit which will be lost in time just as we were.

How do I simplify this without losing the heart of the process, without filling her head full of fairy tails and imaginary places? Gently.

She is still talking about Crowley. This tiny, short life, that we only knew inside of a week. She wants Crowley back, she misses him, she wants a 'new Crowley'. "Daddy can make a new one, with white tape and stuff and things."
In my heart I want to be able to give her that. But I would not be doing her any favors to sneak a new albino guinea chick into the cage, and tell her 'look we got a new Crowley'. This is a life lesson. This is painful, awkward, and very important. And I know she will talk about it for a while, with a whimper in her voice, struggling to process the permanence of things. Crowley is gone. He is in the dirt, at the base of the apple tree.

My husband has more than one sweetheart, and that's exactly why I married him...

My husband is a great bear of a man, with bright blue eyes, a bushy reddish beard and mustache, a little more sparse on the top than he was when we met. He's worn many hats over his lifetime, from bouncer to mechanic, trucker to railroad engineer, and more. He's a social guy who has many many networking contacts all over the place. He's a bubba, a good old boy, a country gentleman, a gitRdone redneck.

I'm a shy, eclectic, punk-hippy-goth-nerd crafter who has trouble even shopping in public let alone hosting a big bbq in the back yard. We are total opposites in appearance and in personality. We are a good fit though, as odd as it may seem.

He's so very very dedicated to me. Loyal and true. Faithful. Devoted.

And he has several sweethearts.

Today he went out to the store. He came home and showed me the gifts he'd chosen for each of the other ladies. I smiled and voiced my approval and appreciation.

You see, both his mother and mine are widows. He thinks of them every year. Every year for valentine's and every other holiday, he looks after both our moms since our dads aren't here anymore, recognizing them for the lovely women and mothers they are. They don't spend the holidays alone or forgotten. He's a wonderful sweet son and son in law.

And in the same vein, he's an amazing father. We have four sons (two are nearly 16, the others are 11 and 12). We also have two little daughters, 10 months and 4 years. They are Daddy's Sweethearts through and through. When we were trying to decide what to do for our Valentine's date night, they were automatically included. He's so proud to be their daddy and enjoys every opportunity to show off his beautiful ladies.

So when he came home with five Valentine's Day gifts, my heart just swelled. I love him so much. He's my man, and I gladly share him with these other women. We're all lucky to have him.

Maeven's Mitts

My daughter Maeven is a rambunctious nearly 4 year old wild child. She's a total tomboy, but she loves her Hello Kitty, My Little Pony, and Dora the Explorer. She adores pink. But she rocks out in her black boots and jeans. She's punk rock. She's hippie. She's eclectic and free spirited. She's a mini-me. She's also everywhere, all the time, up, down, round and round, in and out, back and forth, and all about. She never stops. It is hard to keep gloves on her, let alone clothes, so I thought I might work up a mitten that she can rock inside and out, without hindering her ability to cause mischief and madness wherever she goes. Since we live in Texas, the weather isn't always cold enough for a true mitten. So Maeven's Mitts were born. I wanted them to be girly, but not too girly. Warm, but not sweaty, snug without constricting, and above all, CUTE and FUN!

I've attempted to write out the pattern, but I may be a bit verbose, I may be totally off on the proper structure of writing a pattern. Clearly, I would appreciate pointers and help from any seasoned pros. But since I love how this mitt turned out, and I can't see being a meanie and keeping it to myself, here is my long-winded pattern, including yarn notes/suggestions and tips, for everyone to enjoy! I will hopefully revise this post in the future, and intend to include a pdf (if I can sort out how) with links through Ravelry (I'm MoonKatz there!)

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Maeven's Mitts, a fingerless glove in sizes XS, S, M (toddler to 6” hand girth; tween to 7” hand girth; adult to 8” hand girth, other sizes obtained by changing hook/yarn size to get different gauge)
Gauge 4 fsc = 1 inch.
Hook size = size to obtain gauge, for me this was 2.35mm Susan Bates size 1.

Abbreviations
Foundation single crochet -fsc
Single crochet - sc
Double crochet - dc
Half double crochet -hdc
Chain - ch
Slip stitch – sl st
NOTES: This pattern is worked in the round until you reach the thumb hole, where you will turn your work. Above the thumb you rejoin the two edges to work in the round again. You can add or subtract rounds to get the length you desire. Stitch/repeat counts are for size stated with counts for larger sizes in parenthesis. There are two stitch patterns used, one for the wrist which is more snug and warm, the other for the hand.
Larger yarn and hook may be used to get larger sizes. You should use a gauge and stitch count that allows your foundation round to just stretch comfortably around the widest part of your hand, at the base of the thumb. The lace stitches and the wool content of the yarn allow some stretch for comfort.
Yarn used - Red Heart Heart and Sole (shown in Spring Stripe)
Suitable substitutions include (but are not limited to) - Bernat baby jacquards (will not be as stretchy, works up larger); knitpicks pallete (hand wash only, will felt); knitpicks chroma (a bit splitty, will felt, hand wash only); lion brand sock-ease; deborah norville serenity sock yarn; knitpicks stroll fingering; knitpicks felici sport. There are numerous other yarns that will work well for this project, I have only listed those with which I've had personal experience. Feel free to substitute your own yarn choices, and let me know if you find one you particularly like because I'm always up for trying new yarns!

A yarn with a short color repeat will have multi-colored bars in each of the fans, one with medium repeats may have each fan a different color, and one with long color repeats may have an entire round with one color of fans. A yarn like Chroma will have a gradual fade from one color to another. Try to make both mitts start at the same color repeat if you want to make them match, or mix it up by making the second mitt reverse of the first. It's up to you! If you want a solid color yarn to show off the texture of the stitches, that is also an option. I wanted a painterly effect, like the Impressionists, so my Maeven mitts have a bit of a Claude Monet spring landscapes color scheme.

I used a sock weight yarn but anything from fingering weight to sport weight might work for you. A yarn with wool helps it be nice and warm but if you have wool allergies make sure your yarn has some bounce/spring to it, otherwise your mitten may be too snug or go baggy with wear. Cotton might substitute well, except they will stretch with wear and may shrink in the wash, so choose a cotton blend instead.
The xs fits a child whose hands are 5.75" at the widest point, measured around the palm including the base of the thumb.
The gauge for that is about 4 fsc per inch.
Hook - I used a Susan Bates size 1 hook (no reason, it was dark and the hook size worked), which is about 2.35mm, but you will use whatever hook will give you or the best fit. Using a B or C hook (aluminum) or anything from 2.25-2.75mm will give you a range of fits for each size category. Check fit after joining your foundation row in the round and go up or down a hook size as needed. If I had known this odd hook was a weird size I would have started with a different hook, but I was 'winging it' late at night, and it was just there in my tool bag.


Maeven Mitts XS(S, M): 
Foundation round:
Leaving a tail 6-8" long for joining and weaving in, FSC 24 (30,36) Join in the round to the top loops of the first stitch with a slip stitch. CHECK FIT NOW. It should be easy to slide over the wearer's hand at the widest point without having to fold their thumb in. If it fits, join at the bottom with the tail with a knot or securely weave the end back and forth and through the bottom edge, but DO NOT PULL TOO TIGHTLY otherwise it will mess up the fit!
Wrist/cuff:
Round 1:
Ch 1, sc in first st. Skip 2 st,  dc 5 in next st, *skip 2 st, sc in next stitch, skip 2 st, 5dc in next st. Repeat from * around ending with 5 dc in third st from the end, join with sl st in first sc. You have made 4(5,6) fans around.
Round 2:
Ch 3 (counts as 1 dc), 2 dc in same stitch (first sc from row 1), skip 2 st, sc in next st, *skip 2 st, 5 dc in next st, skip 2 st, sc in next st. Repeat from * around ending with sc, then do two dc in the same sc as the beginning ch 3 and 2dc (the first fan you started on this row) and join with a sl st in the top of the ch 3 (center of the first fan).

(each sc will be at the center top of a fan from prior row, and each 5 dc will be in the sc from the prior row, till the end of the wrist portion)
Round 3: repeat round 1
Rounds 4-7: repeat rounds 2 and 1

All sizes, the wrist/cuff ends here, and continues to the hand stitches – do not tie off, continue below. If you want a longer or shorter cuff, repeat rows 2 and 1 as often as desired, ending on an odd round so the next instructions make sense.

Hand (for sake of distinction from the cuff, hand rounds are being counted by letters instead of numbers):
Round A: ch 4 (counts as dc and ch 1), dc in same space, skip 2 st; 5 dc in next st, *skip 2 st; 1dc, ch, 1dc in next st; skip 2 st, 5 dc in next st; continue from * around, join with sl st in 3^rd ch on beginning ch 3 of this round. (fans and V's, next round will alternate)
Round B: sl st in ch 1 space of V from prior row. ch 3 (counts as dc), 2dc in ch 1 space, *work a V (dc, ch, dc) in the center st of the next fan, then 5dc in the next V. Continue from * around, but finish with 2 dc in the same beginning st as your ch3 (finishing your first fan) join with sl st in the top of the ch 3.

{Repeat rounds A and B till the hand length fits from the wrist joint to the first thumb joint. For size XS there is no repeat. I have not yet tested S or L numbers yet to determine length, so I will amend these directions later, for now I'm listing one repeat. You can try on the mitt as you work to get the best fit. Bear with me, I've drafted these directions barely 24 hours after starting the design, and have not had time to test anything or even make the second mitt! Five kids, sigh, and very little time for crafting. Please message or leave a comment if you find any errors or need help.}

Note: the way these join, you may notice the join location jogging to one side every round, this is ok! If you do not want a jog, you can work a full fan instead of half, then slip stitch over after you join so your V on the next row starts in the right place. 

XS continue to row C.
S,M repeat A and B once more, then go to row C.

Row C (begin working back and forth, rather than in rounds): ch 4 (counts as dc and ch 1), dc in same space, skip 2 st; 5 dc in next st, *skip 2 st; 1dc, ch, 1dc in next st; skip 2 st, 5 dc in next st. continue from * across, but in the final V, only work 3 dc to make a half fan (this makes the thumb hole straight); turn. You can place a marker at this join, for working the thumb edging later.

XS Row D: ch 4 (counts as dc and ch 1), dc in same space, *work 5dc in next V; 1 dc, ch 1, 1 dc in top of next fan. Continue from * across, ending with a 5 dc fan, join with sl st, continue working in the round again.
XS does not have a row E.
S,M Row D: ch 4 (counts as dc and ch 1), dc in same space, *work 5dc in next V;1 dc, ch 1, 1 dc in top of next fan. Continue from * across, but in last V from prior row only work 3 dc rather than 5. Turn work to right side.

S,M Row E: ch 4 (counts as dc and ch 1), dc in same space, *work 5dc in next V;1 dc, ch 1, 1 dc in top of next fan. Continue from * across, ending with a 5 dc fan, join with sl st, turn work to the right side and continue working in the round.

XS:
Round F: Repeat round A
Round G: Repeat round B
Round H: Repeat round A
Round I: chain 2 (counts as hdc), 4 hdc in same space (should be a V space); *3 hdc in top of next fan; 5 hdc in top of next V; continue from * around, ending with 3 hdc in the top of a fan. Join with a sl st, continue to edging rounds.

S,M
Round F: Repeat round B
Round G: Repeat round A
Round H: Repeat round B

(repeat as above until mitt is desired length on the fingers, if ending on 'round B' use instructions below, if ending on 'round A', use instructions for XS above.)
Round I: chain 2 (counts as hdc), 2 hdc in same space (should be a fan); *5 hdc in next V; 3 hdc in top of next fan; continue from * around, ending with 5 hdc in the top of a V. Join with a sl st, continue to edging rounds.



Edging rounds:
Hand:
Work at least two rounds of SC without joining, in a spiral around the top edge. {When you get to your first sc, rather than joining with a slip stitch, just work another SC. Continue till you have completed a second or third round, sl st and tie off, weaving in your ends securely. Reminder: do not pull your yarn end too tightly as you sew it into the work or your mitt will not have the stretch it needs to be comfortable.

Thumb:
at base of thumb, join yarn at base of thumb (where you started working back and forth, at the end of round C. Work evenly in SC around the thumb opening. Do not work too tightly, you're just edging it. Mine wound up with 16 stitches around for the XS size. I estimate S,M will have 24 st around. Work another round without joining (in a spiral, as above for the hand edging) and end the second (or third, if so desired) with a slip stitch, then weave in the end (the same cautions apply!)

Again, this pattern is untested. I haven't even proofread it yet, I just wanted to get it out of my head and onto the net ASAP (otherwise it would sit in limbo land forever and never get posted at all!) I am not a professional, this is one of very few patterns I've attempted to write. Feel free to test it and give me any feedback or ask for help if you run into problems. I will try and post photos along with this in the very near future. I thought I might try and do a video while making the second mitt, but I came down with laryngitis overnight and can't even holler at my kids to tell them supper's ready (one teen actually missed out as a result, ack!) Maybe I'll do my very first video tutorial on the adult size version when I test it later. :)

Pattern copyright 2014 Deirdre “Moon” Barrett-Underwood, aka MoonKatz/MoonKatz Arts. This pattern is being offered free of charge for personal use, with request that you link back to me, credit me, or message me. If you wish to sell items made from this pattern, I only ask that you credit me for the pattern and think kindly on your fellow earthlings and do something nice for someone else. It took me six hours to type this down, and eight hours trial and error to make the first mitt. I'll probably spend another 8-24 hours revising, testing the other sizes, and providing photos, as well as creating a pdf file that prints easily. I would appreciate if you could put as much effort into being kind, generous, and pay it forward. Enjoy! 

A Diet Of Fiber

I've been working on drop spindle spinning with silk, alpaca, and Norwegian wool lately as well as dyeing stuff. I'll let the photos do more of the talking here.

Also started a sweater for my daughter and a hat for my brother.

Staying active and busy.

Orange you glad I'm posting?

I've gone from a purple kick with my knitting and crochet to a new color... Orange! Our at least orangey themed hues. Hand spun hand blended yarn has been overdyed in rusty orange for a purse for my mom. Orange and black Norwegian wool spun to make tweedy halloweeny yarn. A hat in progress is predominantly orange. I'm loving the pop of color it gives everything.

Speaking of color pops, I managed tip successfully do my rainbow dye projects. Can't wait to spin and knit then.

Oh hey, this thing has an ap!

Now I see that I have no excuse not to post more often... Even if it isn't the best photos or in depth descriptions, and even if swype makes what I type cryptic and confusing, I'll post more. Starting today, going to show some of what I've been working on over the last year.
Currently, since I have a badly sprained hand and finger, I'm only spinning. Mill end wool, I think Norwegian but could be Corriedale, in pastel candy colors. will be two ply (I don't dare try more), about a light worsted equivalent.
I also dyed a lot of black and white mill end Norwegian into rich jewel toned roving, which I will spin next. It may be a bit bulkier.

My finger looks less like a sausage now but more colorful. Still in a splint, though I do try to move it a bit daily. It doesn't want to work. Considering how weird the injury was I have no idea the degree of damage and may end up going to an orthopedic doc for it.

Months go by...

I know it's been a couple of months since I last posted. I've made several more dresses
very nearly finished my brother's hat, and done some quickie projects just to stay busy. Here's one, my 'ugly purse'.
Edit: updating to include brother's finished hat!

Hoppin' to it!

I was in a productive mood. I keep weird hours - okay I am a TOTAL night owl. I stay up past 2am and sleep till noon or later. I get things done, but I just do them at different times of the day than normal folks. I get my morning coffee at lunch time. I eat lunch when the kids get home from school. I have a midday snack when they're eating supper. And after they go to bed I get some down time to just create. Today though, I started my creating early in the day.

The first thing I did was grab the green fabric I bought to match a bit of ribbon I got 20 years ago. There was a ribbon outlet down south of us at an outlet mall, and their big 'deal' was to stuff a zipper bag full for a flat rate. Well you can imagine I packed in as much ribbon as I could - some was remnant, some was tangled ribbon off-the-spool, and quite a bit of the massive mound of ribbon was damaged bits that the manufacturers still wanted to get a buck or two off of. I have a tight roll of 3" wide white satin ribbon begging for a project - probably five or more yards, at least. But the ribbon I have been most eager to use has been the 2" wide green satin ribbon. A great deal of it has a fold and discoloration, but enough of this ribbon was in good shape that I was able to use it for this dress. The rest just fell into place.

Matching pacifier, how cool is that!

I had the yellow fabric for the lining from a $1/yard sale at a craft and fabric store in Cali, back when I did a lot of Ren Faire. The frogs and turtles was a recent purchase, it sort of jumped into my cart off the shelves at Wal-Mart (I hear all you sewing mavens gasping and groaning - but my options are limited, as is my budget).



The buttons were from my stash of new buttons, not intended for this fabric. I had a pair of lime green buttons, because when I bought this I intended to make another reversible A-line dress and put another fun fabric on the back side - so I only needed the two green buttons. But I needed four buttons for this dress, so I had to go with what I had. I don't think they look too bad, they pull some of the blue accents out of the dress. it works.
 I made a basic bodice - actually used the pattern I drew up for the A-line dress, but changed the sides of the bodice so they were straighter, more fitted, and then split the back and added an inch to each center mark so there would be an overlap for the buttons. So there are three bodice pieces (six if you count the lining.) The skirt is in three panels, each double the width of each bodice panel, basted and gathered (draw up the bobbin thread to 'scrunch') to the right width.

The bodice's bottom edge sandwiches the top of the skirt, holding all those gathers in place. Then, because I think that edge looks kinda drab, the ribbon is added as a sash. I left the front of the ribbon sash wide, but gave the sides (just under arms) a little pinch and hand-stitched them into place. Then the ribbon just ties into a great big bow in back. The hem is simply blind-stitched, by hand.

When I make another little dress like this I may photograph along the way and try to make some sort of rudimentary tutorial, because as a NON-sewing person, tutorials have been a great help for me. I don't know all the terminology or all the tricks of the trade, but I have had fun coming up with things for Miss Maeven to wear.

1. 
   

I think she enjoys her new dresses too.

Hot Pixies

Er, I mean hot pixels. As in, my 7 year old camera is really in need of replacement. Apparently I have a lot more hot pixels than I used to, as evidenced by my recent long-exposure photos of a storm (yesterday evening we had QUITE the lightning show to the east.) I went through and touched up the photo to the right, but it took some doing. It was cropped, too, so I didn't have to touch up every hot pixel. I like having a camera that I can just turn on and shoot with, and know that every shot is print-ready without having to digitally edit. And though it still takes awesome photos, I feel like it's about time to upgrade. So now I'm sort of (passively) camera-shopping (dreaming) for the next big thing. Even though I am still learning to use this one. Yesterday, for instance, I finally figured out how to manually set the exposure time. Imagine that! This one was a 15 second exposure, on a wobbly compact tripod, with the wind gusting to 15mph at the least. One of a hundred shots I took last night. I'm stoked. Quite a few had impressive lightning strikes. All had really cool clouds. I love how, in this shot, you can see the glow from the right where the street lamp was really messing with my shots. I couldn't get quite the best part of the storms in frame because of that damn lamp. It really screws up our front yard stargazing, too. Didn't we move out to the boonies to get away from street lamps and light pollution? Well, didn't we? ;)

Calmer Weather

Well since the twister, I've been a little on edge, but thankfully still productive. I've been knitting on my brother's hat, bit by bit, and I will unveil it when I am done - it has hints of Fair Isle, hints of South American style, and will hopefully fit him when I am done.
I've also been crocheting on a special project, no big complex deal just something for a good, dear friend who deserves a little something. I'm slow going because I've had other things to do, and my arthritis kind of hampers intense crochet sessions.
Today however, I decided I'd make good use of my time and whipped out a dress for Miss Maeven that I've been planning and brainstorming for weeks. I took my 'standard' A-line style, and added a sash. That's pretty much it. The skirt is a little wider than my prior dresses, and longer too. I wanted to make sure that when Maeven bends over to pick up Easter Eggs, her little bum stays covered.
So now, I present, Maeven's Spring Flutterby dress:

She was not happy about posing, or swapping dresses, or anything other than snuggling at this point.

The little flutterby gems were randomly placed over the edges of the sash, to tack it in place more securely. I applied it with a strip of stitch-witchery tape, but my experience is the stuff eventually loosens up. This was just to get it placed properly, so the stitching would be easier, and so I wouldn't mar the satin ribbon with pins.

Spring Fling... A Twisted Tale

Last night about 11pm, I looked at our local radar and saw a line of storms that made my innards do a somersault. Very calmly, I put our fire department pagers back on the charger bases, made sure one was turned to county dispatch, and the other was turned to our city's public works. My husband installed and set up the civil alert alarms some time back for our 'city' (it's really a small town, the sign says 700 people but it's really more... that's just in "city limits", though our 'town' is considered more than that.) He's had the capability to test and set them off since then, but it isn't his responsibility - that falls to our mayor/city council and/or police department (quite a few of our officers don't even live here, and oft times they are not staffing a late late shift like that on Sunday nights.) To set off the civil alert sirens, you have to be somewhat near them and punch in a code to the radio while keyed up. We live right smack next to one of them, and my mother in law is very near to the other. So it's just very easy for hubby to test them and keep them operational for our little town... but it has never been his responsibility - not even when he was the fire chief. When he *was* the fire chief, I would set them off in his absence once a month to check them... but we've grown a little distant from the department lately. We are both still members of our volunteer department... just very busy with work and family, so haven't been up on our training or meetings or run many calls in the past year.
Anyway, disclaimer stated... About 11pm, the radar indicated we had a strong line of storms headed straight for us, with potential for tornadoes and hail. I don't know the particulars of how to set off sirens for a town, so I'm not sure how early or late or anything - I just knew I had to get my kids prepared, secure some precious treasures (family photos, digital photo archive, legal documents) find a good place in this old house to bunker down, and then deal with my next priority - alerting town.
I woke the boys and told them, "There's a line of storms coming, could be about an hour or two before they get here, I'll be watching the radar and keeping tabs on what it does... but if I do come wake you back up again I will need you to move quickly and don't question anything I say, just do exactly what I tell you and trust me." They all three went back to sleep.
About an hour later, still watching radar online and weather radio on tv (I do not own a battery operated radio... just never had time or money to deal with it) I start getting text alerts pertinent to my town - severe thunderstorm WATCH. Our county set off tones for all fire departments - an 'all call' for storm watchers and personnel to be at the ready. (At this point, the storm had just produced one weak EF1 tornado to our north-east within the county.) The air outside was still, quiet, only slightly moist - no indication we had anything more than lightning and rain coming. But given the 'all call', I roused the kids and directed them to hole up in the safest part of the house. I went to get my daughter's infant carrier car seat, and as we were all assembling ourselves and donning blankets and coats, the lights went down. No more radar (except on my mobile phone web browser).  The watch was upgraded to a warning only shortly before the power died.
After the power died, maybe just a brief moment, I heard a loud crack - but it wasn't thunder. My oldest son strapped his little sister into her car seat while I started trying to set off the civil alert sirens. But with the power being down, they could not operate. Mind you I have no formal training regarding weather emergencies (just 37 years of Texan upbringing) so I was just doing the best I could. I tried again and again, and stopped short of running across the road in the driving rain and wind to get closer to the siren - because to go outside would leave my kids alone in a high anxiety, frightening moment.
I already had one child having an anxiety attack. He was pulling it together the best he could. But my boys were raised in California for the first 8-8-4 years of their lives. (they are 13-13-9 now). So storms are not as deeply ingrained in their psyche as they are into mine. I wanted to be a storm chaser as a child. This storm was exhilarating, if anything. There was no way I was leaving the building for anything.
A fellow fire fighter, my BFF K - her wee treasure 'Lilah is my goddaughter - phoned me in our worst moment of the storm, "SET OFF THE SIRENS." I told her they were dead. She lives in a trailer. I could hear over the howl on my end that the howl on her end was getting louder, and my heart sank. The storm was indeed a tornado - confirmed later by the national weather service as a very strong EF1, stronger than the one to our north) - and it was going straight toward them. My mother lives to the north east of us, the typical route for such storms - but she has been staying with her mom and wasn't home - my concern there was for her house and property, which I could (and did) check on in the morning. My husband also has family in the area, scattered all over the county. I checked in with my sister in law and mother in law just after the worst passed us. I also texted my BFF back to make sure she and her hubby and family were ok. Called my mom, IM-ed my brother in the Seattle area. Posted our status to facebook. By now my phone was really low on battery - thankfully I have a spare phone that remains charged (swap that sim card) and a spare battery for my phone, and the twins' phones. So we were 'connected' still. Just in the dark.
After the worst blew over, I opened a window for ventilation - power was still out - and we all camped out in the living room. Sleeping bags on the floor, candles on the dining table (secure in containers - I'm a good Girl Scout) and Miss Mae's 'Violet' leapfrog dog to play music (Glow Worm also helped) to distract the kids. My youngest son, Monkey-Li (Liam) wanted all his stuffed animals around him, so I sent his biggest brother with him and one flash light, and they collected the menagerie for safe keeping.

It was at least another two hours before they could calm down and sleep. I managed to crash out sometime around 5am. About 6am, power was restored, waking me up. The sun wasn't long after and I could go out and survey damage. The loud crack right after power died was a tree in our back yard, a previously damaged hackberry tree that was ugly and in a bad spot, so no heartbreak there. It split and came down on our goat-wire fence, easy fix. No other damage, but the storm moved our lawnmower (it *had* been right where the tree fell, but was moved across the yard and set down gently) and tossed our burn barrel way out into the road causing damage to other things - someone clearing debris removed the burn barrel before I got out to check things. Our other, lighter trash bin was left in the ditch, almost where it had been before. Certain things that stayed put, and others that got moved, just didn't seem like straight line winds, it was quirky and unusual- I knew for sure now it was a tornado. And that we had been right in the middle, and survived. Maybe it was those ruby red slippers I bought for Miss Mae a few weeks ago, or maybe it was just a whole mess of good karma, but we were spared damage. My mother's place, and hubby's uncles place also spared damage, save some trees and limbs. Our family is all very fortunate. Our whole county is very fortunate. No injuries, well none due to storm directly. I hear one person stepped on a piece of glass.

radar loop during the storm, we are south of Fort Worth

A barn to our northeast about a mile, flattened.

A barn on the left, house on the right, with significant roof damage - also about a mile to our northeast.

I haven't been back to sleep since the power came back on at 6am and woke me. I am operating on the residual adrenaline from the storm, what little caffeine and sugar I've consumed since morning, and sheer determination. Luckily, hubby's work sent him home early (not due to the storm) and he arrived at the house about the time I got to my mom's to check the property out. We got to spend a quiet, cool, fresh day together just enjoying each others company, both of us up since the witching our and tired. My daughter slept much of the day. The boys went to school - delayed start due to power outage - but then came home early due to another outage. It's just down the street. I was glad to have them back home. I needed extra hugs.

My usual late night hours of operation came in handy. Also my tendency to park on the internet and stay all day helped us avoid danger. Sure we all just stayed put in our beds and slept right through, but what if... what if... at least I had advance notice and was prepared. I'll look at that fabric stash, that yarn stash, that bead stash, and I won't think, when I get more time I'll do such-and-such. No, I won't say that, because I've got more time. And I am thanking my lucky stars that I do.

Something I made last year wearing something I made last year

Last year after doing one successful dress from a published crochet project, I figured I knew enough about crochet to design my own. Well I don't plan things out, I design on the fly. I usually make my teddy-bears stitch by stitch with no chart or graph or cryptic written instructions - I let the yarn and the stitches tell me what's next. I make a bear shape out of yarn, basically, and then there's a bear. Well the same can be said about a lot of my beaded items, and life in general for that matter. I intuit my designs.

So when I finished this little cornflower blue dress out of the cheapest cotton yarn (the stuff intended for dish choths.... super soft, loose ply) I was dismayed that it didn't fit my cherished 5 month old little miss. It didn't even have a good shape for a dress. Sure the skirt was full and frilly, but the flare fell at the wrong place on her and it just was too baggy around the bodice. The colors were nice, at least. And I'd recycled buttons off an old work coverall from some of my ex-husband's old navy uniforms that I'd saved for my fabric stash ages ago (they're too dark, but the right size - they're on the back.)


I even went to the trouble to try and make little slippers to match. They didn't stay on. I'm not sure if I frogged those yet or not, but I know I intend to.









Over the winter I brought the dress out a few times to use as a layering piece. Our house has no central heat and air, and no insulation. It's a 'temp'. We are saving for a new place, and this is a house my hubby 'inherited' so it wasn't really our choice location to live, but we kind of needed to get life moving along. (He took over a relative's loan, and since this is a small town, the house has some history in his family beyond that - his grandparents were renting a room here when his mother was a baby. Of course, it wasn't the heap it is now back then.) Anyway the house gets COLD, despite a big kerosene heater and space heaters, so the cotton dress was a good piece to layer over leggins, long sleeve onesie, and under a sweater.

Fast forward to today.  I've been eyeing the blue yarn, never one to waste. I could frog it to make another little dress, or use it for dish cloths, or make a few little head scarves (I still have ample yarn, I spent $9 on the yarn for the dress and only used $6 worth, actually less since there's so much of the yellow and white left over).

Run!

I figured I'd try it on her just one more time. The weather is warm and lovely. She's been enjoying just a diaper and tee in the house. Easy changes. Breezy legs.

Well... IT FITS! Happy Joy! The slippers may be a loss but the dress is a success! It's not for a 6-9 month, it's for 12-18 month. Consistent with my trend to make things too big, which I started back when I first learned to crochet, the dress just wasn't ready for Mae yet. But now Mae is ready for the dress.

I'm going to have to make some bloomers to match!